Post Game Observations........

[kmoose]

No. I think we can win them all, but not confident.

^this

 

[EuropeanDomer]

- For the first time in a long time, i felt like if i was watching a Weis defense. That was ugly.

- Rees being Rees. But I'm happy with him. You can not expect more from him, it would be unfair. He will continue to make mistakes, it's in his DNA. Or somebody was expecting a "Bridgewater season" from him? He is Tommy Rees, repeat, Tommy Rees. He is doing great.

- Bryant and Folston have a problem. GAIII and Atkinson are juniors, they have one year left. And i see both getting reps until they leave. These guys will not waiting on the bench two years. Like many of you, I will not be surprised if at least one of the two goes away.

- TJ and Davaris are great. Davaris last year was good, but not great (consistency issues). This year he looks one step ahead. He looks very confident.

- I'm very disappointed with Stephon Tuitt. He looks A-W-F-U-L. Slow, with 0 explosion and like always, very hesitate in his effort. On the contrary, i love Louis Nix, he is not collapsing the backfield (so much attention to him) but he plays with pride, motor and solidarity in his efforts. Day is just a beauty when he disengage with his arms, but i expect a little more from him.

- ILBs are terrible and next season looks worse. Prince Shembo is not in beast mode. Jaylon playing good, not great.

- Farley is worse than Sergio Brown. Just Saying. I want to see Redfield, i'm afraid with LA guys (they are propensity to homesickness) and he will not want be a special teams player for too long. And the depth chart at safety has a lot of people who are young. We will see but i do not want a Shaquelle Evans 2.0 here. Pls Kelly, put Redfield out there.

 

[Fbolt]

Wow-a lot of negativity on this board. Fire this, bench that, play X, demote Y. It's a good thing none of the posters are coaches or else they'd be overhauling their roster weekly!

I was hoping that ND would have turned the corner this year and dominate/impose their will on lesser opponents. Sadly, that is not the case and they apparently have to relearn how to play together again. Sigh.... Hopefully they gel enough each week to get the win as I can't take another Michigan game-that one killed me.

The bright spot? How about TJ, Davaris, Rees, and Niklas? Sadly no D players get the shout out.

 

[IrishSteelhead]

At the end of the weekend, we are 2-1 and ranked. Ill bite my tongue and take solace in that...

 

[Irishpinoy]

Anyone really confident ND goes 4-0 in the next 4 weeks?

Not if they don't play like it's the last game of their lives. This team is good but playing with no emotion until late in the game. Don't know what's going on there.

 

[Emcee77]

Yeah, too much negativity. I used to like this board because it was so much more optimistic than some others. I say all the time, if you don't want to be optimistic, what's the fun in being a fan?

It was an ugly win, and maybe we aren't as good as we hoped this year, but Purdue always plays us tough. They've got a physical, athletic D, and we should have known coming in we'd get a tough game from them, just like last year. I'm definitely a little worried about our D, but, like Herbstreit said after the game, you'll take an ugly win every time early in the season -- it gives you game tape to look at, mistakes to learn from and something to build on in practice. Eventually things will start to click for some of those young, inexperienced or relatively inexperienced guys on the defense. We just gotta keep gutting out ugly wins till they do.

I mean, Tommy looked like Peyton Manning in the second half, did he not, changing the play and getting us in the right protection and what not? By that point he had Purdue figured out. I love how he is always ice cold down the stretch.

Cam.

The defense came alive in the second half too. Swarming, getting pressure, forcing mistakes.

Don't know why we sleepwalked through the first half, but I'll take the W.

Niklas dropped too many passes. I wanna see Koyack getting more reps, especially near the goal line. Better receiver.

 

[dre1919]

I vote for running back by committee with Cam the clear starter. Power that football right down people's throats! (of course, this is assuming the offensive line wakes up, takes it personally, and decides to really excel at run blocking).

 

[PANDFAN]

My .02 after getting a good night sleep

My .02 after getting a good night sleep

1. Rees is doing what he can out there...I love his effort and I am glad he huddled the team late in the game to get their *** in gear....what did we do...we went right out and bombed it to DD...his play thus far this year has been good

2. the running attack has me scratching my head...it takes sooo long to get to the outside and turn the corner..amir just didn't have that burst last night to get through the holes-he looked tenative, ga3 when he runs it looks like he gets touched and then just falls down...don't know what the freshman give us, but more than 1 touch combined would be nice to at least see....cam-thanks for busting ur *** and at least have that competitive emotion out there that many didn't show last night or frankly the entire season

