Coach Lacroix

[greenjacket]

Where is Coach LaCroix? Why is he not coaching the corners? Why are our corners not getting the best training available?

Somebody please tell me.

[SilverEagle]

Who said he was missing?

[greenjacket]

Who said he was missing?

Why are the corners under the DC's directions? It is obvious at the games.

[GreenBat]

Why are the corners under the DC's directions? It is obvious at the games.

Because the ENTIRE defense is under the DC's direction. That's why he is the coordinator.

[Guest GrayEagleOne]

Also, is he not one of the three coaches in the press box?

[greenjacket]

Because the ENTIRE defense is under the DC's direction. That's why he is the coordinator.

God help us all.

[eagle37]

Where is Coach LaCroix? Why is he not coaching the corners? Why are our corners not getting the best training available?

Somebody please tell me.

let me introduce myself, i am jeff cantrell i played at UNT from 84-88 and was a grad assist for two years after that. i was there when butch came in as the secondary coach and i was very impressed with his abilities. butch is very intense as a coach and he has always worked to get the most out of his players. he has more coaching and playing experience than any other coaches on the defense, combined. he wants more to win than anyone i have ever known and he puts everything he has into it to make that happen.

i usually get on this board to read the post and kind of stand in the back ground to hear what other have to say. for the last couple of weeks i have been kind of shocked to see some of the posts that people are throwing out there. most of you all are arm chair quarterbacks and have not played football at any level. i assume that you get your education from watching nfl fox on sunday mornings and reading the breakdowns of games in the newspapers. it is mostly amussing to hear some of you go off on the defense, their schemes, players, etc. i just sit back and crack a smile knowing that you do not have the slightest idea of what you are seeing or talking about.

if you have never been on the field then it is time for you to change the subject of defense and the coaches. you do not know what is going on and you have no idea of what it takes to build a team. you all sit back in your living rooms or office behind a screen name and shot off knee jerk reactions to something you have only seen or heard on tv and have not been through the experience. you couldnt find a 2 technique on the field if they raised their hand.

if you have never played the game, coached at a level higher than pee-wee, bought season tickets much less a single ticket, or given any money to the athletic department, my advice would be to change the subject. you dont know how it feels, the pain and sweat or have any vested interest in the program you just want to throw out hot sports opinions just because you feel that you have the right to.

[Cerebus]

you couldnt find a 2 technique on the field if they raised their hand.

First, thanks for posting, it is always good to hear from former players.

Second, this guy played over the guard some ->

Third, I don't think it's fair to say "if you haven't played at X level you can't judge it". Posters may not be able to know how to fix things, but they can know when things aren't going right, and want something changed.

Should only Clinton, Carter, Ford, and both Bush's get to vote in the next presidential election? They would be the only people who really know what its like to be president.

Fourth, I do have to agree that even I have been surprised at the amount of vitriol thrown at some players and coaches this year, and I would hope it would be tuned down some.

[Green92]

let me introduce myself, i am jeff cantrell i played at UNT from 84-88 and was a grad assist for two years after that. i was there when butch came in as the secondary coach and i was very impressed with his abilities. butch is very intense as a coach and he has always worked to get the most out of his players. he has more coaching and playing experience than any other coaches on the defense, combined. he wants more to win than anyone i have ever known and he puts everything he has into it to make that happen.

i usually get on this board to read the post and kind of stand in the back ground to hear what other have to say. for the last couple of weeks i have been kind of shocked to see some of the posts that people are throwing out there. most of you all are arm chair quarterbacks and have not played football at any level. i assume that you get your education from watching nfl fox on sunday mornings and reading the breakdowns of games in the newspapers. it is mostly amussing to hear some of you go off on the defense, their schemes, players, etc. i just sit back and crack a smile knowing that you do not have the slightest idea of what you are seeing or talking about.

if you have never been on the field then it is time for you to change the subject of defense and the coaches. you do not know what is going on and you have no idea of what it takes to build a team. you all sit back in your living rooms or office behind a screen name and shot off knee jerk reactions to something you have only seen or heard on tv and have not been through the experience. you couldnt find a 2 technique on the field if they raised their hand.

if you have never played the game, coached at a level higher than pee-wee, bought season tickets much less a single ticket, or given any money to the athletic department, my advice would be to change the subject. you dont know how it feels, the pain and sweat or have any vested interest in the program you just want to throw out hot sports opinions just because you feel that you have the right to.

Awesome. Well played.

