Exactly. Scrimmage and practice rules are intended to keep players healthy. It doesn't really reflect game instructions.
It's not that LSU has ever "taught" body-blocking, it has become pretty common in both college and pro football. I suspect Miles has seen too much of it in games and decided break the DTs of the habit by reinforcing the fundamentals of tackling more than what the staff has done in the past.
You need to go back and see the Arky game. When Felix Jones returned the ball to our 35-40 yard line while breaking 3-4 improper tackles until Steltz wrapped him up. That was immediately after the Holliday return.
Well here it is. I see a lot of broken arm tackles but nothing resembling a "body block" tackle. [MEDIA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97zhdHpH-_o&mode=related&search=[/MEDIA]
I meant any form of improper tackling. On that play, there was one player who could've wrapped him up, but he just tried to push him out of bounds. That cost us an extra 20 yards.
Ahhh . . . well, bad tackling is as old as football and champions have to get past it. With LSU's depth on defense a sloppy tackler will find soon himself on the second team, I expect.
Funny, the article is talking about the fact that we are no longer "thumping" in practice and are instead live tackling. Downside = more preseason injuries. Upside = better prepared to start the season on defense.
I don't think its a question of laziness. Blame ESPN, et al; they're the ones who constantly highlight the big hits from six different angles, with a grunge rock soundtrack, and Michael Irvin screaming," he got JACKED UP!!" Form tackles don't make the "Ultimate Highlight" reel.
I think we just do live tackling for scrimmages, not during regular practice for the most part. And it helps the whole team - particularly RBs, not just the defense. It would be tough to tell how good a RB is if the play is stopped as soon as he is touched all of Spring.
Our defense the last, oh, decade or so, hasn't been too shabby. If it ain't broke, no need to fix it. I can say this...neither loss last year had much to do with defense. The 'D' was awesome against AU, and the 'O' and special teams gave it up against UF.
