Just a terrible plan from Parker

[theskibro]

Elko is very good. Duke made us pass to beat them and Hartman had no one to throw to.

The favorite pre season criticism from analysts came true tonight. ND has no receivers for Hartman. With Thomas n great house hurt, we were exposed

Got to say Merriweather needs the bench. Try Braylon, can’t hurt. Tobias flat out is a disappointment.

If anyone got open our running g ad me would have opened up. We got lucky tonight

I realize our receivers can’t get open but Parker should have planned for that with some short game passing lanes to let Hartman dump the ball

 

[Fifthhorseman25]

I would hope going forward Parker will add some screens or misdirection plays.

 

[theskibro]

I would hope going forward Parker will add some screens or misdirection plays.

Exactly

 

[nd4life211]

To say the game plan was uninspiring would be an understatement. No creativity whatsoever. It reminded me of BK’s play calling of the same 2-3 running plays. It didn’t help the offensive line got manhandled and our backup receivers are sub par.

 

[Golson5]

Love and Price needed carries

 

[Fifthhorseman25]

Love and Price needed carries

Agree. I am still baffled by the RB rotation tonight.....because there really wasn't a rotation.

 

[Golson5]

Agree. I am still baffled by the RB rotation tonight.....because there really wasn't a rotation.

And they continued to ruin Estime up the middle

Very odd

 

[Patrirish]

I would hope going forward Parker will add some screens or misdirection plays.

Didn’t he do that toward the end of the OSU game ?

 

[BGI User 1596]

I would hope going forward Parker will add some screens or misdirection plays.

He needs to watch film of those TR bubble screens.

 

[Pennick4]

And they continued to ruin Estime up the middle

Very odd

Like the one Estime took in for the winning touchdown.

 

[HRC08]

Love and Price needed carries

5 carries for Love (8.8ypc average mind you) and 0 for Price.

 

[BleedingBlueNGold]

I'm tired of the 5 headed monster at running back. Estime needs most of the carries. Love should be number 2, and Price number 3.

 

[HDK]

Last week everyone bitched that Estime needed more carries. So they gave him the ball and Duke bottled him up most of the game. And seemed like they grabbed him by the legs and held on for dear life on a lot of those plays that went nowhere.

 

[Golson5]

5 carries for Love (8.8ypc average mind you) and 0 for Price.

And 1 was a fake punt. Not nearly enough

 

[4-4-3]

Elko is very good. Duke made us pass to beat them and Hartman had no one to throw to.

The favorite pre season criticism from analysts came true tonight. ND has no receivers for Hartman. With Thomas n great house hurt, we were exposed

Got to say Merriweather needs the bench. Try Braylon, can’t hurt. Tobias flat out is a disappointment.

If anyone got open our running g ad me would have opened up. We got lucky tonight

I realize our receivers can’t get open but Parker should have planned for that with some short game passing lanes to let Hartman dump the ball

Good analysis.

 

[4-4-3]

I would hope going forward Parker will add some screens or misdirection plays.

Yes, WHERE WERE THEY?

Seemed like a remarkable LAPSE.

 

[futuredomer]

I'm tired of the 5 headed monster at running back. Estime needs most of the carries. Love should be number 2, and Price number 3.

Absolutely I don't need to see Payne anymore either...Estime, Love & Price is perfect

 

[4-4-3]

Last week everyone bitched that Estime needed more carries. So they gave him the ball and Duke bottled him up most of the game. And seemed like they grabbed him by the legs and held on for dear life on a lot of those plays that went nowhere.

I'm not sure I like those plays -- and they now seem to PREDOMINATE -- where he approaches the line, THEN STOPS and picks his hole. It SLOWS HIM DOWN, and in the case of a good DL, such as Dukes's, allows people to get a shot at him.

Why isn't he just BLASTING through a JOE ALT PROVIDED HOLE or through ones opened by TRAP BLOCKS?

He's best with a HEAD OF STEAM.

 

[tkirish]

For the first time this year I felt the offense had no flow, no rhythm. It seemed each play call was “ let’s try this and now that”. How many times did Estime get stopped at the point of attack? Frustrating to watch. They were lucky to win. I will take it.

One more thing. I like Freeman. I really hope he a very successful. With that said, 443 pointed out last week that his inexperience really showed against OSU. He is accurate in that assessment. Body language speaks volumes. Last night , the shots of him on the sideline did not look like a coach who was in charge. He looked lost and bewildered. Just my two cents worth. Hopefully this win gives him and the players a boost of confidence.

 

[HDK]

I'm not sure I like those plays -- and they now seem to PREDOMINATE -- where he approaches the line, THEN STOPS and picks his hole. It SLOWS HIM DOWN, and in the case of a good DL, such as Dukes's, allows people to get a shot at him.

Why isn't he just BLASTING through a JOE ALT PROVIDED HOLE or through ones opened by TRAP BLOCKS?

He's best with a HEAD OF STEAM.

He reminds me a little of Ron Dayne from Wisconsin in that regard who used to finesse a lot of his runs. I think part of Estime's problem is so many of our running plays seem to be slow developing and he waits for the hole to open instead of ramming into his blockers.

