guys, I'm as frustrated as all of you. at the end of the first half i was furious about all those third downs we gave up. at the end of the first half what was UWs 3rd down conversion rate? 8 out of fricking 10. 80% of third downs were converted by UW. then came the second half. we played a little better. but it still seemed like we were giving up too many third downs. so i looked it up. 3 of 9. 33% of their third downs in the second half. this gives us a total of 11 of 19. 58% of third downs were converted by UW. This is unacceptable, of course, but it shows a real second half adjustment made by the cheif (regardless of what jordy said). when was the last time we had a coordinator make a second half adjustment? so that's it, just look at the positives we can take from this. one of my biggest disappointments from last season was the fans giving up on the team before the team gave up on themselves. don't let that happen again.
My overall feel of the second half was that LSU didn't really give up the big play... to me it felt like UW's offense was coming off the high more than LSU's defense picking it up. I really didn't think our defense stopped them in either half, although the second half was stat wise better. I would say even in the 2nd half it felt like LSU's defense couldn't constantly stop them in either half.
yeah, they were definitely more up for the game than we were. that was obvious from the first snap. but i think from a fan's perspective it seemed like we weren't stopping them in the second half because we hadn't stopped them at all in the first. it's one of those psychological things that people need to realize. kind of like when you're looking for trouble you're going to find it. so when you're looking for us to give up a third down you're gonna see it.
For the love of Lou Tepper, when will DCs stop trying to play zone defense at LSU? We have tons of talent and speed. Why are we content to sit back and let QBs pick us apart? While I was happy to see us being agressive and blitzing in the first half, I didn't think we needed to bring the house when we got burned. We had them right where we wanted with adequate pressure. There were several downs where we had them 3rd and 8 or 9, and let them catch a 5 yarder that they took for a 1st. Chavis better get himself in the film room, evaulate what he has, and get this defense ready for Vandy. I think he figured out some things on player packages.While the offense provided few favors for the D, they need to play better. I suspect Loston may not see the field until the USL game.
2 things from me... 1. The defense will get better. Remember, this is a new DC! The players are still learning a new system. While there is age all over the defense, there is a lack of game experience, especially on the defensive line... 2. Jake Locker is probably in the top 3 or 4 QBs you will see LSU play this year. He reminds me of Matt Jones. One of those guys that just frustrates the hell out of you because of his athleticism.
Locker was not considered a good passing QB, matter of fact in past he was basically known for running. He is definitely a good athlete.
Sarkisian has worked with him all offseason so he's improved in that regard. It's also easier to be an accurate QB when you can evade pass rushers all game. When we did have him hemmed up he simply outran some of our D-linemen. We did a decent job containing him but it's hard to account for all the open receivers and focus on keeping an athletic QB in the pocket. All things considered, we did an ok job. Much better in the 2nd half, and a few players played really well (Cutrera, Sheppard, Coleman, Peterson) but we looked deficient in a few areas (pass rush, DBs fighting off blocks downfield).
He was great runner and pretty much a bad thrower... technically anyone that runs and passes is a dual-threat... he was not considered a good thrower by anyone.