[LoveMG]

most of you all are arm chair quarterbacks and have not played football at any level. i assume that you get your education from watching nfl fox on sunday mornings and reading the breakdowns of games in the newspapers. it is mostly amussing to hear some of you go off on the defense, their schemes, players, etc. i just sit back and crack a smile knowing that you do not have the slightest idea of what you are seeing or talking about.

if you have never been on the field then it is time for you to change the subject of defense and the coaches. you do not know what is going on and you have no idea of what it takes to build a team. you all sit back in your living rooms or office behind a screen name and shot off knee jerk reactions to something you have only seen or heard on tv and have not been through the experience. you couldnt find a 2 technique on the field if they raised their hand.

if you have never played the game, coached at a level higher than pee-wee, bought season tickets much less a single ticket, or given any money to the athletic department, my advice would be to change the subject. you dont know how it feels, the pain and sweat or have any vested interest in the program you just want to throw out hot sports opinions just because you feel that you have the right to.

it is not rocket science to see poor defense. thanks for your arm chair former player now coaching expert opinion.

[MeanMag]

You know, I think a lot of fans use the scoreboard to evaluate just how effective a defense is. Is it a bad thing? I don't necessarily think it is, but there are a lot of things you can know that you don't know by just looking at that metric.

The only person who truly knows how well a particular player or scheme is working is the coaching staff and players themselves. I don't necessarily know what exact schemes are in place. I know we run a 4-3, but in certain situations, a player may have a different assignment, turning it into another potential scheme.

Before last weeks loss to the patriots there was a story about the cowboys brand spanking new defense they installed over the off-season. I have been trying for the past week to relocate the story (I forgot where I read it). Anyhow in the story were quotes from wade phillips about how his guys were still thinking too much, and playing much more conservative than he wanted them to. He said they were so afraid of making a mistake, missing an assignment, or releasing a man too early because they were so used to getting yelled at, that they hadn't completely grasped the system. He specifically said that people were not trusting the system. He said a lot of times, there will be a guy on defense assigned to the RB, a guy assigned to the top WR and a guy assigned to the QB. So, at anytime if the play wasn't going to that guy, the defender could release and that offensive player will still be accounted for, and the defender could then run to the ball to make a play on it. This is a team that was 5-0 at that point that was still missing assignments and thinking too much, and it showed. That team is just so loaded with talent, they were able to overcome some lapses. It helps that they really haven't played a strong schedule so far this year either.

There are nuances and assignments that are happening right under our noses, and unless we are involved in the playcalling we, as fans, miss out on because they aren't on the scoreboard, winning or losing. In a good defense, it would be inherent that we as fans wouldn't know, because if we pick up on what a defender is doing if a qb rolls right or left, you can bet the opposing players and coaches pick up on it a lot quicker than we do and exploit it. At which point everyone in the stadium knows something didn't work.

The defense, IMO, has been improving. I went to the OU game. I saw with my very eyes how many big plays OU was able to come up with, and I have seen that number decline throughout the season. This is why, before the last game Dodge explained that we only gave up a few plays the game before. We, until last game had been losing games still, so obviously it was a few plays too many. The last game we gave up another couple of big plays in the last 1:30 of the game. So, there is still work to be done eliminating those.

The most frustrating point of this season for me was listening to the post game show in Norman and Arkansas. The opposing coaches all but containing their laughter. I cannot wait until the day we can get payback after we have had a couple of seasons of stability, which I really believe is what it is going to take to get this thing truly rolling again. Dodge knows football, and whether he thinks Mendoza deserves to, or can compete on this level I will leave to him and be a fan, and urge others to do the same. Because it would get very lonely for me, if not.

Edited October 18, 2007 by MeanMag

[Guest Aquila_Viridis]

Cantrell, you just undermined our entire judicial system. However, in a democratic society, your thoughts are nonetheless welcome. By 'welcome', I mean that we are glad to have them, though they may be treated roughly.

[Marty]

Jeff Cantrell, ex-Sherman Bearcat. Where is Walter Casey these days?

[mad dog]

It is always nice to have former players and coaches post. Welcome to the board, 37.

I agree with Cerebus' points. Yes, there's a lot of knee-jerking from fandom. That really shocked me, at first, too. But I've learned that you can't anymore tell the fans to always think one way that you can tell the wind to always blow one direction. There will always be some that naysay, and there will always be some that pollyanna. And both of those groups have just as much right to their opinion as those in the middle. That's part of fandom. You purchase your right to complain or cheer with your game ticket. In my own opinion, I'd take complaints over silence any day of the week.

