Croom Critical of bama

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

Sylvester Croom spoke to the Huntsville QB Club last night. The distinguished bama alum didn't pull any punches when it came to comments about bama after last Saturday's game. He said bama is not a great football team but they know how to win. "We've played three or four teams that are better from a talent standpoint."

When asked what impressed him least about bama he said "you really want to hear?" then added "I didn't think they played with as much class as Alabama teams usually do. All that bumping and saome other little things they di between plays....I wasn't impressed with that at all."

Hell must truly be freezing over. A former bama player questioning their class?

Wow!!!! Hard to spin this one.

[TigerOne 1,167]

yeah I'm sure the bammers will write him out of the will for disgracing the crapstone and accuse him of "Sour Grapes". But on the other hand he didn't say anything that isn't already known as far as talent goes. I'm sure most teams

do a little extra bumping. I like Croom as a coach, The SEC would do well for him

to be successful and of course beat uat

[WarTim 3,463]

Thanks to the MSU Coach for pointing out the obvious.

[GalensGhost 0]

I've always thought Bama's "class" was a figment of their own imagination.

I will admit that I've been a little surprised at some of the things I've seen this season.

1) Sprawling all over the field after the FG against Ole Miss. What happened to acting like you've been there?

2) Same game, the JP camera caught several Bama players running to the sideline and making throat-slashing gestures at the Ole Miss fans after the FG. This passed without comment from the JP announcers and was ignored by the SEC.

3) Same game, Kenneth Darby standing on the sidelines and taunting the Ole Miss crowd after his touchdown run. Shhhing them with a finger to his face and shaking his head and then cupping a hand to his ear as if to say "got something to say? I can't hear you." Again captured on camera, again passed without comment from the announcers and was not addressed by the SEC.

4) Similar taunts and gestures to Tennessee fans during that game.

It's all pretty classless and above what UA usually does.

[Guest Tigrinum Major]

yeah I'm sure the bammers will write him out of the will for disgracing the crapstone and accuse him of "Sour Grapes".

196170[/snapback]

There is now a thread on a Bama site with this title: "Croom's Sour Grapes"

Your new name is TigerNostradamusOne.

[DKW 86 7,726]

Against and I saw the dbs do this ankle grab thing where they stand up holding the tackled players ankle. They effectively pull him down again when he tries to stand up. I saw it several times and thought it was just too cheap top comment on. I am sure we are all imagining it anyway.....

[CrimsonPride 0]

Sylvester Croom spoke to the Huntsville QB Club last night. The distinguished bama alum didn't pull any punches when it came to comments about bama after last Saturday's game. He said bama is not a great football team but they know how to win. "We've played three or four teams that are better from a talent standpoint."

When asked what impressed him least about bama he said "you really want to hear?" then added "I didn't think they played with as much class as Alabama teams usually do. All that bumping and saome other little things they di between plays....I wasn't impressed with that at all."

Hell must truly be freezing over. A former bama player questioning their class?

Wow!!!! Hard to spin this one.

196165[/snapback]

Croom has been embittered ever since he was passed over for the head job at Bama. He's lost a lot of credibility with a lot of Bama fans with many of his statements since that time....and it's starting to irritate fans that supported him for the head job as well.

Whether his statements are technically true or not I don't think really matters. If Bama does not have the best talent then you obviously don't have to have the best talent to remain undefeated, but I'll take 9-0 if given a choice.

[jptiger 481]

Sylvester Croom spoke to the Huntsville QB Club last night. The distinguished bama alum didn't pull any punches when it came to comments about bama after last Saturday's game. He said bama is not a great football team but they know how to win. "We've played three or four teams that are better from a talent standpoint."

When asked what impressed him least about bama he said "you really want to hear?" then added "I didn't think they played with as much class as Alabama teams usually do. All that bumping and saome other little things they di between plays....I wasn't impressed with that at all."

Hell must truly be freezing over. A former bama player questioning their class?

Wow!!!! Hard to spin this one.

196165[/snapback]

Croom has been embittered ever since he was passed over for the head job at Bama. He's lost a lot of credibility with a lot of Bama fans with many of his statements since that time....and it's starting to irritate fans that supported him for the head job as well.

