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Eye uh gree. The offense was horribly predictable over the past three seasons. Folks complained about Dickey's last two teams having predictable offenses. But, the past three seasons have taught us that you can have an overly predictable passing game as well. That is all gone. It's like I've awakened in some sort of strange dream land since Christmas: -All assistant coaches are now 100% from the college ranks -We're one year into having a full time strength and conditioning guy for the football team -Todd Dodge has relaxed and handed the keys of the car to Chico Canales -We're going to have tall guys with strong arms at QB -We're going to have motion, tight ends, fullbacks, and snaps from under center -We're going to have depth along the lines -We're going to have Riley in a position to use his speed without getting killed -We're going to have GREEN HELMETS again! -And, we're going to have a new stadium in 2011. Man, I was depressed, literally, when the season ended and Coach Dodge announced no changes. I took my little family up to my other alma mater and watched them dismantle Oklahoma State on the basketball court. The next day, I wrote them a check. I wrote a horribly depressing piece about it and posted in on my miserable little site. Then, things began to change. Coaches began to mysteriously get jobs in other places. Other coaches were out of jobs due to their head coaches unexpectedly being fired or hired in other places. Suddenly, we had real coaches on board! Then, we signed alot of good depth for the future. Then, we learned of the green helmets. Then, Riley and Todd decided to move him to a position that I've argued for the better part of three years that he should be playing in order to give himself a shot at real college stardom and the NFL. The only thing I haven't seen is Riley returning punts and kickoffs. If that happens, I'll begin to wonder if Rick Villareal or the Football Fairy isn't sleeping under my bed at night and catching my dreams like so many Drew Pearson-like Hail Mary hauls. I know this one thing. My attidue is now 164% different. And, I'm pledging now that, even in this piss poor economy which is daily being wrecked by Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Barack Obama, and Barney the Dinosaur, I will tithe the proceed of every tenth sale I make to the UNT athletic department. I'm even going to dust off my old FTC Do Not Call number and start cold calling people to drum up new sales directly. I now seriously see this thing taking flight with a trajectory none of us could have ever imagined - least of all after Arkansas State had just pissed in our Thankgiving turkey. And, I want to be at the tippy top forefront of it, riding on a wave of perplexing Mean Green insanity! You will rue the day, you damn RedWolves, that you permanently turned Riley from quarterback to receiver! And, the rest of the Sun Belt will rue it as well. Your Interception-Return-Stiff-Arm-of-Death will be your curse for the next three seasons as Riley weaves his way through your secondary like a new born Galloping Ghost and farts victory all over your heathen ashes on the way to the end zone! Time after time after time. I haven't been this giddy since 1980 when I went to see Flash Gordon in the movie theater at Richardson Square Mall and my eyes beheld that Italian actress wearing her tight red thingy and straddling our hero as he tried to guide the secret escape craft to the secret moon of pleasure. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vg1pfksRRF0&feature=related

....and Elizabeth too. Regardless if people approved or did not with Todd's performance on the field, it had to be even tougher when fans were criticizing your son as well who played the most pressure-packed position on the field, and the position that gets the most criticism for sure. Like it or not, that's the nature of the beast, and now Todd can relax and be the CEO of the program. Elizabeth can surely take a deep breath. And Riley can use his 4.4 speed and football savvy at WR and become a nice weapon in the UNT arsenal.

That was one of the first thoughts that came into my head as well. Or, what do you think now Giovanni Vizza? Like others have already mentioned, this really puts a new level of uncertainty on this season. Regardless of whether or not Thompson turns out to be all-conference, he has three minutes of college football experience thus far. This is Dodge's fourth season and it's also the fourth season there's been instability at, arguably, the most important position in his style of offense. I don't blame either Dodge but, unless you think game-day experience is over-rated, then I don't see how this can be viewed as anything other than another setback. On the bright side, at least the coaching staff will have six months to get the new QB ready. Best of luck to Riley in making the transition to WR.

What do you think now Javia Hall?

Enjoy...and talk amongst yourselves. Link To Footage

Matt Grothe set all kinds of records at USF and Big East records as well, and he wasn't the fleetest of foot (words straight from Canales' mouth). If Thompson can execute the Zone Read, we'll be fine. Just to keep LB's and DE's honest, all you gotta do. Texas did it with Colt who ran a 4.7 (though I don't like Greg Davis' offense)...just saying. Thompson has a sound delivery and can make all the throws which will open up the field more for #5. The problem the last few years was that the box would get crowded without the threat of a downfield passing game and that would make it tough to get the necessary yards in the running game. If you look at #5's long runs last year, several came on passing downs when teams had nickel and dime packages in the game. In turn, if this offense can spread the field vertically and horizontally, it will open up things for #5, which is who we all want to have the ball.

Forget QBs! 10 lineman + Dunbar taking snaps= BCS birth

Don't discount Thompson as a possible improvement at QB this year. He has the size, arm, and ability to play the position, and really showed something in that 4 play, 68 yard drive against a 1st team Sun Belt defense. I think you will see him as a three year starter for this program.

