Sep 7 | Michigan

[ACamp1900]

OU looked horrible. Two weeks in a row. ASU is more of a threat than the Sooners. Let's see if the QB change works in Norman first.

They are both threats... among others... I watched much of the OU game... They didn't look 'horrible'

 

[Polish Leppy 22]

Lol what? Stanford is going to roll us and will be the best team we play. Including the bet offense.

Great post.

1) we have big problems on defense...tackling, asignmentsk amd D ends holdimg edge.

2) tommy didn't play that bad. O line and amir looked great

3) brindza showed up

4) BK was pissed

 

[Ndaccountant]

I think people are giving Diaco a bit too hard of a time. There were at least 5 times where we were going to get a sack because of a great call and well-timed blitzes. But there's about 6 CFB QBs that can make the scrammble out of it. If you're facing a QB with that escapability, it doesn't mean you can't contain, it's just a really damn good play and it sucked last night.

Sorry, but I think that is incorrect. Many QB's are elusive in CFB and the problem is that it took 6 guys to get pressure. If we could get pressure with 4, we would be much better. Problem is, we can't.

I get that their tackles are good, but I am still not impressed with the production of our DL. Nix has the effort, but the production isn't there. Is that b/c of Teo, Motta? I am not sure, but I am beginning to think more and more that the loss of Baratti was much greater than I originally thought.

 

[Buster Bluth]

True, but Gardner was such a major player in this game, and Gallon caught everything. Honestly, their run game (minus Gardner) did nothing against our defense, and they couldn't stop our run at all. This was sickly similar to Denard beating us highhandedly, so IDK how much credit to give Hoke and company.

Yeah but they had plenty of offensive calls that were very solid. They know what chips they're playing with.

But I agree, Gardner single-handedly won that game for them. I was terrified of Mattison and was very impressed with Rees being able to check out and burn the defense almost every time. Tommy looked good in my opinion.

 

[irishff1014]

Yeah but they had plenty of offensive calls that were very solid. They know what chips they're playing with.

But I agree, Gardner single-handedly won that game for them. I was terrified of Mattison and was very impressed with Rees being able to check out and burn the defense almost every time. Tommy looked good in my opinion.

Rees IMO wan't terrible. He had about 4-5 throws he missed that he shouldn't with the experience he has. But at the same time 55% needs to be better to win week in and week out.

And yes i understand he had 5-6 dropped passes that Rees has no control over.

 

[phork]

We should beat the tar out of Purdue and Michigan State. Purdue is a terrible football team and daughter could play QB for the Spartans right now. If we have any defensive strength it is defending a power running game. They will play right into that.

Like last year right?

Part of waiting til then is seeing what Michigan does from here....

Michigan with Mattison and with Jake Ryan coming back in a few weeks is only going to be tougher. My bet is they go undefeated.

They will go to the NC game IMO if they beat OSU. They're not losing any other games.

And we were good enough to beat them. I'm optimistic about the Irish this year.

We were not good enough to beat them. We were lucky enough to no get ***-hammered.

 

[ACamp1900]

I know all the answers/reasons/ excuses but it is frustrating that UM can pull these converted WR/RB whatever QBs and have them perform like Madden 05 on beginner... Yet BK and Co can't seem to find their QB or hold onto him for anything

 

[IrishLion]

1. I thought Tommy played lights-out, minus one bone-headed INT. He moved himself out of the pocket and bought himself time which was great, he just didn't see the corner sitting underneath. He missed a few balls, including the fourth-down fade to TJ in the endzone, but that's a difficult throw. I still think his deep throws look better, and he has been amazing at checking into the correct looks. The only time he didn't, BK called a timeout and saved the day. Rees will be just fine.

2. Was not overly impressed by Nix last night. There were several plays that he wasn't even in his three-point stance when the ball was snapped. He got driven off the LOS by double teams a few times, I thought he could've at least anchored himself into the ground and created a pile at the LOS. He did make several great plays in terms of blowing up the run game, I just thought it was inconsistent. Don't mistake this for Lou bashing either, I just think he could handle the double-teams a bit better.

3. Tuitt looked good, he seemed to be in the backfield a lot on passing downs (blitz packages helped free him up, but he got it done on his own a few times). If he doesn't underestimate Gardner's speed, he's got himself a crucial sack on a third (?) down late in the game. His effort was off the charts, though his diving INT in the endzone may still be holding me as a prisoner-of-the-moment.

