Meltdown 2013

[anarin]

The same Bama that spent '97-'06 getting hammered by everyone, firing coaches, embarrassing scandals, NCAA violations and a 38-48 record over that decade? Is that the type of consistency you are talking about on top?

Some of you dudes have a warped view of how college football has actually worked over history. The "teams on top" are never there forever. We went through a major slump and now have a great trajectory. We will be a damn good team next year, but this year we were riddled with injuries, defections and bad luck. No reason to step out onto a ledge.

Just stop dude...

You're making way too much sense.

 

[DillonHall]

And got stomped. So the question is, was that team from last year the outlier and ND is just average or was that NDs future and this season is the outlier? I would tend to think that last year was outlier.

The team is different every year, so there's no point trying to look for general trends. We were 12-0 last year in the regular season. No need to overanalyze that.

 

[NYIrish14]

I understand people arguing for both sides of this. I think the only way we can really tell if the program is headed in the right direction is after next season. If we have another mediocre year than I will side with the people who believe Kelly is possibly not the answer but until then I am going to stay positive.

 

[RDU Irish]

Listening to Pitt sports radio Friday night would answer your question, Pat. I was a little taken back by how jacked up they were for the game.

It's a big deal to play ND. They brought in 70 recruits for that game, not because we are a two loss barely top 25 team coming to town. Because we are N, freaking, D.

 

[Jerry]

LOVED that team.


And I'm not saying we haven't had some good years here and there...but we're way behind the curve. Everyone uses that dumbass quote "we get everyone's best shot"...in trying to explain our losses. No. Not anymore. Why the hell would any team give a team that hasn't won **** since 88' or a decent bowl game since 93', that kinda respect??

Because of the media attention put on ND even when we are bad. Put it this way ND doesn't sneak up on anybody. I follow Northwestern pretty closely and I think the little bit of attention they got earlier this year really worked against them. They probably would have beat Ohio State in past years getting 3 turnovers early and surprising OSU when they thought they could just show up and get a W. But with College Gameday there and all the hype OSU wasn't as shocked and was able to regroup.

Even when ND is bad teams know that it is a showcase for their program. So they get up for the ND game no matter what.

 

[IrishJayhawk]

Uhh... we went to the NC game last year

^This

 

[RDU Irish]

If Zaire is not ready for if/when Golson gets knocked out of a game next year I will have a beef with BK. Other than that, if offense or defense generally struggles, I will focus on the coordinators and if we need to make a change there. I just see way too many improvements in the way BK manages the overall program to think he deserves any less than five more years at this juncture. Anything less is destructive to future hiring.

 

[bigedefense]

The same Bama that spent '97-'06 getting hammered by everyone, firing coaches, embarrassing scandals, NCAA violations and a 38-48 record over that decade? Is that the type of consistency you are talking about on top?

Some of you dudes have a warped view of how college football has actually worked over history. The "teams on top" are never there forever. We went through a major slump and now have a great trajectory. We will be a damn good team next year, but this year we were riddled with injuries, defections and bad luck. No reason to step out onto a ledge.

Thanks for remembering that football was around before Saban's "process" took hold! I remember my buddies that are bama fans, crying when Louisiana Monroe beat them. THen crying again when Utah spanked them in a BCS bowl. Reps to you sir.

 

[BobD]

Why the hell would any team give a team that hasn't won **** since 88' or a decent bowl game since 93', that kinda respect??

Texas Longhorns - In Photos: 2012 College Football Team Valuations - Forbes

 

[Who'saWildManNow]

Picture Oregon without Mariota and half their already less than stellar defense hobbled.

Hell, A&M is 8-2 WITH Manziel and a healthy roster lol.

How long did it take Jimbo to solidify some depth and develop dominant play at FSU?? With little to no academic standards and the best talent in the country in his backyard he is only now in the hunt. Plus, would they even be there without Winston?

Bama is really the only team I could see possibly salvaging a NC hunt through this **** storm.

Would Diaco be on a pedestal right now if Darby and Tee were protecting the boundary and field? With EV providing depth and Nix, Day, Kona, Grace, Shu, Ishaq all healthy? The transfers and last minute drops happen to every program but when coupled with a serious injury list it becomes less a problem of schematics and more about athleticism.

Look at Saban's record at MSU.. Obviously schemes don't work anywhere.

