medpilot21

Hehehe... GET EM, DEB!!!!!!!! GMG!!!

I agree with just about all of those. I have North Texas 35 - SMU 21. I also think the there is a potential upset at aTm. Let's just focus on SMU and Jamario's 200 yard game. GMG!!!

First, I like Brett Vito and appreciate what he does for NT...He is really good for us and sees the team accurately. However, I must have missed something on James Mitchell? Mitch has only had the opportunity to be "featured" in one game (that I can remember off the top of my head) and he ran for over 150 yards against Ark. State, in the rain, scored a TD, and had no turn-overs? James Mitchell has shown that he CAN carry the load if he is called on. I dont know that anyone could replace Jamario Thomas, but Mitch matches up very well against the most defenses. Robertson's speed may be a better tool in the backup RB role, but Mitchell plays tough and gets the extra yard when we have to have it. I still dont know about playing him at fullback, but he gives us something when he is in at tailback. Just an opinion... See you guys in Austin. GMG!!!

Original seats in section 13. Have two more tickets coming. not sure where those are yet. GMG!!!

Yes I did. Dale actually helped DD promote North Texas football, and even showed Big-Mo's 99 yard inteception from the MUTS game last season. DD was pretty funny, and said he shouldnt have to follow Terrell Owens on the sports broadcast. Dale Hansen wasnt expecting that and starting laughing histerically. They talked about DD's health and issues, then Dale mentioned the four straight conference championships and bowl games. Not a bad 5 minutes of sports on channel 8... I may end up liking Dale Hansen after all????? GMG!!!

North Texas - 10 UT total points = 45 Colt McCoy - 2 TD's passing Jamal Charles - 2 TD's rushing Limas Sweed - 1 TD's receiving UT backups - yadda..yadda...yadda ...and who really cares what the score is? We will play all out, then NT players walk off that field with their heads up, no matter the score. SMU comes to town the following Saturday and THAT begins our run to a winning season. No offense to the players, but I want the SMU win at home. Beat UT if you can, but I dont hold the outcome of that game against anyone... USC couldnt beat them with Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush? I will be in Austin with you guys, and I am just glad football season is back! GMG!!!

Good interview... DD was pretty funny. He was also very direct and focussed. I laughed at the "we'll show them UT game film this week, then see if they'll get on the bus" line. He also said some good things about taking every week the same. No more "we can beat these guys, but not those guys"...stuff. I hope we do well, but I also hope we dont take horrible injuries? I really dont care that much about UT, win or lose. I want us to beat SMU in the home opener, then go into Tulsa with Jamario on a hot streak. Finally, it's football season! GMG!!!

41 : BS in Criminal Justice - 2001 My son gets to NT in 6 years. He plays basketball and the saxaphone. (I'm hoping he gets a scholarship as a sax player.. he can buy me a nicer house when he's famous) GMG!!!

They are both still there, but it looked like Stevenson was playing DT and DE. so not sure where he will actually go. Blake Burruss has looked very good in practices... but he is still rotating with the second team guys? I didnt list everyone we have been out there watching because there are so many position changes? I'm not sure day to day where anyone but J-Mo is going to play. Korey Washington gets switched almost weekly from offense to defense, back to offense, back to defense... He may end up being the place kicker? I am glad DD is moving guys to where he thinks they help us most, but jeesh it is hard to keep track of? K-Dub is back on Defense, Chase Pistole from center back to Defense, Kelvin Drake is now at center, Brock Stickler moves from WR to H-back (good move as he could be an Andy Blount type player), Davenport went from LB to FB (now hurt), Matt Menard was a DT, then was moved to OL, now appears to be back on defense (#94 green?) and who knows what else? The good side is how fast our guys are learning their new spots. Anyway, I'm sure I failed to mention some other front seven guys who will be contributors this year, so follow Matt's write-ups. This is just what I have seen in practice so far. GMG!!!

