2017 Midyear Grades

Irish YJ

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A few buddies and I had a good conversation about mid term grades last week. A little fun during the bye week. I'm no guru, but my best attempt of a homerless opinion below. Would love to see some of the football brains on the site give their thoughts.


Overall Team: B
=Brian Kelly - Head Football Coach: B+, Given the staff turnover, giving him credit for keeping it together, and especially the new attitude the kids seem to be playing with. Definitely having more fun. Game prep definitely better.

Overall Offense: B
=Chip Long - Offensive Coordinator: B+
- TE: C+. Better blocking this year, but less offensive production.
=Autry Denson - Running Backs: A+. Incredible job.
=Harry Hiestand - Offensive Line: B, a little inconsistent at times (passing game) which is surprising, but overall still good stuff.
=Del Alexander - Wide Receivers: D+, Most disappointing aspect of the team to me. Still not a big fan of inserting the 5th year transfers immediately into the mix.
=Tom Rees - Quarterbacks: C+, Thought BW would be more ready, more consistent, and more accurate. Love his athleticism, but he's going to have to improve passing skills or he's going to be hurt half the time. Not bad, but could be better IMO.


Overall Defense: B+
=Mike Elko - Defensive Coordinator: A. I was surprised with the quick improvement. Can he keep it up in the 2nd half???
=Mike Elston - Defensive Line (Asst HC): B+, probably the area of most happiness for me.
=Todd Lyght - Defensive Backs Coach: C+, I think they have improved, but still very concerned with consistency.
=Clark Lea - Linebackers: B. Was concerned early, but coming along nicely.


=Brian Polian - Recruiting Coordinator: B+
- Special Teams Coordinator: B, Better on coverage. KO return has improved I think. Still would like to see more production in the punt return game.

=Matt Balis - Director of Football Performance: A, Better conditioning, and guys showing more swagger/confidence.

=Bill Rees - Director of Scouting: A, game readiness has improved a ton. Not sure if this is Rees, BK, or the new coordinators, but whatever it is it's improved.


=Most Improved Player or Players: Going with Tillery here. 4.5 TFLs and 3 Sacks. Definitely playing with a new attitude and level of focus.

=Most Digressed Player or Players: ESB. I think some of this can be attributed to BW, but not all. Going to need him big time in the second half of the year.

=Offensive MVP: Josh Adams. I don't think anyone else is even close.

=Defensive MVP: Drue Tranquill. 34 Ts, 4.5 TFLs, 1 Sack, 1 INT, 2 fumble recoveries. Out there having fun.

=Newcomer: Neon Deon. Gonna be special.



Easy copy/paste for those that want to play....

Overall Team:
=Brian Kelly - Head Football Coach:
Overall Offense:
=Chip Long - Offensive Coordinator:
- TE:
=Autry Denson - Running Backs:
=Harry Hiestand - Offensive Line:
=Del Alexander - Wide Receivers:
=Tom Rees - Quarterbacks:
Overall Defense:
=Mike Elko - Defensive Coordinator:
=Mike Elston - Defensive Line (Asst HC):
=Todd Lyght - Defensive Backs Coach:
=Clark Lea - Linebackers:
=Brian Polian - Recruiting Coordinator:
- Special Teams Coordinator:
=Matt Balis - Director of Football Performance:
=Bill Rees - Director of Scouting:
=Most Improved Player or Players:
=Most Digressed Player or Players:
=Offensive MVP:
=Defensive MVP:
=Newcomer:
 

greyhammer90

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Overall Team: A- Lost by one point to a team ranked in the top 3, blew everyone else out. The schedule gets a lot harder but at this point they've done everything right against the teams they've gotten to play.

=Brian Kelly - Head Football Coach: A- if just this year. B- if factoring in last year. This team was not a 4 win team last year. Gross negligence is not forgiven yet.

Overall Offense: B+

=Chip Long - Offensive Coordinator: B given the talent.

- TE: B- given the talent

=Autry Denson - Running Backs: A+ given the talent.

=Harry Hiestand - Offensive Line: B+ given the talent. The UGA game rubs me wrong.

=Del Alexander - Wide Receivers: C given the talent.

