Les was great out of the gate in 2007 --- [ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_LSU_Tigers_football_team]2007 LSU Tigers football team - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]
Thanks, great post. Always happy to see a fan of the opposing team that can bring some details to the conversation.
The Chief has historically had trouble with the option. However, Auburn gave us the blueprint for slowing down the Ducks. If we can force them to be one-dimensional like Auburn did, we should be in great shape. We certainly have the speed to do it, so we'll see if Chavis can put together the scheme.
In contrast to your accurate comments about the Chief, CLM is phenomenal when he has this much time to prepare for an opponent, even highly rated ones. I think that takes precedence over The Chiefs history. Look for the Tigers to take this game, with, unfortunately, the expectations for the remaining season to go thru the roof.
I keep seeing this comment, and yet when I think of Chavis vs. option teams, I think of his defense holding the National Championship spread option Auburn team led by the Heisman Trophy winning spread option QB Cam Newton to just 24 points (some 20+ points below their season average, and 4 points fewer than Bama held them to). And I think of his defense holding the National Championship spread option Florida team led by former Heisman Trophy winning spread option QB Tim Tebow to just 243 yards in '08 (with Tennessee's personnel). And I think of his defense holding Miss. State to 7 points last year (the same Miss. State that won a bowl game, so they're not exactly chopped liver) and West Virginia to 14 points (also a bowl team and with the assistance of turnovers by our offense). His defense did get ripped by Tebow & Co. in '07, but that was just a generally shaky defense (45 points to Cal, 41 to Bama, 50 to Kentucky) and Tim Tebow in Heisman winning form. Maybe there's an extensive history I'm missing, but from what I've seen it looks like his defenses tend to give up more yards and/or points to good offenses executed by great players. I'm not sure how that translates to a "weakness" against the option, or the spread. ldskule::geaux:ldskule:
Yeah, just 24pts to Auburn, and a measly 440yds on the ground. State didn't do anything against us last year until Chris Relf came in and started running the option. The starter, Tyler Russell I think, was not a running QB. Relf came in and they started moving the ball pretty well. And they did run the spread option a bit in 2009 when it took a miracle play by Chad Jones to beat them. Also, WV is no longer an option team as Geno Smith isn't much of a runner. But I do seem to remember it taking every bit of Jefferson's career day to overcome Masoli and lol miss. ETA: I use the term "option" here pretty loosely, and generally mean a mobile QB. There are so many different versions of the spread and the option that it'd be difficult and needless to break them out separately. Whatever the formation, a mobile QB has historically given Chavis a lot of difficulty (Pelini, too FWIW).
I really don't expect the Ducks to light up the scoreboard. We never do against elite defenses. However, that being said don't expect LSU to score a lot either. Oregon's defense will be BIG time next year. The Oregon offense turned the ball over 9 times in our last scrimmage and our defensive scheme will have JJ flustered for sure. There are ball hawking playmakers at every level. We usually bring 4-5 guys on the rush but they come from every direction. Our secondary returns two guys 5 ints from last year and we finally have the athletes to match our offense after 4 seasons of top 15 recruiting. The problem with looking at returning starts is that Oregon literally had two platoons last year rotating evenly. The returning guys are very experienced. If you have a chance to watch the NCG on replay, watch for the number of rotating guys. There is no BLUEPRINT to stopping the Ducks except for having a good defense. Oregon really beats up on defenses that don't have athletes because the offense is predicated on getting athletes one on one in space.
I'm sure the Duck defense is respectable. But the SEC is built on stout defenses, so I doubt it's anything on a level that we haven't seen before. However, this will be our first game with a new OC, so that may give us some problems in itself. But it cuts both ways as the Ducks have zero film on the new system. Sure there is. Oregon's offense is based on very fast decision-making by the QB. The key is to disrupt the rythym and create confusion. This is exactly what Auburn did by bringing constant pressure from the middle, which forced Thomas to be flushed out to one side or the other. This allowed the LBs to guard the short pass, and it also neutralized the running game, which forced Thomas to live & die by the pass. Another thing that Auburn did effectively was tackling Thomas down low. Trying to take down a fast, shifty QB up high will often leave a defender empty-handed. Of course, the biggest problem when planning for this type of system is getting a scout team that can mimic it effectively in practice. Auburn had a major advantage over the other teams that Oregon had faced b/c they run a very similar scheme with their offense. The same could be said for the Ducks, which is why they kept Auburn to a modest offensive output.
No, the Duck's defense is not better than what LSU faces. It's good nonetheless. It will probably be one of the leaders in turnovers forced. It will definitely exert a lot from the opposing qb's mental faculties. The blueprint against oregon is definitely a disruptive defensive line and good linebacker play that cleans up. However, that is pretty much the formula against any offense. Defensive linemen in the backfield = no good.
Bisonduck, Welcome to the site! This will be a great, close game. Both teams need to knock the rust off early and be more than ready. I'd love to read a comprehensive breakdown of the Ducks squad coming into the season, complete with any recruits that may start as true freshmen. Lache Seastrunk was seriously interested in LSU at one point during his recruitment and many fans thought he might wind up here. I'd hate to see him have a monster game against us.
