tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-154278202024-03-21T19:18:55.909-07:00Section 29, Row 48, Seat 10Because we miss the days when sporting successes and failures actually WERE the best/worst parts of the day...Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246894567183968746noreply@blogger.comBlogger368125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15427820.post-42690148787619391532009-09-01T20:24:00.000-07:002011-02-19T22:43:34.443-08:00Mobile Units | by GeorgeThe Fantastic Four of Section29 has arrived. (Note: please, do not sue us for copyright infringement, <a href="http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=22747">Walt Disney Company</a>...)<br />
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<div style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;">#4 - Get The Line Moving, or the QB Will<br />
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</div>Notre Dame and the running quarterback - a bad joke that's been getting delivered over, and over, and over again. Whether it's been the stocky, elusive frames of Troy Smith (<span style="font-style: italic;">above</span>) & JaMarcus Russell, or the deceptively fast Drew Stanton, the triple options of Navy & Air Force, or some cement-foot pocket passer breaking out for an old-fashioned busted play big gain, it seems that some of the most comfortable positions for an opposing QB have been out of the pocket when playing against the Irish. This hasn't been a unique problem under Weis - running quarterbacks have killed Notre Dame often in the last decade or two.<br />
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If the current head coach is yet to come up with a solution for this, it hasn't been due to a lack of effort or concentration. After the second of two straight bowl losses when a failure to corral the quarterback led to disastrous results, Weis overhauled the defense behind Corwin Brown and a fundamental shift into a "3-4 personnel" dynamic that provided some positive results but still left ND a middle-of-the-pack defensive unit. On came Jon Tenuta and his blitz-at-all-costs persona to shake things up in 2008. The Irish dialed up pressure from the inside, outside, and all points in between, but the results were far from legendary - the Irish picked up 27 sacks, but that was up only marginally from the previous year (20) when you consider how much more they blitzed. What's more, after the Michigan game last season the Irish never really faced those QBs with "escapability" save for Midshipmen in mid-November.<br />
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Now in 2009 comes the return of the dual-threat quarterback. The Irish have 1,000 yard runner Colin Kapernick on Saturday out of the Nevada Wolfpack's "Pistol" offense, then year two of the Rich Rodriguez Experience up at Michigan (whether they've been <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4432956">over-practicing it or not</a>, Rich Rod's teams always see an exponential jump in productivity during the second year). A few weeks after marks the arrival of Jake Locker (assuming he's still vertical by then) from Washington, who took Pac-10 Freshman of the Year honors in 2007 while rushing for just under 1000 yards. Throw in the usual date with the USNA, and also consider how USC might for the first time under Pete Carroll have a true "mobile" QB in Aaron Corp, though reports indicate he's all but lost the job to freshman phenom Matt Barkley. Toss in Stanford (not exactly a spread offense but one that prefers a QB with some legs) and you have an opposing slate with a lot of unique challenges that need to be met with equal parts pressure and discipline.<br />
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Pressure, of course, is Jon Tenuta's favorite thing. If you told me he sings the Billy Joel song every night before he goes to bed, I would not be shocked in the slightest. Now that's he's officially the defensive coordinator alongside "assistant head coach" Corwin Brown, I figure to see his signature move - BLITZ!!! - even more, if that's somehow possible.<br />
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Now, moving the chess pieces around is all well and good, but it's worth taking a look at what kind of opponent you're facing before defaulting to the "blitz everybody on every down" approach. Football evolves just like everything else - the spread-option offenses favored by coaches like Rodriguez are a direct counter to the aggressive defenses favored by Tenuta because it plays directly into the likelihood that a little bit of misdirection (and a lot of mobility) will catch those overzealous blitzers out of position. Back in the dark ages of the 1980s/90s it was screen pass and precise timing routes of the West Coast offense that came about to counter the blitz, now it's a new breed of quarterback running the veers and counters from what <span style="font-style: italic;">looks</span> on the surface like a pass-happy offense.<br />
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Essentially, it won't be enough to see a QB running all over the place when going against Tenuta's pressure packages. He may just be doing that by design. What the Irish need is to win the battles, consistently, at the point of attack and, to paraphrase Weis, "get the line of scrimmage moving in the right direction" (backwards, in this case). Essentially, I'm saying that Tenuta can and will blitz until the cows come home - if the Irish can't make themselves known up front and in the trenches, to take away those lanes and gaps that these agile quarterbacks love to seize on, those blitzes will once again yield only low-hanging fruit.Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246894567183968746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15427820.post-27521684234731363962009-08-31T14:59:00.000-07:002011-02-19T22:44:59.064-08:00Hunting for Red Numbers | by GeorgeEverything offensively for Notre Dame begins at the quarterback position. That's been true from the moment Charlie Weis stepped on campus all the way thru the highs of the Brady Quinn Era and the perilous depths of 2007. One of the more intriguing elements for 2009, from my perspective, will be seeing if the actions and deeds of the current Irish signal-caller match with the offseason praise that's been coming his way. We're into the top five and the home stretch, so...<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">#5 - Hey, Remember the 60s?</span><br />
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Jimmy Clausen may have rolled into town with a spiked, over-gelled hairdo, a stretch Hummer, and lots of high school bling, but a couple of years at the school of hard knocks (well done on that by the way, offensive line) humbled him at first, then steeled his resolve. As a result, his teammates voted him captain, a year after his own stop-start-kinda start-dead stop-start up once again performance under center mirrored the Irish's tease of a 2008 campaign. You think a quarterback's not important (and if so, what game have you been watching?), take a look at Clausen in Notre Dame's wins and losses:<br />
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Hate to stir bad memories for you Bears fans, but Notre Dame in '08 often got acquainted with a Good Jimmy and a Bad Jimmy. More or less, Good Jimmy = a win. Take a look at the six regular season wins:<br />
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<center><div></div><table style="width: 456px; height: 145px;" class="tablehead" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tbody>
<tr class="colhead" align="center"><td style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:78%;">DATE</span></td> <td style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:78%;">OPP</span></td> <td style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:78%;">RESULT</span></td> <td style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:78%;"> CMP</span></td> <td style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:78%;">ATT</span></td> <td style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:78%;">YDS</span></td> <td style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:78%;">CMP%</span></td> <td style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:78%;">YPA</span></td> <td style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:78%;">LNG</span></td> <td style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:78%;">TD</span></td> <td style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:78%;">INT</span></td> <td style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:78%;">SACK</span></td> <td style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:78%;">RAT</span></td> </tr>
<tr class="oddrow" align="center"> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">9/6</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/clubhouse?teamId=21">San Diego State</a></span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"> <span style="font-size:85%;"><span class="greenfont">W</span> <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=282500087">21-13</a></span> </td><td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">21</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">34</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">237</span></td> <td style="text-align: left; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">61.8</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">6.97</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">38</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">3</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">2</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">0</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">87.5</span></td> </tr>
<tr class="evenrow" align="center"> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">9/13</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/clubhouse?teamId=130">Michigan</a></span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"> <span style="font-size:85%;"><span class="greenfont">W</span> <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=282570087">35-17</a></span> </td><td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">10</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">21</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">147</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">47.6</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">7.00</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">60</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">2</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">2</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">0</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">63.1</span></td> </tr>
<tr class="evenrow" align="center"> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">9/27</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/clubhouse?teamId=2509">Purdue</a></span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"> <span style="font-size:85%;"><span class="greenfont">W</span> <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=282710087">38-21</a></span> </td><td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">20</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">35</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">275</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">57.1</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">7.86</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">38</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">3</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">0</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">1</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">111.0</span></td> </tr>
<tr class="oddrow" align="center"> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">10/4</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/clubhouse?teamId=24">Stanford</a></span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"> <span style="font-size:85%;"><span class="greenfont">W</span> <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=282780087">28-21</a></span> </td><td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">29</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">40</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">347</span></td> <td style="text-align: left; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">72.5</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">8.68</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">48</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">3</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">0</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">1</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">123.6</span></td> </tr>
<tr class="oddrow" align="center"> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">10/25</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">@<a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/clubhouse?teamId=264">Washington</a></span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"> <span style="font-size:85%;"><span class="greenfont">W</span> <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=282990264">33-7</a></span> </td><td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">14</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">26</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">201</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">53.8</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">7.73</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">51</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">1</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">1</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">2</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">76.0</span></td> </tr>
<tr class="evenrow" align="right"> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">11/15</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">@<a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/clubhouse?teamId=2426">Navy</a></span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"> <span style="font-size:85%;"><span class="greenfont">W</span> <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=283202426">27-21</a></span> </td><td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">15</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">18</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">110</span></td> <td style="text-align: left; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">83.3</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">6.11</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">14</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">0</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">2</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">1</span></td> <td style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">52.5<br />
</span></td> </tr>
</tbody></table></center><br />
Which brings us to Bad Jimmy. 2008's losses...<br />
<br />
<center><table class="tablehead" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tbody>
<tr class="colhead" align="right"><td style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:78%;">DATE</span></td> <td style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:78%;">OPP</span></td> <td style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:78%;">RESULT</span></td> <td style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:78%;"> CMP</span></td> <td style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:78%;">ATT</span></td> <td style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:78%;">YDS</span></td> <td style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:78%;">CMP%</span></td> <td style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:78%;">YPA</span></td> <td style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:78%;">LNG</span></td> <td style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:78%;">TD</span></td> <td style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:78%;">INT</span></td> <td style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:78%;">SACK</span></td><td style="vertical-align: top; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:78%;">RAT</span></td> </tr>
