Hated watching this damn game. I fully expected Louisville to puts some points on the board, but I didn’t expect them to beat us by stacking the box, totally committing to stopping the run, and daring us to beat them with the pass and specifically the long ball. They picked up some pointers from the Duke game with all the damn stunts, but the main issue was our inability to beat them with the long ball. Hartman owns some of this as he wasn’t his usual pin point accurate, but I think this is primarily a receiver issue; the same as we saw against Ohio St and Duke. We don’t get separation against good defensive backs, and it’s killing us. Our receivers lack elite speed and toughness. Hartman’s first interception would have been a reception for a nice gain with his receivers last year at WF. Instead, our freshman Flores was timid, didn’t adjust, and they get the INT. On the play where Tyree was open, he was positioned for an inside throw and it was slightly to the outside, and he made an awkward late adjustment; and we missed another great opportunity.
It’s too easy to lay all the blame for sacks on the receivers, as this was the worst I have seen from a ND OL. It wasn’t just blitzing and stunts, our OL got their collective asses beat all night long. I was shocked to see Alt get bull rushed onto his ass, fall down another time trying to block a quicker rusher, etc…. Our two guards looked terrible picking up stunts, and Rocco in particular. I continue to think that Fischer is the greatest disappointment; and I continue to believe that he should Have been playing left guard next to Alt from the get go.
We Have some really talented possession receivers and a great tight end, but teams increasingly don’t fear our ability to pass over their heads, the same as in prior years. Hartman doesn’t have a canon for an arm, but plenty of strength and technique to make teams pay, but we need to get some speed on the field and challenge these defenses. James may not know the whole playbook, but he sure as hell knows enough to be a burnet on select plays…the same with Faison and Merriweather and Tyree. Hope we see Parker and Stuckey getting their heads together to make this happen. Otherwise, many more long nights ahead of us this year.
It’s too easy to lay all the blame for sacks on the receivers, as this was the worst I have seen from a ND OL. It wasn’t just blitzing and stunts, our OL got their collective asses beat all night long. I was shocked to see Alt get bull rushed onto his ass, fall down another time trying to block a quicker rusher, etc…. Our two guards looked terrible picking up stunts, and Rocco in particular. I continue to think that Fischer is the greatest disappointment; and I continue to believe that he should Have been playing left guard next to Alt from the get go.
We Have some really talented possession receivers and a great tight end, but teams increasingly don’t fear our ability to pass over their heads, the same as in prior years. Hartman doesn’t have a canon for an arm, but plenty of strength and technique to make teams pay, but we need to get some speed on the field and challenge these defenses. James may not know the whole playbook, but he sure as hell knows enough to be a burnet on select plays…the same with Faison and Merriweather and Tyree. Hope we see Parker and Stuckey getting their heads together to make this happen. Otherwise, many more long nights ahead of us this year.