Golson was playing in the blue and gold game! The switch to Tommy running the O came awfully late.

A QB who can extend not only plays but drives with his legs is a HUGE advantage.. A physical and mental advantage over the opponent. It weighs heavily on a defense when they lose 3rd n 8 to a scrambling QB..especially when the coverage was on point.

Tommy simply does not offer what this offense needs. He is not a bad QB, just inconsistent and in the wrong offense. Golson's departure was devastating..... BUT, you have to move on and coach better.

There are certainly questions to be asked.

Why are the injuries mounting? Is it playing service academies back to back? Strength and conditioning? Does Luongo need to be fired? see kuenja Bad luck? Bad form?

As Lax has stated.. Is Chuck Martin really the long term answer to OC? Is Kelly.... too loyal? I mean, did Folston have a bad week of practice after Navy? Because I thought I saw some elite natural talent displayed that night.

Farley curse: I'll take a scarecrow at this point. Who is letting him continue to take these angles and attempt arm tackles?

Where is the urgency? I want to see players holding each other accountable. I saw Nix laying into Sheldon for trying to punch a live ball instead of running it into the endzone for 7 but where are the other leaders??

Special Teams is the Bermuda Triangle of ND Football.. don't even try to understand it.

I want a little more Tyson in this team. Maybe not "eat your children" or bite your ear off Tyson but a dash of irritability, anger and focus between whistles wouldn't hurt.

Having EG back next year will undoubtedly revamp expectations and hopefully the offense as well. It's pretty simple. If we score more points Diaco's "bend but don't break" will look serviceable again. Personally I think if you can't effectively blitz out of the 3-4 you need a switch..

This is what a lot of us expected, even with a healthy roster, but it's always harder to witness than predict.

Finish out the season strong, crush whatever extra practices and bowl game you get and get back to the drawing board.

Let's just hope Kelly keeps doing what's best for the future of the program and making the tough decisions when they need to be made.

Hope for a healthy roster, a crop of new leaders and an improved Everett.

 

[Jerry]

I think the defense not picking up where it left off from the middle of '10 to 2012 was the most disappointing for me. I knew it would be a long season offensively but I was sort of shocked even watching the Temple game how the D was letting up big chunks of yardage. I've really come to appreciate the value of good saftey play this season.

 

[PANDFAN]

here is a piece from the turning points website

here is a piece from the turning points website

After an offseason from hell—one that included the Manti Te’o saga, Brian Kelly flirting with the NFL, the transfers of Eddie Vanderdoes and Davonte Neal, and the suspension of Everett Golson—who among us expected the 2013 Fighting Irish to capture a BCS berth?

I know I didn’t. Before fall camp began, I expected 8-4. Sure, I got more optimistic in the weeks that followed. It was the pre-season. Who doesn’t get optimistic? I began thinking, if everything fell just right, 10-2 was possible. Well, it hasn’t. Injuries have plagued the defensive side of the ball and turnovers have been the difference in each of Notre Dame’s three losses.

Where does that leave us? Pretty much where most of us initially thought we’d be.

Why, then, are we so disappointed?

I thought a lot about that as I drove home from Pittsburgh Sunday. I came up with two reasons: 1) As Irish fans, even when our heads tell us to lower expectations our hearts are incapable of it. 2) This team just doesn’t look quite right.

Coming off the Pitt loss, we’re all focusing on the second reason. Understandably. Losing that game was unacceptable. It was the worst Notre Dame loss since Tulsa. But I have tried my best to take a step back and look at the big picture. After doing so, my determination is this: don’t panic. Changes need to be made, but not wholesale ones. The program is on solid ground.

Let’s start with offensive personnel.

Tommy Rees has performed better than I anticipated. He’s demonstrated poise and pluck. He’s made some plays despite his well-documented physical limitations. But he’s also made decisions that have resulted in catastrophic turnovers. We expect more from a bright senior quarterback. And we should. Much of the offensive struggles can be attributed to quarterback play. Rees is just not equipped to run Kelly’s offense. Golson is. And Malik Zaire should be. There will be no more excuses at this position come January.

The skill positions are loaded. T.J. Jones has developed into a receiver that will play on Sundays. Davaris Daniels, Corey Robinson and Will Fuller assure the receiver cupboard won’t be bare next year. Tarean Folston is a stud and should be the featured back. Cam McDaniel and George Atkinson III have proven that they can contribute, as well. Troy Niklas and Ben Koyack are strong tight ends—and Niklas may prove to be elite.

