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Message
Crowton is the issue
Posted on 10/12/09 at 3:13 pm
Posted on 10/12/09 at 3:13 pm
Much like last year when our defense was an absolute rotten mess, the o is doing a similar imitation. Fortunately, we have enough leadership that it hasn't rotted out the core of this team so that we aren't completely melting down in games (yet).
I've contemplated this a million times over.
Is it the line? Maybe.
Is it Miles? Maybe.
Is it JJ? Maybe.
But to me, the only thing you can definitively point a finger at is Crowton. We were all abuzz when Jimbo departed and we signed him over from Oregon... unfortunately, Oregon fans were abuzz as well. They saw him dissolve what had previously been one of the most dominant offensive attacks in college football. They quickly returned to form under Chip Kelly.
A lot of people here point blame at Miles and how he interjects himself into the gameplanning and playcalling etc. Which is totally speculation. I'm not saying the criticism is unfounded, but this team has won in a big way under Miles with both Jimbo and Crowton manning the offense so that leaves me to believe that regardless of what hand he plays in the gameplanning/playcalling, it's not enough to drastically kill our offensive production.
Crowton has a track record of deflating offenses after his first year:
Crowton Criticism
The numbers at LSU align with what's argued there.
I'm not a Miles lover. I try to be objective and take things as they come. Perhaps Miles is the source of the struggles, but it's so difficult to pinpoint specific struggles in football in particular because so many different elements go into a specific play and even more so a specific game. I don't buy that he's the reason we don't get the playmakers the ball. We didn't struggled to get Bowe, Doucet and Davis the ball during his early years. We didn't struggle to get Scott the ball last year. Here's is what I know about Miles:
1) He's an extremely effective recruiter. Talent hasn't stopped coming here... it stopped being cultivated.
2) His players love him. I think we can tell that. Recruits constantly rave about liking him... parents love him.
3) He's an excellent motivator.
In my opinion, LSU will continue to pull in top notch recruits if for nothing else than the fact that we are LSU (thank you Dinardo and Saban). We are the Miami of the 2000s right now and we can't let that window slip away.
Last year our defensive struggles were obvious and the struggles were most certainly coaching. It has become even more apparent this year when you see how well basically the same guys (with actually less talent on the DL) and they have played demonstrably better.
And it's not just better scheme... it's better coaching. Our LBers look like SEC caliber players and most of us last year talked about how we shouldn't have even recruited Riley, Sheppard or Cutrera. Danielson went into great depth applauding their play this year.
Now, to the point at hand. We need a similar change on offense. I don't think we need a world changing, out of this park schemer hire. We need a coach who understands fundamentals and is a great teacher. I don't care what kind of offense we run - IForm, Spread Option, Spread, etc. Those things don't matter. At this point, we have the talent to do any of them if we want.
What I do care is that by season's end, Gary Crowton, Greg Studrawa, and DJ McCarthy happily "find" other jobs just as the defensive staff did last year. Larry Porter could be in that same boat, except he's such a phenomenal recruiter that you can't let him go. And to be honest, RBs is the easiest position to play and coach in all of football.
That said, I want us to hire a coach who teaches sound fundamental football. We have and will continue to get the best athletes. They don't need exotic schemes and wild play calls to make plays. All they need is to be put in position and given the ball. They need to be taught how to run crisp routes and make sharp throws.
Also, I'd be fine if we wished well to Joe Robinson and brought in a bonafide QB coach as well.
I think if we made these changes, our team would return to dominant form.
eta: Sorry for the essay. No one will probably read it, but it felt good to get it out.
I've contemplated this a million times over.
Is it the line? Maybe.
Is it Miles? Maybe.
Is it JJ? Maybe.
But to me, the only thing you can definitively point a finger at is Crowton. We were all abuzz when Jimbo departed and we signed him over from Oregon... unfortunately, Oregon fans were abuzz as well. They saw him dissolve what had previously been one of the most dominant offensive attacks in college football. They quickly returned to form under Chip Kelly.
A lot of people here point blame at Miles and how he interjects himself into the gameplanning and playcalling etc. Which is totally speculation. I'm not saying the criticism is unfounded, but this team has won in a big way under Miles with both Jimbo and Crowton manning the offense so that leaves me to believe that regardless of what hand he plays in the gameplanning/playcalling, it's not enough to drastically kill our offensive production.
