Super Bowl

[IRISH_FRIAR]

A good example of the adage 'Defenses win championships'. Denver did a great job slowing/shutting down Carolina's prolific offense.

With that said, this is no knock against ND and its struggling defense. The staff can do its best to recruit great defensive game changers but at the end of the day, the student-athlete chooses where he wants to play. The staff worked tireless so I give them a lot of credit. I must admit though it is discouraging to finish in the top 2 or 3 on many of these elite athletes and not get them.

 

[BGI User 1596]

I didn't like Cam Newton in college because he represented the very type of elite athlete ND could never get. A mercenary that was at college for one thing....to win a national title. No illusion of the other part of the student-athlete equation.

From all accounts he was a wonderful off the field in Carolina this past year. His on-field contributions were never in question. Very charitable to several groups so my opinion of him started to change.

However he reverted back to the thug-life in his post super bowl interview giving one word answers and eventually walking out in the middle of the interview.

All that is fine. He can act any way he wants as long as he doesn't hurt others. I guess a leopard can't change his spots.

Sounds like all the charity is an act - probably his agents idea to make him more marketable - spend a little {tax write off} to get a lot a more.

 

[kellys heroes 35]

A good example of the adage 'Defenses win championships'. Denver did a great job slowing/shutting down Carolina's prolific offense.

With that said, this is no knock against ND and its struggling defense. The staff can do its best to recruit great defensive game changers but at the end of the day, the student-athlete chooses where he wants to play. The staff worked tireless so I give them a lot of credit. I must admit though it is discouraging to finish in the top 2 or 3 on many of these elite athletes and not get them.

ND got 7 highly rated DB's in this class and three DE's - They have four highly rated LB's already in the program . We will see a better defense at ND
Brian Kelly --
" I'm not going to apologize that we had injuries . We had injuries .But w're going to play great defense under Brian Van Gorder and the staff we've put together "
I for one put more trust and stock in what Brian Kelly says than half assed naysayers on this board .

 

[Telx1]

Kelly35, I might be in the half assed naysayer camp where BVG is concerned, and want like hell to be wrong. Thinking about ND and BVG while watching the Denver defense yesterday. Wade Phillips was appropriately geting lots of credit for a great defensive team, and yet he's been fired several times from DC positions. Gets down to having the right talent to match his defensive philosophy, and he has this on Denver. BVG has not had the right combination of talent to play his schemes, and don't see where this upcoming year will be much different, although I do think this and last year's haul are getting us closer. If he can produce decent results next year, then he may have the kind of experience and talent to produce a superior product the following year. Really need to see the trajectory change.

 

[Duo]

The Broncos and Alabama have proved defense wins the big games.

 

[kellys heroes 35]

Kelly35, I might be in the half assed naysayer camp where BVG is concerned, and want like hell to be wrong. Thinking about ND and BVG while watching the Denver defense yesterday. Wade Phillips was appropriately geting lots of credit for a great defensive team, and yet he's been fired several times from DC positions. Gets down to having the right talent to match his defensive philosophy, and he has this on Denver. BVG has not had the right combination of talent to play his schemes, and don't see where this upcoming year will be much different, although I do think this and last year's haul are getting us closer. If he can produce decent results next year, then he may have the kind of experience and talent to produce a superior product the following year. Really need to see the trajectory change.

Tex --


Defensive philosophy did not have a damn thing to do with Deacon Jones - Joe Green - Reggie White being good pass rushers and defensive philosophy had nothing to do with Max Redfeild biting on a play fake and coming half way up to the line vs LSU and getting fried for an 80 yd TD

As an athlete all this clap trap about " systems " is pathetic . Save for one play ND played solid enough to beat FSU #1 Clemson #2 and Stanford #4 . ND was solid on defense until something happened THEY LOST HALF THEIR STARTERS !!!

Get talented players and play football -- guy loses eight starters and suddenly their is this message board conspiracy that no one can understand Van Gorders defense .

Tex do you really think Kelly a former linebacker in college and a 25 yr head coach would have a defensive coordinator on his staff that would teach something that the players could not comprehend ? The notion is absurd to me ABSURD !! There is not one poster on this board that has ever attaneded a practice - team meeting or film session conducted by Brian Van Gorder -- when ND is giving up more than 28 pts a game with a healthy line up then get back to me .

