re: How Do You Explain Crowton's Demise?

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When?

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La Tech - KW, took GC over 3 quarters to ride him.
Alabama - CS
Tulane - CS
UGA - CS
Vandy - KW

You know this already though.

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To think that GC just didn't realize we could run effectively is foolish.

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I am giving you credit as a good poster.

I am not going to argue Crowton with you.

Interesting link DrTyger and although this thread was begun before last Sat it's obviously accrued even greater interest since.

The trend in Crowton's history has continued at LSU. But to be fair in our assessment there are probably multiple variables at play in each situation (of which I for one am not going to take the time to research) which need to be considered. In our case, the dismissal of RP with other QB options way back.

The things I would add to this thread from last week is that Crowton:

a) Operates way too rigid/inflexible of a system. I don't think it's necessarily bad. It was great in '07. In fact it appears to be not too different from Payton/Saints, i.e., build it around a QB with multiple sets, looks, etc. But the beauty of it is also the difficulty of it. He has no ability to adapt to personnel who are not ready for it and it takes time for a young QB to master it. (Wonder what Crowton's reaction was when he learned RP was gone? He should've immediately began thinking 'how do I make things simple'.)

b) Ignores the limitations of his personnel. In another day and time an option to the short-side is a perfect call. But with JJ it's a bad call 90% of the time - yet he continues to call it.

c) Not sure how to put this one but it seems as if Crowton is not at peace with himself. When a simple play or mis-match works (and would work again) he forgoes it for some other play more complex or sensational. Example: Keiland ran well in the 1st half against OM and almost all of it between the tackles. Yet it seems as if we abandoned this in the 3rd qtr. KW had like 44 yds on 8 carries in the 1st half. He had only 2 for 6 yds in the 3rd qtr before getting hurt on his last carry in the 4th.

I'll stick with what I wrote last week--

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What should be absolutely crystal clear, is (1) that the actual plays he runs aren't complicated at all; (2) that he can't seem to effectively manage a system for getting in plays within a reasonable time frame; and (3) that he's inflexible in that he can't tailor plays to his players' strengths.

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--and after seeing the Ole Miss game, I'll add in another couple of complaints specific to the running game and the passing game.

Running Game -- Horribly designed plays. All running games in football depend on misdirection in order to be successful. No team is going to tell you where they are going to run, and beat any team worth a damn. Gary Crowton's running plays are immediately obvious as soon as the ball is snapped. Besides a random juke here or there from the runner himself, I don't think the LSU offense has fooled a single defender on a run this year. There is a total lack of deception, which DOES NOT WORK.

The O-line should be given a freaking medal of honor for managing to run 18 times for 72 yards (including Keiland's 10-yard loss on the play where he was injured) against a stout Ole Miss run defense, not counting Jefferson's sack-addled rushing stats.

Passing Game -- Still an absolute disaster. People complaining about LaFell's drops are missing the larger point. ALL OF LSU'S PASS PLAYS MAKE SUCCESSFUL RECEPTIONS TOO HARD TO COME BY. I took a little bit of time to look at the WR's routes, and they were horrible. Not only that, but Jefferson throws so slowly and deliberately, that he's telegraphing to the defense exactly where the pass is going to go a full 2 or 3 seconds before it actually gets there. That's why there's always a defender virtually draped around an LSU receiver on every pass play. Sure Jefferson's gutsy, and he's got good accuracy, but you're still not giving yourself good odds in the passing game when every catch has such an incredibly small margin of error. It's as if an LSU receiver has to make a clutch or acrobatic catch on every decent pass play, or it just doesn't get done. That's asking too much of them. What ISN'T asking too much of them is to run better routes and find soft spots in the zone. And if somebody taught Jefferson not to telegraph his passes so much, maybe the passing game would actually get, well, easier--like it's SUPPOSED to be.

XXX

I know that there are some weaknesses on this offense, and that the offensive line is not the best (God only knows what Studrawa did to make Ciron Black, Lyle Hitt, and Joe Barksdale, play so much worse this year than they did last year). But considering the talent the team has at QB, WR, TE, & RB, scoring more points than the average SEC team should not be too much to ask.

Just as was true in the Georgia game, the Ole Miss game showed that when the coaching flies out the window, and the players just regress into sandlot football at the end of the game, they actually do better. Having less than 200 yards in a close game against Ole Miss until the last 4 minutes of the game is simply not acceptable given LSU's offensive players.

Gary Crowton fricking sucks.

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Crowton has a very complex, evolving scheme

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Only when it comes to things that happen before the snap.

The variability and complexity of the plays after the snap is something you would expect from a bad high school team.

Doc, you say plenty and make excellent points. Can I ask you a question and I'll answer it myself; now you answer it in your words!

And how many motion penalties di we see; and too much time for time outs help a team (this is wasted O. Play). So much untimelyness, you'd think the $4 Million man would have a little talk with his employees? Who is accountable for those actions? IMHO, it is the BOSS! This was happening with #84 on D.L. this season, he got benched talked to and he improved. I think the Chief had something to do with that, not the Boss.

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In general, his problem is that he tries to do too much stuff to confuse the opponent with formations, substitutions, and shifts, which actually only confuse his own team.

Not only that, but his actual playbook is too limited. LSU runs 100 formations, but only uses them to run 10 plays. This needs to be completely flipped around.

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