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Biggest weakness

I will say this on the blown coverage by Redfield though. KV complaining and stopping completely on the play and sticking up his hands as the play is still happening is unacceptable in my opinion. Seemed like an immature move on the ball field....it did look as if it was Redfields mistake but that doesn't mean you just let the man score. The ball was lobbed and could have very easily been a ball that KV could have made a play on had he not started whining before the pass even left the QBs hands.
Especially when KV's 2015 house is made of glass! He's in no position to cast any stones.
 
obviously went over your head. the point is notre dame is 8-1 despite all the incessant whining about joe Schmidt . again coaches are the best judges of personnel decisions. if you think you know better by watching on tv then good for you.
Stop.
We all know the coaches are in the best position. Stop. We can have our opinion and there is no shortage of qualified people in the field saying Joe isn't the same guy he was last year.
 
Look, it doesn't matter if you've been on a team or not. We're allowed to have an opinion and the fact that we've been fans and watched a ton of football qualifies any of us enough to have an opinion and see when guys aren't playing well. That doesn't mean we know more than bk or think he's doing a bad job.

Having said that, I played college ball (D3), but that doesn't make me any more qualified. In any case we all know JS isn't the same guy as he'd been. I actually think he played pretty well yesterday and will against these mediocre pro style teams through to Stanford. I think it's fair to wonder once we get into a big bowl against a stud team, if JS is going to be a concern if he still hasn't shaped into last years form.

Further if you need more qualified opinions on JS from coaches of or guys with qualifications in the sport, Coach D has been saying JS isn't the same, and the one foot down website has done film analysis on JS too pointing out he is missing a lot of tackles due to being out of position because his lateral movement isn't back.

People need to stop saying this crap that we can't make this observation as it implies we know more than coaches. Just stop.
no problem with the observations. I agree with most of them. my problem is with the crowd who think coaches are purposely keeping better players on the bench because of some sort of loyalty. coaches play who they think gives their team the best chance at success. period.
 
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Especially when KV's 2015 house is made of glass! He's in no position to cast any stones.
he was not casting stones. I was at the game. it was clearly a blown assignment by redfield. vangorder went right at him when they came to the sideline. he said nothing to Russell. Russell expected redfield to have that responsibility. players must be true to THEIR responsibility in the team concept.
 
Stop.
We all know the coaches are in the best position. Stop. We can have our opinion and there is no shortage of qualified people in the field saying Joe isn't the same guy he was last year.
what's your point then ? no one here is claiming joe is playing at the level he did last year pre-injury. if you agree that the coaches are best suited to make personnel decisions what are you debating about with me ? that's my only beef.
 
no problem with the observations. I agree with most of them. my problem is with the crowd who think coaches are purposely keeping better players on the bench because of some sort of loyalty. coaches play who they think gives their team the best chance at success. period.
Idk, even the best coaches make mistakes. We see backups come in all the time and out perform a guy that got injured when coaches insisted the starter was better. I don't think it's favoritism, coaches have a thing for experience and knowledge. It's like their safety blanket. I think the thing that frustrates me is the constant claims our d needs a few qb like figures. It feels like a crutch that we can't get our best athletes on the field sometimes. I think bk et all are overall great coaches. Doesn't mean I can't come here and share these opinions, for fear of be accused of knowing more than coaches.
 
he was not casting stones. I was at the game. it was clearly a blown assignment by redfield. vangorder went right at him when they came to the sideline. he said nothing to Russell. Russell expected redfield to have that responsibility. players must be true to THEIR responsibility in the team concept.

While I agree 100% that each player has a responsibility.....its a responsibility of each player to his teammates to do their level best to make a play on the ball even when someone else screws up. If everyone on the Defense stopped playing after every missed tackle by KV or every time he got burned by a WR just to show it was his fault.....ND would have several losses already this year. That's why football is a team effort. Someone messes up and the other tries to make a play. No matter who's fault it was.....still immature on his part to do that and make a scene of it while the play hadnt even really took place yet. He could have possibly saved a TD.
 
