Jordan Jefferson’s getting less respect than Rodney Dangerfield. And it’s really unfortunate.Don’t get me wrong — I’m not campaigning for LSU’s sophomore quarterback to make any All-America teams. I just think the LSU fan base needs to ease off the young man’s back and correctly place the blame for the Tigers’ struggling offense — on the offensive line.I left Saturday’s 13-3 loss to No. 1 Florida thinking about how frustrated with the offensive line’s lack of production the LSU defense must have been after a stellar performance.But at least the fans aren’t trashing the defense. Jefferson went 11-of-17 for 96 yards and an interception on what looked to be a miscommunication with junior wide receiver Terrance Toliver (not sure whose fault that one was). All-world Florida senior quarterback Tim Tebow finished 11-of-16 for 134 yards, an interception and a touchdown on what should’ve been an offensive pass interference call.Jefferson did pretty well matching the guy getting a lot of praise for the win, despite needing to dance around an instantly crumbling pocket almost all night and getting sacked five times. And it was all just to be thrown under the bus by LSU fans — mainly because he didn’t throw enough long balls.But I’d imagine the more than 93,000 fans in Tiger Stadium that night would’ve found deep passes hard to deliver with Brandon Spikes, Jermaine Cunningham and company on their heels as soon as the ball was snapped. LSU senior running back Charles Scott took some of the blame for not doing a better job helping in pass protection when his linemen missed blocks. But that’s just the sort of thing senior leaders are supposed to say after tough games.But blocking defensive front sevens is just the sort of thing, let’s say “capable,” offensive linemen like LSU’s are supposed to do.Then again, at least the line gave Jefferson a chance to avoid third-and-longs on those sacks and hurries — albeit a slight chance. Jefferson didn’t even get to touch the ball when the line was false starting like Steve Urkel with ants in his pants. He just got unfavorable positions the penalties put him in — positions to fail.The problem isn’t new. LSU just happened to face a great defense this week. The LSU defense was on the field almost the entire third quarter against Georgia because the Tiger line couldn’t give Jefferson any time.The poor kid’s been sacked 18 times already through six games — an average of three times a game. The only other Southeastern Conference teams to have allowed double-digit sacks this season are South Carolina and Vanderbilt.Five SEC teams average one sack or fewer allowed per game. All this comes despite Jefferson being quick enough to avoid more potential sacks than plenty of other quarterbacks. And fans want Jefferson to feel comfortable dropping back for a long pass knowing that kind of pressure’s coming at him?Sure they do — because they’re as ridiculous as their expectations. The fans begged and pleaded for Jefferson last season. Everyone knew Jefferson would save the Tigers from the errant arm of Jarrett Lee. Now they’ve got Jefferson, and they’re slowly starting to ask for Lee and freshman Russell Shepard.Lee actually racked up some pretty nice numbers last season for a freshman SEC quarterback. He completed 53 percent of his passes and notched 13 touchdowns and 16 interceptions on his way to a 115.7 passer rating.Former Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford completed 53 percent of his passes and threw seven touchdowns and 13 interceptions en route to a 109 passer rating his freshman season. Things worked out pretty well for Stafford — No. 1 overall NFL draft pick well.
Point being, quarterbacks don’t just come out of high school ready for SEC defenses. The adjustment takes some time.The criticism of the starter and the cry for the backup aren’t as loud or widespread as it got last season, but it’s still early. Let’s see how things go throughout the rest of the SEC schedule.Jefferson has better statistics so far this season, his first as a full-time starter, than Lee or Stafford did — 63 percent completion rate, seven touchdowns, three interceptions and a 133.4 passer rating.And he’s done it despite already being sacked almost as much as both Lee and Stafford combined in their freshman seasons (Lee was sacked eight times all last season, while Stafford was sacked 12 times in 2006).So get off Jordan Jefferson’s back — it’s not strong enough to carry the misplaced criticism of 93,000+ overzealous fanatics. But Jordan, you’ve got the Alabama and Ole Miss defenses coming up shortly after Halloween, so I’d start thinking about asking for some pass protection and a little respect when you go trick-or-treating.They’re two things a quarterback really needs, and they’re two things you’re getting little of right now.–Contact Jerit Roser at [email protected]