Weis, Brey and the Next Bucket List
posted by Scott Engler
(The Rock Report) - Charlie will be back in '09 and he's going to have the most talented team to walk through a Notre Dame tunnel since 1993. But will they be better? If Charlie makes the right hires, I believe we'll be a BCS team the next two years.
That's a big if, but Mike Brey was in a similar situation just a few years ago. Brey's teams had consistently underperformed, missed the NCAA tournament three straight times and were considered soft.
Our offense was three point gimmicky and easily defended.
In my opinion two things were happening. The first was that Notre Dame lost assistant coach Anthony Soloman who was the catalyst that made players tough and pushed them to perform. Brey has always been known as a great guy to get a beer with, but he needed a ying to his yang (or is that the other way around?) When he lost Solomon, Lewis Preston for whatever reason, didn't work.
But there was a second reason Brey was struggling, his teams were unbalanced after some difficult recruiting years. The Big East almost dissolution killed his recruiting classes and his only full recruiting class is this year's senior class. I had counseled waiting to judge Brey until this (not like I'm usually right) year's senior class at least became Juniors. Most players need time to develop and if you look at Luke Zeller, he's a completely different player this year than when he arrived.
Brey had two issues to solve, one was talent and the other was coaching. And there were many ardent basketball fans calling for Brey's mock turtleneck at the time. But with maturity of his good classes and two successive good hires in Cross and Soloman again, Notre Dame is a top 10 team.
Will that happen for Notre Dame football? It's an unknown, but not too far off where we were with Notre Dame basketball. There were a lot of fans who were "sure" Brey couldn't get it done. Now a Harangody changes the equation on his own, but what I've seen is the whole team improving.
Charlie has some serious decisions to make about coaches and he has to get these right. Starting on the offensive line. Whatever the dynamic is, it hasn't worked and isn't working. Latina needs to be replaced by someone who can coach kids to be aggressive. Obviously our offensive coordinator position has been a failure and it's time for Charlie to bring in a true OC and quarterback's coach. Powlus is a great Notre Dame guy, but he doesn't have the experience for the job. On defense we need defensive line coach that can light a fire under these kids and get them upfield. Finally, we need a Strength and Conditioning coach who increases strength and conditioning. Our players look woefully slow, weak and generally out of shape compared to their peers. Something's obviously not working here this needs to be addressed immediately. The players deserve better. Perhaps we need a strength and conditioning coach who is both fast and strong himself? I await the rotten tomatoes.
Like Brey, Charlie has a development problem, but also a very big coaching problem to solve. The maturity problem will take care of itself next year. The talent at Notre Dame is now top 5.
Our offensive line will be composed of all seniors next year, almost all of whom were good recruits, though Young was the lone top tier recruit. Their progress will depend on their S&C and the new offensive line coach.
The Tight End position, in direct opposition to this year, will be loaded with talent with Ragone, Yeatman, Fauria and Rudolph in 2009. That's obviously a major upgrade.
Our Wide Receiver positing is as strong as any in the country. Floyd, Tate, Kamara, Walker and Evans will be the best overall group Notre Dame has ever had.
Clausen, Sharpley, Crist and Montana give a highly rated and experienced quarterback position.
Finally, Cierre Wood adds the "Wow" factor to a good stable of running backs.
That's an offense that should be able to put points up on any team in the country.
The defensive line is our biggest worry, but Ian Williams, Darius Fleming and Ethan Johnson give the Irish some talented building blocks to mesh with Nwankwo, Wade and co. Tyler Stockton is a player who could have an immediate impact under a new coach. Jappy Oliver has been okay, but just okay. Okay isn't good enough.
Brian Smith will be back at linebacker with a lot of experience and Steven Filer, but Notre Dame
could really use a talent infusion from top targets Manti T'eo and Jelani Jenkins.
With Darrin Walls returning in the secondary, Notre Dame will be deep and talented. Walls was the best player on defense in 2007 and he'll be joining a secondary that will have experience and talent with McCarthy, Smith, Blanton, Gray and McNeil among others.
Suddenly our kicking situation doesn't look that bad.
Despite a dismal 2008 (after a promising start) the Irish have the pieces in place for a two year run in 2009 and 2010. Right now, like Brey two years ago, we're missing the secret sauce, which is why keeping Charlie was a bit of a gamble. But if Notre Dame makes the right hires for strength and conditioning, the offensive line and defensive line, we could see across the board improvement that will allow our 5-star players to show their talent.
It's a big "if" still, but not one without precedent. This should be Charlie's last bucket list.
If you haven't seen Irish basketball this season, you should check them out.
That's a big if, but Mike Brey was in a similar situation just a few years ago. Brey's teams had consistently underperformed, missed the NCAA tournament three straight times and were considered soft.
Our offense was three point gimmicky and easily defended.
In my opinion two things were happening. The first was that Notre Dame lost assistant coach Anthony Soloman who was the catalyst that made players tough and pushed them to perform. Brey has always been known as a great guy to get a beer with, but he needed a ying to his yang (or is that the other way around?) When he lost Solomon, Lewis Preston for whatever reason, didn't work.
But there was a second reason Brey was struggling, his teams were unbalanced after some difficult recruiting years. The Big East almost dissolution killed his recruiting classes and his only full recruiting class is this year's senior class. I had counseled waiting to judge Brey until this (not like I'm usually right) year's senior class at least became Juniors. Most players need time to develop and if you look at Luke Zeller, he's a completely different player this year than when he arrived.
Brey had two issues to solve, one was talent and the other was coaching. And there were many ardent basketball fans calling for Brey's mock turtleneck at the time. But with maturity of his good classes and two successive good hires in Cross and Soloman again, Notre Dame is a top 10 team.
Will that happen for Notre Dame football? It's an unknown, but not too far off where we were with Notre Dame basketball. There were a lot of fans who were "sure" Brey couldn't get it done. Now a Harangody changes the equation on his own, but what I've seen is the whole team improving.
Charlie has some serious decisions to make about coaches and he has to get these right. Starting on the offensive line. Whatever the dynamic is, it hasn't worked and isn't working. Latina needs to be replaced by someone who can coach kids to be aggressive. Obviously our offensive coordinator position has been a failure and it's time for Charlie to bring in a true OC and quarterback's coach. Powlus is a great Notre Dame guy, but he doesn't have the experience for the job. On defense we need defensive line coach that can light a fire under these kids and get them upfield. Finally, we need a Strength and Conditioning coach who increases strength and conditioning. Our players look woefully slow, weak and generally out of shape compared to their peers. Something's obviously not working here this needs to be addressed immediately. The players deserve better. Perhaps we need a strength and conditioning coach who is both fast and strong himself? I await the rotten tomatoes.
