SB Nation - Rahim Alem

The Enemy of My Enemy, Part II: The Capital One Bowl

Bama Hawkeye — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 11:15:09 -0000

As we begin preparing for the year in which the Big Ten shocks the college football world by winning five of its seven bowls, let's learn about the opponents. Oh sure, we could turn to the fans of our opponents and ask them questions about their beloved cats, birds, and bees. But this site was founded upon the idea of rivals. That's why we're talking with our opponents' rivals. After all, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

As we look at the Capital One Bowl, Juco All-American (with an assist from The Ghost of Jay Cutler) of the outstanding Ole Miss blog Red Cup Rebellion was kind enough to answer these five questions about the hated LSU Tigers.

1. LSU gets plaudits and constant media love for having the best defensive linemen year in, year out. How did the Ole Miss offense attack the front four of LSU?

Honestly, this question may not be reasonable this season. Sure, LSU still has good defensive limen. DE Rahim Alem and DT Drake Nevis are both very talented. However, when the AP voted for the SEC first and second team defensive lines, neither of them appeared on the list. What that means is that, in the eyes of the SEC media, LSU doesn't have a single defensive lineman who ranks in the top 11 in the conference. That's unheard of in Baton Rouge.

Still, as I mentioned above, Rahim Alem and Drake Nevis are quite good at what they do. Alem is a pass rusher who hasn't had a great year but is still ferocious off the line. Nevis is a quick defensive tackle who can collapse the pocket or disrupt the run. What Ole Miss did to defeat them was to run misdirections right at Alem, who struggles against the run, and run as far away from Drake Nevis as we could. It helped to have Dexter McCluster running the ball. Perhaps Penn State could find a quarkback of their own before the bowl game.

2. How in the world do you stop LSU's big wide receivers?

LSU's receivers are significantly limited by the ineptitude of Jordan Jefferson. Jefferson is alright at managing the game, but that's not the purpose of receivers who have a height advantage on every defensive back against whom they line up. They should be throwing bombs to Tolliver and Lafell, but instead they're trying to get the ball to those receivers in space. That's not the way to utilize players with their physical abilities.

So the answer, in short, is to stack the box, blitz heavily, and get to Jordan Jefferson before he can even think about throwing deep to them. Do that a few times, and they won't try it anymore.

3. Beating LSU in the "Les Miles 2 Minute Drill From Hell" game must have been satisfying. What makes a victory over LSU better than a victory over another SEC squad?

The reason is simple. LSU is the luckiest team to ever play in any sport. They consistently find themselves in situations in which they must convert on fourth down, make a field goal from 50+ yards out, make a big turnover, etc, and they do it... nearly every time. It just works for them. Any other team would have struggled much earlier under Les Miles and his ridiculous playcalls, but not LSU. They just go out and, because for some reason the sports gods love Cajuns (perhaps it's the jambalaya), they get fluke wins. There are too many to go into. If you want to know more, ask Kentucky fans about the Hail Mary. Ask Ole Miss fans about the punt return. Ask Florida fans about fourth down conversions. You know what? Let's not talk about this anymore. My blood is boiling.

Les Miles: idiot and liar.

4. LSU fans are traditionally heckled for "smelling like corn dogs" and generally being crazy/unstable. How much of this is urban legend, and how much of this is truth?

No one really knows where the legend of LSU fans smelling corn dogs originated. I speculate that LSU fans smell like corn dogs because they're members of the circus, thus all articles of clothing they own have been satiated with the smell of mustard and battered sausage. Don't you dare point out that corn dogs are delicious. While that's obvious, that doesn't deter from the fact that smelling like them is less than desirable.

As for their lunacy/instability, that's dead on. Those people are nuts. When the same is said for Alabama fans, a point is generally made to exclude fans who actually attended the school from said group of lunatics. The same cannot be done for LSU. Even those who went there often belong in a sanitarium.

5. [ed. note: Juco All-American is a happily married man. So am I. This question comes from the single Graham Filler to the single Ghost of Jay Cutler. As an aside, you can also tell from his question that Graham has not yet had the joy of setting foot on the campus in Oxford]

You're at a party in Oxford and a 7.5 level-of-hotness girl approaches you wearing a LSU t-shirt, one of those purple ones with giant yellow letters. After a little conversation, three things become clear: 1) She goes to LSU, 2) she loves LSU football, and 3) she's definitely into you. Do you take the night any further?

Seven point five? Seven point five?! Is this an LSU seven point five or an Ole Miss seven point five? Because, if this were baseball, we're talking about comparing a starter for a Pittsburgh minor league affiliate to a starter for the New York Yankees.

Alright, that's a bit unfair and mostly untrue. There is some excelent talent at LSU. Hell, one of the absolute hottest girls from my high school is a proud LSU Tiger, but I cannot say that Ole Miss girls haven't horribly skewed my expectations and perspectives on women. Local rapper Krazy J pegged it when he beautifully elucidated that "All da Fine Girls go to Ole Miss."

But, for the sake of your question, I'll assume she's a 7.5 by Ole Miss standards being as how, in this hypothetical situation, we're at a party in Oxford. So she goes to LSU, loves her Tigers, and is definitely into me, and the question is would take the night any further? You bet. But I likely wouldn't take it much further than just that--a night. Unless there is something incredibly appealing to this woman outside of her being a 7.5 and "into me", I have no real desire to take it beyond that.

Regrettably, I've done worse than a 7.5 (anyone who knows me personally can attest to that), but I've also done way better. The difference between the two is that, with the 7.5 and below, I quit answering phone calls and returning text messages within a few days, at most. With those above that (I would give the most serious girlfriend I had at Ole Miss a nine--yes, I'm biased towards myself and the women I associate with, but trust me on this one), I tried to make them my ladyfriends.

I doubt I would let something like school allegiances get in the way of a good time, especially if it's just for one night. I do love Ole Miss and I hate LSU football and everything it has represented for we Rebels but, unless she starts moaning to the tune of "Chinese Bandits" when the gettin's good, I wouldn't any of that get in the way of an "eventful" night.

Thank you again to both Juco and Ghost of Red Cup Rebellion. We wish Ole Miss the best of luck in beating the hell out of Oklahoma State in the Cotton Bowl.

