Post Game Observations........

[kmoose]

1. Kelly said, before the game, that ND would throw all over the place if Purdue showed a bunch of 8 man fronts. For those who are not aware, that's Football 101. Yet, how many people were apoplectic that Kelly favored the pass, in the face of a bunch of 8 man fronts.

2. I know we tend to look at what we didn't do, but Purdue's D-line is pretty damn talented. Give them credit for making running inside very difficult today.

3. The secondary is still a little scary, but looked much better with a normal (non triple option) alignment. They definitely have to tackle in space MUCH better, though.

4. Everett Golson had an excellent game: 21/31, 289 yards, 1TD, 0 INT. He did have the big fumble, but the TEAM bailed him out. That's what teammates do. However, Golson is a good, but not great, runner. He may never be a great runner, but he certainly looks like a legitimate D-IA starting QB.

5. Tommy Rees was quoted, after the game, as saying, "All you arseholes that booed me can suck it!"

6. There are still too many penalties. Let's hope that the coaching staff gets this straightened out.

 

[IHateMarkMay]

A win is a win... On to Michigan State.

 

[returnofthemack]

There were a lot of injuries that have me worried. The status of Eifert, Golson, Davaris, Kap, and Jamoris will be important, especially against MSU since they have a better defense than Purdue.

 

[woolybug25]

As much as I love Golson and believe that he should continue as starter. We owe a debt of gratitude to Rees. That kid is nothing less than a baller. If he had half of Golson's talent, he would be an all time great.

He really bailed us out today.

 

[IrishInFl]

1. Kelly said, before the game, that ND would throw all over the place if Purdue showed a bunch of 8 man fronts. For those who are not aware, that's Football 101. Yet, how many people were apoplectic that Kelly favored the pass, in the face of a bunch of 8 man fronts.

2. I know we tend to look at what we didn't do, but Purdue's D-line is pretty damn talented. Give them credit for making running inside very difficult today.

3. The secondary is still a little scary, but looked much better with a normal (non triple option) alignment. They definitely have to tackle in space MUCH better, though.

4. Everett Golson had an excellent game: 21/31, 289 yards, 1TD, 0 INT. He did have the big fumble, but the TEAM bailed him out. That's what teammates do. However, Golson is a good, but not great, runner. He may never be a great runner, but he certainly looks like a legitimate D-IA starting QB.

5. Tommy Rees was quoted, after the game, as saying, "All you arseholes that booed me can suck it!"

6. There are still too many penalties. Let's hope that the coaching staff gets this straightened out.

Really?

 

[mgriff]

Feels like we escaped with the win today. Great job by the team for fighting and getting the victory so it didn't go to overtime. We need to improve in many areas, but a win is a win and I'll take the 2-0 start. Oh boy our schedule is absolutely brutal.

 

[woolybug25]

Really?

really...

 

[woolybug25]

To Purdue's defense, they are talented enough to compete for the Biginteger championship.

 

[PJWhitfield]

Great finish, but I wish N.D. could avoid having to call timeouts to avoid delay of game. This has gone on too long.

 

[Junkhead]

I hope Purdue DL was just that good, and not that our OL is not as strong as they looked against Navy.

 

[jason_h537]

The Good:
- The D-Line played great got stronger as the game went on. Great job by the front line.
- Zeke Motta stepped up when Slaughter went out and was a captian out there. He saved a touchdown when Carlo and Jalen blew a huge tackle, he was calling plays all over the field and had generally good coverage. He deserves props for all the **** he gets.
- TOMMY! great work in relief.
- Golson had a solid game and showed flashes of his potential. Stupid fumble but overall did well.

The Bad
- I REAAAALLLLY hope the O-line was suffering from jet lag. Yes Purdue has some good guys up front but ND could not run the ball at all
- The run game. An extension of the o-line but I can't waid for Cierre to get back
- The linebackers played a pretty sloppy game overall. Very dissapointing.
- The CB's are a problem. Jackson and Russel have potential but they need to grow up very quickly.

The Ugly
- TACKLING. Calabrese, Brown, Russel, Farley, Fox, Shuemate, and thats just off the top of the head, TACKLE!!!!
- Injuries. I really hope Slaughter, KLM, and Eifert are OK> Those are 3 guys this team can not afford to lose.

 

[Irishnuke]

This is the type of game we would have lost two years ago, maybe even last year. I think we've turned the corner in that regard. That is one of the few positives I can take away from this game.

 

[kmoose]

I hope Purdue DL was just that good, and not that our OL is not as strong as they looked against Navy.

Hammond and Mayock were talking about Purdue's DTs, even before the kickoff. I think they are just that good. Golic got totally punked a couple of times, and Golic is no All-American, but he's not some shmuck either.

 

[Ironman8]

I hope Purdue DL was just that good, and not that our OL is not as strong as they looked against Navy.

What's crazy to me is that in basically the same exact matchup, our O ran for almost 300 against them last year. The only real difference was Golic in for Trevor, which I guess was huge.

 

[pkt77242]

Tuitt had a great game

 

[woolybug25]

The Bad

- The CB's are a problem. Jackson and Russel have potential but they need to grow up very quickly.

I thought the secondary played better than I expected today. I thought they did a great job today.

Get used to seeing this Purdue this year. They are vastly improved.

