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Now I will admit that I didn't get to see the whole because of Neulion, which is something that has to be fixed, but here is my thoughts and observations on the game.
QB- People will always complain about his throwing abilities, but personally I thought that his passing was 300% better than last year. The pass to LeMaster was right on the money, and young receiver needs to know where he is on the field, and the touchdown to Johnson is a throw that first off I am not sure he puts enough touch to complete it, and secondly has enough patience to have him come that open. With Tirell the running will always be there, and he found the holes well. The only thing I see to improve is his ability to read the the end on the zone read option, there were too many times where he made the wrong choice.
Grade for Game- B
RB- Carlos didn't shine last night as sometimes we all think he should, but I do think he had a solid game. Like I said there were a few reads of Tirell that I think caused Carlos to loose some yardage, and a couple that may have cost him up to around 50 yards (there was one that was wide open). I was just as impressed with David Johnson or "The Big Johnson" as I thought I would be. He hits the hole hard, and has great speed as well. Seemed to obviously be able to catch the ball well. The one improvement I could see is he did try to dance in the open field when I think he could just try to truck the man. Finally the ball security was great, especially on a moist night.
Grade for Game- B+
WR/TE- This group is always tough to evaluate with our offense and being run oriented first. I did think that they did a nice job of finding holes in the defense and then completing the sort to intermediate pass. This was especially nice when we converted as many 3rd and medium to long as we did. The one area I have a problem with this group last night was missing some key blocks down field, and on receiver screens, in this offense I think that this is especially key to us being successful.
Grade for Game- C
OL- I felt that this group did a very nice job with Iowa State's straight defense, everyone understood their assignments and the offense marched the ball well. There were many nice holes for the runners, and Tirell had plenty of time to pass the ball. The one area I saw to improve on and I am sure coach Nelson will be most upset by was blitz recognition and understanding how responsibilities can change with the blitz. There were a couple of times I saw a lineman doing nothing when Iowa State blitzed.
Grade for Game- C+
DL- This group tore apart Iowa State's line Boothby was often doubled or even tripled which is nice because it allows the backers to roam free. We got nice pressure on Jantz but we did not take him down enough. We gave up 3.2 yards per carry which is very good, and the thing is I would say that it may be our worst of the season. This group I felt lived up to expectations. The one thing I would like to see down the line is more rotation, I do think that there is a lot of young talent, and we need to make sure not to wear out our studs.
Grade for Game- A-
LB- This group is fast and likes to hit, two great qualities in LB's. LJ looked like a man out there, he is always around the ball. James is one of the best open field tacklers I have ever seen, and Jordan doesn't get out of position. I think that this group will make this defense one of the best at UNI. There are a few things that I am sure the coaches will work to improve on. We can't get caught up in the "wash" which doesn't allow us to flow, and we have to be more effective blitzing. Next week will be a test with SFA's passing offense.
Grade for Game- B+
DB- This group played very well 3 interceptions is what we need to see every week. This group seemed to always be in position and let the other team beat you with a lucky play and let them make mistakes, both of which happened I really can't fault them for the loss, those things happen to the best team. The one area I do want to see improved on is tackling. Too often they went for the big hit and missed instead of just wrapping up. The group will have a huge task this week and I think will live up to it.
Grade for Game C+
Special Teams- Sieversten looks to be more accurate that Billy ever was, and will be good from about 45 or so, which is something that most FCS teams would love to have. Kyle didn't look good punting last night, a 35.1 average really isn't good. Our kickoffs on average got to the 12 which isn't good. Finally we need to catch the ball on punts, we lost a lot of yardage allowing a few to bounce.
Grade for Game D
Intangibles- 16 penalties for 113 yards in terrible this has to be fixed.
Grade for Game F-
Overall Grade C-
We played well enough to win the game, but I don't think we played all that well. I do think that ISU is better than last year, and 500X better than Cizek's team we beat in 2007. With that being said this game has to be flushed and we have to be ready on Saturday. SFA will be dirty and that concerns me as we have a bad history of being the 2nd guy and being the one getting caught.
