Like I said, jilted lover. By all means measure our O with the same stick and let me know who was carrying the team. This is rhetorical by the way.
3rd and Chavis DID suck on 3rd and longs and at the end of games. Once again, the LSU defense was poor at rushing the passer and also forcing turnovers...the stats prove that. Post whatever revisionist history you want to...they were. And once again, it wasn't LSU fans that dubbed Chavis "3rd and Chavis".. Tennessee fans did that. His marshmellow defense on on 3rd and longs is infamous. You didn't do your homework...NOT my problem! Oh, and as far as the OL goes, usually those guys are recruited and coached to be either better run blockers or pass blockers. When Pocic was recruited by LSU, he specifically mentioned that he loved to block for teams that ran the ball more than passed.
I tend to agree with your posts more than I disagree. Having said that, no coach is perfect. Not Miles, not Saban, not Chavis, not Steele, not Orgeron, not Meyer, not Kelley, not Harbaugh... Chavis is a damn good DC and we were lucky to have him. Our defenses were overall very good to excellent under him. He probably could have recruited better and maybe been a tad less passive with 4th quarter leads. But year in, year out the LSU D was a damned strong unit. The way he left could have been handled much better and leaves a bad taste in the mouths of everyone. We should all strive to separate that reality from the actual product he put on the field. Frankly, I hope we've upgraded but only time will tell. Moving forward, I'd rather see Tigers contain and tackle better than try to force strip fumbles. I'd rather see them keep pressure on the opposing team rather than go into quasi prevent mode. I'd rather see them make RBs and QBs earn every yard than gamble with blitz packages that leaves gaping holes that get exploited. The best addition to the defense in this recruiting cycle was the massive haul we had at the offensive line position. If those boys live up to their potential, it should translate to our running game having increased success and giver whoever lines up under center to have an additional second or two of protection, which could make a big difference in terms of our passing game. All of that ultimately translates to the defense being on the field less and having 'fresh legs' well into the 4th Q. Lots of talk about the failure of getting LBs in this class. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the ones we pulled in the last couple of years stick, produce, and stay healthy. I saw talk that they might move Voorhies from a safety spot to LB, which could help. Also wonder if we might see Sione Teuhema see some time as a DE/OLB 'tweener' spot.
For sure he was a quantum leap forward from the previous DC situation....Mallory/Peveto. His recruiting has been non-existent/pitiful. You have to blame the LBer coach for lack of LBers. Just like you have to blame Studrawa for lack of OL (4 only signed in his last 2 years). Chavis had 2 LBers signed in the last 2 years. I have no idea if Steele is a better DC. He does claim to not let passers sit back there and pick you apart. Chavis allowed teams to do that. If you can't get to the QB with 4, rush 5...5 doesn't work, rush 6. You can't let the QBs sit back there eating hot dogs and enjoying the view with 0 pass rush. That is why LSU finished horribly rated in that area in the SEC. Here is the ultimate question for you. IF LSU can stop teams on 1st down and 2nd down and force 3rd and longs time after time, why can't they prevent first downs in 3rd down situations that should be next to impossible to convert time and time again? Of course the answer is he went to prevent defenses. Not rushing 3 because he usually rushed 4. But knowing the team had to pass, he didn't blitz. And he dropped the back 7 past the sticks and didn't challenge the pass. He thought that if the QB ran the ball himself or completed passes, LSU could stop the guy before gaining the 9 yards or 13 yards or whatever they needed. He was wrong. That is why guys like Steele and Pendergast claim they want their defense to "play on the other side of the LOS". I think even the Chavis cultists would have a hard time saying with any honesty that Chavis was an aggressive DC. He was clearly a bend but not break guy which is why so many 3rd downs got converted...hence the TN nickname "3rd and Chavis."
Raymond, Grimes, Miles, Henry (although the WRer fundamentals disappointed in 2014 but he certainly improved Landry and Beckham), Orgeron I expect to be outstanding, Steele an improvement in recruiting for his position and probably coaching his position. Haley it is hard to tell...Logan, Brockers, some others were developed well as were Hunter and Rasco. But many. not so much...Ferguson some,. but A Johnson no, Gilmore no, Herron no, Bain no, Neal no. M Patterson no, etc. I thought Ron Cooper was outstanding at evaluating who to go after but understand he hated actual recruiting. Obviously, Frank Wilson is one of the best recruiters around and his RBs seem to improve. The ones I have not cared for (including going back a few years)...Crowton...Studrawa...McCarthy the WRer coach who almost put LSU on major probation but was pleaded down to like 2 scholarships lost...Chavis. And I have never been a Peveto fan (think he is flat out a lousy coach), and I have never understood what Ensminger adds. I have a suspicion it is a low salary since he is the lowest paid guy on the staff. And since SE in the TEs coach, you have go back to Richard Dickson for the last good LSU TE...7 years ago.
Speaking of Adam Henry the WRers coach...see where he is leaving to join the SF 49ers staff. The only recruits he was in on this year were the 4 WRer signees. LSU used to do more geographic recruiting for logistic reasons but now they seem to recruit by position coach more. Of course to be fair, all of Henry's WRers were either from LA or Texas. Anyway, LSU should be able to replace him without too much sweat...I thought he did a great job improving Beckham and Landry but the WRers this year looked lost out on the field...they really did. He did seem to do a good job recruiting since LSU's WR class the last 2 years has been outstanding if you believe the recruiting services ratings.