The Week is Closing Out

Richard Pittman — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:23:06 -0000

More photos » by Bill Haber - AP

about 1 month ago: LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson (9) throws a pass against Tulane in the second half of an NCAA college football game in Baton Rouge, La., Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009. LSU defeated Tulane 42-0. (AP Photo/Bill Haber)

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The week is entering its close, and the big game is quickly coming upon us. I feel like everything that needs to be said may already have been said. Last night, I did a long interview with the guys from Roll Bama Roll. The link to the podcast can be found here. They seemed to be a little taken aback that I was less than effusive in my praise of all aspects of the LSU football team and their matchup with Bama. I was just doing what I do here all the time: give the team credit where it's due without denying whatever problems might exist.

Here are some recaps of the things we talked about and some other observations:

LSU's big advantage in the game is with our receivers versus their secondary. We have the best receiver corps in the conference and Bama's secondary is the weakest part of its defense.
That will mean nothing if our offensive line does not give Jordan Jefferson time to pass. Bama has made some good quarterbacks (Ryan Mallett, Jevan Snead) look very bad by pressuring them relentlessly and not letting them throw. The offensive line will have to play its best game in pass protection to allow our receivers to finish their routes.
Jordan Jefferson has played very well the last few weeks and that will have to continue.
Our defense is a lot better than its numbers. Our defensive numbers are deceptive because of the Washington game, which is more and more ancient history. Also, we've had some games where yardage numbers were inflated because the defense had to stay on the field the whole game due to a poorly working offense. Our defense, especially our back 7, is really good.
The front 4, however, is a little disappointing. We aren't getting enough playmaking from any position or any player, except Drake Nevis. Rahim Alem is not getting the pass rush we expected out of him, probably because no one else on the line is effective at rushing the passer and opposing blocking schemes can give Alem a lot of attention.
I expect us to use a lot of play-action pass, some roll-outs, and other means of slowing down the pass rush. We have been very effective in using play action all year, and I expect us to lean heavily on it this week. We'll also need to employ our power running game, to keep the defense honest on the play action, but I do not expect to have a lot of success running with Charles Scott in this game. We've been simply too ineffective with it all year to expect it to suddenly start working against the best defensive front we'll see the entire season.
If I was Nick Saban or Jim McElwain, I would run the ball right at us with Mark Ingram until we show we can stop it. If I was John Chavis, I would plan for Mark Ingram to run the ball a lot and I would sell out to stop it. I think I would plan that 2/3 of every 1st or 2nd down would be a run. Florida was able to kill us with a thousand tiny cuts by running the ball up the middle. Why shouldn't Bama try to do the same, at least until we show we can stop it?
It looks like Bama TE Colin Peek is going to either be out for the game or will be playing at limited effectiveness. This is very important, as Peek has arguably been Bama's 2nd most effective offensive player behind Mark Ingram. Had he played in the game against Tennessee, he would probably lead the team in receptions and be 2nd in yards receiving. As it is, he's tied for 2nd in receptions and 3rd in yards receiving. He has been their go-to possession receiver, as opposing defenses are effectively shutting down Julio Jones, at least down the field.
"A House Divided" license plates are tacky, and their ubiquity has gotten out of hand.
Toddlers say really funny things sometimes.

Week Seven Previewing: #2 Alabama vs #22 South Carolina

outsidethesidelines — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:00:42 -0000

Beating up on Colonel Reb was certainly nice, but as the proverbial saying goes there is no rest for the weary, and that saying rings particularly true for teams competing in the SEC. After beating Ole Miss 22-3 in Oxford, Alabama returns to the friendly confines of Bryant-Denny Stadium this week for its fourth conference game in as many weeks as South Carolina and the Ol' Ball Coach head to Tuscaloosa. The Gamecocks come into this game with a solid 5-1 record and a top-25 ranking, so as is usually the case, the Tide will need to play well in order to insure that it emerges victorious. Let's take a closer look at the match-ups:

Alabama Offense v. South Carolina Defense

The strength of this South Carolina team, as has been the case with nearly all of Steve Spurrier's teams in Columbia, is on the defensive side of the ball, with a defense led by a couple of coaches with strong Alabama ties: Lorenzo Ward ('Bama alum) and Ellis Johnson (two stints, and a national title ring, as an assistant at 'Bama). The Gamecocks are a bit of a different animal defensively in terms of schemes, and as much as possible they try to operate out of a base 4-2-5 set. Whether you've noticed or not, South Carolina has really been an NFL factory the past several years for talent in the defensive backfield, and in many ways the 4-2-5 is just a way of playing to their strengths and getting their best players on the field.

Individually, the standout of the South Carolina defense is clearly linebacker Eric Norwood. At 6'1 and 250+ pounds, Norwood will likely be a star on Sunday one day, and with injuries continuing to plague Greg Hardy, Norwood is probably the best pass rusher in the conference these days. Nevertheless, don't paint him as a Rahim Alem-esque one-trick pony who can only rush the passer, just look at his overall stat line on the year... 38 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 6 sacks for a loss of 42 yards, 5 QB hurries, 2 interceptions, 1 forced fumble, and 2 blocked kicks. Bottom line, the kid can do it all. He can rush the passer, he can play the run, he can play the pass, and he can make an impact on special teams. He is nothing short of a defensive coordinator's dream, plain and simple.

Aside from Norwood, the starting eleven on this team was very good. And I say was because injuries have really hit this unit hard. As I mentioned earlier, they had a great starting eleven, but quality depth was never on their side, and the injury bug has only made things worse. Defensive tackle Travian Robertson tore his ACL earlier in the year, and middle linebacker Rodney Paulk also went down for the year with a knee injury. For a unit with very little proven, quality depth, both injuries hit hard, and making matters worse starting cornerback Akeem Auguste was recently suspended for violating team / university rules, and will not play in this game.

So, we really don't know exactly what to make of the South Carolina defense right now. There are definitely a lot of good players on the defensive side of the ball, that we do know. Aside from Norwood, defensive end Cliff Matthews is a fine player, and Shaq Wilson and Chris Culliver are both very good players in their own right. Moreover, they do have some young guys contributing early, particularly cornerback Stephon Gilmore, a player Saban himself recruited very hard to come to Alabama. The rest of the starters are generally pretty solid at worst, so it's a decent group in that respect.

On the other hand, though, again, injuries have hit this group hard and the depth really just is not there, so in many ways this does have the look of a vulnerable group. The loss of Robertson and Paulk have really hurt the run defense, and it has looked pretty ugly in the past couple of weeks. South Carolina State ran for 170 yards against them, and Kentucky went over 200 yards, both of which is pretty bad news when you set off to head to Tuscaloosa.

