In Good Graces or On Thin Ice? The Fate of Crowton

Goodness. The way you see it you'd think that playcalling was EVERYTHING. Well, what about early in the season when run calls would net 2 yards? Or where a simple out route designed to pick up 7 yards ended up being thrown behind Lafell, or dropped? Or where the option was called, but JJ held on to the ball when he should have pitched, or pitched when he could have dived forward for 4 or 5 yards instead of losing 2? If you go back and watch some of the games early on, you'll see just plain execution errors. So, what tweaks do you make? You work on JJ's release and decision making, practice makes perfect. You give the O-Line more line to gel so that the Tigers can average 4 or 5 yards running up the middle. You find a better place for RS, and hope that some running back steps up. You have another offseason to really see what JJ truly clicks with and you try to build the playbook more around that.

Now, I'll give you there were certain play calls within games that could have been mistakes. Certain times where running the ball would have been better to eat off clock and grind out a game, or certain times when the throwing on downs was too predictable. But, to make it sound like it was all "playcalling" or an offense that was "too complicated" or "schizophrenic" is probably a little of an exaggeration. This is to some extent the same offense that Crowton was running with Flynn and Perriloux. It wasn't all of the sudden like he "changed" it for JJ.

 

This!

Our execution of the play call wasn't very good.

:crystal::geaux::crystal::geaux::crystal:

 

thank you. anyone that calls pass plays to set up a field goal in the 4th is brain dead. Crowton has had his chance..... cut bait

 

You will have errors and failures in execution of the plays without a doubt no matter how skilled your players are. Coaching means calling the appropriate plays at the appropriate times and appropriate to your personnel and their abilities. Don't keep shoving the damn square peg into the round hole. It ain't ever gonna fit.

Shrewd play calling is only one part of an OC's responsibility to the team. What about player progression? I saw some progress from the start of the season to the end, but not as much as I think there could/should have been if they'd been coached better. Keep in mid this is just how I see it, you apparently don't agree and that's fine. I think GC is poor at play calling and game planning for each individual game. I think our players, while certainly not perfect, are not being "coached up" to their full potential. I see way too many WTF? type of play calls on offense. I see an offense that didn't live up to the talent level on the team. I see that this team can do so much more with the right catalyst and I don't think GC has been that spark over the past couple of seasons. That's just how I see it, and I'm OK if you see it differently. Maybe things will change next season. I damn sure hope so because our offensive production is a laughing stock.

 

As the OC, Crowton has to properly evaluate what his players can do effectively, and then put them in the best position to succeed on the field. Erratic and vanilla play-calling are fine in the early part of the schedule for that purpose. It is, however, a big problem when he thinks that strategy will be effective facing #1 at home with huge SECCG implications. (Where was RS?) It is a massive problem when he thinks that a young QB can complete 2 consecutive low-percentage fade routes on 2-pt conversion attempts, and calls pass plays for that same sack-prone QB setting up field position for a game-winning FG. Why does it take multiple consecutive blitzes to figure out to call a screen? (Bama) When you see these kind of football 101 issues, combined with minimal player improvement, this late in the season, it certainly seems to suggest that Crowton's history is repeating itself. Remember, this is the time of year that good teams peak, where they should be playing their best football of the season. Instead, LSU needed a ton of luck to not lose to Arkansas for the 3rd straight year.

So one of two things needs to happen. Either Miles has to be more assertive with Crowton and impose his vision of what the offense should be on his playcalling, or he hires a new OC who shares that vision and can better develop QBs. The status quo will not yield the huge improvements we're banking on for 2010.

This is the crux of Crowton's game planning problem. He wants the offense to be able to do a little bit of everything to keep defenses off balance. The problem is we don't have a Jacob Hester to grind out those 3-4 yards on 3rd and short, our backs don't have a huge, veteran O-line to run behind, and most importantly, we don't have a senior QB who can distribute the ball to all those skill players. Crowton wants to do everything well, and in the process, his offense has done nothing well. He is supposed to change the playbook to fit the players he has, not vice-versa.

 

You guys make some good points, and I'm not saying that Crowton is without blame. Certainly we could have beaten Ole Miss and with better execution would have been in games to the end against UF and Alabama. But, interestingly, look at what you just posted. Perhaps we just didn't have a 12-0 team, then? So, you think the answer is firing GC and bringing a different OC to implement a new system? What system does this OC run with a weak OL, a not very mature QB, no running game? :huh:

A system that requires a mobile QB who can make very fast decisions to get the ball out, since he's not going to have a OL to protect him? Well, that wouldn't have helped last year, given the personnel.

