Miles in the Hands of an Angry Fanbase

Pretty tough day here. Lot of smoke. Lot of fire. Lot of brimstone. What I'm struck by, however, is how vague much of the criticism is, in a sport where everything is readily definable. Yards, plays, percentages are all pretty easily quantified, but all one reads around here is that Miles is "conservative" and not "fired up enough," that the team is "unprepared," and that LSU was "outcoached."

How conservative was it to go four wides on third and short on several plays, the first of which was in the first quarter - the Davis catch on which UF was flagged for a blow to the head? How conservative was it to attempt a killshot deep ball to LaFell (which was intercepted) on LSU's first play after it forced UF to punt after JR's fumble? How conservative was it for LSU to attempt 23 of its 41 passes on first down, or on short yardage 2nd/3rd down? Or only 13 run plays of 30 total in the first half, including 2 runs from Doucet in a formation LSU's never tried before?
http://www.lsusports.net/downloads1/11973.htm?ATCLID=639073&SPID=2164&DB_OEM_ID=5200&SPSID=27815

For all of you carrying the "Miles is too Conservative" banner, especially for the UF game, This board would improve dramatically if someone, ANYONE could spout out more than vague, declarative statements that Miles is "conservative" (Hester's 4th quarter run that JR called v. AU has been noted, thanks).

And let us discuss the term "unprepared" for a second. Was Early Doucet "unprepared" for a kickoff to fall into his hands? He was St. Martinville's primary ballhandler from the time he was about 14 years old - it can be safely assumed that he knows how to field a kickoff. Chevis Jackson has been working as the primary punt returner since Spring, and made a circus catch of an interception in the first half. Think he was "unprepared" to catch a punt? A better football coach than anyone on this board once told me that physical mistakes absolutely, positively CANNOT be eliminated, ever. It's the mental mistakes that can be and MUST be eliminated. Gripe about Jesse Daniels admitting he didn't know what defense LSU was in for the long Tebow TD pass - that's a mental error. Not dropping a football.

Chris Leak only had 155 yards passing, and UF had under 200 yards for the game. Nearly every UF score was gift-wrapped for them by LSU's physical errors. Was LSU "unprepared" for the UF offense? For the "unprepared" standard bearers, I'd offer the immortal words of Inigo Montoya:

And I'll try in vain to quick hit the other two for the sake of brevity, as though that horse isn't already out of the barn. How much more fired up does Miles have to be to please the TigerForums faithful? Would chewing JR's arse after the GL fumble have changed anything? Do you think JR didn't know he'd given away 7 points? The sideline shot of JR about to bite thru his towel just after it happened should disabuse you of that notion. Do you HONESTLY think JR thinks GL fumbles are OK because Miles didn't have a conniption fit on the sideline? Isn't wigging out over every little detail like Mr. Spacely the main reason we make fun of Ed Orgeron? Think about that double standard if you have a second.

And let's end with that vaguest of terms, "outcoached." How would you, the armchair coach, have changed the gameplan exactly? UF's secondary was its weakest link, and LSU attacked it with plenty of 4 wides, and with 17 first half passes. The defense was able to pressure Leak without bringing the house, and UF scored first half points only after LSU turnovers. Do you in this crowd think the staff was "outcoached" simply because LSU lost? Point to a specific instance where LSU's coaches were outflanked by UF's, rather than making an assumption that they must have been based on the result. Heck, I'll even give you one - the stupid punt formation that led to blocked punts for both teams. That's being outcoached, not being unable to take a snap from center on the 1 yard line.

Everyone says Richt's one of the top 2 coaches in the SEC - did he get stupid all of a sudden and let Phat Phil "outcoach" him last night? Or was it their inability to cover the wildly underrated Bret Smith? Everyone mocks Nutt's desperation move to a HS OC that the Arky money men rammed down his throat - did he "outcoach" Tubs yesterday because McFadden went for 135yards /1TD? Or did Smith and McFadden make the physical plays needed to win? Dust off your playbooks, TigerForums. Show the board where UF's X's beat LSU's O's, and more than on just one play since it takes several to win a football game, and I'd be willing to bet that the discourse around here will improve dramatically.

 

better than I could have said it. Thanks.

 

Rep Points for you. This is exactly my view on things.

 

wow...I guess there are fewer idiots than I thought! I'm with you.

 

beautiful......

-morons beware Mr. Blank is watching!

 

Sanity is still alive and well. That's nice to know!

 

Well said. I don't know whats worse, having LSU lose or having to hear all the dumba$$ comments by LSU fans after the game, all week, and all season. I swear we have some of the worst fans in the game when LSU loses.

 

blessing to see this thread. There are many responsibilities as a coach, none of them include snapping, catching or running the football. All we have heard from the fans the lst few weeks is that the pass should set up the run. Well...... I guess it has to be somebodies fault. Ive come to the conclusion that there are only 3 possibilities:
1. Referees
2. Quarterback
3. Head Coach

The referees only made one bad holding call that cost us a touchdown, we lost by more than 7 pts. so they cant be to blame.
Russell threw for a lot of yards and the offense moved the ball well.
So it has to be the head coaches fault.

Why is everyone so narrow minded on who can be blamed for a loss. LSU lost as a team. Cant be blamed on a single person as many people made mistakes, including CLM JR and the referees. We are still a top program, just have had some setbacks.

 

Finally a thread that has some sanity to it.