Croom's top 10 worst moves

[Todd4State]

Inspired by RebelBruiser- maybe you do have a purpose in a life after all.

10. Burning Arceto Clark's RS in 2008. Supposedly, Croom installs a "trick play" package for this guy. Apparently Croom thought that an end around and a screen were "trick plays".

9. This one went unseen. Except by me. At the end of the third quarter against GT, Croom tried to call TO with 0:00 on the clock. I think the official felt sorry for us. But it was funny because all you could see was Croom waddling full speed down the sideline screaming "TIME OUT" and the official looking at him shaking his head "no". I think the official was laughing, but he had a whistle in his mouth, so I couldn't tell definitively.

8. The two QB experiment against La Tech. This was much discussed on here. We concluded that this wouldn't work and we were right.

7. Not going for it on 4th and 1 against La Tech when we were down by eight. We punt, and they took a knee.

6. Going for it against Auburn in 2008 on 4th and 15. It made even less sense because we had just scored a safety and McAdams was having one of is better games- for him. Instead, we give them field position.

5. LSU 2008, near the end of the half. We rip off two runs of 10 plus yards, and have at least two, maybe three time outs and about 50 seconds left in the half. We had time to get ourselves in at least FG range and we had momentum. Instead, we took a knee.

4. Punting from the UGA 30. Which was even more perplexing because we went for it on 4th down 10 yards earlier, and converted. The funny thing was Larry Munson screaming "IT'S GOTTA BE A FAKE!!!!" and then....nope.

3. Not recruiting an offensive line. Or making it a priority at all. Maybe Croom was hoping that the A-11 was going to be legalized in the SEC. Nah.

2. Not recruiting a QB over 6 feet tall, or more importantly, with talent. Or making it a priority at all either. Tyson Lee may very well be the best QB in the Croom era, and he was a walk-on. BUT we got a good snapper.

1. Hiring Woody McCorvey as the OC. Rule #1- don't hire friends. Especially if they suck. Give them a cush job like "Assistant HC" or something like that. Can ya'll imagine what our team would have been like with a staff of Croom, McCorvey, Ron Cooper, Grimes, and Reed Stringer special teams edition would have been like?

You may now vomit.

 

[Todd4State]

Inspired by RebelBruiser- maybe you do have a purpose in a life after all.

10. Burning Arceto Clark's RS in 2008. Supposedly, Croom installs a "trick play" package for this guy. Apparently Croom thought that an end around and a screen were "trick plays".

9. This one went unseen. Except by me. At the end of the third quarter against GT, Croom tried to call TO with 0:00 on the clock. I think the official felt sorry for us. But it was funny because all you could see was Croom waddling full speed down the sideline screaming "TIME OUT" and the official looking at him shaking his head "no". I think the official was laughing, but he had a whistle in his mouth, so I couldn't tell definitively.

8. The two QB experiment against La Tech. This was much discussed on here. We concluded that this wouldn't work and we were right.

7. Not going for it on 4th and 1 against La Tech when we were down by eight. We punt, and they took a knee.

6. Going for it against Auburn in 2008 on 4th and 15. It made even less sense because we had just scored a safety and McAdams was having one of is better games- for him. Instead, we give them field position.

5. LSU 2008, near the end of the half. We rip off two runs of 10 plus yards, and have at least two, maybe three time outs and about 50 seconds left in the half. We had time to get ourselves in at least FG range and we had momentum. Instead, we took a knee.

4. Punting from the UGA 30. Which was even more perplexing because we went for it on 4th down 10 yards earlier, and converted. The funny thing was Larry Munson screaming "IT'S GOTTA BE A FAKE!!!!" and then....nope.

3. Not recruiting an offensive line. Or making it a priority at all. Maybe Croom was hoping that the A-11 was going to be legalized in the SEC. Nah.

2. Not recruiting a QB over 6 feet tall, or more importantly, with talent. Or making it a priority at all either. Tyson Lee may very well be the best QB in the Croom era, and he was a walk-on. BUT we got a good snapper.

1. Hiring Woody McCorvey as the OC. Rule #1- don't hire friends. Especially if they suck. Give them a cush job like "Assistant HC" or something like that. Can ya'll imagine what our team would have been like with a staff of Croom, McCorvey, Ron Cooper, Grimes, and Reed Stringer special teams edition would have been like?

You may now vomit.

 

[vicious]

He lost several games because he didn't play him.

 

[MSUCostanza]

You ruined my day reading that garbage.

