My ND preview: UM Defense
Intro is same as offense version here, http://mgoblog.com/diaries/my-nd-preview-um-offense
All right so I am going to start this off by saying 2 things #1 UM’s win over WMU is great for everyone. ND fans are more excited about this game than before, obviously the entire stadium was rocking with support of UM and the coaching staff and the entire team looked like they were having a great time. Although everyone on the team didn’t experience last year, it looked like they all came together to put any fears of that repeating fully to bed. I fully congratulate UM on their win and I mostly wish them success in the future.
Before we move on to #2 I want to put up this disclaimer: You probably will not like what I am going to post, and I won’t hold it against anyone if it results in some lashing out, I was prepared for that long before I registered. Also remember that quite a few posters actually requested this write up so here it goes….
#2 ND is going to tear UM’s defense apart, still too harsh? :) So if you’re still with me, you would probably ask why is that? The passing threats are self evident, Tate and Floyd are constant play makers and if a secondary focuses on them with coverage then Rudolph or the Kamara coming out of the slot will burn teams up the middle. A team sells out to the pass and the running game will kick in. The running game will probably never be the shoulders this offense rides on but it began to show its teeth in week 1. The new additions to the staff have already proven their worth in regards to the running game. If your still still reading you shouldn't take that #2 statement too literally, it was just meant to weed out the undesirables.
UM Defense:
Secondary
WMU did not challenge UM’s defense and their short pass play calling allowed the secondary to play close to the line of scrimmage and support the run. The UM secondary was challenged maybe a total of 4 times with passes attempted over 15 yards.
One was knocked down, and another fell incomplete when Hiller had 4 defenders break through his Oline causing him to throw early. The last 2 completions both came late in the 2nd quarter on the last drive when WMU actually looked like they had a decent offense, though it stalled out a few plays later. There were 2-3 drives that WMU was able to move the ball and they did it with a balanced attack by going with 10yardsish passes which pulled back the secondary and allowed for some respectable runs up front. The only pass that took advantage of UM crowding the LOS was the 73 yard TD pass which was about a 30 yard pass and 43 YAC, that should worry UM fans more than anything.
That type of attack is what you will see from ND though the ratio might be more like 2:1. UM’s run support will not be able to rely on help from a secondary, they will have their hands full with our WRs. ND will stretch the field, unlike anything WMU did.
Also where did all the excitement over Donovan Warren come from? He did lead the team in tackles with 6.5 but he also generated 45 yards in penalties with 2 Pass interception penalties and a personal foul, which was away from the ball and the camera. I would not be surprised one bit if he gets picked on next week by the play calling. Especially if he still doesn’t think that he deserved those penalties on those particular plays; it could be a long game for him.
Front 7
UM’s front 7 really took apart WMU’s line repeatedly. The Oline was confused and lost, letting rushers through unchallenged. They too got out of position and it led to the defense being able to drop the backs and QB for losses. Overall UM tackled well, and didn’t let up really at all during the game. Those front 7 will be looking across at an upgraded Oline this week though. Nevada’s pass rush last year was no slouch and they got pressure on clausen a couple times, they returned 2 DEs who totaled 23 sacks last season* and 15 tackles for loss. [EDIT]> The ND line did a great job giving Clausen time, he did feel the pressure a couple times, and Nevada did get one sack. There is no doubt Clausen will feel a strong pass rush this week, Brandon Graham will be a strong force on the outside and the ND Oline will need to have to slow him down in order to give Clausen time to pass. The ND rushing attack was nowhere near amazing last week but it was a respectable 172 yards with 4.3 yds/c. I am excited to see how physical they will be against the UM front, who showed their teeth against the WMU front regularly
[*EDIT: both DE's sack totals came from less than stellar competition and were probably not good indicators of NDs Oline strength]
Overall though the UM front 7 showed they can bring pressure regularly and that the Oline has to be ready for it to come from anyone. The secondary probably had one of their easiest games of the season, and came away with just as many questions as a week ago, IMO. The ND Oline will not tire as easily as WMU’s did and when they do, we again have depth to rotate them out.
Looking at how both teams match up against each other, you have to give ND the advantage. ND’s passing attack vs an inexperienced UM secondary with little depth. If you can’t stop the pass in the secondary that pass rush upfront will become even more important. And with the way the ND Oline shut down the 2 Nevada DEs I can’t see it being enough to stop the passing attack. Then you have the true freshman QBs under regular pressure from whatever blitz has been dialed up, and a secondary that doesn’t give an inch anywhere on the field and I still see ND having the advantage.
With that all said, ND is playing at UM, in front of 108,000 anti-fans who are going to be loud the entire game, angry the entire game and ready to win again. If UM can come out strong early and continue the same type of play they had against WMU, it will be a close game till the end no matter what advantage I may think ND has.
