General team info

Some Irish Bloke · Aug 23, 2019

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GwCnDiF-_E

Mick Assaf is hilarious.

Irish YJ · Aug 23, 2019

Some Irish Bloke said:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GwCnDiF-_E

Mick Assaf is hilarious.

steel mill at 8, lol

<iframe width="600" height="400" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-GwCnDiF-_E" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Some Irish Bloke · Aug 23, 2019

Irish YJ said:
steel mill at 8, lol

<iframe width="600" height="400" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-GwCnDiF-_E" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

That, the "so...you're from San Jose" and the questions about the dips had me laughing pretty good

BobbyMac · Aug 23, 2019

Some Irish Bloke said:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GwCnDiF-_E

Mick Assaf is hilarious.

He is, this is good ish.

Wish he was as good at recruiting so his Pace teammates Andrew Thomas and Jamaree Salyer would've been Irish.

Alohi is my new #1 Uso. No video games and eats Cocoa Rice, which in my hood we called Quik Rice.

Here's episode #1

<iframe width="653" height="330" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NKByt4uYLQo" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

BobbyMac · Aug 23, 2019

Irish YJ said:
steel mill at 8, lol

Pittsburgh's soft. I was shop foreman in the boiler by 8. . . but that's Gary for ya.

Crazy Balki · Aug 23, 2019

IrishLion said:
Fellas, these are college fantasy football rankings lol.

Ian is better than many of the guys ahead of him, but he's not going to put up video game numbers like some of them do in their systems, and he doesn't have a schedule that is soft overall like other guys.

Costello is going to put up monster numbers passing the ball, probably, because that's what Stanford has to do now. Herbert is gonna put up video game numbers at Oregon because of the system. Ehlinger is going to throw deep TD's and score 1-yard rushing TD's all year against crap Big XII defenses. Those guys are more valuable in *College Fantasy Football* because of stats.

Ian will put up some nice stats this year, I'm sure, and hopefully ends up better than the 18th scoring QB... but with our defense and the way Long's offense seems to spread the wealth in the redzone, it's unlikely that he will outscore some of those guys in the top 10, regardless of how well the year goes for ND.

Offseason dude. Not much else to discuss as we depart the final agonizing month of the offseason.

I would agree with you that these rankings heavily favor stat padders like Herbert and Costello, so Book's lack of video game numbers would hurt them.

But that doesn't explain guys like Jake Fromm, Shea Patterson, Jalen Hurts, Khalil Tate, Joe Burrow, Brock Purdy, Bryce Perkins and Tyler Johnston. Book had stats just as good or better than pretty much all of them.

Then you have Justin Fields, who hasn't even taken a meaningful snap of college football, ahead of Book...what!?

Irish YJ · Aug 23, 2019

NDCrusader said:
Pittsburgh's soft. I was shop foreman in the boiler by 8. . . but that's Gary for ya.

at 8, I seriously worked summers at the city market stocking produce, making freezer runs, and sweeping floors.... at lunch, often hung with a wine-o named Curly who was a survivor of the Batton death march and had a goat stomach. Mom would give me a little extra so I could buy him a hot dog from the Jewish deli next door. Also worked at the poultry stand one year.

That's what my peeps called getting baby-sat where I come from.

IrishLion · Aug 23, 2019

Crazy Balki said:
Offseason dude. Not much else to discuss as we depart the final agonizing month of the offseason.

I would agree with you that these rankings heavily favor stat padders like Herbert and Costello, so Book's lack of video game numbers would hurt them.

But that doesn't explain guys like Jake Fromm, Shea Patterson, Jalen Hurts, Khalil Tate, Joe Burrow, Brock Purdy, Bryce Perkins and Tyler Johnston. Book had stats just as good or better than pretty much all of them.

Then you have Justin Fields, who hasn't even taken a meaningful snap of college football, ahead of Book...what!?

Ohio State's system is going to be really good for Fields as long as he isn't a total bust. It's a projection that he won't be a bust, basically.

