Where are all the Riley critics?

[Drinking The Green Koolaid]

Really, what leadership and mojo does he have? I see nothing of the sort. He seems like a generally good natured, bland rich kid, who likes to blend in, and who does his thing well enough, in this case that means playing QB at ND, and distinctively not being a charismatic or bold type person at all. He couldn't be any more of an ideally non-threatening, milktoast ND type person.

Maybe this is a Rohrschach test and we all see the ink blots differently. RL's teammates have spoken highly of his leadership skills. This past summer RL invited all the receivers (along with CJ Carr and Deuce Knight) to his home in Alabama so that they could all train with Philip Rivers for one week. That isn't something RL had to do, but speaks of his leadership qualities. As for the "bland rich kid" comment, I don't know much about RL's parents, but I read somewhere that his mom was a teacher that works with the developmentally disabled. Doesn't sound like silver spoon stuff to me. He is a nice kid and you want to hold that against him?

 

[IrishMike409]

Really, what leadership and mojo does he have? I see nothing of the sort. He seems like a generally good natured, bland rich kid, who likes to blend in, and who does his thing well enough, in this case that means playing QB at ND, and distinctively not being a charismatic or bold type person at all. He couldn't be any more of an ideally non-threatening, milktoast ND type person.

I think he's tough and gritty as hell.

 

[IrishMike409]

Maybe this is a Rohrschach test and we all see the ink blots differently. RL's teammates have spoken highly of his leadership skills. This past summer RL invited all the receivers (along with CJ Carr and Deuce Knight) to his home in Alabama so that they could all train with Philip Rivers for one week. That isn't something RL had to do, but speaks of his leadership qualities. As for the "bland rich kid" comment, I don't know much about RL's parents, but I read somewhere that his mom was a teacher that works with the developmentally disabled. Doesn't sound like silver spoon stuff to me. He is a nice kid and you want to hold that against him?

Really well said.

 

[mva5580]

I love how this happens every single year when “Insert average ND QB name here” has a run of games against mediocre talent.

Good for him; he’s had a decent run against teams competing for the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripes Bowl. And yes, that’s a real name.

That’s what he SHOULD be doing. Excuse me if I don’t jump up and down that he plays well against Navy. There’s no “Think how good he could be next year” scenario; it’s 1 year and that’s it. I thought ND fans expected to compete for championships? I’ll express excitement when they get a QB that is the reason they win against the big teams. Anything else is the floor for expectations. Not the ceiling.

 

[sjb75]

I love how this happens every single year when “Insert average ND QB name here” has a run of games against mediocre talent.

Good for him; he’s had a decent run against teams competing for the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripes Bowl. And yes, that’s a real name.

That’s what he SHOULD be doing. Excuse me if I don’t jump up and down that he plays well against Navy. There’s no “Think how good he could be next year” scenario; it’s 1 year and that’s it. I thought ND fans expected to compete for championships? I’ll express excitement when they get a QB that is the reason they win against the big teams. Anything else is the floor for expectations. Not the ceiling.

Really well said.

 

[savvyandsassier]

I think he's tough and gritty as hell.

Why, exactly? What blood and guts situations where our backs were against the wall, and he had to limp out there against all odds and rally us back to victory or something. Nothing, nothing even close to that. It's just been easy smooth sailing. Fairly effortless, almost like practice games. It's nothing against him as a human being, but where would the grit and toughness come in? He's good natured, and boyish, and not arrogant or flaky or anything like that. And thanks to Denbrock he's being well utilized and not asked/forced to do things he can't. Or be in a situation where grit and toughness would even be applicable.

 

[Golson5]

The narrative by some posters matters. Posting that Army’s defense is ranked #11 in the country isn’t worth a direct response.

Notre Dame’s 12 game schedule isn’t as soft as some say; however, there is nothing tough about this schedule. When you play Florida St., Virginia, and Army after Navy, consider the schedule pedestrian.

