Serious question?

 

It seemed to me he was the most commented defensive player yesterday...however, not all was good.

 

Will he be solid in the middle or someone better teams will take advantage of?

Looked to me like he always knows what to do, he just doesn't have the total package of skills to be able to do it all the time.

 

So I guess that doesn't mean good or bad, he is what he is.

I agree with Cory....He is what he is.

He filled the gap on a couple of plays and made a couple of good stops. He looked great as he finished some hits high when someone else already had the runner low.

However, he also got run over, pushed back, and whiffed on several tackles.

IMO, he should not be manning the middle of the defense at ND. He simply is not physically imposing enough and will be exposed against stronger teams/backs.

Has football speed and plays well in space. Always around the ball. He's tough and smart.

 

Not the biggest but he does well with what has.

 

Leading tackler - wait who is that Farley dude at #3.

 

1 Joe Schmidt 8.00

2 Sheldon Day 6.00

3 Matthias Farley 5.00

4 Jaylon Smith 3.00

5 Elijah Shumate 3.00

6 Jarron Jones 3.00

7 Drue Tranquill 3.00

8 Max Redfield 3.00

9 James Onwualu 3.00

Edited August 31, 201410 yr by Domer Dude

Schmidt did exactly what can be expected of him the whole year. Average to above average performance.

 

More importantly I hope the rumors are correct because Ishaq and Russell would provide a huge boost of talent and experience to this defense. Kelly has sounded worried about the D since spring ball and I can see why.

He's got good instincts which helps him to be quick inside to react against the run before being blocked. The 4-3 protects him from having a big guard blocking him unimpeded. Where he'll struggle is in space and pursuit, where his lack of foot speed limits him.

Looked to me like he always knows what to do, he just doesn't have the total package of skills to be able to do it all the time.

 

So I guess that doesn't mean good or bad, he is what he is.

 

Either way it's refreshing to see him as opposed to those bozos Fox and Calabrese.

He's got good instincts which helps him to be quick inside to react against the run before being blocked. The 4-3 protects him from having a big guard blocking him unimpeded. Where he'll struggle is in space and pursuit, where his lack of foot speed limits him.

 

That's what I think too. He seemed to be in the right spot all day, but missed a few tackles where he needed more athleticism

Schmidt happens.

Did anyone else notice that rice got all of their offense up the middle and on crossing routes where Schmidt was targeted...

 

Michigan will pound away at him and force the safeties to keep their eyes in the middle of the field, setting up play action and bootleg...

I noticed Schmidt early in the game, and not as much as the game went on. I think he got off to a very good start (especially against the run). He will always be in the right place it seems, but his athleticism will be tested against better teams. Overall, I am pleased with his performance.

Schmidt happens.

 

Good one!

 

This young man always wanted to play for ND and made his way form walk on to starter. Does he have all the physical abilities for a prototype ML? No.

But he plays with all his heart and has the smarts to be in the right spot at the right time. As an alum, I salute him on living his dream. He is a true Domer in every sense of the word, and I as proud as I can be that he chose to come to Notre Dame.

Did anyone else notice that rice got all of their offense up the middle and on crossing routes where Schmidt was targeted...

 

I don't think the big gain Rice got on the crossing route in the 1st quarter was Schmidt's fault. I think Trumbetti followed the tight end too much inside and left his zone, leaving a huge gap on his side of the field as the receiver caught the pass and entered that side of the field. I think it is pretty unlikely that they would ask Schmidt or Trumbetti to be in man coverage and expect both of them to be able to cover across the field. Farley also overreacted too far inside, which made the gain even worse.

 

EDIT: The 15 yard gain in the second quarter was a receiver crossing pattern into his zone. Schmidt got caught looking to cover the seam to his left as the receiver ran in front of him him to his right side. He doesn't have the make up speed to be caught in this situation. The play was negated by an illegal formation. I don't know if this influenced Schmidt's decision on where to focus his first reaction or not.