Tobe Nwigwe at DE?... with his ability we may have something here, as long as we stay with the 3-4. Of course, the players are changing positions so much now that we dont know "who will be where?" each practice. We do know this is a very fast defense. Toby could be a perfect fit here at almost 240lbs and RB speed. Not a bad front seven even without Eddie. DE: J. Chapman\ Ty Rexrode\ J. Stewart DT: Isaac Thomas\ S. Pruitt\ J. Miller\ Chase Pistole DE: W. Ransom (Hurt)\ Owusu-Hemeng\ K. Krider OLB:P. Graves\ L. Brown\ C. Mahan ILB: Mo. Holman\ S. Early\C. Cooley MLB: B. Monroe\ D. Mendoza Bandit: W. Ransom\ T. Nwigwe\R. Durodoye These lineups change all the time, but I like the way our D looks so far in action. Moving Nwigwe to a spot where his speed kills is a good idea. Count me in... GMG!!!

I spent three hours at the Saturday scrimmage with Harry, Matt, and others scratching our heads. The offense looked terrible.. there is no other way to say it. The defense looked pretty good, but the practice over-all was awful. I dont panic so much as every team has a bad practice... and this one was attrocious. I did get to talk to Evan Cardwell for a while and hear about his year as a Dallas Desparado. He is a great guy, and would make a fine coach for our defense. He said he does want to go into coaching one day after his playing days are over. He will play one more year with the Despardos, then try to get into an NFL camp. As for practice, (insert rasberry here....) GMG!!!

Good write up, Harry. Sounds like there are still some questions to be answerred Wednesday AM. I'll be there to see where we are on some of those... Thank God it's finally football season again. GMG!!!

Dont panic guys... This team is better than last year (go to practice and see for yourselves) Realistically we should go 8-4 if J-mo stays healthy and we have a QB who can get the ball downfield. Phillips, Woody, and Meager are able to do that so far in practice. Dont be so quick to give up on winning because of last year's debacle. We had four good years before the one bad one. Our defense is much improved with the 3-4 and our LB speed. We are bigger up front on the OL, and QB play is noticeably better. Here's my guess on this season... Sept 2nd - UT: Loss Sept 9th - SMU: Win Sept 16th -Tulsa: Loss Sept 23rd - Akron: Win Sept 30th - MTSU: Win Oct 7th - FIU: Win Oct 21st - Ark State: loss Oct 28th - Troy: Win Nov 4th - La Tech: Loss Nov 11th - La. Lafayette: Win Nov 18th - Fla. Atlantic: Win Nov 25th - La. Monroe: Win If there are doubts as to how much this team has improved, go to practice and see why we are better. J-mo is back, the ball is getting to Nwigwe and Quinn downfield, and the OL is actually opening holes again. There is enough promise in all that talent to expect a winning season. 8-4 is enough to win the conference, and would at least make us bowl eligible. As far as wins and losses, I am just guessing like you guys. I went to practice and was impressed with the change in attitude and work ethic. I am no fortune teller, but you can see the improvement in the defense, and these guys will not be letting up in game one because the Longhorns won the National Championship? They will fight it out on September 2nd. I cant wait to see it. The new attitude works for me. Let's see what you guys think after seeing them practice. I think you'll feel a lot better about our chances. GMG!!

He's paid his dues, no doubt about that. Good deal for everyone!!! GMG!!!

True, not to mention the linemen pass block and completely lose track of him? Woody is a great athlete.. I saw that for myself. I have just never seen a QB run into the defense the way Woody does. If the average NT QB takes about 10 to 15 hits a game, Woody would take closer to 25. Maybe he is tough enough to bounce right back, but the shots he took at the last practice I watched made my splein hurt. I had to look away when he got the double-smack. I dont know that Woody would run this much in a real game; he does have Jamario to handoff to. A few times he escaped the rush (the guy has unreal speed..believe it), but would turn right back into the defense and take a beating like Geraldo Rivera interviewing a pro-wrestler. It's just brutal to watch. On the positive side, I also watched Woody run away from our secondary and score... so I guess it's "pick-your-poison" time at NT. Do we want a QB who will handoff to J-Mo, and stand pat to wait for Quinn and Company to get open?, or do we want a guy that only waits for a couple of seconds, then tries to make something happen with his quickness, but gets hit more, like a running back? Tough call. I think there are risks for both QB types. I am not sure yet which is better for us, but the coaching staff will. I would hope one of our QB's steps up so we dont have the QB by Committee. Either way, I'll trust DD to do what is best for us. GMG!!!

