The Ramblings of a Crazed Louisianian

2009 SEC East Preview Blog

*LSU* — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 18:47:17 GMT

The SEC is looking like it's gonna play out to be a tale of two divisions. The SEC east seems to be a one horse race with Florida while the SEC west is a wide open race between Ole Miss, Alabama, LSU, and maybe even dark horse Arkansas. Without anymore further delay here is my 2009 SEC East preview.

Here are my Top 3 SEC East teams

1. Florida Gators- 2009 record- 13-1- Defending National & SEC Champions

Returning starters- Offense- 7. Defensive- 11.

Florida is without a doubt the most talented team in the SEC and the country. Tebow is the best Leader at QB in the history of the SEC and possibly the entire history of football. What will tell the story of Florida season is the October 10th match up at LSU. even Tebow has came out and acknowledged that LSU is the hardest place to play at in the country and this game will either seperate Tebow from the pack as the greatest college football player of all-time or this florida may fall in the same death valley trap that the 1997 Florida team did coming off their 1996 national championship. The 1997 team was just as good as the team that won the championship, but they will always be known as the#1 team in the nation that choked in the valley.

2009 Schedule/Results

DATE OPPONENT Prediction
9/05 Charleston Southern W
9/12 Troy W
9/19 Tennessee W
9/26 @ Kentucky W
10/10 @ No. 11 LSU *
10/17 Arkansas W
10/24 @ Mississippi State W
10/31 vs. No. 13 Georgia W
11/07 Vanderbilt W
11/14 @ South Carolina W
11/21 Florida International W
11/28 No. 18 Florida State W

2. Georiga- 2009 record- 10-3

Starters Returning- Offense- 7. Defense- 6.

Georiga's season is riding on single factor and his name is Joe Cox. Cox is a 5th year senior QB who has patiently waited half a decade for his chance to be the guy at Georiga. Cox has only thrown 58 passes in his career at Georiga but has been studyig under guy like David Greene, D.J. Shockly, and Matthew Stafford. 3 NFL QB's he's been tutored by in his time at Georiga. Cox has a chance to come in and prove himself early with a difficult non-coference schedule that includes a week 1 trip to Oki State. Georiga will stuggle this season if Joe Cox doesn't show up big and the Oline can't stay healthy. Georiga has arguably the toughest schedule in the SEC this season so it would quite a stretch for Georiga to compete with Florida in the west.

2009 Schedule/Results

DATE OPPONENT Prediction
9/05 @ No. 9 Oklahoma State *
9/12 South Carolina W
9/19 @ Arkansas *
9/26 Arizona State W
10/03 No. 11 LSU *
10/10 @ Tennessee *
10/17 @ Vanderbilt W
10/31 vs. No. 1 Florida L
11/07 Tennessee Tech W
11/14 Auburn W
11/21 Kentucky W
11/28 @ No. 15 Georgia Tech *

3. Tennessee- 2009 record- 5-7

The story of Tenessee's season last season can be told by stats. Tennessee ranked under 100th in the nation in every offensive statistic except rushing yards per game in which they still ranked 88th. However defensivly Tennessee ranked in the top 15 in every single category. Talk about a tale of two teams. 1st year coach Lane Kiffin's missio for this season is very simple yet so difficult. Get the offense some rythem!!! It all starts with 2nd year starter Johnathan Cromptem. If he plays well then it will open up the freshmen powered running game and give the defense a chance to actually rest a little.

2009 Schedule/Results

DATE OPPONENT Prediction
9/05 Western Kentucky W
9/12 UCLA W
9/19 @ No. 1 Florida L
9/26 Ohio W
10/03 Auburn *
10/10 No. 13 Georgia *
10/24 @ No. 5 Alabama L
10/31 South Carolina W
11/07 Memphis W
11/14 @ No. 8 Mississippi L
11/21 Vanderbilt W
11/28 @ Kentucky W

