Defending Dickey again

[medpilot21]

Good post Steve. Nice to see that Emmit and I arent the only ones still on the DD band wagon. (yes of course there are others of us, but most of the Dickey posts lately have been poison tipped darts) The man has earned a down year and that is what he gets with this team. Let's see what we have in 06 when the younger players have some experience. I know the losing bites, but the fact is it happens. I hate it as much as everyone else, but there are just some things we have to live through. (see 1997 and 1998 seasons, for those of us unfortunate enough to have been in the stands for those games)

I am looking at the positives as much as I can. J-Mo will be the #1 starter and there will be less of the "platoon" RB situation next season. Patrick Cobbs is running well, and we all love the guy...but we really need J-Mo to have more snaps. Dickey can fix his fumble issues, and will have Danny Meager ready for a sophmore season in the passing game. JQ will be back for the next season, and so will most of this defense. I say lets play out the season and do the best we can, but be realistic about what this year has to offer. Four straight conference championships and bowl games allows for a down year. I had a great time in New Orleans, and one bowl season at home doesnt hurt that much. My only request of this coaching staff is to find a way to win the homecoming game. I know they play to win them all, but we have some serious issues to work through. I think DD can get most corrected enough to face Monroe on the 19th.

I know, I'll catch it again for this post too. I said it once and I'll say it again... Darrell Dickey is a four-time conference coach of the year. If we needed a head coach, THAT is the guy we would be going after? well, we already have him. One down year does not erase that? Patience people, patience...

Okay....Fire away, but aim low. NOT IN THE FACE please, not in the face.

GMG!!!

[stebo]

Very good post MedPilot. Looks like we are on the same page. Enjoy the games, win or lose - it is football season and come March we will be putting together another flag football game because we need our fix so bad. If we will go out and kill ourselves in a flag football game just to get our "fix" - you know that we are true lovers of the game. Well folks, the game and the season is going on RIGHT NOW - enjoy it, enjoy screaming about the play calling and the growing pains! At least we have a team to complain about and a nice sized fan base to complain along with us. There are students and alumni at hundreds of Universities across the nation that would love to have what we have - lets not blow it because of pride and anger. Force yourself and your friends out to the games, it will be the attendance during the down times that defines our fan base for the future.

[eulesseagle]

stebo....glad you enjoyed ratboy!!! lol

[untbowler]

Good post, Stebo.  Dickey's brought plenty of success here.  I think all you've got to do is look 90 miles north of the border at what OU's going through to realize that even $3 million coaches with lots of OOC wins can have problems when he is starting young players all around.  I doubt the Sooners are trying to throw their coach overboard, and we shouldn't be either.

But, if we're still sitting at this point next year...that's a different story.

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OU is sitting alright if you think about it. Their 3 losses were to Top 25 Teams with combined records of 18-1.

Our opponents we lost to are closer to .500 and all outside of Top 40 or so.

They stomped K.State, beat Tulsa, Baylor, which we probably could not do, infact 2 of the 3 blew us out by 45+ pts.

Like others have said in previous threads it is unfair to compare us to others, so we can not do it here either.

[Coffee and TV]

No. 

Are you thinking of the Rec Center?   

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Nope. The $4 and something fee per every hour you took each semester was to go to the AC. I was at the SGA meeting held a few days after the big MUTS upset and Rick V was trying to promote the idea. The student body voted it down by a very slim majority in the fall of 2001. The SGA wound up approving it anyways a few months later that semester, or the the spring 2002 semester. My point in all of this is that its been RV's doing.

[El Paso Eagle]

stebo....glad you enjoyed ratboy!!!  lol

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That was funny

[UNTSIG]

yeah uhm why is it when you ask a good question on this board, you never seem to get an answer? i will try to ask again....what is different this year than any other year that makes it a "down" year? anybody, anybody?

[Cerebus]

Nope. The $4 and something fee per every hour you took each semester was to go to the AC. I was at the SGA meeting held a few days after the big MUTS upset and Rick V was trying to promote the idea. The student body voted it down by a very slim majority in the fall of 2001. The SGA wound up approving it anyways a few months later that semester, or the the spring 2002 semester. My point in all of this is that its been RV's doing.

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I'll have to look it up. But I think we are both half right. The $4 fee is the title IX fee. I think a percentage of the AC was able to be funded by that fee, but not the entire thing.

The BOR had to spit up the majority of the money.

The BOR would not have done it w/o the FB success.

[Cerebus]

yeah uhm why is it when you ask a good question on this board, you never seem to get an answer?  i will try to ask again....what is different this year than any other year that makes it a "down" year? anybody, anybody?

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Right, because we usually lose SBC games.

We usually can't run on anyone.

We usually are in the botom ten in offense.

[UNTSIG]

cerebus- we still could win the SBC....we haven't played our Sun Belt opponents which brings our offensive rankings and rushing rankings up??? i am not sure i follow your point

[Cerebus]

cerebus- we still could win the SBC....we haven't played our Sun Belt opponents which brings our offensive rankings and rushing rankings up???  i am not sure i follow your point

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We have played 3 SBC games. We have lost one.

