The Fake Lonnie Finch

Only the most intelligent players go to Rice, though. Remember?

Yes.

This. People get way overly keyed up about size and speed, which is too often mistaken for "athleticism." Unless we are talking about sprinting, straight line speed is nothing for football. Some kids are born big, but do not have the "killer instinct" that makes them hate to lose. The instinct that drives them to work hard in the off season to prepare for the battles ahead during a long season. Some kids are born fast, but do not have other traits, which coupled with speed, would make them exceptional players. To wit: (1) What good is speed to a defensive back who does not have agility or is not disciplined enough to learn the techniques required to play the position at this level? (2) What good is speed to a wide receiver who cannot catch the ball or who is not disciplined enough to learn the plays, block, and properly run routes? (3) What good is speed to a running back who isn't patient enough to let his blocker open holes for him or who isn't agile enough to make defenders miss or who fumbles or who can't be counted upon to block well in pass protection? (4) What good is speed to a quarterback who won't learn the playbook or who doesn't assume leadership of the team or who can't complete passes or who turns the ball over? There are many different facets to being an athlete. No one with speed or strength alone should automatically be assumed to be "more athletic" than another player with less strength or speed. Where is agility? Where is intelligence? Where is mental toughness? Where is self discipline? All of these things, in equal part, make a successful athlete. When meshed together with hours, days, weeks, and years or hard work, instinct is then born of it all. A knack for knowing where to be; for seemingly "being in the right place at the right time" more than others. Many, many coaches have spouted this very true cliche: "You create your own luck through hard work." And, that work is not confined just to running, bench pressing and squatting. Football is not a 40 yard dash. Nor is it a bench press or squatting contest. Those things can tell a coach how hard a player is willing to work, thereby building up trust. These kids who are scholar athletes, their journey is just beginning. However, I have come to believe that many view it as the end. They've made it. Someone is paying for their school. They are taken care of for four or five year, so they don't put in all the work effort they should every time out. Or, they initially put in the work, discover that there are others in the program who are in front of them on the depth chart, so they mentally check out, only putting forth the minimum effort in order to keep their "ride" for the remainder of their eligibility. Work, work, work. Many of these player may have the raw materials to someday be successful athletes. But, at the end of the day, if they do not put in the work...they look up at the scoreboard someday, and realize they are having their asses handed to them by the likes of UAB. What else can a coaching staff do? They are 50% culpable because they lead the program. But, in every bargain there are two parties. And, if both parties do not hold up their end of the deal, the deal goes south. No matter what you think or believe about Dan McCarney, you are either blind, a fool, or a blind fool to believe that he hasn't busted his ass for our school and his team. At his age, he'd be crazy not to, because this may be the last shot he has to captain the ship at this level. What do we know about the players and their end of the deal? That is: for your scholarship, you bust your ass for the program as hard and long as your head coach does. If many of them are not putting up their end of the deal, they are cheating themselves, the coaches, the program, the school, the alumni, and the fans. And, if they slack here, they will slack throughout the rest of their lives. If pussy is more important to them, they will be losers. If dope smoking, getting drunk, and the general party scene is more important to them, they will be losers. If xbox and video games are more important to them, they will be losers. If hanging out with their friends is more important to them, they will be losers. If huntin' and fishin' is more important to them, they will be losers. If twitter followers and facebook friends/likes are more important to them, they will be losers. Winners sacrifice present pleasures for bigger and better future gains. So, at 2-5, you've got to ask yourself, what is it they are doing instead of learning the playbook? What are they doing instead of learning to run routes? What are they doing instead of watching game film? It's really past time for someone in that locker room to be a man and lead the team for the rest of the season. Commit himself to making the team better, then become the unpopular enforcer of making the rest of the team commit. Dan McCarney and his coaching staff can't go to their dorms and apartments every night, holds their hands, read them a bedtime story, give them milk and cookies, and tuck them in. It's time for them to be men. If I were a coach, and my team was 2-5 with few contributors, I'd go over to the Wal Mart that the players shoplift from and buy the biggest box of diapers I could find. And, while going over game film, I'd have the assistants hand out diapers to all the players who screw up, blow assignments, or don't give their best effort. And, I'd have them hand them out at practice all week to those who make the same errors in practice. What else can you do at this point? If they want to be pampered, give them Pampers. And, finally... ...I'd like to thank RV again for the great new helmets. Of all the things we traditionally bitch about, at least there won't be anymore helmet threads to go alongside the questioning of the coaches and players threads.

Because DT had a work ethic that made the coaches trust him on and off the field. Plus, he was a really good quarterback - the best D-I/FBS QB we ever had.

