LSU loses to Oregon to open the 2011 season? I am guessing that a lot of the fans that wanted him to stay are calling him the worst coach in the SEC, etc. I used to think that LSU fans were good fans, but I have lost the faith. I saw after winning a NC, the following season, we had fans calling for Miles to be fired. This happens the year after the man turned down his dream job (he would get choked up when discussing UM) to continue coaching at LSU. LSU fans still did not accept him. LSU fans denigrated our own championship to prove their point and that Miles is an idiot. The following season the Ole Miss debacle happens and the fury grows louder. Again further denigration of LSU's 2007 title by our own. 2010 happens and LSU wins 10 games in the regular season and fans discredit our victories as if 10 wins occur in the SEC because of luck (flimsiest 10 wins of all time). The fans grab on to ESPN's and the national media's take on Miles (an idiot that can barely find the stadium or spell football) instead of protecting our own. Michigan comes calling and LSU fans are hoping that he leaves to become the Michigan coach, because a monkey could coach LSU to 10 victories with our talent (although for over 11 year period we somehow managed to have 8 losing seasons with real live humans coaching the team). I sure hope the goodwill to Miles can continue and we will finally accept him as one of our own. The man has chosen to continue with us...can we cut him some slack and not let the National Media's perception cloud our own. Have a GREAT day.
It depends on the fashion in which we play, I believe. Ultimately wins and losses are the most important thing, but even though some won't admit it, the fashion in which you play during the game is also important to a lesser extent. It drives me crazy when people feel the need to defend Les Miles by calling out his critics and glossing over or neglecting to mention his faults. Be sincere in your defense, drive home the good but don't act as if criticism of Miles is baseless. Miles has had some glaring weaknesses during his time at LSU. I will readily admit that Miles has a lot of positive attributes, some damn strong attributes in fact, and I'll even admit it would have been tough to replace him and we could have made a hire that would have been worse. I was critical this season and last, but I defended him the year after the championship. If he struggles next season I'll be critical. Thanks for staying Les, you've done a lot of good by us, but you have to fix your mistakes. LSU has done well by you as well and we'll take your committment into consideration, but when criticism is deserved you will get it and if you keep making the same mistakes at some point we'll have had enough.
The problem is most people think there is always someone better. Every single man who has ever coached any game that exists has a deficiency here and there. They coach a bad game or have certain aspects of their game planning questioned. The thing is the guy gets results. While the method that he gets those results isn't always conventional it is still successful. So until what he does fails to work I won't criticize how he gets to that point. I'm all in. Screw the negativity...
Don't lose the faith. By far the LSU fans are good fans, it's a significant minority that are full of delusions of grandeur. Eventually most see the light and their opinions (positive and negative) become more valid as truth becomes more apparent to them. Almost all true fans have opinions that are not forged in stone like the ten commandments were. Our opinions are in a state of flux and we are open to modifying them. For example, (these are only examples and not attempts to pick on anyone), lsu-i-like just admitted that he saw real problems on the team and held Miles responsible a couple of years after the NC so his opinion changed; Danthetigerfan had a very negative opinion that almost always was apparent in his posts...and now his opinion has changed a lot. Kal-el has strong anti Miles sentiments and hasn't changed them, but he's still open minded about them. All of these guys post a lot and are man enough to DISCUSS their opinions in public. There are many, many others who are reasonable as well...they use their reason and are open minded...whether they post here or not. The ones I have problems with are the small minded people who have immutable opinions that are based on little truth. In fact, they are delusional because their opinions have little connection with reality. Les Miles could win back to back NCs in the next two years and they'll still be calling him lucky and accusing him of winning with Saban's players. They'll still be refusing to see any faults with Saban or any other coach they compare Miles to... ...because if their opinion is modified at all, that's a sign of weakness and they think it proves them wrong. And, in their mind, they're perfect. These guys think they're the greatest fans because they demand perfection from everyone else (but themselves). Thank God that MOST LSU fans have opinions, positive or not, bast on truth and not on their own self image. :tigereye:
As in most things, the more vocal the zealot, the less substance. Yeah, the very negative fans get the most reaction, but that is because there is not much to say if someone agrees with you. (I learned that pretty early in marriage.."Yeah, you are right, honey") We are in great shape. Geaux Tigers hwr
Here is how I look at the "how the game is played" argument. When I go to a movie, I feel jipped if I know what the outcome of the movie is within 20 minutes. Football is entertainment also. I like the fact that we often play games that are nail biters and the outcome is not determined until late in the game. That does lead to us losing a game or two due to bad breaks or breakdowns by players or coaches. This is the essence of competition. LSU plays thrilling football under Les Miles. This is a good thing.
The contest will certainly be very interesting. Oregon certainly has very gutsy playcalling and innovative plays; main challenge for the D is how well they can stop their high pace attack. The game against A&M was certainly a good warm up. The plus for LSU is that, like the Bowl games, they have all the time to prepare for that game. Let's hope they come up with a good gameplan. I also hope JJ has finally matured a bit after the Cotton Bowl, and firmed up his confidence. That would be key. It wouldn't bother me a bit even if they lose, esp. when you're up against a top team like that. There's still a lot of football to play for the season. I don't think fans will get too upset if they played (disciplined) and prepared as well as they did for the Cotton Bowl. However, the fans will be very sensitized to any more coaching miscues.....
Then we will lose to what will likely be a top 3 team on our opening game...not the end of the world.