I think the offensive line is a strength. The staff has recruited very well here. They have excelled at pass protection, keeping an immobile quarterback largely upright. Run blocking has been a concern. I honestly don’t know enough about the X’s and O’s of football to definitely explain why. My hunch is that it’s due to Rees’ limitations. His lack of arm strength allows the defense to constrict the field and load the box. And his lack of mobility takes the read option—a threat designed to keep defenses honest—off the table.

With Golson at quarterback, Notre Dame will be a juggernaut offensively in 2014. I’m confident of that.

The defense is my biggest concern.

Injuries have severely damaged the defensive front—which was supposed to be this team’s strength. But that doesn’t completely justify an anemic pass rush. It doesn’t excuse poor tackling. And it certainly doesn’t explain an inability to make plays on the ball in the secondary.

We are seeing next to no aggression from the defense. The defensive line even played upright against Navy. I understand the fear of players getting injured by a cut block, but standing upright? That makes it nearly impossible to gain leverage and disrupt the flow of an offensive scheme. That passive mentality is typical of what we’ve seen from Bob Diaco’s schemes this season.

Passive is the exact opposite of how teams like Stanford play. Why does Oregon struggle with Stanford? Simple. Stanford attacks them. They blitz up the middle and when they don’t, they get creative with lineman stunts. Notre Dame does not do either on a consistent basis.

The Irish defense, minus Te’o, Kapron Lewis-Moore and Zeke Motta, aren’t as savvy and experienced as they were a year ago. But they’re better than what they’ve demonstrated thus far. “Bend but don’t break” only works if you don’t break. It’s hard to tell at times, but this defense boasts some athletes. Let them make plays. Let them attack.

That brings us to coaching.

I’m a huge Brian Kelly supporter, but coaching played a key role in Saturday’s loss. The Irish abandoned the run too early. It was successful in the first half and a non-factor in the second. Chuck Martin calls the plays but Kelly is the head coach. He should have stepped in. Most of the other offensive problems should be solved with Golson’s return and Zaire’s development.

My coaching concerns surround defense and special teams. It’s time for Bob Diaco to move on. The Irish defense lacks swagger. It’s too passive. And I believe a big part of that is because Diaco’s scheme doesn’t allow Irish defenders to utilize their athleticism and attack. They think, they don’t react. Therefore, they play slow. Kelly needs to hire a defensive coordinator who will unleash these athletes.

Special teams is a disaster. Kyle Brindza has had a solid year. Atkinson and Jones have demonstrated the ability to be dynamic in the return game, but lack the consistent blocking to do so. And the coverage teams have been awful. This unit has never been a strength in the Kelly era. It’s too important for it not to be. A full-time special teams coach must be brought on board. That means another coach will have to be let go in order to get under the NCAA limit. Defensive backfield responsibilities are currently split between Kerry Cooks and Bob Elliott. I’d consolidate that.

As fans, we have a right to be disappointed. Notre Dame hasn’t yet lost a game that it couldn’t have won. That’s frustrating. But the sky isn’t falling. If Kelly and Jack Swarbrick make the necessary adjustments, Notre Dame should be back in a BCS level bowl game next season.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Whoa. TP calling for Diaco's job?

 

[PANDFAN]

Whoa. TP calling for Diaco's job?

he didn't write the article, someone from his site.....not sure if your busting my balls or not

 

[irishog77]

he didn't write the article, someone from his site.....not sure if your busting my balls or not

He's not. He's just replying to the bolded in article.

 

[phgreek]

No meltdown here...serious frustration with the play of some guys who I expected to at least be who they were last year...particularly on defense.

Coming into the season I expected a bruising run game...that then let tommy start to get intermediate throws through PA, and those would turn into big plays with athleticism. I expected a few balls over the top. What it turned into is certainly surprising to me...and really uncomfortable.

...all I know is this team should be able to run the ball even with the box stacked...of any team I thought needed to lead with a 3 yards and a cloud of dust mentality...it was this one. Tommy is really good with PA ...when the run threat isn't there, he really gets exposed...and when we don't run its only a matter of time before he makes a bad decision...

This team's success IMHO, has always lived in the trenches...

