SWC75
Bored Historian
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- Aug 26, 2011
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- This is the first of what I called the “spiders” on our schedule in my pre-season preview. The spiders were the teams that just have too much for us and will swiftly take over the game and dominate, leaving us no chance to win.
- This is what I said in that preview about the LSU defense: “Last year the trend in our best opponents was dynamic, double-threat quarterbacks. This year it’s venomous defenses that are a brick wall at the line of scrimmage and attack the backfield, breaking up plays, (and players) and forcing turnovers. That’s the way LSU plays defense and we’d better get used to it. Last year the Tigers were 5th in FCS in scoring defense and 10th in total defense. They’ve lost a bunch of good players from that defense and their best defender, (12 sacks), Arden Key, a 6-6 238 DE/LB, may not be ready to play after June shoulder surgery. (Let’s assume he’ll get well just in time to play us.) They get back 6-5 301 end Christian LaCouture back after he missed last season with a torn ACL. 6-4 305 Fred Herron “has the potential to excel” per Lindy’s. 6-4 308 Greg Gilmore is “the prototypical nose tackle.” 6-3 301 tackle Rashad Lawrence is “one of the most productive playmakers up front”, per Street and Smiths. Redshirt freshman LB Ray Thornton “has great potential. Their middle LB, Devin White, is 255 pounds. Their 7th ranked recruiting class includes 5 star Jacoby Stevens, rated the best safety prospect in the country , 4 star safety Grant Delpit, 4 star nickel back Todd Harris and 4 star cornerback Kary Vincent Jr. We get excited if we get a 3 star guy to come to Syracuse. “
- Arden Key will be playing and he can have the impact for this LSU team that Dwight Freeney had on our opponents back when he played. He’s a monster now at 265 and can play either DE or linebacker! I used to say that Freeney “quartered the field”. You didn’t want to run or throw in his direction and you didn’t want to throw deep because it gave him time to get to your QB. So you wound up running short plays in one direction. If you didn’t, your quarterback would wind up punch drunk and your backs would tip-toe to the line of scrimmage, not really wanting to cross it. Imagine Jamar McGloster trying to stay in front of this guy. Ugh.
- Picture that defense against our offense: our running attack, which struggled against three directional opponents, goes nowhere. Our deep balls don’t connect with our receivers and Dungey has no time to get them off in any case. We don’t throw to the middle of the field. So it’s all dink and dunk along the sidelines. How long will it take LSU to adjust to that? Or will they even need to? They will just look at the film and blow up or pick off those sideline passes. What then?
- Steve Ismael is leading the country in receptions. But he’s averaging only 11.4 yards per catch. Last year it was 11.6. He’s hardly an explosive threat the way Amba Etta-Tawo was last year. That’s why he’s scored 1 touchdown in his last 15 games. He will be guarded by someone named “Greedy” Williams, who has two interceptions.
- Our defense appears improved but, again, that’s against three directional teams. We aren’t playing Central Louisiana. And their new OC is Matt Canada, who used Pittsburgh’s talent to put 76 points on the board against last year.
- Nunes says that LSU is “desperately thin” up front. What are we?
- They have some injuries but their replacements will all be guys we wish we had. And Derrius Guice is suddenly going to play again. His average per carry (5.3) is less than the two guys behind him, Darrell Williams and Nick Brossette (both 5.7). (Jordan Hendricks was 5.6! – Awww shut up!)
- I wish we still had the “Salt Badger”. He could run around on the same field that had the “Honey Badger”, after whom I named him. Unfortunately, he gone...
- OK, Mississippi State beat them 37-7. In Baber’s own words: we can’t do what Mississippi State did. We don’t have the personnel. We’ve got to try to win our way. So the Mississippi State game means nothing.
- Teams are always getting well against us. And you don’t want to play a good team a week after they were embarrassed. All the bad news for LSU moved the line from 23 ½ to 21 ½. What does that tell you?
- In the end they are LSU and we are only SU. The difference is the “L’ we will get.
- This is what I said in that preview about the LSU defense: “Last year the trend in our best opponents was dynamic, double-threat quarterbacks. This year it’s venomous defenses that are a brick wall at the line of scrimmage and attack the backfield, breaking up plays, (and players) and forcing turnovers. That’s the way LSU plays defense and we’d better get used to it. Last year the Tigers were 5th in FCS in scoring defense and 10th in total defense. They’ve lost a bunch of good players from that defense and their best defender, (12 sacks), Arden Key, a 6-6 238 DE/LB, may not be ready to play after June shoulder surgery. (Let’s assume he’ll get well just in time to play us.) They get back 6-5 301 end Christian LaCouture back after he missed last season with a torn ACL. 6-4 305 Fred Herron “has the potential to excel” per Lindy’s. 6-4 308 Greg Gilmore is “the prototypical nose tackle.” 6-3 301 tackle Rashad Lawrence is “one of the most productive playmakers up front”, per Street and Smiths. Redshirt freshman LB Ray Thornton “has great potential. Their middle LB, Devin White, is 255 pounds. Their 7th ranked recruiting class includes 5 star Jacoby Stevens, rated the best safety prospect in the country , 4 star safety Grant Delpit, 4 star nickel back Todd Harris and 4 star cornerback Kary Vincent Jr. We get excited if we get a 3 star guy to come to Syracuse. “
- Arden Key will be playing and he can have the impact for this LSU team that Dwight Freeney had on our opponents back when he played. He’s a monster now at 265 and can play either DE or linebacker! I used to say that Freeney “quartered the field”. You didn’t want to run or throw in his direction and you didn’t want to throw deep because it gave him time to get to your QB. So you wound up running short plays in one direction. If you didn’t, your quarterback would wind up punch drunk and your backs would tip-toe to the line of scrimmage, not really wanting to cross it. Imagine Jamar McGloster trying to stay in front of this guy. Ugh.
- Picture that defense against our offense: our running attack, which struggled against three directional opponents, goes nowhere. Our deep balls don’t connect with our receivers and Dungey has no time to get them off in any case. We don’t throw to the middle of the field. So it’s all dink and dunk along the sidelines. How long will it take LSU to adjust to that? Or will they even need to? They will just look at the film and blow up or pick off those sideline passes. What then?
- Steve Ismael is leading the country in receptions. But he’s averaging only 11.4 yards per catch. Last year it was 11.6. He’s hardly an explosive threat the way Amba Etta-Tawo was last year. That’s why he’s scored 1 touchdown in his last 15 games. He will be guarded by someone named “Greedy” Williams, who has two interceptions.
- Our defense appears improved but, again, that’s against three directional teams. We aren’t playing Central Louisiana. And their new OC is Matt Canada, who used Pittsburgh’s talent to put 76 points on the board against last year.
- Nunes says that LSU is “desperately thin” up front. What are we?
- They have some injuries but their replacements will all be guys we wish we had. And Derrius Guice is suddenly going to play again. His average per carry (5.3) is less than the two guys behind him, Darrell Williams and Nick Brossette (both 5.7). (Jordan Hendricks was 5.6! – Awww shut up!)
- I wish we still had the “Salt Badger”. He could run around on the same field that had the “Honey Badger”, after whom I named him. Unfortunately, he gone...
- OK, Mississippi State beat them 37-7. In Baber’s own words: we can’t do what Mississippi State did. We don’t have the personnel. We’ve got to try to win our way. So the Mississippi State game means nothing.
- Teams are always getting well against us. And you don’t want to play a good team a week after they were embarrassed. All the bad news for LSU moved the line from 23 ½ to 21 ½. What does that tell you?
- In the end they are LSU and we are only SU. The difference is the “L’ we will get.