State of the Irish

[Epitome]

We are no better than we were with CW. Our team has more talent than anyone on our schedule. The fact that we continue to have serious fundamental issues is a direct reflection of BK. We are coming off a bye week for crying out loud. There is no reason that we should be flat in the first quater. The horrible play is representative of the coaching...

 

[enrico514]

BK will win a NC before Kiffin!

Seriously... team will be fine. Let's leave BK the time to put his team in place.

Look at recruiting rankings... Even with the sanctions... USC has more talent than we do.

 

[IrishLax]

Is it a representation of coaching or the players? I mean let's be serious... things like us not running the ball.. even though running the ball is what got us a 4 game winning streak.... is the fault of coaching. Lo Wood 1v1 versus Robert Woods is the fault of coaching. Even the inability to tackle could be blamed on coaching.

Dayne Crist bobbling a snap that then goes 80 yards for a TD is not coaching. Cierre Woods letting a pass go through his hands is not coaching. Both of those ridiculously poor turnovers came from players just not making plays... and both came at times when ND had a chance to TIE THE FREAKING GAME!

 

[Epitome]

I blame the Wood fumble on coaching as well. A pass in the backfield should never be a lateral. That should have been beat in the players heads.

 

[Epitome]

BTW its great to see Cincy beat a subpar South Florida team and MSU beat Wisky.

 

[I Dont Miss Charlie]

Apparently, you have to give Kelly 3 years before you can attribute any failures to him.

The consistent poor preperation for our meaningful games is a clear sign for him & the staff. We'll grab wins when the pressure is low & choke when the pressure is high.

Sounds a lot like Charlie in his first 3 years before we began losing when the pressure was low. This caused the pressure to be high for every game & as expected we choked in those too.

 

[military_irish]

This team could easily beat any CW team. This defense is very good. They started shaky but gave up only 7 points, only after a TO, in the second half.

If they don't turn it over, this team wins without a doubt.

They are better coached than CW teams. It takes time to develop a championship team. Sorry but it really does, especially when morals and grades come into play. I mean Tuitt was suspended for a game for missing class. Do you think any other school would do that?

So be patient this team will prevail. I believe wholeheartedly

 

[Carlyle Javar Holiday]

Plain and simple. We were dominated at the line of scrimmage again. Our LB's were not filling the gaps because the gaps were big enough to drive a train through.

What hurts even worse is that they are under sanctions and still laid the smack down. Wonder if Kiffin really is the real deal? Seams like he is weathering the storm quite well. May get **** from this, but lets face it, would Kelly be as successful as Kiffin under the circumstances he has been through. If Barkley stays next year, that team very young and dangerous.

 

[irishog77]

I blame the Wood fumble on coaching as well. A pass in the backfield should never be a lateral. That should have been beat in the players heads.

I agree. I think there's blame there for Rees and/or Wood, no doubt, but as I was watching the game and as soon as I saw that play, I said to myself, "Why would you even have that play in your playbook? Why have a lateral swing pass like that with the RB running out into the flat?"

Despite its simplistic looking nature, that's actually kind of a difficult throw for the QB to make and the RB to catch. I was wondering why it was called myself...particularly as a lateral (or even what could be construed as a lateral).

 

[I Dont Miss Charlie]

BK will win a NC before Kiffin!

Seriously... team will be fine. Let's leave BK the time to put his team in place.

Look at recruiting rankings... Even with the sanctions... USC has more talent than we do.

Couldnt be any further from the truth.

USC's defense is stocked with upperclassmen 4* and 5* bombs who have been responsible for their massive decline the last 2 seasons. That is nothing like those PC teams of 4+ years ago who were loaded everywhere. Their underclassmen are no better than ours at every position outside of WR. That is evident in how they play & we played. They do not dominate us to the level that PC's teams did & thats because we were facing entire units of current NFL players while our guys mostly had a cup of tea at the next level.

BK having a better chance to win a NC than Kiffin is like me having a better chance at winning the lottery with 2 tickets rather than 1.

 

[Grahambo]

Champions take time to build.

 

[Tmacvikesit]

This team could easily beat any CW team. This defense is very good. They started shaky but gave up only 7 points, only after a TO, in the second half.

If they don't turn it over, this team wins without a doubt.

They are better coached than CW teams. It takes time to develop a championship team. Sorry but it really does, especially when morals and grades come into play. I mean Tuitt was suspended for a game for missing class. Do you think any other school would do that?

So be patient this team will prevail. I believe wholeheartedly

Could they really beat any Weis team? I mean, I definitely think Kelly > Weis, but the first 2 years of Weis were BCS teams. Sure, they weren't his recruits....and they were poor on D. But I think it could be argued that 2 Weis teams were better than this year's team.

 

[I Dont Miss Charlie]

Plain and simple. We were dominated at the line of scrimmage again. Our LB's were not filling the gaps because the gaps were big enough to drive a train through.