Like Brey, Charlie has a development problem, but also a very big coaching problem to solve. The maturity problem will take care of itself next year. The talent at Notre Dame is now top 5.
Our offensive line will be composed of all seniors next year, almost all of whom were good recruits, though Young was the lone top tier recruit. Their progress will depend on their S&C and the new offensive line coach.
The Tight End position, in direct opposition to this year, will be loaded with talent with Ragone, Yeatman, Fauria and Rudolph in 2009. That's obviously a major upgrade.
Our Wide Receiver positing is as strong as any in the country. Floyd, Tate, Kamara, Walker and Evans will be the best overall group Notre Dame has ever had.
Clausen, Sharpley, Crist and Montana give a highly rated and experienced quarterback position.
Finally, Cierre Wood adds the "Wow" factor to a good stable of running backs.
That's an offense that should be able to put points up on any team in the country.
The defensive line is our biggest worry, but Ian Williams, Darius Fleming and Ethan Johnson give the Irish some talented building blocks to mesh with Nwankwo, Wade and co. Tyler Stockton is a player who could have an immediate impact under a new coach. Jappy Oliver has been okay, but just okay. Okay isn't good enough.
Brian Smith will be back at linebacker with a lot of experience and Steven Filer, but Notre Dame
could really use a talent infusion from top targets Manti T'eo and Jelani Jenkins.
With Darrin Walls returning in the secondary, Notre Dame will be deep and talented. Walls was the best player on defense in 2007 and he'll be joining a secondary that will have experience and talent with McCarthy, Smith, Blanton, Gray and McNeil among others.
Suddenly our kicking situation doesn't look that bad.
Despite a dismal 2008 (after a promising start) the Irish have the pieces in place for a two year run in 2009 and 2010. Right now, like Brey two years ago, we're missing the secret sauce, which is why keeping Charlie was a bit of a gamble. But if Notre Dame makes the right hires for strength and conditioning, the offensive line and defensive line, we could see across the board improvement that will allow our 5-star players to show their talent.
It's a big "if" still, but not one without precedent. This should be Charlie's last bucket list.
If you haven't seen Irish basketball this season, you should check them out.
93 Comments:
rock, easy on the "top 5" talent stuff and quit hoggin the kool aid
isn't there a risk associated with bringing in a new position coach (esp. the oline) since the players will be back at square one with respect to learning what that coach wants them to learn and practice?
I don't like remembering 2007 anymore than the next guy, but Walls wasn't nearly as outstanding as Laws was.
...nice article...couldn't agree more...except...Cierre Wood...I've seen him play twice this year...don't be surprised if he's more of the same that we have now...
I think Sharpley will be gone next year, right?
People at BC are laughing like hell with the Weis announcement.Perfect timing. The contract with BC will run out just about the time ND hires a real coach.
I still can't figure out how ND's business school could be rated so high and yet have a 3rd rate coach pimp slap them so badly on a contract.
Damn that sounds good, you almost had me looking forward to next year, Rock, it sounds so reasonable and logical! Then I remembered - this is a team that defies logic. Their performance this season cannot be explained. So I truly believe anything could happen next year, although if CW doesn't make big changes, I expect more of what we've seen.
A BCS bowl next year?
BAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAHHAAHAH!!!!
You are beyond delusional.
I don't care if Joe Moore swoops down from heaven and coaches the offensive line beginning today. There are too many years of poor development to reverse in a span of approximately nine months.
Most talent since 1993?
ND may have gotten a lot of "raw" talent coming out of high school, but these coaches have done the players a great disservice by not developing them for the past three years.
ND has a lot of recruiting "5 star" and "4 star" players on the roster, but these guys are far from good players anymore. They are essentially pretty much the same players as they were coming out of high school, with maybe a little benefit of ND's suspect S&C program.
It doesn't matter which elite kids recruited these kids coming out of high school, few of them could now transfer to those same schools and start.
Its sad for said players, but their opportunity for quality college coaching has either passed them by to the point of no repair (current Sr and Jr class) becoming close to being passed by (current Soph class) or still has a chance to be well coached if a replacement is made (freshman class).
ND has shown marginal improvement from 2007 to 2008, and the majority of the improvement is more a reflection of a much easier schedule (no PSU, no GT, Mich not good this yr, etc) than their actual improvement.
Who doubts this team would not have gone 3-9 if we replaced 2007 Michigan with 2008 Michigan, 2007 GT with 2008 SDSU, and 2007 PSU with 2008 Washington?
Switch those teams around and you have another 3-9 record.
ND is essentially wasting a year of these student athletes eligibility by keeping this woefully incompetent staff on board.
They are certainly not acting is the "student athletes best interest" as Swarbrick so proudly likes to exclaim.
Agreed. As ND fans there is nothing we can do now but wait til next year and see what happens.
Couldnt agree more with everything that was laid out above. I was one of those people who spent three of my four years at ND enduring Mike Brey's soft teams who played little defense and were completely three point shot-happy. They missed the NCAA tourney consecutively and I wanted a change. The caveat was if ND would improve the basketball facilities ND could probably boost its recruiting profile(the JACC is a joke and the Pit??? are we serious???). Now, with a little patience (which we're all guilty of running low on) the hoops team is highly ranked and should be a top 4 team in the insanely tough Big East. But the changes laid out for CW as he approaches a do-or-die 5th season with the football team are 100% accurate...get new OL and DL coaches, get a real O-coordinator with a track record for creativity and success, JC regressed as a QB so Pawlus and Weis are probably failing as his mentors too. I cant help but think that this year's 6-6 record vs the 107th toughest schedule is just so abysmal that expectations for 9-10 wins in 09 might be out of reach. I'm of the opinion Tate is the only player that really improved from 07, and Floyd's presence enabled the 08 team to get 3 more victories vs relative cupcakes. That concerns the bejesus out of me. Sweeping changes are absolutely necessary to get this thing turned around fast, but there are no assurances that even if all of these changes are made that they'll all come together and work a minor miracle in year one. The problem is time is running out for CW to figure this all out. Expectations are appropriately high because of the talent he's supposedly assembling from the H.S. ranks. Look at that list of offensive weapons laid out above again...that's an amazing collection of H.S. talent. Now we need a teachers of fundamentals, a motivator and a game planner to get the most out of that group. It'll be an interesting offseason, that's for sure. Go Irish! Good luck in the Texas Bowl vs Rice or Houston...I cant believe I just said that...the Texas Bowl...Rice...Houston...ugh!
exactly right...the main thing to worry about is strength and conditioning. We need someone similar to Michigan's UFC trainer. I don't mind if they're light on the O-line, as long as they're strong and they still can punch someone in the mouth with a minute left in the 4th quarter.
