Post Game Observations (Oklahoma)....

[bmf175]

This team can win with Rees at QB.
What's killing Rees is the play calling. This offense is unimaginative and flat which makes it predictable.
I don't know why head coaches always do this. They were hired for being excellent on one side of the ball or the other. But they abandon what got them there to begin with.
This team was a lot better when Kelly was calling the plays.
Same thing happened to Weis. He is a great offensive mind but he gave the pay calling to somebody else and it hurt the team.

 

[IrishLax]

Not trying to be a prick, just want your honest opinion. Do you still think Rees is a top 25 QB?

Hell no. I'm an idiot.

 

[scUM Hater]

All I have to say is that Mathias Farley stinks, that is all. How many times is this guys gonna get ran over by a receiver or running back?

And since it's still fresh on my mind and I called it before the ball was even snapped. When BJax started to slide down towards the o-line on a corner blitz (first of all, he showed it wayyyy too early), the right tackle called it out and now the whole offense knows BJax is coming. Why not get out of that blitz!? Drop back into coverage at the last second and you have a pick 6 fall right into your hands or bring the safety down! The receiver didn't even have to run a route for crying out loud, all he had to do was run 5 yards and stop. At this point in the season, who knows if Diaco will get a HC job some where and I don't know if that's a good thing or not

I was screaming the same thing. Absolutely ridiculous play.

 

[Irish Insanity]

Not trying to be a prick, just want your honest opinion. Do you still think Rees is a top 25 QB?

Hell no. I'm an idiot.

In what context? In our conference, yes. On our team, yes. In DI, no.

 

[irishfan]

I'm not sure how, but we've got to be the least energetic team in the country. There is just no excitement out there when there's a big play, and there is no urgency either when it is needed. I think this "uptightness" explains our slow starts.

We all know we have the talent, the players just aren't put in a position to "let loose" out there. They just look stiff out there, let alone not being put in a position to be successful (which is a whole different issue).

 

[Catholics_Rule]

I was at the game and it at times in was painful to watch. The turnovers, regardless, killed the team in the 1st half, everyone knows that. I thought GA3 played great and was a breakout game for him. I still believe Cam is NDs most reliable option at RB. He may not have the best speed but he's such a physical runner that fights for every yard he gets.

Tommy Rees on the other hand is a different story. The 1st INT wasn't his fault but the other INTs were. The offensive production in the 4th quarter was downright awful and nonexistent. Even with the turnovers Notre Dame was still in the game until 4th. I watched a QB on every play makes several checks and change plays at the line only to have 7 straight incompletions. Tommy Rees has actually taken a step back from the start of the season and with ASU & USC on the horizon I don't see it getting any better. At this point I hardly believe a BCS game is in the teams future at this point. Brian Kelly for some reason is sticking with Tommy Rees which baffles me to this point. Dayne Crist had one bad half of football versus USF and BK made NO hesitation benching him for Rees, while Rees has simply struggled the entire season. Andrew Hendrix should be given a shot to run this spread offense. Golson isn't coming back this season, and I personally could care less if he come back to the University of Notre Dame for his choices. Regardless, Notre Dame needs to move forward and Brian Kelly has a few difficult weeks ahead of him. I'm all for Hendrix getting a shot.

 

[Catholics_Rule]

I was screaming the same thing. Absolutely ridiculous play.

Same here!

 

[BGIF]

What has happened to the defense is that they are giving up way too many home run/big chunk plays and we lost five key players from last year (Spond, Teo, Baratti, Springman and Motta).

Huh?

Baratti had a preseason injury which took him out of the '13 season. He'll be back in '14.

 

[BGIF]

All I have to say is that Mathias Farley stinks, that is all. How many times is this guys gonna get ran over by a receiver or running back?

And since it's still fresh on my mind and I called it before the ball was even snapped. When BJax started to slide down towards the o-line on a corner blitz (first of all, he showed it wayyyy too early), the right tackle called it out and now the whole offense knows BJax is coming. Why not get out of that blitz!? Drop back into coverage at the last second and you have a pick 6 fall right into your hands or bring the safety down! The receiver didn't even have to run a route for crying out loud, all he had to do was run 5 yards and stop. At this point in the season, who knows if Diaco will get a HC job some where and I don't know if that's a good thing or not

You raise the point about BJax dropping back into coverage. The problem is it's a called play and each of the 11 players have an assignment. Each player doesn't get to ad lib.

On Offense I've wondered why Rees after checking into a play and the Defense readjusts doesn't check back into the original play? The creep into the box, he changes from run to pass. They then drop back. Switch back to a run. Not every play. Once in a while.

The difference between BJax and Rees in this case is Rees isn't acting alone. His call can change everyone's assignment.

 

[kmoose]

Baratti had a preseason injury which took him out of the '13 season. He'll be back in '14.

I wasn't aware that he was a "key player", in 2012? That was the contention of the poster that I quoted.