What hurts even worse is that they are under sanctions and still laid the smack down. Wonder if Kiffin really is the real deal? Seams like he is weathering the storm quite well. May get **** from this, but lets face it, would Kelly be as successful as Kiffin under the circumstances he has been through. If Barkley stays next year, that team very young and dangerous.

No, they're just young. Being young at many positions, espescially on defense doesn't mean that they are guaranteed to be good next year & the years to follow. You're really going to see the damage of those sanctions over the next few years in which they wont have any depth to replace their graduating seniors & departing Juniors/Transfers.

Every young player wont improve consistently in his 3-4 years in the program.

Thats when you'll see the sanctions take their effect.

 

[ACamp1900]

It's coaching... how do you NOT run the ball more with your recent success doing so??? and one of the few times you do... Jonas "I'm slow as ACamp" Gray takes it to the house????>....... Run the ball!!! and NOT with a frosh QB btw....


until this gets turned around... let's be clear... it will ALWAYS be on the coaching.... and if it EVER gets turneed around, the coach that does it will be make his spot in college football history ROCK SOLID....

 

[phork]

State Of Irish Football? Life Support.

 

[NDTampa]

We have a long way to go before a NC. USC comes to play every game. I dont believe ND does. BK has another year to make improvements, but what if this year and next year end up with the same record as last year? I believe we need to give him another year and another chance. He has one more year to recruit and make his improvements. My friends who are LSU fans or Alabama fans or even scUM fans don't worry about games where they know they can win. Yet I am nervous about every game! Inconsistency is the name of this game. And the coaching is the only person to blame in this case.

 

[GowerND11]

Every team has that swing pass in their playbook. To say we shouldn't is insulting to any offensive coordinator. The problem was execution. How many times would Cierre make that catch? I'd be willing to say 9 out of 10. The problem came from his lack of concentration on that pass along with some kind of misread between Rees and Cierre. Either Rees needs to drop back an extra step or Cierre should have already been turning up field. Look at the replay, if the pass is completed we have the blocking for a very good play.

 

[BeauBenken]

I blame the Wood fumble on coaching as well. A pass in the backfield should never be a lateral. That should have been beat in the players heads.

Which I guarantee it has been.

Only problem I can see that you can blame on the coaches is perhaps firing them up. Kelly isn't much of the motivator.

Also, yea, the Lo Wood thing was a big wtf.

 

[irishog77]

Every team has that swing pass in their playbook. To say we shouldn't is insulting to any offensive coordinator. The problem was execution. How many times would Cierre make that catch? I'd be willing to say 9 out of 10. The problem came from his lack of concentration on that pass along with some kind of misread between Rees and Cierre. Either Rees needs to drop back an extra step or Cierre should have already been turning up field. Look at the replay, if the pass is completed we have the blocking for a very good play.

And that's the point of difference though that I was trying to make. None of us know exactly how it was designed or drawn up, but doing it as a LATERAL is a big no-no-- either design the play as a true forward pass or make d@mn sure you teach the players that despite what happens on the play, make it a forward pass. Certainly teach them to continue onto the ball if it's dropped (like Wood did NOT do).

 

[I Dont Miss Charlie]

Could they really beat any Weis team? I mean, I definitely think Kelly > Weis, but the first 2 years of Weis were BCS teams. Sure, they weren't his recruits....and they were poor on D. But I think it could be argued that 2 Weis teams were better than this year's team.

Dont worry, many of us our fixated only on Charlie's last 3 years and ignore his first 2 years.

When I feel that we're looking at the best of the Brian Kelly years right now, I mean that in the same way. Because after this season the little things that many fans dont want to say about him right now as a coach will suddenly be spoken of a lot more after this season.

We'll look for every excuse except Kelly behind the veil of it not being his fault because he's building a program with a lack of talent. Everyone wants to believe that we're going to be competing for a National Championship in a few years and that we'll consistently be a 9+ win team like the other Elite programs. Then when we're a 6-6 squad in 3 years there will be no more excuses to hide from and Kelly will be on his way out.

I've yet to hear 1 positive thing about this Notre Dame team under Brian Kelly other than that he is a better coach than Charlie. Whenever a bad coach is replaced by a good coach you immediately see a different attitude & culture with the team in Year 1. I havent seen anything different outside of more F bombs & more shotgun sets under Kelly. We're still losing games due to costly mistakes, our defense is still mediocre, & we cant win the big game.

Yet, none of this comes back to the coach. For now.

 

[CanadianIrishFan306]

its not like brian kelly came to a team that just came off a BCS win, he is turning this team around and i believe what he says Notre Dame will win a national championship its just a matter of time

 

[I Dont Miss Charlie]

We have a long way to go before a NC. USC comes to play every game. I dont believe ND does. BK has another year to make improvements, but what if this year and next year end up with the same record as last year? I believe we need to give him another year and another chance. He has one more year to recruit and make his improvements. My friends who are LSU fans or Alabama fans or even scUM fans don't worry about games where they know they can win. Yet I am nervous about every game! Inconsistency is the name of this game. And the coaching is the only person to blame in this case.

