2015 Spring Practice Thread

[NDPhilly]

9-3 with a bowl win to get to 10-3 is the lowest possible record that I would consider acceptable. Really need a 10-2 regular season

 

[Luckylucci]

9-3 with a bowl win to get to 10-3 is the lowest possible record that I would consider acceptable. Really need a 10-2 regular season

I agree.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

9-3 with a bowl win to get to 10-3 is the lowest possible record that I would consider acceptable. Really need a 10-2 regular season

I agree.

Same here. Double digit wins or bust.

 

[Irish Insanity]

10 wins a year minimum. Anything else is falling short.

 

[Irish YJ]

Clemson is an interesting one for me because their O should be better but their D could take a fairly sizable step backward from being as dominant as they were last year. Their D lost a TON of talent and experience.

It will be very interesting. Watson is a stud, but who knows if his ACL will hold up. Stoudt look good replacing him vs OK in the bowl, but he also looked horrible against GT. The D lost a lot (but they were one of the top Ds last year), but still have some talent. I think we can pick on their young CB (Alexander), and will have success running the ball and throwing to the TE. Our OLs should be able to ground and take care of that DL. LBs IMO are their biggest weakness. Me thinks our RBs will get to the second level a good deal and A.Jones and CJ will have big games over the middle.

Disclaimer - hypothesis based on the worries of a Clemson fan that works for me.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Stoudt look good replacing him vs OK in the bowl, but he also looked horrible against GT.

This is slightly off-topic (since you were talking about GT's defense), but I hope everyone's prepared for an unpleasant game against the Yellow Jackets. How many times has ND looked good against a Paul Johnson-inspired offense during the last decade? Twice?

 

[Luckylucci]

This is slightly off-topic (since you were talking about GT's defense), but I hope everyone's prepared for an unpleasant game against the Yellow Jackets. How many times has ND looked good against a Paul Johnson-inspired offense during the last decade? Twice?

Haha, so true. I think we'll win because we'll be able to eat them up on the ground as well but it won't be pretty.

 

[Irish YJ]

9-3 with a bowl win to get to 10-3 is the lowest possible record that I would consider acceptable. Really need a 10-2 regular season

I agree.

I've always been in the camp of:

If you are a top 25 team, and especially if you deem yourself a national power program, you should not:

1. have a loss at home unless it's a top ten team
2. have a road loss to a team out of the top 25 (with 10 spots of you)

Disclaimer - I think = guess
ND should be somewhere around 12-15 I think

GT is a home game and will be ranked behind us around 16-20 I think - should be a home win

Clemson should be around 20ish too.. Toss up yes, but very winnable. We'll know what kind of team we have at this point in the year.

USC is a home game, and ranked slightly inside the top 10 I think. - understandable loss but I think we win at home. Got to win games at home vs rivalries.

Stanford should be around 20ish.. - Close, but we should take this if we can limit McCaffrey.

 

[Old Man Mike]

Well, we're in the dead season and BS is flowing freely, so what-the-he!l?

1). Malik turns out to be a gamer and is healthy all year. The now super-powered offense scores at will [and at Will Fuller] both running and passing. We average 35ppg [even against our schedule] and win 9 on offense alone.

2). Somehow Russell, Luke, Redfield, Sebastian, and Farley stay healthy all year and the DBackfield operates at killer efficiency with two shut-down corners, and safeties who, amazingly, know what they're doing, plus the best nickel back in the nation. Opponents are reduced to passing vs our strength or running. Day, Jones, Rochell, Okwara, Trumbetti, Cage, Hayes, Tillery, et al have something to say about that. A guy named Jaylon Smith still exists and is better placed to turn loose in open space. This defense makes things tough enough that we win two more along with the offense.

3). Maybe somebody beats us that's expected to {USC} or maybe they don't. Maybe there's a WTF game and maybe there isn't. We go 11-1. We're top ten but maybe not top four. Regardless we roll into a big bowl game with Malik operating like a serial killer and smash the opponent by more than the 35-21 score indicates.

4). National football fans say: Notre Dame is Back! and that coach of theirs is one of the best. Only two segments of the nation continue to bitch: ESPN and half of IE.

 

[Pops Freshenmeyer]

Well, we're in the dead season and BS is flowing freely, so what-the-he!l?

1). Malik turns out to be a gamer and is healthy all year. The now super-powered offense scores at will [and at Will Fuller] both running and passing. We average 35ppg [even against our schedule] and win 9 on offense alone.

2). Somehow Russell, Luke, Redfield, Sebastian, and Farley stay healthy all year and the DBackfield operates at killer efficiency with two shut-down corners, and safeties who, amazingly, know what they're doing, plus the best nickel back in the nation. Opponents are reduced to passing vs our strength or running. Day, Jones, Rochell, Okwara, Trumbetti, Cage, Hayes, Tillery, et al have something to say about that. A guy named Jaylon Smith still exists and is better placed to turn loose in open space. This defense makes things tough enough that we win two more along with the offense.

