quote:
A good coach can make his players put forth 100% effort, especially when the game is on the line.

When the problem is this consistent, it is a coaching issue. For the past 2 seasons, we have been absolutely unable to stop an offense from driving down the field and scoring in the final minutes. Even if it is the players, why haven't the coaches done anything about it? They obviously haven't tried to fix it. It's the same soft coverage, give up 8-10 yards per play letting the offense systematically drive down the field with ease.

I agree with this. Of course it is a player issue because they are actually playing the game.

Is the reason for the defensive collapses late in the 4th quarter because the players are poorly conditioned, the defensive schemes are ineffective, the defense lacks talent and playmakers, the wrong personnel is on the field, the players are poorly prepared, the players are undisciplined, the players struggle with scheme (i.e, playing zone, cover two, etc.), the players are getting beat physically, they are making mental errors, they are not developing. Regardless, all of these issues should fall squarely on the coaches.

Personally, I believe the main reason is that we lack talent on defense. We lost too many key players to the draft that we were not prepared to replace with equal talent. Having said that, the defense collapsed last year in the 4th quarter when we had Mingo, Reid, Montgomery, Simon, Logan and Minter. And don't forget Mathieu who was a playmaking demon. I hate to say it, but a lot of our current guys are just not very good.

We were bound to lose a game like Ole Miss. In order too keep winning, we need Mettenberger to play at a very high level the whole game. He basically shite the bed in the first half.

This post was edited on 10/21/13 at 4:40 pm

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Posted by BigBrod81

Houma

Member since Sep 2010

18962 posts

Posted on 10/21/13 at 5:37 pm to TigerfFaithful

quote:
Of course it is a player issue because they are actually playing the game.

Any coach's scheme will look great due to great players. A sign of a great coach is one who can adjust & succeed with lesser talent.

The truth is the Cover Two that Chavis primarily uses is becoming prehistoric against both passing & throwing spread offenses. The talent that LSU has fielded the last few seasons especially the 2011 squad, helped mask the flaws of the Cover Two. Even still, the flaws of the Cover Two were there, its just that the sacks, fumbles & interceptions caused by extremely talented players help masked those flaws.

The two NFL teams that predominantly used the Cover Two successfully were the Bucs in the early 2000s & the Bears under Lovie Smith. Those defenses were solid when they had great safety & LB play as well as a solid pass rush. When the talent level began to wither away, those defenses both were exposed. The same is happening to Chavis' defense this year.

Because it's base zone scheme, it's going to allow huge 15-20 chunk gains through the air without a dominating pass rush. We've seen this to be the case even when Chavis has had unbelievable talent available to him. He's basically allowing opposing offense's to be in 7 on 7 drills on 3rd & long & two minute drill situations.

Sadly, Chavis isn't going to tweak his scheme. I respect the hell out of what Chavis has accomplished over his coaching career & what he has done during his time at LSU but it appears that a Gary Crowton situation is brewing. It's going to take several embarrassing performances before the thought of going in another direction is even pondered though.

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Posted by Mudminnow

Houston, TX

Member since Aug 2004

34146 posts

Posted on 10/21/13 at 5:42 pm to BigBrod81

You nailed it, great analysis!