Crowton has a track record of deflating offenses after his first year:
Crowton Criticism
The numbers at LSU align with what's argued there.
I'm not a Miles lover. I try to be objective and take things as they come. Perhaps Miles is the source of the struggles, but it's so difficult to pinpoint specific struggles in football in particular because so many different elements go into a specific play and even more so a specific game. I don't buy that he's the reason we don't get the playmakers the ball. We didn't struggled to get Bowe, Doucet and Davis the ball during his early years. We didn't struggle to get Scott the ball last year. Here's is what I know about Miles:
1) He's an extremely effective recruiter. Talent hasn't stopped coming here... it stopped being cultivated.
2) His players love him. I think we can tell that. Recruits constantly rave about liking him... parents love him.
3) He's an excellent motivator.
In my opinion, LSU will continue to pull in top notch recruits if for nothing else than the fact that we are LSU (thank you Dinardo and Saban). We are the Miami of the 2000s right now and we can't let that window slip away.
Last year our defensive struggles were obvious and the struggles were most certainly coaching. It has become even more apparent this year when you see how well basically the same guys (with actually less talent on the DL) and they have played demonstrably better.
And it's not just better scheme... it's better coaching. Our LBers look like SEC caliber players and most of us last year talked about how we shouldn't have even recruited Riley, Sheppard or Cutrera. Danielson went into great depth applauding their play this year.
Now, to the point at hand. We need a similar change on offense. I don't think we need a world changing, out of this park schemer hire. We need a coach who understands fundamentals and is a great teacher. I don't care what kind of offense we run - IForm, Spread Option, Spread, etc. Those things don't matter. At this point, we have the talent to do any of them if we want.
What I do care is that by season's end, Gary Crowton, Greg Studrawa, and DJ McCarthy happily "find" other jobs just as the defensive staff did last year. Larry Porter could be in that same boat, except he's such a phenomenal recruiter that you can't let him go. And to be honest, RBs is the easiest position to play and coach in all of football.
That said, I want us to hire a coach who teaches sound fundamental football. We have and will continue to get the best athletes. They don't need exotic schemes and wild play calls to make plays. All they need is to be put in position and given the ball. They need to be taught how to run crisp routes and make sharp throws.
Also, I'd be fine if we wished well to Joe Robinson and brought in a bonafide QB coach as well.
I think if we made these changes, our team would return to dominant form.
eta: Sorry for the essay. No one will probably read it, but it felt good to get it out.
This post was edited on 10/12/09 at 3:14 pm
Posted on 10/12/09 at 3:17 pm to OBUDan
Long read but well put.
Let's hope this thing works itself out one way or another. The LSU O is anemic at best.
Let's hope this thing works itself out one way or another. The LSU O is anemic at best.
Posted on 10/12/09 at 3:17 pm to OBUDan
I think thats fairly probable.
Posted on 10/12/09 at 3:18 pm to OBUDan
quote:
A lot of people here point blame at Miles and how he interjects himself into the gameplanning and playcalling etc. Which is totally speculation.
I use to have this opinion. I had the opportunity to talk to a couple of x but recent players. They all said majority of the calls were all crowton. Miles only interjected if he told crowton that he wanted some clock management to rest the D or tell him he was in four down territory...or something to that nature. They were adamant that crowton had full reign. I was completely bummed after I heard that.
Posted on 10/12/09 at 3:20 pm to OBUDan
quote:
What I do care is that by season's end, Gary Crowton, Greg Studrawa, and DJ McCarthy happily "find" other jobs just as the defensive staff did last year. Larry Porter could be in that same boat, except he's such a phenomenal recruiter that you can't let him go.
But who will Miles BBQ with then?
Posted on 10/12/09 at 3:37 pm to OBUDan
quote:
We have and will continue to get the best athletes
Maybe we should concentrate more on getting the best football players instead?
Posted on 10/12/09 at 3:46 pm to OBUDan
I follow the ducks and when I heard he left I was loving it but what followed next made me cringe. He is going to LSU! WTF? Why did this happen to us? I have talked about this before. He is gold for no more than two years. After that he is done.........proof is in the numbers.
Posted on 10/12/09 at 3:48 pm to OBUDan
similar thread earlier with exact same link. Point well taken though.