 

[Senoj13]

My Observations:

1. Golson locks on Eiffert too much. Other guys open in the patterns

2. Louis Nix is a beast. Tuitt as well.

3. Linebackers are horrible against the pass.

4. When running out the clock, keep the ball in the hands of the running backs. A QB with 10-15 carries is not the answer.

5. Run Defense looked stout again today. Will be tough to run against this squad.

 

[ErieIrish13]

I would love to see more 5 db or 6 (if thats possible?) on obvious passing downs (like 4th and 10) instead of seeing Carlo or another LB get burned by a slot guy

 

[GBdomer]

This is a game we would have lost within the last 5 years. This way ugly but I'll take a 2-0 start against a pretty good Purdue team.

 

[IHateMarkMay]

My Observations:

1. Golson locks on Eiffert too much. Other guys open in the patterns

2. Louis Nix is a beast. Tuitt as well.

3. Linebackers are horrible against the pass.

4. When running out the clock, keep the ball in the hands of the running backs. A QB with 10-15 carries is not the answer.

5. Run Defense looked stout again today. Will be tough to run against this squad.

I really think Manti would have intercepted Purdue's pass in the endzone had Nix not gotten a hand on it. Second quarter I believe. Might have turned that around lol

 

[ACamp1900]

The Good:
- The D-Line played great got stronger as the game went on. Great job by the front line.
- Zeke Motta stepped up when Slaughter went out and was a captian out there. He saved a touchdown when Carlo and Jalen blew a huge tackle, he was calling plays all over the field and had generally good coverage. He deserves props for all the **** he gets.
- TOMMY! great work in relief.
- Golson had a solid game and showed flashes of his potential. Stupid fumble but overall did well.

The Bad
- I REAAAALLLLY hope the O-line was suffering from jet lag. Yes Purdue has some good guys up front but ND could not run the ball at all
- The run game. An extension of the o-line but I can't waid for Cierre to get back
- The linebackers played a pretty sloppy game overall. Very dissapointing.
- The CB's are a problem. Jackson and Russel have potential but they need to grow up very quickly.

The Ugly
- TACKLING. Calabrese, Brown, Russel, Farley, Fox, Shuemate, and thats just off the top of the head, TACKLE!!!!
- Injuries. I really hope Slaughter, KLM, and Eifert are OK> Those are 3 guys this team can not afford to lose.

Agreed across the board except for the d line...
Pressure When pressure was needed just wasn't there...Purdue's third down rate was far too high... And at times there was zero pressure when there should have been.... Otherwise...... Lots to work on

 

[magogian]

To me, there is no doubt that Golson has to be our starter. Can you all imagine how Rees would have handled all the sacks and pressure? First, he would have been sacked many more times. Two, he likely would have thrown at least 1 int and had at least one fumble.

Critical thing is that Kelly quash any QB controversy talk as much as possible and do everything he can to boost EG's confidence.

 

[Ironman8]

Huge deal for me was the package on the field for the 4th and 10. Why the hell was the nickel or dime not on the field for that? Carlo has no business being in coverage 1 on 1 on a known passing situation.

 

[Chicago Irish Fan]

-Props to Tommy. He takes a bunch of **** from the fans, but he's a hard worker and a tough kid.

-While Golson clearly doesn't have the mental side of things completely down yet, he looked really good passing the ball today and I don't think he had any INTs.

-If I'm being completely honest, the O line was absolute horse ****. I know Purdue has a good D line, but this is supposedly the strength of our team. We shouldn't get manhandled by Purdue like we did. 5 sacks and a nonexistent running game is flat out inexcusable.

-Our young guys in the secondary are horrendous at tackling at the moment. We can only hope they get better as the year goes on because some of these teams on our schedule will take advantage of them.

-Tuitt is a complete and utter beast. Future 1st rounder for sure. The rest of the D-line also played very well. Loved seeing Big Lou rack up some highlight plays.

-Eifert is near unstoppable. We've gotta be praying that whatever he was out of the game with is minor because our offense was noticeably worse after he left the game.

-A win is a win. All of us were clearly hoping for a better performance, but sometimes you gotta win ugly. Many recent ND teams might not have pulled this one out.

 

[Veer option]

I hope the oline can get it together because MSU dline is alot better than Purdue's. Their dline played exceptional today.

 

[Ultimate Penn St. Hater]

So glad we won. Very nervous about MSU

 

[Ultimate Penn St. Hater]

I'm also ashamed of all the fans who booed Tommy. He plays on OUR team. I wasn't happy, but I would NEVER boo one of our own.

 

[Irishpinoy]

We're playing not to lose again.....just like the past two years under Kelly. Need to open up that playbook and let the kids play. Don't we have some sort of trick plays to give opponents different looks on offense. Well, at least we're 2-0. Go Irish!

 

[elboricua]

I hope the oline can get it together because MSU dline is alot better than Purdue's. Their dline played exceptional today.

I'm not so sure they are. They have 1 elite player, but not so sure their d-line is better. Linebackers probably are though. Not sure about the corners either.

 

[woolybug25]

So glad we won. Very nervous about MSU

MSU looks like a worse team than Purdue. You guys can hate on me if you want, but I have watched all of each of their games so far, and Purdue might be better. MSU's QB situation is horrid.