Chris "Belt To" Ash - Defensive Coordinator

[IrishLax]

Bowen’s great against the run and a fine blitzer but such a liability in pass coverage. There’s got to be a middle ground there. Maybe it’s Asa with Faraimo or Sneed playing more in his spot. On 50-50 run/pass situations.

Yeah, this is one of the biggest issues that a lot of people called out about the end of the A&M game. He shouldn't even be on the field in that 4th and 11 situation if you're asking him to cover mono-a-mono.

 

[IRISHDODGER]

Arkansas entered the game one of the top rated offenses in the country

You even predicted them to score more than Purdue

I’ll happily plead guilty to that. This is one game I wanted ND to win. I 100% predicted they would score more than Purdue. I said Green was the most dangerous QB Arkansas would face. I praised their top ranked offense. And I’d do it all over again in irrational fashion to get today’s outcome. My phone would have exploded today from all my Arkansas buddies & relatives who love the Hogs & hate ND…instead it was blissfully silent.

 

[Rockin’Irish]

I’ll happily plead guilty to that. This is one game I wanted ND to win. I 100% predicted they would score more than Purdue. I said Green was the most dangerous QB Arkansas would face. I praised their top ranked offense. And I’d do it all over again in irrational fashion to get today’s outcome. My phone would have exploded today from all my Arkansas buddies & relatives who love the Hogs & hate ND…instead it was blissfully silent.

Using reverse psychology…….nice!

 

[IRISHDODGER]

Using reverse psychology…….nice!

I learn from the best…Coach Holtz

 

[Mavericknyc1980]

Why is the pass rush so bad

 

[IRISHDODGER]

Sat behind ND bench today. Noticed Ash rarely came to talk to his D when they came off the field & sat together to discuss play. TO BE CLEAR, I’m not saying that’s good or bad b/c I have no insight into gameday coaching. It looked like a GA was always with them and other coaches would chime in. I did see Ash come over to Botehlo when he failed to set the edge on that long run by Green on the RPO but it looked like he was just coaching him up & encouraging him.

 

[AKRowdy]

Is it because Freeman and company have taken away the play calling and now he’s just a place holder? Any insiders want to give us some info?

 

[thekid33]

The thread title just made me laugh my ass off.

 

[IRISHDODGER]

 

[IRISHDODGER]

 

[ulukinatme]

2nd half was better. Our DL/Front 7 are still getting pushed around. We need to be more dominant in the trenches and get a regular pash rush. The DBs won't have to be covering guys for 10 seconds then.

 

[stlnd01]

Yeah. It got ugly in the second quarter, but before it got ugly Arkansas wasted a few opportunities with inaccurate throws and open guys dropping passes. If those go different, the game might have gone different.
That said, DBs played a lot better yesterday. Tae is the future at safety. Golden and Zackery played well. Nice to have Smith back at nickel.

 

[The Backer]

That’s primary goal of the split safety defense — force 10+ play drives. Very rare for an offense to be able to do that consistently. Petrino’s system is designed for quick strike scores and lots of chunk plays. Defense did a good job yesterday keeping those off the board.

 

[notredomer23]

Goolsby is right here but it was absolutely better, against supposedly the top offense they were going to face the rest of the way. Devonta Smith and Tae Johnson are worlds better than what was out there in the first half against A&M.

Just need to get Moore back as timely as possible.

 

[IrishWayDomer]

Washington needs to find a way to get something out of Bryce Young. He seems a bit lost, has no rush speed and not winning with strength. Just kind of standing there and getting blocked by a single guy. His sack last week was a product of a rare moment of brilliance from Ash, anyone would have made that sack.

 

[Irish#1]

It was an improvement but need to continue to grow. Gave up too many chunk plays and they helped with some drops. D line is still struggling. Ash may be getting a better feel for his players. It looked to me like MF may have been more involved.

 

[Ophiocordyceps]

Is it because Freeman and company have taken away the play calling and now he’s just a place holder? Any insiders want to give us some info?

Is Ash a cardboard cut-out DC? This might be the second most important question after Epstein.

 

[stlnd01]

Washington needs to find a way to get something out of Bryce Young. He seems a bit lost, has no rush speed and not winning with strength. Just kind of standing there and getting blocked by a single guy. His sack last week was a product of a rare moment of brilliance from Ash, anyone would have made that sack.

Did he bulk up and slow down? Because he feels like a rather different player than he did last year.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

The defense isn't fixed. It took a big step forward, though. They gave a historical curb stomping to an SEC team on the road. We can enjoy it. Mike Goolsby should enjoy it too.

They play a couple of pretty good teams next and then will have to face a USC team that can throw the ball. They have a guy who is probably one of the best receivers in America at the moment. At this point, though, they should be favored in every game for the rest of the way and have an offense that isn't facing any world beater defenses as we sit here going into October.

There are programs in worse positions at the moment.

 

[Dale]

 

[Irish#1]

Simplified things. Pretty much confirms Ash was reading out of the BVG playbook the first three games.

 

[IrishLax]

Should I change the title to "Chris Ash - Shows up to Work"?

 

[NDPhilly]

Should I change the title to "Chris Ash - Shows up to Work"?

May be reading too much into it but theres A lot of him vs me instead of “we” in this quote. Pointing the finger without pointing the finger.

 

[Huntr]

Should I change the title to "Chris Ash - Shows up to Work"?

Chris Ash - Punctual

 

[IrishLax]

May be reading too much into it but theres A lot of him vs me instead of “we” in this quote. Pointing the finger without pointing the finger.

I read this quote -- combined with all of the other quotes pre-Arkansas -- as:
-Freeman had a "come to Jesus" meeting post-Purdue with the defensive coaches. One would assume that it got heated or contentious on some levels.
-Ash either actually showed leadership and accountability, and you can take his quote at face value. Basically saying "he's a professional, he understands that he is accountable for how that side of the ball performs." Or...
-...Freeman emphasized the need for ownership/accountability, and is speaking it into existence here.

Freeman gave Golden tons of leeway and autonomy and it's very possible that his biggest "mistake" was extending the same courtesy to Ash. And now he's saying-it-without-saying-it that he inserted himself about how he wants things done moving forward and he expects Ash to walk that line. No info here on my end, just speculation. I think after the season wraps there will be a lot of leaks on the dynamics of that situation and what went wrong on that side of the ball.

What is crazy is that ND started the season playing the #7, #12, and #22 offenses per SP+. There was no soft "figure it out" period.

 

[PolishDomer]

Chris Ash - Punctual

Chris Ass-One Game Wonder

 

[StPaul_Irish]

Should I change the title to "Chris Ash - Shows up to Work"?

Chris Ash - ready to get his hands dirty

 

[ulukinatme]

Chris Ash - VanGorder Protege

 

[Dale]

Weekly don’t yell at me it’s just a chart use it how you want post

 

[PolishDomer]