Croom unhappy . . .

[Dawgfish]

Was it just my imagination or did Coach Croom seem really pissed off by Mr. Ashley's signing day diss? After all he did delay his press conference almost a full hour. Coach Croom made a remark that he would( from now on) only actively recruit those that were really interested in becoming a Bulldog. So what will it take for that to happen? He's still a couple of years away from a winning season. Is winning a few more games than last year enough to sway some recruits that he has things turned around and going in the right direction?

[WayzUp]

Croom has a tough job ahead of him for sure. I guess my question would be kinda asking yours back at you. What do you think it's going to take to turn MSU football around? Madre Hill might be looking for a job...maybe he'd be willing to come back 'home' and have an impact on the recruiting trail..?

The first area of need would be to score more points. Ranking 113 of 117 Div I programs in both Scoring Offense and Total Offense isn't gonna win much more than 3 games or so. The running game doesn't seem a complete cluster-BEEP so he's going to have to address QB & WR quick, fast, and in a hurry.

Special teams needs work too. When you're averaging 31.7 yards per punt and only 6.3 yards per punt return, you aren't going to win the field position battle. Kickoff returns that rank in the 80s isn't going to do a whole to offset the punting woes either. Lou Holtz made a career out of winning games with lesser talent by controlling field position...until y'all can recruit better, you have to win games the hard way for awhile, I think, and that means controlling the clock and playing for field position. MSU's turnover ratio wasn't all that bad so it's not like it can't be done...

Other than those two glaring areas of weakness, MSU just needs to add depth and talent across the board. Croom's a defensive guru from what I understand so I think y'all will always have a halfway decent D as long as he's running the show in Starkville. It's the other areas that are bringing ya down.

And that's what my two pennies sound like! :D SOrry if I just told you everything you already knew... :o

[AUTiger94]

Life's a ________!(insert explative here)

Paving the campus streets may help. (just kidding)

I now must prepare for some remark from Denny Chimes or SuperG. :D

[supergenius]

Life's a ________!(insert explative here)

Paving the campus streets may help. (just kidding)

I now must prepare for some remark from Denny Chimes or SuperG. :D
Good Morning '94. ;)

RTR

[Denny Chimes]

Life's a ________!(insert explative here)

Paving the campus streets may help. (just kidding)

I now must prepare for some remark from Denny Chimes or SuperG. :D
I've been to Starkville. No disagreement here. I only smack you around when you're an idiot and deserve it. Some call it tough love.

CSC battling the location and proximity to Tuscaloosa and Oxford, both a major metropolis compared to Starkville. The largest building on campus is the "Animal Husbandry" facility. I kid you not. Why would a top tier athlete want to spend four precious years living there suppressed by a harsh disciplinarian? Sounds like a state prison to me. RTR!

[uscrebel]

I work with PhD's who are considering academic careers. In November, one of my Electrical Engineering candidates came to me very excited about an interview with MSU. I must tell you that I love Mississippi and do not care WHERE my PhD's land. We spent a fair amount of time talking about the Starkville-West Point-Columbus region. I pointed out the proximity to Birmingham as a major metro area, as well as the fact that MSU is the home of the Academy of Management Journal. He was pumped. Oh, did I mention that he was Asian American. Born and raised in the San Fernando Valley.

When he came back, he dropped by and said, "You never told me that it was so isolated. They all kept asking if I understood their questions and wanted to know if food was okay." He later found out that everyone assumed that English was his second language and that he usually ate with chopsticks. He eventually took a job at the University of Nebraska...not much different from my SoCal perspective, but much bigger compared to Starkville.

Still, as much as I love Ole Miss and Oxford, I understand why Dogs love their alma mater and are offended when it is spoken of with disrespect.

[blues_cap]

i think one thing croom needs to do is beat down the doors of the juco ranks, especially on the defensive side of the ball. i wouldnt want to waste a scholly on an offensive player, as it takes many 2 years to learn and get comfortable within the system they are playing. defense, on the other hand, is where a player can come in and have an immediate impact. remember, 2 of state's best years came after fred smoot(cb), dorsett davis(dt), toby galliday(dt) and a few others came in from the juco ranks and had an immediate impact in joe lee dunn's defense. this also allows you the ability to recruit high school players that will develop which in turn gives depth on that side of the ball.

i know many fans dont like the juco ranks as it is a short term fix. well, state needs a short term fix right now and if you just take defensive players you are left with enough schollys to create a long term roster that will eventually compete in the sec.