In many ways, the defensive backfield, again, has led the Gamecock attack. It's a young group, but they have generally been able to get the job done to date. But, of course, looking at the schedule, you really do have to question the strength of their six opponents to date. North Carolina State, Florida Atlantic, and South Carolina State all have anemic passing attacks, and the Georgia offense with Joe Cox hasn't exactly lit up the scoreboard in Athens. Likewise, Kentucky many have the worst quarterback play of any team in the SEC, and the Gamecocks got to play for more than a quarter against the back-up. Taking Jevan Snead to the woodshed was certainly a good performance, but then again pretty much every good defense that has faced the Rebels have done that (Alabama included), so who really knows how much that says? And, of course, the suspension of Auguste will do nothing to help the Gamecocks on this front.

For Alabama, the Tide really just has to work its way out of the miniature funk it fell into last weekend in Oxford. We know this unit can be extremely good, but Greg McElroy has to be a lot more disciplined in his progressions this week, and frankly the offensive play-calling needs to improve, not to mention red zone execution in general. Fortunately, though, we have been running the ball very well as of late, and we've still got a ton of talent just about everywhere offensively. We don't necessarily need a breakout game here, but an improvement over Ole Miss would be good news.

All in all, I think you have to be cautiously optimistic here for the Tide, so long as you can do a decent job of blocking Norwood and Matthews in pass protection sets. South Carolina certainly has a solid defense -- and honestly a very good one if they could stay healthy -- but again injuries and suspensions have really made there lack of quality depth an issue, and while you still probably aren't going to be running up and down the field against these guys, if we execute better than we did last week against Ole Miss, I do believe it's reasonable to think that we will have some degree of success. If nothing else, we ought to be able to wear these guys down over the course of four quarters and take advantage of their lack of depth.

Alabama Defense v. South Carolina Offense

Perhaps the biggest piece of good news for the Gamecocks this year has been the emergence of quarterback Stephen Garcia. The highly-touted Florida product struggled immensely his first couple of years in Columbia -- about all he did of positive note was to win the Six Beer Challenge -- but he has really turned the corner in 2009. He hasn't gotten all of the publicity that has gone to 'Bama signal caller Greg McElroy, but if you look at Garcia's stat line -- 61% completion rate, over 7.0 yards per attempt, and a 3-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio -- he has played at a level very comparable to McElroy. Furthermore, Garcia is a legitimate dual-threat quarterback, and at 6'2 and approximately 225 pounds, he can be a load to bring down in the open field. After a very ugly start against North Carolina State, the South Carolina offense has actually performed pretty well (arguably as well as it has since Spurrier arrived), and clearly Garcia's progression as a player are the foundation of that improvement.

Admittedly, though, Garcia does have plenty of help at the skill positions, where the Gamecocks have more than their fair share of big, physical playmakers. True freshman Alshon Jeffery is making nice progress on his degree in gas pumping, and while he may not be having quite the kind of year Julio Jones and A.J. Green had last year, he's very close. He has "NFL" written all over him even at 19 years old. Furthermore, Tori Gurley is an incredibly difficult match-up for any cornerback, coming in at around 6'5 and 225 pounds, and Jason Barnes is another big target. And while Moe Brown is the smallest of the group, he's a fine player in his own right, and he's probably the best of the bunch right now. Making matters even better for the Gamecocks, tight end Weslye Saunders comes in at 6'5 and 280 pounds, and he can be a difference-maker in his own right. Bottom line, Garcia has clearly made a lot of progress this season in his own right, but by the same token he's got a lot of great players to throw the football to as well. For a defensive coordinator, this is a group good enough to keep you up late at night.

The weakness of this offense, as has always been the case under Spurrier, is up front on the offensive line. It's not so much that this unit has played poorly, per se, as much as it is that this group just doesn't have a lot of good players anyway, and injuries have hurt considerably. Left tackle Jarriel King is probably the best player they have, and he's not really a standout in his own right. The rest of the line has pretty much been a patchwork job. Hutch Eckerson is starting at right tackle now after the flu and some other injuries caught up with Quintin Richardson, and he has really struggled with edge rushers. Starting left guard Terrence Campbell is going to miss a lot of time with an injury, and that has caused a lot of re-shuffling in its own right. Alabama native Heath Batchelor saw some time there, but he left the program a couple of days ago, and redshirt freshman T.J. Johnson has been forced to play. There has even been talk that true freshman Nick Allison -- who has redshirted to date -- may have to play against the Tide. And making matters even worse, center Garrett Anderson missed the Kentucky game with a back injury, and while he may be back in some capacity against the Tide, he likely won't be 100% and will rotate time with Lemuel Jeanpierre. Bottom line, South Carolina just isn't a very good unit up front. They play hard, seemingly, but they don't have very much talent and injuries have just killed them to date.

The running game for the Gamecocks will be a three-headed monster with carries being split between Kenny Miles, Jarvis Giles, and Brian Maddox. Miles and Giles are scat-back type players, and Maddox is a bruising runner who came into the year as a starter. Maddox really struggled early, though, and gave way to the youngsters Miles and Giles, both of which sport pretty impressive yards per carry average. With his 100-yard performance last weekend against Kentucky, look for Miles to get the bulk of the work against the Tide. On the other hand, though, you can make some legitimate questions about just how good these backs are. The line is obviously in shambles, and while the raw production from Miles and Giles looks impressive on paper, it should be noted that most of that yardage was racked up against the likes of Florida Atlantic and South Carolina State. Giles, for example, may be averaging 5.8 yards per carry, but if you take away those two cupcakes, he's suddenly averaging less than 3.0 yards per carry against the rest of the schedule, and largely the same critique (to a lesser extent) can be made against Miles.

Defensively, we all know that the Tide has the look of an elite unit, and really the only big question mark to date for the 'Bama defense is exactly what happens this week with the return of Jerrell Harris. Obviously we'll all have to tune in to find out for sure, but I imagine we'll see a lot of both Harris and Nico Johnson on Saturday, and we'll have some package specific roles for both players. Who "starts" is really a moot point, and both will likely be breaking a sweat come Saturday night.

