Mean Green Sports Notes On Scrimmage

[mean green d]

http://www.meangreensports.com/ViewArticle...;ATCLID=1153735

[chrisfisher]

http://www.meangreensports.com/ViewArticle...;ATCLID=1153735

Didn't Dodge promise to name a QB after this scrimmage? I wonder when this will be announced.

[MCMLXXX]

His answer was given on a previous post. Read the link.

http://www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/dws/...8.454a2fec.html

[chrisfisher]

His answer was given on a previous post. Read the link.

http://www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/dws/...8.454a2fec.html

thanks... hopefully the news will get leaked before the OU game... this is torturous! I need fix of Mean Green football action. I am very disappointed that today's scrimmage was closed. I had it on my calendar since they released the date. On the other hand, if Dodge think it best for the team to practice without onlookers then I'm glad he closed practices. Sept. 1 can't come soon enough!!

[GrandGreen]

thanks... hopefully the news will get leaked before the OU game... this is torturous! I need fix of Mean Green football action. I am very disappointed that today's scrimmage was closed. I had it on my calendar since they released the date. On the other hand, if Dodge think it best for the team to practice without onlookers then I'm glad he closed practices. Sept. 1 can't come soon enough!!

Why would you want it leaked when TD is obviously trying to keep it from OU as long as possible?

[gangrene]

Why would you want it leaked when TD is obviously trying to keep it from OU as long as possible?

Because it won't matter to OU if Vince Young is our QB. Are you serious?? Do you really think OU is afraid of Meager or Vizza??? Do you think not revealing who our starting QB is until the OU kick-off is going to give us any advantage??

A think a lot of Mean Green fans and alumns (including myself) are about to get a major dose of reality.

[GrandGreen]

Because it won't matter to OU if Vince Young is our QB. Are you serious?? Do you really think OU is afraid of Meager or Vizza??? Do you think not revealing who our starting QB is until the OU kick-off is going to give us any advantage??

A think a lot of Mean Green fans and alumns (including myself) are about to get a major dose of reality.

Yes I am serious. but that has nothing to do with OU being scared? Why do you think TD wants to delay announcement of the QB to keep his fans guessing? Yes, it will give NT a slight advantage if OU does not know who the starter is. They will have to study the tendencies and skills of both Qbs instead of focusing on one. Do you think that OU because they are a prohibitive favorites do not bother to scout or game plan the opponent?

A taste of reality? You think it is going to surprise somebody that a 40 point dog with a new coach and system will get beat badly by a perennial top 5 team at their home field with their referees. Are you serious?

[NT80]

Yes I am serious. but that has nothing to do with OU being scared? Why do you think TD wants to delay announcement of the QB to keep his fans guessing? Yes, it will give NT a slight advantage if OU does not know who the starter is. They will have to study the tendencies and skills of both Qbs instead of focusing on one. Do you think that OU because they are a prohibitive favorites do not bother to scout or game plan the opponent?

A taste of reality? You think it is going to surprise somebody that a 40 point dog with a new coach and system will get beat badly by a perennial top 5 team at their home field with their referees. Are you serious?

Do you really think Dodge cares if OU starts Bradford or Nichol or Halzle at QB? Would it change our defensive game plan? I think not. Perhaps Stoops will look at a high school tape of a Vizza game or a Meager game from last season, but will he change defenses because of it? Hardly. They will be more interested in Dodge's formations and play calls vs. personnel. Now once the game starts and an individual is making great plays then they will adjust in-game for that, not before unless they are known Heisman type players and gamebreakers. I think Dodge is more concerned with plays getting out than player's names....but it makes for good media and messageboard talk!

[GoMeanGreen1999]

I suspect we will have a pretty good idea of who the starter will be before they take the field at the OU game. Won't the starter get more reps in practice with the first teams over the next couple of weeks?

[gangrene]

Yes, it will give NT a slight advantage if OU does not know who the starter is. They will have to study the tendencies and skills of both Qbs instead of focusing on one.

Now that's some funny stuff!

Do you really think Dodge cares if OU starts Bradford or Nichol or Halzle at QB? Would it change our defensive game plan? I think not. Perhaps Stoops will look at a high school tape of a Vizza game or a Meager game from last season, but will he change defenses because of it? Hardly. They will be more interested in Dodge's formations and play calls vs. personnel. Now once the game starts and an individual is making great plays then they will adjust in-game for that, not before unless they are known Heisman type players and gamebreakers. I think Dodge is more concerned with plays getting out than player's names....but it makes for good media and messageboard talk!

