I'm not convinced Les and staff are a dire concern yet. After the Florida debacle, LSU fans have proof of what they already knew: (1) The Tigers have a good quarterback who rattles and makes too many mistakes against strong teams. (2) The Tigers' special teams are weak, and it's hard to believe that Chevis Jackson is the best LSU can do as far as punt returners go. (This IS something the coaches need to take blame for.) (3) Because of youth, injuries, and inexperience in the OL and RB corps, the Tigers can't run the ball, physically whip a defense, and control the clock. In other words, it's one of those years that all perennial powers have from time to time: A year where things just don't come together as the fans would like. The fans shouldn't get crazy yet and call for Miles's head on a stick. Let's see what kind of coaching he can do now that his back is against the wall. Will his QB mature? Will his special teams improve? Will the run game step up? Will the Tigers go into Knoxville and Little Rock and come out victorious? Let's see how it plays out. If the answers to the above questions are all no, then Tiger fans' outrage would be appropriate. And no doubt Les Miles's tenure in Baton Rouge would be short-lived. :helmet:
A good and fair post. Before the season, we were most concerned with o-line and RBs. They have not lived up to top 10 potential, and there are weaknesses there. We knew JR needed to progress beyond last years skills, and it appears he has, but not enough to guide us into the top 10. Special teams have some holes. And I wonder why the coaches have not played Scott, Williams, or Murphy when it counted against the 2 tough teams we've faced, when its obvious AB and JV aren't getting it done. Williams and Murphy showed up late, but its week 6, and they should be ready by now. Fla. had 10 true freshmen play solid roles. Our players may not be as good as we thought they were last spring, summer or after ULL and Az. We have to come to grips with that. It is obviously not all on the coaches. Some is on JR for fumbling on the goal line, and on Doucet for fumbling and giving them a safety and the ball back. And Landry not wrapping up the receiver. And ... I liked Saban a lot, but 2002 and 2004 were hard years to watch. After 2001 and 2003, we assumed it was the players fault in 02 and 04. Now we just seem to assume its Miles fault and I don't think that's the whole story. Plus we're playing HIGHLY RANKED TEAMS, that the polls had ranked higher than LSU. Per the polls, we were supposed to lose both games, especially on the road. I'm disappointed, but don't want to panic yet. I picked LSU 10-2 before the season with Auburn and Fla. the most likely losses. We can still do that.