 

[PANDFAN]

I personally feel that Diaco isn't getting it done...i think last year was a culmination of having a great line w/ great middle linebacker and an experienced safety....but i don't think he is a great or even good recruiter, scheme tends to suck, no creativity(i know injuries but so do every other team) in blitz packages..just overall i don't like the vanilla prevent defense

 

[Redbar]

I think Coach Kelly has done a tremendous job so far, but that does not mean there are not some things that need to be figured out. At this point in his tenure the issues we have seen that have become habit need to be answered. That doesn't mean the program has not improved tremendously, it doesn't mean support for this regime is wavering, it is just serious fans trying to understand and appreciate the obstacles and adversities that our team faces. For instance, everyone wants to blame Tommy Rees but I love the young man, he has proven he is a warrior for the blue and gold, but Coach Kelly certainly by this year needs to know that if Tommy is your guy, you need to run the football and work play action pass, he is not a spread quarterback. Let the game come to him a little bit. We have a physical advantage on our Oline and with our tight ends, we should consistently exploit that, lining up in empty sets is not doing Tommy any favors. Tommy will matriculate and Everett will hopefully come back, and yes we will be better with a spread system quarterback but why aren't we tailoring this offense to suit the one we have. System is not more important than success, and while we have indeed enjoyed a tremendous amount of success compared to recent history, there have been several that we lost or made it a lot harder on ourselves because we've been IMO a little stubborn?,arrogant?,myopic?, I don't know.

Also, last time I watched, Tommy doesn't play special teams, neither does Everett, somebody has to start coaching that phase of the game and demand discipline. All of the people saying stay calm(and they are right), keep talking about Tommy and injuries, those are not my concern, my concern is more the reactions to the obstacles.

At any rate, the Notre Dame job is incredibly difficult and unique not everything can just be ported over from other programs and experiences. Coach Kelly is a good coach he knows his x's and o's, but there is also a certain flexibility that this job requires that probably no other coaching job requires in such measure. He has proven he can build this program now I think he just needs to show that he can adapt his philosophy a little bit. I have my own little peccadillo: how about one time when everyone is wound up and the stadium is nuts at the beginning of a game, and all these kids want to do is go hit somebody, why don't we start on defense let the other team try to calm themselves and elect to take the ball in the second half after we have made our adjustments.

 

[Old Man Mike]

I'm not sure what the definition is of whether we're in meltdown. Rather than addressing that enigma, I'll just self-reflect:

1). Before the season, knowing Tommy was QB, but not knowing Tuitt was still hobbling or what was to happen with Danny Spond [or Grace] nor that Fox was as damaged as he was, I thought that we would finish the year 10-2 [Stanford loss and one WTF, hopefully not Michigan--- my first fear for the WTF was, sadly, BYU].

2). I believed in 10 wins because I believed that no one could score more than two-and-a-half-touchdowns off us. Then came the "revelation" that our defense somehow had become a mild shadow of its previous self.

3). All of a sudden 10 wins seemed only vaguely possible, with solid play and a bowl win, but the margin was so thin as to be virtually impossible. Still one hopes.

4). Michigan sucked. We once again got a guy crazy-throwing footballs in ridiculous "lucky" ways [that one pass that Keivaree had covered in the end zone just can't happen in any normal play], and we screwed the game away. Then Oklahoma. And Stanford waiting.

5). MSU and ASU and USC weren't pretty but they were good days. They were the Devil's way of setting my already disappointed outlook up for a harder fall. Because then amassed all the injuries. Ridiculous amounts of defensive injuries --- he!l, even Herbstreit mentioned the seeming unfairness of it more than once on the broadcast.

6). So, Pitt. Third loss. Stanford awaiting. A good BYU team awaiting at their home. A good bowl team awaiting at the end. The thought that this team, which by all rights [and national commentary] should have fielded a top-5 defense and throttled everyone on its way to another double-digit win season, could, without much imagination, finish 7-6 --- yeh I'm severely disappointed.

My long association with ND, and all manner of sports, does not create emotional "meltdown" ... not ever. That's a level of irrationality best abandoned by ones 20s at the latest. And I don't believe in a lot of personal blaming in complicated team sports. But disappointed in the overall status quo? That I can legitimately be.

And am.