There was a post a while back on the board where a member of gmg.com with actual game experience broke down the secondary, and noted some other concerns that very few of us had realized. While the average fan's real football IQ may not be quite that of a defensive coordinator, they can recognize poor performances from good ones (one can usually take a gander at the scoreboard and tell how well the defense played). AND... they can learn if shown something they didn't know.

37, if you opinion is that the defense hasn't played as poorly as some think, I personally would love to hear what you have to say. As a former player and grad assistant, your insight is pretty unique, and could help all of us fans understand something that we weren't aware of.

[Texas Stranger]

Should only Clinton, Carter, Ford, and both Bush's get to vote in the next presidential election? They would be the only people who really know what its like to be president.

Well, if Ford votes, that'll be quite a story.

[eagle37]

I knew I was going to stir up a hornets nest with the reply.

My point to the whole thing was that there are some people on this board that do not take the time to sit and watch a game or ask questions about things they do not understand and then just start to throw out negative comments. Understand that I have been through every phase of this game from a coach's son, to player, to coach. It is hard enough for the players and coaches to get through a season like this; then add some of the posts from this board and I am surprised that no one hasnt committed suicide this year. I know that everyone has the right to comment, but guys you need to relax a little bit at least for this year. Take a breath and lets see what spawns out of this.

I am not saying that the defense is playing okay. Anyone can look at the stats and know that there needs to be improvement. What I wanted to get across was that it is hard enough as a player and coach to go through a season like they are having this year without some of you going off on tangents and stomping on the team when it is down. Just sit back and watch the rest of the season, lets have some fun and support these guys. Lets watch the recruiting process and see what unfolds. Lets see how the off-season and spring training works out. You all are going to have to give this coaching staff and team time to adjust and build. How long, I dont have the answer to that. But I am in with them (coaches and players) until the end.

One story before I go to give you a teams perspective of how fans can influence attitude. After NT won the conference in 83 they basically lost most of the players that were vital to that team to either grades or graduation. It took Corky four years to rebuild until we made the playoffs again in 87. We got hammered in the 84 season and I am sure glad anything like this wasnt around then. I remember coming from behind playing NE La in 87 and scoring the touchdown to tie. All we had to do was to kick an extra point and we would be co-champs. Well we missed the extra point and I was coming off of the field and I remembered that the whole world just ended. To add insult to injury, when the buses pulled into the parking lot at the stadium the coaches tower in the middle of the practice fields had been burned down. I dont know if it was vandals or fans that were mad because we lost, but we took it personally. The whole team hardly said anything in the locker room that next week of practice and the following week we had to go back to NE La to play in the first round of the playoffs and they schooled us.

Catch me at a game, Im in section F, Row 33, Seat 19-22 and I will be glad to chat with you about what is going on on the field during the play (alignments, stunts, coverages). Anything you want to talk about.

P.S. For my fellow Sherman Bearcats, I havent heard from Walter Casey in years and I hear that Shawn Wash is still with the DPD.

[greenjacket]

let me introduce myself, i am jeff cantrell i played at UNT from 84-88 and was a grad assist for two years after that. i was there when butch came in as the secondary coach and i was very impressed with his abilities. butch is very intense as a coach and he has always worked to get the most out of his players. he has more coaching and playing experience than any other coaches on the defense, combined. he wants more to win than anyone i have ever known and he puts everything he has into it to make that happen.

i usually get on this board to read the post and kind of stand in the back ground to hear what other have to say. for the last couple of weeks i have been kind of shocked to see some of the posts that people are throwing out there. most of you all are arm chair quarterbacks and have not played football at any level. i assume that you get your education from watching nfl fox on sunday mornings and reading the breakdowns of games in the newspapers. it is mostly amussing to hear some of you go off on the defense, their schemes, players, etc. i just sit back and crack a smile knowing that you do not have the slightest idea of what you are seeing or talking about.

if you have never been on the field then it is time for you to change the subject of defense and the coaches. you do not know what is going on and you have no idea of what it takes to build a team. you all sit back in your living rooms or office behind a screen name and shot off knee jerk reactions to something you have only seen or heard on tv and have not been through the experience. you couldnt find a 2 technique on the field if they raised their hand.

if you have never played the game, coached at a level higher than pee-wee, bought season tickets much less a single ticket, or given any money to the athletic department, my advice would be to change the subject. you dont know how it feels, the pain and sweat or have any vested interest in the program you just want to throw out hot sports opinions just because you feel that you have the right to.