The actual #1 was him taking the damn job.

Hopefully, a couple of years from now, we can read this list and laugh. Right now, it just makes me mad that we hired that incompetent clown to begin with.

 

[TBonewannabe]

He then played Carlson, who brought back memories of JM Marlin (the shittest kicker in the history of sports). We went from having the chance at making long FGs and extra points being automatic to hopefully not shanking an extra point off the upright to lose the UK game. Croom's decision to play Carlson was just a symbol of how much of a dumbass he truly was.

 

[Fletch Fletcher]

I think his over zealous disdain for Jackie's players should be in that list. He ran off a lot of talented kids simply to proof some point of him being a superior disciplinarian.

 

[patdog]

I think his over zealous disdain for Jackie's players should be in that list. He ran off a lot of talented kids simply to proof some point of him being a superior disciplinarian.

He was a terrible coach, but virtually every player he ever ran off was either a criminal, loser, bad attitude, or just not a good player. There's less than 5 players that he ran off that didn't need to be run off.

 

[thunderclap]

I don't see how force-feeding the WCO didn't make it.

 

[Original48]

somebody late in the season with 3 seconds left on the clock in the third quarter. The play clock was not running out and he just burns a timeout right before the third quarter ends.

 

[1msucub]

I think he did more damage talking down to us, the most tortured, patient fan base on planet Earth, than all of the others combined. Granted, from an x's and o's standpoint, that list is just the tip of the iceberg, but to be told....REPEATEDLY, no less, that if we couldn't see improvement that we were all blind?!? Absolutely unacceptable for a coach to alienate a fan base the way he did us. Everybody in the country (except for UM, of course) was pulling for him to win, but if the rest of the world knew the horse's behind we listened to for five years.............man, what an arrogant, pompous old mule he was.

Good freakin' riddance.

This house is clean....

 

[8dog]

word from other players that he simply didn't like Sherrill's players.

I can't think of any other reason Keith Andrews lost his job.

 

[3000lbchicken]

.

 

[Toag Redloh]

I could think of tons more.

- Not recognizing Omar Conner's natural talents and adapting to them.
- Terrible recruiting strategy.
- Setting a great example of hard work for his players from his golfcart.
- Not bringing one iota of excitement to the program.
- Completely distancing himself from all things Jackie/MSU tradition (ie DPR, pre-game atmosphere).
- Making us look like joked out losers.
- Making me embarrassed to be a State fan.
- Continuously lying and throwing players under the bus.
- Having a big bitter chip on his shoulders.
- Being an Alabama homer.
- Even pondering that idea that Mike Henig could quarterback an SEC team.
- Giving away game after game because he's an idiot.
- Turning me into a sheep because I knew it was the only way to keep my sanity while the idiot was still here.

 

[8dog]

and technically, it wasn't 4th and 1 against La Tech, it was 4th and 10, but he still should've gone for it.

 

[DudyDog]

Don't forget the SWAC uniform look he gave us.

Have we burned those socks yet??

 

[UpTheMiddlex3Punt]

You can throw in the fact that he never seemed to manage the clock well. Not one game.

One of the worst things he did was telling fans off at a 2006 press conference. Even after the great miracle of 2007, fans had not forgotten that.

 

[Fletch Fletcher]

somebody late in the season with 3 seconds left on the clock in the third quarter. The play clock was not running out and he just burns a timeout right before the third quarter ends.

I think we were about to punt (imagine that) and he wanted to keep the wind at his back.

 

[thunderclap]

he wasted the first three years trying to drive that thing home.</p>

 

[mstatefan88]

I think one thing wasnt just oen move, but the culmination of his tenure here was being loyal to the upper classmen. Delmon Robinson was the 2nd best WR on the team, yet Jamayel and Aubrey who continued to drop passes continued to play. I also hated how we would play one pretty good game a year like at Kentucky 2 years ago, and LSU last year, where we ran alot of PA passes out of the backfield to a RB in the flats or a TE on a corner route, and then wouldnt do it again for the rest of the year.

 

[patdog]

Andrews was average at best, but was still far superior to Carlson in every way.

 

[rdnkkicker]

my personal favorite happened every game...hell almost every down RUN UP THE MIDDLE or throw a lateral pass when we have 10 or more yards for the first...seriously i think he watched remember the titans way too much..."I run six plays, split-V. It's like novocaine; if you give it time it always works"

 

[wbc40]

I'm thinking we did it once we took the lead in the Egg Bowl, but I'm not positive on that.

