I'm Done

[Got5onIt]

todd is NOT the reason they lost tonight! it's riley's fault! three int's and a fumble. no way ull should have been in the game tonight!

And who's decision is it to keep him in? Teflon Todd strikes again.

[CorinthEagle]

Couldn't agree with you guys more on Todd Dodge. I felt confident he should've been fired after he forced that terrible pass that was taken back for a touchdown...that feeling was enhanced when Todd ran the wrong route that led to another pick...but what put it over the top for me and confirmed his need for being fired was when Todd Dodge missed an easy block that led to a blocked punt. Thought RV should've gone down immediatly and fired him after that.

You're being too kind. Don't let TD off the hook for the 11 yard punt he executed in the 4th quarter, and the facemask he grabbed when he had stopped u-la-la was ridiculous. Of course TD then followed that with holding on 4th and 5 when the pass was uncatchable. We need Chuck Norris.

[Eagle1855]

We need Chuck Norris perspective.

This one doesn't sound like it's on TD. So maybe this thread is a bit of a knee-jerk. Plus I'm not sure we're at a place as a program where we're able to call for the coach's head after every loss- especially when we want to build him a bronze statue after every win. Just saaaayiiiinnnn....

Edited October 11, 2009 by Eagle1855

[greeninok]

There comes a time in evey game when the PLAYERS have to make plays. The plays were made against DeLoach's defense and no one is calling for his head.

And for Riley did he have too many turnovers, YES, but after his 3 1st half turnovers, he helped lead us to 24 straight pts to give us a 10 pt lead going to the 4th quarter. This team is getting better but has to learn to step on someones throat and finish them.

[CorinthEagle]

There comes a time in evey game when the PLAYERS have to make plays. The plays were made against DeLoach's defense and no one is calling for his head.

And for Riley did he have too many turnovers, YES, but after his 3 1st half turnovers, he helped lead us to 24 straight pts to give us a 10 pt lead going to the 4th quarter. This team is getting better but has to learn to step on someones throat and finish them.

you are making too much sense. There is no room for that on this board

[DeepGreen]

Hawkins at Colorado benched little Hawkins the QB.

[Green Dozer]

There comes a time in evey game when the PLAYERS have to make plays. The plays were made against DeLoach's defense and no one is calling for his head.

And for Riley did he have too many turnovers, YES, but after his 3 1st half turnovers, he helped lead us to 24 straight pts to give us a 10 pt lead going to the 4th quarter. This team is getting better but has to learn to step on someones throat and finish them.

Right on concerning Deloach. Mendoza took a lot of heat, so far, Deloach has not done that much more. I don't understand it, nobody utters a negative word. No, he should not be the new head coach. He had the players before under Dickey, but obviously does not now. We are the only group in the land that gives up 20, 30, 50, etc to an opponent and then expect our offense to be in every game. Everybody says how the defense has improved, yet expects a red shirt freshman to play on the level of a senior. Yes, Riley has been around this system for many years, but many said his dad did not have a feel for the speed of the game at this level his first year. Yet, we expect a 19 year old kid to know. If at the end of the year, if this thing is going to be blown up again, then everybody needs to go, and maybe we don't stop at the head coach as we work our way out of this. Frustrated, you damn right I am.

[greeninok]

Hawkins at Colorado benched little Hawkins the QB.

But it took him a year and half to do it, after one of the worst ints I have ever seen.

[Pen Yan Fan]

Meanwhile June Jones has SMU 2-0 in Conference USA in only his second season. And Jones just needs one more win to equal the 4 wins dodge now has in 3 1/2 seasons.

[MeanMag]

Right on concerning Deloach. Mendoza took a lot of heat, so far, Deloach has not done that much more. I don't understand it, nobody utters a negative word. No, he should not be the new head coach. He had the players before under Dickey, but obviously does not now. We are the only group in the land that gives up 20, 30, 50, etc to an opponent and then expect our offense to be in every game. Everybody says how the defense has improved, yet expects a red shirt freshman to play on the level of a senior. Yes, Riley has been around this system for many years, but many said his dad did not have a feel for the speed of the game at this level his first year. Yet, we expect a 19 year old kid to know. If at the end of the year, if this thing is going to be blown up again, then everybody needs to go, and maybe we don't stop at the head coach as we work our way out of this. Frustrated, you damn right I am.

You can hire Mendoza to run your defense, I don't want him. I'll take DeLoach. You don't hear opposing coaches laughing and saying we run a HS defense anymore. Anyone is an upgrade over Mendoza.

[MeanMag]

Meanwhile June Jones has SMU 2-0 in Conference USA in only his second season. And Jones just needs one more win to equal the 4 wins dodge now has in 3 1/2 seasons.

June Jones also costs SMU at least 6 times what Dodge does.

[The Fake Lonnie Finch]

Ease up, everyone.