Couldn't have said it better myself. For a long time I have thought we were in need of some expereince in the assistant department. Yes CW has a lot to figure out, but if he does it right ND will be successful. Powlus needs to go as well as Latina.
Powlus doesn't have the experience to be a Quarterbacks coach? Last I checked, wasn't he the starting Quarterback for his football team when he played, which happened to be Notre Dame? I also recall he was a pretty decent Quarterback, considering some if not most of the records that Quinn eclipsed belonged to Powlus.
If you don't think Powlus is a good enough coach, then where do you suggest he hoan his coaching skills? Pee Wee football?
Yes, there needs to be coaching changes in different areas, not Quarterbacks though. Just because Clausen throws interceptions or doesn't make the right decision at times doesn't mean that Powlus is not doing his job.
I started having flashbacks to the 05-06 basketball season when this year's football team failed to finish a majority of games
Also, outside of the USC blowout, ND was in every game in the 4th quarter. If the right pass or right move goes ND's way, ND could have been 11-1.
Great article Rock, but I fail to see much of a comparison b/t Weis and Brey. Granted, Brey's teams underacheived somewhat for a couple of years, and I do recall a number of people calling for Brey's job, but the b-ball team NEVER reached such duldrums that Weis has led us to. In fact, one of the years 04 I think, the b-ball team was right on the cusp of making the tournament but didnt. Point is, Brey's teams have ALWAYS been competitive and never so inept as this or last season. If John F'ing Latina still has a job in 09 then we might as well hire Clifford Jefferson to coach the secondary.
Call me crazy but Latina is not the problem with the offensive line. The fact is that CW changes the offensive blocking schemes within 20 hours of a game. While that may be necessary on Sundays, it may be the most important reason why our O-Line underperforms on Saturdays.
Whether or not CW will finally admit to himself that he needs some desperate help is the key to next season. If he can put his ego aside, he has all of the tools to be successful. If he can't (and we'll see that with respect to Powlus's future), then we're doomed.
Major differences between Brey and Weis. Brey has horrible facilities and the best players in the country do not want to attend Notre Dame. Weis on the other hand has great facilities and the best players in the country do want to attend Notre Dame.
Brey is not a great coach but he is solid. He has realistically done as good as can be expected. His NCAA teams have only lost one time to an underdog, Winthrop two years ago. He has overachieved with the talent he has.
Weis is a failure, we all know that. He underachieves with the talent he has. Keeping him around is a huge mistake. If Notre Dame's goal is to compete for a national championship it will never happen under Weis. If Notre Dame's goals are to go 9-3 every other year then Weis might be the man.
Bottom Line: The chances of Weis turning this around is very slim. When I say turning it around I'm talking about Notre Dame becoming a power again similar to the Holtz teams.
Plus consider this: Everyone that I know that hates Notre Dame wants Weis to remain our coach.
That says it all in a nutshell.
We also need someone who knows how to call plays... use our talents. For crying out loud Charlie has really sucked it up with the play calls... A 12 year old who plays Madden on his PS3 can call better plays... The talent is there, we just need to know how to use it!
Every year, the expectations are through the roof (from fans and writers)...BCS bowl, top 5 class, solid Running Backs. Those are just things we can hope will be the case. We expect all these wonderful name tags, but nothing has been delivered or closely resembles what you mentioned above. RB's are weak! O-line is weak! It's judgement time for this program under CW and it should be judgement time for our writers and their hypocrisy.
joe sophy said...I totally agree that the 2009 season has tons of promise, and maybe the repreive will prove to be a great decision by the athletic dept. The names that you rolled off were targets of the current top 10, so at least Weis can see/judge talent. The line, where do I begin, it needs an infusion of tough, and perhaps Robinson or Clelland prove to be real things! The comparison to Brey is fair, though the basketball team faces much more difficult recruiting hurdles, yet Brey has made those kids tough beyond my hopes. The days of glory may still happen under Charlie, and with all the nonsense spun by ESPN and other outlets, I figure that "playing by the books", has to have it's cycle. For now, we hope a nice win vs Rice, no transfers, another good class, and we all should admit, come September, all is forgiven. Go Irish!
It is depth that determines how next year will turn out, and ND is short in that catagory. 9 wins max more like 7 or 8.
Good article...I sure hope Charlie can turn things around. Howerver I think the big difference between the football and basketball situations is the level of expectations. Very few people expect a national championship from Brey. Even in a year where expectations are as high as they've been a long time, a final four run is hoped for, but not necessarily expected from most. I don't think Weis has that same leniency.
Yeah, top 5 my behind. Don't get too ahead of yourself. What they really need to figure out is the quarterback position; Clausen is way too inconsistent and easily rattled. You're right that Paulus lacks something, I don't think it's experience but overall judgement. He was the most overrated ND QB ever. Those people that say he broke statistics records fail to look at wins; that team only did well when he got hurt and Dick Vitale's son-in-law to be took over. BQ is another guy that lacked a big win against a great team or a bowl victory, BUT HE HAD GREAT STATS. I think too many people who follow this program have their head in the clouds.
"Most talented lineup since 1993"?!?
You're certifiably insane, and have suddenly turned into a Weis and athletic department apologist.
You know what lineup this is? The last one Weis will have before he's finally FIRED in 2009.
What website is this again?
Why shouldn't this be the most talented lineup since 1993? Four top-10 recruiting classes in a row shouldn't mean the team is talented?
The more important question is what's the reasonable expectation for this team and this talent. I believe it's BCS or bust, and if that expectation isn't met, it's time for a coach who will meet it.
Nice post. I agree with most of The Rock's points and don't think it is coming from the kool aid. If we can figure a way to get out of the quicksand (see locker room speech in The Replacements), which won't be easy, there is no reason not to expect great things. I just keep wondering what a difference a good o-line and d-line would make for our skill players.
