[NDIrish]

I just finished watching (most) of the wake forest game and I have to say, Notre Dame really puzzles me.

First, the scariest part of their offense, to me, is the yac, the downfield blocking, the big receivers, and the downhill running. Those strengths are synergistic and scary — even if you limit the receivers at first, they are big, and they keep delivering blows, and soon, you don’t wanna tackle them anymore. Add that to a running game that hammers you and some textbook downfield blocking and stopping their offense late in the game with a tenderized defense feels daunting. I see ND pulling away from a lot of opponents late in games the way alabama did with Scarborough against washington in 2016.  No wonder Kelly is so eager to have a better pocket passer. It’s the complementary missing piece to a scary offense. If Stanford traditionally runs a smashmouth offense, this is a smashpass offense.

The weird part is their defense. I didn’t watch the Michigan game yet, but apparently they limited Michigan to one offensive touchdown. And then, even though wake forest didn’t score a lot, they made it into the red zone on five of their first six trips, and the first four in the first half. They missed two field goals, but they were in the red zone. If Stanford gets opportunities like those,  I think they do a much better job capitalizing. And then the run defense. Against wake forest, they seem to be too late for a fast running back, and they seemed vulnerable to slow-developing run plays, with a patient running back. Sound familiar?

But then, how did they limit Michigan to just one touchdown??? Which defense does Stanford play this weekend?

You are not the only one that they puzzle... haha.  With the offense, that has always been the hope of what this offense can do, but these receivers... are wildly inconsistent.  There is really some great talent there, they need to just start showing it every week.  They were their against michigan and wake forest, not so much the other games.

for the defense..  that has been what i have been seeing all year.  This supposedly "championship level" defense has gotten beat a lot.  Now, against, WF, they played a lot of backups, even early, but still... not really sure what is going on there.

[NDIrish]

I just finished watching (most) of the wake forest game and I have to say, Notre Dame really puzzles me.

First, the scariest part of their offense, to me, is the yac, the downfield blocking, the big receivers, and the downhill running. Those strengths are synergistic and scary — even if you limit the receivers at first, they are big, and they keep delivering blows, and soon, you don’t wanna tackle them anymore. Add that to a running game that hammers you and some textbook downfield blocking and stopping their offense late in the game with a tenderized defense feels daunting. I see ND pulling away from a lot of opponents late in games the way alabama did with Scarborough against washington in 2016.  No wonder Kelly is so eager to have a better pocket passer. It’s the complementary missing piece to a scary offense. If Stanford traditionally runs a smashmouth offense, this is a smashpass offense.

The weird part is their defense. I didn’t watch the Michigan game yet, but apparently they limited Michigan to one offensive touchdown. And then, even though wake forest didn’t score a lot, they made it into the red zone on five of their first six trips, and the first four in the first half. They missed two field goals, but they were in the red zone. If Stanford gets opportunities like those,  I think they do a much better job capitalizing. And then the run defense. Against wake forest, they seem to be too late for a fast running back, and they seemed vulnerable to slow-developing run plays, with a patient running back. Sound familiar?

But then, how did they limit Michigan to just one touchdown??? Which defense does Stanford play this weekend?

You are not the only one that they puzzle... haha.  With the offense, that has always been the hope of what this offense can do, but these receivers... are wildly inconsistent.  There is really some great talent there, they need to just start showing it every week.  They were their against michigan and wake forest, not so much the other games.

for the defense..  that has been what i have been seeing all year.  This supposedly "championship level" defense has gotten beat a lot.  Now, against, WF, they played a lot of backups, even early, but still... not really sure what is going on there.