'14 IL ILB Nyles Morgan (Notre Dame Signee)

[OCIrish]

What did Joe do last year? I don't want to hear the "on field leader" talk because he couldn't get himself lined up correctly last year.

Right.........because your really BVG, and know exactly where each player was to be lined up on EVERY play last year.

There was an article last week or the week before and Nyles stated things finally started clicking towards the last month of the season or so. Physically Joe wasn't better than Nyles, and the coaches all but acknowledged that part, but as Mike LB, your not only responsible for your positioning, but the entire D as well. If you don't know exactly where everyone is supposed to be, you aren't doing your job.

 

[zelezo vlk]

Nyles not playing at all was really one of the most baffling things I can remember. How they couldn't find any snaps for the kid is beyond me. It was almost as if they didn't want him to play at all make Joe look even worse (I really don't believe that).

To me, an extremely important detail is that Nyles was not next man in. The staff felt more comfortable throwing in a true freshman (Coney) than the kid with more experience and physical development. Even when Coney went down, Nyles still wasn't on the field. The staff just did not trust him to play last year. I think that says more about Nyles than it does the BVG et al.

 

[fightingirish26]

Well, we can't change what happened last year. Sounds like he's going to be a beast in the middle for us next year tho, something we haven't truly had since Manti.

 

[OCIrish]

No......we cannot

 

[NDRock]

To me, an extremely important detail is that Nyles was not next man in. The staff felt more comfortable throwing in a true freshman (Coney) than the kid with more experience and physical development. Even when Coney went down, Nyles still wasn't on the field. The staff just did not trust him to play last year. I think that says more about Nyles than it does the BVG et al.

I guess that's the crux of the argument for most people. Was Nyles so bad at understanding the D that his physical ability couldn't make up for it. Or is BVG's system so complex that only a guy like Joe Schmidt could run it. I just find it baffling that the younger guys could hardly sniff the field when your MLB was playing so poorly (mediocre at best). We're not talking about taking Jaylon or Fuller off the field. Either way, hope Nyles breaks out this year.

 

[Irish Insanity]

Lets just hope he's half as good as the guy he's replacing

 

[Irish Man3]

Right.........because your really BVG, and know exactly where each player was to be lined up on EVERY play last year.

There was an article last week or the week before and Nyles stated things finally started clicking towards the last month of the season or so. Physically Joe wasn't better than Nyles, and the coaches all but acknowledged that part, but as Mike LB, your not only responsible for your positioning, but the entire D as well. If you don't know exactly where everyone is supposed to be, you aren't doing your job.

I didn't see Joe leading a lot on the field. I saw Joe running with his back to the quarterback, in a dead sprint while the ball was in the air because he was beaten and.....out of position. I saw Joe filling the wrong gaps over and over again on running plays and his lack of athleticism making it impossible to make up for it.

Who knows why Nyles wasn't next man in? Maybe his attitude dipped because he thought he should be on the field, pretty normal for a young and immature player.

Here's to hoping we have a healthy and engaged Morgan for the next two years.

 

[Luckylucci]

I tend to agree with Irishman3 here. There is no way in my mind that Nyles wouldn't have been better than Joe. With that said, I also tend to not look backwards much. Going forward this was a top 100 LB by some. He was/is a beast of a prospect for a reason.

My opinion will and always has been that coaches recruit talent and then coach that talent up. It's up to BK and BVG to get this kid on the field and to be as productive as his talent says he should be. I posted a month or so back that this D could actually be really good if we get the type of play that Nyles is capable of. He does have highlights from his freshman year where he made plays that no MLB since Manti could make. With some of that came a lot of mistakes. However, I don't believe he's made some incredible jump from 3-4 months ago. He's probably been good to go for awhile now.

 

[GBdomer]

I'll forever believe Joe had some dirt on the coaching staff or something

 

[dad4aa]

What did Joe do last year? I don't want to hear the "on field leader" talk because he couldn't get himself lined up correctly last year.

Totally disagree. He was great at getting everyone, including himself, lined up correctly. He was just a step too slow and bad at shedding the blocker.

