Post Game Observations

[Riddickulous]

* I hope Tommy Rees has turned a corner. He's been lights out since the game-winning drive at Pittsburgh.

* HENDRIX!

* Gray and Wood running hard today on limited carries.

* GAIII and Cammy Cam making plays.

* Floyd and Eifert doing their thing.

* Riddick was awesome. He needs more underneath crossing patterns.

* Offensive line was tremendous.

* Defense was awful in the first half and really seemed to gel in the second half.

* Pass defense is really eh.

* Specials teams blocking continues to be woeful. GAIII is a good returner, though.

* Much will be made about the second team offense and defense, but you have to remember both units are very young.

 

[PJWhitfield]

And no turnovers, though there was that offside penalty near the goal line.

 

[CanadalovesND]

Defense wasnt that awful in the first half.....I mean, 16 points against a triple option offense, could have been alot worse.

 

[Riddickulous]

Defense wasnt that awful in the first half.....I mean, 16 points against a triple option offense, could have been alot worse.

300+ yards of offense allowed is awful.

 

[NDinFL]

300+ yards of offense allowed is awful.

We can give up 1,000 yards on D.

As long as we can hold them to field goals, and our offense puts up more points.

From 20 yd line to 20 yd line is nothin but stats, inside the 20 is where games change

 

[BGIF]

Kelly PC

Kelly PC

Q. Is Hendrix your number 2 QB now

A. Oh no, he doesn't have a grasp of the offense yet, said Kelly emphatically. Dayne is number 2. Hendrix can do some things.

 

[tommyIRISH23]

Finally, Theo had some designed plays. Hopefully this was his breakout game

Rees is looking tough

Our run game is great as usual

Hendrix...my man...

ND is look really good. We've got a much needed buy week, and I feel like this team, as a whole, finally turned the corner. I think our offense is going to go from 3rd gear to 4th. ND is going to be tough to beat.

---I am glad we had this game to prepare for the triple option, our team seemed to settle in the second half. Navy is going to get beat down. (I hope we don't play Georgia Tech ever)

GO IRISH

GO IRISH

 

[BGIF]

Kelly PC

Kelly PC

Q. Tommy has 7 TDs and no turnovers the past two weeks. What's the difference.

A. He's maturing. I keep telling you guys. Hopefully you'll start listening.

 

[johnnykillz]

We beat a good ball team handily.

Go Irish!

Execution = Success.

The future (freshman and sophomores) got us looking bright.

 

[NDinFL]

Q. Is Hendrix your number 2 QB now

A. Oh no, he doesn't have a grasp of the offense yet, said Kelly emphatically. Dayne is number 2. Hendrix can do some things.

Damn, really???

Seems like posteuring to me...

While Rees should be the starter, clearly Andrew provides (no pun intended) more options to this offense.

However, BK is the Commander, and I trust him

EDIT: this is NOT meant to be an anti-Rees post! Love the kid and he played his tail off and shut his haters/doubters up today

 

[Yes]

I really loved how they used Hendrix today. 111 yards rushing shows he makes a good option QB, and 3-for-3 passing proves he's a threat to throw. Kelly should keep using him like he did today.

 

[johnnykillz]

Damn, really???

Seems like posteuring to me...

While Rees should be the starter, clearly Andrew provides (no pun intended) more options to this offense.

However, BK is the Commander, and I trust him

Fair dissection is my opinion.


Good looks today...

 

[UmphreakDomer]

We can give up 1,000 yards on D.

As long as we can hold them to field goals, and our offense puts up more points.

From 20 yd line to 20 yd line is nothin but stats, inside the 20 is where games change

^ absolutely.

 

[HereComeTheIrish]

The defense as a whole was not awful. I thought the defensive backfield, and specifically our safety play was awful. Other than that, GREAT GAME BOYS!!!! We needed this.

 

[NDinFL]

We beat a good ball team handily.

Go Irish!

Execution = Success.

The future (freshman and sophomores) got us looking bright.

