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Morning After Irish Insight: Boston College

Dan Scofield — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 23:44:32 +0000

Another week of vulgarity, pulling hair, and sighs from my living room. It has been too long since the Irish have been able to put together a complete game and take a kneel with a comfortable lead.

"I wanted my turf, damnit!"

Charlie Weis’ team battled to yet another late-game thriller as the Irish beat the Eagles, 20-16, in South Bend.

Likes

Receivers

Notre Dame now has two deserving Heisman contenders thanks to Golden Tate. He is the best college football player nobody is talking about.

Due to Michael Floyd’s injury, Tate’s numbers were expected to take a major hit. Instead, they have only become better.

Without him, the Irish would be looking at at least two or three more losses. Tate’s performances have been the reason Clausen has even had a chance to lead his team back to victory. His attitude has become something fun to watch every week. He knows he is good and loves to show that, both on the field and with his mouth.

Duval Kumara had a long-overdue contributing game yesterday. Being a consistent chain-mover, Kumara had seven receptions for 60 yards. These numbers do not speak for how well the junior receiver played.

Defensive Line

It seems every week, improvement is visible among the defensive front four.

Although they weren’t getting consistent pressure, when they did, it mattered. On all three interceptions thrown by the Eagles’ 25-year old freshman, the Irish were in his face. Darius Fleming moved to rush end and made an impact by putting heavy pressure on Shinskie.

Fleming’s good friend, Steve Filer, also got some reps in while giving the elder some nice pressure. It’s good to see No. 46 on the field, as he was a highly-recruited prospect as a senior and hasn’t lived up this his hype quite yet.

Ian Williams had one of his best games of his career. Stuffing the run, he made his presence felt as the entire unit let up only 70 rushing yards, good for 2.4 yards per carry. Those numbers going up against a solid offensive line and a very good running back are outstanding. No complaints here.

A Win

Yesterday produced the ugliest game the Irish have played all season, but still resulted in a win.

There are plenty of things to point out as far as negatives go, but they all resulted in a 20-15 victory.

Across the Notre Dame community, people are upset over the play of the team. However, would you rather have had them lose for the ninth straight time to a team that rubs us the wrong way consistently, year after year?

With this win, the Irish put another quality win on their resume and will be ranked somewhere between 23rd and 25th going into a fright-fest matchup with Washington State (that means no heart attacks next week, folks!)

Dislikes

3rd-and-Long

I have never seen a football team worse than the ’09 Irish in 3rd-and-long defensive scenarios.

Week after week, the secondary allows the opponent’s to continue last-minute drives by giving up a 25-yards (or more) pass down the middle of the field. These are the plays that lead to fans like myself throwing things at anything they can reach—including windows.

While were on the topic of the secondary and frustrations, let me discuss the play—or lack thereof—of Harrison Smith. Smith is a great athlete, but not a free safety. Weis needs to make adjustments, as the Irish cannot afford to play a man down each week.

4th-and-17 in their own territory, Shinskie is given time to throw, a receiver is left wide-open at midfield, and the Eagles make the play for a huge gain to put them in great position to take the lead. Luckily, Kyle McCarthy decided to come back as a fifth-year senior and saved his team for what seems like the fifth time this season.

Thank you, Kyle.

Punting

If Ben Turk is better than Eric Maust, the Irish have a real problem.

After two games, the freshman punter had been doing a decent job on punts due to his hang-time. Against Boston College, Turk decided to change things up.

His punts went for an average of 32.7 yards on long drives, giving the Eagles consistently great field position. What happened here?

Weis said in his press conference today that he will reopen the punting competition in practice this week. Either Eric Maust will fill back in after being benched for three weeks, or Turk will be motivated by the threat of change.

Make the necessary adjustments, Charlie.

News, Notes, and Rants

— Manti Te’o is the best defensive player on this team. By the time he graduates, he will be the best linebacker in college football. Cross your fingers that he decides to take a summer mission.. or none at all.

— Both Shaq Evans and Deion Walker have been ill the past two weeks. Evans has dressed, but then again, so has Michael Floyd.

— Robby Parris left the game in the first quarter of Saturday’s game. He had been listed as doubtful the entire week before being cleared to play. After missing a perfectly placed ball by Clausen in the corner of the end zone, he left and returned in street clothes.

