MeanGreenZen

Navy is certainly at a competitive disadvantage for the reasons you mentioned, but remember: Navy also has strengths to play to: a HIGHLY valuable degree, a wonderful tradition, a nationwide fanbase, they can also get around the NCAA scholarship limitations easier than non-service academies and they even have a JV team to develop players. My point is: Navy is different. They cannot land the top tier of talent (just like North Texas, but for different reasons) so they installed a system that does not require the top tier of talent. Their system values a different type of player than Notre Dame, USC, Texas, etc therefore they are able to actually find those players that make their system work. North Texas is running the same system as everyone else in the state and while we are in the most fertile recruiting hotbed in the country, it is also the most picked-through recruiting area in the country. And unfortunately, for many different reasons that we are trying to correct, North Texas is low man on the totem pole when it comes to where recruits chose to play. So let's find a offensive system that values a specific type of player who might not be coveted by another school, but who, in the right situation, can defeat that TOP 100 all-everything recruit who is being signed by our competitors.

Since UNT is at a competitive disadvantage in the college football world, shouldn't it seek to succeed "Moneyball" style by finding the NEXT innovative offensive system instead of trying to be "ME TOO" with the spread? Texas, Tx Tech, Baylor, SMU, Rice, Houston (just off the top of my head) are all running similar versions of the spread. What is special about us? How can we succeed picking through the leftover recruits who fit into the spread? Why not install a different type of offense that defenses ARE NOT used to seeing every week? The spread is so successful because it was different. It is not different anymore. The New England Patriots have been so successful in the NFL because their offensive and defensive systems value players differently than other NFL teams. They can pick players off the scrap heap for cheap who fit perfectly into their system. If UNT was running a different type of system than everyone else, we would have the opportunity to target recruits with different skill-sets than the recruits being targeted by schools that consistently beat us in recruiting battles. UNT could target undervalued recruits that fit into our DIFFERENT system. SMU had it right last year when they unsuccessfully tried to hire Paul Johnson (who runs the triple-option, a radically DIFFERENT version of the spread everyone else runs). Georgia Tech went 9-3 and Navy went 7-4 this year with the triple-option despite suffering from competitive disadvantages compared to their peers (of course, they are not as disadvantaged as North Texas.) My point is North Texas can't compete straight up with other D1 schools in the state and win. We have to be DIFFERENT. Our current offense was adopted with the intention of being different, but it is really the same as everyone else. In 2003 Jerry Moore just wrapped up a 7-4 season at Appalachian State. Unsatisfied, Moore scrapped his I-formation offense in favor of the spread and was rewarded by winning three straight Division I-AA national championships. It is time for Todd Dodge to realize his spread offense is not going to make North Texas special. It is time to see if Todd Dodge's offensive mind is innovative enough to come up with something else. Here is the best article I have ever read on the spread offense and what makes it work ... http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/colle...1s15spread.html

Isn't the Missouri offensive coordinator the same guy who was asking Todd Dodge for advice on how to coach the spread offense a few seasons ago? Why hire the student, when you can hire the teacher?

With Cam coming back and the depth at running back with Mathis and Mosely, wouldn't it make sense to get Dunbar on the field at receiver in a kind of Jamel Branch-role where he can be utilized on short passes and reverses? Our depth at WR sucks. We need to get our best players on the field.

http://www.slate.com/id/2205571/

would he continue to try to prove himself at the college level by taking an offensive coordinator position at a D1 school? Could he even still get such a gig? Or would he target some one-school high school town where he could chase more state championships?

Does the "AD" in your name ADman stand for "a douche"?

Star-Telegram says VIZZA declined interview requests. And I can understand being upset in the heat of the moment, but Todd Dodge and UNT's sports information department needs to have some scene control and make sure the Quarterback of the the football team is available to the media. Unless everyone over there is overwhelmed and giving up on turning this thing around.

Everyone is frustrated with this team. No one has invested more and gotten less in return than the players themselves. That must be wildly disappointing for them. But Giovanni Vizza is supposed to be the leader of this team and he is ducking interviews with the press after the game. Is that how a leader acts? Did Scott Hall do that? After throwing three interceptions and getting blown out at Homecoming shouldn't Vizza have the courage to answer the questions about what went wrong and offer his take on how they can get better? During a disappointing season, I understand not wanting to talk about it and I would forgive a guy who didn't want to participate in some mid-week press requests (since he has school obligations and filmwork and so on). But right after a game, a leader needs to step up, face the press and take his medicine. Especially after throwing three interceptions. That is an opportunity for him to demonstrate his character. Vizza's failure to do that is also an indictment against Todd Dodge, who should know better than to let his starting quarterback behave that way. Vizza sure was available to answer questions from the media last season when he was setting freshman passing records. I would feel much more certain about him being the man to turn this program around if he could stand up and be a voice of accountability and hope for this team's future. If he can't do that, maybe it is time to give someone else a chance. Even a spineless wimp like Chris Simms had the balls to face the media after a tough loss when he played at Texas (even though Mack Brown answered all his questions). I've seen Vizza run over defensive linemen who weigh 100 pounds more than him. There is no doubt about his physical toughness. I'm just starting to question if he has the mental toughness to remain the starting quarterback of this team.

