Les Miles: The Madhatter (VIDEO)

LSU Tigers Les Miles "The Madhatter" Myspace Layout #6

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Is Alabama Beatable?

Nick Satan, er, Saban has honed the 2009 edition of the Crimson Tide into a sleek, powerful gridiron machine. Led by running backs Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson, they run well; led by quarterback Greg McElroy they pass well. And let's not even talk about the defense, who limits oppenents to around 15 points a game, with arguably the fastest front four in the SEC.
Is Bama, who has yet to even trail this season, even beatable?
The Tide has shown signs of waywardness but not weakness.
Ingram, the featured back season after Glen Coffee bolted to the League, is the cog that makes the offensive engine go: He churned out 150 yards against a stout Virginia Tech defense in the season opener and has been one tackle from glory several times.
Junior quarterback McElroy has thrown only one pick this season and is in the game-manager mode rather than gunslinger. But when he has to go deep he has, arguably, the best receiver in the SEC at his disposal, Julio Jones.
Jones, who has been slowed by injury this season -- he has just one touchdown and 9 receptions -- has drew a constant doubleteam from opposing defenses after lofty expectations from 2008.
If the Tide has a weakness it will probably be their inability to get the ball to Jones. The flip side of that issue is that they seldom have needed to, especially with the emergence of tight end Colin Peek.
Bama still faces the teeth of their schedule with this week's showdown with Ole Miss, but they look better than No. 2 Texas and No. 1 Florida (who still hasn't played anybody [sorry Vols)]. Also awaiting are the Auburn Tigers and LSU Tigers.
Will the Tide trip up along the way? Time will tell.
But, make no mistake about it, LSU will not doubleteam Jones (Look how they played Georgia's A.J. Green). If they can play Jones straight up, then McElroy will have to beat the Tigers with his arm.
If Ingram doesn't with his feet.

LSU's comeback vs. Alabama 11/3/07 (video)

Les Miles gambles on 4th down. Again. And gets it. Touchdown, LSU! Alabama quarterback John Parker Wilson drops back to pass, LSU safety Chad Jones blitzes up the middle, it's a ... FUM-BOL! LSU gets it! Jacob Hester goes over the top, TOUCHDOWN LSU!

I 'm an LSU fan, but I respect Alabama, Saban, seriously

"Great game. Good luck to ya."
That was the quick soundbite that TV cameras allowed as LSU coach Les Miles and Alabama coach Nick Saban shook hands after Saturday night's 41-34 LSU win. It was a short and sweet comment by Saban, and it was emotionally genuine. For 60 minutes, he got to see the people and fans he influenced work against him. He's got to appreciate this redemption of theirs. And he does, even more than Les Miles can understand. Well, it's been about 10 hours since the game ended. I've had time to relect now, and put this LSU victory over Alabama in perspective. It was a hard-fought game by both teams, and, ya know, we respect Alabama (12 national championships? Are you kiddin' me?). Actually we love Alabama, and I don't know any team that doesn't want the rich heritage and tradition that the Crimson Tide has. I've talked to several LSU fans that made the trip to Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa and they said the Bama fans were some of the nicest fans they've been around. this quote from the Advocate sums it up: Stephen Hardy of St. Martinville, La. said he was impressed both by the game atmosphere and the home fans, who filled the stadium to its 92,128 capacity.
“These Alabama fans are the nicest, most gracious fans you ever did see,” he said. “Where we were sitting, when the game turned at the end, everybody congratulated us and told us good luck in the SEC championship game.”
See, LSU-Alabama is not really a rivalry to Alabama faithful, no, they've got Tennessee and Auburn for that. LSU? We've got nobody. Instate rival? Who, Tulane? Nobody in Mississippi gives us a good game anymore, so, (gulp) we come to you, Alabama. Every year we're searching for a fight, for somebody to knock this purple-and-gold chip off our shoulder. A couple of years ago we were begging Georgia to do it, when it looked like they were going to be a perennial power, then they lost to Vanderbilt. A few years before that we thought we had some animosity with Tennessee, even beating them in the SEC championship game, but the Schedule Gods don't make us play them every year. And Florida? They've got their hands full with Tennessee, Georgia and Florida State. So, see, us Tigers need, no, crave a legitimate rivalry game, and Alabama is the closest thing we got, especially since the Tommy Hodson "Earthquake game". You can make a case for Auburn, but the truth is Auburn is preoccupied with beating the Tide, not LSU. And so, we eye the Tide. Plus, Alabama took Saban, OUR CHAMPIONSHIP COACH, that's got to count for something!!! LSU doesn't have an Iron Bowl, no Third Saturday in October, but we doooo have a Saban Bowl! So, we salute, the Crimson Tide for a game well done. No hard feelings. kinda like Nick Saban said after the game. "I know their families. I know their mommas," Saban said. "It was a little bit like my initial feeling was like 'you're playing against somebody who is in your family'."
Nick's got it right. He's still a part of the Tiger family, just wearing a maroon sweater now. "I love our players here more. I'm going to work with them every day to try to help them be successful," Saban said. "But I can't just throw away the feelings I have for those players, the ones I have a relationship with. That just doesn't go away." Great game. Good luck to ya.

