Monday, September 10, 2012

LSU v Washington 2012



U-Dub Drubbing
Well, well, hello LSU Tigers. So nice to see you! I thought the Tigers looked really good as a whole. Offensively and defensively, and of course special teams, the Tigers took a big step toward fulfilling the pre-season hype. Yes, there is plenty of room for improvement, and we’ve played two inferior opponents, so it’s kinda hard to judge, but I was much happier with the Week 2 Tigers, than Week 1.

Bad Omen?
Ok , so after the Tigers looked flat last week, it could have been a bad omen when OBJ fumbled the opening kickoff. Your star of Game 1 makes a big mistake right out the gate…lack of focus or just a good hit? I can imagine he was pretty jacked up to start the game, as he should be, but a mistake like that could be debilitating. Kudos to the “D” for only allowing a FG.

Stone Hands?
Things got worse before they got better for OBJ, bless his heart. So, he fumbles the opening kickoff…ok, shake it off. Then, you drop three big passes. You have to worry about his psyche at that point. Do we have another Devery “Stone Hands” Henderson on our hands? Nah. OBJ will be fine. He made a great leaping grab, and had a few other nice plays to get back on the horse. Hey, wouldn’t you rather his drops come in Week 2 v. U-Dub, than Nov 3? He’s too good to let mistakes like that happen often, so we’re moving on! But if you want to label a “stone hands,” see Russell Shepherd below…

A Case of the Drops
So close to perfection for Mett. 6 incompletions, with 5, five, FIVE! of those dropped. And one for a TD (more on RS later). I thought Mett’s passes were good balls. Not all perfect, but so very catchable. ‘Cmon Man!

SHEP…
So, each year I guess I have to have one player to bash. The last 4 years I’ve been (un)fortunate enough to have the former Tiger QBs as my whipping boys. No doubt, this year’s MBP (Most Bashable Player) will be Russell Shepherd. RS is possibly the most disappointing recruit in recent memory, well, at least the most disappointing that has stayed on the team and that the coaches continue to play. I thought the role of WR was the best fit for RS, but he can’t catch, so that creates obvious issues… Want to argue that point, first ask yourself – if he’s got good hands, why isn’t he our punt/kick returner? He’s got the play making ability, but you have to hand him the ball gingerly, it’s not going to happen if you throw it at him. I can’t understand why we think he has to be on the field…because he was a prize recruit 4 years ago??? He dropped a TD that hit him in the chest, though it would have been a tough play. Seriously dude, you dropped a TD that hit you in the numbers…good Lawd! I hope he proves me wrong!

Shut Out
UW was supposed to be able to move the ball on LSU, at least a little. Even the experts agreed they’d at least find the end zone once with their talented QB. No one considered that the Tigers defense would come to play as well as they did. Pressure, sacks, stops and interceptions were the name of the game Saturday. Negative running yards allowed for most of the game was pretty cool too! So yes, I believe this Tiger D should be credited with a Shut Out. The only UW score came on a FG off of a fumbled KO. That’s not the defense’s fault. They didn’t let UW get any closer, and forced them to kick a FG. That’s a huge win, especially right out the gate. I give the Tiger D a bagel – who’s with me?

Mett
Ok, so Mett proved a little more to me this week. It’s always good to take a step forward after another week of practice. He looked good, confident, strong, in control! Control, you say…out of the QB position? I know, Tigers Fans, it’s hard to get comfortable watching a QB play with such efficiency. You keep waiting for a delay of game, INT for a TD, etc, but they didn’t come. Again, I know this was “just” UW, but I’m very encouraged by what I saw out of Mett Saturday. Three more far inferior games before we play someone decent (Auburn is definitely in the category of inferior – did you see that crap against MSU?), so plenty of time for Mett to build on what he has begun. He won’t always have the plush stats of this weekend, but as long as he stays in control, we’ll be fine. Keep it up!

Frosh
LSU is young. We have multiple Freshmen getting playing time. And doing well. Mills is looking better and better the longer he stays on the field. The future looks bright yall!

