What is OK to ask of DD?

[KingDL1]

By mid-week the board will go the full gamut from lets get rid of DD to what is wrong with you guys DD is the best ever.

What is OK to ask of. or expect from DD as Alumni, Students and fans of all kind for that matter?

Is better discipline? IE penalties, grades....

Is better play calling and quicker adjustments?

An attempt to win OOC games?

Because I think most of these and others questions are fair and should not be deemed negative. So much hinges on this from attendance to funding a new stadium.

Really; "What is OK to ask and expect without being a nay sayer or negative poster?"

Or is anything we may consider suspect truly of limits.

Edited September 18, 2005 by KingDL1

[NT91]

Lets go get K-State.

[GoMeanGreen1999]

Simply know that most on here by the end of each season are happy with DD. I thought we should have gotten rid of him a couple of years ago, but I just gave up. The reality is, that once the non conf games are over and we start winning again in the Sun Belt, everyone will forget about the fact that we can't win outside of the conf, and by that time, they will all be back in love with DD.

Once we play in the bowl game, we will think once again that we can compete outside of the conf., since by that point we are on a winning streak, but it is a streak inside of the conf. We will play the bowl game, more than likely lose, and everyone will start the DD questions again for a couple of months, then look forward to the new season and start believing that once again, we might win some OOC games.

All it is a cycle that we go through each year. I have just given up staying on the DD because when I bring up, most are happy just winning the Sun Belt.

[PlummMeanGreen]

Simply know that most on here by the end of each season are happy with DD.  I thought we should have gotten rid of him a couple of years ago, but I just gave up.  The reality is, that once the non conf games are over and we start winning again in the Sun Belt, everyone will forget about the fact that we can't win outside of the conf, and by that time, they will all be back in love with DD.

Once we play in the bowl game, we will think once again that we can compete outside of the conf., since by that point we are on a winning streak, but it is a streak inside of the conf.  We will play the bowl game, more than likely lose, and everyone will start the DD questions again for a couple of months, then look forward to the new season and start believing that once again, we might win some OOC games.

All it is a cycle that we go through each year.  I have just given up staying on the DD because when I bring up, most are happy just winning the Sun Belt.

←

This Mean Green football team (according to the MGRN guys) is the 3'rd youngest team in NCAA D1-A. Something tells me this is going to be a pure "get the kids experience" rebuilding year. Still amazes me that we beat the MUTS, although we will still take that "W."

Lest we all forget, the last CUSA football team we beat was its CUSA football champion and that was in a bowl game in 2002. All is not lost, folks. We are mostly pissed because our team got beat in front of a good crowd last night but.............we will all get over it, some of us already have.

GMG!

Edited September 18, 2005 by PlummMeanGreen

[El Paso Eagle]

This Mean Green football team (according to the MGRN guys) is the 3'rd youngest team in NCAA D1-A.  Something tells me this is going to be a pure "get the kids experience" rebuilding year.  Still amazes me that we beat the MUTS, although we will still take that "W."

Lest we all forget, the last CUSA football team we beat was its CUSA football champion and that was in a bowl game in 2002. All is not lost, folks.  We are mostly pissed because our team got beat in front of a good crowd last night but.............we will all get over it, some of us already have.

GMG!

←

We return the 3rd least amount of returning starters, not the 3rd youngest. If we are going to use the youth/inexperience card then we also need to question why, knowing we were going to be so young/inexperienced we did not hit the JC's a little harder.

[GrandGreen]

Keep seeing this quote about less starters. I doubt it, even if you don't count returnees from previous years like May and Branch. You have returning on offense: Mitchell fb, Thomas rb, Foster t, Lineberry g, Quinn wr, and Muzzy wr.

On defense there are only the three linebackers plus Covington CB. So total NT has 10 returning starters. There are 116 teams that have more then 10 starters returning?

Or did whoever make up this quote also subtract Early who was a starting LB who was injured? If that is the case I would doubt the validity even more. Did they survey all 119 teams to determine what returning starters are not available because of transfers, injuries, eligibility issues, etc.

Edited September 18, 2005 by GrandGreen

[ForneyGreen]

I'd like to hear more from the regular posters about the question posed in this thread - What is OK to ask of DD?

I am a fan of DD. I am also a fan of my employees, and when they screw up, they know that there will be some long discussions about how to get things on track.

In this case, I think that just about every question concerning the offense is fair game. Our offense has scored 7 points in two games, and it's not like we're playing against Big 12 defenses (yes, both Middle and Tulsa have some talented players, but as a whole, these are not world-beating defenses).

