Final Thoughts on UA Game from PokeyPig

[oldguystudent]

1 minute ago, MrStrange18 said:

please dont shut down this thread... it is greatness

We need to bring the hall of fame forum back, cuz this one would be a great candidate. 

[FirefightnRick]

42 minutes ago, PokeyPig said:

Just... wow.  Reading comprehension, work on it.

 I can read this...44-17.

 

Rick

Edited September 17, 2018 by FirefightnRick

[southsideguy]

in the interview the returned said he did have room if the defense did not stop.  The kick was low so the was factor in  his reason not to fair catch it.  I  have to agree the rest of the year our returners better put a white flag because I dont think we could fool anyone twice with that play. The coaches had to tell the refs what going to happen before the kick.  

[UNTexas]

3 hours ago, PokeyPig said:

First off, I want to say I’ve enjoyed the last couple of weeks on here discussing the game with everyone.  If you don’t mind, I plan on hanging around for a while and enjoying the rest of the season with you guys – it's not like I have much to watch from Fayetteville this year.  🙂  I’ll be at the La Tech game for sure, wouldn't miss hearing the fans appreciation for the team’s performance in person. 

I had to step back a little after the game and let you have your fun, it’s been a long time coming so I understand your excitement.  I’m a hog fan though, so it was a little tough to take and I kept my visits to a minimum.  I’m all better now though...  mostly.  🙂 

There are a few things I’d like to comment on now.  First, I hope UNT stays focused and doesn't let too much of this go to their heads.  Not saying that in a bad way, it happens.  I know we’re SEC and all, but the reality of it is we suck right now.  This is the worst team I’ve seen us field in my lifetime.  Bert (not a typo) left us with a talent shortage in the areas needed for success with the new system we’re trying to install, and the good players we DO have aren't really meant for this scheme.  It’s unlikely we’ll win an SEC game this year, let alone any more for that matter.  UNT has tougher challenges than us ahead, from what I’ve seen from your coaching staff I don’t expect there to be an issue with success, but it’s happened before.

Next, I’ve seen some shots on here taken at our fans for leaving the game as early as they did.  I get defensive when people talk about our fans because, in my completely biased opinion, we have some of the best/nicest fans in all of college sports.  I’m not talking about the internet trolls, I’m talking about the actual fans in the seat.  There’s always the asshats, but in general I challenge you to go to an athletic event and be treated better anywhere else as a visiting fan. 

The pics on here of our empty stadium implied that we were just a bunch of butthurt, fair weathered fans abandoning their team.  These fans have been through SO much over the last decade, and have stuck it out.  We were lambasted by the national media for hiring Petrino.  It was so terrible he left his professional team mid-season, never mind that coaches get fired mid-season all the time and it’s ok.  We caught so much national grief over that, it was unreal – a hell of a lot more than OSU has gotten for keeping Meyer this year. 

Then our fans became the laughing stock when Petrino crashed his motorcycle.  We fired him, much to the anger of most of our fans, and replaced him with the incompetent John L Smith.  2012 was supposed to be one of our best years ever, maybe even making a run at a title (both Alabama and LSU were home games).  Instead, it was one of our worst and we had to sit and watch John L tell us all to “smile”.

I could go on and on, but my point is it wasn't just this one game our fans were walking out of, it was a culmination of years of crap being dumped on them.  Then, to see it pointed out on here, well it kinda stuck in my craw a little.  I mean, in the end it’s about the product on the field.  I’ve driven by your stadium many, many Saturdays and seen it pretty empty, now that you've got a good product to sell – you’re talking about a possible sell out.  You guys pointing out crowd support is kinda hypocritical if you ask me. 

Finally, the punt return.  I’m sure I’ll get downvoted to oblivion for this but here goes.  When it happened, I laughed my ass off.  I thought it was funny as hell, and just shook my head at the ineptness of our coaching staff and the give up of our players.  Plus, my kids had friends that went to Lake Dallas and know Keegan, so seeing the local kid do good made me proud. 

However, upon further review… I’ve got mixed emotions about it.  At the end of the day, your placing some dependence for the play’s success on the good sportsmanship of the other team.  Reading the details on how the play was setup helped convince me of this.  The fact the gunners, and all opposing players are engaged so they had to take their eyes off the punt returner, to put doubt it their minds about whether fair catch was called.  Choosing a situation where 99 times out of 100 the returner will call for a fair catch to begin with - short punt, deep in their end of the field. 

Plus, in this day and age, week after week players are coached not to hit a defenseless player, that they’ll be penalized and probably ejected and suspended if they do.  So, the punt team, not having been able to see the returner, is supposed to tackle a defenseless player because he hasn’t heard a whistle?  I know ‘back in the day’ when I was running down the field on kick coverage if everybody in front of me eased up I assumed I’d missed the fair catch call and eased up as well.  I wouldn’t have thought about making contact with the returner. 

