Funny, that's exactly how I see you, only as a know-nothing jerk who has next to nothing to add to any conversation, unless it's found in FSA. Your whole time in the Den is spent throwing jabs at people who aren't blowing sunshine up everyone's behind. Absolutely no substance. But, that's just me.
You both add a lot to the forum in each your own way. It would not be the same without either. *group hug*
I guess there's a tendency--myself included--to isolate coaching problems to individuals when the reality is none of the decision-making is done in a vacuum. It could simply be a case where the combination of Miles and Crowton is just a bad mix. Miles did just fine when Jimbo was calling the shots on offense, and I don't think Les has fundamentally changed how he coaches. Les brought Crowton in to run a spread option, which made perfect sense when Perrilloux was the heir apparent at QB. His getting kicked off the team screwed up everything, and stuck us with two unprepared pro-style QBs. In that time there has evidently been no improvement beyond the level of experienced redshirt freshman. Whether you agree or not as to whether Lee should have been taken out in the '08 season, it's still ultimately Crowton's job to coach up those QBs and have them SEC-ready, and it hasn't happened. With no trustworthy QB Miles is reverting to the offense he knows best. It may be possible for LSU to be a championship team again with Les as the HC, but clearly not with Crowton as the OC. Les ain't going nowhere either barring some catastrophe, so it's the one reasonable move we can make in the off-season. The timing would be right for a fresh start, as well, if we get Mettenberger and Rivers coming in. Who knows? A new OC might even do something for JJ or JL, too.
the plays worked in '07, i agree. i'm still seeing the same plays being called, except not being executed. Flynn and Perrilloux seemed to have a lot more confidence in themselves than JJ does. They knew what to do with the ball and did it. They weren't afraid to make a mistake, and didn't get frustrated and go into a shell when things went south. Lee had that same mindset, and our offense moved the ball and put up points. Lee's problems were two fold 1. he thought he could make the same throws in the SEC that he got away with in High School. SEC defenses feasted on him because of it. 2. he would never look off the linebacker before throwing the screen. these two issues got into his head as the season snowballed outta control. Can his head be fixed, or is the LaTech game from last year who he is now? i don't know, but i'm ready to find out. i don't think any of them are innocent. but i find it mighty suspicious that our offense is trending the same direction at the same speed that BYU's did when Crowton was there. Maybe Miles was handcuffing him then too. without a doubt he has his hands in it. i'm starting to lean toward the belief that he should be involved even more. Miles' mo is the power running game. he wants to run the ball, and pass only to keep the D honest. so far, that's what's been successful (minus the passing part) Crowton's mo is spreading the field, giving multiple looks, and giving your QB multiple options on every play. that has failed miserably for a while now. this is why i don't listen to coach speak. i haven't found a coach yet that come out and says what the fans want to hear. so i just don't even listen anymore. and what was up with the faking a qb change in the 3rd qtr? have no clue what that was supposed to accomplish. same with me. wish i knew the answers, but all i got is a few wild azz guesses.
No, we all know that. Okay, here I go again bashing Miles. If you are right about Miles bringing in a coordinator to stay for years and run a spread option, why the hell has he recruited pro-style QBs? Was what his plan for when RP left, for GC to get a coaching gig somewhere else? If what you are saying is correct, Miles is even more so a goon of a head coach. Couldn't agree more. It's just puzzling that he's coached seven quarterbacks who have gone on to be selected in the NFL Draft. I lol'd. But what about Oregon or La. Tech? Both offenses were powerful and had QBs playing in the pros. Maybe so. Perhaps this is a case of the two-headed monster, much like the defense had before Chavis. If dolemite is right, and Crowton was brought in specifically to run his type offense (why else would he be brought in?), what can he do without a QB? Is it his fault that Miles hasn't recruited QBs that fit Crowton's scheme? I'll be booed for mentioning his name, but I think Saban is somewhat honest when it comes to how his football team is performing. After the Bluegrass Miracle, Saban basically admitted that LSU got lucky and that he felt bad for the UK team, implying that LSU's implosion in the second half left them undeserving. Sure, he's an a-hole, but when it comes to how his team plays, he seems to shoot straight, maybe even going overboard and throwing his players under the bus (which has never, to my knowledge, resulted in players lashing out or falling off athletically). Even Mack Brown, of all people, this week said in the press conference that UCLA gave Texas "a rear-end kicking." Miles would never say anything like this. Just be real with us. It's okay to admit when you are wrong. Miles' version of coach speak is so frustrating because he makes it sound as if the fans don't really know what they are seeing on Saturdays. It's as if he thinks we are the stupid ones who have no idea what an option really is... or a QB. I'm with you. JL looked crushed after that, and I felt bad for the guy. The announcers were faked out, too. That makes the both of us.
Why not? We won't ask Lee to throw for 4,000 yards. Just manage the game and complete a respectable amount of passes (to our team, not the opponents) and air out a minimum of 3 deep balls a game to TT and RR, so that there's not 11 men in the box to stop Ridley. If he's getting 100yrds a game with opponents stacking the box, can you imagine how good he'd be if we upgraded to just a mediocre passing game? He got thrown to the wolves his freshman year, did not transfer, and has worked so hard to overcome adversity that I believe he deserves his shot. Sure, his one pass last night was behind the receiver, but all he needs is a few reps in practice against our 1st team defense to help get his timing and rhythm down. If he can complete passes against Clayborne and PP in practice without being intercepted, he can complete them against anyone.
You don't necessarily need Michael Vick to run that offense, though it helps. Nobody would mistake Flynn for an option QB, but he could run elements of that offense effectively, like those weird bunched receiver formations, mainly because he had a good offensive line and a good mind for the game. I've said several times that the plan seemed to be Perrilloux and that was it. If I were generous I'd say that Lee or Jefferson could be used as a change of pace QB, but I don't think Les thought that far ahead. And it's the same reason that I've been even more exasperated at how the Garrett/Zach Lee situation played out. Out of curiosity, how many of those QBs were already experienced by the time Crowton took over OC/HC duties, and how many did he have to build up from scratch?
Not sure about all of 'em, but he coached La. Tech starting in 1996, and Rattay was drafted in 2000. Dixon was a sophomore when he got to Oregon.
I don't know anything about Rattay to be honest, but Dixon was a prototypical QB to run Crowton's offense. Jefferson doesn't have anywhere near that kind of running ability and neither of them seem to have great pocket smarts to handle a complex set of reads and throwing options. All that makes me think that Crowton doesn't really know how to adapt his scheme to what he has to work with.
