Linebacker play

[Supersizethatorder-mutt]

Nah, there's no way that's true. Play from that lb spot has been sneaky mediocre for a few years now. Sorry, that's the truth.

But he's probably a better tackler than the rest

 

[kg01]

But he's probably a better tackler than the rest

The others may be in danger of making a play .....

 

[motynes]

Not if we get les miles as our D coordinator, wishful thinking.

You do realize Les Miles has never coached defense. He was an oline coach and his offenses at LSU have been horrible the past 5 years. Worse than horrible. I don't know what some people are thinking with all this Les Miles talk. I live 2 hours from Baton Rouge. LSU gets whoever they want from Louisiana and south Mississippi and gets a lot from Houston. Just with that they will always have top 5 talent. He really did less with more talent then any coach in recent memory. GT will never be able to get that type of talent. So Les would be lucky to win a game or two as GT's head coach.

 

[tech_wreck47]

You do realize Les Miles has never coached defense. He was an oline coach and his offenses at LSU have been horrible the past 5 years. Worse than horrible. I don't know what some people are thinking with all this Les Miles talk. I live 2 hours from Baton Rouge. LSU gets whoever they want from Louisiana and south Mississippi and gets a lot from Houston. Just with that they will always have top 5 talent. He really did less with more talent then any coach in recent memory. GT will never be able to get that type of talent. So Les would be lucky to win a game or two as GT's head coach.

Idk why I thought he coached the D before, I guess because LSU has always had a good D.

 

[danny daniel]

Nah, there's no way that's true. Play from that lb spot has been sneaky mediocre for a few years now. Sorry, that's the truth.

Unfortunately you are right but we have progressed from "can't find the ball" to "can't get to the ball". Still can't cover the flat or backs out of the backfield.

 

[tmhunter52]

Johnson's offense is designed to neutralize superior talent of the opponent's defense. It works when players execute. There is no defensive strategy Roof can run to offset an opponent's superior talent on offense. Great defenses require superior athletes

 

[takethepoints]

I hinted at this in another thread.

Why are the LBs having trouble? Because the DLs aren't tying up opposing OLs. They know that we are having trouble with the pass rush. In such a situation, the natural instinct is to play back so you can keep both running and passing plays in front. Further, when the opposing OLs are getting to the second level regularly - they are - you have the additional problem of fighting off blocks.

Sooooooo … are the LBs lacking in physical talent? Not that I can see, though the incoming class might have something to say about that. Do they have enough speed? They're adequate. The problem is that poor DL play - a longstanding Tech problem - is causing them to avoid taking risks and they don't have the sheer talent (who does?) to overcome the situation.

Perhaps some of the monsters coming up can cure this difficulty when we play teams with really good OLs (like the last three teams). For now, I'd play Adams more and see if he can force double-teams.

 

[tech_wreck47]

Johnson's offense is designed to neutralize superior talent of the opponent's defense. It works when players execute. There is no defensive strategy Roof can run to offset an opponent's superior talent on offense. Great defenses require superior athletes

You can defenitly run more exotic packages on D to offset talented offenses. We don't do much to confuse opposing teams, and when a team is talented on offense you need to confuse them, so maybe your right but you can defenitly offset it some.

 

[stech81]

Idk why I thought he coached the D before, I guess because LSU has always had a good D.

going by this he did not i thought he did also.

Coaching career (HC unless noted)

1980–1981 Michigan (GA)
1982–1986 Colorado (OL)
1987–1994 Michigan (OL)
1995–1997 Oklahoma State (OC)
1998–2000 Dallas Cowboys (TE)
2001–2004 Oklahoma State
2005–2016 LSU

 

[Deltajacket]

Johnson's offense is designed to neutralize superior talent of the opponent's defense. It works when players execute. There is no defensive strategy Roof can run to offset an opponent's superior talent on offense. Great defenses require superior athletes

I'd disagree with this to some degree. Some teams consistently walk 7 up to the line just to confuse blocking schemes. You never know who is blitzing, dropping, or what. The Steelers were famous for it. We do none of that. I think it is TCU that runs a three tiered defense in which every level of the D is working off different keys and acting as separate units accordingly. There are other ways besides what we are doing. Our stuff is VERY vanilla.

 

[Skeptic]

I'd disagree with this to some degree. Some teams consistently walk 7 up to the line just to confuse blocking schemes. You never know who is blitzing, dropping, or what. The Steelers were famous for it. We do none of that. I think it is TCU that runs a three tiered defense in which every level of the D is working off different keys and acting as separate units accordingly. There are other ways besides what we are doing. Our stuff is VERY vanilla.

Now it is officially funny. I did not know GT needed a head ball coach. Just goes to show what a six hour power outage does. But Les Miles? And people claim engineers have no sense of humor.

