DVR Review of Cocks Game - Blame it On The Rain?

Finally stole some time to actually WATCH the football game.

Overall, the Tigers played amazing football against a team that many people believe may be able to beat Florida and win the SEC East. But we're fans, so we must dig deeper.

Some quick observations (No time for details - gotta rack - flying tomorrow).

1. The offensive line looked very good.
2. If Flynn gets healthy, he will be a great QB - he has really great vision and leadership skills. But...
3. Flynn flat out misthrew a bunch of passes. I think his ankle was a factor on the soggy field.
4. The special teams play on kickoffs and punts was a little scary.
5. The sparse crowd and soaked field explains (hopefully) why the offense forced the defense to play almost the entire fourth quarter.
6. The defense actually played VERY well in the fourth, but SC (i.e. Spurrier) had too many chances with the ball, But for a couple of big plays (screen pass, Favorite's facemask, etc), they may have held SC to only 6 points (2 FG) or less instead of 9.
7. We better find a defensive answer to the TE in the seam and the RB delay pass in the flats. SC converted a bunch of 3rd downs that way. Florida and the rest of our schedule is watching.

So, overall - the LSU defense may very well be the best defense we've ever had. Virtually no weak points and insane depth at nearly every position. Danny McCray, whose name was called all afternoon on Saturday, doesn't start. But I had to check the depth chart to be sure.

GEAUX TIGERS! What a team.

I'd love to see Andrew Hatch get some time in the Dome, just in case Matt's ankle is hurting all season long. RP needs a reliable backup.

I'll try to muster up the enthusiasm to preview Tulane later in the week.

Richard Pittman at GeauxTuscaloosa with another great observation:

Perrilloux was excellent in a limited role. With Flynn ailing, Perrilloux's role not only wasn't expanded. It was contracted. He only threw one pass, and honestly I don't remember it. He did nothing but run the ball or hand it off, but he did it well. I really do not understand why Perrilloux didn't play more.

I missed that from the radio, although it will probably be obvious once I get to watch the DVR for the first time. (Excuses, excuses...)

SUNDAY SOAPBOX - LSU 28, South Carolina 16

So where was I at 2:30 pm yesterday when the biggest game of the year (so far) began in Tiger Stadium? On I-10 between Pensacola and Mobile, hoping like hell I would be able to pick up WWL (870 am) on the radio. Amazingly enough, it was crystal clear. So, picture if you will my eight year old listening to God Knows What on her pink iPod Nano, my 2.5 year old watching "the Wiggles, the Wiggles" for the 4 millionth time on the in-car DVD system, my beautiful but football-challenged spouse catching up on back episodes of Rescue Me (Dennis Leary as Fireman) on a portable DVD player, and me driving, with the AM radio faded and balanced to the front left, pounding the dashboard like a lunatic every 4 minutes or so. We were a rolling multi-media wagon and guess who got the short straw in the technology lottery? Dad.

Yes, "Life" intruded on my LSU football addiction once again - a visit to Mom and Dad and my two brothers near New Orleans (we are seldom able to all get together) - so I had to resort to barbaric and ancient methods to enjoy the game - AM radio! The good news is that the "Little Tropical Depression that Couldn't" stayed about an hour ahead of me and to the north of I-10. So my driving was sah-weet! The bad news, for those in Tiger Stadium, was that - well, y'all got wet asses.

Anyway, back to the point. I missed nearly all of the *&$^%# television broadcast, but I did get to listen to Jim and Jordy and Doug call the game. Which was great in a depressing and visually-addicted sort of way...

Like last week, I won't spend much time on the obvious stuff.

On offense: LSU's running game was very good, and South Carolina's running defense is still weak. LSU struggled in the air, completing less than 50% for less than 100 yards in the air. Did the weather impact that stat? Sure. So did the Cock secondary. And, I suspect, so did Matt Flynn's injury and the lack of Early Doucet (more on that in a bit).

On defense: Wow, again. LSU's defense dominated for three quarters. And on the ground, they dominated for four. South Carolina was able to find and exploit a weakness in the seam between the linebackers and the secondary, and that really hurt on third downs. Glenn Dorsey showed why he's more than an over-hyped player, beating double-teams all afternoon to be the second leading tackler on the team and a huge disruption, particularly against the run. I thought LSU was going to hold the Cocks (that just doesn't sound right, does it) to less than 150 yards offense until the fourth quarter, when it seemed noone with purple on their uniforms or clothing was into the game any more. (At least, it seemed that way on the radio).

Special teams: Colt "Crazylegs" David. Questions? I think Hawthorne shat himself while he was calling that one. Pretty fun to listen to. Even better to watch on the highlight reel.

So. Here's what I'm thinking.