I'm with you that Book generally doesn't get enough credit, though.

People that watch nationally, or don't watch ND often, aren't counting on increased numbers based on what they see on stat sheets. We know better, because we know how efficient he was over 9 games, and how good he looked at times.

BobbyMac · Aug 26, 2019

zelezo vlk · Aug 26, 2019

This is getting me too hyped

Veritate Duce Progredi · Aug 26, 2019

zelezo vlk said:
This is getting me too hyped

Agreed. Read that entire article, lots of things to be excited about.

Basically PFF has our safeties are a top 3 unit, our QB is a top 10, our DEs are graded as the best (that only includes Okwara, Kareem and Hayes) and they graded our OL as very good and expected to be better.

They didn't mention WR (which we are high on) and RB or LBs.

We know 1 of the 3 LBs looks to be a burgeoning star....

Hopefully we handle business against Louisville and get a lot of game experience for our roster.

Some Irish Bloke · Aug 26, 2019

Veritate Duce Progredi said:
Agreed. Read that entire article, lots of things to be excited about.

Basically PFF has our safeties are a top 3 unit, our QB is a top 10, our DEs are graded as the best (that only includes Okwara, Kareem and Hayes) and they graded our OL as very good and expected to be better.

They didn't mention WR (which we are high on) and RB or LBs.

We know 1 of the 3 LBs looks to be a burgeoning star....

Hopefully we handle business against Louisville and get a lot of game experience for our roster.

I'm gonna develop diabeetus from all of this Kool-Aid I'm drinking this morning.

What a read to start the week

Pops Freshenmeyer · Aug 26, 2019

zelezo vlk said:
This is getting me too hyped

Book should see more clean pockets this year with improved OL play and more reliable backfield blocking...

greyhammer90 · Aug 26, 2019

Can anyone explain why we're number 5 in their aggregigate and number 4 in their preseason poll? I know PFF is usually a pure stats site so I'm wondering what accounts for the difference where we jumped LSU in the preseason poll?

Pops Freshenmeyer · Aug 26, 2019

I did find this bit interesting:

As a first-year starter, Book bailed on the pocket far too often and had the most pressures allocated to himself among all college football quarterbacks (29 total). Out of those 29 pressures, 18 ended as a sack which was seven more than any other college quarterback. This type of instinct is as expected from a first-year college starter, and it has been proven that performance under pressure is unstable from year to year, so as a result, if Book trusts the pocket and his offensive line, good things will come.

Now that Book has more experience and first team reps than he did when he took the job last season I'm hopeful this is the kind of mistake he can cut down on.

Also, PFF strongly disagreed with FO's offensive line rankings:

The Irish O-line returns four of their five 2018 starters, and three of those ranked in the top-12 at their respective position in PFF grade among returning power five and independent lineman (left guard Aaron Banks, right guard Tommy Kraemer and right tackle Robert Hainsey). Whether it was a run play or a pass play, the Irish o-line excelled. When run-blocking, the Notre Dame o-line unit ranked 20th in PFF run-block grade and assisted on giving their backfield 2.5 yards before contact on designed run plays (22nd). As far as pass-blocking goes, Notre Dame’s line allowed a lowly 14.8% pressure rate (13th) and just six total sacks (ninth-fewest).

So what's the disconnect? On passing plays they apparently credit some pressures to the QB rather than allocating all pressures to the o line. But there's no denying ND had a pretty high stuff rate on run plays.

BobbyMac · Aug 26, 2019

greyhammer90 said:
Can anyone explain why we're number 5 in their aggregigate and number 4 in their preseason poll? I know PFF is usually a pure stats site so I'm wondering what accounts for the difference where we jumped LSU in the preseason poll?

One variable is each team's 2019 schedule.

Their stats are based on last year (team) and the career stats of the entire roster. Maybe in their eyes, ND's stat rating x '19 SOS moves ND up a spot vs LSU because LSU's SOS is higher?

