Post Game Observations.......

[koonja]

In place of who atMLB? Not bitching just asking.

As for theTemple overthrown balls that COULD have been TDs: stop. There will be overthrown balls every game. Those needed to have been absolutely perfect throws on a dime. Mayock even said so. At this level there aren't too many qbs that can drop those passes.

Now this is an interesting convo. Carlo led the team in tackles but was never in the right spot, IMO. Not sure how that happened but I am equally upset with the MLB play.

Hmmm, look pretty similar aside from final score.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. Navy Midshipmen - Box Score - September 01, 2012 - ESPN

Temple Owls vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish - Box Score - August 31, 2013 - ESPN

That's like asking if I'd rather get rid of my diareah or my flu. But I'd say in place of Carlo. He's been a disappointment IMO for 4, going on 5 years now. I'd rather keep Grace/Fox in there.

Not a fair comparison IMO. Golson was playing his first game ever, and was a RS freshman. It's not like BK had to hold back because of a learning curve today.

 

[irisheyes]

Corrections

1) We gave up our first rushing TD to PITT's Ray Graham last year

2) Not a freshman. Experience wise he might as well have been, but he's a junior

3) Brindza still trying to work out punting. The FG misses; Brindza's was a 43 yarder and those are missable. Tausch's he just hit the ball in a bad spot. And we at least had a return game with T.J as a returner so it aint worse.

1) correct i was wrong
2) I was also wrong, his first start. I still dont think it should of been that good.
3) What was brindza doing all spring? He has kick offs down, you would think he would have done some work with punting. With t.j. im glad hes trying to get the return down but a couple of those he should of just let go into the endzone and not touched them.

IDK how you can be anything but thrilled from what you saw from Tommy. And I'm his biggest hater.

I dont see that big of an improvement. The fact that he didnt have any turnovers against temple doesn't prove anything to me. Hes was outstanding in short bursts last year as well. I just dont see him being able to go the distance against a better defense.

 

[WakeUpEchoes]

I really hope we flex out Amir more next weekend.

 

[NDWorld247]

Hmmm, look pretty similar aside from final score.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. Navy Midshipmen - Box Score - September 01, 2012 - ESPN

Temple Owls vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish - Box Score - August 31, 2013 - ESPN

Yes! I was going to post this earlier. There are some differences that help explain the margin of victory (e.g. turnover margin, 3rd down efficiency, etc), but they were pretty similar games.

 

[koonja]

1) correct i was wrong
2) I was also wrong, his first start. I still dont think it should of been that good.
3) What was brindza doing all spring? He has kick offs down, you would think he would have done some work with punting. With t.j. im glad hes trying to get the return down but a couple of those he should of just let go into the endzone and not touched them.

I dont see that big of an improvement. The fact that he didnt have any turnovers against temple doesn't prove anything to me. Hes was outstanding in short bursts last year as well. I just dont see him being able to go the distance against a better defense.

Turnovers aside, he played a near perfect game. He made every read and didn't throw a bad ball (as in, throw to the wrong guy). He made like 2 over throws, big deal. What college QB didn't in the first game of the year?

Honestly, if you weren't completely impressed with Rees, then your expectations were insane.

He threw for 70% completions, 300 + yards, and 3 TDs. WTF more do you want? If he plays like this every game, he will win the damn heisman. I HATE that Tommy is our starting QB, but he was awesome today.

 

[WakeUpEchoes]

That's like asking if I'd rather get rid of my diareah or my flu. But I'd say in place of Carlo. He's been a disappointment IMO for 4, going on 5 years now. I'd rather keep Grace/Fox in there.

And I would agree with you, at least in this hypothetical scenario. Carlo had ten tackles today but man he just played slow. He's a leader on this D and all, but we have to have more speed there.

 

[koonja]

And I would agree with you, at least in this hypothetical scenario. Carlo had ten tackles today but man he just played slow. He's a leader on this D and all, but we have to have more speed there.

I was also apparently a bit too optimistic on Grace. I didn't really notice him at all.

 

[CanadalovesND]

I was also apparently a bit too optimistic on Grace. I didn't really notice him at all.

I noticed how freakin' long his arms are!

 

[Luckylucci]

I noticed how freakin' long his arms are!