Yesterday I had two extra people who were willing to come to the game with me. We didn't have tickets for them and they didn't want to wait in line to buy tickets or wait in line at will call to pick them up. They wanted to order their tickets online and print them from home. But apparently the UNT athletic department does not have that capacity. The freaking dollar movie theater near my house has the capacity to let you print your tickets at home and skip waiting in line, but the UNT athletic department does not. It is 2008. This pisses me off.

nm

I was on the SGA about eight years ago for the Title IX referendum and the rec center referendum. In both cases, we knew the results minutes after the election was over and we passed the "unofficial" good news along to the UNT administration immediately. Unless the UNT athletic department has completely destroyed their relationship with the SGA leadership, then RV and his posse know the results already. If it was good news they would have let out some hint that the damn thing passed. Instead: silence. I hope I am wrong. Heads should roll if this thing fails.

Darrell Dickey had some amazing recruiting classes in his first years. After that, the quality of his recruiting classes dropped dramatically. What proof can anyone point to that demonstrates Dodge inherited a locker room full of studs? What is the record of the Dickey holdovers at North Texas? Now, I don't think this should be Dodge recruits vs. Dickey recruits (and maybe that is the problem with this team.) as there are several outstanding holdovers from the Dickey regime. I just wish there were more.

As Mean Green fans endure the water torture that is this season, let us look at our team with an eye towards what it can become in the next few seasons (assuming Todd Dodge can make a few significant adjustments to his game day strategy, coaching staff and team attitude). Offensively, our quarterback is set with either Giovanni Vizza or Riley Dodge. Competition will determine who wins the job, but I am confident either one can be a record-setting quarterback for North Texas. We seem to be in good shape at running back with Micah Mosley, Cam Montgomery and Lance Dunbar all averaging 4.7 yards a carry or better. Although I don’t think any of these guys are in the same class as a Patrick Cobbs or a freshman Jamrario Thomas, we can win with this trio. Receiver has actually become a position of concern for next season with the graduation of Casey Fitzgerald and so many other unexpected defections. We really need a playmaker or two here, but I hope Dodge doesn’t go overboard trying to fill this hole (we all know Dodge has yet to meet a high school receiver he hasn’t offered a scholarship to.) Surely there is a receiver already on the roster who will step up when given an opportunity (a la Fitzgerald last season). The offensive line has the potential to be the strength of the team in the next few seasons. Kelvin Drake (hopefully fresh off a redshirt) and J.J. Johnson possess all-conference skills, although one will have to switch positions to get them both on the field at the same time. North Texas is also loaded with several other players on the offensive line who have significant starting experience. Defensively, barring an unexpected breakthrough, the defensive line, goes into next season as the biggest hole on the roster. Calling the defensive line a “hole on the roster” actually does not do it justice. Our defensive line is a black hole that has sucked away our ability to compete on the FBS level. We have maybe one player on our roster with the skills to be in a defensive line rotation in the Sun Belt. When thinking of the nucleus of our defensive line I am not counting on Eddrick Gilmore. Gilmore is wildly talented, but the road to success is littered with the corpses of wildly talented players who couldn’t make the sacrifices required to reach their potential. Gilmore’s past suggests he will be remembered with such recent Mean Green immortals as Michael Ruff and Chris Moss… guys whose immense physical talent was eclipsed only by their lack of discipline. The defensive line problem was originated by Darrell Dickey, who was so amazing at recruiting defensive linemen (Brandon Kennedy, Adrian Awasom, Darrell Daniels, Evan Cardwell, Michael Pruitt) that he completely stopped doing it. He left the cupboard empty for Dodge, who somehow forgot to restock it in his first two recruiting classes (No big deal since all those receivers he signed are catching so many touchdown passes we don’t even have to worry about defense.). Dodge’s ability to find players on the defensive line QUICKLY could mean the difference between him someday being the head coach at the University of Texas or reuniting with his BFF Ron Mendoza in District 7-5A next year. All three of our starting linebackers will return. Now…maybe it is because of how bad our d-line sucks, but I’ve just never been impressed with our current crop of linebackers. They look strong and fast, but they never seem to make game-changing plays. I don’t see tackles behind the line of scrimmage or forced fumbles. I don’t see the type of leadership we are used to having on defense from our linebackers. This is a position that could use an infusion from the junior college ranks. Kylie Hill, Darien Williams and Royce Hill are players you can build around in the secondary. Keep in mind that a decent pass rush could make these guys much better. So could an intimidating hitter patrolling the middle of the field. If I were Todd Dodge, I would call every junior college coach I knew and ask them who was the hardest-hitting defensive back they played against all season. Then I would target those players. Life sucks for Mean Green fans right now, but there are some building blocks in place for a better future.