Per Tim MacMahon's Twitter feed. Arm problems move Dodge permanently to WR.

I think once Chris Babb AND J'Misson Morgan sign, we need to rename them "Collin Mangrum" and "Collin Mangrum, Part Deux."

I think Collin should at the very least mentioned or recognized on senior night '11

What Emmitt said.... while it's true that we saw this offense unable to run and rely on the pass quite often with Vizza and Meager in the game, one minor detail to consider is that that was the Todd Dodge high school offense. This ain't.

So Baine throws as well as Thompson and Tune by your observations?

I think we already saw what this offense looks like without a viable running threat at QB for the 2 years prior to Riley starting. Vizza and Meager both had good enough arms to stretch the field but we couldn't run the ball to save our lives. We very much looked like Texas Tech. Heck, we even saw the same thing last year in the games that Tune started.

That threshold of 7 wont change. The higher ups in the Athletic Department have faith in Derek Thompson and expect nothing less regardless of who's playing QB. Ultimately it all steers back to the head coach, and if he hasn't done a good job of recruiting and developing QB's to win 7 games, then that's definitely a strike in the book.

This isn't a big deal. Many of us said from Day One that he didn't have the body to take the hits at QB at this level. It's not good that we had to be proven right; but, it happened. Now, we can see him at a position where he can really help the team. I still want to see him get a shot at returning kickoffs and punts. As a receiver, I think he has the shiftiness to be like former OU/current Baltimore Raven WR Mark Clayton. Stature-wise, they are almost identical. Their slashing running styles in the open field are identical. It will be exciting to see how he develops under coach Hines. To me, this more than makes up for the off-season loss of William Cole...who, again, was about the same size as Riley. 2010 is going to be a great season. We'll have strong-armed quarterbacks throwing to fleet-footed receivers. And, when opponents drop that safety out of the box or pull backers to go nickel and dime, we'll be hitting them with Lance Dunbar through an experienced OL. The only question still remaining is where to display the 2010 Sun Belt championship in the new stadium...and, whether we'll have enough money to keep Todd Dodge and Chico Canales around for 2011 and beyond.

I love what Darren Oliver did today cleaing up the mess of Neftali who didn't have much command. The bullpen will continue to be a major concern for me moving forward. As always, a bullpen is a year to year proposition. Salty came through....okay, hope he can keep putting together decent at bats and stay healthy. Nellie Cruz has sick power, to flick the wrists and go opposite field bullpen is fun to watch. Feldman did what an ace does. Moves past speed bumps and keeps you in the game. Loved it. The offense did get no-no'd through 6, which is a major concern. This offense was not good last year, and today reminded me of that. Hopefully Hurdle can work with the kids and make them compete every time up. You saw that last night in Boston for both the Yankees and BoSox. It's like they were playing a different brand of baseball. I want to see that here. A day off will help the wrist of Elvis, which is still hurting. Hopefully Harden gives us more that 5IP Wednesday night.

Solid start for the UNT-D Jags.

I said Dodge wasn't the right hire for us...and I was right: I think the jury is still out on this. The early returns are not good, but we don't know for sure. What if you're wrong? I said Riley... was too fragile to play D1 QB...and I was right: Riley was the best option at QB though, injury prone or not. And I say Dodge will not be back next season, but I will be: No, you said Dodge will be gone by week 7 or 8, meaning he wont even finish out the season. Will you stand by that? What if you're wrong? No one is blindly supporting. I don't think Dodge is always right. I was scratching my head 'til my scalp was bleeding when the whole 2 TO, 4th down fiasco went down last year. Regardless, saying the same thing over and over gets old. You're frustrated with the football program (like most of us)! We know... just post something discussion-worthy sometimes please. You're a UNT alumn right? I know you can contribute more!

He comes out of hibernation to issue a joke 16 years in the making?

OR, Green P1 is responsible for re-injuring Rodge's shoulder. You decide.

While begging for another QB, we already have a HS recruit coming in this fall and get get plenty of reps in practice, also Baine will be ready to go if needed as well. QB should not be a worry right now.

I hate to see this happen. Riley took alot of heat in his 1 year starting. I think his injury mainly goes back to his serious seperated shoulder in high school. I think he will be able to get some quality pt at the wr spot. As far as what it means for the QB spot, I think it does several things. With Thompson you don't have the same running ability at the QB spot. You have more of a Tebow style runner, straight up the middle with his 6'4 225 frame for 3-5 yds. Thompson has a cannon for an arm. You will see him be able to open the field up with the deep ball that RD wasn't able to do.

The late 70s and 80s had some fantastic games, which is why I restricted time. I hope you don't think I'm devaluing the history of the tournament by not remembering the older classics.

