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Thoughts on the Bama game and football program
I realized something after the game Saturday night. All this time we've been talking about how Mullen is our greatest coach ever, and how we've said multiple times since his arrival that THIS is the glory years of MSU football....but despite that being true, I realized this has only been the beginning of the glory years. Mullen has built this thing his way, and I'm not naive to the fact that he's made some mistakes along the way, but the results are that we are now nationally relevant and have one of the best coaches in the country. His forte just happens to be developing the most important position on the field, and in case we've forgotten, Fitzgerald was a Relf-level recruit....we still haven't seen Mullen with a top tier highly recruited QB at the helm at MSU. I think we seem to forget these things while watching a 3 star Tight End leading the Cowboys up & down the field each Sunday. So it is only just beginning.
Yes, JUST BEGINNING. We are recruiting at a whole nother level right now, and we are in year 1 (the "adjustment year") of Todd Grantham as DC, so that should only improve too. We will soon have playmakers at WR & CB which are the only 2 weaknesses at the moment. Oh yeah, and despite those 2 weaknesses, we went toe to toe with the best Saturday. Yes sir, it's only going to get better. Which is why I feel confident that Cohen & Keenum will do whatever it takes financially to make sure we keep him. However, much like the Gainesville grocery posse, fans can have a major impact on a coach & his family's decisions....so can all you Twitter Lombardi's shut your damn mouths with the criticisms after a nail biter vs #1? You wanna run a great coach out of town, keep acting like you think he blew it when he loses narrowly to Bama and has a perennial losing program sitting at 7-3 and staring down the barrel of a Citrus Bowl appearance. Some of our fans need to gain some perspective. It's fine to be passionate and have expectations and dreams....but throw a little common sense in there with those ingredients is all I'm saying.
Now to the game....
Guys, Fitz grew as a passer right before our eyes Saturday night. No turnovers and was on target most of the night. If that's the Fitz we get going forward, watch the F out. Our OL was a force, shout out to John Hevesy, yes, John F Hevesy...I don't know how you've done it, but we have a great OL and it's getting better each week. Todd Grantham is a blitzer, get used to it, it is what it is. Don't ask him to change, bc it's effective...instead, ask him to recruit some lock down corners. You give Grantham Darius Slay & Jon Banks and we win Saturday, period. We get better CB's, and we will, we are going to be tough as hell...we already are. I'd much rather get beat by a perfect slant pass for a TD while we're tattooing the QB, than to get death by a thousand cuts like Peter Sirmon and the bend but don't break garbage from the past. Grantham is our modern day Joe Lee Dunn, and it's fun to watch. Expect us to live & die by the blitz, but be glad we have a guy with the stones to stick with what he believes. Dance with the one who brung ya, right? Oh, and recruits actually want to play in a D like this. I love it.
We are truly on the cusp of something special in my opinion. If you're a big money guy, email Keenum demanding that we do whatever it takes to keep Dan, and pony up. We gotta do what it takes as fans and boosters, and that starts with asses in seats too. Myself included. We don't want Dan thinking we aren't supportive or appreciative of where he's got us, and to be honest our team plays ten times better when we pack the building. Let's do our part in every way we can, guys. Even those of us that don't have tons of money, or students....if you can't attend or can't donate, at least be a positive influence online and on social media. Nothing worse than a guy that never attends, never donates, but tweets 1,000 tweets a week slamming Mullen's play calls after a close loss to Bama to his thousands of followers. Be better than that.
Let's not get complacent and satisfied as a fan base. Remember all the sell outs in a row when Dan arrived? We have to get that rejuvenated energy and action back. This is how we help take the next step where we not just appear in the top 4 of the SEC, but STAY there. I'm fired up about the present and the future, and I'm so proud of our fans, coaches, and players for showing what we're all about Saturday. Sorry for the long post, I hope it wasn't a total waste of time to read. Appreciate all you guys on here....this forum is such a great sounding board, I love seeing everyone's thoughts and opinions. If you don't normally post much but have a lot to say, pull the trigger and post. The more opinions the better.
Hail Damn State
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Fitz threw into some tight windows that you see good NFL QBs make. He has to work on his consistency and deep ball but he has the tools to be the next NFL starting QB from MSU. As I believe Coach34 used to say, In Mullen We Trust.
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A-17ing-men
Outstanding post. Agree with it all!
The team I saw on the field the other night is a few players away from competing for a natty.
Mullen can do it at MSU. I believe it
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First step, buy a ticket FROM THE TICKET OFFICE and get yourself to the Egg Bowl. If you have a ticket and can’t use it get it to someone who will. We need a full house to show support for what is going on!
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There were some so-called fans on SDS after the game complaining about Dan very harshly and BAMA FANS called them out and shut them down!
I believe we are on the verge of something very, very special. It will make 2014 look like an opening act.
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Post of the year! I wish I could rep this more than just once! 100% dead on accurate!
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You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to CadaverDawg again.
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I agree, i think were on the verge of putting together a Clemson type offense with Key, Hill and all the receivers weve coming in. The future looks brighter than I?ve ever seen it.
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Senior Member
Could not have said it better. Now is the time to be positive and support this coach and program.
Just watched Dan's press conference and again he stated he likes the job he has and didn't care what others thought he should do. (Wish I could have heard his last comment as camera shut off) Let's not give him reason to think he isn't wanted and appreciated at dear ol State!!
Go Dogs !
