Sports Illustrated With Smith ,Stanley ,and Leprechuan

[Izo]

When comparing Golson and Zaire I always thought that Golson was a little better passer than runner and that Zaire was a little better runner than passer. But not according to S.I. who has it the other way.

And this past season ,I read a lot of posts on the ND websites and they continued to mention Zaire ,improving his passing

S. I . also stated that ND really has to improve their pass rush noting that the front four had only had 12 sacks.


Boy , S.I. has ND ranked #4 and teams like Auburn and TCU ranked #2 and #3. And teams like Alabama,Michigan St.,USC,Florida St.,Oregon,Baylor ,were ranked behind the Irish . Other college football magazines and ESPN ranked ND in the 11-15 spots.

Still think ND has the talent. Better than the 2012 team with Eifert ,Riddick Z. Martin ,Tuitt ,Nix,Teo ,etc ,but, reality we were extremely lucky and could have easily lost 4 games against mediocre teams . Then ,totally unprepared for Alabama .Just hope Kelly learned from that season.

 

[Nocalirish]

Very tough schedule means ND could make the playoff with one loss to a top ranked team like Clemson or UOJ. They have talent and great new coaches. Need to stay healthy. They will need the luck of the Irish they didnt get last year.

 

[artemis gordon]

A very perspicacious comment .

 

[Irish Grandeur]

As bad as SC blew us out in that game, they were 9-4 as a result and we were 8-5. Had we won we would have been 9-4 and them 8-5 - we are ND!!!

 

[Izo]

Looking for an answer. who is the better runner Golson or Zaire? .Who is the better passer ?

 

[BGI User 348]

SI knocks our safeties & DL.......motivation baby!

 

[NDCap]

Izo. There is no question that MZ is the better runner AND ball handler . IMO the jury is still out on MZ as a passer. In the bowl game it was eveident that MZ would not attempt to make many challenging throws . instead he was successful as a runner . A very strong runner and his passing yards were under 100 but he ran for about the same. that is god production . Especially considering that he did not play the entire game. He definitely has the ability to become a great QB but he is not there yet. Is he the better QB for THIS team is coaching to come down to a few things :
1- IS BK going to run the ball more ? And if so is he going to be more creative in the run game ? There are many type of options to run and MZ is very capable handling the run game very well. MZ gets into the secondary and wants to score !!! This has been lacking in BK's tenure . BK built his offense around Golson last year . That offense was very good but turnovers were catastrophic . Golson was a decent runner( but he could not run away from anyone on the second level), he had a hard time holding onto the ball as a runner . That was disappointing to me. No excuse for that! and subpar ball handler which will improve now dramatically.
Runnng game : EDGE BIG to MZ

 

[NDCap]

NOW the passing game . I just watched the replay of the ND- FSU game. EG was outstanding! The play calling is brutal at times . The 4th down QB sneak and option are awful . He was uncomfortable under center . Why run something they do not do well. When Golson is in a groove passing he may be one of the best passers in the country. He deep out passing ability will not be replaced by MZ. ND's passing game stats may drop off with MZ at the helm. Golson connected very well with Fuller. Will MZ have the same chemistry. I think Fuller and Robinson are two excellent receivers but may not have the same stats wit MZ. The tradeoff is a stronger run game and IMO a strong run game wears out a defense. The big play potential is there with MZ. We all saw the 60 pass to Fuller in te spring game and everyone on this board had a sigh of relief. That play might have been EG's dagger. LoL MZ can throw the ball but the 3rd and 3 call this season maybe with a run first mentality . MZ just lacks the game experience right now. EG was a great PASSING QB for ND . Many people bash him but he really was. I will say this EG seemed to lose focus after the ASU game. He lost confidence . Losing does that especially to a QB . In the last 4 games so many bad things happened to that team. The SC game was Jerry Faust-like. But ND rebounded nicely in the Bowl game. A big win IMO for this team.
It's MZ's team now and he has to play his game . The passing game may drop off but winning is all that matters.
Passing game: EDGE EG

 

[mokpra37]

Nice cover. I know it is way early to say such things, but both young men may end up top ten picks and NFL standouts. It may be worth buying the issue based on that probability alone.