Isn't USC Ped states best win ?

 

[Moher]

He is playing really well! Seems like a great leader.

Only a few tentative passes yesterday- big improvement

 

[Golson5]

I love how this happens every single year when “Insert average ND QB name here” has a run of games against mediocre talent.

Good for him; he’s had a decent run against teams competing for the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripes Bowl. And yes, that’s a real name.

That’s what he SHOULD be doing. Excuse me if I don’t jump up and down that he plays well against Navy. There’s no “Think how good he could be next year” scenario; it’s 1 year and that’s it. I thought ND fans expected to compete for championships? I’ll express excitement when they get a QB that is the reason they win against the big teams. Anything else is the floor for expectations. Not the ceiling.

Like Texas A&M ?

 

[savvyandsassier]

Maybe this is a Rohrschach test and we all see the ink blots differently. RL's teammates have spoken highly of his leadership skills. This past summer RL invited all the receivers (along with CJ Carr and Deuce Knight) to his home in Alabama so that they could all train with Philip Rivers for one week. That isn't something RL had to do, but speaks of his leadership qualities. As for the "bland rich kid" comment, I don't know much about RL's parents, but I read somewhere that his mom was a teacher that works with the developmentally disabled. Doesn't sound like silver spoon stuff to me. He is a nice kid and you want to hold that against him?

I'm not ripping him, he seems great. But he doesn't have a strong, independent personality, very visibly. That's all I meant to say. He seems like a good guy, and a solid trooper, happy go lucky most of the time, and a bit disappointed or chagrined if something goes wrong. Maybe it's because as a QB, it's hard to assert 'leadership', as it were, in a really impactful way, if you're too much of a liability as a passer. He's more like, a solid cog in the machine of this offense. A running QB, who's asked to complete very makable throws in comfortable situations, and help keep the offense moving. And so he plays his role. As opposed to some QB who the offense centers around and really leads the team in a more alpha fashion and they'd be lost without him.

And so I don't hold anything against him. I just don't shower him with inappropriate praise. I'm not in the habit of doing that. I live in reality.

 

[NDinNJ]

Yeah, but with a #11 ranking, their defense was ranked a lot higher than Navy's was. Navy's was 92nd in yardage, but 31st in scoring. And their schedules were similar. So their defense should be tougher than Navy's.

Ok, so instead of scoring 51, they'll score 40. 😂 What are we talking about here. ND isn't playing Georgia, Alabama, or Oregon. Let's keep these games in perspective.

 

[NDinNJ]

Like Texas A&M ?

Like NIU?

 

[Golson5]

Like NIU?

You kept saying we didn't have any top wins when you pointed to other teams that had better wins.

I told you over and over that Texas am is one of those top teams and better than the teams you were praising

Guess what.....Here comes Texas A&M as those others have faltered....LSU Ole Miss etc

You had a rough day yesterday lol

 

[Drinking The Green Koolaid]

I'm not ripping him, he seems great. But he doesn't have a strong, independent personality, very visibly. That's all I meant to say. He seems like a good guy, and a solid trooper, happy go lucky most of the time, and a bit disappointed or chagrined if something goes wrong. Maybe it's because as a QB, it's hard to assert 'leadership', as it were, in a really impactful way, if you're too much of a liability as a passer. He's more like, a solid cog in the machine of this offense. A running QB, who's asked to complete very makable throws in comfortable situations, and help keep the offense moving. And so he plays his role. As opposed to some QB who the offense centers around and really leads the team in a more alpha fashion and they'd be lost without him.

And so I don't hold anything against him. I just don't shower him with inappropriate praise. I'm not in the habit of doing that. I live in reality.

OK, good enough. To be fair, you haven't been one of the posters here who has constantly been ripping into RL. I am not suggesting that RL is the second coming of Joe Montana, but I like him a lot, and think he is getting better every week. Some of the criticism here has been over the top, IMO, given the fact that RL didn't have spring or summer practice to prepare for the season. But I suppose patience has never been a virtue with most Irish fans.