"What If's" that would Transform the Sports World

*LSU* — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 20:31:04 GMT

I've had strep throat the last few days (right before I was supposed to going to Omaha, go figure). Well as I was laying in bed yesterday with my throat feeling like it was on fire watching the same sportscenter crew that was kissing Lebron's feet just a month ago turn a complete 180 and praise Kobe like he was the 2nd coming, it got me to thinking, what if Kobe would have been convicted of rape all those years ago. This sparked a huge internal discussion with the voices in my head of how so many small, miniscule things could completely change today's sports culture. So today I decided to make a list of the top 5 things that believe would completely transform the world of sports. The rules are simply that it had to take place in the 21st century. Here's my first of 5 "What If's"

1. Kobe is sentenced 20 years in prison for rape.

This is an obvious one to me, imagine a sports world where Kobe Bryant is in the same class as O.J. Simpson and Michael Vick. Sorry if I was off on the years that he would be in prison, it's been a while since I've been convicted of rape lol.

The Effect- Shaq is seen as a border line hero for seeing what kind of a person Kobe was before anyone else. Shaq will embrace this role saying "Man, I saw this coming but nobody would listen to me". Without the Black Mamba to make coaching easier Phil Jackson moves on to the Knicks and attempts to turn that franchise around, but much like Larry Brown crumbles under the hot spot light with no superstar to work with. This Tarnishes his coaching legacy and Red Aurbach is still considered the best coach of all-time. Lebron James is the undisputed best player in basketball. Lebron is on the cover of sports illustrated on average 7 times a year and crowned as the second coming. Kobe is the most hated figure in sports meanwhile, the young lady he attempted to rape becomes a major celeb and pursues a modeling career. Whenever Kobe get's out he has nowhere to turn, no wife, no basketball, no friends, and he had to get involved with the Bloods in order to survive all those years in prison. When he attmpts to take what little remaining money he has and flee to Brazil in order to escape the gang violence he is shot in an airport while waiting on his plane. The murder is seen in the public eye as "what Kobe had coming to him" and it solidifies Kobe's place as the most hated figure in the history of sports while Lebron James passes Michael Jordan as the best player of all time.

Blog in which I bow down and worship Tim Tebow

*LSU* — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 04:12:37 GMT

I found a site called TimTebowFacts.com. It's kinda like Chuck Norris jokes except with Tim Tebow, but they are really funny, here are a few.

Tim Tebow can't finish a 'color by numbers' because his markers are filled with the blood of FSU players. Unfortunately, all blood is dark red.

Tim Tebow saved the manatees. Then he stiff armed them back on the endandered species list so they wouldnt get cocky

The show Survivor had the original premise of putting people on an island with Tim Tebow. There were no survivors, and nobody is brave enough to go to the island to retrieve the footage.

Tim Tebow can eat five times his body weight in tigers.

Tim Tebow was once sleeping on his stomach when he got morning wood and struck oil

The grass is always greener on the other side, unless Tim Tebow has been there. In that case the grass is most likely soaked in blood and tears.

There are no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, Tim Tebow lives in Florida

Archeologists unearthed an old english dictionary dating back to the year 1236. It defined 'victim' as 'one who has encountered Tim Tebow'

Life doesn't give Tim Tebow lemons. Life asks him which fruit he wants.

Tim Tebow invented black. In fact, he invented the entire spectrum of visible light. Except pink. Tom Cruise invented pink

When Tim Tebow calls 1-900 numbers, he doesnt get charged. He holds up the phone and money falls out.

It takes Tim Tebow exactly 17 minutes to watch 60 minutes.

A look ahead at the 2010 class (part 2)

*LSU* — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 03:58:04 GMT

Well guys this is part 2 of my series on the class of 2010 and I think that this is coming along quite nicely even though for some reason I haven't getting quite the normal amount of readers I'm used to getting. Anyways, in every class you skim through the top 100 lists and as you look you'll see one guy that just pops out at you. It's not a funny name or that he lives near you that jumps out at you but the raw freakishness, size, and athleticism that makes you look twice. These are the physical freaks, the workout warriors, the first guys off the bus. They are the beasts of the class and they are what make you just drool, stare, and wonder if we have stumbled upon the next Lawrence Taylor or Jonathan Oden. These are the true men of the gridiron. Here are my top 3 "physical freaks" of this year's class.

