By CODY WORSHAM
Tiger Rag Editor
LSU
head coach Les Miles welcomes the cool weather that hit Baton Rouge
following Saturday's win over Mississippi State in Starkville.
It's likely because he knows LSU's SEC schedule isn't cooling off anytime soon.
The
Tigers (5-1, 2-1 SEC) will face three currently ranked teams in their
final five SEC games, beginning with No. 17 Florida (4-1, 3-0 SEC) at
2:30 p.m. Saturday in Tiger Stadium.
"They look a lot better than (No.) 17,” Miles said.
That
could be because Florida ranks as the SEC's best defense across the
board. The Gator defense is allowing just 12 points and 217 yards per
game, just a year after it held LSU to six points in a victory over the
Tigers in The Swamp – a game Miles recalls without warmth.
"We
turned the ball over late in the game,” Miles said, recalling Odell
Beckham Jr.'s late fumble that allowed Florida to take a 14-6 lead they
wouldn't relinquish. "If we don't, maybe we take the lead and it's a
completely different game. I can tell you that Florida was very good
that day, and we have to give them credit. They're a talented team. I
think our guys fought very well. We finished second that day.”
Florida's
defense is just as good, if not better, but it's LSU's offense that has
taken the biggest strides in the year since the two teams last faced.
Zach Mettenberger, the reigning SEC Player of the Week, will enter
Saturday's contest as the SEC's most efficient passer, and he'll hope to
improve on an 11-of-25 performance against the Gators a year ago.
"What
he's doing is facilitating victory, playing well,” Miles said of his
senior quarterback. "I can't imagine that he won't be motivated right on
through this season with the idea that there are opportunities for this
team to achieve and achieve greatly.
"I think Zach is just
playing just how we need him to play at home or on the road,” Miles
added. "He's the leader. He's in charge of communication, and he's
doing it extremely well. He just gives you advantages, not only with
his arm, but with his mind and how he approaches the game.”
Miles
also attributed Mettenberger and the LSU offense's improvement to the
presence of first-year coordinator Cam Cameron. It was exactly what
Miles said he expected when he hired Cameron in February, just months
after he had been let go in Baltimore.
"I felt like it was just
exactly the right pieces or factors to come together,” Miles said. "You
have a veteran quarterback that can really throw it. You have a
veteran receiving corps that can really run routes and receive the ball.
I don't underestimate our offense, nor do I underestimate Cam. I
think he's a great coach.”
Asked to pinpoint why Cameron's made
such a quick impact on the offense, which is averaging over 488 yards
and 45.5 points per game, Miles said it's his ability to communicate
with his players, as well as his players' ability to connect with him.
"Cam
is a unique teacher in the fact that he can approach situations and
teach it in such a fashion that he's speaking to the person that he's
teaching, not necessarily a coach of 30 years, but basically getting
through to that college aged student-athlete that this is what we want,”
Miles said.
"In the same vein, I think Zach in his fifth year or
in his final year in college kind of looks around and goes, 'I kind of
got this. I understand this.' Then to take a mentor that can fine tune
the thought process, I just think it's exactly the right thing. It's
getting out of his hand quickly. He's aggressive in his thinking.
"I think it's the perfect match.”
Cameron's
quick success has some speculating that he could receive job offers
from college or professional programs. Miles thinks that's a
possibility, but he expects Cameron to enjoy his time in college for
now.
"I think he enjoys the college player,” Miles said. "I think
he enjoys recruiting. He's somebody that is committed to, in my mind,
making LSU the best they can be. His short-term goals are to win and
win very big. I think he'd be a great head coach in the college game or
for that matter the pro game. Again, right now he's in college. I
think he sees his opportunities in college, and I think he'll have
them.”
It's good for Miles that the offense has thrived under
Cameron, because the defense has been unreliable under John Chavis. The
Tigers are giving up more than 25 points per game on the season. In
three conference games, LSU has allowed an average of 466.3 yards per
game, 10th in the SEC in conference games only.
