ND's Talking Heads ... The good, bad & ugly

[IRISHbluehen]

Pretty surprised by Pete’s opening takeaway of practice and then subsequent tone throughout

“This is gonna be a challenge to put the house back together” talking about all the losses on the roster and staff. I really don’t think it’s that much given the national landscape which I would expect Pete to be more in tune with than most on the beat.

To be annoying and put a number on it, they are #62 in returning production. That is with a QB change. They’ve been in the 100s in a handful of years past

I also don't really understand him harping on all the new faces. Sure no Cross, Mills, Kiser Watts and BMo will certainly be challenging but they aren't replacing these guys with bums. I think the DTs will be a solid rotation spot with less flashy plays. Loss of Watts gonna be rough, will certainly see busts that we mostly haven't for 2 years. BMo of last year vs soph L Moore is a wash in my opinion.

Leadership and athleticism of Leonard is a huge loss but the forward pass may make a comeback to the offense. Offensive line and RBs will be elite. WRs will be much more serviceable and hopefully have opportunity to make plays.

Now if the edge guys that are hurt don't come back healthy then things get a little dicey.

 

[NDFAN2008]

Pretty surprised by Pete’s opening takeaway of practice and then subsequent tone throughout

“This is gonna be a challenge to put the house back together” talking about all the losses on the roster and staff. I really don’t think it’s that much given the national landscape which I would expect Pete to be more in tune with than most on the beat.

To be annoying and put a number on it, they are #62 in returning production. That is with a QB change. They’ve been in the 100s in a handful of years past

Ehh I think Pete is eta overthinking it. Seider will out recruit everyone on our coaching staff he’s that good and it’s already showing. I think he’s just as good as Deland and even better recruiter. Ash isn’t gonna be as good as Golden but he doesn’t have to be this will be Freeman’s defense. Offense is gonna be way better especially WR. RB is gonna be better OL is gonna be better. TE I think we take a step back. Defense overall I think we miss out on Watts but will have way more overall depth.

 

[Hautian Domer]

Ehh I think Pete is eta overthinking it. Seider will out recruit everyone on our coaching staff he’s that good and it’s already showing. I think he’s just as good as Deland and even better recruiter. Ash isn’t gonna be as good as Golden but he doesn’t have to be this will be Freeman’s defense. Offense is gonna be way better especially WR. RB is gonna be better OL is gonna be better. TE I think we take a step back. Defense overall I think we miss out on Watts but will have way more overall depth.

I know this is said a lot and I’m not saying it’s not true. But, I’ve got a hunch that the Ash replacement will be a whole lot bigger deal than our fans are simply brushing off. I just have a bad feeling about it schematically. I really do. Hope I’m wrong

 

[slick7410]

Pretty surprised by Pete’s opening takeaway of practice and then subsequent tone throughout

“This is gonna be a challenge to put the house back together” talking about all the losses on the roster and staff. I really don’t think it’s that much given the national landscape which I would expect Pete to be more in tune with than most on the beat.

To be annoying and put a number on it, they are #62 in returning production. That is with a QB change. They’ve been in the 100s in a handful of years past

The majority of the “top level NFL” talent was underclassmen, outside of Watts & Morrison (who wasn’t playing anyways). The depth is always unproven (it’s college), everyone has turnover. Leadership was veteran / but seniors are usually captains everywhere. The season may not have a championship game end- but that’s always variable. Coaching ? I could see an argument for impact.

 

[Dale]

bad feeling about it schematically

What are you worried about schematically? If anything the scheme is the the thing to be least worried about for me. I would be more concerned he hasn’t called plays in a while and his relationship ability. I’m not worried at all about his schematic prowess

 

[stpeteirish]

Pretty surprised by Pete’s opening takeaway of practice and then subsequent tone throughout

“This is gonna be a challenge to put the house back together” talking about all the losses on the roster and staff. I really don’t think it’s that much given the national landscape which I would expect Pete to be more in tune with than most on the beat.

To be annoying and put a number on it, they are #62 in returning production. That is with a QB change. They’ve been in the 100s in a handful of years past

Sampson can be pretty dour. Consensus of the media is far more optimistic. I'm inclined to go with the pack here.

 

[IrishSpartan]

Ehh I think Pete is eta overthinking it. Seider will out recruit everyone on our coaching staff he’s that good and it’s already showing. I think he’s just as good as Deland and even better recruiter. Ash isn’t gonna be as good as Golden but he doesn’t have to be this will be Freeman’s defense. Offense is gonna be way better especially WR. RB is gonna be better OL is gonna be better. TE I think we take a step back. Defense overall I think we miss out on Watts but will have way more overall depth.

He is probably not getting a good interview from Mike Martin for his story so he’s bitter

 

[NDdomer2]

The in game/halftime adjustments that Al would make are the only part I'm concerned were losing.

 

[Dale]

Sampson also thinks Angeli will start Week 1 because he’s experienced and Minchey is not really in the race.

Angeli has not taken a single snap in a road game outside of garbage time.

 

[NDMD]

Sampson also thinks Angeli will start Week 1 because he’s experienced and Minchey is not really in the race.