 

[Deltajacket]

Now it is officially funny. I did not know GT needed a head ball coach. Just goes to show what a six hour power outage does. But Les Miles? And people claim engineers have no sense of humor.

I didn't say anything about needing a coach. I think you responded to the wrong post. And if we did, Les Miles would be my last choice.

 

[jeffgt14]

I understand complaining about our D but I don't want any part of TCU's defense.

 

[Skeptic]

I didn't say anything about needing a coach. I think you responded to the wrong post. And if we did, Les Miles would be my last choice.

I think you are right and I made that mistake. Sorry. But even I have to admit that watching Les Miles on the sideline in a two-minute drill would be entertaining.

 

[Boomergump]

You can trace GT's defensive woes back to one simple root cause, the inability to produce an effective DL, especially on the interior. It has been the bane of our existence on defense for several years running. I don't care what scheme you run, you have to be solid from the inside out to be effective. We could blitz all over the place. We could stack the box, whatever. Without a solid interior DL that gets push against the pass or demands double-teams against the run, you will be creating weaknesses elsewhere in your defense. It really doesn't matter about the scheme. In my mind, it is that simple. It isn't that we are bad coaches and telling the kids wrong things. It isn't scheme, although I would like to see more aggression. It is a soft belly and a weak pass rush.

 

[Captain killem]

Tell me this have you seen one stunt run by our dline yeah me neither. I'm not saying it will work but not seeing anything tried except line up go forward get knocked back. TRY anything cause what we doing AINT working.

 

[GTFLETCH]

Does anyone know why Vic Alexander is not playing more?? I am thinking maybe that Vic will Replace PJ and Curry is better in Pass Coverage?? But I would like to see Vic in ther emore than Curry...Just a thought

 

[Whiskey_Clear]

There is also a lot of "last game myopia" going on here. Yes I agree with Boomer about Dline. It is not and hasn't been nearly as good as we need. I think it is improving overall though. And yes I can say that even after our regression in the last game.

The D showed some life 2nd half vs Clemson and slowed a very potent offensive attack. Vs Miami they got QBpressure, some sacks, and some 3 n outs. They were too inconsistent but that was improvement. Should they have continued to show improvement vs Pitt? Ideally yes. But that just doesn't happen in football always. The D had a bad day. Does that mean they will continue to play like last week? No, if they do its a bad harbinger for next year. Yes I would concede that. I don't think they will. I'm also not saying we will see the steel curtain reinvented for the 2nd half of the season.

I think most will agree our biggest issue on D the past few years has been the D line. One, or even just 2 good players on the DL is simply not enough. You have to have play makers at every single spot on the DL to have an effective DL. And ideally need effective depth to back them up. The lack of that is in large part why our talented corners last year had a hard time.

What do we have this year? Gamble is our best overall DL. He can play some DE if needed and is probably our most consistent guy on the line. He is not a space eater and is a bit undersized at DT to be very impactful. What he does have is heart. And I think that kind of personifies our D as a whole. But that only takes you so far during the course of a game. Then we have Freeman. I honestly expected him to have a bigger impact than he has had thus far and I don't have an answer here. (Maybe we should just fire the DE coach). Rook has made some plays but I think he lacks the athleticism needed to be a consistent big play guy. Simmons has above average athleticism and has provided the majority of our pass rush; but he's is a bit undersized, which is a problem at times, and has been a bit inconsistent vs the run.

All of which brings me to our other DTs. Cerge, Glanton, and Adams. These are the guys we have been waiting for and needing IMO. Will they be pros? I dunno about that with certainty yet but I really think they all have that potential. These three will make our future DEs look so much better off the edge. And will make our whole D much better overall as a result. They are young though. Their best days are ahead. I'm gonna have fun watching them develop. I would like to see them get more snaps. I'm gonna trust the coaches to find those reps for them while managing the game. I'm not armchair quarterback enough to think I know how to win better than they do while watching from my seat in sec 101.

 

[Boomergump]

I think Adams has the look of a difference maker DT. When he is in for short yardage the difference is palpable. At some point in the relatively near future he should be ready to contribute at a deeper level. I will be very happy when that day comes.

 

[Jerry the Jacket]

I think we have some talent at Linebacker. PJ is a warrior and a tackle machine. Brant is getting better with experience, Terrell has shown some ability, Victor has stepped in and played well and Curry is going to be really good with time. Alford is a good player as well. I think we have played some very good offensive teams so far, Clemson, Miami and Pittsburgh are all very talented on that side of the ball. We just need to get the offense and defense working together. It seems like when one sputters the other one does too. They need to pick each other up more. I see the potential and really feel like we will get there we just need some success and confidence to build on. We could have won the Miami and the Pittsburgh games with just a few more plays on both sides of the ball.

Go Jackets!