Jump to content

mad dog

Moderators
  • Posts

    1,800
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Points

    330 [ Donate ]

Everything posted by mad dog

  1. Honestly, I don't think there's anything wrong with hiring Chico. There are better coaches and better recruiters out there, sure. But, let's be honest - they aren't coming here. The school's reputation aside, we simply can't pay them enough. I don't want a big school coach in here anyway - I'm not sold that they can come down here and work without the safety nets, resources, and momentum that big schools have. If you're not going to get a turnkey coach, the next best thing is a guy who is reasonably qualified, hungry, and knows the landscape. Say what you want about Chico, but he at least fulfills those three criteria for me. After being here for 5 years, he knows the warts and challenges, and he still wants it. That says something. Ultimately, I don't think much will change unless we happen to get lucky and catch lightning in a bottle. Even then, history has shown that sustaining that success is too hard to reasonably expect it. I'd say just let Chico run with it for a few seasons and see how he does. Maybe it'll work out, maybe it won't. It will be a crapshoot no matter who we hire - at least with Chico there's less lead-in time. #damnwithfaintpraise
  2. I think this is the first post I've ever seen with both an f bomb and the word "sheesh." It's usually one or the other.
  3. You are dead right. Just did the math, and in 2013 and 2014, we were about 58/42% run to pass. This year, we're 51/49 pass to run. A lot of that is playing from behind, but when you are sitting at 116th nationally in first downs converted (and 4th worst in total offense) it isn't a lucky touchdown early. You are getting dominated by opposing defenses. And that wholly and solely comes down to your inability to challenge the middle and deep third of the field. If 90% of your plays are inside of 10 yards, unless you have a huge size or speed advantage, you are going to get creamed. Current QB isn't either capable or trusted with hitting intermediate and deep routes, and receivers aren't helping by not getting much separation. Until I see them win a game, I'm not convinced they will put it together this year. I'd love to be proven wrong, but the first three games have the same old story. Look alright early, but defense gets worn down by an inept offense. They tire, and give up gobs of points. We'll score a couple of garbage time touchdowns or fieldgoals, but that's about it.
  4. Brett, I know it would be tricky to ask this, but I would love if you would ask mac at the next Coach's show if he thinks that 8-19 for 62 yards and a pick is acceptable play for a quarterback or if he just hasn't recruited anyone better than that to play. One of those two things has to be true, and that needs to be answered.
  5. Great writeup. I hope we can see more of this. All of last year, I had this theory (purely anecdotal, I never looked at film to support it) that the offense suffered from not taking advantage of the whole field. It felt like they were working in the first five yards of the line of scrimmage, and targeting the sidelines on comebacks and outs. They rarely used the deep sidelines, and almost never the intermediate to deep middle third. If the other guy knows you're not going to attack half the field, it makes it look like they have 18 guys out there. The GIF above where McNulty throws the pick is a great example of that. The defense is all jammed down into the box because there are no deep routes to stretch downfield. Then, the (mike?) spies the QB, reads 3 step drop, follows AM's eyes and jumps the route. I'm not sure the inside slot WR blocked the right guy, either, but still... What say you? Any validity to this idea on the tape you watched? Thanks much!
  6. I want to preface this by saying that I assume McCarney will start McNulty hell or high water. Should he find it in himself to start the best quarterback, rather than the most consistent guy in practice, I could be convinced of anything up to six wins. Particularly late in the year when the aforementioned best player has (finally) had some game time to work out the kinks. Portland State is the only game on the schedule I feel comfortable penciling in as a win. I think they will pull in two wins from the USM, WKU, MTSU, and UTEP group. I think they'll shock us and sneak one away from SMU, UTSA, or La Tech. So I'll say 4-8. The team has tons of potential, no doubt. I've just seen potential not pan out too many times for us to bet on it. Of course, my green heart always pulls for 7-8 wins. Here's hoping.
  7. You could get this kind of stuff through an Open Records Request. I know public universities are subject to at least some of the provisions, though I'm not entirely sure to what extent. They would have 10 days from receipt to communicate a "reasonable" timeframe in which you could expect to have the documents. They wouldn't be required to create new information, however. So if they have no idea how many season tickets they have sold, written consequences for failing to meet goals, etc, then they wouldn't have to provide that. Similarly, they could not be compelled to provide sensitive information like credit card numbers (though those are most often just redacted). But base numbers, stuff like that... you'd have a pretty good shot.
  8. So much for film study, I guess?
  9. Did you put in the time in the weight room and film room watching tape of planes taking off? I hear that's what leaders do.
  10. Well done, sir. Well done indeed.
  11. Does LongJim get royalties each time this picture is posted?
  12. I think this is a goldilocks game for the mean green. The teams we have played so far are either a full tier above us or a full tier below. UAB seems pretty evenly matched. For all of DJWs talents, I think this one comes down to the oline and backs. Can the line get a push and will the runners get going north and south? If we get caught trying to be too fancy and string plays out wide, we are going to see a lot of three and outs. UAB is too fast. All DJW needs to do is be patient, avoid costly turnovers and attack the seams. Marcus Smith could have a big day. I'm not convinced we can win games with our defense like we did last year. The best bet is going to keep them fresh and get ahead early to force the other guys to be one dimensional. We are at our best when playing the pass and letting our small, active D line to pin their ears back and Rush the passer. Definitely a winnable game. Definitely not a lock. I think the mean green do just enough to edge them out, but I would hardly be surprised to see it go the other way.
