Is this a "well coached" football team?

[TerryTate]

I enjoy going to games usually so I don't have to read this ****. By the time I get back, it's usually off the front page.

Thanks for ruining my day. What the **** do some of you want? Most arrogant fan base in sports. Bunch of fat *** couch jockeys that think they could coach D1 football.

"We're allowed to question the coaches." Yes, but you do so on a play by play basis instead of looking at the entire game or season progression. It's like I'm dealing with 5 year olds in an argument.

Please, continue to grace us with your in-depth perspective on the spread offense, and why it's destined for failure. You do know that even NFL teams run variations of this ****, right? Tricky? Evolve.

 

[HereComeTheIrish]

I enjoy going to games usually so I don't have to read this ****. By the time I get back, it's usually off the front page.

Thanks for ruining my day. What the **** do some of you want? Most arrogant fan base in sports. Bunch of fat *** couch jockeys that think they could coach D1 football.

"We're allowed to question the coaches." Yes, but you do so on a play by play basis instead of looking at the entire game or season progression. It's like I'm dealing with 5 year olds in an argument.

Please, continue to grace us with your in-depth perspective on the spread offense, and why it's destined for failure. You do know that even NFL teams run variations of this ****, right? Tricky? Evolve.

Agreed....And I'm happy you put the hammer down on the stupidity. Bring it, Baby!!! WOO- WOOO....WOOO-WOOO
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/RzToNo7A-94" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[ACamp1900]

talk to me when this team has won 10 games....... or not....

 

[phork]

We will not win 10 games anytime soon.

 

[Irish Fam]

Yes

 

[mpkennedy3]

This team is much better coached than in the past, and Kelly has a plan which is more than I think Weis did. Everyone needs to relax, it is year two, and College Football isn't like it was back in the day. It takes time to develop a program. We are working our way back to restoring the rep of ND, just relax a little

 

[Domer4ever]

I enjoy going to games usually so I don't have to read this ****. By the time I get back, it's usually off the front page.

Thanks for ruining my day. What the **** do some of you want? Most arrogant fan base in sports. Bunch of fat *** couch jockeys that think they could coach D1 football.

"We're allowed to question the coaches." Yes, but you do so on a play by play basis instead of looking at the entire game or season progression. It's like I'm dealing with 5 year olds in an argument.

Please, continue to grace us with your in-depth perspective on the spread offense, and why it's destined for failure. You do know that even NFL teams run variations of this ****, right? Tricky? Evolve.

I dont know about anyone else, but I am basing my opinion on the coaching on what I have seen from Kelly and staff over the first two seasons and not this singular game against BC. Though they have improved in some areas, I think overall they have still been pretty average. There have been a lot of games where they come out and look just completely unprepaired and make so many mental mistakes that are simply unfathomable. It makes you wonder if these same mistakes would be happening with someone like Saban or Meyer

Also, when I said they offense get's "tricky" it is more of a refernece to Kelly's playcalling then the spread itself. I have been unimpressed with his playcalling. To me he get's too cute when he doesn't need to. A lot of times when he has the running game going, he will abondon it in favor of bubble screening a defense to death or just trying to throw the ball just for the sake of throwing it. When his offense isn't working, it is obviously the players fault, and I say this based on his sideline demeanor.

Again, I think he needs to get a big win against a big time team that they are not supposed to beat and get this thing going. A win against Stanford this weekend would be big for the program.

 

[Chicago Irish Fan]

A win is a win. I just feel sorry for those of you who can't simply enjoy the W. This is why ND fans get a bad rap. I used to get angry when haters said ND fans foolishly expect too much every year, but I'm starting to agree with that more and more.

 

[NDinL.A.]

Wait...we lost???

 

[D-BOE34]

Late brah... It's all good. Enjoy your siesta, and I don't blame you one bit.

Aweee f&*k!!!!



I went Compton to work for 6 weeks. Late was a big say. NO! I will no longer accept! Pist me off! Showed ol' boys the in and outs and we did discuss the words. Yes'm, I am super ballzy and consider myself a hard ***. Am I?? No. I am a dude that does not give a **** though. I will tell what is and you go on. Manager finished number 2 in nation and his ASM finished number 19, I am pretty proud! HEHE!!!


Lay of the late ....



I am just a kind boy from Southern MO!

