The House of Twelve

2006-10-20T10:49:00.000-05:00

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Posted: 10/11/2006 by: Juan Turlington
An image of excellence.
To: John Madden
CC: Electronic Arts Sports
From: Ethan Albright
Re: Being the worst rated player on Madden ‘07

Hi, John, my name is Ethan Albright. I play line for the Washington Redskins. You probably already knew that, so I’ll continue. I am writing in regards to the overall player rating of 53 that I have received in Madden NFL Football 2007. I feel that this is fucking bullshit and you should kiss my mother-fucking ass. Ahmed Carroll was rated a 78 and the Packers just cut his ass on a Tuesday morning after his performance in a Monday night game. That is pretty terrible. The worst part is that his overall rating was sniffing 80.

You know what, John? Two can play this game. I rate you a fucking 12. I rate you a fucking 12 in Ethan Albright Football 2000-ever… except for in the category of ball-licking. That is where I will spot you a 98 rating. You will receive this score because I will never give your blubbery ass a 99 in any category. Take that, pencil-dick. Go do Al Micheals or something. Boom. Score one for Red Beard.

It’s also pretty wonderful that my awareness rating was 59. You make it sound like I wake up in the morning, helplessly shit and piss myself, then lose three of my teeth before I discover that I am trying to eat a rock for breakfast. Fuck, John, I understand you saying that I am slow and lacking athleticism, but a rating like this pretty much labels me as retarded. Rod “He Hate Me” Smart has a 52 in this category. Electronic Arts is saying that seven rating points separate me and the breathing embodiment of the perfect oxymoron. Rod Smart struggled to arrange words in sentence form. Cave men had better hold of the English language. The only actions that separate point values of ignorance at this embarrassing level are things like using your own toothbrush to wipe your ass. I basically edged out Rod by my lack of shit teeth. If I take a night school class, could you bump me up to a 60?

I guess I just can’t fathom the fact that I am the absolute worst player rated out of the entire NFL. Fuck, man, there are some shitty guys out there. Amongst everyone, I was rated the absolute worst.

I have received the impression that you feel that I am lacking in the agility category. I should consider a walk through my living room where I don’t crash through a wall or kick over furniture a resounding success. My agility rating on your game is 33. It makes it sound like I just topple over if I start walking too fast. Ted Washington is rated a 40 in agility. He is listed at 365 pounds. If Ted Washington tied a white lady up and made her wear a metal bikini, he’d look just like Jabba the Hut.

Red Alert!
John, you are such a fucking dick. I also noticed that my kick return rating was a 0. I was rated a fucking zero? So you feel that I shouldn’t even receive a 10, or even a 5? You are pretty much saying that I couldn’t even fall forward on a ball kicked in my direction. I would just stand there and let the ball bounce off of my fucking face. Fuck that, John, I returned an onside kick 6 yards in 2002. You should have just slapped a - 4 on me and had the EA staff ambush me with paintball guns.

Finally, I would like to comment on an unlikely topic, my pass coverage ratings. I see that I am a better at man-to-man coverage (31) than zone (21). Fuck me sideways with a lunchbox. Where did these scores even come from? How much time is spent coming up with the pass coverage ratings of offensive lineman? Can I have that job? Let’s see here, I think that Orlando Pace would be slightly better at jumping intermediate routes than Larry Allen. While I’m at it, I can assign the passing ratings for offensive lineman as well. I can use mine as a guide.

I was rated with a throwing power of 17 and accuracy of 16. Orlando Pace has a 22 power and 17 accuracy rating. Did someone at EA really put time into figuring out that Orlando Pace edges out Ethan Albright in both throwing power and accuracy? I will challenge him any day. My horrible passer ratings are of greatest misfortune to my son, Red Beard Jr. The poor boy is not only hideously ugly and covered by freakishly large freckles. He also has to suffer through playing catch with me and my senile-elderly-woman-type passer ratings. A session of tossing the pigskin usually consists of me missing my son by thirty yards in sporadic directions. I led him in front of a fire truck once and my wife kicked my ass. This is because of my 76 toughness rating. Yes, a 76 is far better than the other ratings, but I’m a fucking lineman, damn it. NFL Linemen are considered to be synonymous with toughness. According to your game, I am a retarded, uncoordinated, pussy-ass fuckwad that can’t fall on a kickoff, throw, or spell. I am, however, slightly better at manning up on a receiver than dropping into zone coverage. You lose your mind more and more each year, old man.

When I'm not snapping balls, I snap necks.
Fuck you, John. Please expect to find red pubes in various meals you consume for the rest of your life. If you fuck with Ethan Albright, you call down the thunder.

Rot in Hell,

Ethan Albright

Having Slept On It (MSU)

2006-09-24T13:45:00.000-05:00

First off, I'm not going to deny that I called the game after halftime (I can't anyways, since I sent the email which made it blatantly clear I all but given up on the team), but there is one point I won't concede despite the fact that the Irish pulled of a miraculous victory:

1) This changes nothing with concern to the national championship. Championship teams don't lose the way we lost to Michigan last week. Close losses are acceptable, but getting your butts handed to you on your own turf is unforgivable. I don't care how the rest of the season finishes out, I don't want to see this team in the championship game.

Okay, here are some thoughts over the game...

Brady Bunch
I counted him out of the Heisman talk last week, and I may start to reverse my opinion if he can pull more five touchdown games. He had so much going against him in that second half: a multiple score deficit, terrible wind conditions, heavy rain, and a terrible interior line. Make no mistake that he seemed "off" at the beginning of the game. I'm not sure if this was some kind of hangover from the Michigan game, but he was missing badly on a number of passes that should have been made. Then the gameplan shifts to no huddle and all is right in the world with the exception of the interception returned for a touchdown.

My theory with Brady Quinn is that the no huddle offense seems to settle him down. When they go into no huddle, the game seems to slow down for Quinn. He hits those outs that he overthrew a few series ago and his decision making improves. No huddle is his center. I think we should start every game with the no huddle so Brady and get going for the rest of the game. Once he's centered, he's good to play a normal huddled offense, but I think it's important to get him on track.

I also believe that if the weather wasn't so nasty, he would have had better numbers. Some of his overthrows in the latter part of the game, I think was a result of him trying to compensate for the wind conditions. His read on the Carlson touchdown was fantastic. Read the MSU defense like a book on that play and Carlson had all the room in the world to score that touchdown.

Line Trouble
One of the reasons I'm reconsidering Brady's Heisman chances is b/c he has to overcome the deficiencies of the offensive line. The poor offensive line play works against Quinn and the team two-fold:

1) We can't run the ball. Darius Walker needs holes to be effective and the line simply isn't giving Darius the opportunities to succeed. Darius doesn't have the power running style and the speed to overcome the shortcomings of the offensive line. If we had Adrian Peterson this would be no problem, but we don't. Darius is not a bad running back, but he needs the line to at least give him some help. They haven't and we are one dimensional.

2) Brady has two-three seconds to make a read and get a pass off. Quickest way to the QB is straight down the middle and the weakest part of the line is straight down the middle. I'll admit that I some sort of vendetta against Bob Morton, so I don't know how bad the center and left guard have been, but Bob Morton has been awful. He's been getting beat by defensive tackles and this is about the worse possible pass rush you can allow. The QB has no chance if these three hundred pound monsters are coming full speed at him. You can seriously make a lowlight reel of Bob Morton's play after only four games.

Herbie was baffled during the game as to why this line is so bad. This is a senior line with tons of experience and yet they look so awful. I have no idea what can be done to the line, but the lines are the foundations for offenses and defenses alike. Our offensive foundation is shaky, at best.

Defensive About the D
For all the talk about how bad the defense has look the past couple of games, the honest truth is that they haven't been that bad. Did they give up big plays? Sure, but didn't they hold that potent MSU offense to six points?!? SIX POINTS, that's all that the great Spartan offense scored during the second half. A majority of Michigan's points last week were a result of five turnovers from the offense and special teams. This D is capable of containing good defenses.

There are some great playmakers on this squad, as evidence by Duke's "I want this ball more damnit" strip of Stanton. Ndukwe seems to always be at the right position for those big turnovers. Zibby is Zibby and a second team All American. If the officials would call holding on opposing team's tackles, Victor Abiamiri would be having a monster season statistically. Lambert is totally redeemed himself with the game winning interception return for a touchdown and the game clinching interception. And true freshman Darrin Walls is growing right before our eyes, playing big time minutes in these high pressure games.

The defense needs to be more consistent. They may be lacking in some areas whether it's speed, size, or experience, but if they can play smart and fast, there is no reason that they can't repeat their second half performance against MSU. Just think how much better this defense will be when it's filled with the talent that Charlie and Co. have been recruiting. Don't knock the D, they're not the problem.

Flags of Our Alma Mater
This is going to be my only knock on the officiating, but it's awfully fishy that we're on of the most penalized teams, yet the teams we play against are average a few penalties less than their average. Seriously, it took the final quarter of our fourth game before an opposing team was called for holding? That's ridiculous and like every other Domer is screaming, AD Kevin White needs to change the officiating situation for our home games.

Call It Like You See It
There was some mention of how teams thought the playcalling from our offense was predictable. I think that's hogwash. The playcalling is fine, and I'm from the camp that the execution is making the calls look bad. If a block was made or a pass not overthrown, I think a lot of the shorter drives that we've had this season would have shown us the offense we knew and loved last year.

Give Me Mo'
I'm going to be naive and say that the beginning of the game reflected the fact that the team was hungover from the humiliation of the Michigan game. The fact that they were able to rebound from that and come back against an opponent that has had their number is going to provide an incredible boost for this team. We are going to steamroll through Purdue and the rest of the schedule (up to the final game) with this momentum. This is the boost the team needed and the fact that the next string of games are against weaker oppenents makes it all the sweeter.

Final Thoughts
For all those Willingham comparisons this is where the Weis train makes its detour from the abject failure that was the Willingham era. This team responded to a humiliating loss with a victory instead of a string of disappointing losses. I still feel our team is suspect in certain areas, but considering the level of competition for the next couple of months, we will have ample opportunity to fine tune the areas we are lacking. This game was a turning point for this team and this program. A loss could have been a disaster, but this win may give us the needed momentum to make a run at a season that is "good enough".

Having Slept On It (Meeechigan)

2006-09-17T10:11:00.000-05:00

As yesterday's disaster was occuring I was thinking back to what I stated in my preview:

Face it, [Chad Henne] hasn't played well against us, but one blown coverage and a decent pass from Henne and that could be the ball game. With so much focus placed on the Michigan running attack, there will ample opportunities for Henne to exploit single coverage on the speedy receivers. Whether or not that comes to fruition may very well decide the ball game.

In the very beginning of the game with no thought to a deep passing game we more or less dedicated our safeties to the running game and did a excellent job of stuffing the run on the first couple of Michigan drives. When it became a third and long situation, we played the pass and added a Travis Thomas blitz to rattle Henne, which resulted in an interception and a sack. Then Manningham went bonkers and this time Henne didn't blow it. Once the threat of the deep pass was present, we couldn't stack the box resulting in running lanes for Michael Hart to exploit...ball game.

My theory with the defense is this: We can beat one dimensional teams, regardless of which dimension it is. If a team depends on the run then we're going to stack the box for the first two downs and play to get them in a third and long where we can play pass. If we're up against a passing team, we're going to do what we did with Penn St and absorb the lack of run stopping and nullify the receivers. The problem for our defense is balance. We're not good enough to play both run and pass within the same game. I always dreaded the fact that all the talk of our "improved" defense was fool's gold, but denial is a powerful thing.

Don't get me wrong, the offense stunk too, but I'll get to that later. Actually, let me get to it now. Our offensive line sucks. Really, it's bad. Quinn has looked pedestrian, b/c he's having flashbacks of his freshman and sophomore year where we was well acquainted with the ground. Darius Walker can't break a consistent string of runs to save his life. I'm putting this on the line. It's been obvious that they are better suited to pass protect, rather than run block, but now they're having trouble pass protecting. Maybe Quinn is just holding the ball too long. Maybe Darius Walker simply isn't a good running back. Make no mistake, that Michigan defense was good, but there should be no reason for this offense to look like "that".

My theory is this: we were expecting the effects of Willingham's "exceptional" recruiting efforts to affect us next year, but the truth is that it's affecting us now. Coaching and schemes will only get you so far and while this isn't the smoke and mirrors of the Davieham era, against the really good teams it's not going to work out unless we have the right personnel on the field. We've been overacheiving this whole time. I'm starting to believe this more and more. And that's okay, b/c we have the right staff orchestrating this program. It's going to take time and more top notch recruiting classes. It would be naive to think we could wipe out almost a decade of bad coaches in a few years. That's the truth.

Don't take all that stuff up there as the white flag for the rest of the season. We're going to beat the teams we should beat, and I still see us getting at least nine wins and hopefully the bowl game depending on the opponent. This is merely and extreme exercise in pessimism. It's a self-dense mechanism so I don't get my NCAA football heart broken. Also, I'm avoiding ESPN like it's the plauge b/c I can't stand to see the smug face of Mark May as he's, more than likely, going on an "I told you so" rant. This where we hear how Notre Dame is overrated and all that other hoop-la that is really petty considering the sources of this talk were the responsible parties of our high stature in the preseason polls. I'll save this rant for another post, but I won't be watching ESPN for a week or a month, so if I miss anything, let me know.

Around the League

1) I know I said Troy Smith was the frontrunner after last week. Yeah, I'd like to rescind that comment and elect Adrian Peterson. This guy is literally carrying the Sooners and his back. Despite the absence of a passing game and the presence of a shaky offensive line, he was able to gain 200+ yards against a ranked oppoent in hostile territory. He saw the usual twenty man fronts and still gained 200 yards, and if he decided to kick field goals, they would have won a game they had no business winning. Adrian Peterson is a freak of nature and is the best player in college football. In all honesty, Troy Smith is probably still the front runner, b/c the has the benefit of playing for an [cring] excellent team, but Adrian Peterson is the best football player. Man, I'm fickle.

2) I find it hilarious that the media was deceived by the Miami/Florida State game. Did you really think that was great defense on hand instead of really terrible offenses? It took you that long to figure it out? And these clowns are getting paid for their "knowledge" of the game?

3) NCAA football games are lot more enjoyable when you have something invested in them. Say for instance, Pick'em games. During the Oregon game, I'm cursing the television and getting all upset when they fell back two scores then went nuts when they made their comeback (and yes, that onsides was bs. the Oregon player clearly touched the ball before ten yards). During the Clemson/FSU game, I nearly had a heart attack until Clemson made some craft play calls to win that game in the final minute.

The Asian Perspective (Michigan)

2006-09-14T18:55:00.000-05:00

This weekend the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish play host to the Michigan Wolverines. This heated rivalry has produced some hard fought matches and this week looks to be more of the same. Here are some thoughts on the upcoming battle:

1) This battle is going to be won on the trenches where the front seven and offensive lines of both teams are going to decide the outcome of the game. For ND's defense, the line has to protect the undersized linebackers from the montser offensive lineman of Michigan in order to neutralize the potent running attack led by Michael Hart. This year Michigan lineman have adopted a zone blocking scheme similiar to what the Denver Broncos have used under Mike Shannahan. So, far the results have leaded to impressive numbers (albeit againt weaker opponents) with the team averaging over 240 yds/game and MIchael Hart averaging over 5 yds/carry. The Notre Dame defense has seem shaky at times against the run, but were fortunate to play teams that relied more on a passing attack. Whether or not they lack of production against the run was a result in the scheme employed or reflects a deeper problem is a question that will be soon be answered. One thing to look is if Minter stays with the base 4-3 defense or decides to go with some hybrid nickle package that was employed during the Penn St game. There has also been talk of true freshman MLB Toryan Smith possibly contributing to the front seven (then again this could be me being all wishful and having this guy sure up what is a shaky linebacking corps).

On the other side, the ND offensive line is going to have to prepare for a defensive attack. After two games of tape on our offense, teams should be able to dechipher some kind of gameplan against us. The conversation had to go something like this:

"Okay, lets look at the Georgia Tech tape. Yep, you see how they're blitzing? It looks like Quinn is off balance. Yeah, seems like the pressure is getting to the QB and this offense looks fairly managable. Okay, here we go with last weeks game. You see how they're dropping back in coverage? They're really not putting much pressure, but they have a ton of guys there to defend the pass. Yep, this is absolute sh!t. Brady Quinn is picking this defense apart. You want to take a wild guess what the hell we're going to do this week? We're going to pressure this SOB and disrupt him every chance we get."

Well, that's what I think anyways. Penn St. showed that it's pretty worthless dropping back in coverage and hoping that Quinn won't be able to read whatever zone you throw at him. Michigan is going to show something similiar to what Georgia Tech did in order to disrupt the timing and the psyche of the offense. Remember, last year's lowest point total was during the Michigan game and though that was only the second game under Charlie's new system, it goes without saying that this Michigan defense is capable of slowing down our offense. The key will rest on the right side of the line where you have a true freshman (Sam Young) at tackle and Bob Morton at guard who has been awfully shaky in my opinion. If the line is able to give Quinn time, then we'll be okay, but if things start looking shaky like it did during the GTech then I'm afraid the Michigan offense isn't as forgiving as Georgia Tech's was.

2) Chad Henne can be the difference. Enough Michigan bloggers have b!tched about him, so it shows that he's capable of being really good, but he's been so wildly inconsistent that it has cost them a few games. Face it, he hasn't played well against us, but one blown coverage and a decent pass from Henne and that could be the ball game. With so much focus placed on the Michigan running attack, there will ample opportunities for Henne to exploit single coverage on the speedy receivers. Whether or not that comes to fruition may very well decide the ball game. Or Henne could continue to under throw and over throw his wide open receivers like he has the past two games against ND and then it's a moot point. Moving along...

3) Run, Irish, Run. The running game has been put on the back burner lately. The offensive line clearly is more suited for pass protection than run blocking, but the balance in offensive attack has to be present against this Michigan defense. Darius Walker has enjoyed much success against this team, so if he continues to play well then our offense should be in good shape. Call me old fashion, but I like a good run or two. Then again, I've seen enough runs up the middle to last me a lifetime. Like I said earlier, the game is going to be won on the trenches so our ability to control the pace of the game will be a good indicator of our success.

4) This will be far from a shootout. Michigan aims to play smash mouth, and we've been really good with time of possession. So, that doesn't leave a lot of time to go TD crazy. This is going to be a low scoring game and every single possession is going to be vital, especially if our run defense is as shaky as I fear it is. These games have been close in the past with the exception of the beatdown three years ago that we agree never happened. So, nobody is running away from anybody and this is going down to the final tick of the clock. Got it?

5) Close game, every possession counts...hmmm, then...yep, that's right field positioning is going to be key. Aren't we glad we have a punter that can boot it sixty yards? Special teams may tilt the scales in this game, so it's vital that the coverage teams contain Michigan returner Steve Breaston who has given us trouble before. On the flip side, if Zibby can bounce back and the kick returners show what they did during the Tech game, that would be super. For now, I'm going to say that ND place kicker, Carl Gioia, is okay will be able to do what is asked of him short of a fifty yard game winning field goal (eek!). The Michigan place kicker, (too lazy to look up name), apparently was/is (again, lazy) nominated for the Grozo, so he's got a boot. Can this decide that game? Sadly, yes, but we'll all cross our fingers that it never comes to this.

Bottomline, this is a huge game for both squads. Michigan has some pride they wish to restore after losing last year in the Big House, and having a big platform to proclaim their return to prominence after a dismal 7-5 season. For ND, this is probably the last marquee game they have before they hit the marshmallow soft part of the schedule (no, I'm not saying MSU is soft, but they're not marquee to pollsters, though I would disagree since those flag staking sons of b!tches deserve a galactic beat down of robotic genius levels but I digress). If they suffer a loss in this game, it will be hard to move up in the polls or computers on wins alone as beating the teams in the middle part of the schedule won't look too impressive. The only game that looks to be a real poll booster would be the final game against USC, which by then may be too little to late. Then again, this is me talking after only two weeks of football, when the landscape will be more defined after this week with so many ranked teams squaring off against each other. Regardless, a lot can be loss on this game alone so the stakes are high, even if it's only the third week of the season.

I expect a close game that will probably have me screaming at the television on more than one occassion. I've been preparing myself for a loss, but damnit, I think we can win so I'm going with the heart and have Notre Dame winning, 24 - 20.

Quickie UMich Preview

2006-09-12T19:02:00.000-05:00

Here are some quick thoughts on the upcoming game:

1) Chad Henne. He decides the game. If he plays well and takes advantage of the stacked frontline we're going to toss at Hart and Grady, ND is in trouble. If he plays like he has on occassion being wildly inconsistent and inaccurate, then we can breathe easier. Make no mistake, the defensive gameplan is going to be to make Chad Henne beat us.

2) Efficiency from our offense is key. WIth the running attack and traditionally conservative playcalling from the UMich offense, Brady and Co. are not going to have many opportunities to score. So, it's vital that they make every possession count.

3) 4-3 or not 4-3? The Penn St. saw us in nickle coverage for most of the game, but that was due to the attention Minter wanted to give to the speedy recievers of Penn St. That also explains the success they were getting with their running game. This go round we switch the focus to the opposing running game, so logic suggests we go back to the traditional 4-3 set where one of the SAM linebackers has to step up and contribute to a front seven that must prove they can slow down a power running attack. Or do with stick with some hybrid nickle formation with three safeties where Zibby plays closer to the line of scrimmage and acts as the third linebacker.

