We might get BLOWN out by Michigan

[Tate the Great]

I think all of you have failed to mention that this will be Robinson's first road start. If you didn't watch Michigan at all last year, they were much worse on the road than at home.

 

[Jerry]

I'm glad Robinson had his coming out party this weekend and not against ND. The Irish will have all week to game plan for him and they'll understand the importance and hopefully "fear" him a little. I thought ND was a little too confident going into last year's game. And it showed by them being down at half.

 

[mrmiller8]

I just love how Michigan has one good game and there great. We can go 8-0 and people question if we are for real. We may not stop Denard, but Michigan has to prove to me they can stop us!

Touche Timm,
No one knows how good Michigan is, no one knows how good ND is, no one knows how conneticut is, and no one knows how good purdue is. Its all a crapshoot until week 5 or 6. I think michigan beat an average team who played bad on their own right. I think ND beat an average team who ND forced to played poorly. Is everyone that bad or is everyone that good? Nobody knows. We can only "sip" our beers on saturdays and wait and see!

 

[BGIF]

BGIF--HILARIOUS,and I'm with you big fella. The only way we get blown out would be if Crist malfunctions so badly the game becomes a gift. With Kelly at the wheel THAT ain't happening. And as has been said elsewhere, one clutched ball by Floyd, and one conscious contain by Smith, and one non-brainlock on a safety, and ND wins 30-3 at a minimum. ---- This is not to say that Michigan won't be a struggle; we'd be stupid to assume that it's not war. The one thing I'd like to know from you smart fellows which I haven't located elsewhere on the site: how's our injury report from the game? Michigan lost another valuable guy, and maybe a second one.

Yesterday in a video interview by Jack Nolan, Kelly said Fleming and Shembo had bad cramping that will be addressed with diet this week. They're not expected to be out at all. Slaughter has an ankle sprain and he will be kept out of practice till midweek to recover. As of now he's expected to play. Time will tell. Armando I think also got banged up but routine.

 

[SoJerseyIrish]

"sip".......I only sip when they are up by 20 points in the 4th quarter.....most of the time I gulp and grumble...

 

[tommyIRISH23]

I've said this over and over, ND has to attack the secondary of Michigan. Purdue had a weak secondary and ND did not exploit that. I dont think it was Brian Kelly calling as many simple plays, but Dayne Crist checking down. I dont think it was a bad idea, he managed the game efficiently. But He's goin to have to be more aggressive for ND to win.

 

[mrmiller8]

"sip".......I only sip when they are up by 20 points in the 4th quarter.....most of the time I gulp and grumble...

Thats why is it quotes.....Its normally chugs and a new bottle at the beginning of the opponents possession, for obvious reasons....

 

[Tate the Great]

I've said this over and over, ND has to attack the secondary of Michigan. Purdue had a weak secondary and ND did not exploit that. I dont think it was Brian Kelly calling as many simple plays, but Dayne Crist checking down. I dont think it was a bad idea, he managed the game efficiently. But He's goin to have to be more aggressive for ND to win.

ND had to go with what was working... which was mostly running the ball. Purdue was forcing all of our passes short.

 

[tommyIRISH23]

ND had to go with what was working... which was mostly running the ball. Purdue was forcing all of our passes short.

I agree that running the ball was/is going to be a weapon for this team. I was not at the game, and its difficult to see the whole field from the TV angles. But there were a few plays where I saw Floyd open in a window on the corner of my TV screen. Dayne saw it too, but checked down. I just dont think he comfortable yet fitting the ball in those small windows/holes. I dont think its a bad thing because he managed the game well, and I'd rather him stick with what hes comfortable with, especially in the first game, then turn the ball over.

Kelly is going to have to have a few plays that get our WR's in open space, I cant help but think that Michigan will make us pay if we do not come out firing.

Luckily, UM's secondary is beaten up and worse then Purdues. ND has gotta go over the top to stretch that defense out.

 

[Riddickulous]

Michigan is going to put the safeties back early. What we will need to do is ESTABLISH THE RUN as well as EXPLOIT THE GAP BETWEEN THE SAFETIES AND LINEBACKERS BY THROWING UP THE SEAM.

If we can establish the run, Michigan will be forced to bring the safeties up, and that's when we can take some shots downfield with Michael Floyd. If we can't, it'll be a long day of short throws.

Kyle Rudolph is key to the gameplan. He will need some big plays up the seam to open up the passing game and distract the linebackers so we can establish the run. Saturday, we also saw Tai-ler Jones running posts up the seam, as well. We'll keep the pace with Riddick underneath on screens and crosses. Michael Floyd can make some adjustment routes and cross into the middle, as well.

 

[tommyIRISH23]

Michigan is going to put the safeties back early. What we will need to do is ESTABLISH THE RUN as well as EXPLOIT THE GAP BETWEEN THE SAFETIES AND LINEBACKERS BY THROWING UP THE SEAM.

If we can establish the run, Michigan will be forced to bring the safeties up, and that's when we can take some shots downfield with Michael Floyd. If we can't, it'll be a long day of short throws.

