2014 Fall Camp Thread

[tko]

Male horse too, huge crank. Reminds Boggs of himself, LOLOL.

 

[IrishLax]

Without a doubt in my mind, this is the best collective offensive group Kelly has had in his tenure. And it's not really close.

What's incredibly weird is that it maybe has the least amount of cemented top round NFL talent of any of his teams. There is no one close to the caliber of Mike Floyd. There are no TEs close to caliber of offensive weapon as Eifert. There are no OL who are close, right now, to the level Martin played at last year. There are no legitimate, proven stars on this team. There are no Amari Coopers or Jameis Winstons or the like when comparing to guys currently in CFB.

But we're at minimum 5 deep at WR with guys I'm pretty darn confident can play winning football and make plays. We've got at least two QBs who, even if they make mistakes, have got to be a HUGE step forward in "playmaking" ability relative to Crist/Rees/year-1-Golson. We have at least 3 TEs who aren't spectacular (yet?) but are better than at least 85%-90% of the TEs other teams are using in CFB. Our "worst" tailback is a seasoned vet who also has the balance/quickness to juke Cravens out of his shoes, and our unproven guys have shown serious glimpses. Our OL probably has 8 guys capable of playing at least A- level football right now, even if none is currently a stud 1st round talent.

So collectively it's just hard to see this offense NOT being very good. There are just too many guys who have the potential to not find the right combination to get it done. The only worry is when you go up against a team like USC, FSU, Stanford, or Michigan who has the athletes on defense to run with our guys... what do you do if you don't have a mismatch player like Floyd or Eifert? Or a truly dominant LT capable of neutralizing any pass rush?

 

[IrishLion]

The only worry is when you go up against a team like USC, FSU, Stanford, or Michigan who has the athletes on defense to run with our guys... what do you do if you don't have a mismatch player like Floyd or Eifert? Or a truly dominant LT capable of neutralizing any pass rush?

Run the damn ball.

 

[Bugzly21]

The OLine will be fine. Yes Martin and Watts are gone but every player in the line had meaningful snaps last year because of the injuries sustained. Add Harry coaching them up and I have no worries. Also the line can't be worse than 2012, which was not bad, when there was a gaping hole at right guard when Golic played there wearing roller skates.

 

[NDdomer2]

Without a doubt in my mind, this is the best collective offensive group Kelly has had in his tenure. And it's not really close.

What's incredibly weird is that it maybe has the least amount of cemented top round NFL talent of any of his teams. There is no one close to the caliber of Mike Floyd. There are no TEs close to caliber of offensive weapon as Eifert. There are no OL who are close, right now, to the level Martin played at last year. There are no legitimate, proven stars on this team. There are no Amari Coopers or Jameis Winstons or the like when comparing to guys currently in CFB.

But we're at minimum 5 deep at WR with guys I'm pretty darn confident can play winning football and make plays. We've got at least two QBs who, even if they make mistakes, have got to be a HUGE step forward in "playmaking" ability relative to Crist/Rees/year-1-Golson. We have at least 3 TEs who aren't spectacular (yet?) but are better than at least 85%-90% of the TEs other teams are using in CFB. Our "worst" tailback is a seasoned vet who also has the balance/quickness to juke Cravens out of his shoes, and our unproven guys have shown serious glimpses. Our OL probably has 8 guys capable of playing at least A- level football right now, even if none is currently a stud 1st round talent.

So collectively it's just hard to see this offense NOT being very good. There are just too many guys who have the potential to not find the right combination to get it done. The only worry is when you go up against a team like USC, FSU, Stanford, or Michigan who has the athletes on defense to run with our guys... what do you do if you don't have a mismatch player like Floyd or Eifert? Or a truly dominant LT capable of neutralizing any pass rush?

this is where I think the advantages of having an uptempo offense (for the first real time hopefully) can counter those things. Don't let the other guys sub, get their D set with time to adjust, on and on.

 

[yankeeND]

Without a doubt in my mind, this is the best collective offensive group Kelly has had in his tenure. And it's not really close.

What's incredibly weird is that it maybe has the least amount of cemented top round NFL talent of any of his teams. There is no one close to the caliber of Mike Floyd. There are no TEs close to caliber of offensive weapon as Eifert. There are no OL who are close, right now, to the level Martin played at last year. There are no legitimate, proven stars on this team. There are no Amari Coopers or Jameis Winstons or the like when comparing to guys currently in CFB.

But we're at minimum 5 deep at WR with guys I'm pretty darn confident can play winning football and make plays. We've got at least two QBs who, even if they make mistakes, have got to be a HUGE step forward in "playmaking" ability relative to Crist/Rees/year-1-Golson. We have at least 3 TEs who aren't spectacular (yet?) but are better than at least 85%-90% of the TEs other teams are using in CFB. Our "worst" tailback is a seasoned vet who also has the balance/quickness to juke Cravens out of his shoes, and our unproven guys have shown serious glimpses. Our OL probably has 8 guys capable of playing at least A- level football right now, even if none is currently a stud 1st round talent.

