2019 Louisville Post Game Thread

[RDU Irish]

Deep threat plays need time to develop - I don't see Book being reliable waiting for those plays.

 

[FightingIrishLover7]

On the LBs, they definitely improved throughout the game.

It's clear that they're inexperienced (relied on Tevon and Drue too much). Couple of thoughts:

1) As their snaps increase,. their production will grow (I see this as the group that impproves the most throughout the season, given their starting floor is so low).

2) I think this LB group will have one (small) advatange to prior years in the fact that legs may stay more fresh with our current rotation of LBs...I think a healhty rotation will help our legs out when Nov comes around

 

[Ndaccountant]

Deep threat plays need time to develop - I don't see Book being reliable waiting for those plays.

Book, Long, Kelly, whoever you want to name, have a blue print against them. What UL did last night was no different than what Clemson did, what USC did, what Pitt did, etc. Until the middle pressure is neutralized one way or another, the offense will be held back.

 

[Greenore]

my game highlight was the "surgical precision" opening drive.

My second favorite moment came in the live thread when somebody brought up their somewhat irrational fascination with Anna Kendrick... it was a great distraction and nice to see some positive comments. LOL!

Cheers and Go Irish!!

 

[Pops Freshenmeyer]

Book, Long, Kelly, whoever you want to name, have a blue print against them. What UL did last night was no different than what Clemson did, what USC did, what Pitt did, etc. Until the middle pressure is neutralized one way or another, the offense will be held back.

Yeah, and Patterson had some pretty rough moments out there. It’s an obvious target for DC’s.

 

[IrishLion]

On the LBs, they definitely improved throughout the game.

It's clear that they're inexperienced (relied on Tevon and Drue too much). Couple of thoughts:

1) As their snaps increase,. their production will grow (I see this as the group that impproves the most throughout the season, given their starting floor is so low).

2) I think this LB group will have one (small) advatange to prior years in the fact that legs may stay more fresh with our current rotation of LBs...I think a healhty rotation will help our legs out when Nov comes around

I think White and JOK need to stay on the field as much as possible, even though a rotation to keep fresh legs on the field would be ideal.

Both of those guys looked comfortable and instinctive after Lea started coaching and making adjustments... that type of improvement continues with repetition. And even with some big early swings-and-misses, I think those guys are definitely the answer at two of the three LB spots.

As for BUCK... idk what Lea should do, but I'm glad it's in his capable hands. Lamb as a nickel LB looks like a good answer, but someone between Bilal, Simon and JGH need to be more reliable as a base LB. Lea can't keep relying on heavy DL slants to get those guys into good position. It sounded good prior to the season as a way to use Bilal's athleticism, but it sort of hamstrings our DL and makes the backside wayyyy too susceptible to bootlegs and option/read plays.

Lack of film on Satterfield's offense didn't help, obviously, but Jawon Pass looked like a stud in the first quarter, and it was entirely based on giving him easy reads in open space against the movement of the front 7.

 

[IrishLax]

Book, Long, Kelly, whoever you want to name, have a blue print against them. What UL did last night was no different than what Clemson did, what USC did, what Pitt did, etc. Until the middle pressure is neutralized one way or another, the offense will be held back.

This is 100% accurate.

The issue is that teams are attacking the line of scrimmage and it does two things:
1) shooting gaps neutralizes running plays with pulling linemen
2) getting any pressure while Book stands there trying to execute play action causes him to tuck the ball

This is coupled with defenses trying to "sit" on the short routes because they assume Book won't have the time or vision or wherewithal or ability to throw deep. As long as Kelly/Long continue to predictably run an offense that everyone basically knows how to defend they're going to get the same results. The counter to this is quite obviously to spread everyone out and try to chuck it all over the yard without the play action, RPOs, etc... I don't know why they don't trust Book to do this. But it's crystal clear that last night's game plan did not involve them throwing deep.

 

[Southside Sully]

First game of the season. Nice to see some adjustments made on D after that atrocious first quarter. Good to see a lot of the young guys coming in and making plays, Hamilton, Keys, Tremble, Lamb, Bracy, Lacey etc. Will be some growing pains. Book looked a little flustered but I agree with BK first game of the season. Not really panicked. Keep foot on gas running the ball.

 

[ndbroski]

So I'm watching the condensed game and notice a lot of the ugly Book plays happen on the same plays when either RB's or TE's are completely missing their blocks. His inaccurate throws were concerning, but maybe his decisions to tuck and run weren't as preemptive and boneheaded as I initially saw.

 

[wizards8507]

Getting any pressure while Book stands there trying to execute play action causes him to tuck the ball.

Yup, and the fact that we had better athletes than Louisville masked how much of a problem this is. Book won't be able to outrun the Georgia linebackers to rip off big gains on broken pass plays.

 

[IrishLion]

Yup, and the fact that we had better athletes than Louisville masked how much of a problem this is. Book won't be able to outrun the Georgia linebackers to rip off big gains on broken pass plays.