 

What they do ask of Schmidt, which is going to be a problem imo, is drop into zone areas across the field when they blitz to one side. He's expected to go from near the line of scrimmage on the blitz side and then run 10-15 yards deep on the other side of the field. Somebody is going to recognize this and burn us.

Edited August 31, 201410 yr by Frankus
Watching the game again.

I thought he was fine. His physical traits will always limit him at the point of attack, and would not be surprised to see teams run right at him. In terms of playing in space, whether tracking a ball carrier at an angle or in coverage, I think he is above average relative to non-Teo middle linebackers we have seen.

Good one!

 

This young man always wanted to play for ND and made his way form walk on to starter. Does he have all the physical abilities for a prototype ML? No.

But he plays with all his heart and has the smarts to be in the right spot at the right time. As an alum, I salute him on living his dream. He is a true Domer in every sense of the word, and I as proud as I can be that he chose to come to Notre Dame.

 

Exactly Jersey!!!

 

It's actually why I asked the question...I love his story and hope he stays solid.

Good one!

 

This young man always wanted to play for ND and made his way form walk on to starter. Does he have all the physical abilities for a prototype ML? No.

But he plays with all his heart and has the smarts to be in the right spot at the right time. As an alum, I salute him on living his dream. He is a true Domer in every sense of the word, and I as proud as I can be that he chose to come to Notre Dame.

 

I agree that we should all be proud of him for what he accomplished and the abilities he brings to the team. I will continue to root hard for him to succeed but as others have said, he is lacking the physicality to be a complete MLB at this level.

 

This is both good and bad when I say he's similar for the defense as to what Rees was for the offense last year.

Has football speed and plays well in space. Always around the ball. He's tough and smart.

 

Not the biggest but he does well with what has.

 

Leading tackler - wait who is that Farley dude at #3.

 

1 Joe Schmidt 8.00

2 Sheldon Day 6.00

3 Matthias Farley 5.00

4 Jaylon Smith 3.00

5 Elijah Shumate 3.00

6 Jarron Jones 3.00

7 Drue Tranquill 3.00

8 Max Redfield 3.00

9 James Onwualu 3.00

 

I've been a big supporter of Farley and admit he played poorly last year. But right now I think he's out of position the same with Shumate. They should be where Onwualu and Turner are. Both Farley and Shumate like to be by the line and hit. Out in space they seem to be a little more Susespitable.

He's a solid back up.

 

Watching Wisconsin, LSU, UGA, FSU defense it's evident we are a little behind in our LB corps. Hopefully our young guys can get up to speed ASAP and Jaylon just continues to be all world.

Has football speed and plays well in space. Always around the ball. He's tough and smart.

 

Not the biggest but he does well with what has.

 

Leading tackler - wait who is that Farley dude at #3.

 

1 Joe Schmidt 8.00

2 Sheldon Day 6.00

3 Matthias Farley 5.00

4 Jaylon Smith 3.00

5 Elijah Shumate 3.00

6 Jarron Jones 3.00

7 Drue Tranquill 3.00

8 Max Redfield 3.00

9 James Onwualu 3.00

 

Misleading.......

Did anyone else notice that rice got all of their offense up the middle and on crossing routes where Schmidt was targeted...

 

Michigan will pound away at him and force the safeties to keep their eyes in the middle of the field, setting up play action and bootleg...

 

Funchess will feast

Joe played well for the first 20-25minutes--toward the end of the first half he was getting weaker or tired --several tackles were bounced off of near the end of the 1st half and a couple of whiffs in the second.

 

Kelly did make a point to say he did well calling defensive signals---so there is that---

 

He also had some STRONG tackles early

 

As far as the crossing routes being successful, some of that is BVGs scheme leaving that area as a target of opportunity in his aggressive 4-3---I don't think they were attacking Joe because they felt he was slow or some such----

 

I think no matter who is there the shallow crossing routes will be an offensive focus of all our opposition----that's going to be an ENDEMIC soft spot even if TEO was there.

 

Did MORGAN play at all?

 

aloha's