I dont want to be too hard on the kid but that was about all I noticed. The middle of the field was basically open for the taking. Whether running or passing but especially passing. Three guys not one I thought did a good job. Teo last year must have spoiled us to what a MLB looks like because today I didn't think any of them did.

 

[Riddickulous]

If Atkinson is still the primary back against UM, I will rage.

 

[NDWorld247]

If Atkinson is still the primary back against UM, I will rage.

He wasn't really our primary back today. Cam had the most carries with 12, and then Atkinson (8) and Carlisle (7).

 

[koonja]

He wasn't really our primary back today. Cam had the most carries with 12, and then Atkinson (8) and Carlisle (7).

Right. Technically, Amir started.

 

[Guyjin37]

I haven’t read this so far in the thread and frankly I’m surprised it hasn’t been mentioned, but this was the Temple coach’s first ever game after being a career assistant. In addition, the quarterback had never taken a snap at his position. There is a huge unknown in that and only a certain amount you can prepare for because you literally have no real evidence about what they’re going to do. The first half is complete guesswork and it’s no wonder that 1. We played very conservative defense to see what they were going to do, and 2. We gave up yards because we didn’t know where or what to attack.

It is really transparent in the defensive numbers: around 250 yards in the first half and 6 points, and around 120 yards in the second, no points. The adjustments were made at halftime after we had an idea what they were doing and the numbers and scoreboard reflected it. I’d say the defense is being unfairly maligned. I think MLB play suffered the most from the unknown because they’ve got much greater responsibility than just coverage or just holding the line. They did get 25 tackles between then, which seems to be an ignored stat.

Having said that, I refuse to believe there is any situation where both Fox and Carlo need to be on the field at one time; when that happens you have two guys who struggle in coverage (though Fox is somewhat decent) and therefore a mismatch or two is waiting to happen. Shumate got caught a few times but he does have the athleticism and should improve with playing time. I recall feeling the same way about Zeke in last year’s Navy game and Shumate’s ceiling is much higher.

Cam is a good workhorse but I think we only saw him so much today to keep Amir and GAIII fresh and injury-free for Michigan. Cam’s got the heart and desire and can get you 4-5 yards a pop but in our offense where we pass > 50% of the time our running backs need to hit the big play more often.

Overall it was a conservative gameplan (after the first two scores) and I get the feeling completely purposeful, even though I’m sure BK would have been happier with an extra score or two.

 

[Irishokie]

Irish Connection video from today. Pretty cool how they presented the game ball to Kelly.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/uFJ9LDdgGuM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[Guyjin37]

I haven’t read this so far in the thread and frankly I’m surprised it hasn’t been mentioned, but this was the Temple coach’s first ever game after being a career assistant. In addition, the quarterback had never taken a snap at his position. There is a huge unknown in that and only a certain amount you can prepare for because you literally have no real evidence about what they’re going to do. The first half is complete guesswork and it’s no wonder that 1. We played very conservative defense to see what they were going to do, and 2. We gave up yards because we didn’t know where or what to attack.

It is really transparent in the defensive numbers: around 250 yards in the first half and 6 points, and around 120 yards in the second, no points. The adjustments were made at halftime after we had an idea what they were doing and the numbers and scoreboard reflected it. I’d say the defense is being unfairly maligned. I think MLB play suffered the most from the unknown because they’ve got much greater responsibility than just coverage or just holding the line.

Having said that, I refuse to believe there is any situation where both Fox and Carlo need to be on the field at one time; when that happens you have two guys who struggle in coverage (though Fox is somewhat decent) and therefore a mismatch or two is waiting to happen. Shumate got caught a few times but he does have the athleticism and should improve with playing time. I recall feeling the same way about Zeke in last year’s Navy game and Shumate’s ceiling is much higher.

Cam is a good workhorse but I think we only saw him so much today to keep Amir and GAIII fresh and injury-free for Michigan. Cam’s got the heart and desire and can get you 4-5 yards a pop but in our offense where we pass > 50% of the time our running backs need to hit the big play more often.

Overall it was a conservative gameplan (after the first two scores) and I get the feeling completely purposeful, even though I’m sure BK would have been happier with an extra score or two.

