Post Game Observations

[IrishLax]

Michigan fans actually think their team is good because of this game.

I know, isn't that the funniest part? Their team played like utter crap but because we totally suck and played even worse with 4 (5?) turnovers taking tons of points off the board they think they're good. I hate it. That could've easily been a 41-7 statement win.... but these players don't know how to win.

 

[Chicago Irish Fan]

Last week I was too angry to post on here all week. This week I'm just depressed. This is the only Notre Dame I have ever known. The one that gives false hope. The one that underachieves. The one that can't finish games. The one that, when you think they can't possibly get every bad break and make every stupid mistake in the book AGAIN, they do. My first season as a big ND fan was 2007 when I was 12 years old. This is what I've had to go through: records of 3-9, 7-6, 6-6, 8-5 and now 0-2. Three straight last minute losses to Michigan. Countless loses to everyone and anyone imaginable. And I haven't experienced anything better than that. I wasn't even a big fan during the mildly successful Brady Quinn days. As Michigan started to come back in the 4th quarter I knew they would lose. Even after they scored the go ahead touchdown with 30 seconds left I didn't celebrate and I wasn't happy. I just thought to myself, if this is the same ND I know, they will still find a way to lose. And they did. Any way, my thoughts on the game:

-We are a much better team than both Michigan and USF. And I still think we are better than every team on our schedule with the possible exception of Stanford.

-The offensive play calling was way way too conservative in the second half. We had several opportunities to put the nail in the coffin, but we seemed content to just sit on our lead and just drain the clock. The entire stadium and national TV audience knew we were going to run the ball on 3rd and short, but we went ahead and did it anyway. Don't get me wrong, I'm not hopping on the premature and irrational fire BK bandwagon, but his play calling was just flat out terrible in the second half.

-Denard Robinson can not throw the football. He couldn't hit the broadside of a barn all night. He underthrew literally everything so that every single deep pass just became a jump ball. He couldn't hit a receiver in stride for his life. Which brings me to my next point...

-Our secondary is just flat out awful, especially Gary Gray. The only thing D Rob did all night when throwing the football, was jump balls. Yet every single time Gray over ran the receiver and didn't even look up to see the ball. This must have happened at least 5 times. Why did he not learn from it and why did the coaching staff not talk to him about it? D Rob was not going to be able to hit his receiver downfield in stride, but we kept on playing the receivers like he was ****ing Tom Brady.

-Our offensive skill position players are very very good. Floyd is looking unstoppable and the only time Wood could be stopped was when Michigan was putting 8-9 guys in the box in the 4th quarter. Jonas Gray looks like a solid #2 back. Theo Riddick and TJ Jones had nice bounce back games. I believe Theo had 2 touchdowns with a 3rd called back on a penalty. TJ also had a nice catch and run for a TD.

-The only 3 things wrong with this football team right now are turnovers, secondary play, and play calling. The turnovers are very fixable. The play calling is fixable if BK isn't stubborn and realizes he can't let the foot off the gas. I don't know about the secondary, but I think their mistakes are mental, not physical so I'm hopeful they can be fixed.

We have a very good football team, but we have to step on the opponents throat when we have them down and we need to cut down on the turnovers. I still think we are capable of winning a lot of football games, whether we do or not is anyone's guess.

 

[enrico514]

My main takeaways from last night:

- Why is Ben Turk still our punter?

- What happened to Gary Gray to all of a sudden become the worst CB in Irish history? Blown coverage on the 64 yrd pass, the awful coverage on the TDs and the fact that he let the receiver catch the game winner... a pass interference call sends their FG team out on the field. If he plays this way again we will be taken apart by some of the QBs we will face in the upcoming weeks.

I can live with most of the rest... even Tommy's ints (one not on him) and weird dropped pass. Kid is a decent game manager but definitely not the QB of the future. We need to put a game away asap to give Hendrix some meaningful snaps.

Last 2 weeks have felt like some players bet against the team the mistakes have been so over the top!!!

 

[irishff1014]

They need to line up faster and make adjustments a little faster if not we are going to use alot of dumb time outs or have alot of delay of game.

 

[kmoose]

1. There's no more QB controversy. 500+ yards and 30+ points. Rees is far from the perfect QB, but this offense MOVES, with him in the game. And the kid is only a sophomore. He could very well be the man for not just this year, but the two years beyond that as well.

