Quarterback

PlummMeanGreen · November 15, 2016

On 11/14/2016 at 3:54 PM, LongJim said:

I think Fine is a Riley Dodge-esque type player with a better arm and I think his play this year has been pretty great for a true freshman. He is going to be worlds better next year.

Fine's marching the team the full length of the football field for a TD in the opening drive against one of CUSA's better teams sure did impress the Middle Tennessee fans I sat next to.

One drive does not a QB make, but he sure as hell impressed some fans from Tennesssee that evening at Apogee. Give the kid the kind of offensive lines that some of our past (successful) QB's I've seen since Hayden Fry's 1'st game at UNT & I think this discussion shifts to other positions that we're truly deficient.

Edited November 16, 2016 by PlummMeanGreen

ForneyGreen · November 16, 2016

I'm excited to see Fine next year along with the entire QB competition - may the best young man win.

I do think Fine has been hurt since the Army game - not full-blown injured, but hurt. His throws from the Army game through last Sunday are noticeably different than his first games this year (not as accurate, not as much zip, more floaters) - all of which are indications of a 18-19 yr old body that has taken a tremendous amount of punishment.

BTG_Fan1 · November 16, 2016

On 11/14/2016 at 0:07 PM, Ben Gooding said:

Fine has not done a single thing this year to lock up 2017 starting QB position. He's inconsistent to at times bad. He's a true freshman and he's playing like one. Some programs strike gold in their true freshman, but the mine at North Texas is dry and will forever probably be dry. He's playing up to, maybe a little under, expectations and that is unfortunate. I think we have to put our faith in recruiting at this point while licking our wounds. This season is over, but I do expect the season finale in El Paso to be highly competitive...and that is not a good thing considering how bad they are. Silver lining...The season is almost over and we have a full offseason to regain our undying loyalty to this program.

*This offensive coaching staff/philosophy has not allowed be to fully buy in. The inconsistencies and obvious discrepancies in play calling is beyond alarming.

I agree... Why is that everyone is so locked in on Fine... You can say that he lead us to all of the W's this year, but again most of those were games that Wilson dominated.. Next fall, maybe Pearson is better or even Izzy(if healthy) or even Auggie is he is truly coming in.. But Fine hasn't done anything to lock this up 100%. Yes he has had some flashes and moments with him passing for a couple of 300 yard games, but how many of those 300 year games involved him passing during garbage time(like UTSA and MTSU at the end)

On 11/14/2016 at 2:57 PM, Cr1028 said:

Yes, because this year isn't the ceiling, this is the floor. We are building a program, not sustaining one. If Mason can go, he plays. If we aren't playing for the CUSA title(which we aren't), it is all for next year.

All we need is most likely 1 win to get Fine and all these other new/young guys another 2 or 3 weeks of practice for a bowl game... The goal should be get to a bowl game, it shouldn't be play for next year.. 1 Win and a bowl game should be more important to our future than packing it up and hoping for something next year.. You play the best guys now to get that additional practice time and go for the W, games like WKU are games that should be used to play for next year.

RBP79 · November 16, 2016

WTF...guess we have excidently high expectation here at NT......

.

Ben Gooding · November 16, 2016

11 hours ago, RBP79 said:

WTF...guess we have excidently high expectation here at NT......

.

no. and there is where the problem lies.

outoftown · November 16, 2016

In the army game Fine was fairly mediocre but didn't turn it over. In the UTSA game he was really bad, La Tech he had a great half, and a turd half. And then WKU was just really bad. At that point the Not all of that is on Fine, but I felt like he needed to sit some before he injured himself, and apart from the fact that he didn't play well, we should probably remember that many of us wanted him redshirted so he can add some more muscle and be better ready to take hits that were inevitably coming. He is tough, but also small has a bad O-line and sometimes doesn't hear the inner clock go off fast enough.
So the reason I think we should have given Morris some Reps earlier and Fine some time on the bench is not just playing level currently. I believe Fine has the potential to be the be a better QB than we had in 10 years. But I also think we overplayed him (and injuries are bad for development) and didn't signal to him that he can't make freshman mistakes too often without having consequences which can be bad for motivation. It is a dangerous message to the rest of the team if you do that at one position while not doing it elsewhere. People come up with weird thinking when that happens (like *the Iowa coach started the Iowa QB, the Oklahoma coach starts the Oklahoma QB")

Travis · November 16, 2016

2 hours ago, outoftown said:

In the army game Fine was fairly mediocre but didn't turn it over.

He turned it over in the Army game.

10Eagle10 · November 16, 2016

I don't want to start a new thread for what follows so this seems like the best place to put this.

If Fine is out and Alec Morris gets the nod and is struggling, I'd love to see Quinn Shanbour get a shot. He is always in tune during the games and practices, and I enjoy looking for him in the Beyond the Green episodes - I have a feeling that he has a great grasp of the offense. I mean this dude threw 37 TD's as a senior at Heritage Hall and only 4 INTs. I'm hoping that Morris is firing on all cylinders, but if not, I really think Shanbour could be like Willie Beamen in Any Given Sunday or Shane Falco in The Replacements. Also, Mox in Varsity Blues and Sunshine in Remember the Titans.

