Post Game Observations (BYU)...

[N_D_Fighting_Irish]

Appreciate it. No worries lol. I just waned to make it crystal clear that I do not "tweet" kids. Ill respond to them if they hit me up, but i am not Fistering.



Oline played a hell of a game yesterday. Hanratty/Elmer rotation seems to work without missing a beat in pass pro/run blocking. Hegarty stepped in yesterday and other than a few missed assignments, he played really well. Jarron showed glimpses of what he can do, and its nice to finally have someone that can block a few kicks. Ill be very interested to see how he does against Stanford.

As far as people freaking out about Nix. This is a prime example of what I have been saying for over a year. Nix is NICE, and ND needs someone like him, but they can also get by without having Nix and be more than fine. If the NG can get his job done, and the LBs shoot the right gaps, it doesnt matter if Nix is there or not. Ian Williams, Sean Cywnar, Kona, Jarron have proven that it can be done and ND has played some great games on D without having Nix in there vs some good offenses. Id take Nix or someone of his caliber everyday of the week, but ND will be just fine next year without him playing a 3-4 as long as the LBs get the gaps right. That has been a problem this year.

Has off to Brindza. Kid is just solid. Kickoff coverage needs work but SpTeams nice night and day compared to last year.

Rees looks 110% better when ND has the running game going, so next week will be more than interesting. Folston Folston Folston.

I remember Ian Williams and Sean Cywnar. Tough and dedicated but no where near the talent and the abilities of Nix. Yes, we will get by but it won't be pretty. It wasn't too long ago, prior to Nix, when teams could run up the gut against us. Nix is so underrated.

Next year, I agree the secondary will be better. But given the choice between a stout front four/seven or a good secondary, I would take the stout front four/seven every time. What use is a good secondary if you can't stop the run? I cite last year.

Let's just hope Tuitt stays for another year. If he doesn't, Diaco's bend but don't break approach will no longer be a viable option.

 

[kmoose]

Yeah. I'm assuming that Redfield and Shumate eventually supplant Farley and Collinsworth, and that Luke is a more than capable replacement for Jackson. Which means we should have a very athletic secondary next year, which along with Jaylon and Ishaq will take some of the pressure off our weak inslde linebackers.
Wow. At this rate I could talk myself into feeling downright good about our defense next year.

Before we get too excited about the new guys, let's remember that we were sure that Farley and Jackson were going to be solid guys, this year.

 

[koonja]

FWIW, there were a lot of 2015/2016 guys at the game that haven't been mentioned on here, and I'm not a premium member, but ISD is tweeting out a short story on each individual's trip and there's a teaser 'quote' in every tweet.

Here are some of the quotes I'm seeing:

'Best trip yet', 'dream school', 'It was actually the best visit I’ve been on. Even though it was snowing, everything was perfect to me', 'It was awesome. It was amazing. Just the tradition, the camaraderie & the excitement', They are really high on my list. Really, really high now', 'From what I saw, I was very impressed. I love the atmosphere down there. The fans are crazy', 'the coolest (not coldest lol) place he's ever been to'.

*None of these are from Nyles Morgan or Blake Barnett*

But it gives the impression that ND knocked it out of the park again.

To all ND fans who helped create the atmosphere this weekend:

 

[rocket66]

Before we get too excited about the new guys, let's remember that we were sure that Farley and Jackson were going to be solid guys, this year.

I never thought that. I thought Russell was the better corner going into this season and was really hoping to see the young safeties play more even before Farley missed his 1000th tackle.

 

[PANDFAN]

-very happy for JJ and he played w/ fire and intensity....i think he shocked himself
-great job KB ...strong leg and accuracy
-oline did great in run blocking today as well as pass blocking but the running game was something that really needed to improve
-Folston made some nifty moves, i like him--went right over to linemen and giving them high fives after his td
-tj how does he catch those passes??? i feel every time the ball is thrown his way i think no way is he going to get it...nope 1st down...he has improved each and every year TEAMS MVP THIS YEAR
-GAIII gets dogged a lot and rightfully so for being a bigger back, but he ran GREAT today when his # was called...he made a couple of nothing into something
-corey had a VERY CLUTCH catch to sustain the drive
-carlo and fox played really well
-JOE SCHMIDT --busts through the line to make a tackle changing what would have been a touchdown into a fg--REALLY BIG PLAY
-SHEMBO/TUITT and even ISHAQ were putting pressure many of times throughout the game...their qb just did well escaping just in the nick of time
-LOVED Jaylon pointing at his #13 after nearing making the INT--RESPECT
-DD i love you and all, you make great catches and score TD'S BUT GET ON THE SAME PAGE and you would have a lot more catches
-BJ missing tackles and not covering well---disappointing
-Farley missed tackles and made a huuuge missed tackle that the former rugby player nearly scored, wrap up
-sucks more injuries for nick, kona looked banged up again