That's basically what I meant in my previous post. Thanks for explaining.

I don't think OU will get too specific on studying any particular QB's tendencies or habits, nor do I think it would be necessary. SLC has utilized their system very successfully with four different QBs over the last several years. The system may have adapted to a QB's speed and/or arm strength but any such changes were slight and insignificant, IMO.

A taste of reality? You think it is going to surprise somebody that a 40 point dog with a new coach and system will get beat badly by a perennial top 5 team at their home field with their referees. Are you serious?

It seems some people on this forum actually think we have a chance of upsetting OU and/or going 10-2 this year. I have even caught myself daydreaming about that possibility and would certainly love for it to happen. But, as you just stated, we have a new coach and a new system and we, as Mean Green supporters, need to have more realistic expectations for this first season under TD. Those that can't deal with reality and expect no less than a 7 win season and/or the SBC championship are the ones I was implying might be in for a rude awakening.

[Cool]

It seems some people on this forum actually think we have a chance of upsetting OU and/or going 10-2 this year. I have even caught myself daydreaming about that possibility and would certainly love for it to happen. But, as you just stated, we have a new coach and a new system and we, as Mean Green supporters, need to have more realistic expectations for this first season under TD. Those that can't deal with reality and expect no less than a 7 win season and/or the SBC championship are the ones I was implying might be in for a rude awakening.

Per Mayo Clinic, Gangrene refers to the decay and death of tissue resulting from an interruption in blood flow to a certain area of your body. Some types of gangrene also involve a bacterial infection. Gangrene most commonly affects the extremities, including your toes, fingers and limbs, but can also occur in your muscles and internal organs. Your chances of developing gangrene are higher if you have an underlying condition that can damage your blood vessels and impede blood flow, such as diabetes or atherosclerosis. Treatments for gangrene include surgery to remove dead tissue, antibiotics and other approaches. The prognosis for recovery is good if gangrene is identified early and treated quickly.

Please, let's not start lowering expectations to dead tissue realities before the season even starts. Coach Dodge and his players will do well to surgically remove themselves from such low expectations for 2007 to increase the odds of recovering. I personally don't care if they go 0-12 this year. I'm showing up evey game to do my part knowing that they have what it takes to potentially go 12-0, and they do. A&M knows all too well the power of the 12th man. Can we give these guys a 12th man? It's a lot easier when fans are radical win loose rain or shine. This team is finding heart and has more talent than most realize. I have been to enough practices to know that TD and his staff are not preparing these guys to lower their expectations so that they won't be disappointed, and neither should we. I am one person monitoring this board who actually believes it. I certainly understand those who will have to see it to believe it. The world always needs that gift to keep us grounded in our mediocrity. Let's do our part to blast ourselves far beyond where we have been before. Please don't wake me if I land with Dorothy in Kansas (12-0). realist or not, let's all have some fun this year. It's a new day.

Edited August 19, 2007 by Cool

[GrandGreen]

Now that's some funny stuff!

Glad I amused you. So why is TD not announcing the starting QB?

That's basically what I meant in my previous post. Thanks for explaining.

I don't think OU will get too specific on studying any particular QB's tendencies or habits, nor do I think it would be necessary. SLC has utilized their system very successfully with four different QBs over the last several years. The system may have adapted to a QB's speed and/or arm strength but any such changes were slight and insignificant, IMO.

Same reply, then why is TD going through the effort to delay announcement of a QB.

It seems some people on this forum actually think we have a chance of upsetting OU and/or going 10-2 this year. I have even caught myself daydreaming about that possibility and would certainly love for it to happen. But, as you just stated, we have a new coach and a new system and we, as Mean Green supporters, need to have more realistic expectations for this first season under TD. Those that can't deal with reality and expect no less than a 7 win season and/or the SBC championship are the ones I was implying might be in for a rude awakening.

