Notre Dame QB out 4 months...
- Thread starter ACokeForRoy
- Start date
Buchner runs better but Pyne is a better passer even if he is a bit short.
He’s lucky I took it easy on him. Could’ve been a lot more than four months…
This one is a real crossroads for this team. This Notre Dame team may have laid an egg against Marshall but they hung around with tOSU for most of the game. A win here would build a lot of confidence for the players going into ACC play, but also for the fans who have been underwhelmed by the first three games.
If we can win the turnover get battle and not get pushed around too badly in the trenches then I think it will be a close game.
If we can win the turnover get battle and not get pushed around too badly in the trenches then I think it will be a close game.
You didn't mention secondary play. Ben Weinrib, an Athlon guy writing about the Aggies losing to App St, stresses that the Mountaineers "have almost no passing game." Against the UNC secondary, App St looked like a top level passing team.
ND's game plan on offense should stress passing. The Rude Boyz seem easily exploited.
Can the UNC staff study the Marshall Thundering Herd's game plan up, down, backerds and far-erds??
By the way, "Thundering Herd" is a cool name.
By the way, "Thundering Herd" is a cool name.
I’ve already written that unit off. After several years of poor pass coverage, it isn’t going to suddenly do a 180 in two weeks. We have to hope the ND QB is out of rhythm and misses a few here and there. Preferably on third down situations so the defense can get off the field.
And even a poor unit can force an occasional turnover. It just takes one missed read and a decent set of hands to force a pick.
That said, it’s also entirely possible that this offense comes out and torches the Irish. We have the firepower to put the ball in the end zone on a high percentage of drives. If they come out and score on the first few possessions they could create enough of a cushion to lighten the load for the defense.
Playing catch-up from behind or blowing a lead won’t work out this week though. They need a solid sixty minutes of football.
I think if the DL could get some more push and make QBs more uncomfortable, then the secondary will look better just because they won't have to do their jobs as long. I'm not saying that's going to make everything alright, but if we can hide some of our biggest issues we can go from a horrible D to one that's close to average.
Yeah that would probably make a big difference. And with an average defense this could be a 10 win team
I think 10 wins is what Mack would need to get another year. Maybe 9, but he's losing momentum in recruiting because of results on the field. I don't see that many wins happening even if the D can improve some.
I'm not saying he would be fired, but I think he might would strongly consider stepping down or the money guys would let him know that he's on borrowed time. After he's gone, UNC can go out and hire another coach that will keep us in mediocrity.
I do wonder if they would let Bubba make the next hire this time since he didn't hire Mack. He's done a great job with the Olympic hires. It would make sense for them to let him try since he has a good track record here.
I think you keep Mack one more year at least, just because of the offensive situation. Tons of young talented guys that are familiar with a system. It wouldn’t make a ton of sense to blow things up when we likely only get one more year with Drake anyways. Though I guess it is possible to find a head coach that would want to keep Longo and his system in place.
Hopefully he gets an offer for head coach. People like to look at the shiney numbers for him instead of digging deeper.
The thought process is to get someone else here that can make use of all of the talent that has been brought in. This staff has been horrible at developing talent, so bring in someone who can so the recruiting can stay at a high level. Mack has improved the program significantly, but I just don't see this staff being able to take the next step.
Yeah I get that. And if there’s a home run hire out there that would be able to pretty much immediately make improvements then I’d be all for it. But I wouldn’t take any chances with an unproven staff or HC.
Mack rightfully bought himself some time getting rid of Bateman last year. If he upgrades some position coaches on defense then I’d be interested to see what they can do. Especially if recruiting continues doing well.
I’ve been as hard on Longo as anyone but he’s won me over some this year. His playcalling still isn’t the best but it seems improved and the offense has put up big numbers since he got here. And if you look at some of the skills guys we’ve had on offense, it seems they are developing talent much better than the other side of the ball.
Last edited:
Disagree about developing talent on that side. No one has improved from their first year. They've just been great since day one. Howell is the perfect example of that. As great as he was, he had the same issues in year three as he did in year one. If there was even average development, we would have had more than one receiver last year. And the line would have improved instead of having the same issues every year.
Well even staying the same is still better than what the defensive staff has done considering how many of those guys have clearly regressed.
True, but it's still not a good thing. I don't really want to settle for a staff that just doesn't make a player worse. The problem is you know the next hire is just going to be more of the same. They'll come in and be average, winning somewhere between 6-8 games a year. Then five years later it will start again with someone new because #uncfootball.
Agreed. But the offense has put up big numbers and we’ve had a lot of elite level performers in the skill positions on offense. If Longo and his staff could put together a solid offensive line we’d be putting up as many points as anyone in the country. I think we could be successful with Longo if the OL and playcalling issues could be sorted out. His system is pretty similar to what many of the elite programs are running now.
I’m not sure we’d do much better with hiring a new OC right now. Much less a head coach. The chance of finding someone who can fundraise and recruit as well as Mack is basically zero right now.
Last edited:
So true.
TE guys have improved every yr.
Maybe some of the WR too (Antoine Greene, plus this years sophs) , at least the ones that we didn't boot to the transfer portal LOL.
