Tinker:
What part of not liking what other people are doing doesn't the leaders of the United States don't understand?
That a lot of people living in Egypt don't like the muslim brotherhood religious zealots, that seems easily understandable to me. Why then is the leaders like secretary of state John Kerry saying that the United States don't go along with the majority of the egyptian population who don't like muslim mad men.
Is the US government leaders more corrupt then even the muslim terrorist groups, and just willing to live any kind of a way with anyone?
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Debussy, Clair de lune (piano music)
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Tinker:
Hasn't anyone else notice that the TV eye candy are acting more like prerecorded women acting out what men want, more so then what was so railed against over the American 1950s social structure in the first place?
The hypocrisy of the ACLU liberal media is even more obvious on HDTV then every before'
Why then does the TV networks think that the American people are more stupid than ever. The propaganda hypocrisy practiced on television has become ridiculous
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Audit finds thousands of breaches each year since ’08
Barton Gellman
EXCLUSIVE | Most of the infractions involve surveillance of Americans or foreign targets inside the U.S., documents show.
EXCLUSIVE | Most of the infractions involve surveillance of Americans or foreign targets inside the U.S., documents show.
Court: Ability to police U.S. spying program is limited
Carol D. LeonnigFISA judge says court must rely on the government to report improper spying.
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Lauryn Hill- Killing Me Softly
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You're watching...
Special report online:
How should U.S. be dealing with Egypt crisis?
REAL women however make me feel like this...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
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Newt Gingrich Is Making Trouble For CNN
More Media
Olbermann Bashes Gore.. 'Pray For Me'.. Awful Milestone.. CNN In Egypt.. Legend Dies.. MSNBC Gaffe!!!
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Tinker:
I have become attached to the computers in a intraining way, because I never used one before, I never realize how truly cool they are.
The more I learn the better they become, we are really going to advance our knowledge with the computers help. Great technology.
Our computers are not so good as to help me yet, but I feel like they are getting closer and closer every day. I suspect even I will be able to write something that other people can understand.
That will be the true miracle that the world has been waiting to see. The day tinker arrived this side of "F" something like F+.
The beginning of human evolution magic that took humankind to the stars...And perhaps men and women finds god mysterious formula to our eternity.
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The Moonglows - Sincerely
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Sports
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LSU Football - Best of the Miles Era
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Dandy Don's Sports Report
Coach Les Miles put his Tigers through an abbreviated 56-play scrimmage yesterday in the indoor practice facility, and based on Miles’ post-practice comments the defense appears to have had the upper hand. The scrimmage focussed on redzone and tight zone situations as well as working on all phases of special teams. Coach Miles didn’t dish out any stats, but did praise a lot of players after first stating that the team was sloppy, had lots of penalties and was not playing as he’d like them to play, which is not that unexpected considering it was the first scrimmage of preseason camp. The team will have a “walk-through” today and then will have its first full-scale scrimmage of camp Saturday morning at 11:30 in Tiger Stadium.
Below are a few tid-bits of interest from yesterday's scrimmage:
Defense: Coach Miles stated that the first defense is very difficult to handle and looked “awfully good at times.” He was quick to single out defensive tackle Anthony Johnson as someone who is very hard to block. He also praised the play of freshmen defensive linemen Tashawn Bower and Christian LaCouture. Other freshmen defensive players who were singled out were Rickey Jefferson and TréDavious White who Miles said will be on the field a lot. As for the defensive ends, Miles said that Jordan Allen and Danielle Hunter worked with the first team. Jermauria Rasco, who has been in a green no-contact jersey all camp (shoulder), was held out. As for the linebackers, Miles said that D.J. Welter is looking good in the middle and that Lamin Barrow may sub there. Also, Miles confirmed that backup linebacker Trey Granier has left the team due to depth at the linebacker position and Granier’s “immediate want to play.” I know I speak for many in the Tiger Nation when I wish Granier the best of luck wherever he ends up.
