Oh well. This was expected, if not appreciated... As I suspected, LSU was beatable, but we're going to need some LBs to beat the best teams and we don't have them yet. I don't even wanna hear about our Dbacks and linemen when our LBs made a grand total of one unassisted tackle by my count and that was by Maurice Crum...I have no idea what the other guys were doing. The LBs had no sacks, no knockdowns, they didn't disrupt the crossing routes that LSU ran all night long. They did nothing. Charlie tried putting the freshman Torryan Smith in down on the goal line and he just stood there confused. Nothing is going to get better until we have real LBs... That first quarter was a fine disaster...eh? Samardzija and Chinedum lose their temper and cost the team dearly. Charlie's decision to run a fake punt on 4th and 5 from his own 32, five minutes into the game, was downright stupid. There's no other word for it. At that point in the game, he hadn't even seen what LSU's defense could/couldn't do. The Tigers turned out to have outstanding DTs and quick LBs. Knowing that, the fake punt was a poor call, but that particular fake, using Thomas up the middle to get 5 was an especially poor choice against this particular defense. This was also the same fake punt that he showed earlier in the season and was probably the only fake punt that LSU was prepared for. BTW- don't we have an All-American punter? Charlie's honeymoon ends now. He's going to have to analyze film better than that... The seniors... Rhema McKnight had an outstanding career, but his worst year was his senior year and his worst games were against Michigan, USC and LSU. He dropped pass after pass and ran around cluelessly when the team needed him most. He's gone from a first round choice to a low round choice. If there had been any younger receivers ready to replace him, he would have lost his job at mid-season. Jeff Samardzija played his worst game. All the double coverage he received should have opened things up for Rhema, but Rhema was a no-show. Chinedum Ndukwe played his worst game, but I can't be too critical of him or Tommy. Being a safety on this team must have been hell. There were zero LBs who knew how to pass cover, tackle or disrupt pass routes and only one of the two CBs was consistenly good (Richardson.) The safeties had to be everywhere and do everything and tonight, Chinedum looked a little overwhelmed. Brady Quinn was outstanding as usual. How many drops by his receivers this time? I lost count. Rhema dropped a bunch, Freeman dropped a first down, the freshman, Munir Prince, was put into the game for one play...a pass to him and he dropped it (again) and Samardzija lost a TD in the lights on an alley-oop and it hit him in the head, in the endzone. Brady Quinn never flinched, never made excuses and never quit. He really was one of the greatest Irish players of all-time. Derek Landri did pretty darn well at DT as usual. He will be missed. Victor Abiamiri had a sub-par game, but I don't want to be too critical of him either. He was all-world coming out of HS, but he turned out to be just a good player and not a great one. Its hard to judge him as a DE. He might have been a real sackmaster if he'd had any LBs behind him. We'll have to watch his pro career to see just how good he really is. The OLs did pretty darn well. Darius had 125 yards at halftime and they protected Brady pretty well all night. Ryan Harris jumped offside again and his senior campaign was a disappointment. He went from being a 2nd team AA to no AA. I wonder if that injury held him back more than we were led to believe. OG Dan Santucci played the game of his life tonight. Wowza. One senior came up big when the team needed it most, and that guy was Santucci. LSU was a good, but not great team. They were the 3rd best team the Irish saw this season. I really liked some of their offensive linemen who pulled well and pass blocked well. Russell also impressed and surprised me with his decision making. He's a great prospect. They won the game in the 3rd quarter with an outstanding defensive effort and some smart coaching. By holding the Irish offense to two "three and outs" while the offense scored twice, they were able to turn the tables on Notre Dame and control the clock. They had the ball for almost the entire quarter. The key was to be patient and Miles was. Charlie should take a lesson... ..............JO'Co :cry:
The Irish D was its usual abysmal self but was not the main culprit this time. From my seat that award goes to Charlie Weis. The fake punt in the 1st quarter from his own 32 yard line was one of the all time bonehead moves . The Irish had just run nine offensive plays and gained a total of 12 yards. We needed to re-group . Instead we gave the Tigers instant momentum on their home turf. Weis seems to revel in the "gambler" persona. Last night he learned just how fine the line is between strategic gambling and good old fashioned recklessness. Did the FBI locate John Carlson yet? In the second half the play calling scheme that showed results in the first thirty minutes was apparently abandoned without an alternative. JO'Co is right about our LBs... they were invisible all night. So were our DBs for the most part. We have bad individual coverage on other teams in the past but this group is collectively the worst we've ever had. I would think that the opportunities abound next year for incoming freshmen to start... Their was a significant talent gap at the skill positions and that did us in as is usually the case in these games. I watched the game with a group that included a former WVU player from a couple of years ago. He made a point that I never considered before, perhaps because of my blind vanity to such notions.. he said that just because the Irish get special BCS consideration each year does not mean they are a true BCS team come bowl time. Hence we get matched up against superior teams with predictable results. This team needs to feel post season success for a lot of reasons... This game was injurious to the momentum of both the team as a whole and several individuals who are/were key contributors. Right or wrong, the biggest losers last night were Weis, Quinn, Samardzija, McKnight and TZ. Huge question marks developed concerning all of the above and their future potential. I hope I'm wrong.
