Post Game Observations.......

[IrishFaninTX]

Does anybody else feel like Rees has been here for like seven years? I swear the man ages the football program in dog years or something. He's an alright QB at times. His inconsistency is what worries me over the course of a a season.

The last time we have seen him for a whole season as QB1 was 2 years ago and he was a true sophomore. I don't think Tommy looked anything at all like the player we saw in 2011 or even against BYU last season. I believe he has improved a great deal, he is making better decisions and now knows that throwing the ball away is a much better option than taking a sack or throwing a bad pass that ends up getting picked off. We now have the defense to keep us in ever game even if the offense can't score a lot. But if Saturday was anything to go by, I believe we will score more this season.

 

[STLDomer]

“@SIPeteThamel: Who was ND's best defensive lineman against Temple? Not Nix or Tuitt. Owl coaches found soph Sheldon Day the most disruptive.”

 

[GATTACA!]

“@SIPeteThamel: Who was ND's best defensive lineman against Temple? Not Nix or Tuitt. Owl coaches found soph Sheldon Day the most disruptive.”

I can't decide if that's encouraging or discouraging.

 

[goldandblue]

For you people upset that we only beat Temple by 22....

Winner/Loser
USC/Hawaii 17 pts
ALA/VT 25 pts
OSU/BUff 20 pts
TA&M/rice 21 pts
UF/Toledo 18pts
NEB/WYO 3 pts


These are just a few. Of course there were some blowouts and there were some upsets but I think we were about average when it comes to margin of victory.

 

[ulukinatme]

For you people upset that we only beat Temple by 22....

Winner/Loser
USC/Hawaii 17 pts
ALA/VT 25 pts
OSU/BUff 20 pts
TA&M/rice 21 pts
UF/Toledo 18pts
NEB/WYO 3 pts


These are just a few. Of course there were some blowouts and there were some upsets but I think we were about average when it comes to margin of victory.

We also played 10 freshmen in a glorified scrimmage. Oh, and OSU went for 2 against Buffalo....Buffalo.

 

[Buster Bluth]

We also played 10 freshmen in a glorified scrimmage. Oh, and OSU went for 2 against Buffalo....Buffalo.

Just so we're clear, it was the Ol'' swinging gate, not a legitimate offensive play call.

 

[Irish Insanity]

Just so we're clear, it was the Ol'' swinging gate, not a legitimate offensive play call.

Didn't they just straight up go for 2 on the second TD tho?

EDIT: Just looked up the box score. They ran it in for 2 pt conversion on the first TD, and threw a pass for a 2 pt conversion on the second TD.

 

[DillonHall]

I can't decide if that's encouraging or discouraging.

It's extremely encouraging

 

[NDWorld247]

Didn't they just straight up go for 2 on the second TD tho?

EDIT: Just looked up the box score. They ran it in for 2 pt conversion on the first TD, and threw a pass for a 2 pt conversion on the second TD.

Both of their 2pt conversions were run from their XP formation. I watched the first quarter and OSU looked dominant. Buffalo actually outscored them 20-17 the last three quarters of the game though.

 

[ulukinatme]

Both of their 2pt conversions were run from their XP formation. I watched the first quarter and OSU looked dominant. Buffalo actually outscored them 20-17 the last three quarters of the game though.

I got to watch their Spring Game in Cinci. Their offense was legit, but that defense isn't quite as strong as Meyer would like it I think. That will probably change in the coming years.

 

[ulukinatme]

Alright, little late to the party here as I only saw the game from the stands. Just watched the telecast tonight. Here were some things I came away with from both experiences (Strictly speaking 1st team and some 2nd team here):

Tommy was on the money, which has been said and was obvious from both perspectives. From the stands it looked like he overthrew some receivers, but it didn't happen as often as I thought. On one play, where DD pulled his groin a bit, the ball was not actually overthrown. DD got hung up and the injury slowed him down a bit. If he doesn't get injured, DD has 3 TD catches. Also, on another throw late in the 2nd or early in the 3rd Tommy was looking for Niklas, but the LB chips him a bit and interrupted the route which lead to Niklas missing the pass. Overall Tommy looked excellent, put the ball where his receivers could get it, made great reads, and the audible that lead to Amir's big run was perfect. Tommy gets an "A-."