— Robert Hughes was knocked out cold after taking a snap from the Wildcat formation on 4th-and-1. A Boston College safety laid a helmet-to-helmet hit on the 240-pounder as Hughes fell just short of the endzone. Kick the field goal, Charlie.

— Boston College receiver Rich Gunnell is yet another example of poor sportsmanship by a Fredo player. Post-game, Clausen went to shake his hand and praise Gunnell’s play, only to be told off by the receiver and received a finger in his face. Clausen laughed it off, pushing him away and jogging back to midfield.

— Floyd’s CAT scans will be available sometime next week, and Weis expects that they will come back with good news. The final decision on when he comes back will be up to Floyd.

— Notre Dame is ranked No. 25 in the Coaches Poll. While only a couple bottom-feeders lost (Kansas, BYU, Texas Tech), almost all of the “Others receiving votes” lost (Nebraska, Michigan, South Florida, Oregon State, etc).

The Sagirin Poll has Notre Dame ranked as No. 20, and the Howell has them at No. 25. The Irish also have a fairly competitive strength of schedule ranked as the 19th toughest in the BCS computers.

— Weis’ teams are 19-0 when out-rushing the opponent. They are 15-22 when they do not. Need I say more?

Notre Dame Midseason Report Card

Dan Scofield — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 22:30:19 +0000

A season of ups and downs with last-second wins, last-second losses, and plenty of opinions is halfway over.

Sitting right outside of the Top 25 with a 4-2 record, the Irish have a lot left to prove in the second half of the season.

However, the Irish pulled off four wins against Washington, Purdue, Nevada, and Michigan State.

What looked to be weak wins at the time, these Irish opponents have stepped up their game and now look like acceptable wins on a schedule that ranks as the 13th toughest in the nation.

The Irish find themselves in a familiar scenario to that of ’08. Do they run the table or do they falter yet again?

Find out who got the Irish to that 4-2 record and who is going to lead the second-half attempt of a six-game winning streak.

Take an in-depth look at part one of Notre Dame’s 2009 season.

Offense

Jimmy Clausen and his offense might be one of the best in the country. Give the Irish an actual defense, and you are looking at an undefeated team.

However, Weis does not have the luxury of an elite defense, and therefore, has to play shootout week after week.

Clausen has shown incredible strides from his sophomore to junior year under Weis. His leadership has been phenomenal, as he has put the team on his back in last-minute drives to lead the Irish to three late victories.

He is being considered as a Top Five Heisman candidate thus far in the season and is showing very few, if any, signs of slowing down. With Michael Floyd coming back, expect him to produce at an even higher rate in the second half of the year.

Golden Tate and Michael Floyd are the best pair of receivers in the country. If it weren’t for Floyd’s injury, you might be looking at a ranked Notre Dame team with one loss and in the top 15 in the nation. He is that much of an impact player for the Irish.

On the other hand, Tate has produced so rapidly that he is now even ahead of Clausen on some Heisman lists. An all-purpose threat, he is making the best out of Floyd’s absence—something that many thought he wouldn’t do.

Kyle Rudolph has also filled in for Floyd in many situations and has developed not only into an elite receiving tight end, but a very good blocker also.

Another big surprise coming from the receiving corps is Robby Parris after having a career game against USC, even while being targeted as Taylor Mays’ personal punching bag.

Whether the fault falls on the shoulders of the backs or the line, the running game can be described as slightly above average.

Armando Allen missed some time due to a bruised hamstring, but had a fairly productive first half of the year. He has shown the ability to keep his feet moving in the pile and has been picking up yards after contact—a new asset to his game in ’09.

Robert Hughes has been a huge surprise for this “average” unit. Supplying tough yards and a bruiser-type style, he has been a perfect compliment to Allen. He has a history of disappearing after breakout games, so Irish fans should keep their fingers crossed he is here to stay.

The first few games, Frank Verducci was being praised for his offensive linemen’s play and protection. After USC week, some are now dubbing this unit as yet another average one.

This line has been an improvement over it’s ’08 lineup. Although they let up five sacks against the Trojans, that number is only one higher than the average. Nothing to worry about here as the line will get back on track as Verducci seems to figured out his unit fast.

