re: Let’s re-visit the 2016 football team

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2014 was the year things changed by playing Beckwith. by 2016 he was a senior and known commodity.

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Our starting line backers in 2014, at one point, were Lamar Lewis, DJ Welter, and Kwon Alexander.

By the end of the season it was Debo, Beckwith, and Kwon. If we start the season with those three, it's probably the best LB Corp in school history.

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The defense was nasty though.

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One of the best defenses in LSU history. Damn good at all three levels with future NFL starters.

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Dwayne Thomas played one of the best games ever as a DB in tiger stadium that night.

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I’m glad there are still a few of us who remember this. Had we somehow won, that performance would have been remembered as one of the all-time greats. It was anyway, it would just be remembered that way. He was all over the place.

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One LSU fan took one and threw it on the ground saying "I don't want any fricking chapstick!" I felt bad for the poor girl who gave it to him. She had no clue that was several years of frustration being let out on her.

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Holy shite I'm sorry that's fricking hilarious.
Man what a disappointment that game, and season for that matter turned out to be for us. This thread though is so nostalgic for me though, great post to sum things up

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Elite Defense.

QB play was mediocre at best.

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The LSU standard under Les Miles

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Going into summer all we heard was Les was handing the keys over and we would throw the ball more… all to literally watch 100 toss dives against UW in Lambeau.

Les deserved the firing for just outright lying to the fan base all summer after that.

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Additionally, I don’t think we will ever see a QB as inept as Harris again. The guy was plain awful.

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Read those 2 quotes of yours. Do you not see the contradiction? Brandon Harris, who you think was so inept we will never see another QB as inept ever again, was starting on the road—in one of the most famous stadiums in football history—Lambeau Field—against a good team.

And we had Fournette and Guice—2 of the best RBs in LSU history (both easily top 10, maybe both top 5)—I think most coaches would have reverted to running the ball that game. Les’s job was to win that game in whatever way he thought was best—not keep some vague promise he made to fanbase.

I just don’t see how people who think Brandon Harris was one of the worst QBs in LSU history, can in the same breath wish he had thrown the ball all over the place instead of handing it to LF7 and Guice.

The fair criticisms of him for that game came BEFORE that game. Cam Cameron was a pro style OC, and we needed somebody more creative. Les ran LF7 too much in training camp and he entered the game—and season—beat up. Etling was clearly better than Harris and should have been starting from Day 1.

So Les definitely deserves criticism for losing that game, but it was for decisions he made going into it, not running 2 of the best backs in LSU history instead of letting Harris throw it all over the field just to keep some promise he never should have made in the 1st place.

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Les really did waste 2012-2016 with his approach.

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Pre 2008 and post 2008 Less are two different coaches. Pre 2008 Les was the risk taker who was unafraid to have an aggressive offense.

Post 2008 decided he was going to avoid even the smallest of risk with his offensive approach and rely on his defense/special teams to play well enough to get a win, even if by the slimmest of margins, regardless of the quality of opponent. The frustrating part is on several occasions when the offense had no choice but to accept some risk it often played well.

There are many examples, but the biggest is 2012 vs. Alabama. LSU's offense did virtually nothing in the first half of that game. Alabama scored just before the half to make it 14-3. At that point Les had no choice but to loosen the reins on the offense. Suddenly, a QB who, at best, has been wildly inconsistent became unstoppable...as were his two future NFL WRs. It was an avalanche of play and emotion Alabama simply couldn't stop. Then, with chances to put the game away in late in the 4th and a red hot QB Les flinched and reverted to avoiding any risk at all costs with the hope his defense would hold. It didn't...and ultimately cost LSU the National Championship

The first 3 plays of the game especially the Jamal Adams’ INT was Tiger Stadium at its peak. Deafening. I have no idea how we didn’t score on our first drive after that.

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Going into summer all we heard was Les was handing the keys over and we would throw the ball more… all to literally watch 100 toss dives against UW in Lambeau

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My friend is a huge Packers fan. We talked about this trip for months before pulling the plug on it. Partially because I had a gut feeling what was coming with Miles and my gut was correct. I’m sure it still would have been fun but I was so Irate at miles after that shite Inwould have been miserable.

BTW.

Harris was 12/21 for 131 yards and 2 picks

LSU had 29 rushes for 126 yards

Only ran 51 plays and lost time of possession by 14 minutes despite Wisconsin being 3-15 on 3rd down.

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4 horrible losses

-Wisc Brandon Harris INT
-Auburn - got robbed on last min TD
-Bama 3 holds during only TD
-Florida stopped at goal line

Spin zone: greatest 8-4 team ever?

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They were really damn good imo.

You'd have the think that a coach that could develop a QB could've maximized what Harris/Etling had to offer to at least make you functional. Hell, Lane made Blake Sims pretty damn good at Bama. Somebody could've gotten something out of Harris imo.

If you had any kind of a pulse at the QB position that season, you were good enough elsewhere to win it all but with no captain to run the ship, you finished in mediocre fashion.