First, I was wrong about the depth of the receivers. Even though the Cocks have a very, very good secondary and their stats prove it, I believe we witnessed enough dropped balls and lack of open receivers to conclude that Early Doucet's loss was a factor in this game. Mitchell was a target a lot yesterday, but he only managed one catch. Johnson (FB) was the only running back to catch a pass. A bright spot is that the Dickson (TE) played a bigger role, leading all receivers. But only four Tigers caught balls on Saturday (Dickson, Lafell, Johnson, and Mitchell) - as opposed to previous weeks when it seemed like EVERYONE caught a pass. Now, I DO think Mitchell and Byrd and Tolliver are very talented and will step up. But I did not understand fully how significant Doucet really is to this team until last night. I'm very pleased that we have Tulane next week (although an 1100 kickoff seems a bit uncivilized to this Tiger fan - HELLO! Youth Soccer!! Thanks for making me choose!!!) to allow some breathing room for the young receivers to gain more experience before the Gators.

Yes, yes - it was raining and the field was wet. The Cocks were on the same field and in the same conditions, and their previously anemic passing game managed 244 yards on a very talented LSU defense.

Second - is it just me or has the offensive line turned the corner? I haven't watched the game yet, but I was hearing a lot about huge holes on running plays and I believe we only had one sack against the Tigers. I can't remember specific o-line penalties this game either, although they probably had one or two -very normal for a big game. So, props to the big guys.

Third - as in Third Down ineptitude. 4 for 14 on third down. I think that stat speaks volumes about our poor passing game this Saturday, but I also think it may be a coaching issue. I'm not sure how you can run the ball 290 yards in the game and not do better than 4 for 14 on third down. Play calling and a failure (small one) to adjust the game plan to current playing conditions seems like a contributing factor in this case. Just something for those of us who are addicted to LSU football and have given Crowton HUGE credit so far, to ponder going into Florida via Tulane. I hope the wet conditions explain away most of it. But it could also be that Spurrier was the first coach this season to figure out LSU's playbook. "Herban" Meyer won't be far behind... Which means the defense is more important than ever.

Fourth - as in fourth quarter let down. Give credit to Spurrier. Although he talked like a beaten man prior to the game, he came loaded and ready to pull an upset and he didn't quit - no surprise there. I think he had his team playing their very best. But I wonder if our offense didn't keep our defense on the field too damn long, resulting in opportunities for Spurrier to pull a fast one and get much closer than he should've. Fisher punted seven times, two more than the GameCocks.

Last, what happened to our kick-off team? Did the wet field play a factor in those short kicks? Last week, Crutchfield seemed like the answer. This week, he seemed like a looming question. The Cocks had reasonable field position after nearly every kickoff, with one return crossing mid-field. Me no likey. Fix that, wouldja Coach Paveto? Thanks.

OVERALL

Isn't it nice to be in a position to gripe a bit about a 12 point win, that was never really close after the first 10 minutes, against the number 12 team in the country? I think LSU looks strong, particularly on defense. I also think that a dry field (short of another Cat 4 Hurricane, it won't rain in the Dome) and a healthier Flynn will put the Tiger offense back on track, which will give the defense a break.

I cannot say enough about this defense. Even with the unusually pourous passing coverage yesterday, they still did a fantastic job of holding a competent SEC opponent with a superb game coach to 16 points, which is more than double what they've given up in the previous three games. Player to watch: two words (proper nouns, really): Danny McCray.

Byrd, Mitchell and Tolliver need to produce next week in order to bring balance back to the Crowton offense. And Matt Flynn needs to have a good, confidence building effort.

The Tulane game is very important, and the Green Wave haven't had much to cheer about this year. This will be their bowl game, more than likely. It's a perfect chance to put it all together just prior to the first of (probably) two meetings with the other best team in the country - Florida.

Pre-Game Prediction - Tiger's Win - Score Depends on the Weather

With a potential hurricane staring Louisiana in the face (albeit a small one), it's tough to make a prediction of the score, for obvious reasons. But the end result will be the same - LSU will win and it won't really be very close.

The Cocks have a defense. Is it very good? Well, it's good against the pass so far. But it's not great against the run. They haven't given up many points this season, so you can't ignore that. What the defense lacks is balance. Shutting down the pass without being solid against the run is useless when you're playing a Crowton offense. Crowton will use the weakness against the run to open up the passing game. And the Cocks haven't faced two quarterbacks (or an offense) like LSU has. I give their defense credit, but it won't be enough. And by the end of the third quarter they'll be spent and their lack of depth will take a serious toll.

The Cocks have an offense. Particularly, they have a running game with Boyd and Davis. But Mitchell has not inspired confidence at QB. And his backups must not be very good because Darth Visor is still starting Mitchell against LSU last I heard. On top of that, the Cock's offensive line has not been stellar in protecting Mitchell against ULL and SCSU. Imagine how freaked out they must be about facing the undisputed #1 defense in the land. So, basically, the offense is a running game that is average. Hmm..

