24 Hour Rule: Time for Positives for 2012!!

[jonesman]

My coach always said that we could only dwell on a game for 24 hours and then it was time to move on. Well, I believe that we are close enough to the 24 hours to MOVE ON! I have seen every possible explanation for what happened last night. I have also seen all the Fire Kelly, Diaco, Swarbick and every other person comment I can take. Finally, I will not tolerate listening to anyone who is bashing any kid on the team for not playing their heart out. Our guys gave great effort.

There is one simple statement that says why ND lost: Bad QB play. That is it, plain and simple. I am not going to argue whether it was Rees, Hendrix or a combo of the two. Let it be at the QB. ND played good enough on D to win.

On to the POSITIVES for the future. There are plenty of good things about this team and the players on this team. This is not like the days when we went to a bowl game and got totally exposed for being slow, small and lacking talent. ND has some real players and many are underclassmen.

DEFENSE: We have a D-Line that will compare to the best in the country for the next couple years. These guys are beasts as only freshmen. The even better part is we have numbers. The D-Line is BCS caliber right now. Tuitt, Lynch and Nix are beasts.

Linebackers are improving and becoming studs. Last night I watched our LB's keep up with the FSU team which was supposed to be loaded with Olympic speed. Even Calabrese looked solid. We will be strong and deep at all LB positions in 2012.

DB's will be fine with young players and some returning talent. We may be young at CB next season, but we have SPEED to burn. I watched Josh Atkinson last night help run down the fastest FSU player on KO. Bennett Jackson has the right attitude, speed and desire. At safety, we will bring back two very experienced guys in Motta and Slaughter. Jamoris is becoming a playmaker with attitude. Expect him to be all over the field next season. I have been impressed with how Collinsworth finds the ball no matter where he is.

Overall, the Defense has the chance to be really good in 2012 and off the freaking charts in 2013!!! You will see a intimidating dominant D in 2013 that will literally bring fear to people.

SPECIAL TEAMS: I did not think I would be ever saying this, but our punter is really good. Turk has become a real weapon. He was pounding the ball last night. I will be happy to see him in 2012. Further, our freshman kicker, Brindza was solid last night with kicks into the endzone. We will also have great speed returning KO's next season.

I expect to see Kelly resolve our punt return issues in the off-season.

OFFENSE: There are some concerns on O, but we also have some things to excited about. First, we will have a solid O-line with depth. We lose two guys, but bring back 3 solid guys with lots of upper class talent fighting for the two open spots. ND finally is back to red-shirting players on the OL in order to let them build strength and size.

At RB, we have a couple really solid guys coming back. Riddick and Wood are both studs. They may have not gained huge yards last night, but NOBODY ran the ball on FSU. They still found some yards at times. They both have speed and elusiveness. We also have two freshmen who got some time on special teams. If Roberson can become healthy, he was considered a gem by the coaches prior to his injury.

AT TE, a lot depends on Eiffert, but Koyack and Welch are studs. Koyack has good speed like Eiffert. If Eiffert does not come back, we will get Ragone back to do the blocking and he is the best blocking TE we have ever had.

At WR, the world is not ending here. We will certainly miss Floyd, but the coaches are really pumped about Danniels. I also think we will see D. Smith finally make his mark. He has size and can really jump. His problem has been injuries and a little thing called Michael as in Floyd. Further, we have some really studly WR's coming to South Bend who will get many chances to play.

Finally, the QB situation!!! Yes, we do have issues at QB, but the good news is there are OPTIONS. The obvious three are Rees, Hendrix and Golson. There are also a couple other options that many don't realize. If for some reason one of the obvious transfers or quits, we have a guy named Massa to look at. We also have a kid coming in on D who played QB all year, Baratti. Further, we may even bring in another QB in this recruiting cycle. So, I believe Kelly will get this fixed before next year.

As for coaching, we have a good staff and I believe Kelly will take Molnar's departure as a chance to improve our staff.

