2019 Blue-Gold Game

[Polish Leppy 22]

A whole lot can change between now and September, but...

1) Book and the offense will put up numbers and they will need to

2) Oline, WR, TE, and RB will all be better than 2018

3) ND doesn't have a solid Mike LB

4) D line will be fun to watch

5) If ND needs to rely on either kicker to win a close one, there will be trouble

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

Being at the game, even in warm ups the ball comes out of Phil's release awkwardly and the spin was inconsistent.

I definitely think it's way too early to worry too much about this. On my way home from the game, I shared the thought that NDC mentioned: the staff either needs to fix that motion quickly or stop toying with it altogether. I've seen his highlights, I watched several of his live games when he was in HS, and the dude could throw dimes all over the field at every level. What I saw Saturday was not the same QB. Also like the Kizer comparisons. Remember in the Spring game when he threw a hook route in the dirt barely beyond the LOS?

It's super early to be worrying about ST, but I'm nervous as all hell for the youngsters kicking the ball. Bramblett was wildly inconsistent and Doerer actually looked more comfortable than I anticipated, then dinged one off the post from mid 30's range.

I think our D is in for a better year than most think. The LBs will sort themselves out come fall camp, and we have outstanding playmakers at DB and DL to make up for the learning curve. Paul Moala impressed me on Saturday.

 

[IrishLion]

Being at the game, even in warm ups the ball comes out of Phil's release awkwardly and the spin was inconsistent.

I definitely think it's way too early to worry too much about this. On my way home from the game, I shared the thought that NDC mentioned: the staff either needs to fix that motion quickly or stop toying with it altogether. I've seen his highlights, I watched several of his live games when he was in HS, and the dude could throw dimes all over the field at every level. What I saw Saturday was not the same QB. Also like the Kizer comparisons. Remember in the Spring game when he threw a hook route in the dirt barely beyond the LOS?

It's super early to be worrying about ST, but I'm nervous as all hell for the youngsters kicking the ball. Bramblett was wildly inconsistent and Doerer actually looked more comfortable than I anticipated, then dinged one off the post from mid 30's range.

I think our D is in for a better year than most think. The LBs will sort themselves out come fall camp, and we have outstanding playmakers at DB and DL to make up for the learning curve. Paul Moala impressed me on Saturday.

Watching him throw in the stadium, it almost seemed like a tremendous effort for him to put the necessary arm strength on throws whenever he was passing the ball, regardless of what level of the field he was targeting.

There were a few throws to the sidelines where he was putting air under it to get the ball out there, there were a couple where WR's were waiting for the ball to arrive, and there were several throws where he was trying to put the ball down field over the WR's shoulders, but couldn't push it out there.

I know from his film that he's got all the arm strength he needs, so it was concerning to see him struggle not just with the processing, but also to see the ball dying in the air so often.

Maybe it's all attributed to the disruption in his rhythm because of how poor the second OL played, though. He had been getting near rave reviews about his deep ball after almost every practice.

 

[matman4593]

It was insanely windy at the spring game which obviously affected some of the deep throws.

 

[stlnd01]

Finally caught up with the game. A few thoughts.

The reviews on Phil had been so bad I thought he'd be terrible. He wasn't. Made some nice plays, and half those sacks probably wouldn't have been sacks in live action. That said, he certainly missed some reads and threw some bad balls. Anyone who thought he'd seriously challenge Book must've believed that line about Phil being better than Trevor Lawrence. But long-term, I wouldn't be worried.

I feel a lot better about RB depth today. Jahmir Smith was a pleasant surprise, and Kyren Williams looks ready to play. Thick dude.

I prefer to see the poor play of the second-team OL as a reflection on the high quality of the second-team DL. Which is good, because those backup D Linemen are going to play a lot more than the backup O Line. That's what I'll tell myself anyway. (Seriously though, I think quality depth is far more important on the D Line, and those O Linemen are mostly just young.)

I don't know what to make of all the linebackers. Nice to see JGH get a lot of reps in there after hardly hearing his name all spring. The broadcasters said something interesting, about how last year they schemed to drive runs inside because Coney and Tranquil were such solid tacklers, while this year they'll scheme to push runs outside because we have so much speed. I'm not sure what that looks like in practice (or if I like the idea), but I'd like to hear more about it.