Cobbs looked like he was running through the MTSU defense on that play! GMG!!!....and go PC!!!!!!!!

I was at practice this morning. Matt (Illuvius) will do a very good practice write up this afternoon for you guys. Bottom line is this team will be different from what we have seen in the past. Get ready for the QB by committe, because it looks like that is the way we are going. Phillips did not practice today, but Meager and Woody did. I have mixed feelings about what is going on at the QB spot so far. To be honest, I have never been a proponent of the multiple QB system. I dont see how this creates a consistent offensive flow for the offensive line? Linemen block differently for a guy who stands back there and waits for a receiver to get open, versus a QB who will take off and run after two seconds? That said, I can see how the NT coaches think the multiple QB thing may work here. Each QB had his moments this morning. Both looked good at times... and bad at times. It is, of course, still very early in practices...but here are some of the things we saw today at the QB spot. Matt will cover the rest of practice in his post. Danny Meager Positives: He is stronger than last year..no argument there. Several times on deep routes he over threw Quinn or Nwigwe and we cheered on the sidelines about that. He still throws very precise middle routes and gets rid of the ball quickly. He has improved physically and doesnt grab his shoulder after long passes or collisions. Negatives: Danny tends to look at the receiver he is going to and doesnt look-off the defenders. He was intercepted (I think it was Desmond Chatman) and all the guy did was watch Danny and read his eyes. It was a good defensive play, but we need Danny to look around a bit more. He has plenty of practices left to get that down. Woody Wilson Positives:very quick QB and more mobile in the pocket than any QB we have had. Woody on the run is like having another Jamario back there. On one play he was trapped... turned upfield, made two cuts and ran 70 yards for a touchdown. I have never seen after-burners like that on a QB. Woody can freakin fly, and would be almost impossible to sack. His throws in middle routes are good, and he did throw a couple of deep passses well. He has the ability and focus to be a very good QB in our system. Negatives:Woody is one run away from spending some recovery time in the Emergency Room. He tends to pull the ball down quickly and take off. If he gets into the open, maybe Deon Sanders could catch him. But when he turns into the defense, as he did several times this morning, he takes the most horrific shots to the body and legs. During one run he took off and ran directly into the middle of our new 3-4 defense. The first hit was delieverred by Brandon Monroe, and that was a head-popper. As Woody was fighting for another yard he got low-balled (around the knees) by Montey Stevenson. Matt and I both at the same time yelled "Oh man, he got lit???". I thought for sure he was hurt. He got up from that one, thank God... but he will leave the UT game on a stretcher running into traffic like that? The guy has unbelievable speed, but that wont matter much if 290 lb linemen keep getting their shots at him. Woody needs to calm down a bit and not be so fast to abandon his reads. There is still plenty of time before the UT game for his "patience-medication" to take effect. Woody will be a good one for us. Matt Phillips: Did not practice. There were two walk-on QB's in practice today, and both rotated in as backups with the second and third team offenses. Other than that, we were really watching Woody and Meager. Who's HOT: WR-Joel Nwigwe: If there is a potion for break-away speed after the catch, Nwigwe drank about four bottles. He ran his routes today like he has something to prove. Well, he is starting to show what he can do. Every pass that went his was was either caught or over-thrown. He would have had scored several TD's in this practice. At one point he caught a sideline pass from Meager, and we heard him yelling "Man you're slow" at the DB as he streaked down the sideline past us. We laughed at that one, but the point is Nwigwe is playing with a lot of confidence, and speed kills. The remainder of the practices will show if this is the real thing or not. Who's NOT: DB Brian Nelson: It is still very early into two-a-days, but Nelson is having real trouble getting into position and making his reads. On several occaisions the DB coach would get frustrated with his mistakes and become very vocal. Nelson is athletic, but tends to lose track of where his man is, or where his shift needs to be. This is only the first day of pads, so I'm sure Brian will get it together. Check for Matt's post later... there will be some really good stuff in that one. GMG!!!