 

[NDRock]

Totally disagree. He was great at getting everyone, including himself, lined up correctly. He was just a step too slow and bad at shedding the blocker.

Best pre-snap 'backer in the business.

 

[Bogtrotter07]

See next page.

 

[ulukinatme]

To me, an extremely important detail is that Nyles was not next man in. The staff felt more comfortable throwing in a true freshman (Coney) than the kid with more experience and physical development. Even when Coney went down, Nyles still wasn't on the field. The staff just did not trust him to play last year. I think that says more about Nyles than it does the BVG et al.

That bit about Coney was certainly very telling last year. I thought Grace did excellent when he was in last season, given the circumstances, but multiple other LBs saw the field when our guys were injured, Nyles was not one of them.

I didn't see Joe leading a lot on the field. I saw Joe running with his back to the quarterback, in a dead sprint while the ball was in the air because he was beaten and.....out of position. I saw Joe filling the wrong gaps over and over again on running plays and his lack of athleticism making it impossible to make up for it.

Who knows why Nyles wasn't next man in? Maybe his attitude dipped because he thought he should be on the field, pretty normal for a young and immature player.

Here's to hoping we have a healthy and engaged Morgan for the next two years.

I'm not a big Joe supporter or anything, but the coaches often said the reason Joe was out there was because he was in position when many other players were not. Some players were trying to overstep their job and it put them out of position I guess, Joe was one of the few they said was consistently in the right place. Doesn't mean he always made the play, but I guess they value following the job requirements over execution. Again, not a big Joe supporter or anything. I asked a few times during the season why we didn't slowly insert Nyles into games to get him needed experience and on the job training, but given the facts above regarding Coney seeing more field last year than Nyles, as well as other LBs, I think we have to conclude that Morgan was either in the dog house or really didn't understand the defense well enough to be out there.

 

[dublinirish]

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6HQtnR2rnyM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[IrishLion]

Nyles had to have been in the doghouse. It doesn't matter how big of a jump he's made from last year... there's no other reason (last season) to keep your future MLB on the sidelines without any reps at all if you're still using his eligibility.

The more I stew on it, the more frustrating it is. Even if Joe "was in the right spot" and quarterbacking the defense, he was still missing on plays that an even-slightly serviceable MLB should not miss, and was not making nearly enough above-average plays to make up for it. And obviously his defensive quarterbacking didn't mean what it was supposed to, because the mental breakdowns were happening behind him regardless. That's not his fault, I know, but it does mean that his role as "quarterback" was way overstated.

It's extremely frustrating that they couldn't even give Nyles a "package" of plays to operate with in early downs as MLB, considering they've done it nearly every year for the quarterbacks on the team. The defensive counterpart could probably get the same treatment if BK and BVG wanted. But, they were content to make Joe the only option.

It don't make no sense!

 

[kmoose]

I didn't see Joe leading a lot on the field. I saw Joe running with his back to the quarterback, in a dead sprint while the ball was in the air because he was beaten and.....out of position. I saw Joe filling the wrong gaps over and over again on running plays and his lack of athleticism making it impossible to make up for it.

I think you're talking out of your @ss. I listened to Reggie Brooks, on the post game show, talk about Joe Schmidt almost every week. Reggie was no apologist, and had plenty of criticism for Joe. But one thing that Reggie was adamant about , week in and week out; Joe was where he was supposed to be, during the play. He may not have been athletic enough to make the play, but he was in the position he was supposed to be in. And Reggie said it was even clearer at practice. If I have to choose between your evaluation, or the evaluation of a former ND player who was an integral part of the last National Championship team, do I really need to tell you which one I am going with?

 

[dublinirish]

I think you're talking out of your @ss. I listened to Reggie Brooks, on the post game show, talk about Joe Schmidt almost every week. Reggie was no apologist, and had plenty of criticism for Joe. But one thing that Reggie was adamant about , week in and week out; Joe was where he was supposed to be, during the play. He may not have been athletic enough to make the play, but he was in the position he was supposed to be in. And Reggie said it was even clearer at practice. If I have to choose between your evaluation, or the evaluation of a former ND player who was an integral part of the last National Championship team, do I really need to tell you which one I am going with?

