Postgame Thoughts - North Carolina

[Pops Freshenmeyer]

How weird is it to actually get excited to watch the defense take the field every series?

It is amazing. I love everything about Elko's defense but especially how it's turned Tranquil from a tweener into a missile.

 

[CrystalHead]

Uhmmm, NO!


Apologies if any of this has been posted, but don't want to wade through all the posts. Listened to the game on the radio, then watched a rerun Sunday.

1. Team took another step forward.
2. If you don't think this was a impressive win, I don't know what to tell you. UNC is a little down this year, but teams get jacked when the Irish come to town and raise their play. UNC still has some athletes.
3. In watching the rerun, Book reminds me "a little" of Montana.
4. Winning with your backup on the road in that fashion is impressive. It tells me we have a lot of talent on both sides of the ball.
5. Plenty of things to work on, but once again we saw growth from the week before which is what coaches look for.

Maybe my choice of scrimmage was off base and I didn't do a good enough job of explaining what I meant. The coaching staff especially Kelly seem completely different on the sidelines then in previous years. High energy, relaxed and having fun , which is refreshing and quite different. I do believe, even though we struggled early, the staff believed they could oppose our will and beat them down over the course of the game, which they did. I just saw the play calling and decisions within the game reflect the fact that the UNC offense wasn't going to shine for very long. I like this team, I said once I'll say it again, this team loves to improve. They are never complacent and it's fun to look forward to see what they bring each week. I agree with everything you are saying and my using of the word scrimmage was used because I believe the staff knew they had a better product on the field.

 

[Luckylucci]

How weird is it to actually get excited to watch the defense take the field every series?

Yep. It's nice to have the expectations back, that the defense is going to make plays. And I think this is just the beginning. A lot of returning talent on this team. With guys like Okwara, Hayes, Hayes, Tranquill, Love, Crawford, ascending like they have, should just continue to get better. Bad news is, I think Tillery is playing himself into a early round draft pick. Good news, MTA is going to be really good.

 

[NDohio]

Yep. It's nice to have the expectations back, that the defense is going to make plays. And I think this is just the beginning. A lot of returning talent on this team. With guys like Okwara, Hayes, Hayes, Tranquill, Love, Crawford, ascending like they have, should just continue to get better. Bad news is, I think Tillery is playing himself into a early round draft pick. Good news, MTA is going to be really good.

I was completely shocked at the way he looked Saturday. He is not built like an interior lineman and his quickness off the ball has to be a result of his new physique. He was in the backfield so quickly on the safety it was astonishing.

I agree that he probably won't be in a gold helmet next year.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

2012 was more "fun" for me, but obviously much more stressful. That felt like a dream season between all the tight games, awards, individual star players, Te'o Heisman hype, etc.

It's hard for me to consider 2012 objectively. The emotional highs were memorable, but so was the stress. Given the choice, I'd rather comfortably smoke the inferior teams on our schedule and lose a close game or two to elite competition than to have every game be a nail-biter and still somehow win them all. Those sorts of seasons seem to end with us getting exposed in a bowl game anyway.

How weird is it to actually get excited to watch the defense take the field every series?

During my freshman year at ND (Willingham's first season), we preferred seeing our defense on the field to our offense. The latter was so incompetent that our chances of scoring were much better on defense.

 

[stlnd01]

I was completely shocked at the way he looked Saturday. He is not built like an interior lineman and his quickness off the ball has to be a result of his new physique. He was in the backfield so quickly on the safety it was astonishing.

I agree that he probably won't be in a gold helmet next year.

Thus far this year, Tillery has turned into the player I think we all hoped he could be. Jay Hayes, too. The penetration they got on that safety at the end of the first half was just ridiculous.

As for next year, who knows. JT would be a likely captain, and has never seemed like a football-first kind of guy (indeed that was the knock on him for two years). Could see him coming back for his degree and a shot at a playoff run.

FWIW, Tillery is currently the 13th rated DT prospect in the 2018 draft here. Projected a Round 4-6 pick...
WalterFootball.com: 2018 NFL Draft: Defensive Tackle Rankings

 

[dublinirish]

Thus far this year, Tillery has turned into the player I think we all hoped he could be. Jay Hayes, too. The penetration they got on that safety at the end of the first half was just ridiculous.

As for next year, who knows. JT would be a likely captain, and has never seemed like a football-first kind of guy. Could see him coming back for his degree and a shot at a playoff run.

FWIW, Tillery is currently the 13th rated DT prospect in the 2018 draft here. Projected a Round 4-6 pick...
WalterFootball.com: 2018 NFL Draft: Defensive Tackle Rankings

but he voted for HRC..

 

[Luckylucci]

Thus far this year, Tillery has turned into the player I think we all hoped he could be. Jay Hayes, too. The penetration they got on that safety at the end of the first half was just ridiculous.

As for next year, who knows. JT would be a likely captain, and has never seemed like a football-first kind of guy (indeed that was the knock on him for two years). Could see him coming back for his degree and a shot at a playoff run.

