Post Game Observations...

[mgriff]

Things can be improved, but we need more than one offseason to correct everything that was wrong.

 

[Irish93]

The bottom line is that if Crist doesn't get hurt, we win the game by 20.

The one and only problem is the backup QB. In any game, you can find plays to be critical about, because they didn't work out as planned. Nobody plays a perfect game.

If Crist stays healthy, this team wins at least 9 games.

 

[DomeX2 eNVy]

From a view inside the stadium, here are a couple observations (of many).

I don't get the defense bashing. They were on the field a lot, and played hard. Three big UM plays were more on Diaco than the players. It was obvious that 3 recievers on one side will take advantage of 1 cb and 1 s with no lb help. Early in the game, we were selling out on the run and that killed us. Granted on a couple plays, the D couldn't get off the blocks.

However, the adjustments made by Diaco were great. Shifting the line in the 2nd half really disrupted Robinson - I think we taught future UM opponents how to play him. Looking at the field position and number of possessions, the D played so much better than last year.
Rees looked noticably scared and nervous - understandable, but no way he should have stayed in the game for a 3rd series. Hopefully he gets some good pt with less pressure this year.

Michigan is not that good; however I think they are well coached (must be the extra practice hours). They blocked so well at every point on the field. I don't see them winning more than 8 games though.

I'd like to see Eifert more.

The offense still his learning the system. There were entire sets of downs where the looked confused and out of focus - especially Rudolf and Floyd. It will take time, and they'll be alright.

Many better days ahead, I believe.

 

[]\/[GoBlue]

**** DON'T SHOOT******

The bottom line is that if Crist doesn't get hurt, we win the game by 20.

The one and only problem is the backup QB. In any game, you can find plays to be critical about, because they didn't work out as planned. Nobody plays a perfect game.

If Crist stays healthy, this team wins at least 9 games.

You really can't use this, what if Woolfolk wasn't out for the season? There were two throws where the corner made a bad plays for us, would they of been the same? Obviously we all want our teams to be at full strength but this is football and there will be injuries, look at our roster if you need further proof of that.

My observations of your team.

1. Your D line played well, DR's yardage wouldn't of been as impressive if not for that one 87 yarder, and he's the only QB you fill face all year that can do it.

2. I hate rudy, a lot. God he's a beast. He really made Koger (our TE) look JV.

3. Your LB unit is very fast and very talented, and Te'o is a soph.

4. Crist (sp?) will get better, you're being a little tough on him, he's only in his second start and it's a new system. Don't expect too much just yet.

5. AA scares me as a return guy, one break away from taking it all the way back.

6. There is a huge drop off in your first string QB and your second, but this game will be a huge help to him.

Be proud of your Irish, they played tough, never gave up, and looked much improved over last year. If last years Irish coaching staff was in place DR would of had 700 yards of total offence, the Tenuta blitz all day long approach would of been great for us. Be easy on your boys, they will get better.

 

[nlroma1o]

Finally was able to come on IE this morning...

My observations:

1. I was at the game. The crowd was going absolutely insane the second half.

2. AA is running much better now. IMO He is just on the edge of breaking through and becoming a GREAT rb. He just needs that last push through the bubble and He will be unstoppable. He had a play in the fourth quarter where he bobbled the pitch and dropped it 5 yards behind the line of scrimmage picked it up and fiercely ran straight up the middle into the linebackers (cuz he knew he f'd up dropping the ball). He hit one of them so hard their helmet flew off 3 yards from the pile and he ended up gaining 5 years on the play!! THat for me was a jaw dropper. i ve never seen him do anything like that be fore. I really think he is 1 game away from turning into an even bigger star player. He has he potential, he just needs to do it now.

3. Floyd isn't being used effectively in the offense yet. He will be, just wait.

4. I personally thought the defense did great. Yeah robinson is a beast and his stats are crazy, but, they held scum to 7 points in the second half..... NUFF SAID.

5. IMO its kinda hard to win a damn game when you play 12 mins of the first quarter and the entire 2nd quarter WITH OUT A F'N QB!!!!!!! Just a little difficult. Like Many ppl have said already. When Dayne was in the game ND outscored scum. I WOULD BET ANYONE THAT ND WINS THIS GAME IS DAYNE DIDNT GET HURT ON THAT DAMN QB SNEAK!!!!! ANYONE!!!! And to make myself feel even worse. the qb sneak would have never been necessary if they didnt review Kyles td the play before. Was he even out of bounds b4 he hit the pylon!? I havent watched a replay of the game yet. If they count kyles TD, Dayne doesn't have to run the qb sneak and we probably win the game...