I am glad that we are going to put the one who is most capable of getting the job done. If it was Riley, then he needs to be out there. If it is Derek or Nathan... than so be it. I don't see this as good or bad news. Rather, us trying to put our best foot forward. Riley is going to be a beast in the slot.

whoa... sad news but Riley's best contributions to this team in my opinion were always his speed and his competitiveness. In my opinion it gives you another leader on the offensive side of the ball who will be a playmaker - one way or another. I guess I kind of see him as a Wes Welker type receiver.

I have to say, I am a little disappointed by this news. While Riley didn't have the strongest arm, I was interested to see what he could do under Canales. I am glad to have Riley at WR where his speed can be used in a number of different ways. And I am excited to see what Thompson can do with this offense in the spring game and get a better idea of who our starter will be.

Not to be that guy, but KU vs. Memphis is still my favorite in the last few years because of the overall talent of the floor, but this is an easy second.

I think it helps the run game because we now have 2 big arms that can keep the defense on their heels if Canales takes the leash off of the QB's. They are not running threats or at least that is the opinion but with more established routes and use of TE's the running game should flourish.

Disappointing news. I think our running game just took a major hit. We just went from hoping the TE and over the middle plays would help us keep the defense honest to absolutely having to get production there to keep the running game from getting clogged at the line.

My heart goes out to Riley. I know it stings not to play the position you grew up playing. Mostly though I just pray for his long term health...he'll need a functioning arm long after football is over.

This isn't tee ball on the playground. You find a way to take both Chris Babb and J'mison Morgan.

I'm predicting we will have to pay Johnny a lot more as well to keep him in a few years?

Geez, am I going to have to start issuing sarcasm tags?

Tonight during the Park & Rec board meeting, we took public comments on this issue. When the board session began, I made a motion to recommend to the city council that the park be renamed the Spec. Ernest W. Dallas, Jr. Veteran's Memorial Park. The motion passed unanimously.

Funny, I was just hoping for 5 strong innings. Anything more is cake.

Just look at all the great things ULM has accomplished since this was published in 2006.

Too many.

Families shouldn't have 6 kids (my opinion). You get what you get if you can't control that aspect of your life. The midterms are not going to be the blood bath that you expect. Oh sure....the right will keep using fear to sway the ignorant, and they will win more seat, but it's not going to be the bloodletting that some of you think. The majority won in 2008, and they are still there in massive numbers.

Getting back to the ISSUE (lousy hijacker)... Yes, GMG should strictly curtail new memberships. What we need to do is build a big firewall to protect this website. If someone wants to go through the right steps and join us, they'll be welcomed with open arms. But we don't need any outsiders coming on here and taking advantage of all the benefits of our online society. Free comedy, cracking (or maybe just 'on crack') political commentary... And don't get me started on what those people have done to the cost of medical care on our forum. If I had a dollar for everyone who gave birth to a scholarship athlete just so their whole family could be grandfathered in to forum membership, then I could probably pay for the whole firewall myself.

The War on Terrorism Memorial Recreational Area.

http://www.lsusports.net/ViewArticle.dbm...=204919830 I think we should follow suit and install green turf with white numbers.

Well theres some good news.

Wow, this really hurts. I've always felt Riley was the best QB on this team and gave this program the best chance to win considering how taylored the offense was to his style. We are heading into another season with a VERY big unknown at QB. Looks like the nail in the coffin for Teflon Todd. At least we'll have something to look forward to in 2011!!!!!!!!!!

green helmet?

Let's see. I said Dodge wasn't the right hire for us...and I was right. I said Riley... was too fragile to play D1 QB...and I was right. And I say Dodge will not be back next season, but I will be. Because being a fan of my school doesn't mean blindly accepting this bad product. If being a fan means always saying the coach is right, then all those Dickey haters have some explaining to do.

Yeah, Alabama and Troy are great representations of the average defense we faced last season. Tune's lack of speed isn't what killed the offense last season. Defensive coordinators knowing that we could only throw outs and 15 yard routes is what allowed defenses to "sell out" against the run...and that was regardless of QB. I don't know why anyone is fretting. From all reports we now run an offense that utilizes TE's and throws the ball downfield. And, we will have a QB who can get the ball there. Riley will add matchup problems galore also. Do you put a LB on him? Do you put an extra CB on the field? Everyone put your fears to bed. Running a real college offense we will be better than ok.

There is only one conclusion we can draw from this. Rodge is a dirty liar who can't be trusted.

“With a new guy in here, all of us are going to have our chance,” Thompson said. “He is going to put the best player on the field. That is what I like about him. He is a really good coach. I am going to learn as much from him as I can and make sure that I am on the same page with the receivers.” Hmm... seems like to me that Thompson is implying that Dodge/Ford was not capable of putting the best player on the field. Personally I tend to agree with him considering that Riley said himself in the interview with McMahon that his arm hasn't been the same since his injury in high school.

I grew up a White Sox fan myself, followed them ever since I moved to/from Texas. I can't name one member of their team but they did beat the Cincinnati Indians today 6-0 at Cominsky Field. Rick