GLAD TO SEE THE SENIORS GO OUT IN A WIN!!! GO IRISH

 

[woolybug25]

I'm not sure why you quoted my post? And what/who was garbage?

He was joking with you about sleeping through the first half. Guess it went over your head.

 

[returnofthemack]

Appreciate it. No worries lol. I just waned to make it crystal clear that I do not "tweet" kids. Ill respond to them if they hit me up, but i am not Fistering.



Oline played a hell of a game yesterday. Hanratty/Elmer rotation seems to work without missing a beat in pass pro/run blocking. Hegarty stepped in yesterday and other than a few missed assignments, he played really well. Jarron showed glimpses of what he can do, and its nice to finally have someone that can block a few kicks. Ill be very interested to see how he does against Stanford.

As far as people freaking out about Nix. This is a prime example of what I have been saying for over a year. Nix is NICE, and ND needs someone like him, but they can also get by without having Nix and be more than fine. If the NG can get his job done, and the LBs shoot the right gaps, it doesnt matter if Nix is there or not. Ian Williams, Sean Cywnar, Kona, Jarron have proven that it can be done and ND has played some great games on D without having Nix in there vs some good offenses. Id take Nix or someone of his caliber everyday of the week, but ND will be just fine next year without him playing a 3-4 as long as the LBs get the gaps right. That has been a problem this year.

Has off to Brindza. Kid is just solid. Kickoff coverage needs work but SpTeams nice night and day compared to last year.

Rees looks 110% better when ND has the running game going, so next week will be more than interesting. Folston Folston Folston.

Having Nix allows for a much larger margin of error by LBs. With Sean Cwynar or Kona starting, we would have been gashed even more with Carlo and Fox at ILB. But you're absolutely right that a "lesser" NT can still hold a formidable defense together if the LBs are playing well. Yesterday Jarron played very well, but Fox also filled the gaps very well. If Grace and whoever else plays MLB can do this, we'll be fine.

 

[rocket66]

I noticed Jones was getting decent pressure on the qb as well. Man how huge is that if the light actually went on for him.

 

[IrishinSyria]

Difference between this week and the Pitt game was commitment to the running game.

Farley's (1) missed tackle was painful and almost costly, but it doesn't justify the OMG he sucks talk I've seen here. The secondary played a strong game overall, and that doesn't happen if there's a huge vulnerability in the backfield.

The tribute to Spond was awesome- my favorite thing about ND football is that by the time these guys are seniors, it's almost always tough to watch them leave no matter how they did on the field. The school recruits and develops players to be proud of every year. (A lot of the bickering I've seen on this site can be explained by the existence of two different groups of fans: people who see ND like it's a professional team vs those who understand and appreciate the fact that the school and its football team is about a lot more than just winning.)

 

[phgreek]

A caveat here; I missed the 1st Quarter, as I was at work. So these observations are based mostly on the last 3 quarters.

1. Congratulations to the Seniors. It was great to see them get to go out on a winning note. And I believe that I heard that this Senior Class won all 4 Senior Day games, in their time at ND?

2. Apparently, ND was on fire in the first quarter. They still looked good in the 2nd quarter, but then the whole team seemed to come out flat in the 2nd half. They played with very little intensity, on either side of the ball. I blame the coaches for that, for letting the players (apparently) get complacent.

3. A hearty WELL DONE to the o line, which was grading some serious holes for backs, and protecting the QB very well.

4. A big shout out to Jarron Jones, who filled in admirably for Nix/Schwenke. Nice job young man.

5. Tommy's pick............... ugh! But do we not have any short passing game other than WR screens? When we do run slants, they seem to work rather well. But we never seem to run them inside of the red zone. The playcalling in the Red Zone leaves a little to be desired, I think. But that's probably to be expected, with a first year play caller.

