We are not a good team

[UNT Mean Green]

It was a quarterback issue but it wasn't just a quarterback issue. There were way too many mental mistakes by virtually the whole team. Penalties out the ying yang. Missed tackles. Poorly thrown passes. Drops. Receivers breaking off routes. Greer holding the ball way too long. Ball hitting coverage player who had his back turned. Offensive line didn't give runners opportunity.

Dajon did very well but remember he was playing against their reserves. I do agree that he deserves the chance to start and let's see what he can do against the best. I'd also like to see Wilson and Evans get some running opportunities much earlier in the game. As good as Pegram and Jimmer are, they don't have the speed of the freshmen.

The coaches have a helluva lot to do as well. Keep going over mistakes until they get it right. Inexperience and lack of concentration really showed tonight.

Good perspective. Did ya'll notice that Wilson came out with a "shoulder area" injury and the training staff took his pads off for the rest of the game?

[BillySee58]

I've been saying for a while that this program is a gamebreaker/all CUSA QB away from being a double-digit win team. I fully believe Dajon will be that guy if our coaches suck up their pride and let him be our guy, and he stays healthy.

A healthy Dajon and this team finishes between 8-4 and 10-2. I really don't care what anyone has to say about not overreacting because "it was against the backups." I trust my eyes. Just like I trusted them when I knew exactly what would happen if Greer became starter from the moment we offered him. Same for once we finally put Dajon in. It wasn't just hoping the third-string would be better than the first two. I've seen enough from Dajon before last night to know that's what he's capable of.

Dajon had 21 more yards in 7 pass attempts than Greer did in 27. 20 less passes! That's one of the most absurd stats I've ever seen in my life, regardless of who did what against what string defense.

I expect a fully rejuvenated defense (and offense based on the way the guys picked up with Dajon in) now that we have a qb who can sustain drives and put up points. I know excuses are stupid, but the defense's reward for forcing a punt was just to be back out 5 plays later.

[BillySee58]

Good perspective. Did ya'll notice that Wilson came out with a "shoulder area" injury and the training staff took his pads off for the rest of the game?

Uh oh. I was wondering why we didn't see anymore of him. I really hope it's not severe, but if it is a season-ending type injury, then he played in just few enough games to apply for a hardship waiver/medical redshirt.

[GrandGreen]

Based on last nights performance, it is a team issue including coaching. If this team does not get a lot better, I don't see another win past Nichols. Granted the QB play was terrible, but far from the only problem area. The supposed strength of the team, the offensive line, struggled and got generally manhandled for the second of three games. The receivers were seldom open and certainly didn't help their QB despite single coverage on almost every play. The defense played well in the first quarter, but after that couldn't handle La Tech's passing game at all. Special teams other than Harris, were awful to average. Penalties on about every return, an average kicking game and no big plays. The coaching staff has no answers when the run doesn't work, and the offensive game plan never seems to change.

I wouldn't think they have much of a choice other than start Williams now, but with Mac it is far from sure. I think Williams offers some hope, but playing well against a disinterested La Tech playing mostly subs isn't as impressive as some think. I hope at least Mac stops bragging about winning at Apogee in which the team has now played 2 horrible games out of the last three.

Edited September 12, 2014 by GrandGreen

[Ben Gooding]

QB play/offensive production was the root to all of the problems. Do you not read anyone else's posts?

[UNT Alumni Lifer]

This team has the ability to win games. There's plenty of talent on the D too, but you can't have them on the field ALL THE TIME. The single most important position on a football team is the QB, and we are lacking quality there. Receivers were open all night, but they didn't have anyone to get them the ball.

Also, I don't understand why Evans is the 4th string RB. He lit it up in the Spring Game. I know competition increased after that, but he's looks great every time they put him in.

[BillySee58]

Based on last nights performance, it is a team issue including coaching. If this team does not get a lot better, I don't see another win past Nichols. Granted the QB play was terrible, but far from the only problem area. The supposed strength of the team, the offensive line, struggled and got generally manhandled for the second of three games. The receivers were seldom open and certainly didn't help their QB despite single coverage on almost every play. The defense played well in the first quarter, but after that couldn't handle La Tech's passing game at all. Special teams other than Harris, were awful to average. Penalties on about every return, an average kicking game and no big plays. The coaching staff has no answers when the run doesn't work, and the offensive game plan never seems to change.