Saw Boone Pickens on TV last night and when he was in college his dad was afraid he was going in the wrong direction. He said, "A fool with a plan can beat a genius with no plan." What is Charlie's plan? Throw is to the sideline on every pass play? Run a toss against USC on 2nd and 3? How about attacking the middle of the field next year with our wideouts genius.
Right on Mike Coffey. You hit it in the bulls eye.
This is not the NFL we do not need a different game plan every week. Find some sticking points and get as good as you can at those few plays and build around there. Come on man
Ron Powlus was a decent quarterback in college and did not succeed in the pros. Jimmy Clausen makes too many poor decisions, often getting sacked when he could easily have thrown the ball away. I don't know if Clausen's poor decision making is his own fault or a lack of coaching, but it happens so often that the coaches are clearly not getting the right points across to him. I never liked the hiring of Powlus and I like it even less after watching Clausen this year. Powlus might have some roll to play at Notre Dame, but quarterbacks coach should not be it.
After watching the offense implode over the last several games, it's hard to imagine that there are many players left on offense who are looking forward to playing on this team next year. Huge changes must be made to the coaching of the offense.
I still believe the defense is pretty good. They are just consistently placed in no-win situations by an offense that can't get a first down until the last play of the third quarter or can't score a touchdown in a four overtime game.
Guaranteed, improve the offense and you'll see how good the defense really is.
A lot of the team's problems start with the fact that Weis is insisting on starting all underclassmen on offense. Watching the team, you can see a rift clearly present between the players. Clausen does not appear to have the respect of his teammates, and he is way too arrogant. The fact is that Weis mishandled the quarterback situation last year. He should have started Sharpley, the QB who was Quinn's backup and in the system for 3 years. Every time Sharpley was put in the team responded. Clausen should have been redshirted last year, especially with his medical problems. He also needed time to learn the system. Now, you have a team that is divided and doesn't respect our QB. And, our QB is making bad decisions with the ball. I don't care how highly touted a player is out of Highschool, the player has to earn his role on the team and earn the respect of his teammates. A player should not be promised a role on the team. When Weis came, he always said the best player gets to play. It seems he has forgotten that simply because he got a hot recruit. Anyone who throws the number of picks Clausen has in the past several games should be benched. The reason we can't run the ball is becuase opposing teams are loading the box because they don't respect Clausen's passing ability.
Dude!
As I've reiterated, over and over-the FATMAN can't coach-he can't select a proper staff,he can't develop talent and he can't motivate young players.
As a subway alumnus (Brooklyn Jewish division)I became passionate about Irish football after the arrival of Ara when he took his inherited,poorly utilized talent and made them believers-and winners.
I can only hope that one more year under the Weis delusion doesn't doom the program permanently.
As a resident of Paris I pass by the "other" Notre Dame daily and when I look up I don't see Charles Laughton (Quasimodo) but the FATMAN in a gold-painted helmet and monk's robe ringing the bells and praying for divine, not Devine, intervention.
Passionately peeved in Paris
I have no reason to believe that Weis will ever be ahead of the curve as a coach. There will be everchanging issues as there is for every team and his four years clearly demonstrate his inability to anticipate them and address in a timely manner.
Now he has the AD telling him what he must to do to fix the obvious problems he has had for years.
Not very encouraging.
Your analysis appears right on, I have one question, why has the offensive line been so terrible? Is it just coaching and S&C? I hope so, because if it's because these players just aren't any good its going to ruin next season. I think your point is well made regarding the TE upgrade with 4 healthy big boys. I like the concept of Rudolph's speed against linebackers, but man, he couldn't block with a damn this year. Too much for a true freshman to handle when combined with the rest of line which couldn't consistently stop 3 rushers.
Well written. The key to everything is the O Line. We need a solid O Line coach, who is oriented around a strong running game. We have the strength and size. Now we need the technique and skill! Sam Young has been atrocious. The guy has size, but cant block to save his life. Dive blocking..run blocking...all weak. We need to put back the explosion that used to be there. To drive defensive linemen back to the friggin goal posts. Anyone know who would be an O Line Coach who can bring that with him?
cant wait to see the recieving core next year. that might be the most competitive position on the team. for the rock and the rest of the NDNation, who do u see taken over grimes spot between walker, evans and kamara and who gets the fourth spot? btw the way, for that guy who said cierre wood is not good, im pretty sure 15.9 yards per carry against a higher level of competioin (his team moved up a section) is pretty damn good
Correct me if i'm wrong, but aren't all of these players 18-24 and a majority of them have been playing football for 8+ years. These kids are getting to go to school for free, so at what point does responsibility shift from the coaches to the players? People on here talk about the players like they don't have a mind of their own and that theyre in grade school just learning how to play the sport...At some point it has to be the players that stand up and say this sh*t is over and i dont need a player to do it in the press. that is stuff that needs to happen in the locker room.
Kevin
Hey Rock I got your back u are right on the money! GO IRISH!!!
What exactly has the basketball team accomplished? Last I checked, it's still pretty early in the season, and the Irish have not won as much as a sausage in any Big East or NCAA tournament that I can remember. This is a pretty weak analogy.
I'm not sure what to think. People seem to like to blame Mendoza, but there are certainly some players that have gained weight, strength, and speed. Think of how much David Bruton has grown.
The team certainly looks slow and weak, but maybe the players just didn't have much potential to begin with.
The coaching staff did develop players at one point, so why can't they now?
Excellent article.....MUST clean out the inept asst coaches. Even if you are an average coach, your assistants will make you great. P.S. to Angelo A. Yes, definitely, Pawlus should go back trying to coach in PeeWee football. GO IRISH!!
domer54
I am sick of all of your whinning Notre Dame fans. I am a fan and I love everything that they stand for. Win or lose I will stand in the stands and cheer the boys on, amid all of you sho sit there and think you are at a gold outing. If you are not cheering the team on the whole time give your tickets away to the fan who actually cares about every play and will cheer the boys on at every turn and will tell them that they are great if they hustle and try. If you keep posting how much the team is not to your liking, then root for USC, Michigan, or any other team you like. I am frustrated about things, but I will not just put everything about the program down and cry everytime the final score is not what you want it to be.
Slate says Charlie Weis is worst coach in the Universe:
http://www.slate.com/id/2205973/
BCS?
Can we please stay over .500 first by the end of this season?
Can we please develop an offense that is not completely horrific without Mike Floyd?
I hate to say it, but when Floyd was injured, we reverted to the same wretched team as last year, but vs. an easier schedule. Sadly, next year's schedule is so absurd i am ashamed we are playing it.
