Mean Green Couldn't Adjust To Blitzes

MeanGreen61 · September 25, 2007

Mean Green couldn't adjust to blitzes

12:11 AM CDT on Tuesday, September 25, 2007

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

Florida Atlantic head coach Howard Schnellenberger decided he had seen enough of North Texas' offense, and quarterback Daniel Meager playing in a comfort zone, at halftime of Saturday's game at Fouts Field.

FAU came after Meager and the Mean Green with abandon in the second half, a change in philosophy that Schnellenberger and UNT head coach Todd Dodge said was perhaps the biggest factor in FAU's 30-20 win at Fouts Field.

The loss dropped the Mean Green to 0-3 on the season.

"We decided we were going to be a little more reckless," Schnellenberger said Monday during the Sun Belt's weekly conference call. "They were able to go back, plant and throw the ball in the first half. They looked like they were out for a Sunday stroll. We crowded them and blitzed them a little more and were able to get them out of their rhythm."

The Mean Green scored 17 points in the first half and racked up 313 yards of total offense.

Thomas Moreland kicked a field goal in the third quarter for UNT before FAU rattled off 20 unanswered points to pull away for the win.

UNT's second-half performance against FAU was its worst in terms of scoring in a half since it was shut out in the first half of its season opener at nationally ranked Oklahoma.

"We had one of our most effective drives of the game to start the second half, but stayed behind the chains on our next four possessions," Dodge said. "Florida Atlantic also did a good job of not giving up the big play in the passing game."

UNT turned the ball over twice, went three-and-out twice and missed a field goal after scoring its only points of the second half. The Owls posted two of their three sacks after halftime, when UNT was also flagged for a costly clipping penalty.

"They absolutely got more pressure on us in the second half," Dodge said. "When you break down each sack, we had one where we didn't get rid of the ball in time, another that we just got beaten and one where we were beaten when we didn’t adjust to a twist by a defensive lineman."

[uNT still learning how to close]

UNT is still in the process of learning to close out games, Dodge said Monday, just two days after his team failed to capitalize on its opportunities for a win in the second half for the second consecutive time this season.

The Mean Green blew a 10-point lead in its 30-20 loss to FAU and surrendered 14 points in the last five minutes of a 45-31 loss to SMU on Sept. 8.

"We put ourselves in the hunt in the fourth quarter the last two weeks and didn't finish the deal," Dodge said. "Our players have to start seeing us have success."

UNT made a series of key mistakes in the second half against FAU, including having its second blocked punt on the night and giving up what proved to be the biggest play of the game.

FAU scored the game-winning touchdown on a 74-yard pass from quarterback Rusty Smith to wide receiver Cortez Gent with 8:04 left in the fourth quarter.

[Dodge: Punt blocks came on missed blocks]

Both of the punts UNT had blocked in its loss to FAU were the result of missed assignments in the Mean Green's protection scheme, Dodge said Monday.

FAU defensive back Tarvoris Hill blocked a punt in the second quarter to set up the Owls at the UNT 18-yard line for their first touchdown of the game.

Wide receiver Wilfred Rivera blocked a second punt in the fourth quarter. The Owls took over at the UNT 17-yard line and iced the game a short time later with a 7-yard touchdown run by DiIvory Edgecomb.

Schnellenberger said that FAU didn’t see any weakness in the Mean Green's protection scheme before the game.

"We just spent more time with our special teams to shake us out of our doldrums," Schnellenberger said. "We worked on every aspect of our special teams. We got a lot done with our punt block and punt return teams."