Les Miles Will Beat Alabama. His Balls Tell Him So (Here's Why)

The fate of Les Miles and Nick Sab- uh, I mean, Satan have been linked long before their uber-big game in two weeks in Tuscaloosa.
You see, Satan visited Miles in a secret gathering early July this year, and the effects of that meeting are still being felt in the college football world.
Nice one, Satan. I've got to give it to you: We didnt' see this one coming.
See, this offseason, Les Miles obviously made a deal with the Devil. It probably took place in the locker room (the visitors' so he could be alone) of Tiger Stadium when everyone else had gone home:
"Debel, if you give me balls, big balls (he probably stretched his arms out for good measure), well, hell, I'll do your bidding."
Satan probably put his hand on his chin and walked around in a circular motion and said: "Just give us November 3." Miles gave the thumbs up sign, and Satan nodded in agreement.
It was a quick encounter, a wistful wish that probably slipped his mind when he started going back over the depth chart, scratching out super frosh Terrence Toliver from starting No. 2 receiver and reinserting Brandon LeFell. Ole Les sat down in his chair at his desk, and he felt a strange sensation from his crotch area. "Well, ShaaaaZAMMM!" Les probably said as he looked down between his legs.
The seat cushion under his scrotum was literally decompressing was a rapidly increasing heaviness.
Those balls had arrived.
Les Miles' balls have been on full display this season. And his coaching skills have deteriorated as the season goes on. See, Les Miles' balls are consuming him.
Soon, there won't be a Les Miles. Only balls. Big balls.
Michigan will be left to fly some balls in for an interview come early February. Big balls.

Turns out Miles has needed his balls, more than any other coaching attribute.
Miles showed his big, brawny ballsiness with the 5-for-5 on 4th down against Florida (desperate), also with the failed fourth-and-2.7 against Kentucky (arrogant), and finally the "1-tick miracle" against Auburn (reckless). When history judges him and he is enshrined at LSU (by enshrined I mean frozen ala Hans Solo, in a sideline pose with his friggin' balls out!), a picture of his mug will not be considered as a memoriam to The Man That Replace Satan. Instead, in a long case of glass you'll see some balls dangling over the side. Big balls. Les' Balls.

