Expectations For 2007 Mean Green Season

[NCMeanGreen]

Personally, and not to sound too underachieving, I am just happy that we will be seeing some exciting football on the offensive side. I, for one, got quite bored during some of the games the last few years ESPECIALLY when we were getting are arses kicked and I kept yelling for something more than the infamous draw.

I cannot WAIT to see our spread offense in action! What are you anxious for???

[UNTflyer]

What are you anxious for???

A stadium announcement.

[DeepGreen]

Turning dirt for the a new football stadium before I die. In fact, I'll furnish the ceremonial shovels!

[EagleMBA]

My expectations for this season are to see a competitive team on the field with attitude. Aggressive without committing stupid penalties. A team that generates enough offense to let the opponent know they are in a fight. A defense that can lay the wood and wrap up tackles. A team that maximizes the clock and plays hard to the final whistle.

If we see the above, I don't care what the won/lost record is. I will be proud to our coaches and our good young men.

[island eagle]

My expectations for this season are to see a competitive team on the field with attitude. Aggressive without committing stupid penalties. A team that generates enough offense to let the opponent know they are in a fight. A defense that can lay the wood and wrap up tackles. A team that maximizes the clock and plays hard to the final whistle.

If we see the above, I don't care what the won/lost record is. I will be proud to our coaches and our good young men.

Same here, because if we see that then we know that improvement will happen whether it will take 1 year or 3 years.

[eulesseagle]

Ok, I will bite on this.

Here is my "prediction."

@ OU...........L.........currently out of our league.....too big and faster for us.

@ SMU.........W........we have their number again.

FAU..........W........we have too much talent & coaching for them.

@Ark...........L.........currently out of our league.....too big and fast for us.

@LaLa.........W........they will be one of the bottom feeders of the SBC this year.

LaMo.........W........close game but we have them here this year.

@Troy.........L..........switching defense to counter the spread this year. They still have a bunch of talent.

MUTS..........W.........we win in a Texas shootout.

NAVY..........L..........the middies are tenatious & disciplined on O & D. Could come down to has the ball last.

@ASU.........W.........the spread is too much for the "old tribe" to handle....our kids are getting used to the offense.

WKU...........W.........WKU has redshirted all their seniors this year.

@FIU...........W........ Dr. S does not have Dr. D's number.

8-4 and we share the SBC championship with Troy.

Only to jolt everyone's memory UNT lost nine games, in the last two years, by a touchdown or less with what many thought was an anemic offence.

Edited July 6, 2007 by eulesseagle

[the real grad88]

Ok, I will bite on this.

Here is my "prediction."

@ OU...........L.........currently out of our league.....too big and faster for us.

@ SMU.........W........we have their number again.

FAU..........W........we have too much talent & coaching for them.

@Ark...........L.........currently out of our league.....too big and fast for us.

@LaLa.........W........they will be one of the bottom feeders of the SBC this year.

LaMo.........W........close game but we have them here this year.

@Troy.........L..........switching defense to counter the spread this year. They still have a bunch of talent.

MUTS..........W.........we win in a Texas shootout.

NAVY..........L..........the middies are tenatious & disciplined on O & D. Could come down to has the ball last.

@ASU.........W.........the spread is too much for the "old tribe" to handle....our kids are getting used to the offense.

WKU...........W.........WKU has redshirted all their seniors this year.

@FIU...........W........ Dr. S does not have Dr. D's number.

8-4 and we share the SBC championship with Troy.

I'm not counting us out of the fight for the Belt championship this year. I agree with the above W-L record except for Troy.

[bigrobdsp]

Ok, I will bite on this.

Here is my "prediction."

@ OU...........L.........currently out of our league.....too big and faster for us.

@ SMU.........W........we have their number again.

FAU..........W........we have too much talent & coaching for them.

@Ark...........L.........currently out of our league.....too big and fast for us.

@LaLa.........W........they will be one of the bottom feeders of the SBC this year.

LaMo.........W........close game but we have them here this year.

@Troy.........L..........switching defense to counter the spread this year. They still have a bunch of talent.

MUTS..........W.........we win in a Texas shootout.

NAVY..........L..........the middies are tenatious & disciplined on O & D. Could come down to has the ball last.

@ASU.........W.........the spread is too much for the "old tribe" to handle....our kids are getting used to the offense.

WKU...........W.........WKU has redshirted all their seniors this year.

@FIU...........W........ Dr. S does not have Dr. D's number.

8-4 and we share the SBC championship with Troy.

If this is how it happens I will have an ear to ear smile at the end of the season. I dont expect to start off this strongly though since it is the first season of Dodge ball

[emmitt01]

My expectations?

1)September hurry up and get here so the "traditions", "school spirit" and any other whiny threads will stop being posted by people whose reach far exceeds their grasp when it comes to actually doing something about it.

2)A respectable showing in every game except the OU and Ark ones. I know, I know, we should strive to be respectable in all of them but Todge is still working with DD's mess. I expect respectability and a plethora of wins next season.

3)Win over SMU

4)Increased attendance for an entertaining brand of football.

