SDSU Post-game discussion

[SoCalDomer]

This thread will open after the game. Please use this thread and don't start start multiple threads to discuss the SDSU game.

 

[onenybrother]

That was a sad site to see. The offensive line played well but we had to many penalties and turnovers. Jimmy Claussen had a decent game. I will say we left about 17pts on the field today. Maybe it was first game jitters. I will keep my fingers cross and hope i see improve as the year go on.


Let's Go Dame!!!

 

[beatrizandjess]

we look better then last year, I want more Flyod and sergio brown. Go Irish!!

 

[irish9331]

This team showed some heart, but they have to eliminate some of the stupid mistakes. It's gonna get better, so just be patient and the front-runners, just go away please.

Also was I the only one that wanted to puke everytime that GD Adidas Reggie Bush commercial was on?

 

[Freeman Ara]

First off, after last year we have to appreciate any win right now. I get the feeling this team needs to learn to believe in itself, and maybe this game will make that happen. Overall, they looked improved, the offensive line didn't play like a turnstile like last year so thats improvement number one. We had 4 turnovers, so to come back from that many lost opportunities is tough. The defense played pretty well overall against a pass happy team. I know it looked ugly but remember this was our first game out so things should improve going forward. Its one thing to try and coach emotion and a winning attitude, its another thing to actually do it. Maybe this team believes it can win now and that will help us take a huge step forward.

 

[MUGSY]

If you look at the scoreboard in many of the stadiums this week and last, I think that alot of fans have been extremely disappointed with the start of the season. The Irish did not look good, but there were some bright spots. Floyd with his first catch of hopefully a great career, Jimmy seemed to get it under control in the 4th quarter, O-line looked improved. Next week will be a much better test to this season. There is still alot of work to do. Until next week...

Go Irish!

 

[irishmarine]

over all i really thought it showed alot of heart by the defense and the offense. it was frustrating but 4 turnovers will hurt you and nobody got discouraged. alot of work to do but its a first step and the d really showed up

 

[bernbabybern820]

I noticed that Duval did not play too much in the second half especially in the 4th except for the final minutes for his run blocking. He did not play well at all. Hopefully he gets better.

 

[SoCalDomer]

a couple of thoughts

1) Sacks on offense. there were none today. That seems like an improvement. But when you consider this was SDSU who lost to Cal Poly SLO last week, lost alot of starters to injuries, and is generally a bad team, this should have been the baseline, not an accomplishment.

2) Sacks/Blitzes on Def: completely ineffective. There were often two guys blitzing from the outside, coming from the same direction, and a little flare pass over or around them neutralized the pressure. other times the two blitzers came through the same hole, one got blocked and the other got jammed in the same hole. seemed like very little blitxing up the middle.

3) Where's the nasty/punding? we kept hearing all spring and summer how there was 640lbs of men on the right side, yet almost all the runs went up the middle or to the left. in addiiton they were toss plays, which allow smaller faster defenders to cacth up and make the play.

4) TE run blocking was terrible. I said when Ragone went down that we would be hurting. Talent doesn't help with basics like blocking.

5) KamaraBrickHands - some poster said he was worried about kamara, hearing he was dropping alot of balls in practice. whether the practice rumors were true, i still don't know, but his play was unacceptable. his miss turned into a pick which turned into 6.

6) dive right in/ start fast - did CW mean start the 4th qtr fast?

 

[patman1868]

Like many others I thought this was a very tough game to watch. I thought the defense played well, they went through a couple of rough spots but they were on the field so much that was probably bound to happen. Special teams improved from last year aside from the botched field goal. Offense was very shaky. At least they finished it out with some strong drives especially Clausen and tate. Also props to Floyd for his first TD catch.

Also I really like the play of Sergio Brown, I think he could be huge for us.

After the way ND played today I will gladly take a win though matter how ugly it was. Now hopefully they can work out some of the kinks and improve for UM.

 

[SoCalDomer]

7) D-line seemed to get very little push without the aid of blitzes. someone is gonna need to learn to beat their man without him blowing an assignment.

