gangrene

Uuuuhhhh........no.

Well, that statement really explains a lot to me. I thought he could have gained several yards on a similar play in the second half but he hesitated when the hole opened, turned around and ran the other direction. Based on your comment it makes perfect sense now.

That depends on what you are trying to accomplish. Missouri and USC have rotated QBs most recently but the most successful rotation in relation to winning games that I can recall would be Nebraska, when they rotated Brooks Berringer and Tommy Frazier. They were successful because each possessed a different set of skills. Brooks was the better passing threat and Frazier was the runner. While Phillips needs some real game experience, rotating QBs would be more detrimental to this team than sticking with Meager. I would like to see Phillips receive more playing team for the purpose of competing for the full-time starting QB position.

Good post. I completely agree with what you said about our RB situation. There's no doubt that each of our great RBs have tremendous ability, but I think they cannot get into a rhythm when they keep getting rotated. It takes time from the O-line and RB to learn each other and to gel together. JT and PC have two different running styles and read downfield blocks differently. While it would really suck for one back to be relegated to back-up duty, I think it would be beneficial to the team in the long run.

While that's true, not everyone is capable of performing in live-game situations the same way they perform in practice. Plumm - First of all, questioning whether or not I myself "ever played the game" has very little to do with my ability to determine performance and I take that as a personal attack. One of the best college coaches for QBs right now is Mike Leach and he never played college ball. That being said, it is the knowledge I received from playing the game that allows me to recognize all the many problems Meager is having. 1. He telegraphs every pass, never taking his eye off of the intended receiver. That makes it very easy for a DB to bait him and then step in front of the receiver for a pick. 2. He can't throw on the run. Anytime he rolls out of the pocket, you can expect the ball to be bounced or thrown behind the receiver. 3. His decision-making ability is horrendous and he has trouble reading defenses. I completely disagree with your theory that "if 2 or more of his passes were caught the other night..." because he had sooo many passes that were off the mark and uncatchable. Besides, that DD has said that Phillips would continue to see "playing time" but did not define how much. By any definition, playing time means at least one play. My point in starting this poll was curiosity about how others feel. Meager threw two interceptions and the blame for both lies predominantly on his shoulders. As far as what you read in Dave Campbell's...maybe Meager is faster than Phillips but I don't think this team really needs a running QB. We need someone who can complete a few passes down the field and take some pressure off the O-line and running game. I know I've been very boisterous on my criticism of Meager, but I've seen some positive things from him as well. That pass to Stickler was on the money and, despite the fact that Stickler had difficulty judging the ball, that's a pass a D-1 receiver has to make. However, a few good passes a game does not make a great QB. It's all the other things I see that lead me to believe someone else needs to be given a chance. Perhaps Meager WILL be better next year and it should be at that time he gets back on the field. Meager should count his blessings that he has the full support of this coaching staff and fans like you, because at most other D-1 schools his butt would have already been benched. It's this constant babying, nursing and complacency at UNT that leaves me hopeless we will ever be able to rise above the level of mediocrity that currently exists. Yes, we have come a long way in the last five years but does that mean we need to rest on our laurels and let other schools move ahead of us??

DD has insisted all along that two QBs would see plenty of action this year. When it was thought that Byerly would be the starter, he said Meager would play as well. Now that Byerly is out of the picture, he's suggested that Phillips would start playing more, yet we've seen very little of him. Meager now has four games under his belt and only one of those games was against what I would consider to be superior competition. Some of you claim to see weekly improvement from Meager but I just can't agree. Phillips has had VERY limited playing time thus far but I've seen a lot of promise in this kid. My question is this: how much PT should Phillips get against FIU (i.e. 1Q, 4 series, etc) and when should he be put in the game (i.e. mop up time)???

Not only that, but Meager looked like he had no clue running the option on Tuesday night. I remember one play (I believe the RB went the wrong way) in which he could have easily turned up field and gained 5-7 yards but, instead, he freaked out because the RB went the wrong way. Meager turned around completely, ran about 5 yards behind the line of scrimmage and ended losing 3 or 4 yards on the play. He was obviously VERY uncomfortable trying to make the decision to run the ball. I can only imagine what might happen if he has to start deciding to make a pitch at the last minute. We're averaging enough turnovers as it is.

I'm very concerned about our running game too!!

Well, here's some hotel news: Hilton Hotel Chain Asks Evacuees to Leave

I think a lot do this too - Maybe because you read what you wrote a few more times?!?!?

Not unless you're offering me a place to stay in Vicksburg!! Thanks for the post though. I am curious to know what other MG fans are planning to do. 160 miles seems like a long way to drive after a game though...especially after a night game. I do have in my possession an LSU Gameday program from LSU vs. Arizona State game this year. It mentions an article on the Hurricane Katrina aftermath on the cover. I'll post if I find any useful information.

Ok, I just decided I'm going to the LSU game. I already have tickets but I'm wondering what the hotel availability is going to be like. I'm sure they still have lots of New Orleans evacuees in town and some of them may possibly be in hotels still. Anyone know the situation or plan to stay in another city near Baton Rouge?

I've seen enough high schools games this week, but maybe this one will have better coaching and offensive play than that one I saw on Tuesday night!!

That's great!! Is your son a QB by chance???

I liked one thing he said last night while he was in the broadcast booth. This is not an exact quote of what he said, but it was something like, "I'm glad to see that...a team needs to do that about 7 or 8 times a game." Those comments were made after the attempt to complete a long pass play to Brock Stickler.