4) Darius Walker has had great success against Michigan. Why should this weekend be any different?

5) Three-Loss Lloyd vs. Robot Genius. Yeah, that's a no brainer.

I'm currently on the fence here. Michigan faithful have been uncharacteristically pessimistic about the game, which leads me to believe that we should win this game easily. Lately, these games have been close and I'll be frank, that running game scares me like no other. Catch my prediction on The Asian Perspective (yes, it's a weekly thing every Thursday).

Penn St Post Game Analysis

2006-09-11T16:52:00.000-05:00

I like to reiterate that I am in no way a college football expert. I call it how I see it and I love to rant. So, if anything strikes you the wrong way or seems off then feel free to call me up on it.

After watching the game from the senior student section and once again from the NBC recording the following night, here's what I saw:

1) Brady Quinn started off sharp, then had some mental lapses. Again, I was critical of his play and got a whole lot of "I'll take 70% passing any day." After rewatching the game from the NBC telecast, I realized why I was a bit hard on Brady (I know, like he cares). The two drives that resulted in field goals featured third down passes that could (and maybe should) have been intercepted, i.e. they were bad passes (I don't know if it was miscommunication or forcing the issue). There was also the pass to Carlson in the end zone that Brady over threw. Those three instances really stuck out to me for some reason and as a result clouded what was a very good game.

It's been said before, but those two passes to Carlson down the seam were brilliant. While Carlson's effort is commendable, make no mistake those were PERFECT throws. Aside from the two bad tosses I mentioned before, Brady never forced the issue and wisely took two sacks instead of throwing a floater that could have changed the course of the game. All in all, this is the Brady Quinn we saw last year. Opposing defenses can now shudder at their inevitable destruction.

2) The Two C's: Coaching and Conditioning. What more can we say about the job Charlie has done? The second TD pass to Rhema was a great playcall. I just know it was one of those calls where Charlie goes to Brady, "He's going to be open, don't screw it up." And sure enough, wide the f*ck open in the back of the end zone is Rhema. On the other side of the ball, there has been some great improvement from a squad that no one expected much of anything from. While there are some concerns about the D's ability to stop a power rushing attack (like say, Michigan's), this team is making people rethink whether or not ND deserves the ranking bestowed upon them.

For the second game in the row, the opposing defense is huffing and puffing while our boys are running around like gazelles in the Serengeti. This is no accident and Coach Mendoza has whipped the team in extraordinary shape. The one minute drill saw the benefits of this conditioning, as Brady Quinn and Darius Walker found themselves in the middle of the field but had the stamina and speed to get to the sidelines to stop the clock, while a very tired Penn St defense couldn't blitz and fell back into a soft zone coverage. My first reaction to the one minute drill was why Penn St wasn't blitzing, but just like GTech last week I realized it wasn't that they didn't want to, it was b/c they couldn't. Then there's Travis Thomas being able to play defense, then run forty yards on a fake punt, and following that off with that tough one yard touchdown for the dagger.

3) Coach. Weis. Huge. Man. Balls.

4) Victor Abiamiri got jobbed. What the Penn St offensive line was getting away with was simply criminal. On several passing downs, Abiamiri blew by the tackle only to have that poor bastard grab on for dear life in hopes of saving Morelli. No flag. Absolutely ridiculous. If it's not bad enought that Victor has to continually see double teams, he can't catch a freaking break when the opposition gets the benefit of the doubt from the officials.

5) Our safeties rock, yes both of them. Zibby is an absolute monster and had a highlight reels worth of hits and plays against Penn St and it goes without saying, he's the heart and soul of this D. The Duke's progression from Ted Ginn poster child to legitimate enforcer is remarkable. Credit the Maurice Stovall diet and the tutelage of defensive backs coach, Bill Lewis, for Ndukwe is becoming a playmaker on the D. He followed last game's shot on Calvin Johnson with a fantastic hit on Derrick Williams. Duke is everywhere on the field and his improvement combined with Tommy Z gives us two good (and possibly great) defenders in the safety positions.

6) I may have it in for him, b/c the guy talked some crazy trash to me during a Bookstore game, but hasn't Bob Morton been pretty lousy at right guard? On the second of consecutive sacks, Bob got beat badly on the inside by the defensive tackle and Brady had no chance but to take the sack on third down. And while the play resulted in a touchdown, why don't you take a look at screen play that Darius scored on as Big Bob Morton whiffs on a block. Ouch!

7) Tight End U. It's not official, but get used to it. We're going to have the top tight ends in the nation for the next decade or so.

8) The special teams was once a concern is looking to be more and more promising. The only thing I'm looking for is some consistency. We all know that Zibby is capable of better days as the punt returner (apparently it does make a difference which foot the punter kicks from, b/c the Penn St punter was a left footed). Gioia eased everybodies worries with two successful field goal attempts and 100% on the PATs. For the second game in a row [warning terrible pun alert] the Price has been right with a monster 63 yard punt that shifted the field positioning. The only thing Price has yet to show is controlling the shorter kicks in order to pin the opposition within their 15-10 yard line.

9) That's all I got, I've been fighting the effects of the long drive and sleep deprivation. I have more, but I just can't think up anymore and really want to focus my attention to this week's game.

Elsewhere in College Football Land

1) Ohio State (as much as it pains me to say) is the best team in the nation. They manhandled Texas and there really isn't anything left to say. People have been saying the Heisman is Brady Quinn's to lose, but Troy Smith looks to be the front runner having a marque win under his belt, ridiculous numbers (though Brady is not that far off), and he's playing for the best team in the nation. That offense is probably the best in the nation with the ability to go deep or pound it out with two solid running backs. The young defense is only going to get better. This is a scary team.

2) Mack Brown post Vince Young is going to be exposed for the hack he is. Sure he can recruit, but he doesn't have the otherworldly talents of Vince Young to bail him out. Make no mistake that the Texas team is as talented as any other team in the nation, but all those cries of disappointment and underacheiving are going to be heard from Austin once again.

3) The one drawback to being in the Bend for the football game is that I don't get to watch the rest of the games with the exception of the night games. So, I got nothing left. UMich preview coming soon.

The Asian Perspective (Penn St.)

2006-09-07T20:52:00.000-05:00

This week the Nittany Lions of Penn St. visit the Fighting Irish of the University of Notre Dame. I'd crunch some numbers and do all that nasty stuff, then I realized I have a freakin' nine hour drive tomorrow fresh off the nine to five...errr, seven to four. So, let me offer a few jabs at what I'm expecting for this weekend's home opener.

1) I believe all the expectations for Notre Dame's first game against Georgia Tech will be met in this game. I think a combination of the road environment, nerves, and overwhelming hype got in the way of the players last week. This week they probably got their asses chewed out and should be more focused for this Saturday's game.

2) Penn St. offense doesn't scare me, b/c the one thing we can't do well (defend the run) they can't do well (under 75 yards rushing against Akron...AKRON!). Our D-line should be more effective and aggressive against the inexperienced Penn St. O-line. The threat of the QB scrambling is non-existent in this game, so the defensive line has no excuses this go round. The talented skill players for Penn St. should be cause for concern, but if the line can provide enough pressure, then Morelli should be shaken enough to make critical mistakes.

3) Brady Quinn comes out hot. I think a week of hearing how un-Heisman he was last week should fire him up enough. The secondary of Penn St. is ripe for picking apart.

4) The Penn St. linebackers are awfully scary but the rest of the D is relatively weak. Shouldn't expect to see too many screen passes against this D, but you can expect multiple wide receiver sets in hopes to get one or two of those linebackers off the field.

5) All in all, I expect a better game overall from the team. I'm hoping the SAM linebacker spot gets better, but that may be wishful thinking. It'll be interesting to see how the field goal kicker fares this time around, being as that is another concern this team faces. Regardless, the offense shows it's true colors and while Penn St. shows some bite, it's useless as the Irish roll, 35-17.

Random Musings about GT ...

2006-09-05T19:29:00.000-05:00

1) I firmly believe that we saw so many throws to Rhema vs. the Shark because Weis wanted this to be a statement game to hopefully convince our future Big10 opponents (PSU, UM, MSU, Purdue) that they should worry about Rhema and not JeffS ... or at least to worry about him to the point that they don't even bother doubling up Jeff for an entire game. Things seemed just a little force-fed to me. For the most part, Rhema responded well with some great catches ... but he also had some drops. Expect to continue to see defenses concentrate more on the Shark than any other WR on the field.

2) Sloppy game by the refs on both sides of the field. There were some definite missed calls and puzzling ones as well, but things really balanced out in the end fairly well. That helmet to helmet hit by the GT LB on Brady was a legit penalty that I'm surprised was called. The holding penalty on Rhema for his manhandling of the GT CB during Jeff's long catch-and-run was equally surprising. I'd have to see it again, but it just looks like Rhema destroyed the guy ... he didn't tackle him.

3) I give Bob Morton credit for playing so soon after his dad passed away, but only to the point where he stepped on the field and give effort. However, my praise stops there. He was absolutely struggling out there on Saturday with the mental and physical aspects of the game. Was he overcompensating for Sam Young, or is he just not a mean enough player? Blitz pickup and drive blocking are huge problems for Big Red. Funny that 4 years ago we were excited to have the #1 Center enroll at the University to follow in the footsteps of Jeff Faine, only to have him move to Guard his senior year and disappoint. I'm pulling for you, Bob ... but you gotta show me something.

4) Interesting package with 3 safeties and 2 LB's on the field in the 2nd half. Zibby, Crum, and TThomas might give us the best run support behind the DL. I was absolutely abhorred by the play of our SAM backers (MThomas and Vernaglia). Good TE's and FB's are going to abuse those guys in the run game until they learn how to take proper angles and to fight off blocks. Not a single tackle between the two of them. How soon can Toryan Smith start at MLB so that Crum can move back outside?

5) Our defense is improved, but they still aren't a top 40 defense. Please don't underestimate Reggie Ball's poor throwing skills, or the relatively weak gameplan by the GT OC. This was not a good offensive team. Interesting point for the second half of the season: our stronger DB play helps against "traditional" offenses, but how will we fare against teams who primarily use the option? Navy and Air Force could be challenging games for our D if the LB's don't improve.

6) Walker is one of the niftiest but most frustrating runners I've ever watched. Sometimes he wows you with sublte shakes that drive LB's and safeties crazy as they attempt to tackle him in the open field, and he's so extremely patient waiting for blocks. Sometimes those blocks never come though, and he'll get stopped when it looks like there was still room if he just plowed ahead. In the end, I think this helps us more than it hurts us ... but there were a few times when I think he was trying to be too fancy and really just needed to bust it up there.

7) We had good safety play, and TZ is our biggest hitter on the team. Nice shot by Nedu on CJ across the middle, but had the ball been thrown to where he would have hit CJ in stride, I doubt Nedu could have made the play he did. It was slightly underthrown and that allowed him enough time to recover. UM will be the first time our safeties will be truly tested for their play-action recognition and recovery abilities, since GT and PSU are relatively weak running teams.

8) DL was a disappointment. Victor does the unnappreciated things well and teams tend to run away from him or double-him, but I'd like to see him in on some more plays. He showed some great pursuit sideline to sideline ... but I want to see him making more plays in his natural position upfield. We got our best pressure of the night from a true freshman against a GT team that was gassed and needed to pass in the 4th quarter. Not a good sign, but GT had a relatively strong OL.

9) GT fans ... please do our fine citizens a favor next time you're so lucky to be on national television. Get rid of the goofy bumblebee paint (some of the fatasses reminded me of the spanish-speaking guy in a bee custome from The Simpsons) and fly in some FSU girls to cheer for your team. FSU football is ugly, but their girls are not. That way you can at least fix one of your problems ...

10) Penn State should be ready for a hell of a game this weekend. Remember that teams make their biggest improvements from week 1 to week 2. Morelli completed 50% of his passes on a good day against a bad team at home ... Quinn completed 50+% of his passes on a bad day against a good team in an away-game. Whoever makes the bigger improvement out of both of these two QB's will win the game, I think. I'd argue that both QB's are equally gifted physically, but Brady has a much better mental grasp on the game. Morelli's knock coming out of HS were his mental skills ... I'd love to see some active shifting and exotic blitzes to confuse Mushroomhead.

Having Slept On It

2006-09-03T15:23:00.000-05:00

Okay kiddies, after a terrible night's sleep and some quick browsing of the fellow sport's bloggers out there here are some more thought on the GTech game:

1) It's pretty much a consensus: our place kickers sucks and our punter rocks.

2) I've seen a few bloggers say that Weis got game-played for the second game in a row. I felt that Charlie's gameplan wasn't as bad as others have suggested. While I do feel we gave up on the run in the beginning of the game, if Brady hits some of the passes that he uncharacteristically (post-Weis Quinn that is) missed we would have sustained a lot of those drives in the first half. If Quinn wasn't rattled early on, I think we'd be showing off the offense everyone was expecting rather than the offense that merely mustered fourteen points.

3) The penalties killed a lot of drives as well, primarily the holding calls. I expect those to be cleaned up immediately.

4a) There's been a lot of praise for our defense, and I'm from the camp of that defensive showing being fool's gold. While we held a mobile QB and an all-world wide receiver to a respectable 250 yards of total offense, I think had a competent play caller called the game for GTech the results would be much different.

4b) Aggressive running games are going to kill our defense. Our linebackers may be faster, but they're also smaller and GTech showed that they can't really shed blocks. I think the key for our defense is our d-line's ability to "protect" our linebackers. If our lineman can occupy the opposition's linemen then I'd feel better about our linebackers making plays. Of course, there were some bad lines taken in the GTech game was well as some bad tackling. That Michigan running game is going to be the best indicator of how the season will look for this defense.

5) As critical as I was last night, there were some really good things to look forward to. Our receivers are incredible, and just as I predicted there is not going to be much of a drop out from last year despite losing Stovall (who seems to be making quite the impression for Chucky at Tampa Bay). Rhema had that bad drop in the fourth quarter but made up for it with that clutch nineteen yard third down conversion. Carlson looked good catching the ball (that catch on the tip ball was pretty ridiculous), but he needs to clean up his blocking. Darius looks better than ever. I believe Heirbstreit kept saying it, but it's true that Darius is a wonderful complement to Brady Quinn. The freshmen showed some poise in a tough environment. Sam Young had a holding call in the beginning of the game and responded well to rest of the game. Darrin Walls was up against a monster and despite giving up the long completion to Calvin Johnson that could have easily been a touchdown, he kept up with the freakish receiver and prevented what would have been a huge touchdown.

6) GTech is a solid opponent and a far cry from playing a MAC team in the opening game. That was a pretty hostile environment and a Davingham team would have lost that game considering the poor start. Had the playcalling been better for GTech (basically, the video game strategy of throwing the ball to Calvin every chance you get) could have made for a different game, and in all honesty he could have been looking at an opening game loss. Despite all that we showed some great composure and some awesome conditioning (ironman Travis coming in during the final drive after playing defense most of the game and having some solid runs was pretty impressive). I fully expect a strong showing next week at home.

Thoughts from other games:

1) Wonder what life would have been like had Cutliffe never had his medical problems and was able to be our offensive coordinator. Obviously the guy can coach, b/c the Tennessee offense looked to finally play to their potential in their opener against Cal. I'm glad we're through playing them in the immediate future.

2) Morelli may have put some solid numbers (albeit against Akron) and showed off an impressive arm, but I think he may be a bit overrated. He was off on a number of plays and some of his touchdown tosses were more a result of insanely wide open and talented receivers than great passing. He seems to be the gunslinger type, so if we can bait him into throwing into coverage we'll be fine against Penn St. Their linebackers are awesome, but if we can contain the blitzing our o-line should handle that d-line and I'm confident Brady can pick apart that defense.

3) Michael Hart looked good in UMich's opener. He scares me, especially against our run D. The team seemed to struggle against Vanderbilt which doesn't speak highly of them, but as with all UMich teams great potential that seems to be shackled. This team can beat us, but it depends which won will show up against us.

4) USC is going to give us a hell of a final game of the regular season. Their defense is improved with that freakish talent being more experienced. Booty looked good and made a number of nice tosses to his receivers. This team is incredibly talented from all those sick classes Carroll has recruited over the years.

5) Unless Idaho is a legitamite oppenent, MSU didn't look all that good. But Stanton is going to pose problems for our defense. Then again, we'll be fired up for the game, so for now, I'm not too worried about that game.

6) Purdue tossed up sixty points and are back on the rise...yeah, right. They struggled against a terrible team, and I look forward to seeing the clueless, "What's Going On" face on their defensive coordinator when we repeat what we did to their D last year. It could be a let down game, but this team shouldn't be problem.

7) The OSU/Texas game is going to be a treat, as it was last year. Despite the weak opponent, Troy Smith to Ted Ginn is a tough combo for anyone to handle. Must be nice to be Colt McCoy and have Snead to throw to in your opener.

Okay, that's all I got. If anyone wants to post a preview for the home opener, I won't stop ya'.

GTech Post Game Analysis

2006-09-03T01:52:00.000-05:00

Fighting off my inability to sleep here are some lingering thoughts on the season opener against the Ramblin' Wreck of Georgia Tech (and forgive me, for I am not one of the more football knowledgable of us).

1) I think that the holding call on Rhema McKnight on the first drive of the game was huge. It ended that drive and gave the Tech defense the confidence to go nuts with the pressure they gave Quinn. If that holding call doesn't happen, Brady continues to run Weis' script, we score six, and we never see a 14-10 game.

2) I thought the secondary played well. I loved, LOVED Ndukwe's hit on Calvin Johnson in the first half and know for a fact that if this was last year Ndukwe would have been watching Mr. Johnson score his second touchdown. So there is improvement there. My problem with the secondary was more from a play calling stand point. Take for instance leaving a true freshman cornerback single covered on an All American and future first round draft pick wide reciever. Tell me how that makes any sense at all?

3) I think our run defense is bad. Bad like I'm afraid whatever improvements we made to stop the pass may very well be negated by the fact that we can't defend the run so well. We took a lot of bad lines and seeing Travis Thomas get smothered by a tight end and a lineman was a bit too much for me. Am I wrong in this assessment? Was this some sacrifice on our part in order to keep Calvin Johnson in check? Either way, I'm concerned about our ability (or inability) to stop the run.

4) Our punter rocks! Seriously, he kick the holy hell out of the ball and that's pretty cool to have a guy that can give your oppenent crap field positioning. On the flip side of the kicking coin, our place kicker sucks. Granted he was put in a pretty precarious situation for his starting gig, that's still pretty bad. We don't get that straightened out, we're going to lose a game b/c of it (despite other weaknesses).

5) Brett Mussberger is a douche. Common knowledge, but should be pointed out.

6) Our coach has balls. Big, hairy, sweaty, man balls the size of cantaloupes. Fifteen seconds on the four yard line with no timeouts in the first half and he calls a freaking QB draw (which I thought was brilliant), could have been a disaster if Quinn doesn't get in. Then the Fourth and One to end the game. Say what you will about the risks involved, but I love the mentality. And it goes without saying, I love Charlie Weis.

7) I'm a little concerned that we were lucky the offensive coordinator of Georgia Tech is an idiot. What happens if they continue to pass toward Calvin Johnson, instead of shying away from him whenever they thought he was double covered? I don't know what it is about our team but play callers seem to hit some kind of retard phase and call illogical games. During the second half, I'm thinking to myself, "Holy crap! They should be trying to get the ball to Calvin Johnson at least once every four downs, and yet they'll go drives without so much as a glance to his side of the field. Amazing!" Can't count on getting idiot coordinators everytime, though the UMich game is coming in two weeks.

8) Kind of wanted to see Munir do something, but I don't blame Weis for not wanting to possibly ruining this kid's career by putting him into a situation where he could cost us the game. Still, he has to be something to see the field during a close game (which also goes for Darrin Walls and his "Welcome to the NCAA" moment courtesy of Calvin Johnson, and Sam Young is going to be a monster in due time).

9) The green jersey I got was #9. I wore it for about a quarter and a half, and being the superstitious nut decided it was cursed. Took it off...Tech stops scoring and offense gets going. Thousands of miles away, my dad did the same exact thing, joyously wore green jersey then immediately took it off when it got bad, and then it got good again. This is why I love sports so much, b/c it leads us to do illogical things that we believe will impact events that are totally unrelated. And no, I will never wear that jersey again during a Notre Dame game.

All in all, I waited months only to have more questions that answers. I have no idea what to make of this game. I was expecting a offense to start slow and progress to a well oiled machine. What we got was an offense struggling nearly a whole half to find a rythm. Is the GTech defense that good? Who knows? But I'm not as overly confident about this team as I was during the preseason. I'm confident we'll clean up the penalties that were drive killers, but I'm still a little shaky on the D. I was worried about our running game, but then it became apparent it was more a lack of commitment to it than a lack of skill with it. All in all, a win is a win and that's a start, but we have a ways to go if we're to live up to the top five ranking.

First thoughts

2006-09-03T00:05:00.000-05:00

First and foremost, glad to be 1-0.

A few things that stood out to me:
The offense in the first half was surprisingly ineffective. The offensive line did not look good at all in the face of the intense pressure GT threw at us. As the game wore on, however, the protection improved and so did the offensive output. That's very encouraging to me.

Penalties killed us. 11 penalties for 80 yards, ouch. The block from behind penalties on Carlson (cost us a TD for all of a play) and on _____(somebody help me out here) were sloppy. You also have to love that our entire offensive line was penalized including both right tackles.

