I’m BAAAACK! And, sadly,
I’ve had a blog written for the Auburn, Towson and UF games for weeks, and just
never sent it! So go grab a cup of coffee, popcorn, beer, whatever floats your
boat. You might be here a while!
If you haven’t already –
GO VOTE. Now. If for no other reason, consider this: if you don’t vote, you
have no right b!tch about how stupid the winner is.
LSU v Auburn
I assumed, that with this
game starting at 6 pm, I’d have an entire hour to watch LSU take a decent lead,
so I could enjoy our good friends’ engagement party. Silly, silly girl. Mett
drives and drops inside the 20, thwarting a sure-thing scoring drive. After
that, the offense completely disappears and I have people looking at me a
little disturbed, in my cute dress and heels, mumbling curses at the TV. It is
shameful that I could barely stand still during the toasts, and sprinting back
inside immediately following the last happy words, because I wasn’t certain my
Tigers could hold on to beat the other Tigers. 12-10. REALLY?
LSU v Towson
I did not care about this
game, at all. I was at the beach with my entire family, having a wonderful
time. We went to out to supper, sporting our purple and gold (all of us…except
for my husband…). In the heart of Alabama country, we caught grief from other
fans, but how do you defend scheduling a game against Towson High? I claimed
scheduling conflicts, which seemed to buy me an out to move on to the next set
of Tide fans. We did get to watch some of the game thanks to the technological
advances of smart phones, but mostly, I enjoyed my meal visiting with my
nephew. But from what I heard, we made Towson look pretty decent.
LSU v Florida
My blood pressure just
went up again, just by typing that.
Squirrel Hunt
So, I made my first
squirrel hunt Saturday morning of the UF game (all-girls hunt, at that). We
didn’t see a single squirrel, but we did have fun! I thought my Saturday was
off to a pretty good (though early) start. After doing some house chores, I
kicked back to watch…
Prediction
When asked Friday night
for my prediction of Saturday’s game, I could only say that I predicted to
curse a whole lot! Turns out, my prediction was incorrect. Instead, and even
scarier, I sat silent, seething and facebooking (sorry about those rants).
Tigers invade the
Swamp…and get stuck in the mud
I was thrilled that this
game started at 2:30, as I had yet another event that night. Then, by 3 pm, I
was no longer so thrilled. Offensively, the Tigers are not good.
We really could have used
Troy Landry’s skill in stopping the Gators in the second half…CHOOT EM
De Ja Vu?
Saturday’s game was eerily
similar to the “Game that Must not be Named”, in that the Tiger offense was
non-existent. No earned first downs well into the second half, gifts from your
defense that you can’t punch in for 7 points (even after two flippin time
outs), terrible play calling, no offensive rhythm, just so many inexcusable
mental errors from a program of this quality. My biggest beef with LSU’s
continued offensive struggles is that they are always the same. It’s the only
consistency we have on offense – we continue with the same mistakes, miscues,
shoddy plays year after year. The lack of confidence in our offense, especially
in the QB is getting old. Players have changed, coaches have changed, there’s
only 1 constant, and he’s who should shoulder the blame. Either he's not recruiting the right guys or he's screwing
with their psyche. Or he’s just too damned hard-headed to tailor his game plan
to meet the abilities of the team on the field. However you spin it, we’ve got
issues.
United We Stand
Divided, we are
falling…hard. I wouldn’t blame the defense if they are a little peeved at the
offense. I mean, they are playing lights out on defense, and the offense is
letting them down. I don’t do statistics, but I bet the defense took 75% of the
snaps in Florida game. The offense couldn’t muster a sustained drive to save
their life, and earning first downs seem to be a thing of the past, causing the
defense to have little to no time to rest/recover.
Minter
Overshadowed by a horrific
offensive effort was Kevin Minter’s coming out party. A quiet but solid
presence in the middle of the LBs, Minter’s effort Saturday was loud and proud.
