Just because I criticize doesn't mean I don't support him. He won me over last season. But how is it wrong to be intellectually honest? If a person has concerns, what is the problem expressing them? I don't bash the guy to FU fans I commiserate with on a daily basis. I'm honest about my concerns, but I'm also honest about the things I appreciate about him. Blowing smoke seems like a futile task. Miles and LSU can handle scrutiny and criticism - if we can't, we are weak.
Hypothetically, lets pretend you have concerns about Miles that are somewhat intelligent: even if you did, how would that help LSU football to whine about them in public, airing our dirty laundry, so to speak? Especially when it's more like creating dirty laundry that isn't there out of paranoia. Relax. No need to whine, no need to bitch. If Miles' overall-record doesn't stay great, he will be gone. There is no reason to whine about him until that happens, if ever. Have pride. Have faith. Be positive. Miles is awesome. Fortunately top recruits like Russell Shepard and the rest of the great recruits we that want to come to LSU agree with me, and not people like you.
Your suggestion is to put my purple & gold glasses on and STFU? I don't think so; that's what we've got you for . I've found that people appreciate honesty a lot more than being fed a line. Anyway, I'm not bashing Miles, I'm critiquing the season. I think he and LSU can withstand a little bit of scrutiny; I actually feel it reflects well on LSU if our fanbase doesn't simply swallow whatever is fed us.
I agree completely with John's line of thinking here. I believe that Miles will right the ship in short order, and I firmly believe that starts right here and now with the bowl game. Don't be surprised if we go out and play inspired football against GT, not unlike the way we played the last time we were in the Peach Bowl in '05 (another game where most folks predicted a gloomy, dreary outcome.) As for the national championship hangover, it happened in '04, as well. We started out the season ranked #3. I don't remember where we ended up, but we played incredibly uninspired football THE ENTIRE YEAR, save ONE quarter of greatness against Florida--but hey, it wasn't Urban Meyer's or Steve Spurrier's Florida, you know. Also, in '04, the guys came into fall camp out of shape--every one of them. Guys we thought would be leaders, like Marcus Spears and Corey Webster, never stepped up that year. Justin Vincent was a pale shadow of the RB he'd been the year before. Skyler Green lost whatever magic he'd had in '03. The '03 championship team had worked hard from the inside out--that came from the players. The '04 team never had "it." It's very, very similar to this year. By '05, that winning feeling came back, and we can argue that the '05 season may have been really stellar if not for Katrina. We all know the rest.
The players are indeed a large part of the problem. Guys are admitting that teammates arent practicing hard. Players arent going all out in games. No, the players are showing no leadership what so ever. With the talent LSU had theres is no reason the D was so horrible. The tackling was amateurish. Its blind though to say Miles isnt and the coaching staff isnt a large part of the problem either. He is the head coach, its his job to make sure players are performing. There is no discipline nor ramifications for such actions. If kids arent performing in games or practicing hard sit their asses down and put in a kid who is coming to play. Leadership starts at the top, and thats the HC, which is Miles. All that said, this a new game with enough time to right the ship. Hopefully we will see the LSU team we expected to see this year.
We don't run the business, but let's say I'm a consultant brought in to observe a group of employees for several months. I know the group is highly talented, but they consistently do poor work and make lousy presentations, and they're generally thought of throughout the company as a mediocre group. The managers can't seem to resolve the problem, and in my final week there I see employees openly blaming other employees for the shoddy quality of their work. I would conclude that the employees, as a group, are unmotivated and undisciplined, and the managers ineffective. If one of the better employees later comes to me privately and says that management has suddenly taken a harder line and the employees seem to be more dedicated to their work, then that would tend to confirm my previous suspicions. In short you seem to think it's unreasonable for people to reach the general consensus conclusion that their suspicions were right all along. Remember that your 20-something kid has 4 seasons of experience and bowl-preparation under his belt, so I think he would know the difference between an unusually hard practice/attitude adjustment and normal bowl practices after a couple of weeks off.
Re: Attitude Adjustments - who's next? I think, and i may be wrong, that Byrd started every game this season.
