11-gm regular season, more wins than previous 2 yrs combined Bad year, I'll give you that It was 9-3, 11gm season Saban had three regular seasons with 11 games.
Saban also inherited a great group of players. I have a list in another thread if you are interested. You might be surprised.
I didn't bring Saban into this conversation. Those players won 7 games in two years. I was just trying to show how the games won over their first 5 years comparison is invalid.
I like this one. Your #1 is also my #1. Every single thing you said. And I never stopped believing either. BUT, I have to say, there are games in the last two years that I didn't EXPECT LSU to win. They lost 'em all. I wanna get to where, in my own head, I EXPECT victory for LSU every time they step on ANY field. Attitude. Swagger. I wanna see some SWAGGER. I want the team to look like they are here to dominate you. Badasses! King, I can't disagree with any of your logic...but I bet you didn't feel that way about Saban when he had success, then sucked immediately thereafter. I bet UF fans didn't wanna throw Urban Meyer to the wolves after their 9 win season in '07. Actually, I bet there were those fans...they just won't speak up now. They'll wait until times get a little rocky again. It's called bandwagoning, or fair weather fans. It's OK to second guess...done so myself. But some folks just can't get over it. Of course, you'll say that some of us optimists can't get over '07, but that isn't true for me. '07 was a special year, and quite frankly, it will never be repeated. The next time LSU hoists the trophy, it will be under a completely different set of circumstances...even if Les Miles is still the HC. And yes, luck will be a part of it...just like it was in '07...and '03.
Inherited implies that and it is not a big deal. Just responding to you post about how far off the programs were that Saban inherited from Dinardo and Miles inherited from Saban which isnt that far off.
My point was that both sides can argue "woulda coulda shoulda" all day long, so bringing up "shoulda won" to support your argument is no more valid than me saying "shoulda lost." IMO, Miles was right to go for it all 5 times given how Florida's offense was clicking in that game, but other people might not see it that way. People can reach different conclusions from both viewpoints. Where did I mention Nick Saban? He has nothing to do with whether Miles is capable of keeping LSU competitive for SEC titles aside from one game every year. Criticism of Miles is not equivalent to Saban man-love, that's for overcompensating Gumps. It boils down to this. Miles-lovers think the last two years were just a bump in the road, part of the normal ebb and flow of a college program, nothing more. We'll be competing for SEC titles again in no time. Miles-doubters, however, see the last two years not as an aberration, but an emerging pattern. The first three years were wonderful, but conditions on the ground have changed regarding coaching and team mentality. As mentioned earlier, Miles is a hands-off coach who relies on assistants, and he has had problems in that department lately. Now based on what we've seen so far, it does look like he's taking a more active role in the offense in emphasizing the run, and I like that decisiveness. The pieces of a good team are coming into place, but Miles has to make them fit.
TigerTap is the one that brought up Saban's record. I was just showing why those numbers are misleading.
Yes, we DID compete last year for the SEC title. Losing at Alabama sunk our chances there. And we DID improve from the year before. But the offensive line play was bad, bad, bad. And our offense suffered mightily when we couldn't establish the run.
As long as Saban is coaching at a hated rival school and enjoying huge success, there will be comparisons to Saban. In the end that probably isn't fair to Miles, but it's reality. I got over Saban a long time ago, because it was a business move, not personal. I'm much more concerned with what Les Miles is doing to coach this team today and make it the best it can be than with a coach who moved on years ago, and I think a lot more "doubters" feel the same way than you give credit for. Really? You personally attend every practice to see exactly how he coaches? I'll have to take your word for it. I've definitely never heard anyone say "Yep, that's a Les Miles offense/defense out there." If he's responsible for the Peach Bowl D after the shape Malleveto had it in all season, then he should have had the O-line looking like world-beaters out there last year.