Hendrix....I didn't like what I saw. I thought I heard the light came on for him this year, I don't know yet. I'm a little worried with him as backup if Tommy goes down. He still seems unsure of himself I think. His accuracy on some short passes was not where it should be as an upperclassman. He also had a chance to run in for a TD on the final play with the Read Option, but he blew the read imo, he should have kept it instead of handing it off. I'd give Andrew a C+.

Carlo had probably the WORST 1st half any player can possibly have. It was ugly, I mean, ugly. Missed tackles in space, couldn't get off some blocks, I'm not sure I saw one decent play out of him the 1st half. He played a little better in the 2nd half, especially on Special Teams oddly enough where he came up with our only turnover. If not for that one turnover, he would have had an awful game from start to finish. He can't play like he did in that 1st half, not as a 5th year senior. Hope he has the rust off by Saturday. I would have graded Carlo alone as a "D."

Grace actually looked very good, I like what I saw. He made tackles in space, got off some blocks, and he may have saved a TD at the beginning of the 3rd quarter. Near their goal line Temple's TE ran a seam into the endzone. Grace knocked him off his route and the QB's pass was just out of reach of the TE as a result. Grace also saved a TD near the end of the 2nd when he cleaned up a missed tackle by Shumate near our own 10 yard line (It's moot because Temple ended up getting that score later anyway). Fox did okay from what I saw, nothing too terrible. "C-" for the MLBs as a whole.

Which brings me to Shumate and the Safeties. Not a lot of film on him that I saw, but I expected more from a kid that saw a lot of action for us last year. I thought he was good at times in '12, but he missed a couple tackles and took a bad route on one play from what I saw. I didn't get to see a lot of Collinsworth, but nothing bad stood out. I kind of expected he would start or share the time with Shumate since he would have been starting last year if there weren't so many injuries. He outplayed Shumate imo, and it shouldn't be "1A and 1B." Farley was pretty good, he made plays and only made maybe one mistake that I saw. "B" for Safeties.

DL was a little quiet, but I think Temple had some big boys up front and their QB did a good job getting the ball out fast. That lead to less sack opportunities for us, although we got pressure a number of times and knocked him on his butt quite a bit. Despite them being a little quiet, I liked most of what I saw. Nix eats up blockers like he does, and showed great hustle chasing down guys that he may never reach. If I had one gripe with Tuitt it's the fact he overpursued a bit at times and that left a lane open for Temple QB to take off and run. Didn't see much from Day, but I'm not worried about him. "B" for the DL.

OLB is tough to judge, imo, since we're at times bringing pressure, or they're up on the line with their hand in the dirt like a DE, or they're out on coverage. Jaylon Smith showed some of his athleticism, but he was out of place a bit at times, expected as a freshman starting for the first time. He wasn't bad though, imo. Can't wait to see what he does with more snaps under his belt. Shembo was a force at times, and I do believe the light has come on for Ishaq. Both were in on a number of plays in the 1st half. I give the group a "B+"

For the starting corners, I thought they played a hell of a game. Most of the passes Temple was getting were over the middle and not on the outside. Outside was pretty locked down. BJax had his guy covered most of the game it seemed like, and the pass interference penalty on him was completely bogus. Kevarie seemed rather quiet, but it didn't look like they were throwing to his side much? Cole Luke came in a few times, played like a freshmen, so that was to be expected. I thought he did okay given his inexperience. I don't remember seeing Lo Wood, he may have been in for garbage time. "A-" for corners.

I thought GA III could have been better. Not a terrible game, but I expected a little more given that he was named starter. I thought he was getting better about keeping the pads low, I didn't see that. Outside of the awesome audible that lead to his 45 yard run, Amir had a couple good plays and not much else. Bryant and Folston got their touches in garbage time, too early to say when they'll see meaningful snaps again. Bryant did a good job finding the hole on his big run, he looks like he can be patient and let a play develop. Folston broke some arm tackles and showed some quickness, but I wasn't as impressed as some other fans were. Certainly he'll be great, but I think people are singing his praises too early. I think once he and Bryant have some more time they'll get an increasing number of carries.

I think Cam should be our #1 back given his performance in the game. He did a good job finding the hole, he's deceptively quick and he stays low to the ground always. He runs better between the tackles than Amir and GA III (Not enough film yet on Bryant and Folston to compare). What's more: when he gets hit he doesn't go down immediately, he tends to fall forward for an extra yard or two. Those extra yards are big when you keep adding them up, just ask the Bus. Cam blocks well, he's sure handed, the only thing we don't know about is his receiving ability because they don't throw to him. That may be his liability and what's holding him back. "B" for the backs as a whole.

