LSU junior cornerback Patrick Peterson had a goal written plainly on his eye black during the 2009 season.
 
The message simply read, “Number 1 Defense.”
 
Peterson will be unable to write that goal on his face this season because a new NCAA rule prevents players from writing messages on their eye black strips, but that doesn’t mean the objective has changed.
 
According to LSU defensive coordinator John Chavis, the 2010 squad has the potential to attain the top defense moniker.
 
“We certainly have talent,” Chavis said. “We have a lot of work to do, but I like our position right now.”
 
The key to conquering the defensive mountain, though, is getting stops on third down — a facet of the game Chavis has been criticized for dating back to his days at Tennessee when his third down defense was dubbed “Third and Chavis.”
 
Chavis resents the criticism.
 
“There was someone several years ago, and he couldn’t find a lot to [criticize],” Chavis said. “So he wanted to be critical of our third-down production.”
 
In 2009, LSU stopped opposing offenses 63.2 percent of the time on third down, ranking eighth in the Southeastern Conference. Chavis said the goal percentage for the team this year is 70 percent.
 
Chavis also brought up the point that the Tigers had more than their fair shares of third-down opportunities.
 
“When you start looking at it, we had 205 opportunities on third down,” Chavis said. “Nobody else in the league put their opponents in third down situations that often, so we want to improve.”
 
More specifically than that, Chavis said third and short was the unit’s biggest obstacle.
 
“We need to improve our third and short and then our third and medium, three to six yards,” Chavis said. “We were not very good in that area, and that’s an area we are going to focus on.”
 
So far in 2010, Chavis has the defense working hard to make strides in third-down efficiency.
 
“We’ve put a lot of emphasis on [getting stops on third downs],” said sophomore cornerback Morris Claiborne. “Obviously, that’s the down we want to get off the field. We want to go three and out every time, and that’s what mostly we’ve been working on.”
 
Redshirt freshman defensive end Sam Montgomery said stops on third downs are crucial to the team’s success.
 
“It’s all about field position,” Montgomery said. “If we dominate and stop them on third down, it can set up our offense to have a better chance of scoring.”
 
Montgomery said the defensive line is working on executing the pass rush to dominate on third downs.”
 
Claiborne agrees the defensive line is crucial to third-down stops.
 
“[The defensive linemen] are the guys who are bringing the pressure,” Claiborne said. “[The defensive backs] are just holding up. So if they can get to the quarterback, it makes it much easier on the corners and the safeties.”
 
On the defensive line, Montgomery said production hinges on the performance of redshirt freshman defensive end Barkevious Mingo.
 
“The most key stopper on third downs would be Barkevious Mingo,” Montgomery said. “He’s a speed guy. He’s a good player and is fast with his moves. And he has a nose for the football on third downs.”
 
Claiborne said the defensive backs are looking to play more man-to-man coverage on third downs, which will lead to edgier play calling.
 
“We’re trying to bring the pressure,” Claiborne said. “We feel like we can hold up on the ends, so we want to bring the pressure. We’re going to be more aggressive this year.”
 
But Chavis knows for his defense to drop the “Third and Chavis” name and fulfill Peterson’s eye black prophecy, getting the defensive line off the field is essential.
 
“Three downs and out or turnovers is what we’re looking for, and we’re trying to make that our emphasis with our players,” Chavis said. “Great defenses are going to do that.”
 
 
 
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Contact Rob Landry at [email protected]