BATON ROUGE — LSU head coach Les Miles addressed the media on Monday for his weekly “Lunch with Les” press conference. Watch on-demand video of the press conference now.
Les Miles Press Luncheon
September 21, 2009
LSU HEAD COACH LES MILES
Opening statement…
“No matter what, you couldn’t be any better than 3-0. We’re certainly happy with how we’ve started by record. Coming off a 31-3 win against a good ULL team is positive. I told my team this morning, ?You play a team in this state that plays their best football, and we come away with a nice, decisive victory. Good job, but nobody is happy.’ We all understand that because the reality of where we’re at is we want to get better. We want to improve, and we don’t want to stop at good. We want to be better than good. I challenged my team this morning with that premise. I congratulated them with victory, but certainly we want to do better.
“I think the defense is playing better. We’ve played six quarters without a touchdown. That defense has room for improvement ? the understanding of calls, the overview of the defense and how you play your technique within that overview still understanding that needs to be accomplished. I think we’re much better at it, but at times, we were out of position and didn’t need to be. I think marked improvement must take place there, but we’re tackling, and with exception, I think we’re tackling much better. As that continues and the understanding of the call, I think our defense will get much better.
“Offensively, here I am. I’ve come off the game, and I’m mad. I didn’t think we rushed the football well enough. I always like to rush the football. We rushed for 175 yards. I’m sitting there going, ?Wow, when did we do that? Was I there?’ The reality of it is that we need to rush the football maybe a little bit earlier and a little bit better and more efficiently, but we’re still running the football pretty well, and I can’t lose sight of that. We can be better and certainly we’re going to. I don’t think change is necessary. I think it’s more efficient and better. I challenged our offensive line. I think our offensive line is a very capable offensive line, but we can play better, and I think they know that. I think they want better. I think they’ll come to play. I think they’ll prepare this week better.
“We can throw better. I think Jordan Jefferson is playing better. He’s managing the game better. He’s still keeping a wary eye on where he throws the ball. He pulls it down and runs at times. I think he can throw the deep ball a little bit more accomplished, and I think we’re going to work on that again and again, but he manages our game and really gets us out of trouble with his feet and does, in my opinion, a good job there. I think our receivers can catch it better. I think we had four drops in that game, and frankly, I challenged them. If you want to throw the football, which we do, and we have very capable receivers, let’s go make those catches, and let’s distance ourselves from our opponents. An opportunity would be a ball thrown just perfectly. That’s all well and good, but if you can catch it, catch it. We kind of challenged the offense across those lines.
“Josh Jasper is, in my opinion, having a nice start. He had a career-long 52-yard field goal. He’s kicking the ball off well, in my opinion. He’s giving us good hang time opportunity to cover the kicks. Derek Helton has his best evening punting the ball. We averaged a 44-yard net (punting). If we could do that for the rest of the year, certainly we’d lead the nation by yards. I think if we can average a net of 40 yards or 39 or 41, I think we’d lead the country. I think he did a heck of a job in what we called on him to do ? both hold on field goals and extra points and punt.
“(One of) the MVPs (of the game) was Chad Jones with two picks and 62 yards in return yardage. He was our Defensive MVP. The Offensive MVP with two touchdown catches was Brandon LaFell, and Derek Helton was our Special Teams MVP with the great day that he had punting.
“Mississippi State is 2-1, and they’re a very good football game. In my opinion, coach (Dan) Mullen has done a great job in the short term, getting this team to play hard and doing all the things that give you an opportunity to win. They’re running the football extremely well. This Anthony Dixon is, in my opinion, the best running back in the conference or one of the best running backs in the conference, averaging 107 yards per game and is a big, physical back. They’re playing a two-quarterback system with Chris Relf and Tyson Lee. Relf has thrown it for 167 yards and three touchdowns and rushes it for 178. They have the ability with two quarterbacks to run it and throw it. That makes them very dangerous. Their wide receiver and return specialist, Leon Berry is a very good receiver with good feet and is a very dangerous guy as a return man.
“Their defense is a veteran defense. Their linebacker (K.J.) Wright leads the team in tackles and is just a guy who is tough to block and is everywhere on the field, so today, we looked at the film this morning and felt like we needed to improve. We’re going to work on being a better football team.”
On the running game…
“I think there is not one piece that’s broke. If it was, it would be easy, but it’s a combination, and we have to settle in and just execute better. In the play call, I went right through and looked at the successful plays and those that were unsuccessful and certainly all of the rushes. It’s a guy who goes the wrong way in one direction, and it’s a guy who overleads in another, and it’s different. It’s different people. It’s not just one unit, so it’s certainly something that we can fix. The great news is that Charles Scott runs hard, and that’s consistent. We just have to give him the opportunity in several different personnel groups to do so.”
On the injuries on the defensive line, specifically Akiem Hicks, Josh Downs and Pep Levingston…
“I’m not really certain where we fall with those three guys. I think that all three are short-term injuries. It will be kind of a day-to-day and if not, this week or next week with those two guys, both Downs and Pep (Levingston). Hicks, coming off the flu, I don’t know exactly his specifics.”
