James Aldridge

irishtexan

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I think every linebacker in the NFL could catch Darius out of the backfield easy. He wont outrun or hit anyone. Sorry, I just watched the game again and I am pissed.......again.
 

donnie hoss

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blocking

blocking

Maybe we need a few new guards. I can't wait til the young guys are ready. Maybe Olsen would be a good start. Our line play is crap. I don't think Walker is a great runner but he does his job every week. Walker is the only RB that can handle the routes and blocking. I don't think we would be talking about this if our line was better. Aldridge will be a beast.
 
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weebs

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I think we need to befinitly show some speed and power , Aldridge looked awsom against Stanford with only 4 carries, cahangr it up a little bit so the D isn't keying on one guy.
 

scooper

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Yes, I see Darius in the NFL. I don't see him starting, but he is the prototypical NFL third down back. Great on draws. Good receiver. And blocks like a fullback. Will he ever be a feature back? No. But he has the tools to make a nice career for himself.
 
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A2McGowan

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Aldridge will be getting reps against the teams that line the schedule in the next four weeks. Weis wants to put the kid into a situation to succeed and before SC. He will be a factor in that game.
 
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weebs

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but not as astrar if he dosn't starthitting the holes faster, insteaded of waiting for them , the offence line is not helping
 

BestBIrish47

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D Walker vs Prince Aldridge

D Walker vs Prince Aldridge

I think all of us remember how big an impact Walker made early in his college career. He saved us from the Ryan Grant getting tripped up every 2 runs. A college running game needs to have some movement up front to succeed. I think we all can agree that our movement up front has been not consistant enough to take Walker out of a starting role. With that being said Walker isn't going to break the big one very many times, and I think the big play potential of Prince and Aldridge have all of us wondering what if. I do think that yards on first down is what our offense did so well with last year, and this year we can't seem to run it with consistant enough success on first down. Walker is a Great 3rd down back, and I think he will make a NFL roster as a RB. I don't see him carrying the ball 20 times a game in the NFL but he can be a Kevin Faulk style guy that gives you a change of pace at running back. We need to get him some rest during our games, and by doing that, we do need to develope a 2nd back in there. How valuable would it be to have Walker fresh in the 4th qtr so he can take over a game. I am not discounting Charlie at all, I know he knows way, way more than any of us about his team and x's and o's. We just want to see our Offense be able to line up for a 3rd and short, and not have to run Brady Quinn. This is Notre Dame we are talking about here, we need to be able to line up with the best in the country and get a 3rd and short more times than not on the ground. I am not saying that is has to be Aldridge or Prince, but we need someone to step up and give Darius a blow during the game. I did see our team slipping and sliding alot up front during some key runs, one in particular was Sullivan and McConnell leading for Dwalk and both basically throwing a no hitter. That is the difference in Dwalk getting 4yards, and 20 yards. One running back can't carry the entire load, the offense we run is far to demanding on the RB to be envolved critically in every phase of our attack. I have to believe that Charlie would be giving these guys more PT if he believed it would help us win. The days of second guessing our Offense are over ladies and gents, 3 years ago we lose the Michigan State game and the UCLA games because of poor game management. We miss Travis Thomas's power style this year, but he is far to banged up and valuable on our D to risk him going down again. Dwalk+movement up front= productive running game, we need to be more critical on our execution of our Offensive Line......that is impacting our offense way more than Dwalk.....Dwalk is an asset, our Oline right now is a liablility. I apoligize for spelling and punctuation in advance, I am typing this while leading a conference call!! GO IRISH!!!!
 

Seymore

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Offensive line problems are very clear. It's disturbing to see them regress after last season. Most of our OL has 40+ starts between them and yet, every game they look worse than before. Im sure UCLA having the #9 defense in the nation contributed to the fact, but it's disheartening to see them give up sacks' when being rushed by only 3 guys. Im no strength and conditioning coach, but I remember earlier pre-season, the guys commenting on how much weight the OL players had lost, and how much more physical they were gonna be. Are they to light now to push heavier D lineman out of the way? Are we making pass block and blitz pick-up and run blocking too complicated for the players to adjust ? I dont know, but something is wrong with the system right now more than ever. When do we start questioning Latina ?
 
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FleaFlicker

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James Aldrige looked great in those couple of plays last week. The hard thing to realize there though is that its the end of the game and you runnig against a dejected defense who isn't that good to begin with. Look at some of Svo's pictures. The holes hes running through are a mile wide. Plus you look at the fact hes coming off an injury. He needs to be eased back into the game.

I agree that those runs by Aldridge looked great. But let's give him more credit here.

I'm not contending that our O-Line has been great at either the pass or the rush. But you have to realize when comparing DW and Aldridge, that Aldridge will get the line before DW, typically. DW almost always takes an extra half second to get to the line of scrimmage. How long do those holes created by the O-line typically last? About a second.

How many times have we seen DW, get the ball from Brady, slow down, and try to find a hole? Aldridge would typically bust through there, making many of the no gains, or -1 yard, by DW, into 1-2-3 yards gains by pushing his way through there. Not to mention that the runs where he DOES have room, he wil break open.

DW hasn't had more than 1 or 2 runs for ~20 yards all season. THAT is why his YPC isn't that great. He has little breakaway ability. People that have great YPC averages get there typically because they are breaking long runs, not because every down, they rush for 6 yards.

