Good is not good enough

9 - 3.  Pretty good record, especially after going 4-8 the year before, right?  A lot of people would say looking at the big picture the Irish are heading in the right direction.  While I would disagree.  Let's look at the big picture.   Here is Kelly's record in South Bend; 8-5, 8-5, 12-1, 9-4, 8-5, 10-3, 4-8 & 9-3.  That's a 8.5 - 4.25 overall "big picture" record.  I'm sure many programs would be content maybe even happy to have that kind of winning percentage but this is Notre Dame.

In the Brian Kelly era we have more signature losses than signature wins, that's a problem.  In Bowl games the Irish are 3 - 3 under Kelly and to no surprise not one of those wins were in a major bowl.

Kelly is a good coach I can't argue that however for Notre Dame fans good should not be good enough.   We can't stay on top of the rankings, we can't beat a top 10, hell we can't beat a top 25 team with any consistency.  I hate to say we can't afford to keep Brian Kelly as for one I do like him and two I don't have a solution for a replacement. 

Kelly has probably done enough to save his job at this point, even if the Irish loss their Bowl game.  The question now is what will the future bring.  In the short term next season needs to be better than 2017, simply put either a 10 win season and or multiple wins over top tier teams, anything else it keeps the status quo.

Closing the book on NC State.

Here are some posts from Talking Irish Facebook and Twitter

Stars of the Game - NC State

Julian Love

3rd) Durham Smythe - 3 receptions, one for a touchdown and one toes in catch to set up a touchdown.

2nd) Julian Love - 69 yards interception return for a touchdown, 3 pass breakups & 2 tackles

1st) Josh Adams - 202 rushing yards, 7.5 yards per carry & a touchdown

Te'Von Coney

By the Numbers - NC State Game

318 - Net rushing yards for the Irish

202 - Rushing yards by Josh Adams

3 - Touchdowns by Brandon Wimbush (2 passing & 1 rushing)

6 - Quarterback hurries by the Irish defense

7 - Pass break ups by the Notre Dame defense

5 - Tackles for a loss

9 - Tackles for Te'Von Coney

Josh Adams

25 - First downs for the Irish offense

NC State: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

The Good: Josh Adams, he is the energizer bunny, he keeps going and going.

The Bad: "Some" of the offensive play calls, at times they seem to make no sense

The Ugly:  The frustration of still having a few line issues (2 sacks)

North Carolina, it's a wrap

Here is the weekly social media posts from Talking Irish's Facebook and Twitter feeds.

Stars of the Game - North Carolina

3rd) Josh Adams - 118 yards rushing, 9.1 yards per carry and a touchdown.

2nd) The Irish Defense - 11 quarterback hurries, 7 pass break ups, 2 sacks, 5 tackle for a loss, 2 fumble recoveries and an interception.

1st) Deon McIntsoh - 124 yards rushing, 10.3 yards per carry with 2 touchdowns .

By the Numbers - North Carolina

341 - Rushing yards for the Irish
10.3 - Yards per rush for Deon McIntosh
86 - Tarheels total yards rushing
8 - receivers who caught passes for the Irish
50 - Average yards per punt for Tyler Newsome
11 - Quarterback hurries for the Irish defense
7 - Pass breakups for Notre Dame's defense
3 - Quarterback hurries for Julian Okwara
7 - Tackles for Drue Tranquill
27 - Rushing first downs
3 - fourth down conversions out of 4 attempts
2 - Fumble recovers foe the Notre Dame defense

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly - North Carolina

The Good. The Offensive Line. Great job with a special recognition to Quenton Nelson. Good job making holes and good protection for a quarterback making his first start.

The Bad. Red Zone opportunities. Compared to the rest of the season so far (scoring on all trips) scoring (1 Touchdown and 1 Field Goal) on 2 of the 4 chances is a letdown.

The Ugly. Injuries. Apparently nothing super serious or season ending and it looks like everyone will be ready to go in two weeks against USC. Good time for a bye.