Offense: Coach Miles said that backup quarterback Anthony Jennings performed well and threw the ball on 10 of his 16 snaps. As far as I know, Miles wasn’t asked about and didn’t comment on Mettenberger. According to tweets I read from those present at the press conference, Miles seemed to light up when he spoke of Jerald Hawkins. The redshirt right tackle had some medical issues related to the heat earlier in the week, but Miles confirmed that he scrimmaged yesterday and looked good. At wide receiver, Miles praised Odell Beckham, Jr, Jarvis Landry and Travin Dural, and also complimented freshman Kevin Spears. As for the backs, Miles confirmed that Jeremy Hill did take some snaps, and that Melvin Jones worked some at fullback and at tight end. He also stated that speedster Jeryl Brazil worked at running back as well as cornerback.
And here are a few quotes from Les Miles as provided by LSU's Sports Information Department:
“I certainly enjoyed the work,” LSU coach Les Miles said following the workout. “We were sloppy, we had penalties and we’re not playing exactly how we’d like. But what we can do is run the football and throw it with some understanding, and our defense is very difficult to handle.
“I like where we are at. Again, we are not ready to play a football game, but we certainly will be. Boy that defense looked awfully good at times. Offensively we looked awfully good at times. It’s a work in progress, but we have some weapons.
“I think we are throwing the ball better than we have,” Miles said. “I think we are still pounding the rush, and that’s the difficult issue for defenses. We probably ran the football more than we threw it today, but when we threw it, we threw it for completions and very well.
“So we still enjoy handing the ball off, and I think that’s what’s making our passing game really difficult to deal with. And, I think (offensive coordinator) Cam’s (Cameron) given some expertise in that area of the game that we needed.”
With 16 days until Game Day, today we’ll continue our jersey countdown by featuring a player who has etched a special place in my memory – Terry Robiskie. Robiskie wore No. 16 at LSU from 1973 to 1976, and although I was very young at the time, I remember him being a Tiger hero of mine in his senior season in 1976. During that season, he made first-team All-SEC and was named the SEC’s Most Valuable Player. He was also the first LSU running back to rush for over 200 yards in a single game, gaining 214 yards on 30 carries against Rice University. That same year, he became the first LSU running back to run for over 1,000 yards in a season, and the first to run for over 2,500 yards in a career. After his days as a Tiger, Robiskie played five years in the NFL with the Raiders (1977–79) and the Miami Dolphins (1980–81) under legendary coaches John Madden, Tom Flores and Don Shula. It's also worth noting that at Second Ward High in Edgard, Louisiana, Robiskie was one of the most dominating players to ever play Louisiana high school football. He almost single-handedly led his team to a pair of state 1A championships in 1971 and 1972 as a quarterback. After his playing days with the Dolphins, Robiskie was hired by the Raiders to coach tight ends. He remained with the Raiders for 12 seasons, followed by seven with the Redskins, six with the Browns, one with Dolphins and the last five with the Falcons. Robiskie was inducted into the Louisiana Hall of Fame in 2012.
In men's basketball recruiting news, former St. Augustine forward Craig Victor is expected to announce his college decision Saturday afternoon. His leaders are reported to be Oklahoma State, Arizona, Louisville and LSU. The 6-foot-8, 215-pounder who will play his senior season at Findlay Prep in Henderson, Nevada would be a great get for Coach Johnny Jones.
Lastly, please note that the ticket listings keep pouring in, so I've updated our Ticket Exchange page again last night. Lots of listings for season tickets and a few TCU listings as well.
Below are a few tid-bits of interest from yesterday's scrimmage:
Defense: Coach Miles stated that the first defense is very difficult to handle and looked “awfully good at times.” He was quick to single out defensive tackle Anthony Johnson as someone who is very hard to block. He also praised the play of freshmen defensive linemen Tashawn Bower and Christian LaCouture. Other freshmen defensive players who were singled out were Rickey Jefferson and TréDavious White who Miles said will be on the field a lot. As for the defensive ends, Miles said that Jordan Allen and Danielle Hunter worked with the first team. Jermauria Rasco, who has been in a green no-contact jersey all camp (shoulder), was held out. As for the linebackers, Miles said that D.J. Welter is looking good in the middle and that Lamin Barrow may sub there. Also, Miles confirmed that backup linebacker Trey Granier has left the team due to depth at the linebacker position and Granier’s “immediate want to play.” I know I speak for many in the Tiger Nation when I wish Granier the best of luck wherever he ends up.