I happen to think that NT has a good chance to play for the Belt championship. That does not translate to thinking that NT will have upset victories over the OU and Arkansas's of the world or even SMU. Realistic and fans don't necessarily go together but I do think that TD in his first year can compete well in the Belt. It is not that unusual for a first year coach to greatly surprise. There are plenty of examples: Fry at NT, Stillwell at the Muts, and Price at UTEP were all successful in their first year despite having few of their own recruits and making extensive changes to offensive and defensive strategies. The talent level at NT is certainly not great but even with some very poor recruiting in DD's latest years, I believe on overall basis it is not that far off from the best in the Belt. NT will have a very experienced defense and IMO people don't factor in enough that NT last year was a team, with the exception of the SMU game, that played with very little motivation. Evidence of this can be demonstrated by last year's success of the "Green" team. Ever wonder why the "Green" team seemed to move the ball at well against the Belt? Do you think that they were more talented then the first team or just played with a lot more emotion? Also the fact that your second team offense was very competitive against the Belt gives credence to the theory that NT does have solid Belt level talent.

Edited August 19, 2007 by GrandGreen

[KingDL1]

Per Mayo Clinic, Gangrene refers to the decay and death of tissue resulting from an interruption in blood flow to a certain area of your body. Some types of gangrene also involve a bacterial infection. Gangrene most commonly affects the extremities, including your toes, fingers and limbs, but can also occur in your muscles and internal organs. Your chances of developing gangrene are higher if you have an underlying condition that can damage your blood vessels and impede blood flow, such as diabetes or atherosclerosis. Treatments for gangrene include surgery to remove dead tissue, antibiotics and other approaches. The prognosis for recovery is good if gangrene is identified early and treated quickly.

Please, let's not start lowering expectations to dead tissue realities before the season even starts. Coach Dodge and his players will do well to surgically remove themselves from such low expectations for 2007 to increase the odds of recovering. I personally don't care if they go 0-12 this year. I'm showing up evey game to do my part knowing that they have what it takes to potentially go 12-0, and they do. A&M knows all too well the power of the 12th man. Can we give these guys a 12th man? It's a lot easier when fans are radical win loose rain or shine. This team is finding heart and has more talent than most realize. I have been to enough practices to know that TD and his staff are not preparing these guys to lower their expectations so that they won't be disappointed, and neither should we. I am one person monitoring this board who actually believes it. I certainly understand those who will have to see it to believe it. The world always needs that gift to keep us grounded in our mediocrity. Let's do our part to blast ourselves far beyond where we have been before. Please don't wake me if I land with Dorothy in Kansas (12-0). realist or not, let's all have some fun this year. It's a new day.

Amen, I have something this year I have not had in many years and that is a real feeling of HOPE, Even if we go 0-12 I have been inspired this year. I expect nothing but I feel like a winning season is a real possibility and a 10-2 season could happen if the stars and planets align just right. I will go into the season hoping for a 12-0 season, and maybe I should buy my tickets to New Orleans, but who knows we may get invited to a better bowl.

[NT80]

"Realistic and fans don't necessarily go together but I do think that TD in his first year can compete well in the Belt. It is not that unusual for a first year coach to greatly surprise. There are plenty of examples: Fry at NT, Stillwell at the Muts, and Price at UTEP were all successful in their first year despite having few of their own recruits and making extensive changes to offensive and defensive strategies."

Fry did win a share of the MVC his first year at NT but it was hardly a cakewalk his first 2 seasons; only after Fry got his own recruits did the program take off record-wise....

Hayden Fry at NT:

1973 N. Texas St. 5 5 1 .500

1974 N. Texas St. 2 7 2 .300

1975 N. Texas St. 7 4 0 .636

1976 N. Texas St. 7 4 0 .636

1977 N. Texas St. 10 1 0 .909

1978 N. Texas St. 9 2 0 .818

Edited August 19, 2007 by NT80

[GrandGreen]

"Realistic and fans don't necessarily go together but I do think that TD in his first year can compete well in the Belt. It is not that unusual for a first year coach to greatly surprise. There are plenty of examples: Fry at NT, Stillwell at the Muts, and Price at UTEP were all successful in their first year despite having few of their own recruits and making extensive changes to offensive and defensive strategies."

Fry did win a share of the MVC his first year at NT but it was hardly a cakewalk his first 2 seasons; only after Fry got his own recruits did the program take off record-wise....

Hayden Fry at NT:

1973 N. Texas St. 5 5 1 .500

1974 N. Texas St. 2 7 2 .300

1975 N. Texas St. 7 4 0 .636

1976 N. Texas St. 7 4 0 .636

1977 N. Texas St. 10 1 0 .909

1978 N. Texas St. 9 2 0 .818

And your point is? Fry took a bad team and won a share of the MVC his first year, I don't remember saying he won the national championship or started a football dynasty in his first year. I will belabor the point and express once again it is not unusual for first year coaches to have success in their first year at a school. IMO it has more to do with the enthusiasm a new coach instills than the x or o's or talent level of the team. As far as talent, the cupboard is not exactly empty when comparing NT players to the rest of the Belt.