And Claypool isn't going to be able to drag across the field and gain 40 yards on a shallow crosser.

They need more four-verts, tbh. Tremble down the seam would work to any of our pass catchers if Book figures out how to stand in the pocket and deliver. Keys III catching a 5-yard hitch and making a man miss is nice, but you need HIM running a cross or down the seam.

Hopefully they are just holding back on the offense prior to UGA, and while they wait to get Young and Kmet back.

 

[Irishize]

I get the "UGA gonna blast us" reaction but anyone buying scUM over ND needs their head examined. I kind of wish we played scUM before UGA - I think we will be a better team as the season progresses and already have high confidence in our ability to handle the skunkbears.

Agreed. I saw a Stewart Mandel tweet late last night saying he was reserving a spot in his top 10 for ND but decided to award it to Utah. A couple of replies noted that he should also keep scUM out of his top 10 as well w/ that logic b/c they couldn’t cover against a G5 team in the Big House. I’m sure recency bias and the fact ND was only game on TV made a bigger impact on him.

 

[FDNYIrish1]

First game of the season. A lot of new kids thrust into starting spots. I think they settled in and started to play better. Book wasn’t what I hoped last night but he will be fine. I felt like the third and shorts were a challenge to push UL around a bit and we failed too often. There’s plenty to work on from both a coaching perspective and obviously some tackling issues. I’m optimistic this can be corrected this week. Book missed some glaringly obvious reads and had happy feet too often. We shall see but I’ll always take a W

 

[InKellyWeTrust]

Not much to like except maybe the 1) running game, albeit against a much overmatched UL front seven and 2) the secondary, again against a poor poor passing offense.

We may be embarrassed in a couple road games this year. If it weren't for 5 turnovers, mostly unforced, we could have legitimately lost that game. It was actually closer than the final score suggests. Overall disappointed.

 

[wizards8507]

If it weren't for 5 turnovers, mostly unforced, we could have legitimately lost that game.

Wut?

 

[Riddickulous]

It's going to be frustrating watching the young LBs struggle in the early going, but I thought both guys showed a lot of potential. Drew White made some nice plays and could've had a few more if he hadn't whiffed on a few tackles.

Bilal on the other hand...

 

[BobbyMac]

Something that kept running through my mind last night is what I've been preaching for years. . . the importance of recruiting joystick - 10.7/100m - APB's. Chris Tyree would've had 300 APY against ND last night and THANK GOD ALMIGHTY Rondale left town for the Brohm Squad. If not for Ville's FL joysticks = Tutu and Hawkins, ND would have beat them by 35.

 

[EddytoNow]

Chris Finke has no business starting. He is a good option on third downs and certain sets when he is covered by a linebacker or a fourth string DB. He needs to be underestimated to be effective.

Finke is effective when he's in the slot. He's a short yardage possession receiver, who is most effective running a crossing pattern. He doesn't have the speed or leaping ability to play on the outside. We need one of the other wide-outs to step up and start, so Finke can alternate with Keys in the slot.

 

[dublinirish]

Bilal shouldn't have been let back in the game after his 1st quarter display. I can forgive JOK because he was starting his first game but Bilal was terrible

 

[nd_fan]

Marcia Brady

 

[koonja]

Rewatching and something good to report, man #57 Jay Ade gets penetration easily up the middle.

Would be surprised if he doesn't get more time against the pass.

 

[BeauBenken]

Rewatching and something good to report, man #57 Jay Ade gets penetration easily up the middle.

Would be surprised if he doesn't get more time against the pass.

Meant to mention him last night. I thought he looked good getting pressure.

However, I would also say that our D-line was getting exposed because they were so focused on creating pressure and shooting gaps, that they opened up holes for all of L'ville's zone running plays.

Most people only think of holes as being horizontal along the LOS, but they can be created vertically or through depth and lack of depth.

 

[beryirish]

Book broke the cheerleaders nose, just read on twitter lol

Marcia Brady

That was spot-on.

The funny thing is that the crowd was booing and Kirk/Chris thought it was because they wanted intentional grounding and it wasn't called. Preeeettttyyy sure it was because the crowd must have thought Book was some how aiming for her.

 

[StPaul_Irish]

Finke is effective when he's in the slot. He's a short yardage possession receiver, who is most effective running a crossing pattern. He doesn't have the speed or leaping ability to play on the outside. We need one of the other wide-outs to step up and start, so Finke can alternate with Keys in the slot.

*Cough* See ND V MICH 2018 *Cough*

 

[dublinirish]

That was spot-on.

The funny thing is that the crowd was booing and Kirk/Chris thought it was because they wanted intentional grounding and it wasn't called. Preeeettttyyy sure it was because the crowd must have thought Book was some how aiming for her.

she was tweeting after the game lol so she must be alright

 

[N_D_Fighting_Irish]

Really? You can't think of one athlete we should get in space? We're now a middling CFB team with no explosion?

Alright, I'll bite: Keys, Tremble, Claypool, Lenzy, (Austin should he return), Young (when he's healed), Kmet (when he's back).