2. I stand (actually, I'm sitting, but you get my meaning) corrected on Cierre Wood. The kid is not a Doak Walker Award or Heisman Trophy type kid, but there's no doubt that he is a quality D-IA BCS level starter.

3. I can't understand what is going on, in the second Quarter, this year. The offense comes out firing on all cylinders, in the first quarter of both games. Then seems to fall apart in the 2nd Quarter. I'll have to go back and look at the play by play, but does it seem like Kelly all but abandons the run, once he gets a lead?

4. The secondary was really bad, as a unit. Almost ALL of them. We all know what happened to Gary Gray. Motta and Smith let a guy catch a ball, almost uncontested, in between their double coverage?

5. I'd like to see all those people who were scandalized by Coach Kelly's behavior, last week, give him credit for maintaining his composure this week?

6. With fans like some of the folks here, it's no wonder that no top coach was interested in this job, after Weis. Seriously, people....... if you're on board, you're welcome to stay. If you're not on board, but can discuss the ins and outs of what you think is wrong with the team, then you're welcome to stay. If you are not on board, and can't come up with anything other than "we suck", or "we'll never win 10 games again", or "Kelly needs to be fired", then stay the f*ck away. I don't want to hear your ignorant drivel, and I doubt anyone else does, either. So don't use up bandwidth, storage space, and our patience with your inane, retarded ramblings.

 

[GoIrish41]

5. I'd like to see all those people who were scandalized by Coach Kelly's behavior, last week, give him credit for maintaining his composure this week?

Not sure I know what you mean by scandalized, but i suspect I am one of the people you are talking about. I do give him credit for maintaining his composure this week. He had just as many reasons to blow a gasket this week as he did last week and kept his cool. I also gave him props for acknowledging that he lost his cool in the first game during a press conference the next day. I'm not an anti-Kelly guy at all, but in the event he loses his mind again, I'll be sure to point it out again.

 

[IrishLax]

One last observation....

Michigan is about to get a huge boost to recruiting out of this and may finish off this class #1 in the country.

 

[kmoose]

Not sure I know what you mean by scandalized, but i suspect I am one of the people you are talking about. I do give him credit for maintaining his composure this week. He had just as many reasons to blow a gasket this week as he did last week and kept his cool. I also gave him props for acknowledging that he lost his cool in the first game during a press conference the next day. I'm not an anti-Kelly guy at all, but in the event he loses his mind again, I'll be sure to point it out again.

I wasn't really talking about anyone in particular. I just was surprised that some were so passionate about his behavior.

 

[rtrn2glory]

One last observation....

Michigan is about to get a huge boost to recruiting out of this and may finish off this class #1 in the country.

is that a prediction or inside info???

 

[IrishLax]

is that a prediction or inside info???

A little of both. They just landed a big 2013 commit and it looks like they're about to haul in some high 4 players very shortly here.

 

[rtrn2glory]

are you talking payton and banner?? that sucks if you are

 

[Irishcop]

What really sucked is that we finally got a touchback at the perfect time with 30 seconds left. No chance for a big return, but we all know how that ended up. Touchbacks are overrated imho.

 

[rtrn2glory]

i kept yelling come on kyle big kick big kick and he delivered...that's called stepping up and unfortunately he will not get the kudos he deserves for that touch back...that was a big play imo, didn't change the outcome, and he stepped up with all the chips on the table

 

[Black Irish]

I knew having 3 leaf shamrocks instead of 4 leaf clovers on the helmets would screw us! The 4th leaf is for luck, you guys! How could you leave it off?

 

[phork]

A little of both. They just landed a big 2013 commit and it looks like they're about to haul in some high 4 players very shortly here.

They are almost full. Don't worry, once a real secondary gets a hold of those Denard Ducks their dream will come crashing down soon enough.

 

[Irishcop]

i kept yelling come on kyle big kick big kick and he delivered...that's called stepping up and unfortunately he will not get the kudos he deserves for that touch back...that was a big play imo, didn't change the outcome, and he stepped up with all the chips on the table

Very true he did deliver when he needed to most, he did his job. Your absolutely righ,t at that point in the game that was a huge play. It just to bad the defense total broke down.