 

[NDinNJ]

He's become a big time dual threat. He's an elite runner. If the OL is healthy and right, then our run game is a real problem for opposing defenses.

Leonard has figured it out. The RBs are awesome. The D is a top 5 national unit. The young guys keep getting better. Freeman, Golden, and Denbrock have been fantastic.

We're gonna be a tough out.

Dual threat means running and passing. RL hasn't proved much in the passing game. The real test will be what he does against playoff teams if he doesn't have another NIU game.

 

[NDinNJ]

You kept saying we didn't have any top wins when you pointed to other teams that had better wins.

I told you over and over that Texas am is one of those top teams and better than the teams you were praising

Guess what.....Here comes Texas A&M as those others have faltered....LSU Ole Miss etc

You had a rough day yesterday lol

A&M was game 1 with a new head coach. It was a good quality win, I never said it wasn't, but the NIU loss is a catastrophic loss period.

The polls say it and the CFP will most likely say it based on ND's rankings.

The NIU loss is hurting ND more than the Texas A&M win is helping them, that's the reality, and I can't help that you're to dumb to see it.

 

[sjb75]

Like NIU?

Northern Illinois lost yesterday. Now 4-4. Doesn't fit the narrative.

 

[sjb75]

A&M was game 1 with a new head coach. It was a good quality win, I never said it wasn't, but the NIU loss is a catastrophic loss period.

The polls say it and the CFP will most likely say it based on ND's rankings.

Well stated. It was a damn good, quality win.

And the NIU loss in South Bend was arguably the most emabarrassing loss of the season for anyone near the top 10.

 

[NDinNJ]

Isn't USC Ped states best win ?

But the difference is Ped state didn't lose to a crappy MAC team, in fact they haven't lost at all, but they have OSU coming up so we'll see how good they really are. ND has no game vs a top 5 team on the schedule.

 

[BGI User 756]

Maybe this is a Rohrschach test and we all see the ink blots differently. RL's teammates have spoken highly of his leadership skills. This past summer RL invited all the receivers (along with CJ Carr and Deuce Knight) to his home in Alabama so that they could all train with Philip Rivers for one week. That isn't something RL had to do, but speaks of his leadership qualities. As for the "bland rich kid" comment, I don't know much about RL's parents, but I read somewhere that his mom was a teacher that works with the developmentally disabled. Doesn't sound like silver spoon stuff to me. He is a nice kid and you want to hold that against him?

Savvy is the poster child for milktoast . Don’t heed him

 

[christophero]

It certainly doesn't help that FSU and USC are down. If those 2 are top 20 the schedule looks a lot stronger.

 

[BGI User 756]

Well stated. It was a damn good, quality win.

And the NIU loss in South Bend was arguably the most emabarrassing loss of the season for anyone near the top 10.

What? You told us TAM was the 7th-8th best team in the SEC for the first 5 weeks of the season. You catching up now?

Chip only scored 21 on Nebraska yesterday.

 

[savvyandsassier]

OK, good enough. To be fair, you haven't been one of the posters here who has constantly been ripping into RL. I am not suggesting that RL is the second coming of Joe Montana, but I like him a lot, and think he is getting better every week. Some of the criticism here has been over the top, IMO, given the fact that RL didn't have spring or summer practice to prepare for the season. But I suppose patience has never been a virtue with most Irish fans.

As far as him being a rich kid, I think he is, it's not bad or good, just part of who he is. I saw some short little human interest story type video about him, and he seemed to live in a very nice house, I guess in a leafy suburb of Mobile, Alabama or whatnot, and came off as an archetypal mama's boy, which is fine, it doesn't make a jerk or a wuss. He's just not 'gritty'. Like say, Vandy's QB, or even Nussmeier. Who is the son of a lifelong high level OC, and definitely would qualify as a rich kid himself, but nevertheless is a pretty confident and tough badass QB just the same who puts the team on his back. Didn't have the best night last night. A little too tough and confident perhaps.