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what's your point then ? no one here is claiming joe is playing at the level he did last year pre-injury. if you agree that the coaches are best suited to make personnel decisions what are you debating about with me ? that's my only beef.
My point has been consistent and clear in this thread in every one of my posts.
 
obviously went over your head. the point is notre dame is 8-1 despite all the incessant whining about joe Schmidt . again coaches are the best judges of personnel decisions. if you think you know better by watching on tv then good for you.
he was not casting stones. I was at the game. it was clearly a blown assignment by redfield. vangorder went right at him when they came to the sideline. he said nothing to Russell. Russell expected redfield to have that responsibility. players must be true to THEIR responsibility in the team concept.
obviously Redfield lost inside containment. I'm not referring to that I'm referring to Russell's reaction while the play was happening.
 
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Biggest weakness =DLINE depth, not LB. Bama would absolutely run the ball down our throats.

Second weakness=ndfans criticizing a head coach who many informed observers consider leading candidate for coach of year
 
Biggest weakness =DLINE depth, not LB. Bama would absolutely run the ball down our throats.

Second weakness=ndfans criticizing a head coach who many informed observers consider leading candidate for coach of year
I think bk is a great coach but he isn't beyond reproach either. Our d line has been great I'd contend. Rochelle and day have excelled, Romeo played his best game yesterday. Outside of jaylon, our linebackers have been adequate at best. It's fair to wonder what will happen v Stanford and other strong elite teams to wonder if they'll continue to get exposed.
 
Starting DLINE is good, but no depth. We need to pray no one gets hurt and that they have something left in the tank at the end of a long month on the road that leads to Palo Alto
 
Last DLINE that played in a championship was considerably better (Tuitt, Nix, KLM, Shembo) and yet looked pedestrian when Nix and KLM got dinged due lack of depth.

This team is more balanced, faster and IMO (if wins out) has a better chance to beat a Bama. ND would have to win a shootout, however, because the thought of Redfield tackling Henry does not make me happy
 
Idk, even the best coaches make mistakes. We see backups come in all the time and out perform a guy that got injured when coaches insisted the starter was better. I don't think it's favoritism, coaches have a thing for experience and knowledge. It's like their safety blanket. I think the thing that frustrates me is the constant claims our d needs a few qb like figures. It feels like a crutch that we can't get our best athletes on the field sometimes. I think bk et all are overall great coaches. Doesn't mean I can't come here and share these opinions, for fear of be accused of knowing more than coaches.
You are entitled to an opinion ...not sure what makes you say otherwise. The idiots thumping the drum that Joe is too slow?

Indeed coaches make mistakes. Sometimes you don't even know what you have until thrown to the wolves. (Kizer, Procise) are nice upgrades to their positions. Nobody would have known if not for the unfortunate injuries.

As far as replacing Joe...I believe it would be a down grade sitting him in place of Morgan or Grace. Just because Joe isn't playing perfectly the alternative can be a down grade. BVG defense is very complicated. Too much at times IMO. Nevertheless it is complicated and sitting Joe and his knowledge of the assignments could be detrimental as whole to the defense. Something only the coaching staff can know.

Moreover on a comparative scale with the other 10 defensive starters he is right in the mix.
He fills the hole as an inside backer should. He keys on the fullback or guard ...meets him...(doesn't wait to be engaged) takes out the blocker to allow other teammates to freely make the tackle. Joe does this perfectly.

The tackling is not a bright spot this year with him but......outside of Day every Irish player is tackling very poorly. Everyone. Even Jaylon to an extent is not exactly tackling text book. That is a team wide issue top to bottom.

Where that comes from is probably lack of going hot at practice in fear of injury. I'm sure they go thud more than they should but with the injury bug on this team the last two years it would be hard not to concede to that and practice lighter. I mean you don't play or practice in fear of getting hurt but they have such lousy luck you can't possibly help it to think about it.
 
Idk, even the best coaches make mistakes. We see backups come in all the time and out perform a guy that got injured when coaches insisted the starter was better. I don't think it's favoritism, coaches have a thing for experience and knowledge. It's like their safety blanket. I think the thing that frustrates me is the constant claims our d needs a few qb like figures. It feels like a crutch that we can't get our best athletes on the field sometimes. I think bk et all are overall great coaches. Doesn't mean I can't come here and share these opinions, for fear of be accused of knowing more than coaches.
You are entitled to an opinion ...not sure what makes you say otherwise. The idiots thumping the drum that Joe is too slow?

