Time to move on

[shof]

I'm not a football coach, but it seems to me we should consider switching to a 3-4 defense next year. If big linemen are a problem for us, let's have fewer down linemen and more quicker, mobile linebackers. We will never progress to a winning season if our defense doesn't improve. We have had the worse rushing defense in the country since Bustle has been at UL. Year after year it is the same thing. We play with 6 ft. 275 defensive tackles and get killed in the trenches game after game. We can recruit 6'5" 300 lbs. offensive tackles easily enough, why not defensive tackles? Why don't we convert some of our offensive linemen to defense? I know we need depth on the offensiv line, but on defense not only do we not have depth, we don't have quality starters. I certainly don't have a solution, I'm just pointing out a long standing problem at UL.

I know the BCS schools get the better players for the most part, but other mid-major programs seem to be able to recruit big defensive linemen. Just look at USM, Houston, etc. We need to do a better recruiting job and/or better utilize our existing talent.

Well, I'm not a coach either but I suspect you still need 3 pretty big boys to employ the 3-4; and a good batch of LBs too. However, that might be easier to do than trying to run a 4-3 with undersized guys. Not too sure how many D-1 schools successfully use a 3-4; just don't follow others that close. So you either need the bigger guys up front, or more physical LBs behind them to make the 3-4 work well. Oh well, you dance with whom you brung.

[studentfan]

Running a 3-4 scheme requires having 4 good LB's and some good depth to back up those LB's in case 1 or 2 get hurt or have to switch during the game. The LB's we have right now have raw talent but very little experience behind them. After the current LB's we have there's not much behind them (I think). At this point employing a 3-4 scheme is impossible, unless we can get 1-2 juco LB's this offseason along with the current LB's we have. That's just my opinion.

[DaddyCajun]

What does losing Babb have to do with us letting FAU put up 28 points?! On offense I agree, with Babb we have a great thing, but the defense had nothing.

I will agree that losing Babb affected our offense, however I will have to disagree about defense. Hear me out. Some great coaches have said a teams best defense is a ball control offense! Well when watching the replay on channel 27, after the first half was over the time of possession split was around 20 min for FAU and 10 for UL. We did NOT play offensively any better the second half(3 and out most of the half) and yet in the early goings of the 4th quarter the score was UL 10 FAU 7! That my friend is pretty good defense(bend don't break). Yes we had some breaks where their recievers dropped the ball but so did they get MANY breaks with OUR dropped balls. OUR DEFENSE GOT TIRED AND LOST A STEP OR TWO THEN LOST THE GAME. Our offense must control the ball more and do so with balance NOT JUST DES MO RUNNING. FAU figured out the run, shut it down and saw DES MO and Co could not pitch and catch. END OF THAT GAME!

DaddyCajun



Quote from an unknow author, "As every one of sometimes learns, And many a failure turns about, When you might have won had you stuck it out."


Don't give up Cajun Fans, "So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit--It's when things seem worst that you must not quit." author unknown.

[Hammer58]

I will agree that losing Babb affected our offense, however I will have to disagree about defense. Hear me out. Some great coaches have said a teams best defense is a ball control offense! Well when watching the replay on channel 27, after the first half was over the time of possession split was around 20 min for FAU and 10 for UL. We did NOT play offensively any better the second half(3 and out most of the half) and yet in the early goings of the 4th quarter the score was UL 10 FAU 7! That my friend is pretty good defense(bend don't break). Yes we had some breaks where their recievers dropped the ball but so did they get MANY breaks with OUR dropped balls. OUR DEFENSE GOT TIRED AND LOST A STEP OR TWO THEN LOST THE GAME. Our offense must control the ball more and do so with balance NOT JUST DES MO RUNNING. FAU figured out the run, shut it down and saw DES MO and Co could not pitch and catch. END OF THAT GAME!

DaddyCajun

Quote from an unknow author, "As every one of sometimes learns, And many a failure turns about, When you might have won had you stuck it out."

Don't give up Cajun Fans, "So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit--It's when things seem worst that you must not quit." author unknown.

Sorry, DC, but it wasn't so much a bend but don't break defense as it was their kicker missing 3 FGs. The score would have been in their favor much earlier if their kicker hadn't missed those kicks.