Take aways niu

[RebelinWA]

The defense got gassed, but didn't give up.

The offense can run and pass.

Work in progress, definetely; however we are better off than expected.

Mvp is our kicker. He kept us in the game.

The offensive was pretty creative, compared to past seasons.

 

[RebelBuzz]

When I saw your thread name, I thought this was going to be about forcing turnovers. Defense was hugely improved, even though they got gassed and didn't look great in stretches in the 4th quarter.

I think the next step will be to force some turnovers. Didn't do it last year. Didn't do it today.

Loved what I saw, though.

 

[RebelinWA]

Defense fitness, though improved is not quite there. Much much better than last year. I think a full year in this system is going to create studs. The attitude, wow! The offensive line is only going to get better. I liked the two qb system. Both had much different types of success. Barring injury, this is an effective way to give both guys experience.

We'll get killed next week, but I think this can be a 5 win season.

 

[Moscurry91]

This looks like a different team. Aside from the PF on the fair catch, the stupid mistakes were virtually nonexistent. The running game is VERY impressive. Decker looked shaky at times, but at the end, he was leading them downfield, only a couple of dropped passes stopped them. This was an entertaining game and a good start to the new era. This team will win some games down the stretch in MWC play. Defensive depth is a priority.

 

[RebelBuzz]

This looks like a different team. Aside from the PF on the fair catch, the stupid mistakes were virtually nonexistent. The running game is VERY impressive. Decker looked shaky at times, but at the end, he was leading them downfield, only a couple of dropped passes stopped them. This was an entertaining game and a good start to the new era. This team will win some games down the stretch in MWC play. Defensive depth is a priority.

I can hardly blame the PF on the fair catch. Every tv view I saw didn't show a fair catch signal. Sounds like he called for it right off Yunker's foot. Great football play, unfortunately, bad luck that the fair catch was called early.

 

[Bullmastiff 1]

I took away 5 things from this game.

1) The college game isn't to big for Tony Sanchez. He had his team prepared, they had a good game plan and they executed that game plan pretty well.

2) NIU has won the 3rd most games in the nation over the last three years, have been to 7 consecutive bowl games and were in a BCS game 2 years ago. NIU won this game because their bench is a little deeper than ours and they have a few more play makers than we do at this point.

3) Schematically the defense was in position and had a good game plan. Their weren't a ton of blown coverage, or guys out of position. NIU simply wore them down a bit down the stretch.

4) Devonte Boyd is probably going to be the best player to come out of UNLV not named Cunningham.

5) I still think this is going to be a tough season but 3-4 wins do not look like as nearly a tough hill to climb as I first thought.

 

[Bullmastiff 1]

I can hardly blame the PF on the fair catch. Every tv view I saw didn't show a fair catch signal. Sounds like he called for it right off Yunker's foot. Great football play, unfortunately, bad luck that the fair catch was called early.

Agreed, on the replay you never saw the kid wave for a fair catch. That isn't to say he didn't call for it early on but you couldn't see it in the replay.

 

[RebelinWA]

I m not expecting us to walk out with a win next week, but one can't hope and be excited for whats to come. Next week will have our defense on the field for 3/4ths of the game. I liked how on the last offensive drive for unlv, Sanchez went for it on 4th down. It didn't end in a line drive td, but it showed tenacity. Hauck would have punted.

 

[lynaskin]

I m not expecting us to walk out with a win next week, but one can't hope and be excited for whats to come. Next week will have our defense on the field for 3/4ths of the game. I liked how on the last offensive drive for unlv, Sanchez went for it on 4th down. It didn't end in a line drive td, but it showed tenacity. Hauck would have called timeout, then fake punted.

Fixed it for you.

I think we're making progress. We tackled SO much better until we got gassed. I did however over the summer forget how much i hate losing. I'm gonna miss those blissful days for a while.

 

[ToddL18]

I liked the play calling on both sides of the ball, it was way better than the last two coaches we've had here. However depth is gonna be a major issue with this team it seems at certain spots we are 1 player and no options. Guys were gassed way to soon and that isn't a sign, if we had decent depth i could see 5 or so wins but we dont will need to be lucky in injury department to hit that. In all I did think we got worse as the game went on in tackling.

 

[1rebelfan1]

Agreed, on the replay you never saw the kid wave for a fair catch. That isn't to say he didn't call for it early on but you couldn't see it in the replay.

Agreed, never saw the fair catch signal. I will live with hustle mistakes all night. The team did get gassed in the 4th but that will take care of itself as some of the youngsters start to step up. I'm super excited about the ucla game AND can't wait to go to the Big House. Win or lose, the Rebels will not quit this year.

