Post Game Observations.......

[koonja]

Pretty decent Good/Bad/Ugly:

The good, the bad, the ugly: Notre Dame vs. Temple | Inside the Irish

 

[KLirishfan1]

Game close at end. Field goal for the win! My nightmare!

Game close at end. Field goal for the win! My nightmare!

I am praying Mich game doesn't come down to FIELD GOAL!!! WTF?? I don't get it! Why Tausch?? Brindza kicked in 13 games last year. He went 23 for 31 surpassing a single season school record held last in 1986. He got us 16 points against USC last year with 5 made field goals. Plus kicked 52 yard field goal. He set several school records last year! Is he tired from the Kickoffs?? I literally watched that kicking debocle Sat and got nauseated. UGLY! Brian I hope those two are on the field as I type this ----- KICKING FOOTBALLS! Looking for major improvements on D too Saturaday. Need some FIRE and a vocal LEADER! Someone has to step up! Come on Irish!! Don't leave me crying in my beer Sat. night. BEAT MICHIGAN!

 

[IrishFaninTX]

I do not think throwing short passes to fast running backs out of the backfield or in the slot is tough for Rees. They are short timing routes, which are his bread and butter. They are Game Manager routes. What he has trouble with are longer passes in sideline seams down the field, or with 8 defenders dropping into coverage on 3rd down and long situations.

Did he have trouble with those Saturday? He missed a few throws but no QB is ever perfect. I have seen Payton Manning and Tom Brady miss some pretty easy throws, too. I thought he handled the long passes and sideline passes pretty well except for a couple overthrows but at least they were not picks.

 

[PANDFAN]

First it was only the first game and while I agree that Fox and Carlo's play was a bit underwhelming, the front 3/4 did not help. Excluding the play of individual positions, the defensive scheme was no different than last year. Basically don't worry about giving up yards, protect against the big play, and limit touchdowns. With that said, I hope they pick up their play next week.

Second, Rees quite frankly looked like Tommy Rees. I saw no appreciable difference in his arm strength and as a result, (I hope I am wrong) will not be converting a lot of third down passes on third and 5 or more. I am not taking anything away from him throwing those TD passes to Daniels, but let's face it, the DB was way over-matched and did not have any help. Somehow I don't think it will be quite as easy against Michigan. With that said, if Rees does not turn the ball over, there is no reason why we can't win.

Lastly, I already hate the "pistol" formation. If Rees is not going to run, so I don't see this formation being particularly advantageous, and is clearly detrimental when attempting to run in short yardage situations.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Even in simplest form, the pistol had an impact on ND's offense Saturday, used 31x & produced seven 15+ yard plays: <a href="http://t.co/Sxix0feGT4">http://t.co/Sxix0feGT4</a></p>— Anna Hickey (@AnnaHScout) <a href="https://twitter.com/AnnaHScout/statuses/374555587880574976">September 2, 2013</a></blockquote>
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[NDWorld247]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Even in simplest form, the pistol had an impact on ND's offense Saturday, used 31x & produced seven 15+ yard plays: <a href="http://t.co/Sxix0feGT4">http://t.co/Sxix0feGT4</a></p>— Anna Hickey (@AnnaHScout) <a href="https://twitter.com/AnnaHScout/statuses/374555587880574976">September 2, 2013</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Exactly 50% of our offensive snaps (31 of 62).

 

[koonja]

Just rewatched the first half, sober.

- Nix is getting double teamed and is playing well. But our other DL need to take advantage of this, and they weren't for the most part.

- Carlo is pretty awful, but Fox was surprisingly not as bad as I expected.

- I should be punting for ND.

- Our OL dominated. One exception was Lombard wiffed which caused a sack.

- Tommy made 3 bad throws. But even on these throws, he made the right 'read'. Just an accuracy issue. Other than that, he was perfect.

- That WR screen play has to go. It's high risk, low reward IMO. And Michigan is fast enough to blow that up badly.

- Cam McDaniel - I'm a believer. But I think the freshman are our best options once they learn the plays. I can see why Bryant is disappointed with his time, especially because Folston saw the ball 4 or 5 times and Bryant only 2. But that's because Folston's drive lasted longer. They're bother better runners than Cam IMO, but it's probably all to do with understanding where to be and when.

 

[ulukinatme]

Exactly 50% of our offensive snaps (31 of 62).

Guess it's time to get the lead out and learn the Pistol playbook in NCAA '14

 

[kmoose]

- Cam McDaniel - I'm a believer. But I think the freshman are our best options once they learn the plays. I can see why Bryant is disappointed with his time, especially because Folston saw the ball 4 or 5 times and Bryant only 2. But that's because Folston's drive lasted longer. They're bother better runners than Cam IMO, but it's probably all to do with understanding where to be and when.

Cam is going to be the guy who comes in and helps you run out the clock. He'll help move the chains, while milking the time off of the clock. He'll do it with durability, as well. Which means that he is the back most likely to be used to milk the clock, in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th games of the season, as well as all of the rest of them.