 

[phork]

3. Tommy had a bad game. But if you think that he was responsible for all 3 of those INTs, then you are just bitching for the sake of bitching. The first one was absolutely NOT his fault; there was a guy coming unblocked. Rees actually felt the pressure and tried to get the ball out before the clock in his head expired, but he was just a hair too slow, and he got hit as he threw the ball. It also just happened to fall right into the hands of a defender who just happened to be running away from the offense. The guy didn't have to reverse direction or anything. It was a bit of a fluke.

And then you go on to list how Tommy's bad throws caused the INTs.....

Atleast we can relish the tire fire that is USC.

 

[BGIF]

I wasn't aware that he was a "key player", in 2012? That was the contention of the poster that I quoted.

O.K.

KLM should have been listed in key losses from '12. Nicky was depth in '12 and was supposed to challenge in '13.

 

[kmoose]

And then you go on to list how Tommy's bad throws caused the INTs.....

Atleast we can relish the tire fire that is USC.

I'm not sure what you are trying to say? The first INT was absolutely NOT Rees' fault. All but the most ardent anti-Rees guys would agree with that. The second one was debatable; it wasn't a good throw, but those kind of throws rarely get picked. The third INT was on Tommy.

 

[DomerInHappyValley]

It's been 5 weeks. I think Diaco needs to start disguising his blitz packages better. It's getting pretty bad when we show blitz with 15 seconds left on the play clock watch the other QB recognize and adjust and then the play goes to where the blitz is coming from.

 

[Irish#1]

It's been 5 weeks. I think Diaco needs to start disguising his blitz packages better. It's getting pretty bad when we show blitz with 15 seconds left on the play clock watch the other QB recognize and adjust and then the play goes to where the blitz is coming from.

I agree, I said it several weeks ago that we show blitz wayyy tooo early. TR's last two INT's were in the middle of the field on the intermediate routes. The same place most of his INT's in previous years occurred. Maybe that's why BK calls the deep ball so much?

 

[philipm31]

Yep......... Oh until teams realize he can't f*ckin throw, but yeah, other than that.

Uh, Bell cannot throw much better, BUT he does know his limitations and does not do things that he cannot or should not do.

The thing that is soooo frustrating about Tommy is that he is a SENIOR with FOUR years experience in the offense and he STILL makes the SAME mistakes, over and over.

Just like Michigan, he forced a throw that killed the momentum that the offense had, a mistake that SHOULD be out of his system by now.

I agree that the first INT was not his fault, but the second one was pretty iffy because TJ did not catch it like he clearly could have, but that last INT was TOTALLY his fault and without those turnovers, ND WINS that game, so anyone who says that OU was CLEARLY better was not watching the same game.

ND's defense is nowhere near what it was last year, but it certainly played better than the score would indicate. OU had ONE drive for a TD, after the last INT, but otherwise, ND was every bit their equal.




As an aside, now the next few games are more dangerous for us because ASU looks for real, and USC would love nothing better than to exorcise the demons of Laney by beating ND at ND.

The next month will be key for this season being even remotely successful.

 

[philipm31]

I agree, I said it several weeks ago that we show blitz wayyy tooo early. TR's last two INT's were in the middle of the field on the intermediate routes. The same place most of his INT's in previous years occurred. Maybe that's why BK calls the deep ball so much?

It seems that Diaco has not changed anything about the way he calls defenses, BK calls the same offensive plays via Martin and the special teams remains decidedly "not special".

I hope that we can see some improvement from the team over the next few weeks, but if they have not changed anything except personnel, then I am afraid we won't see it, from anyone.

Doing things the same, failing, and continuing to do them anyway and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity. I just hope our team and coaching staff adjusts, starting this weekend.

 

[Booslum31]

I haven't read any of this thread...just got back from ND. I had an end-zone view of our inside LB play. OMG...I am now actually starting to feel sorry for Grace. Seems like a great guy and is trying extremely hard. But he was getting killed out there. Speed is his biggest issue...taking the right angles and getting rid of blocks are close behind. Diaco has to solve that because anyone watching film is seeing it.

 

[Bluto]

I wasn't aware that he was a "key player", in 2012? That was the contention of the poster that I quoted.

From everything I heard and read Baratti was looking at lots of playing time this year. Thus a key player. Forgot KLM. That dude was rock solid as well.

 

[Bluto]

O.K.

KLM should have been listed in key losses from '12. Nicky was depth in '12 and was supposed to challenge in '13.

Yep.

 

[Buster Bluth]

It seems that Diaco has not changed anything about the way he calls defenses, BK calls the same offensive plays via Martin and the special teams remains decidedly "not special".

I hope that we can see some improvement from the team over the next few weeks, but if they have not changed anything except personnel, then I am afraid we won't see it, from anyone.

Doing things the same, failing, and continuing to do them anyway and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity. I just hope our team and coaching staff adjusts, starting this weekend.

This is almost 100% false.