3. play calling--i feel like we are playing the 1st tecmo bowl game for nintendo..4 total plays to call from(anyone who ever played if you picked the same play you though the offense was going to pick the entire d would just all swarm and tackle the ball carrier for a stop or loss)...i saw the same plays each and every game...the ONLY time we did something of worth last night on offense was when we did something different...going vertical hitting dd and cb...the wr's screen have very little reward but have a lot of risk..and we risked it too many times...think back to the michigan game, dd got blown up and we had to punt late in game at a critical point in game, cam saved an int last night, and they were waiting for it the 3x's running it

4. my wtf is going on goes to tuitt, ILB's, farley, kr this season---tuitt looks nothing like a 1st rounder and if he was on another team i would be saying how overrated he is..dont give me the double team crap because i specifically watch him on plays and he is just happy locking up w/ someone and playing pattycake...stats back this up w/ 0 tackles since temple game...0
-i feel like the ilb's arn't on the field during the play and then run on from the sideline at the very end which is why you see grace,fox,carlo either falling over themselves, tripping on a banana peel or just dive in at the end of play
-farley--not sure what is going on here, seems to be either beat, in the wrong position and just overall taking bad angles--i know we want to see max because of farley's play, but geez how can we expect him to line up correct when a 2nd year starter can't...hopefully the light will go on
-KR--wow he is just getting exposed,beat ,pursing at bad angles and has been a liability in making stops--


thank goodness TJ,rees,DD,cam and the Oline last night showed up to the game because these were the only ones who stepped up and showed any emotion out there...CB had a nice catch too but it was only 1 and didn't see anything else..sorry also BJ showed up w. the nice and crucial pick 6 because he has also been extremely underwhelming this season

 

[AvesEvo]

WE don't look at Bryant and tell him he's not getting the ball; the coaches do. And I am certain that they are explaining very specific reasons to him. There is more to being a RB than simply running the ball. The days of the Four Horsemen are LONG gone. I seriously doubt that the coaches are holding the Freshmen out of the game, despite them being better options than the guys who are playing. And I most certainly trust the coaches' ability to judge who is the better option, over the ability of any of us on here.



Tommy Rees is on pace to complete 61% of his passes (260/428), for almost 4,000 yards (3876), with 28 TDs and 8 INTs. Tommy Rees is hardly keeping this team from doing anything serious.



Kelly has played a ton of freshmen. Jaylon Smith, Cole Luke, Corey Robinson, Folston, Bryant............. they have all seen the field. TJ Yeldon and Amari Cooper are sophomores. What do they have to do with true freshmen in their 3rd ever college game?



Stop being angry and actually look at the facts!

Folston and Bryant are lucky to get on the field for one play per game, that is not playing.

 

[texbender]

Man this team is terrible. No run blocking, Rees has very few good throws a game, Carlisle was bad, Atkinson was worse. Niklas couldn't catch syphilis in a Tijuana whorehouse, the defensive line got no pressure, the linebackers still play like they are underwater, and the secondary was terrible.

Daniels, TJ, and Cam are the only bright spots.

+1. Yeah, every team has a stinker that they must fight through and escape with a win, but as pointed out there seem to be too many areas where ND really looks like they have issues. Glad we got the win, for sure, but a decent opponent would have taken us to the cleaners last night. DD and Cam were the bright spots.

 

[IrishLax]

I'm coming to the sober realization this morning that we probably will not be favored in any of our next 4 games (maybe USC) and that 5-7 is a real possibility. In fact, 5-7 is likely more probable than 10-2 at this point.

 

[irishff1014]

I'm coming to the sober realization this morning that we probably will not be favored in any of our next 4 games (maybe USC) and that 5-7 is a real possibility. In fact, 5-7 is likely more probable than 10-2 at this point.

Thank god someone else notices this.

 

[GO IRISH!!!]

I get it that it is only week 3, but I just don't think this team will flip a switch and turn on the stellar play. One of the biggest things they are lacking across the board is consistent heart. Especially on defense. The veteran leadership on defense last year (Manti, KLM, Motta) wouldn't allow guys to take any plays off. And when it got backed in to the red zone, they stiffened up even more and played with so much fortitude. That's why the bend don't break method worked. It was almost as though we would "lure" the other team in to the red zone just to demoralize them and crush them into fine powder.

This year, guys on defense seem to not have the same motor all the time. You don't feel any sense of urgency when they are defending in the red zone. I just don't see the heart and the fire all the time.

Forget talent, play calling, athleticism, and all that. Where is the heart? Where is the passion? BobD said it earlier, where is the old fashioned, smack-someone-in-the-mouth type of football? I am not even seeing any standouts on ST. We don't have that psychotic wedge-breaker we have had for the last several years.