1. Sentrell Henderson, OT- 6-8, 301 lbs., Saint Paul, MN

Sentrell is the definition of an all around athlete. He is the top prospect in the nation at Offensive tackle, is starting center on the basketball team and is a 2 time all-district selection, won the state championship in track in the shot put, discus, and 1,500 meter run. How many 300 lbs. tackles do you know that can run a mile in under 5 minutes? This guy can do it all. He is best known however for is unbelievable ability to pass block. Sentrell has the best form I've seen out of a high school OT in years. However he could improve his run blocking a little. This guy will kill people on the next level because he's strong, he doesn't get tired, and he's huge. What more could you want?

Schools of choice- Florida, Iowa, Minnesota, UCLA, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Notre Dame

2. Jackson Jeffcoat, DE/LB- 6-5, 233 lbs., Plano, TX

Jackson is a great pass rush De who has great speed. I've seen mixed reports of 4.5 and 4.6 40 times. He is an excellent looking athlete who has great explosion off the ball and is well known for blowing past defenders and sacking the quarterback. Jackson has a long frame with alot of room to put on muscle. He would be a great college DE or Outside linebacker with his blend of speed, strength, and size. Look for him to dominate college OT on the next level.

Schools of choice- Baylor, UGA, LSU, Oklahoma, Texas, USC, Texas A&M

3. Jeff Luc, LB- 6-1, 240 lbs., Port St. Lucie, FL

This dude is an absolute freak! Luc run a 4.6 40 and has potential to get down to a 4.5. He benches 335 and squats 700 lbs! Luc is gonna be an inside LB during his college career. Jeff has made a name for himself in Florida as a big hitter. Jeff is said to of put 5 different players out of games with concussions last season alone. Opposing coaches have told their quarterbacks just to throw the ball away the second they see this kid break the line of scrimmage to protect themselves. Luc is destined to be a Ray Lewis like player on the next level who will strike fear into opponents far and wide.

Schools of choice- Florida, Florida state, Miami, Michigan, Notre Dame, UGA, Alabama, USC, Arkansas, Ole Miss, North Carolina, Mississippi State, Ohio State

A look ahead at the class of 2010 (Part 1)

*LSU* — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 21:12:32 GMT

Well guys, recruiting for the 2010 class is just now coming into full swing and I would like to introduce you to a few big name prospects that you will be heading about next February on signing day. Here is part one of my series on the class of 2010.

The Stud Quarterback

Every recruiting class has one thing, a quarterback that is crowned the "next big thing". sometimes it's one like the 2008 class when Terrell Pryor was just head to toe better than everyone or sometimes you have a class like last year when there are two studs with two completely different styles like last year with Russell Sheppard and Matt Barkley. this year is truly unique in the sense that there is no stud quarterback. every single recruiting class seems to have a different number 1 quarterback. The 3 elite that every site seems to be high on are...

1. Jake Heaps- 6-2, 195 lbs., Issaquah, WA

Heaps is physically lacking in the sense that he is short and could stand to gain about 10 pounds, but is strikingly efficient. He shows a few similarities to Colt Mccoy in the sense that he is very accurate, very consistent, and can run when he has to. Heaps has the potential to be a great quarterback and is probably the least risky pick of this years bunch in the sense that I just can't see him being a bust.

Schools of choice- Alabama, BYU, Cal, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Washington (if he goes to Washington or Florida State just forget everything I said about him, he'll be a bust)

2. Blake Bell- 6-6, 215 lbs., Wichita, KS

Bell is the most physically impressive prospect of this class. He's a big bodied quarterback with alot of pro potential. Believe it or not several recruiting websites have him as a dual threat prospect meaning that he is an unbelievable athlete to be 6-6 and that heavy. Bell has a good arm that is not quite on the same level of Matt Barkely's. Bell's weakness is patience in the pocket. He has only been a quarterback for one year (he originally played receiver) so he is a bit immature at the position and does not show great patience in the pocket.

