Smitty

I don't know much about MySpace. If someone can tell me what kind of code, graphics, etc is required I can look into it.

You're very welcome. And thank you to everyone for the kind comments about Mean Green World. I received lots of messages and emails, and have not heard one negative comment. I even got a thank-you email from Eric Capper, the Associate Athletics Director, so it's nice to know the University appreciates the efforts of its alumni. Everyone has been very supportive. More stuff to come, and see everyone next Saturday for the home opener!

Since Mean Green World is up and running, and is the permanent home for my UNT wallpapers, etc., I am taking down the former home, the subdomain website Mean Green Graphics. Everything on the old site - except for all the conjecture helmet avatars, made when we were guessing what the new helmet would look like - has been moved to Mean Green World. But if you're linked to anything on Mean Green Graphics (for instance, if your avatar is not downloaded but is merely linked from the MGG subdomain site) then you will need to correct the link or download an avatar from the new site.

I think Abner Haynes's accomplishments in college AND in the pros make him No. 1.

That's a tremendous idea. Schedule a big pre-game party in Dallas the night before, in uptown maybe (UT used to have a big party in uptown the night before the Texas-OU game, with a huge tent, live music, and food and drink). Get a bunch of people in green and orange going to the fair, going to Dallas restaurants, etc. OSU might do it because it would give them recruiting exposure in Dallas every year that they currently don't get. And it would be a lot better than a generic home game in September in that sweatbox Texas Stadium.

PURE GREATNESS I don't know which is funnier - the altered photo (I do love Photoshop and do kneel at the alter of Adobe) or the idiotic SMU reaction. That is priceless.

I'm sure our defense is facing a scout-team offense in practice that's running a simulation of the opponent's offense. But KBJ's research shows that UNT's time of possession is down, and that means the defense is out there more. Two extra minutes is a lot for a team with limited depth. Please understand that I'm not complaining. I love this offense, and I'm patient enough to understand that it's going to be a year or two or three before everything is in place to make this system work. I'm not judging anything - this is just a theory as to one factor impacting the defense's performance. I could not agree with SHOSS more - calling for anyone's job is utterly ridiculous. To me, this season is judged only on how well the new systems are installed, how well the team reacts, and how much the team improves over the course of the season. I don't think you judge this season on wins or losses. Those judgments come two and three years down the line.

The theory is that the defense is on the field for more plays over the course of a game with a no-huddle offense than with a traditional offense. Even when the offense has scoring drives, those drives take less time off the clock than a traditional offense. The game has a faster pace and more plays, resulting in more rapid fatigue, and so depth becomes a bigger issue. It's not meant as an indictment of the offense, rather it means that you need more athleticism and more depth on defense, and that will take time to assemble. In other words, we need to be patient and let the program develop. But patience seems to be in short supply.

Just a thought about about UNT's defense: the style of offense UNT is using puts a lot of pressure on its own defense. The offense runs faster, scores quicker, and gets off the field quicker. Because they work with no huddle and throw so much there are more plays in the game, so the defense is on the field more. OU's coaches mentioned this fact. I'll ignore the OU results, because they're going to light up a lot of teams. But UNT's defense did well early against SMU. It was 14-3 and a hair way from 21-3 before SMU began to move the ball. If not for the late fumble, UNT would have allowed only 10 points in the first half. So maybe fatigue played a role in the second half. It may be that UNT's defense will need a higher level of athleticism and more depth to be effective with an offense that accelerates the game. Like I say, just a thought. But if this theory is valid, then it might be a year or two before this staff amasses the necessary athleticism and depth to be a really good defense.

Apparently it's not so much a miracle as the fast action of the Bills medical staff. They knew exactly what to do, and ESPN reported that they ran a drill last week on this very situation. It sounds like their actions saved him.

Common sense has nothing to do with this discussion. This is about emotional reactions and the natural attraction to something new. This post makes all the sense in the world. This strategy requires patience, and, thankfully, I think the coaches have the patience that a portion of UNT fans are lacking.

I'm curious how many people who are clamoring for Vizza to replace Meager this year will be clamoring just as loudly for Riley Dodge to replace Vizza next year.

You might get in trouble, but that's funny.

From ESPN's Mark Schlabach's column on this past weekend's college football, among his his On (and Off) the Mark notes: Always nice to be noticed by the national media!

