I'll catch flack, BUT...

[JesseMartin]

If the rest of the team, with the advent of the redshirts, transfers, etc., is as improved as has been hoped, we will win 4 games regardless. Additionally, if either a) Berglund can oust DT or Thompson's improvement is considerable, then we will win at least 6.

[Green P1]

Derek Thompson is without a doubt The Man, T-Man. Until the injured, carpetbagging, fist-fighting kid from Colorado who knows more about when and how a quarterback should practice than Charlie Weis can knock him off, you who ignore the problems at receiver and defensive line will just have to deal with it.

Derek Thompson, you da man!

Wow

[BillySee58]

No one should ever slam Derek Thompson for his lack of effort or his love for his school but his results on the field are predictable. At this juncture, we can't afford another four or five win season.

If Berglund sits he loses a year of eligibility. In 2014, he'd still be lacking in experience. Our fans would be calling for Canales' head for not trying to improve our offense. From what I've seen and read, Berglund has more speed, a quicker release and is more deceptive than DT. If all are true, that is improvement and that's what we're striving for.

At the same time, it would be unfair to hand the starting job to Brock simply because he has more press clippings. He has to earn that and I think that he will.

I would say brock is more like a redshirt freshman, because last year with us was basically his redshirt season. Redshirt freshman do go through growing pains, but the important thing is that the season is 12 games long and Berglund has that time to learn through experience and improve.

DT has not improved over his time as our starter. We aren't asking Berglund to have a first year like a Johnny Manziel, Mariota, Colt McCoy, or Sam Bradford. Just asking for our most talented qb, who we changed the offense to fit his skill set, to improve progressively and lead our offense to more than 20.9 points per game (105th in the country).

[BillySee58]

Derek Thompson is without a doubt The Man, T-Man. Until the injured, carpetbagging, fist-fighting kid from Colorado who knows more about when and how a quarterback should practice than Charlie Weis can knock him off, you who ignore the problems at receiver and defensive line will just have to deal with it.

Derek Thompson, you da man!

See, the people who would rather see Berglund over DT have nothing personal against him as a person. He is still a member of our team and we wish only the best for him, but you're making this argument about who is the best fit for us at quarterback personal to Berglund.

[Harry]

It's a really interesting situation. If you are Mac you have two options; you can take Berglund - who clearly has great talent but is raw and will make mistakes - and put him out there knowing that you may incur some losses but in the end you are developing your most talented quarterback.

Or you can give the ball to DT and go with the odds that he will make less mistakes and play well enough to win more ball games.

Unfortunately, last season's win total dictates that Mac has to win in year 3. He's in year three of a 5-year contract, and you will have a VERY hard time recruiting talented players with only a couple of years. To get the extension he needs to win 6 games or at a minimum 5. So my guess would be that he will start DT, the team captain and use McNulty in special situations and hopefully gets some snaps to Berglund in the Idaho game if they can maintain a lead.

Part of me says starting DT is the right thing to do. He's put in his time and been a good soldier. He is deserving. But another part of me says that you have to throw Berglund into the wolves even if it means you lose a couple of games you could have won.

Had Mac not lost to Western Kentucky after leading 24-10 in the 4th quarter last year and a couple of losses that should have been victories he may have had the luxury of being able to gamble on Berglund early but it does not look like that is the case now.

I think BillySee stated it very well -- none of this has anything to do with DT personally - he's as fine a kid as we've had come through this program in a long time.

On a more positive note, McNulty really has added to the depth at this position and while he may never be a star he seems ready to lead the team if called on. I can not remember when we last had three quarterbacks capable of getting us wins.

[The Fake Lonnie Finch]

My fear is that Berglund will leave the field in the middle of the game and walk out of the stadium, never to be seen or heard from again. That's my fear. I don't have that fear with Derek Thompson. No matter how poorly the team around him is playing, he'll be there leading them.

I only wish Derek could punt and play a little nickel as well as playing quarterback. He's a throwback athlete. He'd have been a superstar in the one platoon era.

[JesseMartin]

Harry's note here is very reasonable. I think we can expect to see DT starting at least the first couple of games with BB getting a few snaps or even a couple series in each game. How Brock responds to his given situation is likely to determine whether he gets a chance to become the starter. If DT gets us a nice lead (or conversely, looks like he's having a bad game and lets things get away from him) against Idaho, I think we can expect to see some BB action. Against UGA, I think most of us to expect DT to start and play at least the first couple of series, then depending upon how well we are doing we may see Brock at some point, though I'm thinking it may not be until the second half. I only feel this way because of the likelihood that it will be "poise against a big team" vs. "raw talent", but if Brock comes along well then that may change.

My point here is that unless Berglund explodes into a huge portion of his potential, he's still getting his sea legs or whatever you want to call it, so he will likely see some playing time the first couple of games without starting, and how he responds to those opportunities will decide the rest of the season, or at least a good portion of it.

