It just points to media bias. The facts are that Saban = Bama JFF = ATM Les Miles = LSU Les Miles = dumbass in medias eyes. Some valid with regards to O production. In all, if these people looked at the players returning, I think the clear advantage is LSU, however the losses are not on our players, it is coach Miles. This is why people factor us in at 9-3.
LSU is bringing in a few really good high school players, its up to the staff to see who can come in and help. In 2012 Kevin Minter had 130 tackles, the year before he had 61. Last year Lamin Barrow had 104, the year before 17. I think we will be just fine with the D. One player coming in Frank Herron, a 6'5" 245#'s, kind of reminds me of a Michael Brockers, Michael was a DE, added weight, moved to DT and was taken in the first round. This was after only playing two years in college. Herron is a kid that can come in and make waves. Lacouture came in early and has a Spring game under his belt. The Gilmore kid is another that looks good on film and may see a bunch of playing time in the fall. Patterson, Neal, Bain, Beckwith and Bower all will have a chance to get into the mix. They will all have the Summer to get things in order. Gonna be fun in the Fall, can't get here soon enough.
I think the prognosticators are putting too much emphasis on perceived talent and not enough on coaching. Chavis came in after the treacherous '08 season and completely transformed the defense virtually overnight. And just who do they think has been developing all of that talent that we've had lately? The man can flat-out coach 'em up as well as anyone in the game. Talking heads, beware; The Chief is about to make fools out of you.
Along the lines of defense, the days of lining up in a base 4-3 or 3-4 every down, are over. You have to mix and match. Remember LSU in the Mustang Package? You see Chief doing so much more with the addition of speed. He is taking speed over size. On the other side of the ball, Pro-Style, the Spread, Read and Triple Options, bring in a no huddle and look out. With the faster runs of the offense, the defense can't sub, creating mismatches. Third down rushers, nickel corners, etc. Look at what LSU is doing with the larger, more physical CB's. Guys the size of Safeties playing the CB positions. PP7, Mo and Tharold Simon. LSU is moving that way. Before the NFL Draft, I said that Tharold Simon would fix in well with the Seahawks due to his size, who drafted Simon? They like the taller Corners, the physical ones. LSU and Chief are moving more that way, physical, one-on-one press CB's are what we want. Keep an eye on Cams offense this year, he too wants the mismatches, TE and RB split out wide, in motion, also giving the QB a pre-snap read. Seeing what the safeties are doing, CB's lie, safeties don't. We will see more of the spreading of the field. Who covers the TE? LB, CB or a Safety? One is too small, one too slow and the last, leaves a void in the defense. The New York Giants run a big package (3 Safeties). More teams are looking at this due to the TE's being moved around.
We should start calling it "2013 Double D" because the all the idiots that don't know LSU will be staring in amazement with their jaws dropped when they see our defense. Reload, Tigers! Reload!
