I really thought this staff would learn over the bye week, however I guess I was wrong. Call it stubbornness or flat out stupidity, but these questionable personnel decisions have cost us one game ND should have won and will cost them another one if the staff doesn’t learn quickly. 
 

Sherwood over Raridon and Staes? Salerno over Wilkins, Colzie and Merriweather? You have got to be kidding me! These guys would be lucky to make the practice squad on any top 25 team yet are on scholly and playing significant minutes in key situations. These are div 2/3 players. We have Salerno coming in motion on a critical third and goal… really? Did Rees really think BYU saw him as a threat there? 
 

The portal is likely to blame for some of this but ND is going to need to find a way to pivot, and fast. This staff was gifted with an opportunity to see how good this defense could be without Bertrand. The defense was like night and day, yet they keep trotting him out there like they owe him something. Prince Kollie showed more explosiveness on that one play than I’ve seen since JOK. We know linebacker is a weak spot, we desperately need athleticism there, yet Kollie is still riding pine. 
 

What about Pyne? I said all off-season, I have no faith in Buchner being able to win from the pocket. I knew OSU would be able to force him and we saw that week 1. Now that we’ve seen Pyne as the starter, the difference is pretty noticeable. Quicker delivery, stronger arm, more accurate, goes through progressions, better pocket presence, better feel for the game, etc… the only area Buchner was ahead of Pyne was with his running, yet he’s still no Brandon Wimbush. I wasn’t the only one calling for Pyne in the off-season, and multiple ND writers thought he looked better in camp. 
 

This really is my only critique from the BYU game, besides the red zone offence. It just grinds my gears because ND should know talent has been the major difference on the big stage. Kollie could play at Bama, Merriweather could play at Bama, Staes and Raridon could play there as well. I always hear they’re not ready? Well find a way to get them ready, every other school seems to be able to. Kollie has been here for two years for crying out loud. 
 

I’ve seen some frustrations over this stuff in game chats and wanted a deeper discussion. Rant done. 

You're not wrong in many aspects.  I wonder with Salerno getting time is perhaps he's a better blocker?  The old adage used to be it was tougher for underclassmen to get serious time the closer they are to the ball.  Meaning the WR was a spot far enough away from the ball young guys could get PT quicker.  Run this route or that route and catch the ball if it comes your way and try to block the DB on a run.  Simple.

Last year when I saw Pyne I wasn't blown away, he did some good things here and there.  Same for Buchner, but we never got to see him pass much yet knew he could run.  It will be interesting to see how Pyne continues to grow as the season goes.  He seems to be a more complete QB mentally which is a good thing.  

One thing that is burning me on D is the poor fundamentals of our LBs.  Their blitzes are very undisciplined esp Luifau, the guy never hits home.  Poor tackling always hitting way too high IMO.  I agree that they play different perhaps not as good with certain groupings together.  Kollie needs to see the field more, you can't teach that type of athleticism and instinct.

I agree with about the blocking for Salerno and Sherwood. They are in for blocking purposes and because the coaches feel they won’t blow their assignment. The coaches trust them and I do not think in anyway do they think they are more talented. Rairdon and Staes are playing a lot more as the weeks progress so I wouldn’t say they do not think they are talented.

The linebackers are definitely perplexing and hard to watch. What makes it more mind boggling to me is the coaches we have, Freeman and the Road Warrior Laurinaitis. Those guys were absolute studs so for the players to be making poor decisions shows me their is some kinda disconnect. I have to think Bertrand is just getting everyone in the right position because the defense looks confused a lot and busts a lot of plays. I wonder if Golden’s scheme is more complex than when Freeman was the DC. I feel when Kollie is in they are much more vanilla in the sense they aren’t trying to over complicate things, get in the defense and then let the players make plays. I have been disappointed in the linebackers and Brandon Joseph. I haven’t seen the type of impact from any of them that I think we all anticipated coming into the year.

I think this is all very interesting discussion. Every coach gets 3 years. After the 0-3 start I was wondering if all this staff would get was 3 years, so I'm not sure i'm going to try to evaluate in game 5, week 6.

