Monday Morning QB

[The Polish Irishman]

Here are my observations from the game:

Offense:

JC's arm looked great except for some of those touch passes. He can tell who his QB coach is.

AA- Still waiting on his game changing speed. Had problems with the blitz

Hughes-Looked good, soft hands

Kumara-Bad game, needs to learn how to block

Kyle R.- he was open a couple times and JC did not throw him the ball. Runs good routes, but blocking was bad. He will learn.

Tate- Great game. He knows how to step up his game.

Offensive line- they did not give up a sack, but they are not the blocks of granite. At least there were no bad snaps. What ever happened to running to the right?

Fullbacks- average at best, better than last year

Floyd-when does he start? I will say in 2 weeks.

Defense:

Mo Crum: Did he play? The only time I saw him was when he committed a penalty. I expected him to make a good play then disappear for 10 plays like last year

Eathan Johnson- Nothing against the guy, I do believe he is going to be very good. He looked lost out there

S. Brown- Great ST plays. Decent on at corner. He will get better with time.

K. McCarthy- 14 or something tackles. Most were because he could not stop his receiver from catching the ball.

Bruton- saved the game.

Lambert/McNeil- solid games

Defensive line- decent, we need pass rusher, interesting to see how they play the run

John Ryan/Kerry Neal- I thought both played very well


Special Teams: were not special at all. Kick coverage was improved, but kickoffs were short and field goal tries were terrible. Kick returns looked better. At least Brown made a play.


In short, the ship is not sinking, but were are taking on some water. You can not turn the ball over 4 times and expect to win games. Dumb penalties must be avoided. We gave them 3 first downs by penalty. Also 3 and 1 and Hughes get killed in the backfield. 3 and 14 and they convert. The boys have a lot of work, but tomorrow is a new day.

 

[Irish52]

Unlike last year, I think team performance and unity will improve with each game. I look for a big "W" over Michigan with much improvement in the running game.

 

[JeremyND07]

Unlike last year, I think team performance and unity will improve with each game. I look for a big "W" over Michigan with much improvement in the running game.

I think it is more of a mental thing then anything right now! A win against Michigan would be a huge coinfidence boost to this team!!!! Jimmy did look good...the 2 INT were both on the receivers in my opinion and it is a shame it goes on his stat sheet!!! He does need to learn to be a better leader and get the OL pumped!

 

[NDinL.A.]

Here are my observations from the game:

Offense:

JC's arm looked great except for some of those touch passes. He can tell who his QB coach is.

AA- Still waiting on his game changing speed. Had problems with the blitz

Hughes-Looked good, soft hands

Kumara-Bad game, needs to learn how to block

Kyle R.- he was open a couple times and JC did not throw him the ball. Runs good routes, but blocking was bad. He will learn.

Tate- Great game. He knows how to step up his game.

Offensive line- they did not give up a sack, but they are not the blocks of granite. At least there were no bad snaps. What ever happened to running to the right?

Fullbacks- average at best, better than last year

Floyd-when does he start? I will say in 2 weeks.

Defense:

Mo Crum: Did he play? The only time I saw him was when he committed a penalty. I expected him to make a good play then disappear for 10 plays like last year

Eathan Johnson- Nothing against the guy, I do believe he is going to be very good. He looked lost out there

S. Brown- Great ST plays. Decent on at corner. He will get better with time.

K. McCarthy- 14 or something tackles. Most were because he could not stop his receiver from catching the ball.

Bruton- saved the game.

Lambert/McNeil- solid games

Defensive line- decent, we need pass rusher, interesting to see how they play the run

John Ryan/Kerry Neal- I thought both played very well


Special Teams: were not special at all. Kick coverage was improved, but kickoffs were short and field goal tries were terrible. Kick returns looked better. At least Brown made a play.


In short, the ship is not sinking, but were are taking on some water. You can not turn the ball over 4 times and expect to win games. Dumb penalties must be avoided. We gave them 3 first downs by penalty. Also 3 and 1 and Hughes get killed in the backfield. 3 and 14 and they convert. The boys have a lot of work, but tomorrow is a new day.

Nice post.

A couple of things:

Clausen's touch passes were fantastic on those 2 TD's especially. He put those balls in perfect places where only his guy could make a play on them.

Kumara needs to work on his cathing more than his blocking.

Aside from the 2 botched field goals, the special teams were very much improved. Return game solid, return coverage solid, and even a blocked punt.

D-Line was awful, IMO, not decent. No push at all. I'm actually scared to see how they do against the run.

Hughes was a different man after the fumble/injury. Not very explosive at all.