Here are the positives I saw tonight: The concession prices were cheap and there was plenty of room in the endzone to serve as a table for my food and drink. Hayden Fry made a few comments that lead me to believe he could still be a winning coach at UNT. The tailgating smelled excellent...too bad I arrived too late to enjoy any. The uniforms looked good until the players sweat caused the colors to no longer match. The weather was nice. The PA speakers sounded awesome. The ESPN shot of our green-lighted fountain in front of the Administration building looked cool. Nobody decided to commit suicide with a homemade bomb. Our coaches never yelled, raised their voices at our players or otherwise exhibited emotional distress for making silly penalties...wait...IS that a good thing???

Have you gotten to the part yet where Craig James suggests that we suit up a flag football QB (that was playing intramurals) and let him replace Meager in the starting line-up?? It was at the start of the 4th quarter. Classic Craig James...maybe it will help us recruit a QB for next year. What high school QB wouldn't look at tonight's game and think he could step into the starting role immediately?? In fact, what flag football QB wouldn't think that??

Hey EagleChick...I'm frusturated too!!! We're lightyears behind on the ATM/debit card front but you've got to admit the prices are great. Drinks at UT are $3-4, nachos $5-6 and hotdogs were at least $3. My wife and I spent $30 on concessions in Austin and had almost the same things for less than $10 at UNT. I agree we could use debit card purchases at Fouts, but what price would the consumer have to pay for this "luxury"?? The bathrooms were quite muggy but I think I lost about 5 pounds each time I had to go. And, if it ever gets cold, you'll appreciate the warmth the lack of proper ventilation provides.

Kenny Cattouse had 49 total rushing yards (in 4 games) prior to his 109 tonight against our stingy Mean Green defense. Anthony Jones had 51 total rushing yards (in 2 games) prior to rushing for 79 yards tonight. Sean Dawkins had 80 yards in his 4 previous games this season before his 62 tonight. His previous high game was 46 against South Carolina. Ok...I'll admit this last one is pressing the issue a little but...Carl Meadows, the QB, had "-" (as in negative/minus) 109 rushing yards prior to tonight. He managed a measley 2 rushing yards against UNT. This defense could make an instant Heisman, or at least a Doak Walker, candidate out of the right running back. When is the LSU game???

Makes sense...it was impossible for me to see all of that from the NE corner of the endzone (we got there pretty late due to work/traffic). Still, I don't understand why we're attempting timing patterns with an inexperienced QB for anything other than a fly, post or out route. Meager seems to have tunnel vision and doesn't see the field well. He has to recognize if his #1 receiver gets held up and check off to the 2nd or 3rd guy or simply throw it away, rather throw an interception.

In the words of Lee Corso..."Not so fast my friend!" I'm not overly optimistic about it but I certainly wasn't as impressed with Troy as I was with MUTS. I think MUTS beats Troy and Troy possibly loses one other SBC game. If we can get our sh*t together we've still got a good chance to win the conference. I can count about 8 different opportunities that would have given us a win tonight.

The thing that really got me was going to the exact same 3rd and long pass play exactly three plays later on...3rd and long. That play was so obvious and beautifully telegraphed by our QB that even a 5 year old flag football player could have seen that one coming. Troy's DB jumped the route and we were very lucky that that interception wasn't returned for a touchdown.

Well, this was my first chance to see Meager in person. While his pass to Brock Stickler was right on target (too bad he couldn't catch it), I certainly don't want to hear any more of this talk about how Meager is improving because he had a few passes dropped. For every dropped pass he threw 3-4 passes behind the receivers. It's no wonder they drop them...they're probably so surprised that they actually have a chance to catch a pass without having to reach backwards. And who in the hell was that last pick intended for?? I saw at least three white jerseys and zero green within 15 yards of that pass. Last week during the coach's show, DD said that he would continue to utilize Phillips...what happened to make him change his mind?? Meager looked good on the last drive, but that was too little, too late and his accuracy is simply atrocious...especially when he rolls out of the pocket. How many out routes did he bounce off the turf 5 yards in front of the receiver??

I think there's more to it than simply the O-line. Don't get me wrong, I think the O-line needs significant improvement, but I also think our RBs aren't getting enough carries to find their rhythm. Last year it was not at all uncommon for JT to have 12 carries for something like 40 yards before he would break one off for 70+. JT sort of feels out the opposing defenses for their weaknesses, particularly in the speed category, and then hits a hole and he's gone. PC is the same way, except he prefers to wear defenses down like a battering ram by pounding the ball down their throats until defenses get tired and start missing more tackles. I know no one will like what I'm suggesting, but our two back, change-of-pace backfield isn't working and I think we'd be better off picking one and letting them take 90-95% of the plays.

It's not hard to stop the run when you put 9 in the box and don't have to fear the passing game (see UNT's 2005 offensive production). Troy posed absolutely no passing threat...especially in the 3rd quarter (I don't recall Troy attempting a single pass), yet we still managed to give up 283 rushing yards. And that personal foul by TJ was clearly after the whistle. The ref could have kept the flag in his pocket but no one could (or did) argue the call. That penalty really hurt us at a crucial time in the game. Troy gave us many opportunities to keep our streak alive yet we squandered each and every one of them. But, because we are in the worst conference in D-1, it's not over yet. Troy was not impressive and they will lose one or two SBC games. If we can figure out how to play as a team and cut down on the penalties and turnovers we can still win the SBC. While I saw a lot of negatives I did see some positive things tonight.