So, forget about decisions made by experts in their field whose job it is to evaluate talent based upon hours and hours of personal observation. It's better to base those decisions upon laymen who get to evaluate based upon what they see for a couple of hours sitting hundreds of feet away? Your ignorance is exceeded only by your arrogance.
Okay, since Glenn Guilbeau wants to generalize, I'll generalize (actually, I'll just tell the truth) and say that Glenn Guilbeau is boring 90% of the time when he appears on television and almost equally boring and uninfomed in his columns. You could probably write what he knows about football on a piece of rice. Can I say that I almost disagree with everything he says here? First, to call Herb Tyler "serviceable" is moronic at best. Yes, he had a good rushing attack behind him and LSU didn't throw as much in the DiNardo days. But come on, Tyler was thrown in there because of an injury in his freshman year and he won immediately. Nobody really knew who the hell this guy was because he didn't look like much of anything. He was short, couldn't kneel from behind the goalpoasts in the south and throw the ball to the 1958 National Championship flag in the North knocking it over as some other QBs, etc. The guy won three straight bowl games for us (and was MVP in Peach Bowl) and probably would have won a fourth if DiNardo had not lost his mind and hired Lou Tepper. He's one of the winningest LSU QBs in history. He barely ever made stupid mistakes and he was a great runner. Oh yeah, and I believe he was the MVP and had two long touchdown runs against a little #1 ranked team named Florida under Steve Spurrier who previously punked us to the worst extent. And that was when Cecil had just broken his leg and our rushing attack wasn't nearly as good. People were saying we would get killed. Didn't the goalposts come down that night? As far as Booty goes, he did have one good year and I'm glad he came to LSU. Those were some really good, tough games that year and people tend to forget that a little. Still, Mauck was a better player because he was pretty accurate and he was a really good runner. Josh Booty was a pretty good player, but he would make totally crazy decisions sometimes. And Glenn says people thought Mauck was the second coming...That's so untrue. Yes, there were some big Matt fans, but a bunch of LSU fans thought we'd be even better when he was gone for some reason. They thought we'd be able to "open it up" more. Yeah... Then Glenn brings up the Ole Miss and NC game. As others have mentioned, what about the SECCG in 2001 when he was thrown in there with nearly no experience in an unbelievably loud and difficult situation where we were losing to Rose Bowl-bound Tennessee. Oh yeah, two rushing touchdowns, an MVP and a SECCG victory. He seems to forget about all the highly ranked teams we beat in 2003 with help form Mauck. Remember the 1st Georgia game when our receivers couldn't catch anything? Remember that unbelievable scramble and long throw to Skyler to win it? Remember knocking out ranked powerhouse Auburn in the first quarter with touchdown throws from Mauck? Apparently not. Ole Miss game - I was there and it was the most hostile road environment you could imagine. That little-ass place was so loud you wouldn't believe it. I've never seen an Ole Miss defense play that good before. Yes, Matt did not have a very good game. However, the first intereception he threw for a td was just a dumb offensive call. It was sort of like the one called for Flynn when he got into the SECCG. Anyway, the end result is that Mauck hit Devery streaking and we beat Ole Miss. Almost losing doesn't count. The next week, Mauck was SEC offensive player of the week against Arkansas to clinch the West. He almost blew the NC game...He had an inconsistent game against (according to Stoops) the best defense in the nation. He still had a better game than the Heisman Trophy winner. And the end result, LSU = National Champions. Once again, almost doesn't count. The QB sometimes needs to be carried as well. It's not his job to always carry the whole team. And I have no problem with a healthy JR starting. He had a good year and I hope he's even better next year. I just think there's not as much room for "errors of real choice" this year with Flynn behind him. I won't lie, I'm excited about Flynn too. But that was only one game (looked good against N. Texas too), so we'll have to see if he can do it over time. Oh yeah, folks, QB scrambling is a major part of athletic ability. There's barely any mention of it here. It's what Tyler had, Mauck had and apparently Flynn has it as well. It brings a whole different dimension to the game. See LSU vs. Miami, West Virginia vs. Georgia, Texas vs. USC, etc. It's not just about passing. That's just part of the game. And if Glenn was consistent, Flynn would be the greatest thing since Mauck, not Davey. You know, since we thought he was the second coming. Guilbeau stuck it to himself.
I would describe most of us as enthusiasts rather than as laymen. We may not be able to manage a whole game, but there are plenty of intelligent people here who have followed college football most of our lives and can produce at least a respectable educated opinion. Coaches aren't always right, and honestly they don't always seem the most intelligent lot. I think it is hilarious to diminish Mauck and glorify Booty. This is not the NFL, this is college football. Stats and physical ability are great for getting a QB a bigger deal in the NFL, but they don't necessarily equate into leading a team to victory. Dan Marino was a "better" QB than Tom Brady, but Tom Brady compliments his team better and serves as a more useful piece toward the ultimate goal - having as successful a team as possible. Mauck may have made mistakes, God knows Booty made more, but I believe most laymen had more confidence in Mauck's heyday than Booty's. Did Booty have a crappy compliment of players? Not that I recall. Was the team so different when playing with Russell than it was when playing with Flynn? So different they performed on almost opposite ends of the spectrum of competence? I don't think so.
Its not an ability to separate team success from an idividuals QB's ability, it's an inability to see how vital Mauck was in leading a great team to a National Championship and putting up some of the best numbers in LSU history. Mauch also had only a couple of career starts before that year. There was quite a large drop off in offense the year after he left.
Both of which games Matt Mauck got his head right and won the game. Why are we even talking about Matt Mauck, he was a great QB. Came in as a diffeerent role, and then ended his college career as a starter who went pro!
A good starting point in any rational discussion would be to try not putting words into my mouth. If you think you can handle that, then come talk to me. Otherwise, don't bother.
The question isn't physical talent, or even intelligence. The key thing here is that Flynn was not the sole reason for the team's performance in the Peach Bowl. Lots of fans aren't capable of seeing that. They see a new QB in the game and a team success, and assume it's due to the QB. JaMarcus could have done just as good of a job in that situation.
This is exactly what I'm talking about. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. How ignorant must one be to mistake opinions for arrogance? I have every right to disagree with the coaches, no matter how bad it hurts your feelings. Let me explain it one more time, for the ultra-slow learners: Coach Miles does not contact any of us for our thoughts on any of his decisions, nor does our expression of these opinions have any bearing on said decisions. Is it clear now? So your drivel about basing whatever decisions on my limited knowledge are laughable at best. I keep wondering why I have to keep explaining such an elementary concept over and over. Then I remember that I'm dealing with a ULL grad. Go figure.
Yes, Mauck was vital. That doesn't make him a great QB. Lots of more talented QBs existed and could have lead the team to similar, or even better, results. But because the team was successful, and Matt was important to that success, people think he was a great QB. Not the case.