So collectively it's just hard to see this offense NOT being very good. There are just too many guys who have the potential to not find the right combination to get it done. The only worry is when you go up against a team like USC, FSU, Stanford, or Michigan who has the athletes on defense to run with our guys... what do you do if you don't have a mismatch player like Floyd or Eifert? Or a truly dominant LT capable of neutralizing any pass rush?

Very well said. This is the type of team that I have been waiting for under Kelly. Balanced, can hurt you through the air, on the ground, and it starts with QB play. On defense we have plenty of athleticism, but unlike at his other stops, we have had some bonafide stars with Smith being the face of the defense. I don't know how many games we will win this year, but it will be exciting to say the least!

 

[Whiskeyjack]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>"Why isn't he wearing proper equestrian shoes, smdh, decline of this nation illustrated" —ND Nation, right now <a href="https://t.co/GJALS0PmY4">pic.twitter.com/GJALS0PmY4</a></p>— Spencer Hall (@edsbs) <a href="https://twitter.com/edsbs/statuses/497769638466686976">August 8, 2014</a></blockquote>
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GITF has the first comment on that tweet. =(

 

[ulukinatme]

Run the damn ball.

Give the Cam the Damn Ball

Running Into a Backwards Gauntlet: An Analysis - Her Loyal Sons

 

[Irishman77]

Don't know why but Kelly on a horse cracks me up!

"The Fifth Horseman"

 

[Irishokie]

Don't know why but Kelly on a horse cracks me up!

"The Fifth Horseman"

Short guy on a big animal! Napoleon-ish

The horse is getting excited too!

 

[Wild Bill]

Our offensive line likely has 9-10 players the could play winning football immediately but we haven't seen if they can gel as a unit. Given Hiestand's track record here, I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt and believe they will be at least serviceable to begin the season.

Experience across the lines is seriously undervalued in my mind.

That said, we're both looking at a bunch of guys who haven't played much and trying to project how they might fit together and play. I don't claim to have a comparative advantage in this type of forecasting. But I get anxious when untested players are protecting the QB and trying to open up holes, no matter how good I think they'll eventually be.

Good points. I'll take experience and consistency over young and talented on the offensive line. Have to give Harry credit, it doesn't seem to matter who he trots out onto the field, they get the job done. They communicate well and work as a unit - almost machine-like.

Here's what we don't know: How much did we rely on Zach in pass protection? Everyone knows, on an individual level, he dominated his opponents, but what kind of influence did he have on the entire unit and pass protection schemes? It's a lot easier to seal the pocket when you have a left tackle that can eliminate any defender in the country (damn, he's a bad dude). He gave Harry flexibility to cover up weaker offensive linemen, slide protections away from Zach to eliminate blitz tendencies, etc.

I wonder whether Robinson can get open. I wonder whether Fuller is big enough, and whether he's actually an above average receiver. I cringe when I think about the ball seemingly slamming into Chris Brown's hands, or him flinching as he catches it. I have no idea whether Torii Hunter Jr. will regain his full explosiveness. I wonder whether Prosise is a threat in the passing game - maybe he will be, but I haven't seen it. I watched Carlisle all last year, and I wasn't all that encouraged. I'm hopeful that Koyack will break out as a receiver, but I don't think anyone is going to block like Troy Niklas did.

Ton of talent but I think TJ will be sorely missed. How many times did that kid catch a five yard out on 3rd and 3? He had a great feel for coverage, ran precise routes and had great hands. I hope someone steps in and fills that role. It's important in BK's offense.

 

[zelezo vlk]

need video of that!

Apparently the video is coming out later today...

 

[Southside Sully]

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I know Mike is out from surgery, but man does he look really really thin in the beginning around the :38 second mark

 

[Wingman Ray]

Just any ol' southern school over OSU? Yeah, no thanks. We play 5 ACC games every year. We'll have plenty of games in the south. Give me marquee match ups.

Sounds great until OSU pulls it's typical BS and schedules IU and Miami of OH the two games leading up to ND while ND plays FSU and Clemson the two weeks prior.

 

[BleedBlueGold]

A lot of people want to blame this on not having a mobile QB, but I blame it entirely on playcalling. There are tons of teams with pocket QB's that have no issues in the red zone. We had 1) Great TE 2) Great offensive line and 3) excellent RB's. There is no reason that we should have been limited to obvious running plays and back corner fades. This is something I hope our staff worked on.