6. this one hurts... And i mean it hurts bad...... My girlfriend goes to scum, her family is die hard scum, my family is die hard ND.... and now i have to sit hear for another 365 no wait 364 days getting bashed by her and her family that they beat ND again.....for the second year in a row...... I have to sit here for another year knowing in the back of my head that ND should have won both games these past two years but instead they lost them...... This was literally the most important game of the year for me.... (FYi last year i get sucker punched at the game, in the bathroom b4 the game even started).... The rest of the season just isn't as important to me now. Yes i will still cheer for them for the rest of the season... but it just wont mean as much to me...... I'll say it again....This one really hurt bad...

Go Irish!

 

[no.1IrishFan]

**** DON'T SHOOT******



You really can't use this, what if Woolfolk wasn't out for the season? There were two throws where the corner made a bad plays for us, would they of been the same? Obviously we all want our teams to be at full strength but this is football and there will be injuries, look at our roster if you need further proof of that.

My observations of your team.

1. Your D line played well, DR's yardage wouldn't of been as impressive if not for that one 87 yarder, and he's the only QB you fill face all year that can do it.

2. I hate rudy, a lot. God he's a beast. He really made Koger (our TE) look JV.

3. Your LB unit is very fast and very talented, and Te'o is a soph.

4. Crist (sp?) will get better, you're being a little tough on him, he's only in his second start and it's a new system. Don't expect too much just yet.

5. AA scares me as a return guy, one break away from taking it all the way back.

6. There is a huge drop off in your first string QB and your second, but this game will be a huge help to him.

Be proud of your Irish, they played tough, never gave up, and looked much improved over last year. If last years Irish coaching staff was in place DR would of had 700 yards of total offence, the Tenuta blitz all day long approach would of been great for us. Be easy on your boys, they will get better.

I honestly believe that we are better than you guys, DR has been nothing short of amazing but to put things in perspective our offense pretty much did in one half what it took you guys an entire game to do.

 

[Irish93]

[/B]

I honestly believe that we are better than you guys, DR has been nothing short of amazing but to put things in perspective our offense pretty much did in one half what it took you guys an entire game to do.

I think that this was clear. During a little more than a half of football and with Crist on the field, the game score was 24-7 ND. Michigan scored 21 points simply because ND couldn't even get a first down after Crist went down.

I'm not making excuses. I'm just not that bummed about the loss. I didn't expect us to win a NC anyways.

Even with Crist healthy, do I think that we are as good as OSU or Alabama? Not even close. But, I'm liking the way this program is heading.

 

[]\/[GoBlue]

Michigan scored 21 points simply because ND couldn't even get a first down after Crist went down.

No, we scored 21 because you couldn't stop us. You made some adjustments at half and were able to keep us out of the endzone, our kicker kept us off the scoreboard. You knew what our game plan was going to be and you still couldn't stop us when it counted, we are that good.

Denard was able to throw for 200+ and run for 200+, in order for that to happen he had to have a line open holes and pass protect, and he had to have receivers catch and hold on to the ball. Our D was able to keep your running game and your receivers in check, except Rudolph. So our team did what it needed to do.

 

[military_irish]

No, we scored 21 because you couldn't stop us. You made some adjustments at half and were able to keep us out of the endzone, our kicker kept us off the scoreboard. You knew what our game plan was going to be and you still couldn't stop us when it counted, we are that good.

Denard was able to throw for 200+ and run for 200+, in order for that to happen he had to have a line open holes and pass protect, and he had to have receivers catch and hold on to the ball. Our D was able to keep your running game and your receivers in check, except Rudolph. So our team did what it needed to do.

i'm sorry but i have to respectively disagree, it wasn't that ND's defense couldn't stop Michigans offense, because they could but when they make a stop and then ND's offense goes three and out and the defense is put out there once again, they are going to give up plays its just the way it happens.

the second half is more indicative of what the outcome should have been more than the 1st half.

Denard is good, yes, but what i seen was maybe a 7-8 win team out there. one person can not carry a team, and that's all i seen out there yesterday was a one man team. i fully expect more wins at the end of the season for ND, than Michigan. not a homer pick either, just by the way both teams played, despite the outcome

 

[]\/[GoBlue]

well, I appreciate most of this boards thoughts and it's very possible once B10 play starts last year happens again. But this is why they play the game.