 

[Kak7304]

My excuse is UM only played 3 quarters last week, so that's all we were able to prepare for. Sounds reasonable, right?

 

[Buster Bluth]

Our QB is turnover happy.

Our defense is slow.

Our DBs are slower.

There is ABSOLUTELY NO player development.

The offense CANT score.

Harrison Smith and Gary Gray are terrible.

We are not a good team.

This is so wrong that I almost think you are joking.

 

[Chicago Irish Fan]

This is still a good football team. You take away some turnovers and bad breaks and we win each of our first 2 games by 1 or 2 TDs. The only unit that has played poorly is the secondary.

 

[HereComeTheIrish]

Our QB is turnover happy.

Our defense is slow.

Our DBs are slower.

There is ABSOLUTELY NO player development.

The offense CANT score.

Harrison Smith and Gary Gray are terrible.

We are not a good team.

Please tell me that I've slipped in to a coma and this is just a dream scenario.... Please?

 

[irishtrain]

I know, isn't that the funniest part? Their team played like utter crap but because we totally suck and played even worse with 4 (5?) turnovers taking tons of points off the board they think they're good. I hate it. That could've easily been a 41-7 statement win.... but these players don't know how to win.

Here's where I agree=this is a really talented group but they actually dont have the feel for winning. That is something that must be acquired. I'm still on the bandwagon and love the talent level but by losing this game to a really bad offensive team like that shows you they're just not there yet. I still submitt that by the end of the season this will be one of the better teams in the country. I'm sticking by my 9-3 prediction. By the way-did anyone else get the feel that Herbstreit was really digging the way the Irish fell apart. Maybe it was just me.

 

[BeauBenken]

Here's where I agree=this is a really talented group but they actually dont have the feel for winning. That is something that must be acquired. I'm still on the bandwagon and love the talent level but by losing this game to a really bad offensive team like that shows you they're just not there yet. I still submitt that by the end of the season this will be one of the better teams in the country. I'm sticking by my 9-3 prediction. By the way-did anyone else get the feel that Herbstreit was really digging the way the Irish fell apart. Maybe it was just me.

Well Herbie predicted what? 5 wins?

 

[tankjeep]

I knew I should have logged off and gone to bed. Instead, I came back here to THIS!?!?!?


My biggest observation is that some of you people f*cking DISGUST me! You whiney f*cks expect these players to play their hearts out, every play of every game. And when they drop two games in a row because of sloppy play(and pure dumb bad luck), you throw in the towel and start saying things like "we suck". WE don't suck........you do. Man up and act like you expect these kids to act. Stay the course, or jump on over to another f*cking team's bandwagon. This team has as much talent and ability as any ND team has had, since the Holtz years. They even have played very well, in long spurts. They just are missing that "something" that brings it all together. If they put it together, there's nothing stopping them from becoming that team that gels and looks like one of the best teams in the country, at the end of the year. In the meantime, STFU or move on. Some of you people are absolutely pi$$-poor examples of the human spirit.

/rant off

thanks kmoose. and there's a reason why i stayed away from this site for two days. threads like this.

 

[RDU Irish]

So would some of y'all rather have the "flash in the pan" teams that eek out wins over mediocre teams and get slaughtered against Top 10 (or 25) teams as we have dealt with for years past, or the current team that can play with anyone, dominate both sides of the ball at times but lose through a comedy of errors?

I think 9-3 is still a reasonable target, anyone who started this season with that as an unacceptable/unreasonable outcome is delusional. We go 9-3 with all losses coming in close games we look pretty good to the BCS at year end, especially if we knock off an undefeated Stanford to end the season.

1) Offense needs to pick up the pace. Rees gets it done but still does not seem to be processing fast enough pre-snap
2) I think our D-Line & LBs will start to dominate when they are unchained and directed to seek and destroy versus contain (Daniels and Robinson are the most mobile QBs we will face)
3) DBs will look better with a strong pass rush on pocket passers
4) Fifth year and senior classes were brought up through some horrible seasons and lack mental toughness.
5) College football is full of ups and downs, here is to unloading a serious can of whoopa$$ on those green goofballs this weekend. We owe them a serious pounding and to do it when their expectations are high would be primo.

