re: Lou Tepper Defense

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don't find it interesting at all. If you want my interest, what was the average defense allowing in 1999 compared to 2022? Rank among peers means more than raw data. The game has changed so much in the past quarter century. This year LSU ranked 6th in the SEC in YPG allowed and 5th in PPG allowed, I'd be willing to bet anything I got the 1999 defense was ranked lower in both categories

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Yep. But the guy you replied to has his agenda if you watch the board regularly.

I remember one game he had the corners playing like 15 yards off the ball nowhere near the receivers.

Announcers were like ..



He said it would take 3 years (!!!) to implement the defense. I was excited about the hire when I was in college like - ‘frick YEAH this guy coached Simeon Rice and wrote a fricking book on linebacking and SIMEON RICE WROTE THE FORWARD! - we stacked/SEC fuccckkkkeed.’

Preseason #6 in the country and went 4-7. FML.

Thomas Dunson

Lou was not ahead of his time and the problems with his defense were:

LB trying to cover wr that were faster

TE uncovered, anytime the opponent played LSU and needed a first down, all they had to do was throw to the TE who near every time was wide open.

The lightweight LB did not hold well vs the running teams.


TEAM STATISTICS LS OPP
SCORING 337 279
Points Per Game 30.6 25.4
Points Off Turnovers 87 56
FIRST DOWNS 229 228
Rushing 109 83
Passing 111 137
Penalty 9 8
RUSHING YARDAGE 1853 1462
Yards gained rushing 2181 1858
Yards lost rushing 328 396
Rushing Attempts 432 421
Average Per Rush 4.3 3.5
Average Per Game 168.5 132.9
TDs Rushing 23 12
PASSING YARDAGE 2378 3034
Comp-Att-Int 182-308-9 213-339-9
Average Per Pass 7.7 8.9
Average Per Catch 13.1 14.2
Average Per Game 216.2 275.8
TDs Passing 18 23

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You have just mentioned he that which shall never been named and worse LSU defense in history. Why do you bring this curse upon us?

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Tepper's first year was terrible, but the defense improved a lot b/t 1998 and 1999. It is hard to remember b/c in 99, the Bob McConnell offense sucked worse than either of Tepper's defenses. The fact that our defense was #42 in the nation in 1999, was almost impressive considering they were on the field the whole game. The offense was so bad, it felt like we couldn't get a first down. We had Rondel Mealey and Domanick Davis running the ball and still ended up 108th in the nation in rushing.

Total Defense
1998 - #91
1999 - #42

Scoring Defense
1998 - #55
1999 - #45

Total Offense
1998 - #41
1998 - #96

Scoring Offense
1998 - #31
1999 - #97

1998
1999

Tepper's scheme was complicated and designed for upperclassmen that had learned it for a few years. It was hard to implement back then and it certainly won't fly in today's college football. Back then he said it would take like 4 years to fully implement it. Ain't nobody got time for that. But back to my original point...

Tepper's D 1999 >>>>>>>>>>>>>> Tepper's D in 1998

Lol!!

He was the same guy that said something along the lines of:

"Can no more defend DiNardo than Lou Tepper can a tight end coming across the middle"

Funny.

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If one were to look at the drop linebacker as simply a nickel back I think that is what you are getting at.

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Yes, this is exactly what I was getting at. I also lived through the 1998 - 1999 Tepper debacles as a recent graduate so this thread certainly wasn't meant to be "was Tepper really not that bad?" My points were simple:

Schematically, was his defense really any different than the defenses being used today to effectively counter the spread? Again, not results... scheme. My feeling is the answer is no but curious of the thoughts from those with more technical knowledge than my own. As some have mentioned, while the results were never great, once Tepper switched from filling the Drop LB with a true LB to more of hybrid safety, the results did improve somewhat indicating that the major problems were more likely personnel or understanding.

Secondly, of the hybrid safety/LB's that we've seen in the 25 years since then, who are some that could have effectively manned the Drop LB position. I mentioned Laron as I believe he had the size/speed/instincts and played not too long (4 - 8 years) after Tepper left. Other good candidates would be Queen, Perkins, or Badger (how did I forget this one).

Just looking for some interesting discussion as the offseason descends on us. Anything but more Daniels vs Nuss.

Woke up, saw this name, had a nightmare

I think his scheme sucked but having only Jamal hill as a drop LB certainly didn’t help.

I remember we would drop practically everybody into coverage, yet 2-3 receivers would be wide open. I really don’t know what Tepper was trying to do.