Post Game Observations....

[connect the dots]

I cannot confirm this with 100% certainty, but I believe jojo's writing style matches the writing style of MZ's uncle who was on an Ohio HS forum while MZ was in HS. He was pretty outlandish and over the top there also.

From what I saw of MZ in HS, he would not be the type to show/discuss frustration of not playing. He would just work harder and wait for his opportunity.

By the way, was he even on the active list for Saturday's game? I thought he had mono.

Fourteen freshman, including Zaire, traveled to the Big House. The noise in a hostile stadium is one of the lesson plans in Quarterbacking 101.

 

[GoIrish41]

Until we get our LB situation fixed this will continue. Teams OL can double team Tuitt and Nix. They do not have to worry about our LB like last year.

J. Smith and Grace at MLB
Council and Williams at OLB

I'd like to see this configuration to get the best athleticism on the LB corps. Calebrese is an absolute liability on passing downs and Fox isn't a whole lot better. There would be growning pains with the above, but once they got snapped in, I think these four give us the best chance moving forward.

 

[Irish Insanity]

I found the silver lining to the loss. Tickets will be more available for us common folk and the prices will go down as well.

 

[Cackalacky]

Can someone tell me how many times Ishaq lined up/played ILB? I could have sworn I saw him spying Gardner too. Might have been too many drinks and frustration clouding my awareness.

One thing I have only seen a few people mention, is how predictable we were on both sides of the ball. The only real surprise for me was the two plays to Troy. The TE screen was a great call.

 

[Irish#1]

For anyone who wants MZ over TR shows how little you know about football.

I liked how Diacco tried to keep pressure on Gardner, but I thought we telegraphed our blitzes too early giving Gardner time to change the play.

 

[dublinirish]

J. Smith and Grace at MLB
Council and Williams at OLB

I'd like to see this configuration to get the best athleticism on the LB corps. Calebrese is an absolute liability on passing downs and Fox isn't a whole lot better. There would be growning pains with the above, but once they got snapped in, I think these four give us the best chance moving forward.

No way can Jaylon take on an interior lineman all game right now, he would get steamrolled. Not that Carlo is Dick Butkus but at least he is stout

 

[GoIrish41]

No way can Jaylon take on an interior lineman all game right now, he would get steamrolled. Not that Carlo is Dick Butkus but at least he is stout

I mis-spoke. What a bonehead I am. I mean't Shembo in the middle and J. Smith on the outside in place of Council. Brain is not engaged this morning.

 

[rocket66]

I've stayed away the past couple of days so I am sure it has been discussed a ton, but is there any conceivable reason to have GAIII on the field other than special teams? I love the guy's athleticism but he's so slow making cuts and has below average hands. It's a waste of a down by not having Carlisle in there. It's time to start seeing what the young guys can do at RB. I've seen all I need from GA.

 

[dublinirish]

.

 

[dublinirish]

I mis-spoke. What a bonehead I am. I mean't Shembo in the middle and J. Smith on the outside in place of Council. Brain is not engaged this morning.

I would agree with this too man, I was just about to post about Shembo in another thread, I love his effort and desire but I think offenses have figured him out now he just looks like a guy trying his hardest but getting nowhere when it comes to pass rushing.

I would like to see more creativity in the blitzing game, perhaps a Psycho front or the likes. The DB's need to be more patient too when they blitz, often the likes of Collinsworth were coming up and showing their hand way too easily.

 

[Cackalacky]

I've stayed away the past couple of days so I am sure it has been discussed a ton, but is there any conceivable reason to have GAIII on the field other than special teams? I love the guy's athleticism but he's so slow making cuts and has below average hands. It's a waste of a down by not having Carlisle in there. It's time to start seeing what the young guys can do at RB. I've seen all I need from GA.

BK said as much after the game. He said if GAIII does not improve pass catching, he will be on the sidelines. I expect one more game to get his **** together. If he plays poorly at Purdue....

 

[koonja]

BK said as much after the game. He said if GAIII does not improve pass catching, he will be on the sidelines. I expect one more game to get his **** together. If he plays poorly at Purdue....

Even if he catches everything he should be behind Cam and Amir IMO.

