Life After SLU

[RaginDave]

Who were we missing on defense that may return to action this week? I'm calling that guy our hero before any of you do. Or perhaps Lucas will look over his shoulder against Tulsa... and say, "Rudy, you're up.". Who actually wants to play defense this week for the Cajuns? Who actually wants to run towards and tackle the man with the ball? Let's play those players this week.

Tracy Walker missed the first half and we were without Travis Crawford for the entire game and he could be back this week. Also Simeon Thomas who will be out again this week and will be back and available vs A&M

[AirBill]

What happened to Trey Ragas? I saw him walking off the field holding his arm. Looked like a shoulder injury. I don't remember him playing after that.

[Cajunsmike]

The fact of the matter is, what we put on film Saturday was pretty awful. But that might actually benefit us against Tulsa.

First of all, I refuse to believe that we're actually that bad. As unacceptable as it is to get caught flat footed in the opener against an instate FCS squad, it's still better than actually being a no talent defense. I don't believe we are that. DL and secondary are still in tact from a strong Defense last year.

Tulsa is still replacing their entire offense (not OL, but skill positions), Tulsa looked plenty shaky on defense (granted against OSU, but the best thing we did Saturday was score points), and Tulsa SHOULD be within our goals as a WIN.

I know we're plssed off. But the truth is, you benefit a lot more from an ugly win, than you do from a blistering domination. We get the best of both worlds here: The guys feel like they lost and coaching staff get to hammer and teach them as if they lost.

We still have a full season to play.

There have been plenty of seasons in the past when we did not do well in Game 1 but did better as the season went along. Defense improved tremendously from Game 1 to Game 2 last year. I don't know if that will happen again but the fact that it has happened in the past shows it is possible. I know I have been beating this drum throughout camp but a key to me is to use Elijah Mitchell more. He moves the sticks which is key to keeping defense off the field. He was a real positive on Saturday.

[Cajunsmike]

Who is the JC linebacker? And did he play?

JC linebacker is named Middleton and he played quite a bit. Fact he did after being here three weeks tells you that position is the major concern.

[Cajunsmike]

What happened to Trey Ragas? I saw him walking off the field holding his arm. Looked like a shoulder injury. I don't remember him playing after that.

Ragas did not play much after his long TD run. He did not play at all in the second half. Losing him was a factor as I do not believe Jordan Wright is big enough to count on for the first down in short yardage situations. I do not know the status of his injury at this stage.

[CajunPride]

Tracy Walker only played 2nd half and was still the leading tackler for game and most of those were solo. Apparently slu was attacking that part of the defense as part of their gameplan, knowing our other starting safety was out. They have experienced coaches and will win many games this season.

[MetryCajun]

JC linebacker is named Middleton and he played quite a bit. Fact he did after being here three weeks tells you that position is the major concern.

The LB's struggled mightily. Lets see this week what can be done to shore up this group. We certainly miss Lightfoot and Peters.

[Cajunsmike]

The LB's struggled mightily. Lets see this week what can be done to shore up this group. We certainly miss Lightfoot and Peters.

I don't know what can be done about the LB play. That is likely to be the main issue all season and could determine if we have a successful season or not.

[Cajunsmike]

Tracy Walker only played 2nd half and was still the leading tackler for game and most of those were solo. Apparently slu was attacking that part of the defense as part of their gameplan, knowing our other starting safety was out. They have experienced coaches and will win many games this season.

I agree SLU should have a successful season. They were 7 and 4 a year ago and have many players back. That LT transfer from LSU is a big positive for them. Some of our fans do not believe they will do well but I think that is simply because our performance was so poor at times that they cannot focus on anything else.

[Ragin4U]

JC linebacker is named Middleton and he played quite a bit. Fact he did after being here three weeks tells you that position is the major concern.

Middleton does not show up in the box score. No solo or asst tackles.