Irish

Nobody waits longer than Grand Forks to send the plows out - just went for groceries - roads are passible but crappy. Would it kill them to plow a little.

You are 100% correct in your assessment of Eid's character - we were lucky to have him.

I am in favor of across the board raises in salary for almost all coaches. We expect excellence and should be willing to pay for it. Revenue will increase if we start winning more. I am also in favor of setting performance goals. All programs right now have plusses and minuses and room to improve. I am worried that we have seen a subtle but steady lowering of expectations. The nickname is settled, we have a great conference, and the transition is done. No more excuses. Time to shoot pool, Fast Eddie.

And whose job is it to recruit quarterbacks? Calling BS on the nickname excuse.

I understand what you are saying, but not buying it to the extent you are. Regardless, I think Muss needs to show us something and right soon. Not saying championship, but something we can get behind. So far, nothing.

Your big picture gives him about a decade to produce - I think that is too long. I'm not buying the nickname excuse for our lackluster transition. I have not seen anything out of him so far that indicates he will challenge for a championship in the next 3-4 years which is what took place in the program you are comparing us to.

Sounds like you know more than I do - I was just speculating, given the state of UND's defense - I've always liked Manassau and wish him well. We need to seriously upgrade our defense for next year from all aspects talent, schemes, and execution. It will be interesting to see who gets the job.

I know you are a Muss apologist, but come on - to pick out the one bad NDSU season and use that as a comparison is bogus - If you want to use NDSU as a yardstick for our program, lots of luck.

Then when do we get the equivelant of NDSU's 10-1 years?

I'm glad a loyal guy like Manassau stays in the Sioux family. However this feels like he was eased out and give another position because of his dedication. It's no secret that our defense was in shambles last season. I'm usually in favor of hiring qualified people from within. However, given the state of Sioux football, if we miss this opportunity to bring in someone outside our system, we're nuts.

I've seen many really good coaches get overly attached to a certain scheme that doesn't work at times. Happens a lot in football and basketball. Hak's stubborn insistance on the dump and chase reminds me of this. It has been our mainstay since he took over. Has any of the underclassmen made a big step in their game since last year? Almost everyone has regressed. Maybe time to rethink things.

Dump and chase is a Hak trademark. I was sitting by a Badger fan at one of our games a few years ago and he asked "doesn't your team ever carry the puck in?". Not very often. The problem I see is that at the highest levels, this stratagy as well as our breakout has been frustrated and we have nothing else. During almost every Frozen 4 loss we have almost no ability to get anything going. When we can't plain just out muscle someone or beat them on sheer talent our game seems very succeptable to being stopped without response. We just try do more of the same.

Sorry - I had you confused with the geaux_sioux that defended Muss against all comers

Strange - you go to great lengths to disparage anyone who questions Mussman's coaching, but readily trash another coach on this board. I smell a double standard, unless you think Muss has a hidden talent only you can see now, but will become evident to all in 2-3 years.

Couldn't agree more - I am not doubting Berry's credentials at all. It's just that with 6 returners with experience and a #1 draft pick we should be a hell of a lot better. Same mistakes game after game. Clearing the back side and the front of the net is just basics, not some strange new system.

One point this weekend at home. That's just craptastic

Pretty big difference since this is what we all are playing for. It's the difference between Blais and Woog.

This is the softest Sioux team since the Bjorkman era. Come on - we have 6 returning defensemen with playing time and a number 1 draft pick and we cant clear the front of the net? Pathetic. Literally half way through the game and we had 5 - count em - 5 shots on goal. We had better have a boatload of talent coming in next year because when we lose Kristo, Mac, and Knight I don't know if we will score at all. Manhandled by the Clowns is unacceptable.

Of course it's now hockey season

And you don't think that Gopher fans drinking with the refs and the discussion focuses on "how dirty the Sioux are" is an indication that the Goophs get favored by these same refs?

A lot of speculation on line combinations (which is interesting), but I don't think that is our main concern. I'm worried about our defense. With only one freshman and a highly touted D coach with NFL experience, this is not what I expected. It has been a long time since I have seen opponents camp out in front of our goal and not pay a price. So far I have not been impressed with our D either on the defensive end or in moving the puck. Along with not being very physical there have been an unusual number of horrible turnovers. Anyone have an Idea what gives. I really thought we'd be a lot better here. (note for the reactionarys - this is not a critisizm of coach Berry, just an open question)

Agreed about some great saves - what looked like a softie from my perspective (close) looked like our D-man screening him - he's got a great glove and if he sees that shot he gets it 9 out of 10 times. Our D needs to step it up several notches.

Gotta say that once again I was not impressed with our defensive corps. Other that Mac, we're not very physical and he seems to have the knack for doing it at the wrong time. That's fine if you are great puck movers, but that has not really been the case. Our break-out seems to struggle at times. We're often out of position and have some horrible give-aways. I know their first goal looked soft, but our D man served as a great screen. Gleeson continues to underwhelm. Remember when our D-Men were feared?

Most of these guys are Juniors in college - they know how to pass the ball, they just choose not to. A big problem for our team.

Not sure that most of the fans envisioned a 5-6 year on the job training period for Muss to "grow into the job". Time to get it done now. As much as some Sioux fans derided the Bison championship, they played like we wished we did. Not buying the "he's young excuse"