The LSU Offense is nationally ranked below what we should expect. I don't know why. Coach Miles is aware of the situation. I expect he'll make some moves to address the situation. We'll have to stay tuned and see how his moves pan out. Could the solution be as simple as adding a full-time QB coach to augment Crowton's staff?
Crowton has been the subject of much deserved criticism over the past 3 yrs, and rightly so. His offenses have struggled to produce much of anything over that time span. Here becomes the question, as the OP brought up, has his offensive scheme started to work solely because he may now have a QB that can operated efficiently and he has players that are finally executing. Has this been the biggest problem to his coaching all along? Granted he is on the hook for player development, but is this all that has been missing, and do we want to mess with it when next season has the potential for us to go for it all. With our D possibly being better next yr than this yr, and an O that can put up the #'s we saw in the Bama game and the OM game, messing with the OC might just set us back again. If we can have an O that produces, consistently, as they did in the OM and Bama games, along with the D we have this team is virtually unstoppable. This isn’t to say that is what we have, and yes it was against the OM D, but it was also against a Bama D, so the potential is there. I’m not certain that Crowton has or hasn’t bought himself another life line, but if this O performs like the did in those 2 games for the rest of the season, messing with it may be worse than keeping GC. And I really can’t believe that I am saying this, because like most I have been one to think getting rid of GC was a must, but now am questioning that. Of course if we revert back to where we have been over the next 2 games there is no question, he must go, but if we see the consistency and production that we have seen in those 2 games, we then have some serious considering to do.
Before I get flamed for "wanting a scapegoat", a couple of things to consider: 1. Jefferson had a career game against Auburn in '09. People thought then, as they do now, that he had gotten over the hump and would play consistently well. That didn't happen. That doesn't mean the light bulb hasn't come on now after Ole Miss, but it's not like we haven't seen this kind of situation before. 2. Jefferson and Lee both had good games against Bama, but LSU got most of its yards off big plays, with very few long, sustained drives. The big play won't be there week after week, so those long drives are crucial, which leads to: 3. LSU has had the luxury of superb special teams and kickers this year, not to mention Peterson's return game. Which means the LSU offense has had tremendous starting field position to work with all season. We will lose both Jasper and Helton in 2011, and almost certainly Peterson. Those will be huge losses, and will force the offense to be far more productive than it has had to be this season to win. 4. Regardless of how the Mettenberger situation pans out, we will be fielding a QB in 2012 with only 1 year in the system. Add to that the fact that both Mettenberger and Rivers are pro-style pocket passing QBs, where Crowton's experience and playbook revolves around the spread. It's taken 3 years to get our current QBs up to average status. Do we run the risk of starting this cycle all over again? I agree that strong QB performances against Arkansas and the bowl game would make the decision with Crowton more difficult. And if Jefferson keeps up his progress, is his confidence too fragile to withstand an OC change? These are the kinds of decisions where I don't envy Les for the money he's paid.
I don't discount those facts, because they are what have lead us all to think replacing GC is what is best, but as you point out and agree with me, should the light bulb have clicked for JJ and the O is finally going to play with a level of consistency in their execution, changing now might do more harm than good. Especially given that next yr could be an even more promising yr than this one. As you put it, I don't envy Miles during these times. Granted this speculation is all based on if we see what we have seen in the OM game, in the next 2 games. If we don't the decision will be a lot easier.
Les could "help" Crowton get a head coaching job. After all, ULL should be open. After Bustling Up, the Cajuns have bustled under the pressure to win in the Sun Belt Conference.
Crowton will go after NSD, unless he gets a job offer sooner. CLM will hold out for one of those two eventualities. He's a class dude. Only thing that may push his hand sooner would be the if the OC being brought in has some sort of timetable requirement to make his decision.
Interestingly, Norm Chow is on the hot seat as OC of UCLA. UCLA Bruins' Rick Neuheisel: Norm Chow decision to come after season - ESPN Los Angeles Can we trade straight up?
Guilbeau thinks Crowton has saved his job and I agree with him. The offense has picked it up and that's what Les (and the reasonable fans) have been waiting for. If it continues through the bowl game, I would have no problem with the continuity.
I agree with SabanFan. The offense has done a turnaround....especially Jefferson. And there's still a buyout for Crowton's dismissal. He may have saved his job. But come on, To drop from the top 25 in offense down to 125 and "rebound" to around 100th...that's kind of hard to forget. Potential is one thing, but success is what coaches are judged by. I hope Colorado or someone like that comes calling for Crowton...just maybe...:yelwink2:
