ND <r>Terry, <br/> <br/> As far as the Anzalone concern: <br/> <br/> a quote from Christian McCollum, ISD Staff Writer:<br/> <QUOTE><s> </e></QUOTE> Hope he's right.</r>
I watched the pep rally video on UND.com...the tribute to Manti was very powerful...and when they handed the mike to Troy Nikklas things got really crazy. He took off his shirts...jeebus he's ready for the staring role in the next Hercules film. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/VLNUHfDhqaI" frameborder="0"></iframe>
Unbelieveable game by the defense, and who would have thought that Tommy Rees would be the hero. I am very happy right now. Hats off to Denard Robinson though, inspite of the turnovers he was still the guy I feared the most, and with those 2nd half drives I thought...uh oh here we go again, but the defense just found a way to finally get the best of Denard. Great game by Manti, again, he has to be a 1st team AA. Great game by Zeke Motta. Great game by Tommy Rees, big play by Tyler Eifert just when we needed it the most and when he seemingly was going to get shutout again. I hope Mike and the grandkids enjoyed the game, the stadium was rocking!
Terry and all the SB Irish, Congrats! Another typical Wolvie-Irish nail-biter. Not the most artfully played game but still one that kept one's stomach churning till the very end. Great defensive performance by ND. M moved the ball well and seemed camped out on ND's side of the field for much of the game but your D sealed the end zone shut. Smart move by Kelly to put Reese in. He stabilized the offense, did not turn the ball over, and threw a great ball to the tight end at the end of the game to shut the door on the game. Denard had a bad game but the pressure that ND put on him and some of the hits that were laid on him explains why he had a long night. He took a beating but the kid is all heart and will bounce back. Well, as Fats Waller used to sing.."Jelly, jelly, jelly.... all night long".
The game belonged to the defense, and Everett Golson should remain the starting QB. Think of the position we're in with our QBs. I don't recall a time when we had this kind of QB depth of experience and proven ability. In two games, Rees has put up excellent performances, as a closer (Purdue) and tonight in long relief. Can you believe how many young guys played on defense tonight? They were in there at crucial times, building experience, confidence, and depth. My new hero is...........drumroll...............Nicky Baratti. Bobda, I second Terry's comment. You are a class guy..
ND <t>After the last two games we played against meechigan, they got what they deserved. Thank God for Manti!</t>
:shock: Geeeez what a lousy game! But after years of playing Santa Claus, the Irish deserved a few presents from Denard. I think he still owes us some gifts though. Is he finally gone? I'll miss him as much as I miss Anthony Davis. Adios, sayonara, aufedersein, arrivederci, and don't let the door hit you in the arse on the way out... Thank you Bobda, for the usual classy comments and here is my take on today's game. re: Irish 2012 The team is 4-0, but we seem to have a Top 5 defense, with a Bottom 5 offense. I'm not sure how to put all of that together for analysis. The Irish are winning by playing it safe on offense, which is fine for winning most games, but I have some doubts that they can win championships that way. Sooner or later, the offense will need to open things up... re: QB Golson failed and he showed no ability to run the offense or make good decisions. Tommy Rees was asked to not screw up, and run the clock. Is this really the best that we've got? Mr. Kelly was hired as an offensive guru, but after three years it appears that the best maneuver he's made was to hire Diaco to run the defense. We're still waiting to see what was promised. We know what it looks like. His brother runs the same offense at Oregon, but the Irish version often looks like a slow motion imitation of that fast-attack scheme... re: Kid Monsters Nicky Baratti (18), Sheldon Day (18), KeV Russell (18), Elijah Shumate (18) Matthias Farley (19), Stephon Tuitt (19), Ishaq Williams (19)...the present and future of the defense is in good hands. re: Wowza LBs Manti Teo all night long as usual, but Danny Spond was a revelation; as a true strong side LB who can cover the pass, keep an eye on the QB and recognize the run to his side. Spond's appearance in the lineup makes this already good defense a nightmare for opponents who's plan is to run away from Manti or Prince Shembo... re: Brindza Keep on kicking...he's beginning to look automatic. re: Kelly's temper tantrums He looks so calm on TV now. You just know that somebody is catching hell behind the scenes... re: the rest of the way. If the Irish can find an offense, the sky is the limit. If the offense can't be found this year, then the team will finish ranked 8-18...
Golson has all the tools but the mental aspect of his game is lagging behind. UM had him completely baffled. Kelly did the right thing yanking him. Big winner was Tommy Rees. Close behind was Gunnar Kiel. O-Line played great. That was Rees who wasn't getting killed. Great game by Theo Riddick. And Kyle Brindza. And the defense. The D-Backs are the biggest surprise to me. As a group they much better than anyone could have hoped for at this point. Intangibles include the blocking on the edges by Tyler Eifert and the play of Bennett Jackson.
Hats off Bobda, you're a class act. Chip and Brian Kelly are not brothers, nor do they run the same offense, although they are similar. Rees is terrible, but I am so glad we have him. He's so limited in what he can do, but (knock on wood) he's not making mistakes so that's putting the emphasis of execution on the other 10 players. Having Rees run for a TD was flipping hilarious. His shadow passed him on the way to the end zone. That's a play we couldn't have called again.. Jesus, our defense is really good. Thank God we don't have to play that flipping guy anymore. He has so much heart and he's clearly in the heads of Irish players/fans/coaches. That's a kid to be feared.
Finally back home. A few observations from sec. 12. 1. The Mich. D was really tough. Their LBs were really stuffing our running attack. That Mattison guy did his job well. 2. After 4 turn overs, Golsen had to do better than 3 pts. He was leaving the pocket too early in the face of a pretty good Michigan rush. He threw into double and tripple coverage way too much. 3. Ben Turk was a one week wonder. Too bad his practice punts look so pretty. 4. Tommy Rees is a cool customer. He stayed in the pocket to throw the ball (OK maybe not laser like but he stood in there.) His throw to Jones set up the only TD of the game and his clutch throw to Eifert was the critical play of the game. 5. Theo Riddick was the man in the clutch. He ran hard yesterday and had a really good game. 6. Farley...if you were the next man it, you really did your job. 7. Brindza is fast becoming a top kicker. He could easily kick a fg 50 if he had to. This is a year of "getting even." Yesterday really wasn't a get even game for last year's M game if it was for the So. Fla game. Last year we lost to a team that we moved the ball better on because we committed 5 turnovers. Yesterday, Mich. moved the ball better, ran more plays, had way more time of possession but lost because they kept turning the ball over. This is personal to me. Holding MSU and M to 9 pts., to not giving up a TD in 120 min. of football, makes life so much more enjoyable for me. Can't wait to get back to work tomorrow.
Dan Fox seems to be stepping up his game....which he needed! Kelly alluded to the defense taking the ball away as the biggest improvement. We already have forced more turnovers in 4 games than we did all last year. I think if Kelly can get Golson comfortable where his natural talent comes out the offense will really take off, including the running game.
Agreed. Also, Danny Spond played very well. Both passes that you cited were "touch" passes. It would seem to me that touch is something that comes with experience at this level. This is something that Golson will learn over time, hopefully.
Good point about take aways Terry. It's amazing how loud it gets inside the stadium when we make big plays like turnovers. People stood the whole game yesterday but it was the big plays that made the noise.