We'll see how good we are against Michigan. I think we'll get the 'W' by 7-10.

 

[domerfor life]

I will say that AA looked good on some of his runs. He hit the whole quick and got upfield. I think he's still learning how to be a college running back. That'll come with time. Our line wasn't getting much of a push for most of the day. Plus, if you're going to "pound them", you need to stay true to that philosophy. It usually begins to manifest in the 4th quarter when the D is tired of getting hit. ND still has yet to do that. I think this was really a game of blown opportunities. They left at least 14-20 points on the board. I do agree that Duval needs to concentrate on catching with his hands. There were at least two passes that hit him in the numbers and bounced off his jersey. I think Floyd is still learning, but once he learns the playbook it's hard to see him not starting eventually. He's really good. Tate and Floyd are our best weapons at WR. Grimes is Mr. Consistent. You can't take that for granted. Overall, this game sucked, but they won which is different from last year when they sucked and lost. They were able to overcome early mistakes to win the game. That in itself is encouraging.

 

[Get Nasty]

I was agreeing with your entire post for the most part until you said John Ryan played very well. He was absolutely awful!

Also, ethan johnson was our only Dline to make plays!

 

[WeisWeisBaby]

Yeah, I know

 

[Pinoy QB]

AA was blasted on one play. He got Knock the F_ _ _ out!!! Damm

 

[IrishRamMan10]

didnt mccarthy save the game?

 

[The Polish Irishman]

didnt mccarthy save the game?

That was Bruton

 

[PADOMERNUT]

mccarthy made the original hit, bruton knocked the ball loose and recovered the fumble

 

[PADOMERNUT]

total yards the last 10 minutes of the game.

ND 136
SDSU 5

Lets hope that is the type of play we see from here on out

 

[dre1919]

I thought the game was rather unsettling considering the Irish were supposed to be "much improved" from their disastrous '07 campaign. Jimmy Clausen looked better, especially since he could throw from an upright position, but did little to make me think "Wow, that guy was the #1 recruit coming out of high school!" in his year. I think that's all hype to be honest. At this stage in the game, he doesn't look any better than Rick Clausen and less skilled than Casey. I mean, if JC is supposed to be the all world QB, ask yourself...would you rather have him, or Tim Tebow? How about Sam Bradford? Both started as freshmen and both are better than JC is right now regardless of offensive lines and skill position players.

Tate looked great, Allen looks like he needs a better line to do anything on the ground (reminded me of Reggie Bush trying to do his college moves as a rookie in the NFL...just didn't work). Somebody needs to teach Kumara not to catch with his body, as he gift wrapped one INT and then basically gave up on a ball that became the second INT. If I were Clausen, I would have been pissed. Whatever happened to James Aldridge?

The defense looked pretty good actually, but was left on the field too long in all situations. Their blitzing was negated by the fact that they were gassed midway through the game from the offensive ineptitude. From my couch, our new OC doesn't look to be any more the imaginative play caller than Charlie...so we didn't get much out of that transition. SDSU was missing an incredible seven defensive linemen and somehow we couldn't run effectively on their third string DT's? Wow...that's not good for the rest of the season (even with a softer schedule).

Michigan trying to figure out the spread is about as much fun to watch as a Kathy Bates nude scene (unless you're into that sort of thing), but even with as lost as they look they'll still smack the Irish around is we don't get better offensive production. Our defense can handle Michigan's three ring circus act right now, but not if they're on the field all day. We need crisp short passing, mixed in with some down field shots to Tate and solid running between the tackles. If we don't control the clock and the pace of the game against UM, we're screwed.

 

[NDOM]

I thought the game was rather unsettling considering the Irish were supposed to be "much improved" from their disastrous '07 campaign. Jimmy Clausen looked better, especially since he could throw from an upright position, but did little to make me think "Wow, that guy was the #1 recruit coming out of high school!" in his year. I think that's all hype to be honest. At this stage in the game, he doesn't look any better than Rick Clausen and less skilled than Casey. I mean, if JC is supposed to be the all world QB, ask yourself...would you rather have him, or Tim Tebow? How about Sam Bradford? Both started as freshmen and both are better than JC is right now regardless of offensive lines and skill position players.

Tate looked great, Allen looks like he needs a better line to do anything on the ground (reminded me of Reggie Bush trying to do his college moves as a rookie in the NFL...just didn't work). Somebody needs to teach Kumara not to catch with his body, as he gift wrapped one INT and then basically gave up on a ball that became the second INT. If I were Clausen, I would have been pissed. Whatever happened to James Aldridge?

