Miami (OH) Postgame

[Jiggafini19Deux]

Also, Weis had never coached college football. He didn't know what he didn't know and he was too full of himself to realize that.
Davie never embraced Notre Dame but rather complained about it, which makes life harder when you are the head football coach.
Freeman has some things to work on for sure, but he doesn't have either of those problems.

He was a GA/volunteer at South Carolina from 1985-88 and also served as recruiting coordinator, but to your point, yes. He came to ND as an NFL guy of 15 having worked with the Two Bills at the Giants, Patriots and Jets. He stepped into the biggest fishbowl job in college football. I think nationally he was pretty well kept behind the scenes with those Patriots teams. I recall nationally hearing a lot more about Romeo Crennel than Charlie. Certainly the New England/Boston media knew who he was, but he wasn't a household name by any stretch.

I completely agree with you that Freeman is far removed from the shortcoming of Davie and Weis.

 

[RDU Irish]

Not sure if this has been discussed, but I remember Flanagan being pissed on the sideline after RL couldn’t hit him from 5 yards away. I thought he was mad because of the terrible throw, but apparently he suffered a knee injury on that play, and that was why he was mad. Anyone have any insight on that?

I assumed it was the wide open, roll out delivery to the third row that had him that upset. Didn't know he was injured but a "mobile" QB that Fs that throw up, that bad as a seven figure earning 22 year old merits some frustration.

 

[notredomer23]

I came away with a much more positive feeling of Leonard's performance than I felt in real time. Q1 was probably the worst we've seen, but the balls he was throwing in Q2-Q4 were so much better than the rest of the season.

 

[ThePiombino]

I came away with a much more positive feeling of Leonard's performance than I felt in real time. Q1 was probably the worst we've seen, but the balls he was throwing in Q2-Q4 were so much better than the rest of the season.

You watched a highlight reel and walked away impressed? Mission accomplished I guess.

 

[notredomer23]

You watched a highlight reel and walked away impressed? Mission accomplished I guess.

It’s every throw but go off

 

[BeatSC]

A 75/25 run/pass split? There's no way we could consistently succeed that way

We have worked against NIU, and our other games so far to get a W.

 

[ThePiombino]

It’s every throw but go off

Guess I'm just not impressed by a QB who needed his OC to dumb things down to a "single-read-then-run" offense in order for him to manage a whopping 154 yards in the air at 6YPA. But I guess big ups to him for only taking 4 games to manage his 1st passing TD of the season.

What you're experiencing is called Stockholm Syndrome.

 

[NDPhilly]

I came away with a much more positive feeling of Leonard's performance than I felt in real time. Q1 was probably the worst we've seen, but the balls he was throwing in Q2-Q4 were so much better than the rest of the season.

We’ll go 11-1 if Q2-4 Riley shows up for the rest of the season.

 

[IrishLion]

I came away with a much more positive feeling of Leonard's performance than I felt in real time. Q1 was probably the worst we've seen, but the balls he was throwing in Q2-Q4 were so much better than the rest of the season.

I honestly feel a lot better after watching all of his reps together.

Guy was starting to throw some pretty footballs and hit moving receivers later in the game, and when he missed late, he was missing moving receivers by a step or two (or less).

Instead of being miserable, I choose to believe that Riley is going to dial it in more and more as his confidence grows.

Irish 1000
Louisville 3

 

[BeatSC]

You watched a highlight reel and walked away impressed? Mission accomplished I guess.

This had his bone head misses, sacks and fumbles so it was his whole body of work. While he missed some head scratching easy throws we have also seen him make all those chicken shit short throws too many times. He made more downfield throws than all season combined and almost all of them were good. The one to Harris in the end zone was bad but Harris almost made a great catch. All the PI passes were good. The miss over the middle to Beau was just a skosh off but the right decision.

If he had the field vision for the pass that he has for his runs we are unbeatable! Sadly he does not. He is learning on the job with this receiving group and playbook. This week will be his break out performance! He has this last chance and if like NIU he is the biggest reason we lose then he is toast. Just like Freeman.

