Smitty

I just wanted to vent a bit. Thanks for providing the outlet. It always feels so good in a week after a big Dallas win and a Redskin collapse. At home. To a division opponent. Who was winless. And who we killed. And I would never lecture you about sarcasm.

Yeah, we're the ONLY fans who gripe about officiating. Gee, I bet you couldn't find a thread like this anywhere else in the country (why is it I don't worry about Quoner being able to recognize sarcasm?). Besides, I could not care less if anybody else likes the Cowboys or Cowboys fans. I'm pretty sure the Bears and their fans hate us this week, and that suits me just fine. I'm just disappointed that they don't hate us as much as they hate Rex.

He probably held the ball too long a few times, but some of those sacks have been because there was no protection at all and the defense just blew through the line. I was surprised by how easily FAU got pressure with only a four-man rush and later with just three linemen.

The coach was expressing his freedom of speech, and the writer of that article discovered the consequences of expressing his first-amendment rights. So, clearly, we do have freedom of speech. But what we are lacking is civil behavior. Criticizing performance is one thing, but the vicious personal nature of attacks on collegiate athletes for their on-field performance - just for playing a game - is completely inappropriate. Most of us have been guilty of saying things on this board that we should regret. The anonymity of the internet is a powerful force, and it emboldens us to say things we would never think of speaking in public. But everyone would do well to remember that this forum is very, very public. You are publishing here as surely as if in a newspaper. Please take that into consideration, show a little patience, and remember that these athletes are kids. Yes, we have freedom of speech. But, sadly, we are losing common courtesy.

I thought the offensive line had some moments, especially in the first half. But in the second half they had no answer for the FAU pass rush. FAU was getting tremendous pressure with only four and then three men rushing, which late in the game eliminated UNT's down-field passing. When you can get that much pressure with a three- or four-man rush, it allows the secondary to play much closer to the receivers, which in turn limited UNT's short passes.

There should be two seconds left in the half with Dallas in possession. I see the NBA isn't the only league with problems with officials' honesty. This is a freakin' joke.

That doesn't answer my question. Okay, you don't believe he can play QB at FCS level. I do, but that's an honest disagreement. Some people believed the Cowboys should have drafted Tony Mandarich instead of Troy Aikman. There was debated over Peyton Manning or Ryan Leaf. Honest football disagreements. However, you previously stated: "He would have stood on Texas' sideline for most of his career before finally getting on the kickoff team or going in to play safety during blowouts like Mack has done with other similar "athletes" in the past." If that is the case, then why did Mack Brown offer him a scholarship? Is Brown a poor judge of talent, or was he deliberately wasting a scholarship? And why are rivals.com and other recruiting services listing him at all if he is not FCS-caliber? It's not a case of drinking any kind of flavored drink (side note: it wasn't Kool-Aid they drank in Jonestown, it was Flavor Aid, but I guess Kool-Aid sounded better to the press) to believe that this kid can play Division I-A quarterback. His accomplishments at Southlake make it legitimate for anyone to hold that opinion, and last night's seven-touchdown performance did nothing to discourage that thought. You disagree - fair enough. But that doesn't mean those that do believe that Riley is an FCS-worthy QB are somehow delusional or blindly following a false guru to destruction, and you do a disservice to your own argument and needlessly insult others by making such suggestions.

Your logic is amazing. Beating Rockwall or other suburban schools hardly qualifies as collegiate level. Therefore, we cannot take into consideration any games against suburban schools in assessing the talent of a high school player. Ignore all games against Plano, Plano East, Lake Highlands, Duncanville, Southlake, Allen, etc., etc., etc. Riley cannot play FCS-level football. Therefore, we can assume that Mack Brown is an idiot for attempting to waste a scholarship on Riley. Or was he just doing that as a favor to Todd? And we can assume that the various scouting services are idiots for ranking him among the top players in the region and state.

Oh, man, that makes me feel old. I saw Anthony play in high school, and he was a man among boys. Great, great player.

Make that a 6:1 ratio. Too bad the kid's not a collegiate-level quarterback.

I'm good with a ratio of 5:1 touchdowns to interceptions.

Is D'Anton Lynn related to Anthony Lynn?

I stand corrected.

Beautiful TD pass by Riley! Fifty-yard strike, hit his receiver in stride. I did not see the first half, but they just showed Riley's stats on TV and it showed only one interception. To go with five touchdowns.

Terrible start for MTSU. If this holds up, that's two early losses in conference. Looks like the class of the league is Troy and Arkansas State. Saturday we might get a good idea if FAU is a contender.

Did Rockwall buy their uniforms from Syracuse? Bright orange helmet, shirt, pants, and socks.

Syracuse's all-orange outfits are worse.

Uh...what were we...talking about?

Sorry. Had to be done. Frankly, FAU should be favored. They're 2-1 and have wins over Middle Tennessee that killed us last year and over a Big Ten program that has been to bowl games in recent years. They come in here with a lot of momentum. And UNT has never beaten them. Everything points to FAU in this game. So let's kick hell out of them.

Tulsa two years ago?

I haven't done any research or seen any of these recruits play, so I cannot judge any of them. But I do know that for the first time in many, many years, North Texas is listed by several players on the Dallas Morning News Area Top 100 list. In the last several years, it was very rare to read of any of the area's best players considering UNT, much less committing early to us. So I think any criticism is premature, at the very least. Two games into the Todd Dodge era and some people are calling for the defensive coordinator's head, complaining that we don't run enough, and now questioning the recruiting. Unbelievable. Absolutely un-freakin'-believable.

Excellent research. Provides some interesting fuel for the debate over trying to join CUSA versus staying in the Belt.

From today's Dallas Morning News:

Please, what's the score?

Is Texas really the sixth-best team in the country? Nothing against UCF or Arkansas State, but the 'Horns have been less than impressive. OU-Texas could get ugly this year.