Call it an early Christmas wish list. With so many people out there talking about what they would like to see from the Irish next year I thought I'd like to take a stab. From what I've read out there the wish lists are mostly on the surface of the program. People are talking about getting a kickoff return for a touchdown, not moving Zibi to linebacker, etc. I want to delve a little more deeply into it. I'm going to break it down into offense, then defense, and then I'll have a little grab bag section with some venting. There won't be a lot of writing on here until Spring practice starts. As such, feel free to get some dialogue going relative to what I have written here.
First I would just like to say that I think the offense and defense we run this year will look nothing like the past two seasons. I say that for several reasons. On the offensive side of the ball Weis' playbook is so expansive that you can see, from game to game, the different looks we employ. He has everything you could want in this offense but he only uses the parts of it he believes are appropriate for the personnel he currently has. He also scales it to the ability of the QB to handle it. Next year we will have no proven receiver, a completely different set of running backs (in terms of style) from Darius, and a QB as green as you get in college football. Weis will do whatever he needs to cater our offense to get the best from his personnel. Next season we will have a ton of talent at running back and tight end. As such, expect to see multiple tight end sets and for him to use a running back by committee system even though he says he doesn't believe in it. On defense we will be different not only in scheme but also in the way we play. Brown has a fiery personality and he believes in playing hard and aggressively. I expect to see players like Neal, Richardson, Smith, etc. paying off on blitzes or I expect to see us not blitz at all. I don't think he is the type that will stick with something that isn't working. And I do think he is the type that will get to the QB with his blitz packages. If I have to see another DB coming off the outside and leaving our secondary in one-on-one coverage without getting to the opposing QB I might puke.
Offense
1. The first thing I would like to see more of next year is a consistent running game. I'm not talking about any of our backs in particular getting more carries, I just want our running game to be consistently good. And that goes for all types of runs: zone stretch plays, isolation plays, draws, and downhill off-tackle plays. I think it will be critical for us to be able to convert short yardage situations via the run to take some pressure off our QB's. And with backs like Thomas, Hughes, and Aldridge we have the horses to do it.
2. Point two goes hand-in-hand with point 1. Last season I wrote an article about the offensive line play (link here) and all of the ways it contributed to poor overall team performance. Weis has been high on the young guys on the line in recent press conferences so it will be interesting to see how this all plays out. I think consistent, more physical offensive line play will be essential to our success. Weis said in a recent press conference that physical play will be the emphasis of the spring. I hope this manifests itself primarily on the offensive line and defensive front seven.
3. Space, I want to see it. Weis' offensive philosophy is heavily predicated on stretching the field, spreading the ball around, and making the defense defend everyone on every play. I love it, it's great. But I would like to see all of these playmakers get the ball out in some space. Let's get these guys with speed (West, Allen, Prince, et. al.) out in the open field with the ball and see if they can make someone miss and take it to the house. Last year it really chapped me when Weis said that wasn't really what the offense was geared towards (link here)
4. With the lack of receiver production returning it will be imperative that more than a single receiver step up. That goes without saying. What is (perhaps) more important in my eyes will be for someone to step up as a downfield threat. Obviously the lack of experience at this position will show in terms of route running, knowing the offense, and catching the ball. However, Brady missed Stovall last season and whoever starts at QB for us in the Fall will miss all of the downfield threat(s) we have had over the past two seasons. Having Carlson back is good, but tight end play action routes down the middle of the field don't do much if you don't have someone on the outside the defense is worried about. I look for Richard Jackson to provide this as he loves to go up after the ball when it is in the air and has good size and speed.
Defense
1. First and foremost better secondary play is essential to more success on defense. I believe the improvements need to occur in two primary phases. First, we need to be better on third down so we can get off the field. And second, we need to minimize the number of deep balls we give up. For the former point 2. below will come into play. The latter can be improved with simplified schemes, more conservative playcalling, and better coaching. I was very high on Bill Lewis when he came in but we haven't improved much in the secondary beyond making Lambert a decent player. It is possible that Minter left us out to dry too often by having us cover one-on-one out on an island. I don't think I see Brown doing that quite so often but I hope he and Lewis work better than Minter and Lewis did. We need more cohesiveness on the field in our secondary. We also need far fewer mental mistakes.
2. We have to be able to get after the QB on obvious passing downs. I don't care how we do it, whether it be with outside linebacker pressure, Zibi, coming off the corner, it doesn't matter to me. I just want it to happen. As stated above, we blitzed too many times and too ineffectively last year. Many times it resulted in big plays for the opposition.
3. I want to see one of these talented corners pay off. Let's see Walls, McNeil, or Grey line up opposite Lambert and shut people down. Teams that are effective blitzing have lockdown corners that can play press-man coverage. All three of these guys are supposed to be able to do that so hopefully at least one will pay off. I know they are young and mistakes will be made but let's see some evidence of talent out there.
4. Even though I've listed it as number four, I think this is more important than anything save the last point on defense noted below. We need more physical play from our linebackers. And that physical play should be evident in three primary areas: stuffing the run, shedding blocks, and aggressive pursuit to the outside. I want to see a linebacker stand a running back up in a hole a la Stonebreaker. I want to see a linebacker pursuing a running back to the sideline and destroy him when he cuts back because a corner turned him inside. And I want to see us get off blocks from offensive lineman and fullbacks to get to the ball carrier. It really isn't asking that much, it's pretty standard linebacker play, but it will only come with a combination of talent and attitude...
5. ...leading me to my final point. I want us to have eleven hats on every ball. Doing that makes good things happen. No one wants to carry the ball or catch a pass if they have eleven gold helmets coming right for their chest. There is nothing more demoralizing to a ball carrier than a defense that stops at nothing to get to you. And I'm not saying we didn't play hard last year. To the contrary, I think we certainly did. But this is in addition to playing hard. This is an attitude. And trust me, it works. On top of demoralizing the offensive players it also allows for more attempts at stripping the ball and forcing turnovers. Defenders can play the ball more aggressively when they know there are ten other defensive players around the ball to make the tackle if they miss.
Grab Bag
Since the end of the season I got used to not hearing about how great Troy Smith was. He was never on any teams draft boards due to his size and perceived inability to effectively read defenses. Some NFL scouts didn't even have him ranked in the top ten QB's available in the draft. Others looked at him as a wide receiver a la Randle El. I still don't understand how someone can be the most outstanding player in college football and not even get drafted in the top five at his position. I guess, given the recent performance of Calvin Johnson at the NFL combine, I was wrong about him being the best player in the country last year. Be that as it may, some people like Stewart Mandel (link here) are still on their knees about Smith. Like I said, it's ok to be convicted of assault, accept money from a booster, and get expelled from high school if you become a good college football player and win the Heisman.
On top of that, I'm so sick of hearing about Russell vs. Quinn. Russell is a very talented athlete that is a good QB at best. He is overweight and the perception that he is a tremendously accurate passer is an overstatement. Yes, he can throw the ball a million yards. So can Michael Vick. Yes, he had quite a large yard per pass average. He had three receivers with exceptional speed. He had tons of talent around him and, despite what people would have you think, played against relatively poor competition. In the big games against big teams this past season (Auburn, Florida, et. al.) he was very mediocre. Brady Quinn's stats are very good against top 35 defenses over the past two seasons including ~60% completion percentage, and a 3 to 1 TD to interception ratio. That isn't to say that Quinn isn't flawed, but putting up 24 reps off 225 on the bench press is unheard of for a QB. Now who wants it more?
