Tiger Talker: A Tale Of Two Teams Wearing the Same Uniform

LSU football, the pride and joy of Louisiana. 

The defense- a tradition of stinginess and intimidation, continuing until to this day. 

The talent- Blue chippers and top five recruiting classes, sucking prospects from Louisiana and the South dry.

The offense- A tradition of smash-mouth, hard-nosed football. And to this day, consistent and smart quarterback play and an offense to keep the defense guessing. ...errrwikkk! (sound of scratching and squealing record player).  Uh, what?!  The offense has been hard to figure out for defenses?  The quarterback play consistent?

The professor and leader, Les Miles, has stock piled prospects to make Tom Lemming sweat nervously with his pen and paper anxiously trying to keep up with the four and five star recruits coming in annually to Baton Rouge.  One cannot go down an NFL roster without seeing at least three or four former Tigers on the depth chart.  The teacher has done his job here; the talent gets a check.

Now, everybody come into the lab to observe the 2008 LSU defense.  Let's take a look at what last year's defense looked like with the co-defensive coordinator debacle.

The conclusion, a high school chemistry experiment gone bad, blowing up into the professor's face.  Les Miles does the sensible thing; switch out the two ignorant and confused professors with a proven, bright, attentive transfers from the highly regarded private school with an A- average track record.  Who is this ambitious and diligent professor? John Chavis. 

The defense now is sharp, alert, aggressive; the kind of defense usually expected in Baton Rouge.  They are beginning to get their swagger back after inspired performances against Georgia and Florida, without an experienced defensive line to get pressure on the quarterback.  Hard tackling, aggressive, and relentless; good to see after a year in detention.  Defense gets a check.

Let's see how the offense fairs on this progress report.

After the 2007 season and a national championship, the firing and hiring of a new offensive coordinator before the season was looking like a promising one. Who is this new professor?

He goes by the name of Gary Crowton.  It certainly seemed like he did his job in 2007 leading the offense all the way to SEC and National Championships.

Last year, I noticed he was slacking in his work.  The offensive play-calling was predictable, but if something did work, he did not follow the, 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' rule.

Take the Georgia game for example.

The first play of the game,  a pass which did not allow Jarrett Lee to get into the flow of the game.  Pick six,  now LSU was already in the doghouse.

As the game wore on, LSU started and continually ran the ball down the Dawgs' throat.  What does Crowton call on a second down play while marching to the end zone?  A roll-out, on the run, to the short side of the field.  Interception, momentum changed, for good. 

Also, he called several cute little end-arounds and reverses which stalled drives and took LSU out of the game.

This year, coming off a number one recruiting class, the Tigers were expected to be a juggernaut on both sides of the ball.

As this year rolls on, LSU fans are waiting until the offense picks up the slack for the defense giving them every opportunity to win and score points.  As one may notice, there seems to be a consistent trend to this ever inconsistent attack.

When Crowton was hired before the 2007 season, he brought his influence of the spread to the Bayou and applied it to a power running team.  Year by year, after careful observation, noticed especially this year, there seems to be a feud in style of play.  Gary Crowton wants to spread it four and five wide.  Les Miles, the Michigan man, ironically follows the Woody Hayes 'three yards and a cloud of dust', pro-style mantra.  What comes from that?

Inconsistent and predictable play calling.

Now it seems that no one takes the time to look at Mr. Crowton's track record.  Before his came to LSU, he was fired at BYU and Oregon, but no one seems to talk about that.

Hmmm ... interesting.  Why was he fired, one might ask?  He was an ineffective offensive coordinator calling ineffective plays in offenses that were not effective due to the predictability of formations and personnel.  And if his offense did not work at BYU and Oregon, it is not going to work at LSU.

One cannot expect chunks of yards when Charles Scott dots the I in I-formation in a jumbo set with two tight ends.  Chunks of yards also cannot come from spreading it four and five wide on first down, making it an obvious passing situation.

When Keiland Williams is in the backfield, the defense, along with everybody in the stadium and everyone watching on television, knows it is going to be an option to the outside. 

I say use more single-back sets or if there is I-formation, only have one tight end maximum, making it less predictable.  It keeps defenses on their heels because the formation tells you it could be either a run or pass play.  Then, once the running game gets established, throw it over the top and burn the defensive backs to keep the defenses honest.

Now I am not calling for his head at this point in time, which would be foolish and incomprehensible (a la Auburn 2008), but if this happens the rest of this season, it would be expected for Dr. Miles to go after Christmas shopping to find another professor to teach the offense.  It just seems that an offensive coordinator with the influence of the spread is contradictory to Miles's football philosophy.

Someone with more of a pro-style influence would seem to be a better fit for this offense; power running, throw it over the top.

And to think that the offensive coaches got a pay raise just before the Florida game.  Well, they better start cashing their checks in soon or else there is going to be some demoting and promoting sooner rather than later.

Since the offense is the topic of this lecture, the quarterback position needs to be discussed.  It just does not seem that Jordan Jefferson has it as a QB.  If one watches, the opposing defenses do not respect him as a passer. 

He just does not have the arm to throw down-field.  The safeties play up daring him to pass down-field knowing he does not have the accuracy to throw it deep.

When the safeties play up, it also hurts the ever important running game.  He cannot read the defense quick enough to make a decision, usually resulting in a sack.  He also does not have the pocket presence that a quarterback at this high profile of a program needs.

In my opinion, as crazy as it may sound, give Jarrett Lee a shot.  He has all the physical tools to be a good quarterback and he has worked hard in the off-season to make better reads in coverage.  He can keep the defenses honest with his arm, push the safeties back, and can get Charles Scott and company going.

If Dr. Miles does not give Lee an opportunity to play, there is no doubt he is going to transfer at the end of the season.  He was thrown into the fire last year as a RS freshman.  He is too talented of a player coming out of high school to collect splinters in his tail riding the pine and to be the water boy.  Leave that job to Adam Sandler.

The quarterback position is the responsibility of Professor Crowton too.  Not only is he the OC, he is also the quarterbacks coach.  As much as he wants to spread the ball around and run the option, Jordan Jefferson can not run the option to save his life.  After all, he is suppossed to be a "dual threat" quarterback.

So what do you have to lose?  Give Lee a chance.

What is the grade for this progress report?  The first two areas get passing grades, but what does the offense average out to?  Tiger fans expect more offensively, therefore the offense receives a failing grade thus far. 

However, this is only mid-terms.

There is still a chance to pass the class.  There is still an a glimmer of hope to make it up before finals with an opportunity to make a good grade on the next test against Auburn. The semester is not over; what's past is past.  Focus on what's ahead to make the final grade to pass the course for the next semester, or season I should say.

All this to say, it just seems once the defense leaves the field, it almost feels like I changed the channel to a Mountain West game.  Jordan Jefferson and Harry Coleman are both wearing the same, famous white uniforms, but there is just not the same fire and passion seen like there is on the defensive side of the ball.  The defense shows that they are out to prove something, while the offense seems somewhat passive.

Like I said before, this is only mid-terms; the halfway point in the season. Tigers, get fired up to play Auburn, play as a team and let the Tiger faithful and the nation see a collective unit play with a chip on your shoulder.

Mr. Crowton, do what you came here to do, and do it well, and do not let this be another chemistry experiment.  Save the chemistry experiments for the classroom and not on the field.

Geaux Tigers and have a great day!