eagle37

I hope you dont renew your seaon tickets for next year. While you are at it, also delete yourself from this board with no more comments. You have no understanding of what it takes to play, much less coach in an hostile environment that some people on this board are apparently setting up. You think that a coach that comes in here can just flip a switch and the team starts winning? Winning is not just physical it is mental. A team that has been beaten down and taken their licks the past few years with losing scholarships, athletes quitting and players going after coaches in the media is not going to suddenly walk onto the the field and start winning. You have no idea, none, about what it takes! I would rather have 5,000 screaming fans in the stands that are passionate about this program than 20,000 fans and 15,000 of them come and leave before the first half is over and then get on this board and trash the program. So, to you and all of the other people on this board that thinks that Dodge should have been let go this year, I will ask that you not renew your season tickets, don't come on campus and burn all of your UNT gear. I don't need the negative talk, the team doesn't need it, nor the coaches. You're either on board 100% or not. For me there is no jumping on the band wagon when they win and jump off when they lose and wait to see what happens next.

I dont think that Clayton is on the block. He is out on the road recruiting. At least that is what the football secetary said today.

It was more of a 3-4 than anything. When Finklea was annouced as DC he changed to this defense. In 1988 we had two undersize, but very fast DE's that could cover and we used them to cover from the strong side depending on coverage. This was the second year that Nelson Barnes was gone and Finklea coached the DL and I was a graduate assistant that coached DL. Speaking of DL. I understand that we are in search of one. Nelson Barnes is sitting at home in Stillwater waiting on someone to call.

The tickets are not avaliable anymore.

Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend the homecoming game this weekend . If anyone is interested I have four (4) tickets avaliable on the 30 yard line. If you are interested, please email me at jeff.cantrell@freemanco.com. First come, first gone.

We were there as well. Words cant explain the tailgating parties. LSU fans are professional partiers. The stadium was very intimidating from where we sat (6th row). We sat in front of Stanley Roberts and his friends and talked most of the first half. There were some recent grads from UNT in front of us, but most of us I realized were scattered between the 30's on the 6th rows. I am proud of the team. They really showed some spark in the first half, so much so that one possession of LSU's they went 3 and out and the crowd started to boo. I think that our offensive line played well, especially in the 1st half and gave Vizza some very good time to throw and find receivers that were open. The defense was okay, but we were definitely out manned on the defensive side. We started to blitz and run some stunts in the second half and put a little pressure on the quarterback, but LSU's overall team speed was just too much. Our special team coverage was terrible. It seemed like they had at least 20-30 yard returns on every punt and kick-off and ran a punt back. We also shot ourselves in the foot with dumb personal fouls and hurt ourselves. I would have liked to seen a little more aggressiveness in some situations where we could and should have gone for the fourth down and also some punt blocking opportunities. I think by playing a team like LSU we let our ca-hones hang and go for it when we have the chance. I keep seeing improvement in this team over the last three weeks. By being that close to the team during the game I was watching the bench when the offense and defense came off of the field. I saw that everyone was talking and seemed to continue to encourage each other along with the coaches. It was a good feeling to know that they all want to win and still have a good attitude as a whole. I was impressed overall with the teams effort and attitude of the coaches and players. I admit at the start of the season I drank too much koolaid and thought we would be .500 this season. Realistically I would be happy if we can get 3-4 wins. I was talking to another UNT fan at the game and we were discussing the amount of freshmen and sophomores on this team. It is encouraging that we have such a young team and know that over time this will become a more solid and competitive team. Eagles, I am still behind you and support you all, coaches and team. Keep going and keep your head up!

Havent heard anyone speak of a road trip to LSU, so who is going? Regardless of the outcome of the game it is one of the biggest tailgate parties on gameday and if you have never been to Tiger Stadium that is also an experience. Just FYI, if you havent booked a hotel room yet then you might either be driving to Shreveport to spend the night or Beaumont. It took me about an hour to research and find hotels last night to book.

Hadn't heard of anything on a reunion or the athletic department plans for the '88 team. I will put in my vote for Corky's face on Mount Rushmore, though. Last year I saw a lot of guys that played on the Corky Nelson's teams at the Lettermen's tent before each game. There a lot of support from those teams for Dodge and this team.