<tr class="oddrow" align="right"> <td align="left" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">9/20</span></td> <td align="left" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">@<a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/clubhouse?teamId=127">Michigan State</a></span></td> <td align="left" style="font-family:arial;"> <span style="font-size:85%;"><span class="redfont">L</span> <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=282640127">23-7</a></span> </td><td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">24</span></td> <td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">41</span></td> <td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">242</span></td> <td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">58.5</span></td> <td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">5.90</span></td> <td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">30</span></td> <td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">1</span></td> <td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">2</span></td> <td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">3</span></td><td style="vertical-align: top;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">63.3<br />
</span></td> </tr>
<tr class="evenrow" align="right"> <td align="left" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">10/11</span></td> <td align="left" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">@<a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/clubhouse?teamId=153">North Carolina</a></span></td> <td align="left" style="font-family:arial;"> <span style="font-size:85%;"><span class="redfont">L</span> <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=282850153">29-24</a></span> </td><td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">31</span></td> <td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">48</span></td> <td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">383</span></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;">64.6</span></td> <td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">7.98</span></td> <td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">47</span></td> <td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">2</span></td> <td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">2</span></td> <td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">4</span></td><td style="vertical-align: top;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">85.7<br />
</span></td> </tr>
<tr class="evenrow" align="right"> <td align="left" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">11/1</span></td> <td align="left" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/clubhouse?teamId=221">Pittsburgh</a></span></td> <td align="left" style="font-family:arial;"> <span style="font-size:85%;"><span class="redfont">L</span> <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=283060087">36-33</a> (OT)</span></td><td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">23</span></td> <td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">44</span></td> <td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">271</span></td> <td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">52.3</span></td> <td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">6.16</span></td> <td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">47</span></td> <td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">3</span></td> <td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">0</span></td> <td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">1</span></td><td style="vertical-align: top;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">94.0<br />
</span></td> </tr>
<tr class="oddrow" align="right"> <td align="left" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">11/8</span></td> <td align="left" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">@<a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/clubhouse?teamId=103">Boston College</a></span></td> <td align="left" style="font-family:arial;"> <span style="font-size:85%;"><span class="redfont">L</span> <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=283130103">17-0</a></span> </td><td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">26</span></td> <td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">46</span></td> <td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">226</span></td> <td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">56.5</span></td> <td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">4.91</span></td> <td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">32</span></td> <td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">0</span></td> <td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">4</span></td> <td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">1</span></td><td style="vertical-align: top;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">33.3<br />
</span></td> </tr>
<tr class="oddrow" align="right"> <td align="left" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">11/22</span></td> <td align="left" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/clubhouse?teamId=183">Syracuse</a></span></td> <td align="left" style="font-family:arial;"> <span style="font-size:85%;"><span class="redfont">L</span> <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=283270087">24-23</a></span> </td><td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">22</span></td> <td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">39</span></td> <td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">291</span></td> <td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">56.4</span></td> <td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">7.46</span></td> <td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">40</span></td> <td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">2</span></td> <td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">0</span></td> <td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">2</span></td><td style="vertical-align: top;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">97<br />
</span></td> </tr>
<tr class="evenrow" align="right"> <td align="left" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">11/29</span></td> <td align="left" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">@<a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/clubhouse?teamId=30">USC</a></span></td> <td align="left" style="font-family:arial;"> <span style="font-size:85%;"><span class="redfont">L</span> <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=283340030">38-3</a></span> </td><td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">11</span></td> <td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">22</span></td> <td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">41</span></td> <td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">50.0</span></td> <td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">1.86</span></td> <td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">11</span></td> <td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">0</span></td> <td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">2</span></td> <td style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">4</span></td><td style="vertical-align: top;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">18.4<br />
</span></td> </tr>
</tbody></table></center><br />
Now the most intriguing thing is that Good Jimmy and Bad Jimmy seemingly can surface at any time. Two of his strongest performances as a passer were in defeat (Pittsburgh & North Carolina). He was also struggling to be merely pedestrian in wins over Michigan & Navy. Note an underlying trend as well: in six victories he was sacked a total of five times; in six losses, 15 times.<br />
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The role of the offensive line is going to come up before this countdown is over with, to be sure. But let's keep the focus on #7 for the time being. His statline from 2008's 12 regular season games confirms that numbers don't lie <span style="font-style: italic;">and</span> that numbers don't tell the whole story. Sometimes a mediocre Clausen was still enough for Notre Dame to win, other times he played quite well in defeat. If I were to boil it down to one hard-and-fast statistic though, here it is: think of the above chart like a golf board - red numbers are good. You see only four of them though - in five of the six losses in '08, Clausen failed to reach a 60% completion rate. Further more, if we take 60% completion as the magic number, Clausen reached it overall just 4 times in 12 games. To compare with recent history: from 2005-06, Brady Quinn hit 60% or better 18 times in 23 games. The Irish were 17-1 in those contests.<br />
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Coming out of high school Clausen was heralded as a quarterback who could make all the throws. The stories of his work ethic and competitiveness were almost mythic in status, and there was the (unsolicited) but still highly-touted moniker of "The LeBron James of High School Football". He's now more than halfway through his eligibility at Notre Dame and that crucial confidence and decision-making expected out of an elite quarterback has to shine through now. That's what got everybody buzzing at the Hawai'i Bowl, even if the opponent was an overwhelmed 6-6 WAC team. <span style="font-style: italic;">Jimmy looks different</span>, people kept saying, and it's hard not to notice when a guy who flirted with 50% passing all season uncorks a near "perfect game", to use his coach's words. What's he done in the offseason to follow up on that and make sure it wasn't simply a mirage? Tune in Saturday as we begin to find out.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBT_IfKKpCx26LmqvPsyTCARwYzRlJLOeV6Tn2KqfwEerAnKo7ZQb_wrGIw1qFZUWXzuAlrc8M3m2Cimmi3h928Kiz-g_ZchBtdyx_8a7ChTOhUHIsP_jKoPAkb3t7VmQDRc6oNw/s1600-h/F571442.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 247px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBT_IfKKpCx26LmqvPsyTCARwYzRlJLOeV6Tn2KqfwEerAnKo7ZQb_wrGIw1qFZUWXzuAlrc8M3m2Cimmi3h928Kiz-g_ZchBtdyx_8a7ChTOhUHIsP_jKoPAkb3t7VmQDRc6oNw/s320/F571442.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383755685449429202" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:78%;" >Clausen's almost done with the red practice jersey, but starting Saturday he needs to post a few more of our version of the red number</span>.<br />
</div>Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246894567183968746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15427820.post-45373296234472035852009-08-30T18:30:00.000-07:002011-02-19T22:49:06.377-08:00Embarrassment of Riches | by GeorgeEverybody wants Notre Dame to have a power running game, bringing back lucid memories of the days when Jerome Bettis used to peel defenders off of his cleats in between plays, while bulksters like Marc Edwards and Ray Zellars would chew linebackers up and spit them out...those were indeed the days. They are also long gone, but only to be replaced by an attack that hopefully blossoms this year as equally effective. What will it take to get there? Let's examine peg number six on our 12-step ladder of Irish importance:<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />
#6 - Cavalcade of Wide Receiving Stars</span><br />
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<div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV3C1HJMWFrUe58yjkvUY9FO9WFELWJN6da24QrSk5mEVou57pGoH-WuqNaxaJn-fJh8clPlnR66Fla13cSOpu2nxQB4ggcinjSjIkjqYUnYWSg6oRfVh8Go4HfK2z_rlPacY25A/s1600-h/F486864.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 218px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV3C1HJMWFrUe58yjkvUY9FO9WFELWJN6da24QrSk5mEVou57pGoH-WuqNaxaJn-fJh8clPlnR66Fla13cSOpu2nxQB4ggcinjSjIkjqYUnYWSg6oRfVh8Go4HfK2z_rlPacY25A/s320/F486864.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383733487066014034" border="0" /></a>Arriving in 2009 (fingers crossed) should be an absolutely scintillating Irish passing attack. I know we're all supposed to temper the enthusiasm on Jimmy Clausen's bowl performance because "<span style="font-style: italic;">it was just Hawai'i</span>", but the kid didn't only carve up Hawai'i, he looked like a totally different QB in process. Meanwhile, Notre Dame has one of the best one-two punches at wideout in all of football, from the NFL-prototype known as Michael Floyd to the shape-shifting speedster with the vertical of a man twice his height, Golden Tate. As Irish fans we know that. You can bet every defensive coordinator the Irish go up against knows it too.<br />
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In analyzing the Weis passing scheme, the most successful year was 2005. Brady Quinn had not just two dependable, 6'5" receivers in Samardzija and Stovall, but also arguably the nation's best tight end, an abnormally sure-handed #1 running back (Darius Walker not only posted a 1000 yard season but also caught 43 passes and helped craft a lethal screen passing game), and a grinder, "possession" receiver - as opposed to all those non-possession receivers out there - to look for when teams keyed on his big men (Matt Shelton). In 2008 the Irish came close to duplicating this formula, but Armando Allen wasn't looked to quite as often, Kyle Rudolph the freshman wasn't as polished as Fasano the junior (though he was damn close and ought to be ahead of the curve with a full offseason under his belt), and David Grimes was thrust into a top-two role when Floyd got injured.<br />
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All the while, injury and inconsistency left the Irish relying on lots of jump balls and "draw in the dirt" plays that relied on the athleticism of Floyd and Tate. For 2009, the Irish passing attack must evolve or perish. Duval Kamara and Robby Parris, junior and senior respectively, have earned their way back onto the depth chart, and for the time being Weis has said they will be there in front of second-year freshman John Goodman, Deion Walker, and true frosh Shaquelle Evans. If they prove why in the first few games of the season, Jimmy Clausen won't just look like a great quarterback - Notre Dame will have the makings of an elite offense.<br />
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<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwzPTFOfZ01A9ld-_HsoNpo8PzawrnnAwa-9550YZbRr0lFzXKgqetOk_DvW8GI3jLLcgt1TMKTH5GVvsPpAuNJLMRE02hXnQB6NyB-YzQeguKBuRpjb8yMWGUMYy6Wvw27vm7Cg/s1600-h/F486863.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 145px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwzPTFOfZ01A9ld-_HsoNpo8PzawrnnAwa-9550YZbRr0lFzXKgqetOk_DvW8GI3jLLcgt1TMKTH5GVvsPpAuNJLMRE02hXnQB6NyB-YzQeguKBuRpjb8yMWGUMYy6Wvw27vm7Cg/s200/F486863.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383732728516593346" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie15Oo9IZamxZFyjuhx08oyBsI0gqfryXvNbmmtaeXFowG-uTIKE29uMHANQX8gFd61El_g33f3QelV-FzWdJVn30oTcmzrmlHJQIKDsJWdOXMxyXQpwZAwevIpDngAf2OLvwmaw/s1600-h/F451781.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 201px; height: 145px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie15Oo9IZamxZFyjuhx08oyBsI0gqfryXvNbmmtaeXFowG-uTIKE29uMHANQX8gFd61El_g33f3QelV-FzWdJVn30oTcmzrmlHJQIKDsJWdOXMxyXQpwZAwevIpDngAf2OLvwmaw/s200/F451781.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383732543689146450" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPq7_TTqMXRqnxUtGFthe7W-rEUJM-m4oSocbB8QynrVvlzJIXZnQXPpTISuCcVWsjFReEq7UaAplzxFyrxv85oCIh_WR2g5hyarhUqAbKsrfH7sAjLmx2f5I2PqM9ukY3UB3rJg/s1600-h/F446253.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 166px; height: 145px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPq7_TTqMXRqnxUtGFthe7W-rEUJM-m4oSocbB8QynrVvlzJIXZnQXPpTISuCcVWsjFReEq7UaAplzxFyrxv85oCIh_WR2g5hyarhUqAbKsrfH7sAjLmx2f5I2PqM9ukY3UB3rJg/s200/F446253.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383733097885209586" border="0" /></a>Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246894567183968746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15427820.post-6452501055030454212009-08-29T18:02:00.000-07:002011-02-19T22:49:16.543-08:00Don't Overlook the Middle Man | by GeorgeIn which we examine if the Irish need to be an army of one up the gut. The "12 Keys" continue...<br />
