Defending Dodgeball

[jimmyjames_99]

Sorry if this was posted already, did a search and didn't find it... Interesting read...

http://www.ponyfans.com/features/unt07/

Defending Dodgeball

Ponies await UNT with 'savior' coach

Posted on 9/1/2007 by PonyFans.com

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Senior LT Ben Poynter said UNT's starting defensive tackles "might be among the best we see all year" (photo by Webmaster).

According to many North Texas football fans - not to mention more than a fair share of media wonks - new UNT head coach Todd Dodge is Bill Walsh, Don Coryell, Joe Gibbs, Mike Leach and any other "offensive genius" all rolled into one. Or did he invent the game of football himself?

To be fair, it's not like Dodge didn't arrive in Denton with a resume that would draw optimism from the most jaded of skeptics. At Carroll High School in Southlake, Dodge's teams went on a winning rampage, winning four of the last five state 5A titles and racking up a ridiculous 98-11 record in seven seasons. He also guided the Carroll offense to a state record for points in a season when the Dragons piled up a staggering 764 points.

So Dodge clearly knows a thing or two about coaching offense. Complicating the Ponies' preparation for Saturday's game is the fact that they have exactly one game of film of UNT running the Dodge system, and how vivid a picture the Ponies can get from watching a 79-10 bludgeoning last week at Oklahoma remains to be seen.

Contrary to what some skeptics predicted, UNT did not head to Norman with a conservative, vanilla offense designed to reveal nothing to SMU, which many in Denton consider to be the most important foe on the Mean Green's schedule.

One Mustang has personal knowledge of the wizard behind UNT's new spread offense; center Mitch Enright played in the system for four years at Carroll High School.

"Coach Dodge is a great coach," Enright said. "I don't know that what he does is so different from other coaches who teach the spread offense. What made us successful was that he could always add a wrinkle to the offense that made it a little different from what the other team prepared for.

"He's always been successful as a high school coach. Nobody knows yet how that will translate to the college level."

One aspect of Dodge's success at Carroll was the fact that the players he coached knew the system before they ever played for him; Dodge's offense was taught throughout the Southlake School system.

"I started playing that system in fifth grade," Enright said. "In Southlake, fifth and sixth grade is still in pee-wee football, but I hear the pee-wee football coaches get their plays from the high school. By the time we get to the high school team, we know it inside and out."

North Texas, of course, is one game into the Dodge system, and his maiden voyage against the then-No. 8 Sooners wasn't pretty. Statistics underscored the lopsided story told by the final score. In addition to the 69-point margin on the scoreboard, OU had 26 first downs to UNT's 13 - four on the ground and nine through the air. Thanks to sacks and tackles behind the line of scrimmage, UNT mustered just 15 net rushing yards, but did conjure up 232 yards through the air. The Mean Green didn't lose either of two fumbles, but did throw three interceptions last week.

Who to key on defensively will be somewhat of a challenge for the Ponies. Three years ago, then-freshman Jamario Thomas let the nation in rushing. Last year, wide receiver Johnny Quinn - the team's lone first-team all-Sunbelt Conference honoree - was UNT's most dangerous offensive weapon.

Thomas, after two years without perfect health, is back to 100 percent. Quinn is gone. And then there's "the system."

Sophomore cornerback Bryan McCann said there is no single player upon whom the Ponies can focus their defensive attention. Based on film study of the UNT/OU game, as well as endless tapes from Dodge's Carroll days, it's clear his attack is more well-rounded than many believe.

"He doesn't just have them back there throwing all day," McCann said. "They take what the defense gives them. People seem to think they'll throw it downfield on every play, but they really don't look for the big play unless it's really there. They'll nickel-and-dime their way all the way downfield. It can be hard to defend, because they'll check out of plays a lot and take whatever's there."

Sophomore CB Bryan McCann said North Texas is dangerous because its offense spreads the ball around (photo by Webmaster).

The offense at Texas Tech - orchestrated by another acknowledged offensive guru, Tech head coach Mike Leach - has a similar approach, and had success Monday with its short and intermediate passing game.

"They actually do a lot of the same things," McCann said. "These guys just aren't as big as those guys we saw last week. But these guys spread the ball around. Even when the game got away from them last week, they kept throwing it around."