The good news is they have it back to 3-3. They're in the Kelly where winning is really hard.

Why?

You guys pointed it out in no particular order,  QB, WR, LB, coaching.

Now they have 3 years to fix it.

QB: I'd take a graduate transfer almost EVERY YEAR to spice up the competition.

LB. I think the guys Freeman recruits will be better

WR- ??? Transfer portal or Stuckey becomes a guy who can develop them. I like Thomas

 

 

I'll never understand the less talented upper classmen playing more than the more talented younger players.  I get that experience rules the roost.  But the kids have to get their experience somewhere, somehow, some time.  Especially these days with the portal and NIL, don't give the more talented kids a reason to leave.  PLAY THEM.

6 hours ago, BTC4 said:

I agree with about the blocking for Salerno and Sherwood. They are in for blocking purposes and because the coaches feel they won’t blow their assignment. The coaches trust them and I do not think in anyway do they think they are more talented. Rairdon and Staes are playing a lot more as the weeks progress so I wouldn’t say they do not think they are talented.

The linebackers are definitely perplexing and hard to watch. What makes it more mind boggling to me is the coaches we have, Freeman and the Road Warrior Laurinaitis. Those guys were absolute studs so for the players to be making poor decisions shows me their is some kinda disconnect. I have to think Bertrand is just getting everyone in the right position because the defense looks confused a lot and busts a lot of plays. I wonder if Golden’s scheme is more complex than when Freeman was the DC. I feel when Kollie is in they are much more vanilla in the sense they aren’t trying to over complicate things, get in the defense and then let the players make plays. I have been disappointed in the linebackers and Brandon Joseph. I haven’t seen the type of impact from any of them that I think we all anticipated coming into the year.

Well according to Freeman, Raridon is a dominant blocker, which is something you rarely hear about players, especially freshmen tight ends. 
 

I would have to disagree about Bertrand getting guys in the right position, as the busts have occurred primarily in the second half during the past few weeks. I can however see them calling a more vanilla game with Kollie in there. I think Lea kept things pretty basic which I’m a proponent of, as I would rather have guys reacting rather than thinking. 

3 minutes ago, ndomer4 said:

Well according to Freeman, Raridon is a dominant blocker, which is something you rarely hear about players, especially freshmen tight ends. 

I would have to disagree about Bertrand getting guys in the right position, as the busts have occurred primarily in the second half during the past few weeks. I can however see them calling a more vanilla game with Kollie in there. I think Lea kept things pretty basic which I’m a proponent of, as I would rather have guys reacting rather than thinking. 

This.  If you have to dumb down some plays in order to get the young talent in the game then so be it.  Just get them in.  Even if its just 2-3 plays during longer drives.  3 and outs, fine, I get that.  There's probably not enough time to worry about it in those situations.  But if you are in the middle of a long sustained drive then give them something.  

2 hours ago, NYGoldenDomer said:

This.  If you have to dumb down some plays in order to get the young talent in the game then so be it.  Just get them in.  Even if its just 2-3 plays during longer drives.  3 and outs, fine, I get that.  There's probably not enough time to worry about it in those situations.  But if you are in the middle of a long sustained drive then give them something.  

Agreed.

I think there’s been a swing towards these guys playing with the current staff except for WR, though merriweather seemed to be in there quite a bit more against byu. LB needs a serious youth movement though. Way, way down on Bertrand this year

I agree with just about everything I am reading here.  Kollie and Merriweather have to play.  They both look the part and at this point, what do we have to lose?  We have to see what kind of talent we have coming back and they need to get that playing time so they are ahead of the curve next year.  Our linebackers are very underwhelming, Kollie could possibly make the most impact out of the group yet he plays the least...

