Scheming, do not shout, the key to defensive recovery – LSUsports.net

After a first defensive midfielder defense against Northwestern State on Saturday night, the sound of LSU's locker room at halftime was somewhat surprising.

The lack of sound, that's it.

No screaming. Just disturb. No fight. I have just written.

Despite the 200 offensive yards, 172 yards passing, 17:25 possession and a decline in the third decline, 50% of LSU coaching staff did not adjust the volume of their voices or slam on the whiteboard. They just wrote about them.

They did not deplore their problems. They tried to solve them.

"Just a lot of adjustments," said JaCoby Stevens, junior safety officer. "Not a lot of shouting or screaming. We did not panic. We arrived, made some adjustments and it paid off. "

The screams in LSU's locker room came after the match, when the Tigers' defense joined the celebration it had enjoyed for 60 minutes. While the latter continued his opposition early in the season, LSU has accumulated more than 600 meters of offensive, including 488 in the air. The first one was formed during the last half hour, scoring a shutout in the second half and keeping the Demons 77 meters away in the last two quarters.

"I'm proud of the defense," said linebacker Jacob Phillips, who led the way with eight tackles in the night. "We went out in the second half and had a shutout, and we were able to celebrate the offensive a bit. The first half, we could not celebrate, because we did not do our job. We do not want to be swept away by the offense. We want to be dominant on our own. "

The Demons have been successful in the center against LSU's defense. Shelterback Eppler completed 16 of his 26 passes for a total of 172 yards and two goals before half-time. The first touchdown pass found a hole in LSU's defense, and the second fell on a broken blanket by LSU, when a linebacker bit on a flat road instead of covering it thoroughly.

The Tigers said the first struggles for defense were the product of a program that required modifications, as well as a state of mind that also needed to be corrected.

"We have to punch out instead of going out with our hands down. We arrived thinking that the North West State was going to bed and they did not do it, "Stevens said. "They went out and scored 14 points. Once we woke up, you saw what happened there.

"Certainly not enough intensity, really not enough energy," added Phillips. "I think in the second half we went out, we looked in the mirror, and we said to ourselves, 'Dang, my brother, like, it should not be happening. & ## "I'm not going to get out of this field without closing the next half, so I think it increased the energy and we played better because of that."

They have also adapted their strategy. Dave Aranda ordered his defense to launch less into the zone blanket and to stick more to the man-to-man. The first half of the second period highlighted this solution, as Kristian Fulton and Derek Stingley had both lost points that could be interceptions.

"We played more men," said head coach Orgeron. "The zones did not work. We have tightened the cover of our guys. It worked. You saw us break the ball a little faster. We almost had a few choices. I think it was the biggest fit. "

In the past, admitted Orgeron, he may have lost his temper with a team that was struggling to set aside a winless opponent of the FCS. But during a conversation with consultant John Robinson this week, Orgeron is prepared for anything that could happen on Saturday by approaching the match with more understanding.

The confidence offered by one of the best offenses in the country did not hurt either.

"I felt confident," said Orgeron. "I did not talk much at halftime. Coach Robinson and I talked before the game. He said, "You know Ed, sometimes, in these games, things do not go well. We just have to continue cutting wood, we stick to the plan. 'He helped me.

"Usually, I guess I would be a little upset in the first quarter. But I stayed calm because I have a lot of confidence in our attack. I trust we can move the ball. And I have a lot of confidence in Dave, that he will get some answers. He did. He worked very hard at half time. The players listened and he did the work. "

For LSU, this is an unusual dynamic: to make the offense take on a prosperous identity while the defense is still searching for its identity. But that's where the Tigers are, who continue to adapt to life without Devin White at the linebacker and Greedy Williams at the cornerback, as well as three dissimilar offensive regimes.

"We played three very different games," said Phillips. "The first game was triple option, mostly run. Second game, we went to Texas, they had a very good quarter. They ran the ball a little, they threw the ball a little. We played a lot of areas, put two people in brackets. In this game we played a lot of men. I think we put a lot of different things in a movie.

"I do not think crime can refine our defense. But I think we, internally, know where we stand as a defense. "

Phillips says that LSU is about to regain that identity and that it is even closer after the second half's gaming. It was both a reinforcement of the trust on which to support and a reminder of the standard to which they wish to play.

"We will try to maintain this standard," said Stevens. "The offensive pushes us every day because they are going to be an elite.We do not want to be the weakest link in the team.We have to do our job."

No shouting, either. There is no point in getting angry at half-time. Make sure there is nothing to worry about when the final horn sounds.

"Coach Aranda, he wanted to let us know, we do not want to run away from this angry field," Phillips said. "We took part in the council, we settled everything that puzzled us. We improved, we made the adjustments and we had a shutout in the second half. "