Our defense will get better.... A LOT BETTER. We've got some great athletes on that side of the ball- size, speed and lots of guys that can hit. Chavis will get it worked out. :crystal::geaux::crystal::geaux::crystal:
I had the same thought a few minutes ago and looked up the Arizona State game stats from 2005: LSU - Game-by-Game Statistics 461 yards for ASU that night Seems like I remember some "Pelini sucks" comments then and look how it turned out. First game jitters, on the road, 2 hour time difference. The good news is that all of our mistakes were caught on film and will be corrected and we won to boot. :geaux:
We also have a defense that is operating with 2.5 linebackers. Coleman was playing in his first game as an OLB and there has got to be a learning curve there. He's (Coleman) got to learn to take on and shed blocks from linemen instead of WR's/RB's. Having 3 speedy LB's does wonders for containment. Once Coleman becomes more accustomed to shedding those blocks, he'll be more effective and our defense will operate a whole lot better.
It takes a while to iron out the wrinkles in a new defense, we did not see the finished product last night. But to say NO DEFENSE is ridiculous. We won the game by forcing four FG attempts inside the 20. Four more touchdowns would have been NO DEFENSE. The defense also scored our first TD of the year. There is definitely a defense here, it is just not polished yet. There may be some changes in personnel or maybe just some intensive coaching this week. But the DL failed to put on an effective pass rush and some changes there would not surprise me. Josh Downs got a lot of PT and may have moved himself up the chart. We also need to be able to play some serious man coverage against top-level quarterbacks who can pick a zone apart when they aren't being pressured.
Wide Open Offense? I got to thinking late last night (I know I know) as I was watching Washington's coach call every play & during timeouts discussing the plan with his Quarterback that he really had control & up front communication with his team. LSU with Miles walking around & almost with the deer in the headlight look never showed the confidence or enthusiasm that I was looking for... Its almost as if we have dual offensive coordinators and we know how that worked out for last years defense. I keep hearing that Miles is holding Croten down & keeping the offense in a run first big ten type game plan. If thats the case we should just do away with that position & save the money.. I do know that I sure loved the way Washington's coaches on both sides of the ball got into the game & seemed to care about each & every play. We won & its over but that was UGLY!!! Over all I am disappointed & Think the Vandy game is gonna be a tough game for LSU. Hope I am wrong!!!:geaux:
