I read Finebaum's stuff every now and then to get a really good laugh at Bama's expense, but usually LSU/Miles is getting slammed. After all, he is fairly vitriolic in regards to us, but his latest article(while not exactly flattering), had me laughing even harder. How pleasurable is it to make your detractors shut up? Please read the whole thing. I think you will enjoy it...:lol: http://www.al.com/press-register/stories/index.ssf?/base/sports/1191921534193080.xml&coll=3
Finebaum is a guy who just likes to push buttons and get a rise out of people. I don't know how much of what he says that he really believes. What he wants to do is provoke an emotional response out of people because he knows that's what gets people to listen to his radio show. he's an excellent self-promoter in that regard, but my advice to people who don't like him is to just stop paying attention. He'd be much more bothered by indifference than by hatred.
Earlier this week, Jay Walker (lafayette radio) commented that either Miles was a genius or a complete idiot. The consensus appears to be that he was damn lucky and LSU fans would be all over Miles had any one of those "gambles" not paid off (probably spot on).. I'm beginning to think that Miles, perhaps, has a sixth sense that tells him when to go for it. His record in such situations is remarkable. Go back to LSU's 1st offensive possession ever under Miles ( I realize he may not have called the fake punt). We were thinking "Whoa" this guy's got balls".Time and time again, Miles has "gambled" in crucial sitiations and won. There are times when I think, we should go for it on fourth or fake a FG or a punt and we do no such thing. But when Les "feels it", he goes for it and it works. No, Jay Walker and Finebaum, Miles is not a candidate for the looney bin. He just can tell when things are such that the next risky move will work. 28-4 speaks for itself. Luck just does not hold out for that long.
I think it's funny about Saban looking human for the first time "in forever". Maybe Finebaum forgot about Saban's stint in Miami, where he looked very, very, very human. Regarding Miles's choices during the game, I read one interview where he said going for it on fourth was part of their game plan. He -- obviously -- wanted to keep the ball out of Tebow's hands as long as possible, and he asked his coaches to plan on facing fourth down in a variety of situations. The fourth down calls were gambles, but a bit more calculated than people realize. I disagree that if any of them hadn't worked that Tiger fans would be all over him post game. It's not entirely that black and white. If some of them hadn't worked (on the second-to-last drive after the INT), people would have questioned his judgement. But on that last drive, I think a lot of fans would have supported that first fourth down attempt. His decision to go for it instead of tying the game was a huge risk, but given Colt David's prior missed field goal and Tebow's ablity to move the ball, I imagine that a some amount of fans would have supported the decision even if we'd turned it over on downs. Plus, we don't know what would have happened had we missed any of those fourth down conversions. Say we turned it over on downs outside of the Florida goal line on that last drive. The defense could have forced a turnover with a resulting score. I get annoyed at the "if if if" stuff. As someone said to me recently, if all the azzes here had wings, this place would be an airport (not saying the fine people here at TF are azzes!). Actually, I think that Pelini would have been under fire after the game as much or moreso than Miles, had we lost. The defense did pretty well, once you look at the stats post game, but they weren't quite as dominant as prior games and there was a lot of criticism about it as the game was ongoing.
One thing is for sure, Jay Walker is an idiot !!! He is the biggest University of Lafayette (UL) homer in the world. If anyone calls his program and dares to disagree with him he jumps right down their throat. Tuned him completely out about three years ago and don't regret it at all. Miles is unlike many coaches, probably gets too much credit for success and too much blame for failure. The best gameplan in the world doesn't mean jack unless your players come to play. I credit our team for playing their @asses off, my first thought after the game was that our team never quit. At the end of the day that played a big part in why we won the game.
This Finebaum fellow is a crummy writer. It's a shame that in the media today, if you're not provoking people you're not getting paid. I still like Nick Saban, though I think he's always been overrated as a gameday coach. He had a bunch of stinkers that I can recall at LSU, including being shutout at home by Alabama, losing at home to UAB, and being outclassed at home by the Zooker during the national championship season. Still, Nick is a great program man. He turned LSU around with his vision and energy. It was Nick who worked to get all the new sports facilities that make LSU so attractive to recruits. He's also a great teacher. He knows how to get his players to believe in themselves, which is half the battle in establishing a winner. Alabama will improve this year. They'll compete for the West next year. They'll be in BCS contention the following year. As of now, Alabama has the 4th rated recruiting class of 2008. And all the blue chippers in the state are going to the Tide, not to Auburn.
Too much credit for success? That's sarcastic right? This is the first week I ever remember Miles getting respect/credit for the teams good performance, but there never seems to be an end to the criticism about his loss. Heck, I have friends who STILL won't let go of the way we lost the Tennessee game 2 years ago and blame it on Miles.
That's exactly right. It's not just about predicting the success of the try, it's about weighing the alternatives. Whether or not there was a plan going into the game, I think the decisions were made easier once things played out the way they did (the D struggling to shut down the Florida O, and problems in the kicking game). Miles still deserves a lot of credit, though, obviously, for giving his offense an opportunity to win the game. Yeah, I think it's pretty safe to say that Meyer got the better of Pellini this time. It's a tough offense to defend, but I didn't expect them to have such consistent success. I figured we'd get to Tebow a few times and force Florida to throw the ball downfield, but they just kept steadily ripping off chunks of yardage. Can't wait to see what happens next time.
Absolutely right. And journalist or talk show hosts who have to rile up a fan base to get noticed are really just no-talent hacks. (See Finebaum, Guilibleaux, Colon Cowturd). Anyone can voice an opinion that pisses someome off. The real talent is keeping people interested in a way that doesn't polarize you.