Offensive Player of Game- Tirrell Rennie
Defensive Player of Game- L.J. Fort
QB- People will always complain about his throwing abilities, but personally I thought that his passing was 300% better than last year. The pass to LeMaster was right on the money, and young receiver needs to know where he is on the field, and the touchdown to Johnson is a throw that first off I am not sure he puts enough touch to complete it, and secondly has enough patience to have him come that open. With Tirell the running will always be there, and he found the holes well. The only thing I see to improve is his ability to read the the end on the zone read option, there were too many times where he made the wrong choice.
Grade for Game- B
RB- Carlos didn't shine last night as sometimes we all think he should, but I do think he had a solid game. Like I said there were a few reads of Tirell that I think caused Carlos to loose some yardage, and a couple that may have cost him up to around 50 yards (there was one that was wide open). I was just as impressed with David Johnson or "The Big Johnson" as I thought I would be. He hits the hole hard, and has great speed as well. Seemed to obviously be able to catch the ball well. The one improvement I could see is he did try to dance in the open field when I think he could just try to truck the man. Finally the ball security was great, especially on a moist night.
Grade for Game- B+
WR/TE- This group is always tough to evaluate with our offense and being run oriented first. I did think that they did a nice job of finding holes in the defense and then completing the sort to intermediate pass. This was especially nice when we converted as many 3rd and medium to long as we did. The one area I have a problem with this group last night was missing some key blocks down field, and on receiver screens, in this offense I think that this is especially key to us being successful.
Grade for Game- C
OL- I felt that this group did a very nice job with Iowa State's straight defense, everyone understood their assignments and the offense marched the ball well. There were many nice holes for the runners, and Tirell had plenty of time to pass the ball. The one area I saw to improve on and I am sure coach Nelson will be most upset by was blitz recognition and understanding how responsibilities can change with the blitz. There were a couple of times I saw a lineman doing nothing when Iowa State blitzed.
Grade for Game- C+
DL- This group tore apart Iowa State's line Boothby was often doubled or even tripled which is nice because it allows the backers to roam free. We got nice pressure on Jantz but we did not take him down enough. We gave up 3.2 yards per carry which is very good, and the thing is I would say that it may be our worst of the season. This group I felt lived up to expectations. The one thing I would like to see down the line is more rotation, I do think that there is a lot of young talent, and we need to make sure not to wear out our studs.
Grade for Game- A-
LB- This group is fast and likes to hit, two great qualities in LB's. LJ looked like a man out there, he is always around the ball. James is one of the best open field tacklers I have ever seen, and Jordan doesn't get out of position. I think that this group will make this defense one of the best at UNI. There are a few things that I am sure the coaches will work to improve on. We can't get caught up in the "wash" which doesn't allow us to flow, and we have to be more effective blitzing. Next week will be a test with SFA's passing offense.
Grade for Game- B+
DB- This group played very well 3 interceptions is what we need to see every week. This group seemed to always be in position and let the other team beat you with a lucky play and let them make mistakes, both of which happened I really can't fault them for the loss, those things happen to the best team. The one area I do want to see improved on is tackling. Too often they went for the big hit and missed instead of just wrapping up. The group will have a huge task this week and I think will live up to it.
Grade for Game C+
Special Teams- Sieversten looks to be more accurate that Billy ever was, and will be good from about 45 or so, which is something that most FCS teams would love to have. Kyle didn't look good punting last night, a 35.1 average really isn't good. Our kickoffs on average got to the 12 which isn't good. Finally we need to catch the ball on punts, we lost a lot of yardage allowing a few to bounce.
Grade for Game D
Intangibles- 16 penalties for 113 yards in terrible this has to be fixed.
Grade for Game F-
Overall Grade C-
We played well enough to win the game, but I don't think we played all that well. I do think that ISU is better than last year, and 500X better than Cizek's team we beat in 2007. With that being said this game has to be flushed and we have to be ready on Saturday. SFA will be dirty and that concerns me as we have a bad history of being the 2nd guy and being the one getting caught.
Offensive Player of Game- Tirrell Rennie
Defensive Player of Game- L.J. Fort
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