Rosetta: Time to see what Jefferson can do

• By RANDY ROSETTA
• Advocate sports writer
• Published: Nov 10, 2008 - UPDATED: 11:55 a.m.

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Things are different now. As admirable as loyalty and compassion are from a coaching staff, it’s time for a different look.

The only question should be how much Jordan Jefferson plays, not whether he gets into the final three games.

Let’s start with this: Jarrett Lee is a great kid.

The cliché’ about being the kind of kid you’d want to date your daughter is a perfect fit. If I ever allow either of my daughters out of the house, I couldn’t draw up a better blueprint than Lee.

Lee also has a future as a college quarterback, to what degree is debatable. His arm strength and willingness to test a defense are two qualities you don’t coach into a player.

But Lee is struggling beyond belief right now and seems to be regressing. It’s time to evaluate if continuing to trot him out onto the field is helping or hindering his progress and LSU’s future at the QB position.

Until Saturday, it was OK to dismiss Lee’s Groundhog Day-like foibles as freshman growing pains.

All the interceptions turned into touchdowns for the other teams were excruciatingly damaging, but didn’t directly cost the Tigers a chance to win.

Against Alabama, Lee’s problems had an unmistakable impact on the outcome. 

Not to say he lost the game all alone. 

Just as Saturday would’ve been a magnificent team triumph, it was also a bitter team loss. Dropped/missed passes, untimely penalties on offensive linemen, letting John Parker Wilson wiggle out of sack — there were a lot of pieces. 

The role Lee had in the loss is impossible to ignore, though.  Not just the pick that was returned for a score or the last one in the end zone that snuffed out the Tigers momentum from a last-second blocked field goal and swung the door open for Alabama’s victory.

It was also the interception deep in Crimson Tide territory when LSU was in field-goal range. Or a handful of bad throws that nobody could’ve gotten their hands on.