Offense: Coach Miles said that backup quarterback Anthony Jennings performed well and threw the ball on 10 of his 16 snaps. As far as I know, Miles wasn’t asked about and didn’t comment on Mettenberger. According to tweets I read from those present at the press conference, Miles seemed to light up when he spoke of Jerald Hawkins. The redshirt right tackle had some medical issues related to the heat earlier in the week, but Miles confirmed that he scrimmaged yesterday and looked good. At wide receiver, Miles praised Odell Beckham, Jr, Jarvis Landry and Travin Dural, and also complimented freshman Kevin Spears. As for the backs, Miles confirmed that Jeremy Hill did take some snaps, and that Melvin Jones worked some at fullback and at tight end. He also stated that speedster Jeryl Brazil worked at running back as well as cornerback.
And here are a few quotes from Les Miles as provided by LSU's Sports Information Department:
“I certainly enjoyed the work,” LSU coach Les Miles said following the workout. “We were sloppy, we had penalties and we’re not playing exactly how we’d like. But what we can do is run the football and throw it with some understanding, and our defense is very difficult to handle.
“I like where we are at. Again, we are not ready to play a football game, but we certainly will be. Boy that defense looked awfully good at times. Offensively we looked awfully good at times. It’s a work in progress, but we have some weapons.
“I think we are throwing the ball better than we have,” Miles said. “I think we are still pounding the rush, and that’s the difficult issue for defenses. We probably ran the football more than we threw it today, but when we threw it, we threw it for completions and very well.
“So we still enjoy handing the ball off, and I think that’s what’s making our passing game really difficult to deal with. And, I think (offensive coordinator) Cam’s (Cameron) given some expertise in that area of the game that we needed.”
With 16 days until Game Day, today we’ll continue our jersey countdown by featuring a player who has etched a special place in my memory – Terry Robiskie. Robiskie wore No. 16 at LSU from 1973 to 1976, and although I was very young at the time, I remember him being a Tiger hero of mine in his senior season in 1976. During that season, he made first-team All-SEC and was named the SEC’s Most Valuable Player. He was also the first LSU running back to rush for over 200 yards in a single game, gaining 214 yards on 30 carries against Rice University. That same year, he became the first LSU running back to run for over 1,000 yards in a season, and the first to run for over 2,500 yards in a career. After his days as a Tiger, Robiskie played five years in the NFL with the Raiders (1977–79) and the Miami Dolphins (1980–81) under legendary coaches John Madden, Tom Flores and Don Shula. It's also worth noting that at Second Ward High in Edgard, Louisiana, Robiskie was one of the most dominating players to ever play Louisiana high school football. He almost single-handedly led his team to a pair of state 1A championships in 1971 and 1972 as a quarterback. After his playing days with the Dolphins, Robiskie was hired by the Raiders to coach tight ends. He remained with the Raiders for 12 seasons, followed by seven with the Redskins, six with the Browns, one with Dolphins and the last five with the Falcons. Robiskie was inducted into the Louisiana Hall of Fame in 2012.
In men's basketball recruiting news, former St. Augustine forward Craig Victor is expected to announce his college decision Saturday afternoon. His leaders are reported to be Oklahoma State, Arizona, Louisville and LSU. The 6-foot-8, 215-pounder who will play his senior season at Findlay Prep in Henderson, Nevada would be a great get for Coach Johnny Jones.
Lastly, please note that the ticket listings keep pouring in, so I've updated our Ticket Exchange page again last night. Lots of listings for season tickets and a few TCU listings as well.
