Strangers in a Strange Land

I am a lifelong St. Louis Cardinals baseball fan.  Since I moved away from St. Louis when I was young, I have done everything possible to follow the team from afar.  When they come to whatever town I happen to live in, I go see them play, clad of course in my Cardinal red.  
Last Wednesday, the Cardinals completed a historic rally to catch the Atlanta Braves and win the NL Wild Card.  As a result, they would be playing the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS, and Games 1 and 2 would take place Saturday and Sunday at Citizens Bank Ballpark in Philadelphia.

Wait, in Philly?  That's not too far away!  Maybe I could... nah....

Checking the Tape: ND @ Pitt 2011

Since our last post, the Irish have won twice, first beating then-#15 Michigan State 31-13 in Notre Dame Stadium, and this weekend going to Heinz Field and defeating Pittsburgh 15-12.  During the Michigan State game, the Irish offense continued its trend of moving the ball successfully but turning it over.  Against Pitt, the ND offense struggled to move the ball at times, but ultimately converted for touchdowns on two key drives that allowed them to escape with the win.  Below, we will take a look at how they managed to score, and what they can take away from this game for the coming weeks.

What Did We Learn from ND @ Michigan State 2010?

     The Irish defense under Brian Kelly and Bob Diaco has shown an inability at times to stop the bread-and-butter plays of opponents' offenses.  Against Navy last season, they could not stop the fundamental option dive.  Against Michigan last week, they struggled against the zone read run by Denard Robinson.  In order to know what those base plays might be for this week's opponent, Michigan State, we are going to take a look at a few key plays from last season's contest between the two teams.   

Checking the Tape: ND @ Michigan 2011

     Notre Dame lost to Michigan 35-31 on Saturday, and one of the more concerning aspects of the loss was ND's continual inability on defense to stop the offense that they should know is coming.  In this case, it is a simple zone read run by Denard Robinson, something that torched them just a season ago, with Robinson racking up a dizzying 258 rushing yards.

     Look, the guy is fast.  The guy is explosive.  He is fun for announcers to talk about because he does not tie his shoelaces.  But you know he is coming.  So be ready.

     On Saturday night, ND throttled the west coast offense of Michigan OC Al Borges for the first 30 minutes, and so every commentator at ESPN, and every fan watching at home, said the same thing - time to go back to what worked last season and let Denard loose.  Did the Notre Dame coaching staff say that too?  Did they prepare the team for the zone read going into this game?  Let's take a look.

   

Dear Coach Kelly

     This will be my first post on this blog. I have no idea if it will be the first of one, or of one hundred. However, in order to set it in context, just a few days ago, Notre Dame lost to Michigan, dropping the Irish to 0-2 in Coach Brian Kelly's second season at the helm.

     Now, I am not egotistical or self-important enough to believe that Coach Kelly will or should look at this or anything I write; this post simply uses the rhetorical device of a letter to the coach to allow me to express myself.