I'm Convinced, For Sure Now!

Will to Win · September 28, 2008

All of the bad plays were a result of poor or inadequate coaching. I believe we have good players on our team but it is up to the coaches to put them in a position to be successful. Schemes, technique, awareness were all obviously lacking.

I thought we would end up at 500 this year but it looks like we are gong to have another PAINFUL losing season.

Special Teams Coach

Linebackers Coach

Secondary Coach

All need to up their level of coaching if we are going to salvage this season!

Travis · September 28, 2008

I am not sure this season is salvagable.

I do think coaches need to be held responsible... from the top down.

NM Green · September 28, 2008

I saw a team quit last night. I have seen UNT at 2 low points and I mean really really bottom of the barrel low points in the last 22 years of following Mean Green football.

1. At NMSU in the 90's when I realized we had fallen below the Aggie program - the lowly Aggie program.

2. Yesterday when I realized how far below the Sun Belt and CUSA we are.

Do you realize we have the worst D1 program in the United States! I never thought my program would be below the likes of Idaho, Utah State, Akron, Western/Central Michigan, New Mexico State, UTEP, San Diego St, Army, Navy, Rice, Tulane, UAB, Florida International, Western Kentucky and I am keeping this to 1A teams. Go down and we are probably below Sam Houston, Stephen F, SWT, Abilene Christian - thank goodness UTA doesn't field a team or we would all have to worship GO UTA who I respect as an avid Maverick fan.

Give me back my program!

gmg

GoMeanGreen1999 · September 28, 2008

All of the bad plays were a result of poor or inadequate coaching. I believe we have good players on our team but it is up to the coaches to put them in a position to be successful. Schemes, technique, awareness were all obviously lacking.
I thought we would end up at 500 this year but it looks like we are gong to have another PAINFUL losing season.
Special Teams Coach
Linebackers Coach
Secondary Coach
All need to up their level of coaching if we are going to salvage this season!

I am starting to get a little concerned that after every loss our head coach seems to be at a loss to understand what is going wrong. Maybe that is just coaching talk, but it is getting a little old.

Edited September 28, 2008 by GoMeanGreen1999

eulesseagle · September 28, 2008

Ok quit the whinning.

Last year you put, almost, the entire blame on Coach Mendoza. Now the head hunters are out doing the same thing with the coaching staff.

The reality of the situation, and all you numb nuts should know this by now, is that Coach Dodge came knowing that he did not have squat for talent....top to bottom.....with the exception of a few players. When Freshmen and Sophmores are beating out Juniors and Seniors what does that "RED FLAG" you to the quality of talent?

Heck fire......we all knew that UNT lacked talent 3 years ago.

I remember saying last year how terrible our "D" was and that we didn't have crap for talent much less any speed. Naw, it was Coach Mendoza's fault. Fire Mendoza. Well, Coach Mendoza is gone and now UNT has one of our past saviors in Coach DeLoach and our "D" looks just as bad. Well, maybe it isn't the coache's fault as it is the "LACK OF TALENT."

Face it guys and girls....you are going to quit having your sewing circle whine and cheese parties and "man up" to the fact that the coaching staff is doing the best they can with the talent they have. Unfortunately ya'll want an overnight fix in this realm of college football......well, guess what.....it ain't goin' to happen overnight and their ain't no instant gratification when you have to wait to see what the next 730 days will bring.

Coach Dodge and his staff have brought some remarkable talent to UNT so far....more so than what Coach Dickey did in the last four years of his tenure.

Be patient. Support what Coach Dodge and his staff are trying to accomplish.

'

Travis · September 28, 2008

Ok quit the whinning.
Last year you put, almost, the entire blame on Coach Mendoza. Now the head hunters are out doing the same thing with the coaching staff.
The reality of the situation, and all you numb nuts should know this by now, is that Coach Dodge came knowing that he did not have squat for talent....top to bottom.....with the exception of a few players. When Freshmen and Sophmores are beating out Juniors and Seniors what does that "RED FLAG" you to the quality of talent?
Heck fire......we all knew that UNT lacked talent 3 years ago.
I remember saying last year how terrible our "D" was and that we didn't have crap for talent much less any speed. Naw, it was Coach Mendoza's fault. Fire Mendoza. Well, Coach Mendoza is gone and now UNT has one of our past saviors in Coach DeLoach and our "D" looks just as bad. Well, maybe it isn't the coache's fault as it is the "LACK OF TALENT."
Face it guys and girls....you are going to quit having your sewing circle whine and cheese parties and "man up" to the fact that the coaching staff is doing the best they can with the talent they have. Unfortunately ya'll want an overnight fix in this realm of college football......well, guess what.....it ain't goin' to happen overnight and their ain't no instant gratification when you have to wait to see what the next 730 days will bring.
Coach Dodge and his staff have brought some remarkable talent to UNT so far....more so than what Coach Dickey did in the last four years of his tenure.
Be patient. Support what Coach Dodge and his staff are trying to accomplish.
'

