I only watched five minutes of the USC-ASU game earlier this week, but that was enough time to hear about the injuries that USC has overcome this year. Yet, we never hear anything about LSU's injuries. Since Dorsey hasn't been effective since the Auburn game, you could sat that a cheap shot cost LSU a shot at the national championship. Then there was the Kentucky game:
"At least five LSU players were injured in the Tigers' 43-37, triple-overtime loss at Kentucky on Saturday.
...
Among the injured are cornerback Chevis Jackson, center Brett Helms, defensive end Kirston Pittman, running back Jacob Hester and safety Craig Steltz."
From the Times Picayune Oct. 18.
There were also injuries to Early Doucet and Charles Alexander. If the national media is going to make excuses for USC, it's only fair to make them for LSU.
In the post, David also sounds a lot like Dad while complaining about a (not quite as plausible) officiating bias against the Tigers. Unlike Dad, David at least allows for the possibility that this team was the most penalized in the SEC because it was the most poorly coached. At least that's my translation of "sloppiest".
David also predicts that should Miles leave LSU for a job at his his alma mater, Michigan, LSU fans will receive another wave of unfair criticism from the media for their "intolerance" of an 11-2 record. I agree. Such criticism will be undeserved and beside the point. However, in the comments, we find Celcus feeding this myth by essentially agreeing that some LSU fans are brutally unsatisfied with 11-2. Celcus cites the repeated Yellow callings for Les Miles's dismissal as evidence of the boorish mentality of the "typical" LSU fan. The problem with this is Celcus is mistaking criticism of the coach for discontent with the number of wins.
I consider myself an "old school" college football fan in that I really only care about winning the conference and playing in a respectable bowl game. The bowl games are interesting for the intersectional matchups they're supposed to create which traditionally reflect contrasting styles, and traditions, etc. College football is more enjoyable as a regional pageant than a national competition. A college football team is supposed to represent its school, play well against its traditional rivals, and, if it is a successful year, play in a bowl game against a non-traditional opponent from a different part of the country. The increasingly frustrating focus on determining a "National Champion" has always struck me as an unnecessary artifice and yet another manifestation of the damage that can be done by cultural homogenization driven by corporate media.
I've been critical of Les Miles almost from the start of his term but my criticism has very little to do with the won-loss record. 11-2 is certainly "good enough" if the team is playing smart and fundamentally sound football and gets the maximum out of its talent. In fact, a well-coached team would be "good enough" if its record were 2-11. LSU is 11-2 because it is an extremely talented, somewhat lucky, but very very poorly coached team. LSU fans shouldn't be upset that the team isn't going to win the always dubious "national championship" They should be upset that they've lost two conference games to inferior talent. They should be upset that even while winning, the team has played stupidly and sloppily all season long.
Les Miles is a poor coach. He is one of the worst in-game coaches I've ever seen. He grossly mismanages the clock. He makes indefensible 4th down decisions. He repeatedly puts his team's considerable talent to the least efficient possible use.
Against Alabama, he called one of the worst plays in the history of college football. Miles decided late in the game to go for a fourth and short inside his own territory. It's a stupid move but Miles, by this point, had become quite proud of his "ballsy gambler" reputation and may have suffered from just enough insecurity to need to prove himself a man once again. The problem is if you're going to make a ballsy gambler move, you should have the balls to actually run a play. Miles had his team mince up to the line of scrimmage and perform a sudden shift in order to draw the defense offsides. Worse than the obvious shameful cowardice involved in this strategy is the fact that the team shift that Miles designed and allowed his team to perform is actually an illegal procedure and drew a penalty on the Tigers instead of their opponent. If the head football coach does not understand the rules of football, this should cast some doubt on his qualifications for the position.
If the team is not playing up to its potential, if it loses embarrasing games to inferior opponents, if it plays sloppy football, if the coach sounds more like an idiot cheerleader than a football coach when addressing the media, if the coach is unfamiliar with the rules of football, it's time to fire the freaking coach.
Les Miles is a terrible football coach and should be fired. The record and the supposed bad attitude of the fans is irrelevant.
No comments:
Post a Comment