The 2008 LSU defense looks to rebound from its worst performance statistically since 2001—no easy task considering what LSU has to replace in 2008.
Gone from last year's national champions are All-American defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey, safety Craig Steltz, linebackers Ali Highsmith and Luke Sanders, and cornerbacks Chevis Jackson and Jonathon Zenon.
Plenty of Tiger fans, including myself, were willing to help Bo Pelini pack his bags for Nebraska midway through the 2007 season. But what us spoiled LSU fans seemed to forget was that the 2007 defense suffered some major losses on the D-line that affected the team's play throughout the season.
First, let's start with Charles Alexander, who missed basically the entire season due to injury. Then there's Ricky Jean-Francois (RJF), who was suspended the entire regular season due to academic problems. RJF would play in the SEC and BCS Title games and make a huge impact.
Oh, and let us not forget that Dorsey played much of the second half of the season hurt due to a bad back and bad knee.
The injuries, combined with what I felt was Pelini's inability to adapt to different personnel, were what hurt the defense last season.
All that said, the season ended with LSU raising the crystal ball. Okay, so let's move on to 2008.
There's no doubt that Dorsey leaves the biggest void on defense, but ironically, I think LSU's defensive line will be every bit as good as last season, if not better. How can that be, you ask?
Well, as I stated above, Charles Alexander was out for the year. RJF did not play until the final two games of the year. And Bo Pelini will not be roaming the LSU sidelines thinking about whom he is going to add to his coaching staff at Nebraska.
Okay, I joke about the last sentence.
In 2008, the defensive line will once again be LSU's strong point. Tyson Jackson, a potential first round pick, comes back at right defensive end. Kirston Pittman, who was granted a sixth year of eligibility, will start at left defensive end.
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Prior to 2007, Pittman spent much of 2005 and 2006 on the bench with injuries. When healthy, he has been a solid performer at the defensive end position for the Tigers.
Alexander and RJF will start at the defensive tackle positions. Both men had strong 2006 campaigns serving as backups and look to make a huge impact for LSU in 2008.
Behind this starting four are a number of able-bodied backups, some of whom are guys who saw a fair amount of playing time in 2007. The others are highly touted recruits vying for playing time in 2008.
The depth on the defensive line is awesome. I am not trying to speak like a homer, but it is the absolute truth. One thing that Pelini did well was rotate a number of guys in and out, giving everyone good experience against quality competition. The key backups who figure to get the most playing time are defensive tackles Marlon Favorite and Al Woods, and defensive ends Tremaine Johnson and Rahim Alem.
Senior Mike (middle) linebacker Darry Beckwith looks to rebound from a subpar junior season to lead the LSU linebacking corps. Beckwith, along with Pittman, are the returning leaders in tackles for LSU. Beckwith had 65 tackles a year ago, 6.5 for loss.
Perry Riley and Kelvin Sheppard will replace graduating seniors Ali Highsmith and Luke Sanders at the Buck and Will (outside) linebacker positions. Sheppard is probably most known for being confused for former LSU QB Ryan Perrilloux. The two shared jersey number 11 last year.
It confused many announcers as well as many LSU fans, often posing the question, "Why is Ryan Perrilloux playing special teams?" Luckily, this season we need not worry about that.
Riley and Sheppard both have to improve their games in 2008. With the injuries accrued along the defensive line in 2007, the linebacking corps struggled at times. If LSU looks to repeat as SEC, or even perhaps BCS champions, this is an area where improvement is extremely necessary.
The one area where the biggest questions arise for the 2008 LSU defense is the secondary.
The only returning starter in the secondary is Curtis Taylor. However, the talent is rich but unproven among the rest. Backing up Taylor will be Harry Coleman, who had a solid game against Ohio State.
Getting the start at strong safety will be sophomore Chad Jones. Jones follows in the mold of a Laron Landry hard-hitting safety type. Danny McCray will back up Jones. McCray needs to improve in pass coverage to get valuable playing time.
Cornerback will be the crapshoot. Jackson and Zenon were very good cover corners. Unfortunately, the guys backing them up in 2007 were not.
Looking to fill the void at corner is redshirt freshman Phelon Jones and true freshman Patrick Johnson. Johnson was perhaps LSU’s most highly touted recruit back in February.