DW just doesn't have that in his arsenal. I love him in many aspects of our game, just like everyone else. The ONE where I think he could do better is actually running the ball.

But here is the issue. If CW puts in Aldridge, in a typical Run formation, you KNOW he is going to run now. We can't just make DW the passing TB, because defense would obviously know what we are doing. But he IS the best OVERALL back that we have. So CW will keep him running the ball so defenses can be somewhat off-balance.

The issue is, DW doesn't punish the Defenses enough when they are playing more to defend the pass. So they don't have to respect the run threat enough. When they DO respect our run threat, it allows us to pass so much more efficiently.
 
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UNTITLEDPROJECT

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Wow. Im a hater now? Do you think before you post, or is a lab monkey controlling your keyboard. Its illogical for me to sit here and argue.

If I were to say 'Wooden doesnt have the skills to play on sunday', id be a hater, too!?

Wait. Dont answer that.
 
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Indydomer

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What Are You Guys Going To Do Next Year When Walker Is The Starter And Aldrige Prince And Whoever We Get This Year Are Still Backing Him Up. Look I Don't Think Walker Is A Great Back Myself. He Is Too Slow, But He Is The Best We Have. There Have Been A Ton Of Threads About This. Charlie Knows What The Hell He Is Doing Beleive Me. Walker Will Start Next Year To Block For The Young Qb, Whoever That Might Be, Unless One Of The New Kids Can Learn To Block.

The Ol Needs To Learn How To Freakin Block Too.
 
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UNTITLEDPROJECT

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Why do you make caps out of every first letter in every word? Its like youre writing book titles.
 

scooper

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Wow. Im a hater now? Do you think before you post, or is a lab monkey controlling your keyboard. Its illogical for me to sit here and argue.

If I were to say 'Wooden doesnt have the skills to play on sunday', id be a hater, too!?

Wait. Dont answer that.


I don't think you're a hater. The hateraid comment was a play on your koolaid comment. My assesment of Walker's fit in certain NFL offenses is based on what I perceive to be his strengths and his skill set. NOT on drinking any koolaid. Were I basing it on koolaid, I'd say he'll be a first round pick and start immediately while rushing for 1,400 yards a season.

I don't think that at all. But I do think with his vision, agility, blocking and receiving skills, he can make a living in the NFL as a third down back. He's great on draws (just re-watch the Fiesta Bowl) good as a receiver, and blocks as well as just about any college back I've seen. He can be a useful tool as a third back in the NFL.
 
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UNTITLEDPROJECT

Guest
I completely disagree about the NFL. I hope im wrong. I want the NFL stacked with domers. I just dont think he can keep up with needs for a pro back.


ANYWAYS, I get ultra defensive when someone calls me a hater. Im from the ESPN boards. An all-out-anything-goes-title-bout for respect. That board has to deal with Trolls, Jumpers, Haters, Racists, Pro-Ty, ANTI TY (far to many threads).Simply anarchy - I grew absolutely sick of it.

I love and respect our players, but I would never just pat someone on the back when they arent always doing their job.


LASTLY, why are people changing the topic? WHO SAID WALKER SHOULDNT START?
 

scooper

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I have never been to the wasteland that is the ESPN board. That's probably a good thing for my mental health.

As I stated. Not really calling you a hater. Just playing off the koolaid comment.

There are plenty of differing opinions on ND football here. That doesn't make any side "haters." The real haters here are pretty obvious. Such as that little douche from Illinois that's been hanging out in the recruiting forum.
 
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UNTITLEDPROJECT

Guest
I have never been to the wasteland that is the ESPN board. That's probably a good thing for my mental health.

As I stated. Not really calling you a hater. Just playing off the koolaid comment.

There are plenty of differing opinions on ND football here. That doesn't make any side "haters." The real haters here are pretty obvious. Such as that little douche from Illinois that's been hanging out in the recruiting forum.


HAHAHA, yeah. I swear if I see another 'Thats just another sign ND isnt getting Benn' I might just have to beat Svoboda with a broom handle to have em get rid of the kid.

Dont get me wrong, im immune to 90% of the idiotic trolling now on the ESPN boards. I just come to realize its a waste of time to actually hold a conversation, while chaos is unfolding. The Met board on there had to abdicate to the trolls and start a new. The new board isnt AS fancy as Svo, made this but, weve been living it up mostly troll free, since.


BTW, ESPN boards were very simple at first. I generally HATED boards with overwhelming pictures in sigs, huge avatars, and the like.
 

scooper

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BTW, ESPN boards were very simple at first. I generally HATED boards with overwhelming pictures in sigs, huge avatars, and the like.
Hey, it took me years to buy a cel phone and I've yet to get TIVO. I finally got high speed at home, and my PC died this weekend. I'm thinking of going back to a Fred Flinstone car and doing all of my communicating with a pad and paper.
 
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UNTITLEDPROJECT

Guest
Hey, it took me years to buy a cel phone and I've yet to get TIVO. I finally got high speed at home, and my PC died this weekend. I'm thinking of going back to a Fred Flinstone car and doing all of my communicating with a pad and paper.

LUDDITE!

Whats next? Smoke signals!?

Ive tried going a month without the net, everytime it happens something odd comes over me. Before I know it, I wind up not showering for weeks, and living in a tent outside in the backyard wearing woad, and hunting the neighbors dog, that wont shut up - odd isnt it.
 
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