 

[LoveThee]

I expect us to drop Oklahoma and ASU at this point. I wouldnt be surprised if we lost all 4...

 

[Ndaccountant]

I'm coming to the sober realization this morning that we probably will not be favored in any of our next 4 games (maybe USC) and that 5-7 is a real possibility. In fact, 5-7 is likely more probable than 10-2 at this point.

I am not a very vwealthy person, but i will bet you 10 million vbucks nd is favored against msu.

 

[IrishLax]

I am not a very vwealthy person, but i will bet you 10 million vbucks nd is favored against msu.

OK sure. By kickoff, we'll see what the line is. I think ND opens at somewhere between -3 and -1 and then it moves to even or ND +a couple by kickoff.

 

[CanadianIrish]

Kelly has played a ton of freshmen. Jaylon Smith, Cole Luke, Corey Robinson, Folston, Bryant............. they have all seen the field. TJ Yeldon and Amari Cooper are sophomores. What do they have to do with true freshmen in their 3rd ever college game?



Stop being angry and actually look at the facts!

Are you this stupid or are you trying to be obstinant?

Yeldon and Cooper were key contributors last years freshmen. They had way better players in front of the, than our freshman do but got PT because of their potential. That's what competent coaches do. Bryant has three carries, that not relevant PT. Thats an insult to a five star, especially when the guys in front of him are averaging 3 YPC.

If this is how Kelly intends to coach he needs to go back to Grand Valley where recruits will tolerate it.

 

[ickythump1225]

Good god I'm so freaking tired of all the namby pamby hand wringers. "OH noez we may go 0-4," Jesus get a hold of yourselves. We went 12-0 without ever looking too overly impressive. We could still go 11-1 this year.

Will we? I don't know but neither does anyone else so for the love of all things holy just shut your mouths. 5-7, 11-1, none of that is certain. I'm tired of all of the doomsayers acting like their position is the only logical one and that 0-4 over the next 4 weeks is guaranteed.

Seriously if the Irish make you this miserable and you have nothing positive to say about the team than go cheer for Michigan or Alabama or some other program. Cheer for Purdue or Temple since they're so awesome and we just suck.

 

[TDHeysus]

I completely disagree with all the coach bashing, I cant stress that enough. play calling has been questionable, but coaching has not.

The defense is embarrassing horrible against the pass, but was much improved against the run. Any smart coach will watch game tape, and see that ND has no answer for quick, short passes - slants, 5 yard down and ins, 5yard button hooks, quick passes out to the flat, short crossing patterns. (quick, short passes are the basis for USC's offense)

Davaris Daniels is showing that he can be counted on, and needs to a be focal point of the offense (not THEE focal point, but they definitely need to get him the ball more).

I saw AT LEAST 3 blatant, out-in-the-open holding calls against ND that were not called. 2 of those the ND guy had his shoulder pads exposed, and no call. The other one was late in the game where Ishaq was held and could been seen from ALL angles of multiple replays. Those refs plain sucked *** yesterday.

Amir Carlisle.....after that fumble I kept saying "don't even put your helmet back on dude, your not getting back in the game." I want to see the freshman get a legit shot, not just spot play. What if Greg Bryant has an Aaron lynch type impact on the offense? GB has big play potential, but we'll never know when he gets only limited play. I love Cam, and all he has done for this team, but I would like to see what GB could do with the same amount of looks that Cam seems to be getting.

 

[Emcee77]

Has everyone forgotten that it took a last second field goal to beat Purdue last year AT HOME. That was a NC team. This team goes on the road and beats Purdue by 7, a larger margin than last year.

And to those complaining about the defense, did you expect the defense to be the same after losing the players we lost? I think this team will allow 20+ ppg, double last year. Look at the Bama A&M game. The best coach in college football allows 42 points to a spread offense. Defenses are still trying to figure out how to stop the spread. Yes I know they have Manziel, but think about how well respected Saban is for his defensive prowess.

This is a new year and new team. Teams are going to spread us out and put up points. As long as we stay away from shoot outs, the season will still end up around 9-3, which everyone thought would happen.

I thought this post needed to be in this thread, particularly the bolded. Let's chill with the sky is falling stuff. Couldn't we have said all this same stuff after last year's Purdue game? Only reason we didn't is because we weren't coming off a great season like we are this year so expectations weren't as high. I don't see any reason we can't go 9-3 this year. Or even better (but I said 9 wins preseason and I guess I'll stick to it for now).