Regardless of which of those two players ultimately gets the starting nod, the real key for Alabama on Saturday will be dominating this game at the line of scrimmage. Even with all of the other issues notwithstanding, South Carolina has a small offensive line -- the five starters average right at 300 pounds -- and we need to take full advantage of those weaknesses. Our defensive line needs to get after Garcia and dominate these guys in the running game. If we can do that, we're probably in good shape here. On the other hand, though, if Garcia gets comfortable in the pocket, look for South Carolina to have more than their fair share of success. I don't care how good the Alabama defense supposedly is, we're going to have a lot of issues defending their skill position players if Garcia gets time to throw the football. As is usually the case, look for this match-up to be decided in the trenches.

Putting It All Together

All in all, 'Bama comes into this game as approximately 18-point favorites, and it's not overly difficult to see why Vegas is so bullish on the Tide. We look very good right now, we have more top-end talent and better depth throughout the roster, and while South Carolina's 5-1 record may look nice on paper, who have they really played? Their five wins, to date, consists of a Division 1-AA team, a non-BCS team, a bottom of the barrel ACC team, Kentucky, and a victory at home over Ole Miss, plus a loss to a Georgia team that looks to finish up 6-6 at best. Look at their schedule to date... how many ranked teams do you see? Zero. So there are plenty of reasons for 'Bama fans to feel good going into this game.

But on the other hand, in reality, life in the SEC is just never easy, and the gap between the really good SEC teams and the middle of the road SEC teams is always relatively small. Regardless of how you break it down, truth be told, SEC teams are always a lot more similar than they are different, and that applies this week as well to the Gamecocks. South Carolina may have a lot going against them in this game, but they've still got a lot of fine players in their own right and they are far from a pushover. And, hell, right now they can probably stake as legitimate of a claim to the #3 spot in the SEC as anyone else.

And rest assured, these guys will come out ready to fight. Steve Spurrier has been poor-mouthing his team all week, all but completely writing off this game to the media as a guaranteed loss. Don't buy that garbage for one second. Spurrier loathes 'Bama with every fiber of his being, and hell will freeze over before he concedes us anything. We may take his Gamecocks behind the woodshed and he may need Tommy Johns surgery after throwing that visor all night, but we'll have to earn every bit of it. He's looking to show that he's making progress at South Carolina, and he and his team will fight 'til they drop on Saturday night.

For 'Bama, it's really the same story that it is every week. You never get a week off in the SEC... one challenge is simply replaced by yet another challenge, and regardless of who you play, you're going to have to come out and play good football if you want to win, and if you do that you're probably going to get beat. For all of the advantages that 'Bama has on paper over the Gamecocks, that's still the ultimate scenario we are facing this week.

Hope for the best.

Saturday NFL Draft watch notes

Mocking Dan — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 14:46:41 -0000

More photos » by Bill Haber - AP

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• A possible matchup tonight between Brandon LaFell of LSU and Joe Haden of Florida is the most intriguing one of the day. Haden can get out of position, something a heady receiver like LaFell can take advantage of. Haden is really good against the run, so he'll test LaFell's blocking ability. LaFell dominated this matchup last season.

This will also be a good game to see what offensive tackle Ciron Black (LSU) and Carlos Dunlap (Florida) are worth. Both have been having ordinary seasons, especially Dunlap. Black is a strong blocker so Dunlap will have to use his initial quickness more today.

In general, LSU's top prospects have been average this season. Running back Charles Scott finally broke a big run last week, but he's slow to the hole. End Rahim Alem has been able to get after the passer and defensive tackle Al Woods has been non-existant. Each could turn their draft fortunes around today.

• Another week and another chance for Mississippi's Jevan Snead to try and prove he's an elite talent. His struggles this year have been plenty noted, but things won't get any easier against Alabama tonight. Snead needs to rely less on his arm strength and use his brain more. Alabama will bring a lot of pressure and Snead's resolve will be tested.

Also in this game, watch for Rebels defensive end Greg Hardy to have a big game. Alabama's offensive tackles are just average so Hardy could have a big game.

• The Ohio State front four is impressive and filled with NFL-caliber players. Chief among them are ends Cameron Heyward and Thaddeus Gibson. Against the pass, particularly Gibson, they are terrors. Today against Wisconsin, they can show how good they are against the run. Sophomore John Clay is a bulldozer of a back who is hard to take down.

• Oklahoma State left tackle Russell Okung can display his dominance today when the Cowboys play Texas A&M. Von Miller has become one of the nation's top sack artists and he'll test Okung's quickness and ability to move his feet.

• Last week Iowa offensive tackle Bryan Bulaga showed few sigs of rust. However, that was against Arkansas State. Today against Michigan the junior might face all-conference end Brandon Graham. The senior can get low around the edge, which could give Bulaga problems.

• Against the duo rushing attack of Chris Brown and DeMarco Murray of Oklahoma, Baylor inside linebacker Joe Pawelek will have his hands full today. This could be a showcase game for the senior sleeper. He has some athletic deficiencies but makes a lot of plays.

• This won't be a game where he can show his ability against the pass, but Florida State's Patrick Robinson is a player to watch today against Georgia Tech. He's considered a one-dimensional player but will get to show what he can do against the run. Robinson has looked good this season against the pass.

• Georgia defensive tackles Jeff Owens and Geno Atkins have been a big disappointment this season. Conversely, Tennessee's Montario Hardesty has been one of the biggest surprises this season. It could be a good matchup to watch this week.

LSU vs. Georgia: A Light-Heavyweight Bout Between Two Teams Hoping to Go Up in Weight Class

Richard Pittman — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 11:25:44 -0000

More photos » by Rogelio V. Solis - AP

Save the season in 3... 2... wait for it... wait for it... (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

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I didn't feel inspired to write anything yesterday, and today is not so easy either. Part of me says, "Let's just watch the game and forget about analyzing it to death before the fact." These are two teams who are not poised for glory, at least not yet, but they can see it from where they stand. They can see the obstacles in their way as well.

Georgia's obstacles are a suspect defense and a decided lack of ball control. Joe Cox, who has been productive as a quarterback with 9 touchdown passes, leads the SEC with 5 interceptions. They have also lost 7 fumbles, to give them 12 turnovers in 4 games, the most in the SEC. Meanwhile, they aren't generating turnovers, giving them a turnover margin of -9 on the season, again worst in the SEC. Their defense is giving up an average of 243 yards per game in the air, though that average is inflated by having given up 408 yards to Arkansas. They held Oklahoma State and Arizona State to reasonable passing yards against.