7 home games? Only 4 road games? 1 neutral game? vs some of the most wretched teams around?
I am reminded of something Raeshon McNeil said earlier in the season after we beat the worst Michigan team in 40 years to go 2-0....
"Sooner or later," cornerback Raeshon McNeil said, "everyone's going to have to start giving us some respect."
if only he'd known we were going 4-6 after that....and that Joe McKnight would make him look like a complete fool in the Coliseum, twisting him like a pretzel.
- let us work on getting ranked first. then we'll try for some respect, then maybe the BCS, then maybe a competitive schedule.
because frankly, against the schedule we play next year, even if we win 10 games out of 12, we still wouldn't belong in the BCS.
Does anyone honestly think that this team, with just a couple weeks of bowl practice, two weeks of spring ball, and then 4 weeks of camp, is going to be on the level of Florida and USC?
I seriously doubt it.
If anything happens to Floyd, we will be just as bad on offense next year.
BCS?
Let's work on getting into the Top 25 and playing consistent football against an absurdly weak schedule, then maybe we can talk respect and the BCS...for 2010.
Same old story. All of these problems have been pretty obvious for quite a while this year (and last year). I'm just fearful that it's painfully obvious to everyone watching ND football except for the people in charge of it.
We'll see. I pray, for the kids (and me), it works out - at least they're getting a great education for free...
Thanks, Rock.
Folks like others posting above almost had me leaving NDNation for good... I'm getting tired of folks who demand instant results from nothing.
Many people, in their haste to forget 2007 have also forgotten 2005 and 2006. Weis can get it done, can develop talent. He can't do it alone, of course.
I think the reason some people are so down on this team is because unlike last year, when we were blown out of every game, the only true blowout this year was USC. The Irish were at least somewhat compettetive in every other loss... that many close losses hurt.
This team will be better. Better enough for another year for Charlie? We'll see. But firing him this year would be completely premature... and likely to only land us in another coaching debacle, anyway.
back to fundamentals. enough said. Straight ahead run blocking, not this blocking in space stuff. keep the defense off the field and we'll be fine.
What's Norm Chao doing these days?
There's more doubt surrounding this program now than there was in Ty's last years. It's clear to me that for the last two seasons, Haywood, Latina, and Weis have been all over the place--not on the same page. The o line just doesn't know what to do from play to play...there is no consisyency...no follow through...no accountability. Charley thinks that the next play he calls will change the world. It hasn't and it won't next year. Like everyone on this board, I love ND with all my heart. I wanted Charlie to succeed, but I've lost hope for next year. With a different coach and staff, we could have been 11-1 this year. It ain't going to happen next year.
The offensive performance against SC was so poor that I don't think it can overstated. They did not have one successful play until almost the fourth quarter. They did not get one first down for almost three quarters- that is incredible. I do not think it was Clausen's fault.
In the second half of the year the opposition has been playing a "soft cover two". That is responsible for the dramatic drop off in offensive production. As Weiss says against this defense you run the ball and need to patient and take short throws and wait till someone gets open. The opposition was only rushing 3 or 4 people and getting all kinds of pressure on Clausen. Weiss said Clausen really did not have a chance. They can't run and when he goes back to pass he has little time and his three receivers are being covered by 7 or 8 people. His choice is to get sacked or just keep throwing the ball away. Joe Montana would fail in that environment.
Whoever they play in the bowl will do the same thing on defense.
The key to next year will clearly be - can the offensive line improve? Weiss prides himself on being brutally honest. The truth is there is no hope without dramatic improvement on the offensive line.
Anonymous said:
"Also, outside of the USC blowout, ND was in every game in the 4th quarter. If the right pass or right move goes ND's way, ND could have been 11-1."
Right...
Not so much with Michigan State.
Oh, and they were right there at the end with SDSU and Syracuse. We should be proud. Don't forget Navy - they had that comeback (remember the ND players just standing around on both onside kicks?). If the Navy receiver didn't trip that was a win for Navy.
Oh, and lowly Michigan outgained ND 388 - 260. Those 14 points they gave out on the first 2 turnovers made the difference.
Teaching people how to spell "Chow."
So to sum up this article...
If make sure that Weis doesn't touch anything and you replace all of the coaches and get better coaches... the team will be better.
I get that...
They should just start running the spread option offense so when Urban takes over in 2010 the young players will know what there doing. Because CW will be out after next year.
"This is not the NFL we do not need a different game plan every week. Find some sticking points and get as good as you can at those few plays and build around there. Come on man"
It's not Pee Wee football either. Stick to coaching your kids team.
The comment about Brey being a 'nice guy' needing an assistant coach to, in my words, 'kick some ass' resonates.
The D was much improved this year. Not just the 1 TD less per game average but they kept us in the games we won, played with spirit and borderline nastiness. Who really thinks, even from afar, that the defensive coaching hire from Georgia Tech doesn't kick ass during practices.
Perhaps we need some of that on the O side of the ball; i.e. a coach who not only kicks ass but instills nastiness, that instills never taking the foot off the pedal when we are ahead in games?
I know, I know....likely preaching to the choir.
Dan
How did this notion that Weis "cant develop players" get accepted?
What is the proof of this? The O-line still underperforming? They were significantly better than last year.
Please, somebody give evidence, because it's not hard to come up with evidence to refute this:
Ever heard of Golden Tate? Jimmy Clausen? Armando Allen? Pretty much anyone on defense? How do the 2008 versions compare to the 2007?
Of course, Clausen is only better because he's not being sacked on every play. Wait a sec, I thought the O-line was evidence of inability to develop?
Did you not notice Rudolf’s improvement over this year?
Compare David Bruton's performance in for Zbikowski two years ago to what he is today.
The problem is this:
When we go 8-4 next year against this schedule, or 9-3 if we are lucky, no one is going to fire Charlie. It will be more of the same. "Next Year will be the year" will be on everyone's lips. I do not think at 9-3 we will be in a BCS bowl, because this year showed that the pollsters know we watered down the schedule and will rank us low. So, I think we are stuck in this abyss, going just good enough to be sucessful but never good enough to compete for championships. So, yeah 8-4 is not too bad, but better than 6-6. So get used to it.
I grew up in Southern California, I went to ND High same one Christ attended. Back them the school had 936 students all young men. Had to wear wing tip, cuffed pants, hair could not touch top of the ear and side burns not below the middle of the ear. It was the 70's - hippies - long hair - free love and I am in a all boys ND prep-high school.
