Recruiting

There's been a significant amount of buzz recently concerning recruiting methods for both Notre dame and other schools, namely Florida. Alot of input has stated that other schools will tell a recruit whatever to get them to commit, even if it crosses the line, and that Charlie and ND won't. Insinuating that Charlie tells the truth and everyone else - lies. I just wanted to give my two cents on the subject.

I don't think other teams' prowess at recruiting is anything to do with lying. They're simply better at it than we are right now. What do we have to bank on as far as draw to ND? Two things: ND itself and Charlie's pro football ties/offensive methods. That's it. ND itself seems to get us a few players (aka Brian Smith), and the offensive seems to get us lots of players on the offense. In terms of the defense, we don't really have a lot of draw, and Charlie doesn't seem to be doing anything to help it. In fact, I would almost say that the defense of a few years ago may have had better players than we had this past year, or next year (Mostly due to Boob's recruiting, not Ty's). Charlie needs to have better recruiters that have more excitement about them when talking to young players. I think Brown will do this much better than Minter. You need to be a salesman, and SELL. It doesn't mean being honest or lying, but at saying the right things at the right time. Saying what the recruit NEEDS to hear. Based on what I've seen, Charlie, or Rick, or anyone else on that defense (save Lewis), is doing much for recruiting. Even when Charlie is going to defensive players houses, he's not getting commitments. So I think Corwin is a welcome addition, hopefully he changes some other coaches to assist with positive defensive recruiting.

So forget about whether other schools are better because they don't tell the truth. They're better at it, and they most likely tell the truth. Florida/USC is saying "look at me!". Look at the players we develop. On offense we say that too, but on defense we say we need you. What is that? The best salesmen tell the truth and deliver. They say the right things at the right time. I just think to give Charlie an out because he "tells the truth" and others do not, is short sighted and will not lead to anything productive as far as football at ND goes. Charlie did the right thing and changed coordinators in his most glaring area. He absolutely did the right thing.

Hopefully there is more to come.

Notre Dame vs Air Force Preview

Big game this weekend. This is the last real test before USC. I think the biggest thing we need to avoid is looking past Air Force at their stadium. The last thing you want to do is let Air Force stay in the game and get the crowd into it. If the crowd gets into the game in the 2nd half, anything can happen. Look at what happened to Louisville last night against Rutgers. We need to get up early and not let them into the game. Below is a breakdown:

ND Passing Offense vs. Air Force Pass Defense.

ND as usual should be able to smoke Air Force in this phase of the game. Brady should have another field day with his gamut of receivers. The line should pass block well against the undersized Air Force DLine, giving Brady plenty of time to find just about anyone.

Advantage: Notre Dame

ND Rushing Offense vs. Air Force Rush Defense.

I would love to say advantage Notre Dame here, but given the anemic game against North Caronlina last week, I have difficulty. Air Force is very good against the run, very fast. They give up less than 4 yards a carry. They have excellent inside linebackers and a Safety that's better than any of ours. I don't expect us to do well running the ball.

Advantage: Air Force

Air Force Passing Offense vs. Notre Dame Pass Defense.

Not much to say here. Air Force doesn't pass a whole lot. ND is, even though last week didn't show it at time, a good pass defense team. We just need to remember to stay home and maintain discipline. If we don't Air Force will burn us a few times on pass plays. We just need to limit those and the Safetys need to not bite so quickly, let the linebackers bite (can't believe in need to say this).

Advantage: Notre Dame

Air Force Rushing Offense vs. Notre Dame Rush Defense.

Air Force is a running team. It's starts with their QB, Carney. Their wingbacks will hurt us, no doubt. Hoefully it's only early in the game, and then we figure them out in the first quarter, as opposed to the second half (ala Navy). Our Linebackers learned in the Navy game how to play side to side, instead of biting up the middle early. That helped. This should be where the game is won or lost. If we can stop their running game, then we will win convincingly. If we can't, then it will be long game. Just don't bite inside early Linebackers and Safetys. Just don't know why this is so difficult for this team.

Advantage: Air Force (not by much).

Special Teams

We haven't shown much on special teams. Air Force has displayed considerably more. Air Force is 2nd in the country for blocked kicks, for example. We have yet to have a good special tems game.

Advantage: Air Force.

Overall

ND's passing game proves to be too much. ND stops the run early this time, having seen the option already in Navy.

Notre Dame 42, Air Force 14

2 new recruits

ND picked up two big recruits this week - Greg Little and Emeka Nwanko. Greg Little, a four star recuit according to Rivals, is a Terrel Owens prototype. He's rated as an "ATHELETE", but we know Charlie will have this recruit as a receiver. A huge pickup. Emeka Nwanko is an Offensive Lineman, 4 stars according to Scout. He stands 6-5, 280 lbs. He runs the 40 in 5.2. He has been called the best blocker in the state of Florida. Emeka is very quick. He is a huge pickup as well.

These are the first two verbals in the last few months. Hopefully more top recruits like this start committing. Very exciting times.

One recruit that got away yesterday was Arrelious Benn, #2 rated Receiver. He picked Illinois. Actually would have been good to have him, but now with Little and Kumara in the fold, we look pretty good at receiver.

