No Room for Error
posted by Scott Engler
(The Rock Report) - Everything is on the line this year for Charlie Weis.
He is at a career tipping point.
If Charlie loses more than three games during the season and fails to make a BCS game, chances are, he’s out. If he loses three games and the Irish are whacked again by USC, chances are, Charlie’s out. Swarbrick has communicated to many that Charlie must get it right this year.
But…
If Weis can put the pieces together, if he can figure out the leadership puzzle, Charlie’s set up for a four year run.
So, what to think?
On one hand: two of the worst back to back seasons in Notre Dame history, an abysmal running attack, absurd assistant turnover and two classes that weren’t in the top 20 (and another vastly overrated class.)
And on the other hand: back to back BCS berths, record breaking offensive performance, recruiting that has blown open the myth that Notre Dame can’t recruit anymore (witness the Te’o commitment) and assistant changes that rectify Notre Dame’s biggest weakness.
The only reasonable answer I’ve seen is that Charlie has, so far, failed to show he’s capable of leading the Irish to the promised land and until that changes it’s hard to give him the benefit of the doubt. That doesn’t mean he can’t do it or you should support him, but he hasn’t shown it and by your fifth year, even on a rebuilding project, hard work has to be translated into performance. On the positive side, Charlie's shown that he can change.
But, as detailed in an earlier column, the disturbing thing is that Charlie’s still guessing. He doesn’t know.
From the island of disbelief: Charlie just recently discovered that Notre Dame’s running game is a problem? His line about doing some research about Notre Dame’s struggles running the ball makes you wonder how the hell he made it this long. Props to TreeD who first put the running game problem into the numbers that Charlie’s talking about.
Still, there seems to be greater awareness on Weis’s part.
Near death experiences, as in a new AD who didn’t hire you and contemplated and possibly advocated for your dismissal are illuminating.
The question is whether Charlie can move from rhetoric to action and finally move from a coach learning on the job to leader.
The odds are ag’n it, but there’s hope in words and deeds and the talent level is finally both old enough and at a high enough level that he’s set up to win.
This year there are truly no excuses and a lot of reasons to expect a radically better offense than the one that put up 22 points a game before Hawaii… I can’t even remember the 2007 number.
Looking across the offensive line, there’s zero excuse for Notre Dame to continue its recent history of sucking. First off, the staff deserves credit for plugging the gaping “sack hole” that opened up on the offensive line the last two years. Pass protection was the best we’ve seen under Weis. Second, the offensive line is now a bunch of seniors and Verducci is known for being a stickler for fundamentals and is also responsible for the running game. On the surface that looks promising. The worry is that it’s a move that absolves Charlie from responsibility if the running game falters again. Still, with a new coach coming in and a talented and senior offensive line, this year will show whether the problem was Weis and his schemes or a disconnect with Latina. The Irish also have a lot of highly recruited talent in the pipeline and will return three off this line to start next season.
Our Tight End situation will be good to very good with the possibility of becoming excellent with the addition of Mike Ragone. Ragone and Rudolph form the most athletic tight end combination in the country. Both have three years of eligibility remaining.
Our wide receiver situation is the healthiest I’ve seen it since I’ve been following Notre Dame football. Floyd and Tate are a fantastic combination. Kamara, despite a dip in performance, will be just a Junior this year. For perspective, Stovall didn’t really emerge until his senior season. Walker, Goodman and Evans all have speed and size. Keep an eye on Cierre Wood who could become a Tim Brown/Ricky Waters type player in the slot. Tate has two years left, Floyd three, Goodman, Evans, Walker and Wood, four.
Clausen is a puzzle. When he has protection and confidence, he’s as good as any quarterback in the country. When he doesn’t, he’s borderline at best. But again, he’s still a sophomore and compared to other high profile sophomores, Clausen’s improvement has been far above average. Much of Clausen’s negatives go away if Notre Dame runs the ball more effectively. Clausen has two years remaining, Crist has four(edit).
I think Armando Allen has a chance to be a markedly better back this year on a unit that is deep in talent. The puzzling thing about Allen is that for all of his speed, he rarely breaks big runs. He also needs a Walter Payton lesson in patience. But the Hawaii game gave me hope. Both on his kickoff return and on his screens, Allen was decisive and showed very good explosiveness. His acceleration after five yards was Bush like. After Allen, I’m starting to think Jonas Gray will emerge as he has the most big play capability of anyone in that current group. Gray has surprising speed (he was timed at 4.3 a the Michigan camp) for a big back. I like Hughes as well, but his running style seems to have some limitations compared to Gray and Allen and I’d love to see him get some reps at fullback where I think the Irish with Paskorz will be better by addition through subtraction. Allen has two years remaining, Gray has three and Wood and Riddick have four.
In sum, there’s no excuse for this offense not to put up over 30 points a game as Weis’s first two offenses did. The big question in my mind is whether Weis will continue to gameplan for a level of execution that isn’t grounded in reality. His history of scheming one on one match-ups hasn’t played out well in college without a high level of execution that may or may not be attainable.
