Tag: Notre Dame Football Defense

IRISH NEWSWATCH: “Sunday Brunch: Kelly Demands a Little Fun—and Gets It” – und.com/John Heisler

Notre Dame Football Defense, Notre Dame Football News, Notre Dame Football Offense
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As much as tackling and coverage and pass rush all played key roles, Irish coach Brian Kelly had maybe more interest in ensuring his players enjoyed themselves. … That’s what comes from a 50-33 triumph over Syracuse in East Rutherford, New Jersey. … inside the locker room, there was hooting … hollering … dancing. … shouting and laughing. If Kelly wanted his team to find some enjoyment in their hard work and sacrifice, he absolutely saw that reaction on Saturday.

Notre Dame’s win over Syracuse was punctuated by a fast start and explosive offense; a defense that made strides and took care of business, including with tackles-for-loss; and a team effort through the air with receptions by ten players.

… Notre Dame started insanely fast. … less than five minutes into the contest Notre Dame had run four offensive plays and led 23-13. … The Irish generally held Orange receiving star Amba Etta-Tawo in check. …. Kelly wanted his defense to get a sense for the pace and then find a way to settle in — and the Irish did just that. … Notre Dame took over the football game in the third period because the Irish defense held Syracuse to 17, 10, 18 and one yard on the first four Orange possessions after intermission. … the Irish felt like they could shut down the the Syracuse run game — and that happened. … Kizer completed passes to 10 different receivers, Josh Adams quietly and effectively ran for 102 yards of his own (and had 52 receiving yards) — and the defense responded with seven tackles for lost yardage and a Nyles Morgan sack.

Click here for “Sunday Brunch: Kelly Demands a Little Fun — and Gets It”

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IRISH NEWSWATCH: “Notre Dame’s re-energized defense holds off Syracuse” – South Bend Tribune

NewsWatch, Notre Dame Football Defense, Notre Dame Football News
Football Next to Football Field

… Notre Dame defensive players, bullied on the field and bashed off it for the first four weeks of the season, single-mindedly pushed for new defensive coordinator Greg Hudson to sing the Fight Song in the jubilant postgame aftermath of Saturday’s 50-33 subduing of Syracuse …. ‘He brought an energy to the team, a new type of leadership,’ Notre Dame middle linebacker Nyles Morgan offered. ‘And guys really bought into how he coaches and what he coaches.’ … But the question that lingered and mixed with the euphoria … was all about sustainability. …

Brian Kelly is looking for Notre Dame to tap into a number of players to contribute.

‘We’ve got a lot of depth,’ Kelly said. ‘We’ve got a lot of really good players that deserve to get on the field, and that’s the kind of defense this is going to be. There are going to be a lot of players playing in this defense. There’s a lot to do, but I thought it was a good start.’

Click here for South Bend Tribune ND Insider: “Notre Dame’s re-energized defense holds off Syracuse”

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IRISH NEWSWATCH: “Notre Dame finds a fix in week of chaos” – South Bend Tribune ND Insider

NewsWatch, Notre Dame Football Defense, Notre Dame Football News
Football on Turf Near Yard Marker

…. A firing. A defensive overhaul. A 1-3 record. A crisis of confidence and execution. … the Irish persevered. … As the top executive in the Notre Dame athletic department, athletic director Jack Swarbrick had a vested stake in the upheaval. Kelly said he came to Swarbrick with his decision to fire VanGorder …. ‘My message, publicly and privately, is the (football) program is in great shape,’ Swarbrick said after the victory. ‘When there are big program problems, that’s harder to deal with. When you just have to start playing as well as you can, it’s a narrower search. “How do we fix that?” My basic message (after the firing) was: 90 percent of what we’ve got here is not broken. I’m confident, you should be confident. Let’s focus on the few things that are (broken). They did this week.’

Click here for South Bend Tribune ND Insider: “Notre Dame finds a fix in week of chaos”

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IRISH NEWSWATCH: “Notre Dame Bounces Back” – Blue and Gold Illustrated

NewsWatch, Notre Dame Football Defense, Notre Dame Football News, Quarterbacks
Golden Dome in Bright Sunlight

Blue and Gold Illustrated reports on Notre Dame’s defensive improvement against Syracuse, following a change in defensive coordinators.

… though the 50-33 #NotreDame win over Syracuse … featured plenty of room for improvement on defense, it was a step in the right direction. Syracuse’s high-powered offense started fast …. But some halftime adjustments proved crucial, and the Irish limited the Orange to just six second-half points. … Kelly fired third-year defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder before preparation for Syracuse’s uptempo offense started. He was pleased with the team’s response. …

Meanwhile, Notre Dame quarterback Deshone Kizer had a strong first half, but Brian Kelly looked for improvement in some of Kizer’s situational decisionmaking.