Well your Michigan fans should still be worried. Hoke hasnt proven anything yet, although I can clearly see an entirely new culture being installed that reminds me a lot of typical Michigan football. All they need to do is drop the gimmick uniforms and get a QB who can throw it deep.

However, everything you said is spot on. I still feel the same way with each game as I did with Charlie.

Every game is either 50/50 or if we get a service academy its 75/25.

There is no confidence that we're going to surely win because we're the better team. We've come to expect leaving disappointed while hoping for success, and we've become desensitized to being "upset" by an inferior team.

 

[Ludzil#1]

That was the most lackluster USC team Notre Dame has played in years and that's how they come out to play with a bye week!
Bryan Kelly is overrated and in way over his head. I want Charlie back.

 

[enrico514]

Couldnt be any further from the truth.

USC's defense is stocked with upperclassmen 4* and 5* bombs who have been responsible for their massive decline the last 2 seasons. That is nothing like those PC teams of 4+ years ago who were loaded everywhere. Their underclassmen are no better than ours at every position outside of WR. That is evident in how they play & we played. They do not dominate us to the level that PC's teams did & thats because we were facing entire units of current NFL players while our guys mostly had a cup of tea at the next level.

BK having a better chance to win a NC than Kiffin is like me having a better chance at winning the lottery with 2 tickets rather than 1.

No doubt this ain't PC's USC but there is still way more talent at USC than at ND.

 

[military_irish]

Could they really beat any Weis team? I mean, I definitely think Kelly > Weis, but the first 2 years of Weis were BCS teams. Sure, they weren't his recruits....and they were poor on D. But I think it could be argued that 2 Weis teams were better than this year's team.

As much as I supported the teams back then, they had no defense. I would say this USC is as good as the two Weis teams, they are good but no where near great. They could be beat at anytime.

If this Kelly team were clicking on all fronts they would win handily. But they did not and lossed because of TO's. Not because they were less coached or worse talent. Things happen. This team is good and very good. Things just need to be tweaked

 

[EifertPower]

This team could easily beat any CW team. This defense is very good. They started shaky but gave up only 7 points, only after a TO, in the second half.

I disagree completely. Our defense gave up 28 fourth quarter points to Michigan. Our defense gave up 30 first downs to USC. This is not a good defense. I really wish it was but it isn't. We didn't sack Barkley all game. Rarely ever hit him either. We gave up over 200 yards rushing.

 

[HereComeTheIrish]

wow.... care to explain why???? because everything he stated was dead on...


blows my mind.

...and he comes out of hiding.....Sweet. When you're done enlightening everyone on how they should feel, let me know. This was a tough loss against a tough opponent. Pretty tough to eat $hit from a guy who decides to show up a month later and after a tough loss and be expected to eat your crap.

But you let me know...

 

[I Dont Miss Charlie]

its not like brian kelly came to a team that just came off a BCS win, he is turning this team around and i believe what he says Notre Dame will win a national championship its just a matter of time

We went from 6-6 under Charlie to 7-5 under Kelly.

The problem is that there is no distinct difference on the field between where our program is at in the first 2 years under Kelly & the last 2 years under Charlie. We're 4-3 right now and when we look at the remaining schedule we're saying that the best case scenario is 8-4. Yet none of us can be certain we're going to get there, and the most telling part is that it wouldn't be a surprise to any of us if we didnt get there.

Some say to stop comparing Notre Dame to the other Elite programs because we're not them. But I will never put my expectations or standards to the level of a Pittsburgh or USF.

We should be an Elite program. Im tired of the excuses. If a man like Harbaugh can change the culture of Stanford football immediately with their academic standards coupled in with their lack of facilities, resources, & history. Well........I dont see why we cant expect the same of our program. All it takes is a culture change in which winning is expected, & failure makes us even stronger. We dont have that now & havent had it in a very long time.

Either Kelly becomes that guy or we need to find the guy who does.

Im done for my monthly rant.

 

[Dizzyphil]

Tell you what, if this forum was around in 1993, there would have been mass suicides after the BC game.....


Diz

 

[I Dont Miss Charlie]

No doubt this ain't PC's USC but there is still way more talent at USC than at ND.

Better QB- Yes
Better Offensive Line- Yes

But I refuse to believe that their mediocre & inexperienced defense is more talented than our offense.

This wasnt a guaranteed win by any means and it could've gone either way. However, we should've performed much better on offense than that. We had opportunities and didnt capitalize on them consistently.

Heck, it could've been a high scoring shootout as some predicted.

The fact is there is no way should we have scored as many points as Minnesota did against them following 2 weeks of our offense firing on all cylinders + an extra week to prepare.

This falls on poor coaching. No way around it. USC is not as talented as you think they are. They got spanked by Arizona State & barely survived a winless Arizona team that eventually fired their coach.