Our defense is very young on the front seven. We’re, perhaps, as talented as we’ve ever been in terms of potential, but it’s likely our front seven will be littered with sophomores and possibly freshmen. Te’o and Stockton could both see time this year and Motta could find his way into the mix.
Our starting linebacker corps will be in place for two years at a minimum. If Teo can wrestle the starting job away from Smith, we'll have the same starting linebacking group for three straight years.
Ethan Johnson will be one of the best defensive linemen to come out of Notre Dame in recent memory. And that says a lot with Laws, Tuck and Abiamiri all playing in the NFL. Ian Williams and Kapron Lewis-Moore also have potential and Hafis Williams has impressed many insiders early on. Again, we'll have our starting defensive line for at least two more years. Williams, Stockton, Newman and Lewis-Moore all have four years remaining. Five-star defensive end Chris Martin enrolls next January.
We have a lot of bodies and a lot of potential, but without the experience (and you need time to physically mature) our front seven is a question mark in the short-term, but looks strong in the long-term.
Our back four is not a question mark. Walls was the most talented player on the team two years ago even over Laws, IMO. Walls, Gray, Blanton, McNeil, McCarthy, Brown, Slaughter, etc. represent Notre Dame’s best backfield since early 1990. This is one unit Weis needs to recruit aggressively in '09 after landing just one recruit in the most recent class.
After much deserved criticism in 2007, most of our special teams improved in 2008. Walker even turned into a very good kicker after he straightened out his setup. Charlie has locked up the long term health of our kicking game by landing Turk and Tausch.
Overall, this team is a BCS caliber team in terms of talent. If Charlie can get us there this year, the future is promising from a program perspective. Notre Dame’s #1 class last year could be matched by this upcoming class, which already has two five star commitments (two more than Willingham’s last two classes combined) with a few more possible. If Charlie can figure it out and land another number one class, Notre Dame will have as much talent as any team in the country.
For Charlie, it all rides on this year. Lose and he’ll be out. Win and he could be here for a long time.
There’s no room for error.
It's all about winning.
He is at a career tipping point.
If Charlie loses more than three games during the season and fails to make a BCS game, chances are, he’s out. If he loses three games and the Irish are whacked again by USC, chances are, Charlie’s out. Swarbrick has communicated to many that Charlie must get it right this year.
But…
If Weis can put the pieces together, if he can figure out the leadership puzzle, Charlie’s set up for a four year run.
So, what to think?
On one hand: two of the worst back to back seasons in Notre Dame history, an abysmal running attack, absurd assistant turnover and two classes that weren’t in the top 20 (and another vastly overrated class.)
And on the other hand: back to back BCS berths, record breaking offensive performance, recruiting that has blown open the myth that Notre Dame can’t recruit anymore (witness the Te’o commitment) and assistant changes that rectify Notre Dame’s biggest weakness.
The only reasonable answer I’ve seen is that Charlie has, so far, failed to show he’s capable of leading the Irish to the promised land and until that changes it’s hard to give him the benefit of the doubt. That doesn’t mean he can’t do it or you should support him, but he hasn’t shown it and by your fifth year, even on a rebuilding project, hard work has to be translated into performance. On the positive side, Charlie's shown that he can change.
But, as detailed in an earlier column, the disturbing thing is that Charlie’s still guessing. He doesn’t know.
From the island of disbelief: Charlie just recently discovered that Notre Dame’s running game is a problem? His line about doing some research about Notre Dame’s struggles running the ball makes you wonder how the hell he made it this long. Props to TreeD who first put the running game problem into the numbers that Charlie’s talking about.
Still, there seems to be greater awareness on Weis’s part.
Near death experiences, as in a new AD who didn’t hire you and contemplated and possibly advocated for your dismissal are illuminating.
The question is whether Charlie can move from rhetoric to action and finally move from a coach learning on the job to leader.
The odds are ag’n it, but there’s hope in words and deeds and the talent level is finally both old enough and at a high enough level that he’s set up to win.
This year there are truly no excuses and a lot of reasons to expect a radically better offense than the one that put up 22 points a game before Hawaii… I can’t even remember the 2007 number.
Looking across the offensive line, there’s zero excuse for Notre Dame to continue its recent history of sucking. First off, the staff deserves credit for plugging the gaping “sack hole” that opened up on the offensive line the last two years. Pass protection was the best we’ve seen under Weis. Second, the offensive line is now a bunch of seniors and Verducci is known for being a stickler for fundamentals and is also responsible for the running game. On the surface that looks promising. The worry is that it’s a move that absolves Charlie from responsibility if the running game falters again. Still, with a new coach coming in and a talented and senior offensive line, this year will show whether the problem was Weis and his schemes or a disconnect with Latina. The Irish also have a lot of highly recruited talent in the pipeline and will return three off this line to start next season.
Our Tight End situation will be good to very good with the possibility of becoming excellent with the addition of Mike Ragone. Ragone and Rudolph form the most athletic tight end combination in the country. Both have three years of eligibility remaining.
