UNLV Post Game Analysis: According to Markell Staffieri

“I thought it would be interesting if I wrote a post game report along with Quinn just to be able to compare how we each viewed the game. I am at a slight disadvantage in that I am limited to watching the game on the mtn (who continues to impress me with their incompetence as a sports network) so my angles are a little different. Thus I will not go into great detail but give more of an overview of the day.

Today was a great day for the Cougars. Was it a blowout -like we are used to against UNLV? No, but it was the win we needed at home to maintain our dominance at LES and to get us back on track and re-focused on our goals, 1) Go undefeated at home and 2) win the MWC. There were a number of things that gave me some encouragement today, and still some things we need to work on. More than that, this is the second time this season that we have finished the game and out executed our opponent when the game was close. The sign of a good team is one that finds a way to win the close ones.

Here is what I saw from the Cougars today:

OFFENSIVE POSITIVES

* Play Calling: I really liked the way Coach Anae and the offense came out today and did some new things, while staying true to who we are. We stuck with the run game this week which paid dividends on the final drive of the game. Although some may disagree with me- I like Coach Anae’s pass plays. He stuck to his guns -managed the sticks- and didn’t try to get too much at once. I liked how we attempted to keep the UNLV D on its toes with some “trick” plays. Max on the speed option did a great job with the reads and Austin threw a great pass on the WR pass.
* The Play of Max Hall: There were 3 things today that really impressed me with Max. First and foremost, Max spread the ball around. Off the top of my head I can count 9 players who caught passes today (Unga, Collie, Pitta, George, Reed, DiLuigi, Vakapuna, White, Chambers) and three cougars caught TDs. When Max takes advantage of all the threats we have offensively, defenses will no longer be able to roll coverages to take away Austin or Dennis.

Second, Max tucked the ball and ran for good yardage. One was a long run for a first down, another got about 4 yards to set up a 2nd and manageable. The great thing about him tucking and running is that it shows LBs he is multi-dimensional. The LB’s will eventually have to step and pressure Max. He can then hit the short routes when the LB’s vacate their zones.

Finally, Max made good decisions. For the first part of the season Max had been throwing about 4-6 passes/game that were ill-advised. Today he cut that number to two.

I was impressed that Coach Doman and Max adjusted some things this week, and it showed in the game. This is the most growth I’ve seen from Max in a while.
* Run Offense and Fui: We got back to running the ball today and when it mattered we got it done. Most of all I was happy to see Big #1 have the drive of his season, thus far. Fui ran hard and made good cuts and capped it off with a TD reception. Fui has been through a lot of challenges in the last two years and has sacrificed a lot for the team. I was happy to see him get back in the EZ.

OFFENSIVE NEGATIVES

* No Big Plays: Although we threw in some different plays, they did not change the game or give our offense an extra boost. Basically, they didn’t win the game for us or change the momentum of the game. This is good and bad. We were fundamentally sound with our “vanilla” offense, and would have been just as successful sticking to our normal stuff. I would have liked to see the “trick” plays go for big yardage, not just 5-6 yards.
* Offensive Line on the Run: We were strong on two drives, but for the most part the UNLV front 7 out toughed our OLine. Some may not agree, because on paper we were successful running, but I have really high expectations for our front 5. They are monsters, and should dominate opposing fronts. Playing good does not cut it for me from them.

DEFENSIVE POSITIVES

* Stopped the Running QB: The wildcat formation and Omar Clayton’s feet did not beat us. The reason why? I will discuss in the negatives.
* Containing the Tank: Frank the Tank did not beat us between the 20’s. He had a couple big runs, but we also did a great job of penetrating the Line of Scrimmage and hitting Summers in the backfield. This was big because I feel that Frank has improved since last year. He was a little more nimble and had decent acceleration.
* NIXON and Pritchard: First Pritchard on the Personal Foul. I know it sounds weird that a PF would be a positive, but I think that Pritchard getting that lick on Clayton sparked something in the team. I don’t think it was a cheap shot or late hit. He got called because of the helmet to helmet contact. We needed someone on D to step up and be physical, and Pritchard set the tone. Feeding of that the most was David Nixon. Although he did not get a sack, Clayton will be icing a lot of bruises tomorrow for the licks he took from Dave in the second half. I was just happy to see someone trying to make the big play.
* Matt Putnam: This is not the first time Matt Putnam has come up with a great play this year. At the end of the game I was thinking to myself…”Who is going to make the big play? Nobody on D has made “THE PLAY” yet today. Then Matt Putnam got the big sack. Matt is having a great year when you take into consideration the number of snaps he plays.
* Scott Johnson: Still the best open field tackler on the team and the one voted “Most Likely to Challenge Summers to a Head on Collision.” I don’t know where everyone else was, but I was pumped when Scotty was the first one to hit Summers at the Goal line on the inside run.

DEFENSIVE NEGATIVES

* Pass Defense/Sacks: (They go hand in hand.) We are not getting any pressure on the QB and we are not getting coverage sacks either. This is the second game in row where I have witnessed our DL not put any pressure on the QB. This has to change in order for our team to be successful. I am not sure how much I am liking the Nickel and Dime packages right now. I am not going to second guess Coach Hill though, I am sure he is seeing something that I am not. We failed on 3rd down all day long by not being aggressive in our coverage (players, not scheme). There were also too many times today where we were in a good position coverage wise and just let the UNLV receivers make the plays. Right now I think the mentality is, “Don’t let him catch it.” When the ball is in the air for an hour and we have position I want our guys to say, “That’s MY ball!” and take it away.
* Run Defense: We are not consistent enough here. They came out and ran the wildcat for big yardage again. I think the only reason why we did not see more, was because they didn’t need it to move the ball. Their pass game was too effective between the 20’s and then inside the 20 it was all Tank and we could not stop him. I was least impressed with the fact that (as mentioned before) that a corner was sticking his nose in there before a DL or LB got to the RB at the goal line!

SPECIAL TEAMS POSTIVES

* Austin had a great return on the opening kickoff, but I was most impressed with Brett Denney leading the way down the sideline and throwing a great block to give Austin 10 more yards.
* CJ Santiago had a couple of really nice punts! And we had guys getting down the field and downing the ball inside the 5
* A Blocked Punt! Any time you can block a kick Kudos to you! Great job to all those hitting the wall on Punt Block. That was a big time play!

SPECIAL TEAMS NEGATIVES

* We lack the explosive player. Aside from the Nate Meikle return two years ago, which really was a TD (we didn’t challenge because it was 1st/goal on the inch line) we have not returned a KO in forever. Austin did a great job of hitting the hole and just running. Too many guys are interested in dancing on KOR. I am glad Austin just ran north and south. Eventually we need to get someone back there that has the speed to put those KORs away for TDs. Chambers may get there.

I was not going to give grades, but I will limit it to, Offense, Defense and Special Teams. They look like this:

Offense: A-

Better play, but still have a lot of room to grow. These guys are very talented, all 11 players on the field. They need to regain dominance. On the plus side they were not stopped today.

Defense: C

They weren’t physical enough on the field. The front 7 have to stop the run and the secondary needs to become ball hawks. We also let the opponent score over 24 which is not acceptable.

Special Teams: A+

Every Special Teams Coach came out looking good today. We had great coverage on KO. Big Returns on KOR. A blocked Punt! A couple punts downed inside the 10 and were sound in the FG/PAT game.”