There are a lot of GREAT things to look forward to in 2012!! These are not the days of Ty or Davie when we were listless, talentless and grasping at nothing. Our D is heading to championship level. Our O will get fixed. For as broke as it appeared, we scored some major points this season. GO IRISH!!! ALWAYS A FAN!!!! LOVE MY TEAM!!!

A

 

[rikkitikki08]

The D looks like it will be even better next year, thats exactly what you need with a offense with lots of questions.

 

[palinurus]

A season like this deserves a "24 day" rule. It's like working our way through Kubler-Ross's five stages of death. Then we can get geared up for recruiting and the Spring game.

 

[returnofthemack]

Defense looks set for next season, especially with Gary Gray gone. Cierre will only get better next year, O-Line will retain most of its beastliness, and that's pretty much it.

 

[NDPhilly]

I thought Theo Riddick looked pretty good last night. If he can bulk up a little more he can be effective.

 

[phork]

Positives? We are now 0-0.

 

[tadman95]

I thought Theo Riddick looked pretty good last night. If he can bulk up a little more he can be effective.

I thought he looked good too. Seemed much more in place. He may not have elite speed but he can go and he ran hard. Needs the ball in his hands more.

 

[BeatSC]

Less Turnovers

Less Turnovers

1. If we cut the turnover's in half and creat a handful more we are an undefeated team.
2. A season without Tommy Rees as starting QB.
3. Seeing some other breakout players on tis team.
4. Nick Taush as PK
5. Playing time for a couple of WRs gone (Goodman)
6. Getting to see more of Bennet Jackson. He will = or better the total Ints for our CBs in
2011.
7. A healthy Manti with a D-line opening holes for TEO (150+ tackles)
8. 3500 yards passing, 2500 yards rushing.
9. A whole season with Turk punting well.
10. Punt returns.
11. QBs who an stretch the field, run, bye time, make plays and throw the out pattern.
12. Less red zone ints/TOs with running QB option
13. No 95 yard fumble returns for TDs.
14. UM's luck agaisnt ND runs out
15. More effective blitz packages now that Diaco has finally figured it out.
16. Improved O-line
17. Less sacks and less penalties against good teams (thanks to mobile QB).
18. a QB who cn make a play as opposed to heaving it out of bounds.
19. Would like to see the names on the back of jersye's all season and if Theo is oing to play RB change number ack to 32. Also like to see Nix and Tuitt use double digit numbers. How is that for a random improvement?

 

[OlympiaIrishFan]

There is a lot of positives, a lot of questions on offense.

But, there is one positive--don't ever let Tommy Start again.

If that happens, the negatives will come out. We play too many good teams next year, and we have seen what Tommy does--he absolutely folds like a cheap tent. He doesn't even come close to learn from his mistakes. He made the same mistakes as a freshman and throughout his soph early as he did in the Stanford and FSU Games. He regressed and did not get better. The positive would be him on the bench!

Our defense looks really good. Now we will have more aggressive corners and that will be fun. What scares me is the loss of Harrison.

Our offense will be hurt with Floyd gone, and most likely Eifert. So, some questions there. Our oline will be fine, our RB is fine though. Just WR/TE/QB. If Eifert stays that will be huge.

 

[anarin]

1- Offensive Line should be a strength.
2- Tight Ends should be solid (again)
3- Defensive Line & Linebackers should be solid.

These seem to be the only sure positives for next season. Too many question marks at every other position, I'm just being a realist here.

 

[Yes]

-Riddick looks more comfortable at running back and I think it showed in the bowl game. I also think he should get another chance at punt returns.
-I think TJ Jones has potential (unlike some other posters here), and could be a good reciever if he just gets some better hands. He definitely has playmaking ability.
-I like Tommy Rees and I think he's a smart kid, but he just isn't right for this offense. The QB battle should be up to Hendrix and Golson next spring.
-I don't know much about defense, but it looks to be very solid next year, and that is positive.