Our wide receiver situation is the healthiest I’ve seen it since I’ve been following Notre Dame football. Floyd and Tate are a fantastic combination. Kamara, despite a dip in performance, will be just a Junior this year. For perspective, Stovall didn’t really emerge until his senior season. Walker, Goodman and Evans all have speed and size. Keep an eye on Cierre Wood who could become a Tim Brown/Ricky Waters type player in the slot. Tate has two years left, Floyd three, Goodman, Evans, Walker and Wood, four.
Clausen is a puzzle. When he has protection and confidence, he’s as good as any quarterback in the country. When he doesn’t, he’s borderline at best. But again, he’s still a sophomore and compared to other high profile sophomores, Clausen’s improvement has been far above average. Much of Clausen’s negatives go away if Notre Dame runs the ball more effectively. Clausen has two years remaining, Crist has four(edit).
I think Armando Allen has a chance to be a markedly better back this year on a unit that is deep in talent. The puzzling thing about Allen is that for all of his speed, he rarely breaks big runs. He also needs a Walter Payton lesson in patience. But the Hawaii game gave me hope. Both on his kickoff return and on his screens, Allen was decisive and showed very good explosiveness. His acceleration after five yards was Bush like. After Allen, I’m starting to think Jonas Gray will emerge as he has the most big play capability of anyone in that current group. Gray has surprising speed (he was timed at 4.3 a the Michigan camp) for a big back. I like Hughes as well, but his running style seems to have some limitations compared to Gray and Allen and I’d love to see him get some reps at fullback where I think the Irish with Paskorz will be better by addition through subtraction. Allen has two years remaining, Gray has three and Wood and Riddick have four.
In sum, there’s no excuse for this offense not to put up over 30 points a game as Weis’s first two offenses did. The big question in my mind is whether Weis will continue to gameplan for a level of execution that isn’t grounded in reality. His history of scheming one on one match-ups hasn’t played out well in college without a high level of execution that may or may not be attainable.
Our defense is very young on the front seven. We’re, perhaps, as talented as we’ve ever been in terms of potential, but it’s likely our front seven will be littered with sophomores and possibly freshmen. Te’o and Stockton could both see time this year and Motta could find his way into the mix.
Our starting linebacker corps will be in place for two years at a minimum. If Teo can wrestle the starting job away from Smith, we'll have the same starting linebacking group for three straight years.
Ethan Johnson will be one of the best defensive linemen to come out of Notre Dame in recent memory. And that says a lot with Laws, Tuck and Abiamiri all playing in the NFL. Ian Williams and Kapron Lewis-Moore also have potential and Hafis Williams has impressed many insiders early on. Again, we'll have our starting defensive line for at least two more years. Williams, Stockton, Newman and Lewis-Moore all have four years remaining. Five-star defensive end Chris Martin enrolls next January.
We have a lot of bodies and a lot of potential, but without the experience (and you need time to physically mature) our front seven is a question mark in the short-term, but looks strong in the long-term.
Our back four is not a question mark. Walls was the most talented player on the team two years ago even over Laws, IMO. Walls, Gray, Blanton, McNeil, McCarthy, Brown, Slaughter, etc. represent Notre Dame’s best backfield since early 1990. This is one unit Weis needs to recruit aggressively in '09 after landing just one recruit in the most recent class.
After much deserved criticism in 2007, most of our special teams improved in 2008. Walker even turned into a very good kicker after he straightened out his setup. Charlie has locked up the long term health of our kicking game by landing Turk and Tausch.
Overall, this team is a BCS caliber team in terms of talent. If Charlie can get us there this year, the future is promising from a program perspective. Notre Dame’s #1 class last year could be matched by this upcoming class, which already has two five star commitments (two more than Willingham’s last two classes combined) with a few more possible. If Charlie can figure it out and land another number one class, Notre Dame will have as much talent as any team in the country.
For Charlie, it all rides on this year. Lose and he’ll be out. Win and he could be here for a long time.
There’s no room for error.
It's all about winning.
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64 Comments:
James Aldridge gets overlooked once again.
Rock,
Notre Dame certainly has more potential than it shows, but I don't know that the talent level is as good as you (seem to) believe. The receivers are amazing, the defensive backs (especially with Walls) can cover, but everything else is a toss up.
Weis needs to win, but I honestly don't know what to expect from this team. It could be anything.
I firmly believe the season will come down to 2 keys on offense: Clausen and Sam Young. This is Youngs last year to prove he is not a bust. JC must obviously make the jump as BQ did in his junior year and must cut out the mistakes (ints). If running game does not get better all the pressure is on QB. If running game improves, offense has potential to be lights out.
The front seven on D is very young and I do not see that many difffence makers yet. I think Brian Smith has a chance to do great things especially if MT is even half as good as advertised. Of all the recruits tape that I watched, I was most impressed with Zeke Motta. You talk about someone who flies to the ball and hits! Wow. He seems like a John Lynch type of player. I do like all of the coaching moves and what I heard from them in their interviews. I especially like when Verducci said that my resume is what the O line does on Saturday. Of course the bottom line is always one thing; WINS.