Indeed coaches make mistakes. Sometimes you don't even know what you have until thrown to the wolves. (Kizer, Procise) are nice upgrades to their positions. Nobody would have known if not for the unfortunate injuries.

As far as replacing Joe...I believe it would be a down grade sitting him in place of Morgan or Grace. Just because Joe isn't playing perfectly the alternative can be a down grade. BVG defense is very complicated. Too much at times IMO. Nevertheless it is complicated and sitting Joe and his knowledge of the assignments could be detrimental as whole to the defense. Something only the coaching staff can know.

Moreover on a comparative scale with the other 10 defensive starters he is right in the mix.
He fills the hole as an inside backer should. He keys on the fullback or guard ...meets him...(doesn't wait to be engaged) takes out the blocker to allow other teammates to freely make the tackle. Joe does this perfectly.

The tackling is not a bright spot this year with him but......outside of Day every Irish player is tackling very poorly. Everyone. Even Jaylon to an extent is not exactly tackling text book. That is a team wide issue top to bottom.

Where that comes from is probably lack of going hot at practice in fear of injury. I'm sure they go thud more than they should but with the injury bug on this team the last two years it would be hard not to concede to that and practice lighter. I mean you don't play or practice in fear of getting hurt but they have such lousy luck you can't possibly help it to think about it.
 
Interesting thread. I am not going to single out individual players. Just some observations:

1. We can't be doing very well in the number of sacks, which is going to put extra pressure on the DBs.
2. Watching other elite teams play yesterday, it seems long, lean DBs are the preferred type of players. ND doesn't seem to have a lot of these types.
3. ND gives up a lot of big plays on the edges.
4. Why are so many players getting injured every year at ND? Particularly our key guys?
5. After Alabama lost to Mississippi, they have been coached up and are crushing everyone. ND is winning, but still sloppy. I am sorry, they looked horrible the last 5 minutes of the game yesterday.
 
I have watched every ND game numerous times this year and I have to say that our MLB is getting singled out a lot. Against Temple they ran a lot of motion and isolation plays for this reason. Pitt did the same thing yesterday. On pass plays they try and get Schmidt isolated on the outside with either a RB out of the backfield or TE down the middle. on sweeps and zone reads Schmidt is not fast enough to get to the outside to help as was evidenced numerous times against Temple. Against Pitt they tried a dump off to the TE and RB, but luckily they passes could not be caught or were rushed otherwise it was going to be a decent gain.
Against Stanford who has great TE's, fast scat back and an accurate QB it is a recipe for disaster matching our current MLB with those guys. I love the guy to death, but for some reason this year he is just a step slower and not involved as last year. Is it defensive scheme or is it the injury? No idea, but ND will not win a national championship with a weakness at that key position.
 
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Nine games in during the second year of BVGs plan and the defense still has glaring missed assignments. That should not be. I do not see this defense getting any better this season. The staff themselves have talked about missed assignments all season long. Cue Tori Hunter. Maybe he gets it. Who knows. This kind of thing might not be catastrophic against Pitt, WF, or BC but it sure will be if it happens during the "play in" game or even a major bowl.
 
While I agree 100% that each player has a responsibility.....its a responsibility of each player to his teammates to do their level best to make a play on the ball even when someone else screws up. If everyone on the Defense stopped playing after every missed tackle by KV or every time he got burned by a WR just to show it was his fault.....ND would have several losses already this year. That's why football is a team effort. Someone messes up and the other tries to make a play. No matter who's fault it was.....still immature on his part to do that and make a scene of it while the play hadnt even really took place yet. He could have possibly saved a TD.
I honestly don't believe russell was in any position to make the play. it happened right in front of where we were sitting. nothing about his actions as immature. he gestured to redfield as if to say "what happened ". I think some are unfairly pointing fingers at Russell for executing his responsibility in the called coverage.
 
