UNLV Postgame

[stlnd01]

OK I'll go.

Drew Pyne has no business being QB1 on a major college football team. He's doing his best, but he's just not talented enough. I don't really see how any amount of coaching changes that.

But, we have no other options. Would be good to see Angeli get more reps, since he's one snap away from the job. But as we saw when Pyne went out, they'd rather hand it off to a tight end. Maybe that tells us something about Steve.

All that said it would be good if someone other than Michael Mayer could get thrown to occasionally. He's wonderful but he's not going to be with us that much longer.

I wish Styles were a little bit better. I wish Colzie could get on the field. Merriweather will figure it out but the Tobias stans need to take a beat. Thomas will get there.

We should have scored at least 60. Field goals and turnovers in the red zone are not going to beat Clemson and USC.

Estime's had a bad stretch with the fumbles but unlike last week that one was on him. Did they put him back in after that? Either way, Diggs has established himself as the top RB, but I think they'll mix and match the three of them all season and I'm fine with that. It's the position group I feel best about actually.

Was nice to see the defense create lots of havoc today. Enjoy Foskey while we have him.

Ademilola and Bracy both came back and made a difference. Hope Kollie's OK I saw him on special teams but not actually playing defense after he went out (tho maybe I missed?)

At one point in like the third quarter I said "Is Hart playing?" Turns out he was but never on the TV, which is a good sign for a DB. They mostly picked on the Morrison/Lewis side, and both held up pretty well. Houston Griffith made some plays too. I like that guy.

Our LB corps is a mess. I don't know why Bertrand plays so much and Kizer so little. Liufau was a bit better today but still it's just a lot of running around. I'd really rather just see Kollie out there. And Junior. And even Sneed.

Take away two big runs and our defense suffocated them for most of the game, certainly the first half. Given their QB situation I'm not sure what to take from that, but was fun for a change.

I know Syracuse is having a good season but if we play as we did against UNC and BYU that's a game we really ought to win.

 

[BeatSC]

Criky! I think I hear crickets out there. Well that was a kind post and accentuated some of todays positives but I will be blunt; Pyne flat out stinks and his mental game is going down the tubes like a turd. This reliance on Meyer Meyer Meyer is ridiculous. He also dropped two balls today despite being great in general. Meyers needs to sit just so Pyne can throw to anyone else! Liked the way the D played press and aggressive early on but they got a little soft later. I saw a 54 on the field in defense. They already give Lacey’s jersey away?
Estime will recover but I doubt Pyne will. His numbers are artificially padded with the jet sweeps. I think we ran 4 of those today so you subtract that from his numbers and he is 10-24 one TD and 160 years against UNLV!!!!! That is probably the worst anyone has okayed against them this year and Pyne had all day to throw. We only win two more games (maybe) if we don’t move on from him. Angeli can run and hand the ball off so let him! If we get behind in any of the games by more than one score Pyne will turn into a turnover machine. He’s already on the bubble.

At least Stanford and Marshall won today but the BYU win is now nothing to write home about. Liberty kicked their ass while we hung on.

 

[NDGOLDEN]

Criky! I think I hear crickets out there. Well that was a kind post and accentuated some of todays positives but I will be blunt; Pyne flat out stinks and his mental game is going down the tubes like a turd. This reliance on Meyer Meyer Meyer is ridiculous. He also dropped two balls today despite being great in general. Meyers needs to sit just so Pyne can throw to anyone else! Liked the way the D played press and aggressive early on but they got a little soft later. I saw a 54 on the field in defense. They already give Lacey’s jersey away?
Estime will recover but I doubt Pyne will. His numbers are artificially padded with the jet sweeps. I think we ran 4 of those today so you subtract that from his numbers and he is 10-24 one TD and 160 years against UNLV!!!!! That is probably the worst anyone has okayed against them this year and Pyne had all day to throw. We only win two more games (maybe) if we don’t move on from him. Angeli can run and hand the ball off so let him! If we get behind in any of the games by more than one score Pyne will turn into a turnover machine. He’s already on the bubble.

At least Stanford and Marshall won today but the BYU win is now nothing to write home about. Liberty kicked their ass while we hung on.