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The Dream - Total Recall OST
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Beer Bryant  Missouri Fan In a Hidden Bunker Member since Jan 2012 6329 posts  Online |
Herbstreit on LSU (Posted on 8/15/13 at 6:54 am)
I agree with him. But before that, there’s just so much talk about Alabama and A&M and Alabama and A&M and Alabama; I think people are sleeping a little bit on LSU. I think this is the type of team that Les Miles really likes where you have a quarterback with a year under his belt and you have got Cam Cameron as offensive coordinator and a ton of skill around him. The defense is John Chavis, and so you know they are going to be good. I still think the winner of the Alabama / LSU game is going to Atlanta and also go to the National Championship. I think within their own conference, I think within their own division, they had better be careful and look out for LSU, even though that’s a home game. Transcript of Media Conference Call with Brent Musburger & Kirk Herbstreit |
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LSU Football - Geaux Tigers!!!
| Times Picayune | LSU football position analysis: Offensive guards |
| The Advocate | Notes: Melvin Jones changes positions, Trey Granier changes schools |
| The Advocate | Miles pleased with offensive balance in first scrimmage |
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LSU Tigers Football 2013
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2013 LSU Football Preview -- ParamountSports com
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Countdown to SEC kickoff: 14 days
August, 15, 2013
Aug 15
Once again, Alabama enters the football season chasing history. That seems to be a recurring theme under Nick Saban, who's guided the Crimson Tide to three of the last four national championships.
A year ago, Alabama was trying to become the first team since Nebraska in 1994 and 1995 to repeat as outright national champions. Heading into this season, Alabama is trying to make it three in a row, which would be the first time a team has won three straight national championships in football since Minnesota in 1934-36.
But what about repeating as SEC champions? That leads us to today's number in our countdown: 15.
A year ago, Alabama was trying to become the first team since Nebraska in 1994 and 1995 to repeat as outright national champions. Heading into this season, Alabama is trying to make it three in a row, which would be the first time a team has won three straight national championships in football since Minnesota in 1934-36.
But what about repeating as SEC champions? That leads us to today's number in our countdown: 15.
Even though the SEC has produced the last seven national champions, it’s been 15 years since a team has repeated as SEC champions. Tennessee won the league crown in 1997 and 1998 and hasn’t won since. Really, the only team that’s come close to repeating over the last 15 years was Florida. The Gators won in 2008 and went into the 2009 SEC championship game ranked No. 1 in the country, but lost 32-13 to No. 2 Alabama. The Tide went on to win their first national title under Saban. Only twice since the Vols’ repeat in 1997 and 1998 has a team won the SEC title and gone back to Atlanta the next season with a chance to make it two in row. Florida did it in 2008 and 2009, and Georgia did it earlier that decade after winning the title in 2002 with a 30-3 rout of Arkansas and then going back the next year and losing to LSU 34-13. When Steve Spurrier had it rolling at Florida in the 1990s the Gators won four consecutive SEC titles (1993-96). Alabama, which has won a league-high 23 SEC championships, has repeated as SEC champions more than any other school. The Tide have done it four times, most recently in 1977-79 when they won three straight titles and were a combined 19-0 in SEC play. They won five straight from 1971-75 and lost only one SEC game during that stretch, a 17-16 setback to Auburn in the famous “Punt Bama Punt” game in 1972. Alabama won three straight league titles from 1964-66 and also won in 1933 and shared the title with Tulane the next year
Comments
The reward is great both in emotion and in good business sense, playing big time football in professional football pays $$$$$$$ millions. So football is only for the people who feel passionate and hungry enough to take their chances with natures god given talents to play the football game with.
Only a certain small number of people survive the alpha to omega trip in the torturous progression of organised football, from childhood to adulthood to reach the threshold of big time football.
I think that we all appreciate what it means to become a modern college football player. How could we not cheer for them in good time and bad?
Because the danger is real and always on the playing field. What kind of luck can a person rely on to see him through the violence of college football. Blindside crashes that can an do cripple people. At what price is glory?
Only a certain small number of people survive the alpha to omega trip in the torturous progression of organised football, from childhood to adulthood to reach the threshold of big time football.
I think that we all appreciate what it means to become a modern college football player. How could we not cheer for them in good time and bad?
Because the danger is real and always on the playing field. What kind of luck can a person rely on to see him through the violence of college football. Blindside crashes that can an do cripple people. At what price is glory?