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<div style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;">#7 - "The Man" in the Middle<br />
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<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNWZDcyjNIMYmagcSxMlE2HLjfgeArwWU-eFYVgfPvVig3uiwYXmab96E3Ac3US4a8kSsPgwyvHAQHK8eU-PX6wqDCiFmCb3zMxLIDq-s5qpyIgBv_KFTS5jpb1sdfGyR-XYEnrw/s1600-h/F330337.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 230px; height: 153px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNWZDcyjNIMYmagcSxMlE2HLjfgeArwWU-eFYVgfPvVig3uiwYXmab96E3Ac3US4a8kSsPgwyvHAQHK8eU-PX6wqDCiFmCb3zMxLIDq-s5qpyIgBv_KFTS5jpb1sdfGyR-XYEnrw/s320/F330337.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383721739893993954" border="0" /></a>The all-Smith linebacking corps dreams may have taken a hit with the relocation of #22 (Harrison) to the defensive backfield, but Notre Dame's middle linebacking group is still heavy on the Mr. Smith rotation with #49 (Toryan) and #58 (Brian) listed as starters, along with team captain #41 (Scott) backing up Darius Fleming at the outside position. Then there's this new kid on the block, Manti Te'o, currently listed as #2 behind Brian Smith but guaranteed to be on the field (and not in mop-up time). Reports coming in from corners unknown indicate that this Te'o gentleman may potentially be a good player. Since he hails from the tropical island of Hawai'i, precious little has been stated about his ability aside from his being, apparently, the GREATEST DEFENSIVE RECRUIT <span style="font-style: italic;">EVER. </span>There's also a couple of sophomores of quality pedigree who've risen up the depth chart and will hopefully provide quality backup minutes, Anthony McDonald & David Pozluszny.<br />
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Why is middle linebacker so important? Aside from the fact that the recruiting experts will be looking for Te'o to record a five-yard tackle for a loss on every down he plays, every snap of his college career, the Irish need to make a leap forward here. For many seasons now middle linebacker has been a position at Notre Dame known for steady, dependable leadership performances (not like those are unimportant - they're <span style="font-style: italic;">huge</span>, turned in by the likes of Anthony Denman, Mike Goolsby, Courtney Watson, and most recently Maurice Crum). At some point though, Notre Dame needs a true playmaker out of the linebacker corps. Every team needs a player like Crum, but every elite team has a player like USC's Rey Mauluga.<br />
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So, will it be Manti Te'o with an instant impact up the middle? We'd all like to think so, if only so all those miles Brian Polian racked up flying to Hawaii will look worth it right away. But for all Te'o's obvious gifts, he remains a freshman. The player who needs to be the rock, emotionally and schematically, is Brian Smith.<br />
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Smith is a third-year starter who will serve as the fulcrum of the defense - and he knows it. Always an emotional firecracker and a vocal leader of the Irish defense, even dating back to his wild-eyed freshman days (when he pick-sixed Matt Ryan), the time has come to elevate his game to the next level and bring the rest of the unit along for the ride. Moving into his third year as a starter, he needs to be more than a player who can be counted on for a strong play or two per game. He needs to be a guy opposing offenses have to account for on<span style="font-style: italic;"> every single down</span>. I may be adverse to predictions but I will offer one up right here - if Brian Smith notches 100 tackles for the season, the Irish will be a BCS team.Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246894567183968746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15427820.post-77775968432962683872009-08-28T18:31:00.000-07:002011-02-19T22:49:26.315-08:008 Men In | by GeorgeWe all know that Notre Dame football provides its fans with something to talk about (or argue, whichever comes first) all the time. This season, no matter the results, much will be written and debated about the link between coaching and talent, specifically with some of the key units for Notre Dame under new management - Frank Verducci (O-Line), Tony Alford (Running Backs), Randy Hart (D-Line). More ink will be devoted to these men and their charges as the season draws closer - and if it is successful, prepare thyself. A flop? Oh boy, really prepare thyself. But one coach who holds a big sway in Irish fortunes is a one-time wunderkind who's evolved into a veteran voice on that staff, a savvy co-owner of the defense who is still, in one man's humble opinion, the second most-important member behind one Charles Weis.<br />
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#8 in the countdown, come on down...<br />
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<div style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;">#8 - All Cornered<br />
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<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMmViARUDPQJmwytxSgWXLWS07FbEOuBup3ao9xkFxpfe2hxoI1BqxI9Whl_ZKRJ-xtBkit7kaZe9ew7-5Z7HhcEeZCBwx2yj72st3zwNIhCEnewdu_g4_JLuBp-h88fC8M9io6g/s1600-h/F575748.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 243px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMmViARUDPQJmwytxSgWXLWS07FbEOuBup3ao9xkFxpfe2hxoI1BqxI9Whl_ZKRJ-xtBkit7kaZe9ew7-5Z7HhcEeZCBwx2yj72st3zwNIhCEnewdu_g4_JLuBp-h88fC8M9io6g/s320/F575748.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375217515614969266" border="0" /></a>There were a few position battles going in during Notre Dame's spring and fall practice periods, and one area that always had a healthy competition going was the defensive backfield. This was not a case of, "<span style="font-style: italic;">Sure, there are some incumbent starters there but things are pretty open anyway because nobody's been all that good</span>" like we saw in the special teams unit and certain places along the offensive line. The four starting spots among the DBs were going to be earned the old-fashioned way.<br />
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For all the potential that lurks with the linebackers, and all the promise of a new regime along the lines, one area that seems to be limited only by the fact that you can only play so many guys at a time is corner & safety. RJ Blanton is back after turning heads during his freshman year, and classmate Jamoris Slaughter won't be kept on the bench a second year due to lack of effort. Returning (and right back in the thick of things) after a semester off is junior Gary Gray, and he's joined by senior Darrin Walls - who missed all of last season after being away from the University. Include safeties Kyle & Dan McCarthy, Harrison Smith, true frosh early enrollee Zeke Motta, plus do-everything nickel back Sergio Brown and senior corner Raeshon McNeil, suddenly being a DB for Notre Dame seems a little like being an RB at USC these days - 'there's just so many options to choose from!'<br />
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The man in charge of juggling the formations and tendencies is Corwin Brown, who experienced a shift in titles and responsibilities this offseason as Jon Tenuta was officially given a defensive coordinator's placard. Brown has effectively become the Kordell Stewart of the coaching staff, a multi-faceted role known as "Assistant Head Coach/Co-Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs". It's this third slice which should be a point of emphasis. We've seen Notre Dame play aggressive coverage (Walls & Blanton), we've seen them blitz like there was no tomorrow (Smith & Brown), we've seen them develop into great open-field tacklers that helped kill off potential big plays (McCarthy). Now comes the moment when Brown proves himself as a coach - molding the deepest and most experienced part of Notre Dame's defense into a great complement to what Tenuta & Hart are working with up front.<br />
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Ideally, this is an impact that won't show up in countless ways on the stat sheet, if at all. Phrase it a simpler way: it can either be a good thing or a bad thing when the top tacklers on the team are defensive backs, and in the past couple of seasons Notre Dame has flirted with the wrong side of that distinction. No more over-relying on good safety play to stop the option/spread offenses the Irish will face in the first couple weeks (though inevitably these guys are going to have to step up and make plays against those units if Notre Dame wants to win). More pressure up front, allowing the Irish to give more reps to the 'playmakers' in the backfield like Blanton, Brown, & and Harrison Smith, while still having the ace of an excellent coverage back like Walls to go against quality wideouts. Avid readers of Blue-Gray Sky might remember their outstanding recap of the <a href="http://bluegraysky.blogspot.com/2009_08_01_archive.html#5711329669012183249">opposing wideout groups for 2009</a> - it's interesting to note that only 2 of the 12 Irish opponents (USC & Washington) return a WR who had at least 50 catches last season, and there isn't really an "elite" wide receiver on this year's schedule of foes...though I wouldn't bet against one developing out of USC before the year ends.<br />
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Point is, with a full two-deep of players who bring unique skills and various styles to the backfield, Corwin Brown ought to have the freedom to let an opponent know on every single down that going to the air is going to pose a problem...and that's before offensive coordinators start thinking about how they're going to handle the Tenuta blitz packages. This could finally be the season when the Irish complete the transition from that ugly duckling year of 2007 when they ranked so highly against pass simply by virtue of being horrendous against the run, and they still allowed numerous big passing plays along the way. If it is, Corwin Brown and the boys who are often seen leading the "Crank Me Up" cheers will be cranking all the way to January...and maybe beyond.Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246894567183968746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15427820.post-40440849129494654872009-08-27T18:37:00.000-07:002011-02-19T22:49:37.354-08:00The Highest Expectation Must Come From Within... | by GeorgeBefore we get down to the business at hand, I was brushing up on Lou Holtz's book Wins, Losses, & Lessons, when I came across a passage that I hope finds a way into the locker of many of Notre Dame's relocated/new players this year, like certain key special teams players, defensive lineman, linebackers, fullbacks, and offensive lineman: "Inexperience is an excuse put forth by people who know they're going to lose."<br />
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So while the preseason legends grow, so the countdown continues...<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><b>#9 - Expect To Be Better Than Expected</b></div><br />
On the heels of the prediction made the other day by the esteemed Dr. Lou, resident college football crank Beano Cook also went on the record with the opinion that Notre Dame could be a logical pick for a National Championship Game berth, due to mainly to thier "easy" schedule.<br />
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Now, I can't really get on the soapbox and defend the scheduling tendencies of Kevin White, the recently relocated athletic director who crafted such gems as playing Washington State in San Antonio. Dates with Nevada and Connecticut don't add luster to the schedule either, and thanks to historic craters hit in 2008 nobody expects much out of what would normally be quality opponents Michigan & Washington. Boston College, Michigan State, Navy, & Pittsburgh aren't top 10 teams, but they aren't Bowl Subdivision directional schools either. This year's Notre Dame schedule is the quintessential "B" student - it does enough to get by, but hardly stands out in a crowd.<br />
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The point is that Notre Dame hasn't done enough to merit the pats on the back that seem to go with the recent surge of, "Don't worry, you'll be better than every team on the schedule except for USC, so just expect to take 10 or 11 wins without much of an effort." How many times in the past five years has the BCS tricked people into this exact same kind of "shine by way of overcoming very low expectations" for teams like West Virginia, Louisville, and even Rutgers; for the record, I don't think it's a coincidence that all of those teams are in the Big East, a league Notre Dame may find itself increasingly married to on the football field (yet another ingenius innovation from Dr. Blanco).<br />
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Here's what Notre Dame should be expecting- no talking up how deep and experience they've become. No awards for being "almost" a nine-win team a year ago. No quotes about how it's only natural to assume they'll be the better team every Saturday with that one annoying Southern California exemption. They have to expect everyone's best shot (because they're going to get it) and respond in kind. And for the love of all things holy, do not fall backwards into the thinking about how there's a bunch of players who still need time to grow, time to gain experience, and how it would be a nice achievement to go 9-3. I'm not saying 9-3 wouldn't be a successful year on the face of things - I'm saying the expectation that Notre Dame can coast to a 9-win year and a January 1 bowl berth on the strength of the Notre Dame name alone needs to be just that - an "expectation" made by people who have no idea what they're talking about, or how good this team can be.<br />
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In other words, let everybody else waste their breath (and their blog space) speculating on how good the talent might be or how manageable the schedule is. Notre Dame needs to get back to one mindset: expecting to be a lot better than people expected.<div><br />
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHYlh1pHeY6wAwF9z_NQkdfhkbkxjQzQCT203deHjaWThMrK4aCvM0pd1C8IjESvOHh4JXv-0mjKK1LLCsU_dnDZAO0vcSHDeMtu6p6-92wnmZ_dzqUciUaFi6KZYth13-gdMiTA/s1600-h/F563951.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 244px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHYlh1pHeY6wAwF9z_NQkdfhkbkxjQzQCT203deHjaWThMrK4aCvM0pd1C8IjESvOHh4JXv-0mjKK1LLCsU_dnDZAO0vcSHDeMtu6p6-92wnmZ_dzqUciUaFi6KZYth13-gdMiTA/s320/F563951.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374856743899161090" /></a></div>Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246894567183968746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15427820.post-23433912256469400352009-08-26T15:10:00.000-07:002011-02-19T22:49:45.707-08:0010 is the new...10? | by GeorgeOver the course of the countdown, we will invariably bring up some of the key moments and personalities who will shape the Irish destiny (new coaches, players in new positions, big names who need to fill big expectations) but today we turn it over to a player who, if all goes according to plan, will not have to take one meaningful snap the whole year. But how (and if) he gets on the field will have a dramatic effect on the present and the future of Notre Dame football...<br />
