Under Miles, How Did This Team Go 2-2?

IMO, Miles tried to coach harder than ever before and got his fingerprints over every position unit on offense. It just reeks of Miles trying to over coach.

I have more rhythm than this offense.

I think Mile's tenure here got really stale. He used to be called "The Mad Hatter" when he took chances......see the classic game vs Florida. Now he's just "The Hatter" with a vanilla offense and an undeveloped QB. Great man but a very stubborn coach who lost his job because he would not change.

With a very disappointing offensive effort, not helped by several key injuries, this team still came within a pitiful Harris interception and another clock melt-down of being 4-0 right now and rocking right along with "Lucky Les". Amazing. Agree that with just average QB play and execution this team could win 6 or 7 more games this season, including a bowl.

Suppose a "rocket scientist" that helped land a man on the moon as an OUTSTANDING scientist stayed exactly where he was insofar as knowledge, approach, etc.


That dude, once the leading authority, walking into the SpaceX control room today would be of very little use.



It is not that the dude wouldn't WANT to help or that he was suddenly "dumb". It is simply that the TECH passed him by and he did not adapt to today's computers, etc. If he is told that he "has to get his calculations out faster"...he wouldn't suddenly be able to operate the computers. He would try HARD to use that slide-rule faster and use his LED calculator that doesn't even have trig functions to help with his hand calculations.


He was just passed by. It was his fault for not keeping up with the changes. But, nothing more he can add.

Now, make that guy the Manager and he forces the guys who DO understand the computer tech of today to use slide-rules...and he gots to go.

I was thinking even under Miles, we wouldn't really be tested until UF. I could not have been more wrong...

Complacency + stubbornness.

Punting was mostly bad and they couldn't win the field position battle. The offense was bad for most of the Miles era, but they mostly had good punters that could flip field position.

1.) LF Ankle injury
2.) O-line regressed
3.) No progress in passing game
4.) Tried too hard to establish pass against weaker teams (could have beat Wisconsin and Auburn by running the ball 2015 style)

Honestly? If you look back on all the teams that Les Miles coached, none of them save for a few had really impressive offenses. The defenses and special teams have been really good and were the backbone of the team for many years save for the last few years. For a Les Miles offense to be effective, it relies heavily on a really good defense and special teams.

Also you have to take into account that over the last 5 years or so, football has changed drastically. Rules have changed to let passing be a larger part of the game. Les came from a time where a QB was a very minor influence in the game. That position was not much more than a means to get the ball from the center to the back with the occasional dump pass mixed in when you needed some extra yardage. Defenses over the years became better at stopping that style of offense as players became faster and bigger.