The Run Game

So I watched the UNC game last night in detail and went thru the running plays frame by frame. What I saw is multiple issues. I'm actually surprised that Charlie in his press conferences doesn't address or get questioned about the running game. My observations:

• Darius would take the wrong lane at time. The whole would open, the lead back would go in one direction and make a block, and Darius would go in a different direction and get creamed.
• Carlson needs to improve his blocking. In a few cases, he just gets beat. He knows who to block and where to be, but the defender just pushes him out of the way.
• McConnell missed his block or went the wrong way once. he wasn't used a whole lot.
• The hole opened up much too early, way before Darius was there. By the time Darius made it to the hole, the defense was there and he was stopped for no gain.
• Not one gaurd or center called pull. Don't know why Charlie isn't doing more of that, given his lack of rushing prowess.

It almost looks like the team isn't very precise in the running game, and that the system is very simple, no pulls or complicated runs. It also looks like there's lots of mistakes. Is Charlie just not practicing the run enough? I really don't believe the lack of talent argument. A run game is all about timing, desire and toughness.

I'm not sure we're there in any area, but I do think it's all fixable. My only comment is why is it still broken?

Just Win Baby

Final Score : Irish 45, Tar Heels 26.

Great game by Brady and the Receivers. The defense played well at times. Gave up too many mental breakdowns, but overall played well. The detailed breakdown below:

ND Offense

Brady to Samardzija, Brady to Rhema, Brady to Carlson. That's all we kept hearing all day. Great job by the passing game, passing for 346 yards, it was truly a team effort. Good to see the TD catches are well distributed. Very surprised at how good of a pass blocker Darius is becoming, and I think that's why he's in there so much.

A little disappointed by the running game as a whole, and by the pass blocking of a few of our lineman. The Tar Heels sport one of the worst run defenses in the NCAA and we couldn't move the ball on them in the run game. So not happy about that.

ND Defense

Other than a few big plays to UNC's WR, where Terrail Lambert looked foolish, it was a good effort by the D. Actually you can't really blame all that on Lambert, either. There was one pass, where Lambert knocked down the receiver within the first 5 yards, all legal, and Lambert himself falls. The receiver has the time to get back up, and still get 20 yards down field for the completion. So I ask you. Where was the pressure on the QB in all this? For all the pressure that we put on their QB, there were plays where the DLine just seemed to take off. That was a little suprising.

It almost seemed like the Defense knew they were better than UNC, and at times seemed to stop playing at a high level. They need to play the full 60 minutes in every game.

Overall

Good win. It seems that for all the nitpicking this time of the year, that all teams are going thru it. It's tough at the end of the season against the wekaer teams to stay focused. Just get to USC.

Just win Baby.

Disappointed

Not going to the UNC game today. Disappointed.

What I miss the most isn't really the game, but it's being at ND, going to the Grotto, seeing the Band, getting steak sammies, and going to Mass after the game. The entire day is just awesome.

Still have plans to be at the Army game in 2 weeks.

ND vs UNC Preview

The Tar Heels arrive into South Bend this weekend with a 1-7 record. The one win was against Furman, a Division 1-AA 6-3 team. Most would think that this week's game shouldn't be too much trouble. I guess I'm in agreement. I know that they played Wake tough last week and were actually leading late in the game. However, this was right after all the talk came out about Bunting not coming back next year. I think that game was on pure emotion. Plus Charlie, being the master at using stats to motivate his team, will use that game as a tool to show his guys they still need to work hard. So it should be an easy win for the Irish. Below is a breakdown by area:


Irish Rush Offense vs. Tar Heels Rush Defense

The Tar Heels are one of the worst teams in rush defense in the NCAA, ranked 115th. Our rush offense is nothing to cheer about, but this should be a game where we get back on track. Look for the Irish to have a breakout running attack. Look to see Aldridge in the game early and often.

Advantage: Irish.

Irish Pass Offense vs. Tar Heels Pass Defense

Pass defense is an area where the Tar Heels are actually pretty good, ranked 35th. However, the Irish are an awesome passing team, and this will be an easy advantage for the Irish. Brady should have a great day.

Advantage: Irish

Tar Heels Rush Offense vs. Irish Rush Defense

The Tar Heels really can't run the ball very well. They're Ranking of 83rd, and Barrington Edwards is out, so don't expect a whole lot out of them.

Advantage: Irish

Tar Heels Pass Offense vs. Irish Pass Defense

The Tar Heels do generate more yards passing, but their ranking is still about the same. The QB's though throw a lot of interceptions, with 15 thrown so far vs. 5 tds. The two QB system they use can't be good for the team. However, I do like their wide receivers. They clearly have talent at that position.

Advantage: Irish

Special Teams

The Tar Heels have a awesome kickoff and punt coverage, against the teams they've faced. The Irish, on the other hand, have not fared well on kickoff and punt coverage. I expect this to be an advantage for the Tar Heels.

Advantage: Tar Heels.

Intangibles

The Tar Heels are playing for their coach right now. They played with a lot of emotion last week. The Irish are focusing on getting thru the next few games to a showdown with USC.

Advantage: Tar Heels.

Overall: Irish 42 Tar Heels 10.

First Post

Welcome all ND Fans.

This is my first post to a hopefully significant blog regarding ND football.