Defense Leads the Way

It was wet, at times ugly, but it was a conference win over a better than given credit for Vanderbilt team. LSU didn’t put the game away until Keiland Williams scored his second TD of the game with six minutes remaining. Vandy played well but LSU’s defense completely contained the Commodores’ offense.

*Defense was very good. The Tiger defense gave up only 7 points and 210 yards in the entire game. Take out the one scoring drive and Vandy managed only 130 yards. Vanderbilt was only 4-15 on third down conversions, a far cry from Washington’s proficiency of last week. However, the learning curve is still steep for some of these guys. On Vanderbilt’s only TD, QB Larry Smith ran a read option play. LSU’s DE Chancey Aghayere crashed down on the RB without even looking at Smith who fumbled the ball but was so alone that he was able to pick the ball back up and trot into the endzone. Overall, I’d have to grade the defense out as an A-, a stark improvement over last week’s D-.

*While LSU’s defensive line needs work, it appears the biggest weakness is at linebacker. The LB’s under Chavis’ system are expected to carry a heavy work load and I am not sure the current cast is up to snuff. Kelvin Sheppard can make plays, but he misses a lot of tackles and appears out of position at times. I am sure learning a new system takes a great deal of practice and dedication, but I am not sure Sheppard is a good enough football player to become anything more than serviceable to this team.

*The offensive line has not impressed me. The holes just aren’t there like they were last year. The pass protection is OK, but not great.

*The receivers don’t do great jobs of blocking. One of the keys to big running plays is the blocking by the WR corps. Too many times I saw WR completely flailing out in space and missing their blocks. The bubble screen only works if the WRs make blocks.

*I know they are bringing Jefferson along slowly, but I’d like to see a bit more of a vertical passing game implemented. Vanderbilt dared the Tigers to go downfield and was successful in crowding the line of scrimmage.

*Speaking of Jefferson, he does a great job of running the offense. Sure he needs polish, but in his last four games he is 56 of 94 for 595 yards, 6 TD’s and ZERO interceptions. I don’t want to jinx him, but I wonder who holds the LSU record for most consecutive pass attempts without an interception.

*RJ Jackson looked good. I would guess the majority of LSU fans saw #28 out there and said, “Who is that guy? Where’s he been?” I thought Ruben Randall would have wrapped up the 3rd WR spot, but obviously the 5th year senior Jackson has his own ideas.

*Finally, the pre-game video on the big screen at Tiger Stadium was AWFUL!! Whoever designed that junk needs to rethink his career.