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Crafty Cam
August 13, 2013 - © 2013 Tiger Rag
LSU offensive coordinator Cam Cameron has a new home with an old friend
This story appears in Tiger Rag’s 2013 Football Preview Issue, on newsstands now across Baton Rouge.
By CODY WORSHAM
Tiger Rag Editor
At first glance, Cam Cameron’s office, like a well-diagrammed play, looks like chaos.
Sticky notes - both used and blank - are stuck in several geometrically unrelated locations; words are scattered across a dry erase board in five different colors; a keyboard with no computer sits on the edge of a desk; dozens of playbooks from various years and teams are, in no particular order, staggered on shelves, excluding the ones who lie open on desk, rummaged through as if some urgent secret were inside.
Though he’s only six months into his new job, Cameron has the office of a man long at work. It’s as if he’s crammed the entirety of his 30-year coaching career into this room, perched on the second floor of the LSU Football Operations Center.
And yet in the brief time required to take in the view from Cameron’s window, looking over the Charles McClendon Practice Facility and to the Mississippi River beyond it, Cameron has, at glance’s end, somehow transformed his office into the picture of organization.
The playbooks are closed, stacked, and shelved; the Post-its have been restuck in perfectly parallel columns; the keyboard is still without a computer, but it’s aligned flush with the edge of the desk - all in a matter of seconds.
And now he’s moved on to the dry erase board, whose scattershot text is gone. In its place, per the request of the reporter present, will go Cameron’s favorite play.
He calls it “Ernie” for longtime NFL offensive coordinator and Cameron mentor Ernie Zampese - whom John Madden once called “the top offensive mind” in football - but the play’s technical name is a mouthful: “Twins Right Scat Right 525 F-Post Swing.”
The play is easier to say than to sketch. In matter of moments, the board is marked in medley. Cameron makes use of each shade of Sharpie, and before the fumes can mingle, he’s drawn a seemingly uninterpretable diagram. It’s what a Calculus problem must look like to a sixth grader.
Then, as quickly as he cleaned his desk, Cameron clears the confusion and breaks the play down. Like a Latin teacher conjugating a verb, Cameron goes component by component, player by player, read by read, until the blur of multicolor dotted lines and patterns and penned players, all of a sudden, makes perfect sense.
“That’s why I love football,” he says, gazing at the board. “There’s so much going on. It looks like a mess, but when you break it down, it’s simple. It’s beautiful.”
He’s right. It’s beautiful. It’s seeing the forest through the trees. It’s a balanced equation. It’s entropy, in reverse: order given to disorder.
It’s Cameron’s particular genius.
“Whoever had the chalk last won”
Clutter is not uncommon for a Cameron college office, but privacy is.
In his third year of full-time college coaching at the University of Michigan, Cameron shared a poky, windowless corner office with a former Wolverine graduate assistant who’d returned home to coach the offensive line: Leslie Edwin Miles.
“No window, and there was no texting back then, so every phone conversation was open,” Cameron remembers. “You can get to know a guy pretty darn well.”
The two became fast friends learning under the tutelage of legendary Michigan coach Bo Schembechler. Cameron can still remember how his coach had nicknames for all his staff - and even for people he didn’t know.
“You always knew if he didn’t know somebody’s name because he’d call them ‘Big Fella’ or ‘Chief,’” Cameron recalls, laughing.
Schembechler knew Cameron and Miles, though. Cameron was “Crafty,” for his previously illustrated ability to draw up plays, or “Red Hair,” for, of course, his red hair. Miles, meanwhile, was just “Miles,” but if Schembechler invested less effort on his offensive line coach’s nickname, he didn’t hold back on Miles in practice.
“Bo loved Les, and he was hard on Les,” Cameron says. “He was always hardest on the line coach, because Coach Schembechler was a former line coach. If you didn’t have thick skin at Michigan, then don’t show up as the line coach, because he was going to be overly critical of the offensive line.”
“I had the easiest job,” he adds. “I was the quarterbacks coach and receivers coach. He knew nothing about quarterback play or receiver play. I had the easy job; Les had the hard job.”
