LSU's Offense Must Show Balanced Attack, Defensive Consistency
The sky isn’t falling for the LSU Tigers. It was expected there would be a few hiccups along the way in Year 1 of the Brian Kelly era, but certainly not in this fashion. The positive takeaway through five games is that their mistakes are correctable and they have the personnel to do just that.
Where do the Tigers go from here? Entering a brutal stretch of games over the next few weeks, it’s imperative this squad takes two steps forward and not two steps back despite the challenge ahead.
We took a look into where LSU must show growth:
Defensive Consistency
Defensive coordinator Matt House’s unit has stolen the show this season. With his group being the main reason the Tigers won their first two SEC games, his mastermind has been on full display, but this LSU defense hasn’t even reached their max potential yet.
We saw mistakes with this team Saturday against Tennessee with missed tackles and busted coverage on numerous occasions. For the Tigers to be complete, they must play all four quarters to see success towards the backend of this season.
Look for House’s group to come out with something to prove against Florida this weekend. After giving up 40 points to the Volunteers, it’ll be imperative this defense gets it together and plays much more disciplined down the stretch.
Disastrous Special Teams Play
It all started with Jack Bech fumbling the opening kickoff and continued deeper into the first quarter after a 59-yard punt return that put the Volunteers in great field position. We’ve seen this story quite a few times this season with no solution.
What’s next? Brian Kelly reiterated after Saturday’s contest that Bech is their “best option” as a kick returner. Will there be others who get a chance to return this week? Yes. But Kelly took up for the sophomore wide receiver on Saturday and trusts in his abilities.
The Tigers have work to do in this area but a bright spot thus far has been punter Jay Bramblett. The Notre Dame transfer, who’s been called upon quite a bit, has come up when this team needs him most while pinning opponents inside the 10-yard line on numerous occasions.
Balanced Offensive Attack
Just when we thought this running back room was hitting their stride, the Tigers backfield lost Armoni Goodwin to a hamstring injury and it was very evident this group missed his presence against Tennessee.
It’s easy to point at skill position players when it comes to inconsistency on offense, but with five different starting offensive line rotations through six games, it’s a given there’ll be some struggles when it comes to plays not being developed.
As we reach the midway point of the season, look for this offensive line to gain continuity. With Jayden Daniels beginning to show some improvement while trusting his arm a tad more, the aggressiveness in the passing game was a takeaway last weekend, but it’s important this offense shows a balanced attack starting this week against Florida.
Offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock has been a major talking point over the last few days. With a few questionable play calls and decisions, it hasn’t put this offense in position to be successful 100% of the time. To see success down the stretch, running a more consistent set of plays, rather than predictable calls, should put this team in a better position.
