IneffableSyzygy

Thank you so much for your response. I truly wish there were more people like you in this country and on TD. I responded to the OP out of anger, which is something I advise any and all people not to do, but their statements cut deep and I could see the rough point he/she was trying to stir.

I also agree not to take this discussion further on this board, however, as you delve into this issue you begin to see it is so much more than just political. It affects every aspect of certain peoples' lives. Social, economic, political, etc.

However, I do wish there was a peaceful board to discuss what these movements and symbolic acts of expression are about, instead of this ignorance being created around them. I have no problem with people having their own opinions around such things, but it is very easy to dissect and see which people are informed (and formulating their own opinions) versus those who are completely ignorant to the facts of what this movement is about and are essentially mimicking the sentiment of others who are misinformed (which is at the root of the very issue in the ideology these players are trying to create awareness for). And see, I too digress.

If you are foolish enough to think the NBA ratings have anything to do with your cognitive bias, you are truly showing your intelligence.

A) The NBA Finals usually takes place in the summer, when way more people have free time. Not to mention the fact that now the NBA is competing with the NFL and MLB for views on the major sporting networks due to the restarts.

B) The matchup this season is not a highly favorable one. It has been the consensus that the Lakers were the favorites to win the title since the moment the AD trade took place. The Heat making it was a surprise for most people who really wanted to see the Celtics or the Bucks take on Lebron and AD.

C) A large part of the viewing fanbase is being impacted by raging wildfires. Have some sensitivity.

D) The games without the crowds and fan experience, give a feel that is akin to a glorified scrimmage. It's way different to the NFL, because when they scrimmage it is far from what the final product will look like. Without the crowd and added flair of the NBA being there, it sometimes feels like I'm watching a pickup game. Nonetheless, I still enjoy the basketball being played at such a high level.

Take your idiocracy to another board where you can spin your drivel as long as you want. You are a part of the problem in this great nation. The players have a voice and because it interferes with your sacred sports you want to strip it away from them for your own comfortability. Everything that is happening should make you uncomfortable, in fact, I'm glad it does.

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Burrow not only mastered the simple concept of the formation but he could take it further by sliding protections & moving LBs based off his presnap reads so that he could either create better throwing lanes for himself or more room for his receivers to get more YAC.

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Brilliant, just utterly brilliant. You explained it perfectly. Many parts of this offense are structured around those tiny but extremely effective manipulations. Burrow became elite at not only getting LBs to move but opposing safeties as well. Much better than even Tua, with his safety stare down passes only to throw to the opposite side of the field (very similar to Russell Wilson).

The offense should be partially slimmed down for him until he understands all of the basic concepts. The analyst and shadow staff could certainly script a gameplan that just focuses on simple reads. There's no shame there, these plays have shown to be extremely effective. Take Leach's offense for example it is very basic but deadly, not just against us, but also while he was at Washington State.

I know people hate to accept it, but most QBs know exactly who or where they are going to throw the ball to before the snap. That's okay in these situations because our plays set up nicely for him to hit his anticipated receiver if he does the proper reads presnap, but always gives him a bailout or decent 2nd option. He will know rather quickly if his 1st option is not viable from a few different giveaways given by the defensive alignment. The beauty is that Brennan's arm should allow him to fit the ball in tighter windows much faster, so he needs far less space than Burrow may have needed last season on certain throws. His arm strength could work to maximize this offense.

Once Brennan actually looks comfortable enough to go through his progressions and check his receivers quickly during a play like an NFL QB would is when we should open up the whole playbook and expand it. Until then just make it fair and simple, he is a quick learner, but just needs to take the game over. We need to control the game with our offense, it literally puts us in the driver's seat when we pick apart teams methodically.

Or don't start the argument. I'll continue to argue until that guy realizes how stupid what he is saying sounds. I'm trying to him as an individual. If he's going to be prepared to start the argument, then he needs to be prepared to go toe-to-toe. I've had these arguments before for hours on end with people in YouTube comment sections, in public, on other forums. I'm not trying to be harsh, but it's such a mundane point the what-ifs. What if Texas A&M would not have cheated and LSU wins the game in regulation before going into 7 OTs? What if the refs call holding on Alabama when 3 of their players held on the Jalen Hurt's run when the game was 0-0? What if the touchdown against Auburn on the last second of the game gets called and Les Miles doesn't get fired? Losing hurts, we get it. The best teams find a way to honestly win through their level of play.