6. Can we stop talking about how Tarean Folston is faster than GAIII, now? He got run down by a BYU guy. But, still................... great game for Folston. Nice to see him get so involved.

7. 4 penalties for 25 yards. That's not perfection, by a long shot........... but it's pretty disciplined, nonetheless.

My game ball goes to the Offensive line.

This is pretty much on...

I will say...I love the tradition of the grass field...but I'm over it now. As well, it is frustrating to see the same defenders missing tackles...Diaco should get an award for not choking someone out. Davaris Daniels is going to get some DCs fired next year, as he won't be thinking about when to break off his route, and he can focus on running the right one at full speed... I'd like to see us recruit some Rugby players...WOW! It was nice to see us be patient with the run...paid off. Tommy is pretty good chucking the rock when the run is really a threat. Everett creates that dimension himself...so I miss him, and look forward to the possibility of his return. Sign me up with the witch doctor who put the spell on Jaron Jones...My lord son...that was Man football...proud of him for sticking it out, and look at him now! Good BYU team who came to play...good win. Seniors, way to go. The winning tradition has largely been re-established on your watch while the academic performance remained. They have been truly EXCELLENT. Couple More to go boys!

 

[DillonHall]

He was joking with you about sleeping through the first half. Guess it went over your head.

Nah, I was trolling.

 

[Bogtrotter07]

I waited to read all the comments. There are fewer with an unexpected win, aren't there.

Here is what I have to say :

It was two weeks ago that not one, but multiple posters were writing Jarron Jone's career at ND off. Now he is the monster in the middle! Wow! Don't get me wrong. I love the kid. But he, and they all are just that, kids. That is why I rail against any player criticism, no matter how seemingly warranted.

Next, Farley. Someone I don't really know, who's posts I am not familiar, first was critical of Farley, and it is true, several others chimed. in. However, Ironman said that he thought Farley might be playing through an injury. I would tend to agree.

I will criticize a coach. Because coaches are paid for the job they do (their expertise) and because they are adults (and have a different level of experience and professionalism than college players) and they are the ones ultimately responsible for the players, they are fair game.

I say what I did because yesterday is the perfect example. For the positive; sticking with the ground game for the first time this year; giving Jarron a shot in the middle and sticking with him; daring them to load the box and throwing over their(BYU) heads; everything Harry Hiestand has done since he has been at ND (the IRISH are rapidly developing one of the best offensive lines in college football);disguising coverage and pressure on defense; ending the slow play mentality including having a linebacker play the down middle position, and mirror the quarterback (brilliant!)

Not so good coaching : A couple of times they didn't go with the hot back when they could have; hats off for running, however, sticking with the outside zone on the icy field wasted eight plays we will never get back; three passing plays where Tommy made the wrong choices including the red zone interception, were coaching errors.

 

[DillonHall]

I waited to read all the comments. There are fewer with an unexpected win, aren't there.

Pretty shameful IMO

 

[irishtrooper]

I know I am not a frequent or veteran poster here, yet I check in multiple times daily. It seems funny to me that this is an 8-3 team that has wins over some very good teams yet inpires so much negative emotion. I can't help but recall the non-Brady Quinn years under Weis. This team has lost a few disappointing games to be sure, but look at all the areas they have improved. I am not calling anyone out or criticizing anyone, but I am just going to sit back and enjoy yet another successful season. I am not drinking Kool-aid and saying our coaching staff never makes mistakes but when you compare this to the trainwreck we were just a short time ago......... Hopefully the Stanford game and bowl game will go well, but I for one will be enjoying this team two more times this season. I am even more excited for next season and we really do seem to be on an upward trend. Just look at Florida and Michigan, I would rather be us than them. I know Michigan beat us, but when you watch them play the last several weeks. Garbage and seemingly getting worse all the time with a coach that looks out of touch.

 

[Ironman8]

I know I am not a frequent or veteran poster here, yet I check in multiple times daily. It seems funny to me that this is an 8-3 team that has wins over some very good teams yet inpires so much negative emotion. I can't help but recall the non-Brady Quinn years under Weis. This team has lost a few disappointing games to be sure, but look at all the areas they have improved. I am not calling anyone out or criticizing anyone, but I am just going to sit back and enjoy yet another successful season. I am not drinking Kool-aid and saying our coaching staff never makes mistakes but when you compare this to the trainwreck we were just a short time ago......... Hopefully the Stanford game and bowl game will go well, but I for one will be enjoying this team two more times this season. I am even more excited for next season and we really do seem to be on an upward trend. Just look at Florida and Michigan, I would rather be us than them. I know Michigan beat us, but when you watch them play the last several weeks. Garbage and seemingly getting worse all the time with a coach that looks out of touch.