I wanted to throw this out there because I don't want everyone to freak out if Derek starts the first couple of games and doesn't look to have improved much. Even with Berglund's talent, and even if he progresses well, easing him into the starting role (which he will almost certainly have for all of 2014) may help adjust him, and the team, better than if he were the only viable option at QB. I know we have Ohio and Ball'S taters in between, so we may or may not see multiple QBs in those depending upon how Idaho turns out, but with Idaho and Georgia we have a bit of a gift in terms of one game we're very likely to win and one we're very likely to lose. Those give Mac the opportunity to experiment a bit more than in the other two, and that gives us a nice chunk of time before conference play to get everything settled on the field.

I think it's a bit of a blessing to have the first 4 games scheduled as they are. Idaho may determine what we do in the next two games, and UGA will give us a chance to try some things to see if either QB can pull off some big plays against a big opponent. How it will all play out, we can only wait and see, but considering the state of the program and our need to find the best combination of options, this is a great chance to do it. In a way, it might have been better if UGA was our second game, but with the higher risk of injuries in games like that I think the schedule of our first 4 games will finalize the ironing-out period and give the players who have advanced the most their opportunity to become the starter for the rest of the season.

I know most of you expect that this will be decided "for sure" by the end of fall practices, but I'm not so sure of that. I think the final deciding factor will be performance in OOC games, with Idaho and UGA the ones with the biggest opportunities for intrasquad competition and advancement. But we'll have to wait a few more months to see.

[BillySee58]

It's a really interesting situation. If you are Mac you have two options; you can take Berglund - who clearly has great talent but is raw and will make mistakes - and put him out there knowing that you may incur some losses but in the end you are developing your most talented quarterback.

Or you can give the ball to DT and go with the odds that he will make less mistakes and play well enough to win more ball games.

Unfortunately, last season's win total dictates that Mac has to win in year 3. He's in year three of a 5-year contract, and you will have a VERY hard time recruiting talented players with only a couple of years. To get the extension he needs to win 6 games or at a minimum 5. So my guess would be that he will start DT, the team captain and use McNulty in special situations and hopefully gets some snaps to Berglund in the Idaho game if they can maintain a lead.

Part of me says starting DT is the right thing to do. He's put in his time and been a good soldier. He is deserving. But another part of me says that you have to throw Berglund into the wolves even if it means you lose a couple of games you could have won.

Had Mac not lost to Western Kentucky after leading 24-10 in the 4th quarter last year and a couple of losses that should have been victories he may have had the luxury of being able to gamble on Berglund early but it does not look like that is the case now.

For these reasons I believe we will see both Berglund and DT get their respective chances to run the offense in game 1 against Idaho as long as they are both healthy.

They have a lot invested in Berglund, as his success will most likely be tied to coach Mccarney being retained. DT is the safe choice, but we also saw how hesitant the coaches were to calling passing plays last year, particularly in that wku loss.

DT hasn't really done anything to lose the job this spring, so he will most likely start that Idaho game. However, Mccarney and Chico don't trust DT, so he will have a much shorter leash this year.

[El Paso Eagle]

Am I the only one who hates to hear our fans say “he’s done nothing to lose the job”? We have not had a winning season in a long time. No one on this team should be considered to “have” a job to lose.

As for DT. We have seen what happens with him leading the team. Has he clearly made any changes/improvements to his game that would really make you think things will be different?

[BillySee58]

Am I the only one who hates to hear our fans say hes done nothing to lose the job? We have not had a winning season in a long time. No one on this team should be considered to have a job to lose.

As for DT. We have seen what happens with him leading the team. Has he clearly made any changes/improvements to his game that would really make you think things will be different?

I think DT has done plenty to lose his job during the games last season, but I don't see the coaches unseating him solely based on his performance this spring.

[MeanGreenDan]

I hate the argument that "he has been a good soldier so we owe it to DT to let him start". That is the argument of fans of a losing team who are okay with continuing to be a losing team, at all costs.

[KRAM1]

Terrible thread...some of the same folks knocking folks for daring to say that the BB players had even a little to do with the season's outcome, now jump all over DT after a spring game...a SPRING game mind you! Plus the folks most adamant that the players had nothing to do with the BB season's outcome remain silent here with DT taking so much flak.

This competition will be won during fall ball...DT did a good bit this spring to solidify his position as starter (if you attended any practices and earlier scrimmages you saw some of this), but according to Coach Mac he is not naming a starter at this time. BB was injured most of the spring so it's pretty inconclusive from that side of the coing...apparantly McNulty has improved a good bit as well this spring.

It is looking to me like we might see multiple QB's on the field this next year given the situation with one getting the majority of snaps.