Thanks Rick for the props. It will be twenty years this season that we had probably the best team (debatable by some I'm sure) since some of the Hayden Frye teams. During the time I played we beat TCU, Tech, Rice and UT (you know the story). Since then it always seems that these teams dont want anything to do with us. Everyone keeps wanting to play more Texas D1 teams and I agree, but I dont think these schools want to start playing other schools in Texas, because of recruiting. If North Texas had a non-conference schedule with Rice, Houston, TCU and SMU; for the fans that would be a dream come true, but for the schools that would be very risky, because if UNT could be successful with the schedule meaning that if we would come out of that schedule with a 2-2 or even 3-1 record our recruiting would go up and we would end up probably winning over a lot more recruites that were targeted at those schools. Even on the flip side we could lose a lot of recruits that we had targeted. I believe that this is why there is not a lot of interest in Texas schools playing each other.

Tulsa - Loss, a very close game and could even go into overtime. This game I wouldn't miss, because it could possibly be the game of the season. LSU - Loss, I hope we can keep it respectable and I would like to see us within 21 points Rice - Win, we will come into this game in the top ten in offense and this one will be the coming out game for the defense. FIU - Win, a spanking and a shut-out for the defense. ULL - Win, this game is when both offense and defense start to gel at the same time. ULM - Loss, unfortunately we have had three solid wins and are riding high, but we have to be humbled and this game I am afraid will humble us. Troy - Win, the big upset of the year! Western Kentucky - Win, The spank'n of the year. FAU - Loss, this is a close game, but we have never done well in the state of FL. Middle Tenn. - Loss, this could go either way and I really hope it comes out a winner, but this late in the season with two big away games will take a lot out of the team. ASU - Win, last game, big game, ASU might be in the hunt for the conference championship and we have reorganized and are ready to get a big win at home for the year. We are going 6-5 and this year the Eagles will start to get some national recognition.

Maybe they dont want to play us, because we have beat their ars when we have played them in the last twenty years. We beat them two out of three days during the Wacker Backer days and they havent wanted to play us since.

That is pretty cool logo! I think I will get a thong for me and a t-shirt for my wife...oh, I'm sorry! I meant to say a t-shirt for me and the thong for my wife.

I'm in. I can come out of retirement, although I will be limited to only a few plays. I can still play Corky style football.

AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, yea, take the defense out of the top twenty. Sorry, I was wearing my green glasses again. I do think that we should be able to get 5 to 6 wins this year.

Dave Campbell predicts 5-7 season? Lets see what will happen: Kansas State - Loss, but will be close and will open some eyes around the SBC Tulsa - Loss, a very close game and could even go into overtime. This game I wouldn't miss, because it could possibly be the game of the season. LSU - Loss, I hope we can keep it respectable and I would like to see us within 21 points Rice - Win, we will come into this game in the top ten in offense and this one will be the coming out game for the defense. FIU - Win, a spanking and a shut-out for the defense. ULL - Win, this game is when both offense and defense start to gel at the same time. ULM - Loss, unfortunately we have had three solid wins and are riding high, but we have to be humbled and this game I am afraid will humble us. Troy - Win, the big upset of the year! Western Kentucky - Win, The spank'n of the year. FAU - Loss, this is a close game, but we have never done well in the state of FL. Middle Tenn. - Loss, this could go either way and I really hope it comes out a winner, but this late in the season with two big away games will take a lot out of the team. ASU - Win, last game, big game, ASU might be in the hunt for the conference championship and we have reorganized and are ready to get a big win at home for the year. Our offense and defense will finish in the top twenty in the NCAA.

