I don't see how anything will be changed or get better for that matter. Just cruise the OU boards and see what they have to say about Pelini's D. We did him a favor by bringing him here. Saved them from firing him.
You cannot be serious. Did you see that embarrassment against UAB? The day Claussen or Ainge is compared favorably to Keller is the day I become an Ole Miss fan. Tennessee has a pretty good defense, but their offense is D-1AA.
I've watched our defense over and over on tape to try to dissect this thing, and here is what our defensive backs are doing: 1. Our corners play about 4 yards off the ball on the short side of the field, and about 10 yards off the ball on the wide side of the field. If there is a slot guy on the wide side they play about 8 yards off the ball. There were very few exceptions from these three principles during the ASU game. For example, with 7:53 left in the 4th quarter on 2nd and 8, the ball was on the right hash and Prude was playing the guy about 4 yards off the ball on the right side of the field; Stevenson played the split end about 10 yards off the ball on the left side of the field. 2. If the ball is centered, as it is on ASU's 1st-and-10 with 8:26 left in the 4th quarter, the corners play about 8 yards off the ball on both sides of the field. 3. ASU saw how much cushion they were getting on the wide side of the field and ran a steady diet of hitches, curls, and 10 yard outs. Keller had a field day hitting the wide side curl - even on 3rd and long. 4. When our corners were 8 and 10 yards off the ball, they were often backpedaling after the ball was snapped. They very rarely squatted on the shorter routes as a zone defense is usually designed to do. This was giving Keller even more room to make the 3-step curl and out route throws. 5. One key exception to #1 was with 5:52 left in the 4th quarter, on 3rd and 5 no less, on the short side of the field Stevenson was lined up 10 yards off the ball, and Keller went to that side of the field for an easy 6 yard out and a first down. This play might have been a zone blitz because our DE on that side of the field dropped into coverage. 6. Finally, on ASU's final possession, beginning with 1st and 10 with 1:12 remaining in the 4th quarter, all of our corners were within 5 yards of the ball. They completed a post route to the slot man, but only after it was tipped by Chevis Jackson. It was good defense, and a lucky play for ASU. On the next play, another 1st and 10, ASU went to a one-back, 4-wide set ---except one of those 4 wides was their TE. This put the TE in man coverage with our LB Highsmith. Everyone in coverage was again within 5 yards of the ball. The TE ran a seam route, got behind Highsmith, and caught the ball just before LaRon brought the lumber. One interesting note about this play: our CB at the top of the screen (Zenon?) was standing 10 yards off the ball, looking in at the LB huddle while ASU was lining up. Highsmith signaled something to the CB and he immediately jumped up to about 4 yards from the WR and played a little bump and run when the ball was snapped. On the play after, we play within 5 yards again, send both LBs on a blitz, Highsmith drills Keller as he released the ball; pass incomplete. Keller gets up gingerly. Next play, we play 5 yards off the ball, send just Vaughn on a blitz, the pocket closes in, Keller throws out of bounds. Next play, we run the same exact thing, Keller tries a flag route to the left split end, Zenon is in good coverage, pass incomplete. Last play of the game, same defense, Prude is in decent position, the ball is thrown behind the man running the slant, incomplete, ballgame over. Hopefully our adjustments will take place sooner against Tennessee.
that's good stuff my man, jwb. lol im thinking you could get a job studying tape for Les. so do you agree that when even token pressure was applied that Keller was dumping it wherever he could or simply getting rid of it? also, that he did make some very good reads and throws throughout the game? I had a beverage or two so i coulda been mistaken.
Every time I watch the tape, I find myself noticing that it was a combination of two things: 1) Keller is very accurate and he is a quick thinker; and 2) Keller did not have to be accurate on many of his throws because his receivers were so wide open. Sometimes his throw wouldn't be all that great, but his receiver was so open that he had time to adjust to the ball, gather himself, and make a catch and run. When we tightened down at the end and sent at least one linebacker and played tight man coverage, Keller suddenly didn't look so good. His throws were far less accurate and he looked decidedly less comfortable in the pocket.
Good observations jwb...I wondered what was so different on the last series and the rest of the game. I watched the replay and noticed they were in a totally different set for the final drive. Maybe this was the beginning of the adjustments they were talking about after the game. Just seems we were in a "read and react" defense the entire game and it was not what this defense was based the last few seasons. Not sure why they would want to fundamentally change from something that was pretty successful in the past. One note...we DID have some issues on defense last season but caught some pretty lucky breaks in quite a few games. We had no D to speak of against Georgia and Oregon St. proved we were not up to it either. But that was the 1st game of the season so maybe we can look at the Arizona St game in the same light...a learning experience that will evolve into a better, "tighter" D in the coming weeks. We can only hope.
Pellini has them going for the football to create turnovers as well as tackling. The two often create "mental confusion" just before impact, as anyone who's ever played for a coach who focuses on stripping the football knows. LSU players probably had much confusion in their first game under the new system due to previous ingrained technique training under Saban. LSU will see a great increase in turnovers this year with new tackling techniques, but probably an increase in missed tackles until the players get their game technique down. I was impressed with LSU player agressiveness against ASU when they went for the ball. If you watch the "slo-mo" of the game, you'll see many times where LSU players are throwing a last second closed fist into the ball carrier "at the football". Good sound tackling with the closed fist technique, as a guided missile into the football, to punch the football is an art form. No doubt Saban did not focus on this as much as proper tackling technique. No doubt in my mind that tackling will improve as the season goes on and players refine their technique and develop the "muscle memory" needed to perform what their coaches expect. Work! Work! Work! Not all news on Pellini is bad. This defense will get better as they watch the replays and see their technique weakness. An LSU defense that tackles well AND ALSO strips the ball creating a huge turnover ratio/margin would be a team strength, not a liability.
Yes, it was directed at you...and, our receivers have already shown they can catch the ball on a consistent basis, they just had some drops in this game which were probably due to 1st game jitters. I watched Early in high school and, although he played mostly at QB, the dude can catch the ball. Bowe and Buster showed last year that they are reliable. X dropped an easy one, but he'll be OK. At Va Tech, Clayton dropped a couple of easy ones. I think he could catch.