Grade: A-

Defense

Notre Dame has a defense?

It isn’t a secret that Charlie Weis is an offensive-minded coach.

However, he is no longer an offensive coordinator, but rather a head coach of a football program in the nation’s spotlight.

While the front four are fairly young, they are a very talented group. Tackles Ethan Johnson and Ian Williams have shown flashes of brilliance, but seem to be overmatched at other times. One play, you will see them stuffing a rush on fourth-and-1, and the next, see the tailback run right through the out-stretched arms of the two.

The pass rush hasn’t been abysmal but leaves many things left to be desired. Just by singling Kapon Lewis-Moore out in tape, you can see he has what it takes to be a good defensive end in this defense. However, he is young and seems to be a year away.

Darius Fleming has been the most effective, and consistent, pass-rusher for the Irish. He has the skills of an athlete and a football player—something that this defense needs more of.

Linebackers Brian and Toryan Smith were expected to impress this year as upperclassmen, yet leave fans scratching their heads at times. Like the tackles, both linebackers have shown great inconsistency when it comes to making plays. Tackling is the issue here.

The freshman Hawaiian has been the most valuable linebacker thus far. Manti Te’o has led the team for two straight weeks in his first two starts. Need I say more?

The secondary had an argument for being the best unit not only on the defense in the beginning of the year, but on the entire team.

Think again.

The Irish defensive backfield has been full of mishaps and missed tackles (even Kyle McCarthy has missed a few). The unit ranks 110th in the nation in pass defense. Last week against USC, the Irish were playing 11 on 10 with Harrison Smith on the field at the safety position.

The cornerbacks haven’t been dreadful but have certaintly not been above the Mendoza line. Getting beaten and not turning to the ball has been a common occurrence for the likes of Darrin Walls and Robert Blanton.

If you can even call this a defense, it is below average—at best.

Grade: D+

Special Teams

A freshman field-goal kicker, long-snapper, and punter make up the kicking game for the Irish.

Ask yourselves when was the last time that has occurred.

Not only are they freshmen, but they have been fantastic. Nick Tausch has been beyond dependable from the place-kicking position and has connected on all of his attempts after missing his first career kick.

P Ben Turk recently claimed the starting position over Eric Maust after the senior had shown symptoms of an inconsistent leg. So far, so good.

Jordan Cowart, the long-snapping professional, was given a scholarship by Weis for simply hiking the football to the holder. You haven’t heard his name (besides a bogus interference call last week), and expect it to remain that way.

In the return game, you will find yet another freshman in Theo Riddick. Riddick serves as a threat every time the ball is put into his hands to take it all the way for six-something that hasn’t been accomplished quite yet due to being brought down by opposing kickers. If that isn’t motivation for the new guy, I don’t know what is.

The coverage teams have been what we expected—very good. Mike Anello has been somewhat quiet but is still making an impact. Freshman Zeke Motta (the possible replacement for Smith at safety this weekend) has been a special teams phenom.

Overall: B+

Coaching

Charlie Weis has been on the hot seat for what seems to be going on three years now.

Jack Swarbrick had his opportunity to fire Weis last year and passed. Now, he must live with his decision unless the team finishes with a record worse than 9-3.

Taking over the play-calling from departed OC Mike Haywood (Miami-Ohio), Weis has done an excellent job with his offense. By installing wildcat packages and showing a more balanced attack, there isn’t much to complain about on this front.

However, his team still has a record of 4-2.

As the head coach at Notre Dame, anything less than a BCS bowl is considered unacceptable and that is the reason for the question mark next to Weis’ name.

If he can run the table or lead the Irish to a Gator Bowl win, the Notre Dame family will be “enduring” yet another year of Weis in 2010.

In need of change, Weis brought in a handful of highly-regarded staff members this offseason.

Frank Verducci has been a great addition as the Offensive Line coach/Running Game coordinator and is a fan favorite thanks to his attitude and technical approach to the game.

You can already see the Jersey-bred screamer has had an impact on his players.

Coaching the running backs, Tony Alford has been another successful hire for Weis. Alford has a great relationship with his players and seems to be on the same page as Verducci in terms of the ground game plans.

