Reliving the final minute of the LSU game in continued horror I remembered something I saw on an ESPN special called Gruden's Champ Camp. This was the brilliant program breaking down the Saints Super Bowl season with the always entertaining and, ironically the #1 choice of LSU faithful to be their next head coach, Jon Gruden. I remember his profile on the way Saints HC Sean Payton conducts practice. His amazement in particlular was the fact that Payton practices the Victory play. That's the play every football team uses as the QB kneels down to kill the final seconds of the game preserving victory. "Imagine", Gruden says, "Payton is so detail oriented he dedicates a segmnet of practice to this simple play"! Yes, I can imagine. Because Payton never wants his players to be surprsied by a situation on the footbal field. Because even though every player,coach and trainer is dying to end practice to get out of the scorching NOLA heat, Payton leaves no possible situation uncovered.
That is why what happened to LSU in the final seconds of the Tennesse game is simply unforgivably devastatingly unnacceptable! What makes it so damn outrageously egregious is it wasn't the first time. Ole Miss was less than a year ago! What this leaves me to believe is les miles is either stupid or lazy.
As much as his vocabulary points to the contrary, I don't think miles is stupid. But lazy? Hells yeah! In fact calling miles lazy is an insult to lazy people. When I say lazy, I'm not talking as in Garfield who sleeps all day and only wakes up to eat lasagna. I'm talking about a "we don't need to worry about it" attitude. "Practice Victory? We don't have to worry about that, it's a simple play" leads to "we don't need to practice end of game situations, we'll deal with that when the time comes". The result is what happened at LSU last Saturday, Ole Miss last season and others to many times to list.
Miles said it's embarrassing the way the game ended. Embarrassing? Burping in church is embarrassing. Humiliating is what happened to LSU yesterday. Already disrespected by the media, fans and coaches across the country, LSU has become a punchline in college football.
The problem for LSU fans is they won that game. They're 5-0. Can't get rid of a coach who is 5-0. All of miles' apologists love to quote his record in his defense. Wins agianst the ULMs and the LaTechs of the world, ugly or not, will continue, thus infalting miles' record. His recruiting classes are always in the top 10. Nevermind the fact that Hallman,DiNardo and Stovall were equally affective as recuiters because Louisiana and Southeast Texas is such fertile ground for football talent.
Miles is the clone of Charlie McClendon. Feed off the talent left by your predicessor then win just enough on your own to justify keeping your job. "Charlie Mac only loses to the Bear" said the enablers back then, "Les has a winning record" they say now. The plain truth is Charlie Mac stunted the program's growth back then and miles does now. With the massive expansion of the national media now compared to the McClendon era, these blunders become legendary overnight. Football fans as far away as Washington state bare witness to miles' ineptitude.
LSU fans are now in a conundrum. They want LSU to succeed but Les Miles to fail. The problem is he'll continue to do both in such fashion his demise (or lack thereof) will be debated as much as the need for a playoff in college football. Their only hope is for Rich Rodriguez to fail so badly at Michigan that they will hire Miles away from LSU. Well don't look now LSU fans, the Wolverines are also 5-0 and have an explosive QB. Scratch that idea. No, LSU fans, you are stuck with ole Les. Maybe he'll attend a Sean Payton coaches clinic next off season. Unless the circus is in town that day.
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