 

[sportallyr]

I've been reading a lot of the posts since the game, so I'll save the redundancy of pointing out the obvious players that had good / bad games. Two players that haven't been getting a lot of mention that I believe had a great game were Robert Blanton and Zeke Motta. They can both still improve a lot, but I was glad to see someone other than Walls and Gray step up in the secondary. The difference between our DB's this year and our DB's last year is night and day. Chuck Martin is an absolute stud and I, for one, believe that he is critical to the success of this team in the future. I just hope that other teams don't realize this and steal him away after this year. I do believe that it's only a matter of time before he's a head coach for a big time team.

 

[NDFANnSouthWest]

great point....I was thinking about this all night....Zeke has done a great job....and I also think that Harrison is doing much much better than last year.

 

[BeatSC]

Spot on post!

Spot on post!

1. Dayne Crist is the single most important player on this team. He's not yet an elite QB, but he is fairly good and remarkably important to this football team. His accuracy downfield is still garbage. He has a great arm and is an outstanding leader.

2. Armando Allen ran hard. Good game from him.

3. Cierre Wood had no room to run.

4. Jonas? Good game. He made two good plays on both plays he saw the field.

5. Michael Floyd was a huge disappointment. I may be coming down too hard on him, but he did not show up to play today. Two drops and only two grabs up until that last drive where he had 200 yard cushions.

6. Theo Riddick is not a receiver, right now. He's a disappointment. He needs a year. Put Jones in the slot and get Kamara on the field.

7. Jones was lucky to get away with what he did. Aside from that, he turned out a pretty good performance.

8. Kyle Rudolph is the best tight end in the country. There were complaints about his speed last week. That went out the window.

9. The offensive line looked good in pass protection. Run blocking could have been much better, especially in the first half where we were stuffed on every damn play.

10. Too many holes from the defensive line.

11. Carlo Calabrese is a damn good football player. Kid is an animal.

12. Speaking of animals, Manti is awesome.

13. Okay game from the linebackers.

14. Darrin Walls gave way too large of a cushion on most plays. Bad day.

15. Did not hear Gray's name called. That must mean he had a good day.

16. Safeties were decent.

17. Our backups are terrible. Montana was a walk-on for a reason. That interception he forced to Floyd was AWFUL. Rees is a freshman and looked like it.

18. How about Eifert on the snag over the middle?

All many of the same points I was thinking of. Hate losing but I think even UM fans know this is our game just like UM wouldn't have had over 500 yards if Robinsons is out. Here are a few observations and comments:

- I think we need to incorporate the wildcat with AA or Riddick especially when Dayne
gets hurt.
- Didn't see the platooning of personnel as much this week.
- Neal did not impress
- Jonas looked good
- Running game lacked imagination. We ran a sweet misdirection once and never again.
- Didn't like the playcalling much when the backups were in
- Missed opportunities for int's and fumbles, we have to convert
- Red zone play calling sucks. TD's are coming off big plays
- Dayne really needs to work on touch and accuracy
- Floyd needs to settle down and get more touches
- Riddick does need more time. Let him try a quick out or bubble screen or end around.
- Punting distance needs to improve
- Kickoff distance is finally good!
- Crowd noise if finally where it needs to be
- Getting screwed by refs again.
- Where are the subs for the TE's and WR's?

 

[]\/[GoBlue]

How did you get screwed by the refs?

 

[vernfootball1]

Look on the positive side.. Facebook comment

DaVaris Daniels T.J. did his thing too

Uh STalker? get the hell off his facebook you creeper.

 

[phgreek]

No, we scored 21 because you couldn't stop us. You made some adjustments at half and were able to keep us out of the endzone, our kicker kept us off the scoreboard. You knew what our game plan was going to be and you still couldn't stop us when it counted, we are that good.

Denard was able to throw for 200+ and run for 200+, in order for that to happen he had to have a line open holes and pass protect, and he had to have receivers catch and hold on to the ball. Our D was able to keep your running game and your receivers in check, except Rudolph. So our team did what it needed to do.

all I can say is...I gave you a rough time, all in fun, but still, you get your time...you guys won. Can't argue much with the logic...you guys could have folded when we came back...you didn't. I think it is a very different ball game w/ Crist in the entire game...I think our key guys had chances to knock you out, and didn't execute... We had enough chances to win...

Hope denard kills everybody on your schedule the rest of the year...I hope he doesn't get hurt...Forcier is tough (still the real #2), but not even in the same league as this kid in terms of what he makes a defense do...your games are going to be track meets...w/o denard, you'll have a real tough time...with him, you are a contender in the B10.