Whiskeyjack · Aug 26, 2019

Pops Freshenmeyer · Aug 26, 2019

NDCrusader said:
One variable is each team's 2019 schedule.

Their stats are based on last year (team) and the career stats of the entire roster. Maybe in their eyes, ND's stat rating x '19 SOS moves ND up a spot vs LSU because LSU's SOS is higher?

My guess is that the aggregate is context neutral so all positions are given equal weight.

koonja · Aug 26, 2019

How good is Jalen Elliot?

BobbyMac · Aug 26, 2019

Pops Freshenmeyer said:
So what's the disconnect? On passing plays they apparently credit some pressures to the QB rather than allocating all pressures to the o line. But there's no denying ND had a pretty high stuff rate on run plays.

I've argued it's by design. I always thought HH/Long's philosophy was like a boxer's. Jab, Jab, look for an opening, set it up and go for the knockout. ND always seemed to set up big runs behind McG/Q with garbage calls designed to get teams shifted away from the left side where the back only had one LB/S to beat once he went through the MCG-Q tunnel.

BobbyMac · Aug 26, 2019

koonja said:
How good is Jalen Elliot?

As of last year, he's an excellent college safety and I'll say starting NFL safety in time. Either for the team that drafts him after some NFL development or for his second team in free agency.

koonja · Aug 26, 2019

NDCrusader said:
As of last year, he's an excellent college safety and I'll say starting NFL safety in time. Either for the team that drafts him after some NFL development or for his second team in free agency.

Ok. I'm not doubting him, but I just don't watch him enough to know.

Is he actually THAT good? Is he a NFL player? UDFA or drafted?

Or is he solid, which is markedly better than what we've had at safety in the past, and playing aside a great college safety in Gilman has made him look better than he actually is?

IrishLion · Aug 26, 2019

NDCrusader said:
I've argued it's by design. I always thought HH/Long's philosophy was like a boxer's. Jab, Jab, look for an opening, set it up and go for the knockout. ND always seemed to set up big runs behind McG/Q with garbage calls designed to get teams shifted away from the left side where the back only had one LB/S to beat once he went through the MCG-Q tunnel.

That's exactly it.

Long (and BK) haven't been taking the traditional approach to misdirection or play action... they'd rather use their 'setup' plays to lull the defense to sleep, and/or because they know running several ineffective stretch plays will eventually lead to Dexter Williams making a 97-yard house call against an over-aggressive defense when the safeties get accustomed to stretching to the sideline.

I think you could also attribute it to RB's that aren't great at knifing through the line and falling forward with their momentum to turn a 1-yard stuff into a 3-yard stumble. BK, Long and Taylor have all referenced the need for more broken tackles. Perhaps they include 'stopped by the scrum at the line' in their analysis of where they need to break through.

zelezo vlk · Aug 26, 2019

koonja said:
Ok. I'm not doubting him, but I just don't watch him enough to know.

Is he actually THAT good? Is he a NFL player? UDFA or drafted?

Or is he solid, which is markedly better than what we've had at safety in the past, and playing aside a great college safety in Gilman has made him look better than he actually is?

He's a very good safety and leader of the defense. He's got the size to be a draft pick and is finally bringing the production to get himself picked next May. Perhaps you can't recall atm, but I remember II and Jamie at ISD raving about how improved Jalen was by the end of last season.

IrishLion · Aug 26, 2019

koonja said:
Ok. I'm not doubting him, but I just don't watch him enough to know.

Is he actually THAT good? Is he a NFL player? UDFA or drafted?

Or is he solid, which is markedly better than what we've had at safety in the past, and playing aside a great college safety in Gilman has made him look better than he actually is?

Based on how he looked in coverage and as a tackler last year, I think he's an NFL player with another year of similar evidence.

He was in the right place at the right time in coverage a lot last year, and probably should have had more than his 4 INT's.