My perspective fwiw...the personnel issues on defense are glaring and they get magnified against teams with great skill people and the ability to get them the ball - SC, UM, LSU, OSU, etc. Only recruiting can address those issues and until Charlie gets better personnel ND will be overmatched against those kinds of teams. Offensively, I think the LSU pressure "dominated" the game without dominating.....by that I mean the threat forced Charlies hand and had them going "max pro" probably more last night than at anytime all year.....it seemed Brady was uncomfortable all night and with the TE and RB's often in protection, the passing game had a different look and feel than what I've seen this year and Brady never got into any timing or rhythm. Perhaps a different route structure and check down/safety valve options disrupted Brady's comfort level. At least that's what it appeared to me and may have been an issue. In any event, the offense never got into any kind of sustainable rhythm. btw, the RB Walker showed up big - good for him. Re: Jamarcus Russel - STUD. The kid has an absolute ROCKET for an arm....I don't think there is a stronger arm in the NFL much less anyone in college.
I agree Terry, and let me say that as an annual LSU opponent I hope he goes to the NFL now! :twisted: :twisted:
I disagree. Aside from a few early delayed blitzes, LSU NEVER went after Quinn. They fell back into a base defense. This was clearly demonstrated when Notre Dame ran a fake double screen that got blown up forcing Quinn to throw into the ground. A screen play is a counteractive measure. You run that play when your QB is under a lot of pressure. When it gets blown up, that tells you that the linebackers are not overpursuing or blitzing. I think it was late 3rd quarter early 4th quarter when LSU blitzed from the LOS and they only did it once or twice. LSU D played passively and relied on their secondary to shut down ND. ND never adjusted and never attacked with Walker and Carlson in the 2nd half after burning this D for 261 yards in the 1st half.
They say he can throw a ball 40 yards from a sitting position and can hurl a ball 85 yards. That is unheard of. I was impressed by his accuracy. This kid has a great future in the NFL.
I think we watched a different game....I must have counted 15 blitzes in the first half alone. I saw the double screen, I also saw DB's in the backfield regularly. About my comment about ND going max pro more than typical for them, we'll have to ask the ND guys who are more familiar with their offense. However, based upon what I've seen of them this year, they were keeping the backs and TE in to protect more than I recall. Hell, the TE and RB who probably caught 40-50% of Quinn's throws this season had only 3 catches last night. Whatever the reason, the ND offense look very much out of rhythm last night and Brady never looked comfortable. Enough of this game, it's time for me to get ready to head to the desert. Go Bucks!
LSU had only 1 sack and 2 tackles for losses the entire game ! You saw 15 blitzes just in the 1st half ? I did listen to Terry Bradshaw question the effectiveness of the delayed blitzes by both LSU & ND. Soon after that they both stopped. I'm probably the only one on this board who thought that if Notre Dame played their A game on offense, this would have been a much tougher game and probably the only one who believed they could actually win. The sure showed flashes of it in the 1st half.
"He made a point that I never considered before, perhaps because of my blind vanity to such notions.. he said that just because the Irish get special BCS consideration each year does not mean they are a true BCS team come bowl time. Hence we get matched up against superior teams" I think when the time comes ND will be beating the better teams on their schedule....the Michigans...the SouCals.....etc....and when they do make a BCS bowl after winning those kinds of games they will be competitive.
I watched the same game as BuckeyeT. LSU came after Quinn a lot with Blitzes. That is just STOP for opposing defenses, our OL has been a problem all year against the blitz. We just weren't strong on the OL, Mich did it, USC did it, UCLA did it, Ga.Tech did it. Only teams that didn't do it were just not good enough to make it effective. Russell's arm is certainly incredible, and he had a great game last night. But he was having that great game against a defense that rarely pressured him effectively, throwing to WR's who were always open, and with a running game that was pretty effective. Now you do have to be able to hit those open recievers and he delivered the ball very accurately. Quinn had a great career at ND, I'm not enough of an expert to be able to tell if he's truly great or just a good college QB. He certainly has the eye of the NFL scouts, but those guys can be wrong. So we'll see what happens. But I Brady has become one of my favorite all-time ND QB's. He's very tough and wasn't given a great OL or fast WR's and a terrific RB to work with. But he still did a lot. I think he'll do well in the NFL, but we'll have to wait and see how that works out.
I was at the LSU-Fla game and while he was hard to sack the Gators did get pressure on Russell and he was forced into some bad throws. That made a huge difference in his effectiveness. Even without his fumble at the UF one yard line LSU gets at most 17 points in that game vs. UF's defense. From CFN's synopsis of the LSU-Fla game: "LSU should be happy it only got blasted 23-10 by Florida. The Tigers didn't play like a polished team with mistakes in just about every phase. With no running game to speak off, it was up to JaMarcus Russell to press a bit against the jacked up Gator D, and he threw three picks, lost a fumble, and should've been intercepted two other times."