Anyway, enough about RL. He's rolling, the offense is rolling, and we're going to walk into the inaugural playoff field. USC will be his chance to show some true grit. That'll be the big test.

 

[sjb75]

I love how this happens every single year when “Insert average ND QB name here” has a run of games against mediocre talent.

Good for him; he’s had a decent run against teams competing for the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripes Bowl. And yes, that’s a real name.

That’s what he SHOULD be doing. Excuse me if I don’t jump up and down that he plays well against Navy. There’s no “Think how good he could be next year” scenario; it’s 1 year and that’s it. I thought ND fans expected to compete for championships? I’ll express excitement when they get a QB that is the reason they win against the big teams. Anything else is the floor for expectations. Not the ceiling.

Ian Book went 35-5 as a starter, and has been mocked by many here because he couldn’t beat Alabama or Clemson in the CFB playoffs.

Riley Leonard beats Navy, and you have certain posters who tell us about his QB rating and how good of a dual threat QB he is.

All about the narrative with some.

 

[Golson5]

Dual threat means running and passing. RL hasn't proved much in the passing game. The real test will be what he does against playoff teams if he doesn't have another NIU game.

Like Texas Am ?

He's now 18th in QBR. Since the NIU game, he's top 10

You are upset that he and the offense keep improving

 

[sjb75]

It certainly doesn't help that FSU and USC are down. If those 2 are top 20 the schedule looks a lot stronger.

That, and losing Miami from the schedule this season.

 

[sjb75]

Like Texas Am ?

He's now 18th in QBR. Since the NIU game, he's top 10

You are upset that he and the offense keep improving

Right on cue.

 

[savvyandsassier]

It certainly doesn't help that FSU and USC are down. If those 2 are top 20 the schedule looks a lot stronger.

And what sucks is that USC easily could beat us. They're plenty good enough to beat us comfortably. Maybe not comfortably, but at least confidently. And yet as you allude to we'll still only get marginal credit for the win if they're 7-5 or 6-6. I don't mind FSU sucking, it is what it is. Another cakewalk.

 

[NDinNJ]

It certainly doesn't help that FSU and USC are down. If those 2 are top 20 the schedule looks a lot stronger.

totally, and that's out of ND's control, but they have to beat the teams they are supposed to beat period, especially crappy MAC level teams.

 

[mbd11]

Ok, so instead of scoring 51, they'll score 40. 😂 What are we talking about here. ND isn't playing Georgia, Alabama, or Oregon. Let's keep these games in perspective.

Well, in your original post that I replied to, you said USC was the only test left. I personally consider Army (7-0 and ranked) to also be a test. That's what I meant by my reply. And Virginia has played well in some of their games this year, although not yesterday. As for FSU, their defense isn't that bad. It's their offense that's been terrible. But just win out, and we should be in the Playoff.

 

[sjb75]

Like Texas Am ?

He's now 18th in QBR. Since the NIU game, he's top 10

You are upset that he and the offense keep improving

Bullshit. No one is upset. I’m a Riley Leonard fan. Love the dude’s DNA and accept his shortcomings. With you, anything Notre Dame Football is elite and wonderful. And everyone else in CFB sucks, whether it’s mocking players or other head coaches.

 

[NDinNJ]

Like Texas Am ?

He's now 18th in QBR. Since the NIU game, he's top 10

You are upset that he and the offense keep improving

No i'm not, I stated in another thread it's great that ND keeps winning and it's great to see all of ND's opponents win to help strengthen their schedule. I'm just being realistic. The reality is ND hasn't played anyone worth crap during this run. Most average to above average QB's would thrive against this schedule with this team.

It's like another poster stating Army's defense is ranked 11th and they have a tough defense. The reality is Army does not have the 11th best defense in college football, anyone that believes that is an idiot. Look at who they've played, a bunch of nobody's, ND should throttle army just like they did Navy.