 

[Toag Redloh]

it wasn't the Kenzaki Jones version at all. Croom distanced himself from the Jackie stuff. Ever seen the youtube video where Crooms says "Let's rock it!"? Yeah it's gay as hell. Everything Croom did was just goofy. He should have just gotten out of the way and quit micromanaging and he would have been OK.

 

[josebrown]

was goofy as hell. I actually felt bad for the guy waddling around in pads out there wearing the red cross. The picture made it worse too. Maybe thats how Crooms should be remembered here, wearing the red cross..

 

[Xenomorph]

..at OM, we had 2 minutes left on the clock and the ball on our own 38. There were OM fans around me openly cheering Croom's decision.

 

[DamnitDog]

nm

 

[alabamadog]

It was windy but from what I remember it was a punt McAdams should have put inside the 20, no matter which way the wind was blowing. Assuming he didn't punt it four yards, which he did earlier in the game.

 

[Pony Express.sixpack]

Woody and the WCO would be his biggest mistake. He could have snagged another couple of years of $1.5M employment as a head coach if he would have hired a different OC after the WCO had clearly failed. It was probably too late to do it in 2008 but he could have done it in 2007 after the soul killing performance against Central Florida..

 

[ababyatemydingo]

This masterpiece of a post from DowntownDawg pretty much summed up the stunning (I use that term loosely) era of Sly Croom football at MSU. I was so impressed with his ability to so eloquently gather his thoughts in such a short period of time, that I copied it to a .doc file. I'ts provided many a laugh among my friends (most of whom are MSU grads, and share the misery).

<p class="MsoNormal"></p>

Dear Coach Croom (a letter of confession and soul cleansing)....</p>

</p>

11/28/08 08:04 PM (after the end of the Egg Bowl, 2008)</p>

</p>

...I would first like to say that I attended your opening press conference. I remember the M-Club being packed that day. You uttered your famous "The Only Color that Matters is Maroon" phrase, which was subsequently made into a T-shirt (that may or may not have actually been maroon). I left that room excited, like I used to get almost every time I heard you speak. You appeared to be a man of character, and you had people clapping at things that, in retrospect, maybe they shouldn't have clapped for, like "We are going to run the West Coast Offense, and for most of these players, this will be the hardest class that they will take (Thunderous applause)" or "We aren't going to have any quick fixes. We are going to do this the right way (again, wild clapping and cheering). I attended your first game that was put on national television - a 28-14 win over Tulane. You got a gatorade bath for that one, and I remember envisioning the division championship that was surely just around the corner. I came back next week and roasted as I watched Ronnie Brown and Cadillac rape us, and eagerly came back for the Maine game the following week. We all know what happened.</p>

</p>

Then, LSU destroyed us. For some reason, I happened to catch your coaches' show at some point after that game. There was an "Ask the Coach" segment, and a fan asked you when we would be competitive against teams like LSU. You looked directly into the camera and said that we would be competitive with the better teams in the SEC when we had time to get a couple of recruiting classes to improve our talent level. Then you smiled and one of your molars shined like the star of David and I swear I heard a little bell ring, and I nodded with acceptance.</p>

</p>

Of course, we beat Florida, which had to be a sign of things to come. We were actually competitive the rest of the way, which was a step up from 2003 football, so we all felt good. Hell, we would've beaten Arkansas had it not been for Chris McNeil and a stupid referee. We laid an egg in Oxford, but it was your first one. "He'll learn," we thought.</p>

</p>

2005 saw a big win against Murray State, and we were surely an improving team. Then came the ugliest win in the history of football in Shreveport over Tulane, a decent outing against Georgia, and beatings at the hands of LSU and Florida before homecoming. Jerious, one of the greatest talents will see in our lifetime, broke the rushing record that day. We only scored 16 points and still lost. To Houston. By Double Digits. I began to get a little nervous about your coaching ability. Breaking rushing records usually equals 45 points, right? Later, we began our streak of holding Alabama touchdown-less. And still lost. 17-0. Then we didn't show up against Arkansas, and Jerious put a beating on Ole Miss, which gave your fat *** the opportunity to play mascot and parade around the field with (I'm sure) "We are the Champions" playing in your head, tears streaming down your face. You had made it. To 3 wins again.</p>