Gilman is regarded as the better safety, but I'd argue that Elliott looked a bit better in terms of playing coverage responsibilities consistently.

koonja · Aug 26, 2019

Good stuff - thanks guys. I'm really excited about this safety duo. Just couldn't personally recall if Jalen was "that good" or if he just was our most solid sefety in a while, and with Gilman being a stud it helped Elliot look better than he is.

IrishLion · Aug 26, 2019

koonja said:
Good stuff - thanks guys. I'm really excited about this safety duo. Just couldn't personally recall if Jalen was "that good" or if he just was our most solid sefety in a while, and with Gilman being a stud it helped Elliot look better than he is.

I think this is all actually true, but it doesn't mean that Elliott isn't also an NFL-caliber guy now.

Safety play was underwhelming until Elko and then Terry Joseph started developing these guys.

So Ellliott IS the most solid we've had in a bit, and he also looks better for playing next to another stud... but he also a really good safety regardless of context at this point. He tackles well in the open field, and he understands how to make a play on the football in a way that he didn't as a freshman or sophomore.

Old Man Mike · Aug 26, 2019

Gentlemen, because I'm obsessed with OLine play, all those re-runs I watched when plays broke down last season gave me an opinion about Ian Book and sacks --- here it is:

The article's gripe about Ian bailing out of the pocket too much is true and also untrue. These "bail-outs" almost always occurred because very early post-snap it looked as if Mustipher was going to cave and get pushed back into Ian's lap. Kraemer's side almost always looked more "unusual" than the left side, since DCs often didn't even challenge him on their rush base patterns --- Tommy would tend to swivel his head looking for work. Although that area was "safe", Ian might have noticed the confusion there and preferred to slide left anyway.

When Ian-of-the-extremely-quick-read would see this, his tendency was to take a further step back, but then fade slightly to his left. If Eichenberg was struggling with a good pass-rusher over there, one of two things might occur: A. The outside speed might get to Ian because of the step(s) back, or the inside spin or simple bull might get to him if he then stepped up (slightly) left.

In my opinion, neither Book nor Eichenberg were particularly at fault --- sure if ZMart were there Book might NEVER have been sacked, but we're talking human beings not demi-gods.

I believe that as the regular season played out, Book got cleverer in this situation, and instead trusted that Mustipher with help (Tommy often decided that this was where he was needed if Hainsey had it covered to his right) was not going to completely collapse the front center of the pocket. By residing there a bit longer, Eichenberg wasn't asked as much to do heroic things (Clemson doesn't count in this analysis for obvious DLine reasons.)

So ... Book bailing is almost the least of my concerns.

BabyIrish · Aug 26, 2019

koonja said:
Ok. I'm not doubting him, but I just don't watch him enough to know.

Is he actually THAT good? Is he a NFL player? UDFA or drafted?

Or is he solid, which is markedly better than what we've had at safety in the past, and playing aside a great college safety in Gilman has made him look better than he actually is?

I think we're going to look back and see that the '18 defense had 9-10 nfl draft picks on it (minus Bilal and Bonner). Just insane how good the development and talent has been the past couple of years.

Irish#1 · Aug 26, 2019

zelezo vlk said:
This is getting me too hyped

I'm feeling you.

General team info

Five foot nothin', a hundred and nothin'

Southsida

Five foot nothin', a hundred and nothin'

Staff & Stuff

Staff & Stuff

Site Assigned Optimist

Southsida

I am Beyonce, always.

Staff & Stuff

Well-known member

A man gotta have a code

Five foot nothin', a hundred and nothin'

Well-known member

the drunk piano player

Well-known member

Staff & Stuff

Mittens Margaritas Ante Porcos

Well-known member

koonja

Guest

Staff & Stuff

Staff & Stuff

koonja

Guest

I am Beyonce, always.

Well-known member

I am Beyonce, always.

koonja

Guest

I am Beyonce, always.

Fast as Lightning!

Marble Mouth

Livin' Your Dream!