The reason I am optimistic about this hire is because of Coach K's work with quarterbacks. Also there won't be any (at least I hope) hybrid spread pro style garbage going on. Just doesn't gel. Pound the rock, set up the play action.
Maybe I don't, but based on your track record, of looking for the negative, is why I came to the conclusion I did. I apologize if I am wrong. In many ways you may be correct, but that wasn't my intention. My point is there is no reason, in my mind, to try and figure out whether or not Miles was or wasn't calling the plays with Crowton. That Crowtons problems were well documented and that him and Miles butting heads, although may have been a part of it, were not the biggest issues. That whether Miles was calling plays or not wasn't the issue, and to figure it out is a waste of breath, IMHO. This isn't blind faith in Miles, this is the past is the past, and it is time to see where this goes for the future. If some want to dwell on what was, then so be it, go ahead. I just don't find that productive to seeing where we might go.
Execution , or the lack of, was more the problem than playcalling IMO. The failure to coach jj up was the problem. Jj played well enough in the cotton bowl to be a championship qb. Was it crowton's fault or jj's fault or both. The reason we ran all the options was because jj couldn't throw the ball. If jj had played all season like he did aginst aTm crowton would still be at lsu and we would have had an even more successful season. The question is will there be an open competition for qb with mett having a real chance or will jj be called the starter before the season starts. I have no problem with jj being the starter if he can play every game like he did aginst aTm. This offense will struggle next year unless either jj improves or is replaced by someone better. If your qb doesn't play well it doesn't matter who the oc is. Miles will decide who the starter is. If mett is not ready to start in miles' eyes and jj struggles then krag will appear to be failing no matter what. Miles will not want the same thing that happened to jl to happen to mett in regard to the interception problems. The key to krag being seen as a success next season will rest on jj's ability to progress or in mett's ability to step up and be the qb we all hope he will be.
FWIW, I received the following from a friend of mine who went to Tulsa and follows the program: I imagine he’ll be a really good hire for LSU.* He did an outstanding job at Tulsa, building the program into a respectable team that competes in Conference USA after almost two decades of completely miserable football.* In his 4 years at TU, they played in 3 bowl games.* They played in that many between 1966 and when he showed up. *Gus Malzahn and Todd Graham get a lot of credit for turning TU into a really good offensive team, but I don’t think they would have had nearly the success they did so quickly had they not been able to build on the foundation that Kragthorpe laid for them.* I’m not really sure what happened at Louisville, it sounds like Kragthorpe just couldn’t get his players to play for him.* He never had that problem at Tulsa, at all.* He was able to get the guys there to overachieve quite consistently.* I was really surprised that he didn’t have any success at all at Louisville.* Because of his lack of success at Louisville, he obviously wasn’t going to get a good head coaching position, but I imagine the LSU job will be a really* good fit for him – and for LSU as well. Sorry for all the asterisks, must be some cut and paste thing...
JMO, but I like a pro-style offense much better than the spread. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but it would seem to me that a pro-style offense would be attractive to ball players looking to use LSU as a stepping stone to a career in the NFL, right? I mean wouldn't a kid serious about being a pro football player want to go to a program that would prepare and train him in a system that emulates what is run in the NFL? Am I correct philosophically here? Since I started following LSU football in the early 2000s, it seems like we've always either been a QB away or the QB has been a relative weak spot on our team. So, yeah, I agree with the thought process that if Krag can do little else but pick and groom QBs, his hire could be a smashing success.
If we ever know how the offense was run, it willl be years. Miles believes in protecting his staff and players so wait for the after retirement book. If we never have another Ole Piss or Tenn moment will it mean that the problem was Crowtons fault, or JJs, or Miles and it just never hapened again. It will be years before we know, if we ever do. . In the meantime there is no choice but to go with the flow. Or at least that's what Mr Reposada is telling me right now. And that's good enough for me at the moment.
lsu 2010 #81 2009 #102 2008 #51 2007 #9 2006 #14 2005 #34 2004 #30 just a comparison. i'm sure there are a lot of arguments as to why, but we tumbled. bad. crowton? rp fallout? crowton did not inherit a mess. but whatever the reason, crow or not,after a great first year with crow, our offense turned into one. i didnt look up tulsa's ranking pre-krag, but they won something like 3-4 games the year before he got there. and had been crap for a long time before him. a lot of people in these parts give him credit for turning that program around and it is still doing well. i dont know what happened at louisville. yes, that is worrisome, but there have been articles pointing out there may have been circumstances such as dismissing playmakers from the team. however, he has turned one program, tulsa, and atm showed improvement in offensive stats when he was there. point being that we cant judge him on one stop (louisville) alone. those that think the sky is falling and that "we were better off with crowton" are judging through very narrow lens.
sorry, i dont think they are paying CSK $700K+ just to develop QBs. What you are saying...im pretty sure BG wouldve gotten the job for $300-400K.