Personally, I think it goes back to preparation and game-planning. So, here are my two fair and balanced questions for DD:

1) Can you please do something to get the tight ends and receivers into the game (other than heaving jump balls to The Mighty Quinn) so that we might actually see some respect for the passing game?

2) Can you please put some plays together that give your RS freshman quarterback the chance to get some completions under his belt at the beginning of the game - instead of asking him to drop back and make multiple reads?

BTW - I know that we're a LOT better than what we showed last night - that's why I'm so frustrated that the team wasn't better prepared.

[Monkeypox]

2)  Can you please put some plays together that give your RS freshman quarterback the chance to get some completions under his belt at the beginning of the game - instead of asking him to drop back and make multiple reads?

←

I think this is actually part of the problem. They have designed plays just to get the guy completions. They're these little dink and dunk plays that at best go for 4 yards, and he's not been very good at them so far. However, even if he were, these type of plays DO NOT FIT our offense. The idea of our offense is to run until we get them creeping up, and then hit them over the top with a receiver one-on-one. It's not working right now because:

1) The defenses are playing risky. They're blitzing on the PA right from the beginning with the understanding that our young QBs don't have the experience or ability to make them pay.

2) Our running game isn't getting on track.

and

3) As mentioned in (1), our young QBs don't have the experience or ability to make the reads and the plays.

These are, of course, just my Sunday Morning Quarterbacking, and could very well be wrong, but that's how I see it. The only solution to the above is, I believe, TIME. We simply have to be patient with the young guys. It's gonna be a struggle this year.

I'm not ready to get rid of The Buick, however, for any of the above. I have more of a problem with the drive-killing penalties and indecision from him than I do the actual outcome of the game. I didn't understand putting Phillips into the game with his back against the wall at the time, and then NOT playing him once the game had gone sufficiently into blow-out, so there'd be less pressure. It just didn't make sense one way or the other.

[GreenBat]

If you were a tree, what type of tree would you be?

That's the only safe question I can come up with, where he's not going to place the blame on somebody or something else.

[Got5onIt]

This Mean Green football team (according to the MGRN guys) is the 3'rd youngest team in NCAA D1-A.  Something tells me this is going to be a pure "get the kids experience" rebuilding year.  Still amazes me that we beat the MUTS, although we will still take that "W."

Lest we all forget, the last CUSA football team we beat was its CUSA football champion and that was in a bowl game in 2002. All is not lost, folks.  We are mostly pissed because our team got beat in front of a good crowd last night but.............we will all get over it, some of us already have.

GMG!

←

This is the argument I don't buy. If this team was building on that amazing year when NT won the NO Bowl against Cincinnati, the talent level would have been recruited to jump in and fill roles. Players come and go for various reasons, but I expect NT to have upped it's level of recruiting since 2002. I completely understand not having game experience, but c'mon now, these guys practiced through spring and fall AND viewed tape AND had time to prepare for Tulsa before this weekend. I was expecting a much better showing.

54-2 not only shows NT's lack of a gameplan, but it alse shows a lack of talent in key positions, IMO. Talent that should be there.

[Guest Aquila_Viridis]

We are mostly pissed because our team got beat in front of a good crowd last night but.............we will all get over it, some of us already have.

GMG!

←

Way too much tolerance. With that attitude we can expect more of the same. There is a fundamental lack of commitment to reach the next level. There are not enough alumni who care and there are not enough people at the administration who care to go out and get the alumni to care. Basically a lot of money is needed to make it happen. They should be begging the alumni for money for this. Some of us are putting into it. If anyone is reading this and is not putting in, then do so if you can. You can see from Saturday and from other games in recent years that there is a serious problem. If you are tired of it, then give or give more.

Some of you might be thinking of just giving up on something as bad as what you saw the other night. But that is a loser attitude and if that is the attitude of the team's supporters, then we have a self-fulfilling prophecy of doom.

Then again, some of you may be thinking, well these problems will get fixed on their own. That is a fantasy and will not produce wins that you want. Fixing the problem requires more energy, and a key energy in this process is money.

By bolstering your commitment, we can have a self-fulfilling prophecy of improvement. I say improvement, not complacency, is desperately needed. No question there are some supporters who give a lot. As a group though, the alumni participation is WAY too thin. Let's all make a commitment to give more to this program so we can avoid this kind of horrendous embarrassment in the future.

Finally though, I am confident that even our present team and staff is capable of better results that what happened with Tulsa. But it is going to take more focus, intensity and preparation to get the job done against teams like that.

[FirefightnRick]

I think if I had one question I would ask:

At any point in the past, or possibly will you in the future, consider changing to a "Pass to set up the run" system?