 

[ulukinatme]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Didn't temple watch the Pitt game from last yr??? Don't kick towards touchdown Jesus!!! Access denied!!!</p>— Robby Toma (@RobJob293) <a href="https://twitter.com/RobJob293/statuses/373904572479045632">August 31, 2013</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[ulukinatme]

I was also apparently a bit too optimistic on Grace. I didn't really notice him at all.

He led the team in tackles with 6 at the half.

 

[ulukinatme]

1)
I dont see that big of an improvement. The fact that he didnt have any turnovers against temple doesn't prove anything to me. Hes was outstanding in short bursts last year as well. I just dont see him being able to go the distance against a better defense.

Oh ye of little faith. What more must Reesus do before you believe?

 

[Seanthornton]

Irish Connection video from today. Pretty cool how they presented the game ball to Kelly.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/uFJ9LDdgGuM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Cool video thanks for sharing.


On the Game : I see no point in mentioning anything. You all have some great points. Im not going to rehash what you already have mentioned. We are work in progress. You have to believe we will get better each week. For you "The glass half full guys" Suck it up ! We will get there ! You have to believe!!!

One more thing !! You guys all know Kelly isn't going to show all his cards with Michigan and Michigan St. ahead.

 

[Grahambo]

LOL at some of the overreactions in here.

 

[dublinirish]

LOL at some of the overreactions in here.

Sunday Morning Quarterbacking

 

[Irishman77]

If I'm Kelly, I'm seriously considering cross training Councell at MLB. They were non-existent, and with Councell as the 2nd Dog with a solid Romeo behind, what do you have to lose.

Yes sir. If Romeo has got it figured out this is the move. Especially next year.

 

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

The inside linebackers were seriously awful. Fox was okay, but Calabrese and Grace were the best offensive players for Temple. No idea what they were doing in a zone and were way too slow. We miss Te'o a lot.

 

[arrowryan]

Looks like all the complaining about Tuitt's weight was a waste of time

BTW, a lot of us (including me) thought there was a chance GB would be the starting running back by mid-season. Well it looks like Amir and Folston will have something to say about that. They both looked good

 

[tko]

The inside linebackers were seriously awful. Fox was okay, but Calabrese and Grace were the best offensive players for Temple. No idea what they were doing in a zone and were way too slow. We miss Te'o a lot.

Can we also talk about how Shumate got rented yesterday? WTF was the defensive gameplan? Can one of the many experts on IE share that with me? I missed a lot of stuff by being in the stadium.

 

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

Can we also talk about how Shumate got rented yesterday? WTF was the defensive gameplan? Can one of the many experts on IE share that with me? I missed a lot of stuff by being in the stadium.

I was in the stadium as well and I feel the same way. I love Diaco, but the zones were a gimme 5 yards, and the blitzes were really obvious most of the time. I think the coaches are just as rusty as the players.

 

[Irishman77]

We knew we were far superior and could score. We wanted to play as vanilla as possible. Let them have the dinks and dunks to keep the points down. We turned up the heat briefly in the start of the second half when Kelly gave Diaco the green light. Other than that it was quite boring.

My only concern is emotion. The players had very little of it. I wonder if they were just pissed they had to play this kind of game

Best case scenario: the above is right and we see our team in full blown werewolf mode in Ann Arbor.

Worst case scenario: our players aren't sure what the coaches want of them and they look lost with no emotion in Ann Arbor

 

[kmoose]

Cam is a good workhorse but I think we only saw him so much today to keep Amir and GAIII fresh and injury-free for Michigan. Cam’s got the heart and desire and can get you 4-5 yards a pop but in our offense where we pass > 50% of the time our running backs need to hit the big play more often.

This is fallacy. Yesterday, we had 35 rushing attempts, to only 27 passing attempts. Last season, on the whole season, we ran the ball 506 times, compared to 388 passes.

 

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

Brian Kelly should have to run stadium steps for punting from the 37.

 

[koonja]

Can we also talk about how Shumate got rented yesterday? WTF was the defensive gameplan? Can one of the many experts on IE share that with me? I missed a lot of stuff by being in the stadium.

I was in the stadium as well and I feel the same way. I love Diaco, but the zones were a gimme 5 yards, and the blitzes were really obvious most of the time. I think the coaches are just as rusty as the players.

How was the stadium noise?