First off if your gonna belittle the guy spell is name right it’s MAYER. Second if you hate the team so much then stop watching them. Third bringing negativity to a team that is struggle is childish. And last but not least these kids are HUMANS and not robots, if they were robots then we would be 6-1.

 

[IRISHDODGER]

Just started watching the game. In the first quarter, Pyne has made some nice throws thus far, so it must get much worse. Nice TD pass to Mayer & perfect would-be first down conversion to Styles…who dropped it. UNLV was w/o their QB & RB and it shows. Now the pass to Lenzy was piss poor. He struggles putting air under balls. Even if Lenzy doesn’t get held, the ball was practically out of the EZ.

Did Mickey play? He’s got that abductor strain which kept Jafar Armstrong out for weeks.

 

[stlnd01]

Just started watching the game. In the first quarter, Pyne has made some nice throws thus far, so it must get much worse. Nice TD pass to Mayer & perfect would-be first down conversion to Styles…who dropped it. UNLV was w/o their QB & RB and it shows. Now the pass to Lenzy was piss poor. He struggles putting air under balls. Even if Lenzy doesn’t get held, the ball was practically out of the EZ.

Did Mickey play? He’s got that abductor strain which kept Jafar Armstrong out for weeks.

Not certain but I don't think Mickey played. Sounded the other day like he would be out multiple weeks.

 

[IRISHDODGER]

Not certain but I don't think Mickey played. Sounded the other day like he would be out multiple weeks.

Yeah that injury laid up Armstrong for most of the season.

 

[Irish4life]

That was the most unsatisfying, miserable, unwatchable 44-21 ND victory I've ever watched. And still.....a wins a win. Onto Syracuse.

 

[Crazy Balki]

Drew Pyne needs to have the absolute shortest of leashes next week. Like, if we're down 10-0 after a quarter, you need to move on to Angeli.

Mike and Jamie from ISD were mentioning that it's too late to move onto Angeli and if it were going to happen, it should've happened the last 2 games to get him ready, or else you're just setting him up for failure. While I understand the logic, continuing to start Pyne is setting the whole team up for failure.

Not to mention, it sends a bad message to your team about the concept of accountability. I'd have to imagine Tobias and Estime are super pissed. They make a mistake and they barely see the field afterwards. Meanwhile, Pyne looks like complete ass for 2 games against some really bad defenses, yet he continues to play? Yeah, really sending a message there Marcus...

I understand that starting a freshman in Angeli is far from ideal, but at this point, you have to see what the kid has and give him some reps. Because what we're trying now with Pyne isn't working. Kid just doesn't have it, and if he doesn't have it against Stanford or UNLV, odds are slim he'll have it against Syracuse or Clemson.

The OL played pretty well for the most part. I can't honestly gauge the receivers earnestly because of how horrid Pyne was and how rarely he looked at them.

All except Styles. What the hell is wrong with him? He just looks checked out. He's expected to be the primary receiver and he plays like he doesn't give a shit and it pissed me off significantly. I get he's probably not happy with how Pyne is, but when you consistently drop the ball, it's hard for a QB to trust you. You gotta help your dude out when he's struggling. Styles needs to pull his head out of his ass.

As much crap Bertrand gets, frankly felt he was okay for the most part. He had a few moments where I was like WTF are you doing, but all around was fairly solid. Marist, same thing. Had moments where I couldn't figure out what he was doing, but had some big plays. The defense in general is just schizophrenic. They play well for the most part, but fumble all over their dicks whenever the offense gets something going. And redzone defense is ATROCIOUS. Fix it.

Special Teams continues to be far and away the best unit on the team. I suggest taking a portion of Rees' salary and giving it to Mason and continue to do it until Rees starts doing his f*cking job.

All-around....man, this just isn't fun. I hate saying this after a 23 point win, but this was suppose to be a get-right game and I don't feel like we made ANY progress. Like NONE. The passing game didn't get better, the defensive red zone woes continued, it was just all-around a not fun game to watch and this team looks lost and it pisses me off. This team has no energy and they're just not fun to root for.

Marcus, you need to do something, because I'm checking out. Morale is just at an all time low. Fix it.

