Miles Is Crazy Like A Fox
by Poseur on Jan 15, 2009 2:59 PM CST
in Football
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PrintOver at our DawgSports, T Kyle lets 'er rip into Les Miles, going on a lengthy comparison of Miles to former insane head coach of Clemson, Danny Ford (I'm not sure if he's formerly insane but am positive he is the former coach).
It's a good read, and y'all should go check it out.
Let me add that I don't believe for a second Miles is a dumb coach. I think he has a tendancy to say crazy things which ultimately fire up the fan base (Let 'Er Rip!; Damn Strong Football Team!; Fucking Alabama!), but I don't think that's stupidity. and after Saban, I'm actually happy to have a guy who isn't slick with the media.
But Miles is an astute game manager. None of his "crazy" calls have been all that crazy. He takes calculated gambles which actually play the percentages but go against conventional wisdom. I've wasted too much time defending the Auburn call, but how come Mike LEach isn't subjected to the same "he's lucky and stupid" rants for his last second playcall against Texas which, by the way, was far riskier since the route didn't take Crabtree to the end zone.
Keep underestimating The Hat.
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Miles has really endeared himself to me in the last two seasons....
I was a big critic of Miles, but he has won me over w/ certain antics over the last two years. Even though Les tends to mangle the English language sometimes, I think he is still a very clear communicator. There was no mistaking Les’s message w/ the “damn strong” comment.
I also think Les has a certain charisma that adds to the public persona of the LSU football program. I think a lot of people forget that it was Les Miles who started the “undefeated in the regulation” saying that the media parroted so many times towards the end of the year.
For what it's worth
No one criticizes Leach for the call at the end of the Texas game because the route was to the sideline. Crabtree caught it with time left on the clock, so if he was stopped before the endzone it would have been out of bounds with a few seconds left. It was also a laser throw that reached the receiver with 4 seconds on the clock, so a tipped pass would have careened out of bounds instantly with time left.
Flynn’s pass was a rainbow that also reached the receiver with 4 seconds left. Due to the kind of throw however, a tipped ball would probably have popped up in the air and maybe allowed time to run out. That’s the difference. It also probably helps that Harrell and Crabtree were considered to be Heisman candidates at the time, as opposed to the less-heralded Flynn to Byrd combo.
Another factor was kicking. Colt David was reliable enough, making 80% of field goals on the year. Tech went through three different kickers who combined to make 53% on the year. David from 40? Money. One of Tech’s guys from 45? Doubtful.
That said, I approve of LSU taking a shot at the end zone there. There was time enough left for it. I am not in the “tee hee, Miles is crazy” camp, nor am I in the “he only won with Saban’s players” camp. The guy can coach, and when it comes to going for it on fourth down, I think he’s ahead of most everyone else when it comes to playing the odds.
Hate to Rehash
Don’t confuse the call and the timing of the call with Flynn’s poor clock management. The play went in with almost 40 seconds on the clock. Just like this year, Tubby was looking for us to set up for the field goal, but again Miles/Crowton made the right call.
Kicking was a factor, but not at all how you say it was...
David was kicking under 50% on the year at that point between 36-46 yds. He didn’t really hit his stride until late in the year.
The kick would have been a 39 yder.
That is true, but remember, national perception is based on quick judgments and impressions moreso than real analysis. The general impression of David was that he was a good kicker. The general impression of Tech’s kicking game was, “hey, didn’t they go get the random kid who won the halftime kicking contest to do extra points?”
Not saying it’s right to think that way, I’m just saying that’s why it is so. As I said before, I fully support taking a shot at the end zone in that situation for both teams.
My thinking at the time
was that Colt David was shaky. He had missed some. Down the stretch of the season, he was great. He was very good this year as well. The general consensus NOW is that Colt David was a very good kicker for LSU, but in the first half of 2007, he was not all that great.
Richard Pittman
by Richard Pittman on Jan 15, 2009 6:28 PM CST up reply actions
Also
There is no way you can bat a ball around for 4 seconds. Think about how long that is. 1. 2. 3. 4. With just two guys down there, it just wouldn’t float around like that. The real risk was that it would be intercepted.
A Bama safety intercepted one on the exact same kind of call later that year when Flynn misread the defense. Had the Auburn player had deep help like that guy did, and Flynn threw it like he did the next time, the game would have been over with LSU losing. Still, every time you put the ball in the air you run that risk.
Richard Pittman
by Richard Pittman on Jan 15, 2009 6:30 PM CST up reply actions
I agree with the below postsers...
Perception NOW and even at the END of the year last year was that David was a solid kicker but at that time he was a very average college kicker, and as I said before below 50% on the year.
Plus just a few games earlier David had missed his only “time expiring game clinching kick” at Kentucky. Yes that was a 57 yder or so and this was only 39 but to my knowledge this would have been the biggest kick of his career.
People who think it was a bad move are either ignorant to the situation, or just mad that LSU won it all. Plain and simple.
Totally agree. The only way to say Miles made a bad call is to say Leach did also. I also believe Tech had much less time when the call was made. I feel like Flynn took his sweet time getting to the line. The fact that Tech’s play was not in the endzone is HUGE. Not only did he HAVE to get the pass off and HAVE to have Crab catch it. They HAD to make it to the endzone. I think that most of the people who said Miles made a bad call are not really thinking about it and just assume Miles is an idiot.
Also
If I remember right, Colt had already missed one in the Auburn game and one or two in the Florida game, so there was a decent question of his big game pressure kick. I thought it was a good call: Auburn was clearly napping on D; with 9 seconds left it’s worth a shot. Even with good kickers, in college 39 yarders are not gimmies.
I'm proud of my damn strong football team. Have a great day!
by Mikethetiger on Jan 15, 2009 5:30 PM CST up reply actions
Back on track with the read.
Miles is a gamer. I like the way the games are called. He has fooled me on many occasions with his calls. He’s a smart coach. You don’t have to be a politician with your words to coach football but you better be able to communicate with your players and other coaches. I think Miles does that just fine.
Go Tigers!
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