 

[PANDFAN]

Just rewatched the first half, sober.

- Nix is getting double teamed and is playing well. But our other DL need to take advantage of this, and they weren't for the most part.

- Carlo is pretty awful, but Fox was surprisingly not as bad as I expected.

- I should be punting for ND.

- Our OL dominated. One exception was Lombard wiffed which caused a sack.

- Tommy made 3 bad throws. But even on these throws, he made the right 'read'. Just an accuracy issue. Other than that, he was perfect.

- That WR screen play has to go. It's high risk, low reward IMO. And Michigan is fast enough to blow that up badly.

- Cam McDaniel - I'm a believer. But I think the freshman are our best options once they learn the plays. I can see why Bryant is disappointed with his time, especially because Folston saw the ball 4 or 5 times and Bryant only 2. But that's because Folston's drive lasted longer. They're bother better runners than Cam IMO, but it's probably all to do with understanding where to be and when.

Where did he mention being disappointed?

 

[koonja]

Where did he mention being disappointed?

A poster said that he allegedly heard on campus that Bryant was very disappointed. It's in his thread.

 

[Damion704]

Scout.com: Eye in the Sky: Offense

 

[BobD]

He looked like an English bulldog chasing Reilly out of the pocket. I loved his effort yesterday.

It's gonna happen, but I hate seeing Nix have to run all the way to the sidelines too often. Besides for obvious reasons, we need to maintain containment on the edges to prevent that as much as possible. I don't care how great the conditioning program is, a 350+ lb man being double and triple teamed, running all the way to the sidelines makes for bad things late in games.

 

[MJ12666]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Even in simplest form, the pistol had an impact on ND's offense Saturday, used 31x & produced seven 15+ yard plays: <a href="http://t.co/Sxix0feGT4">http://t.co/Sxix0feGT4</a></p>— Anna Hickey (@AnnaHScout) <a href="https://twitter.com/AnnaHScout/statuses/374555587880574976">September 2, 2013</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

This is interesting. Do you know how many plays run out of a formation other then the pistol resulted in a gain of 15+ yards? Off the top of my head I can remember 4, the three TD passes and the long pass to Brown.

 

[Booslum31]

It's gonna happen, but I hate seeing Nix have to run all the way to the sidelines too often. Besides for obvious reasons, we need to maintain containment on the edges to prevent that as much as possible. I don't care how great the conditioning program is, a 350+ lb man being double and triple teamed, running all the way to the sidelines makes for bad things late in games.

Yeah...I kept seeing Nix chasing plays to the side-lines and down the field and started to feel exhausted myself.

 

[IrishFaninTX]

This is interesting. Do you know how many plays run out of a formation other then the pistol resulted in a gain of 15+ yards? Off the top of my head I can remember 4, the three TD passes and the long pass to Brown.

I don't remember if they were in the pistol during these plays, but our RB's had at least 4 plays for over 15 yards out of the backfield. I don't remember if Rees was under center or in the pistol during those plays, though. I will have to watch the game again.

 

[IrishFaninTX]

Not sure if anyone mentioned this already but did Temple's QB target Russell's man at all? There was a lot mentioned about BJ and Luke and the safeties but I don't think I heard the announcers say Russell's name but once all day. I know that it wasn't because he wasn't effective so I'm assuming it was because he had lock down coverage on his man all game.

 

[NDWorld247]

Not sure if anyone mentioned this already but did Temple's QB target Russell's man at all? There was a lot mentioned about BJ and Luke and the safeties but I don't think I heard the announcers say Russell's name but once all day. I know that it wasn't because he wasn't effective so I'm assuming it was because he had lock down coverage on his man all game.

Can't say for certain, but I don't think so. If he was thrown at, it was only once or twice. From my couch, it appeared he quietly played a great game.

 

[phgreek]

They looked a step or two slow on coverage. I think that teams will try to create matchups where they force our safties to plan man coverage.

I liked a lot of things about this game, pass coverage ain't one of them. The Temple kid did a nice job, but he missed some long balls that WERE THERE, and his marquee receiver had the dropsies...otherwise we would have been pressed a bit more than 28 to 6.

Gardner is a better runner and passer than the Temple kid...middle backers and d-backs have some work to do...Dline can help while we get there...more pressure please!

 

[fightingirish26]

Rewatched some of the game, GAIII actually looked like he could be okay but Carlisle and cam had better games. Also think that Bryant and/or folston can be very productive players THIS YEAR.

Carlo just can't play period. Grace should get lots of minutes based off of his superior athleticism alone.

Daniels and tj, along with Chris brown are going to be really good this year

Oline should be excellent. Niklas can also really block at least against teams like temple.

Not worried about the dline at all. Or the the corners, for that matter.