On the defensive side of the ball... i think we may have had more talent when TD first took the job than now. Fred Bliel did a good job and we had a vet d coming back when TD took office. We know what happened with that D. We are in worse shape now in that department... On the offense I think we are about the same. My issue with DD is that he had horrible play calling and couldn't seem to coach a balanced program. We seemed to have some skilled players then just like we do now. With not so many WR. I look to the la tech game to refer how we had some pretty decent players and what they could do with some "fun" play calling. I think it weak to solely blame the players and give the coaches a pass. I think you sell the players short when you put it all on them. Just my opinion

FirefightnRick · September 28, 2008

When Freshmen and Sophmores are beating out Juniors and Seniors what does that "RED FLAG" you to the quality of talent?

Ok well I'm calling BULLSHIT on that part about freshmen and sophomores beating out the upperclassmen. We are two years into that and what have the results been? Danny Meager and Chad Rose are two examples of guys who will ride the pine for the remainder of the season, Meager especially and who knows how many others like them there are? Here's a Senior who has been in the trenches against some of the best in the nation and has been part of much more success and he's told he won't play................AT ALL the rest of the season at QB. So just like the quality character guy that he is, he volunteers to help the team in any way, to run kickoffs and punts back, play reciever, to go down and play on kickoff and punt returns, whatever needs done, and yet he still sits. Why? Chad Rose, the same thing. Oh, sure he'll play when we need a fill in. But evidently his experience doesn't count for crap. And I bring this all up because, if we were winning then their being benched might have some kind of merit. But that aint the case..............at all. I'm all for Dodge getting his new guys the experience for the future. But in some instances some experience could have helped. Damn sure couldn't have been worse.

Rick

September 28, 2008

We are not that deficient in talent. Only LSU had significantly better talent than we did. Take Rice. Many of those players were recruited by Ken Hatfield, who every recruiting service and Texas Football consistently rated last of all Division 1-A teams in Texas. We might be slightly behind (in talent) Kansas State and Tulsa but not five or six touchdowns which was our margin of loss.

There is an old adage that "you play like you practice." In practice you are taught techniques, schemes, recognition, and motivation. Although you may get a little adrenalin rush at the beginning of the game, the rest is just instinct and execution, both based on the way that you practiced.

True, there are some areas where we lack experience. We will get even better with time. There will even be positions where the opponents talent should be superior since they are presumably stronger and faster. That's where motivation comes in. I'm big on adages so I'll use another: "it's not the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog." We're not going to out-talent many of the teams that we play so we must play with more intensity. I'm not seeing that and I believe that I saw 'quit' in this team surprisingly.

If we had the most talented players in the state, conference, or whatever, they're still not going to win if the coaching/motivation is not there. I also realize that it's harder to teach recognition and reaction than execution. In that regard I can cut the defense a little more slack than the offense and special teams. But, as I see it, we are still waaaayyyy wide of the mark.

Dodge2007 · September 28, 2008

Ok well I'm calling BULLSHIT on that part about freshmen and sophomores beating out the upperclassmen. We are two years into that and what have the results been? Danny Meager and Chad Rose are two examples of guys who will ride the pine for the remainder of the season, Meager especially and who knows how many others like them there are? Here's a Senior who has been in the trenches against some of the best in the nation and has been part of much more success and he's told he won't play................AT ALL the rest of the season at QB. So just like the quality character guy that he is, he volunteers to help the team in any way, to run kickoffs and punts back, play reciever, to go down and play on kickoff and punt returns, whatever needs done, and yet he still sits. Why? Chad Rose, the same thing. Oh, sure he'll play when we need a fill in. But evidently his experience doesn't count for crap. And I bring this all up because, if we were winning then their being benched might have some kind of merit. But that aint the case..............at all. I'm all for Dodge getting his new guys the experience for the future. But in some instances some experience could have helped. Damn sure couldn't have been worse.
Rick

Well said, big Rick. Meager should have remained the starter last season and Tune or Phillips should have been the back-up. UNT would have been a lot better of in the future with several players like Dibrell, Breece, BJ Lewis, Vizza, and Mosely not playing a single down.