Jalen Elliott is a ballplayer. That play where he disrupted the play in the backfield and then ran 20 yards downfield to strip a fumble. Damn. With him and Gilman I'm not sure the last time we had such good safeties. A little worried about depth though (DJ Brown was meh and Allen only a little better), and depth at corner too. Houston Griffith better be the real deal.

Anyway, I came away thinking we'll score a lot of points. We have more weapons than plays to spread around, and I think Book will put together one of the better seasons an ND QB has had under Kelly. A lot of questions on the defense, but a fair bit of talent to try and answer them with.

 

[Old Man Mike]

Watched the first half again with the pause-step-pause-step-pause method of concentrating on the OLine play. Everyone has their individual methods of assessing things of course, so mine will be disputed BUT

I thought the line looked REALLY good --- even, surprisingly to me, the second team line.

On almost every play there was a "reasonable" pocket lasting for a sufficient length of time that a QB with good field awareness and pocket confidence could find a pretty good option. Again, even with the second string line --- the middle of that line (Gibbons, Lugg at center, and Dirksen) looked pretty stout at initial stoning of the DLine rush. The play where Kristofic got knocked down and Jurkovec fell over him did happen, but Phil didn't have to back up on that play in order to deliver a ball --- so even that "embarrassment" wasn't necessary.

AND a GLORIOUS second revelation while stop/start watching: almost ALL the RBs are really intent on looking for the soft places in the blocking cup and avidly throwing themselves ACCURATELY in there to block!!! Praise the Lord!! Where did THAT come from? The D had to try tricks to get any purchase on moving the interior line of scrimmage on passes.

On the one hand, re-watching all of that paradoxically showed me that with one bad behavioral exception, Phil's readiness isn't that bad. The exception is his poor pocket presence and wanting to drop WAY WAY too deeply. Had he trusted his pocket (first OR second teams) almost none of those "sacks " would have occurred (how many times were our poor tackles doing exactly what they are coached to do when facing an insanely good first step by a DE, and pushing as hard as they can to put the DE too far behind the pocket to get to the QB, only to find that Phil was so deep that they led the DE right where he wanted to go?

As to running plays: this is going to be better in the bread-and-butter way of ramming forward and grinding yards. The reason? The line will do its not-so-pretty job on these plays and THIS YEAR we have backs who are willing to hit the called gap hard and on time. VERY encouraged by that.

 

[irishtrain]

A whole lot can change between now and September, but...

1) Book and the offense will put up numbers and they will need to

2) Oline, WR, TE, and RB will all be better than 2018

3) ND doesn't have a solid Mike LB

4) D line will be fun to watch

5) If ND needs to rely on either kicker to win a close one, there will be trouble

I was there and have 2 comments as I love going to this scrimmage-1 they need to let jurkovich go back to his comfortable and for his anatomy original throwing motion because what I saw from that game was bad for the kid ( I felt sorry for the guy the throws were that bad ) 2 everything above is spot on all 5 points are on the$$$$ if nobody gets hurt 9-3 with good bowl game-Book looked like a man playing with boys Also one thought is the college football larger than a high school football because I know that's an issue going from college to the NFL.

 

[IrishFaninTX]

I was there and have 2 comments as I love going to this scrimmage-1 they need to let jurkovich go back to his comfortable and for his anatomy original throwing motion because what I saw from that game was bad for the kid ( I felt sorry for the guy the throws were that bad ) 2 everything above is spot on all 5 points are on the$$$$ if nobody gets hurt 9-3 with good bowl game-Book looked like a man playing with boys Also one thought is the college football larger than a high school football because I know that's an issue going from college to the NFL.

I may be in the minority but I feel if everyone stays healthy and eligible, 11 wins should be the floor. The only position I'm even remotely worried about is LB. I think CB will be fine come September and the only other position I had concerns for was RB but I think they are going to be good. Georgia is the one team that worries me. I realize we could stumble against a team we shouldn't but I don't see a team on paper who will be better at 7 position groups. I included TE with WR, DE and DT together, and all DB's. ST might be a problem, though.

