University of North Texas Athletics
Green Gang: Save Those Couches North Texas Fans
8/12/2009 12:00:00 AM | Return to Play
By Steven Bartolotta, August 11, 2009, 11:45 p.m.
Is 2009 the season North Texas fans start burning couches in the street? Well if Todd Dodge has anything to say about it they will. Confused yet? Let me explain first and before you go sizing up the nearest couch in your place.
Earlier today at media days Coach Dodge spoke of how his 2009 offense could end up being like West Virginia's spread attack. No way you say. Well at first I laughed at the idea but then the more you think about it the more it's possible.
The 2009 edition of North Texas is going to be anchored, at least in the early part of the year, by the offensive line and running backs. It's also got a quarterback who can run the ball quite effectively.
West Virginia runs a similar type spread offense that North Texas does, but they cater to the strength's of that talent. Lately with Pat White and Noel Divine, it's been running. They ran the ball over 60 percent of the time last season mainly from the spread look.
Sifting through the coach speak, what Dodge was saying is that the Mean Green is going to be gearing things to the strength of the offense, which right now is the running back and offensive line.
Why weren't they doing that the last two years? Well the skill positions were very limited in terms of big-play ability. Short of Casey Fitzgerald and a few others, the big play vanished.
So how is North Texas going to bring that back using the West Virginia model? Playing to its strength and playmakers. Nobody is going to argue that Cam Montgomery, Lance Dunbar, and Riley Dodge are the biggest player-makers on offense. That's not to say that others won't become play-makers, but at the moment that's it.
The offensive line is the other part of this equation. It's a strength of this team and it's very, very deep. So it makes sense to run the ball and use your weapons to do so.
Tap the brakes though on thinking this offense can be like West Virginia's in terms of production. Its still very young, unproven and untested in a lot of spots.
I believe Dodge is onto something when it comes to comparing his offense to what he thinks it could be in the Mountaineers.
So what do couches, West Virginia, and North Texas have in common? Well after big wins in Morgantown, the tradition is to burn couches in celebratory fashion. I have no idea where, why, or what the thinking is behind that. Right now North Texas would like to take the Mountaineers success on the field.
It's a long mountain to climb, but one worth couching in the back of your mind.
