Will Bama's Offense Show Up Against LSU?

The one question that every die-hard Crimson Tide fan has got to be asking themselves is "will our offense be improved vs. LSU?" After nearly blowing their national title hopes in one of the worst offensive performances since the days of Shula and Rader against Tennessee and 2 whole weeks to think about it one would think the answer to that question would be yes.

The first 5 games Bama's offense was averaging 463 yards a game and 40 points a game. The last 3 games the Tide's offense has averaged 322 yards a game and only 18 points a game. Now granted 2 of the first five games were FIU and North Texas and the last 3 have been solid SEC opponents but that's still a pretty significant drop.

So what happened to Alabama's offense? I'll tell you what happened, Greg McElroy started caring about what alot of fans and reporters were saying and that was "why isn't Julio Jones getting more catches?"  Right after the Kentucky game reporters were bombarding McElroy with questions concerning Julio Jones. McElroy responded to one reporter "it seems like every interview I do somebody is asking me, why isn't Julio getting more involved."

Going into the Ole Miss game it appeared that McElroy was bound and determined to get Julio's numbers up. He threw to JJ 15 times (nearly half of the qb's attempts) but completed only 4 for 42 yards and 0 TD's. In the first half alone Jones was the target of 13 passes, no matter if he was doubled or triple covered. McElroy stated after the game when asked, that there was no concerted effort to get the ball to Jones more....Yea right.

And it's not that Julio is demanding that McElroy throw the ball his way more, he hasn't reached the Diva status as of yet and hopefully never will and that alone makes this a cross much easier to bare. Julio is a GREAT football player and an even better person that truly wants to see his team succeed and the future is bright for this kid no matter how you weigh it.

But for Alabama to win this Saturday against LSU Greg McElroy will have to return to the QB he was at the first of the season. And NO I'm not laying all the problems of Bama's offense at the feet of Greg McElroy because when it comes time to cast blame, in my very humble opinion, the finger always points towards the coaching staff. Jim McElwain's play calling has been questionable at times and others it's been down right horrendous (the two fade route's to Julio inside the redzone vs. UT). It seems that McElwain has become overly concerned about Julio's numbers as of late as well.

These are all problems that should be addressed and fixed by the time LSU comes to Tuscaloosa, or they better be if Alabama wants to keep their SEC/ National Title hopes alive. I don't think Les Miles is quite as stupid and bad a head coach as Lane Kiffin so it WILL take more than the kicking game and defense to win this game.