 

[Junkhead]

Hughes played ok, but seemed so slow hitting the hole. He did a little too much dancing. I've never been a fan of draws and delays, and we are still terrible at them. I agree that the blitzing was ineffective. It should be thrown in at times, not every single down. It was a pathetic show, but hopefully it was first game jitters.

 

[irishmarine]

first game jitters everywhere, but a win is a win

 

[Freeman Ara]

Here's some positives:

1) Armando Allen looks like he is much improved and deserves the #1 spot in the RB. Rotation.

2) Golden Tate has made major strides towards being a complete receiver and looks very good.

3) Clausen's throwing ability was very impressive, nice arm strenght and all his throws were pretty much right on the money.

4) I know a bunch of you have said that the blitzing was ineffective, but it worked many times where the QB had to rush the throw or change his arm angle and caused incompletions. We aren't always going to get to the QB but if we can force him to move in the pocket it's done its job.

 

[Irishwino7]

Don't forget, we have a 3 game winning streak going.

 

[ACamp1900]

the blitz packeages were FAR too obvious... It's fine when there is a hard count and you see the blitz coming... they didn't hide a THING.... with that said... JT and CB are better D coaches then myself ( I hope)... they should see that in film and TRY to hide the blitz or at least wsere it is coming from a bit better or we will get killed on it all year...

with that said we did have a good day on with the pass rush... but we have to man up better in the secondary (and that is coaches NOT players, the players did what they wrer told from what I saw) if we are going to expect the blitz to work......


but we won


YES

 

[LOVEMYIRISH]

It was a horrible game. No doubt. It was ugly. There WERE bright spots. There were some verk dark spots too...

But in the end we walked away with a win. Let's all take a breath and remember that.

Next week is a new week. We play scUM and that game will be a new game and a new chance to win.

We have many things to fix. Let's see how it plays out.

As for this game:
- OL was good
- RB ok
- Play calling bad
- Blitzing was horrible
- Pass protection hit or miss

 

[skaduzy]

So glad you all won today! You are my second favorite team (Go Buckeyes) and I sure will be cheering for you next week and every other week. Go Irish!!!

 

[Senoj13]

I vented during the game and will try to relax with some positives and negatives.

Negs

blitzes seemed to be picked up way to easy. LBs seemed to run right into the blocking scheme.

too many big plays on 3rd down. blitzes will open that up, but too many receivers wide open.

O line didn't seem to wear down the defense and open the ground game like expected.

Positives

Clausen...seemed rattled a bit when pressure came in, but overall game was good. I think both INTs can be blamed on Kamara. He never turned around on the 2nd one.

O line didn't give up a sack. enough said.

Kyle Mccarthy - Was skeptical about what his level of play would be, but was pleasantly suprised.

 

[Freeman Ara]

I think th eonly real issue with the blitz's were they didn't stagger them. YUou look at what USC did last week against UVA. They would send one LB then 2 seconds later the next one would fill the void where the lineman just left, easy sack. Its a work in progress, but I think this defense will be much better this year overall.

 

[GO IRISH!!!]

I lost all my vbucks, but I don't care because I would gladly give all those vbucks (and some real ones as well) just for the "W". I am happy with three offensive touchdowns (by the way, I called the first touchdown would be scored by Floyd), no sacks, and pretty darn good defensive play as a whole. We are not close to where I want to be and this felt a lot like last year for most of the game, but we pulled it out.

One thing I did not see (and it could be the stellar coverage by the crack reporting team of NBC **snicker**) was any sort of leadership on the sidelines. I didn't see anyone getting other guys pumped up. Anyone remember when Brandon Hoyt used to bring that huge chain with him and jump up and down and wave that thing around? Do something to get guys pumped up when the "breaks are going against the boys." Where is that vocal leader on the field and on the bench when something goes wrong?

Just my opinion. I have a lot more to say, but I can't process it all and most of you on here are much more eloquent than I am anyway.