FWIW, Tillery is currently the 13th rated DT prospect in the 2018 draft here. Projected a Round 4-6 pick...
WalterFootball.com: 2018 NFL Draft: Defensive Tackle Rankings

FWIW, that page hasn't been updated since Sept. 23rd. I'd bet he's moving higher on boards and will continue to do so if he plays at this level, for the whole season. For example, they have no update on his 2017 production which is moving substantially ahead of last years at this pace. He's at 27 tackles, 4.5 TFL's, and 3 sacks, through 6 games. Last year was 37 tackels, 3.5 TFL's, and 0 sacks for the season.

With that said, I hope he comes back, but he's playing himself into a tough decision.

 

[koonja]

He's an academic. There's a chance he comes back. Anyone know if he's on track to graduate in summer or anytime before next year?

Either way, we should be fine at DT going forward. Which is crazy to think.

 

[NDohio]

He's an academic. There's a chance he comes back. Anyone know if he's on track to graduate in summer or anytime before next year?

Either way, we should be fine at DT going forward. Which is crazy to think.

Biggest question mark going into the season...

 

[Luckylucci]

He's an academic. There's a chance he comes back. Anyone know if he's on track to graduate in summer or anytime before next year?

Either way, we should be fine at DT going forward. Which is crazy to think.

Of course there is, I wasn't saying this is a slam dunk. The point I was essentially trying to make is, 6 weeks ago, I think most thought it was a forgone conclusion he'd be on next years team. At this point, because he's playing so well. I'm not so sure of that.

 

[ND NYC]

anyone else have that inner voice in their head that keeps saying "if only we had Elko couple years ago"

 

[NDohio]

anyone else have that inner voice in their head that keeps saying "if only we had Elko couple years ago"

No way. The BVG thread was one of my favorite threads...

 

[zelezo vlk]

No way. The BVG thread was one of my favorite threads...

Elko hasn't shut out anybody, there's no way that he could've done it to Michigan! And without that game, we'd never have this gem: http://bradyhokeclapping.com/

 

[Dizzyphil]

No way. The BVG thread was one of my favorite threads...

 

[SonofOahu]

Graded and recruited to play for the Irish as well as many other P5 schools?.. No Sir, not a good excuse. Need to put your hands on the ball more often. I'm not putting all of the misses on them; QBs have some responsibilities as well but fight for the f'n ball. Make something happen.

Yup. Totally agree.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

No way. The BVG thread was one of my favorite threads...

 

[SonofOahu]

It's hard for me to consider 2012 objectively. The emotional highs were memorable, but so was the stress. Given the choice, I'd rather comfortably smoke the inferior teams on our schedule and lose a close game or two to elite competition than to have every game be a nail-biter and still somehow win them all. Those sorts of seasons seem to end with us getting exposed in a bowl game anyway.



During my freshman year at ND (Willingham's first season), we preferred seeing our defense on the field to our offense. The latter was so incompetent that our chances of scoring were much better on defense.

So you were there for Weis 2005, right? Senior Year? Come on, that year was pretty damn fun. Even our two losses (regular season) were great games.

 

[SonofOahu]

Maybe my choice of scrimmage was off base and I didn't do a good enough job of explaining what I meant. The coaching staff especially Kelly seem completely different on the sidelines then in previous years. High energy, relaxed and having fun , which is refreshing and quite different. I do believe, even though we struggled early, the staff believed they could oppose our will and beat them down over the course of the game, which they did. I just saw the play calling and decisions within the game reflect the fact that the UNC offense wasn't going to shine for very long. I like this team, I said once I'll say it again, this team loves to improve. They are never complacent and it's fun to look forward to see what they bring each week. I agree with everything you are saying and my using of the word scrimmage was used because I believe the staff knew they had a better product on the field.

For what it's worth, I understood what you meant, and I agree with what you posted. This game had a real "let's see what we can do" feel to it. Like I said in the game thread, this was a test drive for Book.

 

[Irish#1]

Of course there is, I wasn't saying this is a slam dunk. The point I was essentially trying to make is, 6 weeks ago, I think most thought it was a forgone conclusion he'd be on next years team. At this point, because he's playing so well. I'm not so sure of that.

He's definitely improved. There is a difference between this year and previous years. I attribute this to both S&C and Elko. Right now I would say he will be back. NFL may want to see him back up his body of work with another solid year to make sure this season isn't an anomaly.

 

[stlnd01]

He's definitely improved. There is a difference between this year and previous years. I attribute this to both S&C and Elko. Right now I would say he will be back. NFL may want to see him back up his body of work with another solid year to make sure this season isn't an anomaly.

There will also, inevitably (and perhaps unfairly), be questions about JT's "maturity" and "dedication." Another year to show he's "serious" probably wouldn't hurt. (Though TBH those questions seem to come up a lot with Notre Dame guys who appear to have interests in life outside of football, so maybe it doesn't matter.)

 

[Junkhead]

Its been 6 games, and already, how soon is it before Elko gets a head coaching gig or whatever else he wants? ND can attract some great coaches, but the better ones always seem to make it 2-3 years and gone. I'll enjoy having a D while I can!

 

[RyCo1983]

Its been 6 games, and already, how soon is it before Elko gets a head coaching gig or whatever else he wants? ND can attract some great coaches, but the better ones always seem to make it 2-3 years and gone. I'll enjoy having a D while I can!

I haven't posted in quite a spell. But I'm pretty pleased with the defensive production so far.

Should be an exciting stretch if the passing game comes around a bit.