Lessons from Les' decision to play JJ exclusively after Bama 1 and on 1/9/2012

I am NOT trying to open a new discussion about JJ and Lee. But I do think that Les' stubborn insistence upon playing JJ exclusively in the face of terrible offensive performances against Arkansas, Georgia and then Bama in the BCS championship game demonstrates that he simply has no clue that his offense (Yes, HIS offense) simply sucks. How anyone could think that our offensive performance IMPROVED with JJ at the helm simply cannot see the forest for the trees. His stubborn streak simply won't allow him to see the truth. That's why so many of us were frustrated last year when he replaced Lee, under whom the offense was doing quite well (for the most part, I recognize the Bama 1 performance was lacking, but it's not like JJ lit it up either), in favor of an offense that NEVER moved the ball. Seven 3 and outs in a row in a half tells the tale.

And that is exactly what he is CHOOSING to do with this year's offense. My guess is that the first drive was scripted, which explains why it was the most successful possession of the day. After that, they began ad libbing, meaning Les defaulted to his norm, and the performance worsened over the course of the day. The same judgment that gave us JJ over Lee in the face of objectively obvious evidence (I think even the positards conceded the issue after 1/9/2012) is giving us play calling that leads to zero offensive output. This is simply more of the same poor judgment and lack of insight.

I've seen something related on other threads. This offense is boring. Even if we win, it's not very fun to watch. I know I prefer to win, but I was frustrated when we won so ugly last year. The wins against Arky and Georgia were a function of special teams play and defensive scores, which simply masked a more obvious problem -- the same problem we now see in this year's offense. Les interpreted those wins as reinforcement that his scheme was working, rather than a wake up call to effect changes. Arky and Georgia showed exactly what Bama had to do to shut us down, and they did. I fear the Florida game will provide the same roadmap to everyone else on the schedule. And given that Les is blind or stubborn, or both, it's going to be a long, upsetting and frustrating season from here on out.