The kicking game scares me. I wouldn't be shocked to see someone else take over the place-kicking duties next week after a week of open competition, the two misses ended up not mattering, but that's a dodged bullet.

The fact that the defense doesn't get mentioned earlier is a good sign. Calvin Johnson broke a couple big plays, but he's a great receiver and we were single covering him at the start of the game. Welcome to college football Darrin Walls.

I'm disappointed that the team didn't come out of the gate better, but I can't emphasize enough how much confidence it gives me to see us adjust tactically throughout the course of the game. This coaching staff is SOOOO much better than prior regimes it's amazing.

Finally, I think the saying goes something like: If you can't play, coach. If you can't coach, commentate. Bob Davie, it's time for option four.

We Could Be Rich!!!

2006-08-24T12:17:00.000-05:00

Computed using the same link to dollar ratio as the AOL-Weblogs, Inc. deal...I say we sell now and enjoy early retirement...

How Much Is My Blog Worth?

Your blog, thehouseoftwelve.blogspot.com, is worth $564.54

A Preseason Conversation with...Myself

2006-08-16T20:11:00.000-05:00

how've you been, buddy?
um...good. you get the fact that you're me, so that's kind of a pointless question?

i suppose, i just wanted to break the ice since it's been awhile...
i guess i feel you there

why not start with the most obvious question, is a national championship a realistic goal for the irish?
y'know i go back an forth with this. some days, i think people are reaching and other days i can see no other end to the season than a return to arizona for the bcs championship. the field is insanely wide open where any legitimate "contender" has a glaring question mark. how good is osu's defense considering they're only returning TWO starters? can texas win with a freshman qb, when a freshman qb has never lead a team to a national championship? you can do that with any team. us? it's obviously the defense among other things

what other things?
well, we got some depth problems (thanks again, ty...you were an awesome recruiter). any lineman, defensive or offensive, get hurt and we're in trouble. linebacker is also a concern, outside of lack of experience there aren't a lot of them. seriously, we had to move travis thomas, who made an awesome comeback last year by the way, to ensure we'd have a decent corps of lb's. and then of course would be the most catastrophic thing to ever happen to notre dame outside of davieham...what if golden boy brady quinn gets hurt? straight to the gutter says me.

about that defense...
well, sometimes i feel really confident with the defense that we'll be throwing out this year, and i honestly feel that people are going to be surprised at how good they are. then someone like rob hits me with a good dose of reality and reports that our corners haven't gotten much better.

i think our d-line is solid, with leitko making an incredible comeback, landri back from injury, and abiamiri just asking for a break out year, i just feel those guys will be able to disrupt offenses. the linebackers are going to be shaky for the simple fact that they so dang inexperienced, but their athletic as hell and that's got to count for something.

the secondary has been the target of much criticisms and i'm from the camp that believes they played slowed rather than them actually being slow. just like charlie has said during his many press conference, their problem last year was more mental breakdowns and hesitation than actual physical speed, b/c i truly believe they can keep up with most anybody outside physical freaks (who we unfortunately have to go up against this season). still, zibby is solid and ndukwe got the maurice stovall weight loss ultimatum from charlie so he looks to be faster and hopefully less prone to getting beat considering he'd be one of our last lines of defense. and to be optimistic our corners can't be worse than last year, right?

so, how about that offense?
it's going to be an entertaining year if the o-line can stay healthy and brady never has to meet the injury list. i'm have some reservations on our running attack, but i'm sure rob can elaborate on that later. YOU HEAR THAT ROB, YOU'RE GOING TO SPILL THE BEAN WITH YOUR INCREDIBLE FOOTBALL KNOWLEDGE HERE. i think a lot of people are overlooking the return of rhema mcknight. was it so long ago that he was on of the best, if not the best player on this team before? and c'mon, he made the sickest catch i've ever seen...AND IT WASN'T EVEN A COMPLETION! ('03 WSU @ ND)

easy, you don't need to shout
sorry, but that was a great catch. anyways, charlie said it best, " I hope they double team Jeff every day because Rhema will have a field day."

what about the rest of the o?
i'll let rob explain the running game, but i think it's really going to be important for darius and co. to produce on the ground to give us the balance we need to put up some insane numbers this year. the tight end situation is also going to be instrumental, b/c there's a big hole there that fasano left. i'm confident, though, in carlson and freeman in supplementing our deep attack and keeping those safeties honest.

alright, any thoughts on special teams?
uh, special wha?

special teams...
a-wha?

y'know with the kicking and the returning
oh, hmmm...actually haven't thought much about them. i hear we're trying to break in some new kickers and it hasn't been going well at all. i could see this being a problem. i mean i was a 49er fan when they had an awesome everything except a competent kicker and that cost them a three-peat. it'll also put a lot of pressure on the offense which may not seem like a big problem but if you lean too much on something...it'll eventually break.

hmmm...poetic
thanks

what about the schedule? last year seemed like murderer's row and it ended up being a trip to disneyland save for that incredible usc game. what's your outlook on this season?
well, as usual, the schedule is top heavy with the opener in g-tech, who is woefully inconsistent but on a good day can pull an upset. penn st seems shaky with an inexperienced line on both sides of the field, they're also breaking in a new qb, and its a home game for us. umich scares me a little, b/c that offense can keep up with ours. the x-factor is the play calling. for some reason umich liked to play smashmouth with us and never liked to air it out despite their advantage in speed. so, it really depends how they decided to attack our d. as for the game after that...i'd love to stick it to msu, and i really don't need to explain that.

they have...or maybe had, who knows...a potent offense
yeah, we always play them before they decide to no longer play the rest of the season, and who knows how our defense will be. mobile qbs have been problematic and stanton is exactly the kind of qb we need to be able to contain to ease worries about our inability to play teams with mobile qbs.

and the rest of the schedule?
i don't want to say it's a cake walk, and while we did have a great season last year, we did get kind of complacent and sloppy towards the end against "weaker" opponents. regardless i'm fairly confident those middle games will be w's. i just hope we can keep some good momentum from those games.

ah, yes to have when we enter a game against THAT team
most definitely. our rivalry game in l.a. is going to be huge. this is the game that scares me the most. in fact, i'm not really confident we can pull it off. usc has had our number, and though the days of 31 point losses are long gone...well, gone anyways...i feel playing usc this late in the season nullifies one of the main concerns for that team: breaking in a new qb. of course, we have no idea how this usc qb situation is going turn out b/c you can't compare the transition from palmer to leinart to this transition for one reason: norm chow. chow was the guru, and while i don't want to underestimate the current usc oc i just don't see the qb (whoever it is) being as successful. still, the rest of that team is solid. early reports are saying that the running back situation is pretty strong despite losing a heisman winner and their all time td record holder. of course, with that line it'd be hard to not be able to run effectively...

...and the possibility of this game having bcs expectations
exactly, this is going to be a huge game. who knows? maybe it surpasses that instant classic last year.

yeah, that game never happened
you still griping about that?

c'mon, that ball should've been spotted on the two or three yard line. not the freaking half yard line
it's in the past and we still have the national championship lead.

fair enough. what are your thoughts on the heisman race?
it's going to be intriguing, but the man named brady is the clear favorite. as much as the media hates on the program, they can't help but talk it up any chance they get. i think it gives them to opportunity to criticize us when we stumble, if even just a little bit. still, brady is looking to make some huge numbers and maybe break all the records he made last season. it really is insane what he's doing to the notre dame record book. he owns it. adrian peterson would have been some tough competition, but then we had a car dealership and now he's going to face nine men fronts. troy smith could be an interesting choice. that offense is stacked and he may remind everyone of vince young and how he was slighted last year. still, i think brady has as good a chance as any notre dame player has had for over a decade.

fantastic. any other thoughts on the football team?
i'm just excited. i really believe in the charlie weis era, and i hope everything comes together this year. it really is "now or never...well for awhile" with this team. the '08 class has less than a handful of players in it and next year's teams is basically going to be run by sophomores and freshmen. that's kind of scary, but that's next year. i'm fairly optimistic with this team right here and right now. i just have to make sure to shield my ears when the talk gets a little too crazy.

don't want to get your hopes to high?
expect the worse, hope for the best. i just don't want to be let down, like this team has done to me ever since i stepped foot on campus.

sound good. well, thanks for the chat
no problemo

never thought a conversation with yourself could drag out so much, huh?
not really. i'm just biting my time till i can make another imovie

touche

ESPeNis

2006-08-16T19:19:00.000-05:00

I'm a warm-blooded American male. I smell bad, I burp, I fart, I scratch myself. Steak and potatoes are two of my favorite foods (aside from stir-fry, of course). To me, women are very hot -- especially particular parts of them. I love sports, especially football. I am your average American male (no height or penis length jokes here, please). At least, I think I am ...

But if I'm so average, why am I no longer enthralled with SportsCenter or ESPN like the rest of my fellow typical American males? Why do I find the whole schtick tiresome and boring? I can appreciate warranted hype, for certain ... I mean, I am a ND fan ... but I think they've gone a little too far recently.

First there was the Mark May bullshit from last year for which he still has not apologized for ... I mean, he was getting paid for being ridiculously wrong ... 1-5 in the first six games? .... puhleease. If a meteorologist was wrong to the tune of 5 out of 6 days a week, he'd be fired. If I was allowed to be that wrong in my line of work before I got the axe, policemen and firemen would die (and Reno would be there to save them, with parachute and all). Lee Corso was crazy wrong too, but he's not there to be right ... he's there to be an entertainer (like WWF or WWE or whatever the hell it's called now). Mark May should be filling a different role than Corso, but he sank to his level and has not yet pulled himself up from it, nor has ESPN pulled forcefully pulled him out of it either. My first gripe with ESPN -- no accountability (unless you hug a female co-worker).

Next there was the whole A-Rod fiasco during this entire baseball season. Trust me, I friggin' HATE the Yankees. Growing up with two parents who lived in Northern NJ and grew up rooting for the team in the city has instilled in me a fiery passion to root against the Yankees. Yet, even I was disgusted at how ESPN and others viciously attacked A-Rod. They created the news ... they created drama like a cheesy soap opera or gossip magazine. ESPN hypes players and teams up so that they can be easily torn down ... this is the problem. I just want the news as it happens, with an occasional "booyah!" during color commentary. Is that too much to ask? This is my second gripe with ESPN -- going out of their way to create news themselves. I mean, how else can you fill a 24 hour day with sports news, unless you help create some of it?

And now for my third and final gripe (I promise) before I actually get into some stuff specific to ND football and the upcoming season --

The final straw really came this week when I saw some cartoons on ESPN.com's FRONT PAGE. This isn't a back page thing or a stupid little side joke ... it was on the freaking front page of their site. They decided to turn the best college players/coaches into freakin comic book heroes. Let's get into some "Show and Tell" now, shall we?

This, apparently, is Charlie Weis as a superhero. Notice that he's wearing a helmet, and he's not even flying or riding a motorcycle (hence the genius advantage over a certain Steeler's QB). But really, what the hell were they thinking here? Charlie's a big guy and hasn't lost 50 pounds like Mr. Plow (Chris Stewart), but this picture makes him look like he has Julius Jones' physique. Even if they made him look like Maurice Clarrett, it would be a little more accurate (minus the guns and the vodka, of course). And was it necessary to make the grass really long in the picture, so that we have to deal with yet another subtle jab at the field conditions during the USC game? (Note to USC fans -- Charlie is not responsible for D. Reed's injury). The point is that this is absolutely ridiculous. There's no value added here ... no accuracy ... and nobody from NJ is ever going to be caught dead in his tracks wearing a cape. Leave the tights for T.O. ... I don't wanna ever see Charlie in this get-up.

And then there's Brady Quinn ... apparently his name is "Rifleman." Personally, I'd think that moniker would better describe most of tOSU's, UT's, South Carolina's, or Miami's players ... but maybe that's just me. Note to ESPN -- Quinn is not a ND girl. The only time you see people wearing boots like that on campus is when the fat chicks from BP walk to the dining hall with their sweatpants tucked into their fuzzy boots. Not cool. And why do I fear that Brady is gonna be hearing jokes from opposing DE's this year about how his right arm got so much bigger than his left? Unless he was doing the Feeney routine all summer, I doubt there's as big of a discrepancy as is illustrated here.

I'm just glad they didn't turn Laura Quinn-Hawk into a superhero as well. She'd probably turn out to look like some half-woman, half-man shapeshifter who can root for multiple teams at once. Oh .. errr ... I mean ... I guess that one would actually be feasible. But thank goodness we didn't have to hear about that whole story again ... yeesh!

The Apostles iMovie Double Feature

2006-08-01T22:51:00.000-05:00

The Apostles iMovie Episode IV: A New Hope

The Apostles iMoive Episode V: The Rizzle Strikes Back

2006-07-28T00:24:00.000-05:00

Skydiving video!

Finally! A skydiving video to upload! It's a coach jump with an instructor to work on my sitflying and standing positions in freefall..enjoy!

Attacking YouTube

2006-04-29T22:37:00.000-05:00

The Definitive "House of Twelve" Movie

The Syrup Chug

Zach Morris special

2006-04-02T13:08:00.000-05:00

Looks like coach Brey's been recruiting at the Max.

I hope we get AC Slater, too!

I wonder...

2006-03-01T12:12:00.000-06:00

Charlie and co. are already off to a great start with 2007's recruiting class. Are their powers wide reaching enough that they could visit some top basketball prospects while they're on the road and maybe help Brey out? The pitch wouldn't necessarily have to be all that different, same great school, same wonderful South Bend weather, "Our offense has shown it can put points on the board, we need to get more athletic on defense and stop people". Well, maybe not that second one.

The Offensive Side ...

2006-02-01T19:44:00.000-06:00

Here’s a review of the offensive recruiting class for this year. Overall, we did a great job finding both depth and immediate impact in this class on this side of the ball. I would have liked a true stud WR, but CW doesn’t need any single dominant player to put points on the board. The most important additions came on the OL, where TW was hesitant to ever bring any players in during his tenure. How you can have an entire recruiting class with NO offensive linemen is mind-boggling, but I digress …

This spring we will only have 7 OL on the roster, so these young guys will need to get ready to play early. Luckily, they have that ability, as ND signed the top OL class in the country. The QB’s look good, but they are heavy on the potential-side as neither had stellar senior years. RB could be excellent, assuming everyone coming in is truly healthy and ready to go. There are some new “type” of players which we currently don’t have on the roster – a pure receiving TE, an all-around workhorse back, a dual-threat RB, and a shifty slot receiver – as well as some players who are similar to those which were our best performers last year – tall WR’s and strong OL’s.

Aldridge and Stewart are the first EE’s to sign with ND and will have the advantage of an additional semester before the Fall. George West is too, though he will likely end up as a PR/KR specialist with some time as a DB.

QB – Grade: A-

Zachary Frazer: Frazer is a big, strong pocket passer with excellent overall physical tools. He is smart, he is experienced, and he is well prepared. He will need to adjust to taking the snap under center in college for the majority of his plays – the shotgun will probably not be as featured at ND as it was at his HS. Good strong arm with adequate footwork and good balance. Weis liked the fact that he sees the entire field, he can find secondary receivers, and knows how to read his progressions. Can apparently zing it in there with the best of them, but possesses a nice touch that took BQ two years to develop. With good protection, he can sit in the pocket and pick a defense apart, and while he is not much of a threat to run, he is no Drew Bledsoe.

Demetrius Jones: In a meeting with some Browns players and staff (Romeo Crennel), Weis apparently said that he thinks DJ (or “Double D”) could be the next Michael Vick in the right system. Let’s hope that isn’t the case. For as athletic Vick is, he doesn’t win many football games. DJ has better leadership intangibles and a better coach to learn from, so hopefully all of his athletic potential is realized on the field at ND. What did running QB’s do to us this year? Drew Stanton. Troy Smith. And thank God we didn’t play against Vince Young. A dual-threat QB can keep a defense honest and really negate the blitz … this could help in the next few years as our inexperienced (and thin) OL grows up. Chicago Public School League doesn’t have the best level of competition, but something has to be said for him winning the Gatorade POY in IL. He has a strong arm, outstanding natural athleticism, and is a tough quarterback with a good, strong build. He excels at the ability to buy time under pressure and he can throw on the run. Jones could also be an explosive running back or wide receiver, but both he and Weis see him staying at QB. He is a major wild card in this class: he is bound to be a total bust or total star. I’m going with the former of the two outcomes. I mean, c’mon … how can you root against anyone with Double D’s?

RB – Grade: A

James Aldridge: Aldridge is a horse and is capable of carrying a full load for four quarters. He has ideal size and is well put together. He possesses an outstanding combination of size, speed and power. He was one of ND’s best recruiters this year … though his performance on the field was hampered by a poor OL and some hesitation while he overcame his ACL tear from last year. He has very good vision and patience, though he not to the extent of Darius Walker (which may be a good thing). He's built thicker and wider than any of our current backs, though his size doesn't come at the detriment of speed or elusiveness. While Walker stutter-steps and glides along the field with his feet close to the ground, Aldridge runs more on his toes and has a quicker change of direction. Walker is more elusive. He seems to combine the best of TT and DW in one, with a slightly better top-end speed. He’s tough to bring down on first contact because his legs are so strong and he is constantly driving. Shows the speed to turn the corner as an outside runner. He is a pretty good receiver out of the backfield. He seems like a great guy, and he's different from any of the backs on the roster now.

Luke Schmidt: Schmidt is a tailback at the high school level, but will move to fullback in college. With Asaph Schwapp already set as the starter, I’d expect to see the two youngsters line up at times split in the pro-set or with one of them as a third blocking TE. He has great size, and is a physical power runner that has tremendous explosiveness and the ability to beat defenders between the tackles. Runs like Ricky Watters, has the power of Jerome Bettis, but he’s white … so he looks like neither. Tough blue-collar player out of ND’s backyard. Take that, Boilermakers. It’s surprising he’s not from Jersey, cause he just seems like one of Charlie’s guys. Very good blocking ability.

Munir Prince: Prince is an athletic phenom … but I’m just not certain how he fits in this class. Charlie doesn’t seem to be fond of back-by-committee approaches, so I don’t know how he and Schwapp and Schmidt and TT and DW will all see the field. He has skills similar to Justin Hoskins coming out of high school, and we haven’t seen him do anything yet at ND. Very fast and very shifty. For as elusive as he is, he doesn’t seem to dance around much. Plants and drives well … could see the field faster as a DB than a RB, though Charlie says he will stay on the offensive side of the ball. If not for Gallup, I would expect him to be destined to become a great slot WR.

WR – Grade: B+

Richard Jackson: Looks like Stovall, though he is bulkier coming in than Stovall was. Jackson is one of the quicker big receivers in this class. Doesn’t plod as much as much as Stovall did early in his career, since he seems smooth for his height and shows fluid hips. He has really quick feet, and very good body control. Like Stovall, he can shield the defender from the ball. Can beat the defender off the line, but needs to get better at using his hands to get away from jams by larger CBs. Tough guy … he's not a gamebreaker, but he isn’t just a possession guy either. Catches the ball with good open hand position away from his body – so he has good fundamentals coming in. He poses mismatch problems for smaller defensive backs, which we have seen CW is not hesitant to exploit. Jackson's best skillz are his hands, his toughness, and his ability to go get the ball. Could develop into someone we could describe as “all day tough,” though he is pretty quiet and apparently hates cold weather.

Barry Gallup: Gallup is CW’s ideal slot receiver. Think Deion Branch. He has excellent work ethic and is an extremely feisty player. Will Blackmon (BC CB/WR) told Tom O'Brien to immediately offer him after playing against him during last summer. Small guy, similar to Shelton … although he has a slightly bigger upside. Shelton was fast, while Gallup is quick. Will need to work on getting off the line, but working as a slot receiver he is likely to see lots of motion before the snap to help him in this regard. He has awesome hands and great concentration with very few drops. He’s been a RB for most of his career, so there are some adjustments to be made … but he has all the tools. Anyone who turns down BC to come to ND certainly has his head on straight. Damn Brian Toal, damn him to hell …

Robby Parris: Similar to Samadjakdfkara, but taller. Vacuum cleaner for hands, prototypical possession receiver. Could be a great blocker for Gallup on underneath routes. He is a go-to guy on third down and when you need a big play. Is a big target that knows how to use his body to shield defenders from the ball. I like the potential for him to become a fade-route machine off of playaction. For a tall lanky guy, he really can take a hit and still come down with the ball. Hopefully his dislocated hip heals up well so he can make some big gains next Fall.

TE – A-

Konrad Reuland: Reuland is an excellent all around tight end, though he needs to improve most on his blocking. He’s more of an Olsen than a Fasano at this point. Slightly faster and leaner, he can really abuse OLB’s in pass coverage by using his feet and his body to create separation. Good hands and concentration. He is not afraid to take a shot over the middle to catch a critical ball. The seam route will work especially nicely …. if the OL can hold long enough, I’d expect to see a fake screen to a back in the flat to pull up the safeties, followed by a nice touch pass down the seam to Konrad. He needs to go by his first name at all times. He can hold a block down the line, but doesn’t drive block down the field particularly well yet. He has good footwork, and does a very nice job of positioning himself to seal off defenders. He does a good job of getting hand placement and has the size and strength to push defenders off the line of scrimmage. He isn’t as nasty as he’ll need to be, but he’s one of the nation’s top TE’s and is a great pickup.