Agree 1,000% on the underclassmen

The future is so bright.... Well you know the rest

 

[NDFan4Life]

Q. Tommy has 7 TDs and no turnovers the past two weeks. What's the difference.

A. He's maturing. I keep telling you guys. Hopefully you'll start listening.

Too bad the fans won't listen. I expect to see some posts that want Hendrix starting over Rees. It's inevitable, I guess.

 

[jason_h537]

The offense as a whole played great. Wish they would have run more but thats just me

The defense gave up a lot of huge plays but i give them a mulligan because it is Air Force

Special teams played much better

I laughed at Hendrix running out of gas at the end.

 

[IrishLax]

I want to see one more great game from Rees. And that game will be against USC who has a shaky and beatable defense. He shows up big in that game and posts a clean sheet, it's damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead into the Stanford game.

 

[BGIF]

Damn, really???

Seems like posteuring to me...

While Rees should be the starter, clearly Andrew provides (no pun intended) more options to this offense.

However, BK is the Commander, and I trust him

Kelly had more to say about Hendrix adding diversity to the attack. He went back to Rees and noted how well he's running the offense. I don't recall another mention of Crist. But keep in mind Crist, the 5 Star QB, spent 2 years in college and struggled learning this offense. Rees played in it in high school and has difficulites in college. Hendrix can run the option. Can he run the rest of the offense? If you saw the look on Kelly's face and heard his tone, there's no doubt Crist is #2 if Rees was injured. I also have no doubt that Hendrix is the first one off the bench when Kelly wants a change of pace. I read between the lines that Hendrix is NOT a run out the clock QB. He's the QB that is going to make Defensive Coordinators and defensive players work harder to PREPARE for him.

 

[arndtjc]

Tommy haters, where ya at?!?! 8-1 baby, 8-1.

Hendrix is crazy fast, and I cannot wait to see Golson, he seemed twice as fast in the spring game.

Defense did just about as good as any defense could do against the triple option, it is a scary game plan to go up against.

I really hope Jonas and Cierre come back next year, they could very well be the best 1 2 punch running backs wise...

Tuitt, Lynch, and the rest of the D line is incredibly, scary good.

Manti Te'o.

59 POINTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Most points since 1996 against Rutgers in Lou Holtz's final game at Notre Dame stadium....

 

[BGIF]

I want to see one more great game from Rees. And that game will be against USC who has a shaky and beatable defense. He shows up big in that game and posts a clean sheet, it's damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead into the Stanford game.

Today built on the Pitt game. A confidence builder for Rees and the entire offense. Rees was crisper, more comfortable. He moved the ball around more effectively. Riddick has joined Floyd, Eifert, Wood and/or Gray as an effective weapon in the arsenal. Toma made the highlight clip.

AF's defenders aren't the caliber of USC's, nonetheless the offense is maturing.

 

[jason_h537]

Today built on the Pitt game. A confidence builder for Rees and the entire offense. Rees was crisper, more comfortable. He moved the ball around more effectively. Riddick has joined Floyd, Eifert, Wood and/or Gray as an effective weapon in the arsenal. Toma made the highlight clip.

AF's defenders aren't the caliber of USC's, nonetheless the offense is maturing.

Agree. I know he had no TO's last week but he threw 2 passes that should have been picks. This week he played very smart and was in complete control of the offense. Hope he keeps it up

 

[UmphreakDomer]

Kelly had more to say about Hendrix adding diversity to the attack. He went back to Rees and noted how well he's running the offense. I don't recall another mention of Crist. But keep in mind Crist, the 5 Star QB, spent 2 years in college and struggled learning this offense. Rees played in it in high school and has difficulites in college. Hendrix can run the option. Can he run the rest of the offense? If you saw the look on Kelly's face and heard his tone, there's no doubt Crist is #2 if Rees was injured. I also have no doubt that Hendrix is the first one off the bench when Kelly wants a change of pace. I read between the lines that Hendrix is NOT a run out the clock QB. He's the QB that is going to make Defensive Coordinators and defensive players work harder to PREPARE for him.

i like what we did today, but lets not forget....it is tough to learn a completely different offense while on crutches. which, sadly, is to daynes detriment also.

 

[BGIF]

i like what we did today, but lets not forget....it is tough to learn a completely different offense while on crutches. which, sadly, is to daynes detriment also.

