DudsBig Plays: 2 of Purdue's 3 touchdowns came on plays of 35 yards or longer. The first score featured perhaps the worst tackling I've ever seen from this defense, and the second was a blown coverage that allowed Jaycen Taylor to trot untouched for a 38 yard score. Domer Law Blog sums up my feelings on the big plays given up on Saturday:
I think that everything you need to know about this team is summed up in this quote by Weis:"You know, they (Purdue) had a couple of carries where they got yards, and then the rest of the carries I mean, they gained 56 yards on three carries, and they gained 11 yards on the other 14 carries. They had a 26 yard run, a 15 yard run and a 15 yard run, and they were really the only runs that were over ten yards, and the rest of it averaged less than a yard a carry."
So to sum up, if we wouldn't screw up a few times a game, we could be really good.
Pass Defense: Joey Elliott shredded the defense for 289 yards and 3 TDs, and our lone interception was on a 4th and 3 where an incompletion may have been the better option. Robert Blanton had eight total tackles on the night, but the overall production is still not there. A better pass rush will help, but we need our talented corners and safeties to start producing some turnovers and better cover the opposition.
Injuries: Purdue may have been the "wounded animal" after losing at home to Northern Illinois the previous week, but even though Purdue came out and played a great football game, it is obvious that while Notre Dame may be able to play without Floyd, putting points on the board without Floyd and Clausen and Allen will be a struggle. Kudos to Weis for using some creativity, but we need JC and AA back at 90% or better if we want to get to 9 or 10 wins.Studs
Golden Tate: Everyone is quick to point out Brian Smith's enthusiasm and leadership on defense, but I never hear the same about Golden on offense. This cat never goes down easy and always seems to know how to get past the first down markers when its third and long. With 5 receptions for 55 yards and 9 carries for 55 yards, the versatile Tate helped keep Purdue's defense guessing for most of the game.
Front 7: Who would have guessed that our run defense would have been doing better than our pass defense by the fourth game of the season? The 2008 recruiting class of Ethan Johnson, Darius Fleming, and KLM is starting to mesh nicely with young gun Manti Te'o. The unit held the nation's second leading rusher Ralph Bolden to a season low 67 yards on 17 carries. Now if only this group could start getting after the quarterback...Kyle Rudolph: Check out this line about our tight end and tell me he didn't merit the title of "Stud" for this week:
“Kyle looked at me and said ‘Jimmy give me the ball,”’ Clausen said. “I said, ‘You better get open and catch the ball,’ and he made a big play. After that, I gave him a big hug and said all that work in the summertime out in California paid off.”
X Factor(?): Call it what you want: grit, guts, or will to win. The magic ingredient that many fans have accused former Irish teams of lacking appears to be strikingly present in this year's squad. Whether it's players like Rudolph demanding the ball on the most important play of the game, Robert Hughes dragging defenders with him into the endzone, or Sergio Brown and Manti Te'o combining to sack Elliott to end the game, this team has simply refused to lose.
X Factor(?): Call it what you want: grit, guts, or will to win. The magic ingredient that many fans have accused former Irish teams of lacking appears to be strikingly present in this year's squad. Whether it's players like Rudolph demanding the ball on the most important play of the game, Robert Hughes dragging defenders with him into the endzone, or Sergio Brown and Manti Te'o combining to sack Elliott to end the game, this team has simply refused to lose.Jimmy Clausen: Speaking of refusing to lose, in the last three games, JC has found his team down late in the fourth quarter and responded with three touchdown drives. It makes sense that a player currently 5th in ESPN's Heisman watch list should find himself in the Studs category week in and week out. At this point, if the Irish find themselves less than 1 score down and on offense as time is running out, I think that we have a good chance of winning because of this guy.
Thats it for this week. Go Irish!
4 comments:
Refusing to lose is the greatest improvement we have seen in this year's edition of Notre Dame Football.
Ted
I couldn't agree more, Ted. The will to win is greater than any individual improvements (and that's saying something because Allen and Clausen have made some big strides) because it involves the whole team buying in.
agree about JC and Golden. Sam Young needs to step up and play like a leader....make the big hole/protect, and stop making stupid, stupid mistakes. The "D" is Disorganized. LB are nonexistent. If Brian Smith wants to lead start by becoming the leading tackler, if not get on the side line and cheerlead. Corners need to play up or get lit up for 8 yards a pop. Please, will someone hit like it's personal.
Right on, Roland. For all his talk, Brian Smith has not been a presence. He needs to quit talking about it and start being about it. On the whole, the LB's have been a non-factor, save for Fleming and Te'o. Let the playmakers play.
Sam Young needs to stop getting stupid penalties. I understand a few holding penalties-that comes with the territory on O-line. But for a four year starter to get two false starts in the same game? I don't think (I could be wrong) any of the other O-Linemen had false start issues. The personal fouls are inexcusable too. This squad is too deep to let guys stay in the game after stupid penalties.
As for the D-Backs, though, I think the problem is schematic. It looks like the coaches have the corners giving up large cushions. I don't think that is on the players. I think the coaches need to let our corners get in receivers faces at the line of scrimmage. They're supposed to be good enough, so I say we need to play more press coverage or at least decrease the cushion by 5 yards.
Post a Comment