 

[Tru2Irish]

Sometimes he reminds me of Diggs with the slow start[hesitation] after the handoff. Then other times he barrels through the line. I wish he wouldn't go through middle. Correll doesn't provide a hole hardly ever.

 

[HDK]

For the first time this year I felt the offense had no flow, no rhythm. It seemed each play call was “ let’s try this and now that”. How many times did Estime get stopped at the point of attack? Frustrating to watch. They were lucky to win. I will take it.

One more thing. I like Freeman. I really hope he a very successful. With that said, 443 pointed out last week that his inexperience really showed against OSU. He is accurate in that assessment. Body language speaks volumes. Last night , the shots of him on the sideline did not look like a coach who was in charge. He looked lost and bewildered. Just my two cents worth. Hopefully this win gives him and the players a boost of confidence.

I think a lot of the reason for that lack of rhythm was because Duke had a good defense.

As to Freeman, he sometimes looks like a little kid who is afraid to ask the teacher if he can go to the bathroom. At some point you'd like to see him get in the ref's face or bark at his assistants a bit more without being insane about it, of course.

 

[Shakin' Down the Thunder]

There's a difference between a bad gameplan and lack of execution. The latter was apparent here. With that said, ND was clearly hungover from last week. Holtz said you usually have 3-4 games where you don't play up to your potential. Yesterday was one of them. I also think only 3 WRs being in rotation hurt them. From a gameplan perspective I would have liked to have seen more plays attacking the the outside w/ runs from Love and screen passes for Tyree.

 

[theskibro]

For the first time this year I felt the offense had no flow, no rhythm. It seemed each play call was “ let’s try this and now that”. How many times did Estime get stopped at the point of attack? Frustrating to watch. They were lucky to win. I will take it.

One more thing. I like Freeman. I really hope he a very successful. With that said, 443 pointed out last week that his inexperience really showed against OSU. He is accurate in that assessment. Body language speaks volumes. Last night , the shots of him on the sideline did not look like a coach who was in charge. He looked lost and bewildered. Just my two cents worth. Hopefully this win gives him and the players a boost of confidence.

This. Accurate. I’ll be very honest For the first time I was ready to sh— can Freeman last night until we won. I was disgusted because he does seem to be showing first head coach jitters. But after a W I will reserve my impulse cause I like freeman and want him to succeed

 

[theskibro]

There's a difference between a bad gameplan and lack of execution. The latter was apparent here. With that said, ND was clearly hungover from last week. Holtz said you usually have 3-4 games where you don't play up to your potential. Yesterday was one of them. I also think only 3 WRs being in rotation hurt them. From a gameplan perspective I would have liked to have seen more plays attacking the the outside w/ runs from Love and screen passes for Tyree.

Shake

Agree about game plan n screens etc. I am pretty certain that with the exception of stupid penalties, execution was not the issue. Duke was very good. Look at it this way - we moved the ball against OSU n everyone else. We didn’t agsainst. vDuke and that’s due to Elko and Parker’s inept game plan

 

[Patrirish]

I'm not sure I like those plays -- and they now seem to PREDOMINATE -- where he approaches the line, THEN STOPS and picks his hole. It SLOWS HIM DOWN, and in the case of a good DL, such as Dukes's, allows people to get a shot at him.

Why isn't he just BLASTING through a JOE ALT PROVIDED HOLE or through ones opened by TRAP BLOCKS?

He's best with a HEAD OF STEAM.

On his TD run he went left, stopped, then ran right and scored

 

[Harpo Marxist]

hartman's passing game is a reflection of the gameplanning. Last night sam constantly looked over to the sideline before the play. Seems to be some disconnect there. The offensive penalties add to that. Parker's experience level is catching up as the competition level goes up. We have to do a better job using the talent we have. There are no home run players on this team.

 

[Patrirish]

The very first series seemed well orchestrated !

 

[banmate6]

It wasn't a horrible offensive game plan, but there seemed to be no key adjustments. I think the problem was:

1) Evidently the available receivers are not that good, impacting the effectiveness of a very good Hartman.
2) Running up the middle after a pause, between tackles...especially Estime.
3) Not using Evans even more as he came into the game.
4) Maybe adjusting the OL against what seemed like a strong Duke front 4 that kept Clemson to 7 points?

I don't think most defenses can match the Irish OL this way. But this is the kind of fine tuning and play calling challenges. Thank goodness ND did dig deep and grind out a win...ironically with running, Hartman and Estime...give the coaches at least that with the playmakers.

At the end of the day, this is also heavily on the players. I think last week the coaches failed in key moments in a game ND otherwise should have won...but the players almost lost this game to Duke more than the coaches in my view. All in all, good on ND for grinding this one.

 

[Patrirish]

It wasn't a horrible offensive game plan, but there seemed to be no key adjustments. I think the problem was:

1) Evidently the available receivers are not that good, impacting the effectiveness of a very good Hartman.
2) Running up the middle after a pause, between tackles...especially Estime.
3) Not using Evans even more as he came into the game.
4) Maybe adjusting the OL against what seemed like a strong Duke front 4 that kept Clemson to 7 points?