 

[Bullmastiff 1]

It really did come down to a lack of depth especially on the defensive side of the ball. We also watched 9 true freshmen see the field last night.

Agreed, never saw the fair catch signal. I will live with hustle mistakes all night. The team did get gassed in the 4th but that will take care of itself as some of the youngsters start to step up. I'm super excited about the ucla game AND can't wait to go to the Big House. Win or lose, the Rebels will not quit this year.

I am with you, now if you hit a guy out of bounds that is a problem. I really think that the hit on the punt return looked so violent and was timed so well, that the referee felt there had to be some type of illegal hit involved. Sort of like when a receiver is crossing the middle and gets lit up by defensive back. Refs tend to throw flags for 'targeting' or 'leading with the helmet' when in fact in slow motion it is obvious the hit was legal. I really think that is what happened on that last night. I never saw a hand go up on any replay.

 

[rebelbuck]

The signal was literally done right when our punter hit. No way for our guys to know and from what the commentators stated during that play, the returner is supposed to wave his arm 2 times about the shoulder pads. Tough Plays.

 

[Bullmastiff 1]

The signal was literally done right when our punter hit. No way for our guys to know and from what the commentators stated during that play, the returner is supposed to wave his arm 2 times about the shoulder pads. Tough Plays.

Exactly. There was no way for anyboby to see the signal.

 

[YellowSpinE]

Seems we have some qb that can play. Was a good game. In it to the end. Couple tough weeks still ahead but can help the team improve if they just keep there heads up.

 

[willlevi]

The game wasn't too dissimilar from last year when NIU came to visit but the effort was a plus being on the road. Last year there was a second half surge while this season there was a burst out of the gate.
493 total yards last year to to 499 yards last season.
545 yards given up to 616 last year.
3.2 yards per carry to 3.5 yards per carry offense, while defensively 4.4 to 4.8
5.7 yards per play to 6.7 offense last year, while defensively 8.0 from 6.4

2015: http://www.niuhuskies.com/sports/m-footbl/stats/2015-2016/unlv-niu.html
2014: http://www.unlvrebels.com/sports/m-footbl/stats/2014-2015/niu-lv.html

For me, I'm hoping to see if the energy shown in the first half of the game be maintained over the course of a season rather than a half. I liked the management of the game by the staff but they seemed to become less effective with the playcalling once NIU made adjustments.
The good is that the team was competitive and came out ready to fight but every game is a 12 round battle.
The running backs also have to average more than 2.7 yards a carry if the team is to maintain a healthy quarterback heading into the second half of the season.
I also think the staff should have stuck with Decker on the critical drive of the second half before the momentum truly flipped. I know you want to play Palendech but its better to save it for the end of the game.
Overall, promising first game for the Sanchez led Rebels. I'm interested in the UCLA and Michigan contest but my eyes are set on Idaho State as the pivot game of the year,

 

[rebelx]

• NIU had to go deep in the playbook, multiple times.
• Devonte Boyd misses a catch that bounced off his hands to end the game....that wont happen very often.... things were beginning to roll again for th O....
• overall, good game. Oline struggled creating holes, but worked their @$$es off.
• Misdirection kinda killed us a bit.
• A couple FGs and stalled drives in their territory hurt, as well as giving up that TD before the half.

 

[RebelinWA]

What i saw was all of the freshmen have potential to do big things. Polu is going to be a monster when he develops. Imagine the o line two years from now after caldwell, garcia, outlaw, and polu all have a yead/ couple of years under their belts.

I liked the use of the tight end/ full backs as well. We have so many talented tight ends, its a shame we never utilized them before.

 

[malachi martin]

Right tackle looks like it may be an issue going forward. He was getting beat bad by the speed rush as broadcasters noted. They may have to juggle o-line to fix. Positive was decker was getting rid of the ball much quicker than last year and that definitely helps the line. Very impressed with the coaching and Sanchez !

 

[rebelx]

Enter Ryan Nowicki....... probably the reason for the late addition

 

[LasVegasReb]

Right tackle looks like it may be an issue going forward. He was getting beat bad by the speed rush as broadcasters noted. They may have to juggle o-line to fix. Positive was decker was getting rid of the ball much quicker than last year and that definitely helps the line. Very impressed with the coaching and Sanchez !

Was that J'Ondray Sanders or Patrick Caroll? He couldn't wrap his man up and Decker got plastered a couple times because of it.

 

[rebelbuck]

Sanders. First career game against a very sound defensive Front. Be interesting to see if he holds onto his spot. Sanchez likes competing and challenging the players.