 

[CNY_Domer]

Some Things to Remember

- 4 turnovers = 17 pts left on the field

-1st game for the Irish 2nd game for SDSU

-If the QB is in shotgun and is 3 step dropping the Blitz will generally not work. However, the Irish did force a lot of incompletions. Furthermore, since the QB is in shotgun and is 3 step dropping you have to show the blitz.

 

[TC_57]

I agree that we have to do a better job of disguising the blitz. SDSU did a good job of controlling it with their cadence and snap count. This was the first game of the season and we were bound to make some first game mistakes. I was not impressed with the offensive play calling. It just seemed too conservative. Things starting happening once Haywood opened it up a bit.

 

[brentlycat]

Not Prepared

Not Prepared

that Was A Sad Site To See. The Offensive Line Played Well But We Had To Many Penalties And Turnovers. Jimmy Claussen Had A Decent Game. I Will Say We Left About 17pts On The Field Today. Maybe It Was First Game Jitters. I Will Keep My Fingers Cross And Hope I See Improve As The Year Go On.


Let's Go Dame!!!

still Not Prepared Too Many Mistakes However Claussen Looked Good 2nd Half Tate Stepped Up Allen Has Potential Hughes Is Solid I Would Like To See This Te Weis Is Talking About Get Open Down The Middle Dissapointed That We Dominate A Depleted Defensive Front So Will Have To Wait Until Next Week To See Where Were At But A Win Is A Win Is A Win Is A Win

 

[NDinL.A.]

Negatives:
1. Our D-Line is awful at getting to the QB. That is why we almost HAVE to blitz on every single play. The NYG (thank you Tuck) rarely blitzed and they almost were in the QB's face, but we obviously can't even smell the QB w/out a blitz.

2. Like others said, our blitz was too obvious. Didn't work enough, and when you blitz that much, there will be openings down field. You can't just blitz and expect magic.

3. The O-Line was awful in run blocking. Awful. Where were the pancake blocks against 2nd stringers from a friggin' surf school?

4. Kamara, dude, catch the ball w/ your hands, please. I can't believe a D1 receiver at ND let the ball hit him in the chest.

5. RB's were bad, sorry. I LOVE Hughes (predicted a breakout year), but he looked slow hitting the hole. And then he fumbled on the 3, and Allen fumbled as well. Allen had some nice moments though. I guess Aldridge is being saved for a redshirt. LOL.

6. We almost lost to a bunch of friggin SURFERS!!!

Positives:
1. Clausen has a gun and had some touch as well. To me, he looked very good a lot of the time. He threw the ball away when it needed to be done, which is missed by the average fan that expects a completion every play. The kid is going to be nice.

2. Floyd. Stud. And Tate actually ran some routes besides a go route!

3. Pass Protection was 1,000,000 times better.

4. Defense looked much improved in certain areas. Love McCarthy.

5. Special teams! Thank you Beamer!!!

6. We won!

*Another long post. Efficiency of words has never been my strong point! My apologies!

 

[NDOM]

Tip your hat to Mike Anello. Man he is my player of the game. What a stud.

 

[SoCalDomer]

5. Special teams! Thank you Beamer!!!

i know you mean special teams kicking/punting coverage. because two missed FGs (one bad kick the other a bad snap) and a near missed PAT were bad.

 

[NDinL.A.]

i know you mean special teams kicking/punting coverage. because two missed FGs (one bad kick the other a bad snap) and a near missed PAT were bad.

What's so bad about a bad snap and a holder who completely dropped another snap??? J/k

You're right, my bad. I conveniently forgot about that part of special teams! Good call...

 

[Ultimate Penn St. Hater]

We just didn't come out ready to play. That's the coaches fault. There were some bright spots, but there's a whole lot that needs to be worked on. I' very disappointed, but glad we got the win. Go Irish!

 

[Golden Domer93]

Michael Floyd 1 catch 1 TD

Robert Hughes running hard

Jimmy Clausen 3 TD's