The Cocks have one helluva coach. I think the best thing going for the Cocks in this game is Steve Spurrier. I don't like him. But I respect the hell out of his record in Tiger Stadium. He's not going to show up unprepared. And his willingness to take risks and be creative adds 7 points to the Cocks offense before they even take the field. He's just a devious, scheming little.....guy.....and I love to hate him. And if Les goes to Michigan (please don't go, Les), then I hope he'll entertain our offers, cause he's good.

But....

The Tiger defense is the best in the land, and that goes beyond stats. There's a swagger and a confidence level that elevates this squad to (I think) a legendary level in Tiger football. Dorsey coming back for his senior year put this group of excellent players over the top. They may not spend the entire season leading all the stats - cause Gawd knows the SEC will be pulling out all the stops - but I think by season's end we'll see an amazing display against a Pac-10 or Big-12 team in the Sugar Bowl that will water eyes for years to come. MTSU was a reasonable offense and they were held to 10 yards rushing and 90 total offense. Nuff said.

The Tiger offense is better than even we think they are. That's because they're still playing through adversity and still finding their way. By Florida, they will be firing on all cylinders. At any rate, I think we'll see a 400 yard offensive effort if the field is dry.

The weather, however, is the great equalizer - here's why. If this turns into a running contest, because it's pissing rain, then everything gets predictable and suddenly it's about the defense. So, LSU still wins - because the Cocks run defense is not good - but the score stays low, because drives on the ground eat up time.

And don't forget - we've been averaging 40+ points per game with the second and third team in for almost every 4th quarter. I think those days are done. I think Miles plays the heat from here on out and the enemy pays dearly. C'mon coach - load'em up!

Soo.......

Dry field - LSU 42 Cocks 10

Wet field - LSU 21 Cocks 3

Either way, LSU makes a statement with this game and sends the Cocks home to ponder Spurrier's pre-game pessimism.

HEADLINE: No 12 South Carolina Ready for LSU.

You must mean, they THINK they're ready. We'll only know if they'll be REALLY be ready after Saturday.

Who needs to talk smack about the Cocks when Darth Visor does it for you?

We still can't hit a deep ball, and that's really frustrating. Just can't hit a deep ball. I don't know how to coach it any differently than how I've been doing.

This defense is loaded with future NFL draft picks, and South
Carolina will be lucky to score a single touchdown this weekend.

Man - that would be AWESOME. I'm not holding my breath, but it is possible...

So, how good is South Carolina (3-0, 1-0)? Here's my attempt at analyzing their season so far.

Da Ragin Cajuns (0-3) - Cocks win 28-14.

ULL has lost three straight to SC, Ohio (2-1), and McNeese State (2-0). They have what appears to be a fairly productive offense, but not much defense. The Cocks logged over 430 yards of offense, but allowed the Cajuns over 300 yards of their own and, just before halftime, the score was tied 14-14 until the Cocks scored a touchdown with 24 seconds remaining in the 2nd quarter. Overall, the Cajuns stayed relatively close most of the game and the Cocks allowed them to put together drives of 80 and 89 yards for their two scores.

Da Dawgs (2-1) - Cocks win 16-12.

Jawja beat OSU and Western Carolina, but dropped a FG-fest to the Cocks that Spurrier called an "ugly game." The game was balanced and either team could have won it. Not much to take from this one since both teams are tough SEC foes and were evenly matched. Only time will tell if they are evenly good or evenly not-so-good. Jawja plays Bammer this week, so maybe we'll get a better picture next Sunday. Of course, by then we won't give a crap!

Da Other Dawgs (1-2) - Cocks win 38-3.

South Carolina State has lost to the Cocks and the undefeated AF Falcons, but beat Bethune-Cookman. Yet the Other Dawgs were able to put up 264 yards of offense and generate 6 turnovers against the Cocks. Once again, the run defense suffered the most for the Cocks, allowing 196 yards on the ground.

ANALYSIS

South Carolina has what appears to be a productive offense, but a suspect defense, especially against the run. In fact, the Cajun's aptly named quarterback, Desormeaux, ran for 116 yards against the Cocks. That bodes well for both of our top QBs but especially for Flynn. And LSU has such a balanced attack that I don't think the Cocks will be able to hold our passing game down as they did against both ULL and South Carolina State University.

Back to the offense, if the Cocks turn the ball over half as much next week as they did this week, it won't be pretty for them. And of course they will face the best defense in the country - objectively and subjectively. If they could only manage one TD against Jawja, then they must be a tad concerned about our Chinese Bandits.

Later in the week I'll try to look deeper into the USC roster. But for now, I don't see much clear and present danger here. It's the SEC, though. So danger always lurks and waits - Miles will have the boyz ready.