I basically agree with your assessment. But, with our schedule, I don't see how a two-loss season could be considered a success (unless we beat Southern Cal). At this point, BC, MICH and MSU look like the toughest games other than SC. With the talent we have on the field, Charlie absolutely should win two or all of those games. Granted, we don't know how each team will shake out over the course of the season. But, to dump two of those seems like it would be totally underachieving and failure. To be honest, with our talent, I think a two loss season would be pretty mediocre. With our talent, a win over SC should not be such a stretch.
Your article will really assist with Notre Dame's recruiting. Awesome!
Are you planning to write this article every week for the next six months?
This article probably contains a few too many "absolutes," when dealing with 18-22 year-olds, I think almost everything has to be prefaced with some sort of qualifier.
Doesn't Crist have 4 years remaining? Did he play this year?
T'eo is leaving for his mission after his freshman year, correct? No chance of the LB's being together for the next 3 years if he wins a starting spot as a freshman.
I have a small nit: Crist has four years of eligibility remaining.
I like the article. The most important line, from an ND fan's perspective, must be the last sentence. Just win baby. The best possible scenario for the program is if Charlie can find the winning formula and take this team for a run. Even if we were to hire a great coach (in the event that Charlie is fired), those transitions can set a team back. I would love to see a great team take the field this year. If not, I'll be sad that Charlie has failed to deliver because I think he's a great ND man.
Totally agree. There's really not much to say at this point. After 4 years and all the failed expectations, both by coaches and players, it's time to put up or shut up.
I agree that 30 plus points per game is the goal. I think our front 7 could surprise people with their speed and quickness. That might make up for some of their inexperience. I've watched all the top programs play their Frosh/Sophs with great success. Why can't we do the same?
Two questions: doesn't Crist have 4 years left? and isn't Teo scheduled for a 2 year mission after Freshman year?
Great blog.
I love Charlie but he will be gone after this year. He is not a big time college coach
Nice piece but 2 clarifications: Crist has 4 years left (as of now) and Teo's 3 years of starting would be after he returns from a likely mission .
Couple of fact errors and typos for you.
Crist has 4 years left.
Check your line on DB's you lits Laws instead of Walls. Same letters.
Just two comments. Crist has 4 years left. I don't know why anyone would end an otherwise good article by paraphrasing that complete whack-job Al Davis. I hate that saying.
Two comments. Crist has 4 years left. And, I don't know why anyone would spoil an otherwise good article by ending it with a quote by that complete whack-job Al Davis. I hate that saying, almost as much as "Don't go there" or "Let's think outside the box."
No mention of Aldrich?
Excellent assessment of where we are and what is possible. On a slow sports day I enjoyed focusing on Irish football and getting a top to bottom look at the prospects and challenges for the coming year. I believe Coach Weis's ability to motivate and demand the nastiness he promised are the keys. Thanks so much!
Are the two classes that are outside the top 20 the freshmen who are coming next fall and those who came in 2005?
when you speak about Te'o wrestling a starting spot away from Smith, I hope you are talking about Troyan not Brian. B. Smith may be a junior and break up your idea of a 3 year lb core, but he is THE BEST lb we have. Not to mention the emotional leader for the entire team not just the defense. It will be Filer, B. Smith, Te'o at LB with Flemming and Neal rotating at the hybrid DE/LB spot. Expect A. Mcdonald and Poz to make a splash after te'o leaves for his mission and b. smith graduates in 2 years.
Dear Rock,
Thank you for your article and unflappable optimism. You offered several reality-based reasons why the Irish and CW ought to perform better this season. Love or hate him, we all want CW to be more successful this year because of the past 2 nauseating seasons. Although I agree that 09 SHOULD be a tilting point for Coach Weis, I don’t believe that it will. Weis has begun a terrifying trend of showing The Powers just enough to narrowly keep his job. Take this year for example. How the hell did we lose to NC, Pitt, and at home to a 2-win team with no coach? All of these were ridiculous losses. A lot of smart folks were reasonably calling for the hook after Syracuse. Yet the post-season victory against Hawaii (first since vs. A&M in 1994) left us feeling not as intolerant as we probably should.
I truly hope that you are correct: that either the Irish are AWESOME or they suck and CW gets canned. Sadly the truth will be somewhere in between. Coach Weis will not get us to a BCS Bowl but will show enough positives to keep his paycheck and ND in the mediocre realm of “others receiving votes”. He will live eternally in One More Chance Land until none of us remembers what used to be considered unacceptable for Notre Dame Football. I’ll be writing to you next year just as puzzled and frustrated as I am right now. Let’s just hope I’m wrong!