But
Miles sees improvement in his troops, which gave up just three points in
the second half to Mississippi State after surrendering 88 points and
1,093 yards in the eight quarters preceding. He was particularly pleased
with how the Tigers adjusted to several new schemes and formations the
Bulldogs used for the first time, schemes that plagued LSU in the first
half but that the Tigers bottled up easily in the second.
"I
think Chief's doing a great job,” he said, "and I think our guys took a
stride and I think they'll continue to take steps there.”
Two
players who stepped into the lineup and gave LSU's defense a boost were
freshman cornerback Rashard Robinson and sophomore safety Corey
Thompson, and Miles had praise for the play of both.
"Rashard's a
really exceptional guy in the fact that he's really ready for
football,” Miles said of his freshman corner, whose enrollment to LSU
was delayed beyond the start of practice because of a clearinghouse
issue. "There's a guy that can step on the campus and say, okay,
football I understand. We've got to make sure he gets ready
academically and understands his role. But he's one of those guys that
understands football. You put him aside that 100-yard spot, and he's
ready.”
"I like Corey Thompson,” Miles added. " I thought that he
handled the position extremely well. I thought he communicated with
the secondary, made the calls. He made some tackles. Now there were
some times that I didn't like his angle to the tackle, but you know
what? He's really playing in his first starting role. So I'm going to
accept that he'll continue to improve. I think you can win with Corey
Thompson.”
LSU COACH LES MILES WEEKLY PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
COACH
MILES: How about this cool weather, huh? Really last warm day, I
guess. I look forward to being home in Tiger Stadium. I can tell you
that playing on the road is certainly a challenge and it's really a lot
of fun. Again, the LSU faithful travels well, and we saw a lot of
purple and gold in Mississippi and enjoyed, again, how we're followed.
I also want to reiterate welcome back the 2003 National
Championship team I was fortunate to coach a couple years of those guys,
and welcome. They're a very important part of our tradition, and I
look forward to seeing some of them this weekend.
Any time that you go on the road and you face a noisy environment and
some things from a team that's had a couple of weeks to prepare for you,
you're basically taking them in stride and schedule. You would expect
to get a very good effort from them. They certainly provided us with
that. I have to say that our team is growing up a little bit. It kind
of felt like the way the offense handled the scoring, making sure that
they answered at every turn certainly made a difference. The score just
before half, in my opinion, was just what we needed.
Offense, again, another great effort, 59 points threw for 563
yards. Again, good balance. 223 yards rushing. Jeremy Hill with 157,
Kenny Hilliard with three touchdowns inside the red zone, threw the ball
well. Zach had four incompletions on the day, threw for two
touchdowns.
Receivers, again, doing a good job. I
like the fact that Travin Dural got a catch, I like the fact that Odell
Beckham for 179 yards, two touchdowns. Landry 8 for just under 100
yards. I like the fact that those guys are being really called on
week in and week out. That's what they expect. That's what they want.
That's how we'll treat them.
Certainly we've got
to fix a poor decision on a throw, but certainly that's something
that's easy to do, and we will get that accomplished.
I think Zach is just playing just how we need him to play at home
or on the road. He's the leader. He's in charge of communication, and
he's doing it extremely well. My opinion really a one of those guys
that are on the field just gives you advantages, not only with his arm,
but with his mind and how he approaches the game. He's also the SEC
offensive player of the week. Again, very, very strong performance by
him.
We get down in the red zone tight zone and
running the pass just seemed to be very difficult for those teams to
defend us. Again, defensively, proud of Chief. I felt like the staff
did a great job.
Anytime you run into things that you see for the first
time, and I'm just looking at probably four schemes that a team ran for
the very first time against our defense, and some pass routes that were
completely kind of seen for the first time in that practice and in that
game, I should say, not in practice, that defense needs some
adjustment. I thought they did a really fine job. I think that they
realize that any win on the road is going to take great effort and
energy. They came into the second half defensively and allowed three
points. We scored 31 and certainly that was the difference.
Again, I think Chief's doing a great job, and I think our
guys took a stride and I think they'll continue to take steps there.
Special teams, Jamie Keehn punted it twice, averaged 46
yards. Hairston had six touchbacks. Again, I think we're doing a
really sound job there. I think Colby Delahoussaye is a guy that we've
got a five yard penalty, backed him up, took points off the board.
