Beyond The Spring - Spring QB Battle

Notice how they didn't even talk about Shanbour or Means...

They wouldn't talk about McNulty either if he weren't Mac's little buddy.

Awful reseved praise for DW. Sounds like we're gearing up to have another "bus driver".

I am starting more and more to think it will Greer and McNulty on the two deep with Williams for maybe wild cats or so. Then again ,aybe the reason he does not praise DW more is because DW is the QB most at risk of getting complacent whenever something good is said. But overall, I am just trying to read tea leaves, and that is one difficult task. We won't really know anything before the spring game, and probably only very little after.

so i guess #getten is where we are headed

Wow, well we know who Chico likes...Greer. I still think DW gives the team the best opportunity to put up the most points, which is the goal of the offense. Yeah ball control and grinding the football while opposing your will is all great, but scoring points is the offenses job and DW gives us the best opportunity to score the most points. Greer is great and should be the back up in the very likely scenario DW gets injured. But all this offseason chatter of uptempo is head shaking. Where was I when this was going on? I mean against Ball St they had to go uptempo to get back in the game, but aside from that I never really saw a game plan that was, "let's go fast and get them on their heels." I saw let's run the football at 8-9 man fronts and try to play good defense. Well the D is going to take a slight step back particularly in terms of run D. So if Coach Mac wants to play with fire and have a methodical offense and hope for points then it is what it is. Bc teams are going to take advantage of our weaknesses which is the D-line. So expect teams to run on us and play methodical against us. So better have an O that can score. So accountability needs to happen if a 6-6 or 5-7 season takes places with 2 or 3 close losses bc the coaching staff wanted to start a guy that shines at handing the ball off and throwing 6 yard hitches.

Wow, well we know who Chico likes...Greer. I still think DW gives the team the best opportunity to put up the most points, which is the goal of the offense. Yeah ball control and grinding the football while opposing your will is all great, but scoring points is the offenses job and DW gives us the best opportunity to score the most points. Greer is great and should be the back up in the very likely scenario DW gets injured. But all this offseason chatter of uptempo is head shaking. Where was I when this was going on? I mean against Ball St they had to go uptempo to get back in the game, but aside from that I never really saw a game plan that was, "let's go fast and get them on their heels." I saw let's run the football at 8-9 man fronts and try to play good defense. Well the D is going to take a slight step back particularly in terms of run D. So if Coach Mac wants to play with fire and have a methodical offense and hope for points then it is what it is. Bc teams are going to take advantage of our weaknesses which is the D-line. So expect teams to run on us and play methodical against us. So better have an O that can score. So accountability needs to happen if a 6-6 or 5-7 season takes places with 2 or 3 close losses bc the coaching staff wanted to start a guy that shines at handing the ball off and throwing 6 yard hitches.

slow down there hoss... since all of us have seen a combined one possession of NCAA football between Greer and DW, i don't think we really know who exactly can do what better than the other...

i'll hold any criticisms until we are maybe 2 games deep into the season...

secondly... the fast tempo pace was used in the majority of games this past year, although it usually only occurred in the second half, which i believe is the coaches gameplan... see Tulane, Ball St., Ohio, Tulsa, UNLV, Middle Tenn., UTSA

also.. running the ball against 8 or 9 man fronts was part of their play fast scheme... it might have worked it's best in the bowl game... but we definitely showed it in Tulsa and other games

I was at 5 of the 7 games you named and uptempo was rarely used in any of those games aside from Ball State. I think they rushed to the line after getting a first down twice in the Tulsa game, both coming in the first half. The utsa was the most poorly called game of Coach Canales' UNT career. There was no logical game plan. The Ohio game I was only able to listen, but the guys never mentioned uptempo. If your going to use it then USE it. Don't feather with it sporadically, effectively put it to use. And if North Texas has any kind of lead here comes the two tight end set and 30 2nd half run plays. That is playing not to lose and not playing to win. With little to no margin for error we can't afford playing not to lose. That is how you lose. This may sound crazy, but Rhett Lashlee is a guy to bring in as O coordinator and to be in line to take over for Mac. His stock is still low so get him while the getting is good. Granted this is if Chico takes a HC job at seasons end, which I think he will. If you like what Gus Malzahn has been able to do while he has been coaching in college then you'd love Lashlee. He's a mini Malzahn that will eventually grow into a hot commodity. Just food for thought.