Not sure that one can say Weis is only noticing the run game and its importance now. He talked about wanting to pound it last year. Rumors from pre-season practices were that we were going to do just that and then we didn't. Weis obviously saw the problems the last two years, he just hasn't fixed them. It does seem that his hires have a potential to do just that. We shall see. I hope he succeeds. I am heartened by Verducci, Alford, and Hart.
cw has 2 bcs teams in 4 years so if he does'nt go 3 for 5 he's gone that's ridiculus. the team he got was on the same path as washington a self inflicked death penalty.his first team was predictated to loose it's first seven now you want national championships get real.
I disagree with you. ND can go 8-4 or 9-3 and go to the Cotton or Gator Bowl this year and coach Weis will keep his job. Unless your name is Swarbrick, I don't think you can make predictions with the "certainty" you do.
The talent is now here, a direct result of excellent recruiting. Now the question remains: Can the coaching optimize that talent. ND fans want a national title. I agree with Coach Weiss. First, ND needs to be mentioned in the same "breath" as Florida,USC,LSU,Oklahoma,Texas. We need to be a BCS contender, not "pretender", annually. Once we earn that respect on the field and not just because we're ND, then we can start talking National title and "Let the cards fall as they may!"
Talk about the running game all you want but lets face the facts folks.....This team is going as far as Jimmy Clausen takes them.
It's as simple as that.
Charlie seems to have pretty much tied his legacy to #7 and the proof will be in the pudding this year.
Te'o and Brian Smith will most likely be on the field together. Te'o does not need to beat out Smith. Mo crum is gone.
2007 & 2008 teams are no different then what IU or UK are going through in basketball. For all of the people saying Weis isn't cut out for this job think again. How in the world do things get so out of whack from 2005 & 2006 to 2007 & 2008? A very young team, I mean for crying out loud we had the blue and gold game in 2005 with one set of lineman because there were only 6 on scholarship! People need to back off of Weis. I don't care if Stoops, meyer, or carroll was the coach these last two years it wouldn't have been any better, and if you believe it would have been you are STUPID! This team had double digit leads going into the 4th quarter 3 times and lost, that was the difference in a young team winning 9 or 6. There will be that sarcasm, well they lost to Syracuse. Holtz lost to a 3-8 Stanford @ HOME! It happens, yeah it sucks, but Holtz was a great coach (can't argue that), but we can argue against Weis?
Lastly, people get serious, USC will lose at least 3 games this year. We have hear ad nauseum that USC just reloads:( that is a load of BS. Every year they have a QB come in that has been in the system for 3 years and starting as a Sr. This year they have a Jr. lost their OC & DC and 8 starting defensive players. I fully believe ND's defense will be enough to slow the offense especially early in the season and ND's offense will have the reins pulled off this year. The talk about Weis and verducci is great, but you are missing the real reason the running game will be better and that is because of Alford. The biggest problem with Weis is he doesn't give the players enough room to roam, sometimes he keeps the game plan too simple; which is what we saw in 2007.
My prediction Irish go 11-1.
I can't wait for all Weis haters to start kissing his @ss this year.
Rock,
thanks for the juice. We have had 'talent' in the past. After 2007 7 guys from that team were in NFL camps. Not too shabby. That's about a 3rd of the team no? I believe that CW has shown us his stuff. Brace yourself for more. Just another NFL guy that doesn't transition to CFB, while the game is spelled the same it is not played the same. We are all victims of lowered expectations. Enuf already.
There is no good reason the team should not be 11-1 this season. The only team that has them beat in personnel is USC. Pitt and UConn could give us a little game. Failure to go 11-1 is failure in coaching. 10-2 would be a slip, 9-3 would be inexcusable.
Clausen will perform great till meeting the trojans because he'll have all day to throw- and he's excellent at the shooting gallery, but not at real football. At this point we don't know if we'll have Sharpley back as insurance, since he may be drafted for baseball or try out with a CFL team. Most fans are not aware of what a capable QB he is, having been pushed into the shadows for the sake of Clausen ala Matt Cassel. Crist is very gifted and will be great, but he won't be ready for the bowl game the Irish will likely play.
"The worry is that it’s a move that absolves Charlie from responsibility if the running game falters again"
As a head coach, you are responsible for all parts of the team, not just those you directly oversee. If any part of the whole fails, the ultimate blame will always fall square on CW's shoulders, period, end of story.
I think James Aldridge is the best back we have. He is at least as good as Hughes and Allen. Regardless, talent (on the field) is not a problem.
I would gladly kiss his @ss if he would win, which in my opinion is very doubtful!
For the life of me i can not figure out how CW lets Hughes atrophy on the RB depth chart when the FB position sits effectively vacant??????
It all comes down to this:
Can we run the freaking ball?
If we can, we'll lose two games at the most (likely USC and possibly a BCS bowl game).
If we can't, it will be an 8-4, 7-5 year and I agree, it will be time to say "Sorry Charlie, it's time to move on."
I think the defense is going to be a top 20 unit, especially if offense can control time of possession (back to running game).