 

[Patulski]

I'm not sure how, but we've got to be the least energetic team in the country. There is just no excitement out there when there's a big play, and there is no urgency either when it is needed.

C'mon now. We had the longest touchdown run from scrimmage by a running back in ten years yesterday. There was plenty of excitement when that happened.

What we do not have is a clutch QB who can drive the team down field when it matters most. Everybody knows this. It is what it is.

 

[Wild Bill]

I haven't read any of this thread...just got back from ND. I had an end-zone view of our inside LB play. OMG...I am now actually starting to feel sorry for Grace. Seems like a great guy and is trying extremely hard. But he was getting killed out there. Speed is his biggest issue...taking the right angles and getting rid of blocks are close behind. Diaco has to solve that because anyone watching film is seeing it.

He couldn't shed blocks thrown by slot receivers. It was pathetic.

 

[aubeirish]

Hell no. I'm an idiot.

I feel the same...

I was fooled because he checks plays like Peyton...lol

 

[Wild Bill]

You raise the point about BJax dropping back into coverage. The problem is it's a called play and each of the 11 players have an assignment. Each player doesn't get to ad lib.

On Offense I've wondered why Rees after checking into a play and the Defense readjusts doesn't check back into the original play? The creep into the box, he changes from run to pass. They then drop back. Switch back to a run. Not every play. Once in a while.

The difference between BJax and Rees in this case is Rees isn't acting alone. His call can change everyone's assignment.

You a always have the option of checking out of a blitz. It's day one, page one stuff. "Hey Mike linebacker, if xyz happens, say, "Check...off off!" and play cover 2."

 

[Buster Bluth]

This team can win with Rees at QB.
What's killing Rees is the play calling. This offense is unimaginative and flat which makes it predictable.
I don't know why head coaches always do this. They were hired for being excellent on one side of the ball or the other. But they abandon what got them there to begin with.
This team was a lot better when Kelly was calling the plays.
Same thing happened to Weis. He is a great offensive mind but he gave the pay calling to somebody else and it hurt the team.

Kelly has control over plays. To think that he and Martin aren't communicating at all times is sorta crazy. He's not compartmentalizing the staff.

And unimaginative? I'm not sure I'd call it that. I think it takes a lot of balls to hike Hendrix out there and platoon everything. It's quite clear that Kelly doesn't have the tools needed to excel offensively, so he is absolutely forced to get imaginative.

I'm not sure how, but we've got to be the least energetic team in the country. There is just no excitement out there when there's a big play, and there is no urgency either when it is needed.

I don't agree. To be fair, there haven't been many big plays...

We all know we have the talent, the players just aren't put in a position to "let loose" out there. They just look stiff out there, let alone not being put in a position to be successful (which is a whole different issue).

Stiff, not letting loose, etc sounds an awful lot, at least to me, like players who are thinking and not reacting. There are a lot of players learning out there, from my eyes. I have full confidence that we'll see huge improvements as the season goes along; I think we've seen plenty already.

 

[IrishLion]

Stiff, not letting loose, etc sounds an awful lot, at least to me, like players who are thinking and not reacting. There are a lot of players learning out there, from my eyes. I have full confidence that we'll see huge improvements as the season goes along; I think we've seen plenty already.

I'm with you here. I honestly believe that the improvements this team has made in the past three weeks, from Purdue to now, were significant. If they weren't improving, Oklahoma would have demolished ND yesterday. However, you saw an ND team that is getting better every week, and a team that had a shot to win if not for two terrible plays to begin the game.

 

[IrishJayhawk]

I'm with you here. I honestly believe that the improvements this team has made in the past three weeks, from Purdue to now, were significant. If they weren't improving, Oklahoma would have demolished ND yesterday. However, you saw an ND team that is getting better every week, and a team that had a shot to win if not for two terrible plays to begin the game.

I think there's also a tendency to look at every game from a Notre Dame perspective. If something good happens, it's because we're good. If something bad happens, it's because we're screwing up. Now, there was plenty of screwing up to notice yesterday. But, Oklahoma is good. After the first 3 minutes, we were every bit the team that they were. I was actually pretty shocked to see that.

 

[kmoose]

I'm with you here. I honestly believe that the improvements this team has made in the past three weeks, from Purdue to now, were significant. If they weren't improving, Oklahoma would have demolished ND yesterday. However, you saw an ND team that is getting better every week, and a team that had a shot to win if not for two terrible plays to begin the game.

They had a shot to win, DESPITE the two terrible plays to begin the game. ND was only down 6 points, with 14:00 left to go in the game.

 

[Buster Bluth]

I think there's also a tendency to look at every game from a Notre Dame perspective. If something good happens, it's because we're good. If something bad happens, it's because we're screwing up. Now, there was plenty of screwing up to notice yesterday. But, Oklahoma is good. After the first 3 minutes, we were every bit the team that they were. I was actually pretty shocked to see that.

This.

You should go read the game day thread. It's a virtual insane asylum in there.