Niklas was great, and not just on the huge TD he picked up before the half. He was key when flexed out as a receiver. He laid some big blocks for TJ's catches, not to mention some blocks when he was lined up in his normal position. I'm not worried about the TE position, we'll still be TE U. "A-" for Niklas

Nothing really bad to say about the OL aside from the whiff'd block by Lombard that turned into our only sack. They got the job done for the most part against some big guys. I'll say "B+"

Starting WR's had a great game I thought. The freshmen stumbled a few times, but the future is bright there. If DD didn't have to come out the score probably could have gotten out of hand. TJ was dynamic after the catch. If both guys stay healthy this may be the first time in several years we've had such a 1-2 punch at WR (Tate/Floyd would have been another, but Floyd always seemed injured when both were starting). If I was going to judge just the starters I'd give them an A+ as a group, but with the freshmen in the mix I'll say B+.

I'm not going to grade Special Teams. Kicking...it was kind of atrocious. Did Massa hold for us last year? I heard Brindza's missed kick was due to a bad hold. Anyway, two very makeable kicks were missed. We'll need those this week for sure. Punting could have been a little better, we let a few go into the endzone. We punted one from Temple's 40 yard line I think, to me that seems like 4 down territory, but it might have worked out because that may have been Carlo's fumble recovery. Part of me really likes TJ fielding punt returns (Positive yards is a good thing!), but part of me doesn't want him to get hurt. I thought our blocking was still pretty bad, so TJ couldn't do a whole lot with the ball. At least he didn't get hurt.

 

[NDhoosier]

Was KeVarie Russell targeted one time the entire game? It seemed like they never threw his way.

 

[woolybug25]

A C- for ILB's and a B for safeties are pretty gracious grades for them. I thought both played horrid.

 

[ulukinatme]

Was KeVarie Russell targeted one time the entire game? It seemed like they never threw his way.

I honestly don't think so, or I missed it. He may have had one play come to his side, but I'm guessing he must have had his guy pretty locked down which is why they didn't throw his way.

A C- for ILB's and a B for safeties are pretty gracious grades for them. I thought both played horrid.

I was a little generous with the ILB's because I thought Carlo was the weak link, while Grace looked good I thought. I didn't see a lot of Fox, but I didn't see a lot of bad from him either like I did from Carlo in the 1st half. Carlo just had a completely awful 1st half, worst performance of the day for a starter I thought. Can't have a bad half like that as a 5th year Senior, especially since the LBs are often the stars in our defensive scheme.

As far as Safeties, I thought Farley played well, didn't see a ton of mistakes from Collinsworth. I didn't like what I saw of Shumate, but he wasn't on the field as much it seemed. Shumate had a couple big boo boos though, one being that missed tackle that Grace had to clean up and prevent a TD. Maybe the Safeties played closer to a C/C+ overall, I just didn't see a lot of bad things at that group besides Shumate's mistakes.

 

[NDhoosier]

I honestly don't think so, or I missed it. He may have had one play come to his side, but I'm guessing he must have had his guy pretty locked down which is why they didn't throw his way.

I just checked and he was thrown to once very early in the 2nd half on a slant route.

 

[Emcee77]

I don't know why I'm posting this.

UH football: Defense, O’Korn, Greenberry among bright spots heading into open week - Sports Update

3. Deontay Greenberry is really good. Few players have come through the UH program with as much hype as Greenberry, a blue chip recruit who picked the Cougars over Notre Dame. The move to the inside receiver position has made Greenberry dangerous – and he’s piling up the catches. He had 14 receptions for 165 yards, both career highs, against Temple to earn American Athletic Conference offensive player of the week on Monday. He already has 20 catches – a pace for 120 on the season – in two games after finishing with 47 in 12 games as a true freshman. Coach Tony Levine said he sat down with Greenberry during last season and told him to remember the moment. If he thought he was good then, Levine said, “you will be even better” a year from now. At 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds, Greenberry is a matchup nightmare. And if you didn’t notice in the second half Saturday, Greenberry has developed a nice chemistry with quarterback John O’Korn.

 

[cliffbrunt]

Notre Dame will bounce back. Purdue is better than people think. The coach is really good.

 

[phork]

Notre Dame will bounce back. Purdue is better than people think. The coach is really good.

You forgot the sarcasm font.