Notre Dame Must Find Pass Game Answers

The arrival of Sam Hartman gave an immediate boost to the Irish pass game, but heading into the final two games of the regular season this part of the offense has lost its way. If Notre Dame is going to finish the season on a high note it must find solutions to a broken pass offense.

In the first four games of the season, Hartman passed for 265.3 yards per game, completed 71.1-percent of his passes and averaged 11.8 yards per attempt while passing for 13 touchdowns without any interceptions.

In the last six games, Hartman has passed for just 201.8 yards per game, is completing just 58.3-percent of his passes, is averaging just 7.2 yards per attempt and has just five touchdowns while throwing for seven interceptions.

There are a myriad of reasons for the pass game struggles. Some - like the injuries that have plagued the wide receiver and tight end positions - are understandable reasons for a dip in the pass game, They do not, however, explain just how far the pass game production has fallen.

Notre Dame needs to get the pass game back on track in its final two games and in the bowl game. The pass catching group is what it is, and there are enough options and enough talent remaining - even with the inexperience - for the Irish pass game to be better than it is.

Here are five things I want to see the Irish coaches do down the stretch to enhance the pass game, and take steps towards finding out who the playmakers can be heading into the offseason.

1. More Movement

I don't see the Notre Dame receivers all of a sudden becoming better at getting off press or as route runners just because of one bye week. If the staff hadn't fixed those issues by now, the best case scenario is they are fixed during the offseason. That means Gerad Parker and the staff need to work around that. They also need to do more things to put stress on defenses.

One way to accomplish both is the get more movement pre and post snap. Notre Dame is a very static offense, which combined with the fact they go so slow from snap to snap makes it much easier for defenses to get set and lock into coverages. Using more presnap motions and shifts is something we need to see from this unit on a snap to snap basis, and I'm not talking about just running nothing but straight motions or jets across, although those are part of it.

Post-snap movement is also key for the offense. That includes reverse and jet action, but also more post-snap switches that come off the pre-snap movement and more stack alignments. If the offensive staff can show a bit more creativity with their concepts, but do a lot more of this type of stuff they will see more and more receivers getting open.

2. Be More Aggressive

Defenses are just squatting on the pass game right now, daring Notre Dame to throw the ball down the field. The combination of Hartman being unwilling to challenge down the field and the lack of overall aggressiveness has resulted in Notre Dame being a very conservative, and easy to guard pass offense.

Notre Dame has to be willing to be more aggressive in the final two games. Wake Forest and Stanford rank 64th and 133rd in pass defense, they rank 75th and 131st in pass efficiency defense, and they rank 72nd and 124th in passing yards allowed, respectively. These are two defenses that Notre Dame can and should be able to find some success against with the pass game, but they have to be willing to attack more than we've seen the last month-plus.

This means still using the all verticals concepts we've seen, but also more aggressive combination concepts designed to get the ball down the field. Whether that be double post concepts, deep overs with clears, double moves (please, please give me some double moves) or utilizing the play-action game and other movements to get isolations free, the reality is this staff needs to be more aggressive with its pass concepts.

3. Be Consistent With RPO Game

Notre Dame has been inconsistent with whether or not it implements the RPO game. When they have made a concerted effort to use it they have found success, but for some reason there has been an unwillingness to use it with much frequency. Changing that will allow the offense to be more efficient, which is something Marcus Freeman says he wants.

A well designed and well executed RPO game adds greater efficiency to the run game by giving the quarterback options against loaded boxes or aggressive second and third level defenders. If you want to be more efficient, why not be willing to get the ball outside of a loaded box or aggressive run stunt instead of running head first into a loaded box? This is why I don't understand the unwillingness to better use the RPO game.

The way Wake Forest attacks with their safeties, a proper RPO game could also result in some big plays by the offense, which it also needs. But at the very least it puts the next two defenses in major binds as they try and defend Audric Estime and the run game, it also takes some of the pressure off the offensive line.

4. Move The Pocket

There is a bit of an obsession over play-action passes going on. To a degree I get it, I'm a fan of a good play-action pass game, especially for an offense that likes to run it like Notre Dame does.

I would like to see more play-actions, but I'm more focused specifically on moving the pocket, and not every play-action pass requires moving the pocket. The way teams defend Notre Dame, getting out of the pocket on the occasional bootleg, half roll or sprint out.

These type of actions could generate big play opportunities, but it's more about getting efficient passes going, changing up the launch point (which impacts the pass rush) and getting some easier catching opportunities for the wideouts and tight ends.

5. See What You Have

Right now Notre Dame needs to really see what it has with its pass game weapons this season. Yes, they are young. Yes, they are unproven. Yes, it hasn't been pretty up to now. But there is talent in the room. Notre Dame has coached in a way that shows a lack of faith in the group, for a number of reasons. When you coach that way you're unit is going to struggle.

They have what they have, there are going to be no new additions until we get into the offseason. Should Notre Dame go to the portal for a wideout? Should they move on from certain players on the roster? I want to see the staff let it rip in the final three games (two regular season, one bowl) and see what they have.

That means doing more to get Tobias Merriweather the football. See what he is made of. Design throws for him, ensure that Hartman gets him the football, and put him in position to make more plays. If he doesn't step up then they know, he's not the player the staff and I hoped he would be.

Do the same with Holden Staes, Eli Raridon and Cooper Flanagan. Do more to design ways to get Jaden Greathouse the football. Do more to get Chris Tyree the ball in different ways. Start finding more ways to get Jeremiyah Love the football in the pass game. Go on the attack, put more faith in your young players and see what they are made of. If they step up then you know you have something. If they don't, then the staff will have greater conviction when they go to the portal.

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