(11-09-2022 10:37 PM)HuskiePride12 Wrote:  

(11-09-2022 10:32 PM)Big Red Wrote:  WMU isn't that good but man it sure feels like this defense if finally coming around.

I think that had more to do with playing another bad team on NIUs level this season. Did love what I saw out of Jordan white though.

I don't totally disagree but we've played other teams on our level and gotten ran over by the opposing offense earlier in the season.

This group looks better.

(11-09-2022 10:51 PM)Big Red Wrote:  

(11-09-2022 10:37 PM)HuskiePride12 Wrote:  

(11-09-2022 10:32 PM)Big Red Wrote:  WMU isn't that good but man it sure feels like this defense if finally coming around.

I think that had more to do with playing another bad team on NIUs level this season. Did love what I saw out of Jordan white though.

I don't totally disagree but we've played other teams on our level and gotten ran over by the opposing offense earlier in the season.

This group looks better.

Corners still suck…BUT lots of man coverage tonight seems to have helped them. I thought white, Hanson, and alvarado were the best non d line players on defense.

Disappointed in gandy and Byrd.

Thrilled with the play of the D line.

(11-09-2022 10:35 PM)NILAW Wrote:  

(11-09-2022 10:32 PM)142niu Wrote:  Happy for this team.....Nick Alvarado is going to be "the guy"

We found a couple of good players on D - Alvarado and White

Yes., Both have been coming around last couple weeks. I have been noticing White, but not Alvarado. Only thing I notice about him was a bad penalty he messed up on, Hams gave him a big chewing out.

(11-09-2022 10:55 PM)BigChilla Wrote:  

(11-09-2022 10:51 PM)Big Red Wrote:  

(11-09-2022 10:37 PM)HuskiePride12 Wrote:  

(11-09-2022 10:32 PM)Big Red Wrote:  WMU isn't that good but man it sure feels like this defense if finally coming around.

I think that had more to do with playing another bad team on NIUs level this season. Did love what I saw out of Jordan white though.

I don't totally disagree but we've played other teams on our level and gotten ran over by the opposing offense earlier in the season.

This group looks better.

Corners still suck…BUT lots of man coverage tonight seems to have helped them. I thought white, Hanson, and alvarado were the best non d line players on defense.

Disappointed in gandy and Byrd.

Thrilled with the play of the D line.

I think Gandy is an Ok player would be ideal as a backup
IMO. Hopefully they have some others that can step up

It feels like the boys just won the natty. What a great feeling to win. I agree that Cremascoli is learning and will be fine. That nice TD throw to Tucker was the same route he missed to Rutkiewicz last week. Baby steps.

Looks like the WMU QB is only playing his 3rd game and has some young receivers which lead to some inconsistency which hurt them on 3rd down conversions and taking all of those sacks. Lynch comes in late in 4Q and is able to dominate a winded defense. The win feels good but I think it was a real ugly win against a team struggling just as much.

Bill Baker said the Miami QB was re-injured at the end of their game and likely to be out next week, so maybe another opportunity to squeak out an ugly win.

Thanks fellas. Not that WMU was going to win the final 3, but hey.

Nevan was 1-for-4 with two picks in the flat. Three of the four passes in the second half to the flat… Horrible way to groom a QB.

We won, I got to host a intimate event at a bar with other passionate NIU fans. Life is good.

Great win!! Winning sure beats the alternative... man I've missed this feeling. As brutal as this season has gone, kudos to the players and staff for sticking together and continuing to go out there and compete.

Let's grab another win next week vs. Miami and try to carry some momentum into the offseason....

FANTASTIC final drive by Lynch. That kid ran HARD and I respect that brand of football. Hard-nosed football and he led us to victory. congrats JL.

Credle had a nice game. Monster workload for a freshman but he ran hard and showed some flashes. That kid has game.

Cremascoli's TD throw to Tucker was a thing of beauty. He made some nice throws and he also made some boneheaded decisions - as you'd expect from a true freshman QB. I like his size , arm and mobility. It definitely feels like he's more mobile i.e. getting out of the pocket to extend a play compared to Hampton.

Hopefully Rocky comes back next season healthy and Hampton and Cremascoli can compete for backup. I agree with a precvious post about Lynch being in some packages every game. You can't teach that type of hard-nosed , physical running. The kid is strong just like Jordan was and he doesn't shy away from contact.

Go Huskies

(11-09-2022 10:21 PM)Big Red Wrote:  

(11-09-2022 10:19 PM)DPD Wrote:  So… can we just keep lynch as QB for the rest of the way.

He's a gimmick.

Cremascoli should be the guy, keep developing him, and use Lynch from time to time especially late when the opposing defense is banged up and tired.

Yeah Jordan was a gimmick too, Id like to see Big Red get in either one of those gimmicks way....HAHAHAHA!!!

(11-09-2022 11:51 PM)badmoonrising13 Wrote:  Nevan was 1-for-4 with two picks in the flat. Three of the four passes in the second half to the flat… Horrible way to groom a QB.

Only pass young QBs allowed to throw.

Cremascoli seems to have the tools, but one thing I noticed that IMO someone needs to coach him to deal with ... whenever he rolls out, it is *always* to the right, and his stance in the pocket makes it obvious. Natural for a right-hander, but WMU defense keyed on it every time. Even when they rushed/pressured, they had one extra guy coming in from that side every time. He needs to have a move that disguises that, or makes it less obvious.

Also, something WMU QB and RB did that at least looked odd, but worked ... the QB faked a handoff to the one RB and dropped to pass, while the RB ran up full speed 2-3 steps and then froze, but still behind the off line. That froze the NIU def line and a couple backs coming in, like they were waiting for him to keep coming. That added a couple seconds for the QB to set up and throw. If you get a chance to look at the video again, it's an obvious move and easy to see because it looks weird.

