Yes, everything starts with coaching, however
- Thread starter Zorich 88
- Start date
There are enough pieces on the offense to easily beat Stanford and Marshall. Literally not using Tobias more than a play or two all season and throwing at Mayer every play, even when double teamed, running Tyree up the middle as a power back, and not putting Styles in the slot where he belongs are just a few things the media has been criticizing Rees for all season long. It seems fairly obvious I guess to the people that understand football, but not to the OC getting paid to F it up and coach talented players into one of the worst offenses in all of college football week after week.
Sure.
To me, it looks like OUTRIGHT INCOMPETENCE. I also don't sense any REAL LEADERSHIP. My sense is that Rees is average at best -- and it's much clearer now with Kelly gone -- and that as a head coach, Freeman, SO FAR, is BELOW AVERAGE.
I know he looks GREAT standing there on the sideline, but I have zero confidence that he KNOWS ENOUGH of what's going on to WIN CONSISTENTLY.
I'm a firm believer that assistants make a HC. We keep going over this topic continually but it is simple. The HC needs to have his best assistant be the coordinator on the side of the ball that is not his area of expertise. Dabo had Venables, Saban had numerous guys. Riley had Grinch and Stoops. Kirby had a very poor offfense until Monken. Whether it was Jack or Freeman or both, ND created this mess by not filling the OC position with a guy who could basically be left alone. As a High School HC I always made sure my coordinators were happy and retained them for years because I had two very good ones. It allowed me to be able to deal with everything else and not be concerned with standing over someone's shoulder to make sure the game-plans and development were being done correctly. This is especially true with a newbie like Freeman who has such a large learning curve.
Its hard to explain away or accept home losses to two teams you should easily dominate. Both games are probably a play away from saying "Oh man, we got lucky" like we did last year at FSU, Toledo and Va Tech. All equally bad teams to lose to. Stanford, Pyne or Estime dont fumble, we keep the fumble we earned. Marshall, JT actually goes for the ball instead of letting it be a pic 6 or maybe the bomb to Lenzy.
This team in reality has not been very good since 2020. BK just had an option that MF does not, an experienced QB that could throw deep. MF is no BK, no doubt. He needs years of seasoning and experience to be here. We all knew this was a bad idea coming. MF might be the next Saban in 10 years, he is not now.
The dude can recruit, which can hide some but not all flaws. The dude made a huge mistake not nabbing a portal QB in his last year with experience. He made a mistake not kicking the FG against Stanford. He made a mistake going for 2 in the first quarter against BYU. He is learning, he is going to make mistakes.
Who knows if he can get enough firepower to overcome his learning on the job. We know BK did not and was NEVER going to bring a Natty here. I dont think Fickell is the answer, ND bumbled and fumbled that game away last year or no one is talking about that dude.
Your ND. You go sign a 100M man. You sign Saban, you sign Meyer, you sign Dabo, you sign Chip K, you sign Riley. But, we did it, again. Like Jerry, Tyrone and Davie.
I posted on another thread, maybe it is Rees but DP missed so many wide-open people with Stanford. He was under 50%. You cant win against 8 men in the box completing 48%. The number one thing to fix right now is the QB. Against Marshall, it was the line. Thats fixed. Go fix DP or try Angelli. Go get a unreal portal QB in 23. Land this 23 class and go kick some butt.
This team in reality has not been very good since 2020. BK just had an option that MF does not, an experienced QB that could throw deep. MF is no BK, no doubt. He needs years of seasoning and experience to be here. We all knew this was a bad idea coming. MF might be the next Saban in 10 years, he is not now.
The dude can recruit, which can hide some but not all flaws. The dude made a huge mistake not nabbing a portal QB in his last year with experience. He made a mistake not kicking the FG against Stanford. He made a mistake going for 2 in the first quarter against BYU. He is learning, he is going to make mistakes.
Who knows if he can get enough firepower to overcome his learning on the job. We know BK did not and was NEVER going to bring a Natty here. I dont think Fickell is the answer, ND bumbled and fumbled that game away last year or no one is talking about that dude.
Your ND. You go sign a 100M man. You sign Saban, you sign Meyer, you sign Dabo, you sign Chip K, you sign Riley. But, we did it, again. Like Jerry, Tyrone and Davie.
I posted on another thread, maybe it is Rees but DP missed so many wide-open people with Stanford. He was under 50%. You cant win against 8 men in the box completing 48%. The number one thing to fix right now is the QB. Against Marshall, it was the line. Thats fixed. Go fix DP or try Angelli. Go get a unreal portal QB in 23. Land this 23 class and go kick some butt.
You also have to wonder about the structure and viability of the game plan and the process of altering it as the game progresses
Who was the smartest guy in the room?
You?
Or one or more of your assistants?
See, I take the opposite approach. Smartest guy in the room should be in charge. All the "other stuff" -- ADMIN AND THE LIKE -- can be SUBBED OUT.
I'm always leery if the TOP GUY doesn't know BEST the BUSINESS OF THE BUSINESS.
It helps to fortify both LEADERSHIP and AUTHORITY.
Plus I'm not even sure Freeman knows enough at this stage to DETERMINE what makes a really good ASSISTANT. Some say he's gone largely with RECRUITERS.
Terrific, but then what exactly do you DO with those recruits?
Yup.
It feels tentative and short of workable adjustments. And they stay too long with things. Part of this, I think, is due to ROSTER DEFICIENCIES.
You are sooo wrong. Notre dame is A brand that everybody loves. But I agree with the administrative shortfalls