Whether his statements are technically true or not I don't think really matters. If Bama does not have the best talent then you obviously don't have to have the best talent to remain undefeated, but I'll take 9-0 if given a choice.

196417[/snapback]

''

[AUesquire 1]

Your new name is Flounder.

Why Flounder?

***Large belch*** WHY NOT?

Okay, aside from the comments Croom made, he's a tool bag and quickly proving he sux as a head coach. (Actually, I wish Bama did hire him) Recall what CTT had to deal with when he came to AU. As he openly stated, this was the least amount of talent he'd ever seen at an SEC school. He went 5-6 with that rag-tag bunch and very easily could have been 7-4 and bowl bound with a little better decision making.

Even Flip...uh, Shula came into a horrible situation with scholarship limitations, 3 weeks to prepare etc. and won 4 games, 6 the next year and is now 9-0 and 3rd in the BCS. Can anyone actually look at Croom's program after almost 2 years and say there's any indication they're headed in the right direction? Looks like the same ole' crappy bunch from MSU to me.

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

yeah I'm sure the bammers will write him out of the will for disgracing the crapstone and accuse him of "Sour Grapes".

196170[/snapback]

There is now a thread on a Bama site with this title: "Croom's Sour Grapes"

Your new name is TigerNostradamusOne.

196214[/snapback]

Bama has a very short memory. They have forgot the snub Shula did on Croom last year with the award deal.

[WarDlowe 39]

I've always thought Bama's "class" was a figment of their own imagination.

1) Sprawling all over the field after the FG against Ole Miss. What happened to acting like you've been there?

196210[/snapback]

Point 1, I agree with you. Their class is a figment of their imagination.

Point 2, NOBODY on the UAT team was around the last time they had a very successful season. For all intents and purposes for this team, they haven't been there.

[AUslug 1]

No not one of Bear's boys talking about lack of class from an Alabama football team. I hope Croom knows that now he won't ever get into heaven with those comments. Most of the bammers will cry about him being bitter and having a grudge, but it seemed like last year that some bammies wanted Croom instead of Shula.

[mcgufcm 4,107]

first, thanks to crimson pride for the completely predictable response that was actually made fun of prior to your post. a guy making a statement about how players act on the field has very little to do with being passed over for the job at that school. if he'd said shula misused the talent? sour grapes. instead, he actually praised the guy he was passed over for by saying the talent isn't all that great, but they know how to win. read that: shula's done a good job teaching decent talent how to win. not sour grapes.

second, esquire, i assume you're serious, but i think you're incredibly wrong. no one would've said shula had bama heading toward contention this year. he was a 5 win coach coming into this year. croom got a MUCH harder job walking into starkville. he had BAD players. he has NO tradition. he has to recruit kids to STARKVILLE (and i'm FROM there). shula and tubby had it 100 times easier, and i thought they had huge tasks in front of them. you won't have a clue what croom can do until year 4 there.

looking at his team, he's got a defense with more starting sophomores (3 than seniors (2), and that unit has gotten better and better through the year (only 30 points given up to kentucky and alabama combined... auburn gave up 27 to kentucky). they're going to be tough defensively next year.

on the other side, they bring back 4 of 5 starting olinemen. keeping an oline together can be the most important thing to building success. plus the fact that michael henig (a RFr) has gotten some valuable time on the field after they lost connor. that will breed some competition that will help both of them.

so yeah, i think he's got them going in the right direction. it's just going to take a lot longer to see the results of a great effort than it would at auburn or alabama.

[CrimsonPride 0]

first, thanks to crimson pride for the completely predictable response that was actually made fun of prior to your post. a guy making a statement about how players act on the field has very little to do with being passed over for the job at that school. if he'd said shula misused the talent? sour grapes. instead, he actually praised the guy he was passed over for by saying the talent isn't all that great, but they know how to win. read that: shula's done a good job teaching decent talent how to win. not sour grapes.

I don't believe I addressed the comments about players on the field, but I do have a bad memory sometimes so maybe that's just me.

