The quarterback always gets too much of the blame and too much of the credit.
LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson has been an easy target the last three weeks. He simply hasn’t thrown the ball well, but the Tigers have also made mistakes and missed out on opportunities to make plays around him.
It’s only magnified his struggles.
As LSU turns its attention to Tennessee this weekend, coach Les Miles isn’t ready to make a change at quarterback. Jefferson will remain his starter, but it’s obvious that Miles won’t be hesitant to go to Jarrett Lee.
“He’s getting closer and closer to getting an opportunity,” Miles said of Lee.
But Miles said regardless of who’s playing quarterback, the Tigers have to improve across the board in their passing game, including protection, receivers making plays and the quarterback delivering the ball on time and on target.
In particular, he said penalties plagued the Tigers in the 20-14 win over West Virginia. They only scored one offensive touchdown, and that was set up by a West Virginia fumble at its own 7.
“It wasn’t a great night to play quarterback in that offense no matter who the quarterback was,” Miles said.
Give Miles credit. He’s doing his best to make sure he doesn’t lose Jefferson, who undoubtedly has to be pretty fragile right now.
It’s a fine line, though, when you’re struggling as much as Jefferson and the entire LSU passing game is right now.
The frustrating thing for LSU fans is the Tigers have premium talent at all the skill positions. Receivers Terrence Toliver, Russell Shepard and Rueben Randle could play for anybody in this league and were all highly recruited.
Still, very little has clicked yet for the Tigers when they elect to throw the football. Jefferson has completed just 48 percent of his passes in the last three games with three interceptions and no touchdowns. He's gone three straight games now and hasn't thrown for 100 yards.
Even though the Tigers are 4-0, Miles knows that’s not going to last unless they can start throwing the ball with more success.
For the time being, though, he’s going to continue to ride with Jefferson.
We'll see how bumpy that ride gets.
LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson has been an easy target the last three weeks. He simply hasn’t thrown the ball well, but the Tigers have also made mistakes and missed out on opportunities to make plays around him.
It’s only magnified his struggles.
As LSU turns its attention to Tennessee this weekend, coach Les Miles isn’t ready to make a change at quarterback. Jefferson will remain his starter, but it’s obvious that Miles won’t be hesitant to go to Jarrett Lee.
“He’s getting closer and closer to getting an opportunity,” Miles said of Lee.
But Miles said regardless of who’s playing quarterback, the Tigers have to improve across the board in their passing game, including protection, receivers making plays and the quarterback delivering the ball on time and on target.
In particular, he said penalties plagued the Tigers in the 20-14 win over West Virginia. They only scored one offensive touchdown, and that was set up by a West Virginia fumble at its own 7.
“It wasn’t a great night to play quarterback in that offense no matter who the quarterback was,” Miles said.
Give Miles credit. He’s doing his best to make sure he doesn’t lose Jefferson, who undoubtedly has to be pretty fragile right now.
It’s a fine line, though, when you’re struggling as much as Jefferson and the entire LSU passing game is right now.
The frustrating thing for LSU fans is the Tigers have premium talent at all the skill positions. Receivers Terrence Toliver, Russell Shepard and Rueben Randle could play for anybody in this league and were all highly recruited.
Still, very little has clicked yet for the Tigers when they elect to throw the football. Jefferson has completed just 48 percent of his passes in the last three games with three interceptions and no touchdowns. He's gone three straight games now and hasn't thrown for 100 yards.
Even though the Tigers are 4-0, Miles knows that’s not going to last unless they can start throwing the ball with more success.
For the time being, though, he’s going to continue to ride with Jefferson.
We'll see how bumpy that ride gets.
- ESPN.com SEC blogger
- Joined ESPN.com in 2007
- Wrote for The (Nashville) Tennessean
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Chris Low
Low joined ESPN.com in 2007 after 10 years with The (Nashville) Tennessean covering the University of Tennessee and SEC. The Rock Hill, S.C., native lives with his wife in Knoxville and has three sons.
Edward Aschoff
Aschoff joined ESPN.com in 2011 after spending four years covering the University of Florida for The Gainesville Sun. He grew up in Oxford, Miss., before attending UF, graduating with a B.S. in journalism.
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