Miami of Ohio Wrap Up

Hits from this past weekends Talking Irish Facebook and Twitter Posts

Stars of the Game - Miami of Ohio

3rd) Greer Martini - 5 tackles and an interception

2nd) Brandon Wimbush - 119 yards passing with 3 touchdowns and 36 yards rushing with 1 touchdown

1st) Josh Adams - 159 rushing yards (19.9 yards per carry), 2 touchdowns

By the Numbers - Miami of Ohio

28 - Points by Notre Dame in the first quarter
333 - Yards rushing by the Irish
8.5 - Yards per carry
2 - converted fourth downs out of 2 attempts for the offense.
159 - Rushing yards for Josh Adams
12 - Yards per rush for Tony Jones Jr.
3 - Touchdown passes for Brandon Wimbush
1 - Tackle by kicker Justin Yoon
3 - Sacks for the Irish defense
1 - First career interception for Greer Martini and first career forced fumble for Jerry Tillery

The Good, The Bad & the Ugly - Miami of Ohio

The Good - The 52 point the Irish were able to put up against Miami of Ohio. A ranked, top tier program such as Notre Dame should be putting up those kind of numbers against a team from the MAC, unfortunately the Irish have not always done that.

The Bad - Injuries. Josh Adams had an ankle injury and Tony Jones Jr. got shaken up, both are expected (along with Dexter Williams) back next week.

The Ugly - Missed field goal. In and of itself is not a huge issue but Yoon seems a bit off this season and that might hurt the Irish down the road.

Weekend Wrap Up – Social Media Hits

Here are some pieces from our Facebook and Twitter Accounts from the Boston College Game.

Stars of the game - Boston College

3rd Star: Brandon Wimbush; ran for 207 yards and 4 touchdowns

2nd Star: Te'von Coney; 13 tackles (5 solo & 8 assists)

3rd Star: Josh Adams; 229 yards, averaging 12.7 yards per rush.

By the Numbers - Boston College

515 - Net rushing yards for the Irish
10.1- Average Yards per Rush
2 - Interceptions by Shaun Crawford
50 - Notre Dame's third down conversion rate (9-18)
6 - Touchdowns in 6 trips to the red zone
21 Points from turnovers
7 - Rushing touchdown (4-Wimbush, 2-Williams, 1-Jones)
13 - Tackles for Te'von Coney to lead the Irish defense
1 - Sack by Jerry Tillery
5 - Tackles for a loss for the defense

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly - Boston College

The Good: The running game (one Kelly decided to run the ball). 515 net yards on the ground while averaging 10.1 per rush with 7 touchdowns.

The Bad: play calling (primarily first half). Early don pass calls that come up short putting us at 3 and long over and over.

The Ugly: The passing game. 11 completions on 27 attempts for 96 with an interception and NO touchdowns.

Weekend Social Media

If you missed the Talking Irish Facebook and Twitter Posts from the weekend here are some of the more notable pieces.

Goats of the Game - Georgia

3) SEC Officiating Crew.  In no way were to blame for the Irish loss, however they were just bad overall.  Bad officiating on both sides.

2) Brandon WImbush.  He kept the ball too many time instead of handing it off to the running backs and threw to many bad passes.

1) Brian Kelly.  More specifically the offensive play calling.

Notorious Numbers - Georgia Game

55:  Net rushing yards for the Irish

1.5:  Yards per rush

34:  Yards LOST rushing for Notre Dame

-1.0:  Notre Dame average punt return

3: Third down conversions out of 17 opportunities

1: Net yard on 16 rushes by QB Brandon Wimbush

The Good, the Bad & the Ugly - Georgia

The Good.  The Defense.  If you told me after last week's win over Temple that we were going to hold Georgia to 20 points I would have guaranteed a win for the Irish.  This year's defense seems to play "bend don't break", unfortunately they broke a couple of times on Saturday.   Overall it was the defense that kept Notre Dame in the game.

The Bad.  The Offense.   Half to the play calls and half to the execution.   Holes for the rushing game were apparently non-existent and we Wimbush could not connect with his receivers.   This was especially bad compared to their great performance against Temple.

The Ugly.  The end of Brian Kelly's post game press conference.  https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2017/9/10/16282846/brian-kelly-notre-dame-georgia-press-conference-2017

What we now know

Brandon Wimbush

Before last Saturdays game against Temple there were many questions to be answered.  Realistically we really don’t have the answers to most of them but we did gain some insight to what the answers may end up being at the end of the season.  So here are ac couple of things we comfortably if not confidently now know about this Irish squad.

Brandon Wimbish can play.  Well, we kind of already had an inclining based on his high school highlight films.  He defiantly is confident.  The concern I walked away with from Saturday (and had even before) was with him running around so much what is the risk vs. reward with injury?

The Offensive line “looked” as good as advertised.  Now before we get ahead of ourselves here to clarify we played Temple not the 85 Bears.  However there was a good push for the rush with decent holes to get through and good protection for Wimbsush.  As happy I was this is one area I may be the most skeptical about.

Tony Jones Jr.