Kyle Rudolph is key to the gameplan. He will need some big plays up the seam to open up the passing game and distract the linebackers so we can establish the run. Saturday, we also saw Tai-ler Jones running posts up the seam, as well. We'll keep the pace with Riddick underneath on screens and crosses. Michael Floyd can make some adjustment routes and cross into the middle, as well.

Excellent. I agree 110%. It's crucial we establish the run so the safeties cheat up, we won't win with 7 yard completions because that will keep the game close, and Drob will eventually make us pay. A big defensive first quarter would be awesome! If ND can get up by 2 scores early and keep momentum we will take DRob out of his game, and force him to beat us with his arm.

Our LB's are going to have to be much improved. Go with Filer on the edge over Smith/Flemming. Manti has to wrap up, missed tackles against DRob= 15 yard runs.

 

[phork]

This is going to be a good game I think. Mismatches abound. The only downside I see if everything goes the way I figure is the TOP will figure for Michigan. Our offense is not at quick strike capability just yet.
I am quite certain that Kelly was playing some very vanilla offense and defense. I am certain that a few good licks on Robinson will halt his production, hitting him however is another story.

I think that our WRs completely will crush the secondary of UM, and if Crist has time he should have a pretty good day. UM gave up almost 5 ypc to UConn, from what I saw of Cierre and Armando, I have no doubt that ND can do the same.

Final point, as previously mentioned, Brian Kelly is our coach, not Weis. And boy am I glad that we did not land Edsall.

Also the whole Forcier drama this week... Will he stay or will he go now?

 

[TDHeysus]

We could not stop the bootleg scramble against Purdue, with a guy like Denard running against us makes problems IMO.

I think Robinson would scramble looking to run the ball, whereas Marve scrambled to buy time for a pass. There is a big difference. I would rather see robinson looking to run, than forcier scrambling looking to pass (or break a LB ankles....twice)

I thought ND's run defense (front 7) vs. Purdue was alot improved over last year, but we'll see vs. Michigan.

I think Te'o being 'freed up' to run around make plays was because the dlinemen had their guys occupied, giving Te'o and Calabrese the space and time to operate. The front 7 overall had a good game.

 

[Irish Man3]

Michigan runs a 3-3-5 defense. They rely mainly on their speed and agility. It wasn't but a week ago that the same posters on here that are predicting blowout, were predicting an Irish win.
Young qb's are inconsistent. Rich Rod has never been amazing at developing qb's. D. Robinson looked like a superhero against a slow and physical defense that was not 100%. He's fast!!! Im pretty sure we knew that before saturday. Was there win against UConn impressive? Not really. For those who actually watched the game and are capable of breaking down and analyzing film, you will realize that Michigan also looked very sloppy and made a ton of mistakes. Their secondary looked TERRIBLE. Also a point I thought we had established before saturday. UConn looked worse than Michigan looked good. Numerous passes were dropped by WR that dont stack up against Notre Dame's wide outs. The key is that they were still running freely through the secondary. Michigan's secondary looked lost. Now that Crist has a start under his belt I believe that BK will release some slack on the reins and let Crist open up to his boat load of weapons.
Please dont forget that while D. Robinson looked good, Notre Dame didnt look terrible. We are by far the more talented team. Im not saying that we blow out Michigan or even that Michigan doesnt have a legit shot at beating us, but please think before leaning towards a blowout based on the performance of ONE player in the FIRST week. We are the Irish and we have a great coach for the first time in years and I think thats being overlooked.

 

[IrishandColts]

Wont happen. Kelly didn't use all of his power Saturday. We will do better if needed

 

[IrishinSyria]

I think Te'o being 'freed up' to run around make plays was because the dlinemen had their guys occupied, giving Te'o and Calabrese the space and time to operate. The front 7 overall had a good game.

This.

This is the first year since the Ty-pocalypse (2007) where we have a deep, veteran presence on the D-line. If these boys live up to their potential, the defense should be much improved no matter what scheme we run.

 

[Big23Head]

I think this game could hinge on our OLB play. If they contain and limit Robinson's outside running ability, push him towards Teo and C4 and I think this game could be ours fairly solid. We have plays like Smith's on Marve's touchdown and we are in trouble. Walls and Gray need to be excellent open field tacklers again this week. But I think this game will be much much better and more fun than I initially thought. Looking forward to it. To me this game can be ours if we learn and grow from Purdue, one week at a time we need to do this. That sounds like a stupid statement but we have not done that in years, so its relevant IMO.

 

[Bogtrotter07]

You guys are forgetting something very important: CHARLIE WEIS IS NOT THE COACH ANYMORE.

BRIAN KELLY IS THE COACH.

Ok, glad we cleared that up. We will not get blown out. If anything it will be a shoot out. Everyone who is scared needs to educate themselves and watch the Michigan UConn replay on espn.

That is all.

Not quite. Here are some interesting tidbits to consider. Some have been mentioned, but consider them together:

• On BK’s end game: “The more I think about it the more I think Kelly held back a little bit with the offense, which isn’t surprising given some of the new players on offense, even though this probably won’t last very long.”