Will Yeatman: Not part of ND’s official signing class, since he will come in on a LAX scholarship his first year. Projects at OT or TE. Lean and quick for his size, with gigantic hands. Similar to Jared Clark with better open-field ability. Loves to crush people. A project, but with lots of upside. Could also play SDE if needed for depth reasons, though that is a projection based on his size and athletic ability alone.

OL – A+

Sam Young: Huge LT prospect who may start before the end of his true freshman year on the right side. Big, strong, good fundamentals. Latina will love growing this guy into the next Orlando Pace, though he’s not as athletic. In college his size advantage won’t be enough, but he has the footwork and the brains to pick up the rest needed for him to become dominant. He’ll allow a little up field penetration to the outside in order to adjust to the right angle and drive his player out of the action. He’ll likely be ND’s tallest player since Gary Godsey. LB’s will hate it when he releases and gets up field blocking opportunities. He is susceptible to the chop-block because of his height, but we only play Navy once a year. He is always looking to block someone. Uses his huge hands effectively against spin moves, bull rushes, and speed rushes all the same. Bigger than Ryan Harris right now, with just as much (if not more) upside. I would have hated to see him go to USC or Florida. Suck that, Pom-Pom and Urbie.

Bartley Webb: I’m not impressed with him as a tackle, but he could be a very good pulling guard after some time in the weight room. Large upper body with little legs. His technique, at this stage, is above-average. Needs to plant and drive better at the next level. Has good initial punch, though he needs to make sure a defender doesn’t get underneath him. Better pass blocker than a run blocker. He does a nice job of keeping his shoulders back and makes it difficult for defenders to beat him with one move. He has the size and strength to anchor versus bull rushers. Finishes blocks and has played against very good competition down south. He’s the biggest project on the OL.

Dan Wenger: ND always seems to recruit C’s well … Faine, Morton, Sullivan. Wenger is the nastiest OL recruited this year … he loves to punish people. Good snap, though he and Frazer had some problems in the All-American game. He has a good initial punch and will likely handle assignments well. Hopefully he can develop into a skilled long-snapper … if not, he can always go to the Dave Daniels Dorm Hallway Snapping Camp. Has his head on a swivel and is always looking for someone to block or someone to help hold their block against stunts and blitzes. Can pull to either side if asked and enjoys selling the screen pass before he plows over some smaller defenders. He’s smart enough, fast enough, and strong enough to immediately fill in for John Sullivan in the next year or two. Wenger is a tough player that will lead the offensive line for years. High school teammate of Sam Young.

Matt Carufel: Matt comes from the same high-school as Ryan Harris and RPN. Hopefully his blocking ability is more similar to Ryan’s than his drinking ability is similar to RPN’s. He is from Minnesota, so he probably has a funky accent. He’s projected at a RT or LG position at ND, and is versatile enough to switch seamlessly from one to the other. He’s equally good run-blocking as pass-blocking. Seems to perform better moving across the field than up it. Can be relentless and nasty, but isn’t overly consistent. He’ll be a very good player for the Irish, though he’ll need at least two years to get ready.

Chris Stewart: HUGE man with a gigantic appetite. He weighed in on campus (unofficially) at 394 lbs. His loft in Keenan could also double as a Nuclear Bomb Shelter and a Tornado Shelter capable of withstanding an F4. Likes Doritos and Salsa con Queso, and he can do the splits. Plays basketball, though not many people are willing to take a charge in the transition game against him. For as big as he is, he is very athletic. Needs more cardiovascular development to handle a whole game against top talent. Needs to get a little lower in his initial pop, but he locks on to people and punishes them once he has his hands placed on the inside. He has a great amount of potential if he can get in shape. Could see early time in goal-line situations. I’d really love to see him catch a pass in his career. I'd also like to try on his jersey. I'm voting him the most likely player to puke on the sidelines multiple times throughout his career.

Eric Olsen: Most underrated of all the lineman, if not the entire class of ND recruits. Olsen is a big physical offensive lineman that comes from NY, where football isn’t known for its level of competition. Uses his hands and his legs well … has the ability to get in front of bodies in open space and block downfield. Nasty player who loves to finish off defenders. Probably a better run defender now than a pass defender. He’s definitely a Weis guy. All day tough. I’m really excited about his potential to surprise some people.

Next up: A Review of the Defensive Recruits

The Cornerstones

2006-02-01T17:10:00.000-06:00

Signing Day 2006 came and gone without any drama (a good thing) and reintroduced Charlie Weis pressers to those in serious remission. We were also introduced to the Gatorade Class. Nine, count 'em, nine state Player of the Years are coming out of this class (if that doesn't say national recruiting base, I don't know what will).

Check out this monster podcast courtesy of Mike Frank from Irish Eyes: Irish Hour Power Hour No. 28 (I recommend skipping to around the 90 minute mark, where Mike chats it up with QB recruit, Demetrius Jones).

Here's the presser from the conference earlier today: click here if you miss Charlie Weis press conferences. There are a lot of gems in here (I actually watched this thing during my lunch break) from him openly stating how he turned down the no. 1 QB recruit to how next year's class is aiming to be a repeat of this year's class...insane!

One last thing: the QB situation. This thing is going to be an absolute dogfight. "There will be blood." All along, I was convinced that Frazer is the obvious successor to Brady Quinn. After hearing the Power Hour conversation with Jones and the looming talk of young Anakin *ahem* Jimmy Claussen, though, I realized this thing can go to anyone. Charlie has never had a mobile QB, and if Jones can pick up on Weis' teachings...it'll be some freak hybrid QB, one part Brady (pick one), one part Vince Young. Anyways, it'll be interesting talk prior to the 2007 season just who in the world will be Charlie Weis' next protege.

Signing Day Special Coming Up

2006-01-23T20:46:00.000-06:00

Due to Tyrone's not-so-subtle clamoring for a review of this Recruiting Class, I am beginning to work on a recap of this year's recruiting happenings, including an overview of the battles we won, the battles we lost, and those battles for which we wish we could hit reset and "stimulate" all over again.

Shortly thereafter, I will have some projections for next year's class. Of course, by the time that comes out, we may have a few notches on our belt already. It's a good thing CW has a pretty big belt ...

So stay tuned, and in the meantime ... it's back to homework for me. All you crazy folks please keep your fingers crossed that we manage to hold onto McNeil and screw over Pope Meyer yet again (we have not lost a head-to-head battle with him and his UF buddies yet this year).

Notre Dame Gets Young

2006-01-19T15:33:00.000-06:00

Whew!
Rated as one of the top (if not the top) offensive linemen, Sam Young announced that his pancaking services are moving to South Bend, IN. Considering how inept offensive line recruting has been (thank you Ty), it is, or actually was, important to recruit heavely in this area. Sam Young is the cherry on the top of a wonderful sundae that is the recruiting class of 2006. It looks like Sam Young will be the final piece of Charlie Weis' first run at recruiting. Needless to say, I think we'll be okay with recruiting from this day forth (in fact, if Rob or Souky would be so kind, could you spill the beans on any high school juniors ready to commit to the blue and gold?).

Also, Notre Dame started class this past Tuesday, and welcomed three new scholarship athletes to the student body. Jame Aldridge (RB), Chris Stewart (OL), and George West (DB/WR) are the first recruits to enroll early (not to mention make some room for late verbals like Reuland (TE) and Young). Since these new recruits are already enrolled, they will also be able to participate in the Blue/Gold game, so count me in.

If you missed the Steelers/Colts game, it was a goodie (raise you hand if you enjoy the Peyton Manning face). Because I need my football fix, here's my guess: Carolina and Pittsburgh become the first two teams to win three road games on their way to the Super Bowl. Since it is Super Bowl X-tra Large, I'll go with ND Alum "The Bus" winning his first championship in his hometown of Detroit, MI.

The master and the apprentice

2006-01-14T17:30:00.000-06:00

At the Notre Dame-Providence basketball game Saturday evening, Charlie Weis was in attendance as part of Notre Dame's "junior day."

Weis was seated in the gold seats, on midcourt, exactly 4 rows up. Who was sitting next to him? A junior quarterback named Jimmy Clausen.

The best part? There wasn't another recruit nearby, as far as I could tell. It looked like Palpatine luring Anakin Skywalker to the dark side.

Dead time

2006-01-11T11:34:00.000-06:00

The lack of any real college football news makes the blog really slow. To combat this, Reno, I call on you. Now is when we need your crazy antics most. Maybe liven up the community service with some terry tate moments, or just get wasted and do what comes naturally.

Looking Ahead

2006-01-06T13:13:00.001-06:00

Wednesday night's Rose Bowl having determined the national champion with a non-BCS like lack of controversy means that bloggers and media types in general are left making predictions much too early for them to mean anything. SI's Stewart Mandel already has his top ten out for next season, with the Irish getting the #2 spot:

Mandel's 2006 Top Ten

While it's great how much the perception of Notre Dame football has changed from this time last year, the #2 ranking is more than a little premature. First of all, the rosters for next year haven't been determined. In theory, Vince Young, Reggie Bush, and LenDale White could all still return for their senior seasons, and signing day is still a month away. Of course, once rosters are known, the experts rarely obtain Miss Cleo accuracy with their predictions. Weren't this year's 7-5 Michigan and 5-6 Tennessee teams both in the preseason top 5? Polls are meaningless until the season's far enough underway that wins and losses can do the talking.

Whether worthy of the ranking or not, this week's games show that ND has a long way to go as far as athleticism, especially defensively, to catch the Texasses and Ohio States of college football. Offensively we're a lot closer. The Fiesta bowl was a little disappointing, but give OSU's defense some credit, they held the national champions to 25 pts, and only allowed one opponent to reach thirty (Minnesota 31, a game OSU still won).

Stewart Mandel, here's hoping you're right, I'd love another shot at the Fiesta Bowl next year.

Go Irish!

Fiesta Bowl breakdown

2006-01-03T16:59:00.000-06:00

Before we get to the actual game...

Who else would rather have a pencil shoved into their eye than see Horseface- I mean- Brady Quinn's sister one more time? Ok ABC, I get it- her and AJ Hawk are dating and her brother is the ND quarterback...in other news- NO ONE CARES!

Then Horseface has the nerve to wear a split ND/OSU jersey. So dating a redneck looking tard from Ohio for a few months causes you to sell out your own brother? If she was my sister I'd never talk to her again...that would be after splitting her lower jaw off her body King Kong style...that way I would be able to look at her face without having a seizure from her sheer ugliness.

Then ABC shows her in the stands every 5 seconds where we see more shots of her being intimate with the blonde sitting next to her than her being with AJ Hawk. At the bar where I watched the game, I started the "Horseface" chant and people actually joined in- I feel like such a leader.

So onto the actual game...

The better team won- that much is certain. On that given night- we were outplayed by OSU. Don't get me wrong- we definately could have won that game but we just didn't bring our A game- I'd rate ourselves at B-minus.

So there are a lot of ifs with this game-

If Samardizja (sp?) is on point like he usually was throughout the season- we probably win. I have a hard time understanding why we didn't just throw up jump balls for him to catch over the OSU corners that were about 6 inches shorter. Without that weapon, I think Quinn felt a little out of his comfort zone. Our receivers just didn't show up to play.

Running game- looked really promising at the start- DW was running like a man possessed. After that...what the hell happened? I think the O-Line just couldn't keep up with the OSU defensive rush. I think we should have stuck with the running game a little longer.

Defense- woah is me...This is the only place where I think we still would have gotten outplayed even if we came with our A game. Somehow we stopped them out of the gate but their speed eventually overwhelmed us. If the offense was on point, the defensive effort would have been just enough to win.

Special teams- DJ...WHAT THE FUCK!?!?!...It's an extra point- not brain surgery! He can be thankful for the fact that his missed extra point never mattered but how bad would it have been to lose the game in OT or regulation because another TD at 27-20 would have tied the game instead of won it? The silver lining is that this situation never came to play but my wrists would have looked awful nice for slicing if it had happened.

And, of course, the worst part of my day today was taking all the flak at school...Unfortunately, I made a bet with an OSU grad (who, interstingly enough, did her Masters at Michigan of all places!) so the loser of the game would have to wear the other team's t-shirt. Yes, I spent all day walking around in a t-shirt that said "I [heart] Ohio State"...Even better- it was a Large and it was white- thus showing my perfect physique for all to see...right...

So it's back to school...the only silver lining of today is the season premiere of 2 new episodes of scrubs...drool...T$ and I can barely contain our excitement...[Insert inappropiate Reno comment concerning how much I love scrubs]

And BTW- I had my court date- long story short I am doing 24 hours of community service to get it dismissed...then I find out that the nursing home where I'm doing the service is one for quadraplegics...lovely...

The Lieutenant

ND 'Twas the Night Before Christmas

2005-12-20T16:33:00.000-06:00

"Twas the night before Christmas, when all through South Bend
Not a creature was stirring, neither rooster nor hen"

The banners were hung on the stadium with care,
In hopes that St. Charlie soon would be there

The alumni were nestled all snug in their beds,
With dreams of Leahy and Holtz in their heads;

While the students at the Grotto, down by the lake,
Were just giving thanks for a long winter break,

When out on those quads there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The Dome with a crest of new-fallen snow
Gave a luster of mi d-day to a campus below

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear
A high-powered offense: the champions next year!

With a large and proud leader, so friendly and nice
I knew in a moment it must be Coach Weis

As fast as Four Horsemen, onward they came
He whistled, and shouted, and called them by name:

"Now Hoyte, Now Samardzija, Walker, Fasano
On Stovall, On Shelton, Wooden, Anastascio"

To the top of the rankings, to the top of them all
"Now throw a-way, run a-way, and dive for the ball!

We will move like the wind, our runners will fly
And just for balance, we'll take to the sky!"

So up to the top of the rankings they flew
With a big book of plays, and Brady Quinn too

And then in a twinkling, to the sound of the cleats
The scoring and wins, I forgot past defeats

As I drew in my hand, and was t urning around,
Down the chimney, Coach Weis came with a bound

He was dressed with his rings, and headset to boot
And his clothes were all drenched with Gatorade and soot

A number of victories he carried on his back
And he smiled as he turned and presented a sack
of trophies--how they twinkled! Like heaps of gold treasures
His cheeks were like roses, his wisdom past measure

Weis commanded the team on fourth downs to throw
Through hail and through fog, through sleet and through snow

His genius caused points in the forties and fifties,
to hearten alumni and keep our stats spiffy

Weis had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook, when he laughed, like a BCS bowl-ful of jelly.

He was chubby and plump, and so sure of himself,
That I cheered when I saw him, in spite of myself;

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head
Soon gave me to know, Ohio State would be dead

He boasted not a word, praise makes not his day
But all now know, for the title we'll play

And laying a finger to the side of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the rankings we rose

At his departure I heard Trooper McCarthy say;
If your sleigh flight looks fishy, you'll be the catch of the day!

Weis sprang to the roof, to his team gave a cheer
And away to a victory in the Fiesta next year;

And I heard him call plays, for winning that game
"Merry Christmas to all. And love thee Notre Dame!

(Written by John Rosemeyer)

Hilarious Fark ...

2005-12-20T12:45:00.000-06:00

Football is like the movies ...

Hawk Could do Better

2005-12-17T10:45:00.000-06:00

Exhibit A: Laura Quinn. I think I'd rather bang Brady than his horse-faced sister. Also, lay off the make-up. I wonder if she has nice arms. I hope AJ Hawk doesn't come and destroy me now.

Overflow

2005-12-16T07:01:00.000-06:00

Twenty-five is the limit. We now have TWENTY-SIX. Still, waiting for 27 and 28 (c'mon McCoy and Young).

Yesterday, Konrad Reuland (pictured to the right) announced he'll be playing for the Irish. Konrad is rated as one of the (and in some cases, THE) top tight ends in this year's recruiting class. He also happens to be another five star recruit (I know ratings really mean jack, but it's still cool to have five star recruits). Earlier this week, another tight end prospect Will Yeatman committed to Notre Dame...'s lacrosse program. Due to his commitment to the lacrosse program he won't be able to play for the team until his sophomore year , which also means he doesn't count towards what seems is a full recruiting class.

HUH?!?

The announcement of Konrad gives us 26 commitments, which also happens to be one over the scholarship limit. Will Yeatman, though, won't count towards football scholarships, b/c he'll be under the lacrosse program. While, James Aldrige and Chris Stewart are enrolling next semester and will count towards last year's recruiting class (there is another kid contemplating early enrollment, but his name escapes me).

26 - 3 = 23.
25-23 = 2.

TWO. Two as in Sam Young (five star OL) and Gerald McCoy (five star DL). There has been talk circulating around the nation's top rated QB, Mitch Mustain, possibly committing to ND since he decommited from Arkansas. As you can see, there aren't too many spots left and it doesn't appear he's a real possibility, since (just my opinion) Young and McCoy are of higher value. Then again, I have no idea what these kids or Coach Weis and his staff have up their sleeve. It should also be noted that Konrad is a SoCal kid that was being heavily recruited by SC and UCLA. What a statement Charlie is making by going into these other programs' backyards and picking up these big time recruits.

Quick question, anyone subscribed to IrishEyes? Apparently, they're already covering next year's recruiting class and I want to know if it's worth subscribing to (it's a tad pricey) since recruiting all of a sudden has become fascinating (thank you, yet again, Coach Weis). Then again, I can't wait for Rob or Soukup to break down this recruiting class *hint*hint*nudge*nudge*

Leinhart Scandal

2005-12-14T12:06:00.000-06:00

This was sent to me by one of my managers here at work. Just read the emails below. The top is from my manager, the one below from his friend:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Guys,

This is great stuff. So my buddy just sent these pics and story to Collin Cowheard on ESPN radio and they are currently discussing this embarrassing story over the air nationally. I love it. We need more things like this to come out.
Brett

Read the full story about his night and the rejection
at Marquee below.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Brett,

quick story you might enjoy. went to a party at laurens on saturday night. about 20 people. half of us went to some random bar, the other half went to this upscale place called Marquee. anyways, these 2 pretty girls who were visiting lauren from texas went to Marquee, i didn't of course opting for the hole in the wall with $3 beers.

So yesterday morning, lauren calls me and says "Do you know some guy named Matt Line Hart?" i laugh and say yeah and don't bother to correct her. she says, well he was at Marquee last night, and hit on one of the girls from texas all night, danced with her, and then was so drunk he groped her....she turned around and slapped him, and left.

i said yea yea, i doubt it even though it kinda made sense that he would be in an upscale club getting trashed after losing the heisman. i told her i'd believe the story when i saw pictures.
wellll, here they are..........

Quinn Already Gettin' Nailed by Hawk

2005-12-14T10:12:00.000-06:00

From the Chicago Tribune

When the Fiesta Bowl gets underway, at least one member of the Quinn family will have split loyalties. Laura Quinn, older sister of Notre Dame starting QB Brady Quinn, has always been one of her brother's biggest fans.But she also roots hard for her boyfriend, linebacker A.J. Hawk of Ohio State. Hawk, the winner of the Lombardi Award, led the Buckeyes in tackles this season with 109 and had 7.5 sacks.

"He'll be coming at Brady every play," Laura said. "He's not someone you want to mess with."Neither, of course, is Brady Quinn, who has spent the season picking apart opposing defenses, his 32 TD passes and 3,633 passing yards good enough to earn him a fourth-place finish in the Heisman Trophy balloting.

Heisman wrap-up

2005-12-12T10:14:00.000-06:00

The college football world shouted a big "NO-DUH" when the Heisman was announced on Saturday. Reggie Bush ran away with the trophy in a landslide that approximated a pile of my laundry falling off of the downstairs couch at 201 E Navarre. So Brady Quinn didn't get invited (more on that later) but why even bother inviting anyone to the Downtown Sports Club except Reggie Bush? Just give him the damn ball and something will happen. You really can't say that about the other candidates.

On any given play, Bush can and will take it to the house and he proved that many a times. In the Oregon game, he even lost a shoe and gained 9 damn yards! Did anyone else get that "Oh crap" feeling every time Bush touched the ball against ND? When it comes down to it- Bush is a man playing against the other boys in the college game and to give the Heisman to anyone else would have been more idiotic than my tackling dummy incident at the College Football Hall of Fame.

So Brady Quinn didn't get invited to the ceremony in New York. To me- not that big of a deal. It would have been nice to have his highlights shown during the TV broadcast (this is your QB, this is your QB drinking the Charlie Weis Kool Aid...Hey Clausen- any questions?). However, we all knew what the outcome was going to be and it will make it that much sweeter when Quinn makes the trip next year as not only a pre-season favorite but a real contender that boots ND back to the top of the Heisman count.

With the Heisman locked up for Bush and the usual writers and TV personalities needing something else to argue about- the next question was "Who will make a better pro: Bush or Leinart" If you have more than two brain cells to rub together (a stretch for some sports commentators, I know) you'd be smart and say Bush.

Let's get real- Leinart will go to a crappy team with a good draft pick. Crappy team= crappy O-Line = no protection = demolished and ineffective Matt Leinart. Leinart is about as mobile as I am following a night watching Boondock Saints and drinking Bacardi Razz everytime someone curses. USC's O-Line is so solid that I could have put up Heisman numbers with that kind of protection.

Leinart just sits in the pocket all day and throws the ball. Today's NFL is a lot more demanding and requires more movement in and outside the pocket. You don't have to be the next Michael Vick but you also can't just stand there and throw the ball like Leinart has done for the past two years. Leinart would be just one blitzing linebacker away from a busted knee that would end his career. With that said- do I really have to jump back on the Reggie Bush bandwagon and say why he'll be better as a pro?