... but I continue to see the state of the future of our program as bright. Next year I expect Coach's offense to take over the lead-dog-role, and begin looking like vintage Kelly offense. I expect us to suffer some on defense, as we should be one year away there. We'll be "good-not-great" next year, and the sky may be the limit the next. No meltdown on the general State-of-the ND-Nation here.

 

[FLDomer]

I personally feel that Diaco isn't getting it done...i think last year was a culmination of having a great line w/ great middle linebacker and an experienced safety....but i don't think he is a great or even good recruiter, scheme tends to suck, no creativity(i know injuries but so do every other team) in blitz packages..just overall i don't like the vanilla prevent defense

I agree with you and it is kind of funny now people are seeing it but 6 months ago if a less popular poster made a comment critizing Diaco they would just about be run out of IE. I have never been a big fan of him, especially after the Champs Bowl a couple yrs ago where he went away from what was working in the first half for more passive play calling. Diaco has benefited from extremely smart players (Te'o, Harr, Zeke, Kappy...) but now his true capabilities are showing as a coach be able to coach/develop the talent that he does have. I agree with your recruiting point also (MLB and NT prime examples). Diacos defense is reactive and not proactive and its painful to watch at time, especially when teams like Stanford (who supposedly dont have the talent we have) and owning opponents.

 

[irishpat183]

Listening to Pitt sports radio Friday night would answer your question, Pat. I was a little taken back by how jacked up they were for the game.

It's a big deal to play ND. They brought in 70 recruits for that game, not because we are a two loss barely top 25 team coming to town. Because we are N, freaking, D.

Because of the media attention put on ND even when we are bad. Put it this way ND doesn't sneak up on anybody. I follow Northwestern pretty closely and I think the little bit of attention they got earlier this year really worked against them. They probably would have beat Ohio State in past years getting 3 turnovers early and surprising OSU when they thought they could just show up and get a W. But with College Gameday there and all the hype OSU wasn't as shocked and was able to regroup.

Even when ND is bad teams know that it is a showcase for their program. So they get up for the ND game no matter what.

Then just admit it...It has nothing, zero, to do with our on field performance. Its about the camera's.

Awesome. We're the Miley Cyrus of CFB.

 

[PANDFAN]

I agree with you and it is kind of funny now people are seeing it but 6 months ago if a less popular poster made a comment critizing Diaco they would just about be run out of IE. I have never been a big fan of him, especially after the Champs Bowl a couple yrs ago where he went away from what was working in the first half for more passive play calling. Diaco has benefited from extremely smart players (Te'o, Harr, Zeke, Kappy...) but now his true capabilities are showing as a coach be able to coach/develop the talent that he does have. I agree with your recruiting point also (MLB and NT prime examples). Diacos offense is reactive and not proactive and its painful to watch at time, especially when teams like Stanford (who supposedly dont have the talent we have) and owning opponents.

it's how we allow other teams instill "their will" on us...and allows other teams who view us as their superbowl or whatever that if they execute correctly they have the upper hand...and it SUCKS watching

 

[NDohio]

it's how we allow other teams instill "their will" on us...and allows other teams who view us as their superbowl or whatever that if they execute correctly they have the upper hand...and it SUCKS watching

There were several plays Saturday where the D-Line was still in "adjustment" mode when the ball was snapped. The constant moving and adjusting to out think or fool the opposing offense drives me nuts.

Line up and hit somebody!

 

[IrishLax]

Here's the thing... I'm not in the "Diaco's scheme sucks" camp for a couple reasons. Let's ignore academy games for a second and just talk about "regular" teams.

First of all, his defense single handedly turned around the end of the 2010 season and got us a win over USC for the first time in forever. In 2011, it was quite up and down but all things considered never really lost us a game. USF was on 5 turnovers, Michigan was on 5 turnovers, USC was on... you guessed it... crucial turnovers and the O being unable to move the ball consistently, Stanford was on the O... the D actually played Andrew Luck's offense tougher than anyone that season, and the FSU game saw the defense shred FSU for most of the game and account for half of ND's total points scored. In 2012, the D was unbelievable and got us to a NC even with inconsistent QB play for the first half of the season. Enter 2013.