That's true. Against the Sooners, North Texas rushed the ball 31 times, passing 38. Six different players caught at least one pass, led by the seven catches apiece from wide receivers Brandon Jackson and Casey Fitzgerald, the younger brother of former SMU running back Johnnie Fitzgerald.

Adding to the difficulty of preparing for the Mean Green is the fact that UNT likely will play two quarterbacks, Daniel Meager and Giovannia Vizza. SMU head coach Phil Bennett said Meager is the more polished, pure dropback passer, while Vizza, a true freshman, is more mobile and more likely to tuck the ball and take off. Meager completed 53 percent of his passes a year ago, and mixed in four touchdown passes and six interceptions.

Thomas remains the workhorse in the backfield. After leading the nation in rushing in his senior year, Thomas tailed off the last two years (in part because of injuries, especially in his sophomore season) and shared carries with Patrick Cobbs. Thomas carried the ball 181 times last year for a team-leading 668 yards, and now the ball-carrying duty is his alone once more.

The Mean Green will run out anywhere from two to four wideouts at a time. When Dodge's set calls for more targets, Fitzgerald and Jackson are joined by converted cornerback Korey Washington and Brock Stricker, the biggest of the group at 6-foot-3, 219 pounds.

The Mustangs' defensive line might feel like it has been paroled this week. After facing the human roadblocks who make up the Texas Tech offensive line, the Ponies now face a group that averages just under 289 pounds per man. Senior right tackle Adam Venegas (6-3, 293) is the only starter older upperclassman in a group that includes two sophomores and two redshirt freshmen, and allowed six sacks at OU.

Maybe it's not fair to identify the "strength" of the defense after a game in which UNT allowed 79 points, 668 yards (9.2 yards per play) and 58 percent conversion on third downs. (Of course, the SMU can take heart after struggling on third down against Texas Tech - UNT converted just 12 percent of its third downs Saturday.) But Bennett lauded the UNT front seven anyway.

Bennett said the strength of the North Texas defense is in its front seven. A year ago, UNT played a 3-4 alignment, occasionally walking up a linebacker to a pass rushing position; this year, the Mean Green has gone to a 4-3. Senior offensive tackle Ben Poynter said UNT often lines up a little differently than most "traditional" 4-3 teams usually do.

"Usually teams will use the two inside guys in the 1-gap (directly over the center) and 3-gap outside the guard," Poynter said. "These guys play a lot of the time with straight 2-gaps (lined up on the inside of the guard on either side).

"Their front seven is good, but the most impressive guys to me were the defensive tackles. (Starters Montey Stevenson and Isaac Thomas, who combined for three tackles last week in Norman) are really strong. They're the strength of the defense, and they might be among the best we'll see all year. They're that good."

Poynter also will have to deal with the player directly across the line of scrimmage, senior defensive end Jeremiah Chapman.

"He's excellent," Poynter said. "I think he was second-team all-conference last year. He looks like he's their best pass rusher."

Linebackers Maurice Holman and Colt Mahan combined for 9.5 tackles against Oklahoma. Holman had a significant impact in last year's win over SMU, hitting wide receiver Columbus Givens so hard he left the wideout woozy.

Chapman earned that honor, leading the UNT defense with 10 tackles-for-loss and 4.5 sacks.

Poynter said UNT's defense doesn't employ the same amount of wrinkles utilized by the offense.

"They're not really fancy - they line up and come straight at you. When they get off the ball, we've got to make it hard for them to get through."

The back end of the North Texas defense is led by senior free safety Aaron Weathers, whose 78 tackles last year were the fifth-highest total in the Sun Belt Conference. Weathers picked up this year where he left off last year, piling up a team-leading eight tackles in the loss to the Sooners. Starting cornerback Latif Nurudeen is a transfer from Baylor.

[greenminer]

Even though there was nothing new to me in that article, I found it soo refreshing to read.

What would be fantastic is if we have a Mendoza alumn on our schedule somewhere that could elaborate on what our approach is, and maybe even defend what we saw last Saturday.

[GreenBat]

The writer is your typical SMU douche bag, who doesn't have the balls to put his name on the story. If you can get through his NT bashing, the information is pretty good.