This should really help out 2010 and 2011 recruiting. Thanks Rock. There are too many absolutes in your article. Say we go 10-2 but aren't ranked high enough for a BCS bowl due to our soft schedule. Then we beat FSU in the Gator Bowl. Under that scenario, you want Weis gone because it wasn't a BCS bowl? Ridiculous. Again, this should really help recruiting by being on your front page. Nice Job. Do you have any idea how much talent is out there in 2010??
You're talent assessment is suspect. There is simply no way to accurately judge anyone who hasn't performed at the major college level. The Rivals and Scouts rankings are notoriously wrong in the long run.
And of course Weis's worst failing of the last three years has been in the area of talent development. I believe Young, as an example, has the stuff to be a dominant player against ND's competition, and a decent pro too. For whatever reason he hasn't improved is three years as a starter.
Good column. This is a make or brake year for Weiss. I hope he can coach - he has worked very hard and he has suffered a lot of adversity.
The offensive line will be the key to the season. I do not agree that they improved in pass protection. The reason they had such a poor second half of the year is that teams rushed on three or four people and were able to drop back in coverage and take away the deep passes. ND was powerless to run the ball or give Clausen enough time to be patient and the throw ball. Remember they could not even get a first down against USC Clausen had no chance they could not even get a first down until almost the fourth quater.
I agree with comment about Allen - the bowl game gave you hope, before that he showed no brake away speed.
Lastly, I think James Aldridge has been a big disappointment. He is so ordinary. He gets knocked off his feet easily and he is not fast or elusive.
If Nevada whips us in the season opener(they are much, much better than San Diego State or Cuse or Navy. Even if we come back and beat Michigan in Ann Arbor Charlie is gone at the end of the season. If Charlie and Verducci don't beat Nevada,Michigan Michigan State,Boston College and give USC a game if not beat them.Charlie is gone.
If the running game does not come out of the shoot being dominat that will be the straw that breaks Charlies back with the student body, former players,alums,fans and last but not least NBC.
Our bar has been set so low we are all extremely worried about Nevada coming in and dominating out Irish in Notre Dame Stadium. It is actually more likely to happen than not.
If Notre Dame gets smashed by Coach Chris Ault and the Wolfpack. Charlie will be gone at the end of the season and Urban Meyer will be coming to South Bend and Jack Swarbrick will not choke signing him like Kevin (Weak Suck) White did. Ot John Gruden and Mike Shanahan will be tired or being Broadcasters . It is now 21 years ,by far the longest in school history between National Championships.
I am sick and tired of hoping to not too lose to SC by 30 or Michigan shutting us out again in Ann Arbor or playing with out courage, athletism, direction or passion in the O-Line and running the same Fade and HOPE our W/O can out jump the other guy.
If Charlie has not fixed the running game in the Spring. he should get his bags packed and let someon else come in wve on this team.
Eith the team runs with authority or Charlie runs for his life back to the NFL where playing chess is more required than teaching.
One more thing Charlie , stay upstairs in the box and call the plays. let Brown , Tenuta and Verducci handle the troops on the sideline.
You were hired because of your Offense Skills, Never, ever forget that. Are you a paper tiger? Or the real deal as a total Coach.
No more ill advised law suits (You put the weight one, you take it off) Don;t write another book until you win a National Championship. Be good to the Alums and fans. You burned a lot of fans and Alums when meeting them the last four years by being rude and actually saying it is not in your contract to sign stuff. Well it might not be in your contract, but it is called just being a decent guy. Your fellow Alums and fans want you to meet success.
It is time for quit making excuses and JUST DO IT.
We will know after the first two games if you are OUT OF HERE.
It is as simple as that. People I know who are life time ND fans turned off games the last two years, Missed coming back for games or did not do the annual ND game trip with family and friends.
So get your head out and up and lets hope you hired good replacemnts that are capable of challenge your horrible )-Line play Non Effective Running Backs and guts and passion on this team.
I hope you hired Coaches that are grea and not just people who you don;t have to worry about challenging you.
Great College Football Teams always have hot shot assistant coached. that the Head Coach inspires as much as his players.
Ara and Dan Devine ,Holtz had the best in the business (Jimmy Johnson, Johnny Ray ,Joe Yonto and Tom Pagna , Joe Moore to name a few)
Maybe Verducci will put the fire back in the running game. If he doesn't then he and Charlie will be gone.
Beat Nevada,Michigan, Michigan State,Boston College USC to start, Not split, not lose close or in . That is your orders. You can do it
I would agree. 3 losses = bye, bye CW and the rebuilding begins. I hope that's not the case.
I agree with most of what you say but there are a few problems. First Te'o is more than likely going on his 2 year mormon mission after his freshman year. Second to say that charlie just recently discovered our inability to run is odd. Just becuase he made a comment about researching what the top teams in the country do in terms of running compared to us doesn't mean he thought the running game was doing well all this time, is that what you think has been going on in his head? Next you forget to mention who Clausen's coach is...Ron freakin Powlus. If that's not a disadvantage I'm not sure what is! The guy has no coaching experience and was an average qb at best! My only hope is that we either make the gator or cotton bowl...BCS maybe. If we do make the BCS my fear is we will be up against a much more talented and experienced team simply because our name sells tickets, such has been the case in recent years. With that being said I hope this team excels beyond belief and creams whoever is put against them in the BCS (insert name) bowl next year!
