I woke up this morning and realized LSU under Les Miles is like a collector's vinyl record, one everyone wants and the beauty is admired, but it has a gaping scratch that the needle is stuck on. And that stuck point of the song keeps playing, and playing and playing.
We all hear and see it's stuck. We scream and point out it's stuck. But Les just aw-shucks it, and babbles some incomprehensible words as to why he won't pick up needle and play on.
And that needle stuck was never more evident then again in LSU's mind-numbing , disappointing and disgusting season-opening (and ending?) loss to Wisconsin.
LSU was and is infinitely more talented, but was woefully out-played, out-coached and out-schemed.
I have been ridiculed for years, by friends for my defense of Miles. I rationalize "Who's better out there?" and point to his exemplary winning record.
I've always been a Les Miles advocate. No more.
After watching yesterday's game, there simply is no hope for another championship with Miles at the helm. None. Zero. Zilch.
No one can question his unparalleled ability to recruit. No one can doubt the man bleeds LSU, and is a great human being.
But the bells toll loudly now that Miles' simply cannot coach his teams to the elite level LSU fans' expect and deserve.
The insanity is, it's undoubtable that one thing alone has caused his imminent downfall: Miles' maddening inflexibility and unwillingness to adapt his offense to the skill set of players he has will alternately be his downfall.
Even simpler part of this is Miles' complete incompetence to recruit and develop even a serviceable average passing QB.
Name one QB that has progressed under Miles' watch..... Crickets.
In his tenure, Miles' QBs cannot complete the most basic fundamental passes. Five-yard passes are an adventure.
LSU QBs are laughingly inaccurate, as Harris proved repeatedly as he overthrew NFL-ready receivers... Well, that's why they don't pass, some say.
I say this is incorrect: when your passing game consists of 2 passes, quick bubble screen and deep go-routes.. how does a QB develop accuracy and rhythm?
LSU torched Wisconsin everytime they ran a quick WR out, and let their WRs use open field. But after that one TD drive... no WR quick outs. Back to the broken record, backward-ass cloud of dust play calls.
And every LSU QB, again Harris a glaring example, has horrible mechanics: feet not set, shoulders not square.
This lady and gentlemen is bad coaching.
Every player, every fan, every opponent knows LSU has 2 plays: run Fournette between tackles despite 8-9 defenders in box and 7-step drop, long-developing pass routes with no safety valve options.
Amazingly, LSU still continues to win 9-10 games every year, and Fournette's transcendent talent somehow gets 130++ every game.
I dream about this: Imagine LSU's offensive talent under Houston's Hermann or Clemson's Sweeney? I get giddy like a toddler about to see Mickey at Disneyworld...
Instead, we stare at the needle, wobbling up and down, and Les smirking at us, and about to call another Fournette run into a wall of 9 defenders.
And like vinyl records gradually were pushed into oblivion by the digital age, Miles' clock has struck midnight... and he must go.
