i would take this if it meant rematch with florida in the SECCG. win or lose. in fact, i'd be pretty ecstatic.
I have a couple of good friends who want Miles gone and will cut him no slack whatsoever. The reason can be summed up in 2 words: Saban Envy.
8-5 (3-5) to 9-4 (5-3) isn't decline. There will be improvement again this season. We aren't going to win the NC every 3-4 years, and neither is Bama. It'll be OK. I'm sure losing our 5th year senior AND the heir apparent unexpectedly prior to '08 has nothing to do with "program decline", right? Or do RPs transgressions and out and out stupidity fall directly on Miles too? To me, and most others at the time, Miles handled RP as well as possible. - I've always enjoyed your "resident realism", but you seem to be beyond realistic now, and just outright negative in every post you make. Is it solely based on the OM debacle? Les has owned it, and promised to correct it. Let him.
Well, to be honest, I'd like to see a change, but more importantly, I want to see some LSU football, which is why I've still been somewhat critical but not as much as I have been before. I don't like what I have seen over the last couple of seasons, but I am hoping it'll be better. 9-4 is better than 8-5, but remember in 2008 LSU capped the season with a blow-out bowl win, giving us hope for the next season as well as a newfound confidence in a new, young QB. In 2009, however, we lost a bowl with season-trending disappointment to Penn St, putting many of us in an less hopeful state of mind. A lot of the same problems that Miles promised to fix in '08 where ever present in '09. It's been two years in a row now that we've only beaten one ranked team (#10 AU '08, #18 UGA '09) each season (7 in '07, 3 in '06, 5 in '05). We are up in conference wins, that much is true, but it would be nice to beat the top teir teams in the SEC again. The two SEC teams we beat in '09 that we didn't in '08 were an unranked Arky and a struggling UGA. Yes, the overall record is a win better, but the mediocrity on execution, discipline, play calling, player development, game management, etc., has, in my opinion, remained basically unchanged. * denotes a loss (and please feel free to check my math, as it is late.) 2008 App. State 11-3 North Texas 1-11 Auburn 5-7 Miss. State 4-8 Florida* 13-1 USCe 7-6 Georgia* 10-3 Tulane 2-10 Alabama* 12-2 Troy 8-4 Ole Miss* 9-4 Arkansas* 5-7 Ga. Tech 9-4 Opp. totals (96-70) Teams beaten (47-61) 2009 Washington 5-7 Vanderbilt 2-10 ULL 6-6 Miss St. 5-7 Georgia 8-5 Florida* 13-1 Auburn 8-5 Tulane 3-9 Alabama* 14-0 LA Tech 4-8 Ole Miss* 9-4 Arkansas 8-5 Penn St.* 11-2 Opp. totals (96-70) Teams beaten (49-63) So, I'd say a one game improvement overall really isn't much of an improvement at all if we look at the quality of competition in '09 as compared to '08. In other words, the teams we beat we should have beaten. Since his arrival in Baton Rouge, I just haven't been comfortable with Miles at the helm. I still believe that he never should have been hired, given his lackluster career prior to LSU. He came in at LSU's height and rode the wave to the 2007 NC. Now, 2 years removed, the Tigers are a shell of the team they were. Does it mean nothing that the majority of opposing fans want Miles to stay in Baton Rouge? Sure, we shouldn't care what people think, but in this sense, I think it's very telling. They aren't concerned about Miles because he is a coach that has been more lucky than good, and now it seems that his luck has run out. When I think of an LSU coach, I want to think of a sharp, aggressive, defensive mind (no, this is not a Saban reference, LSU's history has arguably been steeped more so in their defense anyway), not a former o-lineman who looks like a bump on a log on gameday 9 times out of 10. I've always been more defensive minded, and when Pelini left, all of the tenacity that was on the field left with him, and it shows. The sad part is that Miles is a nice guy. If he were the a-hole Satan/Meyer is, I think a lot of you guys would be whistling a different tune. He's endearing to a lot of folks, and while I think that's a good thing, I would just like to see more tenacity and, in all honesty, intelligence and competence. I know you've seen that video of him calling a timeout after a change of possession. That is a mistake you don't make even in a video game. And there's no need to even bring up the Ole Miss debacle. This has always been the case, and it is finally catching up to him. Those of us who want to see LSU succeed in spite of Miles (not to be confused with those who would rather see LSU lose just to get rid of Miles) have very little confidence in him. I'm writing this out to give a more rational representation of the realists on TF, not to be contentious, facetious or annoying. This is how I think a lot of us rabid, passionate, purple and gold bleeding Tiger fans feel. Not all of us hate just to hate. There are legit reasons, and I think I've voiced several thus far (and I can voice more if you'd like). And to finish, I must admit that I'm glad there are those sun-shiners/realists/doomsdayers balancing the beam, so to speak. I think it's what makes us the greatest fan base in all of sports. I just get tired of some of you guys every now and again.
Usually, reality is somewhere between the extremes. I don't think of myself as extreme either way. Yes, today I'm a homer, but it's a reaction to the negativity I'm seeing here, and other forums. FWIW, less here than other places. But if anyone wants to go check, I'm not ever afraid to call Miles out for blatant errors. I've done it before right here. I just think it's a little overdone. I think it's disrespectful to someone who brought much joy to this fanbase just a couple of seasons ago...and who respects the school, state, program, and fanbase to the point he turned down what everyone said was his "dream job" to stay here. - I cannot argue with any of your points, and appreciate you manning up and stating them. But I also don't think you can realistically argue my points about some of the reasons for the downward "trend". Again, losing Flynn was a speed bump at worst until RP screwed the whole program. I cannot blame that on Miles, and I also don't think it's fair to say someone else should've been ready for the job. Hell, RP was going to be a junior, and it's fair to say since it would've been his first season starting that he would have played thru his senior season. That would mean THIS season would be time for JLee and or JJ to be starting...not the prior two years. They would have both had time in the system, and would actually be prepared to play effectively from day one as starter. I still maintain THAT is the reason for the decline. And a decline to 9-4 in the SEC, with only losses to winning programs, including the last two BCSNC champs, isn't that much of a decline. Also, I believe Chavis was a great hire, although I agree Les' loyalty cost LSU with the Mal-veto experience. I don't know what to say about Crowton. I didn't hear anyone on here complaining about him when Les hired him...or at all that record breaking 2007 season. But something has been amiss on offense, and I can only hope that it's fixed this season. We can't be in the lower half of the country on offense with the talent we have...and certainly not outside the friggin' top 100. I blame it on Crowton, but it's Les' responsibility to fix it. He knows that, though. - I like the fact that there are differing points of view here as well...but just don't like the hatred for the coach and the overall doomsday feeling from a lot of people. Like I said, it's never as bad as they make it seem...just like it's never as good as the sunshine pumpers make it seem. Reality lies somewhere in the middle. As the resident realist, you should know this. :wink:
The sequence of events that assisted in the Tigers struggles over the past 2 seasons is entirely too rational an argument. I've said this before and I'll say it again, when we go 10-2 or 11-1, win the SECCG, and then Miles bolts because he has never been really appreciated. That's when we'll realize just how good we had it.
Some fans just dont get it, but there is more to football than Nick Saban and Urban Myer. There is a reason a good majority of these kids parents want them to play under Miles. Miles has never claimed to be all knowing in the game of football, but he is very clear in his vision of getting the right people in the right places. He plugged one hole last year and plugged another one this year. I believe, when its all said and done, Miles will be the best CEO in college football in the best program on earth, though it is truly in the eyes of the beholder...
