Brian Kelly brought in Blake Baker to try and fix the LSU Tigers defense, but it doesn't look like that's actually happening through two games.
The team still ranks outside the Top 100 FBS defenses for the second season in a row thus far in yards per play allowed. They're giving up over 370 total yards per game. They're 119th in yards per pass attempt allowed and 111th in pass yards per game allowed. And one of those two games includes a matchup against a lowly FCS team.
Why and how is this happening yet again at LSU? There is no excuse for this putrid level of defensive play. 450 total yards of offense allowed against USC? And the Tigers were seriously only up 23-21 against Nicholls late into the 3rd quarter last weekend because they couldn't consistently win on defense. What is going on?
It's simple. The defensive front cannot generate any consistent pass rush whatsoever.
As a defensive unit LSU is averaging a pass rush pressure rate of a measly seven percent. That means it takes more than 14 individual pass rush attempts to generate just one pressure on an opposing quarterback. And despite playing against two extremely unproven (or flat out bad) offensive lines LSU has just two total sacks as a team.
So what's going on? Sai'vion Jones did have quite the performance against USC in Week 1, racking up two sacks, but he's the only player on the team with a sack at all so far. Bradyn Swinson has tallied just four pressures in total so far despite playing more edge snaps than any Tigers player. Paris Shand is playing a pivotal (and versatile) role lining up all over the defensive front for LSU, and he's bringing about a 14% pressure, but there just aren't enough bright spots up front.
The main issue? Blake Baker is completely misusing Harold Perkins and fans are absolutely livid. Expectations were high that Baker could "fix" Perkins' production this season, but it now seems that opposing offenses are going to be salivating just watching LSU use him so poorly.
Through two games Harold Perkins has just 15 pass rush attempts and 10 snaps as an edge defender. Brian Kelly and the LSU coaching staff (Baker included) made it clear Perkins would be playing more off the ball this season, but it seems they're forcing him into a role that limits his impact.
Through his first two seasons Perkins brought pressure a whopping 20% of the time on pass rushes and racked up 16 sacks. Apparently Baker and LSU staff hates pressure and sack production because that part of his game has been almost completely removed.
While Perkins did show promise as a coverage linebacker last season, and his results there have been good through two games that's not utilizing his most impactful strengths. And this especially matters when the rest of the defensive front can't get to opposing quarterbacks.
Gio Paez is quite literally the only defensive tackle with a single pass rush pressure. No off-ball linebackers can do a thing in that area. And all three of the primary pass rushers (Jones, Shand, Swinson) just can't show consistency.
If LSU continues wasting Harold Perkins' versatility as they force him into a useless off-ball linebacker role almost exclusively then the Tigers' defense is going to continue to struggle. Hopefully Blake Baker realizes he has one of the most versatile defensive weapons in the nation on his team and acts accordingly before LSU loses another game they shouldn't.
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