That's a pain when you're a kicker, and he just stepped right back in
there and hit it. Again, that's just what we needed.
On to Florida. We'll be challenged. A very, very talented team.
They have good players. They'll be coming to Tiger Stadium. Any time
that we get these two teams matched up, I can think back into '07, and
think back into times that we've faced Florida in this stadium, they've
always been very competitive, a great challenge certainly to both teams.
So good, quality Florida team, ranked number 17, which in my opinion,
they look a lot better than 17. They're the No. 1 team defensively in
the league. They're allowing 12 points, 217 yards, 65 yards rushing and
152 yards passing. They lead in all major defensive categories.
Again, a very sound scheme. They don't give up big plays. Again, Will
Muschamp does a great job with that defense.
Offensively they're averaging 25 points, just under 400 yards a game,
107 yards rushing and 200 yards passing. And they, again, good balance.
The quarterback is a play maker. Tyler Murphy, and they have two
very, very quality running backs and this Trey Burton comes in. He's a
play maker.
He leads them in receiving, and he can play quarterback
kick. I thought he seems like we've been playing that guy for a long
time. We need check his eligibility.
But a very,
very quality team and we're looking forward to getting to work on him
today. It's a workday. We look forward to welcoming Florida to Tiger
Stadium, and we expect that it will be a loud, very, very home team
friendly crowd.
Q. When
you hired Cam Cameron, did you ever in your wildest dreams think the
passing game could look like this in year one?
COACH MILES: I can tell you, I felt like it was just exactly
the right pieces or factors to come together. You have a veteran
quarterback that can really throw it. You have a veteran receiving
corps that can really run routes and receive the ball. Yeah, I really
did. I don't underestimate our offense, nor do I underestimate Cam. I
think he's a great coach.
Q. Can you talk in detail about Zach? Talk about your wildest dreams,
25 out of 29 and two drops. What is the challenge for him going
forward. How do you handle it when the getting is good?
COACH MILES: What he's doing is facilitating victory,
playing well. His piece of his contribution, if you will, is going to
be based on how well we do and what the final scores are. So some days
throwing for 250 is not enough. You're going to have to throw for 300.
It's based on what's needed for victory.
I can't
imagine that he won't be motivated right on through this season with
the idea that there are opportunities for this team to achieve and
achieve greatly.
Q.
Looking back to last year, why did your offense struggle so badly
against Florida's defense? How improved are they now going into this
game as opposed to that unit you brought to Gainesville last year?
COACH MILES: Well, I think that we've found that I
think it was a great effort going both ways. We turned the ball over
late in the game. If we don't, maybe we take the lead and it's a
completely different game. I can tell you that Florida was very good
that day, and we have to give them credit. They're a talented team. I
think our guys fought very well. So finished second that day.
Q. The way your defense adjusted and executed in the
second half, how can you guys use that to move forward defensively as
you approach the Florida game?
COACH
MILES: Well, really all we have to do is play our technique and do the
things that we're being coached to do and be confident and play with
poise that that's all we need to do. That's it. It's the things that
we've coached you to do, and accept the adjustment in a like fashion and
play. Tackle well and do the things that we're used to doing, and our
football team, for that matter our defense, will take strides really
each week.
Q. What are
the short term goals for Rashard Robinson, and how impressive for a kid
to show up three days before things get rolling and to already be out
there with the physicality and whatnot?
COACH MILES: Rashard's a really exceptional guy in the fact that
he's really ready for football. There's a guy that can step on the
campus and say, okay, football I understand. We've got to make sure he
gets ready academically and understands his role. But he's one of those
guys that understands football. You put him aside that 100 yard spot,
and he's ready.
Q. Could
you just we got to talk to Cam for the first time this season and
just kind of gauge his take on how it's progressing. What are your
expectations for him moving forward to finish off this year? Again, how
much better can Zach get, how much better can he get as far as the
duties that he has? How comfortable do you think he is in the college
game? Do you think this is a pit stop for him or is he moving on to
something else?
COACH MILES: No, I
think he is I think he enjoys the college player. I think he enjoys
recruiting. He's somebody that is committed to, in my mind, making LSU
the best they can be. His short term goals are to win and win very big.