Angeli has not taken a single snap in a road game outside of garbage time.

It's misleading to phrase it like that. While not technically a "road" game, he came in down 2 scores in the exact same stadium ND opens the season. Which is more than nothing.

 

[Dale]

It's misleading to phrase it like that. While not technically a "road" game, he came in down 2 scores in the exact same stadium ND opens the season. Which is more than nothing.

More than nothing for sure. He’s also not the grizzled veteran. It’s somewhere in between.

 

[Me2SouthBend]

Sampson also thinks Angeli will start Week 1 because he’s experienced and Minchey is not really in the race.

Angeli has not taken a single snap in a road game outside of garbage time.

So was the last drive in first half of Orange Bowl in South Bend and garbage time? I’m confused.

 

[Dale]

So was the last drive in first half of Orange Bowl in South Bend and garbage time? I’m confused.

Neutral site, as was Oregon State. Definite experience that exceeds Carr or Minchey. IMO it is not so much experience as to fall back on that as the sole reason. If it is Angeli, I hope it is because his arm is on par and has the physical skills/traits to win the job, not using an extremely small sample as the experience that cannot be overcome by Carr or Minchey.

 

[IRISHDODGER]

I also don't really understand him harping on all the new faces. Sure no Cross, Mills, Kiser Watts and BMo will certainly be challenging but they aren't replacing these guys with bums. I think the DTs will be a solid rotation spot with less flashy plays. Loss of Watts gonna be rough, will certainly see busts that we mostly haven't for 2 years. BMo of last year vs soph L Moore is a wash in my opinion.

Leadership and athleticism of Leonard is a huge loss but the forward pass may make a comeback to the offense. Offensive line and RBs will be elite. WRs will be much more serviceable and hopefully have opportunity to make plays.

Now if the edge guys that are hurt don't come back healthy then things get a little dicey.

I could be wrong but I think Sampson is considering the fact that the schedule is much tougher to navigate in 2025 vs 2024. He’s thinking a 10-2 season based on the schedule but if they lose their two toughest games (TBD), they could be on the outside looking in of the CFP. Too early to get stressed over shit like that as a fan & I think Pete is just going w/ what is known vs unknown at this point…which is not a lot at some very key positions…DT & QB

 

[NDFAN2008]

I’d rather throw Carr to the wolves on the road first game let him get the experience he will be fine. Ohio state started a freshman against us at home last year and beat us. Carr is better than him

 

[IRISHDODGER]

Sampson also thinks Angeli will start Week 1 because he’s experienced and Minchey is not really in the race.

Angeli has not taken a single snap in a road game outside of garbage time.

That’s gonna be a tough call for Freeman. I could see Angeli getting the start b/c of the road venue & imploding (taking multiple sacks, throwing a pick) & then Carr comes in to lead them back to a close loss. Or Carr starts & is a deer in the headlights & Angeli has to come in to clean up the mess. If Carr truly is “the guy” & has a clean bill of health, I say (as an uninformed fan) roll with him & take your lumps in hopes that ND can navigate the schedule well enough to get into the CFP & be playing at their ceiling by season’s end.

 

[allenm5333]

Pretty surprised by Pete’s opening takeaway of practice and then subsequent tone throughout

“This is gonna be a challenge to put the house back together” talking about all the losses on the roster and staff. I really don’t think it’s that much given the national landscape which I would expect Pete to be more in tune with than most on the beat.

To be annoying and put a number on it, they are #62 in returning production. That is with a QB change. They’ve been in the 100s in a handful of years past

Where was this?

 

[Me2SouthBend]

Neutral site, as was Oregon State. Definite experience that exceeds Carr or Minchey. IMO it is not so much experience as to fall back on that as the sole reason. If it is Angeli, I hope it is because his arm is on par and has the physical skills/traits to win the job, not using an extremely small sample as the experience that cannot be overcome by Carr or Minchey.

I get it was neutral site, but the original comment made seems a bit misleading. Wasn’t a home game and definitely wasn’t garbage time. Huge stage.

I do think whoever the QB is, will have the running game to lean on and will be setting up behind a very large and talented OLine. I trust the coaches to make the right call. LFG.

 

[Dale]

I get it was neutral site, but the original comment made seems a bit misleading. Wasn’t a home game and definitely wasn’t garbage time. Huge stage.

I do think whoever the QB is, he’ll have the running game to lean on and will be setting up behind a very large and talented OLine. I trust the coaches to make the right call. LFG.

It was as misleading as putting forth Angeli will start week 1 on the road because of his experience when he’s literally never done that lol. That’s what I was getting at

Yes Angeli has some experience. But if we are assigning short form labels to each contender I think Angeli - the experienced one - inflates him to like Coan over Buchner for example, which isn’t where we are at.

Carr is supposed to be very advanced in the playbook, if Angeli is gonna win, he’s gonna have to beat him with physical traits, I just don’t the mental side he has leaps and bounds headstart.

 

[IAIrish]

It's an interesting angle for Sampson to take, for sure.