Cedric Gray and Echols look better this yr.
That's really it.
More on player dev - Mack's best offensive yr was with guys he didn't even recruit, excluding Howell. Of course that team goes nowhere with a Nathan Elliot instead of Howell...
I agree that it might be hard to do better than Longo right now. He's got an amazing QB, really good TE's and WRs, pretty good RB, but he's making chicken salad out of sh!t since it all starts up front. But with Maye I kinda think lots of OC's would be at least decent.
Our OL is still trash. We can't run block vs g5 teams, pass-blocking only lasts a second. Watch the line of scrimmage and you'll see other teams get 4 yards up the middle vs us, while we're lucky to not get minus 1.
I thought Mack should've retired last yr. Those rookie RBs and Shaw are good, so it would suck if we'd lost them, but maybe a coach who could install some physicality and foot->throat meanness would net positive.
I agree that it might be hard to do better than Longo right now. He's got an amazing QB, really good TE's and WRs, pretty good RB, but he's making chicken salad out of sh!t since it all starts up front. But with Maye I kinda think lots of OC's would be at least decent.
Our OL is still trash. We can't run block vs g5 teams, pass-blocking only lasts a second. Watch the line of scrimmage and you'll see other teams get 4 yards up the middle vs us, while we're lucky to not get minus 1.
I thought Mack should've retired last yr. Those rookie RBs and Shaw are good, so it would suck if we'd lost them, but maybe a coach who could install some physicality and foot->throat meanness would net positive.
Again, it is hard to criticize Longo too much, but right now we kinda have one offensive threat - the short and medium passing game.
We're doing quicker throws, we're rolling Maye left and right for passes. We're leaking outlets on almost every play. Then we mix in a few pretty basic run plays.
Would it be that hard to find someone who can install that AND who can make sure the OL gets tougher? It has to happen at some point soon, maybe do it while we have a golden QB, Mack isn't getting younger.
And you could make the argument that the TE aren't necessarily better, the are just being utilized this year. That means either Longo was completely ignoring the talent or Sam didn't pay attention to them, which is something the coaches should have fixed.
He might say things that would be upsetting to Mack. The writers at TOS are no longer shy about asserting that they know that Bateman told Mack last year that the entire D staff under him should be replaced. Mack being Mack did what he would have done at Texas: keep his beloved pets and their friends, and instead fire the guy telling him the truth. The more Warren talks, the more Mack's instincts to fire Warren will kick in.
I think part answering this is to wonder why Brewster left, rather suddenly. Brewster has always liked using TEs. Did Brewster leave at least in part because UNC was not doing that? If so, whose call was that? If Longo's, then I would think that Mack's history with covering for even totally crappy BFF assistant coaches would have led Mack to order Longo to pass to TEs more. Brewster was a long time Mack BFF.
But if it was Mack making that final decision, then that would explain why Brewster left and why the offense kept ignoring plays for the TEs until this year.
I also would like to know the role that Seareles had in it. I have never focused on TEs in the Searels history. If Searels wanted TEs to be a very small part in the passing game so they could block more, then Mack also would have been good with that, because it protected his boy Searels some.
I was being somewhat facetious. You play with who you have. I still don't think UNC will win, regardless of ND's QB situation.
I think it's pretty obvious that Mack has nothing to do with play calling. He's been seen on the sidelines arguing with Longo and he's called him out during press conferences.
You'll take interesting points or nuances then morph them into some combo of tinfoil hat conspiracy and obsessive-stalker paranoia.
But i'll bite. Longo hasn't been great in the redzone, maybe the TE could've helped more, but Garrett Walston was the best receiving TE in 2019, and was he really that good? By 2021 Kamari passed Walston in receptions and TD catches.
Tween the 20's that team had Sr Antonio Williams, Jr Michael Carter, Dazz, Sophs Javonte & Dyami -- all nfl'rs. Corrales and Groves caught plenty of passes and a few TDs too. Garrett Walston #7 in most catches...
They didn't have any choice but to make TE #3 and #4 leading receivers last yr. Kamari was also tied with Greene for #2 TD. Kinda small sample size since most stuff went to Downs though.
I suspect Longo/O coaches recognized 2 yrs of being horrible in sacks taken, were afraid the OL would suck again, and felt that to avoid Maye getting killed they needed a better short-pass game. Potentially Longo also realized Maye has a great knack (reading and touch) for these quick routes to TE and slots.
That's true, but we've also been missing the primary deep ball threat with Downs out. The line has been atrocious. What success we've had in the running game has only happened because we have some serious talent at the RB position.
I don't think it's that hard to find a better coordinator than Longo. The hard part is convincing one of them to actually come to Chapel Hill.
Same goes for Mack. I completely agree that he had underperformed so far. But we don't exactly have a list of elite college coaches beating down the door to try to come to Carolina.
My question is why so long?
Maye does have the knack and maybe Sam had less of that knack, but develop him. Don't allow him to put the offense on his back with his ability to run us out of trouble. I think Longo has installed a very good system but I have serious doubts he is very good at managing it in a game.....or in adapting to what's taking place, both in the short term and the long term.
Maybe it's just me.
