All Things Notre Dame - The Clashmore Mike Memorial Thread

[Clashmore Mike]

Some thoughts on the game…

First and foremost, karma is a bitch. A lot of woulda/coulda/shoulda conjecture following a slew of turn turnovers like that…trust me, I know.

There is a serious reckoning Notre Dame needs to face up to, and that is we aren’t “back” and we won’t be back until we can run the ball with any semblance of consistency. That is not to take anything away from the performance of Michigan’s defense, which I thought played excellent…but at the same time, it’s time to simply recognize that our O-Line isn’t what we thought, much less hoped.


Our OL and running game looked like an old-school Holtz unit against Navy. A month later, it’s becoming clear that Navy’s program is on the decline and nothing like they’ve been for the last decade. Against Purdue, they couldn’t either open holes or offer decent QB protection, and we excused it by theorizing that Purdue’s front seven is under-rated (which I still think may be true in some capacity) and that we were still adjusting from a road game in Europe…so we gave them a pass. They provided decent protection, but again didn’t produce ground yards against Michigan State and we told ourselves that we were on the road against one of the top defenses in the nation…so we gave them a pass.


Saturday was the third straight game where we couldn’t run the ball with any consistency. This is a line with a cumulative of 80+ starts, four of them are returning starters, two of them three-year starters. They were at home facing a patched together, hodge-podge defensive front that represents two coaching staff’s and either poor recruiting or development. If we couldn’t run the ball against Michigan at home on Saturday…when are we ever going to? You can’t throw a red-shirt freshman up against a schedule like this without some help from the ground game and hope to be successful.

On the flip-side…our defense is legitimately good. There was a lot made of the magnitude of the loss of Aaron Lynch’s transfer…and undoubtedly he was the biggest of the young stars that Kelly had brought in. But whereas in the minds of media and opposing fans, his loss meant that we wouldn’t have any talent on the DL…I think it is now becoming clear to all that his loss meant that ND’s defensive front would not be elite/SEC caliber this season…can you imagine this defense with that guy running loose?


Also, after four games, I’m really starting to like our secondary. I’ve always believed that CB was one of those positions where a legit freshman talent could come in and contribute right away…and they have. It may not be a strength, but they are developing quickly and I no longer consider them a liability…they’re only going to get better. Hopefully quickly as we will be facing some much better passing teams than we have to date.


Anyway, I’m very happy to be 4-0…and to have exorcised a number of demons (losing streak against UM, inconsistency against MSU and losing in Sept. as a general rule). Though there are many things I don’t like about Kelly as a game day coach, I think he’s come a long way, and is building the program the right way. We were all nervous that he would come in and try to install a Big East style, fast-paced/gimmicky spread offense and ignore the defense. He hasn’t done that at all. His focus on defense is clearly evident and successful. Though he hasn’t put a tough-nosed offense on the field yet, he does seem to be trying and has certainly recruited towards it. We’ll see…it should be clear what needs to be addressed during the bye week...perhaps we’ll see some improvement.

[lineygoblue]

Though there are many things I don’t like about Kelly as a game day coach, I think he’s come a long way, and is building the program the right way.

I predicted this very scenario. I said when ND hired Kelly that there would be a couple of years of adjustment, but after that, you were going to see signs that Kelly was turning thing around. So far, he's right on schedule.

Kelly is an excellent football coach. He lacks some things when it comes to personality, but the guy knows football, and he knows how to get results. He's a lot like Nick Saban that way. He has won multiple national titles, and turned around moribund programs every place he's coached.

Now, I'm not predicting that he will become 'legendary' like Rockne or Parseghian, but the guy will have the Irish winning consistently for several years to come. We, as Michigan fans may not like that, but its happening.

[hack]

Were I an ND fan I'd be concerned about the QB carousel.

[lineygoblue]

Well, they're no better off than we are right now.

All you can do is keep recruiting, until you find the right guy.

[Clashmore Mike]

I predicted this very scenario. I said when ND hired Kelly that there would be a couple of years of adjustment, but after that, you were going to see signs that Kelly was turning thing around. So far, he's right on schedule.

Kelly is an excellent football coach. He lacks some things when it comes to personality, but the guy knows football, and he knows how to get results. He's a lot like Nick Saban that way. He has won multiple national titles, and turned around moribund programs every place he's coached.

Now, I'm not predicting that he will become 'legendary' like Rockne or Parseghian, but the guy will have the Irish winning consistently for several years to come. We, as Michigan fans may not like that, but its happening.

Yes you did Liney…and so far I’d have to say that you have been correct…though I wish the adjustment/learning curve wasn’t all trial & error. A lot was made of his raging tirade during the South Florida game last year. And though I can sympathize given the circumstances of that particular gaggle-fuck of a game, I don’t make $$$ millions and represent the university. He simply had to learn that sideline antics at ND, unlike CMU or Cinci, are a matter of public record. He learned. He’ll still bite a player’s head off, but at least maintains the appearance of self-control.

