Going to keep this here because there's no reason to start another thread to review such a debacle...and this one is ALL on our coaches. We just got outcoached by non-P5 staff that went 0-6 last year and lost to every P5 program by an average of 20 pts. Seriously, no team (on an all MAC schedule) scored less than 30 points on NIU last season...and we broke that streak for them.
POSITIVES:
1. Our receivers are getting open. A lot of them were WIDE open. Saw it a lot last season as well. Unfortunately, we are not finding them, or our QBs are making horrendous throws. Sims made the reads during his short time in the game, but he was throwing them short. Sims should have had at least 2 TD passes.
2. Our RBs are who we thought they were. That is, they are REALLY good. Gibbs should have had 100+/- yards receiving to go with his almost 100 yards rushing...unfortunately he was underthrown by Sims in the first half on what would have been a TD, and Yates completely missed him wide open in the end zone in the 2nd half. Mason had 96 yards rushing. Smith's one touch would have gone for 100 yards if we started at the goal line...no one was catching him but he ran out of room. Like I said last year, Smith deserves more carries...he is the most explosive back we have, and he's gotten added size and strength.
3. I thought we would be able to run against NIU, and I was right. We had almost 300 yards (273 actual) rushing against NIU. Just our RBs alone accounted for over 200 yards. Our running game was doing their part in this.
4. Jordan Yates is a gamer. He's missing some reads and not seeing some wide open receivers (see Gibbs in the end zone), but he keeps our offense moving. He took some shots that would have probably sent a lot of QBs to the sideline, but he dusted himself off and kept playing. He doesn't have Sim's physical talents and arm strength, but you can tell he understands our offense and how to keep the chains moving. Sims needs to get that part down because if he does, Sims is an All ACC QB.
5. Speaking of Sims, good to see him rooting on Yates. He seemed genuinely happy for Yates and I think it helped our offense.
6. Malachi Carter can be as good as he wants to be. The tools are there...it's just consistency. That drop in the second half to keep the chains moving was a bad drop...certainly below his level of talent.
7. Our defense actually was not as bad as we think. Did they have some breakdowns? Yes...especially in the 4th quarter. But this loss was not on them. From the 10 minute mark in the 2nd Qtr, to the last minute in the 4th quarter, they kept a clean sheet. Had our offense did their job, no one is talking about our defense today. NIU barely had 300 yards, and their QB was kept to 136 yards of passing. The one negative is our defense allowd NIU's RB to rush for 144 yards...that should not be happening with such a big talent disparity.
8. Kyric McGowin looked good as well. We just didn't find him, or we underthrew him. He's going to be really good for us.
NEGATIVES:
1. By my count, we left 27 points on the field. Underthrown balls for TDs, not seeing wide open receivers in the end zone, and missing FGs. This game should not have been close at all...but somehow, we allowed NIU to hang around long enough and they took advantage of it. Hats off to NIU players and coaches...they did their jobs, we did not.
2. Does anyone know if Thacker or CGC calls the defense? I'll be honest, I've seen what CGC can do at UF and Miss St. This does not have the hallmark of a CGC defense. I'll give CGC credit in that he gives his assistants jobs to do and he seems to give them rope to do their jobs...but at some point we need to see it.
3. I see Patenaude getting a lot of flack for this game, but IMO, I think his schemes are actually good. His players have to execute. We rushed for almost 300 yards, and should have had almost that many yards passing. Our receivers were running all over the secondary wide open...but our QBs either did not find them, or threw bad balls. Of course, execution of plays is ultimately his responsibility, so he's not getting a pass there (no pun intended). At the end of the day, it's about execution....and we were not good at executing. If players are not performing to a level that keeps this offense productive, then he needs to pull those players. Even if it's our star QB.
4. For all the 4 stars we have in the secondary, we are pitifully slow back there. This will be an issue against better teams... and I think it will be magnified. We've got a LOT of guys that look like Tarzan in the secondary, but run like Jane in high heels.
5. I didn't see it last season, but this year, Gibbs is visibly showing frustration. Several times our QBs missed a read or made a bad throw Gibbs just threw his hands in the air and put his head down. I think if the wheels come off this season, I would not be surprised at all to see Gibbs take advantage of the portal. I honestly would not blame him either.
6. Our coaching...WTF. We get on our players for development issues, but really some of our coaching decisions haven't improved either. It's hard to blame players for mistakes when our coaches are still making dumb decisions. Like others have said, the time for hype and marketing has passed. It's time to show results. CGC has the roster to challenge for the Coastal, but right now, it looks like our coaching deficiencies will keep us from that.
Losing to NIU isn't the end of the world, and there's a LOT of football to be played. However, if our coaches don't turn this ship in the right direction, this could go bad quickly. Time for CGC to walk the walk...he's certainly talked enough.