The defense looked pretty good actually, but was left on the field too long in all situations. Their blitzing was negated by the fact that they were gassed midway through the game from the offensive ineptitude. From my couch, our new OC doesn't look to be any more the imaginative play caller than Charlie...so we didn't get much out of that transition. SDSU was missing an incredible seven defensive linemen and somehow we couldn't run effectively on their third string DT's? Wow...that's not good for the rest of the season (even with a softer schedule).

Michigan trying to figure out the spread is about as much fun to watch as a Kathy Bates nude scene (unless you're into that sort of thing), but even with as lost as they look they'll still smack the Irish around is we don't get better offensive production. Our defense can handle Michigan's three ring circus act right now, but not if they're on the field all day. We need crisp short passing, mixed in with some down field shots to Tate and solid running between the tackles. If we don't control the clock and the pace of the game against UM, we're screwed.

I agree to the above BOLDED! Nice 2nd post dude. Welcome to the site.

 

[irishandy]

I think that there is much room for improvement. We need to get a running game or it will be a long year. Hughes needs to pick up where he left off last year. I don't mind having 2 runners, but I'd much rather rely on 1. Along w/ a running game we need a better o-line when we run the ball. I think that Michael Floyd should start against Michigan!!! Take out Kumara, I think he is a bust. Golden Tate is my offensive player of the game. Clausen looked a lot better than last year and it shows that when he has a blocking o-line he creates plays. I thought that our defense was great, but I think that they got tired towards the end. I like the pressure that we applied on the SDSU QB; haven't seen that in a while. Sergio Brown is my defensive player of the game. I expect to see a better team against Michigan.

 

[dre1919]

Thanks, NDOM. Don't get me wrong...I bleed blue and gold through and through so I'm not trying to sound pessimistic. I think if we can get some offensive line production and manufacture a run game, we'll win 8-9 games this year with our schedule. Plus, we're catching people (like Michigan) at the right time during our rebuilding mode. Things went "OK" during the SDSU game, especially late when we straightened our act up and got things sealed up. But, against stiffer competition we'll need to be more focused and execute better in all phases of the game.

Hey, at least we finally have a kicker!!

 

[NDOM]

Thanks, NDOM. Don't get me wrong...I bleed blue and gold through and through so I'm not trying to sound pessimistic. I think if we can get some offensive line production and manufacture a run game, we'll win 8-9 games this year with our schedule. Plus, we're catching people (like Michigan) at the right time during our rebuilding mode. Things went "OK" during the SDSU game, especially late when we straightened our act up and got things sealed up. But, against stiffer competition we'll need to be more focused and execute better in all phases of the game.

Hey, at least we finally have a kicker!!

Word. We need to run to the right side with Young and Stewart. The only 2 or 3 runs that I saw that were to the right side were HUGE holes. Alot of good things are going to come if we run to the right side more often. Just wait and see. If we dont utilize the right side of the offensive line against Michigan we will not win the game. PLAIN AND SIMPLE!

 

[NDsuperfan09]

I thought the game was rather unsettling considering the Irish were supposed to be "much improved" from their disastrous '07 campaign. Jimmy Clausen looked better, especially since he could throw from an upright position, but did little to make me think "Wow, that guy was the #1 recruit coming out of high school!" in his year. I think that's all hype to be honest. At this stage in the game, he doesn't look any better than Rick Clausen and less skilled than Casey. I mean, if JC is supposed to be the all world QB, ask yourself...would you rather have him, or Tim Tebow? How about Sam Bradford? Both started as freshmen and both are better than JC is right now regardless of offensive lines and skill position players.

Tate looked great, Allen looks like he needs a better line to do anything on the ground (reminded me of Reggie Bush trying to do his college moves as a rookie in the NFL...just didn't work). Somebody needs to teach Kumara not to catch with his body, as he gift wrapped one INT and then basically gave up on a ball that became the second INT. If I were Clausen, I would have been pissed. Whatever happened to James Aldridge?

The defense looked pretty good actually, but was left on the field too long in all situations. Their blitzing was negated by the fact that they were gassed midway through the game from the offensive ineptitude. From my couch, our new OC doesn't look to be any more the imaginative play caller than Charlie...so we didn't get much out of that transition. SDSU was missing an incredible seven defensive linemen and somehow we couldn't run effectively on their third string DT's? Wow...that's not good for the rest of the season (even with a softer schedule).

