Brian Kelly's Thoughts: How LSU Football Can Improve on Offense Heading Into Week 4

No. 3 LSU continues preparation for a Week 4 matchup against the Southeastern Louisiana Lions in a non-conference showdown at Tiger Stadium.

Brian Kelly and the LSU Tigers will enter the matchup with an unblemished record after three consecutive wins over Clemson, Louisiana Tech and Florida, but the program remains a work in progress.

It's clear the LSU defense is clicking on all cylinders under coordinator Blake Baker, but the Tigers remain in search of complementary football with struggles on offense.

Kelly took the podium this week to address the early struggles on offense and his take on what's next with the overall unit.

Brian Kelly's Take: Early Thoughts on the Offense

Third Down Efficiency/Short Yardage Situations

"Our efficiency has been pretty good. I think it's more specific about short yardages. We had a couple of them where we came up right short at the sticks. I think that's just continuing to have an emphasis in our week of preparation on short yardage inventory plays.

"Last year, we were going for it on fourth down. Last year ,we were taking the analytics and running that as a third and a fourth down play. So if we got to fourth and one, we were going. But this year, I'm playing it a little bit differently based upon the strength of our defense. Last year we needed to score more points.

"Now, as we move forward, we're going to need to do both. So, I think that that's really about how we operate in the week of practice in terms of developing an inventory. These are our plays. This is what we're going to look at in third and short situations."

LSU Tigers Football: Trey'Dez Green. — Courtesy of LSU Tigers Football.

Offensive Growth Performance/Development

We just have to continue to develop. We're playing a redshirt freshman at right tackle, and we're playing a group of guys that are playing together [for the first time]. Paul [Mubenga] hasn't played a [lot]. Cohen [Echols] hasn't played a ton. Tyree [Adams] hasn't played a [lot].

"So these are guys that are still growing and developing. And I said this after the game: I'm bullish on this group. I think they're going to be really good as we can continue. They're going to be a good group, but we got some work to do."

Offensive Line in the Passing Attack

"We didn't give up a sack, and that is a really good defense. That is a really good defense. So, I'm pleased there. If we need to go out there and throw the ball 50 times, we're capable of doing that. I'm not sure I want to play that way, nor do we have to.

"Now there's going to be some times in the SEC we're going to have to score more than 20 points. Let's get that straight. I think we all know that. So this is about continuing to develop the areas that need that work, and it's our running game.

"I believe we can throw the football every down if we need to, and I believe that we can protect effectively. So this is really about trying to work on your weaknesses and develop them as we go through this week and moving forward."

Critics of Offensive Coordinator Joe Sloan

"I had to answer questions of being critical with Blake last year, right? I mean, he is doing what he's asked to do to manage the games the way we need to. We have a top-10 defense, I believe, in the country, and we need to play to that strength.

"So sometimes you have to pull back a little bit here and there. He's being a great coach from that perspective because, offensive coordinators, they want to score points too. But sometimes, I'm tapping the brakes here a little bit in those situations because that's going to be the identity of this football team."

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