Offensively, junior quarterback DeShone Kizer had another career day for the Irish. … 23 of 35 passes for a personal-best 471 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. … though Kizer put up huge numbers en route to a 33-27 halftime advantage — he had 170 yards and two touchdowns through the game’s opening period — Kelly said he liked his quarterback’s second-half performance even better. ‘He has a tendency to want to do too much,’ said Kelly. ‘He puts too much pressure on himself. He’s got to stop doing that. What I liked about him in the second half was he dropped the ball down, took the easy completions, made the smart decisions, He needs to continue to do that.’

Click here for Blue and Gold Illustrated: “Notre Dame Bounces Back”

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IRISH NEWSWATCH: “Notre Dame trying to simplify its defense” – Chicago Tribune

NewsWatch, Notre Dame Football Defense, Notre Dame Football News
File Photo of Word of Life Stone Mural Mosaic, Featuring Christ with Arms Upraised, On the Hesburgh Memorial Library at Notre Dame

… Brian Kelly somewhat simplif[ied] Notre Dame’s defense since he dismissed defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder … [he also played] a lot of freshmen. … Troy Pride Jr. became the 13th freshman to play for Notre Dame this season, a high for Kelly since he joined the Irish in 2010. Pride was one of four freshmen in Notre Dame’s secondary at one point Saturday. Kelly vowed to become more involved with the defense during practice to help interim coordinator Greg Hudson. ‘It’s really a short-term approach,’ Kelly said. ‘It’s, “Let’s put these guys in a position to succeed this year, utilizing a lot of young players, gaining experience as we go and being smarter about utilizing our personnel.”‘” … Kelly hopes … it [also] could pay dividends in the future.

On another note, Notre Dame running back Tarean Folston was out against Syracuse after a turned ankle, yet he will be back for North Carolina State.

Kelly said Folston turned his ankle during practice and he’s optimistic Folston, who suffered a season-ending injury in last year’s opener, will play Saturday against North Carolina State. ‘He wanted to give it a shot,’ Kelly said. ‘But he was just not even close to being able to.’

Click here for Chicago Tribune: “Notre Dame trying to simplify its defense”

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IRISH NEWSWATCH: “Notre Dame-Syracuse 2016: Yet Another Challenge for Irish Defense” – und.com/John Heisler

Notre Dame Football Coaches, Notre Dame Football Defense, Notre Dame Football Game Day, Notre Dame Football News
File Photo of Football on Turf with Yardlines

… the fast-paced Orange offense ranks seventh nationally (and leads the Atlantic Coast Conference) in averaging 371.8 passing yards per game (and also averages 496.5 yards in total offense per week). … [the] new Irish defensive coordinator is Greg Hudson. … Bank on plenty of eyeballs being affixed to the action at MetLife when the Irish defense takes the field. … Irish coach Brian Kelly has played it close to the vest this week when it comes to detailing potential changes. … the numbers say the 2016 Irish defense to date ranks 103rd nationally in total defense (454.0 yards allowed per game), 96th in rushing defense (201.0), 87th in passing yards allowed (253.0) and 101st in scoring defense (33.5). The Irish rank 126th in team sacks and 100th in turnover margin. Even with all that, Notre Dame’s three defeats have come by a combined 14 points (4.7 per game). One loss came in double overtime, and the Irish arguably had late opportunities in all three contests to potentially change the outcome. ….

Click here for und.com/John Heisler: “Notre Dame-Syracuse 2016: Yet Another Challenge for Irish Defense”

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IRISH NEWSWATCH: “Requirements for Notre Dame’s Next Defensive Coordinator” – UHND

Brian Kelly, Notre Dame Football Coaches, Notre Dame Football Defense, Notre Dame Football News
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Brian Kelly will be forced to make the most important hire of his Notre Dame tenure in the near future as he looks to find a permanent replacement to former defensive coordinator Brian Vangorder.  … here’s a run down of the requirements …. Defensive Coordinator Experience …. Big Program Experience …. NFL Assistant Need Not Apply …. Relentless Recruiting Acumen …. A DC Who Can Make More With Less …. A 4-3 Defensive Philosophy …. Outside the Brian Kelly Coaching Tree …. The Ying to Mike Sanford’s Yang ….

Click here for UHND: “Requirements for Notre Dame’s Next Defensive Coordinator”

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