I am great friends with numerous Ohio State and Clemson fans. They have known to respect LSU and have always seen LSU as a blueblood and have noted the issue that our fanbase has noted as well. If LSU were to ever accrue a modern offense, we would be unstoppable (just from the sheer athletes and talent we get) and last year proved that in the most dominating fashion. It was if we were purging ourselves of a decade of putridness and disappointment.

Literally, the number of NFL prospects has nothing to do with your team last season.

LSU has sent players to the NFL in droves, it did not help us the past decade against Alabama.

LSU would have DESTROYED your secondary. We have plays in the arsenal that literally were formulated to confuse the secondary and get guys on islands. You OSU fans really think your teams are so high and mighty because of all that media hype each season. You guys are ranked every season and play no one. Michigan has not been relevant for a decade so don't hang your hat on that matchup, please. You guys played one team worth a damn and your elite secondary did not save you.

LSU would have run CEH for 200 yards and 5 TDs if the passing game would not have worked. And trust me the passing game would have worked. No one fears OSU. LSU is better, end of the discussion. It's flat out obvious at this point. No one was stopping that LSU team at all. We were literally operating like an NFL team and picking apart the tiniest of things. Okudah would have been nullified and I don't even know who your safeties are or the other cornerback (is that the dude who opted out and is trying to opt back in potentially). Hadn't even known who he was until this summer. So yeah, your secondary your linebacking core, your Chase Young (hit or miss prospect) we would have canned your entire defense and Joe Burrow would have probably had one of his best games ever getting revenge on the school that probably didn't even deserve him in the first place. Thank you for showing him the signs he needed to make the best decision of his life.

Or we would have destroyed OSU the same way we destroyed everyone else. It did not matter the eliteness of the secondary. Ja'Marr Chase, Terrace Marshall, Justin Jefferson, Thad Moss, CEH, and then Burrow take your pick.

Did you not see Ja'Marr Chase destroy A.J. Terrell (drafted: round 1 / pick 16) in the national championship game? Did you not watch the Florida game where we embarrassed CJ Henderson (drafted: round 1 / pick 9)? Or did you even watch the Alabama game, yes the final score was close but did you not see any of the touchdowns passes?

The two best teams in the country played in the national championship. You OSU fans are still bitching about one call, if y'all were as high and mighty as you thought you guys would have blown the doors off of Clemson and really pulled away. But instead, Clemson scored 21 unanswered points stemming from the 1st half into the 2nd half and pushed you guys onto your heels.

I understand what you are saying. And agree, but also hear me out.

The limited practicing time can explain some of your idea of poor tackling because we actually tackled pretty well until the late game when guys were trying to strip the ball instead of securing the tackle. I remember saying quite a few times that I saw a very good form by Stevens and Cox, and the corners did a fair share of tackling when they had too or didn't get beat. The issue is, yes, the missed tackles killed us for huge chunks and big plays. That Kylin Hill TD right after we scored I felt was the game-changer, without that play we win the game.

The dropped passes were very upsetting, and that's a mixture of lack of focus and the low energy you speak of. I think that will be corrected, and practice this week will be intense. Guys will be forced to be going full speed and catching (whoever drops a pass will start the drill or play over). I hope Jarvis Landry comes to check in on the guys and gives them the same speech he gave to the Browns WR corp when he first got to Cleveland. Drops are contagious some games. Brennan also needs to put the ball in better spots. A couple of drops hit people in the hands, but some were also behind the receiver.

Missed assignments - it was clear that the defensive schematics need to be altered a little, the guys seem like they haven't quite caught on to the entire purpose of the scheme yet. As I said in a previous post the run-defense was great, obviously, the pass defense was atrocious and too many of our guys were left on islands. Stevens will have to play more traditional safety this year and be a safety net in coverage (hopefully he's improved his coverage skills).

Offensively, we need to flip the script of whatever was being drawn up. We looked like a team that was trying to force the pass, and many times the receivers were open, but Brennan needs to get rid of the ball and get it into those windows. He keeps waiting for everything to be perfect and for people to be wide open, he's got to realize he needs to throw some of these guys open or hit them for the short routes, too much tunnel vision as well. We all saw the play where Marshall was wide open and Brennan tried to force the ball in between 2 defenders to a different receiver. He's got to slow himself down and stop being so scared to get hit.

My final point is towards that lack of enthusiasm and energy. These guys are pumped to play football, but no home team will have any home game advantages. Mississippi State did not get a full Tiger Stadium experience, and I think that would have certainly rattled Costello a little bit more. Our players feed off the energy, especially the younger guys, they haven't matured to level yet to realize they need to show up to every game, not just the big games where the crowd is screaming your name.