First regarding previous post, passion for ND Football is great, but so is spell check and proof reading.
Second, I enjoyed the article, and agree with enough of it to say I agree. However, as for predictions, I believe this is a 12-0 year, won't predict a bowl. I honestly think that the win in the bowl game this year is the difference this season. No, I didn't drink the Kool Aid, but I just have a feeling. Hope it is correct.
I think everyone has forgotten, or has erased from memory (as I would like to do), last year's USC game. ND did not belong on the same field as USC. Completely and hopefully overmatched in all phases of the game. Yes, ND was without Floyd, who is a huge part of the offense and must be on the field. But still. Come on. ND wins 8 at best next year. I can't see rising to the level of "in the same breath" as USC a mere year after looking like little sisters of the poor against them. I hope I'm wrong.
Rock, FYI, a "Tipping Point" is not a point of heightened tension, precarious position, or "edge of a precipice" nor a binary branch as in "the situation could unfold one way or the other". These do not a "Tipping Point", if you mean to use the phrase as expounded by Malcolm Gladwell, make. No, a "Tipping Point", as so many would-be journalists have come to abuse it, is not so; it's the point at which a social phenomena (i.e. one involving multiple social entites) becomes the norm or at least radically closer to the majority of behavior than it was at a time not far removed chronologically. Thus to say, perhaps, that fan support, or lack thereof, for Charlie Weis is at a "Tipping Point" would be more figuratively correct than to say his career (a singular thing) has somehow reached one.
I agree with you that Weis has yet to prove that he can really coach. So, why should expectations really be high? They really should not.
I expect another year of "great expectations," and another year of great disappointment. Certainly, anyone who "expects" that ND will win a NC this year is just a blind supporter, or is simply living in the past. (Of course, a good number of those blind supporters weren't even alive when we last won a NC. They were raised under the great tradition of "Rudy.")
So, I expect that this team will lose 3 or 4 games. These will be games that we're expected to win. Just like the last couple of years. People will moan and complain. But it will, again, come down to coaching. And maybe, finally, we'll get a real college coach, who knows how to take raw, recruit material and get the job done.
And to those comments about how all the "Weis haters" will have to "kiss his ass" after this season: keep your faith, and those so-profound comments coming. At best, they demonstrate a lack of intelligent, creative posting. It is not a matter of "hating" Weis. It is a matter of coaching competence. And THAT is proven on the field of play. And we have not seen THAT for, at least, the past two seasons. So, why should we all expect to see it now, Season Five, in this,the Era of Weis? The logic just is not there.
So, surprise us this year, Coach Weis. And next year. And the year after. Make us ALL true believers.
Those of you who share my opinion, including you, Rock, will certainly give Coach Weis all due respect, if he earns it. But I doubt that any of us will be in line to "kiss his ass."
mpsND72
it is just me or has the new coaching position realignment more confusing than nucluar Physics?
HUH? WHAT? Co-head coach, associate head coach? co defensive coord?
Im sorry people...but lets face it...CW is a hell of a recruiter, and an amazing offensive mind...but if you look at the turnover in the coaching positions since 2005, it's well a lot...
Do you think that has anything to do with the inconsistency of this team..
each year the OL has to come up with a different scheme, hell, I'm confused as to who is actually the head coach
will someone please explain?
go irish
IRISH MIKE
Im sure TEO is going to be great and I want the best player to be in the game , but TEO wont beat out Brian Smith. When Smith is on the fiel there is a differant swagger to the defense. He makes sure to talk it up for the game and then he comes out and performs. It is apparent that he is at the very least the emotional leader on the defense.
Wow! I have learned so much from the experts who have posted in response to The Rock.
There are the experts telling us, and CW, how the Irish should be coached. Yet, those who write posts like that probably haven't coached anything resembling a high school team...much less a major university team.
I am amused at those experts who post telling us that CW must win 10-11 games to keep his job. Is their name Swarbrick? I doubt it. They are nowhere close to having that kind of a background or the intelligence to make those decisions.
Keep in mind that Charlie Weis has created the foundation of recruiting the best class ever for 2010. To those of you who blandly say fire Weis if he doesn't go at least 10-2, ND would stand to lose many of the outstanding recruits who will commit to our university. If you say that doesn't matter, you are blind to fact. Just remember what happened after the poor recruiting by TW. While that involved multiple years, one failed year would set this program back.
I hope Charlie and the Irish have a tremendous season concluding with a BCS appearance. However, as the building blocks are laid, I believe the Irish can continue to make progress even with a 3-4 loss season, a quality bowl win, and another great recruiting class.
If he does that, Charlie will return next season, and that will be the year to see the fruition of his efforts.