You Terry’s must have watched the game from the same pair of glasses. :lol: After the 2nd ND offensive series the delayed blitzing came to an abrupt halt. There was one other blitz in the 3rd or 4th series and late 3rd quarter we saw a blitz from the LOS. Below is a series by series synopsis by CFN’s Pete Fiutak. His take is exactly the same as mine and confirms Jimmy’s comments about good line protection, confirms Krebs observations about 2nd half play calling. If you want further confirmation, read LSU’s Bo Belino’s comments on their defensive adjustments. They didn’t blitz. They stayed back, their lineman focused on batting down passes and their DB's jumped the short routes. ND did not stretch them vertically to get them to back off. ND possession # 3Notre Dame on its own 20 - O.K. Notre Dame, come up with some of that magic. - Step one will be to start stretching the field. The offense hasn't actually tested the offensive line and has just assumed it couldn't block LSU. Try a deep ball or two. - Quinn has to be smarter than that. He danced around, ran away from the blitz, but didn't dumb the ball or throw it away. ND can't be in 2nd and 20 on its own nine. - I'm shocked. That trap play keeps on working. Darius Walker is getting room to move. - See, that sort of works. Quinn went into a straight drop, the Irish line gave him time, and Walker was hit on a crossing pattern for a big game. - Quinn's starting to find his groove. LSU has slowed down its blitzing and Quinn is doing what he wants. - Why has LSU stopped bringing the house? Quinn is going to kill them. - Yup. No pass rush, Quinn has time to let the deep play develop, and he hits David Grimes with a first-pick-in-the-draft pass for a touchdown. - That was way too easy. ND survived the early haymakers and are right back in ND possession just before the half Notre Dame on its own 16 - LSU still isn't getting enough pressure on Quinn. The D needs to get its blitz back in the second half. - :38 left. - That's not Chuck Weis football. After a near-pick, ND runs the ball and lets the clock run out. ND 1st possession of the 2nd half Notre Dame on its own 22 - According to Howie, Weis said that Quinn will be the third best quarterback in the NFL in three years. I hope he was including Vince Young in his calculations. - Notre Dame has to get into a rhythm. The offense seems to be a bit flat; why not going into a two-minute mode to get Quinn lathered up? - That outside run from Walker isn't there anymore. - Jonathan Zenon is getting picked on more than 12-year-old redhead ND 2nd possession 2nd half Notre Dame on its own 21 - LSU didn't drop the hammer. One touchdown drive and we'll have a whale of a fourth quarter. - Does LSU really respect Quinn? It stopped blitzing altogether. - Where's McKnight? Where's John Carlson? It's Samardzija, Walker, and a whole bunch of nothing. - Quinn's not doing anything remotely special ... - ... and neither is the Notre Dame coaching staff. The LSU tackles are rested. Those tricky, fluky draw plays aren't going to fly, especially on third down. ND 4th possession 2nd half Notre Dame on its own 20 - I always love the aerial coverage of games like this ... IT'S BEING PLAYED IN A DOME. - Come on Notre Dame. Show that you don't really suck this bad. - Is Quinn doing anything to make everyone around him better? - Quinn is lucky he got hit third down pass batted down.
They have Quinn rated higher than Russell. Russell obviously has better physical tools, but he was ripped by an NFL scout in Louisianna who said that Russell can't read defenses, is not a good leader and has a poor work ethic. That scout rated Russell as a high risk potential bust. Take it for what it is worth. These scouts have been wrong before, but I wonder if this criticism is what prompted the LSU coaches to repeatedly say that Russell is such a smart QB and so cool under pressure.
Damn Andy do you watch a game with voice recorder to make running commentary for editing later??? Terry
Damn, I get no credit for being a Notre Dame fan last night. Not even honorary membership to the Lucky Leprechan Club. What's a guy supposed to do, Tivo the game?
Update! John Carlson has been found and he is safe. He is also coming back next year In an other development, Tommy Z has decided to return as well.
I typed a lengthly post that for some reason didn't get posted. (Probably because is was more than one line.) To summarize I agree with JO'Co about our LBs. Spoke to Commish at halftime and he made the same observation about their lack of pass coverage. Was amazed at the spring in DW last night. Good points about him being worn down this year. Like the LBs, lack of depth. By the way, the Fast Prince of Belaire finally gets a chance to play and drops the swing pass. Wish we could have thrown more to the TE last night but maxpro took that away. I miss Stoval. I won't miss McKnight. JO'Co said it last year and it was never more evident than last night. Our safety play is pathetic. We had the ball twice as much as LSU in the first half. We outgained them for the half. We were even in TOs and yet we trailed. That's what not being successful on a fake punt will do. Oh well, that's Charlie and I still love the guy.
8) For the record, I agree with Andy's analysis here point-for-point and not with the Dos Terrys... re: "Damn, I get no credit for being a Notre Dame fan last night. Not even honorary membership to the Lucky Leprechan Club." Andy, Its not just that you're a Rutgers grad and Penn State fan, its the goggles and parachute that you're wearing...