LSU's obstacles are an offense that isn't firing on all cylinders because the blocking is not there, and an inability to get sacks on the quarterback. We are last in the league in total offense, though we are mid-pack where it really counts in scoring offense. We are last in the league in sacks. Rahim Alem, who has been surprisingly good in my opinion on containing the run, has not been getting to the quarterback the way he should, and we aren't getting enough pressure from the middle. We aren't giving the quarterback all day to throw, but we aren't getting him to the ground enough either.

Yes, both of these teams have weaknesses that, if not corrected, will prevent them from being there at the end of the season. If we don't figure out how to improve our offensive line play, and if Georgia does not figure out how to play more consistently on defense and cut down the turnovers on offense, neither one of these teams will be there when the SEC Championship Game combatants are announced.

But let me be clear. Neither of these teams are bad. Both sit at 2-0 in the conference, and while Georgia needed last-second heroics from Rennie Curran to escape against South Carolina, they got the heroics they needed. While LSU needed last-second heroics from Chad Jones and Ryan Baker to escape against Mississippi State, they got the heroics. They both escaped what would have been very damaging losses and lived to fight another day. Tomorrow is that "other day".

For now, these two flawed teams, neither of whom are in the weight class of the best in the conference (yet), will be playing each other. It is an interesting proving ground for both teams. Two flawed teams, one of whom will stay undefeated in the conference and the other of whom will finally be "exposed" as a pretender.

I choose "exposed" deliberately, and put it in quotes deliberately as well. This is what media members will say after the game, but it is not a completely appropriate description. Both of these teams have been exposed already. Washington and Mississippi State revealed major weaknesses in LSU. South Carolina and Arkansas exposed Georgia. Mediocre play by one team or the other, or both, would not be a big surprise at this point.

Because this is an interdivisional game, it is not a must-win game for either team standings-wise. Both teams will control their own destinies in the divisions they represent regardless of whether they win or lose. However, I think this is an important game for both of these teams beyond its impact in the standings. Both of these teams are beleaguered by fans and media pressing on them, trying to explain or understand why they are not as good as they should be. I believe that whoever loses this game will be damaged by it psychologically and it could lead to a spiraling season.

In parallel, both of these coaches have come under fire. Mark Richt for always coming close to national championship level but not ever quite bringing his team there, and for starting the season slowly this year. Les Miles for a poor 2008 and an anxiety-producing start to the 2009 season. Les Miles, I think, can silence the critics for a while with a win here. I am not so sure Mark Richt can. This is a cross-roads game not only for the teams involved, but for the coaches. They are on somewhat parallel trajectories right now, but one of them is going to break off.

The more I think about this game, the less like a big college football game it feels. It feels more like a fight for survival. Like a loser's bracket game in a double-elimination tournament between two teams that both believe they should be in the winner's bracket. One of these teams gets to continue on and the other is going home. Not literally of course, because the season continues for both teams, with plenty goals still to reach, but I can't shake the feeling that this game marks the end of something. If LSU wins, it marks the end of Georgia as a serious contender in the East, perhaps for more than just this year. If Georgia wins, it may do the same to LSU.

So yeah, those are your happy thoughts for Friday morning.

Where Does Les Miles Stand?

Richard Pittman — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 20:56:51 -0000

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What is this man's future? (AP Photo/ Butch Dill)

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Let's get one thing out of the way first. I have never seen a coach criticized as much without losing a game as Les Miles has been criticized this season. Let me quote part of a message that appeared on a prominent LSU website yesterday:

With the press and fans on Miles like they are at this point in the season, there is no way he can come back. There is nothing he can do IMO to win back the needed support.

It is just gotten to an unacceptable level. Media allies have turned and will not go down with him.

It's a harsh and dismal assessment. We see this sort of thing a lot on message boards, but this one is different. This is not coming from a yahoo, but rather from one of the more respected posters around. One who, honestly, I would consider to be an asset to any website he frequents.

This particular poster goes on to specifically criticize Miles for allegedly not always playing the best players, instead opting to reward seniority. In particular, he is critical of the offensive line personnel and the infrequency of Russell Shepard's appearances on the field.

I don't agree with his assessment, especially the "there is no way he can come back" conclusion. There's a very easy way for Miles to re-earn the esteem of LSU fans. Just win. If LSU wins next week against Georgia, ugly or pretty, personnel changes or no personnel changes, blowout or tight win, pure luck or inevitability, the troubles of the previous 4 weeks will be virtually forgotten. At least for one week, and probably until the Auburn game.

Before this season, I would have said that winning cures a lot of ills. And while that hasn't exactly been true this season so far, we always looked at the Georgia game as one of those season markers. It's a game we would have cautiously said before the season was a 50-50 game (at best). After four Saturdays, I see no reason to change that assessment.

This is not to say that Les Miles is above criticism until he loses. Far from it. In fact, there are numerous criticisms that I have. I agree with the above poster who says that it appears Miles favors seniority over talent. 2006's heavy reliance on an apparently completely washed-up Justin Vincent was Exhibit A. Last year's continued reliance on Danny McCray as a nickel back was Exhibit B.

I will also criticize some of Miles' decisions in recruiting. We had Frank Alexander in our back yard and let him go without ever seriously recruiting him. Now he's a highly regarded starting defensive end for Oklahoma, and we're struggling to get consistent production from the position except for Rahim Alem. And it's not like he was a late bloomer. OKLAHOMA wanted him. He refused to seriously recruit Dez Bryant, and let Darrington Sentimore go to Alabama almost without a fight. Bryant's an All-American, and while the jury is still out on Sentimore, LSU is facing a depth crisis at defensive tackle after this season and there appears to be no immediate help coming in the 2010 class. The defensive tackle situation has been exacerbated by recruiting a glut of offensive linemen and moving defensive tackles to the other side of the line to make their numbers even bigger.

The 2006 class is its own subject. Not a single offensive lineman from that class ever played a snap for LSU. The decision (or perhaps simply the eventuality) not to sign a quarterback to hedge our bets with Ryan Perrilloux arguably destroyed the 2008 season (along with the decision to promote from within to the vacated defensive coordinator job). The wide receiver corps from that recruiting class (Chris Mitchell, Jared Mitchell, and Ricky Dixon) is devoid of impact players. The linebackers appear to only now be emerging as good players.

I'm also not pleased that he couldn't reel in a good player like Janzen Jackson. That loss will hurt bad, as Jackson is on his way to being an impact player for Tennessee in the future. I will give him a pass for the McKnight situation, because it appears that McKnight was dead set on leaving the state from the beginning, and was only giving us lip service.

