Will The Real LSU Defense Please Stand Up Against Georgia

Seriously Tiger fans..If I would have told you that 4 SEC games into the 2008 season, LSU would only have lost one game (on the road mind you) in a stretch of tough games, would you have been surprised? Really now...seriously?!

Wearing the target on your back like all reigning National Champions do, losing a boatload of seniors and playmakers and starting a Harvard transfer at quarterback, the LSU faithful had tempered expectations for 2008.  The strengths of this years team would be the road-graders on the offensive line, the playmakers at the skill positions and that nasty, relentless defense that LSU has become known for.

Well, 2 out of 3 ain't bad right?  Wrong.

The LSU offense led by Redshirt Freshman Jarrett Lee has been solid (4th in the SEC in scoring offense, 3rd in total offense and Lee the 4th rated passer).  The Tigers defense has been....dare I say...suspect or even, mediocre.  Gasp!

The defense of co-coordinators Doug Mallory and Bradley Dale Paveto rank a dismal, by LSU standards, 9th in the conference in both scoring and total defense.  The normally ball-hawking unit is dead last in the SEC with forced 7 turnovers.

The real "heartburn" for Tiger fans (and presumably Les Miles) is that the normally fiery defense has played passive, confused and uninspired.  The culmination of that effort was the 51 point debacle in The Swamp. 

The Tigers D gave up a ton of yards on the ground against Florida and couldn’t disrupt the passing game at all.  The spread offense and the speed of the playmakers that the Gators have provided match-up problems for LSU all night

The Tigers did show a renewed focus in a Jekyl and Hyde performance against South Carolina. After giving up 17 points and 212 yards in the first half, the Tiger D of old showed up yielding 0 points and 42 total yards in the second half.

So what LSU Defense will show up Saturday as the #11 Tigers host #9 Georgia?

To be fair, the Bulldogs are a much better team than South Carolina.  Playmakers  like Matthew Stafford, Knowshon Moreno, AJ Green and Mohammad Massaquoi will provide the Tigers with one of their toughest tests this season.  But let’s also be clear that Georgia is in no way, shape or form the Florida offense that LSU faced.  The Dawgs are an offense that the Tigers D is designed to stop.

After missing the previous two games, LSU DE Ricky-Jean Francois should return to the D Line providing them with their most explosive playmaker.  His presence and ability to draw double-teams should make life easier for Tyson Jackson and Kirsten Pittman

And while Francois and Jackson get the headlines, Pittman, Charles Alexander, Drake Nevis, Al Woods, Marlon Favorite, Rahim Alem and Tremaine Johnson give LSU an “Immortals” -like rotation. 

The Dawgs have yet to face a defensive front as fast, as explosive and as deep as what they will face Saturday. (Yeah, I know they played Bama..I said fast, not big). 

The ability to take advantage of the lack of depth and experience on the Dawg O-line, to penetrate the run gaps and get pressure on Stafford with a 4 man rush is the key to the Tigers winning Saturday. 

By owning the line of scrimmage,  the Tiger secondary led by Safety Curtis Taylor, can make going downfield dangerous for Matt Stafford.  Taylor, a ferocious hitter,  will have Georgia Freshman wideout AJ Green’s head on a swivel all game long.

In all, the Tigers are looking for a measure of payback.  Two lopsided losses to Georgia the previous two meetings and the lobbying of Georgia Lead Dawg, Mark Richt making the case that Georgia should have been in last years BCS game, have stuck in the craw of many Tigers.

We will know Saturday night, what LSU defense showed up.