team. First, for those worried that losing the egg bowl will lose us some recruits, put that thought out of your heads. That will be the "reason" put out if any commits do "flip". Similar to how Manny Diaz leaving was the reason C.J. Johnson "flipped". Remember that little episode? Recruits aren't flocking to a school that just had an "anti-obama" riot complete with racial slurs and at the same time are in the papers for harassing a black kid because he is black. Word was that they really hurt their chances with a couple out of state recruits b/c their parents didn't like the racial stuff going on up there. At the same time though, a Mississippi kid just can't wait to get to oxford and play for bucky? I'm not convinced.
This brings me to the one thing I didn't like about Mullen and that was him poking them with a stick while we had them down. They are always motivated enough when it comes to recruiting, but with someone making fun of them, that will really motivate them. Someone with money and an ego will use that money to put someone in their "place" real quick. Bottom line is, we are going to have to get motivated ourselves and be smart about it once we are back in the game. And we are probably going to have to use every possible angle against them that we have, even though it might leave a bad taste in our mouths.
Now, to our team. I think the *** kicking by alabama had a huge psychological effect on our team. They and much of our fan base thought we were better than we actually were and when we got brought back to earth, we got brought back down hard. We haven't had the same tough mentality that we have had since Dan got here. I am also seeing something different with Dan on the sidelines as well but I don't know what is causing it. Lack of faith in some asst. coaches? Lack of faith in some players? Something isn't right and only people within the program know for sure what it is.
As for the future, we have what we think is a good group of young guys that just came in but it will be two more years before they can really make their mark on the program. That "Mississippi homerun" and auburn's antics the same year are taking their toll right now. As an example, we could really use the pass rush that C.J. is providing for the kluckers right now. If we can finish strong in recruiting and not be the victim of some weird **** at the eleventh hour, we can continue to improve our talent level.
Lastly, the word of day or actually the year should be PATIENCE. There are going to be ups and downs and Dan is going to like bad sometimes because of the hand he is dealt at times. We are a few years away from being a "good program" and we just need to avoid any disastrous seasons. We won't make any huge leaps but it will be gradual improvement. Also, Stricklin needs to understand this as well. I don't know what the reasoning behind scheduling Ok. St. was, but it could be a huge mistake and not worth the risk. I'll quit rambling now and let everyone chew on the above.
This brings me to the one thing I didn't like about Mullen and that was him poking them with a stick while we had them down. They are always motivated enough when it comes to recruiting, but with someone making fun of them, that will really motivate them. Someone with money and an ego will use that money to put someone in their "place" real quick. Bottom line is, we are going to have to get motivated ourselves and be smart about it once we are back in the game. And we are probably going to have to use every possible angle against them that we have, even though it might leave a bad taste in our mouths.
Now, to our team. I think the *** kicking by alabama had a huge psychological effect on our team. They and much of our fan base thought we were better than we actually were and when we got brought back to earth, we got brought back down hard. We haven't had the same tough mentality that we have had since Dan got here. I am also seeing something different with Dan on the sidelines as well but I don't know what is causing it. Lack of faith in some asst. coaches? Lack of faith in some players? Something isn't right and only people within the program know for sure what it is.
As for the future, we have what we think is a good group of young guys that just came in but it will be two more years before they can really make their mark on the program. That "Mississippi homerun" and auburn's antics the same year are taking their toll right now. As an example, we could really use the pass rush that C.J. is providing for the kluckers right now. If we can finish strong in recruiting and not be the victim of some weird **** at the eleventh hour, we can continue to improve our talent level.
Lastly, the word of day or actually the year should be PATIENCE. There are going to be ups and downs and Dan is going to like bad sometimes because of the hand he is dealt at times. We are a few years away from being a "good program" and we just need to avoid any disastrous seasons. We won't make any huge leaps but it will be gradual improvement. Also, Stricklin needs to understand this as well. I don't know what the reasoning behind scheduling Ok. St. was, but it could be a huge mistake and not worth the risk. I'll quit rambling now and let everyone chew on the above.