 

[DillonHall]

A win is a win. I just feel sorry for those of you who can't simply enjoy the W. This is why ND fans get a bad rap. I used to get angry when haters said ND fans foolishly expect too much every year, but I'm starting to agree with that more and more.

Those who don't expect a lot from themselves AND from others are usually the ones that aren't that successful in life.

 

[NDinFL]

Those who don't expect a lot from themselves AND from others are usually the ones that aren't that successful in life.

lmao...

great way to keep things in perspective BRO
smh

 

[DillonHall]

lmao...

great way to keep things in perspective BRO
smh

I'm just saying that most of my fellow alumni and I are very ambitious people. It's not an accident that ND grads rank in the top 10 in salary (you can go on about the alumni network, but at some point, you're going to have to prove yourself). It's natural that we'd expect the football team of our beloved university to pursue that same level of excellence, and it's frustrating when it doesn't happen.

The day that expectations at ND fall is the day that I'll know that ND will never be back.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Brian Hardin via Twitter:

#NotreDame @CoachBrianKelly accomplished something that Holtz, Parseghian, Leahy & Rockne did not: win at least 8 gms in each of 1st 2 yrs

 

[DillonHall]

It doesn't mean that much, but it's an interesting tidbit.

 

[NDinL.A.]

Those who don't expect a lot from themselves AND from others are usually the ones that aren't that successful in life.

Bullshit analogy. This is football, not life. I expect a lot from this team and i was pissed during the win, but count me as one who is very happy that at least we got the W. And i consider myself to be very successful in life.

And USC beat a ****** Minnesota team by 2 this year, and a ****** Utah team by 2. Do you think they are happy with their year so far? There aren't 3 teams in the nation who have not played to the level of their competition this year at least one time, if not many more times. We struggled today, and it was painful to watch. We struggled against USF and Pitt too. But we also blew out Purdue, Navy, and AF. We handily beat a top 12 team. We beat a talented WF team on the road.

The arrow is pointing up. Change is a process, not an instant. It takes time. You talk about BK being too concerned with the stadium atmosphere (laughable, if you think that's taking away from preparing the team for games), but he HAS to think about those things and many more. He needs to change a culture, and thank God he's doing that. A training table, a real S&C staff, Longo Hill, night game, music piped in to the speakers, new uniforms, jumbotron, etc etc...it ALL makes a difference, whether you want to believe it or not.

BK has impressed me in the fact that he has addressed the 2 biggest things needed to win football games...o-line and d-line. He also beats the teams he should. He recruits very well. His teams are bigger, faster, stronger, and meaner than in years past, and that's an understatement. What he needs is a damn QB, but even without a true QB, he is still 12-3 the last 15 games. 7-1 in his last 8.

I'm definitely down with Kelly. I get frustrated with him like all fans, but I think he's the right man for the job, for sure. He's changing a culture of softness, selfishness, and losing, and that takes time...

 

[JoeyGetherall]

A win is a win. I just feel sorry for those of you who can't simply enjoy the W. This is why ND fans get a bad rap. I used to get angry when haters said ND fans foolishly expect too much every year, but I'm starting to agree with that more and more.

Heard that... This forum and others have opened my eyes.

 

[GreatGolson]

^yes. sometimes i wonder what the so called "expectations" for coach kelly are, because from what ive heard it sounds somthing like this.
Blow out all oppenents by a minimum of 60 points
Win a national championship every single year
Sign the #1 recruiting class every year
Never ever ever focus on anything not directly related to winning football games
Never change anything, OR change everything
Never say or do anything that could be in anyway seen as harsh or degrading to the players
but this is just how it seems reading the different ND boards lately

 

[DillonHall]

Bullshit analogy. This is football, not life. I expect a lot from this team and i was pissed during the win, but count me as one who is very happy that at least we got the W. And i consider myself to be very successful in life.

And USC beat a ****** Minnesota team by 2 this year, and a ****** Utah team by 2. Do you think they are happy with their year so far? There aren't 3 teams in the nation who have not played to the level of their competition this year at least one time, if not many more times. We struggled today, and it was painful to watch. We struggled against USF and Pitt too. But we also blew out Purdue, Navy, and AF. We handily beat a top 12 team. We beat a talented WF team on the road.

