Stats ?

[Coach]

And, since you're a coach, you should know best that if an opposing defense doesn't have to worry about your run game, they simply drop an extra man into coverage.

Yeah, SMU dropped that extra man and the offense came to a screeching halt, keeping us under 700 yards passing.

We had 600+ yards of offense. Moving the ball wasn't the problem. So who cares about rushing stats.

Mendoza's grace period is now over, he's got 2 weeks for FAU.No excuses.

Grace period over? He's had two games, one against what very well may be the best team in the country.

The defense is struggling, but let's give him a while to implement his full defense and bring in the type of recruits he wants. That's not too much to ask. It's a rebuilding year for the whole team.

I said this summer that I thought the offense would be ahead of the defense, and that is what happened.

The team still has a conference title to play for and the players will be learning the new system more and more every week. The thing I am most worried about is how slow our defense has looked. Against OU, it's understandable, but when SMU makes you look like you are running in sand, there may need to be athletic upgrades before any of the schemes look good.

But it's probably that simple cover 1.

And Roman's hair. All his fault.

[vpackrats]

I wonder if Dr Phil reads this message board to do analysis of why some people are never happy.

We set records for most total yards, most yards passing, most pass completions, etc but screw all that, "I want to win".

OK ... fair enough.

But we had years of posts on this website after beating Nicholls State or ULM or whatever 13-10 that the game was boring, yeah it was a win, but our QB sucked, our offense was vanilla & we have no playmakers, the whole situation sucks, etc. BUT, HEY, WE GOT THE WIN -- WHY WEREN'T WE HAPPY?

I'm not in the mediation business but I figured out the only real solution to keep all posters happy: We need to have record offensive stats every game AND win each game like 47-0. That should keep everyone happy.

I don't know ... maybe people at the game had a different perspective from people not there.

All I know is it was the most intense ... and enjoyable regular season game I remember being at since the North Texas - NMSU game during Andrew Smith's season when we were playing for a berth in the New Orleans Bowl. The DART train was packed w/UNT fans ... we pretty much filled up a good portion of the visiting side stands ... people were LOUD. It was a GREAT game. Went down to the wire. Etc. Look man, I'm enjoying the ride.

Saying the defensive coaches grace period is over after 2 weeks is ridiculous. Wouldn't you just love it if our jobs worked like that?!

"Hey Bob -- your sales for GlobeCo suck since you've been here -- pack your crap up & leave".

"But I've only been here 2 weeks sir. I was the #1 sales producer at Atler Industries".

"Yeah, well, you're in the big leagues now. If you don't sell XXX widgits in the next week you're toast".

"Sorry sir".

Ahhh yes, good times.

[NT03]

Grace period over? He's had two games, one against what very well may be the best team in the country.

The defense is struggling, but let's give him a while to implement his full defense and bring in the type of recruits he wants. That's not too much to ask. It's a rebuilding year for the whole team.

But it's probably that simple cover 1.

I was being funny , trying to kill a stupid thread

And Roman's hair. All his fault.

I agree , it's slowin him down!

[SilverEagle]

Well here's a stat for anyone who is interested.

This High School coach that we hired has taken a bunch of players that were NOT his recruits, and coached/taught them to the point that they just broke three all-time North Texas records, and put one player in the NCAA record book. And his response to that is "we're not as good as we're going to be".

Besides the defense giving up too many easy TD's, the only negative that I saw from our offensive show last night was that we probably gave Captain Kangaroo too much film on our offense.

[The Fake Lonnie Finch]

Well here's a stat for anyone who is interested.

This High School coach that we hired has taken a bunch of players that were NOT his recruits, and coached/taught them to the point that they just broke three all-time North Texas records, and put one player in the NCAA record book. And his response to that is "we're not as good as we're going to be".

Besides the defense giving up too many easy TD's, the only negative that I saw from our offensive show last night was that we probably gave Captain Kangaroo too much film on our offense.

So, what do we make of this...Dodge is coaching the offense, but not the defense as well? So, we can't be critical of the coaching staff because one area of the gameplan worked. Forget that the run game didn't materialize. Forget that non-existent pass rush. Forget the non-existent run defense. Forget the non-existent pass defense. Forget the poor special teams play, except for the punter?

Come on guys, get real. Dodge is the coach of the entire football team, not just the quarterbacks and receivers. Having it not go well against OU can be forgotten since they demolished Miami. But, against SMU?

And, Coach...

Did you ever consider that the reason SMU got three picks in the fourth quarter is that they knew we couldn't run and, thus, they were putting extra men in coverage to shut down the only thing working for us all night.

The stats are nice, but many spare teams roll up massive passing stats - New Mexico State, Hawaii, etc. It means nothing without defense and the ability to control the clock when you need to with the run game.

I have a hard time believing we're all going to be happy losing games like this in the Sun Belt if things don't change. At some point, reality has to set in. Defense is the side of the ball where we had the most returning starters. Something is happening on that side of the ball, and it aint' good. If it's not fixed against FAU...it's hard to imagine what kind of year this will be.

Edited September 10, 2007 by The Fake Lonnie Finch

[Eagle1855]

While "your all dumbasses" is a hilarious statement, I do agree with the sentiment.

I dont care if Meager threw for 1000 yards. We lost. Our defense cant (or wont) make adjustments. We can't win any games with a defense that doesn't make adjustments. We have no pas-rush. I miss Booger. 0 and 2 feels like hell.

There are many things I saw at the game that I am really excited about, but there are just as many that are red flags that show we've still got a ways to go. I don't think SMU is very good, so I was wrong about that. If this is the best team they've had in 20 years, I almost (almost) feel bad for their fans.

