A Few Discouraging Things From Fans.

[GreenBlooded1]

OU's receivers are going to make a lot of corners look bad this year.

I would not be surprised to see Roman turn into a fine corner for us this season.

Just think how slow all the other WR's are going to look to him the rest of this season after being "initiated" versus a OU. This is one reason that we play games like this... we will never get better unless we play better, stronger, faster competition. It is a great learning tool. I know that the $$ may not be worth the potential embarassment, but just for a shot a pulling something off like Appy State did to Big Blue... Ahhhhhh just imaging... one day WE will be the ones the big dogs fear!!

GO MEAN GREEN -- PUMMEL THOSE PHONYS!!

[Charlie NT 73]

Jeez--people, chill out. Our players went into a game against one of the best

or possibly the best team in the country.

Coach Dodge and his staff have worked their tails off to get this team ready

to play, and not to mention how hard the players have worked all year long.

Too bad NT had to start the season against Oklahoma--the schedule was set

along time ago. I will bet the performance against SMU next Saturday will

show vast improvement in both the offense and defense.

Coach Dodge will use this game as a teaching tool as well as the players

learning from the game. Look at how many players saw their first college

game action. Look at how many true freshmen played in this game. I was

very impressed with Vizza, Mosley, Desoto to name a few. I can see Santiago,

Manard, Bailey, and Drake becoming a dominate O-line players.

This year is a learning experience for the team and a big teaching job for the

coaching staff. Even in defeat, this team has gained valuable game experience.

There will be good games and bad games this season, so let this team have the

time to grow up.

[Green92]

The worst fan in the stadium on Saturday was a North Texas fan. He called one of our players a turd and continually made derogatory comments about the players. He was sitting 4 or 5 seats away from me and I still heard all his garbage. I hope he reads this board. You are a turd and an embarrassment to the University. Please don’t make the effort to go to any other games. He was sitting at the top of the UNT seats in Section 35. Please feel free to send me a pm if you think my assessment of your behavior is incorrect.

[Cerebus]

Stop the personal attacks. On players and on each other.

[UNTLifer]

Jeez--people, chill out. Our players went into a game against one of the best

or possibly the best team in the country.

Coach Dodge and his staff have worked their tails off to get this team ready

to play, and not to mention how hard the players have worked all year long.

Too bad NT had to start the season against Oklahoma--the schedule was set

along time ago. I will bet the performance against SMU next Saturday will

show vast improvement in both the offense and defense.

Coach Dodge will use this game as a teaching tool as well as the players

learning from the game. Look at how many players saw their first college

game action. Look at how many true freshmen played in this game. I was

very impressed with Vizza, Mosley, Desoto to name a few. I can see Santiago,

Manard, Bailey, and Drake becoming a dominate O-line players.

This year is a learning experience for the team and a big teaching job for the

coaching staff. Even in defeat, this team has gained valuable game experience.

There will be good games and bad games this season, so let this team have the

time to grow up.

A great post.

OU, or any other high ranked team, was probably the worst possible way to start with this year considering Dodge is implementing a new offensive system that doesn't eat up much clock. I was pleased to see sideline shots of him and the rest of the coaching staff coaching/teaching throughout the entire game. What would have been the purpose to make adjustments to our system when we will not face another team of that caliber all year? Arkansas could be ugly also, but they aren't close to being OU good.

Support the players, the coaches and our university. Dodge will have this ship turned around soon enough.

[island eagle]

A great post.

OU, or any other high ranked team, was probably the worst possible way to start with this year considering Dodge is implementing a new offensive system that doesn't eat up much clock. I was pleased to see sideline shots of him and the rest of the coaching staff coaching/teaching throughout the entire game. What would have been the purpose to make adjustments to our system when we will not face another team of that caliber all year? Arkansas could be ugly also, but they aren't close to being OU good.

Support the players, the coaches and our university. Dodge will have this ship turned around soon enough.

I'm not worried about Dodge's offensive system. Frankly, it looked reasonably good considering how new it is.

I AM worried about our defense and defensive schemes. Many of the problems I spotted had nothing to do with OU or the talent difference. That is what some posters as well as OU staff and players were alluding to. They weren't just blowing smoke. If we don't fix those before this Saturday, it could be a long, disappointing day for all of us.

I support the players, coaches, and university. But, if I see a problem, I'm going to mention it. I did this with DD and I'll do it with TD. On the other hand, I will praise the positive as well. As I said, I actually was encouraged by much of what I saw on the offensive side of the ball, including how routes were run, overall effort, center play, call selection, etc.

[Coach]

Many of the problems I spotted had nothing to do with OU or the talent difference.

I thought ALL the problems had to do with speed. With that big of a difference in speed, it doesn't matter what schemes anyone has.

[Green Lantern]

I thought ALL the problems had to do with speed. With that big of a difference in speed, it doesn't matter what schemes anyone has.

Speed differential was definately the major factor, but Coach Dodge was saying yesterday in the press conference that many of the problems defensively could be contributed to taking poor angles and ineffective tacking. He said that would be a major focus this week in practice.

I think that the offense will be able to move the ball this year. If we can cut down on the unforced drops and increase the frequency that we get our receivers in space to make plays, we should be in good shape.

[MeanMag]

I thought ALL the problems had to do with speed. With that big of a difference in speed, it doesn't matter what schemes anyone has.

