ut's spring game

[Green Crazy]

I've been watching to see hoe they look and...I'm not impressed. Qb play is poor, running game is ok and defense (especially the d-line) looks good. Swoops has 5 or 6 completions in the first half and looks uncomfortable with the offense.

I've got a good feeling about our game with them and just decided that I'm definitely going. I want to be there when we beat them.

[drex]

Don't forget to factor in the referees.

[UNT90]

"Watched UNT's Spring game. No problem,guys. They can't stop the run and are replacing there entire D-line. And, man, is that D-line small! I don't think we will have to throw a pass. There offense is meh. They do have a good O-line, but they have no QB. The most athletic QB was hurt and is dogging it in the weight room.No problem, guys. We got this. Easy."

UT fan.

Get my point?

Edited April 19, 2014 by UNT90

[pastorgrant]

Didn't the Green team QBs throw for something like 400 yards w/o an INT?

[All About UNT]

Not to mention that the passing game had to have been affected by the winds that day...... undeniable that the wind was roaring something fierce during our Spring Game.

[Marty]

Swoopes isn't in the top 3?

[GreenBat]

The offensive line gave up EIGHT sacks. THE university ain't gonna win many giving up 8 sacks per game.

[UNT90]

90 that sounds like what you and I have been saying all spring...

It's just that you can't tell anything by playing yourself. Is your offense good or your defense bad? Or vise versa?

What if both your offense and defense suck and play each other closely? Are you then magically good?

Outside of an eye opening performance by an INDIVIDUAL player, fans should take nothing from these games.

Coaches benefit the most and it lets them know what they might have.But they are never going to honestly tell you, and they shouldn't. Just get a bunch of coach speak about improvement and "opening up the offense."

[ragpicker]

An assistant coach at Highland Park who has been to several of our practices, told me that he was very impressed and thinks we have a chance against Texas and should beat SMU. I thought that he might have been saying that knowing I am a UNT fan, but the more I talk to him the more I believe he is genuinely convinced we could win both games. His son, who is a senior, has been to some of our practices as well and his older son was a starter for Oklahoma.

I didn't go to the '88 game thinking we had no chance at all, especially because their starting running back was allowed to play after he had been arrested the week before. I have always regretted it. Just think though, we can now challenge and review plays. I will be there following a few cold ones at Scholtz's.

[the green rokemi]

Don't forget to factor in the referees.

Bingo. We'll have to beat both Texas and the refs. History is not on our side my friends

Edited April 20, 2014 by the green rokemi

[emmitt01]

Could.

I think he was referencing Ash, Heard, and the possible USC transfer.

Would it be too much of wishful thinking to hope Swoopes finds himself behind the other three, takes a look across the field at our team during that first game, and says to himself "you know, they could be pretty special if I went there".

[Green Crazy]

I like our chances.

[MeanGreenD]

Mean Green must contain Malcolm Brown. That's what I got out of watching. My guess is Ash will be in the game and we will only see Swoops if injury occurs or we have a lead at the half and Strong feels the need to make a change. Our best chance is to run, run, and run some more. O-line needs to ball out and open up some holes. No matter who our QB is, I would love to see DW get in there to run some triple option just to see if we can get them on their heels. There will definitely need to be some trickeration in order to catch them sleeping.

Obviously, Texas is bigger, faster, and stronger across the board. One dude was like 6'8". On paper, they probably win 99/100 times. But paper can't measure heart, determination and toughness.

I'm with Green Crazy. Nothing is stopping me from being in Austin on August 30! It's going to take everyone's best, including the fans.

[forevereagle]

Didn't the Green team QBs throw for something like 400 yards w/o an INT?

So is that because our QBs were great, or that the secondary was not playing well?

Question, no info.

[foutsrouts]

Mean Green must contain Malcolm Brown. That's what I got out of watching. My guess is Ash will be in the game and we will only see Swoops if injury occurs or we have a lead at the half and Strong feels the need to make a change. Our best chance is to run, run, and run some more. O-line needs to ball out and open up some holes. No matter who our QB is, I would love to see DW get in there to run some triple option just to see if we can get them on their heels. There will definitely need to be some trickeration in order to catch them sleeping.

