A Good Morning Howdy and Blessings to All! Yeah, it's been a minute. Work and commitments have taken me away a bit, mostly paying for my wife's new convertible, but hey, she deserves it for putting up with me for all these years. But to business, we have a game to discuss. Truth be told, I've gone back and forth on this one from reckless confidence to unspeakable nervousness. Don't know why. Just been that way. But here are some things that I believe will make some difference in the game, at least on our side...
- Own the Edges - This is going to be critical for us offensively and defensively. Let's start with the offense. Coach Klein's offense is all about creating numbers, angles and leverage wherever possible. It's why he was so successful taking "lesser talent" and coalescing them into finely tuned units that can score on anyone. I just don't foresee a game where we'll just slam it up the middle. Controlling the edges, misdirection, blocking from the TEs, pulling, etc. will be crucial. Same with the passing game. Minimize pressure. Our tackles have to have big games. Switching over to defense. Our Edges have to harass and control Leonard without letting him improvise or make plays. That is when he is dangerous. We have the advantages but I worry our anxiousness will be used against us. Discipline is key. Don't overrun plays. Look for a lot screens, boots and QB draws for these very reasons.
- Find the Matchups and Exploit - Plainly, Notre Dame has a couple of DBs that are very good. I mean, "will play on Sunday good." So, though one can't totally game plan totally away from those guys, Coach Klein can seek out other more favorable matchups. Those usually involve perhaps slots, TEs, LBs, and safeties. From what Mark has written, I think we should have matchups we like there. Also, Coach Klein is excellent finding creative ways to stretch the defense with jet sweeps and the like, so I would look for that, too. On defense, I would very surprised if there wasn't a lot of mixing and matching against a very "green" (see what did there?! lol) ND offensive line. If the coaches find some matchups they like, look for them to stick with them.
- Turnovers, Specials & Adjustments - We have to Win, Win and Win! These are three areas that have really cost us games through the last several years, either in one or in combination. To become the really good program we aspire to be and not just talk about it, these are the types of things good teams do. They win the turnover battle. They win Special Teams. They make great in game adjustments. It's What Winning Football Is And We Want To Be A Part Of It!