I think Cam is a guy that will have long term I think he'd be a
great head coach in the college game or for that matter the pro game.
Again, right now he's in college. I think he sees his opportunities in
college, and I think he'll have them.
Q. You talked in your opening statement, what did Cam
change in his approach in terms of the presnap and how he reads things
and how he sees things before he lets the ball go. What kind of change
in process was it?
COACH MILES:
It's interesting. I think one, I think Cam is a unique teacher in the
fact that he can approach situations and teach it in such a fashion that
he's speaking to the person that he's teaching, not necessarily a coach
of 30 years, but basically getting through to that college aged
student athlete that this is what we want.
In the
same vein, I think Zach in his fifth year or in his final year in
college kind of looks around and goes, I kind of got this. I understand
this. Then to take a mentor that can fine tune the thought process. I
just think it's exactly the right thing. It's getting out of his hand
quickly. He's aggressive in his thinking. Yeah, I think it's kind of
the perfect match, if you will.
I think there are
some guys that Cam would have to have detailed it maybe a little bit
differently. The change in the week to week game plan would not be as
wide. You'd have to go at a pace that the quarterback could use and
still be successful, but not necessarily as advanced as Zach was when he
got here. He's had some good coaches, and now you're really getting to
the back end of a guy's career and coaching him somewhat differently
where he can accept the changes and understand the changes and make a
difference.
Q. The
changes you made in the secondary, obviously Loston was out and that's
why Thompson had to play. What was the thought process then behind
inserting Rashard at the corner and moving Mills back to the nickel spot
on the nickel package?
COACH MILES:
He's a very physical guy. He made a lot of tackles in that game and
played extremely well inside. Rashard's a guy that really is probably
ready to play corner. That was the where is Rashard ready to play?
He's most capable at the corner spot, then we have a good nickel in
Mills. So that's why we moved him inside.
Q. Injury update, Tajh Jones, Loston and Jarvis Landry?
COACH MILES: Yeah, I really don't see any of those guys
missing this game. We'll have to see how it goes. I think probably
the one that is furthest away is Tajh.
Q. There's been a big jump in the successive third down
conversions, particularly long third downs. What's been the biggest
change from last year to this year? Is there still anything that you'd
like to see still be improved?
COACH
MILES: Well, we're constantly wanting improvement. But I think there
is an acceptance that there is a certain percentage that when you have
success on third down and long position, that you certainly accept what
you're getting. I think we understand that we're having success and
it's really benefiting us.
Q. At this point in the season, is the answer more contact during
practice, or is it just kind of teaching other things and less contact?
COACH MILES: I don't know exactly what you said in the
beginning, but what we're looking for is we're still teaching contact
technique. There is a point in time where your players have to realize
that this is a technical game and that this is what you have to go
through. I don't think that contact is necessary to teach that kind of
technical ability. I think that you understand how important the small
things are in your daily regiment, that you can continue to improve.
Not necessarily tackling a guy to the ground, but will tackle,
legitimately tackle every day.
Q. I realize offenses are going crazy. But can you win a championship giving up 25 points a game?
COACH MILES: Well, I just wanted to win the next game.
And I want to win the next game by one more than the opponent. If we
can continue to do that, we'll get to the back end of this thing and
look back and go, yes or no. But in any event, that's really all about
the very next game.
I can tell you this: It's
not nearly as much fun when it's a game that you feel like you may have
to just score more than the opponent. I like how our defense is coming,
and I think we'll get back to great LSU defense very quickly.
Q. With Craig out on Saturday, what exactly were you
missing in your secondary, if anything? And what did you see from
Corey?
COACH MILES: I like Corey
Thompson. I thought that he handled the position extremely well. I
thought he communicated with the secondary, made the calls. He made
some tackles. Now there were some times that I didn't like his angle to
the tackle, but you know what? He's really playing in his first
starting role. So I'm going to accept that he'll continue to improve. I
think you can win with Corey Thompson.
Q. In recent years we've seen an influx of smaller,
faster along the front seven players, is that strategy because the
offenses are opening up to a spread more or y'all are recruiting the
best players to come in?