Job difficulty aside, Miles and Cameron formed a terrific pair who engineered an offense - Miles working run game, Cameron working pass game, both working pass protection - that helped lead Michigan to five straight Big 10 titles from 1988-1992 under Schembechler and, after Schembechler’s 1989 retirement, Gary Moeller, who made sure to introduce rivalry into the Cameron-Miles friendship.
“Gary Moeller knew we were best friends, and he was the master at pitting us against each other,” Cameron says. “If Coach Moeller saw any chance to divide us, it was classic. Back then we were using chalk, we’d be at the board drawing plays with one in our hand, and each would try to trump the next guy. Whoever had the chalk last won.”
Win or lose, however, once the two left the staff room, they did it together.
“However we ultimately decided to do it, whether it was Les’ way or my way, we walked out of that staff room on the same page, and the players were going to hear one thing, not two,” Cameron says. “That’s what great teams have - they’re not getting mixed messages.”
“Cell phones are off”
Two decades since they last coached together, that unity hasn’t changed, which is one reason why Miles jumped at the chance to bring Cameron to LSU in February, a few months after the Baltimore Ravens fired him in the middle of their 2012-13 Super Bowl title run.
“I certainly knew that when Cam became available, that there was an outside chance that he might be available to us,” Miles said in February. “It fell together exactly right.”
Cameron - who eventually received a Super Bowl ring from the Ravens - jumped at the chance to come to LSU. After 14 years in the NFL, and eleven seasons removed from his last college job as Indiana’s head coach, Cameron decided the time was right to return, despite receiving several job offers from NFL teams.
“How can you not be in love with where the college game is right now and where it’s going?” Cameron said in February. “It’s a great, great, great game. College football has always been good, but in my view, and I think a lot of people’s view, it’s never been better.”
Six months later, Cameron feels validated in that belief, and he hasn’t even coached a game yet. His reasoning?
Cell phones.
“We have our cell phones with us in the staff room,” Cameron says, sitting at his desk with his phone and iPad within grasp, just in case. “Why? Because if a recruit calls you, you can’t afford to miss that call. So you take the call, you step out, and you talk to them. If the NFL, it’s nothing like that. Cell phones are off. You don’t hear a cell phone the whole day in the NFL. It’s like a dentist’s office. The environments are completely different.”
“But it’s a good thing,” he adds. “There’s so much more life in a college building than there is in an NFL building. It’s younger, and there’s basically twice as many players.”
Cameron also relishes the chance to work with young players who are around the same age as his four children.
“When I was college coaching before, I either didn’t have kids, or they were really, really young,” he says. “Now, it’s really a lot of fun because I’m dealing with kids that are the ages of my guys. You see how they communicate, whether it be Twitter, Facebook, texting. A phone call is probably the last option.”
It’s fitting, then, t
hat a text message started the process of bringing Cameron to LSU.
“I sent him a text immediately [after he left Baltimore],” Miles said, “which would not be uncommon anyway because of our relationship.”
In fact, though the two hadn’t worked together since 1993, they remained in constant contact. In addition to texts and calls, Cameron has watched every LSU game since Miles took the job in 2005, a luxury afforded by having Saturdays off in the NFL. He’s even attended a couple of games, most recently against Florida in 2011, his first foray into Tiger Stadium.
For the most part, however, contact between Cameron and Miles has been by phone call, text message, or email. The distance demanded it.
Football made that separation necessary.
And now, football has brought them back together.
“We all have friends in our lives that even if you don’t see them physically, they’re with you,” Cameron says. “That’s what great friendship is. That’s what mutual respect is. When you see them, it’s like you were never apart. That’s what great tried and true friendship is all about.”
“Les and I have been through a lot together,” he continues. “Games, wins, tough losses, great family moments, the birth of eight children - four apiece - the death of parents, hardships with parents and siblings. When you’ve been through those things, even though you haven’t been together day to day, it’s been basically seamless.”
“A Great Foundation”
Seamlessness in the offseason is one thing; carrying that cohesion into the regular season is another matter entirely.
Close as his friendship with Cameron is, Miles brought his new coordinator on a three-year contract not to reminisce on times past, but to revamp a struggling offense. The Tigers have finished 85th, 85th, 86th, and 112th in the nation in total offense the past four years, and many have blamed Miles, fairly or unfairly, for having too much conservative influence in the LSU attack.
