Five-Star All-Day Tough
Remember me? I touched the ball on 40 plays from the line of scrimmage on Saturday. Go back and watch the game again (I know you have it on TiVo). Sure, I don’t break a ton of tackles, but count how many times I fall backwards after getting hit. I’ll give you a hint: Zero. Seriously, I fell forward for 30-35 total yards against Purdue. Coupled with the fact that I don’t put the pall on the grass, picked up my blocking assigments, and gave ND nation a reason to believe we have not abandoned the running game (not bad, considering I’m on pace to tie the single-season receptions mark!), the guys at the IRT dropped the Five-Star All-Day Tough award on me.
October 3rd, 2006 at 6:49 am
JVH, you are never allowed to make Darius your pick to click EVER again.
October 3rd, 2006 at 7:26 am
I would agree – great performance for all 4 quarters. Glad to see one of our best (and seemingly forgotten) weapons finally put to use. A lot of his performance had to do with solid O-line play which, for the first time this year, finally delivered on preseason expectations.
One question I would like to ask is what happened to perennial All-Day Tough candidate Tom Zbikowski? I know the guy got jacked up on an illegal hit during that punt return, but I have counted double-digit missed tackles and missed assignments over the last three games. It also seems like he is going for the strip or big hit more than just making a solid tackle (2 solo tackles in the Purdue game). Is he hurt? Is he spending too much time trying to back-up our cornerbacks? Is his awful Mohawk somehow blocking his vision? Hey, I know the guy could kick my ass, but as the team leader of the defense, it is his role to not only make big plays, but also make sure his fundamentals are solid.
October 3rd, 2006 at 9:21 am
I’m done picking Darius. He’ll never click again in my book.
I think Zibby is playing hurt. He totally whiffed on that 88 yard TD by Purdue. A 100% healthy Zibby would have laid the smack down. He looked to be favoring his left side all game. I wouldn’t be shocked to see Ray Herring more against Stanford.