I have to say FFR is on the money here. Most of us are branching out into the parking lots to tailgate now, and that is more game-day like for some of us. Traditions Field has become so busy with people that you really cant move around in there. Dont misunderstand the message as I'm not complaining...having too many people out there is really a good thing. We will still go to the field for the Mean Green March, but tailgaiting in the parking lot was a blast last year, and there is a little more room to throw the pig-skin around. Here's to another college football season!...hopefully the win-loss record is better this year. GMG!!!

Yeah, Jim Mac had a huge check to present for one million dollars. He was given a game jersey with #1 on it by RV and Coach Dickey. The footbal players were also there at the Bball game, so I looked over at Jonus Buckles and said "Oh no..that guy has your jersey JB, go down there and get it back!".. He started laughing and said "for a million dollars, he can keep it"... Jonus was a class act, and I sure miss him. GMG!!!

Not to rock the boat, but the news from this team so far is not really depressing? Most of what we are hearing is very good. I know Eddie Gilmore is a huge loss, but we have more than enough talent to run the outside pass rush in the 3-4. (for those who saw Brandon Monroe at the BBQ, you saw why he would be perfect for that spot). Alexander's medical issues do hurt us, but not so much that we cannot overcome it? We have some very talented OL's, (Adjani Banks, Joel Foster, Jeremy Brown, Chris Eid) who can play tackle. There are others also on the rise. Maybe I'm drinking too much of the green cool-aid, but I think we are in pretty good shape with this team. J-Mo back in the saddle full time, Quinn is ready to go, Phillips should be the man at QB (I know, fire away), Isaac Thomas gives us our first real monster at DT since Booger left. (anyone who watched spring ball saw that...unbelievable), and we are running the 3-4...which puts out best defensive players out there all at the same time. I realize UNTgirl was being positive about things, and that is awsome! I just dont feel we are getting as much bad news from the team as we are good. My feeling is we are in very good shape for this season. Yes, there are some questions to be answered at QB and Corner? The best part of all this speculation is that today is August 7th... so we get some answers starting this week. The College football season is here... and ABOUT FREAKIN TIME!!! GMG!!!

Dont forget we are holding something back from the longhorns? Never underestimate the power of Zeke's play-calling!!! GMG!!!

Ok, so we make a change or two. I still think Brock Stickler would work well as a pass-catcher. GMG!!!

Dont fool yourselves into thinking SMU is just another OOC game to Darrell Dickey. He wants this game more than you guys could possibly imagine. Show up for two-a-days and see what going 2-9 does to a head coach. DD is more focussed, more intense, and more directed than he has ever been. He now has a clean bill of health and is going to put the fire back into this team. You will see it in the practices and the scrimmages. This season will be much different from the debacle of last year. As for Ramon Flannigan, I cant say what his attitude or direction is? I just hope DD's fire and determination bleeds down to him. Not much else we can do. He's here, and he's ours, so we back him. I'm out. GMG!!!

Rick Herold did a great job on this one. This was a fun event, and a good chance for my son to get a lot of player autographs. The message was simple; we have to believe we are as good as the guys who are already where we want to be. I like that... The food was good, lots of nice NT products, and got to spend time with everyone. Good times, and hoping for a good year of Mean Green Football!!! GMG!!!

The "Yankee-Wussies" thing is the funniest part!... we are all still laughing here. GMG!!!