This ND team will go down as underachievers in my view and the poor bowl game performance was the icing on the bad cake of football 2011. The simple analysis is that you cannot turn it over 3 times to even an average team and expect to win. At the same time we had the opportunity to win or put away the game and refused to do it. It was actually a pretty lousy game for both teams.
The offense was so dismal that our two TDs came on a fumble recovery and a circus catch by Floyd that probably should have been another Rees interception. Our QB play is holding us back and losing ball games, time for Kelly to coach up one of these guys in time for prime time next fall. I expect Rees to be #3 in the depth chart, in fact he may never take another snap at ND. How Kelly gave up so quick on Crist and put the team in the spot to live or die with Rees this year seems weird. The best guy for the job spent the fall on the bench. Take away HALF of our turnovers and we have 3-4 more wins; simply have to address that.
Yes, the D had a couple breakdowns in the second half but I cannot complain about giving up 18 points; we should have been able to score 20. The changing of QBs, some strange play calling and trying to move it on a good defense combined for a lousy day on Offense. No rhythm at any point in the day except the first drive of each half. Momentum was non-existent.
Like the Colonel, I feel much worse about the team right now than I did a year ago. We need another good recruiting year and to improve in many facets of the game. Penalties, turnovers and special teams would be good places to start.
Bowl pageantry notes: FSU has a very fine band and pretty classy fans. One gets tired of "the chop" pretty quick, but the best solution to that problem is to give them less to chop about. At the pre-game battle of the bands, the FSU band played a very cool warmup song with some great lower brass and bass drum Indian themes. They have a very good sound. The ND band looked and sounded great before and during the game and had the more popular half time show. The band was quite busy with appearances and performances on this trip; with the exception of one quarter of football they seemed to have a really good time.
First sellout in Champs bowl history; 68,000+ attended the game on a beautiful evening. Traffic around the reserved parking lots was a nightmare; theta clearly do not know how to handle big crowds.
So now we move on to the season of hope and look ahead to 2012. I do not think Kelly is any kind of lovable savior anymore. I do think he will build the program over time while modernizing it with a bunch of things that may be needed but that I do not particularly like. Those few aggravations will be a small price to pay if we can see a team that plays it best more often; win or lose. We have to stop beating ourselves.
GO IRISH! BEAT NAVY!
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Friday, December 30, 2011
8-5. Seriously?
Some suggested alternative titles for this post:
1. A New Way to Lose
2. Wish I knew who our starting QB is going to be.
3. Run game? What run game?
4. How/Why did we let their O-line off the hook?
5. Why haven't we recruited an O-line that just kicks ass? (Related to #4)
6. You mean Red Zone turnovers aren't good?
I'm voting for #4.
Our QBs threw some amazingly bad INTs, but I really feel like we could have blitzed for the first 3 quarters non-stop and forced EJ Manuel permanently into a non-comfort zone. In the second half he was able to throw it up for some amazing receptions by his receivers (although the lying on his back catch did not look like a reception on the replay).
Nevertheless, the game was ours for the taking, but we decided not to take it. We still need to find that killer instinct when we're ahead against better than mediocre teams. We could have done some real damage, psyche-wise, after we went up 7-0. But we couldn't come closer than a missed field goal attempt to put more distance on our lead prior to halftime.
And then when we went up 14-0, I figured the D would keep on doing the straight rush and innovative stuff they showed early. But for some reason, we kinda laid back, much to our detriment. We haven't had great cornerbacks in 20 years; we can't lay back. But we did, and allowed FSU's receivers to make another ND opposing QB look like a star. Oish.
I'm sorry to say I felt a lot better about our team this time last year than I do now. Hopefully, we can be better next year than 8-5. But I'm not on that bandwagon yet.
Don and Nina, hope you enjoyed your trip to Orlando. Hope Angela had a great senior year bowl trip.
GO IRISH!!! BEAT NAVY!!!
The Colonel
1. A New Way to Lose
2. Wish I knew who our starting QB is going to be.
3. Run game? What run game?
4. How/Why did we let their O-line off the hook?
5. Why haven't we recruited an O-line that just kicks ass? (Related to #4)
6. You mean Red Zone turnovers aren't good?
I'm voting for #4.
Our QBs threw some amazingly bad INTs, but I really feel like we could have blitzed for the first 3 quarters non-stop and forced EJ Manuel permanently into a non-comfort zone. In the second half he was able to throw it up for some amazing receptions by his receivers (although the lying on his back catch did not look like a reception on the replay).
Nevertheless, the game was ours for the taking, but we decided not to take it. We still need to find that killer instinct when we're ahead against better than mediocre teams. We could have done some real damage, psyche-wise, after we went up 7-0. But we couldn't come closer than a missed field goal attempt to put more distance on our lead prior to halftime.
And then when we went up 14-0, I figured the D would keep on doing the straight rush and innovative stuff they showed early. But for some reason, we kinda laid back, much to our detriment. We haven't had great cornerbacks in 20 years; we can't lay back. But we did, and allowed FSU's receivers to make another ND opposing QB look like a star. Oish.
