The Fake Lonnie Finch

Because we can watch teams like OU and Alabama and see their coaches chewing their players' asses off even when victory is at hand. You see it constantly from Stoops and Saban's coaches. The defense will three and out the opponent, the fans will be loudly applauding...but, a coach will grab a player running to the sidelines and chew his ass out about something. The point is, you can't let down. Part of Dickey and Dodge's problem was that they weren't intense about winning. Look at Texas. Who were the most intense coaches on their staffs from 2005 - 2010. It was those two defensive coordinators, Gene Chizik and Will Muschamp. They're both gone, and so it Texas' intensity. Yes, they can still beat the snot out of Rice. But, that's not where Texas is supposed to earn its spurs. Dan McCarney said himself after the Indiana game that the coaches cannot let what happened in the fourth quarter be acceptable. But, damn if it didn't happen again against FAU. Then, the bottom falls out on what had been a close, hard fought game at Lousiana. Every defense player should live in fear of having his ass chewed out at any given time for playing out of position - even if the unit has just forced a three and out. You let a player get lazy and it will come back to bite him someday. Stoops, Saban, Chizik...those guys do not let players take a play off...even with the game well in hand. They treat every play as a coachable moment - and, that's why they've all got tons of championship rings to show recruits. They coach with their hair on fire and their defenses play with their hair on fire for them for 60 minutes. KA-POW!

PASSING.................GP......Effic....Cmp-Att-Int....Pct.....Yards...TD......Long....Avg/G Thompson, Derek.........6.......103.0....80-151-3.......53.0....814.....4.......83......135.7 McNulty, Andrew..........5.......112.6....14-25-2........56.0....216.....0.......46.......43.2 Osborn, Brent..............3.......144.1....13-21-0........61.9....127.....2.......26.......42.3 McNulty is the only QB who hasn't thrown a TD. Osborn is the only QB who hasn't thrown a pick. Osborn has the best QB efficiency rating. Just give him a chance.

This is it right here: "Why have a six-shooter and only put five bullets in it?" Great analogy. Here are six bullets a college offense can go into a game with (1) Quarterback (2) Running back (3) Fullback (4) Wide Receiver (5) Tight End (6) H-Back/Utility-back As I see it, we're going into games with three bullets - Lance, our QB, and a rotating circus of receivers. We're going into the fight half-loaded. Why? I hate to continually go back to the examples of Texas and OU; but, they are the big dogs of the region. Both regularly use fullbacks and tight ends in the run and pass game. Blocking, catching, running. These are assets to those two schools and a big part of their successes. Are we blind to it? I want badly to believe that Canales wants to use these positions, but just didn't have any available when Dodge hired him. I do like Mike as a coach. But, we've got to use every position to our advantage. Lance is not going to be able to make his own way with the lines stacked. We have to force opponents off the ball by going over the middle to tight ends. Waggling out TEs and Fullbacks/H-backs. Something else.

With 43 second left in the game, and UNT trailing by 17, McNulty went 3 for 3. He went three and out on the other series he played earlier in the 4th when it would have been nice to have points to get back in the game. Most schools will let you throw all over them when they are up by three scores with less than a minute left. McNulty had a start at Tulsa and failed horribly. He couldn't move it when we needed it against Louisiana in the 4th quarter Saturday night. If Thompson is too injured to play, Osborn should be given the same opportunity McNulty has had. If not, then this thing isn't about winning, but about about throwing away the rest of the 2011 season to develop McNulty. But, frankly, many of us are tired of seasons being thrown away halfway through for the sake of "development." Win. Win. Win. Win. If Osborn goes in and is as ineffective as Thompson and McNulty, fine. But, we'll never know until we see it.

The threat of a tight end...and fullback...and H- or U-back...is that the defense has to serious account for it with it's pass defense. Part of the reason Dodge failed is that opponents didn't have to worry about those positions so they could send players on blitzes from any point on the field without giving anything up in pass coverage. Those positions are weapons. Look at Ladarius Green of Louisiana yesterday! What is the obsession with tight ends? If used properly they protect your quarterback, run game, and give you more options in both.

If he's that injured, just sit him then. Don't run him out there to get pummeled the way Todd Dodge did to Riley. I'm ready to see what Osborn can do if we are giving up on the season. Given that he'll have no more or less weaponry available than Thompson has surrounding him, what's the harm? We've seen what happens when McNulty gets the majority of the snaps - Tulsa. He also played for two short series in the final nine minutes yesterday. Result - no points. If Thompson is hurt to the degree that he can't get the offense going, it's a disservice to the team to keep him in there. Give the ball to Osborn and see if he can't well.