Michigan trying to figure out the spread is about as much fun to watch as a Kathy Bates nude scene (unless you're into that sort of thing), but even with as lost as they look they'll still smack the Irish around is we don't get better offensive production. Our defense can handle Michigan's three ring circus act right now, but not if they're on the field all day. We need crisp short passing, mixed in with some down field shots to Tate and solid running between the tackles. If we don't control the clock and the pace of the game against UM, we're screwed.

lol. Jimmy is far more talented than either of his brothers. They would be the first ones to tell that to you. He also wouldn't do any worse than Bradford or Tebow do throwing the ball in their offense. Bradford has the best OL, RB corps, and possibly the best WR core in college football. He is a good QB who looks outstanding because of who he is playing with. The rest of your post however is spot on.

 

[dre1919]

lol. Jimmy is far more talented than either of his brothers. They would be the first ones to tell that to you. He also wouldn't do any worse than Bradford or Tebow do throwing the ball in their offense. Bradford has the best OL, RB corps, and possibly the best WR core in college football. He is a good QB who looks outstanding because of who he is playing with. The rest of your post however is spot on.

Yeah, that's what I thought at first too. But then I started to think about that whole "#1 recruit in the whole country" ranking that some media outlets and pundits placed upon Jimmy Clausen. That moniker alone means a lot. It also means he should be able to step right in and be THE MAN. No question. I'm not saying JC isn't talented...and it may be a stretch to say that over time JC won't be considered the most talented of the Clausen boys. But, right now as it stands, Casey IS the most accomplished of the three. I fully expect Jimmy to surpass them all by the end of his career though.

Sam Bradford does have a better supporting cast at Oklahoma, just as Tebow does at Florida. But, whereas Clausen is more of an afterthought for a defense right now, Bradford and Tebow actually have to be planned against and dealt with. From a defensive coordinator's position, Bradford and Tebow would scare me way more than Clausen regardless of skill position players just based upon the throws (and in Tim's case, the running he can do as well) that they can make. I'm sure as hell glad we have Jimmy, because I believe he will become a great QB...I was just kind of expecting more I guess when I read the hype.

 

[Irish 83]

Hands down McCarthy is defensive player of the game. 15 tackles, I believe the next closest player had 6. He made a couple of beautiful open field tackles, and if he doesn't deliver that hit at the goal line, Bruton doesn't make that play.

Special teams mvp goes to Anello, who like McCarthy may not be the most talented but finds a way to make the play. Great game for this kid.

Offensively I think Clausen deserves a lot of credit, rallying back at the end of the game with some beautiful passes. Is already showing signs of a leader, looked mature when it mattered most.

 

[vbroccolo]

This is my first posting on this site, so dont get mad at me:

My recap of the game is as follows:
1- Jimmy has improved from last year, I agree with the above comment that you can tell he has a QB coaching him. He still needs to grow up and be the "man" he is not there yet. He needs to be putting the ball in the endzone when you are inside the 10, no excuses. As for the person who said that the receivers mistakes that led to Jimmy's interceptions...thats how the game is played, you want to play the position, than step and take the mistakes. Jimmy is a big boy with great potential adn it will happen. Its just when you paly at ND, you better learn and grow quick.
2- Running game was simply OK, they need quick improvement.
3- Offensive line has had a great improvement over last year. I was happy to see how they have come together, keep that going!
4-Defense as a whole.....for god sake this is SDSU!!!! We should have wiped the field with these guy's. Pass D needs great improvement......It only gets toughter from here on out!!

Regardless of how the remainder of the schedule looks, all of these teams are out to beat the crap out of ND, because we are rebuilding, we need to come together really fast. Overall, there is great improvement over last year, I look forward to the MI game and beyond.

Oh yeah...and screw Mark May on ESPN

 

[The Polish Irishman]

McCarthy= 14 tackles= 9 Passes Completed in front of him

 

[Pinoy QB]

What happened to James Aldridge?

 

[JeremyND07]

McCarthy= 14 tackles= 9 Passes Completed in front of him

What happened to James Aldridge?

I agree McCarty only had so many tackles because he could not defend the pass!!

Seriously, where was James Aldridge...Hughs and Allen did OK but neither did good enough to warrany Aldridge not getting any touches!!!!!!

Armando was not the returner I hoped for and I think Tate would be a great fit back there!!!!

 

[Master Guns]

Nice post.

A couple of things:

Clausen's touch passes were fantastic on those 2 TD's especially. He put those balls in perfect places where only his guy could make a play on them.

Kumara needs to work on his cathing more than his blocking.

Aside from the 2 botched field goals, the special teams were very much improved. Return game solid, return coverage solid, and even a blocked punt.

D-Line was awful, IMO, not decent. No push at all. I'm actually scared to see how they do against the run.

Hughes was a different man after the fumble/injury. Not very explosive at all.