On how he chooses who to feature in the game plan…
“It’s interesting. Keiland Williams could well have been in there for another 30 to 50 yards on an option play. If an offensive lineman would have blocked a guy, we would all be talking about Keiland Williams today. Those defenses that choose to roll down and play coverage over the top of an area, we choose to throw to the other spot. I hope that at some point in time, they don’t take R.J. (Jackson) so seriously, and we can throw it to him regularly. There’s always a piece of the game plan that’s based on what the opponents do. If the opponent covers something, then certainly we want to exploit it in another direction.”
On throwing the ball to WR Terrance Toliver with WR Brandon LaFell receiving more attention…
“I think it’s a combination of the fact that he’s getting better as a player and Jo Jo is getting a lot of attention. We’d like for him to have his hands on more balls to be honest with you.”
On breaking in young receivers and if Miles thinks we’ll see less of the bruising running backs with the gradual shift to spread offenses…
“I think there is always a great place for a big, powerful back who makes a great cut and is difficult to tackle. I think Anthony Dixon in football will always have that opportunity. I don’t think it really makes a big difference what style or set he’s in. He’s going to have success. It is difficult to break in a number of new receivers. There is an issue with their blocking. There is an issue with them receiving the ball and understanding what they’re doing and to what level will they be able to execute. I think coach Mullen and that staff has done a great job with some of those young guys and the fact that they are on the field and performing very well.”
On S Chad Jones…
“I think Chad is gaining confidence back there. That’s his natural position. Certainly, I think he performed well and made two nice interceptions. The thing that you may not have seen was maybe as fine a special teams tackle as I’ve seen in quite some time. He came down and put his helmet right into the chest of the receiver on the kickoff and drove him. Those were big plays, and as soon as I say that, I want to say it this way. I’m not happy with him, and he better not be happy with him. He needs to continue to develop and continue to grow. These are games that we’ve won. Those aren’t nearly as important as the games we’ve yet to play, and if he’s ready to play in games we’ve yet to play, that’s what I want to see.”
On a specific fourth-down play involving Charles Scott…
“That was a power play, and it was off-tackle. It came off the back end of the formation. The defense made a great call and stopped that play.”
On the rule change involving seven men on the line of scrimmage…
“You have to have seven on the line scrimmage. We were in violation of that. We had a freshman receiver on that play that lined up off the line and should have lined up on the line. What they decided not to penalize you for is if you have fewer or less than five in the backfield. In other words, if you have a 10-man formation and you don’t have them lined up in the backfield but you have them on the line of scrimmage, then they won’t penalize you. That’s really the change.”
On preventing the team from being over-confident…
“Any time you line up against an SEC opponent, they have talent. I think all of our guys respect the team that we see on film. I think the victory that they (Mississippi State) had at Vanderbilt was a big win for them and just lets our guys know that we have to play well. It does not take much for an opponent to gain our respect, and certainly, all they have to do is show the talent and skill on the film. Our team recognizes it and will play to that, not the history of the series. The history of the series may be the least significant statistic that predicts any outcome.”
On the early kickoff…
“They tell me it’s going to be early. To be honest with you, I kind of look forward to kickoff time. They tell me too that we’ll be wearing our purple uniforms, the purple jerseys, so I’ll enjoy that day.”
On if his statement about Chad Jones applies to many guys on the team…
“That applies to our football team, not just Chad. Our team has to recognize that we’re gaining speed, and we need to hit another level at Mississippi State and then continue on throughout the schedule.”
On starting 4-0 last year…
“I have not mentioned that. That hasn’t been an issue to me. The issue is the improvement and development. I can tell you that if you look to last year, I think that there is a great want to achieve at a higher level than we did last year. I think any time you talk about last year, you don’t have to talk about similarities. It’s last year. It’s a painful thought.”
On how the young players on the defensive line performed against ULL…
“That’s a great point. I had a specific young defender in mind when I said that, and now, I’m sitting there say, ?OK now, let’s not play too recklessly. Play within the scheme of the defense.’ I think it’s young defenders. I think it’s one where we are going to have some really good play, and we’re going to have to hone in and grow great play. There’s work to do there.”
On Richard Dickson‘s injury…
“If he’s unable to go, that would be a loss. He probably could have finished the game had we needed him to, so we don’t expect him not to practice or not to play.”
On if the interceptions last year have made the team more reluctant to look down field more frequently…
“Did you happen to notice in about the first quarter of the game that we threw the ball down field? We couldn’t have thrown it any deeper. In fact, we said, ?Chuck it.’ He (Jefferson) threw it just about as far as he could. The problem was that we didn’t hit any of those. I don’t think there is any reluctance to throw those balls. I just think we need to be better at it. I think we have a quarterback that has the arm and all the ability in the world. We just have to guide him and get him comfortable throwing those balls. There are times where he gets so excited that he sees it wide open, he wants to get there as fast as he can, and the enthusiasm of the play is spelled out, ?I need to deliver the ball.’ We need to comfort him and tell him that it’s just that same throw that he makes all the time in practice.”
