From the local rags

pressitup · Oct 7, 2014

There were times last season when North Texas didn’t need to excel in all phases of a game to come out with a win.
The Mean Green’s standout defense was perfectly capable of carrying the load.
UNT forced turnovers in vital spots and came up with defensive touchdowns in wins over Rice and Louisiana Tech when the Mean Green’s offense struggled.
When UNT coach Dan McCarney looks at his team five games into its season, he sees an entirely different situation.
“There isn’t one phase of this team that can carry the Mean Green of 2014,” McCarney said on Monday. “We have to be good on offense. We have to be good on defense. We have to be good on special teams. Clearly last year, there were games where our defense could carry our football team. You don’t see that now. I don’t see it at all. There is not one phase that can carry the other phases until they get to where we want them to be.”
UNT has hit on all cylinders at times this season and will look to reach that elusive goal again on Saturday when the Mean Green face UAB in their first Conference USA game after a month-long layoff.
UNT (2-3, 0-1 C-USA) has played well all around twice this season in blowout wins over SMU and Nicholls State. The Mean Green didn’t surrender much of anything in either game defensively. Nicholls managed just a field goal in a 77-3 win, while SMU scored its lone touchdown in a 43-6 loss to UNT on a heave into the end zone on the final play of the game.
UNT has struggled to maintain that level of play defensively and allowed at least 38 points in the Mean Green’s three losses.
McCarney attributed those struggles in part to the opponents UNT has faced and pointed to the number of future NFL players the Mean Green have faced, particularly those on the rosters at Texas and Indiana while also acknowledging a host of other issues UNT faces.
UNT, which also lost a rematch with Louisiana Tech in its third game this season, allowed 593 yards on a day its defense didn’t post a sack or force a turnover in its loss to Indiana.
The Mean Green’s lone turnover was a fumble their kickoff coverage team pounced on.
“We have struggled tackling in space at times,” McCarney said. “That can be an issue. When you have no sacks and no turnovers in a game on defense, it starts right there. We have played good defense since I took over. You see pressures, disrupts, sacks and turnovers forced by our defense. When you have no sacks and no turnovers, it’s a message you haven’t played very good defense, and we didn’t.”
UNT has improved offensively since redshirt freshman Dajon Williams took over as the Mean Green’s quarterback the last two games, but hasn’t produced at a high enough level to outscore the better opponents on the schedule.
“I am getting more and more comfortable,” Williams said. “I felt a lot more comfortable with what we were doing after the first few series [against Indiana].”
UNT’s special teams have also come up with a few key plays. Darvin Kidsy returned a punt for a touchdown against Nicholls and the Mean Green have blocked two kicks.
UNT knows it will need a lot more from that unit as well as it looks to strike the balance McCarney believes is necessary for the Mean Green to win consistently this season as the defense looks to improve.
“We are not as talented as we were last year and we have some guys who need to play better with the talent that God gave them and the experience they have,” McCarney said. “Our expectations are always going to be for our defense to play great. We have to. That is part of the responsibility of playing football here at North Texas. [It’s] No. 1 on our plan to win — play great defense.”

pressitup · Oct 7, 2014

I would love to see Heard. I'm sure the faithful have a more in-depth take on it.
I saw him play in high school, but have not seen a UT game this year.

BY GARRETT CALLAHAN
Special to the Star-Telegram
In his first three starts under center, sophomore quarterback Tyrone Swoopes had started to silence his critics.
Despite losing two games, Swoopes showed potential, tallying 590 passing yards with five touchdowns.
But on Saturday against Baylor, the Whitewright native had his worst showing this season, completing less than 50 percent of his passes and throwing two interceptions.
On Monday, for the first time this season, coach Charlie Strong showed real interest in backup quarterback Jerrod Heard seeing playing time against Oklahoma on Saturday in the Red River Showdown.
“There is no such thing as him not being in the equation. You never rule that out,” Strong said of Heard’s potential appearance in Dallas. “If there is a younger guy out there and we think he gives us a better chance [to win], we’ve got to play him.”
Heard, a true freshman, led Denton Guyer to consecutive Class 4A state championships. He rushed for more than 60 touchdowns and threw more than 400 completions during his four years in Denton.
After former quarterback David Ash retired from football because of reccurring concussion symptoms this season, Strong and Shawn Watson had been adamant about holding Heard’s redshirt.
But against Baylor, Swoopes had a career-low 144 passing yards and a competition percentage of 44.4 percent while losing a fumble on the goal line to stop Texas’ momentum.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/10/06/6179650/texas-coach-considering-freshman.html#storylink=cpy

pressitup · Oct 7, 2014

BY CARLOS MENDEZ
cmendez@star-telegram.com
Texas may have provided a blueprint against the Baylor offense for everyone last weekend, but not necessarily TCU.
“If you want to know the truth about it, I saw similarities to what we’ve done over the last couple of years,” coach Gary Patterson said. “So I’m not sure they were the blueprint.”
Patterson’s TCU teams are 2-2 and have allowed an average of 30.5 points to Baylor’s offenses under Art Briles in four games since 2010. The Horned Frogs allowed only 10 points four years ago and 21 points two years ago, but Baylor scored 50 in 2011 and 41 last year.
TCU visits Baylor at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
Texas held the Baylor offense to seven points until the fourth quarter on Saturday, eventually giving up two more scores.
“You’ve got to be able to tackle, you’ve got to be able to play the run, and you’ve got to stop them from throwing it over your head,” Patterson said.
“What people don’t understand is that Baylor runs the ball very well. You’ve got to stop that first. Texas did a good job of trying to slow that down, so we’ve got to be able to try to do the same thing.”