 

[Irish4life]

Drew Pyne needs to have the absolute shortest of leashes next week. Like, if we're down 10-0 after a quarter, you need to move on to Angeli.

Mike and Jamie from ISD were mentioning that it's too late to move onto Angeli and if it were going to happen, it should've happened the last 2 games to get him ready, or else you're just setting him up for failure. While I understand the logic, continuing to start Pyne is setting the whole team up for failure.

Not to mention, it sends a bad message to your team about the concept of accountability. I'd have to imagine Tobias and Estime are super pissed. They make a mistake and they barely see the field afterwards. Meanwhile, Pyne looks like complete ass for 2 games against some really bad defenses, yet he continues to play? Yeah, really sending a message there Marcus...

I understand that starting a freshman in Angeli is far from ideal, but at this point, you have to see what the kid has and give him some reps. Because what we're trying now with Pyne isn't working. Kid just doesn't have it, and if he doesn't have it against Stanford or UNLV, odds are slim he'll have it against Syracuse or Clemson.

The OL played pretty well for the most part. I can't honestly gauge the receivers earnestly because of how horrid Pyne was and how rarely he looked at them.

All except Styles. What the hell is wrong with him? He just looks checked out. He's expected to be the primary receiver and he plays like he doesn't give a shit and it pissed me off significantly. I get he's probably not happy with how Pyne is, but when you consistently drop the ball, it's hard for a QB to trust you. You gotta help your dude out when he's struggling. Styles needs to pull his head out of his ass.

As much crap Bertrand gets, frankly felt he was okay for the most part. He had a few moments where I was like WTF are you doing, but all around was fairly solid. Marist, same thing. Had moments where I couldn't figure out what he was doing, but had some big plays. The defense in general is just schizophrenic. They play well for the most part, but fumble all over their dicks whenever the offense gets something going. And redzone defense is ATROCIOUS. Fix it.

Special Teams continues to be far and away the best unit on the team. I suggest taking a portion of Rees' salary and giving it to Mason and continue to do it until Rees starts doing his f*cking job.

All-around....man, this just isn't fun. I hate saying this after a 23 point win, but this was suppose to be a get-right game and I don't feel like we made ANY progress. Like NONE. The passing game didn't get better, the defensive red zone woes continued, it was just all-around a not fun game to watch and this team looks lost and it pisses me off. This team has no energy and they're just not fun to root for.

Marcus, you need to do something, because I'm checking out. Morale is just at an all time low. Fix it.

While I understand that Pyne has stunk these past 2 weeks, I don't think throwing Angeli out there when he isn't ready is the answer. Maybe ND can make that move post Clemson?

 

[FightingIrishLover7]

While I understand that Pyne has stunk these past 2 weeks, I don't think throwing Angeli out there when he isn't ready is the answer. Maybe ND can make that move post Clemson?

Steve isn't ready.
But Pyne never will be.

 

[Irish du Nord]

Drew Pyne needs to have the absolute shortest of leashes next week. Like, if we're down 10-0 after a quarter, you need to move on to Angeli.

Mike and Jamie from ISD were mentioning that it's too late to move onto Angeli and if it were going to happen, it should've happened the last 2 games to get him ready, or else you're just setting him up for failure. While I understand the logic, continuing to start Pyne is setting the whole team up for failure.

Not to mention, it sends a bad message to your team about the concept of accountability. I'd have to imagine Tobias and Estime are super pissed. They make a mistake and they barely see the field afterwards. Meanwhile, Pyne looks like complete ass for 2 games against some really bad defenses, yet he continues to play? Yeah, really sending a message there Marcus...

I understand that starting a freshman in Angeli is far from ideal, but at this point, you have to see what the kid has and give him some reps. Because what we're trying now with Pyne isn't working. Kid just doesn't have it, and if he doesn't have it against Stanford or UNLV, odds are slim he'll have it against Syracuse or Clemson.

The OL played pretty well for the most part. I can't honestly gauge the receivers earnestly because of how horrid Pyne was and how rarely he looked at them.

All except Styles. What the hell is wrong with him? He just looks checked out. He's expected to be the primary receiver and he plays like he doesn't give a shit and it pissed me off significantly. I get he's probably not happy with how Pyne is, but when you consistently drop the ball, it's hard for a QB to trust you. You gotta help your dude out when he's struggling. Styles needs to pull his head out of his ass.