On if he’s disappointed in the offense to this point…
“It’s not disappointed. I would expect them at this point to be playing at a higher level. That’s all. I think that they can certainly achieve that. I think that they want to be a dominant group, and they are not there yet. I think they understand that. I think they look forward to practice and look forward to getting better.”
On if he feels his team is deserving of its poll ranking…
“I have to be real honest with you. I do not look up. I don’t care. On the back end, I may start caring, but on the front end, I really don’t care what we’re ranked. I just want to be better than the team I’m about to play, and I’d like to do that every week. I can’t tell you who the best teams in the country are because I frankly I don’t get to see them every week. I don’t know who’s hot and who’s not. I know I vote, and I’m excited to vote. I do a great job, but I have to be very honest. I vote based on record and things that are not significant. I vote on what appears to be the best and most logical choice, but when you get to the back end of the season, you’ll be more pointed and your rankings will certainly make a difference, so I have no idea what the seventh-ranked team in the country is supposed to look like and only hope we can play better than that.”
On if his poll is similar to what is coming out in the coaches’ poll…
“Yes, I think it’s representative. I think there may be a team or two that I like higher than some of the other guys. I favor our conference. I think it’s the best conference in the country. I have some other favorites in other conferences that I probably have an emotional attachment to that I kind of give a point or two, but that’s early. Things play out late.”
On using so many formations offensively…
“I think we’re looking for the best recipe in whatever we do, and I don’t think we’ve hit it just yet. I can tell you that I think we are on things and making strides, but I don’t know if we’ve hit our pace just yet, and we’re working at it. I’m not so certain that Russell Shepard doesn’t deserve some more snaps. It seems like every time he touches the ball it’s pretty exciting. I think we have good players, and it will be the offensive staff’s task to get the ball in the hands of the playmakers. I think we’re doing that. We’re doing it with a little difficulty, but we’re doing it.”
On the play of the fullbacks and backup tight ends…
“I think Tyler Edwards is really improved. If you watched his plays, he made the best of them. He is a very physical player, and he can catch it, so his stock is rising. Mitch Joseph did the things he was supposed to do, and we have to ask more of him. I think James Stampley and Richard Dugas are both improving, and we look forward to them taking more snaps.”
On what Washington’s win over USC says about his team…
“I kind of enjoyed watching that game and seeing how we compared. I don’t know that the comparison is fair considering that USC was without their starting quarterback and didn’t appear to me that they could throw it very well, but I think it speaks to the fact that (Jake) Locker and Washington are a very good football team. I don’t think it really tells a significant story about USC, only that our first game in their stadium was maybe worth more than just what they (the fans) thought ? just a victory. Maybe it was a good football team like we thought going in and really they proved to us as we left the stadium. I enjoyed watching that game. Again, I hate to see an injury decide any game, but I thought that Washington earned the victory.”
On if he thinks the offensive line is better equipped for option runs and misdirections than power football…
“No, I really don’t. I think we have multiple guards and big, strong, capable tackles. I think that speaks to power football or pulling and option and just anything you want. I think we have a quality group of guys athletically, and I just think we need to play better.”
On Mississippi State’s defensive line traditionally…
“I think everybody on the defensive line has to be athletic, and obviously, if you’re big and athletic, that’s an advantage, but I think you can always play with a strong, lean defensive lineman that can get into seams and be that guy one-on-one, not only on the pass rush but the run blocking, so I think they have a quality defensive line. I know that in the past they may have had some really big interior guys, but they’re just as productive.”
On T-Bob Hebert…
“In every game, we talk about what are credible plays, statistics and what is not a play, but just is a play that was incredible. Jo Jo LaFell makes a catch really on a stop route, and beats a guy and scores. That’s pretty incredible. We felt like Chad Jones‘ tackle on maybe the first or second kickoff was an incredible play, and T-Bob Hebert‘s 12 knockdowns in that game, taking people off their feet, was listed by the coaching staff as an incredible statistic.”
On if he feels bogged down by having too many ingredients to work in on offense…
“I don’t think it’s the amount of talent. I think it’s the different talents of the guys we have. If one guy had a combination of skills, certainly he’d be the guy receiving all the touches, but there is one Trindon Holliday and one Charles Scott. They’re different, so you try to use different skills and get them all a different style of touch, so yes, it’s a bog down that takes organization, good thought and the opportunity to play it. I’m thankful that we have several choices.”
On QB Jarrett Lee‘s touchdown pass against ULL and his overall attitude this year…
“I think that Jarrett Lee has done a great job. He wants to help this football team. Certainly he was happy with that throw. I can tell you that when he came on that field and threw that little screen that kept the drive going when Jefferson came off because of a cramp or whatever it was that he came off the field for, he was as excited as anything he’s ever done. That just speaks to him being a good, quality team man and just wants to help in anyway that he can. I don’t think it is really important whose decision it was to throw the football, coach (Gary) Crowton or myself. It was something that was best for the time, and the quarterback responded with the right execution.”