Fine-tuning, I know, but fun to sometimes dissect a game, especially when NIU wins. "Huskies never quit!" (>from NIU promo videos).

(11-10-2022 03:05 AM)pvk75 Wrote:  Cremascoli seems to have the tools, but one thing I noticed that IMO someone needs to coach him to deal with ... whenever he rolls out, it is *always* to the right, and his stance in the pocket makes it obvious. Natural for a right-hander, but WMU defense keyed on it every time. Even when they rushed/pressured, they had one extra guy coming in from that side every time. He needs to have a move that disguises that, or makes it less obvious.

Also, something WMU QB and RB did that at least looked odd, but worked ... the QB faked a handoff to the one RB and dropped to pass, while the RB ran up full speed 2-3 steps and then froze, but still behind the off line. That froze the NIU def line and a couple backs coming in, like they were waiting for him to keep coming. That added a couple seconds for the QB to set up and throw. If you get a chance to look at the video again, it's an obvious move and easy to see because it looks weird.

Fine-tuning, I know, but fun to sometimes dissect a game, especially when NIU wins. "Huskies never quit!" (>from NIU promo videos).

Cremascoli seems like he can run, throw, has a good head on his shoulders, excited about him. He was smart enough as a freshman to throw away a few balls, but needs to be able to calm down and see all coverage. Threw a few balls with D players lurking resulting in picks. Great job for a freshman though, like him.

(11-10-2022 07:05 AM)NIUfilmmaker Wrote:  

(11-10-2022 03:05 AM)pvk75 Wrote:  Cremascoli seems to have the tools, but one thing I noticed that IMO someone needs to coach him to deal with ... whenever he rolls out, it is *always* to the right, and his stance in the pocket makes it obvious. Natural for a right-hander, but WMU defense keyed on it every time. Even when they rushed/pressured, they had one extra guy coming in from that side every time. He needs to have a move that disguises that, or makes it less obvious.

Also, something WMU QB and RB did that at least looked odd, but worked ... the QB faked a handoff to the one RB and dropped to pass, while the RB ran up full speed 2-3 steps and then froze, but still behind the off line. That froze the NIU def line and a couple backs coming in, like they were waiting for him to keep coming. That added a couple seconds for the QB to set up and throw. If you get a chance to look at the video again, it's an obvious move and easy to see because it looks weird.

Fine-tuning, I know, but fun to sometimes dissect a game, especially when NIU wins. "Huskies never quit!" (>from NIU promo videos).

Cremascoli seems like he can run, throw, has a good head on his shoulders, excited about him. He was smart enough as a freshman to throw away a few balls, but needs to be able to calm down and see all coverage. Threw a few balls with D players lurking resulting in picks. Great job for a freshman though, like him.

Play calling did not help him. I think he has a bright future. All the tools - and he gets to keep his redshirt. So this is all gravy.

If all you do is throw to the flat, the defense will adjust. They did and got two picks. Our staff philosophy is if it doesn’t work, keep doing it…

(11-10-2022 12:22 AM)pelican Wrote:  

(11-09-2022 10:21 PM)Big Red Wrote:  

(11-09-2022 10:19 PM)DPD Wrote:  So… can we just keep lynch as QB for the rest of the way.

He's a gimmick.

Cremascoli should be the guy, keep developing him, and use Lynch from time to time especially late when the opposing defense is banged up and tired.

Yeah Jordan was a gimmick too, Id like to see Big Red get in either one of those gimmicks way....HAHAHAHA!!!

Why would I even consider that? And that somehow means Justin isn't a gimmick? Because a 20 year old college football player could run over a 47 year old who hasn't played competitive contact sports in roughly 30 years?

Well sh!t. If that's the standard for what makes a great college football player, then we have a roster full of All-Americans because I wouldn't even want John Richardson to run into me.

And, btw, Jordan wasn't the best thrower but he was much better than Justin.

Nice to get a much needed win regardless of opponent quality.

Sustaining and building on D improvements is so critical. Since Beneditto seems to have unofficially been promoted to the guy calling the shots a few games ago they have been so much better. The D is what killed our season early when Rocky was in and O was putting up points, but D was atrocious.

I know I’m in minority, but I would still like a game with Lynch allowing him to throw. His freshman stats do look respectable now compared. That hard nosed running ability will really hurt MAC Ds if they must respect the pass. Realistically his brother had limitations too, not comparing them but there is a reason Jordan didn’t get shot as QB in NFL. No connection BTW, just thought of name when signing up.

Next year will likely be Rocky or transfer either way. If we have good QB play, and the coaches trust to reopen playcalling our offense will be fine again.

I see Huskies got a win and actually played Lynch. Hopefully they keep playing both and even allow Justin a couple of pass options. Can’t have enough able QBs in college football today. I am back on the wagon and look forward to next weeks game. I listened to the post game with Baker. He was calling Jordan Lynch in the long run. He was playing the highlights . He caught his error at the end. Jokingly wished they would have named Justin, Steven , to make it simpler

This sounds so simple yet somehow our coaches took 9 games to figure it out......BE AGGRESSIVE ON DEFENSE! They blitzed, got after the QB, got up tight in man2man, safety laid the wood. Im sure a lot of it was because of the WMU QB being a true freshman, but it worked. And that freshman QB threw some absolutely beautiful slants and deep balls. A few of his completions were into the tiniest of windows with our DBs dropped all over their wrs.

This was the most complete game of the season. I know some will say it was because WMU is bad but they're just like most MAC teams in that they could beat any MAC team any given Saturday. Outside of Akron being the very bottom and Ohio being the very top, the remaining 10 teams are pretty equal and whomever is healthiest will probably win.