Post Game Observations

[Riddickulous]

General Observations:

- Horrible first half, beautiful second half.
- The offense is still shaky and inconsistent, but they're getting better.
- Blitzing kills our defense. We still aren't good enough to hold our own if the blitz fails.
- The officiating was AWFUL. Horrific call with the Jones pass interference call.

Individual Observations:

Dayne Crist - C+ - He still needs a lot of work, but he played well enough to get us the win. He throws with the same velocity on every throw, but it 30 yards downfield or 5 yards in front of him.

Cierre Wood - B+ - Great job today. Showed good burst and looked very shifty. And finally, a long touchdown run.

Michael Floyd - A+ - He's hitting his groove. If two big plays aren't called back last week, Floyd could easily have 300 yards in the last two games. Finally, the old Michael Floyd has returned (I hope).

Theo Riddick - Injured - He had that really nice play, and went out injured. Hopefully he's okay and can be ready by Utah, at the latest. I think our receivers are good enough to get us through the Navy and Tulsa games without him.

TJ Jones - Nice catch overruled by a ridiculous call.

Tyler Eifert - A- - Great first start. Turned out a good performance, even by Kyle Rudolph standards. Looked to have some pretty good speed for a tight end on his touchdown.

OL - D+ - Zach Martin kept getting owned by a 204 pound defensive end. Very, very mediocre performance from the line.

DL - C+ - Got pressure. Didn't always get the sack.

Darius Fleming - B - Had a pick. Got a sack or two. I think today was his best game of the season.

Kerry Neal - C+ - He made some plays. Still not very good, but he did make some plays.

Manti Te'o - C+ - He absolutely destroyed somebody on the first drive, but was terrible in coverage.

Carlo Calabrese - D+ - Whiffed on tackles and was poor in coverage.

Gary Gray - A- - Yeah, he was great.

Robert Blanton - B - Pretty solid, I thought.

Darrin Walls - C- - Eh.

Harrison Smith - B - I thought he did fine.

Zeke Motta - B - He made some really nice plays.

David Ruffer - Solid.

Ben Turk - Could be better.

 

[jason_h537]

A tale of two halves
1st Half:
Why does Kelly refuse to run the ball at times?
O Line played very poorly
Too many stupid penalties

2nd Half
Solid all around offensively
Great to see Wood and Floyd back in it
Defense really turned it up a notch in the second half
Special Teams have been solid
Nice to see us pound the ball and control the clock

Side Notes:
Mayock was great again, great to see him give Kavanaugh credit for the hold last week
Also cool to see all the guys on the sideline, Jimmy, Montana, Goodell and Collinsworth

 

[Shamrocks and Shenanigans]

I have to say this and it may not be very popular, but I did not see any improvement from Dayne Crist this week. His numbers in the end are good as usual, but he should have eaten this team alive. The kid is extremely inconsistant. We can't beat Utah or USC if he does not put together a complete game. I think he will be a great QB in the future, but right now he is struggling. He forces to many throws and waits way to long to release the ball when a guy is wide open. It was a nice win, but Crist needs to get his head in the game.

 

[NDOM]

I'm so tired of the retarted broadcasters. Mayock called us Penn State and Hammond called Crist Quinn one time. That and several other blunders by those jackasses. GOD I HATE OUR BROADCASTERS. I would rather here children call our games.

On a side note, we won and thats good. But we are far from being great. We should have scored in the high 50's if anything.

 

[jason_h537]

I'm so tired of the retarted broadcasters. Mayock called us Penn State and Hammond called Crist Quinn one time. That and several other blunders by those jackasses. GOD I HATE OUR BROADCASTERS. I would rather here children call our games.

On a side note, we won and thats good. But we are far from being great. We should have scored in the high 50's if anything.

well considering our backup's played the entire 4th Quarter that seem's ridiculous

 

[NDOM]

well considering our backup's played the entire 4th Quarter that seem's ridiculous

It doesnt seem ridiculous. We had 4 stalled drives by an interception and stupid passes by our quarterback. If he was a great quarterback we would have scored on those drives. He's just an average qb right now who puts up okay numbers but still has ALOT to learn, of course it probly doesnt help that our Oline got destroyed by a bunch of 215lb defensive ends. This team is still a long way before being complete.