I wouldn't think they have much of a choice other than start Williams now, but with Mac it is far from sure. I think Williams offers some hope, but playing well against a disinterested La Tech playing mostly subs isn't as impressive as some think. I hope at least Mac stops bragging about winning at Apogee in which the team has now played 2 horrible games out of the last three.

Wrong. Offensive line did play well, and the receivers were open. Offensive line is starting to gel, but man they were getting frustrated. They were blocking their tails off to no avail. We didn't do a great job getting open when we were 3rd and 10+ but there's not much you can do as an offense in those situations.

Williams is 1000X harder to gameplan for than Greer, Mcnulty, or even Thompson. Okay, maybe an exaggeration, but the passing threat plus scrambling threat really opened running lanes. Hope to see more of that.

[EagleGreen]

Wrong. Offensive line did play well, and the receivers were open. Offensive line is starting to gel, but man they were getting frustrated. They were blocking their tails off to no avail. We didn't do a great job getting open when we were 3rd and 10+ but there's not much you can do as an offense in those situations.

Williams is 1000X harder to gameplan for than Greer, Mcnulty, or even Thompson. Okay, maybe an exaggeration, but the passing threat plus scrambling threat really opened running lanes. Hope to see more of that.

Yes, we need to give Williams a chance to start. Nichols St. is SURELY the game for that. He couldn't screw that up. It's time!

[BillySee58]

Yes, we need to give Williams a chance to start. Nichols St. is SURELY the game for that. He couldn't screw that up. It's time!

Plus, if you want to play, as Emmitt would say, boring ass football then why not do it with Williams? We saw from play 1 that he could hand the ball off. You don't have to go to a full-fledged spread with Dajon. Just do what we did. You have your heavy sets and you can still go shotgun and run the zone read.

[meangreen15]

It was a quarterback issue but it wasn't just a quarterback issue. There were way too many mental mistakes by virtually the whole team. Penalties out the ying yang. Missed tackles. Poorly thrown passes. Drops. Receivers breaking off routes. Greer holding the ball way too long. Ball hitting coverage player who had his back turned. Offensive line didn't give runners opportunity.

Dajon did very well but remember he was playing against their reserves. I do agree that he deserves the chance to start and let's see what he can do against the best. I'd also like to see Wilson and Evans get some running opportunities much earlier in the game. As good as Pegram and Jimmer are, they don't have the speed of the freshmen.

The coaches have a helluva lot to do as well. Keep going over mistakes until they get it right. Inexperience and lack of concentration really showed tonight.

Dajon also had our second team offense surrounding him out there. Look at the pass he completed to Caldwell down the sideline. He stepped up, knowing he was going to get drilled by a defender, and delivered a great pass. THAT PLAY is all you need to see. DW is a play maker plain and simple. That's what guys on the team would tell me last season.

This offense is stagnant when Greer is on the field and I would love for someone to try and convince me otherwise.

[BillySee58]

Dajon also had our second team offense surrounding him out there. Look at the pass he completed to Caldwell down the sideline. He stepped up, knowing he was going to get drilled by a defender, and delivered a great pass. THAT PLAY is all you need to see. DW is a play maker plain and simple. That's what guys on the team would tell me last season.

This offense is stagnant when Greer is on the field and I would love for someone to try and convince me otherwise.

But, but he had 0 interceptions. That's how you win football games. Run the ball, don't turn it over, and play defense. This is football. Not a freak show.

[foutsrouts]

"We don't need any of this Johnny Manziel type stuff on this team."

[MeanGreenTexan]

We ARE a good team though... that's where all of the confusion stems.

Reading through these threads today (I knew last night this place would be burning, so I just went to bed), any of you trying to place an iota of blame at the feet of the defense must not have been watching the same game I was. This defense came out playing well enough to win the game... Not a doubt in my mind.

As the game went on, the blame became crystal clear: QB play is the issue. Missing open receivers, taking AWFUL sacks, rolling out of the pocket & not keeping his eyes down the field (I think I counted this 4 or 5 times where Greer was geared on running out of bounds or going to his outlet RB 5 yds in front of him), missing open receivers, hanging receivers out to dry, missing open receivers... All the while, the defense is on the sideline for all of 1-2 minutes at a time, not getting any rest, and deflating with each horribly botched 3rd down play. End of the 1st Quarter? Still 0-0 because of the defense.

It becomes PAINFULLY obvious early in the 2nd quarter that the defense is going to need to make something happen... so we start seeing bad penalties, missed tackles (going for a strip/turnover), and just overall being gassed. This just makes it easier for a good QB like Sokol to start dissecting... and he did. Mr. Bigshot, Dixon, was held in check for the most part. Sokol killed us.