I like that Senior offensive tackle Ben Poynter says "Their front seven is good, but the most impressive guys to me were the defensive tackles. (Starters Montey Stevenson and Isaac Thomas, who combined for three tackles last week in Norman) are really strong. They're the strength of the defense, and they might be among the best we'll see all year. They're that good." That's giving props to Ike and Montey. I just hope the ends and the linebackers play well.

This DB Bryan McCann is clueless,

"They actually do a lot of the same things," McCann said. "These guys just aren't as big as those guys we saw last week. But these guys spread the ball around. Even when the game got away from them last week, they kept throwing it around."

I hate to break it to you Bryan, You and your DB buddies "aren't as big (or as fast) as those guys we saw last week" either.

I think SMU is better than the Tech score indicated and I hope NT is better than the OU score indicated.

Brett Tulloss

So this douche bag can't accuse me of not putting my name on my comments.

[emmitt01]

Thomas remains the workhorse in the backfield. After leading the nation in rushing in his senior year, Thomas tailed off the last two years (in part because of injuries, especially in his sophomore season) and shared carries with Patrick Cobbs.

I think they have J-Mo confused with Jason White.

[dodgefan]

Some of you guys might consider counseling. I read the story before before I read the post, how can you insult the writer? Not to mention more insults towards SMU? I thought the story was very fair, if not complimentary of NT. I have not seen any of our writers do something as fair as this story toward SMU. I am trying to get on the NT bandwagon, but some of you guys have me shaking my head. Oh, did you see the story in the Dallas paper today, where our own athletic director said it was NOT REALITY that SMU kept us out of CUSA.

[greenminer]

Some of you guys might consider counseling. I read the story before before I read the post, how can you insult the writer? Not to mention more insults towards SMU? I thought the story was very fair, if not complimentary of NT. I have not seen any of our writers do something as fair as this story toward SMU. I am trying to get on the NT bandwagon, but some of you guys have me shaking my head. Oh, did you see the story in the Dallas paper today, where our own athletic director said it was NOT REALITY that SMU kept us out of CUSA.

Hey dodgefan, I'm convinced that some people here are just looking for reasons to hate SMU. Don't let it sway you.

Although, I think it would fascinate you to hear some of our elder fans tell you what they've had to live through from the Hilltop fans. To say that our perception of SMU is misguided or some sort of illusion that we created would be inaccurate, to say the least. I'll agree, however, that sometimes it gets out of hand. It's been at least at least 6 months, but I do recall some great stories that were shared on the board....stories that go outside any CUSA conspiracy.

What RV said is "AD speak"; of course he's not going to point fingers at any institution. It's his job to take care of the things he CAN control, which is better our facilities, improve fan support and communication, etc...

I can't wait 'til we can look at SMU and see them as a fantastic regional rival, with the past behind us.

Edited September 8, 2007 by greenminer

[GangGreen]

The writer is your typical SMU douche bag, who doesn't have the balls to put his name on the story. If you can get through his NT bashing, the information is pretty good.

I like that Senior offensive tackle Ben Poynter says "Their front seven is good, but the most impressive guys to me were the defensive tackles. (Starters Montey Stevenson and Isaac Thomas, who combined for three tackles last week in Norman) are really strong. They're the strength of the defense, and they might be among the best we'll see all year. They're that good." That's giving props to Ike and Montey. I just hope the ends and the linebackers play well.

This DB Bryan McCann is clueless,

"They actually do a lot of the same things," McCann said. "These guys just aren't as big as those guys we saw last week. But these guys spread the ball around. Even when the game got away from them last week, they kept throwing it around."

I hate to break it to you Bryan, You and your DB buddies "aren't as big (or as fast) as those guys we saw last week" either.

I think SMU is better than the Tech score indicated and I hope NT is better than the OU score indicated.

Brett Tulloss

So this douche bag can't accuse me of not putting my name on my comments.

Since you're so fascinated with feminine hygiene products, why don't you grab yourself a tampon. Whoever wrote this was very complimentary to a team that just got pasted 79-10 and has only won enough games to count on one hand in the last couple of years. I'm glad you can feel like Billy Badass for signing your name to such a lame post. But truthfully, I don't give a rat's ass what your name is.