2009 Season

Rushing Yds Allowed: 1734
Passing Yds Allowed: 2525
Total Yds Allowed: 4259 YPG: 327

PPG: 16
Sacks: 20
TO: 18


2008 Season

Rushing Yds Allowed: 1432
Passing Yds Allowed: 2800
Total Yds Allowed: 4232 YPG: 325

PPG: 24
Sacks: 28
TO: 19

Amazing how similar the stats are. We did improve on PPG and Passing Yds allowed, but got worse in Rushing Yds allowed and sacks.

Chavis is obviously not the answer.

Next!

I'm not a fan either, but in all fairness to Chavis, the offense left the defense out there far too long when they couldn't get going. Any D on the field that long is going to give up yardage and points eventually.

True. The bowl game was a microcosm of the entire season. Too many 3 and outs by the O, the D out on the field way too long. While the defense played better overall in '09 than in '08, the one major criticism of Chavis' scheme is on third downs -- we allowed way too many third down conversions, and that really hurt us yesterday, especially on PSU's final drive. Of course, in all fairness, the D was totally gassed at that point.

I disagree. When our offense struggles to get 40 plays in a game, then guess what? Our defense has to be on the field the rest of the time. If we had any offense and could control the pace of the game better, our D would have looked great even though I'd like to see the line be more disruptive. But considering our D is on the field for most of the season, I think a 16 point per game average is not too bad.

I posted this on another thread and it is appropos here, re the bowl game performance:

Kudos to the defense today. Sure, we could have had some interceptions, and PP didn't have his best game. The DL essentially played the way it has all year. Overall we allowed about 20 yards more than our season average.

PSU started four of its drives in LSU territory, and didn't score any touchdowns on those drives (two punts, and two FG's). Of the two FG's, one drive started on the LSU 22 (after Ridley's fumble), and the other on the LSU 20 (after the interception). The defense held strong and kept us in the game.

Problem was, they were on the field all day because of the offensive ineptness. By the time PSU went on their game-winning drive, the D was gassed.

CLM did what had to be done after last season's defensive debacle, and now with one year of Chavis' scheme under our belt, the D will only get better.

This is a good point, and I have to admit though my seeing red last night I didn't think about this. I'm still pissed about the amount of 3rd and longs that they converted yesterday. Really hard to get momentum when they keep the ball for 38 mins.

I agree with the defense being a lot better this year than the year before, their pressure and sacks wasn't like D-lines LSU has had before but they still played well with a lot of improvement, I think they will be even better next year but with out a offense (thanks Crowton ) the defense will give up yards when the are on the field 3/4's of every gamei

Get real. Last year we were #56 in scoring defense. This year were were #12. Penn State scored exactly one TD for five trips inside the 20. Defense ain't the problem here. Offense is the problem.

While I think there was definite improvement from last year to this year, it still seemed like there were receivers finding gaping holes in our secondary on a regular basis. If not for a host of overthrows and/or drops (see: Arky, Penn St.), things could have been much worse for this unit.

The rampant confusion and lack of assignments that we saw in 2008 were not present this year, and that, in itself, points to significant improvement.

The biggest complaint on the defense I can find is that we blew three 4th quarter leads this year.

bingo, meaning they aint there when it counts.

The D has improved by a mile. There is still a lot of work to be done though. LSU is an extremely poor tackling team. All too often we see missed tackles. Wrapping up must be taught.

i don't care how many YARDS a defense gives up if they don't give up any POINTS. points win games, not yards. they usually go hand-in-hand, but give the guy a chance! our defense is in better shape/hands than the offense.

it's been repeated ad nauseam in this thread by the posters who understand football, but if your defense is on the field all day long, they're going to be gassed in the fourth quarter. PSU was in the endzone/LSU territory ALL DAY LONG! the fact that they only scored 19 points is actually pretty phenomenal, i think.

While not perfect, Chavis's defense is still an improvement. In one year, he's done a decent job. I think with another year or two, we'll start to see the defense we all love to see (sacks, intercepions, forced fumbles, and so on).

I understand playing a zone in those kind of conditions, but on there last drive we should have brought it, instead of sitting back.

I totally agree with you here. Overall I do prefer an aggressive D. Especially late in the game when you know the other team is throwing. What I dont get either is playing as far off the ball as the LSU DBs were? Way too much cushion, especially when you have someone like Peterson. Peterson is at his best in bump and run coverage. He is a shut down CB, trust him. Put him on a island and use one S to help the run the other to help the other CB.

Lots of people keep making the "its the offense's fault the defense looks bad" argument; have made it most of the season. I understand how the two relate, but I ask you to look a little deeper. I wish I had statistics to back up what I'm going to suggest, but the LSU website does not give us average starting field position, frequency of 3 and outs, or average number of plays per drive. So you each need to run through the typical game this year in your own minds and ask yourself these questions: How often did the defense produce a 3 and out or quick turnover, and give the offense some decent starting field position? My answer is rarely. How often did the offense start drives inside their own 25 yard line? My answer is almost all of the time. You are all correct in saying the offense has to help out the defense, but it works both ways. Its not easy to drive 70, 80+ yards for a touchdown, and the LSU offense in '09 was asked to do it on most possessions. Too many 3 and outs on the offense's part did not give the defense much time to rest, but the defensive scheme of bend but don't break does not lend itself to the defense getting off the field quickly either. The points per game was a big improvement, but our offense and defense did not work well together to put our opponents in trouble, and John Chavis and his defense must accept their share of the responsibility.

it does work both ways, but the offense is in DIRE need of improvement.

Those are alarming stats.

And to add to that we had 8 pick 6s I believe last year, so that's basically adding nearly 6 points to last year's PPG total. Our defense really only yielded 18 ppg last season.

I would like to know time of possession. I would have to believe our defense was on the field much longer than last season.

several posts have shown stats and areas of real improvement. that is a start. you cant expect the defense to go from stinky to #1 in all areas in one season. progress is progress. give time to build on that. if it doesnt build, then there may be a case.

but this "next!" mentality after one year.... where does it stop? changing defensive coordinators and schemes yearly is going to do nothing but create a confused (or schizophrenic) defense. not to mention, create an environment where NO good dc wants to come here if they know they are gonna be canned after just one year even with improvement.