 

[jason_h537]

It doesnt seem ridiculous. We had 4 stalled drives by an interception and stupid passes by our quarterback. If he was a great quarterback we would have scored on those drives. He's just an average qb right now who puts up okay numbers but still has ALOT to learn, of course it probly doesnt help that our Oline got destroyed by a bunch of 215lb defensive ends. This team is still a long way before being complete.

ok but Kelly also took the foot off the gas, we scored 27pts in the 1st have and our 2nd string gave up a field goal in the 2nd half. The score doesn't always dictate the dominance

 

[Irish2015]

It seems to me that Mayock has a love affair with a player on the other team each week as he does not shut up about them. However, a win is a win so I can't find to many things to complain about other than the inconsistency on the offense. Dayne is a lot like McNabb as he makes great throws some players and will compeltly whiff and miss someone on the next. Also, he has that stupid McNabb smirk each time he makes a mistake.

 

[Riddickulous]

well considering our backup's played the entire 4th Quarter that seem's ridiculous

Is that Arcade Fire in your sig? Great band, brah.

 

[jason_h537]

Yes and Yes

 

[THegraNDscheme]

Mayock was great again

Agreed except for the fact that he called us "Penn State" at one point during his commentary.

 

[jonesman]

Can someone tell me the statues of THEO RIDDICK???? Saw him limping off the field and he could be a huge loss. We need his playmaking.

 

[Riddickulous]

Can someone tell me the statues of THEO RIDDICK???? Saw him limping off the field and he could be a huge loss. We need his playmaking.

They said something about an ankle sprain.

In my official position as Board Jinx, I can assure you that Theo will not be back this season. (This means he'll be back next week, FYI, my jinx never fails).

 

[PatsandBostonfan1975]

Theo Riddick any news?

 

[Shamrocks and Shenanigans]

Theo Riddick any news?

Kelly said in the press conference it was a minor ankle sprain and if they thought he was needed he would have been back in the game. Doesn't appear to be serious.

 

[Old Man Mike]

Dayne still has trouble relaxing and reading his progressions. This seems to me [since I'm a cautious optimist] to be the sort of thing that one day just happens ["the light turns on", as coaches say]. We are in a perfect stretch of games for this to happen. Lets cut him some slack and see if it does. The same thing is going on with Cierre. Sometimes it looks like the light's on, then it's not anymore. But he's right at the turn-on point and we can see that. Martin is doing a heroic job at RT, having not trained there all camp. That WMU DE has been beating a lot of people this season. Cut Zach some slack too. All-in-all, we should see happiness that we're winning despite all the horrors that people are complaining about. Geez, just how DID we win those games if our QB was THAT bad??------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Defensively, our guys came out without good focus but fairly high energy. Translation: they really thought they'd knock WMUs block off. I think that us scoring on one play enhanced that bad psychology---Oh yeh, this is going to be an A__Kicking romp. Well, just because WMU can't recruit like us doesn't mean that they have no athletes who are functional. Their QB reminds me, in one way, of Collaros at Cincy--a fiery you-can't-intimidate-me-so-bring-it-on type. That plus a head coach who legitimately is an offensive genius will score some on you if you're not focussed. I think it was great that they rammed it down our throat a couple of times---a great learning experience. Note that Diaco, as usual, adapted, and we were back to ourselves in the second half---and cruised home. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I was VERY pleased with the game. Several notable positives, most importantly lots of snaps for people who needed some. Crist will get there. The defense won't get "co*ky" again. Wood, Eifert, Motta, the DEs, the out-of-position OTs, the substitute WRs will all get better and better. Even nice to see Nate and Tommy get some snaps, although I would have preferred Kelly giving each of them a couple of passes--I know it was Coach not wanting to run it up vs a friend, but.... It was a great game for our team's development, both the positive and the negative moments.

 

[jason_h537]

our guys came out without good focus but fairly high energy. Translation: they really thought they'd knock WMUs block off. I think that us scoring on one play enhanced that bad psychology---Oh yeh, this is going to be an A__Kicking romp. .

Nice observation mike

 

[PatsandBostonfan1975]

Kelly said in the press conference it was a minor ankle sprain and if they thought he was needed he would have been back in the game. Doesn't appear to be serious.

thanks

 

[irishtrain]

I'll say this- Western Michigan has a pro prospect playing QB. The guy is good.

 

[Riddickulous]

What was with Nate Montana trying to be a hero on the zone read? He kept it every time.

 

[GoIrish41]

If memory serves, that bloack was not Ruffer's first missed kick at ND. I believe his first kick - an extra point - was a miss last year. I remember all of the hype about the kid leading up to the game and it seems to me I was quite disappointed because he missed an extra point right off the bat.

anyway, if I'm right, the announcers are wrong about that too. ... not just that we aren't Penn State being QBed by Brady Quinn.

 

[NDinL.A.]

If memory serves, that bloack was not Ruffer's first missed kick at ND. I believe his first kick - an extra point - was a miss last year. I remember all of the hype about the kid leading up to the game and it seems to me I was quite disappointed because he missed an extra point right off the bat.

anyway, if I'm right, the announcers are wrong about that too. ... not just that we aren't Penn State being QBed by Brady Quinn.

