I wonder how much missing Billy Schrauth effected our running game as missing Gray effected our
passing defense?
I'm hoping both can return to the starting lineup by the time we play Pittsburgh, our last regular season challenge.
Replies to: I wonder how much missing Billy Schrauth effected our running game as missing Gray effected our
The defense was the opposite of USC
USC sat back to take away Carr, and then got eaten alive by the RBs. BC wasn't going to allow that, so the deep shots were there. I would have done even more throwing than they did against their nine-man front.
O'Brien's game plan was classic Belichick/Patriots: take away the other team's strength and play
keep away on offense with the dink and dunk passing game. For us to score quickly on deep throws was great but (1) we didn't do enough of it and (2) it kept putting our defense out there to face another long drive. I thought the most impressive part of our defensive showing was that the D did not wear out. It was mostly bend but don't break. Giving up ten points to a team averaging 27 is solid work.
Mark Zackery played well
I don't think that Gray's absence hurt us much at all. If anything, it shows that Mark Zackery is ready to play now after a rough early season.
He is certainly much improved over his performance against Purdue.
BC targeted his receiver 4 times, and he only let up a single reception.
Gray is better
Hopefully they can sit him against Navy too.
I want him fresh for Pitt.
No argument there
Gray is actually a very good CB for us, although he's more of a high risk-high reward kind of guy.
He reminds me of Tom Carter in a way, where Carter would get burnt on one play (USC 1992) but then come roaring back with a clutch INT or PBU.
Still, it's good to know that we have yet another true freshman who looks ready to step in at a moment's notice.
It goes to show that not only are we getting high quality guys in the defensive backfield, but that they're ready to play at a much earlier time in their careers compared to what we've seen during the Kelly era.
One fellow here once remarked about the difference in talent between Alabama and us during that time period, that both would bring in good players, but Alabama's recruits were Plug 'n Play, whereas ours were "some assembly required."
I feel that way about Coach Freeman's defensive back recruits versus Brian Kelly's recruits.
Big part of the problem was not trying more over the top throws to loosen them up early.
Or for that matter even intermediate. Can't be stubborn and force the run when it's not working, and that seemed to be what BC was counting on. Coaching stubbornness.
Throwing success early would have made all the difference between a 15 and 30 point win. Getting 9 guys out of the box. Not to say Schrauth wasn't missed. Hopefully Jagusah and Schrauth get healthy soon.
Better to get CJ experience winning a game throwing now, against BC's of the world, than hoping he can do it in the playoffs.
He will throw more as the games gain in importance which they do in the playoffs. He was ready to
throw against Miami but the coaches pulled the same cliche shit of too early to throw much because of inexperience. For crying out loud he almost pulled it out for us. The running game will then take off, I guarantee if we don't blow it we are a threat to win the whole thing. After our second silly loss this year I said we have a chance to have the same record as last year. Guess what just do it.
Wind was a factor
Hard to throw deep into the wind
9 of ND's first 12 plays were passes, 4 of them intermediate to deep throws.
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I’m hoping one of them can also kick when they come back…
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Or forgo kicking altogether. Otherwise better hit up the soccer team.
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Running game wasn't going to work well against a 9 man front
BC committed 8 or 9 men all night long towards stopping the run, and CJ Carr burnt them deep with his passing.
For yesterday's game, the rebuilt interior O-line trio actually did very well in pass protection. Carr wasn't sacked, and only pressured twice.
The offensive strategy resembled our game against Navy in 1991. Navy was crowding the line with 9 all game long, and Rick Mirer put together a 300+ yard passing performance, something that was an absolute rarity during the Holtz era.
The only notable run was by Reggie Brooks, who managed to get a 60+ yard run.
That Navy team was terrible, and by comparison, yesterday's BC team would have throttled them.
Lou was pissed at the offense, and chewed them out after the game, even though we won 38-0.
Re: Running game wasn't going to work well against a 9 man front
Rick Mirer with a 300+ yard passing game? That indeed was a rarity.
Amazing how much he was set up for an NFL career because he was too often inaccurate, though Derek
Brown certainly dropped some key passes of his. A potential game saver against Stanford in 1990 was just the most memorable of a few.. Mirer had a fairly strong arm and very good athleticism and he did convert that to an excellent first year as a pro but once he lost Tom Flores as a coach he really went down hill. Playing for bad teams really hurt him.