We go to halftime down 21-0, and with what? 1 first down & 12 yds of total offense (including -5 yds rushing because of the sacks)? 12 YARDS!!

I have no idea what was said in the locker room, but I noticed DW had his helmet on at the 2nd half kickoff. This must have lit a fire under Greer's ass, because he came out and played much better, but still not anywhere near good enough. The Wade interception early in the 3rd gave me some hope... but Greer kept coming out, and kept playing terribly. I left before the 4th quarter, so I didn't get to see Dajon.

For those of you who are blaming 'gameplan' or whatever on Chico... HELLO?!? What can he do if his QB cant play?

TTG said it beautifully, but to paraphrase: I don't care what Dajon is, or isnt doing in practice... if he can help us win games, he needs to play. It's as simple as that. I hope we get to see him try starting next weekend. It's apparent Greer and/or McNulty are not going to get the job done.

Looking forward: Nicholls St is not going to tell us anything. The team will be angry, and it will hopefully look like the SMU game... The week off to continue practicing, then the Indiana game will tell us what we can expect out of this team, and I'm still sticking with my prediction of an L there. Big difference between a competitive L, and what we saw last night though.

[foutsrouts]

In short, I think that Greer has some physical talent, but he's just not a D1 QB between the ears. Not talking specifically about his brain, but you have to have mental toughness along with physical toughness at this level. Just not seeing it here.

[MeanGreenHoops]

Uh oh. I was wondering why we didn't see anymore of him. I really hope it's not severe, but if it is a season-ending type injury, then he played in just few enough games to apply for a hardship waiver/medical redshirt.

It didn't look good from the concern from teammates on the sidelines and what appeared to be his family. Really bummed me out, he is electric. I think that was the reason we saw so much Evans. They need to get another speed guy ready. Although I was surprised not to see Ivery. Maybe they plan on redshirting him now?

[JesseMartin]

Wasn't Evans the one they said had more speed than they'd ever seen? Does he have "maturity" issues too?

[HoustonEagle]

In short, I think that Greer has some physical talent, but he's just not a D1 QB between the ears. Not talking specifically about his brain, but you have to have mental toughness along with physical toughness at this level. Just not seeing it here.

Watching the game on TV and seeing Greer's expressions took away any hope I had that he could turn into the guy. He does not look like a determined competitor out there. He looks intimidated from the very first snap.

[GrandGreen]

Wrong. Offensive line did play well, and the receivers were open. Offensive line is starting to gel, but man they were getting frustrated. They were blocking their tails off to no avail. We didn't do a great job getting open when we were 3rd and 10+ but there's not much you can do as an offense in those situations.

Williams is 1000X harder to gameplan for than Greer, Mcnulty, or even Thompson. Okay, maybe an exaggeration, but the passing threat plus scrambling threat really opened running lanes. Hope to see more of that.

You apparently watched a difference game than I did. An offensive line that can't get double digit rushing in a half even against 11 men in the box is not doing the job. There were plays were the secondary receivers were wide open and some awful passes; but they didn't make the catches they did last week. The receiving corp at this point seems to be Harris and little else.

I will agree with your last statement, a running QB is always harder to prepare for; plus he has the best arm of the three.

[IslandEagle]

It was a quarterback issue but it wasn't just a quarterback issue. There were way too many mental mistakes by virtually the whole team. Penalties out the ying yang. Missed tackles. Poorly thrown passes. Drops. Receivers breaking off routes. Greer holding the ball way too long. Ball hitting coverage player who had his back turned. Offensive line didn't give runners opportunity.

Dajon did very well but remember he was playing against their reserves. I do agree that he deserves the chance to start and let's see what he can do against the best. I'd also like to see Wilson and Evans get some running opportunities much earlier in the game. As good as Pegram and Jimmer are, they don't have the speed of the freshmen.

The coaches have a helluva lot to do as well. Keep going over mistakes until they get it right. Inexperience and lack of concentration really showed tonight.

I agree. While, obviously Dajon deserves a shot, our wide receivers are far from being what we need.

[BillySee58]

You apparently watched a difference game than I did. An offensive line that can't get double digit rushing in a half even against 11 men in the box is not doing the job. There were plays were the secondary receivers were wide open and some awful passes; but they didn't make the catches they did last week. The receiving corp at this point seems to be Harris and little else.

