October 5, 2023
GOD BLESS UKRAINE AND THE USA!!!!
DISTRICT OPENER
Tonight’s Denham Springs HS Football game vs Live Oak HS comes your way at 6 o’clock with Sport n Center Yellow Jackets Warm-up on Family Radio, 91.9 FM and on the net at Jon Fine Productions.com. Josh Ward, Mitch Covington and Jon Fine are on the call.
GREAT GUESTS
Sport n Center Yellow Jackets Warm-up will include an interview with Denham Springs HS Trainer David Bourque, conducted by Mitch Covington. Brandy Robertson of Brandy Robertson State Farm Insurance will come on the Smalls Sliders Half-Time Report
TODAY’S COLUMN
Scott Osborne evaluates LSU Football and the New Orleans Saints See The Wizardry of Os by scrolling down below.
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THE WIZARDRY OF OS
How does a person avoid being negative while being realistic when the reality is not positive? I don’t know, but I am going to try.
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about what I thought we knew and what we were still waiting to figure out about the Saints and the Tigers.
LSU continues to confirm what we thought, and Jayden Daniels has now exceeded even the loftiest of expectations. He is throwing the slot fades as well as a quarterback can, and he is doing that consistently. It is one thing to make a great throw every once in a while. He is making great throw after great throw.
The true tests for this offense will come against Alabama and Texas A&M. If they can produce against those two defenses, this offense is one of the best in the history of LSU. They just need a reasonably competent defense, and unfortunately that is not what we have seen.
To think that this defense could not stop Florida State or Arkansas in the second half at all, and then could not stop Ole Miss the whole game is tough to process. Here are some other facts about this defense that have been tough to process.
After the Grambling game, it was hard to process how being in a dime defense meant that Grambling would break off 10, 20, and 30 yards runs.
LSU has nine sacks on defense this year. They recorded 4 sacks against Mississippi State. That means LSU produced 5 sacks against Florida State, Grambing, Arkansas, and Ole Miss. Sacks do not tell the entire story, but a lack of pressure in the face and at the feet of the quarterback leads to the yards and third down conversions we have seen.
The talk after the Ole Miss game has been the yards Ole Miss gained after missed tackles, 280-ish. While that number is staggering, the more disturbing number is that, according to this stat, if LSU had made every tackle they should have, Ole Miss would still have gained.426 yards.
Here is one more fact, Ole Miss gained 664 yards combined against Tulane and Alabama. They gained 706 against LSU.
So how do I avoid just being negative while looking at this reality and all the other scary thoughts that are coming to my head considering LSU has an undefeated Missouri team with an excellent offense this week?
I might regret this statement, but one would have to think last week was rock bottom. Sometimes, players and coaches have to hit rock bottom before things get better. There is literally nothing to lose and nothing LSU should not consider trying to turn around this defense.
Brian Kelly is right when he says LSU has to establish a new line of scrimmage in the backfield of the opponent. In football, it always starts up front. LSU has to find a way to win at the line of scrimmage. Forcing negative plays are a must. Getting off the field on third and long is a must. The fortunes of this defense are not going to turn around in one week, though.
One way to look at the Ole Miss game is to say that LSU lost the game when the offense committed their one turnover. The defense has to find a way to force 1-2 turnovers. The best way to do that is to stuff the run and get after the quarterback.
The hope is LSU can win a 40 something to 30 something type game. Then, mabe LSU can grow from there at home against Auburn and Army who are not as prolific on offense.
With all the success the Saints and LSU have had this century, it is crazy to think that LSU’s defense has struggled this much and the Saints offense is doing the same. 4 touchdowns in 4 games. 13, 10, 27, 0, 16, 21, 17, 20, 7, 16, 20, 17, 9. Those are the points the Saints have scored in their last 13 games. With the talent and amount of money the Saints are spending on offensive players, that is hard to fathom.
Of course, the NFL is a quarterback driven league and we thought quarterback play was the problem last year. This year it has been a little of everything. For me, it comes down to explosive plays though and the Saints have to find some on offense. The Saints have to take chances downfield. Maybe get some pass interferences like the Packers got against us. Derek Carr has to let it rip some.
If Taysom Hill is going to play quarterback, the Saints cannot treat a pass with him at quarterback like a trick play as if he is a running back playing quarterback. He is a quarterback playing tight end.
Meanwhile, the defense has received a lot of praise and there has been talk about it being one of the better units in the league. But 6 turnovers and 9 sacks in 4 games is not good enough against the poor offenses the Saints have faced this year and be considered elite. The defense needs to force negative plays, and like LSU, that comes from the front 7 winning one on one battles along with causing confusion in the offensive pass protection.
These are the realities. I really hope something can change for LSU on defense and the Saints on offense. While the talent might not be there for either group to be elite, I still believe the ability to be decent is there. And that could be good enough for both teams to have good seasons. If not, basketball season isn’t too far off.
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