I really like Pyne and call me crazy, wanted him starting last year  🙂  All I will say about Pyne 

I was always a huge Lenzy guy and couldn't wait until he got his shot to shine.  Dud logged the most snaps and caught what? a 5 yard come backer on the first drive?   We really need to play to the players strengths and in the case of Lenzy, he's a speedster...  Jet sweeps?  He doesn't seem he could separate from the defender.  I would love to see more Merriweather, Colzie, Styles and Thomas.   Thats all..Just a die hards perspective for what its worth 

1 hour ago, InLikeFlynn said:

I was always a huge Lenzy guy and couldn't wait until he got his shot to shine.  Dud logged the most snaps and caught what? a 5 yard come backer on the first drive?   We really need to play to the players strengths and in the case of Lenzy, he's a speedster...  Jet sweeps?  He doesn't seem he could separate from the defender.  I would love to see more Merriweather, Colzie, Styles and Thomas.   Thats all..Just a die hards perspective for what its worth 

I too would like to see Lenzy on a jet sweep to better utilize his speed.  His hands have not been very reliable.  I expect that Colzie will start to get more snaps; I hope at the expense of Salerno.  

15 minutes ago, brian_nd88 said:

I too would like to see Lenzy on a jet sweep to better utilize his speed.  His hands have not been very reliable.  I expect that Colzie will start to get more snaps; I hope at the expense of Salerno.  

Agreed.  If all of our WR's are healthy, not sure there is a reason other than mop up duty to ever see Salerno.

Not sure if anyone listened to the press conference, but Freeman said Jack and Bertrand played well and that Marist needs to be better. In the notes that I read, didn’t see any talk of Kollie or Bauer, who I thought were the best guys we had out there. Brace yourselves for more head scratching play out of Marist and JD. 
 

I cannot recall a linebacking core being this weak under Brian Kelly. I think you would have to go back to the Weis years to see such poor play from that group. 

 

I agree personnel usage is confusing, but across the team, I think the topic is pretty complex. 

For years and years, we've been conservative with personnel. Sometimes/often been overly conservative, but at times, sometimes it was understandable. But we've always rewarded years, hard work, etc., Often times over young talent / high-ceiling. 

But honestly it's not easy. We're not Bama, OSU, UGA, etc.. Those guys have rosters with more elite guys, and have more "ready-now" young kids. And they have position groups that have more talent and experience, and it's easier to insert a few young kids. 

NIL has helped us over the past 2 classes. ND has plenty of NIL-boosters lol... Now it's legal, we should see benefits for the years to come. It'll take time though. 

Transfer portal though doesn't help us much. Incredibly hard to transfer to ND unless a grad. 

 

21 hours ago, OKelleyIrish said:

I agree personnel usage is confusing, but across the team, I think the topic is pretty complex. 

For years and years, we've been conservative with personnel. Sometimes/often been overly conservative, but at times, sometimes it was understandable. But we've always rewarded years, hard work, etc., Often times over young talent / high-ceiling. 

But honestly it's not easy. We're not Bama, OSU, UGA, etc.. Those guys have rosters with more elite guys, and have more "ready-now" young kids. And they have position groups that have more talent and experience, and it's easier to insert a few young kids. 

NIL has helped us over the past 2 classes. ND has plenty of NIL-boosters lol... Now it's legal, we should see benefits for the years to come. It'll take time though. 

Transfer portal though doesn't help us much. Incredibly hard to transfer to ND unless a grad. 

And will be easier to transfer out when these young studs don't get the playing time they feel they deserve.  

ND does not have the overall defensive talent to play the 4-2-5 of a Bama but that is what they have been in all year. 

They have no dudes upfront, no big physical backers (and PK and Sneed arent big enough either) and no super secondary 

I agree PK cannot be any worse than Marist so hopefully he gets more snaps

Bama actually redshirts 5 star kids

Edited October 12, 20222 yr by Charlietweeder

On 10/11/2022 at 6:21 PM, NYGoldenDomer said:

And will be easier to transfer out when these young studs don't get the playing time they feel they deserve.  

Portal is certainly easier leaving lol.... at least for ND. 

The TP has been a challenge for all teams, but the elites just reload.

NIL though has helped ND. Both getting some guys, but likely helping retaining too. 

Just wish our admissions didn't suck. 

Wish TP was limited. Either limited to once (like after soph year), or simply more limited rules (seems most kids play immediately).