TSU Post Game Thoughts

Reaper97

Banned
Messages
3,109
Reaction score
4,226
I am gonna have to re-watch the game to see but I was a little disappointed in the downfield passing game. I was for sure we would take some shots.

I also said the first quarter was a failure. I would say that would be inaccurate because they seemed to learn and get better in the game.
TSU was bringing pressure & dropping a safety deep, so the deep passing game was going to be hard.
But that left the entire intermediate portion of the field open & ND worked it good.
I’ve never seen a 38 second, end of half TD drive, using no timeouts, with 4 passes to Tight Ends. That just shows what part of the field was open. RBs & TEs.
 

irishff1014

Well-known member
Messages
26,509
Reaction score
9,284
TSU was bringing pressure & dropping a safety deep, so the deep passing game was going to be hard.
But that left the entire intermediate portion of the field open & ND worked it good.
I’ve never seen a 38 second, end of half TD drive, using no timeouts, with 4 passes to Tight Ends. That just shows what part of the field was open. RBs & TEs.


That drive was one of the most impressive drives for ND offense I can ever remember. That was a thing of beauty.
 

stlnd01

Was away. Now returned.
Messages
13,386
Reaction score
10,247
TSU was bringing pressure & dropping a safety deep, so the deep passing game was going to be hard.
But that left the entire intermediate portion of the field open & ND worked it good.
I’ve never seen a 38 second, end of half TD drive, using no timeouts, with 4 passes to Tight Ends. That just shows what part of the field was open. RBs & TEs.
Yeah. We just shredded them in the short/medium passing game. I don’t mind. But it would be nice to see us air one out every now and then just to know we can.
 

Lberry

Banned
Messages
2,285
Reaction score
1,875
Yeah. We just shredded them in the short/medium passing game. I don’t mind. But it would be nice to see us air one out every now and then just to know we can.
Tobias Merriweather is our "deep threat".
 

IRISHDODGER

Blue Chip Recruit
Messages
8,039
Reaction score
6,103
Mitchell Evans & Holden Staes had another great game only this time they got to flash their receiving skills as well. Those two can block w/ the best of them. And they block to the echo of the whistle while taking their opponent to the ground. Granted it’s Navy & TSU but I love the effort.

Loved to see the RB rotate seamlessly and all give an added dimension to the offense.

OL seemed to dominate more on straight ahead rushes while struggling to get to the corner but that could be more a result of the defense’s scheme b/c they did a good job getting out wide later in the 2nd quarter.

Blitzes were not getting home early but they finally hit on a few before halftime.

The times I saw Cam Hart try to tackle, it was ugly.

Rylie Mills really struggles w/ getting off of blocks and the opponents will only get tougher from here on out.

Great to see the kicker get plenty of reps. I think he scored 8 points and got into a great rhythm that hopefully carries over to his FG attempts.
 

greyhammer90

the drunk piano player
Messages
16,821
Reaction score
16,081
Sam Hartman's dad is the ultimate Chad. His son catapults himself into the end zone and he can't be bothered to look up from his Sprite.
 

NDFAN2008

Well-known member
Messages
7,330
Reaction score
5,655
Mitchell Evans & Holden Staes had another great game only this time they got to flash their receiving skills as well. Those two can block w/ the best of them. And they block to the echo of the whistle while taking their opponent to the ground. Granted it’s Navy & TSU but I love the effort.

Loved to see the RB rotate seamlessly and all give an added dimension to the offense.

OL seemed to dominate more on straight ahead rushes while struggling to get to the corner but that could be more a result of the defense’s scheme b/c they did a good job getting out wide later in the 2nd quarter.

Blitzes were not getting home early but they finally hit on a few before halftime.

The times I saw Cam Hart try to tackle, it was ugly.

Rylie Mills really struggles w/ getting off of blocks and the opponents will only get tougher from here on out.

Great to see the kicker get plenty of reps. I think he scored 8 points and got into a great rhythm that hopefully carries over to his FG attempts.
Need to get Evans more involved i think he’s gonna be a good NFL TE good thing he has one more year.
 

FDNYIrish1

ARE YOU SUPPORTIVE OF THESE ONESIES???
Messages
3,014
Reaction score
5,228
Mitchell Evans & Holden Staes had another great game only this time they got to flash their receiving skills as well. Those two can block w/ the best of them. And they block to the echo of the whistle while taking their opponent to the ground. Granted it’s Navy & TSU but I love the effort.

Loved to see the RB rotate seamlessly and all give an added dimension to the offense.

OL seemed to dominate more on straight ahead rushes while struggling to get to the corner but that could be more a result of the defense’s scheme b/c they did a good job getting out wide later in the 2nd quarter.

Blitzes were not getting home early but they finally hit on a few before halftime.

The times I saw Cam Hart try to tackle, it was ugly.

Rylie Mills really struggles w/ getting off of blocks and the opponents will only get tougher from here on out.

Great to see the kicker get plenty of reps. I think he scored 8 points and got into a great rhythm that hopefully carries over to his FG attempts.
Staes touchdown catch was beautiful. Thomas also made an awesome catch yesterday. There’s a lot of weapons on this team and I think that as each game progresses we will be able to utilize the talent. Should be a very fun year.
 