Look, for those of us who said this would be a 3 or 4 win season, and that we'd be happy with being more competitive...that's what this season is. During the offseason and after beating Ball State, many of you who are now frustrated tried to make this team into something it isn't.

The truth is, this is a 3 or 4 win team. That's fine this year as long as we are competitive. I know this is going to sound weird coming from me, but you can't knee jerk right now. You have to put this thing into context:

(1) Dodge has handcuffed himself by not signing any true QBs except Giovanni Vizza, and now he's gone. Riley isn't great, but the guys behind him...well, two walk-ons and a guy who played at Glen Rose? Come one. He can't pull Riley now, even if he wanted to. He's got nothing behind him. It's his own fault, yes. But, it's the hard fact that became reality when Vizza transferred down to A&M.

(2) The defense is keeping this team competitive. And, until yesterday, so was the special teams. And, even with the off night punting, the special teams was still doing well on kick returns. Remember, we just finished two season where no part of the special teams worked at any time in almost every game. Without the turnovers, this defense wins the game for us easily.

Now, look...it's no secret that I'm no fan of the hire of Todd Dodge. But, this thing can be fixed, I believe if two things are done...after the season ends:

(1) Todd Dodge has got to bite the bullet and get college coaches to round out the offensive side of the ball. Look at the defense and special teams. The improvement since Mendoza and Drake were jettisoned is immense. We have got to have an offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach who can put the offense on the next level as well. Whether or not the two guys there now are nice is irrelevent. They've got to go. We'd be 4-1 if the offense was taking care of the ball...that includes not just protecting it, but also getting open more often and making catches/fighting for the ball.

(2) Todd Dodge has got to sign two bona fide quarterbacks to come in here and compete with Riley for the starting job. One has to be a JUCO, and the other has to be a bona fide, pass first, passer. And, these guys need to be tall and bigger. We've got no option but to stick with Riley now, as ugly as it is going to be at times. But, the guy is taped up from head to toe already after just four games this season. He cannot endure it for four seasons. And, he doesn't have a deep ball arm to back off a defense. He just doesn't. You can argue that he does from here to eternity, but he doesn't. The 2010 signing class needs two QBs: A JUCO and a prep - both at least 6'2" and 215+ with strong arms.

Other than that. Hang in there. Before the season, I predicted that we'd beat FAU. I stand by that prediction. The Owls lost nine starters from their 2009 defense plus their top two running backs. They have a good QB, but he can't play defense and tailback. We have no excuse not to beat this FAU team and I think we will.

Think about Dodge, too, you all. He's put himself in a position to where he's going to have to hurt the feelings of guys he's know personally for many years if he's to turn this thing completely around. But, if he can go ahead and do it, we will certainly be in the title hunt in 2010.

Edited October 11, 2009 by The Fake Lonnie Finch

[CorinthEagle]

ok what did you do with the real TFLF?

[UNT90]

Reading this, I sure am glad that I chose to skip this game, not even watching on TV. Everyone needs to take a breath, enjoy competitive football for a change, and remember that this is a very young football team. Young teams make mistakes. Riley is the future, and he will have to learn to protect the ball, and he will.

I am just going to enjoy going to the FAU game knowing that there is a very good possibility that the game will be decided in the 4th quarter, not the first 10 minutes. I see 2, maybe 3 more wins this year.

Next year is the year.

[GoMeanGreen1999]

Next year may be the next year, but it is really commical when you think about it. A team that has won 4 of its last 29 games is going to put it all together and "be special" next year. As I said last year when I heard that Riley could come in and move this offense since he grew up learning it, "I will believe it when I see it."

[TheTastyGreek]

Lonnie beat me to the punch here...

First, Riley is our best option, by far. He's still young, and this sort of stuff is what's going to happen when you throw a smaller and inexperienced guy out there. People who want his scalp now or mythologized him in the offseason are just being ridiculous in their expectations. If you'll remember, Charlie and I got into an argument of misunderstanding over the offseason because he thought I was knocking Dodge, while I was just trying to get people to be reasonable in their expectations. Even if he could come in and make this offense work, coaching be damned (hey there, Mr. Ford and George!)... He's not going to be able to do it this young.

Second... Also perhaps surprisingly, I'm not ready to pull the trigger on Dodge the coach, either. I've got a lot more to say about this later, on our own webspace, but the sad fact is that firing him now isn't really going to save us any pain. If we'd fired him last year, then this could have been a foundation year for another coach. But if he'll replace Ford and George, we can go into next season with a complete staff (the defensive staff is ridiculously good, considering our budget and recent stature), then (unless we could land one of the 2 or 3 dream head coaches on my wish list in the offseason) I'd rather hang on to the supporting staff we have here already. Get a real college offensive coaching staff, give them Riley, Lance, Darius Carey, William Cole, and Tyler Stradford... with Jackson and Outlaw and Lewis and Roberson and Rucker available as ancillary weapons... And DeLoach on defense? With the schedule we have set up? The only game we shouldn't be expected to win would be Clemson, and that one ought to be a hell of a fight.

