Yes. I am also in that group with you. Up until last night, there was never that one game where his lack of preparation or awareness was the direct cause of us losing a game. He has continually put us in needlessly urgent situations because of his horrible clock-management ability and unpreparedness, but we've generally been able to overcome those things in the past. Last night, it was just too much. What transpired in Oxford really served to underscore a lot of the faults that most of us have seen in him for a long time now. The meltdown last night seems to have retroactively amplified his missteps in the past, which he was usually able to mask with his superior athletes. But there is absolutely no excuse why anyone coaching football at any level could not manage that last minute more effectively. Many people hate how calm Miles is on the sideline. I always tried to look at that as a positive, thinking that it somehow would allow him to make more rational, cool-headed decisions. But now my perception has shifted tremendously, and I'm beginning to think that maybe he's just as lost as he appear. And the worst part about it is that he had his debacle while standing opposite of the human brainfart himself, Houston f*cking Nutt. Seriously, how are you going to loose to that dude three years in a row?
If they had attempted a fake spike.... remember Dan Marino running up to the LOS acting like it was a spike and hitting a wide open Mark Ingram. I know its a stretch but CLM would be hailed as a genius had he done it (if it worked). If his excuse is there was not enough time to get the FG team out there then at least give your team a chance. Dont they plan for these scenarios in practice? When he spiked it into the ground I was stupified. I take back what I said in a previous thread defending CLM. I said he would have punted the ball deep in his own territory on 4th down unlike Belichick who lost the game for the Patriots. He would have had Brady spike it. Damn stupid coaching staff. :dis:
It seems like even us, the fans, can come up with several ways things could have been handled and we would have been dancing in the streets today. It's amazing that our $4 million coach couldn't come up with even 1 of them. This isn't a completely unique situation with him. Remember the Auburn game in 2007? The situation unfolded very much like yesterday but in that case Flynn & Byrd pulled his bacon out of the fire. If we had lost that game we wouldn't be talking about a 2007 NC due to 3 losses. The way things are going I don't think we are going to see another championship as long as he is still here. Right now I'm worried about next week's game. If we get beat again, and Arkansas looked good yesterday, we are going to be in a bowl game that either has chicken in the name or ends in .com.
Officially count me in this camp. I had nightmares about the last minute of that game all night long.
Interesting point and pretty accurate. I believe Les lost a bunch of political capital with the LSU fan base yesterday. What he said after just makes it worse when the evidence is undeniable. He should have taken the blame and moved on but instead he left a festering wound and possibly a fractured team. You know the kids are reading everything we are. I've never really defended Miles or blindly supported him. I have always kind of agreed with Tirk's characterization that he was "bat $hit crazy" but it was working so all is good. Unfortunately, the kind of debacle we witnessed yesterday has a profound effect on the fan base and the naysayers are going to run wild with it.
The only reasoning I can think of is that our two top RBs were out and they wanted to put the ball in the hands of their play makers (#1 and #80) when the game was on the line. They probably did not want #8, #10, or #34 to have to shoulder the responsibility of having the game in their hands. If they run it and one of the young guys fumble it... That must have been what they were thinking on the 2 point conversion and during the insane pass plays on the last drive. Sorry, the 2 point conversion at half the distance is a run. 2nd and 10 with 2 TOs from the 30 is a run. They tried to get too fancy and burned themselves. Then they paniced...
:01 left, we DID get the snap off...and into the hands of a QB with mobility. Common sense says QB run with the ball and try to get into the endzone. Simple. If you don't make it, oh well. But GOOD LORD!!!! You don't spike it!!!!!!!!!! Understand that I fully agree with everyone else who says the real problems started when it was 1st and 10 at the 31. BUT...since this thread is about the :01 left, that's what you do there. You just snap it and run.
You can't do that though. They have to let #34 have the ball with the game on the line. Les Miles should have realized that #34 is your starting tailback next season, he needed that ball. You have to give him the ball, you aren't asking the kid to win the game for you, you are asking him to gain a couple of yards and get the ball to the center of the field. Did you see Josh Jasper on the sideline after Lafell picked up the big yards on the inside screen? He was fist pumping, Danielson even said something about it. At this point i agree with 327, and i will take it a step further. I want Miles to succeed, and i hope to hell he can do something else here in Baton Rouge. But i am through defending him.
I feel this exact same way. I find myself sometimes fighting that voice that says "he's not as great as you think he is", and suppressing it with his win percentage.
