I'm Conflicted

KRAM1 · November 2, 2009

The win kept RV from firing Dodge on the spot.
Tied after 3 quarters with the #120 team.

But, shaft, you did not answer my question...were you in attendance at the game??????

TIgreen01 · November 2, 2009

We can't take a lot of positive away from this game. We beat the worst team in the SBC, after a struggle, by 19. The entire win margin came in the fourth quarter. But, there may have been 'signs' that we are at least trying to turn the corner.
WKU has some good talent but they are literally young. Eighty percent of their team is true freshmen, redshirt freshmen or sophomores. In their eyes, it was their only chance to break a winless season and they played like it. So we weren't dealing with the typical #120 team. They played as hard as they were capable for as long as they were competitive. By the time that we finally got the upper hand, they were gassed.
I saw an offense controlled by a quarterback that is beginning to come into its own. But the offense has seldom been the problem this year. They have had to play from a comeback position because the defense failed to stop the opponent; particularly in the second quarter. This offense, when healthy, can compete with all but the upper echelon of the SBC.
The defense is another matter. This is the most inept defense that I can recall in my history of North Texas; and that goes back to 1947. Not once in the first half (three quarters?) were the Toppers forced to punt or go for it on fourth down. Pathetic tackling. Pathetic recognition. Pathetic penetration. Pathetic effort. I'd try another adjectitive if my vocabulary contained a stronger word.
What is really scary is what would likely have been had DeLoach not come down from the booth to read the riot act on the sidelines. He needs to stay on the sidelines, even if it means a few broken headsets.
I can't believe that our defensive tackles are that bad but for 3/4 of the game I've never seen a more inept crew. Do they still train daily? Did someone slip a NFL line across from them? Can they not react to the same (successful) play run at them ad nauseum?
This team will never rise above the Bottem Ten as long the defense is this bad. If it takes everyone on the roster to find players who will fly to the ball and tackle when they get there, then I hope that they'll do it. Otherwis, there won't be anymore wins (or fans) the rest of this year. Worry about redshirts another year when we are competitive. Maybe we can recruit some better talent. The time for change is now. There are jobs, attendance, recruits and monetary support on the line. Who will show up against ULM?

Ditto this post.

It's being talked about in another thread, to some extent, but I really think we have to start questioning how this team prepares and practices--specifically the defense. The same issues have surfaced in every single year of Dodge's tenure---regardless of the assistants coaching that side of the ball. We are a VERY poor tackling team, from just a technical standpoint. We have trouble finishing tackles and keeping our intensity up for 4 full quarters. If this is obvious to spectators, how much more obvious must it be to professional college coaches?! For whatever reason, our coaching staff has done very little to address this most basic issue that has permeated the Dodge era---we can't tackle and we get worse at it as the season goes on.

If I had to guess, I'd suspect that Dodge puts much of the blame on strength and conditioning--hence the hiring last spring of a dedicated S&C coach. Obviously, this is not the only factor. If it was just an issue of S&C you'd expect to see us perform better in the first halves of games, then wear down in the second half....but that has rarely been the case.

I'd love to hear DeLoach's and Nelson's thoughts on this.

LongJim · November 2, 2009

The same issues have surfaced in every single year of Dodge's tenure---regardless of the assistants coaching that side of the ball. We are a VERY poor tackling team, from just a technical standpoint. We have trouble finishing tackles and keeping our intensity up for 4 full quarters.

This has been obvious since the 2005 season. See the (for example) MTSU game in 2006 for even more evidence. It's not a new thing.

TIgreen01 · November 2, 2009

This has been obvious since the 2005 season. See the (for example) MTSU game in 2006 for even more evidence. It's not a new thing.

I remember getting worse in 2005, but nothing close to what we've seen since 2007. Just for discussion's sake, what changed prior to the 2005 season?

Quoner · November 2, 2009

I remember getting worse in 2005, but nothing close to what we've seen since 2007. Just for discussion's sake, what changed prior to the 2005 season?

Katrina.

LongJim · November 2, 2009

I remember getting worse in 2005, but nothing close to what we've seen since 2007. Just for discussion's sake, what changed prior to the 2005 season?

The defensive lineup?

TIgreen01 · November 2, 2009

The defensive lineup?

So you're saying it's just players? When almost every player (over the course of at least 3 seasons, more if we're going back to 2005) on defense is poor at tackling, I'd tend to think we're not coaching it correctly. No?

Edited November 2, 2009 by TIgreen01

KRAM1 · November 2, 2009

So you're saying it's just players? When almost every player (over the course of at least 3 seasons, more if we're going back to 2005) on defense is poor at tackling, I'd tend to think we're not coaching it correctly. No?

Oh, man, don't say that. I mentioned that a couple of times to the folks who sit around me at the games, and some guy probably about 78-82 years old whom I had never seen before jumped my case asking how much coaching I had done in my life. Told him I coach "every day" and that he was "barking up the wrong tree". Guy, said, well I was a coach for 37 years...I've been there. And then he sat and stewed awhile longer before leaving the area. gave me plenty of dirty looks on the way down the aisle too. Really funny...if he only knew. It might have been my comment about the defense looking a bit like Mendoza's defenses of the past, and my wishing (out loud) that DeLoach would get out of the press box and back on the field "where he belongs". Maybe the guy was part of the SouthLake Carroll crowd sitting a few rows behind us and to our left...wearing those SLC ball caps. Maybe a friend of Mendoza's...who knows. But, man, it was too funny...the guy really got hacked.

See you miss this stuff if you don't come to the games.

LongJim · November 2, 2009

So you're saying it's just players? When almost every player (over the course of at least 3 seasons, more if we're going back to 2005) on defense is poor at tackling, I'd tend to think we're not coaching it correctly. No?

No.

UNT90 · November 3, 2009

Oh, man, don't say that. I mentioned that a couple of times to the folks who sit around me at the games, and some guy probably about 78-82 years old whom I had never seen before jumped my case asking how much coaching I had done in my life. Told him I coach "every day" and that he was "barking up the wrong tree". Guy, said, well I was a coach for 37 years...I've been there. And then he sat and stewed awhile longer before leaving the area. gave me plenty of dirty looks on the way down the aisle too. Really funny...if he only knew. It might have been my comment about the defense looking a bit like Mendoza's defenses of the past, and my wishing (out loud) that DeLoach would get out of the press box and back on the field "where he belongs". Maybe the guy was part of the SouthLake Carroll crowd sitting a few rows behind us and to our left...wearing those SLC ball caps. Maybe a friend of Mendoza's...who knows. But, man, it was too funny...the guy really got hacked.
See you miss this stuff if you don't come to the games.

I read this with a heavy heart. KRAM has finally said something negative about this team. When the optimists give up hope, it is a stunning blow to the realist. Please, say it ain't so, KRAM. Please immediately post something positive to give me just a little hope. Please?!?!