Coming from the Washington program, Randy Hart took over the defensive line and brought plenty of enthusiasm along with him.

Although the line hasn’t made much of an impact, there is plenty of talent for Hart to work with and expect big things out of his players in the near future.

Overall: B-

Midseason Awards

Offensive MVP: Jimmy Clausen

Defensive MVP: Kyle McCarthy

Special Teams MVP: Nick Tausch

Best Running back: Armando Allen

Best Receiver: Golden Tate

Best Offensive Linemen: Eric Olsen

Best Defensive Linemen: Ethan Johnson

Best Linebacker: Manti Te’o

Best Cornerback: Gary Gray

Comeback Player: Robert Hughes

Biggest Surprise: Robby Parris

Best Coach: Frank Verducci

Overall

Losing to Michigan and their freshman savior hurt the Irish more than most people think.

If they had won, the Irish would be sitting somewhere in the 15-20 range in the polls and would likely need to finish the season 5-1 in order to make a BCS game.

However, the Irish now find themselves needing to run the table to even sniff 10 wins. Lose one more, and the Irish find themselves in the Gator Bowl, probably against a team like Virginia Tech or Georgia Tech.

The offense has been great. The defense has been terrible.

Average those two together, along with the special teams and coaching, and the Irish find themselves sitting at the slightly above average level.

The defense can only get better from here on out and if the offense continues to be elite, the Irish can be a very good team.

Look for them to finish 9-3 with a Gator Bowl win thanks to the return of Michael Floyd.

Overall Grade: B

Outside the Irish Huddle: Any Hope Left In South Bend?

Admin — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 16:33:34 +0000

By Eric Murtaugh | Fighting Irish Gameday Correspondent

Before I get into the ramifications of this past weekend’s loss to Michigan, let’s hand out some grades to specific Notre Dame positions.

Quarterback: A

You can’t really put much blame on Jimmy Clausen in this game, as he continues to be Notre Dame’s best player and is putting together a scorching start for an Irish quarterback. He didn’t turn the ball over, he threw for 336 yards plus three touchdowns, and he engineered what could have been a game-winning drive in the fourth quarter.

You would have liked Clausen to be a little more accurate, but I put most of that on poor passing calls from Charlie Weis.

Running Backs: B+

Well, we finally saw Armando Allen have a breakout game, running for 139 yards on 21 carries to go along with a touchdown. Had they correctly called his screen pass as inbounds, Allen would have finished with almost 100 yards receiving as well.

The bad news is that Jonas Gray had a costly fumble and Allen was dinged up on the last drive, forcing Weis to throw the ball with Robert Hughes in the backfield.

Wide Receivers: B+

Looking at the stats, you would think the wideouts deserve an A grade, but they could have played better. Obviously Golden Tate would like to catch those two passes that were right in his breadbasket.

Am I alone in thinking Duval Kamara really isn’t that good? The Irish need a legitimate third receiver, and although Kamara has size, he’s neither fast nor very physical. Why don’t John Goodman, Robby Parris, and Shaquelle Evans get more PT?

Kyle Rudolph had a fairly quiet game, but Michigan kept a good eye on him.

Offensive Line: A

It doesn’t seem to make sense that this was the line’s best game in years and Notre Dame still lost. They didn’t give up a sack, and they cleared numerous running holes for Allen. The penalties were costly, but I think a lot of the calls were pretty ridiculous if I do say so myself. I’m not going to knock Sam Young for pancake-blocking a guy and getting a penalty for it.

Defensive Line: D

The weakest link on the Irish roster was taken advantage of this weekend, that’s for sure. Quite simply, Notre Dame’s defensive line did not match up well against Nevada or Michigan, and it showed in both games. The heavy blitzing attack is not effective without the D-line getting pressure, and they have not done that. Plus, there’s not much size inside to stop the run. It’s definitely a cause for concern.

Linebackers: C+

I thought the linebackers played decently, but nothing spectacular. Brian Smith continues to be the best linebacker, and Toryan Smith is playing very well too. Manti Te’o was fairly quiet, but it appeared he didn’t play that much. It would have been nice if one of the linebackers had come up with a big play on Michigan’s last drive.