[AceLeroy]

i think one thing croom needs to do is beat down the doors of the juco ranks, especially on the defensive side of the ball. i wouldnt want to waste a scholly on an offensive player, as it takes many 2 years to learn and get comfortable within the system they are playing. defense, on the other hand, is where a player can come in and have an immediate impact. remember, 2 of state's best years came after fred smoot(cb), dorsett davis(dt), toby galliday(dt) and a few others came in from the juco ranks and had an immediate impact in joe lee dunn's defense. this also allows you the ability to recruit high school players that will develop which in turn gives depth on that side of the ball.

i know many fans dont like the juco ranks as it is a short term fix. well, state needs a short term fix right now and if you just take defensive players you are left with enough schollys to create a long term roster that will eventually compete in the sec.

Nice post , well said and I agree. You interested in coaching football at MSU?.......just kidding.

Croom seems to be building the defense first and the offense second.

The obvious improvement has been on the defensive side of the ball. That is a good start and some good JC players could improve the D even more and faster.

I believe Croom improved our situation at WR on signing day.

JC might look like a quick fix to some , but to MSU JC has been a source of some of our best players. If a JC player can help MSU , they MUST take him. We can't afford to pass on any talent.

I am not sold on Croom yet , nor am I ready to give up on him.

In 2 years We have lost some games that we shouldn't have ( Maine) but We have a couple of wins that Nobody would have picked us to win. ( Florida in his first year and the Ole Miss game this year).

To Croom's credit , he said after last years Eggbowl that it was the most disapointing game of the year and then this year said We would give them a whipping.........35-14........He said it.....He did it.

As for now , Croom has shown me enough that he has earned at least a couple of more years.

I was excited when we hired him because of his NFL experience and his work at Bama. I still believe he has a chance to win big in Starkville.

[Cianne]

State has already picked up two JC LBs for next year's class in Archie Sims and Tim Holloway. Now, whether or not they make their grades at Jones Community is still a debate, but for Croom's defense sake, I hope they do.

I don't think State will ever have a defense as good as in the heyday of Joe Lee, but then again, they were pretty good. Though his crazy 4-2-5 blitz from everywhere scheme is outdated now seeing as how it's slowly crashed and burned since he started at Ole Miss, through State, and now at Memphis, it is a defense capable of taking less-talented players with a couple stars and making things happen.

[Dawgfish]

Lookin forward to getting those 2 on the field in Starkvegas. The defense gets pretty tired with all those 3 and outs the offense has given em the last 2 years. The defense needs as many capeable warm bodies as they can get.(LOL)

[AceLeroy]

Lookin forward to getting those 2 on the field in Starkvegas. The defense gets pretty tired with all those 3 and outs the offense has given em the last 2 years. The defense needs as many capeable warm bodies as they can get.(LOL)

No doubt there have been a ton of 3 and outs for MSU the last 2 years. I hope and pray that the WRs will be improved and we can actually keep a few drives alive with some catches. If not , where are we going to make up all those yards that Norwood gave us?? YIKES!!!!!!!!!!

[Dawgfish]

No doubt there have been a ton of 3 and outs for MSU the last 2 years. I hope and pray that the WRs will be improved and we can actually keep a few drives alive with some catches. If not , where are we going to make up all those yards that Norwood gave us?? YIKES!!!!!!!!!!

We need the offensive line to mature and learn the blocking assignments better. Regardless of how good the QB, receivers and RBs are it is all moot without a line than can take charge of the line of scrimage. Coach Spurrier went out and did some major recruiting of OLs. (8 I think) He knows exactly what I'm talkin about and SC will be much better as a result of it.

[AceLeroy]

We need the offensive line to mature and learn the blocking assignments better. Regardless of how good the QB, receivers and RBs are it is all moot without a line than can take charge of the line of scrimage. Coach Spurrier went out and did some major recruiting of OLs. (8 I think) He knows exactly what I'm talkin about and SC will be much better as a result of it.

Good post.......I am hoping that the O-Line players that are already on the team will pan out. We have a lot of youth on the O-line and they will be counted on to step up and be solid SEC players. Who knows how they will respond???