Our offensive production was horrible.

One of the teams was FIU, which is the bottom team in the conference.

[Michael Scott]

yeah uhm why is it when you ask a good question on this board, you never seem to get an answer?  i will try to ask again....what is different this year than any other year that makes it a "down" year?  anybody, anybody?

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Yeah, uhm, you are wrong- this year is worse than the past ones.

Yes, we always suck in OOC, but if you lined up each of the last 4 North Texas teams side by side, which team (at the end of the 5th game each season) is worse? I think we are either tied or behind the 2001 team for last and those guys turned out okay. I am in no way trying to support Dickey and the gang, but to claim we have not slipped is semi-absurd.

Any more good questions or are you waiting for someone to say wow or start a fight after everything you post? I do not want to pick a fight at all but you seem to take yourself so seriously and seem to want to be bigger than the board - I doubt you'll ever get the recognition you seek on a sunbelt message board, but hey, you never know...

[Harry]

Really good post Steve and one that we needed here.

[Mad Hatter]

I was at my high school homecoming game over the weekend, and speaking to a fellow North Texas Alumni. He asked if I'd be at the games in November, and I said something along the line of "Yes, but the season sure is disappointing"......he said something to me that really surprised me. His reply was "It's not only about the game, there's 3 hours of Tailgating to consider, that's half the fun".

I think we've turned a corner on fan support. No, we won't have as many people as we'd like to the games, but I don't think we're going to see any more years with consistant miserable attendance like we had several years ago. People will come for the game day atmosphere now. Oh sure, if the weather is freezing cold and we're having an awful year attendance will be down, but I'd think it would only be for that game.

It's great that people are ticked about our current situation. It shows we've got some fan support. I'm of the mind to keep Dickey and see how next year goes. But regardless of what hapens, I'm still going to the games and getting season tickets.

Oh - And Go Girls Soccer!!!! They should get an invite to the NCAA tournament if they keep it up, and that's something to be proud of.

[Eagle1855]

Good post, and I think you make some good points.

I also tend to agree with UNTSIG (Lifer, and others) however, in that I dont think this season is really an abberation... it really is alot more of the same. You are correct, the wins have definately helped us get where we are, i think most everyone will agree with you there. The problem is (or the good news is) our expectation levels have been raised along the way!

Oh, and watch out saying you have a secondary team on this board, you are setting yourself up for an ambush... apparently you cant be both a NT fan/supporter AND root for any other team in Texas. Just thought I would let you know and save you the trouble

[ttunt]

Stebo & Harry,

I too like Stebo post and being a season ticket (at least 3 a year) for

33 years, I have yet to see a coach use the us against the world

attitude as much as DD!! That said would someone research how many

victories we have against 1A teams with winning records in the last

7 years.(I say Cinncinati(NOB) and Texas Tech). I will still support NT

with MY $, TIME AND ENERGY, but I know some people say that's like

saying you support everything going on!! and I had an alum tell me just that.

On another thread someone says for RV to tell DD to hire an OC, but that

can't happen with the way things are now. MeanGreenPOP and Mom

thanks for supporting NT with your sons and attendance and enthusiasm!

[eulesseagle]

ttut-----

http://cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/div_ia/mo...n_the_polls.php

good website for what you are requesting....

good luck

[stebo]

As soon as we strapped on the helmets with the script, we started winning... Logo gate brought us that crappy ass block letter font (I think it looks TERRIBLE on the helmet)... lets strip the helmets and bring back the script! Bring back the script and we will find our winning ways ... by the way, make sure that we bring it back AFTER the LSU game

[PlummMeanGreen]

Stebo, thanks for this thread.

It has stirred me so and is so refreshingly heart-warming for a change that it makes me want to sing Bobby Knight's all time favorite hymn "Shall We Gather At The River." Of course, The General (who turned 65 today) did change up the lyrics just a tad on that hymn when you hear him sing it on The Ticket on his radio show).

Seriously, what Stebo has scribed is how I wish more of our concerned fans (which is just about every single one who posts on this forum, friend & foe alike) would consider adopting as each of our philosophies for at least a year. Do we trade 1 bad year for 4 good ones and start over with an unknown quantity or personality who may make Darrell Dickey seem like a Knute Rockne? I've seen it happen just that way before and so have some of you. As the say, be careful what you wish for?

We all know there needs to be some attitude adjustment in some areas of our campus and some careful tweaking of our football program in general, but lets just all pull for the good stuff to start happening at NT for a change. We sure as hell all deserve it no matter what era we attended NT, no matter how much we give or don't give to NT, no matter how many frequent flyer miles you have or don't have for this program and that's for damn sure.

GMG!

Edited October 25, 2005 by PlummMeanGreen

[Got5onIt]

  Next year we will either be back to our dominance or we will be looking for a new coach - which is exciting in itself. 

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Agreed 100%. Either scenario would be exciting.

