General Comments
Notre Dame had never started a season 0-4. Until now. I know, I know, you hear this and you die a little inside. It is the first time in my life I have struggled to watch full games because of the “growing pains.”
We did manage to score two offensive touchdowns with one generated off a nice, sustained hard-nosed drive. While we slipped back into our anemic offense post this, it still showed signs of hope.
I must say I am very, very proud of our fans today. They were supportive, fired up and you could tell it had an affect on the team, especially early on. I hope this continues throughout the season as the team needs it.
A somewhat random comment, but I feel the need to point out our field position issue. Field position has been a huge killer for us all year. We have had so many plays and drives with zero progression. We have also struggled punting the ball. We have been at a huge disadvantage all year due to this. Counting the opening kickoff in the 2nd half, MSU started drives in our territory 4 times. It is really hard to be successful defensively with this being the case. Ok, onto the report card.
Quarterback: C
Jimmy Clausen is experiencing some growing pains. He is making a lot of rookie mistakes. The turnover where the ball was pulled out of his hands was inexcusable (he shouldn’t have been 10 yards deep trying to make a play happen. He also continues to hold the ball for way too long.
I am really starting to think that Clausen is going to have to step up and win games for us in order to win period. Going 7 for 13 for 53 yards just isn’t going to do it. We need to develop a passing game (with some sort of vertical threat) to make things happen. The running game can’t be our only weapon.
I don’t know enough about Weis’ philosophy on pulling Clausen these last two games. I think the kid has done an ok job. If he feels that he doesn’t want him to get hurt, I get it. But I don’t see how he thinks Sharpley is going to stimulate something (it is very clear to me Clausen is the better QB). Just a note, as we know Clausen is the starter. I just don’t like this strategy.
Running Backs: B
Aldridge and Hughes made immediate impacts hammering the ball up the middle. We looked like a pretty physical running team, especially in the first half. Aldridge’s game of 18 carries for 104 yards was solid. He showed good vision, the desire to get physical and adequate speed. I think Anthony’s points that he has made into needing this type of presence to win was proven today.
On a personal note, I was very, very happy to see Travis Thomas get the first touchdown of the year for us. He has pissed me off with his penalties (another special teams one today), but there is no one on the team who wants it more.
Fullbacks: C
I am constantly amazed that Scwapp has not been able to get us a yard this year. I know the line isn’t helping him and no one else is converting either, but it seems to me that he could lean forward and get this. Surprising. Nice to see Luke Schmidt make a catch today.
Tight Ends: D
John Carlson had 1 catch for 16 yards. I still don’t get this? Why are they not utilizing him more in the passing game? Yes, I know he has extra blocking responsibilities now, but I don’t understand how he isn’t catching at least 3-5 balls a game.
Wide Receivers: C
David Grimes made two great catches in the first half (the one he went up for and the diving catch from Clausen). George West also had a couple of nice grabs. The receivers did only make 11 total catches though, so it is hard to give them a higher rating.
The other thing that concerns me here is that while these guys are making good catches, they are not getting open. If you watch these guys downfield, they are very well covered. I don’t know what the answer is here, but we need to give Clausen a chance to find an open man. Don’t kid yourself, one of the reasons he is holding the ball so long is he can’t find open guys. You can actually see him working the progressions pretty well. Again, this worries me.
Offensive Line: C
Well, I definitely think this group played better today. They opened some nice holes for the RB’s to run through. That said, we continue to have problems on short yard runs when they stack the line (we just don’t get any push).
They also gave Clausen better protection today. MSU was the top sack team in the nation and I think only got to Clausen 3 or 4 times. We looked like we definitely progressed today. That said, we still have a lot of growing here and there is no question that it starts with establishing and building on our running game.
Defensive Line: B-
Well, Laws and Kuntz looked ok again today. Hand also looked ok. I continue to be impressed with this aspect of the ND game. The issue with these guys (and the defense as a whole) is the fact that they are working with an offense that isn’t doing much for them, having to deal with horrible field position and spending a lot of time on the field.
Today I did think MSU was more aggressive at running the ball at us (especially with Caulcrick). This was probably a wise strategy as we just don’t have the depth on the line and they wear down.
Linebackers: C
Brian Smith and Kerry Neal are two very good young backers. Its exciting to watch them play and they are becoming decent pass rushers early on. Maurice Crum had a solid game and always plays hard. I still am not a huge fan of how John Ryan plays and positions himself, but he is so young it could also just be growing pains.
I would like to see the trend towards youth continue here. Brian Smith was my pick to be a sleeper on this team and he has the speed and instinct to do this. Neal is a man child. Keep giving these guys opportunities and good things will happen.
Cornerbacks: C
Today I was a bit less happy with our secondary. They gave up 4 passing TD’s and while they didn’t give up a ton of yardage through the air (only 135), they were out of position at key times.
Darrin Walls was beaten by Bell early on and got lucky that MSU overthrew the kid. He made a great pass breakup late in the first. Ambrose Wooden also always seems to be around when we blow a play.
Safeties: B-
Huge, huge, HUGE play by Bruton picking off the ball in the end zone for the Irish. He covered a ton of ground and jumped right in front of him. Boy is that kid fast and athletic. We need these types of plays 2 – 3 times a game with such a young team.
Tommy Z is just not Yeah, his play has been solid, but he just doesn’t seem to exhibit the leadership qualities on the field that we desperately need right now. I don’t know if you guys agree with that or not, but would love thoughts on this.
Special Teams: C
Geoff Price had an awesome punt early in the game, placing the ball at the 2. Then, he shanked the next one off of his foot for 27 yards. Then later in the half, he boots a huge one 56 yards. Then he dropped a huge punt at the end of the half. His inconsistency has been really surprising considering the weapon he proved to be last year. We actually even saw Eric Maust punt late in the first quarter in response to this issue (and later in the game as well).
Otherwise not much to point out here. We gave up a couple of nice runbacks on kickoffs and we continue to not get the ball in the endzone on kickoff, but nothing disastrous here.
Coaching: B-
You have to give the staff some credit this week. The team came out ready to play and win. They clearly bought the physical week of practice and came out ready to work. That said, it didn’t hold up and by the end of the game we were worn. But give the staff credit for getting them ready to play.
I get the feeling that the staff is at a loss on how to approach things moving forward. I think the team responded to the physical practices, but it is not realistic to keep up that pace moving forward. I think they are somewhat “learning on the job” here.
Conclusion
Well, the good news is we played our best game of the year. The bad news is we lost again, gave up over 30 points again and gave up another big time rushing performance to a good back.
How do we move forward? I tend to agree with Anthony in that you keep focusing on the hard nosed running game. Aldridge and Hughes played their hearts out today and should continue to do this moving forward.
We also really need to start developing a vertical passing game. I know, the run will free this up, but we need another dimension. As soon as we fall behind in these games, they are lost. We have scored 27 total points this year (combine all of these points and we still haven’t scored as much as each opponent has scored against us) and I don’t see how we can start generating those types of numbers on a weekly basis without this aspect.
Keep the faith guys. It is going to get worse before it gets better (it is hard to imagine us beating anyone soon). But we will win this year and we will get better. We will develop young talent. Keep the faith.