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

I may be in the minority but I feel if everyone stays healthy and eligible, 11 wins should be the floor. The only position I'm even remotely worried about is LB. I think CB will be fine come September and the only other position I had concerns for was RB but I think they are going to be good. Georgia is the one team that worries me. I realize we could stumble against a team we shouldn't but I don't see a team on paper who will be better at 7 position groups. I included TE with WR, DE and DT together, and all DB's. ST might be a problem, though.

Spot on, as I read his post and how optimistic he was, i was surprised he went with 9-3, lol. Otherwise I agree.

UGA is a pure toss up even if we roll in to Athens with our 100% A-game, which we will absolutely need to. Anyone who expects a W out of Athens is an extreme optimist. We can all hope, but I'm tampering my expectations big time for an undefeated regular season repeat.

To further your point, @ scUM will be tough but it is certainly winnable, and @ Stanford has been BK's Achilles heel. If we stay healthy, and this offense is as good as we think it can be with a defense that will more than likely improve (especially at LB) as the season goes on, anything less than 9 reg. season wins would be extremely disappointing. 9.5 seems like a good O/U mark for the boys this fall.

 

[Veritate Duce Progredi]

I may be in the minority but I feel if everyone stays healthy and eligible, 11 wins should be the floor. The only position I'm even remotely worried about is LB. I think CB will be fine come September and the only other position I had concerns for was RB but I think they are going to be good. Georgia is the one team that worries me. I realize we could stumble against a team we shouldn't but I don't see a team on paper who will be better at 7 position groups. I included TE with WR, DE and DT together, and all DB's. ST might be a problem, though.

You're definitely in the minority but that doesn't make you wrong. With the concerns over LB and CB and the need for our iDL to stay healthy, I'm closer to a floor of 8 than 11.

We had an incredible defense last year and our ST was very reliable. We don't know what we have. It's not as simple as evaluating drop off/gain at individual positions. It's a game of 11 men on the field at one time and we don't know how our new 11 on defense will fare. I know we'll sub in but let's keep the numbers simple.

We have some depth but we really need good health and a potent offense to alleviate some of those concerns.

I'll always be cautious because I've drown in my kool-aid one too many times.

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

You're definitely in the minority but that doesn't make you wrong. With the concerns over LB and CB and the need for our iDL to stay healthy, I'm closer to a floor of 8 than 11.

We had an incredible defense last year and our ST was very reliable. We don't know what we have. It's not as simple as evaluating drop off/gain at individual positions. It's a game of 11 men on the field at one time and we don't know how our new 11 on defense will fare. I know we'll sub in but let's keep the numbers simple.

We have some depth but we really need good health and a potent offense to alleviate some of those concerns.

I'll always be cautious because I've drown in my kool-aid one too many times.

I think that's fair. This has a feel of 2016 or 2017 to me. in '16, we replaced a lot of guys on the solid 2015 season, but had solid recruiting to feed the optimists. Reality check, we went 4-8.

2017, I don't think many ND fans knew what to expect. Still battered and bruised from 2016, but a LOT of change occurred for the better and we were all pleasantly surprised. Last year, ND fans were bullish for good reason and it paid off.

I'll take a wait and see approach as well, but a very favorable (7 games!) home schedule has me leaning towards optimism should we stay healthy this summer and during camp.

 

[Veritate Duce Progredi]

I think that's fair. This has a feel of 2016 or 2017 to me. in '16, we replaced a lot of guys on the solid 2015 season, but had solid recruiting to feed the optimists. Reality check, we went 4-8.

2017, I don't think many ND fans knew what to expect. Still battered and bruised from 2016, but a LOT of change occurred for the better and we were all pleasantly surprised. Last year, ND fans were bullish for good reason and it paid off.

I'll take a wait and see approach as well, but a very favorable (7 games!) home schedule has me leaning towards optimism should we stay healthy this summer and during camp.

The potential ace up our sleeve is Book. If he can consistently hit on ~70% of his passes and develops a few additional throws: seem, deep out, etc. then we could have a very fun season ahead of us.

But that requires our OL to take a step, and our RBs to be consistent and our young WRs to step up and our TEs to produce equal to their billing. Some people think Kmet could be an early departure if he has a monster year.