I'm sorry to say I felt a lot better about our team this time last year than I do now. Hopefully, we can be better next year than 8-5. But I'm not on that bandwagon yet.
Don and Nina, hope you enjoyed your trip to Orlando. Hope Angela had a great senior year bowl trip.
GO IRISH!!! BEAT NAVY!!!
The Colonel
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Half Time Report
Well, I've seen prettier halfs, that's for sure. Feels like the QB shuffle we're doing is not allowing us to get in to a rhythm, and we're really not trying to run the ball at all. I knew we'd miss Jonas Gray!
The turnovers negated with us getting 7 points right away after another (!) red zone INT. Ouch.
We could be ahead by 10 or 13 by now, but oh well. I don't think FSU can adjust if we keep the defensive pressure on. We should never rush less than 4 on passing downs. If we can score right out of the gate, we can make them feel a little desparate given their inability to get in the red zone.
Don, the fake punt spot could have gone either way, so we'll take it!
Ruffer's miss wasn't as close as it looked on replay. It was going right the whole way, never had a chance. Hope that doesn't bode ill for the second half. It's close now, so field goals may, as Godfather predicted, prove crucial.
So let's win the second half and the game.
GO IRISH!!! BEAT SEMINOLES!!!
The turnovers negated with us getting 7 points right away after another (!) red zone INT. Ouch.
We could be ahead by 10 or 13 by now, but oh well. I don't think FSU can adjust if we keep the defensive pressure on. We should never rush less than 4 on passing downs. If we can score right out of the gate, we can make them feel a little desparate given their inability to get in the red zone.
Don, the fake punt spot could have gone either way, so we'll take it!
Ruffer's miss wasn't as close as it looked on replay. It was going right the whole way, never had a chance. Hope that doesn't bode ill for the second half. It's close now, so field goals may, as Godfather predicted, prove crucial.
So let's win the second half and the game.
GO IRISH!!! BEAT SEMINOLES!!!
Chance for Ruffer to be the Hero today
We are enjoying the sun in Orlando, should be a nice day for football though we are prepared with layers for the cooler temperature in the evening. Seems like a good turnout of Irish fans in town; will know for sure at kickoff. Expect maybe 60-40 crowd in favor of FSU but not sure.
Pep rally was pretty lame again. No one from Alumni office or football team; just cheerleaders and band. It was in a mall square so the band sounded great but when Ken Dye is the MC you know something is weird. ND band performed at Universal Studios and we caught them at the rehearsal at a local high school. Today there is a short parade, then pre-game tailgater. Visited the ND HQ hotel and was disappointed to find that there is no travelling bookstore here due to licensing conflict with Bowl game. It is all about money as usual.
Band will redo its "top gun" halftime show. Two quick songs and march off to the Victory March; don't blink or you may miss it. FSU band is actually BIGGER than Band of the Fighting Irish so they must make quite a sound. Interesting that FSU band will go first at halftime.
As for the game, I expect it to be a good one that features domination by both defenses. FSU will cause our QBs trouble and I expect Hendrix to get more playing time and see more success than Rees due to his mobility. I also think our defense will hold FSU to modest success so not expecting a high scoring affair. Press thinks both of these teams could be in the top ten next fall so this game has a little more buzz than usual in Orlando.
I am having a tough time picking a winner to be honest. I am hoping the Irish come out with an attitude after a poor game at Stanford and win the line of scrimmage but we better not get down early. Could be a snowball effect if we fall behind. Have to pick the Irish though in a close one. Field goals may make the difference so let's hope Ruffer is ready to go.
ND 23, FSU 20
GO IRISH!
Pep rally was pretty lame again. No one from Alumni office or football team; just cheerleaders and band. It was in a mall square so the band sounded great but when Ken Dye is the MC you know something is weird. ND band performed at Universal Studios and we caught them at the rehearsal at a local high school. Today there is a short parade, then pre-game tailgater. Visited the ND HQ hotel and was disappointed to find that there is no travelling bookstore here due to licensing conflict with Bowl game. It is all about money as usual.
Band will redo its "top gun" halftime show. Two quick songs and march off to the Victory March; don't blink or you may miss it. FSU band is actually BIGGER than Band of the Fighting Irish so they must make quite a sound. Interesting that FSU band will go first at halftime.
As for the game, I expect it to be a good one that features domination by both defenses. FSU will cause our QBs trouble and I expect Hendrix to get more playing time and see more success than Rees due to his mobility. I also think our defense will hold FSU to modest success so not expecting a high scoring affair. Press thinks both of these teams could be in the top ten next fall so this game has a little more buzz than usual in Orlando.
I am having a tough time picking a winner to be honest. I am hoping the Irish come out with an attitude after a poor game at Stanford and win the line of scrimmage but we better not get down early. Could be a snowball effect if we fall behind. Have to pick the Irish though in a close one. Field goals may make the difference so let's hope Ruffer is ready to go.
ND 23, FSU 20
GO IRISH!
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