Press Conference 10/15/2011 (Navy Week)

[military_irish]

Working with Lynch everyday, they don't want to take away his aggressiveness but trying to figure out how to keep out the personal fouls.

 

[military_irish]

Memorial mass this week to remember Xavier Murphy. Special young man.

Each individual deals with loss better than others. Some of the players did not know him at all but some were close.

 

[military_irish]

Sorry missed the part about Emmert.


Kelly is involved with all the stadium atmosphere, music, towels, things like that.

No hesitation to put Dayne in, and there still won't be. He is still the clear #2. Dayne has to bounce back becausee if he is called upon he needs to be ready.

Saw his demeanor yesterday and liked it

 

[military_irish]

Trying to be more effective in the redzone. With Mike and Tommy. Tommy needs to notice when Floyd is double teams and go to other players.

Miss fired to Eifert and should have scored there, then they also fumbled the ball.

 

[military_irish]

End of Press Conference

 

[koonja]

Thanks for the updates!

 

[zemaniak]

Defend big plays and keep points down. Does not care about yardage because option teams will get yardage. It is irrelevent.

this I have a bit of an issue with. I've already said I'm not a huge fan of bend don't break, but especially against option teams, big plays isn't the issue, it's the consistent pounding that gives 5-6 yards at a time.

Didn;t like how our edges were being abused against Air Force, not sure what we did against Army to take that away. Is it inferior opponents? don;t know but AF was Navy redux but with the edges instead of the FB, thank god our O was clicking .

Other teams, w/out our talent level can stop these option teams, what gives?

 

[PigtownIrish]

Zemaniak, this is my issue too. Air Force at least had a credible threat to pass, so I'm hoping against Navy Diaco will be more aggressive about bringing his safeties up so we can STUFF the damn option, not give up little chunks of yards.

 

[Buster Bluth]

this I have a bit of an issue with. I've already said I'm not a huge fan of bend don't break, but especially against option teams, big plays isn't the issue, it's the consistent pounding that gives 5-6 yards at a time.

Didn;t like how our edges were being abused against Air Force, not sure what we did against Army to take that away. Is it inferior opponents? don;t know but AF was Navy redux but with the edges instead of the FB, thank god our O was clicking .

Other teams, w/out our talent level can stop these option teams, what gives?

Who is to say they weren't stopped? Kelly and Co are 2-1 against option teams.

You cannot nickle and dime a time down the field, that is his point. At a certain point, an option team stops itself. The key is to minimize the number of big plays, make that option offense snap the ball more to score. It eventually blows up.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

this I have a bit of an issue with. I've already said I'm not a huge fan of bend don't break, but especially against option teams, big plays isn't the issue, it's the consistent pounding that gives 5-6 yards at a time.

USF, Michigan, and USC all employed a "bend don't break" defense against ND, and it worked for them.

5-6 yards at a time between the tackles means near certain defeat against an option team, but if you take away the interior runs and the deep ball, all they've got is the edges. Putting together 10-12 play drives with short gains is really hard; a single penalty or negative play can easily kill the drive.

Kelly knows what he's doing.

Didn;t like how our edges were being abused against Air Force, not sure what we did against Army to take that away. Is it inferior opponents?

Yes. Army wasn't a threat to pass, so we were able to put an extra man in the box. Navy's passing attack is terrible as well (good riddance Ricky Dobbs), so we should be able to attack their rush more aggressively.

don;t know but AF was Navy redux but with the edges instead of the FB, thank god our O was clicking.

As I mentioned above, there's a big difference between giving up consistent yards between the tackles and forcing an option team to run to the edges; far more things can go wrong on the pitch.

Our 1st/ 2nd team defense would have held AF under 9 points had it not been for two ST miscues. They did a great job against AF.

Other teams, w/out our talent level can stop these option teams, what gives?

AF took Oklahoma down to the wire last season. Navy did it to SCar this season. The academies are tough, disciplined opponents that run a difficult-to-defend offensive scheme. Underestimate them at your peril.

 

[GoIrish2917]

I hope we protect the edges better this time. It was hard to watch AF pitch to the back and have him go for 10-15 yards a crack. I would rather we bottle up the edge and force them inside to Nix and Tuitt.

 

[zemaniak]

^exactly.

why do we always seem to have a glaring weakness? edges against options teams, mobile QBs keeping the ball, soft cushion form the DBs and weak LB pass coverage.

I dunno, maybe I'm just venting but it just seems easier and easier you plan against our D...

 

[Whiskeyjack]

I hope we protect the edges better this time. It was hard to watch AF pitch to the back and have him go for 10-15 yards a crack. I would rather we bottle up the edge and force them inside to Nix and Tuitt.

ND's defense can't take away every area of the field unless they completely outclass their opponents. AF presented a unique challenge in that they're a double option team that can also pass the ball well. So we took away the interior runs and the deep ball, and forced them to dink and dunk down the field with runs to the outside.

