[domer747]

Think about this one:

The defense has obviously been a big problem, putting the offense in holes they just can't recover from. I think ND should demote Rick Minter, he's a good coach but not a good coordinator. Then go out now and hire Mike Shula who just got fired from Alabama, who is a great defensive mind and brings that SEC defensive mentality. Any thoughts?

[rmjvol]

Welcome to GoTeamsGo, domer747

I think anyone who can pick up Shula as a DC is going to be in great shape, but won't be surprised if he heads back to the NFL after this mess.

Look forward to chatting more with you.

[domer747]

Thanks for the welcome, I think that is a good point. He comes from a good NFL background and I think their are plenty of NFL defenses who are thinking the same thing about using him as a defensive coordinator.

[Lefty Noob]

domer, you're definitely right about the D. Not sure it's coaching, though; I've never been real high on some of the personnel. To listen to the hype, you'd think Tommy Z. was the best safety in college football today. But he's tremendously overrated. Several times I've caught him out of position, late coming over to help the corner or executing poor tackling technique. Kind of knew USC would turn out like it did because there was no way the Irish secondary was going to keep up with those Trojan WRs.

[domer747]

I agree with your assesment of Tommy Z. I think he could have been a much better player, but I feel they asked him to do too much. Last year he made a big name for himself returning kicks and making big interceptions. Those interceptions were usually made in a man to man coverage or off a bad throw caused by ND pressure. This year he has been asked to do just way too much. He's asked to be the deep man and not let anything behind him, he's asked to spy the quarterback or loose running back, and he's asked to pick up any tackles of rushers that his linebackers missed. I think he misses two guys more than anything this year, Brandon Hoyte and Corey Mays, last years stud linebackers. Without a solid linebacking core, he has had to step up and make big tackles and plays that others have missed. I think he sees a lot of problems and tries to solve them himself, because he is just an agressive player. I think he was a little over-hyped, but I think he is a good player and would be a good addition to an NFL roster next year.