Things I'd Like To See UNT Work On During The Bye Week

The North Texas Mean Green has the week off to get healthy, work on problem areas, and prepare for a tough road game against UL-Lafayette.  I have come up with a list of things I'd like to see the Mean Green work on.

1) More use of game day production as the criteria in determining WR receiving opportunities in games

In the first two games UNT rightly based their passing efforts based off what the coaches saw in practice.  JUCO receivers Jamaal Jackson and Michael Outlaw were recruited to play immediately and both played well in practice.  Freshman Darius Carey flashed a lot and was given a few opportunites to prove he belonged in games.

It made sense to make either Jackson or Outlaw the primary receiving options on most plays.

Now you have 4 games of footage to see what you have.

It seems quite clear that Carey and Jackson are your two best receivers and last game the finally healthy BJ Lewis made a strong claim with his play that the team has 3 good starting caliber recievers.

Micheal Outlaw does not appear to be a player of that level yet.  He has the talent, but he seems very raw.  He doesn't run good routes.  He doesn't sell his cuts. He frequently overextends for balls and mistimes his jumps, making the easy catch into a hard one.  He has to be leading this team in drops by a good margin.

On top of that his two TD drops vs. Ohio appear to have gotten in his head.  Vs. MTSU the last UNT interception was a deep pass to Outlaw.  Outlaw ran a bad route, realized he hadn't shaken his man and he appeared to quit on the route in frustration.  A MTSU defensive back hustled accross the field and dove to make the goal line INT.

If Outlaw had run a strong route and not given up on the pass it is entirely possible he might have at least broken up that play if not caught the touchdown.

I am certainly not saying the team should not give the guy a chance to play his way out of his crises of confidence, but I am saying there may be receivers more deserving of playing in that 4th starting role at this point of the season where the games are very winnable and there is a real need to win some games now.

Alex Lott is the leading receiver returning from last year's squad.  He had a pretty good game a couple weeks ago and is a very sound and solid starting caliber slot receiver, but has pretty obvious maturity problems on the field. 

He wants to taunt his opponent after every catch.  He is an unsportmanlike conduct penalty waiting to happen.  If he can get his head straight he would be a very good addition to the starting lineup.  If he can't, he should stay in his current role.

I personally am rooting for Senior Kevin Dickerson to get more PT.  He clearly knows how to play the position.  His catches last week were textbook plays and he seems to not have the nonsensical baggage that Lott carries on to the field.  He doesn't have great speed, but he is a very functional receiver who runs good routes and has soft, reliable hands.

As the season progresses, I'd like to see less of Freshman WR Forrest Rucker in relief and more of Junior Breece Johnson.  Johnson flashed a little in practice over the off-season (possibly putting himself in line for an opportunity with this coaching staff) and was just a monster in high school.  Check out his 2006 high school stat line:

2006  88 receptions 1343 yards 15.2 yards per catch 19 TDs

That was at a 5A school (top level of competition in Texas).

He has by FAR the best high school resume of any of UNT's receivers.  I would like to see the UNT staff give him a series or two as a primary receiving option in the next few games and see how responds --- ala BJ Lewis vs. MTSU. 

If the team can tap the talent Johnson showed in High school the Mean green would have a good starting foursome with good depth and team's receiveing woes would likely be over.

2) Harshly critique the play of members of the defensive Line

There is no doubt that the defensive line is vastly improved over last season, but at various times the defensive line has sprung major leaks vs. the run.   I thought maybe it was a focus issue, but honestly it looks like those instances may have been more due to personnel substitution issues.

I have seen 3 of the four UNT games (I opted out on the Alabama game) and have opinions on what may need to occur, but they are based off what I have seen without the advantage of game film featuring the line exclusively as the coaches possess.

The films of these run defense breakdowns need to be thoroughly studied. Hopefully the coaches will see a need to do a play by play evaluation of the lineups. 