He made play after play to keep the Tigers in the game, but, as with the rest
of the defense, eventually ran out of gas. For 3 quarters, he was really,
really special.
Awful
I can’t decide what is
more awful – the O Line or the WR core, as a whole. I actually, stupidly, felt
fairly confident about both groups heading into Game 1. I realize the O Line
has had some injuries, but I can’t believe they are as bad as they are. I’ve
criticized Mett quite a bit but I think his O Line and WRs had a lot to do with
our lack of offensive anything on Saturday. Ususally, it seems, an mediocre O
Line either blocks well for the run or the pass, just not both. We do neither
well. It’s amazing (in a bad way) to me that by losing 1 person to injury, the
entire group is in shambles. Got a million talented RBs? Doesn’t matter if they
don’t have holes to run through.
And now that I’m all keyed
up, let’s talk WRs. Abysmal. Sure they’re young, so I’ll excuse some of the
terrible route running, but they can’t catch! How can the #3 team in the nation
start WRs that CAN’T CATCH?
OVERRATED
Yes, I am calling my own
team out as overrated. I’m just being honest. I truly believe the Tigers have
the talent to be a top 5 team, but they have not played like one at any time
this year. We’re almost halfway through the season (or maybe we are there, I
lost count), and we have not put together one complete game against, except for
the Gators, far inferior opponents. Even if they would have squeaked by the
Gators, LSU does not deserve to be in the top 5 right now. I hope, by season’s
end, I’ll be proud of the year-end ranking, but it’ll have to be earned, as it
should.
Congrats to Brees and the
Saints
After a wonderful 2 hour
nap on Sunday, I was actually able to stay up and watch most of the Saints
game. I love watching historical sports moments, even if not in person. I was
hoping Drew would throw the record breaking TD before my bed time, and so that
it took the pressure off of him. I was not disappointed with the early TD. It
was even more awesome that the TD catch was made by LSU’s Devery Henderson.
What a great accomplishment for Brees, especially in a win over the team that
threw him to the curb! And yay for the Saints to get out of the 0-for column
and getting that first win!
NFL Goes Pink
I always enjoy seeing the
pink across the NFL during October. These guys are proud to sport obnoxious
amounts of pink accessories, to support breast cancer awareness. One of the
best PR moves in NFL history.
Random
Why is that you can no
longer find a fresh loaf of bread? No matter the brand, store, day, time of
day, etc that I buy, I get home and the damn thing is half-stale already. If it
is moderately fresh, that only lasts 1 day. So annoying! (can you tell I just
made a sandwich)
LSU v. South Carolina and
Texas A&M
So, as I write this, weeks
after the games, I decided to group them together, because of how similar I
think the games were. We shut down national attention-getting offensive players
on both teams, defense kept us in it and we pulled it out. Carolina came in
ranked #3, and with a highly touted defense and one of the best running backs
in the game. LSU showed the potential it has to be great. Just got to get
everything clicking at once.
South Carolina
A bottled up Lattimore,
and another strong defensive effort helped LSU overcome another anemic
offensive performance. This being a home game was also a major contributing
factor for the Tigers pulling out the W. Side note: we had some friends over to
watch the game. On Friday, I get a text saying “Hopefully it’s better than last
week (Florida).” To which I replied, “I sure hope so…or your kids will leave
with a new vocabulary.” Sad but true that in the first quarter of the game, LSU
turns the ball over (or something equally as curse-worthy) and I let the “S”
word fly…quick, sharp, and not all that audible. However, the most adorable 1 ½
year old LSU cheerleader promptly repeats… “Chit.” Oops, sorry guys!
Texas A&M
A bottled up Manziel, and
another strong defensive effort helped LSU overcome another anemic offensive
performance (I see a pattern developing). I would have like for this game to be
a beat down, because I was real busy preparing to host the best wedding party
ever (skeet shoot, gumbo, brisket, and lots of beer). However, I was kinda glad
I was too busy to watch the game, because I probably would have just been mad.
