JonDMiller
Publisher/Founder
Solid win for ISU against a team many feel will win their division in the MAC.
-Ben Lamaak is a solid center prospect..Got out on an LB to break A-Rob's long touchdown run and did a good job in pass protection. I thought on the whole, ISU's OL had a good first game. That being said, it was expected from this unit, which returned so much experience. However, you have to give them credit as Jerry Kill has had some solid defensive units at NIU and they returned some firepower as well.
-Austen Arnaud was mostly good, but where he still seems to be lacking in growth is recognizing when linebackers drop back into zone coverage. Both of his interceptions came in that setting on Thursday; backers take a step in then drift back into the zone. His first INT of the game was tipped by a backer underneath, who had drifted back, and a defensive back came up with the pick. There was just the one ISU receiver in the area and five NIU players. Similar with the pick in the second half; didn't read the backer dropping back into zone coverage and didn't get it over his head.
It's not an easy throw to make, and one that James Vandenberg struggled with last year, which is a big reason why I think Kirk Ferentz did not try to attack with 50 seconds left in regulation. JV had thrown a pick six where he didn't get the ball over the head of the backer dropping back, but it was called back due to penalty. He had a ball thrown to Moeaki into triple coverage, with a backer dropping, that was tipped up and Tony came down with it, and one real pick if memory serves, in that 'bracket throw' type of situation. You have to be certain you can get it over the head of the backer and in front of the safety, and that takes time. Arnaud has had that time, he is going to be the 2nd all time leading passer in ISU history sometime during the Iowa game if he didnt get there tonight. This might be the sort of thing that you either fix on the driving range (the out of season) or you just are who you are. I love the kid, great person...but this is a very important area that he is still struggling with, and Iowa's defense is not going to be the tonic as they drop a lot of backers into zone looks.
AA showed some fleet feet and good speed and he is a threat with the ball on the zone read play. He made some good throws, too...but had some balls sail on him like we saw last year...for the most part he seemed to keep his emotions in check, as much as you can tell from the couch. ISU's receivers are healthy this year, something Iowa didn't see last year.
-ISU's defense played better than I thought they would...perhaps that is just going to be a theme for them under Wally Burnham, as they were very opportunistic last year. I liked what I saw of Waukee's Jake Knott; as many have been saying, he is going to be good...but that is down the road. He is aggressive, which many young players are..I think ISU came into this game looking to run blitz and stack the LOS a bit, as NIU is a power run team, so perhaps this was a one off game plan...but it looked awfully familiar to me...and the ISU young LB corps should be very susceptible to play action, which is Iowa's forte. TE and WR drags might be there if ISU's LB's play that way against Iowa...getting David Sims back for the Iowa game will be a boost for them, but Zac Sandvig did a good job in relief.
-NIU's QB was very poor, and that is putting it nicely.
ISU only had to punt once...that's a good thing on two fronts. It's great to only have to punt once, because it means you are moving the ball (Over 400 yards, 25 first downs, 6-13 on 3rd downs). The second reason that was good for ISU is because punter has been a concern for them all camp, and the one time they punted on Thursday was an 18 yard shank that made its way to the stands.
-I think that ISU can be run on up the gut. NIU averaged 4.3 yards per crack, but ISU did a good job tackling and keeping short gains short and not letting missed tackles develop into long games...that's a Paul Rhoads emphasis and he is a good teacher.
-ISU averaged just 3.7 yards per rush. Take out A-Rob's 63 yard run and that averaged drops to 2.08 yards per rush...the defense ISU faces next week is going to be a lot better than what they faced on Thursday night. A-Rob had 18 carries for 34 yards, and 1 carry for 63. It won't be as easy for Lamaak to reach LB's next week.
All this being said, ISU showed first game rust after a fast start, they had a long run by Arnaud wiped off the board and let a few prime scoring opportunities go by the wayside with some penalties and turnovers. NIU did the same, but this was a good first win for ISU against an opponent that will be much better than what Iowa faces on Saturday. Their offense has some bite..still not sure whether or not to believe in their defense; I think they can be roughed up on the inside and play action should be a challenge for them early on in the careers of their young LB corps.
