BATON ROUGE, La. -- A bit of perspective for anyone stressing Zach Mettenberger's so-so start to 2012: Turn the calendar back one year.
Although he spent part of the first half on the sideline with a shoulder bruise and had troubles at time getting into a rhythm with his receivers, all one has to do is review the 2011 season to be a bit more forgiving of Mettenberger's 17-of-26 debut, totaling 192 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
Compared to the Tigers' two-headed combo of Jarrett Lee and Jordan Jefferson last fall, Mettenberger just threw the third-highest number of completions for an LSU quarterback in the last 15 games. His 26 completions are also the third-highest in the last calendar year -- behind Lee's 28 attempts against West Virginia and Jefferson's 29 against Arkansas.
Although he spent part of the first half on the sideline with a shoulder bruise and had troubles at time getting into a rhythm with his receivers, all one has to do is review the 2011 season to be a bit more forgiving of Mettenberger's 17-of-26 debut, totaling 192 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
Compared to the Tigers' two-headed combo of Jarrett Lee and Jordan Jefferson last fall, Mettenberger just threw the third-highest number of completions for an LSU quarterback in the last 15 games. His 26 completions are also the third-highest in the last calendar year -- behind Lee's 28 attempts against West Virginia and Jefferson's 29 against Arkansas.
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ABOUT GEAUX TIGER NATION
Gary Laney
Gary Laney joined ESPN.com in 2012 after spending a year and a half as online sports editor of the Baton Rouge (La.) Advocate. Before that, he covered LSU sports for the Advocate. He has also been the sports editor at the Beaumont (Texas) Enterprise and covered McNeese State athletics for the Lake Charles (La.) American Press. Laney currently lives in Baton Rouge. Email him at glaneyespn@gmail.com