I discussed this earlier with a buddy, this is how I would rank and grade them at this point.
1. Secondary, they’ve been really good overall IMO, not much to say here. Morrison is a dude, good all around play by the unit = A
2. QB, Hartman has played well when he has time, the past few weeks he has been chased relentlessly. Did OSU expose something other teams are now capitalizing on against our pass protection? He was not accurate last night but he’s been pretty good the rest of the season. ND should’ve let him rip it much more the past few games IMO. SH throws the best ball we’ve seen in sometime, I’ll give him a B-
3. RBs - I think the talent is the best it’s been in sometime now, Estime, and company are all tough backs when they get the initial block, pleasantly surprised by the pass catching ability of a few of them too. = B.
DL - I wanted to give them a B+ but their inability to sack the QB has been frustrating, they play well against the run and do get QB pressures. In general, they are good tacklers as well, I’ll give the unit a B.
OL - I’ve been quite disappointed with the OL, specifically the interior, they have been downright terrible for stretches of games. G-C-G has been a D, approaching an F with one more poor showing. I’m not sure what’s up with Fisher either, he’s always throwing his hands up in annoyance, gotta keep it together when you’re a supposed leader and potential 1/2 round draft pick. Alt had gone a long time without a QB pressure let alone a sack but looked poor last night as well. - G/C/G D-, T’s - B, overall the OL gets a - C.
WR’s - the season started well, a lot of guys getting touches but boy has our lack of depth shown with a few guys injured. There has been moments with a half dozen guys but no one that has been a consistent gamer, and a few I won’t name are absolutely dreadful. There were four drops last night, four against Duke, and three against OSU, that’s terrible, that’s 11 dropped passes in 3 games!! This position needs some serious improvement, D.
PK/P - We all knew Shrader had a leg but he’s been better from 50+ then 40-49, needs more consistency but if ND gets inside 60 yards the kid gives you a chance. McFerson has done a nice job overall he is averaging 45 yards a punt, like to see the net a little higher but he’s been relatively solid. The fact most fans don’t know his name is a good thing. PK/P - B-
LBs- this is a hard group to grade IMO. There are times in games they look terrific and others when they look dreadfully slow. I’m not always a fan of Bertrand and Kiser inside but at least Bertrand plays with a lot of emotion, he makes some nice plays and leads in tackles. Bertrand can also be eaten alive in the passing game occasionally. Kiser is a good tackler but is very slow inside out. Most thought Liufau was going to be an impact player, while there are flashes of that. He too is out of position quite often, he runs wild and misses tackles in the open field, and seemingly runs to blockers went sent on pressure. This unit is inconsistent but they give good effort, I’ll give them a C+.
Last, the TE’s. It took a little time to develop by Mitchell has tremendous hands and runs well in the open field for a big guy. Staes has been a nice redzone weapon but isn’t featured much between the 20’s, not sure why. They both block adequately though Staes has had a few untimely holding penalties and even an illegal hands to the face while blocking. I like these guys, just like to see Staes get a few more opportunities along with Evans. Unit = A-
1. Secondary, they’ve been really good overall IMO, not much to say here. Morrison is a dude, good all around play by the unit = A
2. QB, Hartman has played well when he has time, the past few weeks he has been chased relentlessly. Did OSU expose something other teams are now capitalizing on against our pass protection? He was not accurate last night but he’s been pretty good the rest of the season. ND should’ve let him rip it much more the past few games IMO. SH throws the best ball we’ve seen in sometime, I’ll give him a B-
3. RBs - I think the talent is the best it’s been in sometime now, Estime, and company are all tough backs when they get the initial block, pleasantly surprised by the pass catching ability of a few of them too. = B.
DL - I wanted to give them a B+ but their inability to sack the QB has been frustrating, they play well against the run and do get QB pressures. In general, they are good tacklers as well, I’ll give the unit a B.
OL - I’ve been quite disappointed with the OL, specifically the interior, they have been downright terrible for stretches of games. G-C-G has been a D, approaching an F with one more poor showing. I’m not sure what’s up with Fisher either, he’s always throwing his hands up in annoyance, gotta keep it together when you’re a supposed leader and potential 1/2 round draft pick. Alt had gone a long time without a QB pressure let alone a sack but looked poor last night as well. - G/C/G D-, T’s - B, overall the OL gets a - C.
WR’s - the season started well, a lot of guys getting touches but boy has our lack of depth shown with a few guys injured. There has been moments with a half dozen guys but no one that has been a consistent gamer, and a few I won’t name are absolutely dreadful. There were four drops last night, four against Duke, and three against OSU, that’s terrible, that’s 11 dropped passes in 3 games!! This position needs some serious improvement, D.
PK/P - We all knew Shrader had a leg but he’s been better from 50+ then 40-49, needs more consistency but if ND gets inside 60 yards the kid gives you a chance. McFerson has done a nice job overall he is averaging 45 yards a punt, like to see the net a little higher but he’s been relatively solid. The fact most fans don’t know his name is a good thing. PK/P - B-
LBs- this is a hard group to grade IMO. There are times in games they look terrific and others when they look dreadfully slow. I’m not always a fan of Bertrand and Kiser inside but at least Bertrand plays with a lot of emotion, he makes some nice plays and leads in tackles. Bertrand can also be eaten alive in the passing game occasionally. Kiser is a good tackler but is very slow inside out. Most thought Liufau was going to be an impact player, while there are flashes of that. He too is out of position quite often, he runs wild and misses tackles in the open field, and seemingly runs to blockers went sent on pressure. This unit is inconsistent but they give good effort, I’ll give them a C+.
Last, the TE’s. It took a little time to develop by Mitchell has tremendous hands and runs well in the open field for a big guy. Staes has been a nice redzone weapon but isn’t featured much between the 20’s, not sure why. They both block adequately though Staes has had a few untimely holding penalties and even an illegal hands to the face while blocking. I like these guys, just like to see Staes get a few more opportunities along with Evans. Unit = A-