What I was talking about is the fact that this really isn't the first time Croom has made some cutting remarks. He blamed the fact that he wasn't hired due to racism with no hard evidence to back that up. And Croom is not really complimenting Shula here, at least that's not what I glean from it. Remember, Croom responded with "do you really want to hear that?" when asked what Bama's weaknesses were. Along with that, if you're making an attempt to compliment another coach and another program you usually go about it in a more tactful way. Saying that "we've played about 3 or 4 teams with more talent" is at best some sort of backhanded compliment. If he really feels that way then he should keep those comments private and leave his praise simply at "they know how to win". It's just an understood code of conduct.

Also, there were plenty of cheap actions taken by MSU players in that game. He has no room to criticize.

I don't really care if the "predictable Bammer response" is made fun of. I wouldn't be surprised to find a thread around here somewhere making fun of the way Bama fans scratch their chin.

[mcgufcm 4,107]

i don't ever comment on how bama fans act. i know what i think, but i don't really care to talk about it.

i was simply pointing out that this comment. in this situation. after that question. was not sour grapes. him making comments on the players is not an attack on shula or the university. and if he made comments in the past about the decision being based on race... well i can't really blame him. it certainly wasn't based on a resume. and no, there's no proof that it was a race based hire b/c incredibly mal moore wasn't dumb enough put "we're not going to hire him b/c he's black" in a memo. no proof. for the record, i simply think bama was trying to get a young guy who wouldn't leave, with a good name, and a face that tv could fall in love with. only the last part could be skewed as slightly racist but not on bama's part. that's more of a media being more comfortable a white man than a black man. all i'm saying is THIS wasn't sour grapes.

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

first, thanks to crimson pride for the completely predictable response that was actually made fun of prior to your post. a guy making a statement about how players act on the field has very little to do with being passed over for the job at that school. if he'd said shula misused the talent? sour grapes. instead, he actually praised the guy he was passed over for by saying the talent isn't all that great, but they know how to win. read that: shula's done a good job teaching decent talent how to win. not sour grapes.

I don't believe I addressed the comments about players on the field, but I do have a bad memory sometimes so maybe that's just me.

What I was talking about is the fact that this really isn't the first time Croom has made some cutting remarks. He blamed the fact that he wasn't hired due to racism with no hard evidence to back that up. And Croom is not really complimenting Shula here, at least that's not what I glean from it. Remember, Croom responded with "do you really want to hear that?" when asked what Bama's weaknesses were. Along with that, if you're making an attempt to compliment another coach and another program you usually go about it in a more tactful way. Saying that "we've played about 3 or 4 teams with more talent" is at best some sort of backhanded compliment. If he really feels that way then he should keep those comments private and leave his praise simply at "they know how to win". It's just an understood code of conduct.

Also, there were plenty of cheap actions taken by MSU players in that game. He has no room to criticize.

I don't really care if the "predictable Bammer response" is made fun of. I wouldn't be surprised to find a thread around here somewhere making fun of the way Bama fans scratch their chin.

196474[/snapback]

I don't know about the chin but I can start a thread about bama fans scratching another part of their anatomy

[AUesquire 1]

I couldn't disagree more about CTT and Shula having it easier than Croom when they got to their respective schools. Tubby was handed literally ZERO talent. This was a team that finished 3-8 the year before, had Gabe Gross at QB, had a former coach suing them and could barely compete with the likes of Appalachian State. Forget the school or the support the fans and alumni give for a second. He had to play the 99' season with the hand he was dealt and he made that bunch competitive immediately, and has steadily improved the overall program ever since.

Sorry to defend Shula for a brief moment but can you honestly say that walking into a probation ravaged program with 3 weeks to install your system, knowing that you're basically thought of by many as a temporary fix to ride out the storm, is a better situation than Croom? With THAT kind of fan and media expectations and pressure? He's gone from 4 wins to 6 wins and a bowl to currently undefeated and 3rd in the country. As much as we love to dog our rival, that's serious improvement.

Croom, on the other hand, has beaten Florida and.....(crickets chirping for sound effect).....anyone...anyone?

I know it's Starkvegas and I'm not expecting conference championships right away, but Jackie Sherrill did just fine for several years before he lost control of the entire program. My point is that I've seen absolutely nothing from Sly Croom to indicate he's even an average head coach. He may prove it if they give him 5-6 years but as of right now, his program has shown zero improvement since the day he took over.