I will agree with your last statement, a running QB is always harder to prepare for; plus he has the best arm of the three.

The rushing total was hurt by the sacks and the fact that we would only get 1 or 2 rushes per drive before the punt. Seriously? We only have 5 linemen. How do you expect them to block 11 in the box? Everyone just take 2 guys each? In reality it's more like 9 blocking 11, but still. When those 11 have no respect for the passing game there isn't much you can do.

Jimmerson had a run where the first level was blocked up great but when he got to the second level there was the rest of the defense packed in tight. Not out wide worrying about the receivers/passing game at all. Wilson had a couple like that as well, as did Pegram. We were doing a decent job getting that first level blocked off and creating a running lane. We just only have so many linemen and they have 11 guys. The QB isn't going to physically block so you need him to block some of those 11 defenders in a different way. By making them respect the passing game. There was none of that.

[Army of Dad]

Wrong. Offensive line did play well, and the receivers were open. Offensive line is starting to gel, but man they were getting frustrated. They were blocking their tails off to no avail. We didn't do a great job getting open when we were 3rd and 10+ but there's not much you can do as an offense in those situations.

Williams is 1000X harder to gameplan for than Greer, Mcnulty, or even Thompson. Okay, maybe an exaggeration, but the passing threat plus scrambling threat really opened running lanes. Hope to see more of that.

Couple of things on the line.

1. They were not good, yes there blitzes, but their undersized line just beat them like a rented mule. DW will help only because he seems to be the best runner/scrambler. There was a huge push up front and Greer had a tackle in his lap too many times.

2. Starting to gel!? There are four starters back, including two all conference players.

[BillySee58]

Couple of things on the line.

1. They were not good, yes there blitzes, but their undersized line just beat them like a rented mule. DW will help only because he seems to be the best runner/scrambler. There was a huge push up front and Greer had a tackle in his lap too many times.

2. Starting to gel!? There are four starters back, including two all conference players.

Undersized? They had some big boys out there, especially Mr. Butler. Like I said, we had time to throw. When they stopped blitzing in the second half and Greer started having a little success, he had all day to throw. He was getting good pass blocking in the first half too, he just couldn't handle the blitz. Which has been the case all season. We saw a qb on the other team handle the blitz beautifully all night. We didn't play perfect, but that performance was not on the line.

Yes, they're starting to gel. I'm referring to pass blocking. Lemon is a great lineman but he's not a prototypical tackle at all. He's only 6'3" and he has struggled outside against speed rushers. See the Tulane game last year and Texas this year. And Mckinney is built for run blocking as well at 350+. They have made solid strides and they're doing their job in the run game as well. They're getting a hat on a hat and creating lanes. That's just not enough which is why they were getting so hot walking off to the sidelines.

Wait until this team actually has a normal front to run against and doesn't have to face cover 0 every play. Then everyone will be clamoring about how good the line is and how much improvement they've made from the La Tech game. 77 yards passing on 27 passing attempts. It's amazing how you guys don't realize how bad that is.

[MeanGreenTexan]

Undersized? They had some big boys out there, especially Mr. Butler. Like I said, we had time to throw. When they stopped blitzing in the second half and Greer started having a little success, he had all day to throw. He was getting good pass blocking in the first half too, he just couldn't handle the blitz. Which has been the case all season. We saw a qb on the other team handle the blitz beautifully all night. We didn't play perfect, but that performance was not on the line.

Yes, they're starting to gel. I'm referring to pass blocking. Lemon is a great lineman but he's not a prototypical tackle at all. He's only 6'3" and he has struggled outside against speed rushers. See the Tulane game last year and Texas this year. And Mckinney is built for run blocking as well at 350+. They have made solid strides and they're doing their job in the run game as well. They're getting a hat on a hat and creating lanes. That's just not enough which is why they were getting so hot walking off to the sidelines.

Wait until this team actually has a normal front to run against and doesn't have to face cover 0 every play. Then everyone will be clamoring about how good the line is and how much improvement they've made from the La Tech game. 77 yards passing on 27 passing attempts. It's amazing how you guys don't realize how bad that is.

Geez Billy,

It's not like the run game is connected to the passing game in any way. If you're not passing the ball well, then just run it! If you're not running the ball well, then just pass it! Elementary.

[BillySee58]

Geez Billy,

It's not like the run game is connected to the passing game in any way. If you're not passing the ball well, then just run it! If you're not running the ball well, then just pass it! Elementary.

It's mind bottling!

[NT91]

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