Be honest
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Getting a good recruiting class on campus next year would be the signal that we are definitely headed in the right direction.
It was time for us to get a new coach and I think we made the right hire. But, there is no column called "Almost Won". I'm enjoying the excitement and the progress we've made, but the bottom line is still Wins and Losses.
If we go through all of this hype and don't get the talent we need, then I think there will be some disappointed Bulldog fans in the years to come. The key is recruiting and actually getting the guys on campus and in uniform. If Mullen can do that, then I think he has everything else needed to take us where we want to go.
I feel better about the team and its future. Yet, I'm still wary of the unknowns.
It was time for us to get a new coach and I think we made the right hire. But, there is no column called "Almost Won". I'm enjoying the excitement and the progress we've made, but the bottom line is still Wins and Losses.
If we go through all of this hype and don't get the talent we need, then I think there will be some disappointed Bulldog fans in the years to come. The key is recruiting and actually getting the guys on campus and in uniform. If Mullen can do that, then I think he has everything else needed to take us where we want to go.
I feel better about the team and its future. Yet, I'm still wary of the unknowns.
Croom had a pretty good last class, and Mullen pretty much kept it together, and not only that, he enhanced it.
Our current class is looking pretty good to, so far.
Our current class is looking pretty good to, so far.
good post. The excitement is tremendous but we're still a little more than a quarterback away. What's disappointing is that we've had chances to put many points on the board and we didn't do it. Our offense is moving the ball fairly well, but we're screwing up near and in the red zone and not getting it done. I think Mullen's philosophy of find the energy and will to win is correct. That's why I think so many top teams will overcome bad performances and win the games they should have lost. We are still trying to win the games we should win. Also, Mullen's razzle dazzle has burned us on the fake punt and on the goal line vs. LSU. Even the first play of the season, the long pass semi trick play, was not imo a good call for the time.
We could be good next year, but it ain't guaranteed. I'm hoping.
We could be good next year, but it ain't guaranteed. I'm hoping.
I like the offensive philosophy and what appears to be an all-around more aggressive team. However, I don't want Mullen to end up being just a good motivator and x's and o's guy without being able to pull in the talent we need to compete. I think it's likely that he's able to do it based on the commits we have now and him taking care of business with the last class - as you had stated. But, this will be the first "Dan Mullen Class". The last one was largely assembled before he stepped foot on campus. I'm feeling good about it right now, but I'm reserving judgment until we see what kind of talent Mullen can get on campus next year.
we have Kaleb Euells, I think Vick Ballard is going to be a steal at RB, Micheal Carr is a good player, Curtis Virges will probably be a good player for us at DT, and I also think that Brandon Hill is going to be a good player on defense for us as well.
Not to mention, we already have two of the better players in Mississippi committed as juniors- Nick Redmond, and CJ Johnson.
I think we are likely to see a lull as far as commitments until Dec. I think the guys that wanted to commit early have committed already.
Not to mention, we already have two of the better players in Mississippi committed as juniors- Nick Redmond, and CJ Johnson.
I think we are likely to see a lull as far as commitments until Dec. I think the guys that wanted to commit early have committed already.
but seriously we are 3-5. We beat MTSU, JSU, and Vandy....that's it. We beat two Div.1-A (or whatever it's called now) teams. We did have some close games against good teams so it appears we are moving in the right direction. I realize our schedule is brutal and our former coach left us with no real great option at QB. Talking about raises and other teams hiring our coach are way premature at this point.
.......that we'd hired certainly someone better than what we had. But now I genuinely believe Mullen is a very good head coach on his way to being great after a learning/building season is under his belt. I don't know if it'll translate to wins, because it's still about the players in the long run. We'll have to see if he can plug in the holes in the next recruiting class.
All I know is that a bad head coach wouldn't have given every one of those top 15 teams on our schedule a run for their money like Mullen did. The effort and intensity has never dropped off. The hustle always seems to be there, such as the great effort by McPhee and others to block down field on Banks' 100 yard INT return. That's coaching. I'm truly convinced now that Byrne made a great hire.
All I know is that a bad head coach wouldn't have given every one of those top 15 teams on our schedule a run for their money like Mullen did. The effort and intensity has never dropped off. The hustle always seems to be there, such as the great effort by McPhee and others to block down field on Banks' 100 yard INT return. That's coaching. I'm truly convinced now that Byrne made a great hire.
Knute Rockne would not have a winning season at State this year. I think Mullen deserves slack. We have an offense now. We still have a good defense. Special teams are suddenly much more special again. We are a decent QB and a few more linemen from being special. And that's a long way from the shambles of recent years.....
He was left a team lacking talent overall, but particularly at some crucial positions like QB, WR, and CB. On top of that he is a first year head coach and had the worst schedule possible given our team's makeup and the position of the program. I figured we wouldn't sniff LSU, Florida, GT, and Houston, that all would smoke us. Guess what, we were in all of those games. I'll look at just two of them, LSU and Florida. If you watched us out there we were totally outmatched talent wise, particularly on defense. It's absolutely amazing to me that we nearly beat LSU and took Florida to the 4th quarter. Both teams should have hammered us just based on talent. Florida has great coaching to go along with great talent too, and it took them 49 minutes to take control of that game. Our team comes into every game prepared, well coached, with tons of energy, and fights for 60 minutes. That's impressive. What's more impressive is we've seen a major jump in offensive numbers with basically nothing from the QB position. If this guy can halfway recruit he will win a lot of games.</p>
that would be the most likely response to me saying, "Look we are still 3-5, the coaches don't deserve raises yet, and nobody's hiring our coach away." The excitement over a 3-5 team by many posters on here had me baffled. Yet, I understand where we were, how we've had some moral victories, and the difficulty of our schedule. The fact is we were 4-8 last year and it's likely that last year's HC would be 3-5 right now. Didn't we beat Vandy and MTSU last year? The difference certainly is the close losses and the semblance of a real offense.
Croom might be 3-5 right now, but I stress might. However, the program would still look like a joke as it did for 5 years under him. Believe it or not, this team was worse than last year's in terms of talent and experience. We lost some WRs, some DBs, still had no QB - I mean come on. Yet somehow we are vastly improved. It's not just that we are playing people close, it's that we are legitimately in the game verses teams with far more talent and experience than us, and we are doing it without good QB play. I sat there and watched our defense match up against LSU and Florida and wondered how. Those teams were so far above ours in terms of talent and the coaching of Florida was spectacular. Seriously, how we stayed on the field with those teams is beyond me.
I'm not saying that Mullen is going to win 5 SEC titles and 3 national titles here. However, he and his staff have done such a fantastic job this year that it isn't even funny. This team is prepared week in and week out, they are salty and literally fight for 60 minutes. They don't have hangovers, but come to play every week. Think about this too - we haven't lost a single game this year we should have won. How long has it been since you've been able to say that.</p>
I'm not saying that Mullen is going to win 5 SEC titles and 3 national titles here. However, he and his staff have done such a fantastic job this year that it isn't even funny. This team is prepared week in and week out, they are salty and literally fight for 60 minutes. They don't have hangovers, but come to play every week. Think about this too - we haven't lost a single game this year we should have won. How long has it been since you've been able to say that.</p>
We had a senior dominated team last year (obviously all gone now) and we beat MTSU and Vandy at home last year (obviously played both on the road this year). I've said since before Mullen was hired that we would have to be a much better football team to match last season's 4-8 record.
I'm proud of the way we fought against LSU, and how we fought to keep the Florida game close. I think we'll improve vastly under Mullen. But to read the board, you'd think we'd won the damn national title.