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

island eagle · September 25, 2007

Mean Green couldn't adjust to blitzes
12:11 AM CDT on Tuesday, September 25, 2007
By Brett Vito / Staff Writer
Florida Atlantic head coach Howard Schnellenberger decided he had seen enough of North Texas' offense, and quarterback Daniel Meager playing in a comfort zone, at halftime of Saturday's game at Fouts Field.
FAU came after Meager and the Mean Green with abandon in the second half, a change in philosophy that Schnellenberger and UNT head coach Todd Dodge said was perhaps the biggest factor in FAU's 30-20 win at Fouts Field.
The loss dropped the Mean Green to 0-3 on the season.
"We decided we were going to be a little more reckless," Schnellenberger said Monday during the Sun Belt's weekly conference call. "They were able to go back, plant and throw the ball in the first half. They looked like they were out for a Sunday stroll. We crowded them and blitzed them a little more and were able to get them out of their rhythm."
The Mean Green scored 17 points in the first half and racked up 313 yards of total offense.
Thomas Moreland kicked a field goal in the third quarter for UNT before FAU rattled off 20 unanswered points to pull away for the win.
UNT's second-half performance against FAU was its worst in terms of scoring in a half since it was shut out in the first half of its season opener at nationally ranked Oklahoma.
"We had one of our most effective drives of the game to start the second half, but stayed behind the chains on our next four possessions," Dodge said. "Florida Atlantic also did a good job of not giving up the big play in the passing game."
UNT turned the ball over twice, went three-and-out twice and missed a field goal after scoring its only points of the second half. The Owls posted two of their three sacks after halftime, when UNT was also flagged for a costly clipping penalty.
"They absolutely got more pressure on us in the second half," Dodge said. "When you break down each sack, we had one where we didn't get rid of the ball in time, another that we just got beaten and one where we were beaten when we didn’t adjust to a twist by a defensive lineman."
[uNT still learning how to close]
UNT is still in the process of learning to close out games, Dodge said Monday, just two days after his team failed to capitalize on its opportunities for a win in the second half for the second consecutive time this season.
The Mean Green blew a 10-point lead in its 30-20 loss to FAU and surrendered 14 points in the last five minutes of a 45-31 loss to SMU on Sept. 8.
"We put ourselves in the hunt in the fourth quarter the last two weeks and didn't finish the deal," Dodge said. "Our players have to start seeing us have success."
UNT made a series of key mistakes in the second half against FAU, including having its second blocked punt on the night and giving up what proved to be the biggest play of the game.
FAU scored the game-winning touchdown on a 74-yard pass from quarterback Rusty Smith to wide receiver Cortez Gent with 8:04 left in the fourth quarter.
[Dodge: Punt blocks came on missed blocks]
Both of the punts UNT had blocked in its loss to FAU were the result of missed assignments in the Mean Green's protection scheme, Dodge said Monday.
FAU defensive back Tarvoris Hill blocked a punt in the second quarter to set up the Owls at the UNT 18-yard line for their first touchdown of the game.
Wide receiver Wilfred Rivera blocked a second punt in the fourth quarter. The Owls took over at the UNT 17-yard line and iced the game a short time later with a 7-yard touchdown run by DiIvory Edgecomb.
Schnellenberger said that FAU didn’t see any weakness in the Mean Green's protection scheme before the game.
"We just spent more time with our special teams to shake us out of our doldrums," Schnellenberger said. "We worked on every aspect of our special teams. We got a lot done with our punt block and punt return teams."
BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com.

Not to be sarcastic, but I thought that "every time you blitz, the other school's fight song is getting ready to play". That sure didn't happen for us against FAU. Not only that, but the only true blitz by us that I saw Saturday night, we sacked the QB. Then we never went back to it, for some reason.

I support TD and have hope for the future, but I am not sure that we don't need a lot of work and adjustments in our defensive strategy.

Eagle-96 · September 25, 2007

Not to be sarcastic, but I thought that "every time you blitz, the other school's fight song is getting ready to play". That sure didn't happen for us against FAU. Not only that, but the only true blitz by us that I saw Saturday night, we sacked the QB. Then we never went back to it, for some reason.
I support TD and have hope for the future, but I am not sure that we don't need a lot of work and adjustments in our defensive strategy.

TD's quote was actually "Someones fight song is about to be played"