I think you’d have to scour

[j. spilotro]

the annals of UNLV football history to find a worse passing performance by a quarterback who played all four quarters. I don’t know if QB ratings drop into negative numbers, if they don’t, they should and they should be slapped upon the very rare occurrences like tonight. It was embarrassing. I don’t know how it played on TV, but you could see his confidence was shot and he was AFRAID to throw the ball.

Great legs, tremendous runner. The rest is/has been bad and I don’t know that it will improve. I mean, how many poor throwing performances does it take for it not to be considered a fluke? He is what he is - a tremendously strong and athletic, dynamic runner with a strong but terribly inaccurate (I can’t even call it inconsistent, he has been pretty consistent) arm.

It’s tough because this is chronic and at some point, it’s going to test the psyche of the team big time. And I’m sure the controversy of a switch will come upon us, if it hasn’t already. It’s a no brainer if he wasn’t such a terrific runner. If CTS is positive the backing is there to a man, I don’t think he has a choice but to ride it out and hope and work the mind.

But I’m also worried about Lex. I love him as a player. But I don’t know that he’s built to grab that many tough carries and yards. No team is going to respect Rogers’ throwing ability and we will keep seeing stacked sets. It’s going to wear on Lex at an accelerated rate. It’s great that we have other capable backs, I think we need to get them more reps to take away from the wear and tear on Lex. Of course, this is remedied if we can complete more than 5 passes in a game and not toss for 25 yards and 3 INTS.

That said, we were pretty damn awful tonight. Yet we were in it on the road until the very end. A lot to be proud of and a lot to have confidence in. I still believe this team is “good”, but because of a passing game that is at such an alarmingly poor extreme, you have to wonder if this team will even come close to their capability.

Very frustrating game. One of the most frustrating I’ve witnessed. When you could win a game by just accomplishing some simple, expected tasks at a low level yet don’t do it, it stings.

I think they’ll bounce back from this and will find ways to win the games they should and maybe one or two they shouldn’t, but they may have to do it the hard way.

Great time, homey, fun town… people were great, stadium was very nice, opposing fans were exceptional. Very friendly and cordial and accommodating. I’d love to play here again. Great trip in spite of a disappointing loss and poor weather today.

 

[goraphareb]

well said I almost feel exactly the same way!!

 

[Pistol Pete 1]

Joe, it played absolutely horrible on tv tonight. You could see the panic and indecision to do anything other than tuck it and run. Shoot me a message if you get a chance for something I just can’t share here.

 

[TomKingsley]

Good stuff, Joe. I was surprised they didn’t call more underneth passes in hope of getting him into a rthym, but the passes they did call were so wildly overthrown there was a better chance of the D making a play than the receivers. D played well, O line was good to very good, punter wss terrific, and if they could have completed 10-13 passes for 100-130 yards they probably would have won the game. Would have, but didn’t.

 

[ImmaRebel]

Caleb Herring's Hesiman performance at reno during the 2011 season. Caleb was 1 for 14 passing for 8 yards in a 37-0 loss.
Even the neutral tv crew announcing the game couldn't believe Hauck stayed with Herring the whole game, I am pretty sure he threw at least one interception that game which was returned for more than 8 yards.

Coach Sanchez its time to think outside the box. Rotate qb's perhaps with one who can throw the ball. Last year's loss at reno was a disgrace which would have been avoided if you had played Stanton in the 2nd half.

Armani is a great running QB, but if you continue to play him the whole game, this will be your last season as head coach.
I think you have done great things for UNLV Football, and I believe you are close to the success we all want to see. Give opponents different looks. Keep them honest on Defense with a passing threat. Give Armani a rest in each half which will keep him fresher when he's in the game, but it will give opposing defenses something else to think of when he's not in.

 

[j. spilotro]

Caleb Herring's Hesiman performance at reno during the 2011 season. Caleb was 1 for 14 passing for 8 yards in a 37-0 loss.
Even the neutral tv crew announcing the game couldn't believe Hauck stayed with Herring the whole game, I am pretty sure he threw at least one interception that game which was returned for more than 8 yards.