So, I guess my point is don't ignore some of the influence of personnel and execution on the field. It's a huge part of the game, it's not just coaching and play calling. I also completely understand that people have their biases. Next year, I believe folks will see a better product on the field. And you'll say it was because we made coaching changes, and others will just say that JJ and team got better. It's a combination of both, obviously, and I think that GC will get better too.

 

Well, I respectfully disagree. I think, to expect a guy who has been coaching the offense (with stops as HC along the way) for 1-2 decades to suddenly change his style is not realistic. I don't think CGC thinks he is above learning new things, but he has a style that will not change much at this point in his career. Additionally, no one is saying we expected a 12-0 team. Heck, I am actually pleased (and surprised) with our final record, but the offense was simply not fun to watch, and it should have been with our playmakers. Also, there were several games against vastly inferior opponents that we essentially struggled. We should have blown out ULL, La Tech, and MSU should not have been as close as it was. I don't recall if the offense even took the field against FLA. ALA was a game I still feel we should have won. I feel Ole Miss deserved to win, they outplayed us, but the offensive ineptness in the second half certainly went along way to help their cause.

No, to me, I would much prefer to see us just go ahead, bite the bullet, and move on to a new OC with a new offensive system. I understand there will be a learning curve, but in the end, it is the best thing to do for the future of the program overall. I am wondering if that is exactly what Gonzalez is being hired for - he may be moving into the OC position, just not announced yet. Why else would he make a lateral move, unless there was some rift developing b/t he and CUM, or he just wants to expose himself to different coaches/philosophies. He may be the OC in waiting, and that wait may not be long.

 

I totally agree that personnel has been a big part of the offensive struggles. My point is even after knowing what the weaknesses were, Crowton was essentially still trying to use elements of the '07 offense and what he did with Lee last year for a team that lacks the elements that made '07 (and '08 to an extent) successful.

What do you do with a weak line? Move the pocket. This is something JJ does well with rollouts and bootlegs. When you can't power the football up the middle use your speed to get to the edges: tosses, sweeps, stretch plays. Maybe the execution would still be lousy if backs/receivers can't hold blocks, but you are tailoring the offense to your available talent as a coach. Look at what TH did against Arky. Where was this all year? The point is LSU is not the only team in the FBS facing these kinds of problems; good coaches recognize them and scheme accordingly.

I get your point about players making plays, but you seem to want to cleanly separate execution from playcalling, and it can't be done. Jefferson is a case in point. He is a 6'4" QB who wants to run north-south when there are no open receivers. So what does Crowton do with him? Turn him into an option/pocket QB. His pocket presence and awareness are slowly improving, but at a snail's pace. Running the option is disastrous against a disciplined defense, b/c there has to be at least the threat of the QB either running laterally to hit the corner and turn it upfield, or make a cut and turn it back inside, and no one is scared of JJ doing that. Again, putting your players in the best position to make plays, rather than asking them to do something for which they don't have the right tools.

 

In the NCAA, you can't fire players and get better by replacing them with more competent ones. You have to win with the players you have and can recruit. We have some damn good football players on this team to work with. You can fire coaches if they're unable or unwilling to adapt enough to succeed with the players you have and can get. I don't see this as an issue of the players not playing well enough, I see it as coaches not able to develop them or scheme to their strengths. If JJ can't run an option after 2 seasons, either you suck at teaching him or he's just never going to be able to. Either way, why the hell are you still trying to make it work? CS and KW did a decent job of running the middle before our current O line was there. Either these guys can't power run block or our RB's just forgot how to run the ISO and dive plays. I think it's the former, but if you can't get them any better at run blocking in the interior, why don't you scheme better outside runs or actually utilize the player (RS) who's been averaging over 6 YPC instead of handing him the ball only 4 or times a game?

That's not on our players.

 

I am an avid Gary Crowton Hater. I love reading articles bashing him. You can see now as we are losing some more in state talent (Reed) and now commitments (Davis) the damage Gary is doing to LSU.

We still have the talent to be good the next 2-3 years, but surely we get rid of him after the bowl game. Here are a few articles hating on Crowton. I even found some good facebook groups.



I hate Gary Crowton (LSU's offensive Coordinator) | Facebook