Edited March 24, 2014 by Ben Gooding

It is obvious that DW's poor showing in the off season has put him behind all the other QB's since that is a greater factor than on the field production.

Yeah, well, if they choose to have DW ride the pine they better win games. Simple as that. I hope they think with their football mind and not with their ego. I know Mac wants all of his guys to rah rah rah 24/7, but some guys simply aren't wired like that. You don't have to rah, rah, rah to win football games.

What I took from this is they really really want DW to gain some weight to be a starter, and that is why he was being singled out for his off-season habits/performance.

This video didn't' clear anything up for me. It only added to the offseason suspense.

I was at 5 of the 7 games you named and uptempo was rarely used in any of those games aside from Ball State. I think they rushed to the line after getting a first down twice in the Tulsa game, both coming in the first half. The utsa was the most poorly called game of Coach Canales' UNT career. There was no logical game plan. The Ohio game I was only able to listen, but the guys never mentioned uptempo. If your going to use it then USE it. Don't feather with it sporadically, effectively put it to use. And if North Texas has any kind of lead here comes the two tight end set and 30 2nd half run plays. That is playing not to lose and not playing to win. With little to no margin for error we can't afford playing not to lose. That is how you lose. This may sound crazy, but Rhett Lashlee is a guy to bring in as O coordinator and to be in line to take over for Mac. His stock is still low so get him while the getting is good. Granted this is if Chico takes a HC job at seasons end, which I think he will. If you like what Gus Malzahn has been able to do while he has been coaching in college then you'd love Lashlee. He's a mini Malzahn that will eventually grow into a hot commodity. Just food for thought.

This is just flat wrong. If you were at the games and missed what we were trying to do on offense, it is because you weren't thinking about the strategy involved in a game over time. It isn't playing not to lose. Many times we stepped on the gas and throats at the end of games last season. Playing not to lose is nursing leads. We did not do that.

The 2 games you singled out, we didn't step on the gas soon enough, but they did step on it and in both cases we had chances to win. I can't tell you how interested I am in football again because of this past season and seeing our offense actually have purpose, even in losses. How our offense runs and what we do makes a whole lot of sense.

If people think this is an "uptempo" offense the they are flat wrong.

The thing I like about Coach Canales is that he sees the big picture: Quarterbacking and Team are more important concepts than the overused, worn out "athleticism."

They are all athletes; that is why they are on scholarship. Many here, though, fall for the notion that because one quarterback is faster than another, then he is more athletic. That is wholly laughable.

There is more to an athlete than speed. There is agility. There is strength. There is intelligence. There is power. And, there is discipline.

At quarterback, who gives you the best long term results over a 12-14 game season? Is it the guy who understands the position and game plan, and constantly commits himself to the same? Or, is it the guy who abandons the game plan and study of the position because he believes his athleticism puts him on a different level than the other 21 people on the field while he's running around "creating?"

Edited March 25, 2014 by The Fake Lonnie Finch

Yeah, well, if they choose to have DW ride the pine they better win games. Simple as that. I hope they think with their football mind and not with their ego. I know Mac wants all of his guys to rah rah rah 24/7, but some guys simply aren't wired like that. You don't have to rah, rah, rah to win football games.

and the same goes if DW is the starter...

look, the team just won 9 games when most were saying the coached were being stubborn... let's see how the season plays out before we just start condemning this season as lost

If people think this is an "uptempo" offense the they are flat wrong.

to say flat wrong may be a bit of an overstatement... they finished 59th last year in plays per game... and that includes them running the ball at an uptempo pace more than most teams do(which contributes to more game clock stoppage)

and, more internally, it was a 3 PPG increase from the previous 2 years...

http://www.teamrankings.com/college-football/stat/plays-per-game

like most will acknowledge... a lot of the time, it was a grind it out offense in the first half of games and then pedal to the metal as soon as we started the second half (which left a lot of folks baffled when they would see the success of the 2nd half)

The thing I like about Coach Canales is that he sees the big picture: Quarterbacking and Team are more important concepts than the overused, worn out "athleticism."