4. I honestly thought the DBs played okay. They have the potential to be a lock-down unit, and showed flashes of it last night. However, they got beat consistently due to that simple case of the QB making perfect throws on well-run, well-drawn-up routes. It didn't help that Gardner is able to buy himself so much extra time, especially when the back end is already thin with blitzers opening up the field. Farley may be the weak link, and even he made some nice plays. However, he got beat and whiffed on a few tackles as well.

5. It looks like Amir has become the "workhorse" with GAIII getting the opportunity to spell him, much like Theo/Cierre last season. Not every game will see opportunities for 4/5 RBs to get work, and last night was one of those games. With Tommy making nice calls and checking into good pass plays, there were limited carries. Amir shined running up the middle. He's got some serious burst hitting the hole, and he's going to break quite a few long ones against inferior competition. It's nice that he hits the hole in the middle so well, because he very obviously has the speed to be effective rushing outside as well. GAIII played well, and ran a bit better. However, I thought this was due to playcalling. When he was on the field, BK called to his stregths for off-tackle, around-the-end type runs. There is nothing wrong with this at all, considering he has the speed to be successful even if the D can expect him to be going outside, but it will limit his chances to be a "feature" running up the middle.

6. TJ and Davaris are the real deal on the outside. I was a bit worried about Davaris being able to use his physical skills consistently, but not anymore. That's a dynamic duo, and hopefully TJ isn't going to be dealing with lingering shoulder pain. The depth at WR in general is outstanding. Onwualu saw time, Robinson had a catch, Prosise had a catch, Chris Brown had a couple. The position is loaded for a few years at least.

7. I was very impressed with the o-line. Even when Michigan showed pressure and Tommy had to check into hot-reads, he had time to throw. The middle runs were there as well. It's a shame ND couldn't produce points on their first two possessions. I honestly believe the line dominated, and ND would've won behind a dominant run game if not for getting into a quick 10-0 hole.

 

[Booslum31]

Rees IMO wan't terrible. He had about 4-5 throws he missed that he shouldn't with the experience he has. But at the same time 55% needs to be better to win week in and week out.

And yes i understand he had 5-6 dropped passes that Rees has no control over.

Tommy had times where he placed the ball perfectly where only our receiver could catch it. But he missed on too many other passes...a couple that looked like big plays where we had a couple of steps on the defender. GAIII did him no favors. I think this is as good as it gets with TR.

 

[ickythump1225]

Tommy had times where he placed the ball perfectly where only our receiver could catch it. But he missed on too many other passes...a couple that looked like big plays where we had a couple of steps on the defender. GAIII did him no favors. I think this is as good as it gets with TR.

And we are a good enough team to win with what TR produced. If our defense tightens up a bit and we stop playing GAIII we'll be okay. We NEED to get our youngsters touches. They are young and they are hungry and they need to be fed. I think Amir is our starter and we should let Folston and Bryant get the bulk of the rest of the carries. Our WR corps is solid and Niklas is a beast. We have talent and honestly what Tommy's done over the first two weeks by and large should be good enough. It makes me sad that Golson can't be out there, I would love to see how he's progressed and see how he runs the offense now.

 

[Polish Leppy 22]

Lol what? Stanford is going to roll us and will be the best team we play. Including the bet offense.

Spot on.

 

[TomHaverford]

I said I'd wait to pass judgement until UM... Now ill wait til MSU honestly....

you guys will beat the living crap out of Michigan State. They will not cross midfield on your defense. Seriously.

Maxwell is off-target with a lot of his passes and when he's on their WR's don't catch the ball. Their OL is terrible and they don't have any RB's nearly as good as Toussaint and y'all shut Toussaint down for the most part.

Their D is lights out, but they will not be able to score on you guys.

 

[Irish#1]

Kelly on declining holding penalty: "I thought about it." I thought with 3rd & long we could get off the field.

I was surprised he declined it.

I haven't read the other posts, so my apologies if I'm repeating something.

I think we sorely miss Manti in the middle. He read things so fast and had the speed to get there. He also forced teams to account for him so they couldn't double Tuitt and Nix at the same time.