Go Irish!

 

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

The offensive line returns the whole left side and the awesome recruiting job Weis & Kelly did for it should make it a strength.

We will start a defensive line that contains 3 future round 1 or round 2 picks

Manti Te'o is coming back

Ishaq Williams will finally get the playing time he deserves

We are bringing in a pretty good recruiting class right now

We are Notre Dame

 

[IrishAlum1997]

What about Toma on punts?

 

[OlympiaIrishFan]

I have no idea what this coaching staff was doing on punts returns. Toma was a great idea. Heck what about GAIII? We were an embarrassment in college football on punt returns. I know we put floyd there 4 or 5 times total. But, man it was embarrassing.

 

[OlympiaIrishFan]

yes, you think Tommy is a smart kid? I thought that too, but if you don't learn from your mistakes over and over and over and over are you smart?

I really have to question if he is at this point. If you don't learn from your many mistakes and keep making the same exact mistakes------I have to question that.

 

[Rocky2820]

GAIII should get a shot at punt returns. Ball security became such an emphasis after the early mishaps that I just don't think he had enough experience to get that shot this year. I imagine he'll get lots of practice catching the ball with guys barreling down on him before the start of next season.

 

[IrishJayhawk]

yes, you think Tommy is a smart kid? I thought that too, but if you don't learn from your mistakes over and over and over and over are you smart?

I really have to question if he is at this point. If you don't learn from your many mistakes and keep making the same exact mistakes------I have to question that.

I think you missed the point of the thread.

Good call, Jonesman. Reps.

 

[EddytoNow]

Positives: The season of the worst luck ever is over. You can turn the ball over occasionally and still win. That's part of the game. But we always seemed to fumble or throw an interception at the worst possible time. BK was the most unlucky coach in the country. These episodes of bad luck are now behind us, and we can move on to a season where our luck is no worse than our opponent's luck.

Will we be unbeaten next season? Probably not, but we will compete in every game, including Michigan, USC, Stanford, and Oklahoma. There were many times when this team could have quit this year, yet inspite of the bad luck that plagued us, the coaches and the players never quit. We were a play or two away from winning all five games that we lost. We are ready to take that next step. I will continue to support this coaching staff and these players, and I hope you will do the same.

 

[BeatSC]

Positives: The season of the worst luck ever is over. You can turn the ball over occasionally and still win. That's part of the game. But we always seemed to fumble or throw an interception at the worst possible time. BK was the most unlucky coach in the country. These episodes of bad luck are now behind us, and we can move on to a season where our luck is no worse than our opponent's luck.

Will we be unbeaten next season? Probably not, but we will compete in every game, including Michigan, USC, Stanford, and Oklahoma. There were many times when this team could have quit this year, yet inspite of the bad luck that plagued us, the coaches and the players never quit. We were a play or two away from winning all five games that we lost. We are ready to take that next step. I will continue to support this coaching staff and these players, and I hope you will do the same.

Could not agree more. Great post but Kelly really needs to work on the turnover issues especially inside the 20's.

 

[Patulski]

Manti
Nix
Lynch
Tuitt
Atkinson
KLM
Slaughter
Cave
Martin
Watt
Eifert

 

[IrishLax]

1. Held Stanford to the least points scored of any team.
2. Our QB play can literally only get better next year.
3. Ben Turk punted the heck out of the ball against FSU and appears to be turning a corner.
4. Nick Tausch should have a better year than Ruffer.
5. We had our best year ever running the ball and replacing Dever/Robinson with some nastier fellows + Cierre/Theo for next year might be electric.
6. Aaron Lynch was incredible this year and with the return of KLM + healthy Tuitt + everyone getting another year of training = nastiness in the trenches.
7. Another top 5 recruiting class appears to be on the way to South Bend.
8. Manti coming back!!!