Stop leaning on the crutch. Crist's principal problem with this offense is between the ears. A problem that Rees and Hendrix also share. Kelly made a poignant comment to the media about Rees maturing and hoping that some day the media will listen and grasp that. All his QBs are maturing but not all at the same rate. Dayne is number 2 because he grasps more than Hendrix at this point but less than Rees.

The point is about the complexity of the offense and the QBs ability to grasp it, not about the ability of the QBs to throw or run.

 

[Old Man Mike]

We just saw the Notre Dame Brian Kelly offense. We saw a fine growing young QB who can now use his array of weapons [and who has an old QB who is his back-up, if he can keep his head up to help the team]. We saw a young gun who will not be #2, but will get all the "other" change-of-pace play and in fact play far more minutes than the back-up [who, as we could see in his face, knows that].

On defense we saw that we still can't really deal with the triple option, or whatever variety of that sort of thing AF and Navy run. I believe that all the dirty deliberate blocking technique REALLY bothers our D-Linemen and linebackers. Whenever AF went for a conventional looking play, we stuffed it. We will do the same to USC, but Navy will do the same to us.

I'd like to get one thing off my chest. While I admire the academies as institutions, I have NO respect at all for their football teams in this modern era. I believe that they are the dirtiest teams in the country. And I believe that they are deliberately so---I am putting this right on their coaching staffs. All is fair in war --- kill the enemy as you can. Transmitting that attitude, even in a lesser way to the football field is dishonorable. Our team is a conventional high-skill high-athleticism team not at all physically [we are tall] nor mentally structured to deal with people shooting at your knees all the time. I believe that this REALLY bothers people like Nix and Lynch. Our LBs seemed to hate it too.

I'm thrilled that the O has smoothed. I'm not depressed by the D, as we only have one more dirty team to survive. And I'm glad that someone on the coaching staff has told Brindza that he hasn't earned his fancy shoes and to throw them away and concentrate on thumping the @#*#%# ball.

 

[jonesman]

Teo was laboring today. A good friend was at the game and stated that Teo was limping even in the team walk today. Glad he got out early and will have a weeek to heal up.

As for the game, WHY did we waste Chase Hounsel's redshirt in this game?????? Don't understand this.

 

[jonesman]

OH, and Tommy better get used to seeing that dude named Hendrix on the field. The read option looked AWESOME with him on the field.

When Hendrix learns the O well enough, I am ready to see Tommy put on a red hat!!! Perfect example of his lack of growth was watching him today miss TJ Jones TOTALLY uncovered before the play. He was committed to throwing a ball to Eiffert no matter the coverage. Tommy looks good against a **** poor pass D. Not buying one bit of Tommy's progression. Any semi accurate QB would have looked like an All-American today.

 

[BGIF]

Teo was laboring today. A good friend was at the game and stated that Teo was limping even in the team walk today. Glad he got out early and will have a weeek to heal up.

As for the game, WHY did we waste Chase Hounsel's redshirt in this game?????? Don't understand this.

Last week Kelly said that more freshman were likely to get PT. In the post game PC he was asked about Hounsel's PT and noted Chase had practiced well this week and we will play those that are ready to play. He had previously noted that Johnson wasn't ready.

Also last week he noted that as Lynch has been playing more he's been getting tired. They're getting more able bodies ready for the second half of the season run.

 

[sharksamardzija8345]

Hendrix is a Redshirt Freshman correct? meaning his has 3 more years of eligibility on top of this year? The official ND site lists him as a sophomore..

 

[koonja]

OH, and Tommy better get used to seeing that dude named Hendrix on the field. The read option looked AWESOME with him on the field.

When Hendrix learns the O well enough, I am ready to see Tommy put on a red hat!!! Perfect example of his lack of growth was watching him today miss TJ Jones TOTALLY uncovered before the play. He was committed to throwing a ball to Eiffert no matter the coverage. Tommy looks good against a **** poor pass D. Not buying one bit of Tommy's progression. Any semi accurate QB would have looked like an All-American today.

Uh oh. You're not supposed to say things like that on here.