Pick-six whiffs

• By RANDY ROSETTA
• Advocate sportswriter
• Published: Nov 12, 2008 - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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It’s not part of the regular practice routine, and LSU coach Les Miles admitted that a part of the game that’s killing his team isn’t much fun to look at.

Fun or not, though, unless things change drastically with embattled quarterback Jarrett Lee, the Tigers will have to get better at two dubious statistics where they lead the Southeastern Conference.

LSU has surrendered six interceptions returned for touchdowns this season, three more than any other team in the league. In fact, the 11 other teams have been victimized by the “pick-six” only 10 teams combined.

And it’s not just that foes are taking interceptions back. It’s also the distance they’re covering.

Of the six interceptions returned, five have gone 40 yards or more, three have been 50-plus. The average of the six touchdown take-backs is 44.3 yards.

Foes have racked up 390 yards on interception returns — 266 of that on the touchdowns alone. Put in perspective, LSU has been penalized for 400 yards in nine games.

“As much as I hate to admit it, the guys who catch the ball seem to have a great lane to the end zone,” Miles said.

Those guys haven’t been who you’d necessarily expect to find in those lanes, either.

One pick was returned by Auburn defensive end Gabe McKenzie, three were my middle linebackers — one by Florida’s Brandon Spikes and two by Georgia’s Darryl Gamble — one by Tulane outside linebacker Travis Burks and the last by Alabama safety Rashad Johnson.

To be fair, McKenzie is a converted hybrid receiver, so he knows how to make a move or two. And Burks also returns kickoffs for the Green Wave, so he is familiar with evasive maneuvers.

But no matter how it’s spun, justifying the number of long returns is a tough sell.

“It’s not something we usually practice,” LSU tight end Richard Dickson said. “We don’t go out planning on throwing interceptions, so you don’t think about it. We don’t practice tackling defenders, but it is something we need to work on.”

There are explanations for the oddity that has plagued LSU’s offense this season.

Five of the TD returns have come on pass plays either over the middle or in the flat — which explains why an end and linebackers have been so prominent.

On those plays, the receivers other than the intended target are often running routes on the edges or deeper downfield and removed from the action where the ball changes hands. That takes players who are usually the fastest and most athletic out of the equation.

“I guess we’re in bad position to make the tackle,” Tigers receiver Demetrius Byrd said. “Most of the time you’re too far to make a play.”

An added element is the threat of defenders-turned-blockers. Players trained to be as physical as possible suddenly find themselves in position to strike a blow legally.

“You have to really pay attention all around you because you have a lot of people wanting to knock you on your (backside),” Byrd said.

Added right guard Lyle Hitt, “You try to cover, but you also have to find a way to not get your head knocked off by a linebacker or a defensive linemen looking to get some payback.”

Offensive players also tend to be more specialized than their defensive counterparts and thus not cross-trained on defensive techniques.

For example, most players who operate on offense at the Division I level have been on offense most of their lives — particularly quarterbacks, running backs and receivers.

Some linemen might have worked both sides of the ball when they were young, but their skill sets and techniques are much different than their defensive counterparts.

“We don’t practice making tackles and it’s not like we have to think about taking the best pursuit angles much when we’re blocking,” Hitt said with a shrug.

Miles didn’t have an explanation for the touchdown returns, and quipped that when he an offensive lineman at Michigan in the 1970s, the bigger worry was recovering fumbles for notoriously run-oriented coaching legend Bo Schembechler.

“I see effort and guys busting their tails to get there, but I see a safety make a great cut that gets him to a position where nobody is going to defend him on the field,” Miles said.

Dickson joked that maybe there should be more of a recruiting emphasis on two-way players.

What nobody was kidding about is the impact that double-whammy turnovers have had on the Tigers.

The most damaging impact came against Georgia, when the two TD returns came in a 52-38 loss, including one on the first play of the game; and last week when Johnson’s return forged a 14-14 halftime lead instead of the Tigers going to halftime with a lead against the No. 1-ranked team in the country.

“It’s like a dagger in your heart, but you can’t dwell on it,” Hitt said. “It’s not like the defense is coming out on the field to you the chance to regroup. You have to go right back out there.”

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Sick six

Sept. 20 — Auburn defensive end Gabe McKenzie jumps a route in the left flat and races 24 yards to give AU a 14-3 lead right before halftime.

Oct. 11 — Florida middle linebacker Brandon Spikes triggers a 17-point quarter when he snares a Lee throw and rambles 52 yards to boost the Gators lead to 41-14.

Oct. 25 — Bulldogs middle linebacker Darryl Gamble torments Lee twice — snatching a pick on the first play of the game and dashing 40 yards for a score and then picking off an errant throw in the fourth quarter and racing 53 yards to put Georgia up 52-31 with 3:18 left in the game.

Nov. 1 — With LSU ahead 28-3, Tulane linebacker Travis Burks grabs a Lee pass and weaves 43 yards to make the Tigers and a lethargic Tiger Stadium crowd nervous in the fourth quarter.

Nov. 8 — The Tigers have the upper hand most of the first half but a Lee pass sails high and into the arms of safety Rashad Johnson, who finds wide-open running room and sprints 54 yards to knot the score 14-14 at halftime.

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While LSU has been the victim of six interceptions returned for touchdowns this season, the other 11 teams in the Southeastern Conference has been victimized only 10 times altogether.

0: Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Vanderbilt.

1: Kentucky (for 40 yards vs. Florida); Ole Miss (For 79 yards vs. Vanderbilt); South Carolina (for 28 yards vs. Kentucky).

2: Mississippi State 2 (1 for 79 yards vs. Tennessee, 1 for 32 vs. Tennessee); Tennessee (1 vs. South Carolina for 68 yards, 1 vs. Wyoming for 24 yards)

3: Arkansas (1 for 81 yards vs. Texas, 1 for 74 yards vs. Alabama, 1 for 63 yards vs. Alabama).