Yes, but we can have "hope" that whomever the next QB is doesn't give the opponent three TDs, plus two more short field turnovers. See, it's not just Greer that set the bar low. Dajon has also set a very low threshold for the 2015 - whomever and wherever he may be today - to be considered a success. (1) Unlike Greer, he must be able to complete passes. (2) Unlike Williams, he must be able to take care of the football. Not high bars to cross. We already know that Greer and Williams can't do it. The jury is out on McNulty, but after four years here, we're all looking to the future...for someone else. So, whether it's Mean or someone who signs or transfers in after the season, they really don't have to do much to outperform Greer and Williams combined.

Or. May. I think they've moved the draft to May. Who knows? They may eventually have it in June to rival the NBA playoffs.

What evidence do you have against a half decent opponent that you can "put the game on" Dajon's shoulders? Also ran Indiana and average UAB show that you cannot put the game on Dajon's shoulders because he doesn't have sense enough to protect the ball. And, as far as throwing around the term "amazing"...Carlos Harris is the only receiver capable of running the routes correctly. And, because we have no quarterbacks who can make no more than one, maybe two reads, he's normally the primary receiver. That doesn't make Carlos Harris amazing. All that proves is that we have no other receivers capable of simply doing what they are supposed to do. And, further evidence that our quarterback situation is horrible. We once had a player named Fitzgerald who caught many, many passes It didn't make him amazing. It simply meant we had no one else to go...which, in the long run, isn't good. Look over at the Criminal 5 part of the ledger. Oklahoma is in the same situation receiver-wise. That Shepherd kid is the only one that makes catches for them because he's the only one that can run routes. And, their QB can't make more than a read or two either. Doing what you are supposed to do and having quarterbacks who are not talented enough to go through progressions doesn't make one receiver amazing. Far from it. It simply show a offense that is severely lacking in one of two things: (1) Coaching, (2) Talent, or (3) Both. I say, the answer is "c" - both.

Dear Cerebus, There are other quarterbacks on the planet not named Dajon Williams or Andrew McNulty. Some may even come to UNT in the near future. Some may already be on the roster. The world does not stop spinning if Dajon or Andrew are sitting on the bench in 2015 watching a real quarterback do what they couldn't in 2014. Again, this isn't the University of Dajon Williams and Andrew McNulty. Love, TFLF

Roll me some tape of Dajon against UAB and tell us he is not terrible. And, we have ample evidence that Dajon, not knowing the playbook, probably isn't capable of simply driving the bus. Sorry, Dajon lovers...you can't just f'ing wing it around with no aim or pull it down and run every time. You do, at some point, have to grow up, learn a playbook, and show enough discipline to master the techniques needed to play quarterback. As I stated in another thread, Dajon has proven that he's great against lesser FCS schools. So, he can transfer there or to a DII. The pressure would be off of him to do anything other than show up and running around the field against guys slower than him. That's ain't this level.

Yes. There were. Although, he looks to be the type that can freewheel against lesser FCS opponents if he chooses to transfer down to a school with a coach that doesn't expect him to learn the playbook. Angelo State? Sul Ross?

I posted this last season, regarding problems with: (1) getting enough talented DTs (2) getting enough talented defensive players (3) or, both Teams used for discussion were BYU, Utah, and Oklahoma. I posted a clip about how BYU overcomes their lack of size and speed with 34/52 scheme (whatever they want to call it). i also posted OU's switch to it last year, a picture. I'm too tired to look it all up again. Just wanted to chime in again that, given our circumstances, it wouldn't hurt to try during the offseason. OU is still running it this year. They aren't great. But, they are terrible either. TCU does 335/425.

If the quarterbacks who turn the ball over and can only beat beat SMU and Nicholls State transfer, few tears will be shed. You would hope they would be man enough to go ahead and learn the playbook and compete for the job in spring, but...if they want to transfer somewhere else where they won't know/learn the playbook, but will "excitingly" turn the ball over with regularity, so be it.

This. Complaining about the QBs, at this point, would be akin to an East Berliner in 1977 complaining about a single brick in the Berlin Wall. But, as long as we are talking about the QBs... ...my two cents is, because they are all bad, please go with the one who makes the least mistakes. At least we were in this thing throughout the whole ball game. Why punish an already faltering defense with QBs who keep putting them in bad positions? If they are not going to pull Means' 'shirt, stick with McNulty. A loss is a loss is a loss. But, 30-20 is much more palatable than 56-21. Awful. Can't believe I really believe that.