=Tom Rees - Quarterbacks: C+ given the talent. Disappointed in Wimbush's progression as a passer. Don't know if this is Rees' fault, but hey.

Overall Defense: A given the talent. Haven't given up more than 20 yet.

=Mike Elko - Defensive Coordinator: A given the talent.

=Mike Elston - Defensive Line (Asst HC): A given the talent.

=Todd Lyght - Defensive Backs Coach: B given the talent.

=Clark Lea - Linebackers: B+ given the talent.

=Brian Polian - Recruiting Coordinator: Undecided (aka who cares in October)

- Special Teams Coordinator: A. Special teams has been routinely good. This is all we need.

=Matt Balis - Director of Football Performance: Not going to pretend to know anything about this. We're kicking the crap out of soft/small teams, so that's good.

=Bill Rees - Director of Scouting: Not going to pretend to know about this.

=Most Improved Player or Players: Tranquill - Moved to his natural position and he's playing like a monster.

=Most Digressed Player or Players: EQB. Extremely disappointed in his game.

=Offensive MVP: The OL, particularly the bash brothers on the left.

=Defensive MVP: Tranquill

=Newcomer: Every running back not named Josh Adams.
 
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IrishLax

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Great thread!

Overall Team: A-... a 1 point loss to top 5 team and blowouts over everyone else
=Brian Kelly - Head Football Coach: A-... effed up game plan against Georgia, besides that pretty darn excellent.

Overall Offense: A-... currently a top 20 offense by F/+
=Chip Long - Offensive Coordinator: B... great job coordinating run game, hate how he coordinates passing game. Think him being over his head cost us the Georgia game. Needs some serious OTJ but you have to give him credit for what he's done wearing teams down with the run.
- TE: C.
=Autry Denson - Running Backs: A+. Best job of coaching and roster development at a position I've ever seen at ND. None of these guys were 5:s: recruits either.
=Harry Hiestand - Offensive Line: A. Elite unit playing at an extremely high level. Had problems against Georgia.
=Del Alexander - Wide Receivers: F. Disaster. WRs run horrible routes and don't win contested balls. This is the worst group of ND WRs I can remember.
=Tom Rees - Quarterbacks: B. Wimbush has tons of room for improvement but it's hard to ignore how much of a playmaker he's been. Need more time to evaluate Rees as a hire.

Overall Defense: A-... currently top 15 in the country by F/+
=Mike Elko - Defensive Coordinator: A+. He got the defense from a C level to an A- level in one offseason through scheme and coaching. There are not a ton of studs on defense but they're playing at a top 15 level.
=Mike Elston - Defensive Line (Asst HC): A. DL is drastically improved despite losing their two best players. Every single player plays harder and makes more plays under Elston.
=Todd Lyght - Defensive Backs Coach: A-. I think he's done a really good job developing talent on the back end. (I think he gets an F for recruiting though).
=Clark Lea - Linebackers: A-. They've been very good in spots, especially Tranquill at ROVER. But they've also been inconsistent at times.
=Brian Polian - Recruiting Coordinator: A-.
- Special Teams Coordinator: B.
=Matt Balis - Director of Football Performance: A. The team is obviously in much better shape.
=Bill Rees - Director of Scouting: N/A

=Most Improved Player or Players: Sam Mustipher, Jerry Tillery (really the entire DL... could put Jay Hayes or Okwara in here too), Nick Coleman
=Most Digressed Player or Players: CJ Sanders, ESB
=Offensive MVP: Quenton Nelson
=Defensive MVP: Drue Tranquill... could also be most improved, but discounting that because of position switch
=Newcomer: Julian Okwara
 

Irish YJ

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=Brian Kelly - Head Football Coach: A- if just this year. B- if factoring in last year. This team was not a 4 win team last year. Gross negligence is not forgiven yet.

=Harry Hiestand - Offensive Line: B+ given the talent. The UGA game rubs me wrong.

- Special Teams Coordinator: A. Special teams has been routinely good. This is all we need.

I was definitely forgiving, not forgetting about last year when I gave out grades lol.

UGA still burns me. I truly feel we should be undefeated right now.

I love that STs is as you put it "routinely good". And you hit the nail on the head. That's all we need. I would like to see some PR and KR scores, but I'll be more than happy with improved coverage teams and the impact (or lack of impact) to the field position game.
 