 

[SDIrishFan]

Guess I'm just not impressed by a QB who needed his OC to dumb things down to a "single-read-then-run" offense in order for him to manage a whopping 154 yards in the air at 6YPA. But I guess big ups to him for only taking 4 games to manage his 1st passing TD of the season.

What you're experiencing is calling Stockholm Syndrome.

There were certainly plays that fell into that category. I'd imagine every team has those, i.e. scheme a play for one player they know will work. That said, there were a number of times you can see him check his first read, then come back to the other side and make a throw. Yes he missed some layups. But several of his deep balls were on the money and several of his shorter throws were on the money with lots of velocity.

If he can build on that and start hitting the layups, while also being an effective runner, I'd be fine with that. If he can get close to 300 yards of total offense and 2 or 3 touchdowns a game, we win.

 

[ThePiombino]

There were certainly plays that fell into that category. I'd imagine every team has those, i.e. scheme a play for one player they know will work. That said, there were a number of times you can see him check his first read, then come back to the other side and make a throw. Yes he missed some layups. But several of his deep balls were on the money and several of his shorter throws were on the money with lots of velocity.

If he can build on that and start hitting the layups, while also being an effective runner, I'd be fine with that. If he can get close to 300 yards of total offense and 2 or 3 touchdowns a game, we win.

I want this to happen, believe me, I just find it hard to believe it's suddenly going to click. He's not a frosh or soph. He's in his 4th year. I believe what we see is what we get. Hoping to be wrong because it's clear Freeman is hitching this entire season to Riley's back.

 

[Irish#1]

He wasn't perfect, but RL was much better, particularly in the second half.

 

[SDIrishFan]

I want this to happen, believe me, I just find it hard to believe it's suddenly going to click. He's not a frosh or soph. He's in his 4th year. I believe what we see is what we get. Hoping to be wrong because it's clear Freeman is hitching this entire season to Riley's back.

I was just thinking about this after my last reply. Completely agree. If he was a first year starter as a freshmen or soph, I think we'd all be elated b/c "there are signs", just like you saw them with Quinn or Clausen. But completely agree, as a senior, one year merc, those throws he's missing are just unacceptable and have to be made and if he doesn't, we'll lose at least two more games.

 

[RDU Irish]

It was Miami of Ohio who is now 0-3. Now we are making excuses for our hired QBs that they need to mesh and learn playbooks, patience, patience, patience. Stick with your in house talent and send the bag chaser home if we have to lose a couple games b/c our mercenaries needs time to mesh or whatever.

 

[FWIrish4]

It’s every throw but go off

People being hung up on specifically two throws in the 1st quarter that were terrible, but not taking any good into account that happened after is just a wild way to watch your favorite team.

 

[Rockin’Irish]

People being hung up on specifically two throws in the 1st quarter that were terrible, but not taking any good into account that happened after is just a wild way to watch your favorite team.

Yep, Leonard played (ran and passed) well after those two early ugly throws. The fumble was a step back but maybe that will teach him to be more secure with the ball (and I’d rather have him learn in a Miami win). I think he will play well this weekend. That whole first quarter was ugly as a team last weekend…….can’t have that against Louisville.

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

People being hung up on specifically two throws in the 1st quarter that were terrible, but not taking any good into account that happened after is just a wild way to watch your favorite team.

TBF I don't think it was just those two throws, but those were certainly the most egregious. There was a video posted above that shows plenty of other ones. Skipping a pass to the sideline to Evans I believe, throwing the ball well behind Thomas on a quick slant, which is a pretty routine throw for QBs at any level to make, and he got bailed out by a great adjustment by Thomas. Just to name a few more.

Then, picking up 30+ yards on a scramble but being loose with the football and turning the ball over to start the half, wasn't great. Need to cover up the ball, especially around multiple defenders. Not every play is gonna be a TD, ball security is paramount and will kill us this weekend if it happens again.

In summary, if you look at the box score, 300 APY, 3TDs, it looks great. I just think a lot of realize this wasn't the best team on our schedule, and he left a lot of other stuff out there.

