Defense is going for a Wide 9 look schematically

Benefits of the Wide 9:

- Seamless transition from a base 4-3 to a nickel defense. (A lot 4-3/4-2-5 this year)

- Defending the outside zone, sweeps, hitch and bubble routes. (Most offenses bread and butter in the run game is the outside zone) LSU gave up a shite ton of outside runs last year. This plays into the strength of our freaks like Ali Gaye, Andre Anthony, BJ Ojulari and Incoming freshman Landon Jackson.

- 1 on 1s on the interior. ( O has been emphasizing letting the big guys on the inside get after the QB. In a wide 9 the offensive tackles have more ground to cover, therefore the Guards and Centers have more responsibility dealing with the 2 DTs and possible A & B Gap blitzers. That means Roy, Farrel, Smith, Logan, Guillory and many others will have some favorable matchups.

- Linebacker Gap spacing. Too many times last season we saw our Linebackers in horrible position. With wide 9s at DE, our Will and Sam backers have closer spacing with the Mike and less gap responsibility. They have more freedom to take on blockers and fill gaps without the worry of being washed out of a play. Less thinking and more being proactive. Also their zone coverages in 2 are much easier to handle with the middle of the field being locked down.

Last but not least, a wide 9 is the perfect defense for playing Cover 2 and (Man cover 2) which is typically how LSU plays. 2 safeties high, man press on the outside. The defensive line is going to kill some shite this year.

The Eagles, 49ers, and Vikings are some teams that implement a lot of wide 9 defense in the NFL. Makes sense because those teams love man coverage, have freaks at DE and have Quick athletic Linebackers.