He’s become much more media savvy since the “Weis’ players” comments blew up in his face after USC last year…managed to quell that and obviously put it to bed since…again, after the fact.


I heard through the grapevine that Kelly met with Swarbrick at the end of last season and supposedly told Swarbrick that he (Kelly) was spending too much time as an administrator and not enough time as a coach. That it wasn’t how Kelly had achieved previous success and that he was losing touch with his players.

Obviously, that’s the kind of thing that ND would never make public…but I can tell you that Kelly is obligated to less than half the typical alumni group functions he had to do the first two years…that at least one radio show was cancelled…that one of the weekly press conferences is no entirely via tele-conference…and that post-practice pressers have almost completely disappeared.

[hack]

I think over time it does pay off to commit to a QB. Not precisely in the ridiculous way that results in a Borges/Denard combo, but even that would still be better than rotating them in and out. Most of us reached a point last year where we were feeling like Gardner's snaps were overall hurting offensive production.

[Clashmore Mike]

Were I an ND fan I'd be concerned about the QB carousel.

Not to sound crass...but you guys are the one's who have been arguing QB for the last 48 hours.

I'm not concerned at all. If there was going to be a controversy, it would have been after the Purdue game...where Golson played reasonably well and yet Rees finished. There's no controversy following the Michigan game as far as Notre Dame is concerned. Our QB wasn't protecting the football. That's cause for sitting the bench...period. That second pick in the end-zone was among the worst I've ever seen.

[lineygoblue]

I just had a flashback to the John 'fricking' Navarre years ....

[hack]

That was terrible too. I mean, look -- there is of course a sweet spot somewhere between ``let's commit to Navarre for what seems like forever'' and how Wayne Fontes used to handle his menagerie. That sweet spot is where you want to be.

In the case of Denard, however, it's different. He's unquestionably Michigan's best and most explosive player. He has to be on the field. That means you had to make a decision long ago and commit to it -- either he gets the reps at QB or he becomes the best utility player ever. No in betweens there. And, to address your point, Mike, I think myself and others have been saying something along the lines of ``we shoulda switched his position when we had the chance but now it's too late''. Which is different than the point I'm trying to make here.

[Clashmore Mike]

... And, to address your point, Mike, I think myself and others have been saying something along the lines of ``we shoulda switched his position when we had the chance but now it's too late''. Which is different than the point I'm trying to make here.

Right?I get that. I've been reading the QB discussion up thread...and understand the frustration. From an ND perspective, Denard Robinson personally racked up over 960 yards of offense against Notre Dame in the last two years?I'm not going to check the numbers myself, but one of the ND moderators posted that it was 96% of all of Michigan?s offense against Notre Dame?and I believe him. Still, it took last minute heroics on Denard?s behalf to pull out the win. In short, he pretty much single-handedly won the last two.

Part of me says karma. Part of me says that ND finally solved and beat him. Part of me says that he earned a piss-poor performance like that?free of criticism. But then I don?t watch him week in and week out. The bottom line is that if you live by Denard, you have to accept that you die by Denard as well.


At the same time, there simply has to be some kind of alternative available. Even if it?s just to give Denard a break and let him clear his head. What happens if the kid gets hurt? He was taking some hits in the 2nd half and looked to be getting up slowly to me?isn?t there anybody Hoke & Co. can put in there?if not to win, but to at least stabilize?
I don?t know?tough spot to be in.


With regard to Notre Dame, Kelly does have to tread lightly here, because it?s ND and everything is under a magnifying glass. But it looked to me like our QB was in a race with Denard to see who could throw the worst pick. He?s a RS freshman and is/was due to have a game like that. As convoluted as QB has been at ND under Kelly, and to Kelly?s credit, he had an alternative and correctly used it. We?ve seen Tommy Ree?s ceiling?pretty much everyone (including Rees) knows and understands that he?s a good player and an asset, but will never get us to the next level. Golson is our future?but that doesn?t mean that he can give away the ball like Halloween candy and expect to stay on the field. He needs to understand that and I think he does. Kelly has already confirmed that Golson will start against Miami in two weeks.

[hack]

It was karma. An utterly ridiculous game two years in a row, and you got this one.

IMO the alternative is to stop throwing the damn ball, maybe after consecutive interception #3. It's not just Denard, IMO. It's an offensive coordinator who has forgotten that ball security is important. You can live and die with Denard, but more living can be done by not putting him in precisely the right position to fail.

Man alive I'm getting fired up about this. Will keep it in other threads.

[Paul L]

I just had a flashback to the John 'fricking' Navarre years ....

Hell, I'd kill for John Navarre right now.

[lineygoblue]

I would too, Paul. Especially if we could have him as a senior again. His senior year was as good as any QB that I've ever seen play for the Wolverines.

[geo weidl]

Next September can't come soon enough.

[WM Wolverine]

M loses it's best player (Denard), 3 (maybe Lewan too) starters on the OL and 5 starters on defense...

First year starter at QB, at least 3 new starters on the OL, almost half the defense is overturned. I'm not excited about '13 as M will be too inexperienced where it matters: QB, OL and DL.