open letter to Coach Butch Jones

[rolltidefan]

You guys seem to have a lot more respect for Miles than most of the LSU fans I've ever known.  Most of them would tell you all his successes are due to Saban and all his shortcomings were his own doing.  As a microcosm of that, every game LSU won was in spite of his coaching and every game LSU lost was because of his coaching.  My dad swears that Miles only succeeded because of the strong program Saban left him with, and the historic loss to MSU Saturday was because O is having to deal with the mess Miles left him (10-3 and a talented roster is a mess).  I'd have to say he's more the rule than the exception.  

I don't know how to argue with that, but you can't deny it is a neat bit of mental gymnastics wherein you create a scenario where your opinion about him can't be wrong.  

I heard clips of callers to an Ohio State radio talk show after the OU loss and those idgits were calling for Urban to be fired.  Maybe all fans are nuts.  

miles had his issues and i'd be very hesitant to put him at the top with saban, meyer, etc. but he's also far from the 1 hit wonders like chizik and coker (and perhaps malzahn if he doesn't turn it around soon).
lsu was still a power almost all of his tenure, and that's way to long to be just saban left overs. and his recruiting was on par with everyone except maybe bama. he just struggled to adapt philosophy in a changing game.

[MikeDeTiger]

This crap is too confusing.  I call for a RollTideFan Thunderdome.  Two of you enter, one of you leaves.  

Besides, it's just weird.  It's like when TV shows or movies recast main characters and expect you to not to notice.  Sorry, Fresh Prince of Bel Air, everybody noticed when Aunt Viv got 3 shades lighter and 50 lbs. heavier.  Did the Dark Knight think it was cool to start with Katie Holmes and then swap her for Maggie Gyllenhaal like everything's normal?  

Some dude comes up to me and says "I'm rolltidefan," I say "THE rolltidefan?" and he says in a Robert DeNiro voice "Yeah, sure, whatever, don't worry about it."  

Nah bruh.  Somebody's gonna get cut.  

[OrangeAfroMan]

Wow, 4 point win over UMass at home.......that's F-ed up.

[VolRage]

We know Afroman. The Vols are very underwhelming. Butch ball is Vandy level ball. We are better than we were when he took over for Dooley but damn. 5 top 15 classes later and we are this damn pathetic. And I wasted good money to watch that shit live today.

[Drew4UTk]

yup... back on topic: 

I watched oSu and TCU tangle today... those are two very well coached teams.  Being D minded, I especially appreciated TCU's ability to shut down the oSu assault.  

but i wondered while watching:  when is the last time either of those teams had a top ten class?  

I know the answer, and i bet y'all do too. 

the D is where the D is supposed to be (TCU's AND oSu's) which tells me the scheme is good.  The O's run routes to precision, and the OLine on both teams is capable of opening lanes for the backs.  

UT can't do that.  They straight up struggle in every aspect of the game.  I wager the majority of their points come when they get the opposing D almost to sleep.  

Defensively, UT plays when they want to- but only when they want to.  there is nothing- notta- zilch disguised with their sets making blocks easy to set-up. then, every once in a while they apply their talent and pressure the O somewhere.  

I'd like to think this is exaggerated but it isn't.  it's straight up truth. 

121 is a bad team and poorly coached.  

[Temp430]

Brady Hoke won 11 games in his fist season at Michigan and posted a 31-20 record. He got fired after winning 5 games in 2014. Could he have turned it around? We'll never know.

Lloyd Carr won 9 games in his last season at Michigan, and 11 the year before. The fewest he won in a season was 7. I'm not sure why they pushed him out.

Hoke was in over his head, lost the team, and needed to be fired.  Carr was not pushed out.  Carr tried to retire after the 2006 season and AD Martin talked him into another year.

[847badgerfan]

Your is one of many different accounts for what took place in that odd separation. All I know is what I've been told by friends I had that were familiar.

[Cincydawg]

A lot of fans seem rather fanatical about this sort of thing.

Huh.

[bamajoe]

I will be surprised if Lane Kiffen who LSU should have hired and Bobby Petrino are not both in the SEC next year

[Cincydawg]

The earlier point about fear of making an error is interesting.  There seems to be a subtle but important distinction between playing under control but all out and being afraid to play all out lest you get out of control.

I had a bad baseball coach in HS that was always criticizing everyone for anything.  We had a talented team my senior year, but it was unpleasant to play baseball, which most of us had done since we were 6.  He made us afraid to play because our focus was mostly on trying not to make some kind of error, so of course we made errors.

He had very complicated signs for HS, as if they would be stolen, a preindicator, the sign, and a post indicator.  He would give the first two and then sort of brush at his belt for the third indicator for a steal attempt.  If you stole, he'd chew you out.  If you didn't steal, he'd chew you out.  He got fired after that season.

I remember how glad we all were to lose our final game and be done with it.  Looking back I wish I had quit the team.

[Drew4UTk]

@Cincydawg , i just read an article yesterday which quoted CBJ as saying "we're working on plays that will set our offense up for success", and i cringed.... literally... 

he's still doing it.... playing/coaching scared.  

i don't know that he can change either that or the mentality/culture of this on that team it's existed so long and is part of his (CBJ's) identity... if his seat is as hot as it sounds like it is, maybe just maybe he'll say "eff it boys- let's have some fun" which will result in an epiphany for him and his career...  

[Cincydawg]

He seems so far in the hole right now that he has few if any real options.

The team may be in factions, and not a team in any real sense.  He's just trying to find words to say to the media that are banal.

[Drew4UTk]

i hate it for the guy- he has his game together, except for the game part.  sounds crazy, but it appears to be true to me. 

[MikeDeTiger]

So....can I cue up the Jon Gruden rumors, then?