LSU football coach Les Miles said he is confident the Tigers will work through their special teams snafus committed Saturday against Mississippi State — a missed extra point, missed 19-yard field goal and an errant long snap on a punt in the first quarter.”We had 11 points given to our opponent on special teams miscues, and virtually all three were snaps,” Miles said. “We cannot go into a big game with the opportunity to make big plays and have something so fundamental break down. We feel like we can address that, and it’s a very correctable mistake.”Miles said junior safety Chad Jones was the team’s most valuable player of the game Saturday after returning a punt 93 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.”The return that Chad Jones puts on is a great decision on a bouncing ball that he picks up, returns with great personal effort,” Miles said. “Certainly it was very timely.”Jones also batted down a third-down pass from Mississippi State senior quarterback Tyson Lee and assisted on the fourth-down tackle on the Bulldogs’ final drive.That goal-line stand sealed LSU’s 30-26 win, and Miles said the defense being on the field for more snaps is not cause for panic, as LSU leads the Southeastern Conference in turnover margin at +7.”They found the energy in the goal-line stand,” Miles said. “There is some concern that we’re not on the field for longer on offense. We’d like to have the time of possession be an advantage for us as well … and get that defense off the field so it can rest.”On the offensive side, Miles said he still wants to run the ball more often as the Tigers prepare to face No. 18 Georgia, the only SEC team Miles has never beaten.”I want [to run the ball] for Charles Scott and that offensive line and Keiland Williams, and I want to be able to come off the football,” Miles said. “But again, the defense can choose to play everybody inside, and that makes it a much more difficult position to run the football.”Quarterback Russell Shepard entered the game for a series Saturday. Miles said he wants to get the true freshman on the field “as fast as we can.””First and foremost, we’d like to get Charles Scott and Keiland Williams going,” Miles said. “We’d like to see if we couldn’t get a package that’s underway with Russell Shepard … It’s not something we’ve gotten accomplished.”OTHER UPDATESLSU’s Oct. 10 game against Florida will kick off at 7 p.m. on CBS, the Athletic Department announced Monday.Senior linebacker Jacob Cutrera left Saturday’s game with an undisclosed injury late in the game, but Miles said he should be healthy heading to Georgia.”We don’t anticipate Cutrera will have an issue with going,” Miles said. “[Sophomore linebacker Ryan] Baker would work in, and there are a number of guys there like [senior linebacker] Ace Foyil that will work.”Junior defensive end Lazarius Levingston also saw his first action since leaving the Washington game with an ankle injury.
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Miles certain special teams will rebound from blunder
September 28, 2009