I'm telling you he is a very good DC. As with Chief, as with Cam, well known and respected in the profession. He plays a number of players on his front 7, always has, always will. They moved the safety up, allowing him to play in a LB spot. At times they shadowed and stacked behind the DL. They had 8 DL get in the stat box with only filling 3 positions. LSU has 4 positions, an only 5 players made it into the box. I take nothing away from Wiskey, they played a great game and should be favored in the rest of their games. Word is Porter won't play in the next game. Pocic to start again.
Hey, a reserve offensive lineman got into the game! What is the world coming to? Offensive line stats Name Plays-knockdowns La'El Collins 67-5 Vadal Alexander 67-5 Ethan Pocic 67-6 Hoko Fanaika 67-4 Jerald Hawkins 63-3 Evan Washington 4-0
Just a guess, we will see a few more in the next game. Porter to sit this one out again. They also showed Boutte as getting in.
FYI......."Freshman Davon Godchaux saw a lot of playing time at DT, especially in the fourth quarter (10-15 snaps overall). During the TV broadcast, play-by-play man Sean McDonough said Miles compared Godchaux to Glenn Dorsey during the ESPN crew meeting with the coach the day before the game. Maybe he’s the reason we didn’t see any of Frank Herron and Greg Gilmore."
Godchaux was a bright spot but is a little light. It's amazing that he is a true freshmen that hasn't played in almost two years. Could it be that Heron was quietly suspended over the bicycle and fire cracker incidents? Gilmore not earning playing time doesn't speak well for his development.
Godchaux was the Fire Cracker guy. An yes Herron was the bike thief. I watched some of Godchaux, he played very well for someone who hasn't played in a while. I didn't get to see him play down inn Plaquemine, but someone I know did and was telling me how good the kid was before the injury. On one play Sat, he went through a double team and got a good rush.
DB's definitely looked good. Not taking away but a veteran QB does not throw those picks. Like the announcers said, that ball goes to the outside shoulder. INT's aside, our DB's seemed to be step-for-step with the Badgers.
Game breakdown.... After looking at the LSU game film vs. Wisconsin, here are my observations: OVERVIEW Once again, Les Miles' teams consistently show a great deal of heart, fight and the Tigers consistently play though adversity. In a game in which Miles played nine true freshman and just 50 players overall, the result is the same: LSU is a master at finishing off non-conference foes. OFFENSIVE EVALUATION LINEMEN The biggest surprise was the early poor play of the offensive line. Elliott Porter didn't play at center, there was a first-time starter at right guard and there were some assignment issues, leading to protection breakdowns through the offense's "A" gap on the right side. The Badgers loaded the box quite a bit, creating numbers and early assignment problems for LSU. Wisconsin was stemming their front (pre-snap movement to confuse blocking schemes) quite a bit, and LSU had a hard time adjusting. Badgers defensive coordinator Dave Aranda did a nice job with his stunts and games; he looped and created good angles on LSU, causing havoc at the line of scrimmage. I was impressed with the adjustments made by new LSU offensive line coach Jeff Grimes. After struggling with Wisconsin's stunts, Grimes fanned the protection and coordinator Cam Cameron moved QB Anthony Jennings around, which lessened the traffic coming to his front side visually. Jennings became more comfortable, which allowed things to develop in the running and passing game. LISTEN: Landry's podcast on the LSU-Wisconsin game Once LSU began to wear down Wisconsin's shorthanded defensive front, it was only a matter of time before for the Tigers took over. DEVELOPMENT OF YOUNG QBs While LSU stayed committed to the running game despite its early struggles, it chose to go with more vertical routes instead of working the short, layered passing game. The vertical routes rarely developed under pressure since Jennings was working with a single-read concept; the route was either there or not without any check-down options coaches are comfortable with him seeing at this point. One of the things that works with young, athletic quarterbacks who are learning to read and understand defenses is to get them out of the pocket and into half rollouts, which give them a simple high-low, half-field read with an option to run. This is especially effective when there are protection issues. One of Jennings' best plays was his bail-out TD throw to Travin Dural, who did a great job of not giving up on his route (we call this the scramble rule) and allowed Jennings to find him once he got behind the Wisconsin secondary. Getting young quarterbacks comfortable in essential to their success and growth within the offense and will lead to more confidence teammates have in him. LSU's coaches settled down Jennings in the second half and that had a lot to do with the improved offensive line play. First, Wisconsin was down three defensive linemen, which contributed its inability to keep pressure on LSU. Because of attrition, the Badgers were in nickel personnel when LSU scored its go-ahead TD. THE SCREEN GAME WITH THE RBs Executing the screen series involves a few things. First, a team must have the correct timing principles. A team is essentially influencing the defensive linemen upfield and dropping the play behind them. Getting the ball out too quickly destroys the play's opportunity for success. Offensive lineman and backs have to be correctly positioned for the screen to prevent the defense from adjusting. Lastly, the quarterback has to drift away from the penetration, create the spacing between the defenders and the blockers, and then release the ball late with enough air for the back to adjust to it. There is no benefit to zipping the ball to the running back (perimeter receiver screen is different). LSU's spacing and timing was poor with the running back screen, but is something that can be a weapon for this offense if correctly executed. MOVING FORWARD Overall, LSU's run game needs work; 47 rushes for 128 yards is not a recipe for success in the SEC West. The key to offensive success is to force a defense to cover the entire field. LSU has the ability to utilize the power running game and vertical play-action off of that, but it needs to develop a better short-passing attack; better timing, spacing and touch on screens, working the quick slant and curls in the flat, working the slow drag and crossers off the rollout, as well as the perimeter screen to the outside receiver. Working the tight end up the seam will take time, but involving him in the passing game in critical on check-downs to keep drives alive. With the exception of Kenny Hilliard, the running backs struggled as Wisconsin did a nice job with its run fits early. Dural has vertical speed and has improved his route running and understanding of coverages. He should be an impactful run-after-catch guy. He will work the comeback route well as we as the post and corner routes well. John Diarse has the strength to be a good on-ball receiver, and he does a good job of moving the defender in his routes. He has the ability to excel on the quick slant routes in particular. The tight end play must be more effective with the current quarterback situation. The drag route, seam route and the check-down curl all should be staples of Cameron's offense. They're easy routes for the young quarterbacks to complete. Jennings will learn to settle his feet under him. Right now he is guiding the ball, instead of snapping it off his hand. Cameron is giving him high-low reads at this point until he can get a better feel for seeing and reacting to defenses. Brandon Harris is simply not ready yet, but he will be a fine player in time. He looked frozen in his limited play. He was late reading on one zone-read play. The game eventually will slow down for him and he will learn to process things better.
