Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/542018
CHALK TALK BRYAN DRISKELL T he Notre Dame defense certainly got off to a good start early in the 2014 season. It seemed first-year coordinator Brian VanGorder was go- ing to continue the program's strong defensive roll. Over the season's first five games, the Irish allowed just 316 yards (4.7 yards per play) and 10.8 points per game. Looking back, it is obvious that Notre Dame benefited from playing an early schedule filled with below- average offensive opponents. Its first five opponents ranked 65th (Rice), 75th (Stanford), 108th (Purdue), 112th (Michigan) and 113th (Syracuse) in to- tal offense. As the schedule got tougher Notre Dame's defense began to struggle. In- juries ultimately did the unit in with linebacker Joe Schmidt, defensive tackles Jarron Jones and Sheldon Day, and defensive backs Cody Riggs and Austin Collinsworth — all starters — missing chunks of the season, but the chinks in the armor began to show well before that point. Over the final eight games of the sea- son, the defense allowed 459.3 yards (6.1 yards per play) and 37.3 points per game. It was the worst stretch of defensive play in Notre Dame history and ultimately doomed the season. Expectations for the Irish offense heading into fall camp are extremely high. Notre Dame should be able to move the ball and score points this season. Getting back to playing cham- pionship-caliber defense is the missing piece to the Irish making a run at The College Football Playoff. There are seven keys to building a championship caliber defense in 2015: 1. Continuity And Depth — A significant part of improving on defense is hav- ing continuity in the lineup. Injuries and the preseason suspensions of cornerback KeiVarae Russell and de- fensive end Ishaq Williams decimated the 2014 unit and exacerbated the late season struggles. The staff will just have to cross their fingers and hope for good health. An area where the staff can better prepare for injuries or bad luck is to continue to build quality depth. The young players that were thrust into key roles last season are now a year older and stronger. Continuing their development will better prepare the Irish depth chart. 2. Better Fundamental Play — Notre Dame's youth was most apparent when evalu- ating its fundamentals. The Irish had far too many missed tackles and blown assignments. The overall technique of the players was underwhelming, es- pecially in regards to how the young players used their hands. A year of growth in the strength and conditioning program will greatly benefit the defense, as will an addi- tional year of teaching and coaching. Simply making the fundamental plays that were often missed last season will be a significant benefit to the defense. Opponents had too many second chance opportunities and big gains Back On Track Defensively