Irish YJ

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Great thread!

=Chip Long - Offensive Coordinator: B... great job coordinating run game, hate how he coordinates passing game. Think him being over his head cost us the Georgia game. Needs some serious OTJ but you have to give him credit for what he's done wearing teams down with the run.
- TE: C.
=Del Alexander - Wide Receivers: F. Disaster. WRs run horrible routes and don't win contested balls. This is the worst group of ND WRs I can remember.
=Tom Rees - Quarterbacks: B. Wimbush has tons of room for improvement but it's hard to ignore how much of a playmaker he's been. Need more time to evaluate Rees as a hire.

=Mike Elko - Defensive Coordinator: A+. He got the defense from a C level to an A- level in one offseason through scheme and coaching. There are not a ton of studs on defense but they're playing at a top 15 level.

=Mike Elston - Defensive Line (Asst HC): A. DL is drastically improved despite losing their two best players. Every single player plays harder and makes more plays under Elston.

=Most Digressed Player or Players: CJ Sanders, ESB

LAX - who do you think is most responsible for the passing game woes? Long's overall game plan and coordination? BW's talent/skill? Tommy's QB coaching? Alexanders coaching? WR effort?

CJ Sanders..... do you think he's digressed, or just left out of the game plan?

On the D side of the ball, can you just imagine Elko at ND over the last 4 years? DL development like it is today over the last 4 years. If they hold serve over the second half of the season, the BVG years will go down as a permanent scar on my ND soul.
 

IrishLax

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LAX - who do you think is most responsible for the passing game woes? Long's overall game plan and coordination? BW's talent/skill? Tommy's QB coaching? Alexanders coaching? WR effort?

CJ Sanders..... do you think he's digressed, or just left out of the game plan?

On the D side of the ball, can you just imagine Elko at ND over the last 4 years? DL development like it is today over the last 4 years. If they hold serve over the second half of the season, the BVG years will go down as a permanent scar on my ND soul.

I believe the problem starts with the passing scheme... they called a better game against MSU which gives me hope moving forward, but in a lot of the games so far what they're asking Wimbush to do is just dumb. They should be going single-read with a check down... and they should do more play action and throw deep more. So many screens is dumb. So much lateral passing is dumb when they're already crowding the line of scrimmage because of ND's running game.

Given the situation Wimbush has been put in, then you have to look at the players failed execution (can't catch contested balls, bad routes, bad separation, etc. and inaccurate throws, holding the ball too long, going to the wrong guy, etc. from Wimbush). I don't put much of the QB execution issues on Rees because I think what they'r asking him to execute is dumb. Like you wouldn't have Tom Brady run a bunch of bootlegs, you shouldn't have Wimbush trying to do a bunch of full field reads with intermediate throws. It doesn't fit skillset. Bad mechanics? I put some of that on Rees for sure, but both guys are new so the jury is still out from me. At WR, I put it half on bad recruiting before Del Alexander was hired and half on Del Alexander obviously not coaching his guys up at all... I think when you look at guys like ESB showing zero improvement and no other breakout players there's no evidence that he is a good coach.

CJ Sanders we don't really know I guess how much he's "regressed" because of the lack of opportunities. I think him getting totally passed up in most roles says a lot though, especially considering how bad the other WRs have been. I will say that the fact that he's gotten zero opportunities to return punts shows he hasn't improved fielding the ball, and he's done a poor job on kick returns for the most part and his few touches on offense have all been bad.
 

irishff1014

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Overall Team: A The fire this team plays with this year is twice as hot as last year.

=Brian Kelly - Head Football Coach: A I believe he is really embracing these changes. All of the coaches are on the same page and really working the same goal. I love seeing Kelly with all the other players on the side line.

Overall Offense: B The run game is on point. the passing game is not. Even the extended running game in screens really isn't that good. But he doesn't abandon the run game and we are beating teams like we all wished we would. Hopefully the bye week has helped the passing game some.

=Chip Long - Offensive Coordinator:B Good coach. I believe he bit off a little more than he could chew at the beginning. I think the game is coming around to him. I want to see his passing game speed up.

- TE:c+ They have had some good games and bad ones too. Need this area to step up.