We've discussed this before. JUCOs are a double-edged sword. If you sign too many, you have to keep signing them because: (1) you only have the for a couple of years, and so (2) once they are gone, no one behind them has developed Kansas State does well because they are committed to signing a bunch of them every year. But, if you sign too many - or, too many at one position - you mess up your depth. It's a feast or famine thing with JUCOs. For the most part, they are at a JUCO for a reason: grades. And, not everyone of them is even able to navigate the minefield of JUCO academics. I'm all for signing JUCOs when absolutely necessary. To fill glaring holes, for instance. But, I think you can end of mortgaging a program's future by signing too many too often. The thing is, there is nothing like getting kids from high school who can be developed, and are disciplined enough to stick with you. Congrat to UAB for beat us, but...there's a lot of season left.

"McNulty played well late in UNT’s loss to UAB after Williams struggled and turned the ball over four times." I'll never know why people get excited about a backup quarterback playing well in the fourth quarter of a blowout. You don't start a game against an opponents' twos and threes. So, it doesn't matter that you can move it on them when you behind by five or six scores. Stupid.

Let's see...18 year year old kid at college, overly joyed up. It's one of either two things: (1) He got a break on a grade from a professor (2) The coaches told him to be ready to play Saturday in Dajon and Daddy Scholie Boy falter, or (3) He got laid

You cannot compare Iowa State then to UNT now. When McCarney took over, the Big 8 was like today's SEC, and Iowa State was smack at the bottom of it. In 1995, McCarney's first season at ISU, the Big 8 has half of its schools finish in the Top 10: #1 Nebraska, #5 Florida, #7 Kansas State, and #9 Kansas. The Big 8 then took on four from the SWC during a time which A&M was at its historic best. The Big 8/12 was a much tougher build than Sun Belt/C-USun Belt. I'm not saying Dan is perfect. But, you can't just throw down the record during his first few seasons at ISU and compare them to here. Of course he took us to a bowl sooner than he did ISU - the conference competition was the the nth degree tougher. He was not only battling old Big 8 rivals and new SWC rivals, but state rival Iowa was then still being led by Hayden Fry. So, even the thin recruiting populace that was, is, and always will be Iowa, was that much tougher. The UAB game stung many of us, and that includes Dan. But, after having a week to digest it, I think it comes down to this: whomever they play at QB, get them to leave the Superman cape in the locker and just throw the ball away or take the sack if no one is open. This isn't such a tough conference that anyone in it should be losing to anyone else by 35. But, if you have QBs giving away 3-5 TDs...well.... Just stick someone in there - hopefully, Dajon - who can learn to chuck it away or tuck it, and live to fight another down. No freebies.

Howdy, brother! Haven't seen you in awhile. Things here are still the same, as you can see. Everyone in 2013 contributed positively to the bowl seasons except Derek Thompson. All good. Trying to work in a volleyball game because the assistant coach at the Coaches' thing in Plano was so nice to invite our little girl.

Your analysis doesn't make sense. Ball management is avoidance of turnovers and leading scoring drives, right? Touchdowns can be scored by pass or rush on offense. A touchdown scored by rush counts the same as a touchdown scored via the pass...right? Thompson led North Texas' offense that set the school record for touchdowns and scoring. When a team's offense scores either a touchdown by rush or a touchdown by pass, they haven't turned the ball over. Hall was great quarterback for us. We are lucky - Thompson was a bit better, so we have two great quarterbacks in our history. Pity Thompson didn't have the benefit of the defenses on the other side of the ball that Hall did. No telling how much further Thompson would have set himself apart statistically from the rest had he a defense giving him more opportunities throughout his career. Like Hall, Thompson will be a UNT Hall of Famer...and, rightly, a first ballot one at that.

Vizza took a hell of a beating because of Dodge's refusal those first two years to use a tight end or back to block much, if at all. It'd be tough to say who could have taken the type of beating Vizza did. Although, it is without question that Thompson was tougher than boot leather.

Ball Management: Derek Thompson - 34 interceptions thrown in 1,055 attempts = 1 interception thrown for every 31 attempts Scott Hall - 26 interceptions thrown in 763 attempts = 1 interception thrown for every 29 attempts Riley Dodge - 20 in 481 attempts = 1 for every 24 attempts Giovanni Vizza - 36 in 876 attempts = 1 for every 24 attempts Dajon Williams - 4 in 82 attempts = 1 in every 20 attempts Steve Ramsey - 67 in 1,015 attempts = 1 for every 15 attempts So... ...Thompson, still the best of any on your list at taking care of the ball. Amazing. The best Division I/FBS quarterback we ever had, and many of his own fellow UNT alumni still don't acknowledge his greatness. If anything, more than the bitching by the fans, this should turn off kids to coming here: set records, win a bowl game...have the fans look past you to lesser quarterbacks that came before.

To cool them off. But, next time, just buy the socks. Less messy.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3128077

Cool new helmets.