We can run.  With three 100 yards rushers and 422 yards on the ground all together I’m pretty confident in the run.   I would however like to get more of a sample size from sophomore Tony Jones Jr. as much as we hear about him this spring and summer.

As Brain Kelly has said before, Time of Possession does not matter.  Temple controlled the clock with 33:49 over 26:11 by Notre Dame.  The only quarter Temple did not control was the third where Notre dame had the ball for 8 more seconds then the Owls.

There is room for growth.  Looking at the defense as an example they looked a bit like the 2012 squad in the “bend don’t break” feel.  Overall the defense looked more than serviceable but between stopping the run at the line and some coverage issues there is room for improvement. 

Temple by the Numbers

4 - Quarters (All) that the Irish scored in

16 - Notre Dame rushing first downs  (7 passing)

422 - Net rushing yards for the Irish (8 for Temple)

9.6 - Yards per rush by Irish ball carriers

5 - Rushing Touchdowns for the Irish

52 - Average yards per punt for Tyler Newsome

606 - Total offensive yards for Notre Dame

6 - Out of 6 Red Zone trips resulting in a Notre Dame Touchdown

2 - Missed Field Goals on 2 attempts by Justin Yoon

7 - Made PAT's out of 7 attempts by Justin Yoon

Dexter Williams

161 - Net rushing yards by Josh Adams

20.7 - Average yards per rush for Dexter Williams

8 - Irish players who caught a pass

106 / 184 - Yards rushing / yards passing for Brandon Wimbush

3 - Players who recorded their first college sacks (Coney, Hayes & Okwara)

11 - Notre Dame Tackles for a loss

Questions First

We all know that the 2017 Season kicks off Saturday.  What we don’t know is what the season will give Irish fans.  The fact is until the season is over, including a bowl game (we hope) we won’t know the full story of this team.  The game against Temple will give us a good look at what the future may hold for this year.

Many questions won’t be fully answered on Saturday but there are many we are hoping to get some insight to.

Q: First and foremost, is/can Brandon Wimbush be the real deal?   

A: No matter what Wimbush does on Saturday he’ll have at least 11 more games this season to define his season.  I think what we really hop to learn is how is his poise and how does he lead?

Q: Is Jerry Tillery ready to be the star we hope and need him to be?

A: As much as we need him to be I don’t see I happening.  I (and I hope I’m wrong) predict Tillery will be average at best on Saturday.

Q: What will the running game ball distribution look like?

A: Josh Adams will get the start and make the most of his lion’s share of carries and won’t let go.

Q: After Equanimeous St. Brown who will be the number two receiver?

A: Aliz’e Mack will return to the field with a chip on his shoulder and will be hard to defend.

Q: Will the Offensive Line be as dominate s their talent suggest?

A: With two All American on the line you would think this would be a no brainer but first they will have to stop the mistakes and penalties from the last couple of years.

Q: How will the coaching staff do?

A: It’s not so much how they do during the game but how they adjust after. 

Spring Game - Initial thoughts

Overall Irish fans have to be at least satisfied with what happened on Saturday.  Some solid performances, no injuries and a sunny day are about the best you can ask for.   I do wish that QB's and special teams were live because I think there was a false sense of security and success.  There was several passes that got off that in a real game situation that would have been a sack.

I liked the balance between successful offensive and defensive plays.

Kicker Sam Kohler

The offensive line at time looked very good.  Most impressive the lack of false starts.

The running backs looked good., some good open field move and speed along with  dose of inside power running. 

With Yoon taking the spring off to rest his leg I feel we have a servable back up in Sam Kohler.

Brandon Wimbush's interception by Jalen Elloiot was more on Alize Jones (Mack) than Wimbush with credit to Nick Coleman.

Grades                              

                                               

Running Backs

Statically Dexter Williams had the best game with 96 yards (long of 41) and an average of 10.7 per carry.  Jones with 45 years (5.6 avg.) and Adams with 39 years (4.9 avg.) both had solid performances.  Even Deon Mcintosh built some confidence with a rushing touchdown.

Deaon McIntosh

Quarterbacks

Because they were not live targets some of their performances may be blurred a bit.  Book was 18 for 28 and had 271 yards BUT was -38 yards rushing being sacked 4 times.  Wimbush as 22 for 32 for 303 yards BUT was intercepted twice, didn't throw any touchdowns and rushed for -30 yards being sacked 7 times.

