re: Brian Kelly opens up on tackling emphasis at practice

My HS coach would stop practice and make us do the tackling drill ( 2 cones, a football and a whistle) for an hour if we were in his words "tackling like a bunch of *ussies!!!" We were not very athletic but we could tackle.

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Some on here have no ability to be rational.

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C’mon, be rational. Most of us here have NO ability to be rational.

I don’t agree with this at all. Not with a new defense in a new system. This is all new to these players. Their minds are inundated with information so you need to focus on the basics more.

When he says tackling, it’s not just tackling, but pursuing the ball carrier before you tackle or positioning yourself to make a great formed tackle. That’s very important and we have lost that at LSU for a few years now. They need to get back to it on a full time basis imo. This is what generates momentum for your team and takes the wind out of the oppositions sails. If you are smashing them every time they touch the ball, the offense will start to make mistakes. But if you are tackling like a girl, barely getting your hands on them or leaping into the air onto the ground then they feel like they can run you over and do anything they want.

You have to change that mindset by knocking the crap out of them as soon as the ball hits their hands and we are NOT even coming close to doing that. Not just one player but multiple players should be knocking the snot out of these offensive guys. That’s what LSU defense used to do and we absolutely need to get back to it.

We start playing like that and it’ll change the entire year and how we recruit as well. We need to be nasty AF on defense and we aren’t. We need some nasty attitudes on this D. Not just the DL but LBs and DBs. Our safeties used to be big, fast and dangerous. Get back to that. We have boys in Louisiana that can bring the pain. Bring some of those country boys in here and challenge the city boys. Let’s get back to Louisiana football. Keep the offense the same, add more power run plays with the big time WRs and TEs and we’ll have something here at LSU.

Definitely shouldn’t do what Saban does… beat him 2 of last 4 and we’re terrible.

Yes, the glaring issue was nit tackling,but much of it was bad angles, lunging, not staying under control,and generally chasing around woth little tactics.

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Not disagreeing with you on 5 to 10% mid-season under normal conditions. But this D is about as abnormal as it gets.

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Agreed, I want to think there was just some misidentification of issues early. If we think our Offense is as elite as it appears (and I think it is) then our coaches may have written some things in practice off as just our offense rather than issues with fundamentals, because an elite offense can make an average or even slightly above average defense look like they forgot how to play football.

I also like to think this is now being addressed as well as making sure our guys have a better understanding of the importance of them sticking to their assignments, particularly gap integrity and outside containment.

I know you're frustrated, we all are.

It shouldn’t need to be taught at this level

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We need to be nasty AF on defense and we aren’t. We need some nasty attitudes on this D. Not just the DL but LBs and DBs. Our safeties used to be big, fast and dangerous. Get back to that.

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This right here. LSU used to be nasty AF on defense and they punished offenses. Hell, even the LSU / Bama games were slobber-knockers. THAT is the defense they need to get back to.

Tackling is much harder now. The spearing rule makes football players have to pause to make sure they don't spear. That pause often causes poor tackling. I have always wondered why an offensive player is alliwed to yse the crown of the helmet without penality.