[AUloggerhead 2,356]

I couldn't disagree more about CTT and Shula having it easier than Croom when they got to their respective schools.  Tubby was handed literally ZERO talent.  This was a team that finished 3-8 the year before, had Gabe Gross at QB, had a former coach suing them and could barely compete with the likes of Appalachian State.  Forget the school or the support the fans and alumni give for a second.  He had to play the 99' season with the hand he was dealt and he made that bunch competitive immediately, and has steadily improved the overall program ever since.

Sorry to defend Shula for a brief moment but can you honestly say that walking into a probation ravaged program with 3 weeks to install your system, knowing that you're basically thought of by many as a temporary fix to ride out the storm, is a better situation than Croom?  With THAT kind of fan and media expectations and pressure?  He's gone from 4 wins to 6 wins and a bowl to currently undefeated and 3rd in the country.  As much as we love to dog our rival, that's serious improvement.

Croom, on the other hand, has beaten Florida and.....(crickets chirping for sound effect).....anyone...anyone?

I know it's Starkvegas and I'm not expecting conference championships right away, but Jackie Sherrill did just fine for several years before he lost control of the entire program.  My point is that I've seen absolutely nothing from Sly Croom to indicate he's even an average head coach.  He may prove it if they give him 5-6 years but as of right now, his program has shown zero improvement since the day he took over.

196496[/snapback]

Well, I have to disagree with you Counselor. Jackie Sherrell (former bammie & bear protege) skipped town one step ahead of the NCAA law & sanctions. In addition, he lost control of the team worse than Tot did at AU. The cupboard wasn't just bare, it was ripped off the walls and stolen. They need help everywhere and I don't see a 1 or 2 year fix happening. He has recruited some talent but just not enough. I know for a fact that DL DelJuan Robinson was one that AU was recruiting. So was Omar Conner. MSU's DL looked pretty good against uat. I say give the man a couple more years to recruit in depth before you dismiss him.

As for Croom's so-called "bitterness" toward his alma mater -- can you blame him? Besides losing out on the HC job, don't forget the attempt to strip his name from the honorary award given out after spring training. Talk about the ultimate snub. That was without a doubt THE most classless a move I've ever seen, and I've been witnessing bammie fan classlessness now for about 35 years.

[mcgufcm 4,107]

okay first off, jackie sherril is widely regarded as the best coach ever at msu, and that was a guy who had a losing season 6 out of 14 seasons he was there. best. coach. in the history of the program. so, i don't think you can forget fan support or reputation if you want an honest appraisal of the situations. here's how i'd break them down:

MSU - sly took over a team under investigation that received sanctions shortly after he was hired. this was a team that had 8 total wins (3 sec wins) in the 3 seasons preceding his hire. his first year, msu had zero preseason sec players. he was the first black coach in the history of the sec so there was an inordinate amount of media to deal with for a low level job.

Alabama - shula took over a 10 win team under investigation who received sanctions shortly after he was hired. he had no time to install his system. while the fans and media claim he was a stopgap hire, the university says he is their man for the long term. he gets a qb that everyone loves, two potentially pro running backs (not including ken darby), and a very young (at the time poor) defense.

Auburn - tubby takes over a 3 win team in a horribly unorganized situation with the university. he brings with him a solid, if unspectacular, coaching staff that had been together in the sec for four years. he got immediate help in the form of ronney daniels and had a capable qb in ben leard that just needed time to mature along with a solid defense.

so out of all the situations, i'd say the talent level as the lowest at msu then auburn then bama. the external problems were the worst at bama then msu then auburn. the challenge of putting together a staff was hardest at bama then msu (he didn't come to starkville until after recruiting season b/c green bay was in the playoffs) then auburn. add in the discipline problems that were the worst with either msu (see croom kicking more than 10 players off the team by the end of twoadays) or auburn (see our arrest records). i think msu is BY FAR the worst situation of all of them.

and to say the only way to measure progress is by the number of wins you have is just silly. they were a group of lazy thugs when croom got there. now, anyone in starkville can tell you the difference in the players just by seeing them out, and when you watch them play, you never say they don't work. they are overmatched right now, but they work. croom's going to replace sherril as the best coach at msu. all he needs is time.