3). Maybe somebody beats us that's expected to {USC} or maybe they don't. Maybe there's a WTF game and maybe there isn't. We go 11-1. We're top ten but maybe not top four. Regardless we roll into a big bowl game with Malik operating like a serial killer and smash the opponent by more than the 35-21 score indicates.

4). National football fans say: Notre Dame is Back! and that coach of theirs is one of the best. Only two segments of the nation continue to bitch: ESPN and half of IE.

11-1 with an impressive bowl win would do wonders for the Irish.

 

[GBdomer]

First time reading Keith Arnold spring game and I don't disagree with a point he made after watching the spring game. He's really good at what he does and I love his honesty.

 

[NCND]

Haha, so true. I think we'll win because we'll be able to eat them up on the ground as well but it won't be pretty.

Yea... I don't have my hopes up for this one.

 

[IrishLion]

This is slightly off-topic (since you were talking about GT's defense), but I hope everyone's prepared for an unpleasant game against the Yellow Jackets. How many times has ND looked good against a Paul Johnson-inspired offense during the last decade? Twice?

Haha, so true. I think we'll win because we'll be able to eat them up on the ground as well but it won't be pretty.

Even if ND manages to grind it out on the ground, I will still be terrified. GT has an absolute embarrassment of riches at their wingback spots. Those are guys that will take it to the house consistently if ND doesn't have a better game plan than they had the past couple of years against Navy. Navy always has surprising speed, but GT's backs make them look slow in comparison when they get to the edge.

 

[Irish YJ]

Even if ND manages to grind it out on the ground, I will still be terrified. GT has an absolute embarrassment of riches at their wingback spots. Those are guys that will take it to the house consistently if ND doesn't have a better game plan than they had the past couple of years against Navy. Navy always has surprising speed, but GT's backs make them look slow in comparison when they get to the edge.

Will indeed be a long, scary game. They lost 3 games last year by an average 4.33 points. Duke at home, NC on the road, and FSU in the ACC Champ. Home game. Ugly must win. Our OL has 30-40lbs on their DL, so I expect us to maul them on the ground. I worry about injuries in this game more than anything else. knock on wood. Can't wait for ND/GT here in ATL in a couple years.

 

[Rocket89]

Even if ND manages to grind it out on the ground, I will still be terrified. GT has an absolute embarrassment of riches at their wingback spots. Those are guys that will take it to the house consistently if ND doesn't have a better game plan than they had the past couple of years against Navy. Navy always has surprising speed, but GT's backs make them look slow in comparison when they get to the edge.

Actually, it's the opposite.

8 true freshmen among their A-back and B-back positions. Snoddy & Andrews return after combining for less than 400 yards last year, but there's literally no other experience.

 

[Old Man Mike]

GT lost every skill position player, including their top four backs and their redshirt RB [ACL] other than the QB, plus they lost their main OLine short yardage road grader. The QB is very good, yes, but the total package is far from settled over there.

 

[IrishLion]

Actually, it's the opposite.

8 true freshmen among their A-back and B-back positions. Snoddy & Andrews return after combining for less than 400 yards last year, but there's literally no other experience.

GT lost every skill position player, including their top four backs and their redshirt RB [ACL] other than the QB, plus they lost their main OLine short yardage road grader. The QB is very good, yes, but the total package is far from settled over there.

It seems I'm poorly informed on their returning contributors. My apologies.

 

[KPENN]

Don't really care who/how many are returning, etc. ND's track record against the triple option lately inspires absolutely no confidence.

 

[IrishLion]

Don't really care who/how many are returning, etc. ND's track record against the triple option lately inspires absolutely no confidence.

I agree. I assumed that GT would be returning some experience at Wingback after watching a game and hearing the announcers talk about how they went 5-deep, but either way, their athletes will have the potential to make a Navy game look like child's play.

 

[Irish YJ]

GT lost every skill position player, including their top four backs and their redshirt RB [ACL] other than the QB, plus they lost their main OLine short yardage road grader. The QB is very good, yes, but the total package is far from settled over there.

They picked up 4 or 5 RBs in the class of 2015, 3 of which are 4.4 guys. While they lost a lot, folks are optimistic her in ATL. My neighbor thinks they will be more dangerous then last year by mid season. IDK about better, but they won't be a cakewalk to contain. Looking forward to seeing what their 6-7, 365lb guard will do LOL.

 

[zelezo vlk]

They picked up 4 or 5 RBs in the class of 2015, 3 of which are 4.4 guys. While they lost a lot, folks are optimistic her in ATL. My neighbor thinks they will be more dangerous then last year by mid season. IDK about better, but they won't be a cakewalk to contain. Looking forward to seeing what their 6-7, 365lb guard will do LOL.