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September 8th, 2009 at 1:26 PM ^
"WMU did not challenge UM’s defense and their short pass play calling allowed the secondary to play close to the line of scrimmage and support the run. The UM secondary was challenged maybe a total of 4 times with passes attempted over 15 yards. One was knocked down, and another fell incomplete when Hiller had 4 defenders break through his Oline causing him to throw early. The last 2 completions both came late in the 2nd quarter on the last drive when WMU actually looked like they had a decent offense, though it stalled out a few plays later."That is very true, and I found it very strange. The matchup that scared me the most was NFL-headed QB vs. Michigan's safeties. Yet we got dinking and dunking, and apparently, we have a very good anti-dinking-and-dunking defense.
"There were 2-3 drives..."...after Michigan was up by 31 points and in Prevent...
"...that WMU was able to move the ball and they did it with a balanced attack by going with 10yardsish passes"...against Michigan's prevent defense
"...which pulled back the secondary"...which didn't have to move, by nature of already being pulled back, being up 31-0 and in prevent.
"...and allowed for some respectable runs up front."
"The only pass that took advantage of UM crowding the LOS was the 73 yard TD pass which was about a 30 yard pass and 43 YAC, that should worry UM fans more than anything."We would be worried, except it was against the backups at the most paper-thin position group in recent M-memory. In other words, read your secondary preview. In case you missed it, here's Brian on backup safeties:
"What backups? It appears that Jared Van Slyke is on the two-deep for serious. Now, you can get away with the occasional walk-on safety—Jon Chait had the best zinger of a three-hour block on WTKA when he said Wisconsin had an "endowed chair" for walk-on safeties—but raise your hand if you're enthusiastic about that prospect given Michigan's safety play of late. Right: no one."/Brian. Back to you:
"That type of attack is what you will see from ND though the ratio might be more like 2:1. UM’s run support will not be able to rely on help from a secondary, they will have their hands full with our WRs. ND will stretch the field, unlike anything WMU did."You know your team's tendencies best. From everything I've seen from Coach Weiss, this completely fits what I think his overarching strategy has always been. West Coast he is not. This is a shoot-and-shoot offense that relies on house-sized offensive linemen to man-on-man the defensive linemen and hold them off until the gunslinging quarterback can shoot it to a streaking receiver. Draw runs and short-drop slants keep things honest, but the big plays come from the bomb, amiright?
"Also where did all the excitement over Donovan Warren come from?"A freshman season of awesome a la Ty Law/Leon Hall/Marlin Jackson/Charles Woodson, followed by a sophomore season of contribution though very very injured, followed by us learning that he had been very very injured and is now healthy, followed by practice hype, followed by an excellent Game 1 performance. Oh, was that rhetorical?
"He did lead the team in tackles with 6.5 but he also generated 45 yards in penalties with 2 Pass interception [sic] penalties and a personal foul, which was away from the ball and the camera. I believe the PF got him pulled from the game as well?"Yes on the first part. As to the rest, Craig James and Mike Patrick disagreed with both PI calls -- on review I think the consensus was they were bogus calls during blowout time. Although as a Notre Dame fan I fully understand you being a major "I call it as it stands" fan w/r/t penalties, since pretty much every one of your rivals thinks ND is the most notorious recipient of favored officiating. No, the personal foul didn't get him pulled. He was in on the next play, which was Jonas Mouton's interception. He also made the first tackle on the next drive. He stayed in the game late, even after most of the other unreplaceables were sitting, and made the final tackle of the game.
"I would not be surprised one bit if he gets picked on next week by the play calling. Especially if he still doesn’t think that he deserved those penalties on those particular plays; it is going to be a long game for him."Pick on him. Please. Send every pass you have in the direction of our most (only?) competent defensive back. Please. What you didn't notice was that when Michigan backed off in coverage, Warren was still coming up and making plays all game. Almost all of those tackles started with him 10 feet or more past the line of scrimmage, then coming up to make the play. So throw it at Warren. Pay no attention to the 5'9 true sophomore. Pay no attention to the legacy who switched positions in the spring. Pay no attention to the redshirt sophomore who couldn't wrest playing time from the worst safety combo in Michigan history last year. Watch where No. 6 is and throw it there. Every play. Or at least every play that your O-line manages to keep a single-blocked Brandon Graham out of the backfield. I mean this with the greatest respect, Irish, but you're wrong about the beards. * e.g. "Hey, guys, let's leave Gabe Watson/Lamarr Woodley/Brandon Graham single-blocked. And guys, let's call deep, long developing passes again and again versus Michigan's blitz-happy nickel package -- they totally won't be expecting THAT."
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Notre dame, carrying a huge load of preseason expectations, travels to Ann Arbor to face a young, rambunctious group of Wolverines looking have fun playing football and support their unfairly criticized coaches.
Its easy to fall into the trap of over-analysis; both teams have talent; one team has very little to lose.
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September 8th, 2009 at 6:07 PM ^
three predict 11-1
three predict 10-2
three predict 9-3
All nine predict a win at Michigan
I won't dignify the rantings of a former ND coach who predicted 12-0 on his ESPN platform; but I'd say preseason expectations were/are *very* high.
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NDFanboy1: Hey did you see the grasses are short on the field? NDFanboy2: Coach Weis is a genius. He did it to neutralize the speed of the other team. Observer: But won’t both the teams slow dwn? NDFanboy1: Typographical mistake. Go and learn some English. Typical redneck.
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