We made A&M look like they deserved to be in the SEC in the first quarter.
They terrorized our ferocious D and, of course, we couldn’t generate any
offense. Nice job by the Defense for making the necessary adjustments to slow
A&M down enough for our offense to put up a few points more than the other
guys.
Off Week
I didn’t watch a single
football game all weekend! Busy Saturday, lazy day by the fire on Sunday. Very
enjoyable!
Ok, here goes…
LSU v. Bama
Honesty is the Best Policy
I’m just gonna get this
out there now – I thought LSU would lose pretty big. Anybody that asked my
opinion, pre-game, got this: If LSU can sustain drives, and keep our defense off
the field and rested, we have a shot. Continued 3 and outs…no way we can win.
Well, lo and behold, what happens…we sustain drives, have a rested defense,
turn out by far the best team effort of the season, and almost pull out a HUGE
win. So glad I was wrong (for once).
Warning:
I do refer to Alabama by
Bama, instead of the “team that must not be named” or “Buma” for this blog
ONLY. I am so darned proud of our LSU Tigers and the effort they showed, and I
really think it was a great game, so, I’m going with a charitable mood and giving
Bama a break this week.
Peer Pressure
So, I really didn’t want
to go to this game. I was more than happy staying in the crowd/traffic-free
country to watch the game in my living room. However, Thursday morning started
early with calls and texts from both of my younger siblings. They ganged up on
me and persuaded me to take the extra ticket and go to the game. I went.
Terrible influences. Proceeded to have some adult beverages, and have a few
snatches of time that are missing from my memory. We had a blast. Minus the
loss, post-game migraine, dad leaving me and my sister at LSU (miscommunication)
and not getting home until 1 am, it was a great night. But, I’m way too old for
this chit.
Big W and Little w
The scoreboard reflected
Alabama got the win, but I think LSU and the LSU fans got a win too. I can’t
speak for all Tiger fans, but my frustrations (see all above) this season have
come from seeing the potential this team has, but not meeting that potential.
Proof: LSU beat Bama. The scoreboard doesn’t show it, but take out 2 big plays
by Bama, a few ill-advised/just plain stupid calls by our coach, and LSU
dominated the Tide. Potential achieved!!! Keep it up. The SEC got a win too,
with Bama’s win. The potential to keep the streak of SEC National Championships
is still alive. (Face it, even with an LSU win, it would have taken a 2007-like
miracle for LSU to get in the big game and even Miles isn’t lucky enough to
have that happen again).
Coaching
Well, the Mad Hatter
finally lost his magic touch. The gambles that have defined his success at LSU
failed him miserably at the worst of times. Wildcat on fourth and 1…bad idea.
Fake field goal on fourth and forever…STUPID. I actually don’t mind the on-side
kick. If we get it, terrific, but we didn’t and the momentum was finally in our
favor, the crowd was rocking, so I would think twice about that one again. Best
thing I heard was if LSU played Bama straight up, Tigers win. True Dat.
Coaching 2
The Chief has made some
great in-game adjustments this year. A&M was a great example of this. I
really don’t blame the LSU D for giving up the final TD. They blitz, had pretty
good coverage deep, trying not to get beat long, but the RB was left
alone…again. It was, by far, one of Bama’s best plays all game long, and we
didn’t cover it...again. Good play call.
Not so impressed
It’s funny (not in a ha,
ha way) but Bama didn’t look all that impressive, but I have to think that LSU
played a big part of that. No doubt we were the toughest games on each other’s
schedules, and both came to play. I think LSU looked better throwing the ball
(yep, I said that!) and defensively I don’t think anyone is superior to our
boys. Jeremy Hill is lighting it up and running hard. But, as good as our
running backs are, I have to give credit to Bama’s backers, because they were
Bama’s offense. That Yeldon is fast in the open field.