How did I survive? Because I and my school were didderent, special and most of all we had SPIRIT. Spirit was to me a never ending belief - Spirit to me in football was akin to unwavering faith in religion. Graduation came along, I went to UCLA and many of my friends went to USC - to me The University of Spoiled Children.
I did not have the grades to go to ND - - For the rest of my life I wished I worked harder and did.
I had a university monogram jacket
I wore in my senior year and I can not tell you how many fights I had wearing it around town - a lot of people hate ND and that makes it all the more special.
I am a life long ND fan, every football Saturday I hang my ND banner, buy nosh and watch the game. I remember going to the ND / USC game years ago chanting 8 is great...you see we beat them 8X in a row. No they beat us 8 times and will come to South Bend chanting 9 is fine. Nine is also NO in german. Its time we stop calling for the head of our head coach, its time to have spirit return not snowballs or flighty fans booing.
ND will be back and in my mind not to win games but to teach lessons to the young men out there watching and wanting to believe in ND like I have my whole life.
I was screaming for Weis's head last week - Now I feel silly for that, and I have fallen back on my memories and my passion for the school and my team.
Just remember sometimes you go from good to bad then to worse before you reach bottom, 07 was not bottom 08 was both for my team and for the type of fans that have been showing up at Rocknie, sad.
We are ND and that means something brothers and sisters let's stop forgetting that and get behind our
coach close family ranks and got out in 09 with some pay back!
Great article and well thought out. I have made Brey an example of patience 100 times and people still want to disagree. The only this this team needs, LEADERSHIP! They don't have any senior captains getting in your face, motivating you, getting people going. I think the team and coach is in place, but somewhere, someone has to step up.
While I like Reuben Mendoza personally, he looks just like out offensive linemen, big, slow, plodding. We need to find a way to get Robert Dos Remedios from the College of the Canyons out in California.
almost laughable bro. What you're saying is "if Weis brings guys in who can actually do HIS job" notre dame can be successful.
Weis doesnt have enough discipline to control himself what exactly did you expect to have him translate to the football field in the development of his recruits..and what exactly are the qualities of those players themselves? They might be rated high but you're not getting workers. You're getting showboats wanting their spotlight on national tv every week. They could swap out a jimmy clausen and a michael floyd and get some offensive linemen and actually be semi-successful.
Here's to another humorous season and a joke of a schedule. May they fare better than mediocre.
My thoughts on ND football:
1. If they're keeping Weis, they better eviscerate the coaching staff. The players flat out DO NOT GET BETTER under him. Clausen got worse as the year went on. The tackle Young has been horrible.
2. Why is Ron Powlus allowed near ANY quarterback? He was terrible; like no player I've ever seen in any sport, he got worse every year. By his senior year, he had lost his job.
3. HOWEVER, all this is window dressing. I don't care how good their talent and next recruiting class is, Weis just flat out can't coach. Period. He'll go 6-6 next year and be gone. Finally.
I completey disagree with most of the bloggers
Charlie is an outstanding coach and the team really goes all out for him.
When we got that first first down at the sc game..I was full of pride as I stood tall in the stands, I wore my irish pride sweatshirt.
People...this is going to be a great ride...with CW at the helm...I'm so excited for what the future holds...
GO IRISHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Rock, good story. However everytime you mention the future wide receivers you never mention the name( John Goodman ) it's almost as if you don't even know who this kid is. I'll tell you who he is. Does the name Antwain Randle El ring a bell.That's right! That's right. That's how good this kid is. Just ask Charlie Weis.
John Goodman is playing for the irish...I thought he was still doing Roseanne reruns?
Hell...maybe he can double as the coach when CW wants to play video games with jr.
:D
IRISH LADD
Charlie Weis will NEVER have a top five team, nor will ND ever be anything but a talented mid-major on his watch.
Rock has lost any credibility he had left with this post (not that he had much to lose with his last few season predictions).
I guarantee you that Charlie NEVER wins a game against USC, a team coached by the best former Patriot in college football . . . by a wide margin.
This program is toast until the University hires a coach with an innovative offensive mind. The fact that this administration kept Charlie Weis around for another season of worse than Willinghamness is unbelievable. Simply unbelievable. Oh well, at least I'll save a little money for the next few seasons. Like many other alumni, I'm done until they step up and become a major again.
BCS next year? Top five program? Give me a break.
Charlie Weis is worse than Willingham. Worse than Willingham.
"Plus consider this: Everyone that I know that hates Notre Dame wants Weis to remain our coach."
The best comment I have ever seen on NDNation. It truly says it all.
Thank you.
It reminds me of the way Democrats want Palin to be the Republican nominee in the future.
Here's the changes that must happen before 2009:
1) Get rid of Latina. Bring in an OLine coach who knows how to runblock and can anchor an offense around a strong running game.
2) Recruit the future O and D Lines now. We are loaded with skill position players. Now we need to load up some big and strong O & D Lineman. Take a cue from Tressel in how he builds around the trenches.
3) Hire a new Offensive Coordinator. Charlie has a hard time giving this up. But we need to quit the same playcalling from 05 that everyone figured out years ago. (If I see another tired, failed screen pass, Im gonna hurt someone.)
4) Hire a new Strength and Conditioning coach. These guys need intensity and need to play out the entire games.
5) Have Weis shut the hell up in the interviews and press conferences. Weis needs to stop describing everything to the Nth degree of detail, talking Xs and Os, providing and publicizing details that should never leave the locker room. Instead, take a lesson from Lou and the talk in generalities. Talk more about the competition than our team. Dont give the opposition even the littlest inkling of what we intend to do / work on. Keep the details with the team and no one else.
5) Pray
Sharpley has one more year left? Why the heck didn't we play him against BC?
Lack of toughness, poor coaching and overrated players. Are they the causes of the lack of success on the football field?
I think the whole problem begins with the entire program having the wrong attitude. Napoleon said "Don't fear the army of lions led by a sheep. Fear the army of sheep led by a lion."
We need a tough head coach,with plenty of experience. He has got to want the job and have proved he has earned it. ND does settle for someone. ND demands the best and gets it. Yeah, that's arrogant but all winners are arrogant. they beat the competition: what could be more arrogant.
Secondly, lets get some tough kids in. No thugs but tough kids.
Kids from towns like Gary, Indiana.