We never know what we have till the lights flick on and we take the field.

 

[IrishFaninTX]

You're definitely in the minority but that doesn't make you wrong. With the concerns over LB and CB and the need for our iDL to stay healthy, I'm closer to a floor of 8 than 11.

We had an incredible defense last year and our ST was very reliable. We don't know what we have. It's not as simple as evaluating drop off/gain at individual positions. It's a game of 11 men on the field at one time and we don't know how our new 11 on defense will fare. I know we'll sub in but let's keep the numbers simple.

We have some depth but we really need good health and a potent offense to alleviate some of those concerns.

I'll always be cautious because I've drown in my kool-aid one too many times.

The offense wasn't very good in 2016. Sure we had Kizer who was pretty good in 2015 but the OL wasn't too good, WR's were just okay, and TE was nonexistent. And the coaching sucked. We fired the DC mid season. I don't think this comes close to 2016. We had only just started recruiting well consistently but have now managed to fill holes at just about every position over the last few classes. I may end up wrong but I'll be shocked with more than 3 losses and expect 10 or more.

 

[stlnd01]

The one thing that makes me think of 2016 is how much experienced leadership we just lost. Especially on defense.

The culture among players in the program has been really good the last couple of years, and that goes a long way when things start to get tough (also in setting the tone all through the offseason). The lack of veteran leadership certainly seemed to hurt us in 2016.

We need a new crop of leaders to emerge among the players, and aside from Book and Gilman, maybe Kareem, it’s not clear yet who those guys are going to be. But, there’s lots of things that we don’t see. Hopefully those guys are there.

 

[IrishFaninTX]

The one thing that makes me think of 2016 is how much experienced leadership we just lost. Especially on defense.

The culture among players in the program has been really good the last couple of years, and that goes a long way when things start to get tough (also in setting the tone all through the offseason). The lack of veteran leadership certainly seemed to hurt us in 2016.

We need a new crop of leaders to emerge among the players, and aside from Book and Gilman, maybe Kareem, it’s not clear yet who those guys are going to be. But, there’s lots of things that we don’t see. Hopefully those guys are there.

True we did lose a lot of leadership but I think we have more returning than people might think. We have Gilman, Elliott, Okwara, Kareem, Pride, Hainsey, Book, Kmet, Claypool, Finke. Probably others, maybe along the Oline. I don't know if all of those guys have leadership qualities but they are all experienced players. Other than LB, there isn't a position that doesn't have at least one player who has been a starter for at least 2 years or at least provided a lot of minutes if they were not an outright starter for the full 2 years. But the LB have one of the best coaches in Lea so I'm not as worried as I probably should be.

I realize Book only has the 1 year but he did play some in 2017 and got valuable PT in the bowl game in 17. He's just a natural leader, something you want from your QB and not something we've had much of over the years.

 

[stlnd01]

True we did lose a lot of leadership but I think we have more returning than people might think. We have Gilman, Elliott, Okwara, Kareem, Pride, Hainsey, Book, Kmet, Claypool, Finke. Probably others, maybe along the Oline. I don't know if all of those guys have leadership qualities but they are all experienced players. Other than LB, there isn't a position that doesn't have at least one player who has been a starter for at least 2 years or at least provided a lot of minutes if they were not an outright starter for the full 2 years. But the LB have one of the best coaches in Lea so I'm not as worried as I probably should be.

I realize Book only has the 1 year but he did play some in 2017 and got valuable PT in the bowl game in 17. He's just a natural leader, something you want from your QB and not something we've had much of over the years.

Agree about Book. He seems to have that natural confidence and leadership you see in really good QBs. Also - unlike Kizer in 2016 - he's the clear QB1 and leader of the offense. No drama there. I, too, suspect other guys will emerge.

It's just that a bunch of guys who were essential parts of rebuilding the program after 2016 aren't there anymore, it's an open question who will take their place and that sort of leadership is not something we should take for granted.