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<div style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;">#10 - The Curious Case of Dayne Crist<br />
</div><br />
Charlie Weis is fond of saying one of the biggest lessons college football has taught him is how much of a difference there is between 22-year old seniors and 18-year old freshman. He was speaking to one's ability to mentally handle the rigors of big-time sports (not to mention a boatload of verbal tongue lashings), but I think he also came to grips with the fact that when the playbook is loaded with nuance like his is, it takes a special mind to grasp it all and a special talent to execute it. And there's only so much you can learn about that by a) watching from the sidelines and b) going in only to hand the ball off.<br />
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In case you can't tell, I'm zeroing in on the quarterback position here. As far as the starter is concerned, one of the more encouraging things about this Irish team is the upwards-trend of the numbers for Jimmy Clausen. Many of the key "metrics" for the QB position improved between seasons for Jimmy - touchdowns up, completion percentage up, interceptions down, improved decision making, and better overall health due to an offensive line that reduced the # of sacks allowed by over half. Not all was perfect either - Clausen missed throws in key moments, and some of the INTs he did throw were among the most costly plays in the Irish season (think opening drive of the second half against UNC).<br />
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Brady Quinn had similar statistical improvement in his sophomore season, which was similarly inconsistent as Clausen was in '08. It was the third year when his ability not only came to fruition but happened to lock in with a system well-suited to his talents. Clausen is traveling on the same trajectory - surprisingly enough, he does not worry me...going into the season. He also has what Brady Quinn never had - a legit potential superstar backing him up. This is what concerns me.<br />
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<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDtmbROopdz8nyJf2lVOWV2kxJth7CCL6rKfscf6vHVOHYXMkoFZ-PVGWON8IYZHYdbuUG2eADzx0sC2B0XNz_gPdCFSYAFgUDef1oJ5gu9q5mbsi-Jw70VNKn_-Q57g-vykznIg/s1600-h/F571414.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 285px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDtmbROopdz8nyJf2lVOWV2kxJth7CCL6rKfscf6vHVOHYXMkoFZ-PVGWON8IYZHYdbuUG2eADzx0sC2B0XNz_gPdCFSYAFgUDef1oJ5gu9q5mbsi-Jw70VNKn_-Q57g-vykznIg/s400/F571414.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374412684100651378" border="0" /></a>Dayne Crist? The five-star heir to the throne, like Jimmy a SoCal native with moxie to spare and an intense competitive fire? What could possibly be a concern regarding Dayne Crist? Precisely that - as the heir to the throne, the false sense of security that can build with simply "waiting a turn" and languishing on a bench, coming on only for mop-up duty. Crist the competitor (and this is a good thing) will never accept the idea that he's <span style="font-style: italic;">just</span> the number 2 quarterback. Can Weis the coach do enough to make him ready for the inevitable ascension, though? He addressed the role of the backup QB during last week's full-open practice (without directly referring to Crist) with the following: <blockquote>The one thing that's going to bother me some, if situation presents itself, is when I put him in, I'm going to have to let him throw the ball. Let's say you get an opportunity to play the whole quarter. You can't just sit there and run inside zone on every play. You've got to give him an opportunity to run the offense.</blockquote>The "bother" portion isn't a referendum on Crist's ability to run the offense, but an acknowledgment on Weis' behalf that quarterback is a deep position for this Irish team and has a huge influence on the overall direction of the program. It doesn't benefit anybody, least of all Crist, to call him in and do the same things David Wolke was doing as Quinn's backup. Put it in this context: Notre Dame has a comfortable 20-point lead with 5 minutes to play in the opener against Nevada, and has just gotten the ball back. Do you send in Crist to run with the second unit and call three two-yard runs before punting? Or do you act like it's a tie game and put the onus on Crist and whoever he's on the field with to move the ball with the precision expected out of Clausen? Let's go with the former and Crist leads a cool 65-yard scoring drive to kill off the rest of the game, completing a nice pass or two along the way. Then the next week against Michigan Jimmy Clausen tries to scramble for extra yards and suffers a torn ACL. Now it's Dayne Crist's show, period. Think having his snaps be treated like meaningful snaps won't be beneficial at a moment like that?<br />
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On the hoof, of course, this will not be a burning issue in 2009. The world will be perfect, Clausen will stay very healthy and very effective, and Notre Dame will build insurmountable leads that will provide Weis the opportunities to start the long, developing segue into the Crist era (we have to dream, right?). In two years with Quinn at the helm Weis didn't do this at all, which came back to royally bite him during 2007. The opportunities the team creates for Dayne Crist to play (excluding injury scenarios) and what Weis chooses to do with those opportunities probably won't be the difference in this team winning or losing a game. But it will speak volumes about what kind of team the Irish have.Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246894567183968746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15427820.post-20293574464522770142009-08-25T18:35:00.000-07:002009-08-25T20:11:24.696-07:00Young & HartNotre Dame shifted into "game week" mode as the school year began today, with specific prep for Nevada's "Pistol" offense topping the list of concerns. Fits with the theme of today's bulletin in our 12 Days of Irish Football countdown...<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">#11 - The Very Young, and Hart</span><br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg36xgglS13CSYu64J4khwsHVnv1xPPv8vFuZ7wmH6NSxUkuf1njkI5Fg5QaD1jpiJtmyMnD82vcWVwJGIwsFivvNg5zSYOVc46o-zKOB3G_LQ8k7DigpoJZq1BzW3nZIOhxbBVMw/s1600-h/F575765.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg36xgglS13CSYu64J4khwsHVnv1xPPv8vFuZ7wmH6NSxUkuf1njkI5Fg5QaD1jpiJtmyMnD82vcWVwJGIwsFivvNg5zSYOVc46o-zKOB3G_LQ8k7DigpoJZq1BzW3nZIOhxbBVMw/s320/F575765.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374083121247420594" border="0" /></a>Scan Notre Dame's 2009 depth chart and you see a lot of players who've been around the block for 20 games or so - they've adjusted to the speed of college, they've flashed some skill, they're ready to go to another level (popular choices: Brian Smith, Michael Floyd, Jimmy Clausen, Kyle Rudolph). Good depth and maturing talent seems a given at a lot of spots on Notre Dame's roster. Defensive line is not one of those spots.<br /><br />When it comes to Notre Dame, the performance of the d-line has been a matter of perspective. First, you have to restrain the temptation to define on the scale of who they are <span style="font-style: italic;">not</span> - in other words, forget about how it was "supposed" to be a line of Butch Lewis, Gerald McCoy, Justin Trattou, & Omar Hunter. It isn't. We can argue about recruiting could/woulda/shouldas until the cows come home, and all it does is turn attention away from the players who are here and who are working their tails off to refortify the Irish front.<br /><br />Among the adjustments to the coaching staff this past offseason was the resignation/dismissal of Jappy Oliver after four years of inconsistent (to be generous) line play. The best thing one could say about Notre Dame's trench players on defense was that they had a tendency to play beyond their means - an undersized but absolutely ferocious Trevor Laws in 2007, a similarly productive year from Pat Kuntz in 2008. Yet there's been scant continuation, and no overwhelming presence has established itself to stop opposing rushers. Passing defense? The secondary for the Irish has done a lot of heavy lifting lately, and for all those 'TAH-NOO-TAH' blitz packages, there's certainly been something left to be desired so far as generating pressure with the front four goes. In four seasons under Charlie Weis, here have been the team leaders in sacks (where the law of diminishing returns seems in full force):<br /><ul><li>2005: Victor Abiamiri, 8<br /></li><li>2006: Abiamiri, 10.5<br /></li><li>2007: Laws, 4</li><li>2008: Kuntz/Harrison Smith/Ethan Johnson, 3.5 each</li></ul>It's more than a bit disconcerting when the returning co-leader in sacks is a safety who was playing out of position. And for all the hand-wringing over the players who got away, it's not that Notre Dame has been devoid of talent up front in past years - and that certainly will not be the case this year. Ethan Johnson was perhaps the best defensive line prospect west of the Mississippi when he came out of high school in 2008. Plenty of other players, some of whom took of redshirt year, could have gone just about anywhere they wanted. So now, partly because of graduation losses and partly because the guys who were in there haven't gotten the job done , the Irish two-deep along the line features four players who didn't play at all last season.<br /><br />In the ear of newbies and returning contributors alike during the critical spring development period & fall camp has been one of the elder statesman of defensive line play, an old-school disciple if ever there was one: Randy Hart. A three-time letter winner (as an offensive lineman, no less) at Ohio State University - he played on the 1968 Buckeyes championship team which featured a young Lou Holtz on its coaching staff - Hart brings a resume of more than 40 years in college football and a decidedly up-tempo, punch-in-the-gut style of tutelage. The decision to extend media viewing at practices to 45 minutes on Tuesdays this season (it will be completely closed all other days) ought to provide many beat writers the opportunity to fill up a notebook with Hart-isms. From today's report out of Irish Illustrated - subscribers click <a href="http://notredame.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=980366">here</a>: <blockquote>With Hart standing behind [senior Morrice] Richardson signaling two "offensive linemen" (actually, two defensive linemen simulating offensive linemen) the blocking scheme, Richardson guesses wrong, opening a gap straight up the field for the running back. <p class="body">"You know what they're doing? The band is playing, and it ain't our band!" Hart says.</p> <p class="body">Adds Hart, "If you're thinking, you're stinking, and if you're guessing, it's worse!"</p></blockquote><p class="body"> Animated commentary aside, Hart boasts an impressive resume and he'll need to draw from every ounce of it to get the Irish up to speed. Hart's last two units at Washington, where he coached for 21 years before not being retained by Steve Sarkisian, were historically bad at run defense, allowing 4.92 & 5.69 yards per carry to their opponents. In his defense, when the team is 0-12, it's not any one thing. More to the point, at Notre Dame he figures to be working with talent more on par with the type of units he led as a coach on six different Rose Bowl teams. It is that talent, and how Hart molds it differently than the departed Oliver, which will go a long way to defining Notre Dame's defense. A lot of attention (or, more accurately, anxious anticipation) is being thrown towards Tony Alford and Frank Verducci on the offensive side, but they've been charged with a renovation project, seemingly having to retro-fit players with a lot of experience (most of it bad). Hart is the coach working on a much broader, almost blank, canvas: Tyler Stockton, Kapron Lewis-Moore, Sean Cwynar, Brandon Newman & Hafis Williams all could be thrust into a pivotal role along with the still-learning Johnson, to say nothing of "situational" upper-class players like Richardson & John Ryan, for whom it is now or never. The closest thing this unit has to a polished veteran is Kerry Neal, which is why you're probably still going to see a lot of "four linebackers" on the field, even if the Irish are officially not running the 3-4 personnel grouping under Jon Tenuta.<br /></p><p class="body">How quickly can the Irish defensive line dominate the trenches? I guess that'll depend on if they listen to their Hart...and before you say anything, of course that was a terrible pun. Given the reports I'm hearing about his manner and energy at practice, you think Randy would mind? Hardly.</p><p class="body"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggD9yxl693-lZ532oEoEE3FOyahSNTEWllKfitZV5iXIgxPZSNr7xIpUcEo6K4M0RnSEH12bWN0iXHb9kvy4YpYaJEdPWsyNzWh8_s2zBHaVSrR-bpe-Rgig0eZZ-nl7drJn-y7A/s1600-h/F571391.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 225px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggD9yxl693-lZ532oEoEE3FOyahSNTEWllKfitZV5iXIgxPZSNr7xIpUcEo6K4M0RnSEH12bWN0iXHb9kvy4YpYaJEdPWsyNzWh8_s2zBHaVSrR-bpe-Rgig0eZZ-nl7drJn-y7A/s320/F571391.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374100236990340498" border="0" /></a></p><p class="body"></p>Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246894567183968746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15427820.post-78485727697899475052009-08-24T18:29:00.000-07:002009-08-24T19:52:48.536-07:00The Journey of Twelve Steps...A full year has passed since <a href="http://section29row48.blogspot.com/2008/08/twelve-days-and-counting.html">the last Twelve Days of Irish Football</a>. That can only mean one thing - just 12 more days until the start of another season! Welcome to the annual countdown of the 12 keys (as voted on by our crack editorial board) that will determine not just the future of the Notre Dame 2009 football team, but most likely the fate of the free world and humanity itself.<br /><br />Tonight we open with some business to attend to: Coach Charlie Weis released <a href="http://notredame.rivals.com/cdepthtext.asp">the updated depth chart</a> (final answers on this will be revealed next Tuesday) and announced the awarding of scholarships to walk-on tight end Bobby Burger and punter Eric Maust, who for now retained his punting duties despite a stiff challenge from true freshman Ben Turk. Meanwhile, another new recruit was making waves on the special teams unit, and that is where (our) story of the 2009 Irish begins...<br /><br /><center><b>#12 - New Kicks</b></center><br />Finding a reliable kicker has been a problem for Notre Dame. Not necessarily special teams play as a whole, though that unit has had its share of hot-and-cold moments during Weis' 4-year tenure. Kicking, however, has been a consistent sore spot. Despite having a top-flight coverage unit last season (#1 nationally in return yardage allowed and average starting position), the Irish had just 1 touchback for the year out of Ryan Burkhart. Placekicking wise it was a tale of <span style="font-style: italic;">at least</span> two seasons for Brandon Walker, who suffered some big lows - missing 6 of his first 7 attempts in '08 - then course corrected to finish the year 13-for-17 (14/24 overall). Two of those late-season misses were critical though, with a 38-yarder in the fourth overtime against Pittsburgh shanking left, then a 49-yarder against Syracuse (which could've sealed the game) falling just short. That's not to say Walker carries the blame for those losses - he doesn't. It's just that no objective observer could look at the Irish and say there's room to argue over the Irish performance in the kicking department. I'm often fond of stating that numbers don't tell the whole story, but they also don't lie: since the start of the Weis era, the Irish are just 12-for-27 on FG attempts of 40 yards or more.