We'll see, we will all see. Those thinking DT is not capable of winning this battle just simply do not know DT, nor are they capable of getting past their emotions long enough to even try to see the improvements.

Four wins? Ridiculous!

I think we will all know soon enough...and that soon enough will be just prior to the Idaho game!

[UNTcrazy727]

Terrible thread...some of the same folks knocking folks for daring to say that the BB players had even a little to do with the season's outcome, now jump all over DT after a spring game...a SPRING game mind you! Plus the folks most adamant that the players had nothing to do with the BB season's outcome remain silent here with DT taking so much flak.

This competition will be won during fall ball...DT did a good bit this spring to solidify his position as starter (if you attended any practices and earlier scrimmages you saw some of this), but according to Coach Mac he is not naming a starter at this time. BB was injured most of the spring so it's pretty inconclusive from that side of the coing...apparantly McNulty has improved a good bit as well this spring.

It is looking to me like we might see multiple QB's on the field this next year given the situation with one getting the majority of snaps.

We'll see, we will all see. Those thinking DT is not capable of winning this battle just simply do not know DT, nor are they capable of getting past their emotions long enough to even try to see the improvements.

Four wins? Ridiculous!

I think we will all know soon enough...and that soon enough will be just prior to the Idaho game!

What have you seen from DT that gives you confidence he can lead this team to more than 4 wins? His sub-par speed? mediocre arm strength? throwing off his back foot while having all day to throw?

What improvements did you see in the spring game? Because I saw the same old inconsistent garbage. Crappy throwing motion, under throwing receivers, and no playmaking ability. It doesn't take a football mastermind to see that BB is the far superior QB. And yes, he's FAR superior.

[GrandGreen]

I agree w/ you completely about the QB situation, and your point that its not all DT's fault.

My point is simply that if DT is the best we have, it won't be good enough to win more than 4 games

My point is if Thompson proves again to be the best, then he will have a better chance to win more than 4 games than anyone else. You are assuming that NT's two year starter can't get any better, but some relatively inexperienced QB can.

I too, would love to see NT have much better QB play. However, improvement is possible without the QB being significantly better if most of the rest of team improves. Funny how QB play tends to improve with the quality of the team. We all want a star QB to emerge but we may have to settle for far less.

At least this year, NT has QB options.

[Marty]

Wasn't that long ago when this board was buzzing over TD burning Thompson's redshirt year! Just think, DT could be a redshirt junior now.

[BillySee58]

Wasn't that long ago when this board was buzzing over TD burning Thompson's redshirt year! Just think, DT could be a redshirt junior now.

He is a redshirt senior right now. He got the redshirt back for the season that he broke his leg (hardship/medical redshirt).

[MeanGreenHoops]

Sorry, but if I had never seen any of the last 4 years of NT football and came to watch the Spring Game, I would have thought McNulty was the starter but BB was going to push him very soon. DT would have been 3rd choice and I would have wondered why he played so much.

[JesseMartin]

Though I'm not just "looking to next year," I think this year will show very solid play with a couple more wins, leading to next year being freaking awesome. DT will still play, a little or a lot, depending on how BB comes along, and Brock's progress will solidify him as the main man next year. Some things could happen to throw that into a bit of chaos, but overall that's the most likely outcome. The only major variable where QB is concerned is how much time/how many starts each one gets based on how they are playing by the end of August, but I expect that the rest of what I just stated will still stay in the "wiggle zone" this season to get the most wins and the best progression possible. If this year works out well, expect 8-9 wins next season. If not...let's not think about that until at least the end of September, mmkay?

[GreenMachine]

We aren't talking about the team as a whole, we are talking about the unit that DT leads out on the field; the offense. They were 105th in the nation in scoring last year at 20.9 points a game. That will not cut it this year.

That didn't cut it last year either.

[UNT90]

Terrible thread...some of the same folks knocking folks for daring to say that the BB players had even a little to do with the season's outcome, now jump all over DT after a spring game...a SPRING game mind you! Plus the folks most adamant that the players had nothing to do with the BB season's outcome remain silent here with DT taking so much flak.

This competition will be won during fall ball...DT did a good bit this spring to solidify his position as starter (if you attended any practices and earlier scrimmages you saw some of this), but according to Coach Mac he is not naming a starter at this time. BB was injured most of the spring so it's pretty inconclusive from that side of the coing...apparantly McNulty has improved a good bit as well this spring.

It is looking to me like we might see multiple QB's on the field this next year given the situation with one getting the majority of snaps.

We'll see, we will all see. Those thinking DT is not capable of winning this battle just simply do not know DT, nor are they capable of getting past their emotions long enough to even try to see the improvements.

Four wins? Ridiculous!

I think we will all know soon enough...and that soon enough will be just prior to the Idaho game!

Big difference talking about someone's on the field/court talent and talking about effort and character, which was done mercilessly about the basketball team.

