Baker vs. House Battle - This seasons LSU Defensive Talent

House failed to work out the talent equation to at least a nominal level. The defense crashing like it did was directly attributed to that failure.

House needed to go.

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The Defense won the Bama game by holding Bama to FGs and forcing a turnover in the endzone.

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Is this the narrative you’re going with as to how the ‘22 Bama game was won?

Did you notice at any point this season where the defense looked improved, took proper angles, played the ball, made adjustments, wrapped up consistently when tackling, kept opposing defenses off balance in any way, etc?

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House failed to work out the talent equation to at least a nominal level. The defense crashing like it did was directly attributed to that failure.

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What do you mean by this?

I have no explanation for what happened on D. It was a train wreck. There were bad fundamentals. I think talent especially in the secondary was substandard. Schemes seemed too complex. I saw lack of effort vs OM.

Well you see I believe you just need to blitz Perkins or let Perkins play off tackle an rush the QB

My theory is that House was the one deciding not to play the best players. A culture problem is the only thing that makes sense and it's not like House is known as a toxic personality, as far as I know.

Players like Swinson and Weeks are obviously better than players like Speights.

They only played Toviano because they ran out of bodies. No other reason to toss in a true freshman in the Bama game in Tuscaloosa. But he was actually good.

Womack generated sacks in games and then disappeared.

I believe that the players knew House was playing "his" guys and not the best guys. When the players don't care the fundamentals disappear and they look soft. That's what happened.

I do not blame House entirely for Perkins. Perkins asked to be moved and it did not turn out well. Apparently that was agreed during his recruitment.

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All you have to look at is the lack of effort and fundamentals. The video of Wingo said it all.

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I saw that. What happened b/w last season and this season? Did the players give up on House despite good results last season? Or was it a snowball effect of injuries and talent keeping the defense from being competitive and then moral nose-diving b/c of the results?

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Missouri’s defense was 125th two years ago before Baker got there. Knocked cut that down by 2/3 in one year and by nearly that much in his 2nd year. He’s good and did that with low rated athletes.

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House was on a similar trajectory before this season. LSU went from 70 to 34 in his first season.

Also, I'm not trying to argue that House is better than Baker. I was just surprised when I started looking at defensive stuff from last season. The drop in defensive performance raises all kinds of red flags, but I guess the question is, was that all House? Would Baker have done a better job with this season's LSU defense?

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We all know the story of this season. Did House just turn retarded on Defensive coaching? Or was it a combo of poor transfer recruiting & injuries that submarined this season? Could Baker have done a better job with this season's LSU defensive roster?

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House had enough key vets and experienced players to run his most of system last year. It’s overly-complicated for college football, where you have younger players and mandated limits on practice and meeting time. The read and react style is also tougher for younger players who are used to attacking offenses. If it isn’t taught the right way, you end up with guys playing on their heels and looking passive.

This year he had little continuity and less experience. And a lot of experience he did have was limited in different ways. Brooks was lost early. Wingo was injured. Smith was coming back from injury. Speights wasn’t up to playing in the SEC. Burns has always been marginal. Perkins was one of the few who played the well, but it still was below what most expected. Add in all of the young guys and it was a recipe for disaster.

But the biggest problem was House’s inability to adjust. He was incapable of doing anything outside of his scheme, his way. Once he ended up with a roster that couldn’t handle it, we saw that his floor was literally the bottom of college football.

He clearly lost the locker room somehow. Nobody here knows how or why, but it's pretty clear from the players' reactions to House's departure and the lack of effort all season that they quit on him.