meangreendork

Skladany always came off as the sort of guy that would keep calm and cool, and the sort of guy you'd want to always keep that way.

I've been critical of Greer, but I'll admit I liked what I saw from his JUCO stats. I was surprised at how last season went for him. I also don't think anyone wants to see him fail, they just want to see a solid QB step out on Saturday so they can light up the scoreboard. If it's Greer, then it's Greer. If it's Shanbour, it's Shanbour. I'm starting to wonder if it's not the QB talent coming to the UNT that's the problem.

He looked great on paper, too. Then the UT game happened...

Looked like some script kiddie stuff to me.

Yeah. McNulty got stuck with a limited playbook and was trying to place the ball in places it wasn't going to be caught by a UNT receiver. Williams was relying too much on his athleticism and not enough on the playbook and the team. Greer was underthrowing and couldn't really get comfortable in the pocket.

Stay classy, SMU.

You know, can we drop McCarney and RV if the team goes under 5? I'm pretty sure we can still find an AD who can improve upon or keep the standing of the athletic programs that are successful while getting better basketball and football coaches.

I can second that. I'm hoping Means and Smith really stand out or that Williams finds some kind of rhythm and focus during the spring. I don't really have a lot of grand expectations for Greer or McNulty, but if they can put up good numbers, move the ball, and prove to be clutch players, I'll back them.

There are better candidates for a rivalry. SMU, Rice, or even Houston. But not UTSA.

It helps, but both UTA and UTD are a long way from having the same sort of campus vibe that UNT, TCU, SMU, and even TWU have. I can't speak for UTA since I haven't been there in ages. I can speak for UTD since I was there not more than a year ago, during fall, spring and summer terms. It's quiet and dead at UTD unless you're in the union. Not a lot of foot traffic, not a lot of student groups doing recruiting or running events. It feels like a business park. It doesn't feel like a university campus. I guess the best thing to say is "Visit UNT on a fall morning. Visit UTD on a fall morning. It's two different atmospheres." One feels like a community school, the other one feels like a real university.

And Shift is doing better, I think. Better location that suits their image far better than the old one.

That's very true. Many of the folks that go there only go there for the sake of class, but then go elsewhere for their social lives. It is very much the sort of school for the classic "commuter" student mindset.

Brilliant post. I think that among education institutions in our region, UNT is the tops overall. Lower cost than the private universities, competitive with the public universities, wider degree options, a big campus that doesn't really feel it tied with a great campus culture, great location. The one weak point is athletics, but even that doesn't matter to every student. Their union is a strange beast, indeed. It seems like it's also the one place on the whole campus you can find more than 4 students together that isn't a classroom. When I visited it (I had friends that all recently graduated from UTD), it didn't feel like any campus I've visited before. Nothing like TxState, UT, A&M, SMU, and of course, our own UNT. It had little shades like it was trying to get there, but the campus feels less like a university and more like a business park or community college. Worse yet, there aren't really any places near the campus for a culture to develop, which also really hampers that school.

Generally, low education levels and poverty are a breeding ground for just about anything that puts a power system in place. In some places, it's religious fanaticism and in others, it's drug related crime. It all still boils down to humanity basically eating itself over money and/or power.

"In your face, everyone that isn't UNT." Nice work, Pres. Truth told, even if UTD has higher rankings, it's limited on degree choices and as far 4-year college experiences go, it's pretty awful. It doesn't really have dorms, athletics, or its own on-campus culture. At least, nothing that would make you think of it as a 4-year school.

I can remember that I was not the biggest fan of Thompson in his first few years. He was passing 1:1 INT/TD at the time and I wanted someone else at QB, but we didn't have better options. He really came through in his senior season and his play was backed by the other units of the team as well. Last season, the QB position didn't perform and the other units had trouble.

It'd be nice to see someone with Williams' natural talents succeed here. He has all of the right physical tools to be a great UNT QB, but he wasn't consistent. It would've been great to see a freshman step up and do great things, but it was unrealistic. I also felt disappointed by Greer. He looked good in the videos and his stats showed that he should've done well. Maybe he just isn't built for D1 ball, or maybe the UT game shook him pretty badly. None of those are bad things, it's just that he might not be the fit here. But I'm entirely eager to be proven wrong. If Greer shows up with a great arm, decisiveness, and foot speed, I'm all for him.

The CE tenders are far better. If for no other reason than if you eat them on their own, they're still good. Cane's on the other hand... But a good sauce and a good tender, well that's just more fun than the law will allow.

Yeah, Canes relies on their sauce and that's it. Without it, it's pretty much run-of-the-mill fried stuff you could probably find in the grocery store freezer.

The volume of the food is okay. The problem is that the chicken itself isn't anything special, coleslaw is okay, and texas toast isn't really that special either. I don't mean to step on toes, but if we're gonna add a chain chicken place to Denton, I think our town deserves something better than Cane's. It's okay. Not special, not great, and not awful, but just okay.

Eh, their chicken never really impressed me. Not at that price, either.

Improved play at the QB and LB positions would make a difference -- a difference of at least 2-3 games. If every position came in firing at full, we could be looking at another 9 win, maybe 10 win season.

He looks impressive, especially when on the punt/kick ST. Dalen busts through the blockers and gets his hands in the way. I like him, he's fast, gets through or around blocks, and he's got a good eye for the ball carrier. Hope gets the itch to come here.

210 is my working squat, but to be fair, I'm like 160lbs sopping wet. Supplements are nice, like protein, creatine, or caffeine. I wouldn't touch anything beyond that, though.

I think it was a blocking scheme and QB issue here. When defenses don't think the QB can toss a reliable ball, they'll play accordingly, aiming to pressure the QB into a bad pass, or aiming to swarm any ball carrier. It's deadlier when the offense is predictable, running only a few plays from a few formations. Then if the blocking isn't good enough to support a QB, the situation gets worse. Assignments are missed, sacks take place, and TFLs take place. In the 2013 season, being predictable wasn't such a big deal. The line was more stout, the blocking schemes were more effective. The WRs were a little better. More importantly, Thompson was a different QB in 2013 than he was in the years prior. So while defenses expected a lot of running, they weren't quite prepared for an effective QB that could get ball into the hands of shifty, quick, receivers. That gave our coaches a little more room to take risks during games and more room to coach new and different plays.