Honestly, had our team executed like they are capable of this weekend we could have won, even with the play calling. Sloppy tackling, bad passing, and dropped passes killed us. It's frustrating, but not the end of the world. That said, Newton is something special.
Weve seen this same story the last three years now. LSU implodes at the end of the year. The drops, penalties, missed tackles, etc all get worse as the season goes on. Thats a lack of focus and discipline. That starts at the top. LSU is NOT a well coached team. I hope Im proven wrong but the last three years show me proof. Miles is not the right man for LSU right now. We will stay a middle tier SEC team as long as he is here. I agree though, the play calling is as pathetic as it gets. Its so easy to know whats coming next. You dont have to worry about LSU throwing past 5 yards so your both S can play up close. Which is why we cant run well.
I'm probably going to be alone on this one. I didn't find newton special. It seemed as though whoever were running the ball on any given play was special including their punter. We rarely made him throw it, and when he did on that fourth down, that was a choke throw. He crumbled, and we let them back in it. I would have made him throw it, and i would have hit newton more. On the zone read when he goes around the corner as if he has the ball, i thought we should have treated him as if he had the ball. Whoever comes out of the read is getting tackled, ball or not. I'd bet then newton would have shown them if he had it, so as not to get hit again and again. They rammed jefferson's head in ground and we didn't even hit cam, i don't remember once we hit him hard. They brought more of a physical presence than we did on both sides. I agree with everything else you said.
I am not throwing Miles out until I see what we look like without Crowton. Those problems are not ones I remember seeing when Jimbo was here. We finished strong in 05 and 06.
Ultimately Miles is the head man. Crowton calls what he allows to be in the gameplan. He is just as much to blame for this pathetic O. While he dont coach up individual groups, again, Miles is the head man. Kids arent being coached up like we seen in the past here at LSU. I like Miles, I just dont think he is right for LSU. He has lost his mojo here. Each game its slipping more and more from his grasp.
Well, I doubt Miles makes Crowton step down mid season so he's with us for the rest of this season. And will he change after this season? Who knows. But, then he doesn't have great QBs to work with and who knew Tolliver, Randle, and Shepard would have trouble catching balls.
We're not out of the West race yet. Let's see what happens next week against 'Bama. Maybe our boys will play hard and be focused. Maybe Ole Miss helps us by beating Auburn this weekend. I doubt it, but if Missouri can beat Oklahoma, Ole Miss can beat Auburn. Just saying. Maybe we don't crumble at the end of the year this time.
They played flat. They played like a team stumbling into a trap game after beating a Top 10 at home instead of sleepwalking through McNeese the week before.