Receivers

Miles Boykin had a little bit of a coming out party on Saturday with 5 reception for 102 yards.  The ball was pretty well distributed with 14 players catching passes (11 of them having multiple catches).  One concern (not  a major concern) there was only one touchdown pass thrown all game (Sanders).

Offensive Line

The eye test gives them positive marks here.  Even thought there were 11 sacks recorded there may have been a low sense of urgency by the quarterbacks because they were not live.  The lack of penalties called against the offensive line was refreshing.

Special Teams

Not much to grade here because punts no and kicks were not live.  However from what we were able to see everything looked acceptable.  Snaps, holds and kicks looked good.  With no Yoon this spring we will have to wait till August to see where he is.

Defensive Line

Daelin Hayes

Not bad, not great even with 11 sacks registered at time they look pretty well handled by the offensive line at times.   Daelin Hayes looked promising coming off the edge and could be difficult to defend.   Again with the quarterbacks not being live they may have had to hold back a bit as they were closing in.

Linebackers

Good coverage overall, not great and does need to get better.  Not too many missed tackles which may be the most important thing to see.

Defensive Backs.

The coverage seemed better than the tackling, there were too many yards after the catch in my opinion.  The rover position and Drue Tranquill proved to be a success.   A couple of interceptions probably bolstered the confidence of the defensive secondary .

Who to watch Spring Game Part II

As I reviewed the roster for this spring a few more names jumped out at me as being interesting to be to keep an extra eye on this Saturday.  Every player seemingly has some note or story that makes them interesting this spring but we have to limit this somewhere.  So in addition to the seven names from Monday’s article here are a few more to pay attention to in the Blue Gold Game.

Tony Jones Jr.

Tony Jones Jr.  Seen as the third string running back on a traditional depth chart, his praises are being song by coaches and media alike.  I am interested in seeing how he fits into the mix with Adams and Williams.

Nick Watkins  The Irish have a ton of potential in its defensive backfield but it comes in the form of mostly sophomores who were thrust into action last season.  Nick needs to be the leader of this group on and off the field and after his bouts with injury it needs to start now.

Brock Wright

Brock Wright  Based on number this freshman tight end could redshirt this year but based on what we have heard it might be impossible to keep him off the field.  I for one what to see if he is indeed college ready.

Sophomore Defensive Backs (Cornerbacks) Tony Pride Jr., Julian Love & Donte Vaughn (Safeties) Devin Studstill & Jalen Elliott.  All of these players were thrown into action last year as freshmen and had to sink or swim.  They all had ups and downs.  After a year under their belts I am interested in seeing who is ready to really step up.

Tom Rees

New Coaches Mike Elko, Chip Long, Brian Polian, Clark Lea, Del Alexander & Tom Rees (note Tom not Tommy).  Usually you only see this many new coaches when there is a new Head Coach.  I am interested to see how they carry themselves and interact with each other and the players. 

Who to watch - Spring Game

Each spring Irish fans can get a football fix to carry them over until August in the Annual Blue Gold Game.  The fact is the best fans should hope for is no injuries and impressive individual performances.  Overall if the offense looks really good does that mean the defense is in trouble or to the contrary if the defense looks impressive does that mean the offense is bad? 

That is why I like to key in on individual players and look for specific things from each of them.  Here is a list of players I will be paying extra attention to this Saturday afternoon when they take the field for Notre Dame’s annual scrimmage.

Aaron Banks

Aaron Banks I have hear a lot about this incoming freshman and am very interested in seeing if he is as good as advertised.

Ian Brook Pretty much everyone, including myself believe there is little question that Brandon Winbush will be the starting quarterback.  However God forbid something happened to Winbush it is very likely that Brook will assume that role and it is important that he be up to the task.

Chase Claypool After discussions about whether we would see this kid on offense or defense it seems to be settled that he will be a receiver (and special teams).  He is supposedly the most dynamic player on the roster so I want to see if he is ready to settle in at the receiver position and contribute.

Liam Eichenberg and Tommy Kraemer These two redshirt freshman are said to be in a dead heat for the last starting position on the offensive line.  I don’t think who will start at right tackle will be decided  on Saturday but I am excited to see firsthand how each of them do.

Durham Smythe

Durham Smythe  This is Smythe’s last chance to step up and be the main guy at the tight end position.  Being the main guy won’t mean having the most receptions but it will mean taking the most snaps and contributing in an impactful way.

Jerry Tillery For the most part we have seen what Jerry Tillery has been, s decent player however it is now time to see what he can and should be.  As good as he has played at times he has he has underachieved compared to his potential.  We need to see if he is going to move up to elite status for 2017.