I am trying to remember

[OG Goat Holder]

This is about where I am. Football is just a beautiful game. One of the few where scheme can sometimes beat raw talent. It was fun to watch Leach try to take that approach, and before him Mullen was above average at coaching up the talent we had. You could root for our players because many (not all) were passed up by bigger programs and you got the sense that they actually loved MSU.
But now.... I don't have confidence in the coaching staff, nor do I sense any loyalty whatsoever from most of our players. The college game has simply turned into a bidding war for talent - at the player and coaching levels. I will still watch (I think), but far less interested than ever before.

The one thing that we'll always have is the fall football Saturday. They killed a lot of people's love for crootin, and the die-hard side of many's fandom, but the spectacle of Saturdays will still remain. Same reason the basketball tournament opening weekend is so great......ton of teams playing at the same time.

Of course, nowadays it is just something on TV on the side. It used to be the staple of my weekend. Either way, I never ever ever thought they could screw something up so badly, that was so good. I still don't know why anybody supports the paying of players.....as a concept, it's 17-ing terrible. I'd rather have unlimited transfers any day of the week.

All those whiny maggot sports writers who cried for years about 'paying the labor', I hope they are enjoying this cesspool of ignorance. A lot of them got laid off over the years due to the interest decline in the day to day operation of the programs. I can't say I feel sorry for them. But I still ultimately blame for NCAA for making hard rules and then spitting in the face of the players by doing things like the video games.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

I hope someone on staff knows how to take a QB with as high a potential as we've seen in a long time and coach him into everything that he can be. That and the OL talent question are the biggest wildcards that I see.

A dirty little secret that nobody is talking about, is that Lebby needs an accurate passer for his stuff to work. Right now, all we know about Taylor is that he can run, and throw the ball 100 mph. So one of two things will need to happen if we want to have success:

1 - His running ability ends up being even better than last year, which means he goes the way of a Lamar Jackson or Mike Vick, and wins games by overwhelming defenses with the run;
2 - His passing gets markedly better.

1 is more likely than 2. And I know Jackson/Vick are extreme examples and likely won't happen, so let's say maybe a Nick Fitzgerald. I think he can probably be that good or maybe a little better, but again, there was a big difference in a Mullen-coached Fitz and a Moorhead-coached Fitz.

It's rare for passing to really get better, at least as far as accuracy, but we'll see. That's the avenue we want if you want to see a true breakout season. Then we have a real dual threat QB who is truly dangerous, not just a running QB.

 

[IBleedMaroonDawg]

I hope we do well. I am afraid the changes in college football are not going to look good for schools like Mississippi State.