RL is not the 18th best QB in college football either nor is he top 10. look at the teams they've played.

 

[NDinNJ]

Well, in your original post that I replied to, you said USC was the only test left. I personally consider Army (7-0 and ranked) to also be a test. That's what I meant by my reply. And Virginia has played well in some of their games this year, although not yesterday. As for FSU, their defense isn't that bad. It's their offense that's been terrible. But just win out, and we should be in the Playoff.

Comparing Army at 7-0 beating up on the sisters of the poor vs USC playing a P4 schedule isn't even close. It's apples and oranges. ND should beat Army by a wide margin and they most likely will. USC has play far more talented teams than Army and their opponents.

 

[Golson5]

Bullshit. No one is upset. I’m a Riley Leonard fan. Love the dude’s DNA and accept his shortcomings. With you, anything Notre Dame Football is elite and wonderful. And everyone else in CFB sucks, whether it’s mocking players or other head coaches.

Wasn't talking to you. And he's absolutely upset

A couple others are as well.

 

[Golson5]

No i'm not, I stated in another thread it's great that ND keeps winning and it's great to see all of ND's opponents win to help strengthen their schedule. I'm just being realistic. The reality is ND hasn't played anyone worth crap during this run. Most average to above average QB's would thrive against this schedule with this team.

It's like another poster stating Army's defense is ranked 11th and they have a tough defense. The reality is Army does not have the 11th best defense in college football, anyone that believes that is an idiot. Look at who they've played, a bunch of nobody's, ND should throttle army just like they did Navy.

RL is not the 18th best QB in college football either nor is he top 10. look at the teams they've played.

On this 6 game winning streak he's easily a top 15 QB.

He started out slow. Really 1 really poor performance when he got banged up but no excuse to lose that game. He Freeman Denbrock and Golden have to own it and they have

But with 3 OL starters out for most of the year. Faison out and never healthy until the Navy game. Evans just now getting back to health. After the loss, he and the team could have folded.

They did not. They are dominating teams. Time to move on from your hate, your preconceived opinion on who he was and the NIU. it's clouding your judgement

 

[sjb75]

Comparing Army at 7-0 beating up on the sisters of the poor vs USC playing a P4 schedule isn't even close. It's apples and oranges. ND should beat Army by a wide margin and they most likely will. USC has play far more talented teams than Army and their opponents.

I watch every game USC plays. I realize the 4 losses, that said, IMO, they are much improved from 2023, especially on defense. And Miller Moss is a good CFB QB.

 

[sjb75]

On this 6 game winning streak he's easily a top 15 QB.

He started out slow. Really 1 really poor performance when he got banged up but no excuse to lose that game. He Freeman Denbrock and Golden have to own it and they have

But with 3 OL starters out for most of the year. Faison out and never healthy until the Navy game. Evans just now getting back to health. After the loss, he and the team could have folded.

They did not. They are dominating teams. Time to move on from your hate, your preconceived opinion on who he was and the NIU. it's clouding your judgement

Dominating certain teams.

 

[NDinNJ]

Wasn't talking to you. And he's absolutely upset

A couple others are as well.

I'm not upset, I'm realistic. RL is an average to above average QB. You think he's hot 1st round NFL talent.

If you are so confident he's got 1st round NGL talent? Let's bet whether or kit he gets drafted in the 1st Round of the NFL draft. If he doesn't you leave this forum for an entire year, if he does, I'll leave this forum for an entire year.

 

[christophero]

I have become a believer in this team. The loss was embarrasing, but it is hard to imagine a better response from the team. If we can get past Army and USC, I think we can win a game or two in the playoff if we make it.

 

[Golson5]

Dominating certain teams.

6 of our 7 wins are by double digits

5 are by 18 or more. 4 are by 25 or more. 3 are by 35 or more