=Autry Denson - Running Backs: A+ These guy have answered the call and carried this team so far. Very impressing.

=Harry Hiestand - Offensive Line:B The o-line in hte running game other than UGA has done well. Not as good in pass protection but he can recruit like no other.

=Del Alexander - Wide Receivers: D If there has been a group that has been awful here it is. To many dropped balls, guys not getting open or fighting for the ball. I also think having the two walk-ons is part ofthe problem. They really aren't good. hopefully he can recruit...

=Tom Rees - Quarterbacks:B- I think he has done good over all helping BW grow however they need to pick up the pace on the passing game. He are gonna need this the next 6 weeks.

Overall Defense: A From the last two years this group is a ray of sunshine.

=Mike Elko - Defensive Coordinator:A Doing a good job getting the players to buy into his style of play and it is working.

=Mike Elston - Defensive Line (Asst HC):B+ A lot of people were worried about this move and he has turned on the heat. He has really gotten good production from this group.

=Todd Lyght - Defensive Backs Coach:C+ The guys are playing good. I think this is the weakest spot on the defensive side of the ball. And so far he can't recruit worth anything.

=Clark Lea - Linebackers: B The rover spot with Dru has been amazing. Very good production from this unit.

=Brian Polian - Recruiting Coordinator: B+ He is doing some really good things off the field. Hopefully we'll see another good class with the improvement on the field.

- Special Teams Coordinator:CKick coverage is better but that's about it. We might be luck to have 100 punt return yards all season. I didn't expect night and day difference but i did expect some improvement.

=Matt Balis - Director of Football Performance: B+ You can see the improvement on the field from their work outs.

=Bill Rees - Director of Scouting:B

=Most Improved Player or Players:The D-line

=Most Digressed Player or Players: Cj Sanders Who? Mack

=Offensive MVP: Adams

=Defensive MVP: Dru Tranquil

=Newcomer: I have to steal this answer and say 2nd,3rd,4th string running backs
 

IrishSteelhead

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I hope this thread isn't the kid who has great grades on his progress report, gets lazy the second half, and comes home with a bad report card at the end of the quarter.....
 

Irish YJ

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=Mike Elston - Defensive Line (Asst HC):B+ A lot of people were worried about this move and he has turned on the heat. He has really gotten good production from this group.

=Most Digressed Player or Players: Cj Sanders Who? Mack

I was actually happy when they moved Elston back to the DL from LBs. The couple years that the DL was under Gilmore were lackluster to bad. I think Elston did a decent job his first couple years coaching the DL. I think he suffered through the D coach and scheme changes. I think now that he's back at DL, has Elko's scheme, and Balis's S&C...... he's able to step it up more than any other year he's had at ND.

Mack IMO has gotten better as the year has progressed. The year off hurt, and I think he's suffering a bit from O play calling / scheme / QB consistency. Different IMO compared to ESB's lackluster performance.
 

STLDomer

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Overall Team: A-
- Brian Kelly - Head Football Coach: A-
Overall Offense: B+
- Chip Long - Offensive Coordinator: C+
— TE: C
- Autry Denson - Running Backs: A+
- Harry Hiestand - Offensive Line: A
- Del Alexander - Wide Receivers: D
- Tom Rees - Quarterbacks: C+

Overall Defense: A+
- Mike Elko - Defensive Coordinator: A+
- Mike Elston - Defensive Line (Asst HC): A
- Todd Lyght - Defensive Backs Coach: B+
- Clark Lea - Linebackers: B

- Brian Polian - Recruiting Coordinator: N/A (Don’t follow closely enough)
— Special Teams Coordinator: B-

- Matt Balis - Director of Football Performance: A
- Bill Rees - Director of Scouting: N/A (Don’t follow closely enough)

- Most Improved Player or Players: Nick Coleman
- Most Digressed Player or Players: ESB
- Offensive MVP: Quenton Nelson
- Defensive MVP: Drue Tranquill
- Newcomer: Julian Okwara
 
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Irish YJ

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I hope this thread isn't the kid who has great grades on his progress report, gets lazy the second half, and comes home with a bad report card at the end of the quarter.....