But maybe that's all the haters could talk about, being the AD proclaimed the team as "the most talented team in UNT history" and all.

Edited April 16, 2013 by UNT90

[UNTLifer]

I wondered how long it would take to turn this towards the BB team. Beat down alert.

[BillySee58]

I wondered how long it would take to turn this towards the BB team. Beat down alert.

BB on this thread stands for Brock Berglund as far as I'm concerned.

[Dr. Seuss]

Let stomp on good old Thompson some more, he is definitely what has killed the program the last couple of years.

Forget about dozens of other players that can't play, a lot of questionable coaching decisions, and a coach that bemoans the talent he inherited but has a hard time replacing them.

The QB gets way too much blame and glory. Thompson has won the QB battle the last two years, I assume because there is no one better. The same thing will happen this year, the best player in practice and games will get the job.

NT will win more games if they are improved, the QB needs to play much better but that postion is one of many that needs to be upgraded.

DT has made more mistakes than any other position.. He was top 10 in the BCS for least sacks, and he cant run. Threw 14 TDs and 14 Ints, and from what I remember they werent a lot of tip balls or anything, just bad passes. Throws off of his back foot 85% of the time. Cant get his eye off one WR. He almost made a field goal from the 25 yard line, and he had a wide open receiver. He doesnt have great footwork. Doesnt have a tight spiral nor that accurate.

The only reason why DT has won the starting job is because they cant get anyone else, besides BB and we will see how the QB battle goes in the fall.

Dont get me wrong, hes a great guy. I was all over the DT bandwagon when he was battling Tune Daddy, but I made a mistake and Ill move on to the next guy.

Edited April 16, 2013 by Dr. Seuss

[greenit]

I can't see where mac had any choice but to name his 2yr returning captain, who has already graduated, as the #1 going into Fall. To big of a risk of him not coming back if he has already lost his job.

I think things will sort themselves out in the fall.

[untjim1995]

It's a really interesting situation. If you are Mac you have two options; you can take Berglund - who clearly has great talent but is raw and will make mistakes - and put him out there knowing that you may incur some losses but in the end you are developing your most talented quarterback.

Or you can give the ball to DT and go with the odds that he will make less mistakes and play well enough to win more ball games.

Unfortunately, last season's win total dictates that Mac has to win in year 3. He's in year three of a 5-year contract, and you will have a VERY hard time recruiting talented players with only a couple of years. To get the extension he needs to win 6 games or at a minimum 5. So my guess would be that he will start DT, the team captain and use McNulty in special situations and hopefully gets some snaps to Berglund in the Idaho game if they can maintain a lead.

Part of me says starting DT is the right thing to do. He's put in his time and been a good soldier. He is deserving. But another part of me says that you have to throw Berglund into the wolves even if it means you lose a couple of games you could have won.

Had Mac not lost to Western Kentucky after leading 24-10 in the 4th quarter last year and a couple of losses that should have been victories he may have had the luxury of being able to gamble on Berglund early but it does not look like that is the case now.

I think BillySee stated it very well -- none of this has anything to do with DT personally - he's as fine a kid as we've had come through this program in a long time.

On a more positive note, McNulty really has added to the depth at this position and while he may never be a star he seems ready to lead the team if called on. I can not remember when we last had three quarterbacks capable of getting us wins.

The only way McCarney gets fired after this year is if we win 2 games or less. 3-5 wins probably will guarantee a 4th year. 6 wins or more should get him an extension--one that would be greatly deserved at that point for building this thing up from the literal ashes of the regimes before him. The thing about a buyout is that this place doesn't have the money or the BOR support to buy two full years of the largest contract ever given to a coach in our history. McCarney makes $600k per year. We couldn't afford to buy out Todd Dodge after three years in which he won 5 games, including a wonderful 2-10 year in his third year. His buyout would have cost less than one year of McCarney's salary and we still decided that was not financially prudent. Instead, we were completely content with seeing if Todd Dodge could finally figure it all out in his 4th year, where he managed to win 1 game out of the first 7 he coached that year. We cannot or will not buy out a contract of that magnitude.

I'll be shocked if McCarney isn't our coach in 2014. That will be his make-it-or break-it year. If we finish 2014 with less than 6 wins, his buyout will then be acceptable and we will get a new coach then, probably someone who won't cost too much, since we will have to pay out that final year of McCarney's contract. McCarney knows all of this. These next two years are his bread and butter years to turn this thing into a winner. We will see how it goes, but I believe in him and his experience. I also believe in his eye for talent. He will choose the guy at QB that he knows can become a winner. It won't matter who starts against Idaho or Georgia, those should be a W and a L, no matter what. Its the other 10 games that matter and I believe that Mac will get Berglulnd in the starting role as soon as he knows he's ready, whether that's in the fall camp, in OOC, or in the beginning of SBCUSA play.