ACamp1900

Counting my ‘bet against ND’ winnings
Messages
48,944
Reaction score
11,225
If I hadn’t watched the game, I would’ve thought we won 17-13 after reading some of these comments.
It also stands for
I nsufferably
E motional

Especially in game day threads
 

spoonidentity

Well-known member
Messages
332
Reaction score
392
Loved the game. I expected TSU to play all out for their Super Bowl game that they prepared all off-season for. This was their opening game so TSU got film on the current ND team but not the other way around. After some time to get their bearings, ND did great.

My only issue was with special teams coaching decisions - why kickoff short not once, but twice? Both times resulted in an. 18 years then a 55+ yard return. Regardless of tracking, so kick it through the endzone and start on the 25. No need to go after a big play to get extra yards. You have a kicker who launches it - go kick it out of play!
 

N_D_Fighting_Irish

THE INSTIGATOR
Messages
483
Reaction score
151
Just a few observations. Offensively, there are two unknowns. First are we lacking that home run threat on the outside to keep quality defense honest? Assuming we develop that outside threat, then will we be tough enough to grind yards and make high percentage plays…not grab bag chunk Kelly ball plays. Our defense is suspect and limiting their time on the field would make them more effective.

Second, what the hell is Al’s philosophy on defense? Generate havoc plays? Not with our personnel. All or nothing so our offense sees the field more often? I just don’t get what Al is trying to accomplish. Yesterday he is blitzing every down against substantially inferior personnel with little returns. Is it to fill future opponent’s film room with garbage? I don’t get it.

Fundamentals should have been stressed. Like setting the Fuckin edge, which we consistently did not do yesterday. How about gauging your four man rush?

Mills and Cross have played well without the gimmicks. Kiser and Bertrand have digressed. The underclassmen LBs need to get the majority of the snaps. Can’t say much about the secondary because they haven’t been tested but they are the key. If they can cover man or cover for 2 or 3 more seconds than it may allow an effective rush.
 

FDNYIrish1

ARE YOU SUPPORTIVE OF THESE ONESIES???
Messages
3,014
Reaction score
5,228
Last point about the offense thus far. As guys have said, very vanilla game plans with no real need to put a lot on tape before the bigger upcoming games. And I’ve definitely noticed our WRs seem to be wide open in comparison to years past. I know it has to do with the level of competition but I like the scheme so far.
 

benneboy

And I own every kind of classic car!
Messages
1,250
Reaction score
1,281
Second, what the hell is Al’s philosophy on defense? Generate havoc plays? Not with our personnel. All or nothing so our offense sees the field more often? I just don’t get what Al is trying to accomplish. Yesterday he is blitzing every down against substantially inferior personnel with little returns. Is it to fill future opponent’s film room with garbage? I don’t get it.
Our defense is giving up a field goal per game so far. Relax
 

PigtownIrish

WaterGIRL
Messages
846
Reaction score
730
We should be concerned about the D. We don't tackle well and that's going to lead to TDs against USC instead of 8 yard gains for inferior opponents.
 

Grahambo

Varsity Club Member
Messages
4,259
Reaction score
2,606
This is why you schedule cupcakes early on. It’s nice to see plenty of room for improvement and still win 56-3.
 

Lberry

Banned
Messages
2,285
Reaction score
1,875
I Remain only worried about our LBs. They too often start contact half way to the sticks and not at the LOS.

As we approach OSU, I wonder if safety recruting is finally going to come to bite us. Sure would like to have Xavier Nwankpa next to Xavier Watts.

Didn't see it mentioned so I'll say #13 transfer from OK St played a really nice game.
 

IrishLax

Something Witty
Staff member
Messages
37,544
Reaction score
28,990
If you grade positions through two weeks mine would be something like this:
QB: A+
WR: A-... frankly, they've done everything asked of them, but have yet to need to beat "good" coverage
RB: A... tons of depth and production
TE: B-... inconsistent blocking, not really showing up much in the passing game, unlikely to be a major factor this year
OL: B+... good not great. Still a lot of inconsistency and what appears -- to the untrained eye -- to be missed assignments

DL: B... not seeing elite play. Inconsistent pass rush and setting the edge. Not tackling particularly well either or getting off blocks as well as they should be.
LB: C+... the starters look slow and miss too many tackles. Get swallowed up too easily. It is visible how much more athletic Ausberry and Sneed are than our starters.
CB: A-... mostly covering well with few busts. Have not been challenged by talented passers or catchers yet.
S: B+... not having a huge impact but not screwing up either.

So what I see is one of the most complete and consistent offenses that ND has had in recent memory and one where if the OL improves as the year goes on then they could be really special.

On defense, I see a front seven that could get worked by a team with a good OL or Caleb Williams because frankly they are just not that athletic or disruptive.
 

NDPhilly

Philly Torqued
Messages
16,441
Reaction score
16,721
I think the interior of our DL has been stout, but really lacking athletic edge players
 
Top