 

[GoingGreen]

I hope Michigan rolls the rest of the year, it makes our loss not look so bad.

 

[NDFANnSouthWest]

Michigan will give teams fits in the future....

 

[]\/[GoBlue]

all I can say is...I gave you a rough time, all in fun, but still, you get your time...you guys won. Can't argue much with the logic...you guys could have folded when we came back...you didn't. I think it is a very different ball game w/ Crist in the entire game...I think our key guys had chances to knock you out, and didn't execute... We had enough chances to win...

Hope denard kills everybody on your schedule the rest of the year...I hope he doesn't get hurt...Forcier is tough (still the real #2), but not even in the same league as this kid in terms of what he makes a defense do...your games are going to be track meets...w/o denard, you'll have a real tough time...with him, you are a contender in the B10.

Thanks, the reason I post here is because most of the posters here are insightful and fairly even keel (except gameday, but who is?). Honestly had I found this place earlier I might not hate the Irish as much

 

[no.1IrishFan]

All many of the same points I was thinking of. Hate losing but I think even UM fans know this is our game just like UM wouldn't have had over 500 yards if Robinsons is out. Here are a few observations and comments:

- I think we need to incorporate the wildcat with AA or Riddick especially when Dayne
gets hurt.
- Didn't see the platooning of personnel as much this week.
- Neal did not impress
- Jonas looked good
- Running game lacked imagination. We ran a sweet misdirection once and never again.
- Didn't like the playcalling much when the backups were in
- Missed opportunities for int's and fumbles, we have to convert
- Red zone play calling sucks. TD's are coming off big plays
- Dayne really needs to work on touch and accuracy
- Floyd needs to settle down and get more touches
- Riddick does need more time. Let him try a quick out or bubble screen or end around.
- Punting distance needs to improve
- Kickoff distance is finally good!
- Crowd noise if finally where it needs to be
- Getting screwed by refs again.
- Where are the subs for the TE's and WR's?

I didn't see that at all.

 

[phork]

I didn't see the ref screwing either.. If anything there was some ticky tack calls on UM, especially that last late hit..

 

[NDFANnSouthWest]

we got away with one...TJ early celebration....

 

[NDinL.A.]

How did you get screwed by the refs?

We didn't. Last year I felt we got raped by the refs...this year the refs had nothing to do with us losing. Denard being an absolute beast and Crist getting hurt (along with other things) is why we lost.

 

[phgreek]

We didn't. Last year I felt we got raped by the refs...this year the refs had nothing to do with us losing. Denard being an absolute beast and Crist getting hurt (along with other things) is why we lost.

...I'm still bitter about last year...I'm pissed about this year...but I'm still not over last year and the refs...

 

[IrishinSyria]

Yea, don't see the refs thing. The only things I can think of are Floyd's holding (garbage call) and maybe a few missed illegal men downfield calls when Robinson scrambled then threw. On the flip side, they missed a fumble on us. That's a pretty big deal.

 

[military_irish]

kind of interesting BK said today that Crist had swelling on the right side of his face. as much football as i played in the past, never had that happen.

except when i played a couple times of sandlot football


also, anyone who wanted to see Massa or Hendrix, it's not going to happen this year, BK said he is having them sit this whole year so they will just need to work on Rees and Montana more

 

[Irish93]

No, we scored 21 because you couldn't stop us. You made some adjustments at half and were able to keep us out of the endzone, our kicker kept us off the scoreboard. You knew what our game plan was going to be and you still couldn't stop us when it counted, we are that good.

Denard was able to throw for 200+ and run for 200+, in order for that to happen he had to have a line open holes and pass protect, and he had to have receivers catch and hold on to the ball. Our D was able to keep your running game and your receivers in check, except Rudolph. So our team did what it needed to do.

I'm not taking away from the fact that Michigan did what it needed to do to win. My point is that they had far too many prime opportunities, solely because Crist was sitting on the sidelines.

 

[]\/[GoBlue]

But it's unknown as to what would of happened, so you can't bring in the shouldh'ah, would'ah and could'ahs. That would be like me holding on to Wolfolk being out, he's out and we're pushing on with our triaged secondary.

 

[phork]

Even with Wolfolk that secondary was out matched.

 

[]\/[GoBlue]

with your wideouts and Rudolph, yes it should of been. But again, this is your QB's second start, ever, and your entire teams second time out in BK's system. Also, and I'm not trying to poke a sore spot, but it's not like he was Payton Manning...see final throw for more information