[FirefightnRick]

I'm just as concerned about the defense as the next person, but I thought we weren't going to panic until conference starts? If it continues after that then I can't imagine a bigger statement being made than comparing last years' defense to this years defense. There will be only one difference between the two, minus Sky Pruitt. Damn that guy could defend the pass!!!!!!!!?

Rick

[Guest 97and03]

Why does it matter what the rushing stats are? The route combos Dodge was calling were moving the ball up and down the field all night...why stop? If that would not have been there for the taking like it was, Dodge would have run more and those stats would have been better. Dodge has an offense that can attack any weakness, and last night that weakness was clearly through the air.

Then again, there are those that are saying that DM's picks might have been due to a tired arm...Maybe a running game might have helped that arm?

[Eagle1855]

I'm just as concerned about the defense as the next person, but I thought we weren't going to panic until conference starts? If it continues after that then I can't imagine a bigger statement being made than comparing last years' defense to this years defense. There will be only one difference between the two, minus Sky Pruitt. Damn that guy could defend the pass!!!!!!!!?

Rick

Im not panicking, im just pointing out the fact that our defense is about as exciting as Amish porn. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled to see our offense after just two games. I don't know how many times a QB has passed for 600 yards in a losing effort, but I imagine it's close to "rarely ever" bordering on "just about never"...

I also think SMU would be a middle of the road Sun Belt team. So for me, this is indicative of how we'd fair against our better conference mates.

I will say this, if we improve as much between game 2 and 3 as we did between game 1 and 2, we might actually beat FAU and get Dodge his first W. Great step forward, just surprised to see Defense our #1 problem.

[GoMeanGreen1999]

I'm just as concerned about the defense as the next person, but I thought we weren't going to panic until conference starts? If it continues after that then I can't imagine a bigger statement being made than comparing last years' defense to this years defense. There will be only one difference between the two, minus Sky Pruitt. Damn that guy could defend the pass!!!!!!!!?

Rick

Well I was convinced that I was not going to panic myself until a couple of games into Belt play, but after watching SMU score so quickly at the end of the half, only to come out and do the very same thing, just as fast at the start of the second half, I am very concerned about the defense. If I saw this defense making ANY changes it would do a lot to lessen my concern, but we are going to get torched against the passing games of MUTS and ASU if we don't find something quick for this defense. After OU the defensive argument was that Mendoza and Dodge didn't want to show SMU anything major - so now after SMU what is it? Do they not want to show any of the Belt teams anything? I realize it is hard to make team conparisons, but Texas Tech is not known for their defense and they held that same SMU team to 9 points.

[Eagle1855]

After OU the defensive argument was that Mendoza and Dodge didn't want to show SMU anything major

Well this was a fallacious argument from the get-go, I think it's important everyone understand that. It makes no sense to go into a game and "allow" your top-10 opponent to score 79 points so that you don't show the lousy team in Dallas what defensive schemes you are running.

[Censored by Laurie]

Then again, there are those that are saying that DM's picks might have been due to a tired arm...Maybe a running game might have helped that arm?

I'm not sure this post got enough respect...so I'll quote it and make sure people take a sceond look. 601 yards passing; 613 yards total offense...for those not deft at math...that would be 98%. I heard 50/50 coming into the season...hows my medical staff coming on that artificial hammy for J-Mo?

[greenminer]

This is the worst hammy case I've ever seen. 3 years and it still lingers, poor guy. Could the medical staff could have handled this better? I don't think we'll ever know.

[The Fake Lonnie Finch]

Im not panicking, im just pointing out the fact that our defense is about as exciting as Amish porn.

I'd have to see the Amish porn first before I could say that's a fair comparison.

[greenminer]

I'd have to see the Amish porn first before I could say that's a fair comparison.

Lecher! Lecher!

BOO! HISS!!!! REPORT REPORT!

[Charlie NT 73]

I am very excited to see Dodge Ball take off, and I am excited about our

triplets, Meagar, Fitzgerald, and Jackson, with Stickler as a added bonus.

Coach Dodge said, the offense takes what the defense gives- maybe there was no need

to run, but, I sure would have liked to have seen Jamario healthy for this game. I am sure

the $mu defense would have changed, which leads me to my 2 cents worth.

First-I believe we all know this game slipped away from us-crap!

OU and $mu blitzed every down, and do not think for a minute that Snelly will

not blitz, so I hope the coaching staff works on pickin up the blitz and plays to

defeat the blitz packages. I am sure we will see blitzing all year long.

Second-the pre-snap penalties really hurt the offense. Again, I am sure the staff will

work on these stupid penalties also. These penalities really hurt the offense.

Finally- leave the DB's alone. The kids that are playing are the kids we have. They are

young and they must be the best players available right now. If you want better DB

play, start with the DL and DE's. I sure hope the staff will work on pass rush and

run play abilities of the DL for the FAU game.

[trud1966]

Hey, don't get me wrong stats are important...........I am not happy about the way we lost and how everyone is giddy on the stats. I would take an ugly WIN, than all stats combined.....I don't want to be the run and shoot Houston Cougars who only worried about STATS.

LET's win games and worrry about the stats second.

Ok then let me re-phrase the excitement so it makes more sense. We not necessarily hung up on the stats, but rather the overall performance and improvments. The STATs are a bi-product of that performance...

[trud1966]

Ok, to NOT care about ANY stats is a bit inhuman.. My God, so some of you would be happy with a season where we won all the games due to forfeit?

Edited September 10, 2007 by trud1966

[gangrene]

My God, so some of you would be happy with a season where we won all the games due to forfeit?

Would we be ranked in the top 25???