While I'm of the mind that whoever wins the qb job will be needed at some point vs teams that are comparable from a talent/ discipline perspective, Miami hasn't shown to be that team under Cristobal. Heck, they invested $$ in Beck who is coming off a knarly elbow injury, and that team had serious holes on to of him. If Cam Ward was coming back, I'd think differently about them as he could cover some of their flaws.

I believe ND is coming outta the gate looking to run it down Miami's throat with this iteration of offensive line and running backs. As long as Carr shows he's not a turnover machine in practice, hell have a good opportunity. I'd wager Minchey had to disprove that after his gunslinger label his first few seasons at ND.

 

[Dale]

Where was this?

The most recent episode of The Independent

 

[NotKoon]

The Tims seem to think the same thing about Angelli starting the Miami game but CJ starting the majority of games in the season. To me it seems like they are all making a lazy analogy to 2018 and Wimbush starting against Michigan, when in reality the two situations are nothing alike

 

[Veritate Duce Progredi]

The Tims seem to think the same thing about Angelli starting the Miami game but CJ starting the majority of games in the season. To me it seems like they are all making a lazy analogy to 2018 and Wimbush starting against Michigan, when in reality the two situations are nothing alike

I don't think it's lazy. I don't think they are just defaulting to that idea. They believe very few coaches are willing to trot out an inexperienced QB in a hostile stadium to start the year.

I don't necessarily agree with their take. Freeman does not strike me as someone who'll mess around with naming a starting QB at the start but continuing to re-revaluate. If it's ~even between two of the QBs and one presents more upside, I believe Freeman will make that call. If one QB shows himself more capable/consistent then Freeman will pick him. I really do think it's that simple. They have a lot of experience and brainpower making the decision (Freeman, Guidugli, Denbrock) plus a strong analytics dept to give them details where needed.

 

[Jimmy3Putt]

I’d rather throw Carr to the wolves on the road first game let him get the experience he will be fine. Ohio state started a freshman against us at home last year and beat us. Carr is better than him

Wha????
McCord was a junior and it was the 4th game of the season.

 

[Jimmy3Putt]

I'll be shocked if Steve isn't starting quarterback.
We're going to roll people again this year and CJ will get plenty of snaps if he's above Kenny on the depth chart.

 

[PANDFAN]

Sampson also thinks Angeli will start Week 1 because he’s experienced and Minchey is not really in the race.

Angeli has not taken a single snap in a road game outside of garbage time.

Psu game?

 

[Jimmy3Putt]

Psu game?

El Paso too.

Or wherever that bowl was again.

 

[Fbolt]

I do like Angelli's confidence yet believe that someone else will be named. However, to say I'd be surprised if professional coaches do something I don't agree with is irrational. However, that's my opinion.

 

[KPENN]

Psu game?

El Paso too.

Or wherever that bowl was again.

Those aren’t road games.

 

[Veritate Duce Progredi]

Pretty surprised by Pete’s opening takeaway of practice and then subsequent tone throughout

“This is gonna be a challenge to put the house back together” talking about all the losses on the roster and staff. I really don’t think it’s that much given the national landscape which I would expect Pete to be more in tune with than most on the beat.

To be annoying and put a number on it, they are #62 in returning production. That is with a QB change. They’ve been in the 100s in a handful of years past

I was surprised to, it felt like he was reasoning his way to being conservative. I don't think it was based on the eye-test of practice but who knows.

To Pete's point: They are losing a lot of leadership and experience but the counterpoint is that we were in the top 5 of schools with true freshman snaps. We had a lot of sophomores who accrued snaps as well. As much production as this team is losing, safety is the only spot on defense that really concerns me.

• Safety - lose Watts, who can fill his spot? Also lose Clark, bring in D. Smith and have a group battling.
• LB - lose Kiser. KVA, Bowen, Sneed, Ausberry, Faraimo and a lot of other good LBs are waiting to fill in.
• CB - lost B Mo. Didn't have him for most of the season and we were able to develop the other guys.
• DE - Given we were down to our 3rd DE by game 4, we will be stronger. There are a lot of candidates to take snaps and the injured players should be full go by Summer.
• Interior DL - lose Cross and Mills. Both were out for stretches and were reduced from injury. Mills missed the two biggest wins of the season. Cross was a shell of his healthy self. We have a good group, even if we can't identify one as a gamewrecker right now.

• QB is the other concern simply because we don't know what we have yet but it sounds like all three are capable QBs.
• WR - should be better if Fields is as advertised. Greathouse is operating with a ton of confidence, and we have a lot more competition than prior years.
• TE - ? Not sure until Raridon or another TE makes us take notice.
• OL - better and it's not close. Lots of experience and talent in this room, should be some road graders in this group.
• RB - better because, as of now, we return everyone. There aren't enough snaps for the talent on this roster: Love, Price, Williams, Young and Payne returning. Can Kedren make the coaches put him in? Seems to be the unique body type but all of these guys run hard.

It does feel like Pete views this as a "re-build" year but there aren't a lot of question marks. Most spots are locked down by one player looking to break out or a strong time share with players of similar skill. I don't see any immediate weak links?