GrandGreen · September 28, 2008

Ok quit the whinning.
Last year you put, almost, the entire blame on Coach Mendoza. Now the head hunters are out doing the same thing with the coaching staff.
The reality of the situation, and all you numb nuts should know this by now, is that Coach Dodge came knowing that he did not have squat for talent....top to bottom.....with the exception of a few players. When Freshmen and Sophmores are beating out Juniors and Seniors what does that "RED FLAG" you to the quality of talent?
Heck fire......we all knew that UNT lacked talent 3 years ago.
I remember saying last year how terrible our "D" was and that we didn't have crap for talent much less any speed. Naw, it was Coach Mendoza's fault. Fire Mendoza. Well, Coach Mendoza is gone and now UNT has one of our past saviors in Coach DeLoach and our "D" looks just as bad. Well, maybe it isn't the coache's fault as it is the "LACK OF TALENT."
Face it guys and girls....you are going to quit having your sewing circle whine and cheese parties and "man up" to the fact that the coaching staff is doing the best they can with the talent they have. Unfortunately ya'll want an overnight fix in this realm of college football......well, guess what.....it ain't goin' to happen overnight and their ain't no instant gratification when you have to wait to see what the next 730 days will bring.
Coach Dodge and his staff have brought some remarkable talent to UNT so far....more so than what Coach Dickey did in the last four years of his tenure.
Be patient. Support what Coach Dodge and his staff are trying to accomplish.
'

What scares me is you may be right, the coaching staff is doing the best they can. Do you really think Rice's talent is so much better than NT, that they had to try hard not to score over a hundred? I would think even the most casual football fan would recognize that no talent gap could account for the beatings, NT has taken over the last two years. No, NT does not have adequate talent at this point, but NT's talent level is not nearly as bad as the disparity in scores would indicate. It is plain to me, that NT has a "not ready for prime time" coaching staff starting at the top. Do you really think a college HC that is surprised at the speed of the game and started with the most inexperienced coaching staff in ages at the 1a level was ready to be a head coach.

IMO, what NT has now is a team with overall mediocre level Belt talent that has no confidence in themselves or their coaching staff. TD will most likely get all his contract years to turn this thing around if for no other reason then NT can't afford to eat another contract. My hope is that the coaching staff can ultimately grow into their positions. I think that Dodge does have the fire and intellect to be a great success and hopefully he can reach that level at NT.

Edited September 28, 2008 by GrandGreen

The Fake Lonnie Finch · September 28, 2008

I saw a team quit last night. I have seen UNT at 2 low points and I mean really really bottom of the barrel low points in the last 22 years of following Mean Green football.
1. At NMSU in the 90's when I realized we had fallen below the Aggie program - the lowly Aggie program.
2. Yesterday when I realized how far below the Sun Belt and CUSA we are.
Do you realize we have the worst D1 program in the United States! I never thought my program would be below the likes of Idaho, Utah State, Akron, Western/Central Michigan, New Mexico State, UTEP, San Diego St, Army, Navy, Rice, Tulane, UAB, Florida International, Western Kentucky and I am keeping this to 1A teams. Go down and we are probably below Sam Houston, Stephen F, SWT, Abilene Christian - thank goodness UTA doesn't field a team or we would all have to worship GO UTA who I respect as an avid Maverick fan.
Give me back my program!
gmg

Bernard Scott and ACU would run all over us. Book it.

NT80 · September 28, 2008

All of the bad plays were a result of poor or inadequate coaching. I believe we have good players on our team but it is up to the coaches to put them in a position to be successful. Schemes, technique, awareness were all obviously lacking.

?? You must have missed all the attempted arm tackles and DBs steps away from receivers. Coaches can't be on the field to do it for them. We need better players along with some coaching and scheme upgrades.

Green Crazy · September 29, 2008

how do you coach players to stop muffing punts and kick offs? that has nothing to do with coaching.

Edited September 29, 2008 by Green Crazy

STE · September 29, 2008

Realistically, we should have lost this game by about 21-28 points.

In person, Rice’s players looked bigger and faster. However, there’s no doubt our special teams play, interceptions and lack of adjustments in the second half all contributed this fiasco.

That aside - one of the many questions I have is: How does an extremely small academic school like Rice with all of its stringent admission requirements, lack of easy programs, relatively poor paid coaching staff – out-recruit us? Where are they finding all of this academic football talent?

