'11 CA LB Joe Schmidt (Scholarship Earned)

[kmoose]

Schmidt was a radio guest on Jim Rome today. Not Jaylon Smith, Fuller, Kizer, Shumate, or Prosise. Joe Schmidt.


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Isn't Rome in LA? Schmidt is a SoCal(local) kid. None of those other guys are.

 

[gkIrish]

Isn't Rome in LA? Schmidt is a SoCal(local) kid. None of those other guys are.

A walk-on turned captain is a better interview subject 10 times out of 10. Has nothing to do with where he is from.

 

[Irish_Passion]

I have so much respect for Schmidt for what he has achieved and the heart and passion that he plays with. That being said, its frustrating beyond belief and how poorly he has played this year.

However, I trust the coaches 100% on who they feel is the best person to play is. I was a D1 scholarship player and I struggled with this greatly when I first arrived at camp. I was stronger, faster, and better one on one than every single person when I arrived, but I severely lacked the mental aspect of the game, and being on the OLINE, it was even more evident when we would watch our team practice drills. It took me 2 years just to get the understanding of everything, and even still wasn't comfortable until I started as a Junior.

Even now, I coach my son's 8th grade FB team, and I play kids on the line that have far less "potential" than others because of their inability to "get it". I do rotate the more talented kids in, but I often find myself trying to figure out spots where i feel comfortable they won't screw something up and losing focus on what I need to watch in the game, at thats just for lousy 8th grade FB!

I really think Morgan can be a stud, and there is no question that he is more talented than Schmidt, but talent does not equal success. One thing I can guarantee every single fan of ND is that there is ZERO chance that the coaching staff isn't going to play whoever gives them the best chance to win (barring things outside of their control, i.e. academic problems, mental issues, etc..). If Morgan doesn't have any specific things prohibiting him from playing, then the coaching staff obviously feels that the mistakes that he makes are far more liable than the "potential" of making big plays.

Its also good to note that offensive and defensive positions don't equate as it relates to talent. An offensive weapon can find ways into the game without knowing jack shit, purely because of talent. It doesn't work that way on the defensive side of the ball..

 

[Whiskeyjack]

OFD just published its film breakdown of Joe's play v. USC:

Final Thoughts

Eric: Nearly every criticism with Schmidt begins with him not being fast/athletic enough to play linebacker for the Irish. It gets called slow a lot. But that has never seemed to be a big issue to me. His lack of length and being so short (and not awfully heavy) make it difficult at times to be a huge playmaker or excel as a middle linebacker. I don't see someone who's not athletic, though. What do you think? Does he look a step slower this year?

Larz: I wouldn't be surprised if the ankle injury has impacted his agility a little, I don't think it has impacted his straight line speed. Ankle injuries tend to have more of an impact on lateral movement as opposed to straight line running. I don't buy the argument that Schmidt isn't athletic enough. He's always covered a lot of field and is doing so this year. Where he tends to have trouble is he gets a little too aggressive and as a result misses some tackles.

Eric: With the caveat that Schmidt's under-sized do you think his ability as a power player from the linebacker spot is about what you'd expect at his size, a little worse, or maybe underrated?

Larz: It's under appreciated. He is very good when you try to run right at him. In fact I would argue he is often better than Jaylon Smith at this. Smith sometimes attacks when teams run right at him (and he's good when he does that), but more often than not he hesitates. This doesn't happen with Schmidt, when he see's it he goes. He deserves a little more credit for this aspect of his game.

Eric: I think we can agree that Schmidt has struggled this year. He already has 2.5 more TFL and the same amount of QB hurries as last year, but he's averaging almost 2.5 less tackles per game with several high-profile missed tackles. I go back and forth with this issue. He'll never be a middle linebacker's middle linebacker, so to speak, and yet stopping the run hasn't been a major issue for the Irish. Still, he simply needs to make more tackles and he's missing out on being a difference maker on a defense that, at minimum, could use some help. What area for improved play do you think Schmidt needs to focus on during the bye week?