The arrow is pointing up. Change is a process, not an instant. It takes time. You talk about BK being too concerned with the stadium atmosphere (laughable, if you think that's taking away from preparing the team for games), but he HAS to think about those things and many more. He needs to change a culture, and thank God he's doing that. A training table, a real S&C staff, Longo Hill, night game, music piped in to the speakers, new uniforms, jumbotron, etc etc...it ALL makes a difference, whether you want to believe it or not.

BK has impressed me in the fact that he has addressed the 2 biggest things needed to win football games...o-line and d-line. He also beats the teams he should. He recruits very well. His teams are bigger, faster, stronger, and meaner than in years past, and that's an understatement. What he needs is a damn QB, but even without a true QB, he is still 12-3 the last 15 games. 7-1 in his last 8.

I'm definitely down with Kelly. I get frustrated with him like all fans, but I think he's the right man for the job, for sure. He's changing a culture of softness, selfishness, and losing, and that takes time...

My comments on 'expectations' were general statements defending the fact that ND fans generally have a heightened expectations. I don't think it's a negative in any way; just because you fail doesn't mean that you should be afraid to 'keep dreaming and hoping.'

You also say that BK beats the teams that he should. Were we not supposed to beat South Florida, Michigan, and USC? I'm pretty sure we were favored in all three of those games...

And BTW the atmosphere at the 2005 (obviously) and 2009 USC games was better than the atmosphere at the 2011 USC game, despite the music, etc.

 

[t3hjc]

We're a hundred times better coached on defense than we were previously. We understand what it means to play team defense. We're pretty disciplined, we're rarely egregiously out of position. We don't give up big plays and we tackle pretty well. We lack the talent, in terms of speed and pass rush up front, to be a particularly disruptive unit. We'll stop the run, but we don't turn people over and we don't seem to create too many negative plays. We're solid and get all we can out of what we have.

Offensively, we don't yet have all the dimensions that Kelly wants in his offense. BC wouldn't be able to get away with dropping 8-9 guys into coverage for extended periods if you had a quarterback that could put it down and gain chunks of yards on the ground. Unfortunately, we don't have a serious run/pass threat option at this point and so we're making due at the moment with what we have.

I don't know how to explain our ineptitude in the punt return game. I think it's more than just not having a gamebreaker back there. I don't really have much of an issue with the other areas of our special teams.

 

[Chicago Irish Fan]

Those who don't expect a lot from themselves AND from others are usually the ones that aren't that successful in life.

I expect big picture improvement, not day in day out perfection. Is this a better team than last year? Without a doubt. Was last years team better than the year before? Absolutely. Kelly has a plan and we have made unquestionable progress with that plan. I don't understand where the problem is.

 

[DillonHall]

I expect big picture improvement, not day in day out perfection. Is this a better team than last year? Without a doubt. Was last years team better than the year before? Absolutely. Kelly has a plan and we have made unquestionable progress with that plan. I don't understand where the problem is.

I agree that we're making progress. My problem personally is that I predicted the BCS for this team, and we're not going to reach that goal.

 

[Who'saWildManNow]

Just wanted to get some general opinions on if people think this is a well coached football team?

To me I dont think they are. I think they have come out ill-prepared on occasions this year and I am not fully convinced Kelly and the coaching staff know what they are doing yet. Too many mental mistakes and look to lack confidence on occassion. I dont like what I have seen out of the Brian Kelly offense, which seems to want to go horizontal in the passing game and abandones the running game at inopportune times. Too tricky and cute. I have been unimpressed with Kelly as a playcaller and he does not appear to be this offensive genius he was sold as when he was hired. Is it strictly a QB issue or is the scheme of the offense the bigger problem? I cringe probably half a dozen times a game at plays called while the offense is on the field.

Defensively I dont like the 3-4, though they seem to be going with more 4-3 looks. Too many holes and confusion in the secondary and not enough pressure generated by the defensive front. Has forced very few turnovers this year. Not a big fan of "bend but dont break" mentality which is exactly what Diaco has ran all year long. It is a recipe for disaster against teams with legitimate QB's as we have seen.

To me the biggest thing is.....where is that signature, program changing victory where this team get's over on a team they are not supposed to beat? In my opinion they have yet to get one under Kelly. They beat USC without Barkley in the rain last year, and beat Michigan State at home this year, but are those program changing type victories? To me this team has yet to get that monkey off its back and I dont think it's a talent issue.

Thoughts?

To put it simply Domer4ever.. Lou Holtz, the legend, won less games than Brian Kelly in his first two seasons at Notre Dame. So yes, they are well-coached everyday and soon it will pay off.