• “And just in case you wondering, if a bowl game is included the Irish are on pace for 1,989 yards on the ground in 2010.”

• ND's four sacks Saturday place the Irish eighth in the nation in sacks. More impressive is that they did it against a mobile quarterback. Last season, the Irish ranked 89th nationally.

• ND's time of possession on offense was 24:55 Saturday, including just 3:44 in the third quarter when the Irish outscored Purdue, 7-0.

They got it going well on both sides and does anyone want to bet we haven’t seen anything but Vanilla, Part II, (from the Spring Game), yet?

Also, shootouts are what happen to poorly coached teams, or teams that are forced out of their game plans.

INJURIES: According to ESPN.COM: “Michigan could be missing two starters when it visits rival Notre Dame on Saturday. Coach Rich Rodriguez said Monday that receiver Roy Roundtree (last year's leading receiver) is doubtful and safety-linebacker Carvin Johnson is "very doubtful" after suffering injuries in the opener against Connecticut.” And for the quote of the day: “’We're kind of hanging on in the secondary a little bit,’ Rodriguez said.”

 

[IrishMoore1]

Not quite. Here are some interesting tidbits to consider. Some have been mentioned, but consider them together:

• On BK’s end game: “The more I think about it the more I think Kelly held back a little bit with the offense, which isn’t surprising given some of the new players on offense, even though this probably won’t last very long.”

• “And just in case you wondering, if a bowl game is included the Irish are on pace for 1,989 yards on the ground in 2010.”

• ND's four sacks Saturday place the Irish eighth in the nation in sacks. More impressive is that they did it against a mobile quarterback. Last season, the Irish ranked 89th nationally.

• ND's time of possession on offense was 24:55 Saturday, including just 3:44 in the third quarter when the Irish outscored Purdue, 7-0.

They got it going well on both sides and does anyone want to bet we haven’t seen anything but Vanilla, Part II, (from the Spring Game), yet?

Also, shootouts are what happen to poorly coached teams, or teams that are forced out of their game plans.

INJURIES: According to ESPN.COM: “Michigan could be missing two starters when it visits rival Notre Dame on Saturday. Coach Rich Rodriguez said Monday that receiver Roy Roundtree (last year's leading receiver) is doubtful and safety-linebacker Carvin Johnson is "very doubtful" after suffering injuries in the opener against Connecticut.” And for the quote of the day: “’We're kind of hanging on in the secondary a little bit,’ Rodriguez said.”

I definitely agree with you. But Denard Robinson is much more mobile and a hella lot faster than Purdue's Marve. Reason I say shoot out is cuz we didn't look very good containing the edge, and Robinson will surely burn us if we cannot properly tackle. Michigan's offense seems to be extraordinarily potent. I have a hard time seeing the D consistently stop them. However, Michigan's defense will be their downfall.

As long as we don't have a B. Smith getting sucked in on a read option, Robinson can be contained to some extent.

 

[IrishAlum1997]

We might not need to worry as much about getting blown out, as we need to worry about getting.........BLOW'D UP!!!!!

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[Bogtrotter07]

Marve and Robinson are two different things: Marve uses feet to buy time; Robinson uses feet to run offense, (if it works well enough he gets to use his arm.) Robinson needs a fence. Don't you think it would be fun to see Robinson throw?

 

[BestBIrish47]

the scheme versus these two teams will be entirely different. Comparing this is almost impossible... the game plan on Defense will be 100% different

 

[IrishJayhawk]

Manti Te'o = Robinson's shadow

I feel fine with this arrangement.

 

[Lou Holtz]

Everyone needs to chill out... we should have won by 24 Saturday and had some mistakes that will be worked out. I actually heard a guy at the game say were screwed we only beat Purdue by 11... are you kidding me?

 

[]\/[GoBlue]

Honestly I think we win if we're able to get pressure on your QB and shake him up a bit, we can't match up with your wideouts but your wideouts can't hurt us if your QB can't get them the ball. If this were a CW coached team I would feel better about doing that, this ND is still too much of a unknown to really 'know' if we'll be able to do that.

 

[HereComeTheIrish]

My thoughts on this thread....

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Next...

 

[IrishJayhawk]

My thoughts on this thread....

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Next...

That was creepy.

 

[IrishJayhawk]

Honestly I think we win if we're able to get pressure on your QB and shake him up a bit, we can't match up with your wideouts but your wideouts can't hurt us if your QB can't get them the ball. If this were a CW coached team I would feel better about doing that, this ND is still too much of a unknown to really 'know' if we'll be able to do that.

That's true, but that's true of most games. This offense is much more fast moving than the last 5 years ( or 10 years, for that matter). If you can sack Crist several times, you'll win.

On the other hand, if you can't...

 

[HereComeTheIrish]

That was creepy.

no moreso than this thread.

 

[DCirishfan]

Michigan will be a real test, they certainly have a real chance for a large win on Saturday. I think that they have a far more potent offense based on what I saw last week. That said I think that it will be a close game with turnovers again being key late in the game. We have to keep the running game mojo this game that is the key!