Don't want to take Baker's side at all, but think some people underestimate the impact the HORRENDOUS offense had on a defense. We had more 3 and outs than anyone... Actually we ranked #129 in the nation for 3rd down conversion percentage (.272) in front of the mighty Akron offense.
This means our defense was on the field a lot. Again some things are inexcusable(!!!!), but we still managed to have a solid defense on paper and the field.
Not saying Baker is great or LSU material, but I feel like sometimes we just bash our defense because we hate the state of the program.