You are right. And Mayock did slip up.

But other than that, how anyone can bag on Mayock is beyond me. He is such a good analyst it's not even funny. The man knows the game in and out, and can evaluate players better than most in the business. Maybe people like those idiots in the booth that are loud and scream "He's a tough guy!" or "That's a good job!" all friggin' game. Mayock breaks plays down and sees things that the average fan can't/doesn't see. Plus he has back surgery every Sunday as a result of having to carry that clown Tom Hammond every damn broadcast.

Yes, he made a couple mistakes, but the good far, FAR outweighs that.

As for the game, everything's already been said. The major disappointment for me was the line's play in the first half, the defensive lapses in the first half, and Dayne's inconsistency (which I think he'll pull together with a couple of more games under his belt. At least I hope!). Everyone played much better in the 2nd half after that tongue-lashing by BK. I expect us to come out and play much better from the jump vs. Navy next week...

 

[Old Man Mike]

Support LA on reps to Mayock 100%...we're blessed to have an analyst that good. Brings a lot of added value to the broadcast. Lets never smear over Hammond's emptiness to him.

 

[Dizzyphil]

To me, Hughes looks like he is trying to make a point. His rushing yesterday 8 for 63 yards, was key late in the game. I know we had a comfortable lead but, if he can establish this type of running late in the game and we are close, it will be nice to close out close games without having to rely on Crist's arm. It will also be nice short yardage plays. Going to miss him next year.....

Diz

 

[NDTH91]

Here's my post game observation.

This was one of the most fun Notre Dame games I've ever been too (once we got rolling).

DID ANYONE SEE THE DOUBLE WAVE?! I've seen some great things in Notre Dame stadium, and this was one of the most epic things ever. I'm not sure how it looked on tv or from the field or whatever, but from where I was in the student section it was one of the coolest things I've ever seen. And I know that it's pretty likely that it has happened somewhere before, but has anyone ever seen a double wave before or one that was that well done? Anyways, great wave and double wave put on by our fans. Shows what can happen when you gather intelligent people...

In other news I agree that Crist needs to step it up and has yet to really impress me this year. Let's just hope we pick up momentum and can tune up both the offense and defense in time to give Utah a run for their money!

 

[IrishChris209]

Here's my post game observation.

This was one of the most fun Notre Dame games I've ever been too (once we got rolling).

DID ANYONE SEE THE DOUBLE WAVE?! I've seen some great things in Notre Dame stadium, and this was one of the most epic things ever. I'm not sure how it looked on tv or from the field or whatever, but from where I was in the student section it was one of the coolest things I've ever seen. And I know that it's pretty likely that it has happened somewhere before, but has anyone ever seen a double wave before or one that was that well done? Anyways, great wave and double wave put on by our fans. Shows what can happen when you gather intelligent people...

I was there for my First Home Game. The student section looked awesome!I was sitting in the WMU section and even they were doing the wave as well, even if they did not want to...LMAO

 

[ShamrockOnHelmet]

I'm so tired of the retarted broadcasters. Mayock called us Penn State and Hammond called Crist Quinn one time. That and several other blunders by those jackasses. GOD I HATE OUR BROADCASTERS. I would rather here children call our games.

On a side note, we won and thats good. But we are far from being great. We should have scored in the high 50's if anything.

Agreed, on all counts. Can you imagine what FOX would be able to do with ND football? I've had about enough of NBC - we have basically the same damn intro as we did 10 years ago. Of ALL the amazing things you could do with ND football, we get an 8 minute pregame "show" and Mike f'ing Florio at halftime... Is there any way we can get out of this contract any let some other network do something with this property?!?!?

 

[Riddickulous]

Agreed, on all counts. Can you imagine what FOX would be able to do with ND football? I've had about enough of NBC - we have basically the same damn intro as we did 10 years ago. Of ALL the amazing things you could do with ND football, we get an 8 minute pregame "show" and Mike f'ing Florio at halftime... Is there any way we can get out of this contract any let some other network do something with this property?!?!?

Would you rather have us on ESPN with Pam Ward calling games? Yeah, thought not.

I'll take Hammond's tomfoolery and Mayock's intelligent dissection of plays over anything the other networks would bring.

 

[ShamrockOnHelmet]

Would you rather have us on ESPN with Pam Ward calling games? Yeah, thought not.

Uh, yeah, thought I made it pretty clear I was talking about FOX. If they can make NASCAR watchable, their presentation of ND football would win some awards. But, you went with a Pam Ward joke. Thats some fresh comedy.

 

[kmoose]

My post game observation for the week........ That 60 second downpour was friggin' COLD!!!