Totally agree. Very stubborn, imo. I felt the play calling was what held the offense back last year (although that was discussed thoroughly throughout last season in it's own thread and it was noted that Tommy checked out of plays often, so who really knows...).

 

[PANDFAN]

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[nlroma1o]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>"Why isn't he wearing proper equestrian shoes, smdh, decline of this nation illustrated" —ND Nation, right now <a href="https://t.co/GJALS0PmY4">pic.twitter.com/GJALS0PmY4</a></p>— Spencer Hall (@edsbs) <a href="https://twitter.com/edsbs/statuses/497769638466686976">August 8, 2014</a></blockquote>
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Reminds me of Napoleon addressing his troops. LOL Kelly is a fukin BOSS!!!

 

[Irishman77]

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Love the 70 plays a game talk!

Brian Kelly > chip kelly

 

[connor_in]

I can accept this view but just curious: How do you define loaded? Is it only based on proven stats in college? Is it based on rankings of signed prospects? Is it seasoning in a program? It sounds like "loaded" only means seasoned veterans and that is a difficult way to define this.

We have talent at every position and most are at minimum, two deep. Many of us expect our 3rd string tailback to be our returning lead rusher from last year. We are returning 4 starters on the offensive line despite losing two monsters from the left side. We have 5 WRs that have played and caught the ball for us, some in monster games (Daniels, Brown vs. Oklahoma) then Robinson, Fuller and Prosise. Then we have Carlisle who has played, Hunter who has been raved about, Brent who looks like he's really competing and was very highly ranked and Holmes who people compare to TJ Jones but with more speed and bigger frame.

Our backup QB appears to be more versatile and just as accurate as our previous starter. He hasn't proven it yet but you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone willing to trade Zaire for Rees. Our TEs will likely decrease their production but we certainly have options: we are returning a starter from a year ago who came on strong as the season concluded and a boatload of young talent behind him. Unproven, yes.

Our offensive line likely has 9-10 players the could play winning football immediately but we haven't seen if they can gel as a unit. Given Hiestand's track record here, I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt and believe they will be at least serviceable to begin the season.

Not many believe in the star rankings and that's alright but every position has a highly ranked player fighting for playing time. We all believe Kelly's group are very adept talent-evaluators so we also have diamonds in the rough. For me, that's Robinson, Fuller, Smythe, (even Golson who was merely a three star).

I think it's fair to say we are loaded in that we aren't going to be completely devastated if an injury occurs at most positions. I can't remember the last time we had this many players who could make an impact or have the potential to take over a game.

Golson has done it (Pitt). Folston has done it (Navy). Cam has done it (drawing a blank, BYU maybe?). Daniels has done it (Purdue).

In the capable but unproven category we have: Bryant, Robinson, Fuller, Brown, Hunter, Carlisle, Prosise

Most of them have either the speed, leaping ability, vision or hands to destroy the opposition. This is the most complete roster I've seen. Defensively we are lacking in a few areas, we need more depth, offensively, it'd be nice to have 1 more RB and perhaps another QB but this quality depth across the board.

There is true competition, the seniors and juniors do not receive playing time by virtue of age and lack of competition. Even Daniels could be displaced if he doesn't continue to outwork the young guys.

Ultimately, if the only definition of loaded is based on proven playmakers and doesn't take into account in-coming class, recruiting rankings, coaches rave reviews and developing players then you may be right. But it's still a toss-up with a returning QB, WR, 2 RBs, TE and 4 OL who already have significant playing experience. Then 4 other WRs who have played.

2012 we had just lost Lynch, Tuitt had been unexceptional as a frosh before contracting mono and people were worried about not having any difference makers. Nix had been average at best.

You can't return a full brigade of senior starters every year so an all-encompassing view is more indicative of whether or not a team is "loaded. My 39 cents.

NOW IN FULL VIDEO FORM:

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[Fbolt]

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[ND NYC]

Funny story, I'm not a huge Nolan fan either. I got black out drunk for the first pep rally last year, and as he was talking I was trash talking him with some things I'm not too proud of. Wasn't my finest moment haha

not to worry jimymac ive spent soe time in nolans company over the years....can talk like a drunken sailor himself. jack dops f bombs everywhere! i was shocked

 

[Irish#1]

Anyone can just punch it in from the 2...A real team runs the shotgun on the goal line. Makes things competitive.

When we got inside the ten, we ran much better with Tommy under center.

 

[Irish#1]

Male horse too, huge crank. Reminds Boggs of himself, LOLOL.

Horse fetish TK?

 

[tko]

Horse fetish TK?

Bologna Pony

 

[RadIrish67]

 

[RadIrish67]

 

[RadIrish67]

Long time follower first time poster. Hope this works.

 

[RadIrish67]

 

[PANDFAN]

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[Riddickulous]

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