Thoughts From The Scrimmage

[SUMG]

We have significantly upgraded our talent. We now have depth in both the O line and the D Line.

Remember last year, when we lost Horton.......and Gilmore wasn't available for the first four games? We were hoping that Isaac Thomas and Joseph Miller......Ryan Davenport...and the others could make be a good d line. Heck, we hoped that Franklin or Cantly might be able to play some there.....yada, yada, yada.

This year....we have tons of talent in the D line.

We are very deep at RB....Cam sat out. Dunbar looked good.......but Micah and Jeremi Mathis......both looked even better (granted they were playing against 2nd and 3rd teamers). Anyway, Mathis really stood out.

AT WR.........Outlaw, Jamaal Jackson and Bennie (and his Jets) all sat out. This offered up the chance for others to shine. Most notable of that bunch might have been true freshman Darius Carey.

AT QB....Riley was his usual accurate self. Nathan Tune had a great day I thought. So we have a good backup.

Anyway.....I think this will be a turnaround season. I'm predicting 6-6 or better. And that Dodge will be named SBC Coach of the Year.

Edited August 15, 2009 by SUMG

[Mean Green 93-98]

Thanks for the observations. I hope you're right. I followed the blog during scrimmage, and it had me a little worried about the defense.

[Mad Hatter]

I went to the scrimmage and came away thinking that our offense looked pretty good. It does have me worried about out defense though. During our good days in the early 00's our defense always dominated the scrimmages.

[SUMG]

Further points:

Forrest Rucker had some nice catches and certainly didn't show any rust from having not played in a year.

Jeremy Phillips continues to make plays. I wouldn't be surprised if he starts before the year is out.

Jeremy Knott missed a chip shot FG. He really needs to have a much better year than last year. (how many PATs did he miss or have blocked last year? 5?)

[SUMG]

Steven Bartalotta gives out scrimmage grades. Let me point out, I know our defense isn't where it needs to be YET......but I do think we have an awful lot of talent....much more than in the past two years.

http://www.meangreensports.com/ViewArticle...;DB_OEM_ID=1800

[meanrob]

i think our defense has talent, especially the front seven but they just don't seem to be playing as a unit or confidence.

riley was impressive. his poise was great on several blitzes.

i agree the talent is improved but still just hard to tell where we are at while we are playing against each other.

[Marty]

I thought Riley looked awfully good. My favorite play was when he felt pressure, stepped up in the pocket looking to run, and then flipped the ball out to Micah in the flat who took it upfield for about a 25 yard gain. Derek Thompson threw a pretty pass to 84 or 87 (couldn't see the number) for a TD but probably needs to redshirt. Apunku, though a little undersized, is cat quick for a DE or rush LB.

[SUMG]

I thought Riley looked awfully good. My favorite play was when he felt pressure, stepped up in the pocket looking to run, and then flipped the ball out to Micah in the flat who took it upfield for about a 25 yard gain. Derek Thompson threw a pretty pass to 84 or 87 (couldn't see the number) for a TD but probably needs to redshirt. Apunku, though a little undersized, is cat quick for a DE or rush LB.

I'm pretty sure it was Chase Brainard .....#87. That kid is small but very fast.

[TheTastyGreek]

Anyway.....I think this will be a turnaround season. I'm predicting 6-6 or better. And that Dodge will be named SBC Coach of the Year.

I really, really hope so. It's certainly within this team's potential.

I can't stress enough how important that 6 win threshold is by year three of a coach's tenure.

[adman]

I went to the scrimmage and came away thinking that our offense looked pretty good. It does have me worried about out defense though. During our good days in the early 00's our defense always dominated the scrimmages.

We did have some great D back in the day with some pretty special talent but how hard is it as a defense to dominate the scrimmage when you know almost every play will be run?

[Got5onIt]

SunBelt Championship prediction coming in 3...2...1...

[chrisfisher]

Oh alright.... UNT will be the 2009 SUN BELT CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS with a 10-2 record!!! My new prediction!!!

[CMJ]

Oh alright.... UNT will be the 2009 SUN BELT CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS with a 10-2 record!!! My new prediction!!!

Not even Kram

[chrisfisher]

Not even Kram

:D

[greenminer]

There is definitely some irony regarding the o-line observations. We came into the fall excited about having Nelson on staff who - along with DeLoach and Peterson! - are the grizzly vets.

I've learned to bite the tongue during fall practice. You just never know if these successes will really carry into the season, or if it just means someone else on the squad is absolutely terrible. But I will say this: Leftwich is way under-appreciated.