I don't think we'll get lazy this year. I certainly could be wrong, but I think the team's attitude is much improved (not a lot of prima donna behavior) and the kids have more drive. WR play does seem to me a bit lazy, and is obviously lackluster, but that's my only big concern. If the passing game can find its groove, we could be in for fun.
 

woolybug25

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Is it fair to call C.J. “digressed”? I feel like, for whatever reason, they simply haven’t been using him. I would actually like to see them give him a few touches on screens or reverses. Seems like Long just doesn’t get his skill set or something.

I guess I’m just saying I’m not sure that his actual play is any worse, rather his production. Which of course is directly related to his lack of touches .
 

stlnd01

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Is it fair to call C.J. “digressed”? I feel like, for whatever reason, they simply haven’t been using him. I would actually like to see them give him a few touches on screens or reverses. Seems like Long just doesn’t get his skill set or something.

I guess I’m just saying I’m not sure that his actual play is any worse, rather his production. Which of course is directly related to his lack of touches .

Who is this CJ Sanders of whom you speak? Does he still play for Notre Dame?
 

stlnd01

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Overall Team: B
=Brian Kelly - Head Football Coach: B+, Given the staff turnover, giving him credit for keeping it together, and especially the new attitude the kids seem to be playing with. Definitely having more fun. Game prep definitely better.

Overall Offense: B
=Chip Long - Offensive Coordinator: B+
- TE: C+. Better blocking this year, but less offensive production.
=Autry Denson - Running Backs: A+. Incredible job.
=Harry Hiestand - Offensive Line: B, a little inconsistent at times (passing game) which is surprising, but overall still good stuff.
=Del Alexander - Wide Receivers: D+, Most disappointing aspect of the team to me. Still not a big fan of inserting the 5th year transfers immediately into the mix.
=Tom Rees - Quarterbacks: C+, Thought BW would be more ready, more consistent, and more accurate. Love his athleticism, but he's going to have to improve passing skills or he's going to be hurt half the time. Not bad, but could be better IMO.


Overall Defense: B+
=Mike Elko - Defensive Coordinator: A. I was surprised with the quick improvement. Can he keep it up in the 2nd half???
=Mike Elston - Defensive Line (Asst HC): B+, probably the area of most happiness for me.
=Todd Lyght - Defensive Backs Coach: C+, I think they have improved, but still very concerned with consistency.
=Clark Lea - Linebackers: B. Was concerned early, but coming along nicely.


=Brian Polian - Recruiting Coordinator: B+
- Special Teams Coordinator: B, Better on coverage. KO return has improved I think. Still would like to see more production in the punt return game.

=Matt Balis - Director of Football Performance: A, Better conditioning, and guys showing more swagger/confidence.

=Bill Rees - Director of Scouting: A, game readiness has improved a ton. Not sure if this is Rees, BK, or the new coordinators, but whatever it is it's improved.

You're a pretty tough grader.
 

NDdomer2

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Quick question, were giving chip grades for OC and TE coach but not DC and S coach for Elko?
 

Irish YJ

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Is it fair to call C.J. “digressed”? I feel like, for whatever reason, they simply haven’t been using him. I would actually like to see them give him a few touches on screens or reverses. Seems like Long just doesn’t get his skill set or something.

I guess I’m just saying I’m not sure that his actual play is any worse, rather his production. Which of course is directly related to his lack of touches .

I'm with ya. I could do without the screens though. Would love to see him on a reverse though.
 

Irish#1

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I'll keep it simple. Team gets a B+. However, I've seen improvement across the board from week to week and can see them going from a B+ to an A.

IMO a lot of the WR woes is due to Wimbush. He has a long way to go. I think many on this board may have set the bar too high for the kid before he took a snap this year. While he's a DT QB, his internal stopwatch runs a little fast and he struggles to stay in the pocket a little longer which would give the WR's a chance to get some separation. He'll eventually find that balance.

Nice details YJ.
 