And once again the ESPN distortion machine keeps on rolling. On an article about Pete Carroll and NFL jobs:

"Mortensen reported Sunday that the NFL explorations by Carroll's agents might be simply an effort to get Carroll a new contract, one similar to that of Notre Dame's Charlie Weis."

Now, I think he meant to say that Carroll's new contract would be similar to Weis' in terms of dollar signs but there's also that undercurrent of "We have to give Carroll more money so he won't go pro, just like they did with Weis"

The reason why this gets under my skin is that the situation is totally reversed. Weis ended up with a new contact after a sports journalist with a Michigan degree inadventantly turned himself into the best thing to happen to ND since Ndukwe's parents told Willingham about Brady Quinn. Weis didn't go calling to the NFL for a job to get a new contract with ND- they were calling for him and ND decided to be pre-emptive. Weis didn't use the NFL bids as leverage for a bigger and better deal like Carroll is doing.

Besides- would an NFL team really want to take another chance on Carroll? Coaching college and coaching in the pros are two entirely different universes. The attitude that will win you games on the college level is totally different than the pro level and there is so much more to deal with. In college, you have players who are busting their ass game in and game out to get into the NFL. Once they make it to the NFL it becomes about money, image, endorsements, and ego. Carroll has already proved that he doesn't have what it takes to coach in that environment and I don't think his coaching has vastly improved during his time at USC. His success is mostly a product of ridiculous talent and not all of that was due to his recruiting. (Anyone remember a little story about Reggie Bush coming to ND for the ND/USC game and changing his mind about where to go?)

Hokay...I'm spent...time to go back to the books and lab and study for my "touch feely" test- aka OMM- it's a blast, let me tell you...

Talk about a great article ...

2005-12-09T08:11:00.000-06:00

Zibby and Shark: two reasons why ND is not the souless football factory that everyone has accused us of being. Read on ...

A KNOCKOUT KING AND A LONG-HAIRED LADY KILLER HAVE GIVEN NOTRE DAME A WHOLE NEW LOOK

BY GENE WOJCIECHOWSKI

Thursday is Jarhead Day at the Notre Dame residence of the Consonant Twins, Jeff Samardzija and Tom Zbikowski. Every week during the season, Zbikowski takes a seat and Samardzija takes a hair trimmer, puts it on the dreaded No. 1 blade and has at it. Soon the junior strong safety is sporting that Camp Pendleton look. Hoo-rah!

Zbikowski, of course, wouldn't think of shearing Samardzija's shoulder-length locks. The last time Samardzija got a buzz cut was after his old man dropped him off in South Bend for his first training camp two years ago. “We'll take good care of him,” an assistant coach told Sam Samardzija. “None of that hazing stuff happens here.”

Really? “First picture I see of him on the Internet and sure enough, shaved head,” says Sam.

If anyone tried that now, they'd have to answer to Samardzija's roommate and best bud, and you wouldn't want that. Zbikowski is a Golden Gloves heavyweight who once fought for Team De La Hoya and still knocks around the heavy bag. He's the kind of guy who wears a sleeveless T-shirt in the dead of winter just to mess with the California kids on the roster. “They're like two eggs from the same carton,” says Sam. “They've become brothers, really. Pick on one and you're picking on both of them.”

Then again, try to cut Samardzija's celebrated locks and you'll have to deal with worse than Zbikowski. Notre Dame's coeds would pour hot wax from Grotto candles on anyone who snipped a single strand. The junior wideout has officially achieved full hottie status on the Quad.

A few weeks ago, just hours before the Irish's final home game, two volunteers stood outside Notre Dame Stadium hawking football calendars to benefit a local charity. A young woman paused and glanced at the cover before asking if Samardzija was inside. “No,” said one of the volunteers, who added quickly, “but he'll be in it next year.” The prospective buyer walked on.

This is too weird. A year ago Notre Dame was a .500 program. Casual fans thought Samardzija was a prescription drug and knew Zbikowski only as that guy who spurned a shot on The Contender. But now, in no small part because of The Unpronounceables, the Irish are relevant again. Cool, even.

At Stanford Stadium, after the Irish clinched their first BCS bowl bid in five years with a last-minute win, Samardzija needed help from security to get from the exit gate to the team bus. His dad couldn't even get to him. Yes, the hair has something to do with it, but so do those 15 touchdowns (two against Stanford, including an 80-yarder) and 1,190 receiving yards, both single-season school records.

Zbikowski has his own followers too, not least of whom is Passion of the Christ star and football honk James Caviezel. Caviezel, whose brother-inlaw is Miami Dolphins offensive coordinator Scott Linehan, attended the USC game in South Bend, tailgated with the Zbikowskis at Stanford and sat next to Tom's dad, Ed, during the game. Jesus ... Notre Dame ... comeback win. Figures.

Everything is divine at Notre Dame this season: victory totals, NBC's ratings, sales figures of anything gold or plaid. Compare that with the end of 2004, when you needed a triage unit to sift through the rubble of last season. There was the canning of Tyrone Willingham after just three years. A 17-point loss in the third-tier Insight Bowl. The whole mess was bloodier than the final shootout in Scarface. “There was no reason for us to be 6-6,” says Zbikowski, who doesn't bother to hide the disgust in his voice.

For this year's 9-2 record, Fiesta Bowl invite and busloads of A-list recruits, Irish fans should address their thank-you notes to Charlie Weis, the first-time college head coach who has rightfully earned the adoration. Quarterback Brady Quinn, the school's all-time leader in passing yardage, touchdowns and Weis-arranged phone calls from Tom Brady, will get some fan mail too. So will leading rusher Darius Walker, 1,000-yard receiver Maurice Stovall and linebacker Brandon Hoyte.

But the faithful need to save a couple of stamps for the 6’5", long-maned receiver-who began the season without a TD since his senior year at Valparaiso (Ind.) High-and the 5’11" bruiser of a converted quarterback from Arlington Heights, Ill., who nearly ditched the Irish during the worst year of his career. Both are shining examples of what this resurgent Notre Dame team is made of: survivors.

Samardzija is of Serbian descent. Zbikowski's roots are Polish. Samardzija is a White Sox fan. Zbikowski favors the Cubbies. Samardzija likes to fish. Zbikowski would rather stick knitting needles in his eyes. Samardzija also plays baseball for the Irish. Zbikowski would rather stick knitting needles in his eyes. But both come from tough, Catholic, middle-class families. And they share the same old-school morals, loyalty and addiction to winning. “There's not one thing he could ask me that I wouldn't do,” says Samardzija of his roomie. “If that's what constitutes being brothers, then I think there's no better way to describe it.” “Pretty much the same for me,” says Zbikowski.

Samardzija's caught 15 scores; Zbikowski (9) has four on returns.

Notre Dame would not be cashing that $14 million-plus bowl check if not for Zbikowski and Samardzija. Just ask Weis, who calls Zbi/Mardzija “definitely two significant keys.” Trust us, for a careful guy who'd probably call Touchdown Jesus a “significant mural,” that's high praise.

And yet, neither Samardzija nor Zbikowski has heard a peep from two-time Super Bowl MVP Brady, or, for that matter, from any player Weis coached during a three-ring run as the Pats offensive coordinator. They don't take it personally. Well, not too personally, anyway. “I think it's a little secret crush Coach Weis has for quarterbacks,” says Samardzija. “Tommy is just waiting for Rodney Harrison or Mike Vrabel to give him a call. I'm waiting for Deion Branch or David Givens.”

Truth is, Samardzija and Zbikowski have a not-so-secret crush on Weis. Before the new coach arrived, Samardzija had exactly one career start and 24 total catches. This season he's a Biletnikoff finalist and a lock for All-America. “It's all I've been waiting for,” says Samardzija, sitting at a table with Zbikowski at the school's new football facility. “A couple of chances here and there to show what I could bring to the field.” His roommate, who can't pull a punch, is less diplomatic. “I've been saying since my freshman year he should be the No. 1 receiver,” says Zbikowski.

Zbikowski was an instant Weis fave. He knocks you out of Michiana, plays as if his scholarship depended on every tackle and returns anything that touches his hands (he has taken two of his interceptions and two punt returns to the house). Playing him was a no-brainer. As Weis told Ed after a late-spring practice, “I didn't have to make him tough. He already was.”

Zbikowski gives Notre Dame a jagged edge. He's direct, as subtle as a No. 1 blade. Samardzija is no less intense, he just hides it better. His voice is softer; there’s more time before his answers. They met as high school juniors at a football camp at Northwestern. But it wasn’t until the 2002 Notre Dame Blue-Gold spring game, when the two recruits and their dads sat in the stands in a driving rainstorm, that they began to form their bond. You should have seen the four of them that day: soaked to the bone, laughing, somehow managing to enjoy a meaningless 3-0 game.

The Samardzijas needed a reason to smile. Less than a year earlier, Jeff’s mother, Debora, had died of acute respiratory distress syndrome. Her quick deterioration got the best of her usually stoic son.

“I can remember a couple of times Jeff just breaking down and crying,” says Sam. “He’s 16 years old at the time, that was really a lot for him to break down. Jeff never cried.

“You pick yourself off the floor,” says Sam. “You walk around in a gray, dark world, and then one day you hope to come out of it.” The darkness lasted much too long. Mom wasn’t there for Jeff’s games, for prom, for graduation, for the shipping off to South Bend.

Samardzija played that first season, but not much. Sometimes at practice, he and Zbikowski, the former high school All-America quarterback turned safety, would go off to the side and conjure make-believe moments. Zbikowski drops back ... finds Samardzija ... touchdown! They were teammates in the process of becoming friends.

Zbikowski, who could have gone to Nebraska and run its offense if Notre Dame hadn’t always been his only choice (a “Play Like a Champion” sign hung in his boyhood bedroom), dressed for only one game in 2003. On every away-game Saturday, he made the two-hour drive home or waited for his dad to pull up in South Bend. “He’d watch the game and be very, very quiet,” says Ed. This was the first time since he was 5 that Zbikowski wasn’t playing. “I’d punch things, and not punching bags,” says Zbikowski, who has fought nearly 75 amateur bouts. “It wasn’t people or anything. Walls. Chairs.”

He told Ed it was too cold in South Bend, that there weren’t any girls, that school was hard. But really it was about not playing football. He talked about transferring. This, after all, was a player with such a football jones that when he visited his grandfather’s grave at Saint Adalbert Catholic Cemetery in Niles, Ill., he also paid respects at the mausoleum of Chicago Bears icon George Halas. “I wasn’t the happiest in my life,” he says.

Samardzija could see the frustration build in Zbikowski. Everyone could. “One, football means so much to Tommy,” says Samardzija. “And two, it’s tough to see the guys who are playing ahead of you, and you know you’re better than them.”

Zbikowski stayed put at Notre Dame, but he didn’t stay still. He spent Christmas break training in the gym as if he were preparing to fight Oscar De La Hoya himself. He ran indoor track. He kicked some blue-and-gold butt in spring practice. And he began to show up at Irish baseball games to watch the walk-on Samardzija pitch. The next year they were roommates. It’s been that way since.

Thing is, you have to earn Zbikowski’s friendship. He’s always prided himself on being able to judge character. It’s why he admires Willingham, adores Weis and trusts Samardzija. And it’s why Samardzija trusts him back.

It isn't unusual for Samardzija and Zbikowski to make the drive home together in the off-season. Sometimes the road trip takes them to Valpo. Other times to the cul-de-sac in Arlington Heights where “Tough Tommy”-or “Nails,” as the neighborhood kids called him-was born and raised.

Everyone knows about the Zbikowski basement. That’s where Tom hangs, where his high school buddies, including the guys who served in Iraq, come to bust on each other. Samardzija’s been in that basement plenty, taken their best shots and given them back. He has always been able to trashtalk a bit, which is just another reason he and Zbikowski get along. They back down to no one.

Once in a while, they’ll sit on the couch and a watch tapes of Zbikowski’s Golden Gloves bouts. Upstairs in the kitchen, Ed will be making kielbasa, or pierogi, or stuffed cabbage.

It isn’t much different at the Samardzijas’. TV. Hanging out. Maybe a trip to Jeff’s favorite Mexican food joint. There’s a new stepmom and baby brother. Everyone gets along famously. At last, not so many gray days.

In fact, everyone is downright blissful these days. Zbikowski is playing like he was always meant to, with swagger. Transfer? Who said anything about transferring? “I couldn’t have chosen a better place,” Zbikowski gushes. As Ed says,
“Now all of a sudden, school’s not as hard, the girls are prettier and it’s not that cold.”

And no player has had a bigger breakout this fall than Samardzija. Player agents have been hounding his dad with phone calls, just in case Jeff wants to turn pro at season’s end. Good luck with that sales pitch. Samardzija says he’ll return for his senior year. No way he can ditch his teammates, the coach who did mouth-to-mouth to his career or his best friend. “That’s just not how I work,” he says.

Samardzija can’t leave, anyway. Who’d cut Zbikowski’s hair?

Rumblings ...

2005-12-05T18:12:00.000-06:00

of big things on the recruiting front. Expect this to be a very busy week ... this class is filling up fast!

EDIT (from the Asian): Toryan Smith (stud linebacker prospect) is going to announce his verbal tonight on Fox Sport's Network Countdown to Signing Day (6:30pm ET and midnight). I'm guessing (hoping, actually) this is part of what Robbery is alluding to.

EDIT (from Robbery): Daniel Wenger (#1 C prospect in the nation) publicly announces his previously silent commitment to ND. From the local paper:

"On the field, St. Thomas Aquinas lineman Dan Wenger is one of the toughest offensive linemen in the state, if not the nation. But when it came to making a decision that would affect the rest of his life, Wenger said he was "humbled" by the chance to play college football at Notre Dame. It proved to be an opportunity he couldn't pass up. Wenger visited South Bend in early November, and after some thought, orally committed to the Irish and head coach Charlie Weis."

Please also note that Mitch Mustain has publicly decommitted from Arkansas, Terrence Austin has recently said that ND told him that there are no more spots available in the class, Weis and his assistants are currently in NY, PA, OK, and CA ... and we can expect still more news this week. It's good to be Irish ...

Can you handle the truth?

2005-12-02T21:32:00.000-06:00

Charlie Weis: You want answers?

Dennis Dodd: I think I'm entitled to them.

Charlie Weis: You want answers?

Mark May: I want the truth!

Charlie Weis: You can't handle the truth! Son, we live in a world that has bowls. And those bowls have seats that have to be filled. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Ohio State? We have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for Oregon and you curse the Irish. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know: that the omission of Oregon from the BCS, while tragic, probably fills seats. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, fills seats.

You don't want the truth. Because deep down, in places you don't talk about on your silly television shows, you want us in that bowl. You need us in that bowl. We use words like excellence, integrity, academics - we use these words as the backbone to a century spent defending something. You use 'em as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain our program to men who rise and sleep under the blanket of the very bowl security we provide, then question the manner in which we provide it! I'd rather you just said thank you and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest you strap on a helmet and stand opposed. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you're entitled to!

Lee Corso: Are you going to the Fiesta Bowl?

Charlie Weis: (quietly) We're doing the job you want us to do.

Jay Marriotti: Are you going to the Fiesta Bowl?

Charlie Weis: You're goddamn right we are!!

I Told You So

2005-11-28T13:29:00.000-06:00

I'm not one to rub it in...actually, I completely am one to rub it in, and after a "successful" (how close were we to a Rose Bowl?) regular season, it is now safe for me to take us back approximately a year ago...

The general concensus in the administration is that Pope Urban has accepted the job verbally, and that Jenkins and White flew to Utah today to workout the details of the contract. Another sticking point is whether His Holiness will coach Utah in the bowl game. Either way, expect an official annoucement either Friday or Saturday (my bet is on Friday), because Utah wants this taken care of before the BCS pairings are announced on Sunday.
- Andrew (12.02.04)

i hate these funny feelings of mine (the whole time i'm thinking, man, everyone is so sure of urban meyer, but nothing was definite)...maybe [Skip Bayless] is right, meyer may be more myth than reality anyways...

gruden announced he's out, but i kind of decided he isn't really for us. personally, i'd like charlie weis.
#1. i didn't even know he was a domer, and even then i liked him
#2. despite soukup's hesitation with nfl guys, does anybody remember the last n.e. patriots coach to exile to college football? you may have heard of him: pete carroll
#3. has anyone seen the n.e. offense? on second thought, shouldn't we get a former offensive coordinator? catch a pats game, that's efficiency
#4. a lot can be said for the pats winning two super bowls and bill belichek's defensive genius...hello, who coached the offense for those two super bowl season?!?
#5. i don't have anything here, but i sure hope they get this coach thing right

...relax, more like urban myth anyways (hop on the "well urban meyer isn't really that good a coach, anyways bandwagon")
-Tyrone (12.03.04)

So we had what looked like a slam dunk and we blew it...The hottest coach in the nation [Urban Meyer] with ties to ND and an out in his contract for ND and we blew it...wow...
-Reno (12.03.04)

Have you ever had a situation where the hottest girl in school was telling all your friends she wanted to go to the prom with you? (No?Me neither, but work with me here). You keep hearing your friends saying you should go for it, and you would in a heartbeat - except you already have a date, some girl you got stuck with a while back who is OK, but nothing spectacular. But the rumors persist, the questions keep getting asked, and before you know it, you dumped your girl to go after everybody's favorite girl. There's just one problem -- that other girl has you by the balls now. She starts asking for a fancy dinner, for a limo ride, for all these things that you weren't going to give her. You hesitate, you tell her you don't think you can do those things, and then before you know it - bam, she's looking at somebody else...

That's essentially what happened yesterday in Utah, and why everybodyat Notre Dame is so convinced Pope Urban is going to Florida...

I don't think we should go after New England offensive coordinator Charlie Weiss, because he's spent more time coaching high school kids (8 years) than college kids (4 years at South Carolina) and has never been a head coach. The last time Notre Dame hired a highly touted coordinator, fans ended up printing T-shirts saying that rhymed with "Hump Davie".
-Andrew (12.03.04)

i'm not so much shocked as i am surprised. hmph, they hired him. they didn't mess around, didn't let it drag, got their man, and didn't mess this one up. hmph, not bad.
this is the deal, if this whole charlie weis thing doesn't work out, i'll accept blame for it from y'all. seriously, he stinks and we continue the road to mediocrity, think of something impossibly shameful for me to do as punishment for me setting the gears to motionon this one. did i have anything to do with the hiring? heck no, but i feel someone has to be accountable out of our group of friends and i feel so adamantly sure that weis will work out that i'm willing to put a wager on this. mind you this is not monetary, unless you want to go there then i'd like to see someone bet against their own alma mater (it's still weird saying that), but rather my promise that this is going to...errr, should...work in our favor.

-Tyrone (12.03.04)

I don't have it out for Soukup, he just had the most information (and kudos for keeping us informed during such turbulent times), while all I had was a preference. Besides, I predicted 8-3 at best with losses to UMich, USC, and Tenn, but I don't think many of us could have predicted 9-2, despite the shortfalls of our opponents' seasons. As for Urban Meyer, I suppose he's a decent coach (in his first year, he defeated rivals Tenn, Georgia, and FSU), and it's not as bad down in Florida as Gator fans make it out to be (then again, if that Vandy kid didn't get called for unsportsmanlike conduct at the end of regulation, this could have a been a completely different story). It's easy to look back at it in hindsight, regardless we were pretty fortunate to land Charlie. Hopefully Charlie Weis Season One wasn't a mirage, and this season will truly be a stepping stone into college football legitimacy (I wouldn't mind a national championship sometime down the line, either).

One last thing, how do you contact Alan Grant about writing Return to Glory, Again: Inside Charlie Weis' Amazing First Season at Notre Dame?

Singing a Different Tune, Mr. Dodd?

2005-11-28T12:03:00.000-06:00

This provides a good retrospective look at where some thought we were less than a year ago. How can someone be so wrong, but still gainfully employed!?!? This is probably why he is screaming that ND doesn't deserve a BCS bowl bid right now. Moron!

Notre Dame's loss is Washington's gain
Dec. 13, 2004
By Dennis Dodd
SportsLine.com Senior Writer

One disgraced West Coast school is going on its third coach in four years, while in the depths of NCAA probation and coming off the worst season in its history.

Meanwhile, a Midwest football factory with its own network just hired a hot NFL assistant with two Super Bowl rings.

So whose future do you like better, Washington's or Notre Dame's? That seems to be a logical and significant question, considering Ty Willingham is a central figure at both schools -- fired from one and hired by the other within a span of 12 days.

The answer is easier to digest than the above spin, so let's make this real easy: Washington will be in a Rose Bowl again before Notre Dame is another national championship game.

The Rose (Washington) and national championship (ND) are the expected standards at each school. The Huskies, dragged down momentarily by the Rick Neuheisel scandal, will be fine. But Sunday's events were the next evolutionary football hiccup that will eventually land the Irish in a conference, perhaps by the end of the decade.

Never mind Washington's multiple coaching personalities; Notre Dame redefined the term "turnover margin." It has its fourth coach in 36 months. That's four staffs, four philosophies, four offenses, four defenses -- and inevitably a fourth messy press conference announcing another change. All since Dec. 1, 2001.

The next victim, err, shot-in-the-dark, err, guy to take Kevin White's call is New England offensive coordinator Charlie Weis. The new guy is long on glitter (those two Super Bowl rings) but short on experience.