Defensive Backs: C-

Kyle McCarthy and Harrison Smith continue to lead the team in tackles and are playing very well, but they are playing too close to the line of scrimmage and not helping out enough in coverage. After two games, Robert Blanton, Darrin Walls, Raeshon McNeil, and Gary Gray have to show me more because they have looked pretty average thus far.

Special Teams: D

The kickoff return for a touchdown was pretty much the difference in the game, and it is all the more painful seeing as how the Irish have been so good in coverage for quite some time. Nick Tausch’s missed field goal was big, but he settled down and hit two more. At this point a 66 percent success rate in the kicking game is what I’ll take.

However, Notre Dame definitely has to get someone to kick the ball deeper on kickoffs and find a punter who can actually drive the ball downfield. Michigan had great field position all day long.

Coaching: C-

I think Weis will get more derision from this loss than I think he deserves in terms of his play calling, but the fact remains that his team lost yet again to an inferior opponent. On the defensive side of the ball, the heavy blitzing did not work, and I’ve been rallying against it for quite a long time now.

Still, the players play the game, and if Gray doesn’t fumble or someone tackles the Michigan return man before his touchdown, we might be singing the coaches’ praises.

Review

This was definitely one tough loss to swallow for Irish fans everywhere. It hurts because we know Notre Dame is better and it was such a close down to the wire-type loss. Still, there are some positive to take away and lessons to learn from this game.

First off, the Irish offense is very, very good. Clausen has been playing tremendously, and Allen is playing up to his potential. The offensive line has looked markedly improved, and there is so much to be happy about with their play thus far.

Suffice to say, the offense probably won’t be much of a problem this season. Only USC may slow them down and keep them under 30 points, but I’d expect at least another big day against Michigan State next weekend.

On defense there are a lot of problems and questions. As I’ve stated, I don’t like the amount of blitzing Jon Tenuta is dialing up on nearly every play. The D-line can’t get enough pressure, and the roster doesn’t have any spectacular pass rushers as it is.

I would like to think the Irish would have been better off sitting back, stopping the run, and forcing Tate Forcier to beat Notre Dame with his arm or legs against more solid coverage.

A good analogy would be the way certain hockey teams employ the trap to slow down quick offensive teams. It’s usually a bad idea to send in two or three forwards on the forecheck against highly skilled teams because they will move the puck quickly and create mismatches down the ice.

That’s basically what the Irish have done for two weeks, and Michigan made them pay while Nevada did not. We’re constantly sending linebackers and nickelbacks in a weak attempt to chase down the quarterback, when what they’re really doing is making it easier for those quarterbacks who can simply sidestep one defender and have favorable matchups downfield.

With that being said, the Irish blitzing will probably be more effective against less mobile quarterbacks in the coming weeks, but the blueprint is there, so to speak, on how to defeat this defense. Hopefully there will be some adjustments and the defense will step up and play better going ahead.

As far as coaching goes, I’m definitely concerned, although I’m not about to ditch Charlie Weis just yet. This team at the very least is showing signs of improvement and is playing much better than last year.

My biggest problem with Weis and his play calling is that he is so quick to abandon the run game and that he constantly calls boneheaded plays in crucial situations. These two factors have haunted Notre Dame throughout his entire career in South Bend.

Of course the Irish running attack wasn’t very good last year or the year before, but against Michigan it was working with great precision. But after two runs in the third quarter were stopped for short gains, Weis practically gave up.

I realize Notre Dame had a huge advantage with Michael Floyd and Tate, but Allen was playing so well, and it was a mistake to allow Michigan to know the pass was coming on every play. When that is added to the choice not to run the ball on the last possession, well, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

So what does Notre Dame do from here? I think there’s still hope, but this loss will take a while to get over, even if the Irish beat Michigan State and later head into the USC game at 4-1.

I really look at this loss and marvel at all of the bad things that happened to Notre Dame. There wasn’t one big problem but a host of seven or eight things that combined to cause one heck of a rough loss.

Still, Notre Dame needs to fight on and build momentum as the date with the Trojans comes closer, because a lot of people are looking at that game as a bellwether for the season and program as a whole.

But first, the Spartans must be defeated on Saturday.

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Morning After Irish Insight: Boston College

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