Did Saban bring magic back to LSU? I say DiNardo did. Here's why

Let's get this straight, because people always think that Nick Saban brought LSU to prominence, and I've said this before, but Jerry DiNardo actually brought the magic back for LSU, not Saban. Saban won a national championship, true, (and there's always a rightful influx of blue chippers when that happens) but the talent pool that has fed the Tigers ever since was in place a few years before him and put there by DiNardo. For instance, if you look at the talent of signal callers from DiNardo's tenure:
Josh Booty (who was first-team All-SEC as a sophomore).
Craig Nall (who rotted on the bench under Saban, and transferred to Northwestern State, where he became the first quarterback in school history to surpass 2,000 yards passing in a season.)
and Herb Tyler Who beat out senior Jamie Howard late in his freshman season, and, over his next 31 games as a starter, LSU went 26-5.
I don't know how anyone could say Saban brought the talent. Under Saban, the signal callers were:
Rohan Davey (who didn't get the starting job until the 4th game of Saban's LSU career after Booty got hurt)
Rick Clausen (who later transferred to Tennessee because he couldn't start)
Matt Mauck (who didn't see P.T. until Davey got injured. Threw for 28 TDs in championship season of 2003)
Marcus Randall (who split time with:)
JaMarcus Russell (heavily recruited out of Mobile, and No. 1 draft pick).
I remember in a slugfest with Auburn in 1997, when Tigers wonderback Cecil Collins ran for 232 yards on 27 carries, and Rondell Mealey added 129 yards on just 12 touches (Auburn qb Dameyune Craig torched us for 342 yards in the air, but my point stands). Now, LSU lost, but that's what Saban brought to the table: coaching. But he didn't bring the horses (talent), the horses were already there. The talent DiNardo had stacks up pretty well with Saban's quarterbacks Marcus Randall, the mighty Matt Mauck and even JaMarcus Russell (who left 14 points on the field in every game), but his main man was a Jamaican cat by the name of Rohan Davey. Truth be told, DiNardo didn't like Davey (famous Davey quote:"Nick Saban gave me an opportunity, a chance for a fresh start, and I thank him for that."), but he got him on the squad never the less. And it was Saban who actually gave Davey his shot, but Ole St. Nick didn't recruit Davey, DiNardo did! This same Davey, as a senior in 2001, was the first QB in LSU history to pass for over 3,000 yards in a season (eclipsing Peyton Manning's best-year yardage at Tennessee in 1996).
That same year he threw for 528 yards against Alabama. At Alabama!
Dinardo lasted at LSU from 1994 to 1999, and it was HE, not Satan, that brought LSU back to prominence.
Dinardo did a number of things that Saban didn't have to:
* took over a program that had six straight losing seasons and that hadn't been ranked in the AP Top 25 since 1989.
* revived LSU football; bringing back the tradition of wearing white jerseys during home games
* restored LSU's reputation as an SEC powerhouse, (forcibly moving Tennessee out of the way as second-to-Florida in SEC perennial powerhouses. Florida, by the way, had unseated Alabama a decade earlier).
Saban did have something DiNardo didn't have though: Saban could coach, he could motivate, and he actually adjusted at halftime, something NiNardo never thought to do. So, all in all, Saban is the better coach and has the record and championship to prove it, but pleeeease don't say he brought the talent back to LSU. Saban's most valuable recruit, Matt Mauck, actually followed him from Michigan State. The running back-by-committee around that time: LaBrandon Toefield, Joseph Addai, Justin Vincent, Shyrone Carey were all Sabanites. (Dominick Davis was recruited by DiNardo).
Never the less, it ended badly for DiNardo, who was never largely appreciated in Tigerland, in the midst of a three-win season: On November 15, 1999, two days after LSU lost to unranked Houston in Tiger Stadium, LSU chancellor Mark Emmert canned DiNardo with one game remaining in the season. DiNardo was given the option to coach the game against Arkansas (the Battle for the Golden Boot), but DiNardo declined. Instead, offensive line coach Hal Hunter was named interim coach, leading LSU to a 35-10 victory over the Razorbacks. Nick Saban was named as DiNardo's replacement on November 30, 1999, and guided the Tigers to the 2001 SEC championship with many of DiNardo's recruits in the starting lineup. The rest, as they say, is his story.

LSU players still got love for St. Nick?

LSU still has 20 players on the squad that were recruited by Nick Saban.
They play for Les Miles, but they are "Saban guys" still.
With the most anticipated showdown of the season looming this Saturday, LSU's players STILL had good things to say about Satan. And even some employees, below are some quotes for the week:

Ya'el Lofton, coordinator of football operations and secretary to LSU coaches going back to Archer, still keeps in touch with Saban and other former LSU coaches.