Weis' only head coaching experience was with Franklin Township (N.J.) High in 1989. You'd think that running a program would be more important to a school where both Knute Rockne and the board of trustees watch from on high. Or maybe no one else would say yes.

The school was so desperate that it had to dip into the general student population this time. Weis, a 1978 Notre Dame grad, never played for the Irish. However, he did serve as a "consultant" in 1999 for a video game called NFL Quarterback Club.

Or at least that's what his resume said. Notre Dame officials are no doubt still busy triple checking that factoid -- just for old time's sake.

Nothing against Weis, but when is it going to end? This football tailspin is inexorably going to force to school to join a conference sooner than later. The losing will beget, at least, a decrease in rights fees from NBC, if not an end to the contract altogether.

After that, what's the point of playing that killer schedule? As an independent, if Notre Dame goes 8-3 it might play in the Gator Bowl in any given year. If Notre Dame goes 8-3 in a conference, it would play in the Fiesta Bowl by winning the right games. Ask Pittsburgh.

And it's no news flash that the BCS commissioners probably are going to remove Notre Dame's cushy BCS entry requirements beginning in 2006. The school did itself no favors by considering, for a day, whether it would play in the Insight Bowl after Willingham's firing. By not playing, Notre Dame would have become the first school to not show after signing a contract.

The Big Ten and Big East are the most likely landing places. The ACC, which played footsie with the Irish during its expansion, is full up with 12 teams. Five years ago Notre Dame turned down the Big Ten after a passionate courtship, at least from that league's point of view. Bad feelings still linger within the Big Ten.

But even in its depressed state, Notre Dame could dictate the terms of membership, getting a big share of a conference's TV and bowl money. In that respect, it is still Notre Dame.

But Willingham's hiring by Washington on Sunday highlighted (again) what a colossal mistake Notre Dame made on Nov. 30. Athletic director Kevin White stared into cameras and told the world about Willingham's game-day shortcomings. Yeah, they were so bad that Ty barely had time to cash his buyout check before being chased down by the Huskies.

When the smoke cleared, Washington, a team coming off a 1-10 season, got a 10-year head coaching veteran. Notre Dame got a guy who has seen less of the field at Notre Dame than Rudy.

In the highly fluid Pac-10, Willingham knows the lay of the land enough to have the Huskies in a bowl next year and challenging for the Rose in two. You need a high-powered telescope to see the next time Notre Dame will challenge for a national championship.

Whether Weis will be around for that day is highly debatable. His first question to the board should have been: What assurance can you give me that I'll be here more than three years?

A breakaway, renegade group of trustees led by chairman Patrick McCartan seems to have steered the school's reputation and program into a ditch. Weis got the right answer (a six-year contract at $2 million per) in response to the abrupt firing of Willingham. But will he get the time? These days there's not much difference at Notre Dame between Monopoly money and a coach's ability to earn the real stuff during the length of his contract.

It's now clear that only seven people -- incoming president Rev. John Jenkins, McCartan and five other board members -- are calling the shots. One former player close to the situation told SportsLine.com that the vote was 4-3 to oust Willingham. Barely a majority. Hardly a mandate. Meanwhile, there was lots of upheaval that looks like it isn't going to stop soon.

That's scary if you consider these essentially were the same people who gave us the George O'Leary fiasco, micromanaged Willingham out of a job, then had no backup plan when Urban Meyer said no. Ten days ago Meyer was offered $1.2 million per year. The school then ponied up $800,000 more per season for the unproven Weis.

On second thought, maybe the Big East is too good for ND.

Weis almost looks doomed to failure before his first spring practice. Already, he has missed two crucial December recruiting weekends. There is talk of him staying on through the playoffs with the Patriots. That would be a huge mistake. The Super Bowl is played in February, the same week as signing day. Weis still must hire a staff and recruit while drawing up plays for Tom Brady.

No pressure there, which is exactly what Willingham should be thinking. He's back home in the West where the future looks a lot brighter than the past he left behind.

His is the future you should like better. Definitely.

Bowl picture shaping up

2005-11-28T08:09:00.000-06:00

Not that it wasn't obvious that Notre Dame's nail-biting, cuss word-inducing win against Stanford Saturday night all but assured the Irish of going to a BCS bowl, but apparently the various bowls are starting to realize that as well.

The Gator Bowl has invited Louisville to fill one of its two spots (the second spot typically to the ACC runner-up, if they aren't selected for a BCS berth), thus fulfilling its obligation to the Big East to take that conferences' runner-up. As you may know, the Gator Bowl also had the ability to pick Notre Dame if it so wanted. You can rest assured that they wouldn't have invited a Big East school if they believed there was any way Notre Dame would slip past the Fiesta and Orange Bowls.

Of course, it also puts the Irish mildy behind the 8-ball if USC or Texas loses, making things a bit more dicey when it comes time to determine who fills the at-large spots (if Virginia Tech or LSU loses, by contrast, they probably wouldn't receive an at-large berth over the Irish). That's because the Fiesta, Orange or Sugar might still pick a one-loss Trojans or Longhorns team, reducing the available number of at-large spots.

Clausen Mania

2005-11-23T07:56:00.000-06:00

A good article (click picture). Just check out his stats. I guess 58 touchdown passes is okay for a sophomore who didn't play in the second half of most games...

Chris Stewart is a big man

2005-11-22T11:28:00.000-06:00

Rantings and Ravings

2005-11-17T16:56:00.000-06:00

Make that Twenty-Two
Richard Jackson (WR) and Chris Stewart (OL) join Morrice Richardson (LB) as this week's verbals for the 2006 recruiting class making the total a boombastic 22 committments out of a possible 25 scholarships available. Chris Stewart is one of seven (or six, I seriously lost count) kiddies committed to Notre Dame that will be playing in the Army All American Bowl. Check out this article on Chris Stewart (click me), he strikes me as an ND kid. In fact, he gave up a ton of college credit to go to Notre Dame and will be one of two (the other being James Aldridge, RB, another Army All American participant) recruits enrolling next semester to count towards the 2005 scholarship class. As Rob mentioned this would allow us to bring in more guys for much needed depth. With Stewart and Aldridge enrolling early and another recruit (too lazy to look it up) possibly accepting a scholarship under the lacross program, that would give you the 28 possible openings Robbery mentioned.

On that Clausen Kid
It would be nice to have the "LeBron James of football" but after deep meditation and soul searching, I'm with Rob and Soukup in thinking there's little chance The Chosen One lands in South Bend. Zach Frazer is fitted in the mold of Brady Quinn and he'll have a year to soak up Weis' system (as a redshirt, right?) and be in position to succeed Quinn. Unless this Clausen kid is an absolute revelation, which isn't totally out of the question, I can't see him coming in as a true freshman , or actually being promised, to be Brady Quinn's successor. While I'm talking about future QBs, Zach Frazer is having a bit of tough year (lost a lot of teammates to graduation), which ironically, I view as encouraging, because this shows me that he has to have tough skin to get through the year he's having and if you're going to be under center for Charlie Weis, you need tough skin.

You Know We're Good When...
A SI.com writer has to dedicate a whole mailbag to answer the cries from ND haters (who have magically been resurrected, mind you). After reading this whole thing, I can wholeheartedly tell you college football fans are the most passionate and ignorant fans in all of sports (yes, those two go hand in hand). Passion is a funny thing (see Bobbit, Loraine), b/c it leads you to think crazy things. Should ND be ranked as high it should? That's what a lot of haters are asking. They have some ammo with our opponents' SOS and, of course, the sinking ship that is MSU. A lot of college football people seem to forget what the polls are all about, and tend to give too much weight to records and statistics. Regardless, it's good to see the haters come out, b/c it is a helluva lot better than being irrelevant.

Completely Random and Irrelevant
I seriously thought about not watching this week's game to, get this, watch the new Potter movie and s'more snowboard shopping. That's how freakin' comfortable I am with this team that I'd actually be bored seeing Shark or Mo' catch TDs as Brady Quinn captures the last of what was Ron Powlus' career records. It used to be because I didn't want to see us get rocked, now it's because it's just another rout...how wonderful. BTW: I will catch the game live, seeing as it is rivalry week and there are too many good matchups that I can't not stay in Saturday and have the usual CFB buffet.

Recruiting is really Kicking ...

2005-11-16T09:27:00.000-06:00

We already have a top 10 class for the year, but the next two weeks could really push us into the top 3.

We could conceivably have the #1 QB, #1 OL, #1 DB, and #1 TE classes in the country. The one weakness right now is DT, though we do have two very good DE's coming in.

Overall, look for up to 3 early enrollees for the class, which will allow us to take 28 new players this year. And things are looking even better for next year. Like Weis said in his weekly presser, he is expecting the recruting for this class to be complete by early December. Please note that signing-day is not until February! That is 2 months ahead ... and that time will be dedicated towards recruiting for next year's class. Be afraid, be very afraid.

Let's keep this machine rolling ... and be sure to enjoy the ride.

Requiem for an A-hole...

2005-11-14T22:55:00.000-06:00

Philly fans have never been known to be "subtle"...reference the booing of Santa Clauhs, throwing batteries and snowballs, cheering injuries to opposing players, the only stadium in the country with it's own court system, etc...

So it didn't surprise me much when Philly fans had a mock funeral for T.O.- complete with a donated coffin and hearse...

Best moment of this whole mess:

Reporter: "So Drew- what have you done for T.O. besides getting him kicked off the team"
Drew "Devil incarnate" Rosenhaus [with steam shooting from his ears ala Rob]: NEXT QUESTION!

My feeling: goodbye and good riddance.

Dublin anyone?

2005-11-11T07:29:00.000-06:00

ND/Navy...2012...in Dublin Ireland...I'm there- who's with me?

Good thing it's not until 2012...Maybe by then I will have paid off my skydiving debts and can afford it...I'll just put it on my credit card...hopefully I'll be able to contribute more than 50 bucks a year so I have a chance at getting tickets...

Also...I wonder if public urination is a crime over there...that way I can be a criminal on two different continents!

The Making of a Star

2005-11-08T18:07:00.000-06:00

In keeping with the trend of Notre Dame appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated during a new coache's first tenure, this week's issue features a Reno-sized small photo in the top-left corner with a picture of Brady Quinn and the title: "A Star is Reborn"

This is a great article that sheds light on a number of interesting tidbits, including how close Willingham was to not recruiting Quinn, where Quinn would have gone instead, how Quinn felt during his two-year trial-by-fire under Diedrick's "offense", and how he has adjusted to the tutelage of Charlie Weis.

The entire article is a terrific read. But some comments stood out.

It rankled him that none of the offers came from South Bend. Quinn's go-to receiver at Dublin Coffman was Chinedum Ndukwe, whose older brother, Kelechi, graduated from Notre Dame. Several times Quinn had accompanied the Ndukwes to the campus for football games. The school had worked its magic on him, but his affection was unrequited.

That changed in July 2002, when Chinedum and his parents made an unofficial visit to South Bend. (Chinedum would be offered a scholarship and is now a defensive back for the Fighting Irish.) Toward the end of the visit Chinedum's father, Stephen, offered a suggestion to then coach Ty Willingham, "You need to get Brady Quinn up here."

After reviewing video of Quinn, Willingham agreed. An invitation was extended and accepted. As he was squired around campus, Quinn decided it was the place for him. This was bad news for Michigan, to which he'd come close to committing.

So we were this close to seeing Quinn carve up the Irish in a winged helment, becoming the latest in a line of great Michigan quarterbacks, unless a since-converted wide receiver's father pointed out how Quinn to the Irish coach. But this is old news - we knew that regime couldn't recruit anyway.

Never fear, though - the Dublin kid was bound for the land of the Fighting Irish, in part because he felt he'd get to play earlier. How did he feel when he got there?

Like most of his teammates, Quinn took issue with the way the administration treated Willingham, for whom he retains much respect. That said, there were times during Quinn's sophomore year when, his uncle Dave Slates recalls, "Brady would say, 'I don't feel like I'm being coached.'"

It's OK, Brady, we didn't think so either. Out went Willingham. In came Weis, who immediately started breaking down his quarterback's technique. Remember the uber-low squat employed by Diedrick?

[Weis] noticed, for instance, that Quinn was having problems simply taking the snap. Center John Sullivan was so low in his stance that he forced the quarterback into an ungainly squat. That was an easy fix: Sullivan was instructed to get his butt up in the air. "

I'll conclude by pointing out a story with which the article began.

In an [August] passing drill, Quinn had just ignored an open receiver nearby, chucking the ball deep instead. When the pass fell incomplete, Weis stopped practice. "You know what, Quinn?" he barked, according to several witnesses. "This is why, for your entire frickin' life, you're going to be a 50 percent passer." He started to walk away, then stopped to repeat himself: "Your entire frickin' life."

So what did Quinn's mother think of her little boy getting chewed up by the big, mean offensive machine?

If Weis has been the toughest, most caustic coach Quinn has ever played for, the quarterback can expect little sympathy from his mother. "Charlie," says Robin Quinn, a striking woman with a direct gaze, "is exactly what Brady needed at this point -- in every respect."

Now I'll be damned if that frickin' SI curse makes the win streak against Navy end at 41 games this week.

Fly On the Wall

2005-11-07T17:40:00.000-06:00

Overheard at Monday's media interaction with the Irish offense:

Reporter: "Maurice, what were your thoughts on the game?"

Maurice "Thank you Charlie for making me lose weight" Stovall: "You know the saying that a picture says a 1,000 words? In this case, it just says one."

Role playing!

2005-11-06T23:07:00.000-06:00

You are Navy coach Paul Johnson.

How do you stop Notre Dame's offense?

A) Rush 11 men, a la "Punt Block."

B) Put 9 men in coverage. With air support.

C) Play the vaunted Red Rover defense. Line up all 11 guys on the 5-yard-line and have them hold hands.

Other thoughts?

I still don't get it

2005-11-02T22:45:00.000-06:00

I've heard all the arguments about why Notre Dame should have given Charlie Weis a contract, and there's only one I don't buy. I'll let you guess what that is.

Sure, there are great arguments supporting why Weis deserved a 10-year extension that will reportedly pay him $30 million-$40 million. But most of those arguments supporting why Weis deserved a contract and Tyrone Willingham didn't. I won't touch those, because it's true - if you're giving a 10-year extension to Charlie "Jesus" Weis or Tyrone "Fore"! Willingham, give it to Weis seven days a week and twice on Saturdays.

But still I ask - why are you giving the guy such a whopping extension in the first place?

The popular myth out there is this is a sign to recruits/students/alumni/current players that Weis is here to stay until 2015. I say that's ridiculous. How many times did Weis tell the Notre Dame community he had no intention of going to the NFL? Every time he said that, I believed it. It's because I believe he's a man of integrity, who makes promises and keeps them. When he said it in December, I believed him. When he said it in February, I believed him. When he said it in August, I believed him. Since then, he's done nothing publicly that indicates he isn't a man of his word. And I'm only seeing him through the lens of a media machine that loves to look at Notre Dame in a critical light. Imagine how he is in the living room of a blue-chip prospect, talking to a future NFL prospect about the importance of sincerity, honesty and loyalty. If a recruit didn't believe Weis last week, how will a contract extension make a difference?

My point is, I believe Weis is a person who conducts himself in good faith. That means one of two things. First, that he should be able to convince recruits that he really does have no intention of leaving for the NFL. The existence of, or absence of, a 10-year contract should do nothing to change that. Any reasonable person knows there are various provisions, buyout clauses, and other elements of the contract that will allow either Notre Dame or Weis to break off the agreement before 2015 if they need it. (What they are, however, nobody knows - depending on how this new "extension" is structured, it may very well function essentially the same as the old one). Second, if Weis has fooled me (and a lot of other people who take the guy at his word), then it doesn't matter if he signs a contract extension that takes him into the 24th century - he'll leave when he wants to.

A final point, on those who quickly dismiss comparisons between Willingham's first year and Weis' first campaign. There is no doubt that the Weis-coached Notre Dame program is in a much better position, based on the on-filed product and the quality of football, than the Willingham-coached program was. But comparisons are easy to make. Consider that Willingham's 2003 recruiting class (his first full one) brought us a plethora of highly-regarded recruits, including Brady Quinn. Consider that, when Willingham was winning games at the start of his career, everyone believed he could walk on water. Consider that, when ESPN said the Irish were winning because of smoke-and-mirrors, we countered by sayiing that Willingham had helped the team find a way to win again. Consider alumni who said, after Notre Dame beat Michigan, "I haven't heard the Stadium this loud in years." Consider that Notre Dame had thwomped two highly-ranked, highly-regarded opponents in Air Force and Florida State (on the road, no less, and in front of Gameday both occassions) in game seven and game eight. After the Irish so dominated Florida State (a game I still say was the best and most complete of the Tyrone Willingham tenure), can't you make a case for why Willingham, at that time should get an extension.

I don't think he should have. Just like I don't think Weis should not. Basically, I don't want to feel burned again. And I don't see any obvious benefits that justify giving a 5-2 coach a contract that will make him Notre Dame's head coach until I'm 33. Some of this is fear - I don't want to get burned again.

Do I think Notre Dame will this time? No. But I thought Davie deserved the five-year extension he got after the Fiesta Bowl season. I thought Willingham deserved the praise he got after the "Return to Glory" I'm hoping I'm wrong again in this case. I think Weis deserves the praise he's getting now. But I don't think he deserves a lifetime employment contract.

Still, part of me has one leftover question. I wonder what living room Weis was in when he signed that contract.

Weis vs. TW

2005-11-02T12:43:00.000-06:00

I am so sick and tired of hearing all this crap. Jason Whitlock pushed me over the edge, especially when my dad and brother began debating the merits of his argument. The truth is ... there is no debate, and there are few (if any) merits in his argument. And this is why I need to address this here ... to lay out the facts once and for all ... why Weis's situation is drastically different than TW's and why it has NOTHING to do with race. (There also is some pent-up anger over the piss-poor job TW did during his time here, obviously. I'll leave it up to the reader to discern which is which).

Whitlock may have some good points on one side of his argument, but then he turns around and totally undermines those points that he just made. The article is wholly contradictory and reeks of a false sense of logic.

1.) Yes, TW had a great start. Yes, TW had a better start than CW. But did the NFL ever come knocking for TW? This was just as much a defensive move for ND as it was a proactive move. The school is in a wholly different position now. The only team ever interested in Ty was Washington, whom he had extensive contact with during his last season. It was this contact that really pushed the Board of Trustees over the edge. ND is not anyone's "stepping stone," especially some half-rate west coast team who barely makes any noise in the lousy Pac-10. Ty and his staff were actively pursuing this opportunity in the background while their own ND team was stinking it up on the field ... Charlie was being pursued. Totally different situation.

2.) Yes, TW was treated differently than other coaches at ND, all of whom were white. However, TW was hired by ND. Why would a school run by a bunch of racist bigots hire a black coach ... just so they can fire him unfairly and take a HUGE PR hit in the process?!?! I think not. Of course, ND did hire George O'Leary to make an example of big fat white guys who lie on their resumes to get jobs ... so maybe they did have some similar plans for TW from the beginning.

3.) TW had a lousy offense throughout his 3 years at ND, during which he played many of Bob Davie's "option" players. But he won games because of a great ND defense that, lo and behold, also had many of Bob Davie's defensive recruits. Even when he got "his" players into the system, the offense was god-awful ... and the defense actually got worse as the years went on. CW has taken the players that Ty did nothing with and turned them into an offensive machine. And he is still winning games DESPITE the fact that our defense sucks because of Ty's piss-poor recruiting and coaching job. Offense is something that you can scheme to win -- look at Bowling Green under Urban Meyer, Texas Tech with the "air it out" offense, Navy with the triple-option. None of these teams possess great skill players, but they have good fundamental coaching and can execute on offense -- it's all about schemes creating mismatches against defenses. The problem comes on defense -- if you don't have good, fast, athletic players ... then you can't match up 1-on-1 with the best offenses in the country, no matter what your scheme is. So, what really happened was Ty was a bad offensive coach who didn't hire a good offensive coordinator (please note that Diedrick is currently working FOR FREE as a offensive coordinator in the CFL for the league's worst offensive team) and, despite the talent he recruited, could not produce results on offense. And, on defense, he didn't have the ability to recruit good players (especially in the secondary -- as USC exposed so well for the last three years), nor the ability to mask that inability with a decent gameplan with plenty of adjustments. So he wasn't just inept --- he was doubly inept. Good point, fatass.

4.) Charlie has cut his teeth and has performed well in a big stage. He has developed ProBowl players and schemed with the best minds in all of football. He was a coordinator. TW was not ... he was never a coordinator. He was a glorified position coach, and for that reason his "hire-a-bility" for the long-term was questionable. Football schemes adjust and change ... TW never had a grip on that. He was so removed from everything on the blackboards and on the field. He never had to game-plan, that is what his assistants were there for. He was a figurehead who refused to make changes to his staff. In such a dynamic game, how can he be successful? How can you give someone a 10-year contract who isn't up to speed with current schemes and, in the future, will be even worse? With Charlie we have the most dynamic offensive mind in all of football ... he will lead. TW will be lucky just to follow.

5.) Willingham and his staff never won a game on game-planning or coaching. They won games on the pure athletic ability of their players. As the players they recruited got worse over time, so did ND's performance. It was only in the very beginning (when we were playing with Davie's players and before we were exposed by Norm Chow) that we won games. TW never adjusted his game-plans or his recruiting style to compensate. Charlie elevates the performance of his players, whereas Ty depended upon it to a fault.