As for the specific suggestion that Miles is leaving one or more of his best 5 offensive linemen on the bench, I have no idea, but the experiences we've had with Justin Vincent and Danny McCray certainly lead us to believe it's possible. As an aside, it appears that now that McCray's role has changed, he's doing quite well, but that doesn't change the fact that he was ill-suited for his previous role.

Les Miles' tenure at LSU has not been above criticism, but again, football is about winning, and except for last year, Miles has done that with an admirable frequency. And so far this year he continues to win games. And everyone seems to forget Les's outstanding coaching job in 2005, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and a devastating pre-season injury to our best running back. We also tend to forget that Miles is only two seasons removed from winning a national championship. I don't care whose recruits you're playing with. You can't win the national championship if you can't coach, even if you have superior talent (which is debatable).

In short, I think there's something to the criticism Miles is receiving. It's not all false. It's just a little overwrought under the circumstances. Miles has made mistakes, and the problems this team is facing this year won't go away on their own, but they also haven't cost us anything yet. Nothing is irretrievable yet, but things must be retrieved.

I'm a pragmatist at heart, and when something doesn't work I think the best thing to do is to try something, and if that doesn't work try something else. Whatever you do, don't let a problem sit around festering without trying to do something about it. It's better to try something and be wrong than to try nothing. Heck at least you tried.

So let's see what happens in the next 7 days before we start really speculating about Miles' future.

From The Bayou: Mississippi State v. LSU Q & A

jeremyflint — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 22:28:47 -0000

Leading up to this weekend's game against LSU, I sent some questions over to fellow SBNation-ites And The Valley Shook to get their take on the matchup this weekend and find out a little bit about where the LSU program stands as it rolls in to Starkville.

If you want to see what I had to say to them, check out my answers to their questions.

Question 1. Even though LSU is 3-0, some still seem unsatisfied with where the program is this year. Can you talk more about the expectations of the team coming into this season and how those are playing out?

This is the conversation among Tiger fans right now. Going into the year, the stated expectation was getting back to 10 wins and contend for the SEC title. But after three wins to open the season, all of which by fairly comfortable margins but none by blowout, the expectation seems to have shifted to "blow out everyone on the schedule." Frankly, I don’t get it because the squeakiest wheels in the fanbase about this team not meeting expectations are the same people who predicted LSU wouldn’t win 8 games this season. Les Miles suffers from the handicap that he is not, and never will be, Nick Saban.

I’ve stated earlier that LSU is past the point where it cares about moral victories, so I will do them the common courtesy of not caring about "moral losses". But I think I’m in the minority. We want blowouts, and those aren’t happening. The big disappointment has been that LSU’s offensive line has been mediocre at best and there has been an almost complete absence of big plays. And those are real concerns, especially if LSU wants to beat Florida and Bama. Nothing against MSU, but we’ve shown we can beat teams of MSU’s quality without big plays.

Question 2. The defense seemed to struggle against Washington in the season opener, but have had no problems with Vandy and LLU. Is the defense still trying to find its swagger or was the first game more a result of travel than anything?

Let’s not forget Jake Locker is really, really good. Also, this defense seems to take its collective breath in the fourth quarter. Against UW, the defense allowed 125 yards and 10 points in the fourth quarter, 81 of those yards on a meaningless 10 play drive in the final two minutes. Against Vandy, the defense closed the game by allowing an 8-play, 22-yard drive. And against ULL, the defense allowed two 8-play drives for a total of 74 yards and 9:47 in time of possession. Those hurt the numbers a bit, as this defense seems to play to the score. But if you’re trying to "get your swagger back", you probably shouldn’t take the last drive off once the game is out of reach. Going back to your first question, this team seems blissfully unconcerned with making statements.

I also think this defense has not yet pinned its ears back and attacked a quarterback because we have faced some mobile QB’s, and Chavis has stressed containment over pressure. Richard and I have disagreed over the play of the defensive line (I’m far more negative), but I am curious how the team will attack a pocket passer.

Question 3. Aside from a little bit of the Washington game, I haven't really seen LSU play that much. Give me a run down of the big playmakers to watch for on both sides of the ball.

Patrick Peterson. He’s already a lockdown corner as a sophomore. Vandy and ULL simply refused to throw at him. Do so at your own peril. He’s one of those five star recruits who has immediately lived up to all of the hype (actually, LSU can field a defensive backfield of four five-star recruits, three already start). Rahim Alem was a sack machine last year and he’s kept up the pace already.

On offense, Miles is stressing the run and there has been a disturbing lack of big plays. For example, the longest play against ULL was 25 yards, and LSU only had two 20+ yard plays. Expect a steady diet of short passes and runs by Scott and Williams. But if you need to be afraid of a playmaker, I’d worry about Terrance Toliver. He’s shown the ability to beat his man after the catch and make big plays. Of course, he also drops a lot of passes. Nobody’s perfect. Then there’s that Lafell guy, who will likely go in the first round of the draft. If you want to be drunk by halftime, take a shot every time the announcers gush over Holliday’s explosiveness.

Question 4. Tell me a little bit about Jordan Jefferson, the new QB in Baton Rouge. Is he playing up to expectations or are Tiger fans missing Ryan Perrilloux right now?

No one will say it, but we miss Perrilloux. Not as much as last year, but LSU would be a national title contender this season with a senior QB of Perrilloux’s talent. But that’s water under the bridge and we don’t spend a lot of time dwelling on it. I even wish the guy well. It was the right decision to kick him off the team and that’s what we say want our coaches to do, but we really don’t. Fans want wins.

Jefferson has started five games in his career, and he is 4-1 as a starter. He makes good decisions in the pocket, he’s a terrific runner, and he has a strong arm. Those are the positives. The bad news is that his deep ball is often erratic, the coaching staff has made a choice to protect his psyche and he does not throw the ball over the middle of the field, and the guy will not slide. He takes one solid shot every game in the open field. All in all, I’m pleased with his development and he’s shown signs of being a very good quarterback, but he’s not quite there now. I’d give him a B so far, but he’s not there to carry the team. His receivers are so good, they can make Jefferson look good.

Question 5. As I prepare to charge the field and tear down the goal post, burst my bubble and give me your prediction for the outcome of this game.

History won’t be wearing a jersey, but let’s review the recent history. In the last 18 years, MSU has beaten LSU once. And that was on a controversial call. LSU, for some reason, has owned State even when our fortunes were reversed. It’s not a huge factor, but I do think it’s in the back of the player’s minds: we can’t beat these guys. I’ve been to Starkville, and you can just feel the crowd waiting for something bad to happen. It’s palpable.

