DB's

[tmacirish]

What do you guys think about Darren Walls, and Raeshon McNeil playing this year? or starting?

 

[tommy]

i think with the way the secondary played last year it wouldnt take much of a showing by either walls or mcneil to get playing time starting i dont know but they both should be very good

 

[jiggafini19]

http://www.irishenvy.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8152

 

[rontdtarchala]

without a doubt both will get playing time, there is too much talent for them not too.

 

[Handlebars]

We'll need the depth

We'll need the depth

If we are going to get by a 12 game sked, we will need to give McNeil and Walls PT this yr. Besides, we lose both Wooden and Richardson next yr, and I believe it is imperitive that we are able to field players next yr who have some PT under their belts. This goes for the O-line, WR, and D-line as well.

 

[Fighting_Irish9]

Wooden can return for a 5th year.

Also you guys are forgetting about Lambert and Ferrine (both rSo next year), Lambert had a great spring and played well last year coming off an injury that slowed down his developement.

Walls and McNeil will be great in the future, but its unlikey they get much more than garbage time and Special teams play next year barring an injury from a starter

 

[tmacirish]

FI, whats going on man? you still post on the espn boards at all? i kinda hope they get some playing time, whether it just be for expierence or whatever. weis did say that the best will play. howre they doin in preseason practices?

 

[Indydomer]

I think walls and mcneil will play some, but watch out for Lambert. I have been calling for him to have a good year since last year. He will be the nickel back. Maybe one of the two can beat out ferine for the dime spot but I dought it. Ferine got a bunch of exp. last year.

 

[Fighting_Irish9]

FI, whats going on man? you still post on the espn boards at all? i kinda hope they get some playing time, whether it just be for expierence or whatever. weis did say that the best will play. howre they doin in preseason practices?

On occasion..

Yes the best will play, and Walls and McNeil aren't going to be the best next year.

Even if they are close in athletic ability, they don't have the understanding of the game that Wooden, Richardson and Lambert have. Not to mention Ferrine played alright last year and got some experience.

As was just mentioned, Lambert will likely break out this year, he was slowed last year with an injury and has just as much talent as the Walls, McNeil Duo not to mention the coaching staff was high on Lambert in the spring. Wooden played well last year and will likely improve.

Also, they are going to try and get Bruton on the field as often as possible which will limit some of the time Walls and McNeil can grab as a Nickel or Dime back

 

[knute]

Coming out of high school, it's unlikely that any freshman will have the strength and conditioning and knowledge of the game to beat-out quality guys that have been in the program for a while. This goes for the incoming DBs, TEs and every other position. It's not that it can't be done, it's just not a fair fight, really.

That said, I've got to believe that one or both Walls and McNeil will see some playing time on special teams and in the nickel or dime (especially in case of injury).

By next year, the advantage will be gone and I'd expect to see Walls and McNeil fight for the starting spots.

 

[knute]

Funny how the things we talk about are the same things that everyone else is talking about. Here's a recent free article on Rivals about the DBs titled: Is it speed or technique?

Someone said it to me the other day, which was a day after someone else had said it to me, “The problem with Notre Dame’s secondary is they don’t have enough speed. Look what Ohio State did to them!”
...
And yet, is it really a lack of speed, or is it the inability to execute one of the most difficult aspects of football on the highest level of intercollegiate football? I can see both sides.

There’s a lot of talk about Darrin Walls and Raeshon McNeil coming in and making an impact in the Irish secondary. They certainly have the athletic skills to do so.

But the odds of Walls and/or McNeil beating out either Richardson or Wooden are extremely high. (I think he means low) They may play because of injuries to the starters and the backups. But it’s very unlikely either will move ahead of Richardson and Wooden in 2006, especially in a season in which Notre Dame has a legitimate chance to win a national championship.

If neither Walls nor McNeil start a game in 2006, that doesn’t necessarily mean they weren’t as good as we thought they were. Chances are it will be because they simply haven’t mastered the technique or the complexities of the coverages coming from the high school level.

http://notredame.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=563808

 

[KMac151993]

So true, I have been saying that for many years, ND has the speed and the atheletes, what they lack is good technique.

 

[scooper]

Great post. I don't think fans comprehend the jump in competition and expectations to the level of execution that these kids face. They see 4 or 5 stars in front of a kid's name and put some unfair expectations on them of coming in as solve-it-all supermen. There are exceptions, but most freshmen are not ready from day one to come in and solve your problems.