The impressions I have are that the team is quite good at stuffing the run when both the big JUCO DTs (Kelvin Jackson and Shavod Atkinson) are in, but is much less successful at it when either is out. 

Atkinson and Jackson seem to keep the line of scrimage straight when they play together.  When they are both in the interior of of the line is mostly even, creating running lanes that tend to go more outside, allowing the defensive ends more opportunity to escape their blockers and recover.

When they are paired with another DT, that DT tends to get sealed and lose a yard or two.  The running lanes are wider and the defensive ends cannot recover.

It appears that opponents get a little more movement on the team's other DTs and in combination with the undersized DEs that creates signifigant gaps to run through.

That does not mean that I am suggesting players like backup DT Jesse DeSoto should not play.  Quite the contrary.  Atkinson and Jackson are guys probably carrying about 5 lbs too much weight each and they do need breaks. 

What I am suggesting is that it might make a lot of sense to pair an undersized defensive tackle with a larger defensive end when a player like Desoto goes in.

It also might make sense to sit both Jackson and Atkinson at the same time.  Keeping one in tends to create more pronounced gaps.  It is certainly counterintuitive, but playing two defensive tackles who might both lose a yard or even two would keep the line more level and possibly open fewer running lanes.

If the backups were paired with two oversized ends who could better hold their position and slide to close the running lanes, that usage could be solid.

(Obviously, that logic could be dead wrong.  If the backup DTs give up more yards than that or end up getting blown backwards into our linebackers like last year, that won't work. )

Additionally, I think the law of diminishing returns is occuring with regards to the team's defensive ends.  Akpunku and Owusu-Hemeng are both good pass rushers, but appear to be getting a bit worn down trying to hold their position vs. the run for most of the snaps.

They are not as crisp off the ball or as fast in closing in passing downs as they should be and that ultimately is hurting our defensive backs by making them hold their coverage too long.

As much as the coaching staff likes the competitiveness both players have shown, it might be time to start protecting them a bit more.  I am advocating keeping them fresh for passing downs by making both situational pass rushers.

On first and second downs I think this team can live with slightly lesser pass rushers who squeeze the pocket as long as the pass rush can be cranked up a notch with fresher and faster DEs on 3rd and long.

285 lb Redshirt Freshman Tevinn Cantly played a bit last week at defensive end. The return of 270 lb JUCO transfer DE John Weber from injury will help a bit, but I think it might be time to look at moving a player from DT to DE to eat some plays. 

There are two square pegs at DT that the coaching staff are trying to hammer into round holes.

The obvious choice is to move 265 lb Senior Eddrick Gilmore back to DE.  He has been a non-factor at defensive tackle and was a solid player and the team's leading sacker at defensive end last season. 

He was the team's best defensive lineman last year. Arguably, he was a better player at DE last year than either of our starting DE's are this year.  He was able to stop the run, hold his position, and rush the passer.

Thus far his senior year has being wasted by this coaching staff.   That is not what they should want this junior class to see.

Junior DT Draylen Ross is another possibility.  He seems to be the teams 3rd tackle, but he also seems to be the guy who is in when the opponents gouge us vs. the run.  He is a great looking athlete, but I question whether he is physically built to play DT.

At 6'4" 292 he is built like a tall muscular DE.  I think he is being misused at DT.  He seems to constantly lose leverage and yardage vs. shorter interior offensive linemen, creating gaps and angles in the running game.

Ross was a pretty good defensive end in high school, recording 6 sacks one year.  He may need to move back to that position to get production to his level of talent out of him.

There was talk that 309 lb freshman DT Kyle White's redshirt status was burned as the team was forced to play him vs. Alabama.  If that is the case, he and Desoto should take the plays that would be freed up in the DT rotation.

3) Work on professionalism and sportsmanship

"Sportsmanship"? Really?  Yes, really. It is a problem.

This team is too inexperienced to endure unsportsmanlike conduct penalties.

This team cannot afford any more meltdowns like they had in the fourth quarter vs. MTSU.

