REPORT CARD: Grades Are In…
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Grading LSU’s performance in a 31-13 loss to Ole Miss.
by Matt Deville
Tiger Rag Senior Editor
(At left, Jevan Snead turned out a memorable performance against a struggling Tiger defense on Saturday (Photo by J. Sam Frake)
Quarterbacks:
Jordan Jefferson gave the Tiger offense a definite spark when he came in for an injured Jarrett Lee at the four minute mark of the second quarter. And while he directed the Tigers on an impressive scoring march to close the gap to 21-10 at halftime, Jefferson couldn’t carry the offense to victory. In all, LSU quarterbacks combined to go 14 of 32 for 178 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. Lee was 4 of 12 for 49 yards while Jefferson completed 10 of 20 passes for 129 yards and touchdown. The overwhelming lack of even average quarterback play continues to spell certain doom for LSU’s offense.
Grade: D
Running Backs:
One might find themselves saying a good running back can find running room even when his offensive line is struggling, but that was hardly the case on Saturday. LSU running backs were swamped in the backfield as Ole Miss’ defensive front manhandled the Tigers in the trenches. The lack of a threat in the passing game also led to the Rebels loading up 10 or more men in the box on apparent downs when LSU was running the ball. Charles Scott managed all of 10 yards on 10 carries. Jefferson was the leading rusher. He gained 51 yards on the ground, but netted only 23 after being sacked three times.
Grade: D
Offensive Line:
Where’d you go? LSU’s offensive front looked even more anemic than it did in a 51-21 loss at Florida. Against the Gators, LSU managed 80 yards on 26 carries in what was considered a bad outing. Versus Ole Miss, it was worse. The Rebels whipped LSU up front, dominated the line of scrimmage, held Tiger runners to 37 yards and sacked LSU’s quarterbacks four times, one of which led to Jarrett Lee being knocked out of the game with an ankle injury. No doubt about it here – complete failure.
Grade: F
Wide Receivers:
Here again, like the running backs misfortunes stemming from offensive line woes, it’s hard to blame wide receivers for poor play when the quarterbacks can’t get them the ball. However, there were at least five dropped passes, several of which were mishandled by Demetrius Byrd. Brandon LaFell’s four catches for 82 yards led the team and Terrance Toliver had a big game with five grabs, including the Tigers’ lone touchdown.
Grade: C
Defensive line:
It wasn’t the worst effort by the LSU defensive line, but it was only average. The Tigers surrendered 102 rushing yards and seemed baffled when Ole Miss shifted into the Wild Rebel formation. LSU did get to quarterback Jevan Snead twice in the game, but for the most part the sophomore signal caller had all day to pick apart the LSU secondary.
Grade: C-
Linebackers:
Snead feasted on crossing routes on which LSU’s linebackers suffered breakdowns in coverage. Like the front four, the Tiger backers couldn’t adjust quick enough to contain Dexter McCluster in the Wild Rebel formation. Also, they did little to affect the quarterback with pressure.
Grade: C
Secondary:
Ugh! This had to be the pits for the LSU secondary. Snead threw some great passes, which Les Miles alluded to afterwards. But the Tiger defensive backs blew one coverage after another, including a proverbial parting of the Red Sea for Snead’s first touchdown pass to Mike Wallace. Chris Hawkins dropped a sure pick-six in the third quarter and Snead made LSU pay on the next play hitting Lionel Breaux for a 39-yard gain, which set up a touchdown for a 28-13 Ole Miss advantage. Patrick Peterson played well and Chad Jones had one of his better games, but it’s hard to overlook the fact LSU gave up 307 yards through the air and allowed Snead to complete 16 of 25 passes and two touchdowns.
Grade: D
Special Teams:
Well, one positive is the fact Colt David drilled a career-long 52-yard field goal in the third quarter. However, special teams weren’t all that great otherwise. Trindon Holliday had a punt return for a touchdown nullified for issuing an invalid fair catch signal. The Tiger kickoff coverage allowed Mike Wallace to set up the Rebels with great field position on a number of occasions - and the fake punt. You could almost see it coming when Ole Miss lined up to punt on fourth and four at LSU’s 39. Jason Cook hit a wide open Kendrick Lewis for a gain of 33 to the LSU five in what might have been the most pivotal play of the game.