Larz: I played and coached middle linebacker for many years. I really like Joe Schmidt as a middle linebacker. I think he has played well this year and I think many of the criticisms of him are unfair. Having said that, he has missed too many tackles. That needs to improve. If you take a close look at the missed tackles, they tend to happen when the player makes a last minute lateral move. Part of this is because he is aggressive and tends to almost lunge at ball carriers, part of this is likely a little less agility due to the ankle injury. Cut down on the missed tackles and Schmidt goes from having a solid season to an exceptional season.

 

[Te'o4Heisman]

OFD just published its film breakdown of Joe's play v. USC:

Normally I agree with most of their analysis and find it interesting and informative...

 

[kmoose]

Normally I agree with most of their analysis and find it interesting and informative...

It's really hard to say, without going back and reviewing the same film they are reviewing. But does it really seem that far out of the realm of possibility? I mean, how many times do you hear coaches talk about everyone on the team having to do their part, or the whole thing breaks down? It's possible that Joe is just performing slightly below par this year, but that others' mistakes are magnifying Joe's slight missteps.

 

[gkIrish]

That article said the following:

He is very good when you try to run right at him. In fact I would argue he is often better than Jaylon Smith at this.

Huh?

 

[Te'o4Heisman]

When you're middle linebacker has zero impact for your defense, including getting shutout in tackles in one of your biggest games of the year when he is playing a high majority of your snaps, he is not playing well no matter how you slice it. There were SEVERAL plays during the USC game when Joe was pushed 10 yards down field by the man blocking him, including 2 where he was completely pushed back then pancaked just to put icing on the cake. They did not include those plays in their "analysis". Joe has been horrible this year individually and in the scheme, and there is no apologist out there that is going to convince me otherwise. I've seen it.

 

[Te'o4Heisman]

That article said the following:



Huh?

I LOL'd at that too.

 

[rocket66]

Hell I think he decently gets in the right position, but it's the damn missed tackles that are killing him. It seems like he just bounces off guys.


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[Te'o4Heisman]

USC's 2nd drive of the game, right around the 11:00 mark of the 1st QTR...vintage Joe Schmidt. Wonder why this play wasn't included in their analysis...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZQKFpDQXJI

For those interested the play starts at the 10:25 mark of the video.

 

[Fbolt]

I saw this thread bumped and was wondering what happened in the BYE week. He didn't have any tackles to miss!

 

[mtnd15]

USC's 2nd drive of the game, right around the 11:00 mark of the 1st QTR...vintage Joe Schmidt. Wonder why this play wasn't included in their analysis...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZQKFpDQXJI

For those interested the play starts at the 10:25 mark of the video.

I went to Minute 11 of the video b/c I didn't read your entire post... Results: similar.

 

[Booslum31]

I went to Minute 11 of the video b/c I didn't read your entire post... Results: similar.

Wow...Pancake!

 

[Te'o4Heisman]

I went to Minute 11 of the video b/c I didn't read your entire post... Results: similar.

Oh you mean the tackle they tried to convince us in the article is a much more difficult tackle than it looked against a ball carrier running laterally? Joe missed the tackle because he lunged and left his feet and didn't get his helmet on the correct side of the ball carrier, not because its a difficult tackle to make..I've played plenty of football.

 

[TheChosen1]

If anzalone would have stayed with ND...

 

[BGIF]

If anzalone would have stayed with ND...

You mean the guy that has a career 22 tackles and 1 TFL in 3 years at UF?

 

[ThePiombino]

If anzalone would have stayed with ND...

Appreciate the sentiment...

You mean the guy that has a career 22 tackles and 1 TFL in 3 years at UF?

...but this.

 

[irishfanjho15]

That OFD is article is flat wrong. I'm sorry, those guys do a great job, but Joe has been getting worked for weeks. Period. He's better when they run straight at him, haha. Better than Jaylon in those situations? Go kill yourself with that one. When running straight at you means you're blocked ten yards downfield, that is not productive. This is a sham breakdown.

 

[IrishLax]

That OFD is article is flat wrong. I'm sorry, those guys do a great job, but Joe has been getting worked for weeks. Period. He's better when they run straight at him, haha. Better than Jaylon in those situations? Go kill yourself with that one. When running straight at you means you're blocked ten yards downfield, that is not productive. This is a sham breakdown.