Explosion is the apt word. Tremble, Young, Kmet are not explosive. By explosive, I mean a player's ability to make one cut or to break one tackle and take it to the distance. Currently no one in our roster possesses such a threat to opposing teams. Claypool hasn't exhibited the break away speed.

I haven't seen Keys or Lenzy play that much so I can't judge their abilities. I hope they are explosive and that the only reason they are not getting significant playing time is their inexperience.

 

[Crazy Balki]

Good:

- The interior DL was very impressive, particularly MTA. He was consistently getting in the backfield and disrupting plays. Hinish has shown he's taken the bigger role in stride. Jayson was also good. They played better than our veteran DE's

- Run blocking was on point. Hainsey and Kraemer especially were excellent overall. The line looks miles ahead of where they were last year.

- Tony Jones, welcome to the game young man. Jones isn't a threat to house a run, but he looks noticeably faster out of the backfield, which is what's important for his game. Also shoutout to Jahmir Smith. He ran with purpose last night.

- Tommy Tremble is essentially ND make-up for not getting Irv Smith Jr.

- Kyle Hamilton...just Kyle Hamilton.

Bad:

- Tackling was rough pretty much all game, but especially awful early on. They couldn't buy a run stop inside 5 yards. Linebackers especially were an issue. White, Owusu and Simon had their share. To give them credit, they did clean up a bit as the game went on.

- Ian Book. Wow, that is not how I envisioned this game would go for him at all. He was completely flustered by the blitz practically all game. The line held up well for him all game long and he still continued to unnecessarily bail out of the pocket. He had his TE's open practically all game and it took him until the 3rd quarter to find Tremble finally. His strength is his short/intermediate passing and instead of going quick to open things up a bit, he just bails out and tries to improv on the go. That'll work on occasion, but Book can't do that every other play. He has to trust his pocket more.

- Wide Receivers. As much as Book struggled, his receivers did him no favors this game. I get that Young is out, but Claypool was invisible until that big crossing route, and Finke? Was he even there? I think he had 1 catch all game and outside of that, probably wasn't targeted again outside of that.

- Asmar Bilal. I'm sure some of you were perplexed why I didn't include Bilal when referring to the bad tackling by linebackers. No it wasn't a mistake, he gets his own section. Sorry but Asmar just showed that he should not see the field at all this season outside of garbage time. He was HORRENDOUS, and that's putting it lightly. I don't think I've seen a LB with such an apparent lack of instincts and tackling ability. He effectively stuck to blockers like gorilla glue and flowed to the ball as fluently as a clogged toilet. People were fed up with him and White in the game. To me, White was decent after the first few drives (still too many missed tackles). He showed that he's got room to grow and knows where he's going. Keep in mind, that was White's first time getting legitimate action (no, Navy doesn't count, because he was inserted strictly to counter the triple option and was shelved swiftly after). Bilal has been frequently used at LB, and has yet to develop any sort of instinctual flow or ability to sift through the mess. Koon gets a lot of flak on here, but I'll give him this, he called it with Bilal. Experiment over, move on with White, Simon, JGH and Lamb.

 

[zelezo vlk]

- Asmar Bilal. I'm sure some of you were perplexed why I didn't include Bilal when referring to the bad tackling by linebackers. No it wasn't a mistake, he gets his own section. Sorry but Asmar just showed that he should not see the field at all this season outside of garbage time. He was HORRENDOUS, and that's putting it lightly. I don't think I've seen a LB with such an apparent lack of instincts and tackling ability. He effectively stuck to blockers like gorilla glue and flowed to the ball as fluently as a clogged toilet. People were fed up with him and White in the game. To me, White was decent after the first few drives (still too many missed tackles). He showed that he's got room to grow and knows where he's going. Keep in mind, that was White's first time getting legitimate action (no, Navy doesn't count, because he was inserted strictly to counter the triple option and was shelved swiftly after). Bilal has been frequently used at LB, and has yet to develop any sort of instinctual flow or ability to sift through the mess. Koon gets a lot of flak on here, but I'll give him this, he called it with Bilal. Experiment over, move on with White, Simon, JGH and Lamb.

Let's make one thing clear: Koon deserved his flak for saying that he could take on a D1 athlete in the Oklahoma drill.

 

[koonja]

Let's make one thing clear: Koon deserved his flak for saying that he could take on a D1 athlete in the Oklahoma drill.

I've never felt more confident Bilal would leave the Oklahoma drill SHOOK if he went against me. He probably just slowly falls forward with his head down and never gets a hand on me.

SHOOK.

 

[Rogue219]

I never felt like there was a point when ND wasn't in control of the game, even at 14-7. You could see the OL was dominating them and it was going to be a win provided they didn't shoot themselves in the foot multiple times.

They won't be able to run the ball like that on everyone, which concerns me. Ian Book looks like he is what he is. Doesn't have great physical gifts and can win some games, but he's not going to get you past Clemson and Alabama.