 

[knute]

More on the DBs... Bluegraysky did a nice series of articles that broke down the 4 big plays that OSU made on us in the Fiesta Bowl. Here's what they had to say in conclusion about DB speed vs technique:

Speed in the secondary is only part of the problem. In these four plays there is only one example of a guy truly getting beat in a footrace -- Holmes outrunning Ndukwe on the play-action. We didn't see much of Richardson in these plays; on the Ginn bomb, Wooden never tried running step-for-step with him, so that doesn't tell us much about our backfield wheels. Although he didn't make any tackles, Zibby showed great closing speed, and seemed at least as fast Holmes. Ndukwe is the only player you could point to as being a step slow, and right now he's shedding pounds like a wrestler trying to make his weight for the next match. Hopefully it'll pay off, and he'll be a few steps quicker this year.

Read and react. Apart from physical issues, we made some grievous mental mistakes: we blew the coverage on the bomb, we were suckered by the play-action, we didn't identify nor contain on the reverse, we didn't fill the gap on the Pittman run. Weis cited miscommunication on defense as a big problem last year, and it appeared there was plenty of confusion in the bowl game. Unfortunately this goes to coaching and preparation as much as anything else; it's a little disappointing to see this in the twelfth game of the season.

http://bluegraysky.blogspot.com/2006_07_01_bluegraysky_archive.html#115291909500156120

 

[lattedatte]

OK, I might make some people sad with this post but I'm not big on Walls... I saw this kid play probably 10(live and TV) times in his high school career since I live in the 'burgh. His junior year was pretty damn good but not great becuase most of his big plays came against the weaker teams in his divison. His senior year I'm willing to throw out becuase of the shoulder injury but he got burnt in the Penn Hills game and WPIAL championship game real bad. He's fast, real fast and was able to make up for looking in the backfield a lot because of that speed. I think that taught him bad habits that need corrected at the college level. What I do like is this kid is just a good kid from a great family, you will not here about this kid getting in any trouble. And he's from western PA so he should be tough(of course I'm biased). He needs coached and might turn out pretty good in the long run. But I'd be suprised if he's a major contributor next year note neither was Todd Light his freshman year. I have a sample size of one game for McNeil, the Army Bowl, were he played against the best and beat the best. I hope he gets a chance right away becuase last year just will not cut it. Just my thoughts guys and I know that is contrary to almost every recruiting service out there but I call 'em as I see 'em.

 

[BGIF]

OK, I might make some people sad with this post but I'm not big on Walls... But I'd be suprised if he's a major contributor next year note neither was Todd Light his freshman year. ... I call 'em as I see 'em.

Either you didn't get to see Tood Lyght's freshman year or you figure a player has to make All-American to be a major contributor.

Lyght came to ND as a WR but made the switch to DB with immediate impact. He was second string CB as a freshman earning a letter with more PT than any other freshman.

He had 29 tackles, caused a fumble, broke up a couple of passes and had an INT as a freshman. By comparison as a Soph Starter in '88, he had 36 tackles and broke up 9 passes. 29 tackles as a freshman backup compared with 36 as a fulltime starter sounds like a major contribution.

If any ND backup CB plays as well as Lyght did as a freshman, ND will likely have an undefeated season.

 

[lattedatte]

Either you didn't get to see Tood Lyght's freshman year or you figure a player has to make All-American to be a major contributor.

I'm just saying that don't rely on Walls(especially) or McNeil to come in and fix the secondary problems. Plus, I'm going to go off a little here, becuase I'm sick of people putting all the blame on the DB's. The best ways to fix one on the worst pass defenses in the country is to get pressure on the QB's. Our "All-American" DE needs to step up and not just on the last drive of the game against Stanford. Abiamiri disappeared in so many huge situations last year. If you let D1 QB's sit back and survey the situation most will make you pay. I put the blame more on the front 4. Look at what happend when the Colts faced pressure last year (and in past years) against San Diego and the Steelers. As a defender you automatically at a disadvantage becuase the offense knows where they are going pre-snap. You need to disrupt this by putting heat on the QB's. I don't care if we had Ty Law, Deion, Rod Woodson and Polamalu as our secondary.