COACH
MILES: I think it's a real interest of defenses to have athletic guys
in that spread. Those guys that can really chase around a quarterback
that's really mobile. I think there is a need, if you will, to have
that fast guy that might even be able to go underneath that offensive
tackle into the back field on the pass rush.
So
those two things probably have factored into the need to get a little
bit more athletic guy at the loss, if you will, of size and range.
Q. You're number one in the league in red zone offense.
Is that a product of just being much better offensively this year, or
do you think there are specific things that you have done that have paid
off in the red zone that maybe you weren't doing a year ago?
COACH MILES: Well, we're spending a little bit more
time in the red zone and the tight zone. I still think we're going
through this same process. I think maybe we're a little bit better team
down there than we've been. I certainly it's all about the next
game and the need for that trend to continue.
Q. With Florida being the number one defensive team in
the SEC, if Zach were to have an exceptional game, would you be in favor
of allowing him to be promoted for the Heisman Trophy or some other
such? And how do you handle something like that when a player gets to
that point? Is it a difficult thing for you?
COACH MILES: No, it's not a difficult thing for me. I was
around Desmond Howard as a Heisman Trophy winner. I would expect that
Zach would handle that kind of scrutiny, if you will, pretty well,
considering the things that he's already kind of handled very well in
this season.
But, again, I think we're cart
before the horse there. I think you'll find that all those people that
are in the running for national awards, their team does extremely well.
If that continues, I think that there will be a large number of
national awards for Zach as well as other guys.
Q. Could you talk a little bit more about Tyler Murphy
and maybe how their offense has changed since he took over? Do you have
enough tape to get a good feel on what kind of guy he is?
COACH MILES: Well, he's a guy that's very athletic.
He's a guy that can throw the football. They've run a number of wide
kind of reverses and fake reverses and those things. So it's an offense
that's diverse. But, again, I think that the trigger man is certainly
the guy that makes good decisions. I think he's thrown five touchdown
passes and one interception, plays smart and does what the coaches ask
him to do.
Q. Being on
your side of it, do you see a defense that has room for growth and they
are maybe doing some things that they need to do better, maybe the
offence as well. Do you see them doing better?
COACH MILES: Yeah, I like this game, especially later in
the game that our defensive line we're handling 2 on 1, and 1 on 1
blocks and still making point of attack tackles. To me, the defensive
line up front is continuing to play better and must. I think our
linebackers have to play that tween position, if you will, between the
run and the pass, and be able to come down the hill and make really
quality tackles while covering the underneath route.
I think that there's definitely room for improvement. I don't think
that we've gotten to the high side of the water mark, if will you, of
our defense. I think it's taking strides. I think they took a really
nice stride last Saturday. I think our guys will see this film and go,
yeah. That's what we're capable of. That's how we need to play. Let's
continue to move in that direction.
Q. Coach, you mentioned the linebackers. Do you anticipate
any change there moving forward as did you with the secondary, getting
some fresh, younger guys?
COACH
MILES: Yeah, it will be interesting. There's a number of young backers
there that can see the field. I kind of there's some athletic guys
that we've yet to get to the field as frequently as we'd like. We'll
have to see. I think there is some movement there. Again, it's one of
those spots where we have some talented guys.
Q. Any particular reason why you didn't use a back up quarterback in the winning minutes of the game?
COACH MILES: Well, one of the reasons is we wanted to
have a four minute feel and wanted that quarterback to be on the field,
our quarterback, and have the ability to milk the clock, put him in that
situation and run it out. We were just going to hand the football off
for the entire time, and we really didn't feel like we needed to make
that change for that quarterback. I think he's fine. I think he'll
understand how to play in competitive situations. Again, more the
training of Zach, not wanting to play the other quarterback.
WASHINGTON,
DC – OCTOBER 08: U.S. President Barack Obama speaks during a press
conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House on
October 8, 2013 in Washington, DC. Now in the eighth day of a government
shutdown, Obama and his Democratic allies have reiterated to House
Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) that they will negotiate but only after
Republicans vote to approve a clean extension of government spending and
authorize an increase in the debt limit. Credit: Getty Images
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