Most of their drives self-destructed through penalties or negatives plays. As I mentioned above, if not for two screw-ups on ST, our 1st/2nd team defense would have held AF to 9 points or less. They did a damned fine job.

why do we always seem to have a glaring weakness?

This is the best our defense has been in a decade. No, we're not Alabama or LSU yet, but we'll have a championship caliber defense soon with the way Kelly is recruiting.

We also don't play crappy teams that our defense can completely stonewall. The academies get their yards against everyone, even top teams.

edges against options teams, mobile QBs keeping the ball, soft cushion form the DBs and weak LB pass coverage.

Most of those "weaknesses" are present by design: (1) the edges were available against AF because we were focused on taking away the interior run and the deep ball; (2) mobile QBs are a nightmare for virtually every defense (and our defense did a great job of containing BJ Daniels and Denard Robinson); (3) soft cushions by the DBs are to protect against the deep ball; and (4) LBs typically aren't very good in pass coverage.

I dunno, maybe I'm just venting but it just seems easier and easier you plan against our D...

Not sure what has given you that impression. Our defense has been a Top 10 unit all season.

 

[Kingbish01]

Reps Military Irish. At work, thanks for the updates.

 

[tko]

the key for this game is to really lay back and let their inexperienced QB settle in for the game of his life.

 

[irishff1014]

Also this is a game where we can't have any turn overs.

 

[zemaniak]

Our defense has been a Top 10 unit all season.

not exactly

Again, you say any area will be exploited unless we outclass our opponents. Which means basically that you acquies that

1) our speed sideline to sideline is average
2) our DB/LB pass coverage is average
3) our pass rush is average, because otherwise we would take chances with tighter coverage expecting our D line to pressure the QB into inaccurate throws.

Hw can we be average and yet top10? how can we be top10 and have periods of complete meltdown?

I Think we are more talented than average, have the POTENTIAL to be top10, but our D philosophy is overly conservative. I believe that can have a mental carryover in the long run, I believe defense NEEDs to be aggressive, I believe players need to know that they can go for the kill (D players LIVE ofr the big play, sack, INT, etc), plus these can be momentum and game changers.

When you simply bend over and over , well, you figure out the pun . Even Te'o is somewhat unrecognizable this year.

Killer instinct requires prey. Otherwise you are the prey.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

not exactly

I appreciate your exuberance, but your post is nothing but hand-waving. There are objective statistics that measure all of those aspects of our defense.

After the loss to USC, our defensive production ranks 10th nationally. By definition, that is a top 10 unit.

The situational rankings haven't yet accounted for this past weekend's games, but pre-USC, ND was ranked:

Overall- 8
Against the run- 2
Against the pass- 26
On standard downs- 6
On passing downs- 29

Our defense is much better than you think.

 

[zemaniak]

I appreciate your exuberance, but your post is nothing but hand-waving. There are objective statistics that measure all of those aspects of our defense.

After the loss to USC, our defensive production ranks 10th nationally. By definition, that is a top 10 unit.

The situational rankings haven't yet accounted for this past weekend's games, but pre-USC, ND was ranked:

Overall- 8
Against the run- 2
Against the pass- 26
On standard downs- 6
On passing downs- 29

Our defense is much better than you think.

wow, that sounds a bit condescending...

geez... ok, yeah, and according to rivals they're like 40th...

take it measure it analyze it whichever way you want to prove you point, fine, just don;t state your measuring stick is better than an other's

They allowed mucho rushing yards for the second straight week.
we are weak in coverage. They usually give up receptions on obvious passing downs. Extrapolating but when opponents don;t convert it's usually because of a missed/dropped pass

Read my previous post. I DO believe they can be top10, I DON't believe it's a talent issue. Unlike your freudian slip, I DO believe we outclass many of our opponents in that regard.

I'm simply unconvinced our boys are being coached properly on D. I think it's not BK's area of expertise and so far after 2010 late improvements this season has disappointed me and I can't do otherwise than point the finger at coaching/strategy (Diaco).

 

[Whiskeyjack]

geez... ok, yeah, and according to rivals they're like 40th...

I didn't even know Rivals ranked CFB teams. If you'd care to link to it, I'll happily look it over, but Football Outsiders' two computer models are the most accurate I've found thus far.

take it measure it analyze it whichever way you want to prove you point, fine, just don;t state your measuring stick is better than an other's

You didn't use a measuring stick. You just made vague references to our lack speed and our weakness in coverage. Thus my comment about hand-waving. The stats don't support your assertion.

They allowed mucho rushing yards for the second straight week.

As I've mentioned repeatedly, were it not for two ST miscues, we would have held AF to 9 points or less. Who cares how many yards they roll up if they're not putting points on the board? That's what the "bend don't break" is all about.

And yes, USC gashed us on the ground. Do you think that has more to do with a deficiency in Diaco's scheme or with injuries to our two starting DEs?

we are weak in coverage.