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/1...ball-notes-stopping-baylor.html#storylink=cpy

pressitup · Oct 7, 2014

Injury update
Patterson said defensive tackle Davion Pierson was able to practice on Sunday, and that he and fellow defensive tackle Chucky Hunter will be available for the Baylor game.
“We’ll have everybody,” Patterson said. “We’ll have everybody on Saturday.”
Pierson and Hunter left the game against Oklahoma in the second half with leg injuries. Hunter walked off favoring his right ankle, but returned to the game. Pierson left late in the fourth quarter, also favoring an ankle, but did not return.
Freshman Chris Bradley took Pierson’s place on a fourth-and-1 stop.
Hunter said after the game there was no doubt he was going back in.
“I’m a tough little nail, man,” he said. “It’s going to take more than that to get me out.”

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/1...ball-notes-stopping-baylor.html#storylink=cpy

pressitup · Oct 10, 2014

Home > Mean Green Blog
<article id="post-17990" class="post-17990 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-uncategorized" style="border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); margin: 0px 0px 1.625em; padding: 0px 0px 1.625em; position: relative; color: rgb(55, 55, 55); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15.3333330154419px; line-height: 16.25px;"><header class="entry-header">[h=1]Thoughts on Mac’s “not as talented” comment[/h]

By Brett Vito
bvito@dentonrc.com
10:46 pm on October 8, 2014 | Permalink

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McCarney

There has been a pretty strong reaction the last couple of days to Dan McCarney mentioning that UNT isn’t as talented as it was a year ago on the defensive side of the ball.
First, a quick review:
That comment was made in reaction to a line of questioning about UNT’s defense that has struggled at times this season and fell flat last week in a 49-24 loss to Indiana. I asked if UNT was having a hard time replacing some of the cornerstone players it leaned on last year.
McCarney answered with a good quote that put things in perspective, so I used it.
Our copy desk guys read the story and thought, “Good quote, puts things perspective. Let’s use it.”
I didn’t anticipate the reaction it has gotten.
My thought? It’s an honest assessment of where UNT is from a coach who is pretty honest about where things stand, which is No. 632 on the list of things that are great about McCarney.
He could have spun it any number of different ways, but told it like it is.
Most people who have followed UNT in recent years have been saying since the summer that this team was bound to take at least a small step back this year.
Bottom line — UNT lost a whole batch of key players, including some “once-in-every-four-years-or-so-if-you’re-lucky” guys.
Zach Orr and Marcus Trice certainly qualify. The whole defensive line is gone.
Even if a team is recruiting well, it’s going to be hard to replace that many key guys in one year. UNT had a new stadium to recruit to the last couple of years, but was already well into the process when it became clear that it was on its way to a breakout year.
The seniors of 2014 went through pretty much their entire football careers watching UNT struggle over the course of nearly a decade.
UNT is bringing in better talent, but it’s going to take some time to rebuild its defense. Last year’s unit was one that had a ton of not just talented players, but talented players with experience. Orr was one of those guys and is in the NFL now.
McCarney’s right. UNT isn’t as talented as it was a year ago.
The Mean Green will need some time to rebuild and is bringing in some talent that will help UNT get to where it wants to be. It just might take some time.
That has been clear for weeks.
All McCarney did was acknowledge the reality of the situation.
One can’t fault him for that.

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Silkydiamonds · Oct 10, 2014

Now THIS is the stuff I've been waiting for.

rayer

pressitup · Oct 10, 2014

University of Houston receiver Daniel Spencer will miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL, coach Tony Levine said Wednesday, another blow for an already struggling offense.
Spencer, the Cougars' second-leading receiver, was injured during a non-contact play in practice Tuesday.
"He's the heart and soul of our offense," Levine said. "He's been a leader for us, and he'll certainly be missed."
Wayne Beadle will replace Spencer at the 'H' inside receiver spot.
In five games this season, Spencer led UH in receptions (24) and total touchdowns (three) and stood second in receiving yards (236). He had the Cougars' most memorable play of the year, catching a Hail Mary pass from John O'Korn for a touchdown to end the first half at BYU on Sept. 11.
The loss of Spencer is another setback for a UH offense that made a change at quarterback earlier this week, with Greg Ward Jr. replacing O'Korn for Saturday's game at Memphis. Ward moved to receiver to begin this season, meaning the Cougars will be without half of their starting receiving corps from a week ago against Memphis.
Spencer, a senior, is not eligible for a medical redshirt and has played his final game at UH. He was not available for comment Wednesday.
"Things happen in life. That's what life is. Live and learn from certain situations and just keep it moving," he posted on Twitter.
UH ranks 90th in total offense (374.8 yards per game), 81st in passing offense (220 yards per game) and tied for 76th in scoring offense (27.6 points per game) under offensive coordinator Travis Bush, who is facing increasing criticism.