What is different about this year? For starters, Diaco WAS aggressive early in the season. It got us absolutely roasted against a crappy Michigan team because Gardner was able to get passes off jusssssst before the pressure got there and our DBs/LBs couldn't cover. Similar results happened against Temple when we brought blitzes, but their team wasn't good enough to hit the open guys. When we shifted back to a "conservative" approach it really worked well for a couple weeks. We stifled a prolific ASU offense, dominated USC despite handing them the ball in scoring position multiple times, etc. Why? Because when the DL + Shembo is able to get pressure without blitzing the scheme is awesome. When they can't, then it is really flawed for the reasons people are describing.

The problem, to me, is 95% personnel. Our ILBs are horrible in every facet of the game. They can't cover and can't stop the run. They are just such bad football players that it allows TEs/WRs/RBs to work open against their zone coverage far too easily... and on top of that, instead of stopping the run like previous years such that teams became one dimensional, we routinely get gash on first down leading to teams with easy down & distance to move the chains. The DL, which needs to dominate for this whole thing to work, has been completely banged up all year. Tuitt has been hurt, Nix has been hurt, Day has been hurt, Schwenke has been hurt, Ishaq has been hurt.... I mean it's just borderline insanity.

And then there are the DBs... to play aggressive, attacking defense you need CBs that can cover man to man. Jackson is not a good cover corner. Russel is pretty darn solid but he isn't the fastest guy. Our safeties are generally poor as well... all of this means if you give them big coverage responsibilities you're likely to get burned.

I guess what I'm saying is that through injuries and everything else the personnel is just so sub-par compared to 2011/2012 that I think the defense would kind of suck no matter what we tried to do. My bigger question is why we don't have better players at S,CB,ILB... and why we don't have better depth for the future on the DL. Just seems like we've really dropped the ball recruiting, and if we're not planning on having NFL caliber players throughout the front 7 then yeah... Diaco needs to go and we need to get someone more capable of fielding an effective D with lesser talent OR that can recruit better for that side of the ball.

 

[PANDFAN]

Here's the thing... I'm not in the "Diaco's scheme sucks" camp for a couple reasons. Let's ignore academy games for a second and just talk about "regular" teams.

First of all, his defense single handedly turned around the end of the 2010 season and got us a win over USC for the first time in forever. In 2011, it was quite up and down but all things considered never really lost us a game. USF was on 5 turnovers, Michigan was on 5 turnovers, USC was on... you guessed it... crucial turnovers and the O being unable to move the ball consistently, Stanford was on the O... the D actually played Andrew Luck's offense tougher than anyone that season, and the FSU game saw the defense shred FSU for most of the game and account for half of ND's total points scored. In 2012, the D was unbelievable and got us to a NC even with inconsistent QB play for the first half of the season. Enter 2013.

What is different about this year? For starters, Diaco WAS aggressive early in the season. It got us absolutely roasted against a crappy Michigan team because Gardner was able to get passes off jusssssst before the pressure got there and our DBs/LBs couldn't cover. Similar results happened against Temple when we brought blitzes, but their team wasn't good enough to hit the open guys. When we shifted back to a "conservative" approach it really worked well for a couple weeks. We stifled a prolific ASU offense, dominated USC despite handing them the ball in scoring position multiple times, etc. Why? Because when the DL + Shembo is able to get pressure without blitzing the scheme is awesome. When they can't, then it is really flawed for the reasons people are describing.

The problem, to me, is 95% personnel. Our ILBs are horrible in every facet of the game. They can't cover and can't stop the run. They are just such bad football players that it allows TEs/WRs/RBs to work open against their zone coverage far too easily... and on top of that, instead of stopping the run like previous years such that teams became one dimensional, we routinely get gash on first down leading to teams with easy down & distance to move the chains. The DL, which needs to dominate for this whole thing to work, has been completely banged up all year. Tuitt has been hurt, Nix has been hurt, Day has been hurt, Schwenke has been hurt, Ishaq has been hurt.... I mean it's just borderline insanity.

And then there are the DBs... to play aggressive, attacking defense you need CBs that can cover man to man. Jackson is not a good cover corner. Russel is pretty darn solid but he isn't the fastest guy. Our safeties are generally poor as well... all of this means if you give them big coverage responsibilities you're likely to get burned.