Edited August 16, 2009 by greenminer

[gangrene]

I'm pretty sure it was Chase Brainard .....#87. That kid is small but very fast.

Is that Chris' brother or is your real name Sam Smith?

[SUMG]

Is that Chris' brother or is your real name Sam Smith?

Is it Chris Brainard? Sorry, I guess I mixed up Chase Baine (Lake Dallas QB) and Chris Brainard (WR from SLC).

[Green Crazy]

did anyone else have a probelm with that wr screen play that went for a td (by 19 i think)...there were 3 missed tackles on a smaller wr! deloach was furious after that!

[NT03]

did anyone else have a probelm with that wr screen play that went for a td (by 19 i think)...there were 3 missed tackles on a smaller wr! deloach was furious after that!

I left the scrimmage thinking that we are going to be giving up about 36 1/2 - 41 points a game this season. ( MARK MY WORD)

During routine , very slow paced drills players were constantly tackling with their helmet on the wrong side of he ball. Yet for some reason not one time were they told to correct it or do it over , but instead constantly told " Good Job!". Really ? Putting your helmet in the right spot is the first and most basic rule of tackling.

We will look back after some games this year and ask ourselves , " Why can't our secondary tackle ? "

Also , 1st play of the scrimmage : AK lines up in a 4 point stance directly over the left tackle. He is on the end to take adavantage of his speed to be able to get to the QB. This will not happen lining up directly over someone who outwieghs you by 70+ lbs.

2nd play of the scrimmage : Cantly gets caught covering Lott one on one in the slot. No help what so ever. Most might not have noticed since the play went to the other side of the field.

D Line constantly getting pushed back. Moving players in and out constantly does keep players fresh , but also brings confusion. For the love of GOD move Gilmore back to end. He is our quickest and best athelete on the line.

We will look back after games and say , " Why can't we get to the QB ? "

On the plus side , I think Riley is the most accurate passer I've seen at UNT in my 10 years of following the team.

LBs are solid

Edited August 16, 2009 by NT03

[meangreenbob]

"Anyway.....I think this will be a turnaround season. I'm predicting 6-6 or better. And that Dodge will be named SBC Coach of the Year"-SUMG.

I think the only thing that can keep this team from achieving a 6-6 or better is the injury factor. If we stay healty this year, I believe we could very well see better than 6-6.

Go Mean Green.

Edited August 16, 2009 by meangreenbob

[Green Crazy]

does anyone else think we should have run some special teams? afterall,it was one of the two biggest problems for us last year.

[greenminer]

Less than 3 weeks away and I can see how some of you all have forgotten how completely whipped we were the last two years. I feel like such a Mean Green humbug for saying all this, but the offense - while there has been a lot to gripe about - has not been even close to the source of our problems.

Based on what I've been reading, those problems still linger. The only positive I can muster regarding our defense is it seemed to look like it was building an identity the last three games in 2008. I hope it continues and starts to reflect on the scoreboard in 2009. To revisit:

...Even if Riley is a world beater, he can't solve things for us. QB play and interceptions weren't even in the top 10 things we need to be different than last season for significant improvement.

Or hey, let's say that Riley is so much better than Vizza that he singlehandedly DOUBLES our scoring average. In every single game, we score 20 more points. Now, we're AVERAGING 40 ppg because Riley is such a phenom. Last year, this would put us in the top 8 in the NCAA, less than a point per game behind Texas Tech.

Adding 20 points to each game would have transformed last year's team into... A 3-9 team.

That's my point. Even if Riley, as a freshman, comes in this year and dramatically outshines Vizza (and I'm not personally holding the poor kid to those sort of expectations, and certainly not at the beginning of the year) to the point where he doubles what a Vizza led offense generated... Even if the kid is so amazing as a redshirt freshman that he could outshine our already talented (remember the accolades Vizza earned?) quarterback to the point where he makes us a top 8 scoring offense... We're still only a 3 win team.

[buff64]

Really unusual for the off. to look so much better than the def. during two a-days. Usually the other way around. However, who knows if the the def. was playing down and distance situational def. or just working on base def. I would bet alot of def. schemes were not employed yesterday.QB's amd RB's were impressive, therefore tje off. line must have done a good job also.I still think Micah will be the big surprise of the season.

[gangrene]

Is it Chris Brainard? Sorry, I guess I mixed up Chase Baine (Lake Dallas QB) and Chris Brainard (WR from SLC).

No problem...I was just giving you crap!!

[mean green d]

I haven't seen the team practice. I do believe with all the new faces on the defensive side (transfers and freshman), that it will take a bit of time for them to gel. I just hope it comes sooner than later.

GMG