I really hope Jarron Jones is healthy.

 

[Irish YJ]

I really hope Jarron Jones is healthy.

No doubt. That's one big boy. And at guard....

 

[Rocket89]

Don't really care who/how many are returning, etc. ND's track record against the triple option lately inspires absolutely no confidence.

This is true too. I don't like this game at all.

 

[dublinirish]

I have to say usually I love watching GT play with their triple option especially versus Georgia (they play them every year and always look like they have never seen Paul Johnson's offense before lol) but I don't like the matchup for ND as their offense picks up momentum as the season goes on

 

[BleedBlueGold]

I don't want to bump my own post from yesterday because it was too long, but in regards to the "What If's" of the past 5 seasons and how turnovers, injuries, etc have played a major role...

II's podcast yesterday, while short, touched on this topic a little bit. They said that you have to go all the way back to Quinn before seeing a redzone offense that didn't turn the ball over on a regular basis (Brady had 1 redzone TO). Clausen's era was slightly worse, but nothing like the way it is now (He had 8 redzone TOs the year their OL sucked). Then you get into Crist, Rees, Golson eras and Brian Kelly's stubborness, relying on throwing the ball too much in the redzone and the numbers skyrocket. Note: BK's teams do score. I think they said that 2014 they scored redzone TDs at a 65% clip (tied with Oregon)...BUT they have SOOO many other trips where they turned the ball over or botched a FG, etc. Most of these result in those WTF losses that make us cringe.

This is an issue talked about every single season, yet it never changes. Perhaps this is the season we see significant improvement w/ more run game. (Although, they joked about how play calling, even with runs, can be horrid under BK. See Chris Brown sweep play that resulted in a fumble)

 

[Irish#1]

I don't want to bump my own post from yesterday because it was too long, but in regards to the "What If's" of the past 5 seasons and how turnovers, injuries, etc have played a major role...

II's podcast yesterday, while short, touched on this topic a little bit. They said that you have to go all the way back to Quinn before seeing a redzone offense that didn't turn the ball over on a regular basis (Brady had 1 redzone TO). Clausen's era was slightly worse, but nothing like the way it is now (He had 8 redzone TOs the year their OL sucked). Then you get into Crist, Rees, Golson eras and Brian Kelly's stubborness, relying on throwing the ball too much in the redzone and the numbers skyrocket. Note: BK's teams do score. I think they said that 2014 they scored redzone TDs at a 65% clip (tied with Oregon)...BUT they have SOOO many other trips where they turned the ball over or botched a FG, etc. Most of these result in those WTF losses that make us cringe.

This is an issue talked about every single season, yet it never changes. Perhaps this is the season we see significant improvement w/ more run game. (Although, they joked about how play calling, even with runs, can be horrid under BK. See Chris Brown sweep play that resulted in a fumble)

I sound like a broken record, but when we get inside the ten, go under center and run the ball. We run so much better under center.

 

[BleedBlueGold]

I sound like a broken record, but when we get inside the ten, go under center and run the ball. We run so much better under center.

Run the ball, in general. They also now have a QB who can run the read-option effectively. That will help too.

 

[Hammer Of The Gods]

I sound like a broken record, but when we get inside the ten, go under center and run the ball. We run so much better under center.

I've never understood the issue with getting under center for short yardage situations period.

3 and 1? Under center, bring in a full back, we're going A gap and telling the opposing D to suck it.

Hopefully we see more " smash mouth" this year than we have seen in the Kelly era. I understand that you can't do it all the time in todays game. But my God. Short Yardage, inside the Ten, lets grow a pair and pound it, old school style.

 

[Veritate Duce Progredi]

I sound like a broken record, but when we get inside the ten, go under center and run the ball. We run so much better under center.

Given our line, H-Back/TEs and RB options, I'd say that's a great call. I hope it's one we don't abandon until teams prove they can stop us.

If Texas proves they can stop it, then we can use all the creative wizardry but let's see what we can do with simplicity first.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

I sound like a broken record, but when we get inside the ten, go under center and run the ball. We run so much better under center.

I've never understood the issue with getting under center for short yardage situations period.

3 and 1? Under center, bring in a full back, we're going A gap and telling the opposing D to suck it.

Hopefully we see more " smash mouth" this year than we have seen in the Kelly era. I understand that you can't do it all the time in todays game. But my God. Short Yardage, inside the Ten, lets grow a pair and pound it, old school style.

IIRC, Kelly has tried to put his QBs under center several time since 2010, but it's never worked well. Apparently the differences in the QB-C exchange between shotgun and under center are significant enough to have caused Rees and Golson serious problem-- as in, ball on the turf/ drive killing type problems.

I'm hoping that Kelly and Sanford emulate Meyer's late 2014 offense by incorporating more gap-blocking elements into our rushing attack, which should mean significantly more practice reps with Zaire under center and Luatua playing FB.