I wouldn't trust the word of Reggie Brooks these days, dude is pretty incoherent. His role in ND media always screams "jobs for the boys" to me

 

[kmoose]

I wouldn't trust the word of Reggie Brooks these days, dude is pretty incoherent. His role in ND media always screams "jobs for the boys" to me

Have you watched/listened to the Post Game Show on und.com?

 

[brewdog_14527]

My question is, could we let Nyles' play stand on its own and quit the bashing of Joe Schmidt? Yes, we get it. He was not the most athletically gifted player that has ever taken the field, but the bashing of him has gotten a little over the top. I can't wait for Nyles to have 20 tackles in week 1 and all of the amateur film buffs spend the next 6 weeks of the season discussing how we would have been playing for the 2015 NC, if only........ Maybe, just maybe, Nyles wasn't ready last year, and now he is and it will show on the field. Joe Schmidt did not cost ND the national championship last year, and by all accounts, he is the model of what everyone on here claims they want in a student athlete at ND, despite his athletic shortcomings. Maybe it is time to move on and bash some real idiots. If you would like to do that, head to the thread on the presidential campaign. Plenty of work to be done there!!

 

[dublinirish]

Have you watched/listened to the Post Game Show on und.com?

Nope because I'd dont value his opinions after seeing him on the signing day show 2/3 seasons ago, he was embarrassing

 

[Irish Man3]

I think you're talking out of your @ss. I listened to Reggie Brooks, on the post game show, talk about Joe Schmidt almost every week. Reggie was no apologist, and had plenty of criticism for Joe. But one thing that Reggie was adamant about , week in and week out; Joe was where he was supposed to be, during the play. He may not have been athletic enough to make the play, but he was in the position he was supposed to be in. And Reggie said it was even clearer at practice. If I have to choose between your evaluation, or the evaluation of a former ND player who was an integral part of the last National Championship team, do I really need to tell you which one I am going with?

Well, if anyone understands what goes in to being a LB, it's Reggie Brooks....

I'm not overly concerned with who you're going to go with. The cover-up of "he's always in the right position" was just that. He consistently filled the wrong gap on runs, and on more than one occasion was in a dead sprint with his back to the quarterback because he blew his assignment coverage. Not to mention, how important is it to be in the right position if you're not going to make the play regardless? Being in the right spot and not making the play does what?

If BK and BVG say he's always in position, all of the minions that "cover" games will say the same things. His senior year, Joe was not a good football player. Between his injury slowing him down even more and teams avoiding Jaylon, he was exposed each and every week. The staffs decision to keep Nyles off the field is mind boggling to me.

 

[CIrishWin]

I wouldn't trust the word of Reggie Brooks these days, dude is pretty incoherent. His role in ND media always screams "jobs for the boys" to me

Totally agree, Reggie just does not like kickers other than that he is a company man. Can not have you own radio station dogging your players.

Joe was garbage. I thought football was what you could do after the snap which is where he struggled week in and week out.

People like the kid so made excuses for him as a player.

 

[kmoose]

Nope because I'd dont value his opinions after seeing him on the signing day show 2/3 seasons ago, he was embarrassing

You really should try to catch it some, this coming season. It's an excellent show. It's not as good now, without Mirko, but Reggie and Jack Nolan do a good job. And they usually break the game down quarter by quarter, so you get some good technical analysis. Also, they will interject sometimes about something Kelly told them during the week that ND wanted to key on, and talk about how successful(or not) they were with it.

 

[NCND]

Totally agree, Reggie just does not like kickers other than that he is a company man. Can not have you own radio station dogging your players.

Joe was garbage. I thought football was what you could do after the snap which is where he struggled week in and week out.

People like the kid so made excuses for him as a player.

Agree. Can't believe how Herbstreit, Spelman and others on ESPN gushed about him because I didn't see it.

 

[IrishLion]

You really should try to catch it some, this coming season. It's an excellent show. It's not as good now, without Mirko, but Reggie and Jack Nolan do a good job. And they usually break the game down quarter by quarter, so you get some good technical analysis. Also, they will interject sometimes about something Kelly told them during the week that ND wanted to key on, and talk about how successful(or not) they were with it.

