re: LSU football - the official "I admit I was wrong" thread

I've never trusted him 100%, more like 90% by end of last season. He would have had me had he won the NC game in dominating fashion; that is, in a way where he convincingly demonstrated awareness and use of the talent on his team. (e.g. we ALL know what Russell Shepard is capable of -- we've seen it with our eyes his Freshman year and brief glimpses since then-- yet the kid didn't play in the game).

I suppose I was consciously wrong (but perhaps not sub-consciously) about something:

thinking that *CLM was truly the kind of coach he often portrays himself to be in words (e.g. "J Lee will help us win championships".) Last month, I would have wagered a bet, perhaps a few hundred bucks, that J. Lee would play in the NC game; in fact, I predicted (now wrongly) on TD that JL was going to be the surprise, and possibly, hero or co-hero w/JJ, of the NC game. Boy was I wrong, but really, that's what I get for trusting *CLM.

I don't trust him now, not a bit, despite his 13-1 and prior seasons combined. It is still a plausible explanation that anyone who played football and with enough charisma and people management skill (such as hiring Chavis and key assistant coaches) could have taken over from where Saban left off and done what *CLM has done so far. It is still a plausible possibility is all I am saying. Because his decisions during the latter part of last season and particularly during the NC game (barring some insane conspiracy theory unbeknownst to us all that points to some agenda) perpetuate this perception.

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I was wrong to think that Miles would have a somewhat decent game plan and play both QBs in the NC game. I WAS DEAD WRONG.

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This. Oh, and I thought somehow *CLM might even surprise all of us (including Saban) by putting Mett into the mix somewhere in the game. Plus I thought LSU would win, or at least not lose in an embarrassing way. I was dead wrong on all those counts.

Ok..I am turning it around...

I was 100% right when I said LSU would lose if JJ played the entire NCG game..

I was wrong about LSU winning the BCSNC game.

Because I was wrong about the coaches not making JJ the focal point of the offense and I was wrong the offense would break tendencies and be more aggressive including playing Lee at least two series.

Boy, was I wrong to think Miles was that guy when his body of work should have told me differently.

I was right in believing that many would turn this into an all-out Miles bashing thread. I was wrong in reading it anyway. I feel much less intelligent for having done so.

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I was wrong to think that Gary Crowton was the reason our offense hasn't been ranked in the top 25 nationally in a while. Boy, I was wrong.

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You do realize that Maryland fired him after only one year, right?

Not sure where you're going with this statement.

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I was right about jlee. 3 yrs ago.

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Right about what?

I was wrong about Josh Booty in early 1999. He was not the superstar I had imagined.

I was wrong about Cameron Vaughn at LB. He was not as good as I thought he was going to be.

I was wrong about Nick Saban. In hindsight, he was better than I gave him credit for when he was at LSU.

I was wrong about Les Miles. He was not the paragon of virtue I told people he was back in 2006 & 2007.

I was wrong about the state of the program in 2008. I didn't keep my eye on recruiting close enough, and I sort of assumed that the O- & D-lines would continue to be awesome, when in reality the pipeline had run dry.

I was wrong about Demetrius Hookfin going into his senior year. I didn't want him on the field anymore, but he turned out aight.

I also underestimated Whitworth a little bit.

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I was wrong to think that Gary Crowton was the reason our offense hasn't been ranked in the top 25 nationally in a while. Boy, I was wrong.

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I am still somewhat perplexed by Gary Crowton.

I do still think he deserves much credit for 2007, and much blame for 2009 & 2010. However, I was wrong to so casually dismiss all the "Les is meddling" people as conspiracy theorists back then. It's still a mystery as to how much meddling was actually going on. On the other hand, it's also pretty clear that Crowton was in fact terrible at getting his players to execute a basic fundamental offense. He was all about adding in a few new wrinkles, did nothing to teach the basics, and was apparently just a terrible, terrible communicator.