Schools of choice- Solid commit to Oklahoma

3. Paul Jones- 6-3, 223 lbs., Mc Kees Rocks, PA

Jones is one of the more muscular quarterbacks I have seen. He has the physical tools to be an excellent pocket quarterback who runs when he has to. He's an average athlete who runs a 4.8 but is more4 agile than his time suggests. However he has arguably the best arm of anyone in his class. Jones is very accurate and consistent with his pass placement but could stand to improve his throwing mechanics a little. Jones has the potential to be a great future quarterback. In terms of raw pocket passing talent, he blows any of this year's prospects out of the water.

Schools of choice- solid commit to Penn State

Other guys to watch- Nick Montana, Phillip Sims, Connor Woods, Pete Thomas, Scotty Young, Austen Hinder, Deven Gardener, and Joe Boisture

These guys are all neck and neck, but Heaps seems to be the most interesting one because he seems to not want to give away his commitment until signing day comes. This will without a doubt be an interesting year for recruiting quarterbacks.

3 Burning Questions for 2009 Season

*LSU* — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 01:32:18 GMT

Well guys I'm single again so now that I no longer have a hot little blond with abandonment issues calling me every 5 seconds just to ask me "what are you thinking about" I had to address the issue about what to do with all of my free time. Well luckily for you guys I chose this over staring at a wall for 3 hours a day. So just know that so one cares about enough to take a lot of time out his day just to write offensive blogs so you can make your self feel more like a man by ripping a part a person who you never have and never will meet. Anyways here are some of the burning questions going into next season that I'm gonna do my best to answer.

1. Who will start for USC at Quarterback next season?

This battle will be a 3 way war between itch Mustain, Aaron Corp, and Garret Green. Mustain, the most proven comodity of the three, started for Arkansas 3 years ago, sat out a year, and fought over the starting job with Sanchez last year, but in the end fell short. He seemed to be a sure favorite to win the job coming into this spring, but it seems that Garret Green, a 6-2, 210 lbs senior and 6-2 2005 lbs. Dual threat redshirt sophomore Aaron Corp have put on a lot of pressure. The menof troy aren't well known for scramblers but my favorite out of three has to be Aaron Corp. So far this spring he has put on a show and shown a lot more command in the huddle and leadership than mitch Mustain. Corp would compliment the weapons in the USC backfield very nicely with his running ability. Look for USC to go with the Redshirt sophomore and build for a future title run.

2. How will LSU use incoming freshmen star Russel Sheppard?

This is a bit of a homerish question, but it's one that has been burning in my mind never the less. It seems that Sophomore Jordan Jefferson has pretty much clinched the job at starting quarterback for this season, but Miles has made it very clear that he had plans for Freshemn sensation Russsel Sheppard. I'm not quite sure what to expect from this because I can see several different scenarios playing out. So here are the three things I can see happening next season.

1. Jeffferson accepts more of a pocket passer role and Russel sheppard accepts a Ryan Perilloux kind of role (minus the numerous run-in's with the law)

2. Sheppard is moved to running back. People fail to remember that former LSU running back Joseph Addai came into LSU as a 5-star quarterback. When Addai arrived on campus he weighed only 195 lbs. But put on about 20 lbs. And ended up being a bruiser at running back. If some how Sheppard could put on atleast 15-20 lbs. This summer look for him to be swapped over to the running back position and be used as a weapon to spread the field in the 2009 season and fight for a starting job in 2010.

3. Sheppard puts on 10 lbs. And is swapped to a slot WR role and is used to spread the field on bubble screens and short passes that try to isolate him 1 on 1 with defenders.

3. How will Lane Kiffen do at Tennessee this coming season after an interesting off-season?

Lane Kiffen goes into this season with a lot of people in the SEC not liking him at all. With a difficult schedule this could not be good for Tennessee. Vols fans accepted this year to be a building year a long time ago but Kiffen has seemingly painted a target on the back of Tennessee's helmets by pisssing off everyone in the SEC with his arogance. This surely will motivate people to play harder against the Vols and make Lane's opening season possibly one of his last at rocky top.