Some final thoughts... I was at a party last night and we were watching the Big XII game and the UNT scored rolled across the screen and I just had to duck my head in misery hoping no one else saw the score, but unfortunately they did and then here came the comments. So, I sat there calmly, bitting my lip and keeping my temper at bay not wanting to cause a scene. I could have come back with "wait until next year", but I know that wouldn't have shut anyone up and then OU scored yet again and finally everyones attention was back on the game. I believe las night that the whole team just quit. They threw their hands up and went through the motions until the final second. Just waiting for the game to be over, so they could get back and hang it up. That is disappointed me the most. This was not the first time this has happened. 1989 I was a GA with UNT and we went up to play Kansas State, which at that time was the proud owner of the nations longest losing streak and the same thing happened. We were the team that they beat to snap that losing streak and they celebrated by tearing down the goal post. All 1,000 fans. I read the article from the Star Telegram the most interresting point from this article was: Mendoza admits to using a drill-sergeant mentality early on with his players to instill discipline. The give-and-take growth period ensued, and now players freely walk into his office or call him at all hours. They've grown close, he said. He hurts for their lack of success this season and said they've helped him grow that extra skin layer. "At the beginning of the year, he'd wreak havoc on the sideline," defensive tackle Joseph Miller said. "He'd get so hot, I wouldn't want to be around him. He's calmed down a lot and started handling the situation better and communicating better with us." Both Miller and linebacker Derek Mendoza (no relation) said Ron Mendoza has taken an unfair share of blame for their play. "The schemes, that's the go-to thing [for critics]," Derek Mendoza said. "As soon as something goes wrong, it's the schemes. The players have to be accountable for what's going on, too." Now, before I go any further I am not defending Mendoza, but hopefully adding some insight. When I read these comments I understood a little better of what happened to the defense this year. You have a coach that has been successful at the high school level coaching 16-18 year old players. His "drill sergeant mentality" works on kids this age by intimidation and most of the time these kids respond. The "drill sergeant mentality" will not work on 19-22 year old players. Most of them, espicially the older ones. These guys will shut down every time. I have been on both sides of this. When Corky or one of the other coaches would start to go off on the tangents we would kind of look at each other and roll our eyes and sit back and wait for the storm to pass. I remember my first year as a GA. I tried the drill sergeant approach just because I was a coach and the players that I was coaching shut down didn't even come talk to me if they had questions. Nelson Barnes (greatest coach I ever played for) told me that I had not earned these players respect yet and that is the one key thing that I had to remember before I could learn how to coach. So, I calmed down started to talk to the players helping them understand what we were trying to teach them letting them vent and listening and pushing them to be better with this mentality and they started to respond. This I feel like was what happened to this defense this year. Mendoza, I believe, came in here and tried to instill the same coaching method that he had at SLC with grown young men and basically they quit on him. That goes two ways too. I might add that the comment from Derek Mendoza is accurate as well. These players have to be responsible as well! So, to all lesson learned. If you still want to blow your top just remember the first time some of you stepped into a managers role at work. How successful was that first year for you and how much did you learn and how much did you change over the course of the next years? So, we are in the middle of recruiting season now. Just know that there are a large percentage of HS coaches in Texas that have a tremdous respect for Dodge and there are alot of kids around this area that want to play for Dodge. I believe that Dodge will get the best players that he can find. For a freshman that has a good chance of starting at the D1 level or sitting the bench for 4 years on a larger team, which one would you choose?

Tickets are gone!

Get post Emmit, but unfortunately i will not be able to make the game. If anyone has family that is coming in and they want to go to the game I have four reserved seats in section F. No charge for the tickets just email me if you are interested at jeff.cantrell@freemanco.com.

1982 Corky Nelson Taking over a Tyler coached 2-9 team, Coach Nelson, and I believe Coach Chuck Mills may have been his DC?(anyone remember?), Nelson's defense gave up 25.7 points per game. It was Chucky and then Bob Finklea as DC's through that era. We were drilled and trained to go after anything that moved on the field. Those were the toughest and meanest defenses that i have ever been apart of. I believe that we had at least two or three shutouts in '88. My dad came to the game this time. He was a DC for a long time in Texas back in the '70's and knew all too well what was going on. The problem with the offense that Navy was running is that alot of these coaches and espicially players have never seen the option run, because it is basically extinct. The DE's were not stringing the QB out, so that the pursuit could catch up to the ball, the free safeties were no where around to take the pitch man or fill the alley and the MLB was no where around to fill the A gap and stop the dive back. The key to the option is keeping the ball on the line of scrimmage as long as possible in order for the pursuit to catch up from the back side. Once that happens you have everyone trapped. You have to give it to Navy they could block and were very disciplined. If you noticed they all cut blocked on the line of scrimmage. This knocked the defensive line down and out of the play. The QB was an awesome option QB. I thought I was watching some of the old wishbone offenses from UT and OU.