They are all athletes; that is why they are on scholarship. Many here, though, fall for the notion that because one quarterback is faster than another, then he is more ahtletic. That is wholly laughable.

There is more to an athlete than speed. There is agility. There is strength. There is intelligence. There is power. And, there is discipline.

At quarterback, who gives you the best long term results over a 12-14 game season? Is it the guy who understands the position and game plan, and constantly commits himself to the same? Or, is it the guy who abandons the game plan and study of the position because he believes his athleticism puts him on a different level than the other 21 people on the field while he's running around "creating?"

And the one with the best squat technique.

I don't know if it has been mentioned but it showed that Dajon was a red-shirt freshman (I know we all assumed it would happen, but it's still nice to see).

I don't know if it has been mentioned but it showed that Dajon was a red-shirt freshman (I know we all assumed it would happen, but it's still nice to see).

I noticed that... Thank baby Jesus! He is a talented young man and having him around for another year will only make him better. Can not wait to see him in action.

I just love that this series is giving us more access and info than in previous springs.

We experienced the great benefits of a team assuming the personality of its key leaders (starting with the QB), so I refuse to minimize the coaching staff's evaluation of this as they assess each player. My read on the situation is similar to what others have said, they want DW to win the job but they're not willing to compromise in some of the areas where he may currently be deficient.

It's March 25...plenty of time for any one of these guys to improve.

I just love that this series is giving us more access and info than in previous springs.

We experienced the great benefits of a team assuming the personality of its key leaders (starting with the QB), so I refuse to minimize the coaching staff's evaluation of this as they assess each player. My read on the situation is similar to what others have said, they want DW to win the job but they're not willing to compromise in some of the areas where he may currently be deficient.

It's March 25...plenty of time for any one of these guys to improve.

The coaching staff isn't going to give you their read on the QB situation on a 3 minute website interview in the Spring. They are going to say polite things about everybody and maybe use it to motivate certain players involved in the competition.

And that is all.

The thing I like about Coach Canales is that he sees the big picture: Quarterbacking and Team are more important concepts than the overused, worn out "athleticism."

They are all athletes; that is why they are on scholarship. Many here, though, fall for the notion that because one quarterback is faster than another, then he is more ahtletic. That is wholly laughable.

There is more to an athlete than speed. There is agility. There is strength. There is intelligence. There is power. And, there is discipline.

At quarterback, who gives you the best long term results over a 12-14 game season? Is it the guy who understands the position and game plan, and constantly commits himself to the same? Or, is it the guy who abandons the game plan and study of the position because he believes his athleticism puts him on a different level than the other 21 people on the field while he's running around "creating?"

So a good quarterback carries a lunch pail.

DW has issues, but he is young and they can be worked on. College football is fast paced, so he doesnt have a lot of time and the coaching staff will move on if he doesnt improve. I am glad to hear he is still getting his shot with the ones.

The offseason workouts showed some issues the staff has and its more than being loud. Motivation is also about leading and being prepared. Its about the qb who has the lockerroom behind them.

DW will need to get more reps and learn the offense. He will have to work through his personal situation and put in work off the field to win over the coaching staff and team.

The thing I like about Coach Canales is that he sees the big picture: Quarterbacking and Team are more important concepts than the overused, worn out "athleticism."

They are all athletes; that is why they are on scholarship. Many here, though, fall for the notion that because one quarterback is faster than another, then he is more ahtletic. That is wholly laughable.

There is more to an athlete than speed. There is agility. There is strength. There is intelligence. There is power. And, there is discipline.

At quarterback, who gives you the best long term results over a 12-14 game season? Is it the guy who understands the position and game plan, and constantly commits himself to the same? Or, is it the guy who abandons the game plan and study of the position because he believes his athleticism puts him on a different level than the other 21 people on the field while he's running around "creating?"

All my Aggie friends absolutely HATE that Manziel improvised.

And let me save you the predictable response. aTm lost because of a lack of defemse, not because Manziel put up numbers similar to his Heisman campaign.

Edited March 25, 2014 by emmitt01

If people think this is an "uptempo" offense the they are flat wrong.

And if people think we are an offense that purely milks the clock, they are wrong.

We're probably somewhere in the middle, which is a good thing. We have some flexibility to play the clock to what the situation needs.