Okay, maybe I've watched too many movies, but I believe

Army of Dad · November 16, 2016

19 minutes ago, 10Eagle10 said:

I don't want to start a new thread for what follows so this seems like the best place to put this.

If Fine is out and Alec Morris gets the nod and is struggling, I'd love to see Quinn Shanbour get a shot. He is always in tune during the games and practices, and I enjoy looking for him in the Beyond the Green episodes - I have a feeling that he has a great grasp of the offense. I mean this dude threw 37 TD's as a senior at Heritage Hall and only 4 INTs. I'm hoping that Morris is firing on all cylinders, but if not, I really think Shanbour could be like Willie Beamen in Any Given Sunday or Shane Falco in The Replacements. Also, Mox in Varsity Blues and Sunshine in Remember the Titans.

Okay, maybe I've watched too many movies, but I believe

That would be awesome, especially if QS is successful just to see how Vito would dance around it.

All About UNT · November 16, 2016

15 hours ago, RBP79 said:

WTF...guess we have excidently high expectation here at NT......

.

Since you are newer you might not be aware of how bad North Texas has been at acquiring/maintaining/coaching/retaining a QB of value. DT was a bus-driver but still beat a ton of records and that should tell you all you need to know. Not settling for 3 turnovers in one game and bottom of the conference ratings for QB play is not demanding too much.

While Alec can't stop throwing interceptions (staring down receivers and under/overthrowing) look at the sack ratio here.

Alec got sacked every 25 attempts....

Mason gets sacked every 7 attempts....

Now our line sucks and we know that but tell me something else isn't amidst here.

BTG_Fan1 · November 16, 2016

18 hours ago, RBP79 said:

WTF...guess we have excidently high expectation here at NT......

Why should we want to settle on 4 wins? 5 could get us into a bowl game, and 6 def will... I bet if Vito were to ask SL are you and your staff going to settle on 4 wins or try and win the last 2, SL would say he wants to win the last 2...

Expectations can change.. and should when you see results...

ForneyGreen · November 16, 2016

4 hours ago, All About UNT said:

Alec got sacked every 25 attempts....

Mason gets sacked every 7 attempts....

That's an interesting stat. I think part of that is Mason trying to stay alive in the pocket - which sometimes works well finding a 2nd, 3rd, or 4th receiver - and sometimes (too often this year) results in a sack.

Alec seems more like the DT strategy from 2013... Eyes are on the primary receiver only - if he isn't covered, then throw the ball - if he's covered, then throw the ball away.

That was a big reason why DT had such a low sack total in 2013... he simply didn't stay in the pocket long.

Got5onIt · November 16, 2016

8 hours ago, outoftown said:

In the army game Fine was fairly mediocre but didn't turn it over. In the UTSA game he was really bad, La Tech he had a great half, and a turd half. And then WKU was just really bad. At that point the Not all of that is on Fine, but I felt like he needed to sit some before he injured himself, and apart from the fact that he didn't play well, we should probably remember that many of us wanted him redshirted so he can add some more muscle and be better ready to take hits that were inevitably coming. He is tough, but also small has a bad O-line and sometimes doesn't hear the inner clock go off fast enough.
So the reason I think we should have given Morris some Reps earlier and Fine some time on the bench is not just playing level currently. I believe Fine has the potential to be the be a better QB than we had in 10 years. But I also think we overplayed him (and injuries are bad for development) and didn't signal to him that he can't make freshman mistakes too often without having consequences which can be bad for motivation. It is a dangerous message to the rest of the team if you do that at one position while not doing it elsewhere. People come up with weird thinking when that happens (like *the Iowa coach started the Iowa QB, the Oklahoma coach starts the Oklahoma QB")

Agreed 100%. However, you know how most NT fans are around here with players. It's equivalent to insisting on marrying the 1st girl that kisses you....

GMG_Dallas · November 16, 2016

4 hours ago, All About UNT said:

While Alec can't stop throwing interceptions (staring down receivers and under/overthrowing) look at the sack ratio here.

Alec got sacked every 25 attempts....

Mason gets sacked every 7 attempts....

Alec also has only played against SMU, Bethune Cookman, and half of WKU. Fine has played against much more fierce competition including Florida and MTSU.

BillySee58 · November 17, 2016

On November 15, 2016 at 0:24 PM, GMG_Dallas said:

Gotcha, my mistake. UNTLifer mentioned they went 1-11 his first year so they still were horrible.

If Isadore can quickly learn the playbook and is healthy come next year, who do you think starts between him and Fine barring any grad transfers? I really think the coaches will redshirt Pearson so I don't consider him an option to start but if he does, good for him. Isadore comes in with JUCO experience and has a huge size advantage while Fine will have a semester's head start assuming Isadore is here in the spring. I know Isadore is coming off an ACL injury but there's a long time to get healthy by next September.

I gotta think it'll be Fine until we see something substantial that it might not be.