BLOG: Monday with Miles

Miles says Kwon Alexander could be done for rest of regular season (ankle)

By RICHARD FISCHER
Tiger Rag Associate Editor

As our partner Hunt Palmer has pointed out, this will be an interesting week for the LSU football team.

The Tigers will be prepping for a game the week after a loss for the first time in almost three years.

You’d have to go all the way back to LSU’s game-ending blunders in Oxford near the end of the 2009 season for the last time the Tigers had to prep for another game the week after a loss (remember, LSU had a bye week after losing to Auburn in 2010). Following Ole Miss in 2009, the Tigers knocked off Arkansas 33-30 in overtime to round out the regular season.

How will the Tigers respond mentally? I think we’ll get a pretty good idea from Les Miles’ demeanor today at his weekly Monday meeting with the media. He said all the right things after the loss 14-6 in Gainesville. What will be his mood with 36 hours to chew on the defeat?

Boy, he’ll have a lot to address. From the struggling offensive line, to the receivers who can’t get open, to Zach Mettenberger’s struggles, to Kevin Minter’s monumental performance, to the defense’s inability to do the impossible and hold up for more than 37 minutes in time of possession.

Then, oh by the way, Miles has to get his squad ready for a South Carolina opponent that could be playing at a higher level than at any time in the history of the program. The Gamecocks’ No. 3 ranking is one off the highest in school history, and Steve Spurrier has his team believing that they are indeed an SEC and national title contender.

Miles will also need to address injuries. News broke yesterday that LB Kwon Alexander could be done for the year with a broken ankle, and the coach will surely be asked about the status of RG Josh Williford and RB Alfred Blue.

Check back to this page for live updates from the press conference. Tiger Rag Editor Cody Worsham will man our Twitter site @Tiger_Rag so look for that as well. It is scheduled to start at approximately 12:30 p.m.

12:45 p.m. Update

Miles steps to the podium about 10 minutes late. No surprise there.

Miles starts by says his team is stung a little by the outcome. Miles starts out by saying that he wants Tiger Stadium to be loud Saturday. They might need it to be.

Coach says team is in a state of change. That’s interesting. He could be a lot of different things by that. Hopefully, he’ll elaborate on that later, but I’m not so sure I like the chances of that.

He talks about taking advantage of what the defense gives him. He wants to force defenders out of the box to make running easier. That can only be done by establishing a better passing attack. He says he wants to give guys like Spencer Ware more touches on offense. He acknowledges that the offense needs to control the game more with a defense that should stop most teams that they play.

Miles says he wishes they would have dialed up different plays from the Florida seven right before half.

“For the first time in a year and a half we’re talking about a midseason loss. It’s miserable.”

12:51 p.m. Update

“We are a predictable bunch. We’re going to run it or we’re going to pass it.” He says that most offenses in college football are predictable and the predictability makes the decision to throw it or pass it easier. He made it sound like LSU is making no effort not to be predictable. That was not a very good answer. The defense is certainly dictating what LSU can and can’t do. Not the other way around. And there’s no advantage to keeping it that way against good defenses, or any defenses for that matter.

“We’re all doing what we’ve done for the last number of years and there’s no reason to make changes in my mind,” on any possible changes in who makes calls on offense.

Miles dodges a question about why the offensive players have developed slower than the defenders in recent years.

Miles says Luke Muncie’s back to full strength, and Kwon Alexander will probably be gone for the remainder of the regular season. He may be back for the bowl game. He broke his ankle Saturday.

1:00 p.m. Update

Miles says a lot was expected of Mett. He said he saw improvement in the last game save for one throw. That’s not saying a lot from the way he played against Towson.

Miles says that he and Coach Stud settled on the plays at the goal line long before the game. He says Stud called the game plan and he was right there with him. Miles says Stud does the play calling during the game. Miles says he has an imprint on the game plan. No word on how strong. He clarifies that in retrospect he wishes they made different calls at the goal line because they didn’t work.

1:04 p.m. Update

Miles says offensive scheme is fine. Team just needs to execute it better.

Miles says Williford could be ready by Saturday but if not an “able-bodied person would step in.” He completely dodges whether that would mean Trai Turner or Josh D. with a week to prep at guard. Lots of misleading answers from Miles today.