Good summation of Mullen Era......
- Thread starter Heawww
- Start date
Agree with everything in there. I like that it points out that Auburn, Arkansas, and I would add OM, are where our season really rests not in Oklahoma State.
Made a good point about it being Year 5 and if we can't beat Auburn in Year 1 of Malzahn, it probably won't work. I agree, especially considering Auburn's talent level. Even Croom beat Saban in Year 1. That's really something I hadn't thought of. Yeah, people will point to losing to Freeze in Year 1, but I sort of excuse rivalry games. But at any rate, that was still a game we theoretically SHOULD have won.
A good comparison. Do you know who replaced the Mason era? Tim "Punk" E. Brewster. Yikes!
The Kang had down years in '95 and '96. The Bama win in '96 marked the turning of the tide (no pun intended). The next four years were fun.
The program shouldn't be afraid of a losing season. College programs grow in waves.
The Kang had down years in '95 and '96. The Bama win in '96 marked the turning of the tide (no pun intended). The next four years were fun.
The program shouldn't be afraid of a losing season. College programs grow in waves.
Agree 100%. I actually think we've been going through that low wave last year and maybe this one. Maybe even one more, until those 2012/2013 recruiting classes become upperclassmen. I think in 2011 we probably should have won a couple more games (Auburn and South Carolina). And think had Fletcher Cox come back, we may have been a little better last year. So that'd be 3 straight 8 win seasons at MSU, and this year would be the low year. No one would be all that mad. We are primed to build a program like we've never done here if the fanbase would just unite behind it.
Right now the biggest thing holding back Mullen and MSU...
in my mind is OL recruiting. And that is a problem JWS didn't have with his better teams. The main reason we lost the other day is OL play. We couldn't run the ball consistently and that kept us from sustaining drives. We broke off one or two decent runs but had a lot of negative runs as well. Even in our early successful drives we were having to pass to move the sticks.
in my mind is OL recruiting. And that is a problem JWS didn't have with his better teams. The main reason we lost the other day is OL play. We couldn't run the ball consistently and that kept us from sustaining drives. We broke off one or two decent runs but had a lot of negative runs as well. Even in our early successful drives we were having to pass to move the sticks.
There are a couple of things wrong with our offense, but OL play is one of them. They seem like they respond better when Dak is in the game though for some reason. Hopefully, that'll be the case.
Yeah, while our OL is veteran, there isn't an abundance of talent. It sure would have been nice to land Donald Hawkins from NWCC or Mark Beard from Coffeyville KS, instead of Holley and Siddoway. Another guy we almost got was Kenarious Gates in 2010, who has been starting for Georgia for 4 years. Instead we got Eric Lawson, who never did ****.
I mean, at minimum, we have to start landing the JUCO guys.
Deon Mix is another one from last year that I'm pissed about.
I mean, at minimum, we have to start landing the JUCO guys.
Deon Mix is another one from last year that I'm pissed about.
We've missed out on a ton of good of OL-Hooks, Morris, etc. Wonder if it could possibly be the personality of our OL coach?
That is the problem I'm referring to. Its fine to take certain "project" type prospects at times. Heck, Dillon Day fits that category and he is very good. The problem is that almost all of our OL signees are "projects" and therefore its really too hit or miss to try and come up with 8 or 9 true SEC quality linemen. Our starting OTs are marginal right now for SEC play and there isn't anything proven behind them. We have one Gabe Jackson on the OL where we need 4 or 5 Gabe Jackson types on the OL to be truly effective.
So we need 4 or 5 1st round draft picks on the OL.. Yeah that would help for sure.
It would also help if we ran Perkins of tackle and not up the middle all the time. He's not a power back...
If we want to run up the middle use Robinson...
Mullen's play-calling is the real problem with our offense, not the OL...
The problem with being in the SEC West, is that even though we had better recruiting years in 2012 and 2013, every SEC team that beat us last year had a Top 10 recruiting class. We still won't gain ground. And Auburn & Tennessee--both teams we beat last year-- finished ahead of us in recruiting last year (Auburn 8th, Tenn 21) and are kicking *** so far this year (Auburn 15th, Tenn 3rd).
We won't be able to count those as Ws for long.
We won't be able to count those as Ws for long.
I know I shouldn’t be surprised...
...but you say in one post that if we can’t beat Auburn this year, then this whole Mullen thing probably isn’t going to work out...then turn around and say in this post that we fans just need to be patient with us being down this year and perhaps next year too?
...but you say in one post that if we can’t beat Auburn this year, then this whole Mullen thing probably isn’t going to work out...then turn around and say in this post that we fans just need to be patient with us being down this year and perhaps next year too?
Yeah that would be great. Seriously, whether Jackson is a true first rounder I don't know BUT what I do know is that across our OL we have Day and Jackson that I believe are solid SEC linemen but I personally don't feel that great about the rest of what we have.
I thought that this one and Veazey's were both good
I'll probably have to give the nod to Veazey, however, due to his well placed and subtle jabs at Croom.
Anyway, I think it's perfectly fair for the fanbase and media to question whether Mullen can take this program any farther. I refuse to believe that this season will be a disaster, but we're most likely looking at another 5-8 win season, recruiting has not seen much progress over the last few years, and we do continue to have some of the same weaknesses year after year. With that said, my argument surrounding Mullen will be the same as my argument for Stansbury was for years. Can MSU do any better? If you think so and you're willing to take your lumps if (and I should probably say "when") you lose that bet, more power to you. I've just seen enough shittatistic football over the years that I'll never risk going back to the days of leaving in the 1st qtr of conference games in order to reach for that brass ring of an SEC championship. Besides, while it's not probable that we'll win one as long as Saban is around, you never know when the start will align. All I ask is that we have a coach that gives us a prayer, and I think Mullen does that.
I'll probably have to give the nod to Veazey, however, due to his well placed and subtle jabs at Croom.
Anyway, I think it's perfectly fair for the fanbase and media to question whether Mullen can take this program any farther. I refuse to believe that this season will be a disaster, but we're most likely looking at another 5-8 win season, recruiting has not seen much progress over the last few years, and we do continue to have some of the same weaknesses year after year. With that said, my argument surrounding Mullen will be the same as my argument for Stansbury was for years. Can MSU do any better? If you think so and you're willing to take your lumps if (and I should probably say "when") you lose that bet, more power to you. I've just seen enough shittatistic football over the years that I'll never risk going back to the days of leaving in the 1st qtr of conference games in order to reach for that brass ring of an SEC championship. Besides, while it's not probable that we'll win one as long as Saban is around, you never know when the start will align. All I ask is that we have a coach that gives us a prayer, and I think Mullen does that.
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Couldn't agree more. But things started going south for The Kang when he started losing a majority of the in-state linemen. We haven't been able to recruit linemen for the past 15 years. The low point was when the TSUN hired the Ogre.
What's worse is not keeping linemen in the program. I know making "projects" into SEC linemen is not for the light of heart. But damn! Mix is a prime example. The kid might not ever play at Auburn - or State - or he may be all-sec - but to lose a locker-room guy and a "SP Pipeline" guy is just stupid. I have to wonder if Mix knew how desperate we were for linemen. I praise him for standing up to the idiocy (but I denounce him for flagrantly wearing other recruiters' gear when you are committed).
Mix received some really nice reviews from the Auburn coaching staff in the fall. I was surprised because along with several on here, I thought Mix played rather soft for his size in HS.