Thoughts On The Game

UNT90 · September 13, 2009

Several observatios after re-watching the game on the DVR:

Reilly looked like the redshirt freshman he is in this game. Not a dig on him, just part of the maturation process. Two lost fumbles and threw some really bad deep balls. He has got to get out of the habit of floating the ball when he has receivers streaking uncovered down the sideline. That said, this injury may be the best thing for Rodge and the team long term (as long as he's not out more than a game). Alabama is not an opponent that I think he is ready for at this point, not to mention they are huge and he is 5'9" (maybe) and the injury concern is great.

The first "drop" by Outlaw would have been a hell of a catch, if he made it, as he was screened by the defender until right before the ball got there. And it wouldn't have ensured victory as there was still about 2 minutes left when he failed to make that play, although I would have liked our chances the way the D was playing.

The second drop by outlaw was just that, a drop. Ain't no excuses for that one. Hit him right in the hands. Feel sorry for the kid, as I know he is kicking himself for the drop.

TV replays didn't help much with the possible safety at the end of the first half. Judgement call by the official, and it was real close.

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Third and 4 from the opponents 36 with 9 minutes left in the game, up by 4, and your second team QB on his second series after almost throwing a pick on his first series. You gotta run the ball. Hell, you even have the option for a long field goal try if you don't pick it up, or you pin them deep and play field position football. Horrible, horrible play call.

Cam Montgomery sits on the first 2 series that Tune is in the game. Unless Montgomery was shaken up, another very bad decision. Finally put Cam back in, and you go down the field for the tying score (Much props to Tune for shaking off the pick). Gotta have your best runner in there when your QB gets hurt

Defense was very good. Some receivers ran open, but pressure from the d-line caused the QBs to miss them most of the time. I'll admit it now, I was very wrong about Mr. Adkinson.

Special teams (outside of Atteberry) were not that special. A big punt return immediately preceeded the Ohio TD pass that made the score 17-13. Punt returns were non-existent for us. Ohio's special teams were worse than ours, though, and this unit is light years from where they were one year ago.

Lets just hope we come out healthy from the Alabama game.

Mad Hatter · September 14, 2009

Snapped this as the team was coming out.

I don't know how to make this larger.

Edited September 14, 2009 by Mad Hatter

KingDL1 · September 14, 2009

Snapped this as the team was coming out.
I don't know how to make this larger.

You must make that larger, send it to me if you don't figure it out. I will post it for you.

greenminer · September 15, 2009

I'm starting to think the two-back set is an ongoing experiment with Todge. I think it's a great formation, but it has not been that successful for us yet. Is he still figuring out what he can do with it?

Also, maybe Dunbar was in there with Tune to offset the loss of speed that Riley took to the bench.

UNT Mean Green · September 15, 2009

Several observatios after re-watching the game on the DVR:
Reilly looked like the redshirt freshman he is in this game. Not a dig on him, just part of the maturation process. Two lost fumbles and threw some really bad deep balls. He has got to get out of the habit of floating the ball when he has receivers streaking uncovered down the sideline. That said, this injury may be the best thing for Rodge and the team long term (as long as he's not out more than a game). Alabama is not an opponent that I think he is ready for at this point, not to mention they are huge and he is 5'9" (maybe) and the injury concern is great.
The first "drop" by Outlaw would have been a hell of a catch, if he made it, as he was screened by the defender until right before the ball got there. And it wouldn't have ensured victory as there was still about 2 minutes left when he failed to make that play, although I would have liked our chances the way the D was playing.
The second drop by outlaw was just that, a drop. Ain't no excuses for that one. Hit him right in the hands. Feel sorry for the kid, as I know he is kicking himself for the drop.
TV replays didn't help much with the possible safety at the end of the first half. Judgement call by the official, and it was real close.
.
Third and 4 from the opponents 36 with 9 minutes left in the game, up by 4, and your second team QB on his second series after almost throwing a pick on his first series. You gotta run the ball. Hell, you even have the option for a long field goal try if you don't pick it up, or you pin them deep and play field position football. Horrible, horrible play call.
Cam Montgomery sits on the first 2 series that Tune is in the game. Unless Montgomery was shaken up, another very bad decision. Finally put Cam back in, and you go down the field for the tying score (Much props to Tune for shaking off the pick). Gotta have your best runner in there when your QB gets hurt
Defense was very good. Some receivers ran open, but pressure from the d-line caused the QBs to miss them most of the time. I'll admit it now, I was very wrong about Mr. Adkinson.
Special teams (outside of Atteberry) were not that special. A big punt return immediately preceeded the Ohio TD pass that made the score 17-13. Punt returns were non-existent for us. Ohio's special teams were worse than ours, though, and this unit is light years from where they were one year ago.
Lets just hope we come out healthy from the Alabama game.

