I will wait a few days.....

[jjc2009]

The first killed momentum at the half and really put Notre Dame in a hole with Michigan getting the ball. Tommy threw the pick early in the down and distance and should have thrown it in the stands rather than rush a throw due to Michigan pressure to a well covered receiver with a low pass that got deflected in the air and anything can happen.

Both of Rees' picks in this game came in this scenario. The late missed TD which would have given us a chance to kick the onside and possibly go for the win if not tie was a first down forced pass over the middle, he spiked it off the defenders' foot and popped it up in the air, killing the drive. The one to end the half was a huge momentum killer.

The second half our defense picked it up a bit and pressured Gardner more. Again, his first half stats were much better than the second half although we had no answer for Gallon. Their RBs didn't do much of anything against our front 7. The horsecrap PI call on Jackson was a killer too (even if he doesn't get the pick it would have been 4th down and we get the ball back). Farley's PI was a justified call. There were many times where the receivers were covered and the middle of the filed was wide open. I kept saying, if that were Golson, he'd of been off for 15 yards. Same thing on the rollouts when Rees was pressured, Golson brings a dimension that Rees never will and his handicap was on display.

 

[craigk217]

Golson wouldn't put the ball in the air 51 times, and I've said the defense played a big part in the loss, but so did Rees, it's not just the turnovers it's timing of those turnovers that completely stops momentum for Notre Dame. As well as the poor defensive plays (the two pass interference calls were huge, the first was bogus but the second one was a good call).

At least he didnt heave the ball up in his own end zone and letting it up for grabs of the opposing teams to INT in the end zone for a direct TD! It works both ways, but that was, to me, the most bone-headed QB play of the game and put ND right back in it. WTG Austin Collinsworth for putting the hit on him and the great athletic play by Tuitt to pick that ball off from the ground!

 

[craigk217]

Diaco dropped the ball and didn't put these guys in a position to be successful.

Neither did BK with his crap play calling.

 

[eric5577x]

Neither did BK with his crap play calling.

BK starting calling the plays in the 4th. I thought he did a better job, I was drunk so I could have been imagining shit..

 

[craigk217]

BK starting calling the plays in the 4th. I thought he did a better job, I was drunk so I could have been imagining shit..

He blew it by abandoning the running game wayyyyy too early, IMO. We were still very much in the game and were getting good chunks of yardage on the ground. But ... pass-happy Brian took over and decided to put the game on "Tommy's arm".

 

[jjc2009]

Kelly really needs to work on the red zone offense. We were downright terrible in red zone efficiency and we are actually statistically worse so far this year.

 

[awclayton]

I would like to see Corey Robinson get some looks in the redone, him and Niklas on the same side would be a nice combo. He played quite a bit against Temple, but I don't remember him out there against Michigan. Redone inefficiency was key to a subpar 2011 season, they need to get this fixed....quickly.

 

[craigk217]

At this point ... I'm not worried about what the offense has done, surprisingly. Ummmm ... the other side of the ball ... well ... need I say more ... ? ? ? ?

 

[Lillyliverd]

Kelly abandoned the run game after the 1st Q. We had 8 rushing attempts in the 1st Q, then only 10 more rushing attempts in the rest of the game. 18 rush plays, 53 passing plays. ND was balanced in the 1st Q, but after that it was pretty much all passing. There was 1 rushing play in the 4th Q.

 

[craigk217]

Hmmm ... does that make us "somewhat predictable somehow" ... Brian?????

 

[Lillyliverd]

When Tommy threw the last interception it was the 13th consecutive pass play. I think it would have been the perfect time for a draw play, at least it wouldn't have been a pick. Hindsight is 20/20.

 

[craigk217]

When Tommy threw the last interception it was the 13th consecutive pass play. I think it would have been the perfect time for a draw play, at least it wouldn't have been a pick. Hindsight is 20/20.

But ... It was Tommy Rees' fault for this loss???


I'm tellin ya what ... I'm tired of this ... this was not our QBs' fault ... why cant yall see that??? This was a total Diaco defesnse failure!!!! Is that too much to take Domers??? Really??? I can crawl up in my lil Grotto and say Hail Mary's ... but ... the fact remains the same ... our D better get a whole lot better or else ... no matter how many candles you wanna light ... it wont matter.


I watched Rudy .... again ... last nite ... and it got me pumped all over again ... I just wish these ND players could take 1:43 outta their day ... and watch this movie .... that's all I'm gonna say ...

 

[jjc2009]

But ... It was Tommy Rees' fault for this loss???


I'm tellin ya what ... I'm tired of this ... this was not our QBs' fault ... why cant yall see that??? This was a total Diaco defesnse failure!!!!

These aren't mutually exclusive propositions. It was BOTH of their faults. You can blame the playcalling, and its a legitimate criticism, but fact is, both of Tommy's INT's were rookie caliber mistakes trying to force the play. He's a senior, has more experience than anybody on the roster, even Golson if he were still around, and yet both INT's came when he had downs to give. This team wasn't down a whole lot last year, but when they get down, they seem to go into panic mode and try to force plays. In both cases, he should have chucked it out of bounds and lived to fight another down. This by no means excuses the defenses poor performance and the defensive coaches' lack of adjustments.

 

[whywork2]

I take my hat off to Michigan. They recruited well and played a good game. Their quarterback simply extended plays way too many times.