As much crap Bertrand gets, frankly felt he was okay for the most part. He had a few moments where I was like WTF are you doing, but all around was fairly solid. Marist, same thing. Had moments where I couldn't figure out what he was doing, but had some big plays. The defense in general is just schizophrenic. They play well for the most part, but fumble all over their dicks whenever the offense gets something going. And redzone defense is ATROCIOUS. Fix it.

Special Teams continues to be far and away the best unit on the team. I suggest taking a portion of Rees' salary and giving it to Mason and continue to do it until Rees starts doing his f*cking job.

All-around....man, this just isn't fun. I hate saying this after a 23 point win, but this was suppose to be a get-right game and I don't feel like we made ANY progress. Like NONE. The passing game didn't get better, the defensive red zone woes continued, it was just all-around a not fun game to watch and this team looks lost and it pisses me off. This team has no energy and they're just not fun to root for.

Marcus, you need to do something, because I'm checking out. Morale is just at an all time low. Fix it.

I agree with nearly all of this. I feel the defense is at the point where
1. We are inconsistent against the run
2. We are inconsistent against big plays
3. We are bad in the red zone
4. We are not great on third or fourth downs
5. We don’t get many turnovers.
For the talent that we have on that side of the ball that’s unacceptable to me and is going to put our already inept offense in bad situations.

Diggs played pretty well, OLine is getting better (still not convinced they’re very good), but the offensive game plan is not going to our strengths. Our RB room could inspire fear, but what outside of Mayer does on that side of the ball? Receivers have been worse than we thought. How nice would it be to have Avery Davis right now?

 

[Crazy Balki]

I agree with nearly all of this. I feel the defense is at the point where
1. We are inconsistent against the run
2. We are inconsistent against big plays
3. We are bad in the red zone
4. We are not great on third or fourth downs
5. We don’t get many turnovers.
For the talent that we have on that side of the ball that’s unacceptable to me and is going to put our already inept offense in bad situations.

Diggs played pretty well, OLine is getting better (still not convinced they’re very good), but the offensive game plan is not going to our strengths. Our RB room could inspire fear, but what outside of Mayer does on that side of the ball? Receivers have been worse than we thought. How nice would it be to have Avery Davis right now?

My problem is that I don't think the receivers are as bad as advertised.

They've been getting open and making plays, but Pyne is just not finding them. He's either missing them when he sees them or he's set on forcing the ball to Mayer.

 

[Crazy Balki]

While I understand that Pyne has stunk these past 2 weeks, I don't think throwing Angeli out there when he isn't ready is the answer. Maybe ND can make that move post Clemson?

Well, Pyne being out there is not the answer either.

I don't see the point of having Pyne out there against Syracuse and Clemson if he continues to show he is incapable of making basic decisions and throws against far worse defenses.

At the very least with Angeli, you can test his mettle and get him experience. Pyne has clear limitations and is mentally all over the place as a junior. He doesn't have it.

I know it may seem like they're Angeli up to fail, but at this point, putting Pyne out there the way he's been playing is setting the whole team up for failure.

 

[Grahambo]

My biggest beef in the Pyne/Angeli saga is that TR isn’t creating a mini-package of plays for Angeli and giving him a series or two. You don’t need to throw him to the wolves but nothing will beat game reps. Figure out what he does best right now and put in the work to create a package of Angeli plays.

Mayer and Lenzy getting 17 targets is wholly unacceptable. Mayer leaving after the season will be better for the entire offense. No, that’s not a dig at Mayer.

Biggest gripe on defense is the Bertrand/Marist duo. Bertrand has little football IQ and Marist runs a marathon out there without being helpful. Watching them on the final UNLV TD and neither were close to being helpful.

Some of my biggest frustrations this season is the lack of rotation at QB, OL, and LB. The over reliance of Mayer. Lenzy getting more targets then Zo, Merriweather, Colzie, Thomas.

I’m assuming MF is trying to push the team over the line to get to 6 wins. Running out the clock half-way through the 3rd quarter against UNLV said more than I think people realize. But that’s about as public as MF will get with his frustrations.