A lot of the pessimism seems to come from the fact that Michigan nearly lost to Akron, as if that proves that Michigan is a bad team. Bad teams beat good teams inexplicably all the time, every year. It's not just about bad and good; it may also be about 1) the schematic matchup and the teams' relative strengths and weaknesses; and 2) which team brings its A game on a given night, among other things.

I just think it's too early in the year to know how good anybody is. If you are reading stuff in the media by people who claim to know, it's just because they have to say something.

That's not to say that we need to stick our heads in the sand and ignore all the ways we looked bad last night. It's just to say that we didn't learn anything conclusive from it.

 

[ickythump1225]

I completely disagree with all the coach bashing, I cant stress that enough. play calling has been questionable, but coaching has not.

The defense is embarrassing horrible against the pass, but was much improved against the run. Any smart coach will watch game tape, and see that ND has no answer for quick, short passes - slants, 5 yard down and ins, 5yard button hooks, quick passes out to the flat, short crossing patterns. (quick, short passes are the basis for USC's offense)

Davaris Daniels is showing that he can be counted on, and needs to a be focal point of the offense (not THEE focal point, but they definitely need to get him the ball more).

I saw AT LEAST 3 blatant out in the open holding calls against ND that were not called. 2 of those the ND guy had his shoulder pads exposed, and no call. The other one was late in the game where Ishaq was held and could been seen from ALL angles of multiple replays. Those refs plain sucked *** yesterday.

Amir Carlisle.....after that fumble I kept saying "don't even put your helmet back on dude, your not getting back in the game." I want to see the freshman get a legit shot, not just spot play. What if Greg Bryant has an Aaron lynch type impact on the offense? GB has big play potential, but we'll never know when he gets only limited play. I love Cam, and all he has done for this team, but I would like to see what GB could do with the same amount of looks that Cam seems to be getting.

My one gripe is lack of playing time for the kids at RB. I would like to see them get more time.

 

[ickythump1225]

I thought this post needed to be in this thread, particularly the bolded. Let's chill with the sky is falling stuff. Couldn't we have said all this same stuff after last year's Purdue game? Only reason we didn't is because we weren't coming off a great season like we are this year so expectations weren't as high. I don't see any reason we can't go 9-3 this year.

A lot of the pessimism seems to come from the fact that Michigan nearly lost to Akron, as if that proves that Michigan is a bad team. Bad teams beat good teams inexplicably all the time, every year. It's not just about bad and good; it may also be about 1) the schematic matchup and the teams' relative strengths and weaknesses; and 2) which team brings its A game on a given night.

I just think it's too early in the year to know how good anybody is. If you are reading stuff in the media by people who claim to know, it's just because they have to say something.

That's not to say that we need to stick our heads in the sand and ignore all the ways we looked bad last night. It's just to say that we didn't learn anything conclusive from it.

Yeah Michigan probably spent so much energy last Saturday against us they had a letdown week. I mean they were clearly on their A+++ game last week and no one would have beat them. Nothing went wrong for them last week.

 

[Emcee77]

Are you this stupid or are you trying to be obstinant?

Yeldon and Cooper were key contributors last years freshmen. They had way better players in front of the, than our freshman do but got PT because of their potential. That's what competent coaches do. Bryant has three carries, that not relevant PT. Thats an insult to a five star, especially when the guys in front of him are averaging 3 YPC.

If this is how Kelly intends to coach he needs to go back to Grand Valley where recruits will tolerate it.

I agree with kmoose. Cream rises to the top, and the freshmen hopefully know that they will start to play when they really prove that they are better. Isn't it possible that they aren't as good as the upperclassmen at picking up blitzers, and that's why they didn't play much against Greg Hudson's aggressive D?

At RB, Alabama has Yeldon, Fowler, Drake ... and two frosh, Altee Tenpenney and Derrick Henry. I didn't see either play AT ALL YESTERDAY. What an INSULT.

 

[TDHeysus]

I agree with kmoose. Cream rises to the top, and the freshmen hopefully know that they will start to play when they really prove that they are better. Isn't it possible that they aren't as good as the upperclassmen at picking up blitzers, and that's why they didn't play much against Greg Hudson's aggressive D?

At RB, Alabama has Yeldon, Fowler, Drake ... and two frosh, Altee Tenpenney and Derrick Henry. I didn't see either play AT ALL YESTERDAY. What an INSULT.