pressitup · Oct 10, 2014

COLLEGE STATION – Brazos County is much like other places across the state right now: It could use as much rain as possible to keep the trees growing, the grass green and the creeks and rivers flowing.
But Texas A&M understandably has its guard up when rain is forecast around a game-day weekend, after what happened the last time the Aggies took to Kyle Field, a 38-10 victory over Rice on Sept. 13. Following a night of heavy rain, the field was so bad the A&M grounds crew was filling holes furiously during time outs in the second half, on a torn-up surface that had been put in place only about a month before.
So, with the Aggies’ next three games away from Kyle, A&M made the decision to replace the new grass with some even newer grass, this time from a company called Carolina Green to the tune of $300,000. The new grass was planted in late September, and the Aggies have yet to practice on it (that should come Thursday afternoon, weather depending). No. 14 A&M, which typically drills on its practice fields anyway, plays host to No. 3 Ole Miss starting 8 p.m. Saturday.
Leading us to this weekend’s weather report: Following a fairly dry week so far, the National Weather Service calls for a 60 percent chance of thunderstorms for Saturday afternoon around Kyle Field. Meaning the new grass likely is to be tested again in a top 15 showdown before a national TV audience.
A&M coach Kevin Sumlin was asked by a fan about the new stuff on his radio show this week with host Dave South.
“We’re going out there on Thursday (afternoon), and we could have gone out last Thursday but we had some bad weather last week,” Sumlin said. “It’s a lot different sod situation from a thickness standpoint … it’s unbelievable.”
Sumlin continued, “All I know is Leo (Goertz of the grounds crew), the athletic director (Eric Hyman) and the chancellor (John Sharp) said it’s ready to roll. We’ll be all right, based on what I know about the company (Carolina Green), and what I know about the investment we put in there. It won’t be anything like that last time we were in there.”
No one, however, can seem to answer the most obvious question about all the grass at Kyle Field: If the newest addition is so much better than the yanked-up stuff, why wasn’t it used in the first place?

pressitup · Oct 10, 2014

COLLEGE STATION – Texas A&M’s exact number of drops in a 48-31 loss at Mississippi State is in question. The Aggies’ resolve to do something about it doesn’t seem to be.
A&M coach Kevin Sumlin said the Aggies had 11 drops, but he knows some count as many as 15. In any case, No. 14 A&M intends to try and remedy the situation by 8 p.m. Saturday at Kyle Field, when No. 3 Ole Miss comes calling.
“When you look at the video, we had 11 drops, 15 if you were being real salty about it,” Sumlin said. “Part of your job as a receiver is to catch the football. And we didn’t do that.”
More highlights (and low blows) from the Aggies’ weekly press conference, with the Rebels paying their first visit to Aggieland since 1975, and their first with the programs as Southeastern Conference foes (the previous two years have been close A&M wins in Oxford, Miss.):
* Sophomore quarterback Kenny Hill took full responsibility for the drops and struggling passing game, claiming it was all on him. (It wasn’t, of course, but it was noble of him to do so).
* Hill added that he never gets down on his receivers for drops, instead he goes to the sidelines and tells them he’ll come right back to them if necessary.
* Finally on the Hill front, he said he and offensive coordinator Jake Spavital have made it a point of emphasis in practice this week to work on checking down to the running backs and so forth in the passing game, if the first couple of options simply aren’t there.
* Spavital said ideally he’d call a 50-50 percent game in terms of run-pass, but types of defenses also will dictate how that goes. He added that MSU played heavy against the run, and “when you spread them out, they have the most problems.”
“That’s one of the reasons we wanted to get out there and play as fast as we could (with) screens and getting the ball to the perimeter, and that would lead to the interior opening up, and you could (try and) run the ball,” Spavital said.
* Spavital vowed tight end Cameron Clear will become more involved in the offense as he continues recovering from a nagging ankle sprain.
* Defensive coordinator Mark Snyder said, despite a lack of depth at linebacker, they won’t shift any other players to that position this far into the season. Sumlin said they have the least amount of depth at linebacker as any position on the team.
* Freshman receiver Speedy Noil is an emerging star, but Sumlin reiterated (and this is completely understandable and the right thing to do) that he and Spavital aren’t going to rush Noil along, after he had knee surgery only a few weeks before. Noil has had a remarkable recovery, and starred late in the loss at MSU.
* Speaking of … senior receiver and leader Malcome Kennedy is probable for the Rebels, after missing the MSU game with a separated shoulder.
* A&M women’s coach Gary Blair, of all people, provided a bit of (humorous) bulletin-board material for the Rebels. Blair, in visiting with the media prior to the football coaches and players, offered, “We’re going to kick Ole Miss, because they’re still celebrating back there.”

mrob · Oct 10, 2014

awesome stuff, thx

From the local rags

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Silkydiamonds

Imma sip this tea

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mrob

Pretty much a regular

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