5)Continuation of our newfound "media darling" status.

If these things come to pass I think we will be in very good shape.

[akriesman]

I like that people here have realistic expectations for this season. Personally, I don't expect any real magic to happen for at least 2 seasons, until Todge starts getting his recruited players on the field. In 2010, look out !

Here is what I want to see.

1) Disciplined players.

2) An emotional team.

3) An unpredictable offense.

4) Fans that continue to support the team, even if the record does not show the improvement.

5) A home field average of 20k+ per game.

6) A stadium announcement.

I am convinced that 1-3 will definately happen. I HOPE that 4-6 will happen.

Can't wait for the season. This is the most excited I have been in my 23 years as a MG fan.

[GreenFlag]

OK, now I'll bite.

4 wins will be expected.

5 wins will be ok.

6 wins will prove that Todge IS Football Jesus.

7 wins will be orgasmic.

[untbowler]

I just want to see some real football where the other team is not lining up 9 in the box, while our QB waits for the play to come in from the sideline.

[ntmeangreen11]

With a bad-ass defense, 6 wins. With a decent defense, 4 wins. With a bad defense, 2 wins. The offense will be fun to watch at times, and very painful to watch at other times IMO, I think we'll need another year or two before the offense is in full swing.

[Green92]

4 to 5 wins would be a solid start.

[GreenBat]

OK, now I'll bite.

4 wins will be expected.

5 wins will be ok.

6 wins will prove that Todge IS Football Jesus.

7 wins will be orgasmic.

Get ready to bow down and pray & maybe even have your dirty bits go wild!

[PlummMeanGreen]

If not for the most timely (for more NT Exes/Mean Green fans than most of us would probably ever want to believe) hiring of T'odge; ;anyway, if not for his hiring, I think Troy U would be on their own 3 or 4 year bowl run to the Big Easy. With Coach Dodge @ UNT, all bets for that to happen in Trojan-Land are now officially off.

Many first year coaches have made some fairly big splashes in their inaugural year in the annals of NCAA D1 football. Our membership in the SBC may afford Coach Dodge such a splash, but I think Todd Dodge's biggest impact at UNT thus far has been his "can do" attitude which I really believe will add a few thousand new fans & new faces to our ususal per game turnstile averages at Fouts Field compared to what we had even during 4 bowl years. (Game Week and Game Day promotions would still be a good thing for UNT to plan on doing, though--after all, this is still the DFW Metroplex we compete for the entertainment dollar).

I think most of us believe Coach Dodge being at UNT will help our campus fund-raisers seal a deal on a Big Donor(s) which will get our new football palace jump-started and all that out at our magnificent Mean Green Village. The alternative of not doing this sooner than later is unthinkable for our entire athetic program.

Who knows, we may very well have the necessary talent to win the SBC in 2007, but I think Coach Dodge is 2, 3 or 4 recruiting classes away from our having the talent to rise above what previous SBC football championships did not do for us and then Mean Green football....................will start college football's version of the rising of the Phoenix from the Bottom 25 desert sands & toward Top 25 rankings and that......................FWIW, is what most college football fans judge any D1-A football program's progress & success. (Can we simply defer to the Boise State U Broncos for ample proof of that)?

What I really look forward to in 2007 are our post game coach's radio shows and................I don't think I'll need to put the HBP medication in my glove box from here on out.

Edited July 6, 2007 by PlummMeanGreen

[mean green d]

I'm interested of course, to see the new style offense we unveil. I'm also excited to see a new enthusiasm from the fans at the games. Anyone want

to second that? I think the fans will be pumped this year.

GMG

[Green Lantern]

I think that we win somewhere between 5 & 7 ballgames this year.

I also expect to see:

A rejuvinated fanbase (w/plenty of new faces)

Disciplined football

Creative/Explosive offensive production

Return to aggressive, attacking defense

Team with an "expect to win" attitude

[Mean Green 93-98]

The competition in the Sun Belt is not terribly stout, but much moreso than when we had four years of completely having our way with the Sun Belt. There was nothing comparable to Troy as it now is. If there were, I am not sure that we would have had a single conference title.

[Green Lantern]

The competition in the Sun Belt is not terribly stout, but much moreso than when we had four years of completely having our way with the Sun Belt. There was nothing comparable to Troy as it now is. If there were, I am not sure that we would have had a single conference title.

Our 02' and 03' teams were pretty stout by Belt standards. I think last year's Troy team was pretty good but there's some revisionist history going on with that team right now. People are remembering the NO Bowl win over Rice and acting like Troy steamrolled everyone else in the Belt. They lost to ASU and MTSU gave them all they wanted a week later barely losing.

I don't think last years Troy team was any better than the NT team the beat Cincy in the NO Bowl. As far as not having anyone else good in the Belt, those NMSU teams (specifically 02') and MTSU (01') were pretty good Belt teams that we beat during those Bowl years.

For the record, I think that NT will be able to be competitive in the Belt immediately under Dodge. I don't necessarily expect a Sunbelt title next year...but I wouln't be surprised to see us win it either.