Thirdly, can this soft schedule: sell recruits on the idea we will play any body anywhere at any time. (USC won't come to ND anytime snow might be on the ground!)unless the Big East or the WAC whatever shape up, move them off the schedule. Navy stays but Army goes. BC stays until we have beaten them ten years in row. Lets start playing SEC teams.
Good point raised about the rift between teammates. Watching the post-Syracuse player press conference, I was struck at the obvious tension that existed between Claussen and the two senior captains. It is clear he doesn't have the respect of his teammates, but I continue to wonder why it is that everyone keeps blaming Weis solely for this phenomenon.
Perhaps coaching can ramp up a quarterback's skills, but I don't know how you can give someone the intangibles required to be a leader. Through the past few years, CW has shown no hesitation to bench those who are not performing, but when it comes to JC, he simply makes excuses, as if the fix is in.
In my estimation, EVERYONE should have to compete for a job, NO ONE should be viewed as irreplaceable. Hopefully, Dayne Crist will have just as viable a shot at the starting QB slot as JC. Maybe a little fire under the hind end will bring out some leadership and some passion.
I'm an alum and ND parent who has kids JC's age, so I'm reluctant to bring too much pressure to bear on a player, but there comes a point where some of the accountability needs to be borne by the players--particularly one seen out partying after the worst loss in ND history.
CW has tied his fate to JC, and has tied ND's fate with it. It's time for him to have an open mind going into 2008 and make JC earn it!
I guess I'm confused. Charlie is now out saying that success for Notre Dame football does not necessarily mean playing for the national championship every year, but it does mean being in the discussion for a Bowl Championship Series berth. Is this a new standard the AD has signed him up for? So for $4M a year over ten years, the expectation wasn't to be in the discussion for a BCS berth? I just don't understand all these do overs. It's almost like 2007 was Charlie's first year and no one every told him what the standards were. "What? I'm suppose to win here? Oh, well, why didn't you guys say so before? Now that I know that, I'll be right on it."
Charlie is no doubt the biggest fraud I have ever seen in sports, ever. He makes Don King look like the Pope. And you people just keep buying his act, unbelievable.
Tp paraphrase someone much smarter than me.
"If you keep doing the same thing over and over and the bad results don't change and you still keep doing the same thing then it is called insanity"
The O-Line and Offense of ND Football Coach Charlie Weis and the AD Football Administration in Jack Swarbrick have blown Notre Dame Footlball out of the big time.
By continuing the almost hopeless stewardship of Charlie Weis.
When he got hired it was not to be a great recruiter, it was to be a great Coach. If you are a great Coach the recruiting gets easier. Not the other way around.
Notre Dame has never had a hard time recruiting. Willingham and Davey were not top echelon Coaches. Holz,Devine and Ara were.
I think former ND Basketball Coach Digger Phelps could figure out what to do with this team in the Spring with the best Assistants in the country on Offense and win twice as many games next year as Weis did this year.
Is Weis afraid of bringing in people more capable than him because of his huge ego? This is college Footabll when at the beginning of the season our goal every year is to win the National Championship. In the Holtz years at least we were in the hunt many of the years. Now we are in the hunt for a winning season. Our Goals have sure changed and have been dumbed down.
Lets see how many first downs and successful plays the Offense gets in its Bowl Game.
No matter which Bowl we go to we will be playing against a BETTER COACHED TEAM. HAWAII,BYU or Rice all have a better Head Coach than we do.
Of course we have far better talent. Their is something sinful in wasting your talent. Weis needs to make the changes asap or leave and let someone in who can do the job. Our players and student athletes and the students whose familys pay $48,000 a year in tuition deserve better.
But if Weis can not win the Bowl Game in conviencing manner than why should we look for anything different next season.
Where is Joe Yonto, Brian Boulac, George Kelly,John Ray,Tom Pagna and of course Ara when we need them.
I feel bad for all the late great Coaches and their players that see what has happened under Coach Weis.
I have a suggestion for Coach Weis, Bring in former Notre Dame All American George Kunz and 2nd pick in the 1969 draft behind OJ(Killer) Simpson to Coach our kids on the O-Line how to play with passion and athletism and with a killer beat the hell out of your opponant fair and square.
He could show our kids 100 times more on the sled than they have learned in 4 years under Weis.
Plus he is a huge success in his business career in Las Vegas.
He would show our kids how to block and fire off the ball.
The Big Three are looking for a Bail OUt with out changing the way they do business. Congress is holding their feet to the fire. Show us the changes, we love Ford,GM and Chrysler , you are part of America. Show us how you are going to change the way you do business before we show you the money.
The same should be done with Coach Weis.
Anything else is Insanity
I no longer have faith in Charlie Weis and believe he's better suited wearing a plaid suit selling lemons on a used car lot. The bottom line is that ND underachieved for the second straight year and the blame should fall squarely on Weis's shoulders.
If I were the AD Weis would have to post a 9-3 record at minimum to keep his job. But if any of the "real fans" are expecting a miracle turnaround then your fools. Up to this point Charlie's been all talk and has failed to make good on any of his promises. There's just no cause for optimism in year 5.
Hey Rock,
The Irish will definetly be better next year, I think Jimmy will sit if he doesn't get off to a quick start, I also think we would have had more success if they could have learned how to play 60 minutes instead of 57. We had 3 games in the bag until the last drive.......
Wood plays on a below average team too, he will make an immediate impact on special teams. Charlie needs to drop a c-note of lbs. too....wipe your mouth Charlie.
The truth about Notre Dame is that the school has lost its identity under Monk Molloy and Charlie Weiss and is destined to fade into football oblivion and is destined to lose its ability to get recruits and garner tv time.
The truth is the school has gone egghead and egghead schools cannot field good football teams.
I graduated from the school in the late 60s and it is no longer the same school I attended--same building, same campus, same grotto, etc. but it no longer caters to the type of well-rounded Catholic student that made it great.
Until you realize that this is the problem, ND will continue to have crappier and crappier teams until somebody finally puts them where they belong--in division 2a.
I watched the Florida -Alabama game last night and two comments by the announcers stood out.
1. Alabama only has 9 senior scholarship players on its team
2. Florida had no seniors starting on their defense
I guess you can be a young team and be good.
I agree Rock. We are definately a BCS team next year. Everyone forgets, we don't really have to earn it on the field, just we travel so well and fan support is worth at least one win. So, where most of the legitimate teams would need to go 10-2 for the BCS, we will only have to go 9-3. The standard is definately lower for us. But with that said, I doubt we ever win a BCS bowl. It truly is a double-edged sword. But what the hey, we get all that $10M for ourselves, and that's all that matters in the end.