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Something that hasn't gotten a lot of mention about Saturday night was the play of our receivers. Very few drops, and those that were were mostly contested. They also fought for YACs. At least 3 times we had receivers bulling thru Bama players for critical first downs. And the Fitz scramble where Farrod Green waived Fitz to come his way because he wanted lock up on a block was awesome.
Next year is going to be unreal. And keep in mind - Fitz should be graduating. Grad school full time is 9 hours - 3 classes. Dan will have him set up on an off-season program watching film, working mechanics, and throwing routes like an NFL player. We add Brian Cole, Aaron Odum, J. Landrews, Lee Autry and Chauncey Rivers on D after redshirting - which means they have all spent a year learning the system. We have the #1 and #2 JUCO WR's committed. We are moving up!
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Originally Posted by
TrapGame
There were some so-called fans on SDS after the game complaining about Dan very harshly and BAMA FANS called them out and shut them down!
I believe we are on the verge of something very, very special. It will make 2014 look like an opening act.
That is mind-boggling to me. I was critical of Dan in late '12/'13 and was worried that we had some serious issues last year (and I think we did, they just all went to Louisville). But how could anyone be critical of Dan going toe-to-toe with Nick Saban on Saturday night? Bla bla Alabama's injuries, bla bla defense. The fact of the matter is that most of us thought (myself included) that we had no chance to beat/stay in the game with Alabama unless we could hit big plays. We literally grinded them up and down the field. That's sustainable in the future, and is a testament to the buy-in Mullen has gotten from the team
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Originally Posted by
BrunswickDawg
Something that hasn't gotten a lot of mention about Saturday night was the play of our receivers. Very few drops, and those that were were mostly contested. They also fought for YACs. At least 3 times we had receivers bulling thru Bama players for critical first downs. And the Fitz scramble where Farrod Green waived Fitz to come his way because he wanted lock up on a block was awesome.
Next year is going to be unreal. And keep in mind - Fitz should be graduating. Grad school full time is 9 hours - 3 classes. Dan will have him set up on an off-season program watching film, working mechanics, and throwing routes like an NFL player. We add Brian Cole, Aaron Odum, J. Landrews, Lee Autry and Chauncey Rivers on D after redshirting - which means they have all spent a year learning the system. We have the #1 and #2 JUCO WR's committed. We are moving up!
In a game this tight, we can't afford any mistakes. Several dropped passes that great teams just don't do that often. We are sooooo close but it doesn't help sometimes that Fitz has such a canon for an arm that might make it tougher to catch.
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Originally Posted by
ShotgunDawg
A-17ing-men
Outstanding post. Agree with it all!
The team I saw on the field the other night is a few players away from competing for a natty.
Mullen can do it at MSU. I believe it
Yup.....and it may be sooner than some think (cough....2018....cough)
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Originally Posted by
bluelightstar
That is mind-boggling to me. I was critical of Dan in late '12/'13 and was worried that we had some serious issues last year (and I think we did, they just all went to Louisville). But how could anyone be critical of Dan going toe-to-toe with Nick Saban on Saturday night? Bla bla Alabama's injuries, bla bla defense. The fact of the matter is that most of us thought (myself included) that we had no chance to beat/stay in the game with Alabama unless we could hit big plays. We literally grinded them up and down the field. That's sustainable in the future, and is a testament to the buy-in Mullen has gotten from the team
Amen. Great word choice with "sustainable"....That's what has me so pumped. This wasn't a flash in the pan game...we played our game and went on multiple drives mixing run & pass and being successful at both. That is definitely a recipe for long term success if you can do it against the best. Saturday night we showed that we can do just that.
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Originally Posted by
bluelightstar
That is mind-boggling to me. I was critical of Dan in late '12/'13 and was worried that we had some serious issues last year (and I think we did, they just all went to Louisville). But how could anyone be critical of Dan going toe-to-toe with Nick Saban on Saturday night? Bla bla Alabama's injuries, bla bla defense. The fact of the matter is that most of us thought (myself included) that we had no chance to beat/stay in the game with Alabama unless we could hit big plays. We literally grinded them up and down the field. That's sustainable in the future, and is a testament to the buy-in Mullen has gotten from the team
In the 4th Quarter, we had Willie Gay and Errol Thompson in the game at the LB position at the same time. If we can get freshmen LB ready to play against Bama then Saban sure as hell should be able to get his 5 star LB ready to play against MSU. The injuries just took some of Saban's advantages that he normally has against teams. On a level playing field, he isn't as dominant.
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Seeing Nick Saban absolutely lose it on his D late in the game did my soul good... I just wanted to put that out there
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Originally Posted by
CadaverDawg
Amen. Great word choice with "sustainable"....That's what has me so pumped. This wasn't a flash in the pan game...we played our game and went on multiple drives mixing run & pass and being successful at both. That is definitely a recipe for long term success if you can do it against the best. Saturday night we showed that we can do just that.
Yup. There was nothing gimmicky about how we did it and we didn’t even get a turnover, much less 5 turnovers.
The recipe we showed the other night is the recipe to win championships. Just need another playmaker.
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Outstanding post Cadaver. Agree 100%.
I remember being in school from 1996-1999 and that was a great era for us and I enjoyed all of the great wins and moments. But Dan is about to tell that era "Hold my beer".
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Originally Posted by
ShotgunDawg
Yup. There was nothing gimmicky about how we did it and we didn’t even get a turnover, much less 5 turnovers.
The recipe we showed the other night is the recipe to win championships. Just need another playmaker.
And we should have a few more next year. Wish we had one more growth year with Jordan Thomas though. Feels like he's just now starting to hit his stride
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