I agree with a lot of what you say, Cali. At this point, I'm thinking 4 or 5 wins is a miracle season. The defense has gone balls to the wall in almost every game we've played. I hope the problem really is personnel because we've invested more in this coaching staff than any in the history of the program. Dodge wasn't much of a head coach, and what he was supposed to be an expert in - pass game - he left very little of here. SIDENOTE: It's no shock to me that Pitt, with their senior QB, is struggling offensively this year. The Panthers are 3-4 with Todd Graham and Todd Dodge. I think both of those guys are in over their heads even in the Big East. They are very lucky the Big East is falling apart and adopting C-USA level teams to fill the gaps.

I kind of agree here. Although, the year he took over Iowa State, the Big 12 included four teams from the Big 8 that finished in the Top 10 the prior year, plus an A&M squad that was in its zenith. Texas was being miscoached by John Mackovic, but they were still getting better athletes than Iowa State could draw. Louisiana is showing what I've always believe, the Sun Belt isn't a hard climb for coaches who can get their players to do it. And, the truth is, if these guys could gets their players to play four full quarters instead of three, we might have another game or two in the win column. We are thin, but we're not in much different circumstances than any other Belt foe.

KA-POW! Another picture for the family photograph album.

Not just at QB. I think the coaches would take anyone stepping up at WR at this point as well. Anyone.

After thinking about it, I more agree with you. I'd just like to see four solid quarters of Mean Green football at some point in my remaining years on this earth.

TE, FB, H-/U-Back...These are positions highly successful schools use with regularity. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkwoERstzYI&feature=relmfu

When Louisiana took the lead by a 27-10 count with about nine minutes left in the game, did anyone else think it was a give up to pull Thompson and put McNulty in. I thought it was a huge waving of the white flag...and I'm not thrilled about it. Also, if we're going to put someone in, why are we putting in the kid who threw a couple of pick sixes the last time he saw the field? Is it just unspoken that we're not going to see Osborn is serious situations this year? I know it was highly improbable that we overcome a 17 point deficit in nine minutes. But...why just lay down? It's not a good message to send the team. I like about 90% of what McCarney has done. But, honestly, some of it makes me scratch my head.

If you are waiting for Jub to tell the truth about watching suck, you will die before you grow old. We have a big bag of nothing a receiver. I'm still shocked/but not shocked about that. I knew Dodge wasn't landing front line recruits. But, still...I mean, you figure there had to be one diamond in the rough. Again, I say throw the 6-6 kid out there who is sitting on the bench, Chaz Sampson. I mean, could he be worse than throwing Schutza and Johnson out there? If so, why did we give him a scholie? We're nigh on 2/3rds of the way through the season. If the guy in there now won't/can't make plays, put some fresh blood in...if for nothing else to get their feet wet for 2012 and beyond.

You know, the funny thing about your comment is, while I was walking around the Midway, I was thinking, "Damn, we fired a coach because the offense couldn't move the ball for two years." Dickey tanked in 2005 and 2006. Dodge never got anything consistent going. And, we are still not moving the ball with the new guy and year tow with Canales. We've got Apogee to enjoy, though. And, the hope that the new head coach will intervene, somehow, on the offensive side of the ball.

Um...you guys do realize that Riley hasn't played the last three games at McNeese because he is - surprise - injured, right? Even against FCS-level competition he couldn't hold up physically. How many games do you really think he'd have played this year? Would he have even survived the opening game massacre at FUI? Also, how did he "make the offense work?" Our offense wasn't that great when he was here. He didn't win many games of the ones he was healthy enough to play.

I haven't seen tight end, fullback...or the H-back/U-back we kept hearing about. If our offense is just going to be hand-the-ball-to-Lance-no-matter-how-they-stack-the-line, Canales should be fired. He is paid to create offense, not settle for seems to trying to force feed what is perceived to be his only weapon. Granted, we are really thin at wideout. But, this game was ridiculous. Canales should watch the Tulsa game films that the defense watched and take notes. We should be at their level. We should have comparable athletes since we are recruiting the same players in the same area. TU's coaches - and, I've got to give Bill Blankenship more credit than I did at the outset of the season (TU isn't folding without Damaris Johnson) - have taken a wholly inexperience lot of receivers and a new H-back and found a way to move the ball and score points.