Not so
impressed 2
The Million
Dollar band. First, why in the he!! Do they get to play at halftime? And good
lawd, could they have traveled with any more members. Biggest travelling band I’ve
ever witnessed. Good things don’t necessarily come in large quantities,
however, because the lines this band put out there were as crooked as the
Mississippi river. I was so glad to see the Golden Band from Tigerland take the
field. I watched carefully, and they made me proud!QBs
Well hello there Zach,
we’ve been waiting a long time for you. Mettenberger finally got his groove on
and made some really nice throws. The receivers started a little shaky, but
finished strong. By far the best game ever for the pitch and catch group. As
for AJ McCarron…I could say he’s not that special, and I’d be right. But, as a
Tiger fan whose witnessed 2 national championships led by good game-managing
QBs (read: nothing special), I know that AJ is exactly what Saban’s team needs
to go for another championship.
We Crossed the 50!
Yep, our offense moved the
ball to the fifty…and beyond (funnier if you say it like “Toy Story”…to
infinity and beyond). This was a big deal to a lot of people, considering our
meager offensive numbers the last time we played the Tide. I didn’t care so
much. It’s the final score that counts.
Scout’s Honor
I know the boy scouts do
some great things in the community. And I also know that they are “just”
volunteer ushers at the LSU Games, but C’mon man, you advised me to walk down
an entire row packed with people, seconds before kickoff, only to have been the
WRONG SECTION. Me, new to the south endzone, a little impaired, knew better
than you. Don’t you worry, I made sure everyone I stepped on knew it was your
fault, and not mine.
Saints
Stuart Scott of ESPN.
What’s up with that guy’s face? It doesn’t move. It looks like a wax figure. It
creeps me out. Sad to see Darren Sproles go down. Time for Ingram to earn his
paycheck and if not, Ivory will gladly take your spot! O, and the defense has
been terrible. Good thing Vick is worse. He made the Saints D look like the
Bears D.
Cajun Cannon
Speaking of Saints, Bobby
Hebert is in trouble again. He was booted from the LSU press box Saturday for
cheering. Cheering for either team is a huge NO, NO, in what is supposed to be
an unbiased press box. This guy is a nut, but I love that he didn’t give a rip
about the rules and cheered on the Tigers (and the Coach who he reamed out
after last year’s NC game…in the press conference, no less).
Wing
Well, Mr All-American,
where yat? We thought TM7 would be the biggest loss to the special teams, but
Wing’s inconsistency and Alleman’s shankitis have been pretty disappointing.
Paint you a picture
So, picure this. I’m in a
section I’ve never sat in before, with older gentlemen behind me and to my left
(certainly not on my right, Uncle Tommy). Then, the student section busts out
in two obscene chants, of which the older gentlemen couldn’t decipher. Of
course, they asked me what they said and I had to repeat lots of sucking,
effing and saban, all paraphrased to the best of my ability. AWKWARD. And just
to be a little sanctimonious in my old age, c’mon students, could you be less
classy?
Rockin’
No doubt, Tiger Stadium
was about as rocking as I’ve ever seen it! Largest crowd, great game, against
the hated Nick Saban and his #1 Tide. Kudos to the fans and the players on a
hard fought loss.
Bama Fan
I don’t like Bama, but I
will be a Bama fan the rest of the season. More than wanting Bama to win the NC
again, I want the SEC to keep the streak alive. Because next year, the Tigers
will be adding to the streak!
Tooting my Own Horn
So I’m pretty damn
impressed with myself for putting together a blog of a game I didn’t really see
much of (it’s hard to really watch the game from the stands), and considering I
don’t remember much of, since I never (seriously, never) drink in excess when
it comes to LSU football games, and I was a bit excessive Saturday. I’m pretty
sure I didn’t curse that much and I didn’t end up make too much of an @$$ out
of myself, so, good times.
Shamelessly Plugging, but
for someone else!!!
What can I say…I’m
a giver. Now, I’m plugging my brother’s house that’s for sale. Spread the word!
http://fsbobr.com/default.asp?f=listing_details&listingid=323167