To me this has been a very interesting discussion. Without a top 10 defense, like what we had in 2002, our conservative "Run to set up the pass"(does not include any passes that invovle a crossing route of any kind) has not competed very well with the bigger programs, with blowouts coming to top programs and outright losses to others such as to Memphis, Southern Miss, Baylor, Colorado, Air Force, etc.

And what is even more confusing to me is why does our system work against Belt teams but not against OOC programs...for the most part?

Several of the Belt teams seem to be able to compete with the bigger programs during their OOC games at least offensively at times. Even before Troy was 1-A they put up offense and points against teams like Nebraska yet like in '03, they come to Fouts and get shut out? MTSU regularly puts up offense against the bigger programs and FAU doesn't seem to have a problem moving the ball either. I know FAU beat us last year but barely. Other than the '02 Baylor and possibly the '04 Colorado game we haven't had many games where we put a scare in anyone offensively in OOC play.

I do know the past two years we have seen us pass more as the season moves on but we are still a set up the run with the pass type offense. Everyone loses players. Look what it's done to OU. But we seem to always have these stagnant offensive outings at the first of the season. I wonder if it's time for a change offensively?

Thoughts?

Rick

[Got5onIt]

I think if I had one question I would ask:

At any point in the past, or possibly will you in the future, consider changing to a "Pass to set up the run" system?

To me this has been a very interesting discussion.  Without a top 10 defense, like what we had in 2002, our conservative "Run to set up the pass"(does not include any passes that invovle a crossing route of any kind)  has not competed very well with the bigger programs, with blowouts coming to top programs and outright losses to others such as to Memphis, Southern Miss, Baylor, Colorado, Air Force, etc.

And what is even more confusing to me is why does our system work against Belt teams but not against OOC programs...for the most part? 

Several of the Belt teams seem to be able to compete with the bigger programs during their OOC games at least offensively at times.  Even before Troy was 1-A they put up offense and points against teams like Nebraska yet like in '03, they come to Fouts and get shut out?  MTSU regularly puts up offense against the bigger programs and FAU doesn't seem to have a problem moving the ball either.  I know FAU beat us last year but barely.  Other than the '02 Baylor and possibly the '04 Colorado game we haven't had many games where we put a scare in anyone offensively in OOC play. 

I do know the past two years we have seen us pass more as the season moves on but we are still a set up the run with the pass type offense.  Everyone loses players.  Look what it's done to OU.  But we seem to always have these stagnant offensive outings at the first of the season.  I wonder if it's time for a change offensively?

Thoughts?

Rick

←

I agree with you FFR. How can this team play power football with ease against teams in the Belt but get blown away in OOC play? These same belt teams are competing and winning games in OOC play.

Could it be coaching? Bad coaching with superior talent in OOC games? OR great coaching with inferior talent in Belt play?

I'm just amazed that our O-Coordinator was a gun slinger in college yet runs one of the driest, blandest game plans I'ev ever seen. I read in an earlier post Dickey ran this same offense before Flanigan came in. Maybe, Ramon's hands are tied by DD???

[Hunter Green]

I just want to know why, when our team was down by 30+ points, were we still running play action? I don't think Tulsa had any respect for our running game in the fourth quarter and the play action only gave our inexperienced QB less time to set up and find a receiver. Same thing with Scott Hall during the NO Bowl.

What gives, Ramone?

[UNTLifer]

Why does everyone keep asking Flanigan what gives? It's Dickey's offense.

Here's a question for all of you, How in the world can a team with former QB's as the Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator not prepare a quarterback to lead a team? How can they run such an offense with so little imagination?

[TIgreen01]

I agree with you FFR. How can this team play power football with ease against teams in the Belt but get blown away in OOC play? These same belt teams are competing and winning games in OOC play.

Could it be coaching? Bad coaching with superior talent in OOC games? OR great coaching with inferior talent in Belt play?

I'm just amazed that our O-Coordinator was a gun slinger in college yet runs one of the driest, blandest game plans I'ev ever seen. I read in an earlier post Dickey ran this same offense before Flanigan came in. Maybe, Ramon's hands are tied by DD???

←

Dickey also coached Flannigan his last year at SMU....but yes, we ran the same offense before Flanigan got here.

I would ask why are we starting every series with a passing play? In both games this year it has failed and we are then stuck in a 2nd and long situation--to which we usually respond with a run, and then run play-action on 3rd and long after the run gets stuffed. What are we trying to accomplish with the first down passing? We have 2 great running backs and an Oline that appears to not be able to pass block very well, but run blocks adequately enough....what's the thought from the coaching staff?