The years we finished top15 in overall defense I wouldn't say we had superior team speed. We did have an ability to blow up the line and force mistakes all over the field. To totally disrupt what an offense was doing. Disrupting and surprising offenses is play call affected IMO.

[MeanMag]

DP

Edited September 5, 2007 by MeanMag

[LongJim]

The years we finished top15 in overall defense I wouldn't say we had superior team speed. We did have an ability to blow up the line and force mistakes all over the field. To totally disrupt what an offense was doing. Disrupting and surprising offenses is play call affected IMO.

UNT during those years had stronger, faster athletes compared to other SBC schools. The same principle was in effect in the OU game. OU was faster and stronger, and 'blew up' UNT. As UNT gets stronger and faster, they will be able to be successful playing a more 'vanilla' scheme, as they will begin to have comparable athletes, and superior athletes in the SBC again.

[yyz28]

Aside from the childish personal attacks, this is a GREAT THREAD!!!

First, let me address the "Criticism of the Players" discussion - These gentlemen are college football players. They signed up for this, I assume, having watched football, college and otherwise, all their lives. Criticism from teammates, coaches, parents and yes, even fans is just part of the territory. If you're going to take a scholarship and agree to represent the University in exchange for something, you're a fair target for critics. This may even include people evaluating your performance and giving their opinions as to whether or not you should play next week, be the starter, etc. What is NOT fair to expect, nor is it fair for anyone to expect they lay down and take, are personal attacks on these kids who go out there every week and do their best. Criticize the skills, not their person.

If you're a parent of a player or a player who doesn't feel the above statement is fair, I'd love to hear from you - I might be willing to change my mind, but please have a real good argument...

Second, I want to talk about THIS TEAM. I am more proud of this team than I think I ever have been of a team since I've been following NT football. This team went out Saturday night and never gave up. Meager (whom I have been a loud critic of) and Vizza ran the offense better than I have seen it run since I started school here in 1994. Points were not scored, mistakes were made, but passes were accurate, penalties were light given the circumstances (a 180 from the Dickey era) and I saw a bunch of kids PLAYING football all the way to the end. When a little progress was made, I saw smiles on the faces of the players. They didn't give up. They didn't get frustrated. They understood what they were against and tried anyways. You can be critical of Roman, the whipping boy of the moment, in relation to how he performed and stacked up against a taller faster OU team, but don't question his effort and his heart. He ran as hard as he could against these guys. Meager was out of the pocket and looked in command even when he was on the run. So did Vizza. The D-line looked decent. This team compared to Oklahoma was out gunned and out manned. Compared to the UNT team we saw on the field last year in black jerseys, these guys look like giants.

I am looking forward to this season, and this game Saturday will be a real test.

[MeanMag]

Aside from the childish personal attacks, this is a GREAT THREAD!!!

First, let me address the "Criticism of the Players" discussion - These gentlemen are college football players. They signed up for this, I assume, having watched football, college and otherwise, all their lives. Criticism from teammates, coaches, parents and yes, even fans is just part of the territory. If you're going to take a scholarship and agree to represent the University in exchange for something, you're a fair target for critics. This may even include people evaluating your performance and giving their opinions as to whether or not you should play next week, be the starter, etc. What is NOT fair to expect, nor is it fair for anyone to expect they lay down and take, are personal attacks on these kids who go out there every week and do their best. Criticize the skills, not their person.

If you're a parent of a player or a player who doesn't feel the above statement is fair, I'd love to hear from you - I might be willing to change my mind, but please have a real good argument...

Second, I want to talk about THIS TEAM. I am more proud of this team than I think I ever have been of a team since I've been following NT football. This team went out Saturday night and never gave up. Meager (whom I have been a loud critic of) and Vizza ran the offense better than I have seen it run since I started school here in 1994. Points were not scored, mistakes were made, but passes were accurate, penalties were light given the circumstances (a 180 from the Dickey era) and I saw a bunch of kids PLAYING football all the way to the end. When a little progress was made, I saw smiles on the faces of the players. They didn't give up. They didn't get frustrated. They understood what they were against and tried anyways. You can be critical of Roman, the whipping boy of the moment, in relation to how he performed and stacked up against a taller faster OU team, but don't question his effort and his heart. He ran as hard as he could against these guys. Meager was out of the pocket and looked in command even when he was on the run. So did Vizza. The D-line looked decent. This team compared to Oklahoma was out gunned and out manned. Compared to the UNT team we saw on the field last year in black jerseys, these guys look like giants.

I am looking forward to this season, and this game Saturday will be a real test.

I agree with everything except for attacking players. I have no problem saying anyone played bad, but the truth is I can't make a fair judgement when playing OU. I like Evyn Roman. He plays balls out on every single play. That is the type of attitude Craig Jones, Jonas Buckles, Brad Kassell, and co. played with back when we were bad ass on defense. We need more like him, it would help if they were a little bit taller, but damn. I still think this guy is lightning in a bottle, just because he refuses to stop playing.

We HAVE got to make plays on defense. I know we were mismatched with speed. cheat outside a step or 2 to keep them from going outside. It looked like we did pretty decent defending in the middle of the field, and the line actually plugged holes very well. We didn't really play on their side of the line of scrimmage, something I have come to be accustomed to with Booger and Awasom. I could stand not pressuring so much, if we were better in coverage and hopefully we will be. The jury is out on the defense, the offense looked to get some things done, but really the jury is still out on them too.

Saturday will paint a better picture.