On what are you basing this statement? FO ranks us 26th against the pass and 29th on passing downs. It's not the strength of our defense, but it's hardly "weak".

They usually give up receptions on obvious passing downs.

Some of those are by design. We've schematically given up short passes to the edges against several opponents to force them to dink and dunk their way down the field. It's generally worked very well for us.

Extrapolating but when opponents don;t convert it's usually because of a missed/dropped pass

So our secondary is really atrocious, but they look better than they are because we keep getting lucky with dropped and missed passes? That's a credible argument; and of course that has nothing to do with our pass rush.

Unlike your freudian slip, I DO believe we outclass many of our opponents in that regard.

You should look up what Freudian slip means. I said we, like any other team, can only take away all areas of the field against teams we completely outclass-- i.e. FCS opponents, which we don't play. Thus, you generally don't see ND blowing out crap opponents by 66-0 because every team we play is good enough to beat us if we come out flat.

I agree that we're more talented than most teams we play, but that doesn't mean it's reasonable to expect defensive dominance.

I'm simply unconvinced our boys are being coached properly on D. I think it's not BK's area of expertise and so far after 2010 late improvements this season has disappointed me and I can't do otherwise than point the finger at coaching/strategy (Diaco).

I understand your position perfectly, and it's simply not supported by the objective statistical evidence. This is the best defense we've fielded since 2002. It still has serious flaws-- mainly a lack of experienced depth at DL and DB-- which hurt us big time against USC. But that lack of depth isn't on the coaching staff.

 

[DillonHall]

Who the **** cares about unit rankings? We're 4-3

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Who the **** cares about unit rankings? We're 4-3

It should matter to those calling for Kelly, Diaco, etc. to be fired. If we're 4-3 because of poor coaching, then we have a serious problem. If we're 4-3 due to an absurd amount of TOs and recent injuries to key DL, then people should calm the f*ck down and stop posting these hand-waving "arguments" about how our defense sucks.

 

[TerryTate]

12 Turnovers in 3 games = 3 Losses

4 Turnovers in 4 games = 4 Wins


16 Turnovers on the year = 4-3

 

[DillonHall]

It should matter to those calling for Kelly, Diaco, etc. to be fired. If we're 4-3 because of poor coaching, then we have a serious problem. If we're 4-3 due to an absurd amount of TOs and recent injuries to key DL, then people should calm the f*ck down and stop posting these hand-waving "arguments" about how our defense sucks.

Gotcha. But I don't think those illogical people are going to care about stats either. Just ignore them.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Gotcha. But I don't think those illogical people are going to care about stats either. Just ignore them.

I'd rather drive them off this board and over to sites like NDNation. They'll be happier with their own kind over there anyway, and it means less idiocy to sort through here.

 

[woolybug25]

It should matter to those calling for Kelly, Diaco, etc. to be fired. If we're 4-3 because of poor coaching, then we have a serious problem. If we're 4-3 due to an absurd amount of TOs and recent injuries to key DL, then people should calm the f*ck down and stop posting these hand-waving "arguments" about how our defense sucks.

Whiskey is straight killin' it.

 

[DillonHall]

I'd rather drive them off this board and over to sites like NDNation. They'll be happier with their own kind over there anyway, and it means less idiocy to sort through here.

Haha, love that you added a link for them

 

[OlympiaIrishFan]

Fire our coaches is an absolute stupid thing to do, and I am sure the University is much smarter than that. Year 2 of the regime.

The recruiting has been terrific. Now it is killing the turnovers, but the problem is we have a turnover machine at QB. And that has to be fixed and in a hury. 7 Ints 2 fumbles and 1 backwards pass. That is 10 turnovers by our QB.

People can say, it wasn't his fault on the backwards pass or the TJ earhole pass---but that is the law of averages. How many pics have been dropped? How many bad passes have been saved by Floyd ripping it away from a defender those are not taken into consideration, so the 2 others that were not Tommy's fault have to be factored in.

10 turnovers by our QB in 7 games. And we want to know why we are 4-3? Tommy Rees.

How many open TD passes has he missed too, heck even Coach K referenced Eiferts blown pass, and being nice enough not to rip Tommy.

But, 10 Turnovers by the QB in 7 games--that is the overall reason.

Now if Tommy can fix the turnovers and hit the open receivers, we can be a 8-4 team this year or 7-5. Tommy can do that. I sure hope he can.

Go Irish! Good or bad, we all support the Irish!

 

[TerryTate]

Would it be too bold to say we finish 9-3 with a solid win over Stanford ruining their BCS shot?

If the team has a fire to them on Saturday, I think they'll be over the mental issues.

If they come out flat, we end 7-5 / 8-4

 

[PigtownIrish]

Would it be too bold to say we finish 9-3 with a solid win over Stanford ruining their BCS shot?

We certainly can't expect to beat the Trees, but it is possible. One thing is that this team seems to play better with the underdog mentality than that of the favorite. I would use that as motivation all week in the lead-up to this game.