Something about the Pitt loss...

[irishandy]

Before going into the game against Pitt I had a good feeling that we would beat Pitt. Going into halftime we were up 17-3 where things looked promising, then we fell apart in the second half, then Walker made some field goals, and we end up losing the game. This one hurt...it was one of those games I really wanted the Irish to win. Fingers can be pointed at individuals, but the team lost the game.
We are now 5-3, going into the last quarter of the season, and in my opinion here are some of the things the Irish lack:
1) We cannot finish a team off- we were up against Stanford and they started to comeback. I hate to use this reference, but remember the video game Mortal Kombat of finishing your opponent off.
2) We have no consistent running game- the tailback of trios is not working at all. I miss having those games w/ rushers over a 100 yards. I cannot wait until Cierre Wood gets here next year.
3) We cannot stop the run on defense- we suck, plain and simple. We couldn't stop Javon Ringer nor could we stop McCoy. I am on a fantasy college football league and I might as well pick the opposing team's tailback that ND is playing.
I know that we have the talent- Clausen, Floyd, Tate, all Smiths, Blanton...I could go on. I read more and more that people say that we'll be better in 2009 and 2010, but we can be just as good in 2008, I guess they are just still young and maturing. I would rather end up being 8-4 than 7-5, but we'll have to wait and see....thanks for reading.

 

[phork]

Our defense played pretty damn well considering how long they were left on the field. I blame the offensive play calling and no one else for this loss.

 

[no.1IrishFan]

Our defense played pretty damn well considering how long they were left on the field. I blame the offensive play calling and no one else for this loss.

Exactly,like an idiot I forgot to tevo the game so i havent watched the broadcast but from section 4 row 56 it looked like the D made some big stops. Everyone where we were agreed that the play calling killed us.(the damn personal foul didnt help either)

 

[rogosIRISH77]

mark may is an asshat...
but yes, defense got worn out. disagree with the playcalling. take a hint Charlie and take back your duty as our fearless leader as offensive playcaller, SERIOUSLY

 

[goldandblue]

I believe the reason we do not finish well is because the lack of the running game. Generally when teams get up the tend to run the ball alot to run time off the clock with long drives. We can't seem to do that.

 

[tko]

I believe the reason we do not finish well is because the lack of the running game. Generally when teams get up the tend to run the ball alot to run time off the clock with long drives. We can't seem to do that.

why do we need to do that? eff the clock! this team is clearly better when we are spread out and in attack mode. just keep the pedal to the metal and go after teams. as we keep the pressure on, the running game will fall into place in the 4th quarter b/c the opposition will be worn down considerably. i think the 3rd quarter is not the time for "ball control". with a young team i think charlie needs to keep them aggressive until we absolutely need to call off the dogs, say in the last 8 minutes or as the game dictates. up 14 pts at half certainly isn't the time to get conservative.

 

[irish4ever]

up 14 pts at half certainly isn't the time to get conservative.

You're exactly right! In today's college football world, 14 pts. isn't shit with a full half of game to go! Need to press all offensive buttons in order to put the "kill shot" to the opponent.

 

[goirish90]

Well if you all look back to week one I dont think the irish have played a full 4 quaters of football yet. Now dont get me wrong I love notre dame football more than anything they just need to play 4 quaters and we cant be touched we are only a few plays from being a 1 loss team so with that said once we learn how to do that watch out i think will be almost unstopable!!! GO IRISH

 

[618irish]

is it the play calling or is it the plays we have in our playbook?

 

[goirish90]

Dont think it is either and i also dont think it is our running game if you look back at some of the game stats we are avg 4 to 5 yards a carry. The team is young and i dont think they are fully developed yet we have a good ball team but i think we will have a totally diffrent team coming in next year GO IRISH!!!!

 

[NDgettysburg]

2) We have no consistent running game- the tailback of trios is not working at all. I miss having those games w/ rushers over a 100 yards. I cannot wait until Cierre Wood gets here next year.

I don't know why we couldn't run in the 2nd half....we certainly had no problems on the ground in the 1st half. If Pitt made that big of an adjustment to stopping the run, it should have meant an easier time passing the ball. I think our o-line had to be getting manhandled in the 2nd half. They weren't blitzing a lot unless I missed it, yet they were getting great pressure on JC.

 

[irishandy]

By far, our passing game is better than our rushing game. Have we have a rusher this year go over 100 yards (if I remember Armando Allen did it once). Since we cannot run we are having to pass more. I like the passing game, but the running game will open up our offense a lot more. I miss those fullback dives, the halfback smashes, and the sweeps. I think if this team had a better running game we'd have more of a dangerous offense. As far as our defense I still have not seen the 'Tenuta defense' with ours this year...what are they waiting for to show us that type of defense??

 

[ND22SB]

a screen is just like a run. i can remember going to CW first game in pitt...screen after screen. even if it doesnt work the first three times, i think that it still keeps the defense guessing and "thats when you go to the air my friend".