Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/542018
CHALK TALK BRYAN DRISKELL ruptions. When that is not happening, it limits the defense's effectiveness. Notre Dame ranked just 76th in tackles for loss, 74th in sacks and 41st in turn- overs gained last season. The Irish ranked 84th in pass effi- ciency defense after checking in at No. 16 during the 2012 run. Not putting consistent pressure on the quarter- back allowed offenses to efficiently and effectively attack the defense with the pass game, evidenced by the fact opponents completed 60.3 percent of their attempts. Getting more sacks, quarterback hurries and batted balls at the line of scrimmage will greatly improve the defense's effectiveness. Creating more stops in the backfield will help stymie the opposition's ground attack and put teams in more obvious passing downs. 4. Better Situational Play — Opponents were able to move the chains, convert third-downs and put points on the board at an unacceptable rate in 2014. Notre Dame ranked 79th in third- down defense, 82nd in first-down de- fense and 84th in red zone defense. Opponents scored touchdowns on 70 percent of their red zone opportu- nities, a rate that must dramatically come down. Only Ohio State, at 68.9 percent, was close to Notre Dame's rate among playoff teams. Alabama (38.6 percent) and Florida State (53.8 percent) were closer to what Notre Dame should shoot for next season in regards to touchdown percentage. Improving on third-down is the best way to keep opponents out of the red zone, which is the solution to keep- ing points down. Notre Dame and na- tional champion Ohio State had almost identical red zone rates. The difference is Ohio State allowed just 45 red zone opportunities in 15 games, while the Irish allowed 50 in 13 games. 5. Improved Line Play And Line Depth — The Irish defense got quality play from starting senior tackles Day and Jones when they were healthy. The duo com- bined for 15 tackles for losses and 16 quarterback hurries despite missing a combined four games and Jones miss- ing all but one series of another. However, when Jones and Day were on the sidelines — either to get a breather or for entire games when injured — the interior production took a major hit. To improve its defensive play in 2015, the veteran tackles must stay healthy, and when they come off the field, the second line of players must provide far greater production than they did in 2014. Notre Dame's backup tackles had just 3.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and two quarterback hurries a season ago. Notre Dame also needs greater pro- duction from the edge players. The Irish ends accounted for just 18 tackles behind the line of scrimmage, 8.5 sacks and 15 quarterback hurries in 2014. In 2012, ends Stephon Tuitt and Prince Shembo combined for 23.5 tackles for loss, 19.5 sacks and 21 quarterback hurries. 6. Getting More From The Back End — It is likely no position group on the Irish defense will face greater scrutiny this season than the secondary. There are two reasons for the increased focus.