Like everyone else, I think JJ needs to sit. You can tell that he cannot take the pressure. You can see it in his eyes. Some guys are just practice heroes. He isn't the first player to ever do this. I don't care if folks think SW cannot run. You don't need a great running QB for this offense. You DO need an efficient passer however. Like was said in another post...Better production from the QB will lift the entire team. You can tell the rest of the team is losing confidence.
I think RB and OL are fine right now. I saw some good stuff from them at times yesterday, even with an offense that cannot keep the opponent off balance with the pass. Our offense has to be balanced to perform at a high level. The lack of a passing game is dragging down the running game.
I cannot judge the WRs. Our QB hasn't given them any chances.
Overall, the D just doesn't have the players. Go back and look at recruiting. To beat a team like LSU, you need a pile of solid well coached upperclassmen. We don't have them. Why? Chiz got players that may have been talented, but did not have a tough mentality. His staff was too soft and attracted the same types. Those guys should be filling the top of the 2 deep, but we are forced to play a ton of true FR/SOPH. That spells "trouble" against good SEC teams. Our best playmakers are from Gus' 1st class in 2012. Monty has taken a step forward, and Carl is hurt. Other than that, you cannot blame him for most of that class. He got here in Jan to take over a crap fest. You also cannot judge the last 2 classes yet. I repeat, YOU CANNOT COUNT ON FR/SOPH against good SEC teams.
Reality is that we are on a self imposed probation from the end of the Chiz era. Just go look at the roster for proof. It's kind of analogous to the roster that Chiz had in 2011/12. Too many FR/SOPH to compete especially on D. We all knew that. NOT ENOUGH SOLID UPPERCLASSMEN.
Gus may not be the answer as coach, but AU needs 5 years to make that call. The only thing that would change my mind is if he looses control like Chiz. I am starting to worry about that a little, but there is not enough evidence to support that right now. Most of the discipline problems have been former Chiz guys. Let's see what it looks like when Gus has a full team in his image.
Gus is the shortest tenured coach in the West, except for Bert. Why do those teams look more solid than ours? Their coaches have had time to build a roster full of players. They have many solid upperclassmen. Give Gus a chance to BUILD a team.
Reality is our whole season revolved around outstanding play from JJ and Lawson. JJ is a dud (which nobody foresaw), and Lawson is hurt. It's time to start over with SW. The D will continue to struggle with no playmakers other than Monty and Tray. However I guarantee improvement, on both sides of the ball, will come with better production from the QB.
I think RB and OL are fine right now. I saw some good stuff from them at times yesterday, even with an offense that cannot keep the opponent off balance with the pass. Our offense has to be balanced to perform at a high level. The lack of a passing game is dragging down the running game.
I cannot judge the WRs. Our QB hasn't given them any chances.
Overall, the D just doesn't have the players. Go back and look at recruiting. To beat a team like LSU, you need a pile of solid well coached upperclassmen. We don't have them. Why? Chiz got players that may have been talented, but did not have a tough mentality. His staff was too soft and attracted the same types. Those guys should be filling the top of the 2 deep, but we are forced to play a ton of true FR/SOPH. That spells "trouble" against good SEC teams. Our best playmakers are from Gus' 1st class in 2012. Monty has taken a step forward, and Carl is hurt. Other than that, you cannot blame him for most of that class. He got here in Jan to take over a crap fest. You also cannot judge the last 2 classes yet. I repeat, YOU CANNOT COUNT ON FR/SOPH against good SEC teams.
Reality is that we are on a self imposed probation from the end of the Chiz era. Just go look at the roster for proof. It's kind of analogous to the roster that Chiz had in 2011/12. Too many FR/SOPH to compete especially on D. We all knew that. NOT ENOUGH SOLID UPPERCLASSMEN.
Gus may not be the answer as coach, but AU needs 5 years to make that call. The only thing that would change my mind is if he looses control like Chiz. I am starting to worry about that a little, but there is not enough evidence to support that right now. Most of the discipline problems have been former Chiz guys. Let's see what it looks like when Gus has a full team in his image.
Gus is the shortest tenured coach in the West, except for Bert. Why do those teams look more solid than ours? Their coaches have had time to build a roster full of players. They have many solid upperclassmen. Give Gus a chance to BUILD a team.
Reality is our whole season revolved around outstanding play from JJ and Lawson. JJ is a dud (which nobody foresaw), and Lawson is hurt. It's time to start over with SW. The D will continue to struggle with no playmakers other than Monty and Tray. However I guarantee improvement, on both sides of the ball, will come with better production from the QB.
