Drdc Mg Suffers From Inconsistency

[OldTimer]

Football: Mean Green suffers from inconsistency

Inexperience in roles proving costly in losses

11:03 PM CDT on Sunday, September 23, 2007

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

When Todd Dodge arrived at North Texas, he said he didn’t see any reason the Mean Green couldn’t compete for the Sun Belt Conference title in his first season.

Dodge saw the talent the Mean Green possesses with players like running back Jamario Thomas and linebacker Maurice Holman.

He could sense the hunger UNT's players had after two straight losing seasons.

After a third straight loss to open the year against Florida Atlantic on Saturday at Fouts Field, it is apparent this team might not be ready to break out under Dodge for another reason:

UNT lacks consistency in any facet of the game other than its passing offense.

The Mean Green's defense couldn’t stop national power Oklahoma in its opener. That's understandable, but what about a terrible SMU team hanging 45 on the Mean Green in Week 2?

UNT seemingly found its rhythm against FAU only to cough up 20 points in the second half to turn a 10-point lead into a 10-point margin of defeat with seven points coming as the result of a blocked punt.

UNT looked great offensively in its last game against SMU, but managed just 20 points against the Owls and made a host of key mistakes. Daniel Meager looked like the next Dan Marino while throwing for 601 yards against the Mustangs and finished with 301 yards against FAU, but threw three costly interceptions against the Owls.

UNT’s special teams suddenly fell apart while allowing the Owls to block two punts. FAU coach Howard Schnellenberger must have seen something on film that made him come after UNT punter Truman Spencer.

UNT hadn’t allowed a punt to be blocked in its last 33 games. Even that string of consistent success came to an end against FAU.

“We made some improvement in some areas,” Dodge said. “But we have to get all phases of the game playing well together. There are some good things that we will be able to take from this game, but in the end it is a loss.”

The reality of the situation is the Mean Green is starting over with a new offense and a new defense with players who weren’t recruited to play in the system. Nearly half the coaching staff hasn’t had any experience on the college level.

Dodge is a first-time college head coach and hasn’t worked on the collegiate level since the early 1990s.

Take that into account and this team has a whole lot of coaches and players in roles they have never played before, some at levels where they have little or no experience.

That lack of experience has left the Mean Green looking for a comfort level three games into the season after an inconsistent performance against the Owls.

FAU is a solid team, but winning at Troy or Arkansas State isn’t going to be any easier than beating the Owls at Fouts.

A game against Arkansas and a Heisman Trophy candidate in Darren McFadden looms next week.

Those are the types of challenges UNT will have to be on the top of its game to meet. The Mean Green could suddenly put it together like UNT's teams of a few years ago always seemed to in the second half of the season.

That just seems unlikely with a team that appears to lack the right combination of players and coaches in familiar roles.

When UNT was at its best a few years ago, it could count on a great defense, a running game that would milk the clock and a quarterback who wouldn’t make too many costly mistakes every week.

After three games under Dodge, it’s hard to pick out anything UNT can count on, except for racking up a whole lot of passing yards.

That’s just one part of the equation the Mean Green needs to challenge in the Sun Belt. Figuring out the rest of the formula looks like it could take a while for the Mean Green.

BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com.

[island eagle]

"UNT lacks consistency in any facet of the game other than its passing offense" ?????

Wait just a minute. I would say it lacks consistency in ALL areas right now. The only thing consistent about the passing game is that it falters on key drives and is shut down as soon as the other team makes its second half adjustments.

Every facet of our game needs improvement in my opinion.