-Ben Lamaak is a solid center prospect..Got out on an LB to break A-Rob's long touchdown run and did a good job in pass protection. I thought on the whole, ISU's OL had a good first game. That being said, it was expected from this unit, which returned so much experience. However, you have to give them credit as Jerry Kill has had some solid defensive units at NIU and they returned some firepower as well.
-Austen Arnaud was mostly good, but where he still seems to be lacking in growth is recognizing when linebackers drop back into zone coverage. Both of his interceptions came in that setting on Thursday; backers take a step in then drift back into the zone. His first INT of the game was tipped by a backer underneath, who had drifted back, and a defensive back came up with the pick. There was just the one ISU receiver in the area and five NIU players. Similar with the pick in the second half; didn't read the backer dropping back into zone coverage and didn't get it over his head.
It's not an easy throw to make, and one that James Vandenberg struggled with last year, which is a big reason why I think Kirk Ferentz did not try to attack with 50 seconds left in regulation. JV had thrown a pick six where he didn't get the ball over the head of the backer dropping back, but it was called back due to penalty. He had a ball thrown to Moeaki into triple coverage, with a backer dropping, that was tipped up and Tony came down with it, and one real pick if memory serves, in that 'bracket throw' type of situation. You have to be certain you can get it over the head of the backer and in front of the safety, and that takes time. Arnaud has had that time, he is going to be the 2nd all time leading passer in ISU history sometime during the Iowa game if he didnt get there tonight. This might be the sort of thing that you either fix on the driving range (the out of season) or you just are who you are. I love the kid, great person...but this is a very important area that he is still struggling with, and Iowa's defense is not going to be the tonic as they drop a lot of backers into zone looks.
AA showed some fleet feet and good speed and he is a threat with the ball on the zone read play. He made some good throws, too...but had some balls sail on him like we saw last year...for the most part he seemed to keep his emotions in check, as much as you can tell from the couch. ISU's receivers are healthy this year, something Iowa didn't see last year.
-ISU's defense played better than I thought they would...perhaps that is just going to be a theme for them under Wally Burnham, as they were very opportunistic last year. I liked what I saw of Waukee's Jake Knott; as many have been saying, he is going to be good...but that is down the road. He is aggressive, which many young players are..I think ISU came into this game looking to run blitz and stack the LOS a bit, as NIU is a power run team, so perhaps this was a one off game plan...but it looked awfully familiar to me...and the ISU young LB corps should be very susceptible to play action, which is Iowa's forte. TE and WR drags might be there if ISU's LB's play that way against Iowa...getting David Sims back for the Iowa game will be a boost for them, but Zac Sandvig did a good job in relief.
-NIU's QB was very poor, and that is putting it nicely.
ISU only had to punt once...that's a good thing on two fronts. It's great to only have to punt once, because it means you are moving the ball (Over 400 yards, 25 first downs, 6-13 on 3rd downs). The second reason that was good for ISU is because punter has been a concern for them all camp, and the one time they punted on Thursday was an 18 yard shank that made its way to the stands.
-I think that ISU can be run on up the gut. NIU averaged 4.3 yards per crack, but ISU did a good job tackling and keeping short gains short and not letting missed tackles develop into long games...that's a Paul Rhoads emphasis and he is a good teacher.
-ISU averaged just 3.7 yards per rush. Take out A-Rob's 63 yard run and that averaged drops to 2.08 yards per rush...the defense ISU faces next week is going to be a lot better than what they faced on Thursday night. A-Rob had 18 carries for 34 yards, and 1 carry for 63. It won't be as easy for Lamaak to reach LB's next week.
All this being said, ISU showed first game rust after a fast start, they had a long run by Arnaud wiped off the board and let a few prime scoring opportunities go by the wayside with some penalties and turnovers. NIU did the same, but this was a good first win for ISU against an opponent that will be much better than what Iowa faces on Saturday. Their offense has some bite..still not sure whether or not to believe in their defense; I think they can be roughed up on the inside and play action should be a challenge for them early on in the careers of their young LB corps.
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