I honestly don't believe russell was in any position to make the play. it happened right in front of where we were sitting. nothing about his actions as immature. he gestured to redfield as if to say "what happened ". I think some are unfairly pointing fingers at Russell for executing his responsibility in the called coverage.
It's possible Russell couldn't have recovered fast enough to make a play, but I think he should have at least held the wide receiver and taken the penalty to prevent a score.
 
but why if he expected there to be help over the top ?
I'm not sure you understood what I meant. In the replay it shows that Russell knows Redfield bailed and is not helping over the top. Instead of pointing at Redfield for his blown assignment, Russell should have adjusted and tried to play the wide receiver himself. If Russell feels he cannot make the play to prevent a score, then he should have held the receiver and taken the penalty to prevent the score. Make sense?
 
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I'm not sure you understood what I meant. In the replay it shows that Russell knows Redfield bailed and is not helping over the top. Instead of pointing at Redfield for his blown assignment, Russell should have adjusted and tried to play the wide receiver himself. If Russell feels he cannot make the play to prevent a score, then he should have held the receiver and taken the penalty to prevent the score. Make sense?
I was right there. no way he can do that. the ball would be past him. I don't think there's a DB anywhere that could have made that adjustment in time to stop that play.
 
I honestly don't believe russell was in any position to make the play. it happened right in front of where we were sitting. nothing about his actions as immature. he gestured to redfield as if to say "what happened ". I think some are unfairly pointing fingers at Russell for executing his responsibility in the called coverage.

It's the fact he was throwing his hands up as to complain to Redfield as the play was going on when the receiver was still within 5-10 yards of him. I, just like most of the nation, had one of the best views in front of my flat screen at home. They replayed the blown coverage several times and everyone could see in plain sight how KV reacted as the camera was right on him. If that was the game winning touchdown for Pitt on that play you can bet people would be singing a different tune. Every down should be played as if its the game winner.
 
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I was right there. no way he can do that. the ball would be past him. I don't think there's a DB anywhere that could have made that adjustment in time to stop that play.
Then if he can't make the play at least grab or interfere to prevent the receiver from scoring. However, like Shark just said, Russell should never have been pointing at Redfield and focused on adjusting and trying his best to make the play.
 
I was right there. no way he can do that. the ball would be past him. I don't think there's a DB anywhere that could have made that adjustment in time to stop that play.

From what I saw in the replay, Russell knew the safety has abandoned coverage on that receiver. Instead of pointing and slowing down, Russell needs to the best he can to try to cover the receiver. Whether he can make the play or not is irrelevant. He knows the safety busted his assignment, so do the best you can to make up for it.
 
Then if he can't make the play at least grab or interfere to prevent the receiver from scoring. However, like Shark just said, Russell should never have been pointing at Redfield and focused on adjusting and trying his best to make the play.
I agree he shouldn;t have done it but that's hindsight. from my vantage he would have to have been superhuman to make any play. not saying he shouldn't have tried but it really is a moot point. you react in the heat of the moment. all I know is that on the sideline redfield got an earful. Russell did not.
 
From what I saw in the replay, Russell knew the safety has abandoned coverage on that receiver. Instead of pointing and slowing down, Russell needs to the best he can to try to cover the receiver. Whether he can make the play or not is irrelevant. He knows the safety busted his assignment, so do the best you can to make up for it.
he 's a human who made a mistake in judgment. some here are crucifying him. he's also a victim of redfields screwup which seems to be getting a pass by some here. at least vangorder didn't give him a pass.
 
You folks are arguing about a play with the Irish up 42-17 at the time. GET A FREAKIN' LIFE!!!
 
he 's a human who made a mistake in judgment. some here are crucifying him. he's also a victim of redfields screwup which seems to be getting a pass by some here. at least vangorder didn't give him a pass.

I don't think people are being too hard on him. Most are just pointing out that it was a mistake. You're correct to point out the most importsnt issue is Redfield. I'm jusat saying, Russell knew Redfield was gone, he should have done his best to cover the guy. That's all.
 
I don't think people are being too hard on him. Most are just pointing out that it was a mistake. You're correct to point out the most importsnt issue is Redfield. I'm jusat saying, Russell knew Redfield was gone, he should have done his best to cover the guy. That's all.
Please, give it up!!! The play wasn't that important in the scheme of things!
 
Please, give it up!!! The play wasn't that important in the scheme of things!

Actually, it is. How would you like to lose the national championship on a play like that? ND has had plenty of missed assignments this year. Much more than under Diaco.