 

[dublinirish]

BK said as much after the game. He said if GAIII does not improve pass catching, he will be on the sidelines. I expect one more game to get his **** together. If he plays poorly at Purdue....

Im sorry but after GA3 dropped his first catch its the fault of the coaching staff not to sub him out. His fault for the first drop but BK/CM's for each one after.

 

[Cackalacky]

Even if he catches everything he should be behind Cam and Amir IMO.

I have previously said I expected GAIII to drop down the roster as the year goes on. His performance Sat. did nothing but confirm that for me.

I am only regurgitating what BK said. If he is on the field during next weeks game, 8/10 times it will be a run play and if he is thrown to, it most likely will be as a check down. I think BK gives him the opportunity next week to prove he belongs on the field. If he can't catch, he will be 1 dimensional and a liability on the field.

 

[Cackalacky]

Im sorry but after GA3 dropped his first catch its the fault of the coaching staff not to sub him out. His fault for the first drop but BK/CM's for each one after.

I don't disagree with you but obviously the coaches are giving him a chance to prove himself. Certainly things can change throughout this week. I don't think he gets many more opportunities though as if he can't catch he has only certain niches where is able to use his skill set and therefore much easier to defend.

 

[irishfan]

I've read most of this thread, but I may have missed this posted:

Tuitt had 0 tackles in the game. I know he's a DE and his job is more or less to occupy blockers, but thats pretty weak. First time that's happened since Maryland his Frosh year when he was sick.

 

[wizards8507]

Things that could be worse than last night: (please feel free to add to the list)

You could be a Jets fan.

Ray Lewis on ESPN.

A day with Mark May.

Brent Musburger interviewing Eminem.

 

[rocket66]

Im sorry but after GA3 dropped his first catch its the fault of the coaching staff not to sub him out. His fault for the first drop but BK/CM's for each one after.

Right. I was literally screaming at my tv every time GA was in on 3rd down. It almost looked like Rees said something to Alford after the third GA drop to keep him out on passing downs.

 

[Cackalacky]

Amir Carlisle #3
Rushing Game Log
through 09/07/2013
08/31/13 Temple 7 68 9.71 0
09/07/13 Michigan 12 64 5.33 0
Totals 19 132 6.95 0

Receiving Game Log
08/31/13 Temple 2 5 2.50 0
09/07/13 Michigan 2 9 4.50 0
Totals 4 14 3.50 0

GAIII
08/31/13 Temple 8 34 4.25 1
09/07/13 Michigan 5 37 7.40 0
Totals 13 71 5.46 1

Receiving Game Log
08/31/13 Temple 1 11 11.00 0
09/07/13 Michigan 1 16 16.00 0
Totals 2 27 13.50 0

All in all I know everyone loves Carlisle but there is not much difference in production on the field. Amir is averaging 2 more yards per carry with 6 more touches. For me the RB situation is still questionable. That is not a lot of production from the backfield.
cfbstats.com - 2013 Notre Dame Fighting Irish

 

[Irish Fam]

Am I the only one who felt like we played a better football game but just got beat by Gardner's athleticism?

Its just a repeat of the Denard days. ND plays a solid to good game, but just can't stop a scrambling qb who does whatever it takes to win.

There were numerous plays were if it weren't for Gardner holding the ball for 5+ seconds and running away from free blitzers we would have come up with some big plays. However, Gardner did evade the rush and he did find open receivers down field who separated themselves after the initial route was ran.

There inside run game did nothing all game from what I remember. Gardner beat us, and Gallon rode his coattails to a nice stat line.

 

[rocket66]

Am I the only one who felt like we played a better football game but just got beat by Gardner's athleticism?

Its just a repeat of the Denard days. ND plays a solid to good game, but just can't stop a scrambling qb who does whatever it takes to win.

There were numerous plays were if it weren't for Gardner holding the ball for 5+ seconds and running away from free blitzers we would have come up with some big plays. However, Gardner did evade the rush and he did find open receivers down field who separated themselves after the initial route was ran.

There inside run game did nothing all game from what I remember. Gardner beat us, and Gallon rode his coattails to a nice stat line.

I can agree with this. It also didn't help that Martin puckered up with his play calling the first two drives.