Tennessee 2009 Schedule
Vs. WKU W
Vs. UCLA *
At Florida L
Vs. Ohio W
Vs. Auburn *
Vs. Georgia *
At Alabama L
Vs. USC *
Vs. Memphis W
At Mississippi L
Vs. Vanderbilt W
At Kentucky W
W- Win
L- Loss
*- toss up

Tennessee has to travel to Oxford, Mobile, and Gainsville. Playing 3 top ten SEC teams on the road is demoralizing for a young team and will guarantee atleast 3 losses. My question is will Tennessee be to beat down from these games to win close games against teams like South Carolina, Georiga, and Auburn? This will decide the story of Tennessee's season.

Well guys thanks for reading, sorry about my lack of mastery of the english language, I don't anyway to spell check on this computer. Until next time... PEACE.

Angry Blogging (Part IV)

*LSU* — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 19:10:16 GMT

Well there are a few subjects that I'd like to touch on, so if you don't like what I have to say, then don't read it.

The Final AP poll was released a few weeks ago, I'm sorry to my mostly imaginary loyal readers that it took me so long to get around to this.

How did Georiga Tech still manage to finish in front of LSU? LSU absoloutly owned Georiga Tech in the best manner that can possibly be imagined. The fact that the AP can still manage to have LSU unranked and not even bump out Georiga Tech showcases the coruption of the system currently in place. How can someone see one team just dominate another team like that and sit there and call it a fluke? Well that's all that I'm really mad about, so I'm gonna start getting into some other stuff that is more in national news.

Earlier this week Mark Sanchez announced that he is going pro. I've heard a variety of mixed opinions about this, but none spoke louder than Pete Carrol who absoloutly threw his former star QB under the bus for leaving early. I have some major issues with this, as mush as I hated Pete Carrol before, I never could find a instance of him not showing class, but in the last few days Pete has made a complete jerk out of himself. How could you throw this kid under the bus? This is a kid who came to USC knowing that he could come in and start most anywhere in the country by his sophmore year, but still decdied to go to USC where he'd have to fight to be seeing the field his senior year. Even though he knew this he waited paciently in the wings until his time finally came and then he catches a break when all of the top NFL QB prospects such as Sam Bradford and Colt Mccoy decide to stay in college and he is staring about 32 million dollars guarenteed in the face and you want him to stay his senior year, enter next years draft which will be loaded with talent at QB, and risk getting hurt? Pete Carrol, get over yourself! This was a smart descision by a smart kid, get over it! You'll reload yet again.

Next I would like to get into my top 5 for next season....

1. Florida

For me and others this seems to be a no brainer, Florida is returning 19 starters from a team that absoloutly dominated what has to be the best confrence in college football. Just go ahead and give up everybody else. Unless Florida is killed by injuries, we're gonna see Florida repeat as national champions.

Schedule

Charleston Southern
Troy
Tennessee
at Kentucky
at LSU
Arkansas
at Mississippi State
Georgia
Vanderbilt
at South Carolina
Florida International
Florida State

2. Oklahoma

Oklahoma despite lossing to Florida, in my mind is still a really good football team. Stoops job is safe, and the Big 12 will be a little weaker than in past years, so I think that will play in Oklahoma's favor once we get get in the late part of the season and everyone else is beaten up. I expect the running game to be even better this year, Chris Brown really showed me alot in the national championship game, I expect him to play a big role in yet another title game run.

Schedule

This is just what I heard, but I'm not positive about it...

at Miami
BYU (In Arligton)
Tulsa
Baylor
Texas
at Kansas
Kansas State
at Nebraska
at Texas A&M
Texas Tech
Oklahoma State

I couldn't find a 4th non-conference game sorry.

3. Texas

One thing showed from Texas in the Fiesta Bowl against Ohio State. Texas will never be able to win a national championship until they can muster some form of a running game. Texas shouldof been able to put teams like Texas Tech and Ohio State away for easy win but they could not manage the clock well because they didn't have a pounder who could take control of the running game, and unless they are bringing in some unbeleivable stud RB in this recruiting class who is flying under the radar, I see no way that they can knock off Florida.

