Originally Posted by
ShotgunDawg
Can you handle the truth?
I never like to post on the day of a game because people's emotions are running high, they want everyone fired, and aren't able to clearly look at the game for what it was.
As I have said in previous game reviews, I don't care about final scores because there are to many variables that go into them, I don't talk about play calling because 99.9% of time its just what unknowable fans blame because they don't understand the game enough to blame to blame something else, and I don't get to much into Xs and Os because I'm not an Xs and Os expert. I look at things from 30,000 feet, tell you whats going on, and where things are headed.
Here are my thoughts from last night.
1. LSU's QB, WR, RB combo is the best I've seen in college football in quite some time. Fellas, we had no shot last night because they simply had better players than anyone in college football at the skill positions. Jarvis Landry and Mettenberger are first round talents, Beckham is probably a 3rd type talent, and Hill will be a solid NFL running back. Substitute Julio Jones for Landry, add in Beckham as an extra piece, substitute Mark Ingram for Hill, and then add in Mettenberger for Greg McElroy and you'll see that LSU possessed the best skill talent this side of the Denver Broncos. Their offense is the most balanced I've seen in college football, and probably won't be stopped this year. Not sure how Alabama is going to match up on the outside with Landry, and our young corners had no shot. LSU could win the Natty if their defense shapes up. The truth hurts, but this game was lost in the living rooms of defensive backs 2 and 3 years ago.
2. Chris Jones is an animal and will go down as one of the top 2 or 3 players in the history of MSU in 3 years. Completely unblockable. One of the best freshman d-linemen I've ever seen in the SEC. Plays with a relentless motor, power, and speed, and he's still just scratching the surface with his technique.
3. Our offense played outstanding, but we aren't Oregon. They were put in an unfortunate position of having to score every time they got the ball last night, and that simply is fair or sustainable against decent talent. I agree with other posters that Dak and Tyler should both play, but we just have to figure out how to most effectively use them. Tyler can obviously throw the football as well as anyone but Mettenberger, and Dak obviously has another dimension that is virtually impossible to stop. However, Tyler can't move and Dak needs to continue to progress with his throwing. Was very impress with Daks vision as a runner. He is going to be very very good for the next 3 years. His legs can break down a defense. Runs and throw better than Relf.
4. Bear Wilson - looks like we've finally found a young receiver that can stretch the field.
5. Bell - need another kicker. Momentum killer.
6. Defensive gameplan was fine. Our defensive line was outstanding, but due to the lack of talent in our secondary and the NFL talent of their skill players, even when our defense was in the right spot LSU's WRs just made a play. Not sure what the coaches can do about that. Nickoe is done. Looks slow out there.
Last week when breaking down this game, myself and others asked on multiple occasions, "How are we going to stop Landry and Beckham?". The truth is that no one could ever give a good answer. The only answer was, "Get pressure on the QB.", and that is something we actually did. But it didn't matter because LSU held such a mismatch in the passing game.
The truth is that I thought we played about as well as we could last night for our talent level. We didn't match up well on the outside and we got burned because of it. However, no other team we play this year or, for that matter no other team in the country, presents that type of matchup problem for our secondary. We are a good team that is getting better. We have good young players all over the field, but just ran into a buzz saw last night. Don't get bent out shape about last night. I don't do moral victories, but I saw a ton of positives that should give us a chance in every game the rest of the season.
Not saying we will beat Alabama, but for comparisons sake, we match up better against Alabama that we do against LSU. Alabama has some good receivers, but not Beckham and Landry. Landry has the best hands I've seen in a long time. Alabama is having O-line problems, and Alabama's QB isn't as talented as Mettenberger. Bama's defense is better, but I think our offense could pose some problems due to Dak's ability to run. Thats why they can't stop Manziel.
Anyway, we are getting better, but just matched up very poorly defensively last night, as will every other team LSU plays. My eyes told me that for the first 3 quarters last night we looked like a top 20 team. I think we are getting there. There are winnable games on the schedule, and we just have to keep improving.
Talent, not coaching was the problem last night.