Senior MLB Tobe Nwigwe has to realize that he is the heart of this defense.  If he looses his cool, the defense will collapse, just like it did vs. MTSU.  He is the leader of the defense and has to start understanding what that means they need from him emotionally.

Guys like WR Lott also need to outgrow the taunting.

4) Work on the deep pass

This team need to stretch the defense downfield a bit more.

Riley Dodge at this point in his career has a rag arm.   If this team is going to throw deep, they need to really sell their routes and Dodge has got to get the ball away quicker.

He is holding the ball too long on his deep rainbows. With as much hang time as they have, every deep pass looks to be an interception risk.  He has to get those off quicker to avoid the safety help.

Additionally the team has almost exclusively thrown deep to Michael Outlaw. With guys like WRs Carey (4.5 speed), Jackson (4.4), and Lewis (umm...fast.) they really should work on throwing deep to other, faster, more developed route runners.

5) Work on short yardage situations

The failed 4th and one attempt vs. MTSU underscored a recurring problem for the Dodge offense --- converting on very short yardage situations.

This team has the talent to score 40 a game, but won't acheive it as long as it believes it cannot convert short yardage plays.  To become a top offense you have to have a swagger that comes from a belief that you cannot be stopped.

On the fouth down play in question, Riley Dodge took the snap from under the center, but rather than running a QB sneak or handing the ball off to a running back barrelling straight ahead, the team rolled Dodge out on a bootleg and he was stuffed for no gain.

For a UNT fan that play brought back up a number of thoughts. Head Coach Todd Dodge has been reluctant to have any plays run from under the center and appeared to only added the formation to his play book this year due to intense pressure from the fans (although the players, the other coaches, and the AD may have also had roles in that decision).

Does Coach Dodge have any confidence in using the obvious plays from this set?  There is not much use for the set if you are unable to use it effectively --- making defenses have to defend the dives and QB sneaks.

Did they consider it too dangerous to have Riley Dodge run a QB sneak and dive into the pile? Did they have no confidence in the OL in generating the gap needed for the QB?

Did the coaching staff doubt that the inerior of UNT's line could open the gap to gain 1 yard? Did they doubt UNT's running backs could convert?

All of these are troubling thoughts that play puts into the heads of not only the fans, but also the offensive players when the coaching staff decides not to power your way straight ahead to a first down.

JJ Johnson is beloved for his heady play at center, but he is a sophomore who took over the job as an injury replacement for Kelvin Drake as a freshman last year.  It is possible that the coaching staff considers him not strong enough to create that gap.

Drake on the other hand is a Junior and was a three year letter winner on his high school power lifting team --- odds are he is strong enough to create a gap if Johnson is not.

Senior guard Gabe Hollivay is massive at 328 lbs and he held on to his starting job until the final week of the pre-season when Drake diplaced him.  He's obviously pretty good too and it never hurts to have more size on the field in short yardage situations.

HB Cam Montgomery or Micah Mosley have the size and strength to break tackles if the coaching staff decided on a dive over a sneak. 

Montgomery is a tall upright runner who fights for every yard, but as that is his running style, he will occasionally fumble.

Mosley is the better body for this kind of use, but needs reps in practice and games if he is going to regain the confidence to return to his high school form (2006: 297 rushes 2,403 yards 29 touchdowns).  He runs tenatively now tiptoeing around his linemen instead attacking the line with a head of steam and barrelling over opponents and, if needed, blockers alike.

Even if the team needs to substitute personnel, they should feel confident in their ability to power over the opposition for a first down through a QB sneak or a dive.

The QB sneak may not be natural to Riley Dodge.  He may not have run it a lot in his life.  If he is not good at it, let QBs Nathan Tune or Chase Baine run it. 

If you want to run outside perhaps using a converted TE like Ross as a short yardage TE would be helpful, although Bryant Seidle is a well regarded blocker.

Regardless of the plan of attack and the personnel changes they chose to implement -- if any -- this team needs to work on it's short yardage offense and gain confidence in their ability to convert.