From all indications, Jacob Cutrera is starting at MLB. And it would appear Harry Coleman will play the weakside. Does anyone know who has the edge between the two Georgia boys at SLB? Riley has more size but I think Sheppard makes more impact plays. Also there's Ryan Baker, who has too much speed and athleticism to not see the field. How do you think the rotation will shake out in 09? Will Cutrera play only in 3-LB sets ala Luke Sanders two years ago? And who takes a back seat out of Shepard/Riley with the addition of Coleman to the LB corps? How much will we see Baker?
Riley, but only because I think Shepard will be replacing Cutrera soon. Mostly just because of speed.
I doubt that cutrera will be taken out unless he gets hurt again. what i would look for what we do when playing non-spread teams like alabama. because of the run i doubt coleman plays lb. same thing in goalline/short yardage scenarios.
?? Sheppard and Coleman are battling it out for the WILL spot from everything I'm reading/seeing. Riley and Cutrera will start at BUCK and MIKE, respectively, barring injury. Cutrera is expected to have a GREAT year this year. Not sure why some folks insist on saying he's slow. 40 times don't translate for LBs like they do for CBs. LOTS of more important factors, especially for a MIKE backer. Other tidbits I've picked up: Baker is a very strong backup at BUCK and Minter is looking like he's a second year guy at least - not a true freshman. By midseason, if Jake has shoulder issues again, Minter may be your MIKE backer.
nope, that's essentially what i said. mike lb - cutrera and as someone else said, probably minter sam lb - riley backed up by baker will lb - coleman/sheppard situational spot. short yardage/running teams/ running situations will have sheppard in the will spot. teams that spread it and passing situations will have coleman. as the base package (because of all the teams that run a spread offense) coleman is your weak side lb. but sheppard will play a bunch, trust me.
Chavis gave a great interview at Media Day. Not sure if it's pay only on LSUSports.net, but if not, it's 30 minutes worth spending. In it, he says that the 3 first teamers (Riley, Sheppard, Cutrera) will "cross train" so that an injury will put the best 3 on the field. The backups will learn their spot. I get the feeling we're going to see a lot of Coleman, Baker and Minter, and maybe Prater, this year. Chief said he likes to keep the #2s hungry by rotating them in whenever he can, and I don't think he means 4th qtr cleanup only.
The only way to take advantage of good depth is to play reserves as soon as they are ready and as often as you can. Both to gain experience and to give the starters a short rest. It keeps the defense with fresh legs in the 4th, it lessens the chances of injury to the starters, and it keeps the opposing coordinator busy calculating matchups.
The other bonus to that is that fresh legs kill in the second half of football games when the talent level doesn't fall off so much. Looks like no matter what the team is probably 6 deep in SEC ready LB s.
I haven't been on the Chief bandwagon (mostly because I hadn't had the time to read/watch him). But, folks, I'm on the bandwagon now. If he practices the way he speaks, this defense is going to be what LSU defenses ought to be, and have been. I do believe this is an amazing coaching staff, especially at the HC and coord levels. This could be the start of something beautiful...(ok, the resumption after a short and wierd experimental period....)