 

[DillonHall]

We're a hundred times better coached on defense than we were previously. We understand what it means to play team defense. We're pretty disciplined, we're rarely egregiously out of position. We don't give up big plays and we tackle pretty well. We lack the talent, in terms of speed and pass rush up front, to be a particularly disruptive unit. We'll stop the run, but we don't turn people over and we don't seem to create too many negative plays. We're solid and get all we can out of what we have.

Offensively, we don't yet have all the dimensions that Kelly wants in his offense. BC wouldn't be able to get away with dropping 8-9 guys into coverage for extended periods if you had a quarterback that could put it down and gain chunks of yards on the ground. Unfortunately, we don't have a serious run/pass threat option at this point and so we're making due at the moment with what we have.

I don't know how to explain our ineptitude in the punt return game. I think it's more than just not having a gamebreaker back there. I don't really have much of an issue with the other areas of our special teams.

Agree with absolutely everything.

 

[Domer4ever]

I dont think anybody expects anything more then this team to play up to the level of their talent and play smart football. While they have won a fair share of games against teams they should beat (unline in previous years) they have also tripped over their own ***** against the better competition and looked completely unprepaired in those games with several epic mistakes. When is this team going to put a complete game together and beat a team they are not supposed to? I have seen a lot of teams get over on the Irish in previous years, but have yet to see Notre Dame come through with a big time win and until they do you can count me as skeptical of Kelly and the coaching staff's ability to get this team to perform at a high level on the big stage.

 

[Domer4ever]

To put it simply Domer4ever.. Lou Holtz, the legend, won less games than Brian Kelly in his first two seasons at Notre Dame. So yes, they are well-coached everyday and soon it will pay off.

I hope you are right, but I wouldn't relate wins with great coaching. This is a very talented football team that has won games against a fairly cupcake schedule. I will take any win they can get...but I want to see them step up agianst the big boys and win as opposed to what have seen in the 3 losses this year.

 

[greyhammer90]

I hope you are right, but I wouldn't relate wins with great coaching.

 

[DillonHall]

I hope you are right, but I wouldn't relate wins with great coaching. This is a very talented football team that has won games against a fairly cupcake schedule. I will take any win they can get...but I want to see them step up agianst the big boys and win as opposed to what have seen in the 3 losses this year.

Yeah: The 8 teams that we've beaten this year have combined for 20 wins over BCS opponents. I know that some of our opponents aren't in a BCS conference, so that keeps the number low, but they (Navy, Air Force) aren't exactly great, non-BCS teams like Boise State.

 

[Domer4ever]

Yeah: The 8 teams that we've beaten this year have combined for 20 wins over BCS opponents. I know that some of our opponents aren't in a BCS conference, so that keeps the number low, but they (Navy, Air Force) aren't exactly great, non-BCS teams like Boise State.

The Irish have basically one quality win this year against Michigan State at home. All the other wins are against teams struggling to reach .500. Wake Forest just became bowl eligible today with their 6th win.

Beating Stanford this weekend would be huge. Let's see what Kelly can do.

 

[Who'saWildManNow]

To put it simply Domer4ever.. Lou Holtz, the legend, won less games than Brian Kelly in his first two seasons at Notre Dame. So yes, they are well-coached everyday and soon it will pay off.

I hope you are right, but I wouldn't relate wins with great coaching. This is a very talented football team that has won games against a fairly cupcake schedule. I will take any win they can get...but I want to see them step up agianst the big boys and win as opposed to what have seen in the 3 losses this year.

But I bet you would relate losses to poor coaching..

I want to see them step up as well but expect next year to be a 9 win season at best too. We lose both starting CBs and Hayseed in our weakest area of defense. If Darby and Sheperd stay committed that will be a fantastic duo, but not right away.

2013 will be the year BKs recruited talent will be starting with experience and have talented depth. He is recruiting speed, height and raw athletic ability.. The kind of athletes we are not used to seeing in ND jerseys.

I wish the best for Rees but I hope a QB with more tangibles passes him..

When is the last time you saw a player like Aaron Lynch in a ND jersey? Tuitt? Well Darby, Shepherd, Greenberry, Atkinson, Davaris etc etc are simply better athletes than we've gotten used to.

I'm trying to be patient and enjoy these 8 wins.. The future is bright.