 

[irishff1014]

1. Held Stanford to the least points scored of any team.
2. Our QB play can literally only get better next year.
3. Ben Turk punted the heck out of the ball against FSU and appears to be turning a corner.
4. Nick Tausch should have a better year than Ruffer.
5. We had our best year ever running the ball and replacing Dever/Robinson with some nastier fellows + Cierre/Theo for next year might be electric.
6. Aaron Lynch was incredible this year and with the return of KLM + healthy Tuitt + everyone getting another year of training = nastiness in the trenches.
7. Another top 5 recruiting class appears to be on the way to South Bend.
8. Manti coming back!!!

Cierre and Theo are no wheres near the combo of Cierre and Jonas.
Top 5 is pushing it maybe top 10

 

[IrishLax]

Cierre and Theo are no wheres near the combo of Cierre and Jonas.

Yeah, because you've seen so much of Theo running the ball, right? And you had seen so much of Jonas running the ball at this time last year, right???

Top 5 is pushing it maybe top 10

Please. We're already #6 with a 95 rated Safety very likely on the way Saturday and possibly a 98 rated CB as well. You do the math.

 

[irishff1014]

Yeah, because you've seen so much of Theo running the ball, right? And you had seen so much of Jonas running the ball at this time last year, right???



Please. We're already #6 with a 95 rated Safety very likely on the way Saturday and possibly a 98 rated CB as well. You do the math.

If you are going to run the ball with a 2 back system you need 2 different backs. You need a Wood or Theo back and then a back that will put his shoulder into someone and run over them.

Yes the future looks good but nothing is given right now. We could very well lose 2 or 3 prospects as well.

 

[IrishJayhawk]

If you are going to run the ball with a 2 back system you need 2 different backs. You need a Wood or Theo back and then a back that will put his shoulder into someone and run over them.

Yes the future looks good but nothing is given right now. We could very well lose 2 or 3 prospects as well.

But this is the POSITIVITY thread. Theo actually beat out Cierre for the 2nd RB job as a true freshman.

 

[Rocket89]

If you are going to run the ball with a 2 back system you need 2 different backs. You need a Wood or Theo back and then a back that will put his shoulder into someone and run over them.

Not true.

You can have power runners, and you can have speedy runners. At the end of the day all that really matters (all you NEED) are running backs who run for a lot of yards and score touchdowns.

 

[Rocket89]

Yeah, because you've seen so much of Theo running the ball, right? And you had seen so much of Jonas running the ball at this time last year, right???

Nevertheless, we already know what Gray's production was this year and Riddick (if we're to hope he has a season like Gray's) has major shoes to fill.

Pound for pound that might have been one of the top 7 rushing seasons in school history by Gray---it would seem pretty logical that Riddick isn't going to achieve that kind of success.

But you never know, perhaps Wood improves a lot and Riddick does his thing and the running game overall ends up more productive.

 

[IrishLax]

If you are going to run the ball with a 2 back system you need 2 different backs. You need a Wood or Theo back and then a back that will put his shoulder into someone and run over them.

Says who? Ever watch the Carolina Panthers with DeAngello Williams and Johnathan Stewart at their primes? And even if you do, who says Theo and Cierre aren't two different backs? Because they definitely are...

Yes the future looks good but nothing is given right now. We could very well lose 2 or 3 prospects as well.

Who? Decker and Darby? Replacing a 96 with a 98 and a 92 with a 95 => moving on up still.... and I don't think that happens although Decker flipping is a real possibility.

 

[TerryTate]

Saw this posted on II about QBs

Nothing earth shattering, really.

I was told that Coach Kelly has informed the QB's and some leaders on the team that Golson will take all the first team snaps and be given every opportunity to not be the starter. Rees will be the back up and Hendrix will still have packages designed for him.

Hendrix apparently took it very well and was excited about the opportunity as he knows he will still get on the field quite regularly.

 

[Damion704]

That is great to hear. IF true