re: quote from spav concerning the offense

quote:

---

I don't. Not at his age, not with our offense. A sure thing would be hiring a guy who has been the DC for a fast paced team for years and who did well when ball control isn't a priority. Chavis running our defense is like getting a VP at Ford to run Twitter. It is a risk.

---

Ball control may have been a priority for the LSU offense, but it often wasn't a reality. In 2009, LSU was ranked 107 in time of possession. Chavis still had the #26 Total Defense, and the #11 Scoring Defense. A year later, LSU was #57 in TOP, while Chavis had the #12 Total D, and the #11 Scoring D.

Even during the great defense year of 2011, LSU was only #26 in TOP.

In 2013, LSU TOP: #57, Total D/Scoring D: #15/#21
In 2014, LSU TOP: #9, Total D/Scoring D: #9/#5

LSU had elite TOP in just ONE season of Chavis' tenure.

Also, let's take a look at how Chavis did at Tennessee.

In 2008, the Vols had the #3 Total Defense, and the #10 Scoring Defense. What was their TOP ranking? #98

In 2007, their TOP ranking was even worse, at #103, but Chavis still finished 70/61 in Total/SCoring D.

2006 - TOP #105, Total D/Scoring D #50/#33

2005 - TOP #73, Total D/Scoring D #7/#16

And that's as far back as the NCAA website keeps the TOP stat.

His defensive rankings have ALWAYS outperformed his teams' TOP, often by huge margins. Point being, there is AMPLE evidence to suggest that Chavis isn't dependent on a ball control offense.