I'm not saying....

All About UNT · December 31, 2012

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/recruiting/player-Alfred-Morris-59688

I know so many of you are Cowboys fans but I have to feel some pride for our FAU conference mates in that their RB has absolutely dominated in his rookie year.

Too bad his only other offer besides FAU was Florida A&M :whistling1:

Harry · December 31, 2012

He's a stud!

gruu · December 31, 2012

Only a 2 star? Spare.

Green Mean · December 31, 2012

He is good. Tho lets not forget that Mike Shanahan has regularly made unknown RB's and turned them into studs in his system.

Green P1 · December 31, 2012

System RB + RG3 = meh

jdennis82 · December 31, 2012

System RB + RG3 = meh

So, same opinion if it were Dunbar instead?

foutsrouts · December 31, 2012

The Hilton show shouldn't take a back seat.

cl_1_2008 · December 31, 2012

2nd leading rusher in the NFL. 1,613 yards. 13 touchdowns. System or no, those are big time numbers in the NFL. Stop hating.

KRAM1 · December 31, 2012

Agree...and shows that 2 star recruits can turn out to be pretty good, yes? Recruiting has got to be the most imprecise science in the world. You are dealing with mostly 18 year old kids, many of whom think they are God's gift to the football world and who think they are pro bowl and HOF worthy at age 18. Got to be tough. Placing one's career in the hands of these unproven kids has got to be nerve racking. But, it also has to be so rewarding when you see a kid turn out to be a Dunbar, Fortenberry, Kokjohn (had to throw my favorite player of 2011 in the mix), Atterberrys, etc., etc. no not all NFL guys, but all "solid character" guys we can all be proud of having worn the Green. I could name many many more recent and past Mean Greener's who fit this bill, and apologize for leaving names out, but we all know who you are past and present!

GO MEAN GREEN!

Green Mean · December 31, 2012

2nd leading rusher in the NFL. 1,613 yards. 13 touchdowns. System or no, those are big time numbers in the NFL. Stop hating.

I don't think anybody is hating. We all know Morris is one fine runner but that is Mike Shanahan's track record. He will turn unknown or spare RB's into excellent ones best suited for his system. There is nothing wrong with that. And it's not just the RB's but the OLines as well. No hate from me....in fact I'm just jealous that even effing Washington finally figured out how to run an organization while at Valley Ranch on the other hand......

Arkstfan · December 31, 2012

As Harry has heard me say often, I'm not a huge fan of the recruiting services.

However I thought this was interesting.

Of the 12 schools in, entering, or leaving the Sun Belt there are 47 alums on NFL rosters.

Of those 47 only two are offensive linemen.

My take away is that at most positions on the field, most especially the defensive positions it is very hard to project who is going to make it. But offensive linemen have to have such a rare combination of size, speed, and instinct that identifying the great ones at age 17 is much easier.

FirefightnRick · December 31, 2012

I posted this in the EN earlier.

Yesterday was another good one for Sunbelt Conference talent.

FAU's Alfred Morris destroyed the Cowboys last night, rushing for 200 yards on 33 carries, and becamse the Skin's all time leading rusher for a single season. What I noticed most about him though was, unlike Mr. Oklahoma Sooner Demarco Murray, Morris never raised his hand to ask to be brought out of the game even though he had twice the work load. Murray looked gassed despite only 17 carries.

In case your wondering how Morris did against the Mean Green while playing at FAU.

Over a 4 year span, he started the last three, he rushed 103 times for 435 yards and three touchdowns against us. We won the final two games against his team. Last year he had a quiet 165 yards on 23 carries and a TD in a 31-17 loss to the Mean Green.

Also, I saw where T. Y. Hilton had another good performance with a 70 yard TD to help the Colts beat Houston yesterday sending the Texans down to the number three spot in the AFC and setting the Colts up for a good run in the playoffs.

Rick

untjim1995 · December 31, 2012

As Harry has heard me say often, I'm not a huge fan of the recruiting services.

However I thought this was interesting.

Of the 12 schools in, entering, or leaving the Sun Belt there are 47 alums on NFL rosters.

Of those 47 only two are offensive linemen.

My take away is that at most positions on the field, most especially the defensive positions it is very hard to project who is going to make it. But offensive linemen have to have such a rare combination of size, speed, and instinct that identifying the great ones at age 17 is much easier.

I think that OLinemen from conferences that run the ball are really at a premium in the NFL. The SEC, B1G and the MAC do very well here, as has the Pac-12. But the spread offenses are not helping prepare OLinemen for the NFL game at the same rate that the others have. I saw an article awhile back by Rick Gosselin about this a few years ago. The Big 12 was his main target because the OLinemen in that league played a whole different offensive system than the NFL demands. I suspect that the spread's influence in the SBC plays into this as well. Speaking of the spread, who remembers a few years ago when Troy was absolutely killing LSU by over 3 TDs late in the 3rd quarter, but they couldn't run the ball out of the spread and LSU finally wore them down and beat them because Troy couldn't run out the clock, giving LSU all the time in the world to come all the way back. To me, that's the spread's downside.

The Fake Lonnie Finch · December 31, 2012

He is good. Tho lets not forget that Mike Shanahan has regularly made unknown RB's and turned them into studs in his system.

This. Shanahan knows it begins on the offensive line. So many coaches try to complicate the offense these days. Get offense linemen who can block. On defense, get defensive linemen who can stop the run with end who can pass rush.

(The stupidest thing I ever hear in football is "coverage sack." There are no sacks if someone doesn't get to the quarterback. You either have guys on your line who can do it or you don't.)

If Jerry Jones had hired Shanahan, Dallas would have a run game, too, and could have a QB throw just 15-20 times a game. Dallas' offensive line is horrible. They don't run well. They don't pass protect well. And, so, what does Jerry do...he drafts guys like Felix Jones and Dez Bryant. Why is this so difficult for "football" people to figure out?

Washington's problem is that they'll eventually have to throw the ball in the playoffs...and, they'll be playing teams not in the horrible NFC East.

Edited December 31, 2012 by The Fake Lonnie Finch