I knew I was going to stir up a hornets nest with the reply. My point to the whole thing was that there are some people on this board that do not take the time to sit and watch a game or ask questions about things they do not understand and then just start to throw out negative comments. Understand that I have been through every phase of this game from a coach's son, to player, to coach. It is hard enough for the players and coaches to get through a season like this; then add some of the posts from this board and I am surprised that no one hasnt committed suicide this year. I know that everyone has the right to comment, but guys you need to relax a little bit at least for this year. Take a breath and lets see what spawns out of this. I am not saying that the defense is playing okay. Anyone can look at the stats and know that there needs to be improvement. What I wanted to get across was that it is hard enough as a player and coach to go through a season like they are having this year without some of you going off on tangents and stomping on the team when it is down. Just sit back and watch the rest of the season, lets have some fun and support these guys. Lets watch the recruiting process and see what unfolds. Lets see how the off-season and spring training works out. You all are going to have to give this coaching staff and team time to adjust and build. How long, I dont have the answer to that. But I am in with them (coaches and players) until the end. One story before I go to give you a teams perspective of how fans can influence attitude. After NT won the conference in 83 they basically lost most of the players that were vital to that team to either grades or graduation. It took Corky four years to rebuild until we made the playoffs again in 87. We got hammered in the 84 season and I am sure glad anything like this wasnt around then. I remember coming from behind playing NE La in 87 and scoring the touchdown to tie. All we had to do was to kick an extra point and we would be co-champs. Well we missed the extra point and I was coming off of the field and I remembered that the whole world just ended. To add insult to injury, when the buses pulled into the parking lot at the stadium the coaches tower in the middle of the practice fields had been burned down. I dont know if it was vandals or fans that were mad because we lost, but we took it personally. The whole team hardly said anything in the locker room that next week of practice and the following week we had to go back to NE La to play in the first round of the playoffs and they schooled us. Catch me at a game, Im in section F, Row 33, Seat 19-22 and I will be glad to chat with you about what is going on on the field during the play (alignments, stunts, coverages). Anything you want to talk about. P.S. For my fellow Sherman Bearcats, I havent heard from Walter Casey in years and I hear that Shawn Wash is still with the DPD.

let me introduce myself, i am jeff cantrell i played at UNT from 84-88 and was a grad assist for two years after that. i was there when butch came in as the secondary coach and i was very impressed with his abilities. butch is very intense as a coach and he has always worked to get the most out of his players. he has more coaching and playing experience than any other coaches on the defense, combined. he wants more to win than anyone i have ever known and he puts everything he has into it to make that happen. i usually get on this board to read the post and kind of stand in the back ground to hear what other have to say. for the last couple of weeks i have been kind of shocked to see some of the posts that people are throwing out there. most of you all are arm chair quarterbacks and have not played football at any level. i assume that you get your education from watching nfl fox on sunday mornings and reading the breakdowns of games in the newspapers. it is mostly amussing to hear some of you go off on the defense, their schemes, players, etc. i just sit back and crack a smile knowing that you do not have the slightest idea of what you are seeing or talking about. if you have never been on the field then it is time for you to change the subject of defense and the coaches. you do not know what is going on and you have no idea of what it takes to build a team. you all sit back in your living rooms or office behind a screen name and shot off knee jerk reactions to something you have only seen or heard on tv and have not been through the experience. you couldnt find a 2 technique on the field if they raised their hand. if you have never played the game, coached at a level higher than pee-wee, bought season tickets much less a single ticket, or given any money to the athletic department, my advice would be to change the subject. you dont know how it feels, the pain and sweat or have any vested interest in the program you just want to throw out hot sports opinions just because you feel that you have the right to.

you guys forgot that during the scott davis era we were running the "run and shoot" which in a particality is the spread in modern day. the problems we had in '88 were that we did not have enough of a running game to compensate for defenses that were putting 7 guys back in the secondary. we got away with it early in the season, but SFA and NW LA stopped us and that lead to two big loses. 85 and 86 we had the running game going, but no passing game to off set it and we ended up like last year where teams threw 7 guys in the box and manned up in the secondary to force us to throw. running or passing game it has to be balanced. i like hayden fry theory of a multiple formation offense with a various of plays in every formation. if you can mix up the play calling enough with out showing too many tendencies then the defense has no idea of what is coming.

It is always good to see this: 5. North Texas 3 1425 475.0 192 64.0 1134 378.0 61 20.3 3. Casey Fitzgerald, N Texas 35 542 15.5 69 3 We have the #5 passing offense in the nation and #3 receiver in the nation. I am impressed and excited about what is happening. I think the whole attitude of the team has changed from the last few years. If the defense and continue to improve and get better we could be in a very good position going into next year.

From watching the game last night. The defensive front should be pretty dominant this week. It looked like SMU's offensive line was under sized against TT's defensive line. Also, the secondary should be able to get a few pick's this game. I believe the offense will have much more time to setup and pass and be able to run as well. I was just not impressed with SMU overall last night. I think the speed of the game this week will definitely be more slower than OU. Overall we should win, but I think we are going to have to score at least (4) touchdowns to win.