I ask how you would have felt if Keegan really had called for a fair catch in that situation and one of our players had not seen it and took Keegan’s head off, what would you have thought about that player?  Would you have called for his ejection?  Would you have vilified him as being cheap?  Think about it.

I still think the play is funny as hell and laugh when it’s shown, and I’m happy UNT is getting the good pub --- but I really don’t think it’s as black and white of a play as it is on first watch.  It’s not just about lazy Arkansas players not finishing the play.  Those of you that have played the game ask yourself, what would you have done if everybody in front of you stopped.  Would you have said, “I didn’t hear a whistle so I’m going to light him up?”

Anyway, this was longer than I’d planned and seriously, I’m not trying to offend or downplay UNT’s success.  You guys are great, like I’ve been saying for two weeks now!

Good luck the rest of the year and I’ll be seeing you at the games!

Good post. I've heard nothing but good things about Arkansas' fans. Regardless of the state of Arkansas' team UNT fans are going crazy after this win because its not everyday we win against a big program like Arkansas. As a UNT fan I was terrified something would go wrong and we'd blow our lead. 

As for that punt return it could have terribly wrong but fortunately for us it didn't. I kind of view it as we played that game where UNT was going to leave it all on the field. Arkansas has a ton of talent and our coaches really prepared the team well. They obviously saw something on the films that let them know there was a chance to exploit the coverage and the punt returner sold it perfectly. They very well could have taken his head off and the tied the score at 7. It was a gamble that payed off for us and I know it probably angered a lot of Arkansas players and fans.

UNT has been through really really tough times and we've got a special team playing this season. Arkansas is going to bounce back and y'all will surely be much better soon. I personally love to see us play big teams like y'all. Hopefully you'll follow us some more this season. Its always good to discuss football with other fans.

 

[LongJim]

57 minutes ago, DT 90 said:

Never, ever feel sorry for the pigs.

This, times a million.

[LongJim]

You had me until you started whining about the punt.  Take that elsewhere.

[NorthTexasWeLove]

14 minutes ago, meangreenlax said:

@PokeyPig  thanks for taking the time to speak your peace. Being North Texas fans has been more than difficult over the past, well... forever. Shit-tier coaching, used car salesmen ADs, dropping down to D1-AA, getting shafted by schools in the area, you name it, we've gone through it. So I, and many others, can certainly sympathize with what you're going through. But, you'll be hard pressed to find anyone across the G5 that will really feel too bad for even the worst SEC team. This is just a byproduct of the modern political economy of FBS football. The Have Nots rarely pity the Haves when they're down. With that said, don't let some of the negative responses sour you on coming out to Apogee for a game or two this year. 

I do, however, have a little issue with your characterization of the now infamous punt return. If you watch enough football you will see returners field and advance punts with similar amounts of time/space. It happens all the time. There was no half-arm wave or fake signaling so I fail to see how NT was using safety rules as a cover. If the coverage team had its head up and was playing correctly it would be a non issue and it would have been a big hit. There is a difference between a big hit, and an illegal hit.

 They were using bad and laxidasical punt coverage as witnessed on tape according to our ST coordinator. He saw what was a glaring flaw and exposed it. Anything else is babble and butt hurtness. I was sitting next to some vocal and drunk Ark fans and was screaming a fair catch was signaled and then the replay...and then silence. 

[Matt from A700]

3 hours ago, PokeyPig said:

Next, I’ve seen some shots on here taken at our fans for leaving the game as early as they did.  I get defensive when people talk about our fans because, in my completely biased opinion, we have some of the best/nicest fans in all of college sports.  I’m not talking about the internet trolls, I’m talking about the actual fans in the seat. 

I stick around to the end of every game. But I was gone at halftime of Portland State in 2015.

[MeanGreenTexan]

7 minutes ago, LongJim said:

This, times a million.

I think he said that because of the "rivalry" that's growing between his alma mater (A&M) and Arkansas...  Not for any reason related to NT.

[meangreenlax]

1 minute ago, Matt from A700 said:

But I was gone at halftime of Portland State in 2015.

Mitigating circumstances bro.

[LongJim]

1 minute ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

I think he said that because of the "rivalry" that's growing between his alma mater (A&M) and Arkansas...  Not for any reason related to NT.

Doesn't matter.  It applies to lots of teams and their history with the Hogs.

[Cerebus]

3 minutes ago, Matt from A700 said:

I stick around to the end of every game. But I was gone at halftime of Portland State in 2015.

You left at the worst time.  The second half was that euphoric feeling you get from endorphins when you body has been crushed.  It felt like gliding towards the heavens on a column of light.

No, I kid, the second half was awful.  