It really did show utter ignorance. I've refrained on commenting on it because I'm no coach... but there have been people on other sites who have taken their "breakdown" to task and pointed on in painstaking detail specific snaps where they're not just wrong in their evaluation of schmidt but "what the fuck are you watching?" level wrong.

 

[irishfanjho15]

It really did show utter ignorance. I've refrained on commenting on it because I'm no coach... but there have been people on other sites who have taken their "breakdown" to task and pointed on in painstaking detail specific snaps where they're not just wrong in their evaluation of schmidt but "what the fuck are you watching?" level wrong.

Granted I've only ever coached receivers, special teams, and been an co-OC for MS/HS teams, but I have watched a lot of film through playing in college and coaching for the years I've coached. I feel like I have a good handle on what bad MLB play looks like, and unfortunately for ND and Joe in particular that is it. Really changes my opinion of them guys over there on OFD. It was like Eric was trying to say he's not been very good in a nice way but that's about the truest things they said. Feel like they are making excuses for him because ND is 6-1 and Joe is a great story and by all accounts I'm aware of a good young man. As I learned really quick in college ball, the film does not lie.

 

[IrishinSyria]

They blame one of the long runs on Jaylon because he played pass first and say he obviously should have read run. But then you watch the play and we blitzed a CB and a safety from the left side of the field. Jaylon, who was playing on the right side, was responsible for a WR if that was a pass. The play was a read option and Jaylon went with the WR, which makes a lot of sense to me because if he doesn't the dude could have literally crawled to the end zone. Meanwhile joe attempts to fill the hole Jaylon left and whiffed.

Maybe that's on Jaylon, but I don't see it. If BVG's system is really asking our linebackers to cover wide receivers OR stuff te middle on the same play, we're in trouble.

 

[gkIrish]

If you want some semblance of objectivity OFD is not the place to go IMHO.

 

[dang227]

I coached Inside Linbackers at the DII level for 12 years and have a tendency to focus on the position when I watch football. Joe Schmidt is a good story but I have been unimpressed with him the last two years. He just isn't strong or fast enough to play that position at the major DI level. He is more of a MAC guy.


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[Bogtrotter07]

I coached Inside Linbackers at the DII level for 12 years and have a tendency to focus on the position when I watch football. Joe Schmidt is a good story but I have been unimpressed with him the last two years. He just isn't strong or fast enough to play that position at the major DI level. He is more of a MAC guy.


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I think that is a fair assessment in terms of physical ability.

I played (for a short while, about a hundred years ago) in the MAC, and have maintained ties to those that recruit, coach, and excelled as players in the MAC, so I will verify your assessment.

But Joe has some intangibles that most MAC players don't :

• Knowledge of the game
• More than a pedestrian understanding of mental aspect of the game
• Off the charts intelligence
• More than a journeyman's dedication to the sport.

 

[Wingman Ray]

What is really sad is that Nyles must be completely stupid to not be able to grasp a college defensive scheme after this long in the system and put his team at the mercy of playing a guy like Schmidt at such an important position as MLB. Makes you wonder what ND will do next year with a whole new LB corp since clearly no one is smart enough to catch on this year.

I just dont buy it. I refuse to believe that in all of ND LBers, no one is capable of lining people up other than Schmidt. These guys at ND arent LSU intelligence ranked individuals. I havent seen anything BVG has put out defensive wise that has been off the chart...or at least production wise nothing exceptional. Seems Auburn was able to run his defense pretty good. So smarter people at....Auburn...than at ND?

Sadly I feel it comes down to coaching. Maybe BVG just doesnt have the patience at the college level and just inserts what is easiest to work with (Schmidt) rather than what is best for the team (Nyles) long term.

Of course, do not kid yourself for a second that BK doesnt enjoy the Rudy comparison with Schmidt and the kudos that brings.

