Game Balls, Lunch Box Award, Team Player, Ticking Bomb

[jonesman]

Game Ball Award!!!
Offense - Armando Allen is hands down the guy who has sold out the most on O all season. He just keeps chugging for those extra yards. This guy is just all day solid.

Defense - Ian Williams for plugging the middle all night. He is really having a solid year. Keep up the great work.

Lunch Box Award!!!
Carlo Calabrese gets this award for playing like a beast all night. He and Manti are on the verge of becoming a completely beastly tandem. Carlo is starting to anticipate which shows a guy gaining confidence.

Time Bomb!!!
Theo Riddick is so close to just exploding out there. He is just so ready to explode on one of these screens or quick passes. With Armando leaving at the end of the year, we may be forced to put him back at RB.


Random Thoughts-
Cierre Wood will need some positive re-inforcement and a few good plays to get his confidence back. I hope Kelly does not give up on him. Good Luck Cierre.

Floyd and Rudolph will be missed next season because of something they do without the ball, BLOCKING!! Both are good blockers.

Our slow as a turtle D is getting better every week and somehow, FASTER. Yes Mr. Herbie, our D is finding that next gear.

Speaking of Herbie, if he thinks those boys at OSU should be rated number 2 in the country, then he is wearing those BuckNUT glasses.

Question: Who is the only team in all of FBS to play 3 Top 25 teams after 4 weeks??? YES, ND!!!

 

[military_irish]

IMO Riddick will be at WR as long as Kelly is coach, Wood, Gray, Roberson, and Hayes next year will be capale of running the ball

 

[NDFANnSouthWest]

Honerable Mention:

Ruffer...he has been solid.
B. Jackson had some explosive returns.

 

[tko]

i agree on Cierre. He is in a dark place right now. i woule expect Kelly to continue to demand excellence from him day in and day out. it'll be up to cierre to rise up or fall, but i'm pulling for him.

 

[JughedJones]

Game Ball Award!!!
Offense - Armando Allen is hands down the guy who has sold out the most on O all season. He just keeps chugging for those extra yards. This guy is just all day solid.

Defense - Ian Williams for plugging the middle all night. He is really having a solid year. Keep up the great work.

Lunch Box Award!!!
Carlo Calabrese gets this award for playing like a beast all night. He and Manti are on the verge of becoming a completely beastly tandem. Carlo is starting to anticipate which shows a guy gaining confidence.

Time Bomb!!!
Theo Riddick is so close to just exploding out there. He is just so ready to explode on one of these screens or quick passes. With Armando leaving at the end of the year, we may be forced to put him back at RB.


Random Thoughts-
Cierre Wood will need some positive re-inforcement and a few good plays to get his confidence back. I hope Kelly does not give up on him. Good Luck Cierre.

Floyd and Rudolph will be missed next season because of something they do without the ball, BLOCKING!! Both are good blockers.

Our slow as a turtle D is getting better every week and somehow, FASTER. Yes Mr. Herbie, our D is finding that next gear.

Speaking of Herbie, if he thinks those boys at OSU should be rated number 2 in the country, then he is wearing those BuckNUT glasses.

Question: Who is the only team in all of FBS to play 3 Top 25 teams after 4 weeks??? YES, ND!!!

I'm with you on almost all of that, except I'm getting a little tired of everyone just assuming that Floyd and Rudy leaving is a foregone conclusion.

They very well may stay, they can see that we are close to breaking through and may want to give it one more year to be a part of it.

 

[IrishAlum1997]

I think Rudy and Floyd are BOTH back in 2011. Don't forget where they go to school. Rudy won't help or hurt his draft status, and MF'er needs a Biletnikoff kind of season to get that cash.

And I am sold on Armando this year. It may have taken him 4 years to get there, but he is nails. I hope he has a big role in a great win against SC.

 

[IrishLax]

I think they both stay. They are 2nd round selections at the moment... and there is a huge pay difference between 1st round and 2nd round.

 

[IrishInColumbus]

They will stay because the NFL will not have a season next year.

 

[JughedJones]

They will stay because the NFL will not have a season next year.

i really hope you're right

 

[Riddickulous]

I agree with everything.

If Michael Floyd keeps up this mediocre production, you can bet he'll be back to salvage his first round draft status. He's a second rounder, right now.

 

[jason_h537]

He's a second rounder, right now.

Unless he tears it up at the combine then he once again become's a 1st rounder

 

[irishfan]

Floyd has not shown his skills this year and often looks lazy or like he has no idea on the situation, like not turning the f around on a 5rd and 7 and running 10 instead. Hes good, but hes taken a step back this yr..he has shown he has some skills but not the brain needed.

Really disappointed in floyd and rudolph...regardless of injury excuses.

 

[jonesman]

To all who are trying to convince themselves and others that Rudolph and Floyd are returning, stop drinking that Kool-Aid!!!!!!

First, most of Floyd's issues this season are a QB who is struggling in his first season. How many bad balls has Crist thrown vs drops with Floyd. I know that Floyd had a pair of bad fumbles, but he is doing everything else needed. The guy is a tireless blocker, fights for the ball and makes YAC.

As for Rudolph, there is not another TE in the country who would get drafted ahead of him. If so, tell me who that guy is. Again, he is the victim of a QB who is struggling. He has also struggled with his hamstring. Why would he come back if he is the number 1 TE prospect???