Obviously, Texas is bigger, faster, and stronger across the board. One dude was like 6'8". On paper, they probably win 99/100 times. But paper can't measure heart, determination and toughness.

I'm with Green Crazy. Nothing is stopping me from being in Austin on August 30! It's going to take everyone's best, including the fans.

6'8" works in a different sport. Not so much in this one. I was there in '88 and will be there once again. We can do it.

[emmitt01]

6'8" works in a different sport. Not so much in this one. I was there in '88 and will be there once again. We can do it.

Unless you're coached by Benford.

[GMG24]

I'm not to worried about UT's QB assessment seeing as how they didn't recruit Manziel or RGIII to play QB. Talent evaluation has been lacking in that department for awhile at that school.

[Eagle1855]

I'd be more encouraged by UT's lackluster Spring Game if we didn't ourselves have many of the same glaring weaknesses and question marks.

If this was last year's Mean Green squad rolling into Austin relatively intact, I'd be a lot more optimistic about leaving with a W. But it isn't. And the fact is, it's going to be a tough atmosphere for us to "work out kinks."

But this is why we play the game and why I'll be there hoping, wishing, etc.

[Eagle1855]

Mean Green must contain Malcolm Brown. That's what I got out of watching.

I had the same thought while watching the first half of it. I hope Swoopes ends up being the QB. He's clearly a talent, but he's inexperienced and doesn't seem to make very good decisions which is a plus for an opportunistic defense.

Another impression I had from watching said game as that UT's O-line doesn't look as daunting as it has in years past.

[SilverEagle]

I'd be more encouraged by UT's lackluster Spring Game if we didn't ourselves have many of the same glaring weaknesses and question marks.

If this was last year's Mean Green squad rolling into Austin relatively intact, I'd be a lot more optimistic about leaving with a W. But it isn't. And the fact is, it's going to be a tough atmosphere for us to "work out kinks."

But this is why we play the game and why I'll be there hoping, wishing, etc.

We don't have as many kinks to work out as Texas. There may be a lot of players on our team that have not logged much in the way of playing time. But they all know the coaching staff very well. And they pretty much understand what the coach wants under most circumstances. And just about all of them have seen how the coaching staff communicates under pressure situations.

The Texas players are still learning how their coaching staff communicates.

[Eagle1855]

We don't have as many kinks to work out as Texas. There may be a lot of players on our team that have not logged much in the way of playing time. But they all know the coaching staff very well. And they pretty much understand what the coach wants under most circumstances. And just about all of them have seen how the coaching staff communicates under pressure situations.

The Texas players are still learning how their coaching staff communicates.

Agreed, and those are all good points.

[MeanGreenD]

6'8" works in a different sport. Not so much in this one. I was there in '88 and will be there once again. We can do it.

I believe he was a TE, could be mistaken, but that is the one position in football where height can be a big factor.

Anyway, see ya in Austin!

[Mean_Green09]

I don't put a lot of stock in their spring game. Yeah they have QB issues, but Ash will most likely be healthy for our game. Swoopes should be headed for a redshirt year bc come fall he is their 3rd best option. They are really counting on Ash to be healthy, He is the key to them being a 9 or 10 win team vs a 7 or 6 win team.

The one area where they are weakest on D is the one area where we might have trouble attacking. That area would be their secondary. If we don't have a QB who can beat them with his arm we will have trouble. I dont see us having a ton of success running against their DL.

Their OL is shaky right now. Malcolm Brown will be their workhorse. Stop the run and force them to pass and we have a shot. Let Malcolm Brown loose and its going to be a long day.

[meangreendork]

I don't put a lot of stock in their spring game. Yeah they have QB issues, but Ash will most likely be healthy for our game. Swoopes should be headed for a redshirt year bc come fall he is their 3rd best option. They are really counting on Ash to be healthy, He is the key to them being a 9 or 10 win team vs a 7 or 6 win team.