I understand there is no excuse for the performance that was given, and yes I kinda just gave a bunch of them. But what I'm getting at is this team has a lot of work to do and I think they will be able to correct a lot of what went wrong. Coach O is not going to use excuses he's going to figure out a way to win football games.

When he was named as the running backs coach in February of this year. I'm sure it was one of the first things he began to study and think about for the upcoming season since he is the coach of the running backs, you probably know this by now.

He most likely identified each of the RBs strengths and their weaknesses via their film and evaluated what they would need to correct during the offseason and throughout the season as it goes along. And also probably assessed how far along each guy is in terms of development as far as being the perfect fit for the offensive scheme and an all-around back. So yeah, I think it would be fair to say that he's probably been thinking and working on the runningback rotation for much of the year, and then as the team went into fall camp started to work on fundamental development as well as skill development. The process of all this usually evolves a pecking order, as the offensive unit begins to be split between the starters and backups and you give each guy a few reps with the starters to see how things go.

As the offensive coordinator begins to script the gameplans (which he's been doing since midsummer), Faulk has got to see which of his backs will fit into each scenario and then think about the countless perimeters that could alter each scenario. Who gets the carry when it's 1st and 10? Then, who gets the carry when it's 1st and 10, but we are backed up against our own goal-line? It's not something that you wait until the last minute to think about, it's something that you must actively work on as the offseason and game season goes along.

It's simply a matter of numbers and the who's going where charades. If we go all-in on Wheaton right now and miss then it will surely hurt the relationship that we have built with Kiner (who is also going to rise tremendously in the rankings given the way he's been playing). And remember, Coach O has a proven system that works regardless of rankings.

If we can get both let's totally go for it, but sadly it seems that if we strike out we would lose both of them in the process of finalization. So you have to handle it like a business. We aren't trying to trade talent for talent just given stars. We want both players, but not at the risk of losing what we've already got in Kiner and then also not to be 100% solid with Wheaton come signing day. Both of them are prospective NFL talents and will develop greatly here at LSU as long as they have the patience and work ethic necessary to do so.

The season will surely help smooth some of this over. Recruits will get to see how our running-back by committee approach will still work in this offense. We will have a "feature back," but I think we will utilize all 4 of the RB's on the roster and showcase the full stable given the depth of talent there. It's something Faulk has worked on, which was really fine-tuning the runningback rotations. Each season we will see a unit on the team operate more and more like an NFL unit. It will be the running backs this year for sure. Bradford (the freshman) will be our burner, TDP and Emery will split carries at a higher clip than last season, and Curry will be your main back probably garnering in around 50-55% of the carries so roughly about 60-65% of the offenses' drives. You need all 3-4 to make it through a regular SEC schedule, so with the added games, the rotations will expand.

Trust me, LSU is recruiting Wheaton. Recruits need to understand that just because we are going after a highly-elite ranked player does not guarantee them to start over someone who isn't as highly ranked. Yes, it is exactly what we are seeing with Chris Curry. The Kiner and Wheaton scenario is similar to the TDP and Emery scenario, both will play and play a lot.

Not sure if you guys saw this LINK / (article) about Jerrell Colbert. The article came out last week.

Colbert is transferring from his school in Pasadena, Texas to play at Houston High School in Memphis, Tennessee. This is also significant because the new basketball coach at Houston High School is the former Memphis Tigers assistant coach (our recruiting nemesis as of late), ex-NBA player Mike Miller. Miller who resigned last year after serving 2 years under Penny Hardaway, and became elite at recruiting for the Tigers.

This spells trouble... Colbert is expected to quickly become the number one ranked player in the state of Tennessee after his rankings are adjusted and the high school season begins. Colbert did confirm his commitment to LSU is solid a few weeks back; however, this throws a minor wrench into that if Miller were to press Colbert. Even so, Miller played college ball in Florida, which is also trying to rise in the SEC. Colbert being in Memphis also means he'll be getting more looks from the University of Tennessee as well.

We really need Colbert; he's a very solid pickup for the real Tigers and Wade. He could very well start here as a freshman, and that will be determined more by how the roster pans out. Even so, he would garner a lot of playing time. With the amount of talent and types of talent Wade is getting in, it's going to be hard to keep all these high profile guys on the bench. He's going to have to play them. Just like 2 years ago, this season he will have to experiment with a loaded starting roster and a loaded bench.

Not trying to stir up any conspiracy. Just presenting the story since it is pertaining to a commit for the 2021 class.