Schedule

Louisiana Monroe
at Wyoming
Central Florida
UTEP
Colorado
Oklahoma
at Missouri
at Oklahoma State
Texas Tech
at Baylor
Kansas
at Texas A&M

4. LSU

I know tat I'm gonna get called a homer and get ripped for putting LSU this high, but I honestly think that we can compete with anybody in the nation except maybe Florida. People failed to realize how young we were this season, especially on defense. On defense alone we started 6 players that were either sophmores or freshmen. I expect the secondary to be much better after having a year to grow up, this is a big deal considering that our secondary consisted of a rotation of a freshmen, 3 sophmores, a Junior, and only 1 senior last season. Jordan Jefferson looks to be the guy for us as far as QB's are concerned. LSU is also bringing in the top QB in the nation along with the top recruiting class in the nation, so expect LSU to be right back in the mix.

Schedule

at Washington
Vanderbilt
ULL
at Mississippi State
at Georiga
Florida
Auburn
Tulane
at Alabama
LA Tech
at Ole Miss
Arkansas

5. Alabama

Bama never reall impresed me down the stretch. They seem very beatable, but at the same time Saban has always been the guy who can make those teams win. Bama gets alot of it's hard games at home this year, but at the same time is breaking in a new QB, that recieved very little playing time this season. If there was anything that I learned as an LSU fan this season, it's that it's very hard to win without a QB because it not only hurts the offense but it frustrates the defense, kills the running game, and creates a problem in the offense because of the lack of a true leader. Bama has talent though, and if they can find a young QB who can just be efficent and limit his mistakes, they'll be pretty hard to beat.

Schedule

Virginia Tech (Atlanta, Georiga)
FIU
North Texas
Arkansas
at Kentucky
at Ole Miss
South Carolina
Tennessee
LSU
at Mississippi State
Tennessee- Chattanooga
at Auburn

Just Missed: USC, Ole Miss, Ohio State, Virginia Tech

Well Guys that's all I got, thanks for reading.

Angry Blogging (Part III)

*LSU* — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 21:10:58 GMT

Hey guys, Happy National Hangover day. Well there are two different subjects I would like to discuss. So enjoy my ranting on the things that are bothering me about college football right now.

Oklahoma

The sooners made it in the national championship game due to scoring 60+ points in 4 starit games. Is that something to be proud of? Sooner fans call that amazing, I call it running up the score. The sooners kept the ones in the whole big 12 championship game. That as a fan, a player, and a coach discusts me. This record is nothing to be proud of! The Nebraska, Notre Dame, Michigan, and Alabama teams of old could of acheived this record several time but didn't! Why you ask.... Because they had some freaking class!!! Don't worry though, what goes around comes around and I beleive Stoops has a date with someone else who likes to run up the score in Urban Meyer. So enjoy your record Stoops, it's the only thing you'll have to show for this season after January 7th.

The Peach Bowl

Wow, this was a HUGE statement game for my tigers. After being told that there is no way they can stop the triple option for nearly a month they do what? Hold the great Paul Johnson out of the endzone for 4 quarters. I wrote and article about why LSU would stand a better chance at stopping the option than other teams, and nobody took it seriously. Well let me try to explain it to you idoits again. See, all coaches know how to stop the option. The hard part is teaching the players how to stop it like second nature. It's nearly impossible to do this in a single week, but by allowing LSU a month to plan for it, you gave us a much bigger advantage. Either way it seems that we're back on track and I would like to close by simply saying I told you so.

Thanks for reading and have a GREAT day.

How to Defend the Triple Option

*LSU* — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 15:01:02 GMT

Well guys LSU has been matched up with Georiga Tech. It's no reall secret that Georiga Tech runs the option. Well I play MLB and a little RB on a high school football team that runs the exact same flexbone, double wing, triple option crap that they run, so I'm gonna give you a little inside view on how it works (atleast in our similar system), and how to stop it.

I'm not gonna sit here and tell you that nobody knows how to stop the option, becuase I would be lying to you. Coaches know how to stop the option, but it's a relativly hard play for defensive player, especialy LB's to comprehend and get to where its second nature and they know what decision to make the second they have to make it.