I am stunned by some of the comments and the sheer breadth of the vitriol coming off these boards. The fact of the matter is, the university made a decision to keep Charlie Weis for another year.
For those of a spiritual bent, which I would like to believe people who truly love Notre Dame and all it stands for would tend to be, the infamous serenity prayer asks God for the serenity to accept the things one cannot change, the courage to change the things one can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
Regardless of how angry you are or the direction in which you aim that anger, the fact remains that Charlie Weis is going to be ND's head football coach next year. Period. Either you accept that, and hope for the best even while bracing for the worst, or you continue to be bitter essentially so you can have the right to say "I told you so" if CW fails.
I did not vote for Barack Obama; emphatically so, in fact. Yet, he is our nation's president. For me to wish his failure simply because I really didn't want him as commander-in-chief is for me to wish failure on the United States. It is in the best interests of the country for Barack Obama to completely prove me wrong. This isn't to say that I will not be vigilant--I still have the same concerns after the election that I did before--but I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt...and watch him like a hawk.
For goodness sake's, people, give the man a break. You can huff and puff and spout all the nastiness you want, but you aren't going to get the man fired for 2009.
By the way, to those alum who are so convinced the university has lost its soul ever since Monk Malloy and/or John Jenkins have been at the helm, you all need to lighten up. For my two cents, it was an amazing place in the early 80's when I was a student, as it is right now, when my kids are.
Charlie Weis understands the university and what it stands for, which is so much more than a football program--no matter how much we scream at our televisions or how much we want to win. ND's central identity is not football; it is spirituality. He gets that. That, along with a lot of other things, have bought him one more year.
Ill-advised as it was, Notre Dame signed a 10-year contract. They made the most ethical decision they could make. I support it.
For those of you who want to call me Kool-Aide drinker or lambast me in any of the ways I have seen you do others who dare to say anything but "off with his head"--fire away. I just had to speak my mind here.
Good Article. I'm an ND student and I know a few players on the team. They have personally told me that the S&C program is sub-par. I think that is a definite change that needs to be made. Latina should go, Oliver should go, and Pawlus should too. I respect Pawlus for what he did as a player but I still think there needs to be a change there. I'm really likeing the development brought by Tenuta and Brown.
YOU FOLKS SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO READ ALL THIS STUFF---TWICE THROUGH!!!!---WHAT A BUNCH OF GARBAGE---BCS NEXT YEAR---HA HA FORGET IT--- MAYBE ONLY IF THEY GO UNDEFEATED BY SCHEDULING SAN DIEGO STATE FOR ALL 10 GAMES NEXT YEAR---I WAS FORCED TO SIT THRU THE GAME AT SC LAST WEEK--MINUS SIX YARDS RUSHING AND NO FIRST DOWNS IN THE FIRST HALF--NO FIRST DOWNS FOR THREE QUARTERS???--ARE YOU FOLKS KIDDING???-- AND A BCS BOWL NEXT YEAR??---WHAT ARE YOU ALL SMOKING???---LAST ADD--- NOTE WHY SC ISN'T IN THE BCS FINALS--CHECK THEIR STRENGTH???? OF SCHEDULE OR LACK OF SAME---ONE CAN ONLY IMAGINE ND PLAYING OKLAHOMA OR ONE OF THOSE OTHER BCS TEAMS---YOU'D NEED A CRAY COMPUTER TO KEEP SCORE
"I WAS FORCED TO SIT THRU THE GAME AT SC LAST WEEK"
Were you kidnapped and held for ransom?
Ok, so Father Jenkins asks us all to save money and be frugile, yet the entire football team is heading to Hawaii??
How much money will we lose? $1M?
How is that good stewardship of the donations I have made over the years?
The next time someone says we are a different University, I will just laugh. We used to be. We are just like everyone else. No principles except the all mighty $$.
"Ill-advised as it was, Notre Dame signed a 10-year contract. They made the most ethical decision they could make. I support it."
Please tell me what ethics had to do with anything? Charlie had no ethics when he strong-armed us into signing a ridiculous contract which we obviously can't afford to jettison him for. Doesn't sound like a ethical decison but a financial one.
Oh good. All the "firing Weis is the only solution" bandwagon riding sheep are still crying about us keeping him. "That's bbbaaaaaaaaaaaaaadd" they wail.
I hope all you short-sighted, ignorant crybabies apologize to Weis with the same emotion when we're National Champs in 2 years (after winning a BCS bowl NEXT year), and before you say it, you can take your used up metaphor of Kool-Aid and stick it . . . Just remember how badly you wanted him gone before you jump on our bandwagon when we get it rollin' next year.
A BCS victory next year? A national championship in two years? Delusional. Absolutely, completely and utterly delusional.
Please don't allow Charlie Jr. to leave any more comments. It's far too sad and pathetic.
We have to believe that Charlie will turn this situation around. Faith is believing in things not yet seen.
We signed a long-snapper to a scholarship. Tell me this isn't true. Instead of teaching/coaching a multi-position kid to do this we give a $200k scholarship to a snapper--but I guess with how many times we punt a game this is a critical position.
Just another sign that CW needs to go!
This constant talk of things to come "next year" is exhausting
Powlus was terrible as a quarterback...he was an underachiever just like the current ND team. Powlus is another ND coach doing on the job training at the expense of the ND football program. Charlie needs help, he does not need to help coaches gain experience. He needs an experienced college QB coach. Powlus should go to a small school and prove himself as a coach....Charlie bringing Powlus in as QB coach is another example of very poor decision making...adding up all of the bad decisions Charlie has made brings us to the point we are at with ND football.
For the old folks regarding The trip to the Shearton Hawai'i Bowl there is a Jimmy Durante Song that goes " have you ever had the feeling that you wanted to go,yet you wanted to Stay? and for Coached Weis HE will know his future during next years practice and it will be how the offensive line protects Mr. Clausen from the Blitz. Tom Brady seldom got rattled because he was protected like the Holy Grail and I think Mr Clausen given that protection will make us proud. I also predict that with this success we will open up our running game.
Im estatic about the news of us acquiring 3 star recruit and long snapper today.
whew..that's exactly what we needed...now that we have our long snapper in place..I look forward to a 10 and 2 record next year and a nattie in 10
thanks for the hard work and the recruiting coup on our long snapper
:D
IRISH LADD
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