 

[Pennick4]

The Broncos and Alabama have proved defense wins the big games.

Alabama 45
Clemson 40

 

[kellys heroes 35]

Alabama 45
Clemson 40

Agreed - better teams win championships

 

[cgvr]

ND got 7 highly rated DB's in this class and three DE's - They have four highly rated LB's already in the program . We will see a better defense at ND
Brian Kelly --
" I'm not going to apologize that we had injuries . We had injuries .But w're going to play great defense under Brian Van Gorder and the staff we've put together "
I for one put more trust and stock in what Brian Kelly says than half assed naysayers on this board .

"Unconscious competence", "culture beats scheme", "We don't get a five-year plan. This is a five-minute plan." "team 127".... blah blah blah......

The guy's grasping at straws....

The 2014 Defense gave up more points per game than any in ND's history.

Coupled with 2015's 5th worst ppg it's the worst 2 year ppg against stretch ever....

BVG is failing in historic proportions....

Pathetic....

 

[kellys heroes 35]

I hope tranquill and crawford are healthy . I think Tranquill could really help as a hybrid SS / OLB -- get to the QB and a really good drop in coverage guy . Crawford was going to be our nickel back

I have a sneaky suspicion that if Russell - Crawford and Tranquill were on the field Stanford doesn't complete that last pass for forty yards

 

[DillonDomer]

I agree that the talent needs to match the scheme (to some degree). In the NFL, you can cut, trade, draft - in NCAA, you have to wait out cycles for recruiting. So, in NCAA it takes longer to make that switch and then you can't have key injuries or else your talent can shift away from scheme.

Coaches need to be able to adjust their scheme to match the talent and hope they can recruit the talent over time to get to the desired end result. I don't see us adjusting scheme. Saying that we have to wait until the talent matches the scheme is an excuse. A quality coach should be able to adjust and put the players in a position to succeed. Sure the perfect scheme can take several years but the coaches have to be flexible in the meantime.

 

[Irishjohn68]

I would like to see a full season of normal injuries on defense. The last two seasons have been ridiculous.

Amen brother Ara!

 

[Irishjohn68]

BTW, that was a boring Super Bowl game yesterday.

 

[Duo]

Alabama 45
Clemson 40

Yep........it took the Alabama defense over 3 1/2 quarters to come up with an answer for Deshaun Watson but, they finally did it in the nick of time. It's hard to quantify guys like Deshaun Watson and Jameis Winston but the right defenses can do it..............sometimes in time, sometimes too late.

 

[kellys heroes 35]

Great offenses often time trump great defenses .. sometimes great defenses trump good but not great offenses .

BTW what I learned last nite and frankly already knew was imo the most important weapon on defense is a great pass rush . Hopefully ND took steps to improve that in the recent recruiting cycle

 

[BGI User 1596]

Great offenses often time trump great defenses .. sometimes great defenses trump good but not great offenses .

BTW what I learned last nite and frankly already knew was imo the most important weapon on defense is a great pass rush . Hopefully ND took steps to improve that in the recent recruiting cycle

Top Ranked "D's" are 10-2 in that game.

 

[cgvr]

Top Ranked "D's" are 10-2 in that game.

In a blitz happy scheme our Butkus award winner had 1 sack for the season....

It happened in the first game of the year 2nd quarter....

 

[Izo]

Clemson put up 40 points against very or excellent Alabama defensive players ,many of whom will be 1st and 2nd round draft picks . The speed of Alabama showed itself .Some on this post say Alabama made defensive stops when they had to and that's true . Clemson made the the Alabama defense sweat and Clemson made some great plays on offense . Even though Clemson lost ,they played their best game of the season against Alabama .But because of Alabama 's closing speed , they made plays against the Clemson offense which would have had its' way ( more yardage per play )with almost any other college team.


Defense wins . Impact players .the top coaches all agree you need great talent and great coaching .