[MeanGreenTexan]

1 minute ago, meangreenlax said:

Mitigating circumstances bro.

For an SEC school, the comparison is Granny Smith to Red Delicious.   Obviously different, but same neighborhood.

[Matt from A700]

16 minutes ago, Cerebus said:

You left at the worst time.  The second half was that euphoric feeling you get from endorphins when you body has been crushed.  It felt like gliding towards the heavens on a column of light.

No, I kid, the second half was awful.  

At least we scored in the second half?

Edited September 17, 2018 by Matt from A700

[PokeyPig]

Well, this blew up more than expected.  I expected flack about the punt return opinion.  It's a good subject for debate.  My opinion still stands; however, if we'd of done it to Alabama I'd be loving every replay and re-tweeting it every chance i got.

For the rest of the stuff, I’ve tried to come up with a reply that can’t be taken out of context, or be seen as whining or crying, or be accused of pandering… and well, it’s just not possible. 

So, that being said, I’m only going to say good look the rest of the season.  I’ll be pulling for you each week… and I can say that and not be pandering because I’ve lived in the Denton/Argyle area for over 15 years and put six kids through the Denton ISD.  So, if you think that’s pandering then… 🤐

[SCREAMING EAGLE-66]

---- Someone mentioned us dropping to  DII ... we can give SMU some credit on that one too .... Had they not blocked our entry into the SWC we have been still been in DI ....and even attendance didn't matter .... SMU and TCU would have been also if they not been in a conf. with AM, UT,  and Ark, and Tech.--- Guess you can tell I have NO love for SMU..... none.  Rules mean  or meant nothing to them ... that is why that got the death penality ... and I understand their basketball program was just as rotten then ..... and their coach then ( Bliss?) was later of the coach of Baylor when that murder took place in their basketball program. . 

[GrandGreen]

About the return.    i don't understand how some Arkansas fans can complain about it being dangerous and not in the spirit of fair competition.  Than follow with Arkansas should have destroyed any NT player fielding a punt.  

Edited September 17, 2018 by GrandGreen

[Cerebus]

21 minutes ago, PokeyPig said:

  I’ll be pulling for you each week… and I can say that and not be pandering because I’ve lived in the Denton/Argyle area for over 15 years and put six kids through the Denton ISD.  So, if you think that’s pandering then… 🤐

Pulling the long con just to give us backhanded compliments... that's dedication.  

[FirefightnRick]

2 hours ago, DT 90 said:

Never, ever feel sorry for the pigs.

It’s incredible that we still have some fans that have to be reminded.  We’re so beat down as a fan base in general that some will eat any turd tossed their way.  Just unreal.

 

Rick

Edited September 17, 2018 by FirefightnRick

[meangreenlax]

26 minutes ago, PokeyPig said:

So, that being said, I’m only going to say good look the rest of the season.  I’ll be pulling for you each week… and I can say that and not be pandering because I’ve lived in the Denton/Argyle area for over 15 years and put six kids through the Denton ISD.  So, if you think that’s pandering then… 🤐

You're officially more connected to UNT than 90 percent of A&M and UT fans are to those schools!

[Cerebus]

1 minute ago, meangreenlax said:

You're officially more connected to UNT than 90 percent of A&M and UT fans are to those schools!

Agreed.  We should GoFundMe him season tickets.  

[PokeyPig]

4 minutes ago, Cerebus said:

Agreed.  We should GoFundMe him season tickets.  

😂

[MEANGREENCOACH2]

I ran out of all my votes today on this thread ALONE!!!

 

Also, view GIF below STRAIGHT GOLD

Edited September 17, 2018 by MEANGREENCOACH2

[PokeyPig]

Some good stuff here...

https://www.rollbamaroll.com/2018/9/17/17868842/weltschmerz-a-trip-through-arkansas-football-social-media

[madmaxx7]

4 hours ago, greenminer said:

In my completely biased opinion, if an ARK player had blasted Brewer I would have accepted the fact that the risk was there.

I read on your board someone suggest that our staff would have cried "targeting" if the play didn't work.  I'm skeptical.  If you, as a coach, inform the refs (which they did) that the play was in the books for the game....you're not in a position to cry foul to the refs like that if your play didn't work.  Coach Littrell is a man of character who doesn't pass the buck.

That's a ton of ifs-buts but, other than that, great post and good luck to y'all.

The punt return emanated from our Special teams coach noting, on tape, that you guys do not finish strong on punts. Every kid that ever played the game knows the play is not over until the whistle blows.  Don't you think players in the SEC should know the rules.  Your players turned and walked off the field while the ball was live.  That is indicative of poor coaching and lack of discipline.  Our return guy ia a walk on who was a trained fire fighter.  Sure looked like you guys were way out coached.  Good luck with your hiring process.