Growing Pains: LSU Facing Major Set-backs

When Coach Miles decided to cut bait by releasing troubled quarterback Ryan Perrilloux this past summer for a myriad of off the field issues, many LSU faithful were disappointed but knew that it was necessary. Perrilloux was a huge distraction and would have put the team in jeopardy with his inability to stay out of trouble.

With Perrilloux gone, it left LSU vulnerable at the quarterback position with essentially no experience at the position. But life would go on; there was hope that the highly touted red shirt freshman Jarrett Lee out of Texas would step up to show-off his rifle arm or possibly the heady Andrew Hatch, a Harvard transfer could show his moxie and game management skills?

Not this year. There have been moments of hope this season but reality is beginning to sink in after another humiliating loss to Georgia.

Jarrett Lee on the first play of the game, threw a pick-six to Georgia linebacker Darryl Gamble. It was one of two interceptions that were returned by Gamble for a touchdown. Lee threw three interceptions in all which accounted for 17 points for the Bulldogs.

It’s not that questions and concerns going into the season were not there, but coming off a national championship last year, and with having very good seasons in between the 2003 championship; no one expected the fall-off would be so blaring. 

LSU nation is worried and confused after their beloved Tigers have allowed two blow-out losses.  It’s the first time in a 115 years of LSU football history that the Tigers have allowed fifty plus points to be scored on them twice in one season.

LSU has become extremely exposed. Besides the quarterback issues, the defensive secondary is pedestrian and predictable.  No one can cover and no one seems to know how to tackle. Linebackers are out of position and the defensive line, although very good, seem to not be able to strike fear and create havoc the way that typical LSU D-lines have done in the past.

With two major games against Alabama and Ole Miss, Nick Saban and Houston Nutt have to be licking their chops knowing how to attack the Tigers. It could get ugly.

It’s very conceivable for the 2008 LSU Tigers to lose four games this year and end up going to a mid-level bowl.

As much talent and experience that LSU lost, they still have a ton of talent and it would seem to be that it’s not so much the ability of these Tigers but the coaching that they’re receiving.

I know Coach Miles loves using the two-system quarterbacks and the run by committee but the two-headed defensive coordinators in Doug Mallory and Bradley Dale Peveto have to go. I would be very disappointed to not see any changes in that department during the off season. 

I know that Miles is very loyal to his coaches, but I would hope that he has the gumption to not sacrifice the program in spite of his loyalty. 

Thankfully, LSU has Tulane coming up which should present more opportunity to get Lee more experience and the secondary a chance to practice covering and tackling, but the sick feeling in the pit of everyone's stomach who love LSU may not be going away anytime soon.

No one predicted a “rebuilding” year in the sense of that term, but the pain of having new inexperienced players at key positions and them having to learn on the job, is causing much pain in Tigerland.