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://vmedia.rivals.com/uploads/961/F571449.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 175px; height: 230px;" src="http://vmedia.rivals.com/uploads/961/F571449.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a>Enter <a href="http://section29row48.blogspot.com/2008/06/real-kick.html">Nick Tausch</a>. Posting good numbers as a senior in Texas is one thing (career long in high school: 53 yards, 22 of 41 kickoffs were touchbacks), now he just needs to be equally good with 80,000 people watching every swing of the leg. In analyzing the position battle between the Walker, Tausch, and senior Ryan Burkhart, Weis went to one of his most famous euphemisms: "It wasn't close". Which once meant, based on how he applied that term the past two years to Walker, "<span style="font-style: italic;">If we're not well-inside the 30 I'm going for it on fourth down every time</span>". At first Irish fans loved the go-for-broke attitude, especially when it was walk-on D.J. Fitzpatrick handling the placekicking duties. But with three scholarships tied up in kickers for 2009, the "inexperience/lack of ability" card can't really be played, and placekicker is hardly the only position - on the field and off - where that phrase is going to come up in previewing the season. More on that in future installments. The question every follower of the Irish has regarding the kicking game is a simple one: surely <span style="font-style: italic;">one</span> of these guys can step up and provide a legit safety net for when the offense can't quite get to the red zone...right?<br /><br />Tausch will have first dibs to calm that fear after a strong fall camp. And if he can't quite boom every kickoff to the back of the endzone, look on the bright side: a fully healthy <a href="http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090812/SPORTS/908120344">Mike Anello is back</a> for one more ride.Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246894567183968746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15427820.post-67623609904889576922009-08-22T14:05:00.000-07:002009-08-22T14:10:12.820-07:00Lou, You Need to See The DoctorWell, maybe not. I know Lou's opened himself up to criticism for being unashamedly pro-Notre Dame during his tenure at ESPN, but I remember at a moment like this one of the chapter titles in his recent book: Perfection Is Possible if You Accept Nothing Less.<br /><br />So no matter what anybody else thinks, the Irish have at least one guy firmly in their corner as the season creeps closer:<br /><center><object width="384" height="216" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" id="ESPN_VIDEO" data="http://espn.go.com/videohub/player/embed.swf" allowScriptAccess="always" allowNetworking="all"><param name="movie" value="http://espn.go.com/videohub/player/embed.swf" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"/><param name="wmode" value="opaque"/><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"/><param name="allowNetworking" value="all"/><param name="flashVars" value="id=4416009"/></object></center>Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246894567183968746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15427820.post-31152447560244352692009-08-22T13:34:00.000-07:002009-08-22T13:52:36.725-07:00The Number 23With today's <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/rankingsindex">release of the Associated Press poll</a>, both halves of the "human element" in the BCS formula have weighed in. Notre Dame will begin the season ranked 23rd, the first time in either poll since the final poll of the 2006 season (on the heals of a Sugar Bowl blowout, the Irish finished 17th). So the Irish will begin the year as Golden Tate. How low can they go - Jimmy Clausen (#7)? Manti Te'o (#5)? Darrin Walls (#2)? Or perhaps even a Deion Walker?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgizyidSyPpzyLQUT28bvhQI21tku9rwLlMWJ2BET90dRpAKByHHr9RYi7a4tY5eiU_0213wOLBbaMqjXGZ_GL8OzHcmJ8s2h9qoXm824_oi9hPIr5hte4bT0d4w95N-F9AorbQwQ/s1600-h/F576929.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 232px; height: 176px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgizyidSyPpzyLQUT28bvhQI21tku9rwLlMWJ2BET90dRpAKByHHr9RYi7a4tY5eiU_0213wOLBbaMqjXGZ_GL8OzHcmJ8s2h9qoXm824_oi9hPIr5hte4bT0d4w95N-F9AorbQwQ/s200/F576929.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372890658809646754" border="0" /></a>As for Notre Dame's opponents, only one - #4 USC - begins the year as being, in the eyes of the voters, any good. Six others - Pittsburgh, Michigan State, Boston College, Nevada, Michigan, & Navy - recorded at least one vote in one of the polls (the Wolverines and Midshipmen receiving some love only from the coaches).<br /><br />Can the season really be just 14 days away?Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246894567183968746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15427820.post-38796700510096393032009-08-07T08:43:00.000-07:002009-08-07T11:55:01.556-07:00All the News That Was Fit to Print<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2459/3754962937_0c4bcb9aa4_o.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 379px; height: 228px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2459/3754962937_0c4bcb9aa4_o.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>...except we missed the deadline.<br /><ul><li>When we last picked up the trail of Notre Dame Recruiting for 2010, the Irish were staring down a potential limbo situation with the class headliner, Chris Martin (since resolved) but also seeing a healthy influx of commitments during the dog days of summer. Since June 25th, the Irish have added (in chronological order): DE <a href="http://notredame.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=959634">Blake Leuders</a>, QB <a href="http://notredame.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=959429">Andrew Hendrix</a>, CB <a href="http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/orl-photo-bio-lo-wood-apopka,0,843114.photo">Lo Wood</a>, LB/S <a href="http://notredame.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=960622">Chris Badger</a>, DE <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=4309231&name=West_Recruiting">Justin Utupo</a>, QB <a href="http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/aroundthebend/2009/07/lake-forests-tommy-rees-commits-to-notre-dame.html">Tommy Rees</a>, LB <a href="http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20090711/BLOGS02/907119930">Kendall Moore</a>, CB <a href="http://notredame.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=965831">Spencer Boyd</a>, and DE/ATH <a href="http://www.blueandgold.com/content/?aid=7445">Prince Shembo</a>.</li></ul><ul><li>Meanwhile, the '<i>where there's smoke there's fire'</i> crowd got an unexpected "gift" when it was announced that Nate Montana, the older son of Joe, would be <a href="http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/aroundthebend/2009/07/nate-montana-to-leave-notre-dame-to-get-experience-at-junior-college.html">leaving Notre Dame for a semester</a> to play at Pasadena City College. Montana himself made more than one attempt to explain that the idea of the sabbatical was to gain meaningful playing time with the idea of returning to Notre Dame a better player this spring (and with Jimmy Clausen and Dayne Crist locked in to the first two depth chart positions, plus the return of Evan Sharpley for a fifth year, Montana didn't figure to get a lot of reps in practice nor games this fall, so it was a shrewd maneuver that actually will aid his development). The whispers though, about if the Montana clan had now cast a full "no-confidence" vote in Charlie Weis - remember how Montana's other son, Nick, committed to the University of Washington - just got louder. Not to mention infinitely more annoying.</li></ul><ul><li>Scheduling? Sure, there was some scheduling news. <a href="http://onlyfans.cstv.com/schools/nd/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/072009aaa.html">Yankee Stadium</a>, the <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/wire/chi-ap-fbc-notredame-tulsa,0,4185577.story">2010 proposed opponents</a>, <a href="http://blog.al.com/rapsheet/2009/06/nick_saban_lays_out_his_ideal.html">Nick Saban throwing down the gauntlet</a>, and Jack Swarbrick saying, "<a href="http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/college_football/48034557.html">Yeah, you know, playing Texas would be kinda cool</a>".</li></ul><ul><li>Then there was another Urban Meyer dust-up. Personally, I think this is a sick inside joke Meyer has going with somebody over how many times he can make the media speculate over his job status without him actually saying something. Every summer Urban owes his friend at least 12 "wild speculation blog posts" about a guy who heard from a guy who heard from a guy that Meyer might be interested in taking the Notre Dame job at some vague, undetermined future year that nobody has any clue over. If Urbie comes up short he has to do a lap around Gainesville in jorts. Now, when it came to Notre Dame, the Great Meyer Hope <a href="http://www.gatorsports.com/article/20090713/ARTICLES/907139947/1136?Title=Urban-Meyer-I-m-not-going-to-Notre-Dame-Ever">actually <i>did</i> say something</a>. Write down the exact date and time he said it, please. I'm just saying, you never know when that kind of information might come in handy. (How quickly have we forgotten Saban's "I'm not going to be the Alabama coach". Anyone?)</li></ul><ul><li>And of course, Lou Holtz was in the news. First as a coach (above photo) while leading the Notre Dame Legends team to <a href="http://www.ndjapanbowl.com/">victory in the Japan Bowl</a>, 19-3. It may well go down as the most impressive unofficial win in football history, as Holtz steered to triumph a squad that had Ambrose Wooden (!!) at quarterback for most of the game (do not adjust your computer monitor. You're reading it correctly). Brandon Hoyte also got in some carries at tailback. Then there was a quick rumor of a run for Congress out of the state of Florida (Lou currently makes his home in Orlando). Like Meyer, <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4381059">Holtz quickly emerged at a golf outing</a> to deny the veracity of the claim.</li></ul>To wrap it all up, programming note: the Japan Bowl can be seen in its entirety (and really, who doesn't want to see Ambrose Wooden run the triple option?) this Monday night on CBS College Sports Network - formerly CSTV - at 9 PM ET.Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246894567183968746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15427820.post-6340377706128897182009-07-20T19:00:00.001-07:002009-08-07T11:52:04.022-07:00Coming Soon to a Subway Near You<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWBS51Fedo3Ov6REVWlflo1xGE99Em-EQ-n_YpK7m7XlISuA692rmOarO-Q3IOZWM5ljUGcVdqsoe6Bb6LXtDu_VAY1YSxvX7qRuFwjtZADS5tT8kBgG9NUKErgQbxn46pqnnJiA/s1600-h/l3920974.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 4px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 232px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWBS51Fedo3Ov6REVWlflo1xGE99Em-EQ-n_YpK7m7XlISuA692rmOarO-Q3IOZWM5ljUGcVdqsoe6Bb6LXtDu_VAY1YSxvX7qRuFwjtZADS5tT8kBgG9NUKErgQbxn46pqnnJiA/s320/l3920974.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360727586399441074" border="0" /></a>When I said in the previous post that I was still treating <a href="http://weisnd.blogspot.com/2009/07/tulsa-and-tcu-on-2010-notre-dame.html">the leaked 2010 schedule</a> as a hypothetical document, citing its lack of a source (or any other attribution whatsoever) I wasn't trying to pull a Buzz Bissinger and question the manhood of bloggers. That would be the ultimate pot-meeting-kettle. It's not like I think "We Is ND" posted the info after stumbling home from an all-night bender. It's just that later this very same day a press conference was held that put a bullet through one of the supposed "final" dates on the schedule.<br /><br />In that version of 2010, Notre Dame was set to renew acquaintances with Army on Nov. 6th at Yankee Stadium while the Irish would host Tulsa on November 20th. But at <a href="http://www.und.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/072009aaa.html">today's press conference in the Bronx</a>, it was formally announced (after <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4336932">being confirmed days ago</a> by numerous sources) that the Irish would play the Black Knights of the Hudson on the 20th before they wrap up the season on November 27th against USC. It could be simply that he had the dates wrong. It also could mean the schedule is not final. I highly suspect it's the former but again, that's just me with my open mind.<br /><br />The return of college football to the new Yankee Stadium, the $1.5 billion palace that can buy everything except more than 50% capacity for the seats right behind home plate (maybe they should've done what the Louisiana Superdome did, and purposely paint the seats a neutral, alternating color so it would appear on television as if people were sitting in them; they could do what game shows do and bring in human blow-up dolls to occupy the seats, either one) was first hinted at <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/21/sports/21irish.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=notre%20dame%20yankee%20stadium&st=cse">during a May <span style="font-style: italic;">New York Times</span> interview with Irish AD Jack Swarbrick</a>. From the first public mention of the idea it seemed that Swarbrick was intent on having the Irish involved, preferably with the cadets from West Point as an homage to some of the great foundational games in college football. The Notre Dame-Army series gave us the "<a href="http://www.nd.edu/%7Eobserver/09101999/Sports/2.html">Rockne invents the forward pass game</a>" in 1913, the 1924 Notre Dame win which inspired the creation of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Horsemen_%28football%29">The Four Horseman</a>, and the 1946 edition of The Game of the Century, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1946_Army_vs._Notre_Dame_football_game">an epic 0-0 tie</a> between the Irish under Johnny Lujack and the Army powerhouse led by Doc Blanchard and Glenn Davis. During a number of springtime speaking appearances, Swarbrick made repeated references to <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Notre-Dame-Game-Changed-Football/dp/078672014X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1248142674&sr=1-3">The Game That Changed Football</a>, a recent book chronicling the 1913 meeting, and also pointed out that in commemorative books celebrating old Yankee Stadium, dozens of pages were dedicated to the presence of college football, specifically Notre Dame, at the House That Ruth Built.<br /><br />Alas, since those heady days of Rock asking the team to "Win One for the Gipper" against Army in the same locker room where Ruth and Gehrig once stood, it hasn't exactly been instant classic material - a one-sided affair between the two schools where Army's last win came in 1958 by the odd score of 14-2, and the only moment of drama in the 13 Irish victories since occurred as <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teO9oWwNSzc">Ivory Covington made "The $8 Million Tackle"</a> on a two-point conversion in 1995. Notre Dame leads the series overall 37-8-4.<br /><br />What those great meetings of the past share, however, is that they were played in the thriving metropolis of New York City, not far from the grounds of the USMA and smack in the middle of Irish-Catholic immigrant territory. To first the Polo Grounds, and Ebbets Field, and then Yankee Stadium and even Shea Stadium they would flock to see the little Catholic school from the Midwest that they only heard about on the radio or read about in Grantland Rice columns. The preferred method of transit (the clackety-clack trains of the Metropolitan Transit Authority) gave rise to the moniker of "subway alumni", a tradition that continues to this day.