We'll see how good we are against Michigan. I think we'll get the 'W' by 7-10.

Jimmy's touch passes were MONEY! Not sure what game that other guy was watching.

 

[Master Guns]

This is my first posting on this site, so dont get mad at me:

My recap of the game is as follows:
1- Jimmy has improved from last year, I agree with the above comment that you can tell he has a QB coaching him. He still needs to grow up and be the "man" he is not there yet. He needs to be putting the ball in the endzone when you are inside the 10, no excuses. As for the person who said that the receivers mistakes that led to Jimmy's interceptions...thats how the game is played, you want to play the position, than step and take the mistakes. Jimmy is a big boy with great potential adn it will happen. Its just when you paly at ND, you better learn and grow quick.
2- Running game was simply OK, they need quick improvement.
3- Offensive line has had a great improvement over last year. I was happy to see how they have come together, keep that going!
4-Defense as a whole.....for god sake this is SDSU!!!! We should have wiped the field with these guy's. Pass D needs great improvement......It only gets toughter from here on out!!

Regardless of how the remainder of the schedule looks, all of these teams are out to beat the crap out of ND, because we are rebuilding, we need to come together really fast. Overall, there is great improvement over last year, I look forward to the MI game and beyond.

Oh yeah...and screw Mark May on ESPN

I thought the D backfield was much faster but if the D line is not getting much penatration up front, the blitzers have to attack from the ends. Agree, that they should have just simply crushed SDSU.

 

[MirageSmack]

McCarthy= 14 tackles= 9 Passes Completed in front of him

True, but that's an unusual quick passing game SDSU employs, tough to defend. You'd have to play on top of the WR to get to some of those passes. I think that QB will be much better than either one we will see agaisnst Michigan, although they clearly have better running options.

 

[alleycat9]

here comes the pessimist...

clausen looked good to me, i was quite happy with his performance. not heisman but solid and continued improvement.

OL absolutely terrible, terrible terrible. SDSU had no defensive linemen and they could not move undersized and slow guys out of the way. i saw no improvement from them over last year. this is not a Notre Dame offensive line, they do not have the attitude necessary and do not hit people in the mouth or finish off blocks.

dl also absolutely terrible, i am sorry but i am sick and tired of seeing john ryan on the field. no push no speed no nothing. the rest of them were also poor as even with almost constant blitzes there was rarely any pressure. sure its great that Kuntz knocks down a million passes a year but that happens because he doesnt get a good enough push or make enough moves to get off the block.

lbs i thought crum was all over the field and was one of the few front 7 players who showed any heart. kid was everywhere from sideline to sideline making plays.

dbs i thought did well, there were alot of passes completed in front of them but that is going to happen against that type of offense when you are constantly blitzing and cant get pressure from your dl and 1 lb. having to send multiple lbs and safeties left them shorthanded most of the day and they did a great job defending anything over 10 yards.

sts this used to be a staple of notre dame that the special teams would play well no matter what. doesnt seem to be as important anymore, rather than waiting for the big play from the special teams i realize now that there will not be a big play from them and i am always worried about a big play against them.

 

[The Polish Irishman]

Did anyone else notice how slow Grimes is off the line? Floyd looked like a dart coming off the line. Too bad we can't put Grimes hands on Kumara.

 

[IrishGrizz]

I think that there is much room for improvement. We need to get a running game or it will be a long year. Hughes needs to pick up where he left off last year. I don't mind having 2 runners, but I'd much rather rely on 1. Along w/ a running game we need a better o-line when we run the ball. I think that Michael Floyd should start against Michigan!!! Take out Kumara, I think he is a bust. Golden Tate is my offensive player of the game. Clausen looked a lot better than last year and it shows that when he has a blocking o-line he creates plays. I thought that our defense was great, but I think that they got tired towards the end. I like the pressure that we applied on the SDSU QB; haven't seen that in a while. Sergio Brown is my defensive player of the game. I expect to see a better team against Michigan.

This is what I meant. None of this post goes against what I talked about in my last to rants. Andy talked about what we need to fix, were he thinks we can improve. vbroccolo also makes great points. Some of these new posters are great additions to the ND world here. allyecat09, too. Good job to all of you. dre, you even catch yourself when you 1st are dissappointed in JC and then check yourself and your expectations.

I just lose my mind with the calls for the scalp of the coach because some people decided that the Kool aid they drank in the off season that led them to believe we would challange for the NC this season isn't actually gonna happen. The staff needs to improve with lots of things, but maybe some of the fans that believe in the ND Fighting Irish should think about wanting to jump off the cliff or push others off after week 1. If you got through last year, then this year will be easier. Breath.