The one area where they are weakest on D is the one area where we might have trouble attacking. That area would be their secondary. If we don't have a QB who can beat them with his arm we will have trouble. I dont see us having a ton of success running against their DL.

Their OL is shaky right now. Malcolm Brown will be their workhorse. Stop the run and force them to pass and we have a shot. Let Malcolm Brown loose and its going to be a long day.

This seems to be the analysis from their fans, too.

That said, if there's a season to put UT away, this is it. They're normally too good of a team to have a glimmer against, but anything could happen and I'm hoping for the best.

[mccox2]

UT's offense are going to have to find a sure identity that can only be figured out by the "real speed of the game". UT has play makers in Brown (RB), Ash (QB), Shipley (WR), and Johnson (WR). Their question mark is their offensive line. Their still huge and athletic. Ash is not Manning. Though he has experience, missing reps in practice and spring game to a new offense can translate to errors in "real speed". He's also concussion prone with a questionable offensive line. He might be hesitant to run and will either take the sack or force a throw. Blitz packages will keep him uncomfortable and may throw his timing off with his receivers. Passing game might revolve around Shipley and Johnson. I'm not saying this is automatic, but it might be part of the growing pains of working out the kinks on their end. Swoopes has legs but is inexperienced and has been an inaccurate passer from time to time. Inaccuracy/Inexperience can lead to interceptions,overthrows, delay of games, busted plays, maybe forced fumbles if his awareness lags when running. UT's running game will be their strength. If they can establish a running game then it'll open their passing game. This is NOT going to be an easy offense to stop but it IS doable if our defense stays discipline, plays with an aggressive tone, wins the field position battle, and force turnovers early. I like UNT's secondary and linebackers. UNT's d-line will be interesting. Our defense (espeically D-Line) has always been undersized with SEC and Big 12 play so this is nothing new. Its who can play cohesive as a team every play, capitalize on mistakes, and protect the football will make the difference. I feel like that is to UNT's advantage.

UNT has question marks at QB position and other starters filling in big key roles. UNT's best bet will be game management with field position and protecting the football (zero turnovers... maybe one turnover because realistically it'll happen with the hard hitting and the speed of the game). UT's defense is going to be good. That's Charlie Strong's strength. Their going to be fast, physical, and aggressive. Luckily our o-line is experienced but still be undersized and not as athletic as UT's BUT UNT will be more cohesive which should translate to minimized communication errors at the line, discipline in their assignments, and executing off the ball quicker.

Overall, Coach Mac has been in the business long enough. He knows UNT is undersized, inferior athletically, and still lack some depth in key positions. He knows he is going to win this game through UNT's defense and UT's offensive struggles. Coach Mac has a defensive mindset so he's thinking field position, forcing turnovers, and not giving up the big play. I do feel like UNT is more cohesive as a unit (coaching staff and players) compared to UT but that is only because of the coaching transition at UT with a new scheme. We just need our offense to give our defense a rest, make smart plays, protect field position, and protect the football. If we can establish a running game with our different backs, it'll take one misread or lack of defensive communication for UNT to break a big gain and change the momentum of the game.

This will be an excellent game to watch. I honestly think UNT CAN upset UT at home. Over the past couple years (since 2011), UNT has played top competition against Top 25 teams in Alabama, LSU, and Georgia along with competing with good teams such as Houston and Kansas State. UT is NOT LSU, Alabama, or Georgia nor do they have the confidence and cohesiveness as those teams.

In conclusion, get ready for August 30th. This is Coach Mac's 4th season since taking over a debilitated UNT squad and making a winner out of them. He's been an underdog at Iowa State and been successful in the Big 12 so this is nothing new to him. He can obviously coach and he is well aware just like we are that UNT CAN pull this off. I will be drinking with my UNT Mean Green family in Austin with a biased mind set as a real UNT fan whose been a believer since the worst of seasons because that is what real fans do. GMG! 1 - 0!