More importantly, LSU has more talent than MSU. MSU also has a fairly conservative run-first offense that plays into our defense’s hands. LSU has been pretty sluggish over the first three weeks and I see no reason for that to change. Both teams will grind it out, but State simply doesn’t have the playmakers yet to hold on in the second half. LSU won’t light up the scoreboard, but they will wear State down. We hate making predictions at ATVS because nothing is certain in sports, but I’ll take a stab at as a visitor. Playing at home and in the early morning means that MSU can catch LSU napping both figuratively and literally. But that’s not likely. MSU is getting there, but you aren’t there yet. Random prediction: LSU 20, MSU 10.

LSU 31 - Washington 23: My Final Thoughts Before Moving On to Vandy

Richard Pittman — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 12:47:52 -0000

by John Froschauer - AP

3 months ago: Washington's Chris Polk carries the ball as LSU's Lazarius Levingston (95) pursues the play during the first half of an NCAA college football game on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009, in Seattle, 2009. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)

View full size photo »

I watched the game again, and because I was watching it on the ESPNU replay, they didn't cut away to Rece Davis in the studio, and instead I got to see Terrence Toliver's first touchdown, from the beginning of the play. It was great.

Anyway, on second viewing, some of the things we've talked about already came into somewhat sharper focus. Defensively, we just did not cover the other team well enough in the middle of the field. Usually, if the opponent was on the outside against Peterson, Eugene, or Hawkins, we had pretty solid coverage. Even when Riley had man coverage way on the outside and down the field, the coverage was there. Jake Locker's a really good quarterback, and sometimes he made a perfect throw, and there's nothing that can be done about that other than generate a better pass rush. If the receiver was in the middle of the field in a safety's or linebacker's zone though, he was usually wide open.

In the running game, Washington had a lot of success when they ran misdirection or counters. This tells me that our defensive front seven was playing very aggressively but without much discipline. This is also seen when we would rush the passer and leave big holes for Locker to run through.

You can't really point out any player who didn't perform. Every defender made a play or two, particularly in the linebacker corps. I think you can point to Rahim Alem and say that he should have gotten a better pass rush and you could say that Chad Jones and the three-man rotation at safety (Danny McCray, Brandon Taylor, Karnell Hatcher) was pretty much invisible. And you'd be right.

On second viewing, I saw Josh Downs out there a good bit, and while his play is drawing praise, I can't really say he made any more plays than Charles Alexander or Drake Nevis made (both of whom made plays). He looked like he belonged, but did not look like he stood out. I also say Chancey Aghayere and Lavar Edwards on the ends a fair bit. I never saw Chase Clement or any of members of the Class of 2009 other than Downs.

The linebackers were solid in the running game. Kelvin Sheppard was not a starter, but seemed to get as much time as the other starters other than Harry Coleman, who was in the game for virtually every play as far as I could tell. Other than Cutrera's interception and Riley's nice coverage on a wheel route, the linebackers were pretty much invisible in the passing game.

Offensively, I think I can diagnose the problem with the power running game. It was the offensive line. The holes just weren't there. Charles Scott ran as hard as ever, and when there was a hole he got through it. If the problem was on the center-left guard I would be very concerned, as these are new starters T-Bob Hebert and Josh Dworaczyk. However, it seemed to be the line as a whole, which tells me it may just be a game-specific thing. We get another chance against a defensive front seven we should be able to overmatch next week when we play Vandy. We'll see how that goes.

When we ran option or ran to the outside, we had a lot of success. Jordan Jefferson really runs the option well. He did not make one bad decision in the outside zone or the inside zone when deciding whether to keep the ball or give it up. That's not to say every decision was right. He certainly needs to avoid taking big hits.

The passing game could not have been more basic. At no time did we try to get the ball down the field to an outside receiver, except for Lafell's touchdown. We ran a lot of short passes, passes to running backs, and a couple of throws to the tight end. Early in the game, Jefferson was not particularly accurate, but he settled down and started hitting his targets.

One area I would like to see an athletic, mobile quarterback like Jefferson improve is in his ability to make a play when the protection breaks down. Sometimes, when the protection wasn't there, Jefferson would scramble around but he never made a play. He just bought himself time to get rid of the ball. Maybe the receivers couldn't break open or something else was going wrong, but probably the biggest difference between Locker and Jefferson was that when the play broke down, Locker was able to make something positive happen while Jefferson generally had to just unload the ball out of bounds.

Our special teams play, other than our punting was pretty solid, I thought. Our kickoff coverage was good, and at no time did Washington threaten to break a long one. The kickoff return game took advantage of pooch kicks to get really good field position. We didn't miss a field goal attempt or get a penalty on a return. If we can get better distance on punts, I think special teams will be good.

Poll

Who was the Player of the Game for LSU?

Patrick Peterson

112 votes

Jordan Jefferson

36 votes

Terrence Toliver

100 votes

Other

8 votes

256 votes | Poll has closed

A Young Defensive Line Tries to Find Its Way

Richard Pittman — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 11:42:33 -0000

Rahim Alem is giving the opposition that weird hand shimmy that is supposed to give people bad luck.

If you could name two positions on the LSU football team where a lack of experience will be a factor going into the season, you would name quarterback and defensive line. We have discussed the quarterback situation until we were blue in the face, but have heretofore not discussed the defensive line situation all that much.

Our starting defensive line on opening night will likely consist of two seniors (Alem and Al Woods) and two juniors (Drake Nevis and Pep Levingston), so it's strange to call them a young defensive line. None of these guys have been full-time starters at any time in their careers, and really only Alem and Woods have played big roles in the past.

We have a good idea of what the starters, especially Rahim Alem, Al Woods, and Drake Nevis will bring us. Alem is quick as can be and will get into the backfield. Nevis is a force if he's healthy. Woods has the size but is still trying to develop good technique. We don't know how any of them will be affected by getting starters' reps, but we know what these guys are capable of bringing to any given play. Pep is not as well-known a commodity, but we'll see him soon enough.

In addition to inexperience at the starters' positions, we have extreme youth when you get past the starters. Charles Alexander is our third tackle behind Woods and Nevis, and he is a 6th-year senior with significant starting experience, but other than him every other member of the two-deep and even the 3-deep will be freshmen. All five of the defensive linemen signed in the Class of 2009 are still in competition to reach that 2-deep. The result is that when LSU starts rotating defensive linemen in and out of the game, you the viewer will be utterly lost. We take a look at those freshmen and the redshirt freshmen and where they stand, after the jump.