I look for Amir to be the starter going forward. GAIII ran better, but you can see a difference.

scUM called a great offensive game and Gardner looked like All World. Giving him Harmons number before the game just pumped him up. He'll play good the rest of the year, but I don't see him playing that great of a game again.

Purdue will be a good game to get back on track.

 

[irishtrinity]

I wonder why Troy isn't in the game plan earlier? The dude is a freaking bulldozer get him the ball.

Amir has shown why he was such a huge recruit. He is really impressive. Has good hands and a very good blocker.

I know we need to score everytime we get the ball.

 

[irisheyes]

Anyone have a link to a replay?

 

[JughedJones]

BK is a gambler.

He believed in our D... as I think he should have.

Like it, or don't.

 

[Damion704]

Anyone have a link to a replay?

Notre Dame vs Michigan 2013 - YouTube

 

[]\/[GoBlue]

you guys will beat the living crap out of Michigan State. They will not cross midfield on your defense. Seriously.

Maxwell is off-target with a lot of his passes and when he's on their WR's don't catch the ball. Their OL is terrible and they don't have any RB's nearly as good as Toussaint and y'all shut Toussaint down for the most part.

Their D is lights out, but they will not be able to score on you guys.

So long as you can score 12-14 points on them, ND should win. They have more defensive touchdowns than offensive at this point, that's just nuts to me.


Michigan State's leading scorer is a DL

 

[GoldenIsThyFame]

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/aCpiCoEuuwk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[ACamp1900]

Now watch us smash MSU and MSU go out and beat Michigan... no, really.

 

[Black Irish]

This is the first I heard Eminem was in the booth. When I thought it couldn't get any worse.

 

[GoldenIsThyFame]

This is the first I heard Eminem was in the booth. When I thought it couldn't get any worse.

Wait, you didn't see it?

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/kTVVGqTntp4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[Cackalacky]

This is the first I heard The Beastie Boys was in the booth. When I thought it couldn't get any worse.

FIFY.

 

[T Town Tommy]

This is the first I heard Eminem was in the booth. When I thought it couldn't get any worse.

Slim Shady did at least get a little dig in on Buckeye Herbie. The highlight of the conversation.

 

[TomHaverford]

Now watch us smash MSU and MSU go out and beat Michigan... no, really.

Unfortunately, I think this might happen.

Mark Dantonio has a hard-on for Michigan. He's going to try and throw the kitchen sink to get a win, plus the game is in East Lansing and some weird **** has happened to Michigan there over the years.

 

[PANDFAN]

Unfortunately, I think this might happen.

Mark Dantonio has a hard-on for Michigan. He's going to try and throw the kitchen sink to get a win, plus the game is in East Lansing and some weird **** has happened to Michigan there over the years.

watch out for the fake fg

 

[Irish Insanity]

watch out for the fake fg

Ya, but the last time he pulled that out he had a heart attack, literally.

 

[peoriairish]

I posted the in the post game thread too, but it's too amazing to not be seen by everyone. This stat is unreal.

Here is an amazing stat brought up on power hour today. If it's posted already, someone let me know and I'll take it down. But here goes:

Notre Dame had 30 first down plays on Saturday. Of these 30 play, 23 were passing and 7 rushing. Of the 23 passes, 12 were incomplete resulting in 2nd and 10. On the 7 rushing plays, they averaged 8.3 yards per carry and were never worse than 2nd and 6.

I just thought that was amazing. Run. The. Damn. Ball.

 

[nsideirish]

I posted the in the post game thread too, but it's too amazing to not be seen by everyone. This stat is unreal.

Here is an amazing stat brought up on power hour today. If it's posted already, someone let me know and I'll take it down. But here goes:

Notre Dame had 30 first down plays on Saturday. Of these 30 play, 23 were passing and 7 rushing. Of the 23 passes, 12 were incomplete resulting in 2nd and 10. On the 7 rushing plays, they averaged 8.3 yards per carry and were never worse than 2nd and 6.

I just thought that was amazing. Run. The. Damn. Ball.

All the Michigan fans I've spoken to were in complete confusion as to why we ran the ball so few times when it was clear that they were having huge trouble stopping the run.

 

[IrishLion]

Amir was gashing them up the middle, but I would like to know how many of those first down throws were due to Tommy checking out of a run against a stacked box.