<br /><br />So from a lot of vantage points this makes sense. There's a lot of Irish fans who probably wouldn't be willing - or able - to shell out the small fortune necessary to make the round-trip to South Bend. But in the middle of the largest city in America, in a stadium accessible to millions with a simple $4.50 Metro Card, to say nothing of an even bigger sample of fans who are a modest train ride away on Amtrak or the North Shore? It won't be difficult to fill the estimated 47,000 seats, unless we see another "It's Yankee Stadium!!" price scale where face value on the nosebleeds is $50...which, come to think of it, we probably will. Put "affordability" in the maybe column. Anyway, the TV partners go home happy as NBC gets a prime-time college football game for its schedule featuring a brand name and a built-in curiosity factor on the same lines of what's driven viewership for the NHL Winter Classic. Then you factor in the historical significance of the series, the devoted following of veterans and the close proximity to West Point, and this is the kind of sensible solution that includes something for everybody when mapping out a "neutral site game". It makes the 7-4-1 scheduling model almost tolerable...almost. There are plenty of issues with that and we don't need to hash over all of them just now, but for something so rife with problems I have to tentatively say this is the most logical yet of the "in-season bowl games" envisioned by the athletic department.<br /><br />For those who want to size up any possible "home field advantage", the Irish have an overall record of 15-6-3 at The Stadium, with all but two of those meetings against the Black Knights (the exceptions: 1949 against North Carolina, and 1963 against Syracuse).Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246894567183968746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15427820.post-67763114504414017812009-07-20T17:58:00.000-07:002009-07-21T06:49:59.462-07:00Of Hurricanes & Horned FrogsThe tension has been simmering all summer over future Notre Dame schedules. What schools will be on it? What schools will try but won't be included? How many obnoxiously misplaced "neutral home games" can be squeezed into one calendar year?<br /><br />Then came today, July 20, 2009. The morning began with this <a href="http://weisnd.blogspot.com/2009/07/tulsa-and-tcu-on-2010-notre-dame.html">link</a> making the rounds at all of the Notre Dame web-sphere greatest hits - NDNation, Irish Eyes, Mike Frank, Rivals - claiming to have the 2010 final Notre Dame schedule along with the obligatory analysis. The 12-game lineup for the Irish, according to this blog which cited no sources and provided no links (home gaps in caps):<br /><blockquote>Sept. 4 - PURDUE<br />Sept. 11 - MICHIGAN<br />Sept. 18 - @ Michigan St.<br />Sept. 25 - STANFORD<br />Oct. 2 - @ Boston College<br />Oct. 9 - PITTSBURGH<br />Oct. 23 - @ Navy (Meadowlands)<br />Oct. 30 - TCU<br />Nov. 6 - ARMY (@ Yankee Stadium)<br />Nov. 13 - UTAH<br />Nov. 20 - TULSA<br />Nov. 27 - @ Southern Cal</blockquote>Ten of these opponents were known entities - what ND Nation was waiting (in anticipation? in anxiety?) to hear was who Jack Swarbrick had in mind to fill two open dates on the schedule. For those hoping to rekindle the Miami series, great news - the Hurricane is on the schedule! Bad news, it's the Golden Hurricane of Tulsa, where double Domer Lawrence "Bubba" Cunningham is athletic director. Also on the docket are (again, assuming this is to be believed) the proverbial top dog of Mountain West Conference, the TCU Horned Frogs, who last season posted an 11-2 record, the only losses coming on the road to undefeated Utah (by a field goal) and BCS Title game participant Oklahoma (The Frogs lost 35-10 but only gave the Sooners 25 yards on the ground).<br /><br />So if I told you that Notre Dame's two open slots on the 2010 schedule were filled by a team coming off an 11-win season where the only losses were to teams that finished #2 and #5 in the AP Poll, and a second team that's gone a combined 21-6 in the past two years, most would say Notre Dame went out and got two competetive opponents. They would say it was something they might be interested in. After we've seen what programs are actually behind Door #2 though, it becomes less <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Let's Make a Deal</span> and more <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Who Wants to Tar and Feather an Athletic Director</span>? <a href="http://www.ndnation.com/boards/showpost.php?b=football;pid=157336;d=all">Judge for yourself</a>. Allow me first to (fruitlessly) state that I'm not trying to be an apologist, I'm just trying to point out that, however probable it all seems in the wake of the Kevin White Error, this schedule being bandied about is still a hypothetical (I'll expand on that point in the next post).<br /><br />It's not for me to say who is wrong and who is right in the debate over how "good" a team has to be to earn a place on Notre Dame's schedule. It's also, I think, worth pointing out there's no independent verification that this is indeed going to happen. I say that almost as a courtesy because I would place the odds of an upcoming announcement involving Notre Dame, Tulsa, and TCU and way above 50-50. I just would like to see some kind of a source document, that's all.<br /><br />The point of this post is not for me to rant against the money-grabbing administration or to prop up strawman arguments (after all, I would like to think my point here is that we can be able to avoid going to either of those extremes). What I ask is this: <blockquote>Should a program with championship aspirations (and even if they may be borderline delusional, Notre Dame does indeed have championship aspirations) be scheduling with the intention of getting "big name" opponents, or scheduling opponents who have quality records and results even if their conference pedigree doesn't stack up with the SEC?</blockquote>Frame it this way: a popular argument about the BCS is that it is designed to shut out the little guy, it's a tool of "The Man" meant to maintain a rigid system of haves and have-nots in college football. Fans across the country, of programs big and small, rail against it every year and proudly point out moments like Boise State-Oklahoma in '07, or Utah-Alabama last year, as proof that the little guys should get a shot. In the very next breath, when somebody suggests, "Why don't you put those teams on your schedule then?" we hear a wave of righteous indignation about how the very idea of such a creampuff opponent is beneath us. With two concepts in such direct conflict with each other, something clearly has to give.<br /><br />Notre Dame fans often get chided for living in the past, romanticizing about the days of the single-wing and trying to recapture the glory of a by-gone era. <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Notre Dame just doesn't get it, they can't accept how much college football has changed</span>, is the popular refrain, usually peppered with far more colorful message board slang. Wouldn't it then be fair to say that part of the sea-change we've seen in college football, with its exploding internet coverage, television packages, blogs, and recruiting-via-Twitter, is the simple reality that you don't have to have an 80-year tradition of excellence to be a good team? To underscore the point, Tulsa & TCU have popped up semi-frequently on Oklahoma's schedule in recent years (the draw of playing the Sooners no doubt offering those programs a boost in money value and recruiting), and I haven't heard a loud chorus in their fanbase going on long tirades about how atrocious their schedule is and how much it hurts in the eyes of the people who matter (i.e., the voters). Then again, I haven't been listening to OU's fanbase all that closely.<br /><br />I don't have all the answers. I'm just asking questions, and I'll be asking more as conditions warrant.Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246894567183968746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15427820.post-86789734157068785112009-07-13T14:42:00.000-07:002009-07-13T15:11:23.028-07:00Where's Golic?Mike Greenberg filmed an "essay" for the ESPN Fan Feast series, where notable ESPN personalities ruminate on the one sports experience they believe everybody ought to share. I found it amusing that amidst all of his poetic musings on the power of "The Sign" (or PLACT as it is known in shorthand to some), he couldn't make any room in the piece for his radio cohort Mike Golic to perhaps expound on what it was like in the "dark ages" before The Sign. Of course, Greeny did make time for a chuckle-worthy cameo by another Irish icon:<center><object width="384" height="216" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" id="ESPN_VIDEO" data="http://espn.go.com/videohub/player/embed.swf" allowscriptaccess="always" allownetworking="all"><param name="movie" value="http://espn.go.com/videohub/player/embed.swf"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="wmode" value="opaque"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><param name="allowNetworking" value="all"><param name="flashVars" value="id=4324477"></object></center><center><br /></center><center style="text-align: left;">For further reading, the official UND archives has a historical page on The Sign <a href="http://www.und.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/111204aac.html">here</a>. Of interesting note - most of the background extras for this piece are ESPN employees. And they say there's a vicious anti-ND bias at the Worldwide Leader.</center>Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246894567183968746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15427820.post-20373045866518899642009-07-09T12:11:00.000-07:002009-07-09T12:22:53.740-07:00They Bring You The News...so you don't have to get it yourself. ESPN's evaluation of Tommy Rees must've been in the outgoing mail bin when I last checked. This morning's <a href="http://insider.espn.go.com/ncf/recruiting/tracker/player?recruitId=93648&season=2010">full-scale evalutaion</a>: <blockquote>The first thing that jumps out about Rees is his release. In fact, we are surprised he has not received more attention due to his delivery alone at this stage. He is a prospect that coaches may look at and see an intriguing prospect three years down the road with upside and late bloomer potential...He can beat the rush with his delivery and while he does not have an elite arm, his release can compensate somewhat. Arm strength is efficient and allows for him to make most, if not all the necessary throws when his feet are set. Rees' overall accuracy is also an impressive trait. Throws a soft, catchable pass that rarely strays to far from the strike zone...while he may not be in the elite category in terms of overall physical tools, he has a high ceiling for development and productivity and is the type of player we could see being a different player down the road than he is now. Good, under the radar prospect.</blockquote>Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246894567183968746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15427820.post-75448364259953156782009-07-08T18:12:00.000-07:002009-07-13T14:58:37.918-07:00Utupo & Rees Under The Radar; Reaction Over the Top<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://media1.suntimes.com/multimedia/rees.jpg_20090529_16_44_39_46-312-470.imageContent"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 4px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 204px; height: 135px;" src="http://media1.suntimes.com/multimedia/rees.jpg_20090529_16_44_39_46-312-470.imageContent" alt="" border="0" /></a>The reaction in some corners to the most recent ND recruiting developments has me in a more reflective mood (more reflective than usual, I guess). It's not to slight these two men who've just signed on to the program when I say I had know idea who they were or if they were being recruited by Notre Dame until after they announced they'd committed. That such a thing would be consider "odd" says a lot more about me, and the somewhat uncomfortable direction the business of college football has been heading in for some time, than it does about these players.<br /><br />"Recruiting" used to be a lot different. Coaches, particularly old-timers, acknowledge as much when they have to try and pretend that it's really them using Facebook and Twitter to keep up with the latest high school studs. The explosive powers of the internet have long since put an end to the days when only a select few, if any, high school athletes could garner national attention, to say nothing of the fact that the permanent revolution in the televising and marketing of college sports is expanding the selection of schools every year that a player might find desirable. Put it this way - in 1986, Rocket Ismail knew that only a handful of schools would truly showcase his talent to the whole country, Notre Dame of course being one of them. In today's age, with the power of YouTube and Facebook behind him, Rocket could've been an even bigger star while attending Central Connecticut, because we all would've known about him long before he ever put on a college uniform.<br /><br />That's why most college football fans are consuming highlight reels and obsessing over star rankings more and more with each passing year. The information is so available - and the players so heavily scrutinized for so long when, only 15 years ago, such proclamations would've been laughed at - that the built-in assumption is that only schools who stockpile 15 "five-star" kids per year are collecting anything resembling a talent base.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg418Rt7AbQPNU8Hrj0pZc0VCdUrHqr9EPUQ0QMs4E1s46tdKXLMs_s6MoctAD4MVbVxduEz6Jx4Mt9erIQ-7jsfKRBzkCN-O5LT64jXxgNRIeiY8wCE2XCeYTq90SjCQnjKnnR/s200/utupo.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 4px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 132px; height: 136px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg418Rt7AbQPNU8Hrj0pZc0VCdUrHqr9EPUQ0QMs4E1s46tdKXLMs_s6MoctAD4MVbVxduEz6Jx4Mt9erIQ-7jsfKRBzkCN-O5LT64jXxgNRIeiY8wCE2XCeYTq90SjCQnjKnnR/s200/utupo.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>To that end, the two commitments Notre Dame picked up on the heels of the July Fourth weekend inspired another idiotic round-robin among the message board and blog community over if the coaching staff had been reduced to scraping the bottom of the barrel. The players in question: DE <span style="font-weight: bold;">Justin Utupo</span> (left) of Lakewood, CA & QB <span style="font-weight: bold;">Tommy Rees</span> of Lake Forest, IL (above, right). Neither rated in the national top 100 nor the national top 10 at his position. Both were the "last spot", theoretically, for their position in this recruiting class (the Irish now have three defensive ends committed and two quarterbacks, about the norm for a recruiting year which follows one that was light on those roster areas). And both had unwanted distinction of being "the next guy on the list" after other, more highly-touted prospects had chosen schools other than Notre Dame. So the legion of armchair recruiters took to the keyboards and, while not critiquing these two players, certainly held the coaching staff in contempt for "failing" to meet the Notre Dame standard when it comes to the acceptable talent level for recruits. Some of you must surely be thinking "Where have I seen this movie before?"<br /><br />Of course, I too am an "armchair recruiter" too easily swayed by "eye-popping" scouting reports or ludicrous highlight reel cuts, so it would be unfair of me to launch into a rant about how all the other guys doing the same thing are being unfair. I also would not dispute the notion that if a "bigger name" in the quarterback department such as Blake Bell or Devin Gardner had committed, Tommy Rees probably wouldn't be in the position to get an offer from Notre Dame.