I am tired of being the best 2 loss team in the country.

 

[johnnyoooo]

Frankly the backfield secondary coach has to go and Gray should be shipped back to his high school team. Why did Kelly have Rees throw to Floyd in double coverage where he was intercepted. I thought when Floyd was in a double coverage we would throw to Riddick, Jones or Eifert. I think Kelly should be sedated before each game he is going to have a stroke via his hyped emotions. It took Meyer much longer to find out his nerves were sliding. All my years following Note Dame never saw such a nightmare as last Saturday. This loss was beyond surreal.

 

[koonja]

Where was I wrong?

Where was I wrong?

This is so wrong that I almost think you are joking.

Our QB is turnover happy. - I don't have to make an argument for this. See box scores.

Our defense is slow. - Did you see USF against us? It looks like we were stuck in Longo's sand pit.

Our DBs are slower. - Harrison and Zeke take bad angles at the ballcarrier, and end up behind because they have average or below average speed for safeties at the BCS level.

There is ABSOLUTELY NO player development. - Name one player besides Cierre Wood and maybe KLM that has shown improvement? Theo, Crist, DBs, Flemming/Shembo, none of these have shown improvement yet.

The offense CANT score. - See Redzone production.

Harrison Smith and Gary Gray are terrible. - I went overboard here (besides Gray at Michigan).

We are not a good team. Stats are for losers. 0-2 is what matters.

 

[Sherm Sticky]

ALL I WANT IS TO CRUSH DENARD NEXT YEAR. I want the team to kill SCUM in South Bend and give Denard the beating of his life! I don't want him to get injured, no excuses if we win, but I want him to remember the beating ND will give him!

 

[RDU Irish]

At least you add KLM to your player development rant. I would add Nix, Johnson, Fox and the entire O-line to the list of player development. Jonas Gray looked good. Eifert can get it done down the field, some may argue needs to work on blocking. Maybe you noticed all the young guys on punt and kickoff coverage getting downfield, Moore, Collinsworth, Niklas to name a few.

Offense can't score? You must have missed the first quarter? Did you see that we had sustained drives and Michigan had more 3 & outs than I can remember?

Slow? Really? Our DBs were never out run, all of the completions were underthrown and our DBs did not stop and come back b/c they were not looking! Smith is as fast as any safety in the country! Gray, Wood & Floyd all showed more speed than expected. Niklas was one of the first down on kick coverage almost every time. That is a 6'6" 250 pound linebacker! Fox showed better speed.

You are way over the top negative on the team. Try watching some other college games and realize these are kids playing and not pros.

"stats are for losers" - I can't wait for Moneyball to come out. You might learn something by watching that. Stats are what you have to use to predict future success (or failure). Our stats do not point to a crappy team or season, they point to a potent offense and defense but abysmal punting unit. Until proven otherwise, I will expect our defense to shine against more traditional pocket passers (ie. Michigan State) while stuffing the run nicely.

You sound like the poker player that goes all in on an inside straight draw and then says "that's poker" when you suck out on the river to win a hand when you should have been bet out of the pot ages ago. Yes you won, but over time you wil lose your arse with that style of play.

 

[koonja]

Johnson was good last year. I can't honestly say he looks BETTER than last year. That's what IMPROVEMENT means. Has he made a sack or any plays in the backfield? I can remember one in two games. It was a tackle.

Fox played terrible in the first game.

As for our DBs, I'm not talking about getting beat deep. I'm talking about taking awful angles at the ball carrier, angles which they're not fast enough to make. Zeke especially looks slow in his pursuit of the ball carrier. I called it before the season even started and said Slaughter would start over him because he's too slow.

Scoring isn't one-size fits all. If you can't score in the redzone, and you constantly turn it over, you're not scoring.

PS, we're not even a top-70 team in scoring offense.

Slow, yes. Watch the tape. Daniels looked like Mike Vick out there. Flemming and Shembo couldn't set the edge on him and keep him contained.

As far as "stats are for losers". They are. I don't care about predicting, which you seem to. I care about production. As for NDs football product? A disappointing 0-2.

I'm sorry you're upset, I am too. Sorry for being critical.

 

[RDU Irish]

Then there is really nothing to talk about until the next game. You remember that one time we scored a touchdown .... That was awesome.


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