I don't think most defenses can match the Irish OL this way. But this is the kind of fine tuning and play calling challenges. Thank goodness ND did dig deep and grind out a win...ironically with running, Hartman and Estime...give the coaches at least that with the playmakers.

At the end of the day, this is also heavily on the players. I think last week the coaches failed in key moments in a game ND otherwise should have won...but the players almost lost this game to Duke more than the coaches in my view. All in all, good on ND for grinding this one.

👍

 

[mbd11]

It wasn't the greatest game plan from Parker, but we were missing several of our top receivers, and that was a good Duke defense. I'd rank Duke's defense as the 3rd toughest we'll face this year, after Ohio State's and Clemson's.

 

[4-4-3]

He reminds me a little of Ron Dayne from Wisconsin in that regard who used to finesse a lot of his runs. I think part of Estime's problem is so many of our running plays seem to be slow developing and he waits for the hole to open instead of ramming into his blockers.

Yes, and Duke's DL was good enough to clog things up so that those slow developing plays didn't develop at all.

In fact, I thought Duke's DL was better than OSU's.

I hope ND learns the lesson and changes things up a bit.

And with the speed some of its back have, I can't understand why there aren't more quick pitches to the edge. Those plays when executed properly can eat up 6 or 7 yards with regularity. Plus, ND has the ends and tackles to handle the blocking on them.

 

[4-4-3]

On his TD run he went left, stopped, then ran right and scored

They caught Duke a little flatfooted on that one and he was QUICKER through the hole. There was NO HESITATION.

I'm fine with him picking his spots and cutting sharply AT THE SECOND LEVEL. I just want him through the hole faster rather than juking from the GET-GO at the LOS. Against ND's "scrimmage opponets" he could do that, but it gets harder with first-rate DL's. And to my eye, Duke has one.

 

[Pennick4]

Absolutely I don't need to see Payne anymore either...Estime, Love & Price is perfect

Payne is a good tough back.

 

[Tru2Irish]

Some of the play calling looked deja vu[Tommy Rees] calling. No reverses or swing plays. Plus the two backs like against OSU might have worked. Up the middle was being stopped for 95% of game- try an edge run now and then. Thank goodness for Evans.

 

[Nailsbulls]

This. Accurate. I’ll be very honest For the first time I was ready to sh— can Freeman last night until we won. I was disgusted because he does seem to be showing first head coach jitters. But after a W I will reserve my impulse cause I like freeman and want him to succeed

And who to hell are you thinking you are going to replace him with that is better???

 

[mirer03]

And 1 was a fake punt. Not nearly enough

The fake punt was 31 yards... his ypc outside that were...not so good

 

[chaseball]

I think a lot of the reason for that lack of rhythm was because Duke had a good defense.

As to Freeman, he sometimes looks like a little kid who is afraid to ask the teacher if he can go to the bathroom. At some point you'd like to see him get in the ref's face or bark at his assistants a bit more without being insane about it, of course.

It was even worse last year. I think he's developing quickly in this regard.

As for the bigger picture issues in the program, i know it's the elephant in the room that people REFUSE to acknowledge, but Notre Dame just doesn't have good enough players--and as a result, isn't a good enough team--to put decent teams like Duke away efficiently/smoothly/consistently/etc. so there are problems.

It's funny because I basically post about this and provide a laundry list of evidence on the daily, yet people refuse to accept this very simple explanation for NDs CONSISTENT issues. It's a simple problem but not an easy one to fix without serious changes at the highest level of the institution.

 

[sjb75]

It was even worse last year. I think he's developing quickly in this regard.

As for the bigger picture issues in the program, i know it's the elephant in the room that people REFUSE to acknowledge, but Notre Dame just doesn't have good enough players--and as a result, isn't a good enough team--to put decent teams like Duke away efficiently/smoothly/consistently/etc. so there are problems.

It's funny because I basically post about this and provide a laundry list of evidence on the daily, yet people refuse to accept this very simple explanation for NDs CONSISTENT issues. It's a simple problem but not an easy one to fix without serious changes at the highest level of the institution.

Go to bed, then fall asleep.

 

[HDK]

It was even worse last year. I think he's developing quickly in this regard.

As for the bigger picture issues in the program, i know it's the elephant in the room that people REFUSE to acknowledge, but Notre Dame just doesn't have good enough players--and as a result, isn't a good enough team--to put decent teams like Duke away efficiently/smoothly/consistently/etc. so there are problems.

It's funny because I basically post about this and provide a laundry list of evidence on the daily, yet people refuse to accept this very simple explanation for NDs CONSISTENT issues. It's a simple problem but not an easy one to fix without serious changes at the highest level of the institution.

I think most people realize ND is very good but not elite. Some think/hope with a few breaks, we can compete for a NC every few years. If we have a season like this one, where we get off to a good start, people get a little ahead of themselves. That's why they are fans.

But you just constantly point out the shortcomings of the team and university to the point, where people just don't want to hear it.