I think our D will be a pleasant surprise this upcoming season. The main thing I would like to see improve is to get rid of this bend but don't break philosophy. Our D needs to get stronger at creating more 3 and outs for the opponent, allowing the O more opportunities, and giving themselves more rest. As well as our O not having so many 3 and outs. I think that if we can get pressure on the QB, which we lacked last yr, we will be able to maintain control of the games. Even if the O is only scoring 28-30 pts/game, if our D can control the field position and get our O the ball more, we will be in for a fun season.:geaux: :milesmic: :LSU231:
That sack was a coverage sack. How many sacks did LSU have last year and where in the SEC and nation did they rank in that category?
Herein lies the answer. You guys were ranked 26th in total D and even better in scoring D last year. Quite an accomplishment considering your D was on the field for 910 plays, while your offense only ran 771 plays. Only Auburn and Arkansas let the other teams run more than 910 plays, but Auburn also got off 914 plays themselves, Arky, 834. Big diff for the defense if your opponents get 17% more plays.
Which stems partly from the bend don't but don't break mentality on D. They may not let you score, but they will let you move between the 30's all day. A trait that needs to be corrected, along with the O maintaining possession longer.
:huh: Sorry, I'll trade giving up yards outside the 30 for a low scoring average. Bending doesn't hurt, breaking hurts . . . yardage doesn't count, scores count.
i think what he is getting at is the amount of time our defense is staying on the field. Bend don't break is ok, as long as you aren't out on the field all day.
Well, it is the offense that has the responsibility of holding onto the football and keeping the defense off the field. The earlier point that the offense let the defense down on time of possession is very valid.
That is my point, along with the O holding onto the ball longer. Bottom line both sides of the ball doing their part to increase our T.O.P.
Interesting comments on the D and whether a blitzing, attacking D gets the offense the ball more than a bend, don't break D. Not sure if there is a definable answer to that. My guess would be the words,"risky" and "gambling", as used to define most blitzing defenses, would refer to the potential for the offense to make bigger plays/score more, etc. My point was simply that LSU led the nation in fewest offensive plays (771 plays in 13 games)....and were 9-4. New Mexico State was 2nd worst at 772 plays in 13 games... 3-10. Washington State had the fewest total plays at 726, but only played 12 games. In all of Division I, only LSU and NMS failed to average 60 offensive plays per game. I'm not sure I would want my D to take a ton of chances, just to have my inept offense get a few more tries to not screw up. Given LSU usually had a shot to win games at the end, I'm not sure you could ask for more than your D giving you that opportunity.
All very true, but part of what appeared to be a problem last season was a D that seemed to run out of steam late in the 4th qtr of some games.