You have your opinion, I have mine. Most obviously agree with you as most pundits have NT with 1 or 2 wins this season. I have given you a number of reasons why I think NT will be better than projected this year. If you want to label me and others unrealistic because we have a different opinion from the masses, that is certainly OK.

[gangrene]

Per Mayo Clinic, Gangrene refers to the decay and death of tissue resulting from an interruption in blood flow to a certain area of your body. Some types of gangrene also involve a bacterial infection. Gangrene most commonly affects the extremities, including your toes, fingers and limbs, but can also occur in your muscles and internal organs. Your chances of developing gangrene are higher if you have an underlying condition that can damage your blood vessels and impede blood flow, such as diabetes or atherosclerosis. Treatments for gangrene include surgery to remove dead tissue, antibiotics and other approaches. The prognosis for recovery is good if gangrene is identified early and treated quickly.

Please, let's not start lowering expectations to dead tissue realities before the season even starts. Coach Dodge and his players will do well to surgically remove themselves from such low expectations for 2007 to increase the odds of recovering. I personally don't care if they go 0-12 this year. I'm showing up evey game to do my part knowing that they have what it takes to potentially go 12-0, and they do. A&M knows all too well the power of the 12th man. Can we give these guys a 12th man? It's a lot easier when fans are radical win loose rain or shine. This team is finding heart and has more talent than most realize. I have been to enough practices to know that TD and his staff are not preparing these guys to lower their expectations so that they won't be disappointed, and neither should we. I am one person monitoring this board who actually believes it. I certainly understand those who will have to see it to believe it. The world always needs that gift to keep us grounded in our mediocrity. Let's do our part to blast ourselves far beyond where we have been before. Please don't wake me if I land with Dorothy in Kansas (12-0). realist or not, let's all have some fun this year. It's a new day.

Thank you for the definition lesson on my chosen username. I assure you I was well aware of the word's meaning before I chose it. I'm not urging anyone to lower their expectations for this year...I just want everyone to be reminded of the realities we face. We're coming off of back to back nine loss seasons and now we have a new coach and a completely new offensive system. I don't want anyone to not hope for a twelve-win season...but hope and expect have two totally different meanings (go ahead look up the meanings of those two words too ). I just hope that everyone doesn't expect Todd Dodge to go 9-3 and win the SBC this year and then be disappointed with a 5-7 or 6-6 record and give up on the team.

Glad I amused you. So why is TD not announcing the starting QB?

Same reply, then why is TD going through the effort to delay announcement of a QB.

I happen to think that NT has a good chance to play for the Belt championship. That does not translate to thinking that NT will have upset victories over the OU and Arkansas's of the world or even SMU. Realistic and fans don't necessarily go together but I do think that TD in his first year can compete well in the Belt. It is not that unusual for a first year coach to greatly surprise. There are plenty of examples: Fry at NT, Stillwell at the Muts, and Price at UTEP were all successful in their first year despite having few of their own recruits and making extensive changes to offensive and defensive strategies. The talent level at NT is certainly not great but even with some very poor recruiting in DD's latest years, I believe on overall basis it is not that far off from the best in the Belt. NT will have a very experienced defense and IMO people don't factor in enough that NT last year was a team, with the exception of the SMU game, that played with very little motivation.

I honestly don't know why TD is waiting to announce the starting QB for the OU game. Maybe he does think it will give us an advantage?? I'm not going to question his judgement but, if that is his rationale, that's a pretty big stretch of the imagination to think it will give us an advantage. Maybe we should ask Brett Vito to ask TD that question the next time he interviews him??

Although the SBC is getting better each year, I still think we should be challenging for the championship each and every year. Honestly, I think we should win the SBC this year too...but I've thought that the last two years as well. My hopes this year are much, much higher than they have been the last two years but my expectations aren't as great and I won't be totally disappointed if we go 5-7 or 6-6. I think either of those two records in TD's first year would translate to a successful first season.

Again...I don't want anyone to lower their hopes for this season. The excitement and interest level for Mean Green football is about the highest I've ever seen it (at least in the last 30 years) and I don't want that level to diminish if we don't finish the season with 8+ wins and a bowl invite. One of my life mottos is to "prepare for the worst and hope for the best"...I guess that's also how I'm approaching this season...cautiously optimistic.