Yeldon, Fowler, Drake were effective, no reason to not have them play. freshman don't HAVE to play, but if the guys ahead of them are not effective, they are worth getting a shot. Yeldon was gashing TAMU at times for ALA, one drive in particular, it seems like everytime he got the ball it was a 7-12 yard gain

 

[Emcee77]

Yeldon, Fowler, Drake were effective, no reason to not have them play. freshman don't HAVE to play, but if the guys ahead of them are not effective, they are worth getting a shot. Yeldon was gashing TAMU at times for ALA, one drive in particular, it seems like everytime he got the ball it was a 7-12 yard gain

I think everyone gets that. My point was just it's not an insult to freshmen not to play them just because they were highly rated recruits. Additionally, this bears repeating:

WE don't look at Bryant and tell him he's not getting the ball; the coaches do. And I am certain that they are explaining very specific reasons to him. There is more to being a RB than simply running the ball. The days of the Four Horsemen are LONG gone. I seriously doubt that the coaches are holding the Freshmen out of the game, despite them being better options than the guys who are playing. And I most certainly trust the coaches' ability to judge who is the better option, over the ability of any of us on here.

I'm sure the freshmen know why they aren't playing, even if we don't.

 

[CanadianIrish]

Yeldon had 175 carries and 1200 yards last year with Eddie Lacey in front of him. Bryant had 3 carries with a bunch of clowns in front of him. 3 YPC is e only thing that needs to be referenced. The issue is also getting PT is how under classmem prepare to be major contributors in the future.

As for this "they know why the aren't playing" nonsense, I'm sure they know why they aren't getting lots of PT, but that shouldn't stop Bryant from getting more than one carry per game. There is a difference between being a non-starting contributor and getting next to no PT.

 

[Luckylucci]

Some takeaways:
1. I really liked the resolve of the team in the second half. We could have packed it in but instead they buckled down and got the W. That means something.
2. ILB's look very very slow and lost in space. Teams are going to continue to dink and dunk down the field until we stop it.
3. Defense did play better in the 2nd half and they tackled much better. Good enough to win 10 games no, but better than the last 2 1/2 games.
4. Davaris Daniels and TJ are becoming one of the better 1-2 combos out there. Only problem is Tommy is still struggling to consistantly get them the ball.
5. Play calling on both sides in very predictable. Herbie last night said Diaco likes to blitz on 3rd down, we blitz Grace leaving the slant wide open and first down purdue. Have to mix it up. Same goes for the screen game. Something could be said that we were doing that to get them up close and then go over the top like we did. It just shouldn't take that much time.
6. Dline got more pressure as the game went on. Sheldon and Shembo I thought played well. We need to get Ishaq on the field. I'd have to go back and watch it again but I believe we pulled an ILB for Ishaq at different times and it made a
huge difference.
7. Not sure the solution (would love to get a discussion on this) but we can only have 1 of grace, fox, and Calabrese on the field.

 

[Green Blood]

Louis Nix

Louis Nix

< Check out who I ran into last night!

 

[Emcee77]

Yeldon had 175 carries and 1200 yards last year with Eddie Lacey in front of him. Bryant had 3 carries with a bunch of clowns in front of him. 3 YPC is e only thing that needs to be referenced. The issue is also getting PT is how under classmem prepare to be major contributors in the future.

As for this "they know why the aren't playing" nonsense, I'm sure they know why they aren't getting lots of PT, but that shouldn't stop Bryant from getting more than one carry per game. There is a difference between being a non-starting contributor and getting next to no PT.

What? It must not have been clear that the reason they aren't playing is because they aren't better than the guys who are, not yet; we as fans just aren't there in practice and haven't seen the evidence. That was the whole point.

 

[anarin]

So I'm watching the full game right now, I was unable to last night.

It's pretty simple I think ..

1- They came out flat and I dont think the motivation was there.
2- Purdue gameplanned better in the beginning of this game. I think this is due to Kelly and co. underestimating how ramped up purdue was gonna be for this game.
3- I'd like to see the freshman play. Carlisle is great for the slot, GAIII doesn't have the shiftiness to break one on his own and Mcdaniel is what he is; a solid back in between the tackles. We need a game breaker and I think Folston or Bryant can be that guy.
4- Tuitt is in a slump. He is being manned up one on one and isn't making any impact. 3 games into the season he is no 1st round pick.
5- Sheldon Day is our best lineman right now.
6- Even with the slow start, I give kudos to the coaching staff for adjusting and getting the team rolling in the 2nd half.
7- Rees is Rees. He is limited but still makes good plays. The wideouts need to help him with the easy stuff.
8- Too many missed tackles. They gotta clean this up.

This was a good game. Its easy for us to see alot of negative and have the doom and gloom attitude due to the "inferior" opponent; this is why they play the game! I was proud to see them fight through it and get the W. Remember that last year they had these kind of games as well. It was only a lower scored game.