I'll start with the pre-snap stuff. At the begining of the play the first thing that the linbackers look for is the fomation thier in. It doesn't matter if there is only one unbalanced wing back or two two balanced ones, either way the option can go either way. The second thing you look for is motion, if a player comes in motion each Linebacker shifts a foot to the side that he's motion to, but stays balanced because it still can go either way. When the ball is snapped the Linebackers have the hardest job.

The play side Linebacker has to reckonize immediatly that the play is going his way and step up, buzz his feet and stay near the pitch man without letting him get inside of him while keeping his body square. It's the corner and saftey's job not to let that man get outside so he can not give him a lane to cut in by getting inside (I've been chewed out for doing this many times). The Middle linebacker has to immeidatly realize what side the play is going to as well and quickly get over the top of the line or the box without being blocked. So basicly his goal is to get off of the defensive end's outside butt cheek and buzz his feet and wait on the QB. During this whole time the MLB has to stay square to the line of scrimmage and not let the QB outside while squeezing him enough to not allow and inside cutback lane. The problem most teams have is that thier MLB always sees the Fullback dive and bites on it, then the QB has nobody to contest him so he keeps the ball and has at the least a crisp, easy, uncontest 8 free yards or more. The backside Linebacker has to immeiatly realize that he cannot chase the play down in the backfield so he has to just run full force to help stop the dive by the fullback.

I understand that it's hard to understand just by reading it like that so I'm going to go ahead and provide you with an example to explain it better.

Alright, I'm the Right Outside backer, I see the offense come out in a regular flexbone, double wing set. I glance at the line to make sure I'm atleast 5 yards from the line of scrimmage. The wing back on the other side motions towards me, I automaticly without thinking shuffle over a few feet to the point where I'll be in better position to make the play if they run to my side, but not out of the play if they don't. The QB snaps the ball and options to the Fullback on my side and the wing nearest to me comes out as a lead blocker. I immediatly step up and avoid the lead block or atleast closeup the lane to where the pitch man could not cut up the middle when the Saftey and Corner apply the outside pressure becuase there is a blocker in the way.

Alright, now I'm the middle backer, same thing, flexbone double wing, man comes in motion, I slide over a bit, and when the ball is snapped I see the left wingback is a lead blocker and the right wing back has come in motion, so I'm automaticly over the top by the defensive end's outside butt cheek buzzing my feet, staying square and not giving heQB anywhere to run.

Same thing, except now I'm a LOLB, the ball is snaped, i don't pay attention to where anyone is going, I just fly to where the dive is and help out the line.

There are a few exceptions, but not many to these rules. One thing you have to watch as a middle backer though is the trap, if you see a pulling guard and no possiblity of a toss, then you have to take the dive in that case.

The option has been figured out guys, it's just a matter of applying it to the players. I've been playing against the option for more than 8 years as a defender and I still have mental lapses. It's a hard system to defend, but if you catch someone on the right day in which things are clicking you'll lose. Because if everyone plays there asignment correctly against the otion, it will be a 3-4 yards loss almost everytime. But on the reverse side of that, if one player plays it wrong one time, it will make you look stupid.

I'm not gonna say that LSU will do exactly this, but I can guarentee that it will be along these lines. The fact that this bowl game is so far away plays to LSU's advantage, because the more time you have to learn how to defend the otion the easier it is to stop and it also plays into our hands that many of our players played against the option alot in high school because Louisiana has more triple options teams than almost any state in the united states.

Well thanks for reading, I love sharing the knowledge that as come from years of being a defensive coordinator's son, have a great day, a merry christmas, and happy new year.

Ranking the Bowl match-ups and predictions

*LSU* — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 04:24:48 GMT

This is my attempt of predicting the millions of bowl games we have. Predictions will be based on what I think so yes they will be biased, if you don't like that, then go read another blog.