 

[Cackalacky]

Am I the only one who felt like we played a better football game but just got beat by Gardner's athleticism?

Its just a repeat of the Denard days. ND plays a solid to good game, but just can't stop a scrambling qb who does whatever it takes to win.

There were numerous plays were if it weren't for Gardner holding the ball for 5+ seconds and running away from free blitzers we would have come up with some big plays. However, Gardner did evade the rush and he did find open receivers down field who separated themselves after the initial route was ran.

There inside run game did nothing all game from what I remember. Gardner beat us, and Gallon rode his coattails to a nice stat line.

Offensively we played well. Defensively, we were terrible until someone decided in the 4th quarter to start bringing real pressure and it netted us a turnover and a touchdown. We had some nice plays on Gardner in the pocket and there were a few passes where he just seemed to sling the ball into the field and his receiver's caught it (I swear to God there were a couple of passes where Gardner was not even looking where he was throwing it and the ball still made it to a receiver). But no, IMO our D plan and execution was terrible. It put too much pressure on our CBs alone in coverage and they made huge mistakes.

I refuse to sugar coat this game, especially in light of what I had though of the Temple game. Elite defenses stop this Michigan team. There were too many issues from our play calling to execution. I understand some of us were expecting more from our D and also were underestimating Gardner, but some posters, like IrishLax, had this game nailed spot on on.

 

[T Town Tommy]

T Town's take:

Offense:

Yes Rees threw two ints - one at the end of the half that hurt and then the one late in the game. The first one he has to know better. The second one he should have thrown in the stands. But to lay the loss on Rees would be wrong IMO. He made some great reads, his check offs at the line were spot on most times, and he made some tough throws. Yes, the INTs hurt, but Rees kept the Irish in the game.

Carlisle looked good and even impressed in between the tackles. My question is... where was he in the second half? He needed more carries as he was getting good uphill push almost every play. GAIII didn't impress as much but still did a decent job running but his receiving skills were pretty bad. Gotta question throwing him the ball.

The WRs looked ok. They weren't great and missed on a few catches they should have had. On a positive, they were able to create some space on the UM DBs... both of who are pretty decent cover corners. Just run a little crisper routes and shore up those few misss and they will be fine.

The TE's looked good. T. Niklas showed he can be that seam type TE who will go get the ball. I thought ND could have hit him a few more times down those seams.

Defense:

The DL beat UM most of the night but I would like to see some more north/south movement on the stretch running plays. They did a good job pushing the play out but need to stop waiting on the lbs and safeties to make the tackles. Tuitt has too much experience to get pinched like he did on 3-4 of the Gardner runs. When you blitz the ILBs the DE can't get pinched to the inside like Tuitt did. That leaves a lone safety to make the tackle too many times. Miss and you give up a first down type run.

Grace looked good at ILB. The rest looked average. While they blitzed a lot and had some success in pressure, if they were a step faster they would have had some sacks. Smith missed the INT and that was his chance to make a game changing play and he didn't do it. Still, with some more experience I think he will make those type plays in the future. Still, the group as a whole has to get better.

The DBs wasn't that impressive. Both Jackson and Russell have to get better if the Irish are going to blitz that often. Russell I thought played pretty poorly overall.

The same could be said for Farley and Shumate. Farley has too much experience not to play better. He got away with being out of position against Temple but Michigan made him pay. He has to get better and get better quicker. Shumate is learning but he has a ways to go as well. Less experienced that Farley so some patience may be needed with him.

The ST play was solid. Punting and kicking were good. FGs looked well executed. Kick coverage was solid. Good improvement over week one.

Overall, the Irish needed to commit more to the run the second half. I think they panicked a little when down by two scores and abandoned the success they had with the run in the first half way to quickly. And the absence of Amir in the second half was puzzling. Run the ball more in the third and I think Rees completes more of those passes he missed.

The red zone offense has to improve. I think ND only got two tds in five trips and that won't work moving forward. On the other hand, I think UM was four out of four in the red zone for tds. And to me, that's the ball game no matter how much we want to lay blame on the defense.