Coach Weis said it himself, even putting up a banner for the world to see...9-3 is not good enough....well coach, you are right 9-3 is not good enough 10-2 is not good enough; you must winn them all. If indeed he does go 12-0, one thig is for sure, there is plent of Weis ass to kiss for everyone. personally I would need two or three 12-0 season befor I pucker up.
I'll predict losses to Michigan, Michigan State, USC, Boston College and Stanford. Nevada, who knows, Pitt will be interesting. A loss to anybody else on this schedule will be inexcusable.
hard to tell the nd haters from the true believers. Those who chose to come to nd have faith and belive in what nd stands for and we should all have faith in our lady and she will give us the pride and faith we know is about to happen
Youve been the only article to mention Hughes at fullback but it seems to make sense--he's pretty big and we've seen him hit hard when he runs. I also remember reading an article preseason last year that said he had the best hands out of the backfield. It could be a natural fit at a needed position.
A few things.....Until the offensive line begins to actually block someone, the offense will not get better.
ND runnings backs need to be Allen and Aldridge. As Cierre Wood progresses I hope he gets some touches as well. Until Jonas Gray, Mr. Fumble on the 2 in the Navy game, can improve significantly he should ride pine.
Lastly, ND play calling needs to improve but I think that comes with the offensive line. Lack of execution upfront put severe limitations on what plays to call. I am not a coach of any sport, let alone football, but if I can tell what play ND is running based on the formation and motion I am guessing the guys who study hours of film and prepare an entire week for one game know what play is coming. Just a thought.
Lastly, I love the motto begun by the new AD as the goal of the program, "Beat SC." Can we start shirts now for this? Can it be printed an hung everywhere on campus? Go Irish! Beat Trojans!
We win "just" 8 games and its failure? I wonder how many college coaches out there would give their left testacle for eight wins. Just wondering.
They have the talent for 11-1, but after losing to USC, they mail it in for the rest of the season and lose to BC, UCONN, and Stanford to finish 8-4.
Te'o is more than likely going on his 2 year mormon mission after his freshman year. If Charley is gone by the time Te'o is scheduled to return, the west coast schools will be after him to transfer.
Why has this piece of crap been published again on NDNation's links to articles and reports about Irish football?
In February, I thought it was bad, and now I believe it is even worse.
Terrible!!
this years team will go 11-1 or 12-0.the game that worries me is BC. it believe the irish are going to be better than people expect. i think if win less than 10 games weis is out the door...their is no reason this team should lose more than 1 game..go irish.i think they will get to a bcs bowl and win...Florida v Notre Dame national championship? can it happen.
How about this goal: Anything other than an out-and-out shit kicking of Nevada will be a week one failure. I don't want to hear another word about what a capable team Nevada is. We do not BELONG in the same league as them. If it happens that we are in the same league as them, Charlie should be fired. I think a 21-0 victory is a conservative expectation. Again, I do not care what kind of offensive production they have had. We should blow them up.
Urban Meyer is not leaving Florida. Let it go, people. I'm a ND fan and alumnus (like many of you), but Urban is not leaving Florida.
His daughter, Nikki, enrolled at a southern school outside the SEC to be close to family. She only looked at schools near family (like UC, where her aunts and grandfather live).
Urban's wife dislikes South Bend and the cold.
Urban already makes more money than the Lord, and has two national championships at Florida. He isn't leaving.
ND's biggest offensive problem IS the offense. We can't just line 'em up and blow 'em off the ball anymore. We don't have USC talent yr in and yr out. The passing game is a joke. TE over the middle-thats his only play. Throw the ball on a fly to Tate. When's the last time you saw a ND crossing pattern?? How many WR over the middle?? For a quality team, ND is easy to defend. Solution? open it up!! Spread em out!!Look at teams with limited talent who do spread them out -- ie. Kansas, Missou - from nowhere to top of the country. Mich and ohio St!?! Bo and Woody must be turning in their graves. Texas, Okla, Fla-- it goes on and on. Watching ND makes me remember the old Chgo Bears O -- Peyton, Peyton, inc pass, punt. For a quote "innovative offensive mind" CW is boring me and most ND fans to death. With a young defense this year, we need to put points on the board-lots of points! With this offense--NOT happening. Open it up!!! Spread 'em out and take advantage of the talent we do have. If we are going to lose, I would rather have it 50-48 than 50-0
I went to every home game and watched every away. When Clausen was being sacked or rushed there was one player that stood out. Sam Young. It seemed he didn't know where or who to block. Guys half his size was blowing by him. Sam should be able to stick his finger out and stop the attacker. Sometimes it looked like Clausen had more dirt on his uniform than Young. If he is not better they should sit him down. Youngs got it someone needs to get it out of him. Latina couldn't.
your obvious dislike of CW is in everything you write. its unfair, hurts recruiting and is ill-concieved. put your crayons away, switch on your tv, watch hbo's special on the Duke vs UNC rivaly and take a look at coach K's first few years. CW will be a coach K. he was saddled with poor players after his first two years (which he indeed made into bcs teams)
your group was initialy fun, but now you seem jaded and bored. maybe try cooking.
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