LongJim

To me, it doesn't make sense to basically hand the game over to a Frosh QB with 3 games of experience against a pretty good Big 12 team and tell him to go wing it, either--particularly when your O-Line looks like a chicken-wire fence...

Boy, I don't disagree. It's frustrating. I'm just not sure if that kind of gametime adjustment would do anything but make it worse at this point.

"Your bread and butter" plays to your offensive strengths--which is the running game. You DO NOT ask your freshman quarterback to throw on every down, since your young, misfiring offensive line is a sieve in both run and pass blocking, and you run the very real risk of having passes picked and taken to the house, or getting your freshman quarterback killed, or his probably already fragile psyche demolished. Why would you do this against a BCS team without playing a game in your own conference--which you have a very real chance of winning? By "outgunned", you're really saying that your athletes are not quite the caliber of the "pretty good BCS team". Another reason that you do not ask your freshman QB to try to throw to "outgunned" wide receivers, or stand in the pocket behind outgunned linemen. Hypothetically they've done this by stacking the box and daring the quarterback to beat them with the pass, probably. What I would do is continue with the running game, while drilling my linemen during the week on their assignments, and possibly using more trap-type plays with my offense. I would also use play-action and rollout the QB more on passes, to help the offensive line, possibly even letting him keep on some occasions if he made that judgement. Hit the slant on a hot read. Might even try the middle or rolling screen pass a few times. Being outgunned means that the offense does not have the speed to run outside effectively--they will be caught and dropped for no gain out there. The lineman are not quite fast enough to pull and block effectively against a defense of this caliber, so they will have to rely more on leverage and technique rather than strength at the point of attack. This plays right into the defense's hands because these linemen have not played together much, and most are the equivalent of sophomores as far as playing time. At some point, though, the offensive and defensive lines will have to jell and show up--or neither the run OR pass is going to work. Currently, this hypothetical team doesn't have the personnel or experience to throw on every down.

No.

No doubt about it. I didn't either, but it may be obvious when the season ends. They're going to win some games this year.

That's a good question. I think that winning increases the quality of the recruits from year to year, but it is a gradual thing, especially for a mid-major. According to Rivals: Boise State's ranking within their conference was: 2004--#1, with 1 4-star and five 3-star commits. 2003--#3, (behind Tulsa and SMU) Two 3-star commits. 2002--#6, (behind Tulsa @ #5, who had five 3-star commits) Total commits: 72 Compared to UNT's ranking within the Sun Belt: 2004:--#2, (behind Utah State) Two 3-star commits. 2003:--#4, (behind ULALA, MUTS, Ark St.) Two 3-star commits. 2002:--#7, Tied with NM State. One 3-star commit. Total commits: 45 Something to keep in mind: the total commits represent athletes who are ranked nationally by Rivals, so they don't include a lot of the JUCO players that DD has brought to UNT. Even so, it's easy to see that Boise has had over 1.5 times more nationally-ranked athletes sign with their program--although UNT is improving every year. They are (right now) recruiting better athletes--and more of them. As is Tulsa. According to Rivals. I agree. But the same applies for the passing game. If the quarterback and receivers aren't as talented or experienced as the secondary and DL they face, they're going to get creamed too. If a team has been able to recruit well at the RB position, relative to the other athletes they have, doesn't it make sense to have a run-oriented attack? Conversely, if you're recruiting has been great at QB and WR for the last couple of years, you'd be passing a lot more. I think UNT's backs are BCS level backs. It remains to be seen if the QB and WR positions will be/are. I personally believe that if UNT keeps winning, their recruiting will continue to improve--no matter what style of offense they run.

You're welcome. A pretty limited list, and with only one year, but it gives a very small indication of where UNT's at vs. other schools that we're playing, and the talent level of the players facing each other. Maybe also helps w/expectations regarding how we should compete in a game against those teams--especially when 2-3 years are factored in.

Just as food for thought...An idea of where UNT fell in recruiting for the year 2004, according to Rivals.com. I took some teams at random, based on teams UNT has played recently, or will play. (Jamario's class, btw.) ***************************************** Unless noted, all other recruits in totals are 2-star athletes, according to Rivals. Texas--#10 Nationally 20 commits. One 5-star recruit. Nine 4-star. Eight 3-star. Average of 3.5. Kansas State--#18 26 commits. Five 4-star recruits. 11 3-star recruits. Average of 2.81. Tulsa--#67 26 commits. Five 3-star recruits. Average of 2.19. UNT--#72 18 commits. Two 3-star recruits. Average of 2.11. MUTS--#82 30 commits. 1 4-star, three 3-stars. Average of 2.17. Baylor--#87 20 commits. 1 3-star. Average of 2.05.

Speaking as somone looking in over here from time to time, I agree. QB development can't be rushed. Period. It's the most important position on the field, and it's most apparent when someone inexperienced is back there. Heck, look at Vince Young from his So. year to now. Big improvement...I think that position is going to get better as the year goes on. Frankly, I'm not real surprised. Offensive line is a position that demands not only physical ability and preparation, but attitude. They have to have an attitude of "you WILL NOT beat me, or touch my quarterback. I WILL put you either on your back, or out of my RB's path" We'll see more downfield and (successful) play action passing when the O line gets this attitude and starts making things happen in the running game, and they learn to pick up the blitz and hit the hot routes. That's just the way it works. Tulsa sort of knew the level they needed to play at based on their game at OU. UNT as a whole, didn't, IMO. Once they got down, things snowballed, and then you have 54-2. That's just my take. I think UNT will play much better this weekend--although the scoreboard may not show it. Regarding Dickey: He is a winner. He is trying to build a power-running team that can throw to keep the D honest--which is IMO a very sound approach, considering the skill level of the athletes he is recruiting. He's a good coach. Also, a poster mentioned that the level of OOC competition hasn't changed. That's right, and the talent level of their recruits hasn't either. The talent level of UNT's recruits has risen, and that's the reason they're winning the SBC right now. Having said that, they are still not recruiting athletes anywhere near as good as their OOC opponents--and I'll include Tulsa in there as well. At any rate, Go MG--my home county team!

Good luck to the Mean Green tomorrow! Destroy Tulsa!! NT-23 TU-20