 

[T Town Tommy]

When you can run the ball effectively the passing lanes open up. The offense from last Saturday will beat teams like Miami Oh but is going to struggle against teams with a pulse on defense. At some point RL is going to have to throw the ball to win games. The question is whether he can be effective at that against higher profile teams than Miami Oh. I think the jury’s still out on that.

 

[mrmcgrail]

It's his consistency that is the huge issue. He hits throws sometimes but he also misses them and they kill drives and that's the issue

 

[Giddyup]

Maybe MF thought Gino could fix him. Guess not. 3 cupcakes and one good defense later there’s still a lot to desire from RL.

 

[T-Boone]

It’s not just 2 throws. He is late in most throws. The WRs have no confidence in him.

 

[Deirishpisser]

We’ll go 11-1 if Q2-4 Riley shows up for the rest of the season.

we will go 11-1 if he doesnt show up the rest of the season

 

[WildMan1]

I watched the video & feel the same way.. He's a red zone package QB & we should be starting someone else in that QB room.

 

[SoIll]

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5789699/2024/09/24/notre-same-miami-ohio-scouting-anlaysis-final-thoughts/

Sorry if already posted. Great read. Great insight.

"The one piece that jumps out, and isn’t all that surprising, is how Miami had no respect for Leonard as a passer. “He doesn’t get through his first read” and “gets flustered by pressure." Mentioned a Miami coach flabbergasted that he hadn't thrown a touchdown pass yet.

They also had respect for NDs OL. A little skeptical of left side.

Robert Blanton wasn't high on Sneed. Martin was the opposite

 

[ThePiombino]

People being hung up on specifically two throws in the 1st quarter that were terrible, but not taking any good into account that happened after is just a wild way to watch your favorite team.

Folks who get hung up on 2 quarters of decent QBing, but not taking any of the rest of the season into account is just a wild way to extrapolate conclusions.

 

[InKellyWeTrust]

I can only speak for myself, but I saw progress from RL last game. He looked either afraid to throw or just unable to see throws for 3 games. I saw him be more decisive last week, which is an important step. He's not going to got through 3 or 4 progressions, that doesn't magically start happening. But if he can throw the ball on time to his first or 2nd read when open, that may be enough.

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

I can only speak for myself, but I saw progress from RL last game. He looked either afraid to throw or just unable to see throws for 3 games. I saw him be more decisive last week, which is an important step. He's not going to got through 3 or 4 progressions, that doesn't magically start happening. But if he can throw the ball on time to his first or 2nd read when open, that may be enough.

Wouldn't even be surprised if he's instructed not to do so. His best weapon is his legs, by far. It takes a LOT of time to go through that many progressions in football, when you have 3-4 seconds to make a decision from a clean pocket on most plays. Particularly if you're a scrambling QB. He's probably being taught to go through 2, maybe 3, then get the hell outta dodge if he doesn't see anything.

 

[stlnd01]

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5789699/2024/09/24/notre-same-miami-ohio-scouting-anlaysis-final-thoughts/

Sorry if already posted. Great read. Great insight.

"The one piece that jumps out, and isn’t all that surprising, is how Miami had no respect for Leonard as a passer. “He doesn’t get through his first read” and “gets flustered by pressure." Mentioned a Miami coach flabbergasted that he hadn't thrown a touchdown pass yet.

They also had respect for NDs OL. A little skeptical of left side.

Robert Blanton wasn't high on Sneed. Martin was the opposite

Yes both this and the piece he had earlier this week were really smart/interesting - hearing about our program/players candidly from Miami’s perspective.

 

[HouseofPain]

I can only speak for myself, but I saw progress from RL last game. He looked either afraid to throw or just unable to see throws for 3 games. I saw him be more decisive last week, which is an important step. He's not going to got through 3 or 4 progressions, that doesn't magically start happening. But if he can throw the ball on time to his first or 2nd read when open, that may be enough.

Did this guy just forget how to be a QB? Didnt he throw for 3000 yards last year?