Listened to the game while at the State Fair...which pissed off my wife. Getting kids from ride to ride with one earplug in. Meh...what do you want from women? Anyway, I was proud of the defensive effort, until...as I mentioned in my mid-season grade of the coaching staff...the fourth quarter meltdown. At some point, this coaching staff has got to convince the team that football is a 60 minute game, not a 45 minute game. Some thought it was overly harsh to bitch about letting Indiana and FAU back up in the fourth quarter. But, the truth is, the way you do things become habitual. This team had a second half letdown against Houston after a close first half. It went close with what wil be the winner of the Sun Belt this year - and, on the road - until the fourth. It has almost coughed up leads in the two wins because of poor play in the fourth quarter. Offensive problems aside, the object of a football game is to score more points than your opponent. For 45 minutes, our defense was more than giving us those opportunities. But, again, they laid down in the fourth. I suspect the defense will be, "Well, the defense is worn out because the offense can't move the ball." Okay, so quit? A winning attitude says, "To hell with our offense, we'll go out and get this one until they can come around!" I think Bowen has these guys about 3/4 of the way there. I'm waiting to see a complete game out of this unit, though. I hope it will be against ULM at homecoming. (Just for the record, until we get a coach and/or offensive coordinator who understands what a fullback and tight end do, I have no hope for the offense. There are no playmakers on the offensive side of the ball this year.) FINAL NOTE: I also noted being mystified by our kicking problems this year despite having a full time special teams coach. I admit it, I still don't get it. My guess is, he's got the kid overthinking things. If so, back off and let the kid do the routine that made him successful last year. I counted three FG opportunities for us during the game. Two we bypassed and failed. The other was a miss. My philosophy is that you take points on the road. The kid has hit from 50+. The two bypassed efforts would have been well short of that range. Not happy about what is happening with the kicking. The decisions made at potential FG time were, in my opinion, not good coaching choices.

I think this - San Antonio has done a great job supporting the Spurs. They hired a name coach right off the bat. I think they will support UTSA football. Larry Coker has been around a long time and doesn't seem like a guy with alot of enemies in the business. The opponents they have will draw. Some schools may be accustomed for going down there for the Alamo Bowl. It's a natural tourist city as well. Just an overall good draw with a travel package for any school's fans. I'm actually surprised UTSA didn't do this thing 20 or 30 years ago. I'd love a rivalry with them.

Yeah, what universities need is one more risk management headache. It only takes one drunk asshole to kill or paralyze someone and get the school sued for serving the alcohol. Drink your beer outside the stadium like the vast majority of other college football fans do. If outfits like OU can survive without serving alcohol to its rednecks, I'm pretty sure we can keep it the way it is. SIDE NOTE: It's refreshing that the complaints this year have little to do with the team. It seems we're down to complaining about our new stadium and how it should be run. We'll have the most insufferable fan base this side of Texas Tech if we ever start winning again.

Yes. Of course we should play them. It's an easy road trip for the team and fans. Does that even count anymore? Also, the Mexicans of San Antonio appear to be going to watch their games. They are averaging over 38,000 per game and haven't had a crowd of less than 31,000. Once they get real football team in there, they'll easily pull in more than TCU. Look, they had more than 33,000 show up for a game against Bacone. BACONE! What would we get if we scheduled Bacone?

There is no scheduling conflict - we've got UNT season tickets and will be at the game. Best of luck to the Rangers. We'll hear about their fate in the car on the way home.

KA-POW! Truth, thy name is G.J. Kinne! Couldn't beat out Colt McCoy at Texas...looked like a Heisman candidate against us even with a bum knee. Led Tulsa to a 10 win season against C-USA level talent. I'd welcome Gilbert here. And, I'm sure June Jones wouldn't mind having him at SMU either.

B+ First: never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never kick the ball to T.Y. Hilton. Second: Against Tulsa, go with the guy with at least some college experience if you've got to go with a backup. That was Osborn, not McNulty. Third: Indiana and FAU have staged rallies against us in the 4th quarter after we were way ahead. Coaches need to hammer into the kids not to let up. Fourth: Now that we have a dedicated special teams coach, the kicker is missing kicks. WTF?

It is classless. I told my son and daughter not to do it. I hew more to the way Nebraska fans treat their opponents, with class and light applause when they run onto the field. There is enough time for yelling and distracting the opponent during the game. I've always thought bigger opposing schools booing us as we enter field was classless. At OU and UT and other places. Ridiculous. We pose virtually no threat to them. Rednecks are going to be rednecks, though. The best you can do is teach your own kids not to act like them. That's the route we take.