  13. Yep. He made some pretty poor throws (the one to that Kidsy had to knock down in the end zone stands out), but he's clearly the best QB on the roster. He at least made some of the throws, and got most of them close enough for the receivers to make a play. I bet film is going to be tough for our wideouts on Monday - they got very little separation. Give Indiana's corners a lot of credit - they played our guys straight up and only gave tiny windows to throw into. All of that said, Dajon has a lot of work to do, particularly on his pocket patience. He bailed several times way before he had to, and rolling out narrows your passing options. He's also got confidence in his arm, but needs to recognize when nothing is there and throw the ball away. He did it a few times, but got caught forcing it, as well. The same windows which were wide open against Nicholls state will be tight against C-USA competition, and sometimes nonexistent against P5 teams. He's a young player, and will be prone to mistakes. He's not as good as the guy who showed up at Nicholls, and he's not as bad as the guy today. He's in between, and that's still pretty damn exciting for me. It has been a decade since I've been this pumped about a QB at UNT.
  14. I think we'll do some good things and have some exposive moments on both sides of the ball. I'm guessing that DW will stumble a bit (knee jerkers and pollyannas will be out in force on Saturday night and Sunday), and turn in a respectable effort that will fail to meet the crazy expectations placed on him. It'll be a bit scary for the Hoosiers either early or late, but I think the final margin will be something like: Indiana 31 UNT 21
  15. LongJim is spot on about the single biggest key to this game is receivers getting quick seperation. If your pass catchers can get clean releases consistently, I think there's a real chance for an upset here. I would add (if the great Mr. Jim will allow it), that another big key is the ability to attack the middle of the field in the passing game, particularly the seams. During the early part of this season, I noticed that defenses have played us largely the same way - pack the box, and play the safe passes to the flats and sidelines. I attended the LA Tech game with a buddy who played some ball at Southern Miss, and he couldn't believe how open the vertical and deep post routes were. One one stretch, he counted four consecutive plays where the receiver was running completely free, and Greer would either miss wildly with the throw or not see the guy at all. Fast forward to this past week and DW. Remember how wide open Carlos Harris was on his TD in the first quarter? I realize that throwing over the middle requires some degree of mental toughness and a high degree of accuracy. But if you can pull it off, you force defenses to defend between the hashes 10-15 yards downfield. In that alignment, you're more vulnerable to the things we want to do most - power runs, zone-reads, and bubble screens.
  16. Indeed. Great article. Since the story involves Woody Wilson, I'm willing to bet Emmitt already has this one printed out and framed.
  17. The problem with having a four year starter who (mostly) stayed healthy is you really have zero idea who is going to be good behind him. For all we've seen of McNulty, he could be the next coming of Andrew Smith and we would have no idea. He came in, cold, two plays into a blowout against Arky State in 2011 and went 14-26 for 136-1-1 (a game where we were down 31-0 at the half). Same deal with another 2011 blowout against Tulsa (28-3 at the half), where he posted a 11-18, 158-0-2 line. Outside of those two games, he has a total of 13 passes under his belt. Not sure if you can tell much of anything from that tiny sample size in those game situations. Dajon Williams looked absolutely amazing during each his six throws in a blowout agaist Idaho. But it's crazy to try and call him the next coming based on that sample size, either. Same goes for Connor Means, Quinn Shanbour, or Josh Greer. They have played exactly zero snaps, and at least two of them probably won't... ever. Uncertainty isn't all doom and gloom. Hope always springs eternal, and that's really part of the fun of watching your team. But, realistically... we have no idea what any of these guys have in the bag. Yet.
  18. I've never understood the Athletic Department's marketing plan. The oldest marketing truism I know is the rule of seven - that is, a person needs to get smacked in the face with your product seven times before they'll do anything. So why on earth would you limit the ability of others to promote your material? It isn't just merchandising, though. Year after year, the UNT Fight Song never quite made it into the NCAA Football video games. I actually contacted a guy with EA through linkedin and he said that they request it every year, but never get anything back. When I ask the department, they shrug and point to the university. When I ask power brokers at the university, they say they have no idea what I'm talking about and wonder why it hasn't happened. This should have been as simple as emailing a few mp3 files over to EA Sports. But we just could never make it work, and that's a huge missed opportunity. Then there's the whole question of media coverage. I understand wanting to control your own media, and that's great. You should be able to produce the best quality stuff - you have around-the-clock access to players an coaches. But that doesn't mean that there's no value to reaching out to any media outlet (professional or amateur) who'll take your call and bring them in on the processess. Bring them in, let them in on the process, make them part of your story! If that means you let them in to practices and make them sign NDAs - what would be so wrong with that? Additional media coverage doesn't HURT you, it HELPS! Finally, If your product is flying below the radar, you simply CANNOT afford to miss out on the power of viral marketing. You've got about 200 active posters on this site who would be thrilled to help market your team if you just asked them, for exactly zero dollars. Just to help out this program and literally become part of its success. Look, I know that GMG is referred to as the "idiot board" by the athletic department, and it is very often an appropriate moniker. But it is also a board full of free and effective assets to promoting your product. If you can't sell the place out by yourself, why on earth would you turn down the help of others?
  19. It's nice to have extra stars, but it ultimately does not determine the sucess or failure of classes. Whenever I've gotten the chance to speak with coaches and scouts, they pretty much all agree that you have 100 or so bonified five-star "can't miss" prospects, and then everyone else is slotted according to who is recruiting them. That's why the ratings for 2-4 star players fluctuate all the time - when the big boys are recruiting them, it is assumed that they've got something in the bag. That's not to say that stars are meaningless - if other people believe that they have value, then it can't hurt to have perception (and positive PR) on your side.
  20. I was going to post about this was the first time I've heard "sex dungeons" discussed on this board. But then I thought about it some more and concluded that, on GMG, one should never dismiss the likelihood of that particular conversation taking place.
  21. Especially in the Media Guide, with a last name, first name listing.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. Please review our full Privacy Policy before using our site.