Even still, I'm simply conversing about the play. Not calling for Russell to be benched or anything. Are you telling me to not freely discuss a play?
 
Actually, it is. How would you like to lose the national championship on a play like that? ND has had plenty of missed assignments this year. Much more than under Diaco.

Even still, I'm simply conversing about the play. Not calling for Russell to be benched or anything. Are you telling me to not freely discuss a play?
The game was in the bag at that time! It wasn't a crucial play in the game, for heaven's sake. You folks are just trying to outsmart yourselves.
 
The game was in the bag at that time! It wasn't a crucial play in the game, for heaven's sake. You folks are just trying to outsmart yourselves.

I think that's because you have no intelligence. I try not to be mean, but I'm literally just commenting on what I saw on that play. Should I never comment on a player making a good play at the end of the game because it wasn't a hugely impactful part of the game? Seriously, quit being such a ****ing pussy.
 
I honestly don't believe russell was in any position to make the play. it happened right in front of where we were sitting. nothing about his actions as immature. he gestured to redfield as if to say "what happened ". I think some are unfairly pointing fingers at Russell for executing his responsibility in the called coverage.

Russell quit on the play.
 
he was not casting stones. I was at the game. it was clearly a blown assignment by redfield. vangorder went right at him when they came to the sideline. he said nothing to Russell. Russell expected redfield to have that responsibility. players must be true to THEIR responsibility in the team concept.

Like I said in the other thread you and I are butting heads in, i'm a traditionalist/loyalist... like in baseball, you run out the weak grounder or the pop up to short center. There's an unwritten rule and Russell broke it. It doesn't help that all of these behind the scenes segments i watch, I see Russell acting and talking like he's a future Hall of Famer.
 
Joe Schmidt.... in fairness it's not just him offenses are picking on, they are attacking our safeties as well. I can't figure Max out? He is a tremendous athlete, near 4.0 student at ND, but is often out of place or makes the wrong call. If it wasn't for his ability he'd be sitting. Elijah is great in support of the run but is too often caught looking during passing downs. Last Kevari has made some big plays but boy is he giving up a lot of them too. I know Max made the wrong read on the one TD pass by Pitt but KR simply pointed and gave up on the play. That was disgraceful IMO. He is getting killed on the double moves, he is trying to be too physical and aggressive and it's getting him beat at times.

Offensively, I'd like one of our young TEs to step up. If the O can truly get a TE involved consistently, look out, this O would be dynamite.

Before I'm attacked as a know nothing armchair clown, I had until this year coached DBs and played DB for 22 years. Now I coached for a good Texas HS program the previous 5 years, but not an elite FBS university, these are just my humble observations, if you don't agree that's fine, your opinion is your opinion.
IM
 
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I hate to say it because I loved the guy as a player, but how much of the problem can be attributed to the new DB coach?
 
no problem with the observations. I agree with most of them. my problem is with the crowd who think coaches are purposely keeping better players on the bench because of some sort of loyalty. coaches play who they think gives their team the best chance at success. period.

echo, I know you put your football acumen against anyone here & all but do coaches ever make mistakes w/ personnel or do they, undeniably, always play the right guy? We don't need to be at practice to see that he's not the same player he was before the injury. Does he give us the best chance to win based on knowing the defense & having everyone put in their right spots? Maybe, but his play does enter into the picture at some point. If he continues to struggle, and miss tackles, what difference does it make if everyone else is in the right position? All it takes is one blown assignment or missed tackle or coverage to blow up a play, & Schmidt's been on the bad end of that way too many times this year. Would playing someone else be worse? Maybe, maybe not, but this notion that we all have to take what coaches do just cuz their coaches is BS. You are acting as though coaches always play the right guy. I know you probably don't, but they make bad personnel & substitution decisions left & right. Montana was 3rd on the depth chart behind Lisch & Forystek and would've never seen the field had it not been for those two being injured in the same game. Were we supposed to think that Devine knew what he was doing in that instance just because he was at practice every day w/ them? He obviously didn't have a clue. The arguably greatest qb of all time may not have played a meaningful down ever, because of coaches having their heads up their asses. It happens sometimes.
 
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