Chris Ash - Loves Man Coverage?

jpachuta33

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ND just surrendered one TD and 13 total points against a notoriously tricky/unconventional scheme and morons want heads to roll. Al Golden fared worse in two out of three attempts, including surrending 32 points in one game.
TBH, they should have surrendered zero points. That Navy team isn’t good at all and the defensive game plan in the first half was complete dog shit. Don’t let the stats mask the issues at hand. If not fixed this week, Miami will expose this defense.
 

SportsingHard

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TBH, they should have surrendered zero points. That Navy team isn’t good at all and the defensive game plan in the first half was complete dog shit. Don’t let the stats mask the issues at hand. If not fixed this week, Miami will expose this defense.
ND has shut out Navy zero times this millennium, and Miami has an elite offense. Points will be scored
 

Dale

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TBH, they should have surrendered zero points.

13 is a reasonable final point total to surrender. How it looked, and the fact that it really should have been 21 was the issue. But a shutout is nonsense. Navy has a decent offense. They’ve lost games 38 - 30, 49 - 39, 38 - 34, 24 - 20 and 13 - 9 (Air Force). Nothing indicated people should have expected 0. Their defense is awful.
 

jpachuta33

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ND has shut out Navy zero times this millennium, and Miami has an elite offense. Points will be scored
So you witnessed zero issues with the defense during the Navy game? Coming off a bye week and putting that shit show of a performance in the first half is alarming. If you think Notre Dame can win a track meet against Miami, you are wrong.
 
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NDPhilly

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I don’t think you need insider information to realize he won’t be back lol

I mean we are top 5 in opponent adjusted defense on like every metric. It’s been far from awful, despite the 1st half of BYU, UNC, and Navy games. I hope he’s gone too but I think we need some perspective.
 

jpachuta33

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13 is a reasonable final point total to surrender. How it looked, and the fact that it really should have been 21 was the issue. But a shutout is nonsense. Navy has a decent offense. They’ve lost games 38 - 30, 49 - 39, 38 - 34, 24 - 20 and 13 - 9 (Air Force). Nothing indicated people should have expected 0. Their defense is awful.
Yeah… 13 points are reasonable when your defensive coordinator’s last stint was an NFL scout.
 

Dale

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I would have assumed Ash was 2 and out the day he was hired, regardless of performance. Most DCs are 2 - 3 years.

Watch Ash take like the Sam Houston job lmao
 

SportsingHard

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So you witnessed zero issues with the defense during the Navy game? Coming off a bye week and putting that shit show of a performance in the first half is alarming. If you think Notre Dame can win a track against Miami, you are wrong.
I see issues with every unit of every team in every game, as does any remotely perceptive observer. I don't know what a track is, but I figure ND has about a 55% chance against the Hurricanes.
 

Dale

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Yeah… 13 points are reasonable when your defensive coordinator’s last stint was an NFL scout.

I mean the national championship team gave up 14. Again it could have been 21 or even more Navy scored so the final score was not indicative of the poor performance, but if you sat down and expected a shutout yesterday that is just silly
 

jpachuta33

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I mean the national championship team gave up 14. Again it could have been 21 or even more Navy scored so the final score was not indicative of the poor performance, but if you sat down and expected a shutout yesterday that is just silly
That Navy team in 2024 went 9-3 and beat Oklahoma in a bowl game. This years Navy team will be lucky to finish 4-8.

Ask yourself, does this year’s defense have more talent than that National Championship team? I’d say most definitely. We have a defensive coordinator problem.
 

Dale

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That Navy team in 2024 went 9-3 and beat Oklahoma in a bowl game. This years Navy team will be lucky to finish 4-8.

Ask yourself, does this year’s defense have more talent than that National Championship team? I’d say most definitely. We have a defensive coordinator problem.

That’s because their defense sucks ass. The 2024 Navy defense was 36 in DFEI. I’m not excusing yesterdays defense in the slightest, I called it pathetic by the whole F7. I’m probably just taking the shutout comment far too literally
 

arrowryan

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I mean we are top 5 in opponent adjusted defense on like every metric. It’s been far from awful, despite the 1st half of BYU, UNC, and Navy games. I hope he’s gone too but I think we need some perspective.

Ash has future pros at every level of this defense and is still struggling. They got pieced up by freaking BYU. BYU shouldn’t have gotten to 13 points, let alone 28.

I know some of you are big into metrics. Metrics are cool, but they aren’t better than the eye test. They haven’t passed the eye test against competent offenses.
 

Veritate Duce Progredi

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So the paid writers who consistently get things wrong about the program now know Ash will be gone half way through the season? Color me skeptical
I'm sometimes stunned by people who refuse to see what is directly in front of them. This defense has more NFL talent on it (or did prior to injuries) than any I've watched in over 20+ years of fandom. I'm going to guess there are at least, maybe 3-4 at every position group and we're middling statistically.

Freeman was as direct as he could be in the press conference. I didn't really have to read between the lines to hear a scathing undertone that Freeman believes some staff are underperforming (drastically because he was willing to even state it). I'll be floored if Ash still has a job after the season. I can only see one way that is possible and it's if no one else is available. But even then, he might be willing to take a flyer on new blood with a strong track record.

Ash has no idea how to call in-game. I think his halftime adjustments have been good. In-game adjustments are poor, down to down and drive to drive is just awful. It always looks like the offense has the upper hand. With excellent DEs, DTs, LBs, CBs and safeties. We have experience, we have talent, we have lockdown corners and pressuring DEs and we drop back in zones and pressure 4, often not even putting our best speed guys out there on 3rd and long.