Be interested to see what happens when they get to 6 wins.

 

[Ray “The Mule” Finkle]

Why is Freeman so cringe. His post game speech was so awkward. I always get that I’m embarrassed for him feeling. Or, that cringy guy that wants to talk at Walmart vibe.

 

[stlnd01]

My biggest beef in the Pyne/Angeli saga is that TR isn’t creating a mini-package of plays for Angeli and giving him a series or two. You don’t need to throw him to the wolves but nothing will beat game reps. Figure out what he does best right now and put in the work to create a package of Angeli plays.

Mayer and Lenzy getting 17 targets is wholly unacceptable. Mayer leaving after the season will be better for the entire offense. No, that’s not a dig at Mayer.

Biggest gripe on defense is the Bertrand/Marist duo. Bertrand has little football IQ and Marist runs a marathon out there without being helpful. Watching them on the final UNLV TD and neither were close to being helpful.

Some of my biggest frustrations this season is the lack of rotation at QB, OL, and LB. The over reliance of Mayer. Lenzy getting more targets then Zo, Merriweather, Colzie, Thomas.

I’m assuming MF is trying to push the team over the line to get to 6 wins. Running out the clock half-way through the 3rd quarter against UNLV said more than I think people realize. But that’s about as public as MF will get with his frustrations.

Be interested to see what happens when they get to 6 wins.

The way things are shaping up, they'll get to six wins and then they'll have one game left and it's USC.

Agree on Angeli, they need to find ways to get him on the field. Both so he's got a little experience if Pyne gets hurt and to get a little more sense of what you have with him for next year. Direct snaps to the tight end and handoffs up the middle ain't it.

 

[stpeteirish]

My problem is that I don't think the receivers are as bad as advertised.

They've been getting open and making plays, but Pyne is just not finding them. He's either missing them when he sees them or he's set on forcing the ball to Mayer.

That’s the thing. In addition to all the obvious weaknesses Pyne is bad at finding the secondary receiver when the primary is covered. Other guys just tuck and run but he can’t do that either

 

[NDFAN2008]

You aren’t beating Syracuse or Clemson running 30 times a game gonna have to air it out for any chance

 

[tko]

I think we find a way to hand Syracuse the game and there’s no way we compete vs Clemson and USC. Freeman is staring at a turbulent off season which includes a lot of recruiting gnashing of teeth. I cannot foresee this class holding up. The chum is in the water. Really sad to look at ND and see Pyne behind center compared with the rest of college football. There’s so much excitement out there.

 

[stlnd01]

I understand the hesitancy, but Pyne has regressed since UNC. Not to mention, Rees is coaching like nothing is wrong and Pyne just needs to do his job. This is such a poor evaluation of what Pyne can actually accomplish, I don’t anticipate the gameplan will switch much these next two games. So if Rees is going to throw the QB position on the pyre, might as well do it with someone with potentially greater physical ability. If he’s not going to adjust and prepare a smart gameplan, then just give it to Angeli. He either has the stones or doesn’t.

I'm not sure evaluation is the problem here. "What Pyne can actually accomplish" seems limited to handing the ball off, throwing seven yards to Mayer and the occasional screen pass or jet sweep. All of which a defense can take away pretty easily if they don't have to worry about downfield passing.

 

[tko]

Is Freeman still consulting with sweater vest Tressel? If not, maybe he should dial him up or give Luke a holler for some guidance.

 

[NDFAN2008]

I hate to say it but I almost wish both games are over at half time so we can let them see what Angeli has

 

[Spurt Reynolds]

First off if your gonna belittle the guy spell is name right it’s MAYER. Second if you hate the team so much then stop watching them. Third bringing negativity to a team that is struggle is childish. And last but not least these kids are HUMANS and not robots, if they were robots then we would be 6-1.

*You're not Your

 

[notredomer23]

I’m not gonna harp on the offense because that’s just gonna be what it is until ND gets a better QB. This is not an excuse for the coaching staff. Rees needed to recruit better or Freeman needed to bring one in. But here we are.

In the end, 70% of the site predicted that ND would win by 21 or less, or lose outright. We’re not as bad as you think we are. We’re not as good as we should be.