Miles’ involvement, to whatever degree, has almost certainly been necessary, given the health conditions that led to Steve Kragthorpe stepping down from offensive coordinator to quarterbacks coach and Greg Studrawa moving to offensive coordinator before the 2011 season. Studrawa, a less seasoned play caller than Kragthorpe, likely benefitted from any added participation from Miles.
Reaching out to Cameron unsolicited, however, would seem to indicate that Miles is ready to relinquish some of that control.
“We want to use Cam’s concepts as it is appropriate and how it fits what we have done in the past,” Miles said. “We have some inherent strengths. Reviewing our personnel and being more efficient can rapidly make a difference offensively.”
That’s precisely what Cameron plans to do.
“It’s a great system,” he says, pointing to the playbooks now neatly stacked behind him. “I just want to build on it.”
Building often entails growing pains, and Cameron knows me may have to push Miles at times, as he did in their Michigan days.
“Les knows, number one, he’s going to get my honest opinion,” he says. “He and I both know we don’t always agree, and at time we agree to disagree, but when we step on the field or we step on the practice field or we step out of this office, we’re shoulder to shoulder on everything. Disagreement in this sport among coaches is in the staff room. And it doesn’t go beyond that.”
“He and I used to fight tooth and nail when we were assistants on the same staff,” he adds. “As we’re older now, we both know how to have a disagreement in a respectful way that will ultimately get done what we need done for LSU football.”
Cameron also knows, of course, that things have changed since those Michigan days - the most important being that he and Miles are no longer equals under another head coach.
These days, Miles is the boss.
“Every head coach reserves the right to put his fist down,” Cameron says. “The great ones all have that characteristic, and he’s got it.”
“The Highest Level”
As Cameron talks, it’s obvious he’s genuinely excited to be at LSU. For one, he’s back in business with one of his closest friends.
“You go around and look around the country at every level: how many great friends get a chance to coach together at the highest level?” he asks.
And yet, as that rhetorical question indicates, there’s more to Cameron’s enthusiasm than friendship. Cameron’s choice of words in that last prepositional phrase - “the highest level” - seems a misfit descriptor for college football, especially coming from a man with 14 years of NFL experience. But coupled with the earlier prepositional phrase - “at every level” - it becomes clear there’s nowhere else Cameron would rather be than back in college.
Sure, Cameron enjoyed his time in the NFL - “I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” he says - but college football coaching has always been in his heart.
“I never had a goal to be an NFL coach,” he says. “I just never thought of it. My dad was a high school coach, then a college coach. I never thought of it. The first NFL game I saw I coached in. It just goes to show you how in life, you just put your head down and go to work, and there’s no telling what plans God has for you. And here I am, I had the chance to coach in the National Football League for 14 years. And this is my 16th in college, and I’ve loved every second of these 30 years.”
Year 30 promises to be as challenging as any preceding. There are more than enough tools to work with at LSU, but Cameron inherits an offense that has been out of sync for the better part of four seasons. All the while, he’s getting used to a new environment, 125 new players, a newly revitalized friendship, and a new season in college football’s toughest conference.
It sounds like chaos, but as Cameron leans back at his desk, “Ernie” looming in the background, the parallel Post-its and stacked playbooks reveal a conclusive truth about Cameron and chaos.
He has it all under control.
Comments
2 Responses to “Crafty Cam”- TigerGumbo on August 13th, 2013 1:49 pm Obviously Cam Cameron thoroughly knows what he is talking about so I feel much better going into this LSU fighting tiger next college football season. Our LSU tiger football team now has the best football coaching staff that money can buy.
The 2013 LSU football players look like grown men to me. much improved and ready to fight.
Now the LSU fans and coaches and players must face the music together hoping that we become a winning team.
The opponent is doing what we are, the only question left to be answered is in the final outcome of the TCU vs LSU football game that we are about to play.
The investment is in the LSU players, our spirit will be with them at game time on the field in the Cowboy football stadium, Arlington Texas.- Phil Bolger on August 14th, 2013 6:55 pm
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