Is this a "well coached" football team?

[McMeanass]

It's fair that the "players have to play" but it's also fair to say that the coaching staff is ultimately responsible for the product on the field and while better then under Weis, we are still seeing a lot of mental mistakes and uninspired football. Is this not a coaching issue? Kelly and the coaching staff shouldn't be free of blame of this.

I hate that mentality. I really, really do. I can think of maybe 2 or 3 guys around the country that actually get any credit when their teams win. I can think of well over a hundred that take the heat when their teams lose. Coaching is important, don't get me wrong. We wouldn't be paying the dude millions of dollars a year if it wasn't. I just wonder how much perspective Notre Dame fans actually have. It stings to say, but we really haven't been nationally relevant (or maybe competitive is a better word) for nearly 30 years. We're asking a guy (and a guy I think is ridiculously good at his job) to come into a university and not only change the talent level, but also completely change the culture. It's been less than TWO YEARS! The coaching staff shouldn't be immune to criticism but I've watched the entirety of every game this season and I can't think of too many (or really any offhand) occasions where I was cussing Brian Kelly.

Again to me the big issue is this team has looked completely unprepaired in the games the Irish have lost this year, and they were an on-side kick away from losing at home to 2 win BC squad last Saturday at home. When your talent base is better then every team on the schedule except USC, losing those games is tough to except especially in the manner in which they were lost with the team completely self destructing. Kelly has also self destructed himself with his sideline demeanor and quotes to the media, both of which were distractions this season.

I saw nothing in the Michigan game at all to indicate any lack of preparedness. Seriously, where was the lack of preparation? We were dominating on both sides of the ball for nearly the entire first half. And then we caught some bad breaks and the wheels fell off. Who is that on? The football Gods maybe? And to be honest, our team still fought like hell and was 30 seconds away from winning one of the most exciting football games I've ever watched. The first drive against South Florida had all the makings of preparation. We were manhandling that defensive line all the way down to the goal line and then tragedy struck. And it got returned for a touchdown to boot. Can you honestly say you wouldn't be deflated as a player after that? Much the same in the USC game with Dayne's drive. Sure, we've come out flat in a couple games this year (USC, Pitt, BC). Find me a team in the country that's immune to that. The #1 team in the country played an embarrasingly bad first half against Mississppi State. The #2 team in the country played an embarrasingly bad first half against Tennessee. The #3 team in the country has played any number of embarrasingly bad full games this year. No one is questioning the coaching ability of Saban/Miles/Petrino (and IMO, with the level of talent on those teams, they have less of an excuse).

I dont think anybody "hates" Brian Kelly. Every Irish fan would love to seem him and this team succedd, but there have certainly been enough issues in the past two years to question his coaching ability and if he is making the right decisions.

A big win against Stanford on Saturday would go a long ways in reaffirming my confidence in him.

I wonder sometimes. It sure seems like there is a lot of pent up frustration surrounding him. Maybe it's the whole Urban Meyer free agent thing (which I don't get anyway...I don't want that guy anywhere near our program, alum or not). And again, I don't see what the issues are that warrant any questioning of his ability as a football coach. His sideline demeanor? I LOVE IT. I want a coach to care when things go wrong. Conversely, I want him to be excited when things go well - and he is...there was a video from the M. State game IIRC posted here awhile ago with one of his sideline interactions with TJ after a touchdown he scored. There have been a couple of occasions where I disagreed with a few of his playcalls and I was a little upset with the comments that divided the locker room but I don't think his coaching (or apparent lack of good coaching) has contributed significantly to any of our losses.

We wouldn't be 8-3 without him (and when did that become a bad season anyway?).

The Stanford comment boggles the mind. Of course beating a superior team would make any fan happy. They've got arguably the best quarterback this side of Peyton Manning lining up against an admittedly weak secondary. If we lose that game is it really any indication of Brain Kelly's coaching ability or more likely that we simply have a long way to go talent wise (and there's no disputing he's killing it in that department)? I want us to win. I think we're capable of winning. It's not an indictment on Brian Kelly if we don't.

 

[Al H.]

You've called me specifically "stubborn".... Why should I go along your line? What makes your line of thinking correct? Am I allowed to form my own opinion? You've asked me to stop saying that Tommy is 12-2 because it makes me look look like a fraud...Who the hell are you to tell me what to think? I haven't told you jack crap how to feel...just offering my opinion. Is that ok? Do tell??

Remember, Here Comes The Irish...........'Feel the heat, move your feet'

 

[jwmann2]

Kelly is a great coach. Look at the players he coached at Cincinnati that are in the NFL. He took that team from nothing to something and put them on the map. Give him some time.

 

[RDU Irish]

Seems the original question posted was a good one from the depth and breadth of response it created.

I predicted a 42 - 13 romp mostly out of hope and a virulent distaste for BC, not logic. Logically, I knew they have been a thorn in our side forever and I have witnessed too many painful losses over the last 18 years (too many in person to boot). Revenge in the form of an a$$whooping would have been sweeter but I very much appreciate some conservative play to get the W.

Now constructive criticism of the state of affairs.

1) Offense is disappointing despite many positives. Total yardage is great but production (ie points) are not. The "80 yards = 7 points" rule of thumb from Kelly is logical and it feels like we are producing at half of that. That equals dissappointment (which seems to be shared by BK).

2) Defense is much improved, logic dictates we improve at stopping before we really start forcing turnovers. The Lo Wood pick 6 is our only defensive score this year despite an undoubtedly improved unit. Maybe lesser defenses need to take more chances and greater defenses are talented/experiences enough to do both.

3) Look at the odds maker and the correlating % chance of victory and you see that a team "favored" by three or seven points is not any better than 60% to win overall statistically. So if you play 10 games favored like that, you end up 6-4 statistically. Add to this my suspicion of an "ND" effect that puts a couple of points on top of a normal spread to account for overzealous fans which is why we never seem to cover the spread historically.(Maybe someone else has the real stats on these points but you get my point)

4) The "feel" of the current team is one that is on the rise with much upside. The Weis and Willingham BCS teams felt like they were "lucky", unsustainable and thin. This resulted in BCS manhandling of an embarrassing magnitude and an inability to reload or overcome mistakes/turnovers.

5) I see real player development and it is all over the field. This makes me very excited.

 

[Al H.]

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



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?

This is a poor excuse for USC fans and players to trot out regarding last years win over them in L.A. We were also without our starting Quarterback, remember? Dayne was out, Tommy was in his 3rd start ever. We also were without Kyle Rudolph and Armando Allen. To name only a few starters from our squad that were out or on limited rotations. That was a very good win.....away..... in a hostile environment. Don't diminish it, please.