The defense is a bit perplexing to me. They’re giving up 21 PPG. Pretty dang good. Should be good enough to win every game. But just thinking how good they would be if you know, they could force a turnover? Or maybe get a stop in the red zone? Both those are historically bad. Without looking, I’d assume 2016 measured up better there.

Brian Mason is the best coach on the staff and continues to have his players perform week in and week out. Given our QB woes, this could be critical for an upset bid against Clemson or USC

 

[ThePiombino]

Have to keep reminding myself not to be mad at Pyne. It's not his fault our OC/QB coach hasn't done his fucking job for quite some time now...

Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Tapatalk

 

[stlnd01]

Have to keep reminding myself not to be mad at Pyne. It's not his fault our OC/QB coach hasn't done his fucking job for quite some time now...

Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Tapatalk

Yep. Pyne is doing the best he can he’s just not equipped for this job. It’s funny because basically the same was true of Tommy Rees a decade ago.

 

[PANDFAN]

Drew Pyne needs to have the absolute shortest of leashes next week. Like, if we're down 10-0 after a quarter, you need to move on to Angeli.

Mike and Jamie from ISD were mentioning that it's too late to move onto Angeli and if it were going to happen, it should've happened the last 2 games to get him ready, or else you're just setting him up for failure. While I understand the logic, continuing to start Pyne is setting the whole team up for failure.

Not to mention, it sends a bad message to your team about the concept of accountability. I'd have to imagine Tobias and Estime are super pissed. They make a mistake and they barely see the field afterwards. Meanwhile, Pyne looks like complete ass for 2 games against some really bad defenses, yet he continues to play? Yeah, really sending a message there Marcus...

I understand that starting a freshman in Angeli is far from ideal, but at this point, you have to see what the kid has and give him some reps. Because what we're trying now with Pyne isn't working. Kid just doesn't have it, and if he doesn't have it against Stanford or UNLV, odds are slim he'll have it against Syracuse or Clemson.

The OL played pretty well for the most part. I can't honestly gauge the receivers earnestly because of how horrid Pyne was and how rarely he looked at them.

All except Styles. What the hell is wrong with him? He just looks checked out. He's expected to be the primary receiver and he plays like he doesn't give a shit and it pissed me off significantly. I get he's probably not happy with how Pyne is, but when you consistently drop the ball, it's hard for a QB to trust you. You gotta help your dude out when he's struggling. Styles needs to pull his head out of his ass.

As much crap Bertrand gets, frankly felt he was okay for the most part. He had a few moments where I was like WTF are you doing, but all around was fairly solid. Marist, same thing. Had moments where I couldn't figure out what he was doing, but had some big plays. The defense in general is just schizophrenic. They play well for the most part, but fumble all over their dicks whenever the offense gets something going. And redzone defense is ATROCIOUS. Fix it.

Special Teams continues to be far and away the best unit on the team. I suggest taking a portion of Rees' salary and giving it to Mason and continue to do it until Rees starts doing his f*cking job.

All-around....man, this just isn't fun. I hate saying this after a 23 point win, but this was suppose to be a get-right game and I don't feel like we made ANY progress. Like NONE. The passing game didn't get better, the defensive red zone woes continued, it was just all-around a not fun game to watch and this team looks lost and it pisses me off. This team has no energy and they're just not fun to root for.

Marcus, you need to do something, because I'm checking out. Morale is just at an all time low. Fix it.

While I agree pyne has been hot garbage, substituting a qb with a freshman qb and comparing a running back and wr are completely different

 

[Ray “The Mule” Finkle]

Did Merriweather play?

 

[notredomer23]

Did Merriweather play?

23 snaps. Pyne missed one to him and another was defended well in the endzone

 

[Ray “The Mule” Finkle]

23 snaps. Pyne missed one to him and another was defended well in the endzone

I watched some highlights. It seems Rees keeps calling pass plays for which Pyne isn’t capable of making. In the dirt passes because he lacks the arm strength. Why call these plays? Is he trying to simply show the NFL that he can call plays well despite the shortcomings of his players? Showing that it’s his lack of talent rather than his inability to coach to the level of his talent. If he had Stafford making those throws, he’d be fine.