No doubt the defense was a worry at the outset, but as that was addressed, another glaring problem made itself apparent - our offense was lame. That's what got my goat all season.
I haven't the faintest clue who you are nor have I ever really seen you post before so if you think I was somehow claiming you were one of the bitch boys from 2004....well, maybe you were or weren't...I have no idea. I actually defend Crawfish and his Anti-Miles views when it comes to people trying to act like the SECCG never happened or make ridiculous excuses for it...so if you think I am trying to quash all bitching...think again.
I didn't take it personally, I was just trying to respond to what I thought your point was... People calling for Saban's head in 2004 were definitely in the minority. It makes me wonder if you don't get a voice of dissension confused with a voice of "fire that damn coach's azz." What was your point if I got it wrong? Though I've seen your posts before, I haven't the faintest clue of who you are either, so if I interpret your messages wrong, feel free to clue me in on what you truly meant.
I'm just astonished at how little slack people cut Miles, who had to get comfortable with a new team (it takes some time) and then had to deal with the hurricane problems at the same time. Under the circumstances 11-2 is bloody amazing for a first year coach. Next year will be a minor rebuilding year with a tough road schedule and 8 or 9 wins will be likely. But if Miles makes another double-digit championship run in 2007, then he knows his business, for sure.
I think some fans made up their mind about Miles long before the first game. He wasn't a popular choice and his lack of public speaking skills led them to think he wasn't the smartest person around. Hate to say it, but I think he'll face many of the same challenges Brady is having ... they will never win a personality or speaking contest, so they better win a lot of games.
There were a lot of preconceived notions about Miles that aided in people not liking him. Saban had some charisma, but was not an especially likable guy. We loved him because he won. That's all we love any of our coaches for. Their personalities are a distant second in importance.
Ask Brady if that is true. He won 20 games last year, SEC West co-champs and made it to the NCAA tourney. And yet he still can't get more than 4-5,000 actual fans in the PMAC. Personality and public speaking goes a long way toward selling your program to fans...
I thought Brady was a pretty descent speaker. I think what kills Brady is our performance in big games (when a big crowd does show up, I think we lose almost everytime, at least since Stromile left) and our performance in post season tournaments. Even in our most successful appearance in the Big Dance, Wisconsin embarassed Swift and co. in the sweet 16.