Coach Sanchez its time to think outside the box. Rotate qb's perhaps with one who can throw the ball. Last year's loss at reno was a disgrace which would have been avoided if you had played Stanton in the 2nd half.

Armani is a great running QB, but if you continue to play him the whole game, this will be your last season as head coach.
I think you have done great things for UNLV Football, and I believe you are close to the success we all want to see. Give opponents different looks. Keep them honest on Defense with a passing threat. Give Armani a rest in each half which will keep him fresher when he's in the game, but it will give opposing defenses something else to think of when he's not in.

Wow. I don’t recall that. It’s actually hard to believe. Thank you.

 

[Pistol Pete 1]

Yeah, he had a couple real scary performances plus he was super skinny and couldn’t take the beating Armani can.

 

[dcut03]

...and Caleb turned out to be a pretty good QB that led us to a bowl game. Imagine he stayed at QB...

I get it, it is a tough call. Armani has the tools to be an excellent QB, but this year has been awful. I think they were keeping it simple against our easy games because they could this season, but I think if they would have worked on the pass a little more, maybe he would be more polished at this point.

Hard to say, there is a bye week coming up, hopefully they can clean up a few things. Sanchez has had gameplans with multiple QBs before, maybe they try it.

 

[khokhol8]

How much of it was the rain the whole game. Not a lot of wet practices in Las Vegas. I see many NFL quarterbacks wear gloves in wet or cold conditions and be very good. A good QB will always be able to adjust so this game may have to go into the "a learning experience" bag

 

[j. spilotro]

How much of it was the rain the whole game. Not a lot of wet practices in Las Vegas. I see many NFL quarterbacks wear gloves in wet or cold conditions and be very good. A good QB will always be able to adjust so this game may have to go into the "a learning experience" bag

Except for he’s had other games that looked similar in perfect weather.

 

[dcut03]

Except for he’s had other games that looked similar in perfect weather.

Nothing near that type of performance.

He has been off this season, but it has worsened as the year goes on. He has actually looked the best at USC, against the best defense he has seen this year. He has not looked anywhere near the best he was last season at anytime this season.

Something is off, and that includes his confidence and his rhythm. I know that Cotton doesn't want to pass it much, but I think they need to try more just to get Armani more comfortable back there. His legs probably has hurt his progression there since he can bail on the pass and get something positive.

This a problem most mobile QBs have with their development. Eventually most get it and it clicks, for some it never does (Kurt Palendech for example).

If it clicks we will have a special player. I think that is why he is getting more of a leash. I do think that running Max out there for a few series may be worth it

 

[j. spilotro]

Nothing near that type of performance.

He has been off this season, but it has worsened as the year goes on. He has actually looked the best at USC, against the best defense he has seen this year. He has not looked anywhere near the best he was last season at anytime this season.

Something is off, and that includes his confidence and his rhythm. I know that Cotton doesn't want to pass it much, but I think they need to try more just to get Armani more comfortable back there. His legs probably has hurt his progression there since he can bail on the pass and get something positive.

This a problem most mobile QBs have with their development. Eventually most get it and it clicks, for some it never does (Kurt Palendech for example).

If it clicks we will have a special player. I think that is why he is getting more of a leash. I do think that running Max out there for a few series may be worth it

No, nothing like last game. Not many QB’s in the country can say that. Still, even in the two wins, most were saying he was off, not sharp, wild... winning by 50 doesn’t mean you passed well. Some good passes here and there, even a couple of great passes. But overall, he’s been bad with accuracy, was bad with accuracy last season too.

I hope it clicks, I do think we’d have a very special player if it does. If clicking means consistently above average, we won’t see it click this season. May fluke into it now and again. But long haul, I don’t see it. Making that part of the game click is going to take off season work, not midseason work. And it may take a shrink too.