Great post. Post more.

 

[DillonHall]

I know I am not a frequent or veteran poster here, yet I check in multiple times daily. It seems funny to me that this is an 8-3 team that has wins over some very good teams yet inpires so much negative emotion. I can't help but recall the non-Brady Quinn years under Weis. This team has lost a few disappointing games to be sure, but look at all the areas they have improved. I am not calling anyone out or criticizing anyone, but I am just going to sit back and enjoy yet another successful season. I am not drinking Kool-aid and saying our coaching staff never makes mistakes but when you compare this to the trainwreck we were just a short time ago......... Hopefully the Stanford game and bowl game will go well, but I for one will be enjoying this team two more times this season. I am even more excited for next season and we really do seem to be on an upward trend. Just look at Florida and Michigan, I would rather be us than them. I know Michigan beat us, but when you watch them play the last several weeks. Garbage and seemingly getting worse all the time with a coach that looks out of touch.

Sometimes the most dangerous thing a team/coach can do is give a taste of success to its fan base. Last year's success gave way to excessively high expectations for this season.

 

[irishog77]

Sometimes the most dangerous thing a team/coach can do is give a taste of success to its fan base. Last year's success gave way to excessively high expectations for this season.

A BCS bowl is not "way too excessively high expectations."

 

[Ironman8]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>“Elijah is a very gifted athlete, but Eilar’s in the right place,” Kelly on the safety position.</p>— Irish Illustrated (@NDatRivals) <a href="https://twitter.com/NDatRivals/statuses/404687778484473857">November 24, 2013</a></blockquote>
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[Ironman8]

Looks like Hardy passed Shumate on the Safety depth chart.

 

[DillonHall]

A BCS bowl is not "way too excessively high expectations."

LOL at your grammatical correction. Try reading my post again.

 

[Irish2155]

A BCS bowl is not "way too excessively high expectations."

No, extremely reasonable imo.

 

[Ironman8]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Kelly said he probably won’t offer bowl input relative to potential recruiting impact. “I want this to be a reward for our seniors."</p>— Irish Illustrated (@NDatRivals) <a href="https://twitter.com/NDatRivals/statuses/404688489364455424">November 24, 2013</a></blockquote>
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[irishog77]

LOL at your grammatical correction. Try reading my post again.

Ha! My bad! Makes more sense now!

 

[Ironman8]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Kelly said team was noticeably ready and locked in when exiting the hotel Saturday.</p>— Tim O'Malley (@timomalleyND) <a href="https://twitter.com/timomalleyND/statuses/404688938649939968">November 24, 2013</a></blockquote>
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[DillonHall]

No, extremely reasonable imo.

I think this is worth debating at the end of the season. I personally predicted 11-1...

 

[Ironman8]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23NotreDame&src=hash">#NotreDame</a>'s Brian Kelly: "At times we played like gentlemen, I don't want to play like gentlemen."</p>— Dan Murphy (@BGI_DanMurphy) <a href="https://twitter.com/BGI_DanMurphy/statuses/404690607165042689">November 24, 2013</a></blockquote>
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[Ironman8]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>“I think he’s surpassed any of the expectations that we had for him,” Kelly on the season of Jaylon Smith.</p>— Irish Illustrated (@NDatRivals) <a href="https://twitter.com/NDatRivals/statuses/404690714769883136">November 24, 2013</a></blockquote>
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[Irish2155]

I think this is worth debating at the end of the season. I personally predicted 11-1...

Year in and year out, our expectations should not change.

 

[Ironman8]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Kelly says KeiVarae Russell is one of those "gentleman" who needed to learn to play tougher.</p>— Dan Murphy (@BGI_DanMurphy) <a href="https://twitter.com/BGI_DanMurphy/statuses/404691641552089088">November 24, 2013</a></blockquote>
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[DillonHall]

Year in and year out, our expectations should not change.

I think you might need to scale back the intensity level a bit and approach Notre Dame football with a more logical outlook. I've found it to be much less stressful this way (and my life's been much more enjoyable this year actually, even moreso than last year).