If we go into next season with just the talent already committed or on board, and get a real offensive staff... Todd Dodge as a caretaker coach ought to be able to get 8 or 9 wins next year. The depressing thing is that with what looks like another disaster of a season on our hands... The bar may be set at .500 for 2010. That would be unacceptable.

But, for the folks who are fed up now, I offer a soothing bit of poetry.

When we get bad news, our recent tradition has been to respond with haikus to process the pain in a humorous way. As suggested previously by oldguystudent, I propose we use limericks the same way to help us deal with our more chronic problems. In that spirit:

A coaching disaster named Dodge

Turned our program into a hodgepodge.

How can Todd save the day?

I can think of one way-

Start his car, but don't open his garage.

[untStein]

Any coach bringing in a new system needs a minimum of 10 years to prove himself.

[SUMG]

Meanwhile June Jones has SMU 2-0 in Conference USA in only his second season. And Jones just needs one more win to equal the 4 wins dodge now has in 3 1/2 seasons.

Dodge has been here for 2 1/2 seasons....not 3 1/2.

[mean green d]

Fire him now.

Many of you are ridiculous. You obviously don't remember how in a state of disrepair the program was when he came. It takes a good 3-4 years to turn a moriband(sp) program around. Let us not be like the world an have a knee jerk response. Let us go back to times past and show a little patience like your grandfather would have. I am not happy we are not winning as well. If you look at the big picture, we're light years from where we were a year ago. Just be patient and we will be rewarded. Big things are coming soon.

GMG

[TheTastyGreek]

Many of you are ridiculous. You obviously don't remember how in a state of disrepair the program was when he came. It takes a good 3-4 years to turn a moriband(sp) program around. Let us not be like the world an have a knee jerk response. Let us go back to times past and show a little patience like your grandfather would have. I am not happy we are not winning as well. If you look at the big picture, we're light years from where we were a year ago. Just be patient and we will be rewarded. Big things are coming soon.

GMG

I think we've known for a long time now that Flyer is a knee-jerk, fair weather pseudo-fan. He's constantly slagging the coach and the department, and he's pretty much a giant drain on the fan community.

Him saying the coach should be fired isn't new or unexpected, and it's easily dismissed. Just ignore the troll, and eventually he'll go away to build stadiums for some other metroplex team. I, for one, won't miss his pessimism.

[Keith7]

lol yes walkon Nathan Tune will lead us to the promise land

[UNTflyer]

I think we've known for a long time now that Flyer is a knee-jerk, fair weather pseudo-fan. He's constantly slagging the coach and the department, and he's pretty much a giant drain on the fan community.

Him saying the coach should be fired isn't new or unexpected, and it's easily dismissed. Just ignore the troll, and eventually he'll go away to build stadiums for some other metroplex team. I, for one, won't miss his pessimism.

The glass is half, and nothing more. Nothing less.

Edited October 11, 2009 by UNTflyer

[Green Dozer]

You can hire Mendoza to run your defense, I don't want him. I'll take DeLoach. You don't hear opposing coaches laughing and saying we run a HS defense anymore. Anyone is an upgrade over Mendoza.

Thanks for the reply, but I did not mean bring Mendoza back. Hey, the degree from UNT teach me something. My point is you cannot continue to lay out 25+ points every game, and expect your offense to not have its back put up against the wall every time, no matter who the def. cood. is. Yes, you are absolutely correct.

[GoMeanGreen1999]

Thanks for the reply, but I did not mean bring Mendoza back. Hey, the degree from UNT teach me something. My point is you cannot continue to lay out 25+ points every game, and expect your offense to not have its back put up against the wall every time, no matter who the def. cood. is. Yes, you are absolutely correct.

Well the defense last night only really gave up 24 points which should have been enough for the win. The blocked punt for 6 and the INT for 6 make their give up only 24. I thought the defense did a great job last night minus 2 very dumb penalties (no including the one of their final drive).

[FirefightnRick]

I agree with many others in that this team is light years ahead of last year's team. If you can't see that then you weren't watching the previous two seasons. The adjustments made and talent compiled by coach's Dodge and Deloach is very telling to me. Give Deloach another season and we very well may find ourselves next to the top defensively......again as it was before he left for UCLA.

But that will only happen when as an offense we learn to control and manage the clock when time requires it. There were two series last night I remember in which if we simply snap the ball and fall down rather than trying to pass ULL ends up with no timeouts and not enough time to make their final drive. When you have a ten point lead there's no reason to hurry up and snap the ball to pass. This will come with time as this very young team and their coaching staff grow together.

Lastly, please keep in mind, that is Todd Dodge on the sidelines, not The Buick. He has already proven to us all that he will learn from his mistakes and make changes where needed to succeed and build for the future.

Rick