 

[FLballcoach1]

The Brian Van Gorder dilemma can be answered in 2 words. Wade Phillips. He was Head Coach/DC of Dallas in 2010 and was fired because the Cowboys could not stop a nose bleed,

He went to Houston and had a couple of the middle of the pack defenses and then had a lousy defense on a 2-14 team in 2013 and then got fired again,

Low and behold he is out of football for 2014. He uses his Denver connections and is now the architect of one of the great defenses in NFL history, And a defense IMO that had the greatest performance in SB history, Considering how they throttled the league MVP in an era of football where all the rules favor the defense,

Get Brian Van Gorder some players and the ND defense will excel. BVG is an excellent defensive coach.

 

[tkirish]

Players make plays. Coaching can only do so much. Any coach will tell you that. Right now there are a handful of teams getting the majority of elite players every year. When you string together 4 top 5 classes in a row, chances are you are going to be very good. If you string together classes outside the top ten, chances are you'll be good but most likely not good enough. Kelly needs 4 or 5 truly great defensive players every year to really see a difference. When he had a chance to beat what was at the time, top 5 teams, his team didn't. Regardless of why, they simply didn't win. That's a fact. Until his teams can win big games, he will be seen as an above average coach at ND.

 

[BGI User 348]

BK had a good DC in Diaco....he now has trust in BVG....it is time for him to get it done!! Recruit, develop, coach....WIN on Defense BVG!!!

 

[Granite45]

Alabama 45
Clemson 40

It seems to me you are forgetting how much better the special teams were for Alabama than for Clemson. The defenses both yielded approximately the same number of points. Clemson had more total yards on offense as well. Alabama's win was not because of their defense.

 

[Granite45]

BTW, that was a boring Super Bowl game yesterday.

Can't agree. I love these defensive games, wondering what changes the defenses would do play to play to disrupt the offense. Even most of the turnovers could be credited to defensive plays, not sloppy ball handling by offensive players.

 

[Granite45]

The Broncos and Alabama have proved defense wins the big games.

Except Clemson's defense was pretty equivalent to Alabama's defense. Special Teams made a more significant difference in that game.

 

[Telx1]

Kelly...just got back online and read your response. To begin, I am firmly in the camp that Kelly and staff know a hell of a lot more than all of us posters combined, and so I value their decisions. That doesn't mean we can't opine and differ, as that is largely the purpose of these blogs. You flipped my argument to reach a different conclusion. Maybe defensive philosophy didn't affect the effectiveness of the players you cite, but my point is that the skill level and compatibility of players do affect the effectiveness of the defensive philosophy...thus my comment that Wade Phillips finally has the kind of talent that compliment his defensive philosophy. BVG has not had the right talent, either from injuries or recruiting misses or combination of both. Given that, the questions remains whether further adjustments should be made to optimize the talent he does have.

 

[Duo]

Except Clemson's defense was pretty equivalent to Alabama's defense. Special Teams made a more significant difference in that game.

Bama's D shut down Watson right at the end............just when they needed to. And granted, both teams played one hell-o-va game offense and defense.

 

[FightingIrish44]

Yep........it took the Alabama defense over 3 1/2 quarters to come up with an answer for Deshaun Watson but, they finally did it in the nick of time. It's hard to quantify guys like Deshaun Watson and Jameis Winston but the right defenses can do it..............sometimes in time, sometimes too late.

6 point game with 6 minutes left. I'll take that.

 

[88ND]

ND got 7 highly rated DB's in this class and three DE's - They have four highly rated LB's already in the program . We will see a better defense at ND
Brian Kelly --
" I'm not going to apologize that we had injuries . We had injuries .But w're going to play great defense under Brian Van Gorder and the staff we've put together "
I for one put more trust and stock in what Brian Kelly says than half assed naysayers on this board .

What do you think he is going to say? Yeah...nobody has injuries but Notre Dame...and moreover even healthy we are going to suck on defense.

He was not going to say anything but optimism 100%...as would anyone trying to appease alumni and sell recruits.

Kelly is talking the talk now let's see if he is going to walk the walk.

