Whether there is a change at the DC position or not I think a lot of the blame may be placed on players purposely not playing to their potential...Miles touched on that in his news conference after the Arky game. I think there is more than what we can see from the outside. The inmates were trying to take the asylum but Miles may have teargassed and put it in lockdown. Just another veiw on the whole thing.
:geaux: Think some of the players were laying down? If so, that's pretty sad if some of them did. What I think was a big problem was the lack of senior/player leadership on the team which would definitely have contributed to what you alluded to. Looking back at last years seniors such as Hester, Flynn, Dorsey, Steltz, Highsmith, Doucet etc., they provided leadership on and off the field by example and action. Players like those mentioned and others like Chevis Jackson and Zenon would not have allowed, I don't think, the kind of team performance we saw on the field many times this year. Not only by their play on the field, they would have held the team together whether in good times or in bad. This team didn't have that type of leadership and didn't handle adversity. There's plenty of talent on this team but sadly no real leaders that stepped up when times got tough. I believe there ended up being a lot of finger pointing going on. Demetrius Byrd wouldn't have gotten away with the attitude he's had this year if the team had any leaders close to what they had last year. I didn't think leadership would be a problem on this years team but I believe it was and was a big factor contributing to a 7 - 5 season versus at least 9 - 3. Hopefully some guys will step up for the bowl game and set the foundation for next year. :LSU231:
a coach is supposed to get the players to play up to their potential. this happens by putting them in a position to succeed such as: 1. calling the right plays; don't know if this ever happened because they never got the plays in on time. 1a. get the g--dam plays in on time! 2. putting the players in the right position on the field; danny mccray should never be asked to guard percy harvin in one-on-one coverage. 2a. evaluating talent; players like chad jones should not get worse after a year in the program, they should get better. put him in a position that he is physically capable of, not one you think you need. these are things the co dcs didn't do and are apparently not capable of doing. if the players revolted (which some truly did) then it is because they are not put in positions to succeed. this is why the dcs need to go now. not later, not maybe, but definitely now.
This makes it sound like it was the players fault for McCray covering Harvin one-on-one, not the coaches--at least in this one instance: if one play could fix a moment in time where the defense started down the slippery slope to mediocrity, it would be the third-and-12 Florida faced on its opening possession. LSU, the defending national champion, went to The Swamp undefeated, ranked No. 4 and regarded more or less as equals to the No. 11 Gators. But after knocking Florida back 2 yards on two plays, LSU suddenly surrendered a long one that changed the complexion of the game. Free safety Curtis Taylor, a senior and returning starter, bit on a crossing pattern underneath, and when he got sucked closer to the line of scrimmage, nickel back Danny McCray was left one-on-one with speedy Percy Harvin on a post pattern. ... Taylor was the first starter to go. He didn't get out of the coaches' doghouse after botching that Florida coverage http://blog.nola.com/lsusports/2008/12/lsus_usually_stout_defense_tum.html
I think some of the "seasoned" players on defense were the ones to lay down...hence the reason you saw no leadership. Could it have been coaching? I don't know. I know they lost faith in whatever was being served and pretty much gave up after Bama. Players with real character would have never allowed themselves to be taken down to that level whether they believed in the system or not. How else can you explain the worsening of the defense as the season progressed? When Miles said he was going to look for leaders and find players who want to play LSU football next season I feel like he was alluding to the ones who purposely instigated the decline.
yes i've read that, and the play call was a man cover 2. that goes back to my first point -- making the right play call. still, mccray should never be asked to cover harvin one on one - ever - with or without safety help. then all my points come together because they should have been able to evaluate the talent and realize that taylor sucks sucks sucks in pass coverage. so if you're gonna have him in as help, make sure he doesn't have to provide too much help. so better play call in that situation, either peterson or eugene in man coverage with taylor in as help. or those two cbs in with mccray in for safety help. there's a lot of better situations the coaches could have created for these, but because they didn't (and didn't have strong leadership from upperclassmen) the players didn't succeed.
I thought this as well. It seemed that the body language was that the defense not only has to beat the other team, but the bad QB play as well and it was too much to overcome. I thought for the most part the team on both sides of the ball played well enough to beat bama, but the pics did them in. After that game they just didn't have it.