<br /><br />That doesn't mean Rees isn't a good player.<br /><br />It also doesn't mean he'll blossom into a great player, as if flying below the radar automatically marks one for greatness. Many guys aren't hyped on Scout & Rivals because they just aren't that good (and thank God I never played football to let these guys get a crack at me, because I'd have rated straight zeros). Yet we'd all be well served by remembering that (and the pun is unavoidable here) the stars do not always align. Even if both of these players were the best in their class, the expectation should not be that Rees or Utopo would automatically arrive on campus a starter and rack up untold personal glories along the way (that's what it would be, but that wouldn't make it less absured). We also develop amnesia about the fact that such expectations get thrust on a select 40 to 50 players heading off to many different programs <i>every</i> year, and <i>every</i> year without fail we look back on the class from a few years prior only to wonder how a lot of those other "can't-miss kids" become footnotes in a <span style="font-style: italic;">Where Are They Now?</span> piece. That should tell us how flawed the process is. Yet we (reliably) keep coming back for more.<br /><br />Over at <a href="http://www.bluegraysky.blogspot.com/">Blue-Gray Sky</a>, they have made a project of yearly evaluations on how right (and just as often, how comically wrong) those predictions and expectations turned out to be. Checking out the analysis of <a href="http://bluegraysky.blogspot.com/2008_08_01_archive.html#922483380957521271">how the class of 2009 panned out</a> nationally (in other words, which of last year's seniors were <span style="font-style: italic;">supposed</span> to be the best in the country when they came out of high school) gave me pause. For every Rey Maualuga and Jonathon Stewart, bona fide All-Americans and future NFLers, we find a Fred Rouse, Tray Blackmon, or Luther Brown, who never rose above bit player status if they were lucky, and wound up in prison if they weren't (#20 Melvin Alaeze, DE - conveniently enough one of Ron Zook's first "big catches" at Illinois). Heck, the player who earned pretty much unanimous acclaim as the best in his class once he actually, you know, <i>got on the field</i> - Arkansas's Darren McFadden - ranked #51 with Scout.com's national list. Can you imagine anybody during the fall of 2007 arguing that Darren McFadden wasn't one of the 50 best players in the country? But in the spring of 2005, when the recruiting evaluations came, before any one of these players had played a single down, such an opinion might as well have been the law of the land.<br /><br />So in the end, all I really know about Justin Utupo and Tommy Rees is this: they play football, reasonably well we can assume, as multiple Division I bowl championship subdivision coaching staffs have extended them full scholarship offers (top contenders for Utupo included Oklahoma State, Oregon State, Utah, BYU, Missouri, & Nebraska, while Rees had offers from Tennessee, Stanford, and also Miami-OH where former Irish offensive coordinator Mike Haywood is now head coach). Presumably such offers were extended because every staff believes this two young men can develop both into football players who can help them win and good young men who can represent their school with pride. How long it will take or how "great" they will be is a question beyond anybody's ability to answer. Long ago, in an age before Tom Lemming, this was how it was done all the time. Coaches had a vast informal network of scouts who passed along the word about a certain kid, they followed up, and they either offered the kid a scholarship or not. It was also easier then to offer lots of kids whether they were all great or not, considering the 85-man limit wasn't in effect. But now, in the age of viral videos and high school football on ESPN every week, clearly any kid who doesn't rate a 6.0 on the Rivals.com scale is a bum. Further, and I think this was the point a lot of people were hung up on, the coaches who would even <i>think</i> of recruiting such kids are bums grasping desperately for somebody, anybody, to be a warm body in the class and would be better off at a MAC school.<br /><br />Of course the irony in all of this is that a lot of the shortcomings of a program (especially Notre Dame) will be be ascribed to a failure of recruiting, and then fans/pundits will try to build up some goodwill and patience during struggles by pointing out "look how good the recruiting is going!", when in truth it may not be all that different than it was before. It's still the crapshoot it was in 1975, it's just that now the average fan who wouldn't know about half of Notre Dame's roster until they actually played against Michigan during their sophomore year now knows about <i>every</i> player on the roster and how they performed during week 2 of their junior year...of high school. <div><br /></div><div>I've said it before, I just think the whole process of recruiting and trying find the "secret" of it is the ultimate chicken-and-egg proposition. To back up my point: last year's Heisman Winner, Sam Bradford? <a href="http://oklahoma.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=1&pr_key=31616">A three-star recruit</a>. Now, was he just 'horribly' misevaluated? Was he superbly developed by a coaching staff that knew his exact talent and molded every part of the offense around him? Was it a combination? Or was it intangibles? From now on, I think I'm gonna adopt a '<i>Justice Potter Stewart describes pornography</i>' approach to identifying "legit football talent":<br /><br />I can't define it, but I know it when I see it. And I haven't seen Justin Utupo or Tommy Rees play yet. </div><div><br /></div><div>However, ESPN has, so here's their take. Get excited or depressed at your own discretion. <a href="http://insider.espn.go.com/ncf/recruiting/tracker/player?recruitId=84350&season=2010">Utopo</a>: <blockquote>Utupo is an active defender. He plays a little out of position in high school as a defensive tackle, but we feel he will make the move to defensive end in college. He has solid size though he looks as if he may not be as big as listed. He will use his hands to shed and make a play on the ball. Does a good job of being able to get to the shoulder of the blocker and get in the gap. Does a good job of being able to stay square and keep himself in a position to make a play. He displays good speed and short-area change-of direction skills. He will leave his feet at times, but for the most part is a physical wrap-up tackler. As a pass rusher he can create some push and work off the block. Utupo combines some ability with effort and can be productive.</blockquote> ...and <a href="http://insider.espn.go.com/ncf/recruiting/tracker/player?recruitId=93648&season=2010">Rees</a>: <blockquote>No evaluation available at this time.</blockquote> Doesn't ESPN realize half the ND fanbase is trying to anoint this kid the next Joe Theismann, and the other half is ripping into the staff for "whiffing" on all the good QBs, thereby getting stuck with this bum? Get it together! (Rees' profile does come with video, though.)</div>Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246894567183968746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15427820.post-37072423034911190652009-06-30T19:52:00.000-07:002009-08-22T14:03:39.071-07:00Your Regularly Scheduled ProgrammingWhen news rains on the recruiting front, it pours. Perhaps it's because of all the ominous signs of the noose around Charlie Weis' neck, or maybe because of it, that recruiting has taken on a more aching, desperate tone this offseason. With each day passing by without a big name highlight reel to chew over, Irish fans resorted more and more to chewing off their own fingernails.<br /><br />Well, rest easy and chew on this. In the last 7 days the Irish secured four verbal pledges, each one addressing a key need in the construction of a class that, like the one preceding it which just entered summer school, needs to bring in solid reinforcements rather than ready-to-go standouts at every position (though certainly some positions have a more urgent need than others during this recruiting calendar). But we can do some amateur depth chart engineering at a later. Here are the fab four in no particular order:<br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Andrew Hendrix</span>, QB, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 4px 10px; WIDTH: 135px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 135px" alt="" src="http://www.jjhuddle.com/media/images/article/1235511114.gif" border="0" />Cincinnati, OH</span> (Moeller High School). You all remember Moeller as the school which gave Notre Dame Gerry Faust - and boy, was that the gift that kept on giving. Moeller's far from the De La Salle-type juggernaut it was during Faust's heyday of the late-'70s, when the Crusaders went unbeaten five tims in six years and were four times picked as the mythical national champions of prep football. Faust then was plucked from Ohio to lead the most storied college football program in the country...and perhaps it is fair to say neither school has been the same since. The word that seems to define Hendrix at this point is "raw", which I guess could be seen as either unproven, or simplyuntapped - obviously a lot of programs saw potential that could be built on with his junior years numbers: 1,700 yards, 11 TDs, and 7 INTs. A far cry from 50+ touchdown throws for recent signal-calling studs, but nonetheless Hendrix fielded offers from the in-state Buckeyes, Purdue, Stanford, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Miami, Nebraska, Northwestern, and Maryland. He certainly isn't a finished product from a physical standpoint and isn't the best athlete Weis has recruited at the position - that honor goes to Dayne Crist...<em>yes</em>, even ahead of Demetrius Jones. There's been plenty of positive buzz around Hendrix that ought to only grow with his commitment to the Irish. ESPN's recruit index raved about his arm strength and the possibility of him being "the biggest sleeper of this class", by which they meant nationwide, not strictly Notre Dame.</span></li></ul></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://vmedia.rivals.com/IMAGES/PROSPECT/PHOTO/BLAKELUEDERS4_27200.JPG"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 4px 10px; WIDTH: 110px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 145px" alt="" src="http://vmedia.rivals.com/IMAGES/PROSPECT/PHOTO/BLAKELUEDERS4_27200.JPG" border="0" /></a><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Blake Lueders</span>, DT, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Zionsville, IN</span> (Zionsville HS). An imposing 6'5", Lueders picked Notre Dame over a host of ACC and Big 10 schools. Ranked as a four-star prospect and the #14 player in the nation for his position by Rivals, the story of his commitment phone call fired up a round of chatty internet message board posts about the net gain of having new defensive line coach Randy Hart out on the recruiting trail - Lueders specifically mentioned taking another unofficial visit to South Bend just so his parent could meet Hart and hear his vision for the Irish defense:</span></li></ul></span><blockquote>“You know the energy he has,” Lueders said. “He exploded with enthusiasm, and started going crazy. He said I made his night and went on and on.”</blockquote><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.facebook.com/profile/pic.php?uid=AAAAAQAQRuPlmboYMbXYj_uPscYyWwAAAAr3PBorsAkxNiJHPc1tl2zt"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 4px 10px; WIDTH: 144px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 136px" alt="" src="http://www.gatorcountry.com/images/uploads/footballrecruiting/lowood.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Lo Wood</span>, CB,<span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"> Apopka, FL </span>(Apopka HS). It's slightly unfortunate that yes, his name is "Lo" and he hails from "FloRida", prompting what hopefully will be many choruses of "Shawty got low, low, low, low..." from the slightly inebriated students during his upcoming career. The cost of doing business in the era of never-ending one-hit wonders. But I digress. Wood, a 5'10" corner with speed, talent, and plenty of opinions on both, drew almost instant comparisons with RJ Blanton, the locquacious freshman who stepped into the #2 corner spot by season's end and figures to be a starter when the '09 campaign opens. Wood also conducted probably the most theatrical commitment since Jimmy Clausen, calling and then cancelling a press conference at his high school before revealing he was actually at Notre Dame on a second unofficial visit with his father. Notre Dame made the final cut over Michigan, Georgia Tech, and Ole Miss, and another new addition to Weis's staff received special praise as Wood broke down the decision, singling out his primary recruiter Tony Alford in addition to his future position coach Corwin Brown. What the Irish staff may be lacking in big-stars early on in this campaign they at least make up for with the kind of high-energy recruiting you need to compete in today's college landscape.</span></li></ul></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://vmedia.rivals.com/IMAGES/PROSPECT/PHOTO/CHRISBADGER5_18200.JPG"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 4px 10px; WIDTH: 132px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 175px" alt="" src="http://vmedia.rivals.com/IMAGES/PROSPECT/PHOTO/CHRISBADGER5_18200.JPG" border="0" /></a><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Chris Badger</span>, FS, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Provo, UT</span> (Timpview HS). If there's one school that knows the perils that come with a committed prospect agreeing to go on a visit to other schools, it's Notre Dame. Some awfully big fish got away like this: Justin Trattou, Omar Hunter, Marlon Pollard, etc. When all the recruitnik headlines the following Monday lead with a variation on "He was blown away", it's even worse news. So it was with Badger, a bruiser in the middle from Utah who had previously committed to Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh. That's where Randy Hart enters the picture once again, <a href="http://www.irishsportsdaily.com/index.php?option=com_resource&controller=article&article=594&category_id=7&Itemid=83">giving Badger the hard sell</a> to get him to visit, then selling him harder on the beauty and tradition of the Irish program that had Badger's dad (an alum of The Farm and a "big skeptic" on Notre Dame, to use the prospect's own words) wearing a shirt from the Bookstore before the visit ended. Interesting footnote: as one might have guessed given his Utah residency, Badger is Mormon and <a href="http://notredame.rivals.com/content.asp?cid=960622">made a point of spending time on campus with Manti Te'o</a>, who was wrapping up the first week of summer school:</span></li></ul></span><blockquote>"We went to church together on Sunday for a little while," Badger said. "We both think it's great being out here and representing our church and doing our best to represent our church and being great people and great football players."</blockquote>All told, a great start to the stretch run of summertime. As tomorrow marks the turn into July, it's hard to believe that the season is just 66 days away. Yet paradoxically it's driving me crazy having to wait 66 more days.Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246894567183968746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15427820.post-31355495028938836382009-06-26T13:43:00.000-07:002009-06-26T14:32:10.036-07:00Another One Bites the ResLife...I went back and forth on what headline to choose. Suffice to say a ton of stuff has happened in the last 72 hours, all of it in one way shape or form set to have a big impact on the future of the Notre Dame football program. There was addition, subtraction, probably even a little long division. Some friends became enemies, some enemies became friends, and all of those various news items deserves its own separate entry. So, in other words, more to come.