 

[dcut03]

No, nothing like last game. Not many QB’s in the country can say that. Still, even in the two wins, most were saying he was off, not sharp, wild... winning by 50 doesn’t mean you passed well. Some good passes here and there, even a couple of great passes. But overall, he’s been bad with accuracy, was bad with accuracy last season too.

I hope it clicks, I do think we’d have a very special player if it does. If clicking means consistently above average, we won’t see it click this season. May fluke into it now and again. But long haul, I don’t see it. Making that part of the game click is going to take off season work, not midseason work. And it may take a shrink too.

I agree. What is frustrating is that from many accounts he did get better with a lot of that stuff in the offseason. Enter this season, he looked confident at USC. His completion % wasn't great obviously, but he had some drops. He also had some throw always under pressure which were smart plays. Some of his passes were great. The TD pass to Keys, the should have been TD pass to keys on the back shoulder was a high level pass. And this was against a very talented secondary and defensive front.

Hope the bye week he can get back to basics and get his mojo back. I also hope they add some new plays or wrinkles to his playbook to get him in rhythm better. I don't think he will be a great passer this season, ,but I think he can get better.

 

[RebelBuzz]

I am interested to see what this week brings. As people here have said... he looked like there was some improvement for the USC game. The TD strike to Keys was nice, and he had another pass to Keys that should have been brought down as he put it right in the right spot (this was right before we missed the FG, if I recall correctly).

The next two games are unique because we were able to run so effectively that passing wasn't necessary. But even in those games he had a couple bright moments (TD passes to Stevenson, Tjechman, Woods). And then came this game. I dunno... I just don't want to make any big decisions coming off a rain-soaked game. Yes, he has had accuracy problems for most of his career, but he has never had a game where he looked as bad as Saturday. So he either had a HUGE regression, or that game was a bit of an anomoly.

When you have a guy who is already not super accurate, adding a wet ball and slippery footing to the conditions isn't going to help.

In the end, he offers enough that I see no reason to start a QB controversy. Are those ever helpful? I don't think so. Armani has ELITE running ability. This ability opens up the ground game for Lex and Co. Do I wish he was the "whole package" with great accuracy to boot? Sure. But I don't think it's worth adding the problems that come from a QB controversy, especially when our backups are a true freshman and a juco transfer who will both almost certainly be a dropoff with their ability to run the ball.

 

[khokhol8]

He got beat up a lot that game since he had to run so much. He was moving much slower after plays by the end of the game. It's good that the Rebels now have 2 weeks before the conference season starts to get healthy and to work on that passing game.

 

[ImmaRebel]

No doubt Armani got beat up at Ark. St.
The three previous seasons we have lost QB's to injuries with this offensive, including Armani last year. It wouldn't be surprising if it happens again this year. The two back up QB won't be able to run like Armani.
Pick your numer 2 QB and give him some playing time in conference play so he will be that much more ready in the event of another injury at QB

 

[rebneck]

@ImmaRebel made mention, above, of rotating 2 QBs. While I don't know that I'd want to actually rotate QBs, having a QB who can pass effectively at the ready for must-pass situations would be wise. Armani gives us the best chance to win, game in and game out, of all the QBs (at least it would appear). But he does not give us the best chance in a hurry-up situation or coming back from a deep deficit when time/number of possessions is a major factor. I have no idea what type of passer Gilliam is, nor Grayson. Oblad was a heralded HS passer, but he only has limited availability and, almost certainly, is ready to step on the field. But, unless Armani and his receivers can figure it out, we're always going to lose these types of games.

BTW, why was Armani dropping back so much, anyway? We're a running team, it's no secret. That's what we do. We're good at it. We're not a passing team. We suck at it. So, were we trying to catch them off guard by trying to do something we struggle with? Geez.... Sometimes our play calling just gets too frigging cute.

 

[Mojo702]

Can Armani's passing troubles be attributed to the QB coach?

 

[rebneck]

Can Armani's passing troubles be attributed to the QB coach?

His issues came with him. The QB coach is supposed to help him overcome them, and they are still present.