 

[Irish YJ]

What is really sad is that Nyles must be completely stupid to not be able to grasp a college defensive scheme after this long in the system and put his team at the mercy of playing a guy like Schmidt at such an important position as MLB. Makes you wonder what ND will do next year with a whole new LB corp since clearly no one is smart enough to catch on this year.

I just dont buy it. I refuse to believe that in all of ND LBers, no one is capable of lining people up other than Schmidt. These guys at ND arent LSU intelligence ranked individuals. I havent seen anything BVG has put out defensive wise that has been off the chart...or at least production wise nothing exceptional. Seems Auburn was able to run his defense pretty good. So smarter people at....Auburn...than at ND?

Sadly I feel it comes down to coaching. Maybe BVG just doesnt have the patience at the college level and just inserts what is easiest to work with (Schmidt) rather than what is best for the team (Nyles) long term.

Of course, do not kid yourself for a second that BK doesnt enjoy the Rudy comparison with Schmidt and the kudos that brings.

I think this is a mix of a) coaching loyalty to Joe, b) system is too complex, and c) Joe's grey matter as it relates to QBing the D.

I do not believe for one second Nyles is stupid.

 

[aubeirish]

Nyles is going to be fine. I'm not sure why we expect these kids to come in as true freshmen and be NFL ready right away. That is just not the reality. Some kids take 1-2-3-4 years until it clicks. That is just the way it is. We are going to be fine with Schmidt in there anyways.

 

[kmoose]

USC's 2nd drive of the game, right around the 11:00 mark of the 1st QTR...vintage Joe Schmidt. Wonder why this play wasn't included in their analysis...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZQKFpDQXJI

For those interested the play starts at the 10:25 mark of the video.

It's not like their analysis was all excuses and praise. They were plenty critical of Schmidt:

Agreed Eric, not much to say here. Good read, good aggressive play. Have to make the tackle. Schmidt takes an improper angle...Regardless, Schmidt (and Shumate) needs to make this play.

Schmidt doesn't read his keys on this one. He cheats a little. He sees the guard pull and gets sucked in by the run fake. The run to the opposite side isn't his play. He needs to let the players on the other side of the defense play the run. As soon as he sees the run fake away, he should be checking his side of the field for the companion play to the run (in this case a quick screen to the slot).

When he decides to go, Schmidt is very aggressive. Unfortunately he takes a poor angle and ends up missing the tackle. Schmidt definitely has a tendency to be a little too aggressive and misses some tackles as a result.

Still, he simply needs to make more tackles and he's missing out on being a difference-maker on a defense that, at minimum, could use some help.

I played and coached middle linebacker for many years. I really like Joe Schmidt as a middle linebacker. I think he has played well this year and I think many of the criticisms of him are unfair. Having said that, he has missed too many tackles. That needs to improve.

It seems like the problem you have with the breakdown is that they are not killing the kid over it. Because they are not being "apologists"; they are simply being objective, from an informed(having played and coached) point of view.

 

[IrishLion]

It seems like the problem you have with the breakdown is that they are not killing the kid over it. Because they are not being "apologists"; they are simply being objective, from an informed(having played and coached) point of view.

The last quote in your post is the issue, "I think he's played well this year."

He hasn't played well, and I think at some point being a "coach" on the field isn't enough when you aren't making basic plays. It's insane if Jaylon can't line up and play football or if Sheldon Day can't shoot a gap because Joe isn't there to "coach."

He loses on the angle to the sidelines nearly every time he has to move out into space.

He doesn't do a great job at defeating blocks. If the OL gets their hands on him, he's done.

He can't blitz. He doesn't time it up very well, and even if he does, he is ineffective at actually rushing the passer.

I would make a judgement on his coverage abilities, but I feel like BVG sends him on a blitz in nearly every passing situation. I used to think it was trying to be clever; now I believe that they might be trying to mask his athletic deficiencies playing in space.

Does he make good plays? Absolutely. Is it important to have a guy out there that understands the defense? For sure. But he has played "bad" more consistently than he has played "good," and it's a problem when your MLB is such an athletic liability.

What is this defense going to do next year when Joe is gone? If it would really be such a steep drop off to take Joe off the field, then this unit is going to be bad.