Jess I always enjoy reading your recaps and think this is the best thus far. Particularly since so many of us were scratching our heads during the game. You made me chuckle a couple of times, so thanks for your always thoughtful analysis!
I don't know but Trey was all over the field. I see a couple of LBs on our roster that, in a couple of years, will fill that role...just too young right now.Didn't think about it until your analysis, but you are right....what a giant loss in Hightower. Who on the roster can take his spot? I thought Devall would, but he's been playing Jack.
Your assessments of the problems with the gameplan were spot on. I was screaming at us to stop blitz it became pretty obvious that the blitzes were poorly timed and getting picked up regularly. I was also screaming about why we weren't running the ball anymore. The one drive we had that wasn't in two minute was a physically pounding drive where we ran it consistently and sprinkled in the pass. The only thing you didn't mention that I would have liked to see more of was CJ in the game. The guy is just a playmaker and a solid tackler I really hate to let a team dictate us not playing one of our best players.Never robbed a bank before, but I'm pretty sure getting away with it is about like the feeling we all had leaving Baton Rouge. Woke up the next morning feeling so much like a loss that I almost had to remind myself that we actually won. Crazy night.
Felt a bit better about the defense after watching the game back a couple of times.
Mettenberger has been terrible and the LSU WR corps little better, but they played a whale of a game, so give them a lot of credit. Lots of those completions were great throws and great catches, and really only a couple of completions did we have DB’s beaten badly. For the most part it was great execution beating solid coverage
Think the defensive coaching really left a lot to be desired. LSU kept running out trips receivers to the wide side of the field, and ‘Bama was responding with a single corner and safety to that side of the field, trying to use the sideline and the long field as a de facto third defender, but Mettenberger picked it apart with his arm strength. That 10-yard out route thrown from the far sideline over Sunseri in the late third quarter deep in our end epitomized this problem. Great strategy against Bo Wallace, but a kid like Mett can burn you with the arm strength.
Where things got worse defensively was the final twenty minutes or so, where the coaching staff went blitz happy with a lot of six and seven man blitzes. Just felt like they were getting desperate and just hoping to force a big negative play to get out of there, but it didn’t work. Our safeties couldn’t keep up with the wide receivers in space, and tackling was really bad on the back end, which is no surprise given how long the defense had been on the field. Defensive playcalling just kept going to the well and all it was doing was leaving the secondary exposed. Probably should have just dropped out and made Mett throw into a bunch of heavy zones.
The criticism of the run defense is misplaced. It was a bit spotty in the first quarter, but rebounded and was strong for most of the night. The LSU backs had 45 carries, averaged only 3.5 yards per touch, had a long gain of only 19 yards, and after the first quarter managed only three rushing first downs in the final three quarters. Against a team with a ton of talented and powerful backs running behind a physical offensive line – LSU had some back-ups out there, but those guys knew how to mash – those guys are going to get their own, and you can’t expect to hold them to 38 yards on 25 carries, like you can with some team like Florida Atlantic. All you can hope is that the defense stops the run reasonably well, doesn’t allow big plays, and makes the opposing running game fight for every inch, and that is what our guys did on Saturday night.
Bigger concern I had defensively was the absence of turnovers generated.
Real culprit all night was the passing game, and the coaching staff doesn’t get much better remarks in that regard. I think we tried to replicate what we did in January, thinking we couldn’t run on LSU (like last year), and then didn’t deviate from the game plan when it didn’t materialize. I’m not one to play armchair QB, but when in the second half you haven’t completed a pass and you’re averaging 6.0+ yards per touch on the ground, yet you keep throwing it? Doesn’t take Bill Walsh to see the problem there.
McCarron just played very poorly, and he missed a lot of open throws. Having Cooper out for the night hurt a lot, and with him limping around we are basically missing two of our best three receivers (Bell was also fighting through a heel injury at some point). I don't mean to take anything away from LSU, but truth is if we get reasonably decent QB play then we probably have a 24-17 (or more) lead late and pulling away with relative ease down the stretch in the fourth.
Before that last drive of the night, McCarron was 10-22 for for 93 yards. Add in the sack and the PI penalty, and we basically had 24 passes net a grand total of 73 yards. It was basically three yards and a cloud of dust in the passing game, and McCarron was the biggest issue. I don't care who you are, you aren't going on the road and beating a team like LSU with relative ease with that kind of abysmal QB play. That nearly sunk the ship.
We’ll see how it goes from here, and FWIW I think there is reason to expect a rebound, but we’re going to need a lot better QB play and production in the passing game if we are going to win it all again this year.
Yes. Pound the ball, mix in Drake and Sims, and eventually set up the play-action pass. Let's not get cute against the Aggies. Don't want to go three and out and give them extra possessions. Go back to our bread and butter - run the rock!I think we need to come out of the gate and begin pounding the ball against aTm. No need to get cute. We all know they aren't built to go a full four quarters against a power running team. So the earlier we start pounding them the quicker they break.