Posted on 10/12/09 at 4:08 pm to OBUDan
good rant in my view
I will say this-- we have an offense problem-- far better than last year--if you have zero defense in sec you cannot do a thing- this can all be corrected- the defense is much much better and the offense will be as well-- just one thing- stop the check with sideline call to off tackle or pitiful option and we will be much better--we will get offense going--
I will say this-- we have an offense problem-- far better than last year--if you have zero defense in sec you cannot do a thing- this can all be corrected- the defense is much much better and the offense will be as well-- just one thing- stop the check with sideline call to off tackle or pitiful option and we will be much better--we will get offense going--
Posted on 10/12/09 at 4:14 pm to OBUDan
Great post Dan.
I would like to see the local media turn up the heat.
I would like to see the local media turn up the heat.
This post was edited on 10/12/09 at 4:25 pm
Posted on 10/12/09 at 4:27 pm to OBUDan
Gotta agree with this rant too. Wholeheartedly! Let's get freakn 5 guys on the line that can block. Let's not be so predictable with Scott off tackle every other play. Chunk the freakn option from the playbook. Get Shep in there. There is no excuse for having all the talent that LSU has and only able to muster 3 points against UF. And Vandy sucks. UGA sucks. MSU sucks. Offense had best get a little innovative and make some changes before we have another team meltdown. Crowton's formula has become stale.
Posted on 10/12/09 at 4:34 pm to OBUDan
Nice post, Dan. I agree with basically all of your points except I think that McCarthy should stay. He is an excellent recruiter, and we can't really blame the receivers for the current struggles, even if they have dropped a couple of passes here and there. I also like Joe Robinson as a special teams coach and would rather see Yanowsky go if we decide to hire a QB coach.
Posted on 10/12/09 at 4:48 pm to OBUDan
quote:
OBUDan
Thanks for the best post I've read all day.
Posted on 10/12/09 at 4:49 pm to OBUDan
bullshite. I just watched the entire game again on the geauxzone. Jefferson has absolutely No pocket presence. Florida was rushing 3 in the 2nd half and he was taking off ariund the end straight into the defensive end. That is not the coach
Posted on 10/12/09 at 5:11 pm to OBUDan
quote:
Now, to the point at hand. We need a similar change on offense. I don't think we need a world changing, out of this park schemer hire. We need a coach who understands fundamentals and is a great teacher. I don't care what kind of offense we run - IForm, Spread Option, Spread, etc. Those things don't matter. At this point, we have the talent to do any of them if we want.
Finally!!!!!!!
We don't need gimics when you have this much talent. Just be real good at the fundamentals, develop these exceptional recruiting talents, and get rid of the crazy formations.
It is all a flash in the pan...sizzle without the steak.
Develop great talent with good fundamental football and we will be in the national title picture year in and out.
Great Post!
Posted on 10/12/09 at 5:21 pm to OBUDan
I actually wanted my wife to post after this game, she actually made great sense. When you look at the production from the 'classroom' and it looks like the offensive results our team is producing the first place to look is the 'teacher'. Crowton may not need to leave, but he sure as hell better start trying something different with his offense or this season could get ugly (record wise anyway) real soon. I think we can all agree we have capable talent to run some kind of offense that will be productive.
Posted on 10/13/09 at 10:13 am to OBUDan
Still have a relatively new QB under center who is being managed closely by Miles / Crowton. They want to protect against the picks and keep building JJ's confidence. We're still paying the price of the Perrilloux disaster and, no, Lee is not the answer. Yes, Shepard should have a bigger role as it is he, not JJ, who is the natural option QB.
Posted on 10/13/09 at 10:18 am to OBUDan
Questions- Were you upset w the DC's last year? Were you upset that Miles never questioned their calls/scheme?
Crowton is struggling, but, BUT, why the hell is Miles and Crowton not on the same page? Why doesn't Miles force Crowton to put RS in the game? Why doesn't he put a stop to what h doesn't like about our offense? He does call plays from time to time. He is involved. We've only had since Jan-Feb to get this unit to gel.
I don't know...the overconfidence in our O-line that Miles had shows he really doesn't know what the hell is going on. That's only on him.
Crowton is struggling, but, BUT, why the hell is Miles and Crowton not on the same page? Why doesn't Miles force Crowton to put RS in the game? Why doesn't he put a stop to what h doesn't like about our offense? He does call plays from time to time. He is involved. We've only had since Jan-Feb to get this unit to gel.
I don't know...the overconfidence in our O-line that Miles had shows he really doesn't know what the hell is going on. That's only on him.
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