PHSCoach · September 29, 2008

?? You must have missed all the attempted arm tackles and DBs steps away from receivers. Coaches can't be on the field to do it for them. We need better players along with some coaching and scheme upgrades.

when you do not tackle in pratice you won't in a game. players need to pratice what they are going to do in a game. i have no idea how you coach tackling when it is not done in pratice/ maybe DD went over board but he did coach the players on what to do not show them film and say look how great you are.

Will to Win · September 29, 2008

?? You must have missed all the attempted arm tackles and DBs steps away from receivers. Coaches can't be on the field to do it for them. We need better players along with some coaching and scheme upgrades.

If you are out of position, you will have arm tackles. If you are where you are supposed to be, you have a helmet in the chest of the opponent.

How did Oregon State beat USC? USC had way more talent than Oregon State. Talent alone does not guarantee victory. EXCELLENT COACHING beat USC. They had a plan and put their LESS TALENTED players IN A POSITION to be successful.

How much more losing can you stand? Something is wrong or we would be winning games and I don't accept that "we are young" as an excuse; because that's all it is AN EXCUSE!

NM Green · September 29, 2008

At some point will these guys nut it up and will themselves into a competitive situation? It's like that adrenaline rush that eventually allows you to play above your head, talent and skill! You would think that time is coming for our guys but it doesn't even seem close.

Maybe this weekend, because at this point they should be the dog in every game the rest of the year.

gmg

September 29, 2008

how do you coach players to stop muffing punts and kick offs? that has nothing to do with coaching.

Actually, it does. Coaches drill concentration again and again. The most important part of the return is to catch the ball. When you have it in control, then and only then do you try to get yardage. Don't try to be a hero. If an opponent appears to be coming to fast, signal for a fair catch. Receivers coaches are constantly drilling on catching the ball first before you try to run with it. Coaches select players for their hands and ability to concentrate.

GoMeanGreen1999 · September 29, 2008

Maybe this weekend, because at this point they should be the dog in every game the rest of the year.

Probably not this weekend. I doubt we win saturday.

Edit: I think we do win saturday. If we don't, we are really bad.

Edited September 29, 2008 by GoMeanGreen1999

September 29, 2008

I think that I've found a bright spot in this scenario. This may lay to rest forever the talk about Dodge having such great success early that one of the big boys would steal him away.

SilverEagle · September 29, 2008

I think that I've found a bright spot in this scenario. This may lay to rest forever the talk about Dodge having such great success early that one of the big boys would steal him away.

Jack, I didn't know you were into that kind of sick humor.

SilverEagle · September 29, 2008

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Edited September 29, 2008 by SilverEagle

Green Crazy · September 29, 2008

Actually, it does. Coaches drill concentration again and again. The most important part of the return is to catch the ball. When you have it in control, then and only then do you try to get yardage. Don't try to be a hero. If an opponent appears to be coming to fast, signal for a fair catch. Receivers coaches are constantly drilling on catching the ball first before you try to run with it. Coaches select players for their hands and ability to concentrate.

it also has to do with having people who are good at fielding punts. everyone that's fielded a punt this year is either new to fielding punts or a freshman, same for kickoffs, except mosley. you think casey doesn't have concentration?

i believe fitz signaled fair catch on his first muff.

Rudy · September 29, 2008

Do you realize we have the worst D1 program in the United States!

What about Canada and Mexcio

Eagle1855 · September 29, 2008

I saw a team quit last night.

I saw a coach quit at the end of the first half. After getting down deep into Rice territory, we opted for a run play with 14 seconds left? Then we decided to kick a freaking field goal when we were down 32 points? In this situation on 3rd down with 6 seconds left, you throw it in the end zone twice- you dont kick a field goal. Not sure if Dodge has seen our kicking game this season but a 40+ yard field goal seems to be a pretty "low percentage" shot given the fact that we cant even kick extra points.

After the SWT coach called timeout twice to "ice" our kicker, I would have pulled up and thrown it in the endzone. Just to spite him. If you want to play like that, we'll put up 7 instead. (Actually probably more like 6 since extra points are apparently the new 2-point conversion.)

Even worse, we got the ball back after half time and moved the ball down in their territory again. In THEORY, you could have put up 14 unanswered points without Rice even having to touch the ball. I don't know about you, but 52-34 (or 32) seems far more manageable than 52-20. Why didn't the coaching staff think about this?

And I dont really care about Vizza's INTs. Game was already over. The coach had already shut it down. He was trying to make big plays, force things. He had a great first quarter and a decent first half- he's going to be a good QB.