0-4 doesn't bother me. It is the way we have gone 0-4 that bothers me. LSU and K-State are supposed to kill us. It is the complete domination by opponents like Tulsa and Rice (teams we should be competitive against) that bothers me. Rice could have scored 100 points against us if they had wanted to! As far as other coaches winning in Fouts. Fouts wasn't so bad in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. But as more and more schools we compete against upgrade their own facilities (SMU), Fouts looks worse and worse. Do you contend that players don't make the team? Because better players would be drawn into a handsome new stadium.

Our football team is horrible this season and it is embarrassing to everyone affiliated with UNT. Surely the students do not enjoy being the laughingstocks of the Dallas/Fort Worth sports scene. Surely students do not enjoy others making fun of how bad their school's football team is. Surely the students can understand the damage a horrible football team does to the value of their degree. If our team was awesome this season, opponents of the stadium could point to our record and say, "Why does the football team need a new stadium? They are doing fine with Fouts Field." But the current state of our football team underscores why we need a new stadium so badly. We need a new stadium to attract better recruits so that the team is not so horrible. We need a new stadium so our friends/co-workers/bosses/family members can't make fun of our school because of how bad the football team is. Maybe our struggles this season will shame and motivate students to come out and vote for a new stadium. A vote for a new stadium is a vote against being the butt of a joke. Good times...

Reads like Todd Dodge wrote it himself. Think Dodge has this writer's ear?

Pit bulls should be banned. Here is the new rule I propose: All pit bulls must be spayed or neutered. No one has to give up any they currently have, but you can't get more.

Has RV made one updisputed good coaching hire since he has been here? Johnny Jones took us to The Big Dance and I consider that a success, but has JJ's overall time here been a success? If Dodge fails, do we trust RV to hire his replacement? Or is Dodge's success tied to RV's status as the AD?

Hiring Deloach fixed that problem. Dodge's problem has been his inability to recruit defensive linemen. Hopefully, if we can get the stadium issue passed Dodge will have some more ammunition to go after the big boys up front.

It's not Dodge Ball. It is now Dodge Bawl.

No contest. You should portfolio-orize the greatest North Texas football player of all time: Brandon Kennedy.

Are Missouri, Kansas and Colorado still in the Big 12? Because three Big 12 starting quarterbacks: Chase Daniel, Todd Reesing and Cody Hawkins are listed as being under 6-0 tall the same as Riley. Anyone with atleast a hint of college football knowledge knows that you don't have to be tall to play quarterback in a spread offense. You receive the ball in the shotgun, everyone is spread out and most of the throws are to the outside. Why do people keep insisting Riley is too short to play quarterback at UNT? This isn't the NFL.

I am not believing the Riley Dodge/Wes Welker comparisons. I can believe a Riley Dodge/Drew Brees comparison. Those of you saying Riley is too small to play quarterback in college are crazy. The spread offense negates the need for size at the quarterback position. Maybe Chase Daniel is too small to play quarterback in college because Riley is taller than him. Maybe Missouri should reconsider playing Chase Daniel at QB and move him to the slot? When Chase Daniel wins the Heisman he should probably decline it because, after all, he really isn't tall enough to be playing quarterback in college. Joey Byerly sure was tall. Why didn't he make it? P.S. -- If Todd Dodge can't win here, he won't be looking for a job in the Big 12, he will be looking for a job in Class 5A. So spare me the "Todd is saving Riley's redshirt for a potential transfer later in his career" argument. They both picked North Texas and they will both sink or swim with that decision. I am betting they swim. And I am betting Riley Dodge will be our starting quarterback before we begin Sun Belt play.

The craziest thing about this is that UNT never even recruited Herman and Herman, being a bit of a momma's boy, was open to the idea of staying home and playing in Denton. Dickey had a National Top 100 kid in his hometown and didn't even offer him a scholarship. We just assumed he was too big time for us. Sad.