For Whom the Mailbag Tolls: Tiger by the Tail Edition

It’s the time of the week when you guys send me questions, and I provide you with answers. Maybe they’re good answers, maybe they’re not. But they are answers and that is all I really promised.

To the questions!

I think there’s no doubt about it. The Bulldogs are getting ready to head to Death Valley, and if they want to have a chance to win, they ‘ll need to be as intense as ever.

I also think Mullen and the rest of the team got in a situation where they could take games like South Alabama for granted. They had never lost one like that under Mullen, so they didn’t think there would be any reason they would start with them. Maybe we look back at that game as the wake up call the team needed.

I don’t think there is just one. LSU is getting hammered quite a bit about their unproductive offense, but there is still a ton of talent on the Tigers’ roster. But I think there is one which is more important than the rest of them.

Danny Etling was solid when he took over the game for Brandon Harris. And while fans were pleased to see him play better, it still wasn’t a thrilling performance.

You need to make the Tigers beat you through the air. Make Leonard Fournette and Derrius Guice work hard for every yard they get in the game because they are going to get their yards.

In regards to your first question, if we don’t, then we need to start looking for a new defensive coordinator and defensive coaching staff right now. We’re not beating the Tigers without making the running backs for LSU earn every single yard they pick up.

For the second question, I’m really not. He didn’t win the Purdue job over a guy who threw 10 touchdowns to 11 interceptions. He completed 6 of his first 8 pass attempts in the game, but didn’t complete a single one in the second half. He gave them a spark, but it fizzled out pretty quickly.

I’ll say Etling, but only because I hate planning against dual threat quarterbacks. I know Etling ran in for a touchdown last week against Jacksonville St., but that’s not a big part of his game. But neither are the part of LSU’s offense that worries me.

I bet we could, but there is a problem in doing so. The breading a corn dog gets fired in crumbles pretty easily, so I think they would just be shedding corn dog breading the entire way. Then your just left with a hot dog on a stick and no bun. And that’s no fun.

This depends a lot on how Gabe Myles plays. Gabe really struggled catching the ball this past weekend, and it might end up costing him playing time. If he struggles again, I think Mullen has to consider moving Ross out wide and inserting Malik Dear in the slot. He was way too productive a year ago to keep him on the sideline.

I think the most important thing to point out in this question is the player Ryan specifically mentions, and that’s Jamoral Graham. I was at the game on Saturday, and I paid a lot of attention to our defensive backs just to see how Sirmon was using them.

Lashard Durr was playing much tighter coverage on the opposite corner. He has a lot more confidence playing the position, and you’ll notcie you didn’t hear hios name as much. And for DBs, that’s usually a good thing.

Graham is still learning the position and he is having a really difficult time figuring things out. They gave Jamal Peters a shot at corner and it paid off. He played his man pretty tight and went up and got an interception which was the first of his career.

Now, in the fourth quarter, all the defensive backs did start creeping back. As much as fans hate it, once a team has a pretty sizable lead in the fourth quarter, they’re going to play to keep everything in front of them. I think this has more to do with the offensive success the Gamecocks had in the second half, and was less a product of poor defensive play.

That will do it for this week’s mailbag. If you ever have a question you would like answered in the mailbag, you can send it to me on Twitter. My handle is @JStrawnFWtCT.