 

[irishtrain]

Watching the spring scrimmage all I could think was how much Book reminds me of Montana in COLLEGE Joe didn't become Joe until he hit the pros but the air about Book is very similar, If they give this guy protection and execute around him he is going to light it up. Even the way he won the job and his journey is similar-the guy can play and he knows what he's doing. They need a running back to step up and the d-backs have to improve, if they do that watch out-I don't think they stand a chance against Ga but if they just play a close game they could win the rest of 'em. I'm sticking by 9-3 but-----------------

 

[Old Man Mike]

Conservative (ALWAYS BARRING CRITICAL INJURIES): 10-2, plus a bowl win. Book in Heisman conversation.

Kool-Aid Kid: 11-1, plus playoffs 1-1. Book in top three for Heisman.

All-The-Way-Fool: 12-0, plus playoffs 2-0. (What-the-He!l?) Book Wins. Okwara defensive Player of the Year, edging out Gilman.



"Public Persona Talk": "Well, if we stay healthy and the Defense gels we'll probably win 8 or 9 for sure, and maybe 10 or 11." How do you think you'll do against Michigan? "Oh, we'll beat them. They won't be able to match our points." With their defense? "Their defense is now playing Sundays not Saturdays."

 

[CanadalovesND]

Does anyone have a link for the full game replay?

I check daily on YouTube and reddit. Still nothing after two weeks.

Many appreciations and reps if someone can provide me a link.

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

The one thing that makes me think of 2016 is how much experienced leadership we just lost. Especially on defense.

The culture among players in the program has been really good the last couple of years, and that goes a long way when things start to get tough (also in setting the tone all through the offseason). The lack of veteran leadership certainly seemed to hurt us in 2016.

We need a new crop of leaders to emerge among the players, and aside from Book and Gilman, maybe Kareem, it’s not clear yet who those guys are going to be. But, there’s lots of things that we don’t see. Hopefully those guys are there.

I think Jalen Elliott is primed to be a vocal leader this year as well. The dude has improved his game so much and seems like a work horse. Troy Pride too for the young CBs, he seemed locked in during the Spring.

My dark horse is Kurt Hinish. He has a great work ethic and I really like his demeanor. I could see him keeping the DL in tow.

 

[CraigKrenzel]

Does anyone have a link for the full game replay?

I check daily on YouTube and reddit. Still nothing after two weeks.

Many appreciations and reps if someone can provide me a link.

I had the same problem -- last few years it seems like it would be posted to YouTube within the week. I only found it on NBC Sports here:

https://www.nbcsports.com/live/notre-dame#full-event-replays

Unfortunately this is only a 10-minute preview without your cable or satellite (or YouTube TV) credentials. Might be a way to disable that preview timeout, but I was able to use my father-in-law's cable TV login . . . :|

 

[BabyIrish]

I'm not worried about leadership at all. Gillman was already a vocal leader and by all accounts Jalen Elliot has been that way too. What's different from 2017 to is the staff is actually pro active in building leadership within the team through the SWAT Teams, etc.
I'd be shocked if we were not a 10+ win team this year.

 

[matman4593]

Three of the biggest issues in 2016 were:

1) our locker room was divided between Malik and Kizer and that lead to some serious issues
2) we had one of the most incompetent D-Coordinators who refused to morph his scheme to fit his personnel
3) we had relatively low NFL talent in the senior ranks. Only Kizer and Isaac Rochell were drafted that year.

I don't see any of those being issues this year. Book is clearly QB1 and there are no factions of the locker room pushing for Phil. We have a solid D Coordinator who has done a really good job morphing his scheme to fit the personnel. Finally, we have a lot of NFL talent that will head to the draft after this season who also happen to be very good leaders.

I see a 10-2 season with a loss at Athens and a win in Ann Arbor, but another sloppy loss somewhere along the way

 

[IrishLion]

2016 was a huge outlier. ND was the best team ever, based on S&P, to finish with a losing record.

Horribly-timed turnover luck and an abysmal start to the year on defense doomed the team, as did generally unfavorable bounces in one-score games.

They were an 8-4/9-3 team based on stats, but found a way to go 4-8.

This year's team projects to have a floor of 9 wins, which seems reasonable considering the lost production on defense and a schedule that could end up being tough if some teams have bounce-back seasons.

If Book continues to progress, they will beat the floor, because the offense will outscore some of the team's overall issues.

If Book suffers the ill-fated "Second-Year QB Under BK" slide, then 9 wins should be about right.