[UNTSIG]

Everybody is entitled to their opinion and I respect that but man I just can't figure out why we are so content on dominating the Sun Belt. Seriously? I mean come on guys, how do you seriously complain on one hand that we can't get anyone in the stands and then on the other be happy that we dominate the Sun Belt? Don't you see that the two go together? Plain English: The Belt sucks. Nobody cares anymore about winning the belt. Maybe to a few of you guys, going to the New Orleans Bowl year after year and winning the Sun Belt is the best we can do but I don't care if we win the belt for another 20 years.....you will only see 20,000 people in the stands at most. We have to start winning our OOC games. Look at the numbers. We have won the SBC 4 years in a row....please raise your expectations. If you don't, this program will go no where.

[Michael Scott]

What if we just join District 6-5A?

We would have regional interest and get to show off against Highland Park and Southlake Carroll. We could own the metroplex!!!

[gangrene]

Everybody is entitled to their opinion and I respect that but man I just can't figure out why we are so content on dominating the Sun Belt.  Seriously?  I mean come on guys, how do you seriously complain on one hand that we can't get anyone in the stands and then on the other be happy that we dominate the Sun Belt?  Don't you see that the two go together?  Plain English:  The Belt sucks.  Nobody cares anymore about winning the belt.  Maybe to a few of you guys, going to the New Orleans Bowl year after year and winning the Sun Belt is the best we can do but I don't care if we win the belt for another 20 years.....you will only see 20,000 people in the stands at most.  We have to start winning our OOC games.  Look at the numbers.  We have won the SBC 4 years in a row....please raise your expectations.  If you don't, this program will go no where.

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Hey UNTSIG....easy on that negativity unless you want to be called out and strip searched for your right to comment.

I agree completely with your post, but I think what we really need to do is define what constitutes a "successful" season. Is it winning the Belt...period. Or, is it winning the Belt AND a couple of OOC games, the NO Bowl and gaining some national respect (i.e. recieving some votes in the "others" section of one of the two national polls)??? Likewise, would everyone be happy IF we won all of our OOC games but lost all of our Belt games?? (I know that wouldn't happen given our OOC competition vs. the SBC competition.)

It is not unheard of for a team to have what would be considered a disappointing season and still receive a bowl invite. In fact, it happens every year.

My disappointment with this season lies with the fact that I obviously had set my expectations too high. I would have considered this season to be a great success had we won 2 of our OOC games, went undefeated in the Belt and won the NO Bowl. I would have considered it a mild success had we won ONE of our OOC games while playing competitively in the others (except LSU) and swept the Belt again, win or lose in the NO Bowl. I had also hoped for a better year for PC and JT considering all of the national pub we received. It's too bad all of that hype and attention has gone to waste.

[emmitt01]

Everybody is entitled to their opinion and I respect that but man I just can't figure out why we are so content on dominating the Sun Belt.  Seriously?  I mean come on guys, how do you seriously complain on one hand that we can't get anyone in the stands and then on the other be happy that we dominate the Sun Belt?  Don't you see that the two go together?  Plain English:  The Belt sucks.  Nobody cares anymore about winning the belt.  Maybe to a few of you guys, going to the New Orleans Bowl year after year and winning the Sun Belt is the best we can do but I don't care if we win the belt for another 20 years.....you will only see 20,000 people in the stands at most.  We have to start winning our OOC games.  Look at the numbers.  We have won the SBC 4 years in a row....please raise your expectations.  If you don't, this program will go no where.

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I've asked the question before and I'll ask it again. What in the past several decades of North Texas football makes you think that the strides made over the past few years are not appropriate for where we have been? Just 5 short years ago we would have given our right legs for 4 conference titles, bowl trips and new athletic facilities. Now that we have those things we're talking about how our expectations aren't high enough? Our administration and athletic department prior to RV had kept us in the infant stages of our development so long that the "baby steps" we have taken are a sign of improvement and, more importantly, good things to come. I look at it like this. In the Helwig years our athletic department was like a newborn with poor coordination and two broken legs. RV got here and for the first year or two we learned to crawl. Last year we built the AC and broke ground on several new athletic facilities and, most importantly, talked with seriousness about a new stadium. That to me is pulling ourselves up on the coffee table and taking a step or two. I truly believe that within another year or two we will be off walking on our own and tearing up the living room.

Furthermore, where did your great expectations come from? Could it have been the newfound success that our football team has found WITH DICKEY AS THE COACH? You talk about replacing Dickey like getting rid of him would take us back to the glory years. He has BEEN the glory years in the recent history at North Texas. Could we find another coach who is an offensive mastermind and can bring in 5 star recruits? Maybe, maybe not. But I wouldn't put my money on it until RV has had time to see his vision through for a few more years. In the meantime let's enjoy some brisket and a cold one at tailgating, bring our friends and family to Fouts, and cheer for these young men who bust their asses on Saturdays.

[Monkeypox]

Higher expectations could come simply from seeing how weak the SunBelt is and watching other teams who were in the same boat with us 10 years ago far surpass us.