The Advocate: LSU to go 9-3, "Bama’s biggest obstacle is Bama"

And just what were the Bama LBers doing while he was scrambling? There were still eleven men on the field.

 

Depending on the call, normally the WILL was in pass coverage with the MIKE and JACK disrupting the pocket. Manziel wasn't able to just stand in the pocket and pass due to the linebackers in the backfield.

Go back to the comment I made to Red earlier. He's elusive.

Without the containment established the pressure from the two linebackers moved him but he was still able to make plays.

The switch in the secondary in the second quarter didn't allow that pass pattern to develop within a second or two. The Aggies didn't score in the 2nd or 3rd quarter because the offense was, essentially, contained.

The touchdown they scored in the 4th was one of those plays that truly impressed me about Manziel. They had lost control of ball, he regained possession and quickly found a receiver that was left open due to a breakdown caused by the loose ball.

In the final three quarters of that game they had one sustained drive which led to a FG.

Going full circle here...

I mentioned earlier in this thread how I was shocked during the LSU vs Florida game how the Tigers were in a goal line situation and couldn't run the ball well enough to score. In the A&M game, Bama is left with a 1st and goal and decided to pass the ball on three of the four possessions which resulted in a 4th down INT in the end zone. To this day, I'm still left wondering why on earth three passing plays were called behind one of the better offensive lines in college football.

End the end, I'm not paid to coach—just criticize. Either way (passing or running) I'd still complain because it was a 1st and goal that resulted in zero points and in the end the loss.

That said, it was still a hell of a ball game.

 

Yeppers.

That was the same adjustment Muschamp used in the second half.

Those ends were able to get enough penetration to seal the outside due to their quickness. Bama's ends weren't in the same position when the linebackers began to disrupt the pocket. The pressure was there, the containment was just getting into position when Manziel had already started scrambling.

 

LSU didn't run a 4-3 vs. Manziel. we did run our normal 4-man front for the first two drives, and Manziel handed our ass to us. So we switched to a 3-4 for the rest for the game, just like Bama runs (what was double-genius about this is that it gave Manziel practice against a 3-4 and film to study against a 3-4, which helped aTm beat Bama).

and like you said, Bama played a lot of nickel vs Manziel, LSU did the same thing, running a 3-3-5 for much of the game, same exact formation Bama uses for their nickel out of the 3-4 base D

actually, looking up some articles on that game, it turns out i didn't even realize that we also ran a lot of 3-2-6 against Manziel (basically morphing out of a 3-4-4 base D into a 3-2-6 dime package, same we did with our 3-3-5 nickel package) and that we call it our "Mustang" package


here are some comments on the LSU @ aTm game last season:

CFN Analysis by Russ Mitchell CFN/Scout.com
great coaching adjustments...LSU defensive coordinator John Chavis adjusted out of a 4-3 into a 3-4 defense, and shifted his aggressive style down a notch, with the focus more on containment than pursuit. A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel struggled to bend to the change, and that’s when the Aggies’ turnovers started. All five of them.

Detailed Break Down of What Chavis Did to aTm with Pictures by an Aggie blog
First 2 drives: 24 plays, 141 yards (5.875 yd/play)
Rest of 1st half: 30 plays, 117 yards (3.9 yd/play)
2nd half: 40 plays, 152 yards (3.8 yd/play)
What led to this dramatic shift in yards per play? ...LSU went...into a 3-3-5 look with three down lineman, three linebackers, and the same five defensive backs. The interesting thing LSU did was they still rushed four players on every play -- but they constantly rushed either a linebacker or defensive back from the outside. This move by John Chavis was brilliant. Why was it so different from the previous pass rush? Due to the outside edge rusher, Manziel became uncomfortable in the pocket quickly, and his bad tendencies to scramble before going to his reads manifested. Manziel simply just didn't trust his offensive line to pick up this blitzer and would bail on the play prematurely, leaving open options down the field that could have been converted. Just look at these examples...

Carter Bryant, DIG Baton Rouge
“We wanted to pressure them more, and it’s easier to pressure them out of our Mustang package,” said The Chief. ... The key is simple: get as much speed on the field as possible. The “Mustang” is a 3-2-6 formation ... In the first two series, LSU played 22 of 24 plays in non-Mustang formation on defense. Those drives were 75 and 66 yards, both resulting in points. After Chavis switched to the Mustang for most of the remainder of the game, the Aggies averaged less than 20 yards per drive. ... Taking out a defensive lineman and putting in a defensive back gave Manziel another defender to worry about in the secondary. It also made it more difficult for Manziel to run away from defenders because of the added speed in the secondary.

Glenn Guilbeau
Chavis went to his smaller and speedier “Mustang” package after the Aggies and electric quarterback Johnny “Football” Manziel went 141 yards on 24 plays on their first two possessions, gobbling up eight first downs and taking a 9-0 lead. The “Mustang” limited A&M to a field goal and less than 20 yards a possession until A&M went 80 yards in nine plays late in the game after LSU was already comfortably up 24-12. A personal foul penalty against backup LSU defensive end Chancey Aghayere after a Manziel sack on a fourth-and-three play kept that drive going. ... The Mustang is a 3-2-6 defensive alignment with three linemen, two linebackers and six defensive backs as opposed to LSU’s customary 4-3-4.
“We had to make some adjustments with their motion and got our dime personnel (six defensive backs) in to make sure we had the right match-ups in terms of being able to pressure them,” Chavis said. “We played a lot better in the Mustang rather than rushing four. I think that was a big plus for us. It’s easier to pressure them more out of our Mustang package. You’ve got more speed on the field.”

it's not the first time LSU has run a 3-4 base D (including the 3-3-5 nickel variant and the 3-2-6 dime variant). for ex, here's a pic from when we did it vs Kentucky:

 

CBS has already issued bowl projections, and they also think we go to the Cotton (vs Oak. La Homa)

They have:
BSCCG: Bama v Ohio State
Sugar: aTm v Clemson
Rose: Stanford v Nebraska
Fiesta: Texas v Louisville
Orange: FSU v ND

Capital One: Florida v Michigan
Peach: South Carolina v Virginia Tech
Outback: Georgia v Wisconsin
Alamo: Oregon v TCU
New Orleans: La.-Lafayette vs. La. Tech

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/bowls/predictions

 

I was serious. Go sit on a bench.

 

So glad you corrected him. I was just gonna tell him he doesnt know shit and didnt watch the game.

 

At a glance, that looks like a 52 front.

Great post Tiger_fan!

 

You know, it's amazing. Les did the same thing in a game recently, and nobody could understand it, and when we wound up losing, everybody wanted his head on a platter because he couldn't coach. "Saban would NEVER have done that!" some of them cried.