Anything less means the defense didn't improve over the campaign, and the OL didn't make any improvements. I don't see either of those things being on the table, considering Clark Lea is a capable teacher, and considering that Robert Hainsey will be healthy for a full season while Tommy K seems to have made some big-time personal improvements.

 

[snoopdog]

When I first saw the schedule, I thought it was unbelievably difficult...

But as time changes everything....it is basically a perfect schedule to get back to the playoff.

They visit Georgia which won't kill them if they lost close, but would be huge if they beat the dawgs at home.

Beating UM at the big house would be a huge boost and ending the season on the road at Stanford, addresses the lack of a conference championship to a small degree.

Biggest risks to the season are, a blow out loss at Georgia or a collapse the following week against Virginia at home.

 

[stlnd01]

When I first saw the schedule, I thought it was unbelievably difficult...

But as time changes everything....it is basically a perfect schedule to get back to the playoff.

They visit Georgia which won't kill them if they lost close, but would be huge if they beat the dawgs at home.

Beating UM at the big house would be a huge boost and ending the season on the road at Stanford, addresses the lack of a conference championship to a small degree.

Biggest risks to the season are, a blow out loss at Georgia or a collapse the following week against Virginia at home.

I think it will be very, very hard for us to make the playoffs with a loss to Georgia. It would be like 2017 again, where our best win is a loss, to another playoff contender. Add in the “no conference championship” noise and that’s hard to overcome. (Barring utter chaos in the Big 12, Big 10 and ACC).

That said, we just might win that game, which would be enormous. And either way, our schedule does set up quite favorably to have a good season. Right now Georgia’s the only team I wouldn’t favor us to beat.

 

[condoms SUCk]

I think it will be very, very hard for us to make the playoffs with a loss to Georgia. It would be like 2017 again, where our best win is a loss, to another playoff contender. Add in the “no conference championship” noise and that’s hard to overcome. (Barring utter chaos in the Big 12, Big 10 and ACC).

That said, we just might win that game, which would be enormous. And either way, our schedule does set up quite favorably to have a good season. Right now Georgia’s the only team I wouldn’t favor us to beat.

I want to hear how things go during summer camp in regards to the LB's and CB's. but getting UGA early may be great chance for us steal one down there. If this game was in Oct/Nov I wouldn't even entertain the idea of coming back from Athens with a win
I believe UGA is replacing some key parts on offense (haven't taken a hard look yet), but if we can score over 21 on them that may be enough.
Right now to me this game is only about a 30% win game, but if we get those questions on D sure'd up I'll feel much better.

 

[DONTH8]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAzkdHNtB6w

Replay for anyone that needs it.

 

[T-Boone]

Just watching the full game. Jurkovic was bad in the first half. They should have made him live, I bet he wouldnt have gotten hit and would have felt way more comfortable.

Edit: was NOT bad.

 

[CanadalovesND]

Just watching the full game. Jurkovic was bad in the first half. They should have made him live, I bet he wouldnt have gotten hit and would have felt way more comfortable.

I got an entirely different feel than you.

I thought he was actually pretty good. All things considering. He made a few nice throws, one or two of them they called a sack but he got the ball out in time. Probably would have taken a good hit if was live, though.

He did hang onto the ball too long. He didn’t climb the picket. He stared down his first option many times. To me that screams freshman quarterback. Which he is. He came to Notre Dame in June of last year. How much work did he really get in fall camp? What about during the season, did he ever practice and gets reps with the 2s? I feel there a lot of big picture questions us fans and analysts need to answer ourselves to formulate a thorough opinion of Phil Jurkovec.

This spring is his first time receiving a lot of reps. He has had a lot of information to take in. There is much he needs to learn and experience, and he will.

Yes, he was a highly rated QB prospect. But only 10% of those are the Trevor Lawrence, JT Daniels, Jake Fromm types that can step in right away and perform at a moderate to high level.

I have faith in Phil. If he is called into action, whether due to an injury to Book or a big scoreboard difference, I expect him to make some bad throws and bad reads. To grow, it helps to make a mistake first. But, I do believe he is capable of leading an offence. The efficiency of that offence however is yet to be known.