I guess what I'm saying is that through injuries and everything else the personnel is just so sub-par compared to 2011/2012 that I think the defense would kind of suck no matter what we tried to do. My bigger question is why we don't have better players at S,CB,ILB... and why we don't have better depth for the future on the DL. Just seems like we've really dropped the ball recruiting, and if we're not planning on having NFL caliber players throughout the front 7 then yeah... Diaco needs to go and we need to get someone more capable of fielding an effective D with lesser talent OR that can recruit better for that side of the ball.

his blitzes are sooo telegraphed that even stevie wonder can see them...he is too d@mn cerebral for himself and takes any athleticism are guys have and throw it out the window...and why the need for huuuge big middle linebackers?? doesn't he have some input on what he needs for his defense? idk but i still think he was a product of having elite guys together....and it certainly doesn't look to be shaping up that way w/ our recruiting the ilb position AGAIN

 

[Redbar]

Here's the thing... I'm not in the "Diaco's scheme sucks" camp for a couple reasons. Let's ignore academy games for a second and just talk about "regular" teams...

I am also in this camp. Coach Diaco's scheme is not our problem as I see it right now. Considering he has the birds eye view up there in the press box, I would think adjustments could be made quicker, but I agree our biggest issues are personnel related. I am also a little perplexed by the defensive recruiting philosophy post Tommy Schutt but I am not sure how much direct control he has over who gets offered, when, and if we will accept their commitment.

 

[PANDFAN]

I am also in this camp. Coach Diaco's scheme is not our problem as I see it right now. Considering he has the birds eye view up there in the press box, I would think adjustments could be made quicker, but I agree our biggest issues are personnel related. I am also a little perplexed by the defensive recruiting philosophy post Tommy Schutt but I am not sure how much direct control he has over who gets offered, when, and if we will accept their commitment.

but this goes back to his game planning....we make NO adjustments it seems during the games and have to wait until halftime to make them...which is putting us at a disadvantage...the only time this year i can remember or see directly in a change in scheme/game plan was at airforce following the 1st drive

 

[Grahambo]

but this goes back to his game planning....we make NO adjustments it seems during the games and have to wait until halftime to make them...which is putting us at a disadvantage...the only time this year i can remember or see directly in a change in scheme/game plan was at airforce following the 1st drive

To be honest with you, it's probably harder to do so with playing a bunch of young guys who've never played before. I say this with zero experience in making defensive adjustments but maybe he tries to keep it as vanilla as he can. Even as great as Jaylon is, he's still a freshman and still learning the mental aspect of the game.

Then add in guys like Fox, Carlo, and Farley who just aren't very good and you're already playing behind. It's been stated several times that the losses of Kap, Te'o, and Motta are being underestimated and I believe that's because of the practices/sideline adjustments they can make on their own and voice to others. We just don't have that type in the LB corps or secondary.

This goes back to the lack of depth that ND had. Not only did we struggle to recruit defensively under Weis, the first year of BK was essentially a wash too because he was hired so late in the process. Then you have to go through that first year proving to the world that ND is on the right path.

It's one reason why rebuilding a program takes longer then 3-4 years.

 

[PANDFAN]

To be honest with you, it's probably harder to do so with playing a bunch of young guys who've never played before. I say this with zero experience in making defensive adjustments but maybe he tries to keep it as vanilla as he can. Even as great as Jaylon is, he's still a freshman and still learning the mental aspect of the game.

Then add in guys like Fox, Carlo, and Farley who just aren't very good and you're already playing behind. It's been stated several times that the losses of Kap, Te'o, and Motta are being underestimated and I believe that's because of the practices/sideline adjustments they can make on their own and voice to others. We just don't have that type in the LB corps or secondary.

This goes back to the lack of depth that ND had. Not only did we struggle to recruit defensively under Weis, the first year of BK was essentially a wash too because he was hired so late in the process. Then you have to go through that first year proving to the world that ND is on the right path.

It's one reason why rebuilding a program takes longer then 3-4 years.

BK was even one who mentioned following the game, that Jaylon was instructed to take x player as game planned and they made an adjustment following the 1st drive in which they were able to have him take the y player...he then said he was ahead of the learning curve...it's the fact that the other guys not getting it is what is worrisome

 

[Grahambo]

BK was even one who mentioned following the game, that Jaylon was instructed to take x player as game planned and they made an adjustment following the 1st drive in which they were able to have him take the y player...he then said he was ahead of the learning curve...it's the fact that the other guys not getting it is what is worrisome

If it's veterans that are still not getting it then I agree but if its guys who are seeing action for the first time then I would say that everybody learns differently and at different paces.