I think many of you are forgetting the days when ND had premiere talent with Lou. We had many a player head to the NFL early. It will be the same here. Will I be bummed? Yes, but I do not blame either and will be a fan of them in the NFL. Thanks guys for bringing your talents to ND.

 

[RDU Irish]

I think Jonesman is right on Rudy, he only stays if a lockout makes the decision for him or he absolutely refuses to leave without a degree. These would have to be overpowering issues to pass up GTD $$$ as the top TE coming out of college. Measurables plus production plus annual improvement = can't miss TE prospect.

Now, take off the ND colored glasses for a minute Jonesman. Floyd has not been lights out this year, he has an injury history and I don't think he is going to be a top decile combine performer in any category (maybe benchpress). I have also never heard of a WR getting drafted on blocking ability. Plus there are a lot of more explosive WRs coming out the next couple of years that will be ahead of Floyd as of now. Floyd stands the most to gain from another year as he and Crist absorb the offense and Crist starts throwing the pigskin better.

 

[ndcoltsfan2010]

I think Rudy is gone but we keep Floyd. Rudy I believe is the best TE in the country, but Floyd has struggled at times.., whether it is the qb play or him making some mistakes. It is what it is, and I don't see Floyd being taken in the 1st Round. Maybe 2nd or possibly 3rd Round. Floyd does have alot of intangibles, but he needs to have a great remainder of the year to really think he leaves for the NFL. Add on top of all of this the possible NFL not playing next season, and it is very easy to see Floyd coming back.

 

[IrishInColumbus]

The WR and TE corps are dripping in talent, so it's not really the biggest issue.

But still, there will not be an NFL in 2011, so they will stay. Once I heard that NFL owners get 100% of the television money regardless of having a season or not, I have become entirely convinced the owners are absolutely fine not having a season.

 

[Old Man Mike]

When I am watching Michael Floyd, I feel like i am watching a freak of nature---moreso than anyone on this team or perhaps any other team in college. I'll leave the debate about how well he's done this season and whose fault it is to others. When Floyd is allowed to go deep, he blurs by the opposing DB. Coach Holtz once said that there was speed, and there was "effective" speed. He said that Rocket Ismail had more "effective game speed than any athlete he ever saw. I'm not comparing Floyd to Ismail. What I'm saying is that when Floyd is right, he does things no other receiver can do. The pro scouts are going to be watching that. Freak talent is by definition rare and precious. If Floyd has a decent season, and if he shows no sign of fragility, I'll bet that he can count on a first round draft position. We've had plenty of other guys go high who seemed to be carrying baggage of one sort or another [can we say Sam Bradford?]. Obviously I REALLY hope he stays, but I'm not drinking that Kool-Aid either.

 

[Riddickulous]

When I am watching Michael Floyd, I feel like i am watching a freak of nature---moreso than anyone on this team or perhaps any other team in college. I'll leave the debate about how well he's done this season and whose fault it is to others. When Floyd is allowed to go deep, he blurs by the opposing DB. Coach Holtz once said that there was speed, and there was "effective" speed. He said that Rocket Ismail had more "effective game speed than any athlete he ever saw. I'm not comparing Floyd to Ismail. What I'm saying is that when Floyd is right, he does things no other receiver can do. The pro scouts are going to be watching that. Freak talent is by definition rare and precious. If Floyd has a decent season, and if he shows no sign of fragility, I'll bet that he can count on a first round draft position. We've had plenty of other guys go high who seemed to be carrying baggage of one sort or another [can we say Sam Bradford?]. Obviously I REALLY hope he stays, but I'm not drinking that Kool-Aid either.

No, he doesn't. Scouts knock on Floyd because he doesn't have top end speed to create separation on the deep ball. He always has to go up and fight for it because he's rarely behind the defender. If he doesn't have a QB like Clausen that can put a ball perfectly over his shoulder from 45 yards away, he's going to have to go up and get it. Golden Tate was far more effective on the deep ball because he created better separation.

Michael Floyd still has a lot of issues, chiefly ball control and route running. He would be a second round pick if he left for the NFL this season. Georgia's A.J Green and Alabama's Julio Jones, as well as Pittsburgh's Jonathan Baldwin, could all go before him in the draft.


Losing Michael Floyd would cause a lot more damage than losing Kyle Rudolph, IMO.

Who can nearly match Floyd's production (when he's in the zone, which he hasn't been in since the first half of the 2009 season) on the outside?

Behind Kyle Rudolph is Tyler Eifert. Brian Kelly basically called Tyler the best tight end he's ever coached before Rudolph started practicing this fall, and he coached Ben Guidigli at Cincinatti. Then we have Alex Welch, who's also drawn praise. Mike Ragone probably won't get a fifth year (we have enough tight ends and we need room for our defensive recruits), but is also a capable tight end. And then we have Ben Koyack coming in next year, a Rudolph-esque stud machine.

 

[Old Man Mike]

I'm talking about the area of the field from 5-to-15 yards. He seems to me to slash through that area---and shows similar long-stride speed on end arounds---but what-the-hell whatever he's doing is devastating if not double-teamed and D-coordinators know it. Why else the bent-out-of-shape coverages by the opponents? Not worth an argument, though.

 

[military_irish]

Floyd may not be Dexter McCluster fast, but he covers alot of field with one stride