I know the narrative this week has been less than kind to the defense. I agree with the sentiments expressed by the fan-base the past 96 hours. The first two drives by Louisville were beyond difficult to watch. It looked like Notre Dame had zero practices prior to this contest. However, three things stood out to me. The first is the ND defense gave up 3 points over 49 minutes after giving up 14 in the first 11. Second, if you pay attention to the pass defense, it was actually pretty good. Kyle Hamilton is going to be a freak. Finally, in years past the worst Notre Dame defenses I've witnessed were very slow. They almost looked like old men trying to keep up with young boys. The defense that ND has in place is the quickest I've seen in years. #6, #14, # 9, #42 and #53 are lightning quick. If the staff can just harness the existing speed and get them in the proper place at the proper time they can evolve into a pretty good D this year.

I know in years past one would consistently hear that "ND doesn't have the speed" to compete line. I don't think that is the case anymore on D. I saw many white jerseys flying all over the place in Louisville. They just looked like they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.