Lavar Edwards, #89, DT. When Lavar Edwards signed with LSU in 2008, he was known as a good athlete who did not go full speed every play, and his position was something of a mystery. He could have been on the offensive line. He could have been a tight end (quite respectable pass-catching skills), a fullback, a defensive end, or he could have bulked up to be a quick defensive tackle. He has settled in at defensive tackle, and is looking pretty solid at this point after his redshirt year. It is quite natural for the press to focus on the incoming freshmen and/or the new starters during Fall Camp, and to ignore redshirt freshman backups like Edwards, but everything I've heard about him has been encouraging, though he is definitely being pushed by Josh Downs and Chris Davenport.

Chancey Aghayere, #87, DE. There are rumors that Aghayere has taken some snaps at defensive tackle, but for now he is listed as a defensive end. Chancey Aghayere's recruiting film from his junior year of high school is about as good as any I've ever seen from a defensive end. He was well on his way to being a 5-star headliner recruit, but injuries have slowed his development considerably. He has the talent to be a great one, but hasn't been on the field long enough in any one stretch to fully develop. The young man, unfortunately, seems to have just been bitten by the bad luck bug when it comes to injuries. He missed most of his senior year of high school with an injury and then couldn't get healthy in 2008. Here in 2009, he has continued to miss practices or be in the green jersey for substantial periods of time.

Chase Clement, #88, DE. To this point, Clement is still known more for his bloodlines than for his performance on the field, after his true freshman year in which he redshirted behind a highly veteran corps of defensive linemen. Clement is the nephew of former All-American offensive guard Eric Andolsek and linebacker Ruffin Rodrigue. He's got good size for a defensive end at 6'5" and 260#. He has been listed as the #2 defensive end behind Pep Levingston since camp started, and should see plenty of time this year.

Michael Brockers, #90, DE. Of all the freshmen defensive linemen from the class of 2009, Michael Brockers is reportedly making the biggest push for playing time. He already has great size at 6'6" and 285#. Heck, he might have to move inside at that size.

Sam Montgomery, #99, DE. Sam is probably still not ready to be an every-down sort of defensive end due to his smaller size at around 250#, but hopes to be able to contribute immediately as a pass rusher. He is pushing to be the guy who spells (or lines up opposite) Rahim Alem in that role.

Bennie Logan, #93, DE. I was a huge fan of Bennie Logan coming into camp, but it appears he's the one who is getting the least attention at this point. Les Miles is well known for sandbagging and talking up one kid while really thinking another is the real deal. I don't think Logan has done anything wrong; I just think Brockers has been a big surprise and Montgomery fits a niche that Logan can't fit into. With 5 freshman defensive ends between the true freshmen and redshirts, it is no crime to let one of the true freshmen have a year to redshirt and get some separation

Chris Davenport, #50, DT. Chris Davenport may have the highest upside of any player in this guide (with the possible exception of a healthy Chancey Aghayere). He's a monster at 6'4" 323#. He's a bit raw, and has not played against the same level of competition as even the other true freshmen have. Still, I don't see him redshirting. He's just too talented.

Josh Downs, #77, DT. He's known as the "high motor" guy, and he's not even white. His motor must be through the roof. Downs may not have the upside of Chris Davenport, but he's a really good prospect in his own right, and has the polish to perhaps give him the early edge in playing time.

Be on the lookout for these guys, and we'll start sorting them out when the games start getting played.

Class of 2009: DE Bennie Logan

Richard Pittman — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 17:00:10 -0000

via image.cdnl3.xosnetwork.com

Defensive end Bennie Logan of Red River High School in Coushatta, Louisiana, was one of the last players offered a scholarship by LSU for the 2009 class. He had a productive junior year, recording over 90 tackles, and while he did not earn an offer from LSU, the coaches decided to keep an eye on him.

Over the course of the next year, Logan matured physically and athletically. Listed at 6'2 1/2" and 245# on Scout after his junior year, he is currently listed at 6'3" and 272# on LSUSports.net and as reported this morning, he may yet end up at tackle. He had a terrific senior campaign at Red River, recording 116 tackles including 30 for a loss from his defensive end spot.

He was invited to visit the LSU campus and speak with the coaches and when they took a look at him, they saw a kid that no longer looked "borderline". He looked like he was physically ready to suit up and play in Tiger Stadium.

I think Logan is a solid prospect, which probably makes me somewhat more optimistic than most about Logan's prospects of being a productive player. He is listed as a 3-star on both Scout and Rivals, and who can blame them? This is a kid who got little attention from BCS schools until after his senior year, but then his recruitment really picked up. It's hard to say, though, that a kid is a 4-star prospect when his own home state school didn't pay much attention to him until late, and the rest of the regional powers didn't show any interest at all. I think this is a product more of him being a very well-kept secret and a late bloomer rather, and is not because he is a suspect player. I think he could be the Class of 2009's Jordan Jefferson, who also earned a scholarship late in the recruiting game, only to be probably the most valuable player we signed in 2008, at least in early returns.

Logan was not leftovers, though. Michigan, Nebraska, and Texas Tech all wanted him before LSU offered. I know that the coaches are expecting him to be a major contributor in the future, and he may end up being a contributor immediately, though my hope is that he will have a chance to redshirt and learn technique to go along with his physique before he is expected to contribute.

I think Bennie Logan and Michael Brockers are very similar prospects. Both are large defensive ends in the Tyson Jackson mold. If LSU is fortunate (and if they have good coaching), one of these two will develop into a close approximation of Tyson Jackson while the other develops into a close approximation of Trumaine Johnson. If we're REALLY lucky, the other will develop into a close approximation of the 2007 version of Kirston Pittman. If we're appallingly, unfairly lucky, they will both morph into an approximation of Tyson Jackson while Slammin' Sam Montgomery develops into a pass rusher like Rahim Alem.

We'll get to Sam Montgomery later.

On film, Logan still looks a little raw. He looks like the best athlete on the field, but probably still needs some coaching. It's hard to argue with a man who makes over 100 tackles, with more than 1/4 of them behind the line of scrimmage. My hope is that he can get that coaching and come back for the 2010 campaign as a redshirt freshman ready to fight for playing time against the likes of Chancey Aghayere, Chase Clement, and others from the 2008 class.