Schedule
Dear Anyone that Makes the LSU Schedule,
This schedule sucks. Three of the Home games are against teams that shouldn’t be. I didn’t even know they PLAYED football in Idaho. And, other than the UTube video of them scoring against themselves, have you ever heard of Towson? UW could have been a better game, it just wasn’t their year, and I’m ok with opening with N Texas, but not to be followed by more crappy games. It’s insulting to the fans that have to cough up the stupid amounts of money for these weak games just to get to watch the 3 good games (or just the 1, on Nov 3, against the “team that must not be named”). These shoddy games should be free admission to anyone that has nothing better to do than sit through a scrimmage with fireworks.

It’s also insulting to the players. I can’t blame them for coming out flat. I mean, honestly, how pumped would you be for Idaho? I would rather have someone like Michigan State or Virginia Tech on the schedule before we open SEC play. At least it would be entertaining to beat someone from a Bowl Conference. I’d rather a bye week than wasting my time drinking and cheering for a terrible game. At least maybe the 100 events that’re packed on my calendar LSU’s off weekend could be spread out some! Grrrrrr…

Football Board Blues
I’m thrilled the Tigers won. I’m thrilled they won in such convincing fashion. But really UW, you had to score your only points of the game in the first 2 minutes, ruining the football board for 90% of the participants? I mean, if you weren’t on the line for UW-3, you weren’t winning. I’m not complaining, I did win last week, but still…

That Wing…
Brad Wing was back punting this week, and though he didn’t have many opportunities, he made the most of them. The guy is good. The 62-yarder (supposedly into the wind) was fancy, and the 2nd punt was a touchback, but pretty enough. He’s a huge weapon. I think I have my first kicker-crush!

OMG, it’s The Honey Badger!
Like, OMG, TM7/HB is in the HIZZOUSE. Yea, I already regret typing that. Anyway, ESPN was obsessed with Tyrann Mathieu’s presence at the game. I was glad to see him cheering the team on, but really, did we have to see him after every play that he might have been a part of? There were probably 2000+ weed-smoking college juniors in those stands, so really for what he offers as a fan, he’s not so special right now. I mean, he didn’t even bother to wear one of the many free purple/gold tshirts he’s been given to support the Tigers. I’m glad he was there. But folks, can we just get over it already?

Up in the Polls
So LSU finally puts the beat down on a team and played a dominant game against a lesser opponent. The pollsters agreed with me that LSU showed a little of the pre-season hype, so the Tigers moved ahead of USC in one poll. This top 3 will go back and forth all year long, based on who they play, and how much they win by. All I know is that I don’t want to be #1…right now, that is.

Can I get $200?
Special thanks to our party hosts for the game. Big screen, good food, good times! Unfortunately, our auctioneer was not able to raise enough money for that new HD projector (or 60” HD TV), but I give him an “E” for effort!

ULM!!!
How about that. ULM beats Arkansas. Roughing up their star QB and playing to the end in a really great effort. I predict a 2nd SEC win over Auburn. Yes, seriously. If you don’t believe me find a replay of Aub’s game. FUGLY. Doesn’t bode well for our strength of schedule in the SEC West…

A&M/Mizzou
Welcome to the SEC! The pageantry was top-notch, the excitement and pride was there…BUT…the delusional belief that they would come in and win that first conference game was a little premature. Don’t get me wrong, both came out at the bell swinging, riding that emotion and trying to make a statement. However, there is always a second half that follows the first, and they just don’t have it in the tank quite yet to finish. And Mizzou – those unis are just plain awful.

RG3
The Saints allowed RG3 look like an NFL MVP. The ‘Skins had a great game plan, no doubt, but the Saints D looked like swiss cheese. Coach Spag, if that’s the best plan you got, we’re in deep trouble.

‘Aints?
I am not being a fair-weather fan, writing off the Saints after one really rough loss. However, that was a tough game to watch. The defense is no better than they were last year, no surprise there, but the offense was the biggest disappointment. No rhythm, no flow, 3 and outs, just ugly. And Colston fumbling on his way to a TD was a dagger. This game really seemed like a comedy of errors and that the Saints couldn’t do anything right. It’s like Isaac washed away all of the Katrina magic from the Dome. Guess its time for the Who Dats to make their own magic!

LSU v Idaho Prediction
I predict that there will be a lot of baked potatoes eaten in honor of our opponent. That’s all I’ve got. I really can’t muster enough excitement to even predict the score. Blah.

Shameless Plug, Revisited
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