Regarding Les and the offense

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I've posted this in two other threads and haven't gotten any answer yet. So here it goes again. What is the difference (schematically/playcalling) with this years offense and the 2013 offense? We had a 3,000 yard passer. Two guys who had over 1,000 yards receiving. And a guy who rushed for over 1,000 yards. With Cam Cameron and LES MILES calling plays. So explain to me how this offense has changed. Could it be that our players just aren't as good as we thought? Or maybe its because we are still a YOUNG offense that will grow and improve. 79 penalties on the year (total). Converting 40% on 3rd down. Hard to win that way. Thoughts?

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There was a lot more variety in that offense than in this year's offense. I suggest it could be limited by player development this year, but Harris has regressed in the last three weeks because we are playing from behind. Also, with the offense you reference, most of those yards came before the Florida game. Miles took the reins off until we lost to Georgia and then we were back to the same predictable play calling.

Also, that great offense loss to Bama, then lost again the next year, then the next doing the same thing over and over.

You have to trust your QB to make plays and Miles refuses to do that except in rare cases like Mett. Harris's development will suffer because he is hardly ever allowed read defenses on his own and make short throws and throws over the middle. He is scared to death they're gonna throw a pick but what does it matter if you lose the game anyways because you're scared to take chances. You have to let your QBs make those throws and learn from their mistakes first hand. If not then eventually he's a senior that is still inexperienced because you refuse to let him take his lumps. The only way to learn is by experience and our QBs are denied that for the most part.

I have a specific memory of that season that explains this. Cameron came in, and they were letting it fly. They still weren't creative, but they were mixing it up more. Then I specifically remember before the Florida game, the announcers made it clear that they were told in meetings LSU was going back to Miles style of football.

Those guys were still talented enough to make plays, and Mett got hurt, but it never felt the same after that. They were running the same predictable crap, they just mixed it up early in the season, and had amazing skill position talent to overcome things.

Those wr's were covered a lot, and made great plays. Ask yourself why they were constantly having to make great plays while covered knowing what we know about how good they are in the NFL?

If I'm not mistaken, the 2013 roster had two WR's and a RB who currently start for NFL teams - Beckham, Landry and Jeremy Hill. Mettenberger likely would have been a first-round pick if he had stayed healthy.

Let me put this bluntly: the 2013 LSU offense featured 3 elite NFL talents and a QB who has started games at the NFL level.

Even with that, Les and Cam could only go 10-3.

Seems in the Ole Miss. game.... LSU ran the toss left pitch for the 8 first plays...

sorry I too, think football has passed Less by...

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And didn't they barely crack the top 40 total offense, even with all that talent? They also had Collins, Alexander, and Turner, on the line

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I've seen the type of work Ralph Friedgen has done at Rutgers. He has a blended approach: utilization of scheme and utilization of talent. Sometimes it comes down to X's and O's, but sometimes it comes down to thinking about players, not plays.

(If that makes any sense.)

I look at the offense Les / Cam have operated, and it's sort of disgraceful. Either the scheme is entirely too complicated, entirely too conservative or just horrendously implemented... IDK.

I remember when LSU had huge player rotations, with 4-5 different receivers getting catches, 3-4 RB's getting carries, TE's and FB's involved in the offense... I just don't understand why the LSU offense has gone so wrong.

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Even with all that talent in 2013, they were like the sixth best offense in the SEC.

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Exactly. LSU has always had a ton of talent, but the results are absurdly underwhelming. The "develop a QB" argument is bizarre, since teams like Oklahoma, USC, Alabama, etc, seem to churn out viable college QB's almost every year.

Meanwhile, I'm watching Ralph Friedgen operate a perpetually overmatched Rutgers offense with modest success.

Miles has badly botched the offense. I like the guy, but the offensive output has been pretty awful.

coming into the year LSU was a YOUNG team and no one thought they would compete for a title. But they beat Miss St and Florida and everyone jumped on the wagon and title or bust. They ended up being the team everyone thought they would be at first. They run to the strength all day and teams know the tendency's 100%.