Overall, there are some question marks for the 2008 defense. However, I do think the Tigers can improve in 2008.
A healthy defensive line will go a long way in determining how good this defense can be. Although LSU lost some key guys in the secondary, I think it too can be better, most notably at the safety position.
That's no disrespect to Craig Steltz, who was tremendous for LSU, but at times was a liability in pass coverage. I think better athletes at the safety positions will help the freshman corners transition into their starting roles.
But if this team is to improve from last season, it most look no further than its most glaring statistic—the Tigers ranked 101st in red zone scoring defense last year, something that is absolutely unheard of at LSU.
This defensive unit will be called upon this season to make some key plays, especially with the inexperience at the quarterback position. It will be no small order, but this defense must be up to the task for LSU to have the huge success that is expected of them.
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about 1 month ago
Great Read.
about 1 month ago
some great points carey especially about steltz, i loved him but he could hinder us in coverage at times.
i like our talent at corner johnson, phelon jones, chris hawkins, jai eugene, ron brooks, but experience is the major factor there. once these guys get some gametime hopefully they'll be solid.
like chad jones last year, expect it to be pretty hard to keep patrick johnson off of the field. he's that good.
while this squad was statiscally was worst since 2001, that's still not bad. LSU has had pretty stout defenses since then so they're among good company.
one major difference in '07 that made the stat differentials not a big deal was LSU was finally winning the turnover war. so many years it seemed like if LSU forced 20 fumbles, they'd recover like 4 of them. much better job in '07 and that was a Huuuuuuge factor. or like my friend rich says "Yooooooouuuuugggge".
they totally turned the tables in 07, LSU fumbled the ball 18 times and only lost 3. opponents fumbled 26 times and lost half of them.
also while in the midst of doing my homework i found something cool, i realized i used to say a lot last year "if the defense can hold the opposing team to 20 points, our offense will get over 20."
then i found that LSU scoring D allowed 19.9 pts last year. i guess i was barely right.
while that's alot worse than most years, it's not awful and that stat gets inflated by the OT games (actually i just figured it out, minus OT LSU allowed 17.2 pts per game including the postseason).
i'm looking fwd to watching the D next year and i think mallory and peveto should work well together.
great read!!!!!
about 1 month ago
If I'm not mistaken, neither Mallory nor Peveto have coordinator experience on the major college level. That's the one thing that scares me about this years defense. I harken back to the Dinardo days and this reminds me of the hires/replacements Dinardo made that began his downfall. I hope I'm wrong, but that really has me concerned.
from about 1 month ago
sparky i say this with all due respect, one tiger fan to another, but you're wrong.
while you're right about their experience, these guys have been working well for the last two (or three can't remember) seasons. mallory will stay in the booth (like he's always been) and peveto will remain on the sideline (like he always has).
lsu hired a spec teams coach this year which will take that responsibility away from peveto and allow him to concentrate on the defense.
mallory will be more of the schemer and gameplanner (formerly pelini) and peveto will be in charge of managing the game subsitutions and adjustments and so on.
they both have similar philosophies regarding the defense and both are similar to pelini. there was no change in position coaches; earl lane, peveto and mallory still coach the d line, LB's and secondary respectvely.
what i'm saying is, you're wrong in your comparision to dinardo who hired a DC who totally came in and changed the philosphy, the set (from 4-3 to 3-4), and was basically starting from scratch.
this will be a smoother transition and most defensive players say not much has changed.
turn your worry to the players without experience on both sides of the ball as that will be a bigger factor.
but yes, i understand your concern about dual DC's and DC's with limited d-1 DC exp. i might change my tune after watching the D play this year, but as of now I'm not worried about the DC's.
about 1 month ago
I hope you're correct. I was kind of hoping for a Jon Tenuta hire or something along those lines of a proven coordinator. But, this may turn out good or may not. If not, I hope Les has the brass to make a change unlike Dinardo... ;-)
from about 1 month ago
yeah unfortunately, it was that change that had a great deal to do with dinardo's undoing.
we'd score 40 a game and the opposition would score 42 a game.
tenuta could've been good or bad. i love his schemes, it would have been interesting to see how he would fit in and how it would've affected team chemistry and coaching staff chemistry.
about 1 month ago
lol @ "Why is Ryan Perriloux on special teams?"
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