I always try to catch it on the radio as we leave South Bend after the game, but the reception on the post-game channels is absolutely terrible... or else I'm missing the "good" channel to catch it on.

 

[JD Irish]

You really should try to catch it some, this coming season. It's an excellent show. It's not as good now, without Mirko, but Reggie and Jack Nolan do a good job. And they usually break the game down quarter by quarter, so you get some good technical analysis. Also, they will interject sometimes about something Kelly told them during the week that ND wanted to key on, and talk about how successful(or not) they were with it.

They have green-colored glasses on during that show just like you do with your unending apologies for Schmidt's very poor play last season.

 

[IrishLion]

My question is, could we let Nyles' play stand on its own and quit the bashing of Joe Schmidt? Yes, we get it. He was not the most athletically gifted player that has ever taken the field, but the bashing of him has gotten a little over the top. I can't wait for Nyles to have 20 tackles in week 1 and all of the amateur film buffs spend the next 6 weeks of the season discussing how we would have been playing for the 2015 NC, if only........ Maybe, just maybe, Nyles wasn't ready last year, and now he is and it will show on the field. Joe Schmidt did not cost ND the national championship last year, and by all accounts, he is the model of what everyone on here claims they want in a student athlete at ND, despite his athletic shortcomings. Maybe it is time to move on and bash some real idiots. If you would like to do that, head to the thread on the presidential campaign. Plenty of work to be done there!!

It's less about bashing Joe, and more about pointing out the flaws in his game that make it so perplexing that Nyles couldn't even see a few snaps here and there. Nyles had plenty of flaws when he was seeing a bunch of time as a true freshman, and we've had several posters report that he was awful in practice... but when you're watching Joe Schmidt go unblocked and still miss easy tackles consistently, you have to wonder why the staff didn't think, "well, maybe we should throw Nyles into the fire, since we already did when he was a freshman, and give him some looks and see if it might help things click."

 

[kmoose]

Not to mention, how important is it to be in the right position if you're not going to make the play regardless? Being in the right spot and not making the play does what?

Well, for one............you can't throw a pass through a body that is in the way because he understood that the formation calls for him to sit in a back side zone to take away the TE drag route.

If BK and BVG say he's always in position, all of the minions that "cover" games will say the same things.

Then perhaps you could explain their criticism of him, in quite a few other areas?

His senior year, Joe was not a good football player. Between his injury slowing him down even more and teams avoiding Jaylon, he was exposed each and every week.

I agree. But I'm not saying Joe was a great, or even good, player last year. I'm simply saying that the criticism of him constantly being in the wrong spot is not shared by any professional analyst that I have heard.

The staffs decision to keep Nyles off the field is mind boggling to me.

Of course it is. But this is a team that won 10 games last year. That doesn't mean that there's not room for improvement, or that there is no room for criticism, or that no mistakes were made; but it also means that the staff is not incompetent.

 

[rocket66]

Lol at dropping Reggie Brooks' name when defending Joe.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Irish Man3]

Well, for one............you can't throw a pass through a body that is in the way because he understood that the formation calls for him to sit in a back side zone to take away the TE drag route.



Then perhaps you could explain their criticism of him, in quite a few other areas?



I agree. But I'm not saying Joe was a great, or even good, player last year. I'm simply saying that the criticism of him constantly being in the wrong spot is not shared by any professional analyst that I have heard.



Of course it is. But this is a team that won 10 games last year. That doesn't mean that there's not room for improvement, or that there is no room for criticism, or that no mistakes were made; but it also means that the staff is not incompetent.

Never did I say that the staff was incompetent, and never have I acted like the sky was falling or that I wasn't satisfied as a fan. I actually brought up in my initial statement, that this was one of my very few gripes with BK as this is not the only example of his love for a player and their story out-weighing talent. I love what Brian Kelly has done for ND over the past few years.

Also, this has very little to do with bashing Joe Schmidt. His story is great and what he brought to the university is special. All I'm saying is there's a reason Rudy only played a few snaps at the end of his career...

I'm excited to watch Morgan and these linebackers this year. Between Nyles, Coney, Bilal, and James O, this will be an extremely athletic group.