Chris "Belt To" Ash - Defensive Coordinator

[NDPhilly]

ND would be tied for first in opponent adjusted defensive efficiency for the last 9 games of the season.

Wild.

 

[ozzman]

Terrible scheduling

ND would be tied for first in opponent adjusted defensive efficiency for the last 9 games of the season.

Wild.

Just unfortunate that we went into the season with a new DC and system. Those first 2.5 games were rough. Once it clicked, it's honestly one of the biggest turnarounds I've ever seen

 

[General Colon Bowel]

ND would be tied for first in opponent adjusted defensive efficiency for the last 9 games of the season.

Wild.

It's already an opponent adjusted stat, but feels worthwhile to call out the improvements came while playing 4 offenses in the OFEI top 28 (USC 2, Arky 15, NCST 26, Navy 28), 2 decent/mediocre offenses (Pitt, BC), and only two truly bad offenses (Syracuse and Stanford).

They weren't just feasting on bad competition.

 

[LifelongFan]

He should have done a better job this summer. All of the improvement ended up being meaningless.

 

[IA4irish]

The confusion on defense to start the season was mind boggling. No idea how they were able to turn it around on d. It may not be right but I will blame ash for not making the playoffs for a long time

 

[IrishLax]

He should have done a better job this summer. All of the improvement ended up being meaningless.

Played the wrong guys, didn't get buy in from veteran players and assistant coaches until there was already a 2 in the loss column. Not entirely on him, there is lots of blame to go around.

Sad this is will end up being a "waste" of maybe the most top tier competitive ND team in the modern era.

 

[Jimmy3Putt]

We take a step back in RB room next year, but are better everywhere else.
Today will lead to a season we haven't seen in over 30 years.
Freeman will PUNISH teams.

 

[LifelongFan]

We take a step back in RB room next year, but are better everywhere else.
Today will lead to a season we haven't seen in over 30 years.
Freeman will PUNISH teams.

This step back in the RB room is more of a massive leap back, big enough that the steps forward elsewhere may not cover it. Shit happens, and this team was good enough to win it all. No guarantee of anything going forward and thats why we can't have new coaches waste a spring and summer like Ash did.

 

[Jimmy3Putt]

This step back in the RB room is more of a massive leap back, big enough that the steps forward elsewhere may not cover it. Shit happens, and this team was good enough to win it all. No guarantee of anything going forward and thats why we can't have new coaches waste a spring and summer like Ash did.

I think the growth of CJ will cover any drop from losing Love. The RB room is still STACKED man.

 

[NDMatt91]

We take a step back in RB room next year, but are better everywhere else.
Today will lead to a season we haven't seen in over 30 years.
Freeman will PUNISH teams.

Better at WR is still TBD based on the portal. I think they need a #1 RB in the portal, too.

 

[LifelongFan]

I like Aneyas but Price isn't just good, he's great. And Love isn't just great, he's the best running back Notre Dame has ever had. The gap between elite to good is as big as anything.

 

[Jimmy3Putt]

Better at WR is still TBD based on the portal. I think they need a #1 RB in the portal, too.

What?
Cam/Micah = Fields
Healthy Greathouse > Pauling
Faison = Faison

 

[Jimmy3Putt]

I like Aneyas but Price isn't just good, he's great. And Love isn't just great, he's the best running back Notre Dame has ever had. The gap between elite to good is as big as anything.

Is Price for sure gone? he might be RB 1 next year still.

You must be young because as good as Love is, he isn't the greatest RB we've had.

 

[DomeFieldAdvantage]

I think the growth of CJ will cover any drop from losing Love. The RB room is still STACKED man.

Except if we don't get a no doubt, bona fide #1 RB, teams can more easily sell out to stop the pass. What has been killer the last two years is that the running game wasn't just a chain mover, but had tons of explosive plays. I don't see a RB on the roster that we can confidently say will keep that up right now.

Which, as an aside, is why I didn't like Seider's rotation. Yes, Love and Price are objectively better than everyone else, but at some point we needed to see what else we have because we are losing both of those guys and we don't have a portal window after spring to find someone else. We need to know what we have basically right now.

 

[Irish du Nord]

We take a step back in RB room next year, but are better everywhere else.
Today will lead to a season we haven't seen in over 30 years.
Freeman will PUNISH teams.

Fields will require replacement, OLine as well. I hope we can keep the defense intact.

 

[ulukinatme]

I like Aneyas but Price isn't just good, he's great. And Love isn't just great, he's the best running back Notre Dame has ever had. The gap between elite to good is as big as anything.

Price is more dangerous than Aneyas, but Aneyas is a far more complete back. Aneyas has shown he can break away too, just not as often. Aneyas is the everydown back that Price hasn't proved he can be.

 

[ReesusCrist]

Price is more dangerous than Aneyas, but Aneyas is a far more complete back. Aneyas has shown he can break away too, just not as often. Aneyas is the everydown back that Price hasn't proved he can be.

We have also had seasons with much more productive running games, even with much less talented backs. That's always correlated with a dominant OL, which I think we can have next year. Just keep Jagusah in bubble wrap in the Gug until fall camp.

 

[pumpdog20]

Price is damn good, but he doesn't really block for shit. Thats going to be an underappreciated aspect we'll miss from Love.

 

[Jimmy3Putt]

CJ is going to torch teams. Our backs will be creasing light boxes all year.

 

[NDFAN2008]

Better at WR is still TBD based on the portal. I think they need a #1 RB in the portal, too.

Hard pass on a RB transfer unless it’s a backup for Williams Williams is RB1

 

[IrishLax]

 

[Dale]

The staff as soon as real South Bend winter hit:

 

[GATTACA!]

The staff as soon as real South Bend winter hit:

 

[IrishinSyria]

not ideal but hell of a job keeping the team together until the portal closed

 

[IAIrish]

At least two of them went to the league so there isn't a recruiting angle to deal with. Probably true with Bullough for the most part since he's at msu and he's shopping in a different aisle now.

 

[BleedBlueGold]

I don't normally worry myself over losing positional coaches. It's the nature of the sport. But losing all of them in one off season, during a time in which ND is favored to win the natty....not gonna lie, I'm worried about coaching continuity and coming out slow again or having hiccups against better teams that normally didn't exist in seasons past, which cause issues that lead to unexpected losses or coming up short in the ultimate goal.

Anyone have any clean sheets available?

For the record, I'm not worried about the replacements. They could easily be upgrades in some situations. I'm more worried about continuity and continuing to be dominant on D.

 

[Jimmy3Putt]

The schedule is soft. Plenty of time to gel and come together.

 

[IrishLax]

I don't normally worry myself over losing positional coaches. It's the nature of the sport. But losing all of them in one off season, during a time in which ND is favored to win the natty....not gonna lie, I'm worried about coaching continuity and coming out slow again or having hiccups against better teams that normally didn't exist in seasons past, which cause issues that lead to unexpected losses or coming up short in the ultimate goal.

Anyone have any clean sheets available?

For the record, I'm not worried about the replacements. They could easily be upgrades in some situations. I'm more worried about continuity and continuing to be dominant on D.

Yeah I think we're going to learn a lot about Ash and Freeman this offseason. How do you replace an elite guy in Mickens and how do you maintain continuity / keep building with wholesale staff replacement?

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

Ash, Partridge and Valai all know each other. Lezynski is a smart guy. Freeman is overseeing it all.

The roster is full of coachable, smart kids. All of these guys, regardless of continuity, are good at what they do.

Do. Your. Job.

 

[rtrn2glory]

agreed. LB might be the position with most returning experience so just get someone in there that is going to fine tune technique and reading keys without making them think too much