Shamrock Theories

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Overall Team: A-
- Brian Kelly - Head Football Coach: A-
Overall Offense: B+
- Chip Long - Offensive Coordinator: C+
— TE: C
- Autry Denson - Running Backs: A+
- Harry Hiestand - Offensive Line: A
- Del Alexander - Wide Receivers: D
- Tom Rees - Quarterbacks: C+

Overall Defense: A+
- Mike Elko - Defensive Coordinator: A+
- Mike Elston - Defensive Line (Asst HC): A
- Todd Lyght - Defensive Backs Coach: B+
- Clark Lea - Linebackers: B

- Brian Polian - Recruiting Coordinator: N/A (Don’t follow closely enough)
— Special Teams Coordinator: B-

- Matt Balis - Director of Football Performance: A
- Bill Rees - Director of Scouting: N/A (Don’t follow closely enough)

- Most Improved Player or Players: Nick Coleman
- Most Digressed Player or Players: ESB
- Offensive MVP: Quenton Nelson
- Defensive MVP: Drue Tranquill
- Newcomer: Julian Okwara

Agree across the board. Not sure why people are knocking the DB's. From what I can see they have very good fundamentals and compete for the ball.

It's modern football, we aren't going to hold teams under 100 yards passing lol
 

Old Man Mike

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My usual defending the Big Uglies:

Anyone rating the OLine this year at the "B" level ... LOL.

When an A-Level OLine plays an A-level DLine, it's supposed to be a punching match where the two megaforces win sometimes and lose sometimes and usually neutralize each other.

Also I've noticed an extremely poor understanding of the whole process of blocking in even seemingly "simple" running plays on IE. Blocking almost always requires other players than just the OLine to function to get the job done. It also requires the RB to find the hole (often two gaps, or more, away from the design when the defense has slanted, or worse, brought safeties down at the last moment.) I've seen plays stuffed against us where I would bet every lineman graded out well, but either the complementary players didn't do their parts correctly, or the opponent had 8+ in the box, or called the exact worst blitz.

Lastly, even if you're Q, if the opponent submarines you at the snap, and "creates a pile", you are NOT going to get "push" at that exact point. Generally, "creating a pile" is what the OLine likes to do anyway, then depending on TEs and the "extra" OLineman to block LBs, and the RB to easily see a gap at the edge of the pile. That usually doesn't work against "8-in-the-box." (unless the RB is outstandingly quick at reading and/or zipping wider.)
 

Old Man Mike

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And, as to our defense: we haven't given up more than 20 points in any game (admittedly Darnold might change that). With a typical Kelly offense operated in good weather by a polished QB, we win every game comfortably with that level of play.

DBacks are ALWAYS going to get beat sometime during a game given the style and the rules of modern football.
 

Dizzyphil

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And, as to our defense: we haven't given up more than 20 points in any game (admittedly Darnold might change that). With a typical Kelly offense operated in good weather by a polished QB, we win every game comfortably with that level of play.

DBacks are ALWAYS going to get beat sometime during a game given the style and the rules of modern football.

something I believe being overlooked too is the fact that the Irish have only given up 1 rushing TD so far this year. That is pretty impressive.
 

STLDomer

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I believe teams either take over the attitude of their coach or captains. Elko it sounds like LETS players like Tranquill be who they are. Therefore this defense I believe really plays under his attitude. Thus, the toughness and success against the run, turnovers etc., and why Tranquill is my MVP.
 

IrishLion

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My thoughts/feelings have been echoed by various posters and their grades.

The only thing I haven't seen that I would note:

Chip Long, Offensive Coordinator: C

I wanted to give him a C+ or a B-, but playcalling was a big reason for not winning the UGA game, and it was also an issue in the first half of BC and the second half of UNC.

Like LAX mentioned, the MSU game was a lot better, and probably previews how the team approaches the "big" opponents the rest of the way: Remain faithful to the run, give Wimbush chances to attack vertically, keep the defense honest with well-timed screens. They didn't poke-and-prod enough against UGA. Their gameplan against MSU showed a better understanding of the flow of the game, evidenced by Long's playcalling.

If that's how it goes the rest of the way, his grade goes way up.
 

Irish YJ

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I believe teams either take over the attitude of their coach or captains. Elko it sounds like LETS players like Tranquill be who they are. Therefore this defense I believe really plays under his attitude. Thus, the toughness and success against the run, turnovers etc., and why Tranquill is my MVP.

^this 1000%
I think we've suffered the last two DC (defense) regimes not letting players be who they are and playing to their strengths.
 
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