6.) I guarantee ... to the tune of $20 dollars to each of you ... that Charlie Weis will NEVER lose a game to TW. As each man gets to "establish" their program with their own players, I think you will see the programs headed in two different directions. And it won't be about race then ... just like it isn't about race now. It's about ability.

7.) Whitlock suggests that ND hasn't won a game that they shouldn't have yet this season. Wait ... but everyone on ESPN (except for Kirk Herbstreit) ... predicted ND would start 0-6. And yes, our opposition has not turned out to be as formidable as first thought, but hindsight is 20-20. Looking back, it just makes my case even stronger. ND destroyed those teams which they should have beat, the same teams that TW struggled to beat (and even lost to -- see Syracuse, Pitt, Purdue, and struggles against lowly Navy). And the teams which ND wasn't supposed to beat this year (MSU and USC) both were taken to the very end. Those games have been a blueprint more than anything else for all their following opponents to use when gameplanning. How much of an effect did those games have on the rest of their seasons? How much did the crushing blows to Pitt, Michigan, Purdue, Washington, and BYU affect the rest of their games?

Whitlock is just doing his job, and I realize that. He is hired by ESPN to be controversial and get everyone talking. And yes, I know I am regrettably contributing to that hype machine by posting my thoughts here. He's a part of the disgraceful "hype machine" that ESPN has become.

I liken him to a fatter Don King, without the crazy hairdo (which I have tried to pull off multiple times, but to no avail). Both men have established themselves by leeching off of other people's successes and using the media to make them rich. Neither has any concern for anyone but themselves -- do you actually think King helped Mike Tyson, or that Whitlock is helping to advance the plight (ahem) of African Americans who hope to one day be a head football coach at a major university?

And yes, he might be, in fact, very good at his job. But when his job is to act and write like an idiot, that isn't saying much. That's like congratulating SMC chicks for being easy.

The Great Weis Hope: Revisited

2005-11-01T19:48:00.000-06:00

Have you read the following article from ESPN's Page 2 writer, Jason Whitlock: click here.

It got me a little peeved. Here is another person that is speaking out, stating their case that the University of Notre Dame is run by a bunch of closet racist. My thoughts: " Damn, for real. I had no idea." Seriously, being a minority in a racist school for four years, and I didn't even know. I guess I'm slow, or I didn't notice the bedsheet clad intentions of the overwhelming majority of the student/faculty population.

Actually, I think Jason Whitlock is another in the long line of "journalists" who doesn't get all the facts when it comes to the University of Notre Dame and its football team. I had argument and counter argument ready to spit out here with regards to Mr. Whitlock's article, but the good people of NDNation.com seemed to make every point I wanted to make, so here's my guide to uncovering b.s.

This is a copy of a letter that someone sent to Whitlock himself: click me

Another letter to Whitlock, this time courtesy of a current student: click me

This is simply hilarious, yet legit between the obscenities: click here

And yes after Whitlock's article (especially combined with Alan Grant's thoughts), ESPN's Page 2 was granted expulsion from The House of Twelve's Links...I know they're hitting themselves on the head right now.

To anyone out there that wonders why Ty Willingham wasn't offered an extension after an 8-0 start, while Charlie Weis got himself made after a 5-2 start, you obviously were not following Notre Dame football during Willingham's first year. Any Notre Dame fan would tell you how it was nice to win, and how it was a great start, but there always existed this nervousness. We were always anxious during that 8-0 run. Don't get me wrong, it was fantastic and I enjoyed the winning, but we were always a little nervous. Our offense was extremely suspect, and opposing offense were always reluctant to attack our defense where we were extremely lacking. Then USC blew up our supposed "great defense" and you know how the story goes from there. Sure the 8-0 start was great and unexpected, but we, the ND family, knew better. Heck, so did most of the college football analysts (Kirk "I am now a ND fan" Herbstreit stated Ty's run was all "smoke and mirrors").

Nobody feels that way with Charlie's team. Do the teams we beat have a terrible combined record? Sure, but don't you think the way we dismantled each of those teams (no matter how suspect they were) gave a blueprint for others on how to have your way with those teams (similiar to the way the Carson Palmer USC team exploited the afformentioned ND team)? Regardless, you talk to any ND fan and they'll tell you how much more at ease they are with this team, how they no longer have a nervous apprehension when it comes to gametime. Because we know the truth (i.e. we're legit and we're back), and from the polls, most everyone else is catching on. So please, stop trying to take cheap shots at this program, we have suffered enough this past decade.

Halloween revisited

2005-10-30T23:39:00.000-06:00

Tyrone's post got me all nostalgic so I said "Screw studying...I gotta post!"

The infamous Right Hand Red Costume...

The aforementioned blackmail picture...

Terry Tate, office linbacker...if Terry Tate was suddenly white and with about one quarter of the muscle mass

FSU cheerleader and a Hippie...a match made in heaven...

And the aftermath...

Long live "Right Hand Red"

Right Hand Red

2005-10-30T20:14:00.000-06:00

Happy Halloween!

From: The House of Twelve (aka The Apostles)

From the worldwide leader

2005-10-29T11:31:00.000-05:00

Nobody really believed Charlie was considering a return to the NFL. But for those who did, here you go:

Charlie Weis will sign a contract extension with Notre Dame, ending speculation that he will return to the NFL as a head coach, ESPN ... reported Saturday.

Beginning next season, the new 10-year deal will keep Weis at Notre
Dame through 2015.

How important did Notre Dame think this was? They sent out a press release via IrishLink to the entire campus. On a Saturday morning. Anybody remember the last time that happened? As Kevin White said in the release, "We're confident that we've got the best coach in America ensconced at his alma mater for the remainder of his career."

Still, if you read this sentence and worry about extending contracts, you're not human - or can't remember what you were thinking three years or five years ago at this time.

"In a very short period of time, Charlie has clearly and impressively demonstrated the ability to take the Notre Dame program where we all want it to go," said Notre Dame athletics director Kevin White. (October 29, 2005)

By comparison:

"My confidence in him is unqualified, and there's no doubt the future of Notre Dame football is bright. Plus, and this is as important as any of his achievements, Bob embraces the principles and values that Notre Dame represents," said Notre Dame athletics director Kevin White. (December 5, 2000)

The Man Named Brady

2005-10-27T20:32:00.000-05:00

If you don't like the Brady Bunch refence during your Sportscenter highlights, my apologies, but get used to them. Brady Quinn is going to continue to astound with his cannon arm, nimble footwork inside the pocket, mental toughness, and quite simply, everything you want in your QB.

NFL scouts are drooling in anticipation at another Charlie Weis QB being available for the draft in two years. Check out SI.com's Don Banks, who went out of his way to put Mr. Quinn in his list of QB's he'd take to start an NFL franchise (the list included the other Weis-Brady protege, as well as no other college players).

Yes, kiddos, he's that good. Speaking of good, as promised, here is the Notre Dame record book's passing records and just how far the man named Brady is from making it his own.

Game
                                  Current Record           Quinn
Pass Attempts          63 (1967, Hanratty)       60 ('05, MSU)
Completions             33 ('70, Theismann)      33 ('05, MSU)
Completion PCT       .909 ('84, Beurlein)       .805 ('05, PU)
Passing Yards          526 ('70, Theismann)     487 ('05, MSU)
Touchdowns             6 ('05, Quinn)                6 ('05, BYU)

Season
                                  Current Record           Quinn '05 (difference)
Pass Attempts          316 ('99, Jackson)          266 (-50)
Completions             184 ('99, Jackson)          175 (-9)
Completion PCT       .616 ('93, McDougal)      .658 (+.042)
Efficiency Rating      161.4 ('49, Williams)      161.87 (+.47)
Passing Yards          2753 ('99, Jackson)        2352 (-401)
Yards/Game             242.9 ('70, Theismann) 336.0 (+93.1)
Touchdowns             20 ('05, Quinn)              20 (in progress)

Career
                                  Current Record           Quinn (difference)
Pass Attempts          969 (Powlus)                  951 (-18)
Completions             558 (Powlus)                  523 (-35)
Completion PCT       .575 (Powlus)                 .549 (-.026)
Efficiency Rating      154.4 (McDougal)          124.64 (-29.76)
Passing Yards          7602 (Powlus)                6769 (-833)
Yards/Game            172.7 (Powlus)               218.3 (+45.6)
Touchdowns             52 (Powlus)                   46 (-6)
Notre Dame Individual Records courtesy of www.und.com

What does this say? Well, that he will basically own most of the season and career records by the end of this season. It should be noted that there were other passing records, but these are the big ones and I chose to focus on these.

The Onion ...

2005-10-27T12:26:00.000-05:00

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/42106

Sox Win! Sox Win!

2005-10-26T23:07:00.000-05:00

Hey Hey,
What a series. From nearly the biggest choke job in baseball to 11-1 in a nearly flawless postseason. For anyone who missed it, the Sox (best road team in baseball) took with them on road trips a "Play Like a Champion Today" sign that they all hit on their way out of the clubhouse, and former ND star Brad Lidge who was lights out all year had 3 losses in his last 4 appearances (2 walkoff homers) after losing a bet and being forced to wear a USC sweatshirt.

And I thought I was a big ND fan...

2005-10-24T18:57:00.000-05:00

We are...ND...

A Panther's delusion...

2005-10-24T00:19:00.000-05:00

So this guy that I know from PCOM who went to Pitt posted this on my facebook Wall:

"we needed weis not wannstedt, his coaching is making brady quinn look like dan marino & we both know my man tyler palko is waaaaaaaaaaaay better than quinn"

BWAHAHAHAHA!!!...'nuff said

Numb3rs

2005-10-23T23:56:00.000-05:00

If numbers are any indication of improvement then lets take a look at our two leading receivers and the man that throws it to them:

Statistics Prior to 2005 Season
RECEIVING       GP  No.  Yds   Avg  TD  Avg/G
---------------------------------------------------
STOVALL         34   61 1046   17.2   7   30.8
SAMARDZIJA    24   24   327  13.6   0   13.6

PASSING         GP   Effic    Att-Cmp-Int   Pct     Yds    TD  Avg/G
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
QUINN, B.       24  110.19  685-348-25   50.8  4417  26  184.0

2005 Statistics Through Seven Games
RECEIVING       GP  No. Yds   Avg  TD  Avg/G
--------------------------------------------------
STOVALL          7   40  625  15.6   5    89.3
SAMARDZIJA     7   44  750  17.0  11  107.1

PASSING        GP   Effic    Att-Cmp-Int  Pct     Yds   TD  Avg/G
---------------------------------------------------------------------
QUINN, B.        7  161.87  266-175-4   65.8  2352  20  336.0

statistics courtesy of www.und.com

*note: Stovall and Samardzija did not start all those games prior to 2005 season, and Quinn started all but three of those games prior to 2005 season

Maybe Maurice was a four, not a two or three, year project. Maybe Jeff concentrated too much on baseball. Maybe Brady liked overthrowing receivers and getting knocked on his arse. What do I know? I do know this: if numbers speak, then the dispartiy of these numbers screams at me.

* Brady's QB efficiency rating for the BYU game was 222.02.

* Brady also broke the ND single game touchdown passes record (6).

* Mo' now owns the ND single game receiving records in receptions (14) and touchdown receptions (4).

* Shark joined the ND record party by tying the single season TD reception record (11) and breaking the consecutive games with a touchdown reception (7).

Next time, we'll see just how close Brady Quinn is at owning the Notre Dame passing records...all of them.

EDIT: Numbers are too fun to crunch, here are projections for the three players featured above. Nothing too complicated, simple multiplication, but this highlights whatever point I was trying to make.

2005 Projection
RECEIVING       GP  No.  Yds   Avg  TD  Avg/G
---------------------------------------------------
STOVALL         11   63  982  15.6   8   89.3

2005-2006 Projections
RECEIVING       GP  No.  Yds    Avg  TD  Avg/G
---------------------------------------------------
SAMARDZIJA    24  150  2572  17.0  37  107.1

PASSING         GP   Effic    Att-Cmp-Int    Pct    Yds    TD  Avg/G
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QUINN, B.       24  161.46  912-600-13   65.8  8064  68  336.0

So I'm not that good ...

2005-10-23T01:23:00.000-05:00

Please disregard my BYU game analysis, as the vast majority of it turned out to be quite wrong. I'm guessing Charlie read it last night and decided to change things up to surprise everyone. At least I was close on the final score, though ...

New Hotness

2005-10-22T19:36:00.000-05:00

The days of three yards and a cloud of dust are a distant memory.

And about that getting more than 11 yards on the ground on the first drive? I assumed we'd have a running back on the field for more than the drive's final play.

Charlie, you wily fox.

Over before the ink was dry

2005-10-21T18:06:00.000-05:00

Unlike the rest of you, I am electing not to waste my time with analysis on this pathetic excuse of game for one simple reason: this game was a "W" the instant the contract was signed. I don't care about a USC hangover, I don't care about Charlie's "second-season" approach - this one is in the bag.

But I will make one prediction. On our first drive, we will have more rushing yards than we did during the entire game last year.

And considering we recorded 11 net rushing yards against the Cougars in 2004, I don't think I'm going too far out on a limb here.

How Good/Bad is our Defense?

2005-10-21T08:57:00.000-05:00

Here's a telling stat ...

ND vs. Palko, Leinhart, and Stanton in 2004: 1 W - 2 L. 11 TDs, 1 INT.

ND vs. Palko, Leinhart, and Stanton in 2005: 2 W - 1 L. 2 TDs, 4 INTs.

And yes ... I put 2W and 1L for this year because I am still in denial.

Skydiving, BYU, along with some smoke and mirrors

2005-10-20T20:38:00.000-05:00

From the start of this week- I knew that one thing was certain- by Wednesday afternoon, I would be skydiving. This feeling had been building inside of me for about a week. There was so much going on with medical school and everything else that I just had to go out and get a few jumps in to keep my sanity. Yes, I know that jumping out of a perfectly good airplane to keep my sanity sounds a little crazy but that's the way it is. This is my escape- the ultimate stress reliever, a chance to take stock in your life as you float down from 4,000 feet and take in the beautiful scenery and thank God that you are able to take it all in. The fact is- when you're in the door, just about to jump, you can forget about all the stuff going on in your life and just have fun.

So I did two jumps yesterday. They both went awesome in the air- did lots of sitflying with some standing position in there too. The fun (or rather OH SHIT! moment) came on landing the first one. Long story short- strong winds were pushing me away from the landing area and I had to make a quick decision. I kept a calm head, made a plan, and executed it to perfection. I successfully landed in a parking lot a short distance from the landing area right in between two sets of power lines. I even stood up the landing.

I landed well away from the buildings and trees that I was trying to avoid and would have landed in if I had did nothing. Some people would take this little brush with serious injury/death as a sign to stop skydiving- I take my calm and poise under pressure that I belong in skydiving and it shows that I can perform when the stuff hits the fan.

In related news- Brett and I will be out to South Bend for the Tennessee game. We are trying to plan a jump on Sunday after the game at the airport in Goshen where we did our first tandems a year and a half ago. So if people want to stick around on Sunday, feel free to come out and watch the two of us jump and we'll introduce you to our addiction.

I'm sure some of you are saying...groan- STOP TALKING ABOUT SKYDIVING- sorry, it's my addiction...now onto the BYU game.

I recall reading somewhere that ND has to avoid a "letdown" from USC...are you freaking kidding me??? A let down? We are going to take our collective Irish [expletive deleted] out and leave an ND logo across BYU's forehead! (Insert "groan" from Reno taking it too far, once again) You think Charlie Weis is going to let the team feel sorry for itself? You think he'll let them overlook BYU even though we are favored by 20 points? Now, my previous comment about the ND logo suggests that we are overconfident but I say it's exactly the opposite. We are coming into every game knowing that we can win it- no matter who it is. It's not overconfidence- it's just the right amount of confidence.

These aren't the days of the "Return to Glory" where we got lucky with a freakishly good defense, an offense that barely scraped by, and luck at many points in the year. This is the CW era- where there is a gameplan, there are adjustments, there is a confidence that hasn't been seen in over a decade. 'Nuff said

Look for CW to use this game as a big experiment for Tennessee. He'll do whatever he wants to BYU...run it, pass it, whatever. I think Rob and Souky summed up the gameplans really well- don't have anything to add there.

In other ND news- check out http://firstandgold.blogspot.com, the link I posted last time. I got a little thing published there- look for The [Recruiting] Matrix. *edit: see links to the right, i update those, too...sheesh*

Medical School is...medical school. Pretty frustrated right now cause I'm stuck in a classroom or lab all day with no patient contact. I knew it would be this way but it's still rough. Since I had a lot of this stuff last year, I don't have to study nearly as much as my classmates but I'm still pulling in good grades- a lot better than my ND ones and probably at or near the top quarter of my class. I'm sorta bored in class and lab since all the excitement of learning this stuff for the first time is gone. It's sorta tedious...but...it's what I signed up for and I know it's still what I want to do- it's just a loooonnnggg haul.

Plus I get to learn this thing called Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine- it's what makes me a DO instead of an MD. It's so much fun, let me tell you. "Smoke and mirrors class" is what we call it because right now, no one has a clue a lot of times what we are feeling or looking for. Oh well...it's ok because no one is ever going to die because I did bad OMM.

That's about it for now...of course, me being me, there is plenty of other stuff and drama going on but this has been long enough. Time to pack it in for the night and maybe show up for my 8am class tomorrow- it'll be a gametime decision but I prolly won't be in until my 10am class- thank god the note service!

Reno

The $13 Million Question

2005-10-20T17:00:00.000-05:00

Can Notre Dame win its last 5 games?

Because if it can't, the Irish could be short a cool $13 million - and they'll never have another chance to get it again.

Let's face it, at the beginning of the year, nobody was thinking about Notre Dame playing in a BCS bowl, especially given their murderous early-season schedule. However, with the Irish 4-2 at the halfway point of the season, thoughts of Orange Fiestas aren't exactly out of the question at this point.

To be eligible to be selected for one of the two at-large berths in the BCS, Notre Dame needs to finish with at least 9 wins and be ranked in the top 12 of the BCS standings (as of Monday, they were No. 16).

Winning nine games is certainly doable. Notre Dame's final five games see the Irish hosting BYU (3-3), Tennessee (3-2), Navy (3-2) and Syracuse (1-5) before closing out the regular season at Stanford (3-2). The toughest game in that mix, against No. 17 Tennessee, comes after an Irish bye week.

What's more, despite the dubious computer rankings that somehow have Notre Dame (which came a foot away from beating USC) behind Oregon (which got clobbered by roughly 30 points to those same Trojans), the Irish should climb into the top 12 if they win out. That's because many of the teams ahead of them either play each other or have games remaining against ranked opponents, so they are likely to slip below the Irish.

Should the Irish become BCS eligible, they will likely be headed to the Fiesta or the Orange Bowl (the Irish can't make the Rose Bowl unless multiple acts of God occur, and the Sugar Bowl will probably end up pitting the SEC champion against the Big East champion) and a sweet $15 million payday. This is the last year Notre Dame will receive the full-conference payout; thanks to a new agreement with the BCS negotiationed last summer, beginning in 2006, the Irish will receive $1 million annually from the BCS unless they qualify for a BCS bowl, in which case, they will receive $4 million.

But if the Irish tumble during any of their final five games, they'll most likely be heading to Jacksonville for the Gator Bowl against the ACC's No. 2 team (Miami, Florida State, anyone?) And they'll only be getting $2 million for their efforts - just enough to cover travel expenses for the Irish caravan to stay in northern Florida for the better part of a fortnight.

That's a $13 million difference, Mr. Weis. Not like there's any pressure or anything. You know, considering 1.3 billion pennies would go a long way toward making the memory of a purple-clad football coach disappear a lot quicker.

"Here's the rest of your payment, Mr. Willingham."

"So soon? Why thank you. If you'll excuse me, John Saunders is here to interview me. He wants to know why Foot Locker stacks the white shoelaces in front of the black ones."

BYU Game Analysis

2005-10-20T16:42:00.000-05:00

Anyone have any thoughts about BYU this weekend? I'm expecting it to look a whole lot better than last year's debacle. Looking back, can anyone believe that TW didn't even fly Darius Walker out to Provo for that game?!?!

I expect us to mix in both pass and run during this game. We couldn't run at all on them last year, but I hope our ability to read the defense and dominate at the point of attack has improved under Weis.

I truly think that we will try to punish their corners and make them defend the run, and we'll keep their "Cougar" LB/S hybrid plenty busy trying to bottle up the ball carriers. Then, once we ensure that their defensive backfield is always playing their first step forward after the snap, we'll hit them over the top with MoSto or The Shark. Play-action could be really fun in this game -- we couldn't feature it as much against SoCal because of their insanely fast LB's and DE's, but I think we can play some games against their D. Our RB's and OL will need to be very aware of the blitz pickup, so expect to see some quick 3-step drops and outs or slants on hot routes early. Once we burn them a few times on their blitz (think screen play and draw play) they will have to play more conservative, and that is when we test them deep and pull away.

I just can't see how they can defend us ... they are a gimmick 3-3-5 defense and Weis will take a few series to figure them out and expose them. It sure is nice to feel confident in our coach's ability to gameplan and make adjustments, isn't it? I think the only adjustment Willingham ever made during a game while he was a coach here was when he re-adjusted his boxers after he got rid of the huge wedgie he had when he ran out from the bathroom during a game last year.

