I watched on Tape Delay, was out enjoying a fine round of golf in the Hill Country! I kept trying to find Sid and Mike but never did see them. The game was a good win, I'm not drawing any conclusions till we've played a better opponent like a Mich State. Never the less it was encouraging to see the Irish run the ball with authority. With Riddick, GAIII, and Wood we really have some good backs and watching Cam McDaniel run the ball he looked like he can play as well but is unlikely to get much opportunity. As far as Golson goes, again hard to draw any conclusions from todays game. They kept it conservative and he threw mostly safe passes. If we can run the ball well then that's what Kelly should do. I was surprised at how much under center he was at QB. The defense, stopped the option well and given that Diaco has now seen Navy/Air Force/Army option something like 5 times I would hope he'd have a plan. I was disappointed that Navy was able to pass so easily on us. Maybe it was just what Diaco was willing to give them. But Purdue is likely to be much better at passing than Navy and so will just about all the other teams so clearly unless we can generate a gonzo pass rush to protect those corners it's going to be a problem for the defense this year. It certainly seems though that the trip was a huge success on all fronts, everybody I've seen post anything had nothing but great things to say about the trip, the way the Irish locals treated them, the game, etc. The Irish themselves apparently were really happy to see US money pouring into their coffers!
It is clear that Kelly has Navy's number. The offense looked very good as did the D-line and LBs. The D-Backs looked like more of the same to me. Soft corners and safeties who get lost in space. When you consider this is the worst QB and passing game that we will see all year, that the defense pummeled him like a pinata and he played most of the game one one leg, 14 for 19 for 192, 1 TD and and 11 yards per completion does not inspire a lot of faith in the D-Backs.
Did you not recognize Mike? They showed him for about 15 seconds putting the ball down in the end zone and dancing the Irish jig! How'd you like that hat he found?
:idea: It was a good opening game. We'll know a lot more after we see how well our inexperienced corners can cover against Purdue... - Golson looked solid at QB. Kelly didn't ask him to do anything complicated, but he never rattled and appeared confident. He only made one horrible decision. That was the interception that he threw in the red zone, while a wide open receiver was waving his arms all alone in the endzone. He telegraphed that pass like Western Union and never looked at the other WR at all. I must say that I have much more confidence in Golson than I do Rees, who used to worry me on every play... - The Oline looked fantastic. - The running backs looked fantastic too. Maybe it's just me, but I sure wish George Atkinson was getting most of the carries. He had 99 yards on only 9 carries this time. If our worst running back is Cam McDaniels, then we're in great shape back there.. - Great TEs: Eifert is the best in the country, while Niklas is almost as good and nearly 6'8". Koyack is the little guy at 6'5"... - The front 7 looked great. Lots of beef and quickness in there. - Lots of outstanding LBs both inside and outside. Teo is a monster... - Depth looked great everywhere except at cornerback. - The Irish used 47 players in the first quarter alone. - Cornerback is the problem...isn't it? Russell looked lost out there, as I feared. Other teams seeing this film will attempt to isolate him out wide and separate him from the herd. He's the weak link and everybody knows it......starting with Purdue. - Why is Turk the holder? That doesn't make sense. If we're not going to use Goodman, could we at least make him the holder? He's a WR and former high school QB. Using him as the holder makes sense... - The Irish will find out if they can defend the pass against Purdue and we'll all have an idea of how good the team is after Michigan State.
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For the record I thought our uniforms were awesome, esp the shoes. Wouldn't want the shoes to be our standard, but for this event they were dead solid perfect as was the shirt the team wore under the Jersey's.
I didn't realize who throughly we shut down Navy after the opening drive in the 2nd half. Somehow I thought they threw the ball on us very well...but they didn't.
Terry After the quick score to start the second half, ND went to a standard D moving the safties back and giving some help to the CBs. By that time, Navy might have had some success with their option offense but they would have been committing suicide since there wouldn't have been near enough time for them to catch up running the ball. Teo's interception likely wouln't have happened if they were in their run stop D but he dropped into a medium zone and got the pick. I have originally thought that Navy would be a good opponent for our inexperienced CBs but as it turned out, they had to go one on one with Navy's WRs while still having responsibilities to stop the triple option. Turned out to be much tougher than I thought.
Just returned from Ireland. No travelogue. You all saw the game, so no firsthand game analysis. Just a confirmation that the Irish are beautiful people. We felt welcomed and appreciated the entire time. We traveled outside Dublin one day, which whetted my appetite to come back soon to see the entire country, including a visit the county of origin of my mother's family. One thing stood out to me which IMO was unique. With all the heavy traffic and winding, often narrow, streets in Dublin, I don't recall even once hearing a horn honked in anger or impatience. That tells me a lot about the beautiful Irish people.
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Here's an example of what Sid was saying. I'm driving a rental car and trying to use a GPS. Somehow, I end up in a "buses only" lane. It takes a while but the street eventually gets wide enough so that I can move right and get out of the bus lane. A Dublin city bus pulls up next to me as I'm waiting for the light. The driver opens his window and Mary rolls down her's. He asks if we're lost. We indicate we are. He tries to help by giving us directions. Would that happen in New York City??? Never in a millions years.
Mike, I don't know if you saw this on the recorded game but there was a reporter making a joke about asking for directions in Ireland. He said the usual response is: If I were trying to get there, I wouldn't be starting from here... I have to agree with both you and Sid. I spent a total of nine weeks in a three month period a few years ago in that beautiful country. In all of my work travels, that is where I would return for a pleasure trip. I did not meet a single person with a bad attitude... a few wild children, but great adults. Now England!!! That is a story with opposite results!
Gip, great story. You are much braver than I to drive in Ireland. During a bus tour of Dublin, I complimented a mom on her two daughters. I said she had two cute kids. She giggled and replied, "Yes....when they're asleep." I love the Irish sense of humor. We saw it everywhere.
You know Sid, I I'd known you were going to be in Dublin, I would have bought.....the first round. Where did you stay?