This performance may not have been about what UNT's offense can or cannot do, but more about what SMU's defense was taking and giving. 600 yards of offense suggests that the lack of a running game may have been a factor of what the opposing defense was doing rather than a failure of the offense. It looked to some of us like SMU was packing its defensive line and linebackers in tight to stop the run, while playing way off our wide receivers. A lot of the time it looked like SMU had seven men in the box, which against a spread offense is risky. Perhaps they didn't believe Meager could pick them apart like he did. I, too, love a balanced offense, but if an opponent does not adequately cover Casey Fitzgerald and Brandon Jackson, I'm going to keep throwing it to them until the opponent does something to stop it.

I loved that one, too! As if out-numbering opposing fans in your own stadium is some sort of victory. For SMU, apparently, it is. And that's pathetic.

Amen, brother. This Meager-Must-Go bandwagon is a pain. A possible quarterback UNT scenario: Meager starts this year and next year. Vizza backs up this year and next, gets some playing time, then starts as a junior and senior. Riley red-shirts next year, backs up Vizza for two years, then starts his junior and senior years. That's typical for good college programs across the country. Pressing a freshmen in as starting QB usually happens when there is not a good, experienced man to hold the job - like OU after the Bomar scandal or Texas after Vince Young left early for the NFL.

IT'S BEEN TWO WEEKS! TWO FREAKIN' WEEKS! Could we at least hold off on the juvenile belly-aching and run-em-out-of-town mentality for just one season? Or are some of you just too impatient to do that? Are you so blinded by your knee-jerk need for immediate satisfaction that you cannot see that in just two games, the new coaches and system have gotten more out of Dan Meager, Casey Fitzgerald, and a lot of these kids than the previous group did in two years? Let's just run them all out of town, huh? Put in Vizza, but if he loses his opener then cut loose, too? Same for Riley Dodge? And if Coach Dodge doesn't go to a bowl this year, fire him? Sheesh.

No, there were three interceptions. There were a few drops, but not many. I agree that the drop by Fitz in the first half was big. But I just can't criticize that young man. He was sensational, and he is on his way to a huge season. A couple of the incompletions, including Jackson's in the endzone, were the result of really good plays by the SMU defensive back breaking it up.

Yeah, he really crumbled when he rallied the team to two fourth quarter touchdowns. REALLY crumbled when he led the team on a 99-yard drive late in the fourth quarter to a game-tying touchdown. Yeah, he really crumbled there. Yes, he made mistakes. The last two interceptions were bad passes. But in his SECOND game in this system - HIS SECOND GAME IN A COMPLETELY NEW SYSTEM - after two ego-crushing years in the old system, Meager put up a fantastic game. And some people want to bench him. Ridiculous. And since Todd Dodge knows more about quarterbacking than the combined brains of every person on this board, forgive me if I trust him to put the best quarterback on the field. If he says it's Meager, then it's Meager. You want to tell him he's wrong? Go ahead. Email him. Pick up the phone. Tell him he's wrong. But the morning after one of the greatest aerial displays in school history, I'm sticking with him. And Meager.

From Jean-Jacques Taylor's column in the Morning News: And... I must agree with the assessment.

The point, Francis, was not the attractiveness of the UNT girls. It was the spelling ability of the SMU students. What is O-M-U? The only thing I could figure was it was later in the game and maybe they had others with them that got scattered. Maybe they started the night with G-O-S-M-U. At least I hope so. Otherwise that RIF program has got a long ways to go on the hilltop. Besides, I AM a dirty old man.

The Associated Press's box score this morning shows attendance of 20,517.

One other observation: There was a group of extremely attractive North Texas female students in very short shorts and sports bras, with M-E-A-N-G-R-E-E-N-! spelled out across their bellies. Oh my. However, the stadium's big screen showed three SMU girls in a similar fashion, except they had the following letters on their abdomens: O-M-U. Very confusing.

It was tough to tell. The North Texas side was packed together, one huge section of green, and being in the middle of it made it hard to tell how many we had. But it was a large and extremely vocal UNT crowd. My throat is very sore. Feels great. The SMU fans were spread all over their side, so it was hard to judge how many they had. I did not hear attendance announced.