BVG has been supplanted because he only wasted Jaylon and a season where we were good. We should be ELITE with this talent and Ash has found a way to reduce their talents.
 

BeatSC

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With Bowen out maybe it’s a blessing in disguise as it requires us to dial it back and not be so complex.
Well I don’t think Bowens being the QB on the D would garner good grades in most of our first halves. We should be faster and more explosive without him. Good tackler in run support.
 

IRISHDODGER

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Traore, Brewu, Keeley, and Gray

All DL that got their first taste of Navy football. Sleeping on it, the first half makes sense now.
This was mentioned pregame so I was less surprised when they were out of position. But Bryce Young doesn’t have that excuse And he had his share of plays where he was washed out or out of position
 

HouseofPain

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Just saying there were a lot of teams with a lot less talent that beat that Navy butt all season long. This one should have been over at halftime.
 

rikkitikki08

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I'm sometimes stunned by people who refuse to see what is directly in front of them. This defense has more NFL talent on it (or did prior to injuries) than any I've watched in over 20+ years of fandom. I'm going to guess there are at least, maybe 3-4 at every position group and we're middling statistically.

Freeman was as direct as he could be in the press conference. I didn't really have to read between the lines to hear a scathing undertone that Freeman believes some staff are underperforming (drastically because he was willing to even state it). I'll be floored if Ash still has a job after the season. I can only see one way that is possible and it's if no one else is available. But even then, he might be willing to take a flyer on new blood with a strong track record.

Ash has no idea how to call in-game. I think his halftime adjustments have been good. In-game adjustments are poor, down to down and drive to drive is just awful. It always looks like the offense has the upper hand. With excellent DEs, DTs, LBs, CBs and safeties. We have experience, we have talent, we have lockdown corners and pressuring DEs and we drop back in zones and pressure 4, often not even putting our best speed guys out there on 3rd and long.

BVG has been supplanted because he only wasted Jaylon and a season where we were good. We should be ELITE with this talent and Ash has found a way to reduce their talents.
I never once said he wouldn’t be fired, I’m just stating the beat for ND knows jack shit about what Freeman plans to do this offseason
 

Crazy Balki

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Just saying there were a lot of teams with a lot less talent that beat that Navy butt all season long. This one should have been over at halftime.
A lot of teams have whooped FSU's butt this year, yet #1 Miami needed OT and refball to save them from losing.

And Navy hasn't really gotten their butt whooped this year. Their most lopsided defeat this season outside of ND was a 10 point loss to North Texas. They've lost 4 games by 1 possession and the UNT game was a 1 possession game late. They have ran the ball extremely well in the previous 3 games leading up to yesterday.
 

NDFAN2008

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People can go to bat for Ash but the reason why our defenses rank so high in many things is because of the shitty inflated schedules we have played the last two years. Name me the last offense that was decent we held under 10 points. USC lit us up last year, Miami, Purdue and A&M lit us up last year. UNC and BYU this year. Here is a list of guys in order who i’d reach out too.
1. Bryant Haines
2. Al Golden
3. Phil Parker
4. Jim Knowles
5. Andy Avalos
6. Colin Hitschler think it could be him
7. Rob Aurich
8. Mike Mikens
9. Jay Hill
 

Crazy Balki

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People can go to bat for Ash but the reason why our defenses rank so high in many things is because of the shitty inflated schedules we have played the last two years. Name me the last offense that was decent we held under 10 points. USC lit us up last year, Miami, Purdue and A&M lit us up last year. UNC and BYU this year. Here is a list of guys in order who i’d reach out too.
1. Bryant Haines
2. Al Golden
3. Phil Parker
4. Jim Knowles
5. Andy Avalos
6. Colin Hitschler think it could be him
7. Rob Aurich
8. Mike Mikens
9. Jay Hill
Not to defend Ash, as it's apparent that his game planning and play calling hasn't worked, but:

UNC had 286 yards and scored 20 points against the ND defense. 6 of those came at the end of the game when ND was up 3 possessions. ND outgained UNC by nearly 200 yards.

To put it context, Miami's defense gave up 35 points and 407 yards.

USC had 396 total yards on 5.6 yards per play and 24 points. That was approximately 12 points, 70 yards and 1.5 yards per play less than their seasonal average that year.
 

stlnd01

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People can go to bat for Ash but the reason why our defenses rank so high in many things is because of the shitty inflated schedules we have played the last two years. Name me the last offense that was decent we held under 10 points. USC lit us up last year, Miami, Purdue and A&M lit us up last year. UNC and BYU this year. Here is a list of guys in order who i’d reach out too.
It is very hard to hold a "decent" offense under 10 points in a college football game.
And not to excuse Ash's abysmal and overcomplicated schemes, but every team we played last year after Purdue had either their lowest, or second-lowest scoring game of the season against us, except Stanford which scored 14 of their 20 points after everyone including our starting defense had gone to bed.
We have a very good defense, we're just not playing to its strengths.
 

ulukinatme

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Adjustments at halftime have been pretty good, but I wonder how much of that is our depth kicking in after the other team's #1s are gassed from giving 110% in their Super Bowl. I want to know why we can't have a Syracuse game and just light teams up from the start instead of playing from behind or close going from halftime. Gameplans have been kind of shit coming out of the gate.
 
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