Riley looked a lot more 'human' on Saturday night than I've ever seen him (several HS games and Ball State). It did look like the wet ball was really bothering him, and if you paid close attention, he was having a difficult time catching the snap and it looked like the ball was slipping right through his hands and into his body. Of course, if he was having trouble catching a snap, he was having trouble getting a grip on the football in this catch and throw offense. I'm with you on the floating the ball thing from Riley. But, in his defense, I think he does that because of him missing Dunbar in the Ball St. game with a bullet. He's having trouble with that 'in between' throw or what a lot of coaches call a "2" ball (1 being a bullet, 2 being in between, and 3 putting lots of air under the thing), but I fully believe he will get it. I do not think his injury is the best thing for this team as it can have lingering effects on his health, on playcalling, etc. Bama is absolutely huge yes, and him not playing does put a sense of peace in my mind, as I have been worried about him getting injured in the Bama game ever since he was named a starter. The bottom line is though, that he will take the Ohio game and go to work on his mistakes, and will be the offensive MVP of this team at the end of the year.

You're 100% correct on that first drop by Outlaw. It was a difficult situation from his perspective, much more so that what was visible from the bleachers.

The second drop by Outlaw was what I like to call 'ball attacks man' and that one was very costly. You know he had a hard time swallowing that one, but as you put it, it was just a drop and it happened at a bad time.

As far as the safety is concerned, let's just say the game was very poorly officiated.

The 3rd and 4 call was questionable. I would definitely not have tried a long field goal, as Knott has a limit of 40 yards on a dry field. I do believe in hindsight, we should have given the football to #26 and probably given it to him again on 4th down if we didn't convert the 3rd down.

I do believe Cam was sitting to get a breather, and someone said he had an equipment issue? Cannot confirm that totally, but that's what I heard anyway.

The defense is really playing fantastic, and it does start with that D-Line. They are getting production from all 4 spots on that line and that comes from about 10 different players. Craig and Tobe are living up to their billing thus far, and have really taken the lead of that defense. Royce Hill and DeWaylon Cook are coming into their own (as we should have expected considering the level of recruits they were). As a whole, we should all be extremely pleased with the defense and it will only get better as this season progresses. DeLoach, Nelson, Rausch, Petersen, and Buckles are doing an absolutely wonderful job at devising a good game plan, at teaching sound technique/fundamentals, and at managing personnel. I personally think we will give Bama some trouble early with our defense, and as time progresses, their talent, size/speed combination, and depth will wear us down and eventually put the game out of reach.

Special teams were solid on Saturday night, with the exception of that one big punt return. That was a result of bad angles, and poor tackling. Simple correction. Aterberry was the MVP in my book the other night. We'll what our ST are made of on Saturday morning, trying to contain Javier Arenas for the Crimson Tide who's one of the best in the business.

Agree, let's get out alive and give Bama hell.

LongJim · September 15, 2009

Good comments, and you hit the nail on the head below.

The defense is really playing fantastic, and it does start with that D-Line. They are getting production from all 4 spots on that line and that comes from about 10 different players. Craig and Tobe are living up to their billing thus far, and have really taken the lead of that defense. Royce Hill and DeWaylon Cook are coming into their own (as we should have expected considering the level of recruits they were). As a whole, we should all be extremely pleased with the defense and it will only get better as this season progresses.

UNT is building depth, and increasing team speed, size and strength. Combine that with good coaching, and the results are the same every time.

It's not rocket science.