The rest of the schedule is winnable. The ASU game will be interesting if the secondary hasn't improved and ASU gets to the game healthy - and that's a big IF with their 3-4 games before the Irish game. Can't really determine if Oklahoma is going to be Oklahoma or a version of what we have seen the first two games - which has been fairly unimpressive. BYU run the ball all over Texas but the LongHorn defense is not the Irish defense, especially against the run. Stanford will be physical as always.

The important thing is to see how the Irish respond after the loss. Wins with subpar performances against Purdue and Mich State should not be acceptable. The Irish need to dominate from start to finish in each game and let that set the tone for the rest of the schedule. Close, tough games will have me guessing if this team has that mental toughness to make a solid BCS run.

 

[Wild Bill]

Am I the only one who felt like we played a better football game but just got beat by Gardner's athleticism?

Disagree. Lost the turnover battle, couldn't tackle and could not get off the field on defense. It pains me to say it, but IMO, they were outcoached too.

 

[Irish Fam]

Offensively we played well. Defensively, we were terrible until someone decided in the 4th quarter to start bringing real pressure and it netted us a turnover and a touchdown. We had some nice plays on Gardner in the pocket and there were a few passes where he just seemed to sling the ball into the field and his receiver's caught it (I swear to God there were a couple of passes where Gardner was not even looking where he was throwing it and the ball still made it to a receiver). But no, IMO our D plan and execution was terrible. It put too much pressure on our CBs alone in coverage and they made huge mistakes.

I refuse to sugar coat this game, especially in light of what I had though of the Temple game. Elite defenses stop this Michigan team. There were too many issues from our play calling to execution. I understand some of us were expecting more from our D and also were underestimating Gardner, but some posters, like IrishLax, had this game nailed spot on on.

I would be interested to see what it would have been like to sit in a zone and force Gardner to find the holes. But we wanted to take away the run game and in turn, we left our corners on some islands. I don't think it was necessarily a terrible game plan, Gardner just made the right plays after evading our pass rush.

 

[Irish Fam]

Also, I hate to be that guy, but here we go...

We had 3 3rd and long pass interference calls on us. We all agree that the Bennett one was an absolute terrible call, but the others, both of which happened in the end zone, were absolute back breakers. The worst part is that we were in good defensive position on all 3 of them, but we bailed them out by getting there too early or just playing too physically.

I don't know if this is a mental thing from our players, poor coaching, or just unlucky. Either way, they were huge calls.

 

[Cackalacky]

I would be interested to see what it would have been like to sit in a zone and force Gardner to find the holes. But we wanted to take away the run game and in turn, we left our corners on some islands. I don't think it was necessarily a terrible game plan, Gardner just made the right plays after evading our pass rush.

We did that and Borges went to the Denard style offense to beat it until we we switched to a D that stopped that, which is where Gardner picked up some of the rushing yardage. We were predictable and their offensive line was better than expected to boot.

We had 3 pass broken ups, 3 QB hurries, and 1 sack against Michigan.

On the season we are giving up 7 yards per play on defense.

 

[koonja]

Am I the only one who felt like we played a better football game but just got beat by Gardner's athleticism?

Its just a repeat of the Denard days. ND plays a solid to good game, but just can't stop a scrambling qb who does whatever it takes to win.

There were numerous plays were if it weren't for Gardner holding the ball for 5+ seconds and running away from free blitzers we would have come up with some big plays. However, Gardner did evade the rush and he did find open receivers down field who separated themselves after the initial route was ran.

There inside run game did nothing all game from what I remember. Gardner beat us, and Gallon rode his coattails to a nice stat line.

Not at all. I completely agree. I've said it a few times, that we're the better team but Gardner just went Lebron in Cleveland on us.

 

[Irish Fam]

I didn't see much zone. Im sure it was played, but we wanted to line up in man and get after Gardner/stop the run.

 

[Cackalacky]

We also gave up more than 20 points. Didn't I see that Kelly has never won a game at ND giving up more than 20 points? We can play this game all day.

I know we will grow/improve as the year goes on but I had 3 question marks beginning this year:

Tommy Rees - he is doing what I expected so far.
RBs - production still a question mark regardless of the back
LBs - concern for the LBs has now grown to general concern of depth and execution.