Ok, one third of the way into the season and there is a lot of work to do on both sides of the ball. Here are the priorities for the offense and the defense.
- Defense must improve its tackling - cannot play a bend defense and allow intermediate passes to turn into big gains or scores
- Defense must improve coverage - way too many easy completions
- Defense needs speed on the edge - we are stout up the middle but keep getting beat to the edge
- Offense is obviously too predictable - Purdue coach hit the nail on the head when he complimented his team on seeing the Irish formations and our tendencies
- Get the running game going. Purdue stacked the box most of the game, but we ran out the clock with a 7 minute drive at the end when everyone knew we would run. Need a bit more balance despite our success through the air.
- Receivers had a good game but need to cut down on the drops - a couple tough catches in the first half were needed when Tommy was a bit off
Lots of things to like:
- Tommy Rees showed his leadership and poise after a very shaky start
- Team showed a lot of heart and perseverance - would have folded in the Weis era
- Cam Mcdaniel - the kid is a warrior
- Our receiver corps is super and is going to score some points - great confidence builder last night
- Team put the game away at the end with ball control drive
We will have to play better to beat our next few opponents. MSU, Oklahoma, and ASU all seem to be on the upswing. We have good players, now is the time for better coaching, better schemes and field leadership. Let's go!
Go Irish! Beat Spartans!
Godfather
No comments:
Post a Comment