 

[Bodizephax]

The Brian Van Gorder dilemma can be answered in 2 words. Wade Phillips. He was Head Coach/DC of Dallas in 2010 and was fired because the Cowboys could not stop a nose bleed,

He went to Houston and had a couple of the middle of the pack defenses and then had a lousy defense on a 2-14 team in 2013 and then got fired again,

Low and behold he is out of football for 2014. He uses his Denver connections and is now the architect of one of the great defenses in NFL history, And a defense IMO that had the greatest performance in SB history, Considering how they throttled the league MVP in an era of football where all the rules favor the defense,

Get Brian Van Gorder some players and the ND defense will excel. BVG is an excellent defensive coach.

^^^^ I agree with the Football coach 100 per cent ! Football coach is a cantankerous, blunt, mean old bastard but he knows a lot about football !! And he is RIGHT about BVG !

 

[kellys heroes 35]

Kelly...just got back online and read your response. To begin, I am firmly in the camp that Kelly and staff know a hell of a lot more than all of us posters combined, and so I value their decisions. That doesn't mean we can't opine and differ, as that is largely the purpose of these blogs. You flipped my argument to reach a different conclusion. Maybe defensive philosophy didn't affect the effectiveness of the players you cite, but my point is that the skill level and compatibility of players do affect the effectiveness of the defensive philosophy...thus my comment that Wade Phillips finally has the kind of talent that compliment his defensive philosophy. BVG has not had the right talent, either from injuries or recruiting misses or combination of both. Given that, the questions remains whether further adjustments should be made to optimize the talent he does have.

Tex-

We played Stanford w-o Redfield - Russell- Crawford + Tranquill and they beat us thru the air . Look at the Stanford - Iowa game then look at the Stanford ND game . W-o a lot of our secondary and our best DT we were competitive against a top 5 team . Same for Clemson game . When ND has a full compliment of player and does not play competitve defense than you may have a bitch .

I do not believe in the magic wand theory -- that being a coach winning w-o relatively healthy roster . I think it unfair to take shots at BVG for the last half of last season and the last half of this season given what we dealt with re injuries .

 

[kellys heroes 35]

I agree that the talent needs to match the scheme (to some degree). In the NFL, you can cut, trade, draft - in NCAA, you have to wait out cycles for recruiting. So, in NCAA it takes longer to make that switch and then you can't have key injuries or else your talent can shift away from scheme.

Coaches need to be able to adjust their scheme to match the talent and hope they can recruit the talent over time to get to the desired end result. I don't see us adjusting scheme. Saying that we have to wait until the talent matches the scheme is an excuse. A quality coach should be able to adjust and put the players in a position to succeed. Sure the perfect scheme can take several years but the coaches have to be flexible in the meantime.

The talent needs to be on the field not the hospital

 

[cgvr]

Tex-

We played Stanford w-o Redfield - Russell- Crawford + Tranquill and they beat us thru the air . Look at the Stanford - Iowa game then look at the Stanford ND game . W-o a lot of our secondary and our best DT we were competitive against a top 5 team . Same for Clemson game . When ND has a full compliment of player and does not play competitve defense than you may have a bitch .

I do not believe in the magic wand theory -- that being a coach winning w-o relatively healthy roster . I think it unfair to take shots at BVG for the last half of last season and the last half of this season given what we dealt with re injuries .

Huh? Redfield started against Stanford. He had 6 solo tackles and 4 assists....

Plus, you may watch how our incredible coaching staff drops our safeties into FG range with a one point lead and time running out.

Redfield drops inside the 30 and Shumate drops to the 30 on the Cajuste pass play....

Cajuste then proceeds to take that ground and neither safety gets in on the tackle.

Romeo Okwara's role was to make sure it was 10 on 11...

With our safeties in full retreat it became 11 vs 8....

FF to 2:35 and watch the coaching idiocy unfold....

 

[echowaker]

"Unconscious competence", "culture beats scheme", "We don't get a five-year plan. This is a five-minute plan." "team 127".... blah blah blah......

The guy's grasping at straws....

The 2014 Defense gave up more points per game than any in ND's history.

Coupled with 2015's 5th worst ppg it's the worst 2 year ppg against stretch ever....

BVG is failing in historic proportions....

Pathetic....

professional help is likely available in your area.