Some Definitions for LSU to Ponder

**GeauxTo** · 11-27-2008, 01:36 PM

Apathy (\ˈa-pə-thē\)
A noun defined by Webster's as (1) lack of feeling or emotion or (2) lack of interest or concern.
I'm going to go ahead and pin this one on everyone involved with LSU - and that includes the fans. It saddens me to no end to watch this team go through the motions week in and week out since the Florida debacle, the lone exception being the Alabama game. I'm not going to go so far as to accuse them of flat out quitting because there have been some decent displays of football, but the level of effort we are seeing displayed on the field more often then not certainly is not what we've come to expect from an LSU football team.

I can only assume that our spotty quarterback play which started in Gainesville and has continued through today was the beginning of the apathy that we are seeing displayed by the Tigers. The consistently repeated letdowns by the quarterbacks has permeated the rest of the team and the fans. We now see players and fans alike reacting to Catastrope Syndrome as coined by our old pal Nick Saban. And Ole Miss officially ended the worst year for stadium "buzz" that I can remember when LSU has had a winning record. I'm sorry but the fans simply weren't bringing it all year long and that is sad.

Spoiled (\ˈspȯi(-ə)ld\)
In this case, Webster's defines this as to impair the disposition or character of by overindulgence or excessive praise.
We as fans have become spoiled by LSU's successes over our recent historic run. We were spoiled by the great defenses of Nick Saban and continued to varying degrees by Bo Pelini. We were spoiled by a string of quarterbacks starting with the Nall/Davey/Booty era and ending with Matt Flynn last season that possessed enough talent and/or heart to be drafted into the NFL. And, probably the biggest culprit, we definitely were spoiled by winning not one but two BCS National Championships.

Everyone surrounding LSU, players and fans alike, need to realize that the odds are heavily against winning a national championship each and every year. Until Florida wins their second title in early January of '09 (yes, they will win the whole thing), LSU stands as the only team to possess two BCS National Championships. That is a great accomplishment and one that should not be diminished. However, it is foolish to think that LSU can lay claim to the title, throw their helmets out there, and win year after year. It's just not going to happen. The fans are showing just how spoiled they are by not offering the proper support to a team that was destined to take a step back with a redshirt freshman and now a true freshman under center. Get over it.

Assurance (\ə-ˈshu̇r-ən(t)s\)
For our purposes Webster's defines this as (1) being certain in the mind, confidence of mind or manner, easy freedom from self-doubt or uncertainty or (2) something that inspires or tends to inspire confidence.
As I have many times prior to this post, I've got to revert back to my bashing of our "two headed monster" of defensive coordinators, Bradley Dale Peveto and Doug Mallory. And this time I'm going to the well on nothing more than pure speculation. It appears to me that our defensive players are not getting the assurance that they need from their weekly preparation by our co-defensive coordinators that they are being put in a position to make the plays that we've come to expect.

The defensive effort seems to have regressed this year. And no one in the world will ever convince me that our players have lost talent. What it appears they have lost is the assurance that what they are being asked to do is going to work. They may have become a step slower by thinking and not just playing. Maybe they doubt the call or maybe they don't trust that their teammate is going to be in the right place and therefore are overcompensating. Whatever the reason, the defensive effort is not up to snuff. I'm sure that some would disagree with my assessment of the defense, but there has to be some explanation for the performances that we've seen.

Honeymoon (\ˈhə-nē-ˌmün\)
We're going to go contextual here, but Webster's primary definition is a period of harmony immediately following marriage.
OK, so we didn't marry Les Miles last year when he won the BCS National Championship. However, Les, the honeymoon from last year's championship is officially over. It's time to finish off this monster recruiting class with some headliners and get the defense and quarterback situation straightened out so we can rid Tiger Stadium of the apathy that dominated this year and become spoiled again after another successful season and go back having the assurance of returning to a place that everyone wants to be - in the championship hunt.

RaMMeR JaMMeR · 11-27-2008, 02:01 PM

Another great post by Geaux.
Don't worry buddy. It's just a bad year for yall. You'll be back by 2010.

**GeauxTo** · 11-27-2008, 02:21 PM

When things start to go bad, in any sport, people instinctively want to assign blame. Did the players mess up? Was it the coaches? Is it the refs' fault? In college football, assigning blame is easy. Everything begins and ends with the head coach. If the players aren't getting it done, then guess what? The head coach is responsible for recruiting those players. If the assistant coaches aren't doing their job, well that's on the head coach too because he is responsible for hiring his coaching staff. If the players aren't giving maximum effort, then again...it's the head coach's responsibility. While Les Miles has endured a lot of unfair criticism from LSU fans and the national media over the last 3 years, every bit of criticism he gets regarding the 2008 season is completely warranted. While what I saw on Saturday is never acceptable...ever, Miles earns a mulligan this year since he won 34 games and a national title over his first three seasons. But he needs to fix things this offseason and if he doesn't, then he's digging his own grave. The fact that Miles is earning over $3 million dollars for the coaching job that we have seen in 2008 must be downright laughable to LSU's rivals.