Tommy should have a solid year due to his knowledge of the system, pass protection, and receiving targets, but not due to his physical gifts. Not worried there

Jaylon will grow throughout the year. Hopefully he can make some great strides studying his film this week and be full tilt heading into Michigan.

Shumate proved why he didn't hold on to the starting spot many of us expected him to have. Collinsworth should get most of the reps until shumate proves he has the mental side handled. Farley will be solid.

Let brindza do the place kicking, kickoffs and bomb punts. I haven't seen wulfeck play, but I think he should be doing the crafty punting to pin them inside their 15

 

[Patulski]

Not sure if anyone mentioned this already but did Temple's QB target Russell's man at all? There was a lot mentioned about BJ and Luke and the safeties but I don't think I heard the announcers say Russell's name but once all day. I know that it wasn't because he wasn't effective so I'm assuming it was because he had lock down coverage on his man all game.

Russell got beat once a short slant/crossing route that was around a 7 yard completion.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Larz at OFD just posted a film breakdown of Rees' first TD pass to Daniels:

It's evident early in the 2013 season that Notre Dame has a multitude of weapons in the passing game. More importantly, Rees showed enough arm strength to take advantage of these weapons. Now imagine the problems it will create with Daniels, Jones, Niklas and Chris Brown on the field at the same time. That would look pretty good in the big house I think.

And NBC's Keith Arnold just posted an article on our use of the Pistol formation against Temple:

Running the ball out of the pistol seems to have gotten the most attention, with guys like George Atkinson and Amir Carlisle talking about the ability to run “downhill” out of the formation. But Rees’ ability to utilize playaction, where the senior quarterback was excellent with his ball fakes on Saturday, is an added bonus, and something that fits the quarterback’s skillset well.

Expect the Irish offense to evolve quite a bit in the coming week, with the jet sweep likely coming out of the short motion game, in addition to some other looks saved just for Michigan.

“I think we only showed a little bit of it,” Kelly said after the game. “There were a lot more pieces to it. Today was just a small segment of it.” (emphasis added)

 

[PANDFAN]

Larz at OFD just posted a film breakdown of Rees' first TD pass to Daniels:



And NBC's Keith Arnold just posted an article on our use of the Pistol formation against Temple:

i noticed several times tj in motion in the pistol where i thought he was going to get the jet sweep...i guess it comes out in michigan

 

[kmoose]

i noticed several times tj in motion in the pistol where i thought he was going to get the jet sweep...i guess it comes out in michigan

That's certainly a possibility, but I think it was probably done more to force Temple to show their coverage than to set anything up for the Michigan game.

 

[NDhoosier]

Gardner is a better ... passer than the Temple kid...middle backers and d-backs have some work to do...Dline can help while we get there...more pressure please!

Honestly, I am not sold on that... The Temple QB had a lot of quick accurate throws, some were dropped. It will be interesting to see how this QB does throughout the season.

 

[koonja]

Honestly, I am not sold on that... The Temple QB had a lot of quick accurate throws, some were dropped. It will be interesting to see how this QB does throughout the season.

If you watch Michigan's game, Gardner does not check down. Not once. If his primary is covered, he runs.

It'll be interesting to see if we contain his scrambles, because I guarantee our DBs will cover the WRs better than Central did.

 

[ND NYC]

late to this thread....very impressed by TJ Jones!


Go Irish! Beat Michigan!

 

[ND NYC]

i almost feel like Bryant Folston and Cam should be the every down RBs....and Amir and GA3 the "obvious passing down...3rd down backs"
part of me also thinks GA3 could more of a weapon at WR...i know probabaly reading too much into a simple tuneup game

 

[phgreek]

Honestly, I am not sold on that... The Temple QB had a lot of quick accurate throws, some were dropped. It will be interesting to see how this QB does throughout the season.

Probably keeping me honest...Probably premature to discount the kid...maybe he's a top echelon QB ...maybe he is a better passer than Gardner. For that matter maybe Temple is now Boise State.

But I think its safe to assume Gardner's receivers won't get the Dropsies, and I do think Gardner will have the poise to connect on the long ball if given time and separation. So the net/net is Gardner + MI receivers pose a bigger threat than the Temple gang. And I wasn't ecstatic about how we handled the Temple gang.

probably a more reasonable articulation of what bothered me than to put it on Gardner being a better passer...MI skill players are a bigger threat.

 

[stlnd01]

probably a more reasonable articulation of what bothered me than to put it on Gardner being a better passer...MI skill players are a bigger threat.

For sure. We beat Temple easily because we out-athleted them in skill positions on both sides of the ball. Much moreso than because of our line play. We won't be able to do that to Michigan. That game will be won in the trenches and we'll have to blow holes with the o-line and create disciplined pressure with the d-line.

 

[IrishLax]

If it was me I'd never run GAIII over Carlisle, use Cam/Bryant as needed for short yardage, and use Folston to spell Carlisle as necessary.

I have no idea how GAIII's incrementally better speed than Carlisle compensates for his lack of natural fluidity as a runner.