Match-up Location Interest Prediction

                                                                                                    level

EagleBank Bowl
Wake Forest vs. Navy Washington, D.C.
RFK Stadium 8Wake 32- 20

New Mexico
Colorado State vs. Fresno State Albuquerque
University Stadium 4 Fresno 42- 14

magicJack St. Petersburg
Memphis vs. South Florida St. Petersburg. Fla.
Tropicana Field 2 South Florida 34- 12

Pioneer Las Vegas
BYU vs. Arizona Las Vegas
Sam Boyd Stadium 7 BYU 52- 35

R+L Carriers New Orleans
Southern Miss vs. Troy New Orleans
Superdome 1Troy 14- 3

San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia
Boise State vs. TCU San Diego
Qualcomm Stadium 9Boise State 35- 28

Sheraton Hawaii
Hawaii vs. Notre Dame Honolulu
Aloha Stadium 2Hawaii 45- 38

Motor City
Florida Atlantic vs. Central Michigan Detroit
Ford Field 2CMU 27- 12

Meineke Car Care
West Virginia vs. North Carolina Charlotte, N.C.
Bank of America Stadium 8West Virginia 35 -14

Champs Sports
Wisconsin vs. Florida State Orlando, Fla.
Florida Citrus Bowl 6Wisconsin 14-7

Emerald
Miami (Fla.) vs. California San Francisco
AT&T Park 7Miami 27-24

Independence
Northern Illinois vs. Louisiana Tech Shreveport, La.
Independence Stadium 0Who cares?

Papajohns.com
NC State vs. Rutgers Birmingham, Ala.
Legion Field 4Rutgers 32-24

Valero Alamo
Missouri vs. Northwestern San Antonio
Alamodome 5Missouri 45-13

Roady's Humanitarian
Maryland vs. Nevada Boise, Idaho
Bronco Stadium 5Maryland 43-6

Texas
Rice vs. Western Michigan Houston
Reliant Stadium 1 Western Michigan 32-25

Pacific Life Holiday
Oklahoma State vs. Oregon San Diego
Qualcomm Stadium 10Oregon 28- 13

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces
Houston vs. Air Force Fort Worth, Texas
Amon G. Carter Stadium 1Air force 34-7

Brut Sun
Oregon State vs. Pittsburgh El Paso, Texas
Sun Bowl 7Oregon state 28-14

Gaylord Hotels Music City
Boston College vs. Vanderbilt Nashville, Tenn.
LP Field 6Boston College 43-21

Insight
Kansas vs. Minnesota Tempe, Ariz.
Sun Devil Stadium 4 Kansas 43- 28

Chick-fil-A
LSU vs. Georgia Tech Atlanta
Georgia Dome 10LSU 36-24

Outback
South Carolina vs. Iowa Tampa, Fla.
Raymond James Stadium 6 South Carolina 34-28

Capital One
Georgia vs. Michigan State Orlando, Fla.
Florida Citrus Bowl 7 Georiga 45-17

Konica Minolta Gator
Clemson vs. Nebraska Jacksonville, Fla.
Jacksonville Municipal Stadium 4 Nebraska 32-28

Rose Bowl Game Presented by Citi
Penn State vs. USC Pasadena, Calif.
Rose Bowl 7USC 42- 10

FedEx Orange
Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech Miami
Dolphin Stadium 4 Virginia Tech 21-14

AT&T Cotton
Ole Miss vs. Texas Tech Dallas
Cotton Bowl 9Texas Tech 52-17

AutoZone Liberty
Kentucky vs. East Carolina Memphis, Tenn.
Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium 4 East Carolina 24-17

Allstate Sugar
Utah vs. Alabama New Orleans
Superdome 8Alabama 32- 12

International
Buffalo vs. Connecticut Toronto
Rogers Centre 3 Uconn 41- 24

Tostitos Fiesta
Ohio State vs. Texas Glendale, Ariz.
University of Phoenix Stadium 8Texas 53- 21

GMAC
Tulsa vs. Ball State Mobile, Ala.
Ladd-Peebles Stadium 5 Ball State 45-34

FedEx BCS National Championship Game
Florida vs. Oklahoma Miami
Dolphin Stadium 10 Florida 42, Oklahoma 28

So there it is, don't like it? I really don't care. I'll answer any questions as long as they don't include personal insults to me or my team.