But all this talk of UT, TAMU, TCU, TTech and even UTEP being afraid to play us for fear they may lose is just silly (from another thread I read).

Evidence of this can be demonstrated by last year's success of the "Green" team. Ever wonder why the "Green" team seemed to move the ball at well against the Belt? Do you think that they were more talented then the first team or just played with a lot more emotion? Also the fact that your second team offense was very competitive against the Belt gives credence to the theory that NT does have solid Belt level talent.

You don't think playing against the opponents' back-ups and being down by 20+ points (with nothing to lose) played a factor in the Green team's success?

[NT80]

And your point is? Fry took a bad team and won a share of the MVC his first year, I don't remember saying he won the national championship or started a football dynasty in his first year. I will belabor the point and express once again it is not unusual for first year coaches to have success in their first year at a school. IMO it has more to do with the enthusiasm a new coach instills than the x or o's or talent level of the team. As far as talent, the cupboard is not exactly empty when comparing NT players to the rest of the Belt.

You have your opinion, I have mine. Most obviously agree with you as most pundits have NT with 1 or 2 wins this season. I have given you a number of reasons why I think NT will be better than projected this year. If you want to label me and others unrealistic because we have a different opinion from the masses, that is certainly OK.

Chill. The point is Fry finished his first year at NT 5-5-1 then 2-7-2 and is still thought of as one of our greatest coaches. Dodge can do the same. I too think he'll do better than projected, but I haven't seen anyone predict only 1-2 wins, mostly just lower end of the SBC standings. I will be happy seeing competative, interesting games again.

[untjim1995]

[but all this talk of UT, TAMU, TCU, TTech and even UTEP being afraid to play us for fear they may lose is just silly (from another thread I read).

You don't think playing against the opponents' back-ups and being down by 20+ points (with nothing to lose) played a factor in the Green team's success?}

I think this might be aimed at my post about our schedules in the next few years. I will be the first to say that I don't know for sure why none of the schools that I mentioned in my original thread are not on the schedule over the next 4-5 years. Those schools I listed were TCU, SMU, Baylor, and Tech, not UT or A&M. But, I know that the chances that they will appear on our schedule in the next few years is extremely slim. IMHO, I think that none of these schools' fans or administrators see enough good reasons to play us right now because it is an almost no-win situation. If they beat us, they were supposed to beat little ol UNT. But if they lose or even have a close game, well then... When Tech got beat by us twice in Lubbock during our 5-year series, what did they do? They scheduled SMU and TCU. TCU beat them last year, but SMU hasn't in their 4-year series currently going on right now. So what does Tech do? They re-up the series with SMU for another 4 years. No TCU, no UNT on their future schedules. Why? Same goes for Baylor. They lose to UNT, don't extend the series at all with us, but do get TCU and SMU on their schedule again. Will SMU jump and down to play us again in the near future after this year's game, especially if they lose to us again? Very small chance.

Now, if each of these aforementioned schools looked at the OVERALL benefits of playing us annually or close to it, then maybe some things might change. I just don't think that is going to happen real soon. I will say that I hope that I am wrong and will have to eat some crow on this subject. I guess we'll see.

[gangrene]

I honestly don't know why TD is waiting to announce the starting QB for the OU game. Maybe he does think it will give us an advantage?? I'm not going to question his judgement but, if that is his rationale, that's a pretty big stretch of the imagination to think it will give us an advantage. Maybe we should ask Brett Vito to ask TD that question the next time he interviews him??

Once again, I want to thank Brett Vito for asking the right questions and giving us Mean Green fans the information we really want to know: Breaking news -- Meager to start

Now I can't say I'm overjoyed with the decision, but at least I know...for whatever that's worth.

[Guest GrayEagleOne]

Although I basically didn't care, it would have suited me fine had we not known the starter until they stepped on the field at Norman. I don't feel any more secure; in fact, I'd say that I now feel less secure.

I don't question Meager's ability as much as I question his leadership and decision-making. I hipe that he's changed and he must have or he wouldn't be getting the start.

As to the season, I would be gravely disappointed if we went 0-12. It would kill the momentum that is starting to build with the students, alumni, and fans. They would figure that if Dickey could win three games last year that surely Dodge could win that many this year. If the team can win four or five games, even if they are all within the conference, then I won't be disappointed. Gangrene, you are right about this season not being as important as future years. If we can just begiin (and continue) to show improvement, then we can rise to one of the better teams in the country. In Todd We Trust.