Comments on: Easy With the Doomsday Predictions

By: KyNDfan

KyNDfan — Wed, 11 Sep 2013 12:08:05 +0000

In reply to NDtex. So you're saying 2 people beat us. I agree. I'm saying we're not the championship caliber team I thought we would be. If the D can't/won't adjust during the game, maybe Diaco isn't the great coach we all thought he was. Tommy sailed several passes hi and threw 1 legit pick that was very costly. All that said, when 30 points is not enough to win we have problems.

By: Tom Maguire

Tom Maguire — Wed, 11 Sep 2013 01:30:25 +0000

Unfortunately, red zone woes and INT’s are Tommy’s MO.

By: Jeff Ford

Jeff Ford — Tue, 10 Sep 2013 20:16:15 +0000

I agree with the headline. We got beat by a good team. It’s not time to panic but this defense is certainly not the 2012 defense. We’re finally playing teams to have the ability to test our secondary, specifically Russell. He has been terrible in both games. He may not be quite the corner he was made out to be last season. His tackling has been atrocious; he doesn’t wrap up. However, that can be fixed. I cringe whenever Shumate is on the field. He’s been a glaring weak spot in both games. The positives are that these guys are young and should benefit from more playing time. Thankfully, we play Purdue next week and should be able to overcome more mistakes but they’ll need to tighten up their game quickly or they will become targets for opposing offenses.

By: Brian McKeown (@BrianJMcKeown)

Brian McKeown (@BrianJMcKeown) — Tue, 10 Sep 2013 19:43:10 +0000

After reading the BK presser transcript and some of the comments above, I’m troubled by the “we run when they let us run” mentality. I agree, running doesn’t necessarily set up the passing game and in some instances the passing game is what actually opens up the run. That being said, our big, powerful o-line and solid RB stable should make imposing our will on the ground an important part of the game plan. I’m all for Tommy changing plays at the line of scrimmage but sometimes those changes should be from run A to run B. Tex is right about red zone play-calling but establishing the running game early on could have eaten up time of possession and limited UM’s scoring opportunities. I’m not looking for the panacea BK referenced, just a more practical approach to game planning.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Tue, 10 Sep 2013 17:30:00 +0000

In reply to canuck75. Yes, lets relax. One loss does not mean the sky is falling!

By: canuck75

canuck75 — Tue, 10 Sep 2013 16:44:18 +0000

Nice work Lisa. NDTex, you and I are certainly on the same wavelength . The sad truth is that Michigan was a whole notch better than we expected, and Gardner in particular. He may be the tate Forcier of this year, but in truth he looks like the real deal. It is fair to say that if Denard had been an accurate passer Michigan might have been close to unstoppable, and now they have a great passer who can run close to Denard’s level.
So the objective truth is, we lost to a good team and they still needed the PI calls to close us out.
I watched NFL Sun and Mon night and the D backs are mugging receivers without getting called.

I think the running will improve. GA will either play better or sit.
I think the D will tighten as Jaylon and Jarret Grace get more comfortable.
Lets relax and see what happens.

By: NDtex

NDtex — Tue, 10 Sep 2013 15:12:40 +0000

In reply to brent nowostawski.

I think discussing the three opponents you highlight is a great talking point. My thoughts:

Oklahoma – Lots of question marks here for their offense. Trevor Knight beat Blake Bell out for the starting QB job and has struggled a bit to get going and take OU to the offensive level we are used to seeing from them. To complicate things, Knight went down with a knee injury and Bell will be starting this Saturday against Tulsa. Which QB will we get and how well will that QB have progressed? That’s going to be the big thing to watch.

Stanford – I want to see more from them. They’ve played one game and we are all simply working under the assumption they will be great. I wasn’t able to watch them play San Jose State, but the final score was shockingly underwhelming for what I thought they would do to them. Of the three you list though, this is the toughest.

BYU – BYU’s offense is primarily running based, which even the 2013 Irish are strong against. ND only gave up 71 yards to Toussiant who is a damn good back and Temple’s rushing attack was held at bay as well. The thing to watch here is that BYU does have a very mobile QB; however, unlinke Michigan, the passing game won’t be a primary concern which should allow for a better focus on containing any big scrambles.

Also, don’t put that much stock into them beating Texas. Texas is an awful, awful team that was horribly overrated. That program is a total mess right now and only got their ranking because they are Texas. I saw this upset coming a mile away (called for it in the last Roundup) and many other folks did too. BYU is good, but do realize that Texas is bad.

ASU – I know you didn’t mention them, but I think they deserve the attention. Thus far they appear to be a team that should end the season in the top 25. Add on to the fact that they get a shot at ND, on a national stage, with ND possibly looking two weeks ahead to USC. That could be a very combustible recipe for disaster.

Overall though, I still believe we have a good shot at 10-2, but we will have to play much better than we did against Michigan. 9-3 is very realistic and I think 8-4 only happens if we shoot ourselves in the foot somewhere along the line.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Tue, 10 Sep 2013 15:03:11 +0000

In reply to NDtex. Amen

By: Lisa

Lisa — Tue, 10 Sep 2013 15:01:45 +0000

In reply to NDtex. As long as everything continues to improve & adjustments are made I'll be happy. We knew this was not going to be another 12-0 season. :)

By: NDtex

NDtex — Tue, 10 Sep 2013 15:00:10 +0000

In reply to Lorcan Miller.

Regarding your question on defense: Alabama was not just on another level, but also had over a month to gameplan against ND. They mentioned that ND had a very simplistic scheme and they found a way to beat it.

If you rewatch that matchup, you will see how they focused on Nix and only allowed him to penetrate to the opposite side the play was going more often than not. With that main concern down, they managed to handle the second level with little issue, especially with Te’o having a bad game.

As for Michigan, I suggest you read my post from yesterday: http://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/2013/09/09/dismantling-defense/

Michigan was able to survive our blitz-happy gameplan, but those same blitzes were also the reason for any good plays that ND had.

Further, Michigan is good. It might annoy you to admit it, but after watching Saturday, I’m not sure how you can discount what Gardner and Gallon bring to the table.