In terms of their O vs. our D, I think this will look a little like the MSU game in the first half. They will not (or at least, SHOULD not) be able to run the ball very well against us -- but that has been the story with all of our opponents. However, they will be able to pass fairly well. Did anyone notice that the only game in which we have gotten regular pressure on the QB from our DE's and blitzing LB's was USC last week? There are two reasons for that: 1) home game, and 2) Leinhart is about as mobile as Reno (drunk or sober, it doesn't make a difference). Beck is a fairly mobile QB and they will roll him out, give him quick timing routes to throw to, and spread us wide. He might give us a little trouble -- that is, until BHoyte knocks him silly, just like last year. The last time we saw ND play a spread option team (Purdue & MSU), we kept our base defense on the field for much of the game. 3 LB's (one Apache), 2 CB's, and 2 S's. After seeing Ferrine and Lambert play as the 3rd CB's last week, and Wooden and Richardson continuing to play the ball while it is in the air -- do we have confidence that our secondary is improving? Do we have enough confidence to take one of our punishing LB's off the field and replace them with a young corner? I think it's about time we do so ... let them get some experience and see what they can do. We can be flexible in our base defense, yes ... but if BYU is made one-dimensional and all they can do is pass ... I'd like to see an extra man in coverage. Because of all the timing routes that they will try to run, expect to see lots of balls batted down at the LOS (lineman will be coached to stand-up more than rush upfield) and plenty of press coverage on the outside. Our success on D will be closely tied to our safties' ability to cover downfield, since press coverage has a chance of being beaten badly. We have struggled in this so far this year, so let's hope Nedu and Zibby are ready to run and hit this Saturday.

Prediction time:

* We will run a fake punt or fake FG, just to give TN something to think about.
* There will be a defensive TD by ND in this game.
* Walker and Thomas will line up in the backfield at the same time, and might even do the same "empty" shift that we saw last week against USC. Except this time, instead of BQ running the ball, we'll likely see a pass to Fasano or the Shark down the seam.

The game will start slower than in the past, if only because of the USC hangover and Weis trying to figure out the gimmick defense. This won't be the blowout that everyone is expecting it to be ... until the second half.

Final score: ND 45, BYU 24

I almost peed my pants...

2005-10-16T23:16:00.000-05:00

Credit to T$ for sending me this link to another blog...

http://firstandgold.blogspot.com/

Dear Lord, this is one of the funniest things I have EVER read

Another one bites the dust

2005-10-16T20:43:00.000-05:00

3 Apostles down, 9 to go...

Congrats, Dan and Colleen on your recent engagment.

I have a great idea- make your wedding this summer so we can make it a trifecta- 3 weddings in a summer! Dear Lord, I don't think my liver will be able to handle it...but just think of all the Reno moments that could come out of such events...assuming that I'll be invited...

Once I find that girl with quadruple amelia (the medical term for no arms or legs) who can't speak, hear, or see- I'll be set

Until next time- stay classy

Reno

Having Slept On It (USC Game Final Thoughts)

2005-10-16T11:11:00.000-05:00

I know watching highlight after highlight of, well I'm just going to say it, the Game of the Century is not going to change the outcome, nor will it make me feel better, but I do. I still keep watching any chance I can get of the USC/ND instant classic. It is absolute torture to see Matt Leinart roll, actually be pushed, into the endzone, and yet I still watch it. This is volunatry pain I am inflicting upon myself and I would not do it for many thing, but Notre Dame football is without a doubt one of those things I'd do irrational things for. Regardless the following are some thoughts of the game after a terrible night of sleep.

The Call
Is it just me or is the call to sneak it in with :07 on the clock a little overblown? Oh, Pete Carroll is soooooooo gutsy for making that call. Or was it Leinart who called that? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? What sackless, pussy (forgive my language) would not make that call? You are playing the most memorable game in recent memory, one that will be etched in the history books of a storied rivalry, and you are thinking about going into overtime. Get the hell out of here. If that was Brady Quinn going to the sideline and asking Coach Weis what to do, I would garauntee you that Coach Weis does one of two things:

1. Laugh at Quinn and send him back to the field hoping Brady did not need Coach to spell it out for him.
2. Look at Quinn in the eye and take him out for even thinking about not going for the win.

Bottomline, I do not know how you can even consider a tie. You can't gain a half yard, you don't deserve to win. You're not man enough to play for the game, you don't deserve to win. Had USC not made it in, and eventually lost the game on that call, I assure you I would not call them idiots for making that call. The only idiots would be the people who would have criticized them for not going for the tie. You don't play to tie. You play to win. That call is overhyped (about the only thing about the game that was). Anybody with enough sense and appreciation for the game of football does not think twice. With inches on the line, you don't ever, EVER take the easy road and spike for a field goal, that's insane.

My Heisman Vote
Are we still going to talk about this? Without Reggie Bush, the longest current win streak in the NCAA ends in South Bend, Indiana. Heck, without Reggie Bush, we do not talk about Game of the Century. I can honest to goodness tell you that game is not close if it was not for Reggie Bush. So to the Heisman voters out there, stop, just stop with your analysis and number crunching. There is no doubt who the best player in NCAA football is, so enough talk and be prepared to give Reggie Bush the damn trophy.

That is a Rule?
I did not know that an offensive player cannot aid a fellow teammate, i.e. pushing your teammate to advance their progress. That is a rule?!? I know what you're thinking, Reggie Bush should be penalized and we win the game, right? Actually, we lost the game, and all controversy aside, I accept that. My thinking here, if you are going to have something in the rulebook, call it. If you never call it, take it out the damn rulebook so people in denial can move on with their lives. For the record, no way Matt gets into the endzone without Reggie pushing him in.

Shut Up
Word to the wise, don't call a team overrated unless you beat them. Because losing to an "overrated" team does not help your cause at all. I know y'all were heartbroken, and I was not there to see USC get in the band's way for the traditional numbers postgame. But seriously, think about what you're saying before you just blurt it out. We lost to #1 team in the nation, you going to demean the significance of the loss by dropping that team down a notch? Shut up.

Shut Up, The Sequel
They are just green jerseys people! To everybody, who's intial reaction to seeing the green jerseys was, "Oh, [expletive], we're going to lose!": shut the hell up. The BC game green jerseys was a tactless use of the notorious green jerseys, not to mention a tacky bright green. USC/ND '05 was the perfect game to use the green jerseys. Besides, that was not for the fans. That was for the players, yes, a gift for the players from the Coach Weis. He was pleased with the effort his players gave him and his coaching staff in preperation for this monumental game, and he thought it would be an excellent gesture on his part to reward his players with those beautiful green jerseys (does anybody no where I can purchase one?). I cannot imagine the look on the players faces when they saw those green jerseys, but I asure you when Coach Weis saw their faces, he knew that he did the right thing. He's a Domer too, people, I think he knows what it means, too. Shut up.

My Underrated Favorite Moment
Zibby's punt return. Yeah, that was fantastic, but did anyone see the block Anastasio had in the return? G'Lord, that was nasty, Coach Weis nasty, and evertime I see the highlight of Zibby's return I always make sure I catch that wonderful block by Anastasio. There were bigger hits in the game, but that was my favorite.

Some people just don't understand...

2005-10-16T00:05:00.000-05:00

So I think T$ and Souky summed up the feelings on the game pretty well. I want to report on a different phenomenon concerning this game and all of college football

Some people just don't understand...

What do I mean by this? Put simply- if you didn't go to a school with at least a half-way decent D-1A football program- you don't understand, can't understand, never have, and never will. This is not "I went to Notre Dame" snobbery or superiority at work- it's the plain and simple truth. I refuse to believe that I am better than anyone else due to what it says on my diploma but here's the reality- if you went to a college without a big time football program- you can never understand...

Case in point. After today's game I came back home, talked to a few people, and made plans to go out to see a movie. Before I left, one of my classmates called me up to let me know that they were headed to the Muddy Duck- a bar within spitting distance of my apartment. I said I would go and join in a beer before I went to the movies. (BTW- wait for DVD on Two for the Money- it's entertaining in that "I don't have to use any brain cells way" but its a little mind numbing and boring. It's like The Recruit except for sports betting.)

So I head to the bar and hang with these 5 guys from my class. I know all but one of them and I start talking to him. I talk ND football to the whole group since that game was on everyone's must see list today. After about 2 minutes this dude, who I still didn't know his name, said to me "I know who you are. We were talking about you today at rugby practice. Everyone was saying- Man, I hope Notre Dame doesn't win otherwise we are going to have to hear about it from Steve (yes, Steve) for all of next week"

This guy didn't know me from a hole in the wall but he could tell that I was being reffered to in my passion for all things ND. I guess I've become pretty identified with my alma mater while here in medical school. I'm not saying this is a bad thing- I like it. I guess I've been vocal about a few things- singning the fight song on Monday mornings after a win- getting some Michigan people to agree to a bet on the game (they had to wear ND shirts for the day), dropping little cheers into my scribe notes for the class, etc. I guess people are getting annoyed...and you know what...I don't care.

I guess it's prudent to point out that most of my class in medical school (PCOM) come from either one of two places: either Penn State or smaller colleges in PA without big time sports programs. So when I try to talk to people about college football I see this glazed look in their eyes that says "Oh wow...college football...yawn" Even the Penn Staters aren't as "rah rah" as I am. I guess talking college football isn't as high on the list of priorities as it is at ND. Maybe you can chalk it up to the recent and almost complete turnaround (Michigan added that "almost" in there today) but even when ND was having bad seasons, football was always on the tip of everyone's tongue.

This is why some people just don't understand. They don't understand what it's like to live and die by your team. To spend an entire weekend screaming yourself hoarse in the hope that if you get one more decibel out of your voice, that it could make the difference between winning or losing a game. To be so engrained in the traditions that you shed a tear when it all ended senior year. To spend hours and hours dissecting your team and every opponent's strengths and weaknesses, while knowing that it is probably useless because it can all go out the window on any given Saturday. To wake up on a beautiful Saturday morning and know of all the exictement, tradition, and events that await you and 85,000 of your closest friends. It's not just a game...this is football. So yes, it is a big deal to me, and if you went to a school with a big D-1 program, you would know exactly what I was talking about.

So I apologize to anyone out there who might be annoyed at all the ND football talk that comes spewing from my mouth on a regular basis. I apologize if it seems like I'm bragging by dropping the name "Notre Dame" a lot. I don't do this to brag- I do this because it is a part of who I am and what I love. If you can't understand that then I apologize for that too...just don't count it against me. And if you ever want to get a glimpse into this passion of mine- just ask, or better yet, come out for a game. It won't take long for you to figure out why I am so passionate about everything that is Notre Dame.

And no matter what...We are ND

Lata

Reno

Gangbang!...Sorry, couldn't resist...

Rollercoaster of emotions

2005-10-15T19:42:00.000-05:00

That was one of the best games I have seen in my life.

This is one of the worst feelings I have ever felt in my life.

I Almost Cried

2005-10-15T19:20:00.000-05:00

Fourth and eight. One minute, forty-four seconds left in the game. My eyes were watered. I was about to become an emotional wreck whichever way the ball went. One dropped ball, or heroic stop and I will have to look for a new apartment because there is no way I'm going to compose myself enough to have the neighbors put up with the constant shouting and hollering during Saturdays. One more play. One more stop and I become a crying wreck.

I have never anticipated a football game in all my life the way I did this weekend. Emotionally exhausted does not begin to express the amount of feeling I have felt over the past four and a half hours. The nervousness I felt was unbelievable in the waning hours before kickoff. This was what I was waiting for, our barometer, our measuring stick. The ultimate litmus test for what the Charlie Weis era in Notre Dame football will be. There were questions of this being overhyped. Doubt that many expressed in the Irish's ability to stop, yet alone slow down, a Trojan juggernaught. I was worried, tense. Unsure what I was going to expect, but I had hope. Hope I could have never imagine four months ago. We had a chance, I just knew we did.

For four and a half quarters and it was an unbelievable struggle. There were highs, there were lows, and there was a whole lot of that damn Reggie Bush. This was not overhyped, this lived up to the expectations, and yet the whole time I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. I was waiting to be disappointed like this program has often left me in big moments like this. I waited and waited, only to realize they were not going to. This is a different team. And there we were with a minute, forty-four left and one play that could possibly end this struggle, this game, and possibly years and years of frustration.

Then the Trojans made a play, an unbelievable play, and I sat on my couch covered in my ND blanket stunned. One inch short and that ball bounces off of Wooden. A single inch and South Bend, Indiana becomes the center of the college football universe once again. It was that close. Minutes later Matt Leinart rolls into the endzone breaking the collective hearts of the entire Notre Dame family.

I am now broken, but incredibly encouraged. This is not the same team that has disappointed me before. Coach Weis does not believe in moral victories and he does not believe it for his players. As well he shouldn't, but for the fans of a once dominant football program, maybe moral victories were made for this moment. I almost came to tears because the miraculous was about to occur. I almost came to tears because the heartbreak did. Maybe a tear is appropriate at this time, because now more than ever I am convinced, the promise of prominence is not far away.

Thank you Coach Weis and your wonderful staff for making me believe again. Thank you the Notre Dame football team for sacrificing your bodies and giving an incredible effort to make this Domer remember why it is that I'll never love a place as much as I love Notre Dame.

Go Irish

Ten Things to Look For ...

2005-10-14T20:14:00.000-05:00

1.) A loud stadium (finally) ...

2.) A team who won't fade in the second half ...

3.) Fasano, Fasano, and Fasano in the deep middle zone (past LB's and in front of Safeties) ...

4.) Weis making some quick pitches to the outside, knowing they likely won't work, to make the corners creep up so we can hit them deep ...

5.) At least 7 offensive packages with LOTS of shifting and motion (extra practice time allows this) ...

6.) A tough, emotional, confident team ...

7.) Great special teams play (one TD and one blocked FG) ...

8.) Lots of drunk crooked-hat alumni (like yours truly) hoarse after the game ...

9.) Juniper Runs, Dancing in Stonehenge, Bagpipers, Blue, Green, and Gold ...

10.) Those helmets raised towards the heavens ... no matter the outcome.

I believe in the Irish ... I believe that they will win. If not tomorrow, then very soon ... and VERY often ... in the near future.

And here it is again...anything is possible when He's on your side...

2005-10-14T14:39:00.000-05:00

'Twas the night before Christmas

2005-10-14T10:45:00.000-05:00

For the last two weeks, my mind has been kind of a blur. You can ask me what I have been doing, and I've been responding one of three ways: I'm reading about the game, I'm talking about the game, or I'm thinking about the game.

In some ways, I feel Notre Dame doesn't have a chance this weekend. There's no way our sorry excuse for a secondary can stop Matt "Greek God" Leinhart. There's no way our defense can contain USC's running game. Talk all you want about waking up the echoes - I keep asking myself, "Why do I believe?"

Let's not get carried away here. Remember, the last time Notre Dame and USC played each other, and were both ranked in the top 10, was the first of three 31-point debacles. And remember, that game was supposed to be a "statement" game, too. (In many ways, it was. That game marked the full-fledged start of USC's return to dominance. And a California high school running back watching that game, who was torn between USC and Notre Dame, ended up choosing the team that won that day. Reggie Bush hasn't looked back since.) That's why, at the beginning of the season, Oct. 15 had an "L" chisled next to it.

But something funny happened. The Irish started winning. They obliterated Pitt. They beat Michigan in the Big House. They destroyed a former coach and dissected an in-state rival. Even in their lone loss, the Irish rallied from a three-touchdown deficit to tie the game, when they probably would have folded a year ago.

All of a sudden, USC started to look vulnerable. Beatable. And not because of how they played, but because of how the Irish played. All of a sudden, campus took on an extra buzz. Alumni showed up to campus a week early. Students taped pictures of USC players to the sidewalk. Notre Dame players dropped lines like, "It's going to be great to celebrate when we win." And you remember that Notre Dame Stadium does funny things to No. 1-ranked teams.

Why do I believe? Why not?

Sure, I don't think Notre Dame will win. But when I was nine years old, I didn't think I would get a Nintendo either. Yes, I had asked my parents for one, but I wasn't expecting it to happen. But, like all nine-year-olds the month before Christmas, it was a little bit harder to go to sleep at night as Dec. 25 drew closer. And when Christmas morning came, and I tore down the steps and found my Nintendo, I just intrisically knew that I was going to get what I wanted.

That's how I feel this week. It's the day before Christmas, and I want tomorrow to come. Because I can't wait to see what's under the tree.

Fun fact

2005-10-14T10:25:00.000-05:00

On October 15, 2005, just a few months after the Dome had been regilded, the University of Southern California comes into Notre Dame Stadium as the nation's top-ranked team. In USC's previous three games against Notre Dame, the Trojans had outscored the Irish by a combined total of 93 points. It will be Charlie Weis' first game against a top-ranked team as the Notre Dame coach.

On October 15, 1988, just a few months after the Dome had been regilded, the University of Miami came into Notre Dame Stadium as the nation's top-ranked team. In Miami's previous three games against Notre Dame, the Hurricanes had outscored the Irish by a combined total of 93 points. It was Lou Holtz's first game against a top-ranked team as the Notre Dame coach.

Notre Dame beat Miami, 31-30.

Believe Me, I Know

2005-10-13T18:53:00.000-05:00

Line six of this week's edition of ESPN's College Pick'em has me perplexed. Actually, it is best described as me having to endure the eternal battle between the mind and the heart. It caught me by surprise, but apparently the number one ranked, defending champion Trojans from USuCk are visiting the number nine Fighting Irish of the University of College Football (thank you Tony Kornheiser). I've been reading aritcles all week from these so called experts. Experts that predicted an unranked 1-4 Notre Dame team at the beginning of the season. Experts that now believe we are a major roadblock for Pete "Poodle" Carroll and his dynastic UCS squad's attempt at an unprecedented three-peat. I've read story after story (my favorite are the parallels of the '88 Miami game and this weeks game), and then I do something that will ultimately do me harm...

I started to believe.

Believe that despite Matt Lache, excuse me, that despite Matt Leinart's back-to-back Heisman campaign, Brady Quinn would be better. Believe that despite Reggie Bush's G.O.A.T. campaign, Shark would be just as spectacular. And despite Pete Carroll's magical NFL amnesia campaign, Charlie will show why New England didn't miss its Poodle. Believe that we, yes we, the Fighting-effing-Irish of Notre Dame can make a stand in the House that Rockne Built and pull off what was once believed the impossible. And there is my problem, because I may believe that we can win, but I know better than that.

I know that our pass defense is ranked 114th against the pass and that their pass offense is ranked 4th. I know that Reggie Bush is damn near impossible to contain, and I know that Mr. Leinart can pick apart any defense given enough time, which is asured because of that titanium wall they call an offensive line. I know that the Trojans have been hearing a lot of talk about how this team they have man-handled by 31 points for the past three years suddenly has a chance to end their 27 game win streak. I know that Pete Carroll may have a little animosity towards Charlie Weis for the fact that the very mention of Charlie brings up Pete's stints at New York and New England (lets just say I'd love it if Charlie shakes Pete's hand with his three Super Bowl rings from the Pats). I know that the Trojans are ready, eager even, to dispel talks of this so-called challenge the Irish will put up. But...

But...

I know that the last time a number one ranked team that beat us by a combined total of 93 points over three consecutive games and played a head coach for the first time at South Bend after the dome was reguiled over the summer did not come out the number ranked team. I know that the mighty Trojans have been sloppy during the first halves of their past three games, which could possibly be enough of a window to mount a substantial lead that even our defense (or more likely our best defense being our excellent offense) could not blow. I know that Charlie and that wonderful, big brain of his had an extra week to prepare a game plan we all hope will expose the "genius" of Pete Carroll's defense. I know this game is in South Bend with a hungry crowd that needs only this weekend for validation for something they've been waiting for for the better part of a decade. I know that Lou is not a crazy old man when he says that crazy things happen in the Rockne's House.

Great. Just great, I've wasted a great number of hours in front of a computer reading article after article only to come to the conclusion that I don't know what I know about this weekend's game. But wait, there's just this one thing....

If we were to win, if we were to do the miraculous and come away with a victory that would have Lou Holtz beating Mark May with the jeweled shillelagh, then what? We'd win out, right? C'mon, outside of Tennesse we're good to go, and not to shock anyone but the Vols aren't that strong. We're talking 10-1 record, top 5 poll ranking? What? Higher? Wouldn't we stir up the BCS boat if we won? Not only would we have dropped the front runner, but we added ourselves into the mix that Texas and Va Tech are currently in. I mean, if we win don't we become contenders for the...wait for it...wait for it...national championship? Read this paragraph again, then read it again. Doesn't that sound a little off? Nice, I know, but doesn't it sound off? I think so. After all that happned last year that would be an incredible story, maybe too incredible. I can believe in mystique and the lore of Notre Dame. I can always believe in the Irish. But for a first year coach to inherit a broken team and mold it into a national championship machine over the course of a single year...

My heart tells me it can happen, it has to happen. My mind, though, says otherwise. Regardless, this is still in front of me:

STATUS	AWAY	CONFIDENCE			HOME
3:30 PM NBC	#1 USC (5-0)				#9 Notre Dame (4-1)

So what do you think? Despite all I know and all I think I know, despite what I believe in and what I want to believe...

I got 42-31 Bad Guys. Until the clock hits triple zeroes, though, that won't stop me from believing...

Go Irish, Beat Trojans!