 

[WarthogRebel]

For me, I was glad to see no huge coaching blunders. It got so I was just waiting for Hauck to call some crazy play to mess things up.

 

[reb4life777]

A few balls dont get dropped i think its a different outcome. Very proud to be a Rebel fan

 

[Bullmastiff 1]

A few balls dont get dropped i think its a different outcome. Very proud to be a Rebel fan

It may not seem like much but the difference between 21-3 & 17-3 is huge. Maybe not on the scoreboard but the psyche of the opponent. NIU is a team that has pretty big aspirations these days. I gotta imagine a team favored by 21 that found itself down by 3 scores might have started to press maybe make some mistakes. Its a mute point but you wish you could go back and see if it changed the outcome.

One play I think people are forgetting was the play J. Miles just missed. He was really close to an interception that might have been a pick 6.

 

[New Era Rebel]

Having the bad first half and then the 2nd half rally last year, compared to the situation this year seem completely diff to me. UNLV became gassed due to lack of depth, and on def the speeding up of the game by UNI which was smart coaching by them. I personally do not believe, despite the comparable statistics, that the 2 were that much alike. Of course that is just from my observations. I am sure I could be wrong. Last year I saw bad technique and mistakes from the start, this year the technique/errors seemed to start when the guys became worn down. I am encouraged overall. I knew this wasn't going to be an overnight turnaround. I think it was very interesting the improvement the Special teams showed overall under new coaching. The old S.Teams Coach left much to be desired.

 

[New Era Rebel]

Right tackle looks like it may be an issue going forward. He was getting beat bad by the speed rush as broadcasters noted. They may have to juggle o-line to fix. Positive was decker was getting rid of the ball much quicker than last year and that definitely helps the line. Very impressed with the coaching and Sanchez !

I will say this, the TD pass to get within 8 was only because the RT stepped up and made a very gritty play. He really fought on the play and gave Decker the time needed

 

[j. spilotro]

It may not seem like much but the difference between 21-3 & 17-3 is huge. Maybe not on the scoreboard but the psyche of the opponent. NIU is a team that has pretty big aspirations these days. I gotta imagine a team favored by 21 that found itself down by 3 scores might have started to press maybe make some mistakes. Its a mute point but you wish you could go back and see if it changed the outcome.

One play I think people are forgetting was the play J. Miles just missed. He was really close to an interception that might have been a pick 6.

Wasn't it Myles that got burnt later? Pump fake, he bit - long gone. I don't mind that so much, I'd rather see DB's try to make plays instead of giving a 15 yard cushion on every down.

I thought the most pivotal score in the game was NIU's late in the first half. Definitely changed the demeanor of the game. UNLV went from dominating the game to up a score at half. Huge difference in psyche.

 

[Bullmastiff 1]

Wasn't it Myles that got burnt later? Pump fake, he bit - long gone. I don't mind that so much, I'd rather see DB's try to make plays instead of giving a 15 yard cushion on every down.

I thought the most pivotal score in the game was NIU's late in the first half. Definitely changed the demeanor of the game. UNLV went from dominating the game to up a score at half. Huge difference in psyche.

Yeah he bit on a double move. Funny how one play here and there can alter an outcome. I think N.Illinois scored a play or two after Miles just missed that into.

That N.Illinois score before half really did swing momentum I agree. I think if you were looking for single moments in the game, that and settling for FG instead of 7 to bump the lead to 21-3 were two of the biggest.

 

[malachi martin]

I will say this, the TD pass to get within 8 was only because the RT stepped up and made a very gritty play. He really fought on the play and gave Decker the time needed

There was another play where decker had a guy down field for a TD but had to rush his throw because of pressure from the right side . I feel for the kid but he was getting beat bad in that 2nd half. Doesn't look as big as the guy they had there last year. They will need help there because there will be guys bigger and faster coming up soon!

 

[RebelBuzz]

Lotta woulda coulda shoulda talk here, and I'm fine with that. I'll put a bow on it:

- We were inches away from blocking a punt in the first half and taking it back for 6. If you watch a replay, it's hard to see how punt DIDN'T get blocked.

- Miles was in perfect position for a pick-6 when he jumped the route and only had a PBU.

- When we forced the 3-and-out after the Criswell TD (to give us shot to tie the game at 38), on 2nd down, Vea had a perfect blitz and forced a fumble by their QB. Luckily for them, the ball bounced perfectly their way and not further into the backfield.

I believe this coaching staff is instilling techniques and attitudes that will allow our team to start converting these game-changing plays.