</p>

Ok, ok. First two years down. You started talking up 2006. This would be the year. Huge crowd at home on national TV against an average SC team. Splat. 15-0 and an injured overhyped midget QB later, we were off to a ****** start. Tray Rutland, an Auburn drubbing, and a thanks for the check later, we beat the mighty Blazers in overtime to get our first win. Whoopee. LSU got the Bye Week Bulldogs again, and a WVU trouncing later, we show up in Athens with a new look shotgun attack and a healthy Henig. We lost by 3 to an average Georgia team due to bad coaching and turnovers, and then, lo and behold, the same thing happened the next week. At home. Against a bad Kentucky team. Then came THE GAME. You beat your Alma Mater, though your conservatism would've cost you against anybody better than a .500 team with a lame duck coach. Mississippi State fans, 8 years removed from the top of the division and beating Bama's *** regularly, 7 years removed from ESPN pundits talking about us running the table and winning a national championship in November, received a postcard commemorating our second D-1A win of the season. In November. My how we had fallen. Oh yeah, we lost to Arkansas and a bad OM team due to special teams.</p>

</p>

A bigger fluke? George Mason in the Final 4 or the 2007 version of your football team. No contest. (And by the way, even though I enjoyed us beating Alabama and Saban, did you have to act like you just won a national championship? Seeing you lumber around in your XXXL sweatshirt, with the flag, crying, and then trying to pick Titus's *** up. It was a little embarrassing. Somehow, when Jackie almost French Kissed Joe Lee after Auburn in 1999, it was a great moment. But I have to admit, even I, your most ardent defender cringed a little when I saw you huff around the field.) Oh yeah, and Ed gave you the egg bowl, or you wouldn't have been crying about character on TV.</p>

</p>

And here we are in 2008. This is it, huh, Coach? Beat Bama and Ole Miss (well that goes without saying). Win the division (obviously). And get in a BCS bowl. It made sense, right? I mean, you were the reigning Coach of the Year, you had your qb and entire defense coming back. You had just won 8 games. Sure we'd have to deal with losing Brown and Johnson, but when asked what your biggest concern was about your team at Media Days, you said "Finding a backup left tackle." BWAHAHAHAAH. I'm not going to rehash this season. I'll just say that, as Ole Miss has demonstrated, this was the year to rise the F up and do something. How many years do you have a schedule that includes Vandy and Kentucky at home, a very down Tennessee team, a down Arkansas team, a down Auburn team, and a very average LSU team. How many *%%$+@% times is that going to happen? This was our 1999 all over again. And somehow, someway, we went 4 and *%%$+@% 8. I sit here in disbelief after seeing our arch rival assrape us and end the game halfway through the first *%%$+@% quarter. I still cannot believe my eyes. My dog, licking his balls by the fire, provides the perfect metaphor for our season, our program, our coach.</p>

</p>

And you know what really pisses me off? When you finally start to pay dividends for us (last year), you get on an ESPN program that (to borrow a phrase) provided oral pleasure to Mississippi State to a national audience. With tears rolling down your face (damn, you really cry alot), you talked about how these black kids don't have positive role models, and don't have people in authority to look up to, and how that was important to you. Yet, you rewarded McCorvey for being terrible, and here we sit, 5 years after that press conference, with an offense over the century mark for the 5th consecutive year. You mortgaged your beliefs and your goals and the needs and the lives of these kids that you talked about (not to mention the well being of our football program) for McCorvey or an offensive "scheme"....or something. Whatever it is, it wasn't worth it.</p>

</p>

Finally, please resign. Take this buyout debate and get rid of it. If I had a good memory, I bet you I could at least come up with 50 terrible decisisons you have made during the course of a game. I bet I could think of at least 15 overarching strategic decisions that were awful that you have made. . And your recruiting has been terrible. The full fruits of the early Orgeron/Croom battles were put on display today. The result? 45-0. At least Ed left the next coach something to work with. I'm sure our mythical new coach will enjoy Quentin Saulsberry. In short, I am sorry I ever defended you, bought into your tripe. There is absolutely no good reason for you or any of your coaches to stay in Starkville. If you are really a man of character, you will call a press conference Monday and make this easy on poor Greg Byrne, who has had to deal with an unbeleivable amount of ****.</p>

</p>

31-0 to them was the game before you arrived. 45-0 in hopefully your last game. Thanks, Coach.</p>

</p>

Sincerely,</p>

</p>

DowntownDawg</p>

 

[gtowndog]

If anyone thinks that a below average kicker being benched was Crooms biggest problem, you should be on his staff the next time he assembles one. Andrews wanked a 30 yarder that would have prevented the Maine loss. Dont get me wrong, Carlson sucked too, but Andrews wasn't the solution.