2009 in Review

Offense

Defense wins championships, but elite teams are built on excellent offensive lines. It goes without saying that the 2009 LSU football team did not merit elite status, and we need look no further than the offensive line. LSU rushed for 129 yards per game, the worst output since 1999. LSU gave up nearly 3 sacks per game (35 total), ranking them 108th in the nation. Compare that with Alabama who only gave up a total of 14 sacks all season. The offense could never generate any consistency or rhythm because of the lack of a consistent running game. Which in turn led to…

Way to much pressure was placed on the shoulders of Jordan Jefferson. Without a reliable running game, Jefferson was called upon repeatedly to make plays for the Tigers. He was placed in tough situations with unreliable pass protection, which led to inconsistency and numerous sacks. Were some of the errors his alone? Sure. But repeatedly placing Jefferson in five wide formations did not play to his strength. Making Jefferson run the option got to be a running joke. Not because he executed the play poorly, but because Gary Crowton refused to throw it out of the playbook. Given Jefferson’s inherent strengths and weaknesses, I think he did fairly well overall.

Speaking of Crowton, I think Les Miles needs to make a move and bring in another coordinator. Crowton was the right guy in 2007, but I am not sure he is the guy who can lead LSU long term on the offensive side of the ball. It appeared that LSU was consistently out coached in the second half of games. The Tigers only scored 7 offensive TD’s in the second half of their 8 SEC games. Not that first halves were much better, the Tigers only tallied 7 offensive TD’s in the first half of the 8 SEC games. When you think about it, it is amazing the Tigers finished 5-3 in the conference with such a poor offensive output. LSU finished 11th in the SEC in rushing offense, 9th in passing offense and 10th in scoring offense.

My solution, hire former Kansas head coach Mark Mangino. He’s coached at Oklahoma and Kansas and does a great job of developing QB’s. While he’s at it, Miles should get rid of the offensive line coach as well.

Offensive Line: D
Quarterback: B
Running Backs: B-
Wide Receivers: B-
Coaching: C-

Defense

He was on the top of my list and LSU fans are glad we have him. Thank you John Chavis! After an utterly forgettable 2008 defensive fiasco, Miles brought in Chavis to right a listing defense. He did that and plus some. But that’s not to say there is no room for improvement. The Tigers ranked 44th in the country stopping the run and 4th in the SEC. The Tigers finished 19th in pass efficiency defense and 29th in total defense. The most encouraging statistic was the number 12 national ranking in scoring defense at 16 points per game.

Great defense starts up front and while the defensive line was good, it was nowhere near elite. All too often teams had success running on LSU and the Tigers struggled to create a pass rush with the front four. LSU loses a few guys on the D-line, but I have a feeling the younger players will step up next year and make this unit even better.

The linebacker spot was where fans saw the greatest improvement. So many times in 2008 fans were left asking, “where are the linebackers?” as an opponent scooted down field for another big gain. Not this season. Kelvin Sheppard has morphed into a real playmaker and will battle for All-SEC honors next season. The loss of Cutrera and Riley will hurt, but LSU has Ryan Baker and other young guys ready to step in.

The secondary was solid all season. As I have said before, I think Patrick Peterson is LSU’s best football player. Period. He’s a lock down corner who has to be on the field. No one of significance is leaving so the secondary should be in great shape next year.

With another year of coaching by this defensive staff, the Tigers look to improve in 2010 on an excellent 2009 performance.

Defensive Line: B
Linebackers: A-
Secondary: A-
Coaching: A

Special Teams

Josh Jasper was excellent all season making 19 of 16 FG attempts, none bigger than the two late FG’s versus Arkansas. As a team, LSU finished #1 in the nation in punt returns and Trindon Holliday finished #3 individually. The Tigers were ranked #14 in net punting. Another great season on the special teams front.

K/O returns: B
Punt Returns: A
Punt coverage: A-
K/O coverage: A-
Punting: B+
Coaching: A