If Coach LaCroix is as good as you have described him, can we see more of him teach the corners? Afterall, we should use all the talents we have on board, coaches and players. We all know that the atheletes have talent; they just need help playing the position.

In Dodge we trust.

[RamoneArchie]

Catch me at a game, Im in section F, Row 33, Seat 19-22 and I will be glad to chat with you about what is going on on the field during the play (alignments, stunts, coverages). Anything you want to talk about.

I will definately be there, because honestly I have no clue!

On a serious note, I appreciate your support for the players and coaches. Believe me I know first had how much a positive comment helps you get through a first half of a year like this.

[EagleD]

Well, if Ford votes, that'll be quite a story.

My thoughts exactly. But it wouldn't be the first time someone w/o a pulse has voted.

GO MEAN GREEN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[SilverEagle]

The whole team hardly said anything in the locker room that next week of practice and the following week we had to go back to NE La to play in the first round of the playoffs and they schooled us.

Edited October 18, 2007 by SilverEagle

[SilverEagle]

My thoughts exactly. But it wouldn't be the first time someone w/o a pulse has voted.

GO MEAN GREEN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Or a brain.

[greenjacket]

I knew I was going to stir up a hornets nest with the reply.

My point to the whole thing was that there are some people on this board that do not take the time to sit and watch a game or ask questions about things they do not understand and then just start to throw out negative comments. Understand that I have been through every phase of this game from a coach's son, to player, to coach. It is hard enough for the players and coaches to get through a season like this; then add some of the posts from this board and I am surprised that no one hasnt committed suicide this year. I know that everyone has the right to comment, but guys you need to relax a little bit at least for this year. Take a breath and lets see what spawns out of this.

I am not saying that the defense is playing okay. Anyone can look at the stats and know that there needs to be improvement. What I wanted to get across was that it is hard enough as a player and coach to go through a season like they are having this year without some of you going off on tangents and stomping on the team when it is down. Just sit back and watch the rest of the season, lets have some fun and support these guys. Lets watch the recruiting process and see what unfolds. Lets see how the off-season and spring training works out. You all are going to have to give this coaching staff and team time to adjust and build. How long, I dont have the answer to that. But I am in with them (coaches and players) until the end.

One story before I go to give you a teams perspective of how fans can influence attitude. After NT won the conference in 83 they basically lost most of the players that were vital to that team to either grades or graduation. It took Corky four years to rebuild until we made the playoffs again in 87. We got hammered in the 84 season and I am sure glad anything like this wasnt around then. I remember coming from behind playing NE La in 87 and scoring the touchdown to tie. All we had to do was to kick an extra point and we would be co-champs. Well we missed the extra point and I was coming off of the field and I remembered that the whole world just ended. To add insult to injury, when the buses pulled into the parking lot at the stadium the coaches tower in the middle of the practice fields had been burned down. I dont know if it was vandals or fans that were mad because we lost, but we took it personally. The whole team hardly said anything in the locker room that next week of practice and the following week we had to go back to NE La to play in the first round of the playoffs and they schooled us.

Catch me at a game, Im in section F, Row 33, Seat 19-22 and I will be glad to chat with you about what is going on on the field during the play (alignments, stunts, coverages). Anything you want to talk about.

P.S. For my fellow Sherman Bearcats, I havent heard from Walter Casey in years and I hear that Shawn Wash is still with the DPD.

"and I am surprised no one has committed suicide this year" That is a scary thought. Our athletes know that God has bigger and better things for them after UNT. Regardless of what happens at UNT, they will be suucessful in life. Our athletes are students first and athletes second. Please do not scare us again with those two words. Peace!!

[Quoner]

"and I am surprised no one has committed suicide this year" That is a scary thought. Our athletes know that God has bigger and better things for them after UNT. Regardless of what happens at UNT, they will be suucessful in life. Our athletes are students first and athletes second. Please do not scare us again with those two words. Peace!!

He meant the fans - many of whom seem to not have bigger and better things in store for them.

[greenjacket]

He meant the fans - many of whom seem to not have bigger and better things in store for them.

Thanks for the clarification. I am one of those. Love.

[UNT Mean Green]

Coach Archie does a good job of giving everyone on gmg.com insight from 'the other side' (coaches/players/team personnel).