Notre Dame DC Al Golden Notebook | Sept. 13
Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden spoke on Tuesday night following practice.
On new staff and halftime adjustments:
“For us, most of the halftime adjustments have to be done as the game unfolds. We're working after every series on the sideline. We have a specific protocol that we go over at halftime and then we go from there. I think the guys have done a good job communicating and making sure the players know exactly what we have to do by series, and not waiting to dump a bunch of stuff on them at halftime."
On fourth quarter defense:
“Not good enough. Not good enough. Simple as that. We have to get it corrected. That's on us. That's what we have to get fixed.”
On if he can adjust playcalling in fourth quarter if he sees a lack of execution:
“Absolutely. Again, it's on my shoulders to put them in the right position to execute and to make a play and we came up short.”
On not forcing a turnover through two games:
"Frustrating. They come in bunches. So as a coach, that's something we've always said. Just stay at it. Just keep working at it. Maybe change a couple things that you've done. Refresh it. Repackage it. Whatever you have to do. No doubt it's frustrating.
“The kids are a little frustrated with it because they worked on it really hard too. I don't think anybody would imagine we wouldn't have one yet, and we need to do that. We need to help our offense and our special teams out by getting them. That's on us."
On if he feels the defensive line is close to getting the production he expected:
"We've just got to keep going. Maybe we left a couple of sacks out there the last two weeks. We're getting some pressures. We've got to get a little bit more. Obviously, if there's an opportunity for a sack, there's an opportunity for a strip sack. So, I'm not down on any position at all. We've just got to keep moving forward and getting better. That's really what it's all about."
On if there is confusion on run fits:
"No, I don't think, I don't think there's confusion. Obviously a long one last week, another one on the double pass. That seventy yards right there. That's two plays that's 70 yards. One was not intended to be a run and it was 32 or 33 (yards). And the other one, quite honestly, we had him bracketed and we didn't get them on the ground and we paid dearly for it both in a loss in by missing the tackle."
On how Notre Dame can fix fourth quarter defense:
“We're trying to work on finishing better. Executing in the fourth quarter. Tackling better to be quite honest. Those are the three things: just finish, whether that includes playing through the echo of the whistle, whatever you have to do to get the ball. And then tackling, executing. Not giving them big plays in the fourth.”
On if fall camp was physical enough:
“Oh absolutely. There's no excuse. We just didn't tackle well enough to win the game in the fourth. We tackled plenty. We practiced it tons. There's no excuses. We didn't tackle well enough, period.”
On his feelings towards the defensive rotation:
“I think we're going to stay with it. Whatever we have to do to be fresh in the fourth and finish. That's paramount right now. Everybody's reps are earned in practice. So we'll go back in tonight and evaluate it. For us, it's full-steam ahead on Cal.”
On practicing and focusing on ball disruption:
“That's right, but again, if it's not happening, you have to do something differently. That's our job as coaches that's my job as the defensive coordinator. That's what we're tasked here to do. In a very short 72 hours, we have to get better at that.
“For us, it's just about going back to the fundamentals of it, the basics of it.”
On if Marcus Freeman’s messaging has changed this week after his comments about changing the focus from finishing on Monday:
"I haven't. Like he's focused on the team and trying to get us better and improve and obviously from Coach down, we're just staying with a process here and just moving forward, and just doing whatever we got to do to find a win. That's the most important thing right now.
“But I haven't seen a big change. He's always—Marcus is always intense in terms of football, and thorough and that's what we're seeing right now as a staff and I think that's what the players are seeing and feeling.”
On positives that make him encouraged the defense is headed in the right direction:
"I'm still I'm not discouraged at all. I wish we had a different result. But we're at 20 points per game right now and a couple plays, we could be under that. Total points at the end of the day is really important. Third down is really important. We were pretty good on third down the other day. We've been gritty in the red. We just let too many big plays. It's as simple as that.
"It's not like we have to have a big overhaul here. The bottom line is it's not good enough. In terms of defense, that starts with me. I gotta look at what we're doing and make sure we get it corrected and that's what we're fixing to do right now."
On if he’s pleased with the play from the cornerback position:
“Again, I'm not pleased with anything because the bottom line is we're 0-2. So again, from that standpoint, we all need to improve and we all have things that our position that we've delineated for them that they need to improve and that's in-house.
"So I'm not going to share that, but no, I mean, "pleased," I'm not pleased with anything right now. And it has nothing to do with the corners, or any other position that you can mention. It's we just got to keep fighting and getting better."
On cornerback TaRiq Bracy:
"I'm happy the way he's playing overall. He's got a good look. He prepares like crazy. He's in coach Mick's office all the time. He's a competitor. Again, he's had big challenges, both week one and then week two, just with the perimeter game that they had. So, he's responded in both."
On if there is anything he can help Marcus Freeman with as he works through this as a first time head coach:
"No, he's got a good pulse. He knows what this team needs. And like I said, a million times, you know, he's the head coach. And if he needs to run something by me or whoever it could be —coach Hiestand or whoever, coach Balis — we're there for him, but he's got a really good pulse on his team, and he's very consistent.
"And I think the team respects that and appreciates that and they want to play for him. So, we're all disappointed with the results. It's got to be better. And for us on defense, if we get a couple of takeaways, that game is different at the end of the day> Both games can be different. So, we have to do what we have to do on defense. And I think the other two entities would say the same thing."
On why it’s important for the head coach to be the same despite the ups and downs of the season:
"He's a long-termer. He's here to build a program and he's got a plan. He's got a vision and we have to fulfill that for him. We're all disappointed for him because the results haven't been there. And, obviously, two really hard-fought games, and everybody on the outside perceived one going a certain way and the other going the other way.
"We were ready for a fight in both. And from that standpoint, we have to get back on the horse and move forward. And that's what we're doing. I think he's done a good job of just flushing it and staying focused on Cal and the problems that they present on offense, defense and in the kicking game."
On messaging to the team at 0-2 now that their season goals are gone:
“Well, we've got great kids and they know we left plays out there, and it's as simple as that. We left plays on the field and any one of them could have could have turned the game. The other thing you mentioned earlier, like our sudden-change defense was pretty good. If you're in a bad spot and you go out there and stop them. But we never did that for our offense. We never got the ball for them at the plus-40, and so I think our guys understand we have to improve some areas and some others we've got to stay where we're at. And that's really what we're doing right now. We've got unbelievable kids and they just came to work."
On if he’s found himself having to lift guys emotionally:
“No. No. Our guys have been good. They motivate you and they challenge you to be your best every day. So, it's a blessing.”
On if snap counts are about what he expected heading into the season:
"Good question. It's been such a dogfight both weeks that I kind of lost track of that. We were trying to get guys in and out, but I didn't see anything that was glaringly different than what we assumed, but again, a lot of players are evolving. There's a lot of guys that are going to be helping us out more in the future, and that's just the way it goes. Some guys get injured. Some guys step up. So right now, I think it's where I thought it would be."
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