Grade: C-
I agree with your grading except for the defensive line and linebackers. They
deserve no more than “D”. The defense is one of the worst in the SEC. I
think we have the talent available. I think the team as a whole was poorly
coached in all phases of the game, not just for the Ole Miss game but for
the entire season. If coach Miles does not serious about coaching changes
and get in their faces, we had better brace ourselves for a tough time ahead.
Coach Miles in an interview after the game could not understand how they
stopped our running game and how they piled up points on our secondary,
maybe he needs to look in the mirror for some soul searching.
I truly believe we need a defensive coor. This defense that we are playing reminds me of the Lou Tepper days. We all know were Dinordo ended up. If i was looking for a defensive coor. I would definately call chavis from tennesse. I believe with the talent we have at lsu chavis would be an excellent choice.
Does anyone really believe that LSU has the worst defense in the SEC. This ranks as one of the worst coaching years in LSU history. No one has coached less with more talent than Miles. It calls into question the judgment of Miles. He couldn’t make the changes needed in his staff or players to affect any change but to have his defense get pummeled each week.
it’s really pain me to say this as a loyal LSU fan, but i see bad days ahead,, les miles has no idea of what he is doing nor what need to be done, he lied about Jordan Jefferson not being ready when simply he just wanted to play Jarrett Lee no matter how badly he played. The defense sucks and les miles have lost this team, we need a real def cor and a defense back coach,,a offensive line coach, we need a whole new coaching staff, including a new head coach
Usually a team at home plays better on both sides of the ball than away. Yet, this years the defense has played worse. The home team, the home crowd, the atmosphere, the surroundings of Tiger Stadium have somehow had NO effect on this team. For years, the Tiger Stadium crowds have provided a 12th man to the Tiger defense. But for this year’s Tigers, nothing has stopped the massacre each week.
I called this loss weeks ago. Our defense has become reactionary. There is absolutely no pressure on the opposing QB’s and the DC’s (or a lack thereof) have no idea how to scheme against opposing Offenses. How many times this year have we seen teams run the same play again and again, with no adjustment, and gain big yards, over and over? Florida came out in offensive formations that the Tigers had never even seen and were totally unprepared for. We had Perry Riley covering Percy Harvin on one TD…are you serious?
I am not buying the we are young and replacing 2 DB’s. Alabama has only 9 seniors total, on their team. It is what happens every year. BTW, J. Eugene, P. Peterson, C. Jones, & S. Francois were all ranked 5-star and #1 at their positions (by one ranking service or another). It is not a lack of talent! Never have I seen a Coach do Les(s) with More!! Saban doesn’t have this much talent on his team at Alabama right now. Neither does GA or Ole Miss. Only FL has as much talent as LSU in the SEC.
QB problems? Yes, I did expect us to struggle at that position. But, Lee has regressed…this is a coaching problem. IMO, part of the problem with Perrilloux was that he didn’t play, enough last year. Miles could have played him more last year and it may have made a difference, who knows? We still should have had a legitmate #2 QB waiting in the wings if Perrilloux would have gotten hurt. Lee is not that talent! If Perrilloux would have stayed and played well this year…he would have surely left and who would we have next year? Hatch? Lee? Are you serious, these are things that you plan for in advance. You will not have Saban’s players on your team forever (starting next year)!
And what about Scott? Where was he last year? Anyone remember the Kentucky game? He had 92 yards in the first half…and two carries in the second half. The last on fourth and 1, on our last effort during regulation…after Hester had been run into the ground and was injured. Brilliant!
Miles had a chance to get a DC last year and did nothing. He must now face the wrath of the fans! Does anyone think that we should have the 12th ranked defense in the SEC with this talent?
These guys are being Coached DOWN!! Please give us Rich Rod for Miles, Even! Miles has never been considered a good Coach by CFB. Why do you think this is? What has Oklahoma ST done since he left? Time for him to go!! Or we can be talking about this same thing next year or the next or the next.
I will “Enjoy” seeing Miles go!