"He was very good to work for," she said before the season. "So is coach Miles. Both of them are very good at not letting a loss get to them here in the office. I enjoyed working for Nick and I enjoy working for Les. I think the fans get carried away sometimes."

LSU defensive end Tyson Jackson has heard the fans.

"I can understand why they don't like him," said Jackson, who signed with Saban in 2004. "I mean, he's at Alabama now. But we as players don't hold any grudges. When the fans are talking about him, I don't defend him. I just sit back and listen. It's funny. But I don't have anything bad to say about coach Saban. He's a great coach, but coach Miles is a great coach, too."

Cornerback Chevis Jackson met with Saban every day in the 2004 season when he was a freshman.

"He practically was the secondary coach, and he taught me a lot when he was here and I'm thankful for it," Jackson said. "I really don't get into all that. I don't know why they hate him. They probably liked him when he was here. He left. He made that decision. He's at Alabama now, and you know we've got a game to play."

LSU senior associate athletic director Verge Ausberry, a former LSU linebacker from New Iberia, doesn't understand the fans' hateful mentality.

"I don't care what those people say," Ausberry said. "Nick was our coach and he put LSU back in the national spotlight. And Les has picked it up from there and made it continue on. I have a lot of respect for Nick and what he did for our program. We were losing for about 10 years before he came here."

Ausberry played at LSU from 1986-89 under coach Bill Arnsparger and Mike Archer and was part of SEC championship teams in 1986 and 1988.

"We hadn't won an SEC championship since I played before Nick got here," Ausberry said. "I don't understand the fans. Steve Spurrier (former national champion Florida coach) did about the same thing as Nick. He left Florida went to the NFL and came back to South Carolina. Florida doesn't hate him and he went to that school and won the Heisman there. He left, but he's in their ring of honor there."

LSU's quarterback 'beat up' in fight; Clean this up, Les. Pronto.

Nick Sab, uh, Satan obviously learned some voodoo during his brief stint in the bayou.
On the eve of the biggest game of the season for both teams, LSU backup quarterback Ryan Perrilloux was "beat up" in a bar fight near the LSU campus last night. Baton Rouge Police confirmPerrilloux and LSU linebacker Derrick Odom were involved, as well as All-American defensive lineman Glenn Dorsey. Perrilloux called his lawyer early Saturday and asked if he should sue; his lawyer said, no, just get outta there.
I've got three words for you, Les: CLEAN THIS UP!
Y'all going to Alabama and can't stay focused for one bye week? Com' on!
According to THIS REPORT, and THIS STORY, a witness inside the bar said that members of the football team were asked to take the stage and rap or something. That witness confirmed that Perrilloux and Odom were in the group.
The trouble allegedly started when bouncers at the Varsity started clearing everyone out, and that the football players refused to get off of the stage. The witness says that is when one of the players punched a bouncer and that is when upwards of forty players and bouncers started fighting.
We are told the fight spilled out into the parking lot behind the Chimes, that LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey was there and that Dorsey did not throw a single punch. Instead, he tried to break up the fight and get his teammates to leave.
I've got four MORE words for you, Les: CLEAN THIS UP, NOW!
The Tiger nation is in the longest uninterrupted run of quality QBs we've had in a long time (Davey, Mauck, JaMarcus, Flynn, etc.); but our quarterback situation is more precarious than people realize, 'specially with the newfound revelation that Matt Flynn almost transferred last year. We're bone-thin at QB without that guy, even though Perrilloux thinks he's ready for primetime.
Ah, and Satan is sooo enjoying this.

Nick Satan is prolly in his fire-red satin one-piece (complete with devil horns hood) snickering with his remote control in one hand, and some Killians in the other. GEEZ. Can't we make it through the season without anymore trouble from Perrilloux? He's the starting quarterback for the future, (well, maybe this guy is)for crying out loud, can't he grow up?
Les? Clean this up, Les. Clean this up!