[CaribbeanGreen]

Couple of thoughts.... First of all, I'm right there with Tasty on every level. We should expect in the first year around what Stockstill did at MTSU (which we saw first hand during 35-0).. that's not too much to ask, especially given the buzz around this recruiting class and fan base in general. We heard over and over how "easy" it was to win the Belt, how we were still overall below .500, and even if you consider (for reasons beyond me) Troy to be some dynasty in the making, there's no excuse not to be competitive throughout the conference slate. That being said, yeah - total honeymoon season, and short of your basic criticism, no changes possible, period.

As it's been said, Troy lost one game in conference last year and nearly lost several others. Hell, even NT came down to the final moments with a GOOD chance to win against the Trojans. As Dennis Green so eloquently put it, if you want to crown their ass, then crown their ass!!!", but, IMHO, the 2002-03 era Mean Green blow the Trojans off the field 8 out of 10 times.

[PlummMeanGreen]

First of all, Dickey did not have his 1'st above .500 year in Denton until his 5'th year in Denton (out of his 8 total years). Probably a prime reason Rick V sorta' wanted to make a HFC's change after the ULM loss in 2001? Heck, all AD Rick V had to go by at that time was 4 losing seasons in a row. Lest we also forget, DD's 1'st bowl team was also under .500 so we then had Wright Waters and the fledgling SBC of very recent 1-AA level schools coming to the rescue?

YET BACK TO THE PRESENT............Might it now merely be about getting out of the Bottom 25 and (in 2, 3 or 4 years) getting into what has been unchartered waters at UNT for much too long; that is, getting into the higher stratisphere and higher profile of Top 25 rankings?

I don't know, but maybe some alums need to put behind them "what DD Ball hath wrought" (which to a growing number now is tantamount to an annual Bottom 25 co-existance with his having no real plans of competing any higher than the SBC)? As long time alum GrayEagleOne posted a day or 2 back, when the SBC (finally) started improving top to bottom, DD could not win the league title any longer.

DD played a a part (about $1 million out of about $8 million) in our getting an A/C built and DD deserves credit for that. He also deserves credit for getting MG football's head just above water level and out of a near drowning scenario but the problem was while in the water, we hardly came close (in 8 years) of making the Olympic swim team that would get us near any semblance of Top 25 rankings. Just my opinion and .02 worth as one who (along with many of you) actually saw UPI polls with UNT in their Top 20 and a UNT football team that even once beat a Top 20 football team...........

...............I know, this is the kind of stuff a hardy handful of MG football history revisionist just don't want to read or hear about, but it is the cold unadulaterated truth. (And FWIW............ Hayden Fry could not (alone) vote & get his team into any Top 20 poll). If so, I guess we would have been in it many more times than we were most of his tenurship in Denton since he was an annual UPI voter which was held over from his days at SMU.

Personally, I hope Todd Dodge exceeds everything Hayden Fry ever thought of doing in Denton and even in a more grandiose way. Most of us older nestors really wanted all those Mean Green HFC's who followed Coach Fry to have done the same thing quite frankly. Hellsbells! We didn't stick around all this to watch what Hayden Fry had started in Denton go to hell in a hand basket (although it seemed some up there post-Fry Era and with much less talent or abilities seemed all but hell-bent into seeing that it would).

[KRAM1]

Exciting, Never Say Die, Hard-Hitting Football...an offense where I can't call 60-70% of the plays....A team that's Proud to Wear the Green, and a team that is a TEAM. I know, I know...but, I just want to see some exciting, hard-hitting football again. I THINK WE WILL!

[eulesseagle]

I posted an 8-4 record because during the last two years of Coach Dickey's tenure at UNT he lost nine games by a touchdown or less. Now, considering the offensive style that he ran and with a potential of producing more touchdowns I humbly believe Coach Dodge will win the close ones that we lost during that two year period.

If the UNT defense produces the same results I believe that Coach Dodge's offense will offset and produce more in points.

Think about it.

Here is a link for you to take a look at most all of the NCAA's records including UNTs.

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

IMHO, again, I predict that Meager will start the season but Vizza, the Freshman will finish the season.

Edited July 7, 2007 by eulesseagle

[GrandGreen]

It seems to me that a factor that many are ignoring about next year club, is that this will be one of the most experienced clubs in NT history. With 50 letter-men and 10 returning starters on the defensive side, this team should be ready to excel. With any kind of offensive improvement, this team should be a contender for the Belt crown. Historically first year coaches have been very effective; Price at UTEP, Stockwell for the Muts, and Hayden won the valley in his first year at NT. I think this is due to a big emotional boost that sometimes occurs.

Troy or anyone else in the Belt is far from being unbeatable. It is strange to me that many assume success against SMU and a loss to Troy. SMU should be the better team. I am not going to be down on the coaching staff if they do not have a winning year but at the same time I do think that NT will be in the Belt title hunt.

Before you anoint Troy, the Muts , or any other team the new power in the Belt, let one of them win an outright championship. Troy may develop into a Belt power they do seem to not only get players into school that others have problems enrolling but somehow unlike the Muts and others that have tried that recruiting strategy they seem to remain in school.