Top Priorities for Improvement

Top Priorities for Improvement

1.Eliminate or reduce significantly the turnovers. Turnovers in the last 3 games resulted in 40 points. I don’t have stats on this but it seems the majority of the turnovers occurred deep in our own territory. This is absolutely unacceptable and MUST stop now.

2.Cut down on penalties. Its college football we’re talking here and penalties will happen and everyone understands that. But, the Dawgs have to find a way to reduce them.

3.The secondary defense has to step up and perform better. Granted the turnovers have put extra weight on the defense but there needs to be a lot of improvement and fast. I feel like it’s a “focus” thing and I put a lot of blame on the defensive coaching.

There are other improvements and we can talk about them all day long but these are what I feel are absolutely essential. In 2 weeks we’ll be getting into the meat of our SEC schedule. It’s going to be a very disappointing year for Dawg Nation if these improvements aren’t made and made quickly.

Go Dawgs!

Good points made, gillette. I'd like to add a few if I may. One goes hand in hand with your #3. We have to get more pressure on the QB to help out our secondary. If our Seniors can't do it, give the young guys a shot, blitz some LBs, something! Another problem starting to rear it's ugly head again this year is kickoffs going out of bounds. We had two last week. This is unacceptable. Walsh has been great putting the ball through the uprights, and we might have an additional loss if not for some timely FG's in the South Carolina game, but giving the opponents a free pass to the forty yard line kills momentum you gained when you scored, and CMR gave out a scholarship this year to cure this problem, I thought. Hopefully we can get these problems rectified against ASU, and carry it over to LSU. GO DAWGS!!!!

Whoever keeps asking this true sophomore, COLLEGE NOT PROFESSIONAL placekicker to kick directionally on kickoffs is a bigger candidate for a pink slip than Willie Martinez. I know he can't boom it into the end zone on every kick, but for the love of God, a 25-yard return from the one or even a thirty-yard return from the five is STILL better than giving them the ball on the 40! Do the MATH!

Have him kick the ball. Period. If you're really, truly, Devin Hester afraid of their deep man, have him kick it straight up into the air to an upback at the 30 or 35, send gunners down there, and tackle him on the spot or force him to fair-catch the thing. Again: it's better than giving it to them, giving it to them, on the 40.

Field position is the greatest problem we have. Period.

gillette, you were right, all of the turnovers in the Arkansas game occurred in our own territory. The first two resulted in 14 points. The third one might have had Arkansas not gotten called for unsportsmanlike, turning the INT into a punt.