JotCast | Notre Dame Football Chat September 26, 2019

Notre Dame Football Chat September 26, 2019

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Eric Hansen

1:14

Keep in mind Chris Tyree is on the way in 2020. I'll just come out and say it. I think Autry Denson is an amazing person and did a good job of developing players. I do not think he did a good job of recruiting running backs the way his predecessor, Tony Alford, did. In fact, he had trouble getting elite running backs to even visit campus. It pains me to be that blunt, because of how classy Denson is, but that's my unvarnished opinion.

Dan from the UP of Michigan

1:11

Hello, Eric, why do you think there has been such a lack of talent recruited at RB recently?

Eric Hansen

1:11

Barney. You and I aren't watching the same game. He ran three times against Georgia. One of them was a planned run. On the last play, the blocking was not good at all. What was he supposed to do. I've seen a lot of QBs in that situation end up getting sacked. He was at least able to unleash a prayer. I will say the next step in Ian Book becoming an elite QB is to recognize pressures faster and counteract them more decisively, but I hardly think he had happy feet against Georgia or was bailing on plays too early.

Barney,Garden City,NY

1:08

If Ian Book has not corrected his proclivity for bailing out of the pocket prematurely by now, can we really expect him to ever correct that unfortunate habit. The very last play of the Georgia game is only the most recent example.

Eric Hansen

1:07

Cliff thanks. Grandpas are special. My grandpa, Pasquale, was my hero. Still is, even if he's not here with us. Sounds like you have a great one in Loren. Since we're not in practice at this time of year, it's difficult to see the physical impact of that Georgia game and how it's playing out. Mentally. I think this group still believes there's a lot to play for. They also know Virginia is really good, especially on defense, so I wouldn't expect there to be a mental hangover from Georgia.

Cliff from Battle Creek

1:03

Hi Eric! I appreciate your quality content every week! I'd like to give a shout-out to my grandpa Loren who reads your column every week. Man, seems like we're always the bridesmaid right now. Coach Kelly and the players seem to be saying all the right things after the loss looking forward to Virginia. Does that match the tone and feeling you're getting being around the program this week?

Eric Hansen

1:02

Brian Kelly is convinced it's for real. His performance this week will tell us a lot. If he can strong together consistency, he's always had the athletic ability.

Mike from Brownsburg

1:02

Asmar Bilals recent performance, aberration or a sign of things to come?

Eric Hansen

1:01

I think it's an extremely difficult climb back for this reason: Notre Dame's November schedule. Not one of the five teams (Va Tech, Duke, Navy, BC, Stanford) received a single vote in this week's top 25. If that stays that way, and it's unlikely to change much, that's a bad look when the teams ND is competing with are playing big games and winning them in November. We've learned from the CFP committee big wins count more than good losses. Notre Dame's best path to getting back into that discussion is dominating its October and November schedule, Georgia ascending to the No. 1 spot in the CFP standings and parity producing a lot of two- and three-loss conference champs.

John from Springfield

12:57

Hi Eric- You have said previously that if Notre Dame loses to Georgia that they would not be able to climb back into the playoff chase. Do you think with the close loss that changes your mind or do they not have enough marquee games left on the schedule to get in at 11-1?

Eric Hansen

12:56

Because Notre Dame did anything but commit to the run, it lessened that urgency to get Javon McKinley on the field. They instead opted for more speed rather than his physicality. It surprised me, but again I thought ND would run more. Michael Young's return will also lessen Javon's opportunities some, even though they don't play the same wide receiver position. There's a domino effect. But I do think he's much more than a one-game wonder.

Clancy from Sheboygan

12:48

Javon McKinley doesn't show up in the Georgia box score after being the best receiver on the field against the Lobos. Can you shed some light? I only recall one ball thrown his way (the overthrown endzone fade). Was he tasked with blocking rather than receiving? Did Book never look his way? It seems a bit odd, especially when you lose Lenzy with a concussion, not to have Javon be more involved.

Eric Hansen

12:48

RC thanks. I hope you enjoy this week's podcast with Rocket Ismail. ... Louisville and New Mexico were bound and determined to get the ball out, whether that meant turnovers and a low percentage or not ... and that's exactly what happened. Georgia had a stellar offensive line and one of the best — if not the best — QBs (Jake Fromm) in the nation both pre-snap and dealing with and defeating pressures. I do expect the production to pick up this week and in subsequent weeks. But if you're 10th in the nation in pass-efficiency defense, then your pressure -- or other teams' fear of it -- is working to a large extent. I will say this, if Brian Kelly could reclaim one player for last year's team and put him on this year's team, I'd pick Jerry Tillery to be that player.

RC from Albany

12:44

Hi Eric - great podcast last week with Gary Danielson. Question - I have been surprised by how quiet our starting DEs have been. How much of an impact is the graduation of 1st round NFL pick J Tillery (& Bonner’s graduation) having on JO & KK? Did we underestimate the impact of losing Tillery & Bonner - or are opposing coaches doing a better job of ‘scheming’ JO & KK out of the play (example, NM focus on getting the ball out quickly). Thanks for all the great work

Eric Hansen

12:43

Sorry for the delay. My boss was peppering me with questions.

12:42

It's an interesting question, and one with more layers than you might imagine. Let's start with Notre Dame. With only nine plays called for the running back position in the game and using one of its slower backs, do we really have a large enough sample size from that game to determine whether there was improvement or regression in that area from the New Mexico game? I don't think so. I feel like the biggest problem in that snapshot is that subpar running back recruiting has caught up to Notre Dame. Virginia should tell us a little more. But I felt going into the season, beyond Ian Book, the player Notre Dame could least afford to lose was Jafar Armstrong, who by the way was recruited as a wide receiver.

As far as Wisconsin, they pump out outstanding linemen -- who play well together -- with impressive regularity. But they also pump out All-America running backs. They have Jonathan Taylor now. They had Melvin Gordon and Montee Ball before him. The longest position drought without an All-American at Notre Dame

Keith from Kalamazoo

Any chance Notre Dame can trade for Wisconsin's offensive line for the rest of the season?? In all seriousness...why does the O-line struggle so much to fire off the ball in the run game. all these O-line recruits and players ND has are 4 start prospects who most major football powers wanted. Is Jeff Quinn not the answer as offensive line coach??

12:21

Eric...love the chats and all your hard work for us fans

Eric Hansen

12:21

The game plan surprised me to a certain extent with only 14 runs and not all of those were even planned runs. I give offensive coordinator Chip Long credit for knowing his personnel and how it would match up. I thought Avery Davis and/or Kyren Williams would get a little more play, but they didn't trust them in that wild environment. I loved the use of Kmet — thought that should have been a big part of the Clemson game plan. I agree with the announcers that in the third quarter, the Irish would have taken some deep shots, especially with the Bulldogs hobbled at cornerback. Georgia's safeties were cheating up too much and it made moving the ball almost impossible. With a Virginia offense that's also very good against the run and overall, Chip can't just cut and paste last week's game plan into this week's matchup. There needs to be some new wrinkles.

Tom from Toronto

12:15

Hi Eric, While a fan of the game, I am not a student of the game. A question or two about the offensive play calling in the Georgia game. How would you rate the play calling? And if your rating is average or lower, in your view, what things should the offense have been doing that they weren't doing, and what things should they have avoided? Always enjoy your insights. Thanks.

Eric Hansen

Off we go.

Some other rules of note.