<br /><br />Today though, brought another head-scratching roster alteration that can be laid at the feet of the Office of Residence Life. Earlier in the week, as the full roster of Notre Dame players arrived for summer school and unofficial training camp - including incoming freshman such as Cierre Wood and Manti Te'o - it was announced that tight end <span style="font-weight: bold;">Joseph Fauria</span>, who had shown major improvements in spring ball and secured the No. 2 tight end position behind Kyle Rudolph, would be <a href="http://www.indystar.com/article/20090625/SPORTS0604/906250416/1072/SPORTS0604/Notre+Dame+s+Fauria+to+miss++09+season">missing the fall semester for the never-promising "personal reasons"</a>: <blockquote>The university says that Fauria has not enrolled for personal reasons and will not be enrolled in the fall semester either.<br /><br />Charlie Weis will be losing a valuable asset at tight end, and hopes to have him back.<br /><br />"Joseph won't be with us this fall but I hope to have him return for the spring semester," Weis said in a statement.</blockquote> Fauria <a href="http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/aroundthebend/2009/06/tight-end-joseph-fauria-wont-play-for-notre-dame-in-2009.html">confirmed as much</a> - his plan to return after a semester, similar to the path of Darrin Walls & Gary Gray - to the Chicago Tribune on Wednesday. Well, you know what they say: men plan, ResLife laughs.<br /><br />By Friday, Fauria had announced his intention to transfer, stating that he'd asked for (and received) his release and would look to remain close to home on the west coast, possibly at a Pac-10 school. The news (so far) has been reported only by Mike Frank's very reliable Irish Sports Daily. Mike runs a premium news site so I hope I'm not jailbreaking some exclusive news, but the official statements from Fauria are <a href="http://www.irishsportsdaily.com/index.php?option=com_resource&controller=article&article=584&category_id=6&Itemid=83">here</a> and haven't been restricted by any password info, so judge for yourself. The especially relevant words:<blockquote>Fauria again said that he was disappointed because he felt that he was doing the right things on the field and in the classroom.<br /><br />“The truth is I had a really good spring. I pushed for my number two spot on the depth chart and that’s where I was. I had a 3.0 GPA,” he said.<br /><br />He also said that his transfer had nothing to do with the Irish football program.<br /><br />“I’m not leaving because of the coaching staff. I love all of the coaches. My tight ends coach Bernie Parmalee was amazing, my recruiting coordinator Brian Polian, I was really close to him, he was great,” said Fauria. “I loved being coached by Coach Weis. It was great, he knew what he was doing. I’m proud to say that I was coached by him and that I was able to play for him. The reason why this took me so long is because of my friends on the team and my friends at the school.”<br /><br />Fauria said that the way the University staff handled a situation caused him to make his decision.<br /><br />“ I’ve always been a fan of Notre Dame, but I was mistreated by the Office of Residence Life,” he said. “They mistreated me very much. Something happened at school and I don’t think the punishment fit the crime. They didn’t handle the situation how it should have been handled. I guess they were trying to make an example out of me and I was not the person to do it to.”<br /><br />Fauria did not go into detail about exactly what happened.<br /><br />“I wasn’t being handcuffed or anything, but I’m not going to go into detail with that,” he said. “I’ll leave it open for interpretation."</blockquote> Now as a former employee of the Office of Residence Life, I want to put forward the one caveat of my experience, which I myself am fully guilty of: when you're 18, 19 years old, it's pretty much a guarantee that you'll feel the punsihment didn't fit the crime.<br /><br />Having said that...I'm with Fauria on this one. I also don't need to leave my statement open to interpretation (even as I speak without all the facts)<br /><br />This is yet <span style="font-style: italic;">another</span> case of ResLife drawing a line in the sand and deciding that, heaven forbid we acknowledge still-maturing young men and women can make mistakes, we have a standard here and if you fall below that standard, you are taken out with rest of the trash where you belong. And again, having been on the inside, I can say that's it not a simple case of Notre Dame being unduly harsh on athletes - this crap happens to kids who never got closer to the football field than the 47th row of the stadium. There are indeed some kids who simply had it coming, but I personally figure that it wouldn't be so horrible to at least adhere to a three-strikes policy.<br /><br />If Bill Kirk were a movie character, he'd be George Banks from <span style="font-style: italic;">Mary Poppins</span>: "<span style="font-style: italic;">Madam, kindly do </span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">not</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> attempt to cloud the issue with facts</span>." Not to mention common sense.Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246894567183968746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15427820.post-22795461812608392222009-06-18T12:51:00.000-07:002009-06-18T22:04:36.748-07:00Return EngagementsWe've been negligent. We have failed in our obligations as ardent watchdogs against complacency and ineptitude. We have...<br /><br />Sorry, for a moment this post was kicking off as if it were President Obama's annoucement on creating a new consumer credit agency. We're far too shallow and football-obsessed to raise our game to <em>that</em> level.<br /><br />But we are coming back, starting today - you may not have noticed that we were away for awhile, but that's fine. In all honesty, we didn't notice either. But having made the bold choice to resume blogger coverage, we couldn't have the first post back be about just any old thing. What topic could prove worthy of our renewed attention?<br /><ul><li>Recruiting developments, such as the verbal pledges of Cincinnati's <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=4205753&name=Midwest_Recruiting">Alex Welch</a>, New Jersey's <a href="http://blog.nj.com/hssportsextra/2009/06/raritan_wide_receiver_bennett.html">Bennett Jackson</a>, or South Bend's very own <a href="http://www.wsbt.com/sports/38303699.html">Daniel Smith</a>? Eh, old news. Besides, the current "shockwave" in Irish recruiting circles is...</li><li><a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4247770">The commitment the Irish didn't get, from Nick Montana</a>? The youngest of ND legend Joe's four kids, the four-star QB from Oaks Christian Academy (Jimmy Clasuen's alma mater) chose to become the signature recruit in new Washington head coach Steve Sarkisian's first class, giving Sark a ratio of 1 marquee recruit to zero games coached at UW. This puts him comfortably ahead of his predecessor, the Molder of Men, who clocked in at a robust 0.5:48 in that department (half credit for Jake Locker, which gets bumped to a full credit if/when he manages to stay healthy for a full year). And spare me the smart-aleck "You just can't let Tyrone go, can you" replies, which leads to the next story...</li><li>...the answer to the age-old question of "Who got paid more by the University of Notre Dame in 2008, Charlie Weis or Ty Willingham?" <a href="http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090527/BLOGS02/905279920">Apparently Tyrone landed on his feet just fine</a>. Nothing I say is gonna cause him to lose any sleep. If anything I'm keeping the man modest (not like he needs help on that score). But we still don't have a worthy blog post yet.</li><li>Wait, how about the potential scheduling news, like <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/21/sports/21irish.html">Army at Yankee Stadium</a>, or rumored discussions/pinings for a series with <a href="http://gazettextra.com/news/2009/may/28/alvarez-badgers-have-eyes-notre-dame-football/">Wisconsin</a>, <a href="http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/03/18/miami-notre-dame-in-talks-to-renew-football-rivalry/">Miami</a>, or <a href="http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/college_football/48034557.html">Texas</a>? Eh, some smoke there, but too little fire.</li><li>The insanely early pre-season rankings beginning to leak out there, such as ESPN (<a href="http://insider.espn.go.com/ncf/insider/news/story?id=4227981&action=upsell&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fncf%2finsider%2fnews%2fstory%3fid%3d4227981">Notre Dame's #17</a>) or Phil Steele (who put the Irish at 7 and rated <a href="http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20090602/BLOGS02/906029862">Golden Tate a first-team All-American</a>. I will have what he's having)? It's...June. Too early. Just too early.</li><li>Joe Paterno finally ascending to Bo Schembechler's throne as the grouchy old man of the Big Ten by implying Notre Dame might need the Conference That Can't Count, but <a href="http://weblogs.newsday.com/sports/football/ncaa_blog/2009/05/paterno_doesnt_want_notre_dame.html">they want no part of Notre Dame</a>? I'm gonna stick this one in my back pocket for later.</li><li>Coach Weis' venture into that strange vortex of time-wasting terror known as the "<a href="http://twitter.com/NDHFC">Twitter</a>-verse"? I'm ashamed to admit I do an almost daily check-in for his posts. Which begs the question Obi-Wan once posed: "Who's the more foolish, the fool or the fool who follows him?"</li><li>The controversy over President Obama's appearance at Notre Dame's commencement exercises and the <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4179431">predictably lame wisecrack</a> he made about the football team afterwards? What did I say at the top about not having the class to get all polticial around here?</li></ul>So we've chucked aside pretty much everything Notre Dame related that happened in the past three months, which when you look at in sum doesn't add up to much. I just want to hit fast forward to Sept. 6th already. That's no way to end a blog post though. We need to offer up our own original spin on something, so we arrive at Monday's "I shall return" two-fer in the two marquee sports.<br /><br />Granted, one was official and the other conditional, and the players involved are returning to very different circumstances, but each one addresses a vital need for their respective programs. First we have former Big East Player of the Year in basketball, <strong>Luke Harangody</strong>, who went through a "ho-hum" junior season where he was the only player in the country to rank in the top 10 in scoring and rebounding. Yes, you read that right. Not Blake Griffin, not Hasheem Thabeet, not even God himself, Tyler Hansbrough. There was one player who was Top 10 in points and boards, and he plays for Notre Dame. Unfortunately a seven-game losing streak in late January knocked the Irish to the far corner of the NCAA Tournament discussion and the season fizzled with an NIT berth (the Irish lost to Penn State in the semifinals).<br /><br /><a href="http://nittanywhiteout.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/harangody2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; float: right; width: 220px; height: 160px;" alt="" src="http://nittanywhiteout.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/harangody2.jpg" border="0" /></a>The news of Harangody's return, proudly broken on Mike Brey's entry into the <a href="http://twitter.com/NDMikeBrey/status/2181988585">Twitter</a>-verse, comes as a perfect jolt in the arm for a program that might not be on the down-side of the NCAA bubble for long. The Irish have a good mix of talent returning (or entering) the fold next year, depending on how willing you are to consider transfers Scott Martin and Ben Hansbrough - yes, he's related - as "returning" starters. Include Tory Jackson and what figures to be a more developed rotation with Jonathon Peoples, Tyrone Nash, potentially Carleton Scott & redshirt sophomore Tim Abromaitis, along with incoming freshman Joey Brooks & Jack Cooley, the Irish might not suffer such a steep drop-off in depth as everybody expected (though it turned out they weren't as deep as many believed in 2008-09, a critical reason for the mid-season collapse). <p></p><p>All things being equal, though, the story "behind" the story for Notre Dame basketball is that they should manage to stay about where they were while the Big East heavyweights come back to Earth around them. Again, that's a "supposed" view point. The Irish and Georgetown were supposed to be right in the thick of a juggernaut Big East last year and...well, you know how that turned out. Let's take the glass-is-half-full approach though, and put it this way: between a conference that suffered massive losses of star power via graduations and early NBA departures, a softer non-conference schedule, and now having the only returning member of last year's all-conference team, the Irish ought to once again shoot back up the Big East rankings. At the very least, they will not see a repeat of the eight-game death march where they played, in order: @ Louisville, @ Syracuse, UConn, Marquette, @ Pittsburgh, @ Cincinnati, @UCLA, Louisville. For those scoring at home, all 8 of those teams finished with winning records, 7 of them made the NCAAs, and <em>three</em> of them earned #1 seeds. Not even featured in that meat grinder were West Virgnia and Villanova, a #3 seed which went to the Final Four. So yeah, the conference should get easier while Notre Dame figures to at least stay where they are, if not improve given the return of a star player on a mission. Just before Brey broke out the Twitter, Harangody used that oh-so-2006 tool of <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/chi-17-notre-dame-luke-harangody-jun17,0,2475729.story">text messaging to offer his coach a modest proposal</a>: "Let's go win the Big East."<br /><br /><a href="http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/08e4cN5fgZ8On/610x.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; width: 212px; height: 160px;" alt="" src="http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/08e4cN5fgZ8On/610x.jpg" border="0" /></a>Right about the time Harangody and Brey were exchanging 140-character high-fives, Eric Hansen on the South Bend Tribune was <a href="http://twitter.com/hansensouthbend/status/2182450951">reporting</a> - also via the Twitter-verse! - that another surprise return could be in the offing at the Notre Dame football offices. In this case the player in question wasn't a returning All-American, but his taking of a fifth year could go a long way towards assuaging Irish anxiety. We speak here of <strong>Evan Sharpley</strong>, journeyman quarterback who figured to have played his last snaps during garbage time of the 2008 Hawai'i Bowl.<br /><br />Having completed the football season, all signs pointed toward the end of a gridiron career as Sharpley skipped spring workouts to focus on baseball, where it sure seemed like a corner had been turned during his junior year (.324 with 13 HR and 40 RBI). A great follow-up never materialized unfortunately, and Evan's final go-round on the diamond ended with a mere .223 batting average and 5 homers. His raw power was still enough to get noticed by somebody though, as the Seattle Mariners took him in the 50th and final round of Major League Baseball's draft last week (Sharpley's teammate, centerfielder AJ Pollock, became the highest-ever selection out of Notre Dame in the same draft, picked 17th overall by the Diamondbacks). Considering how often corner infielders ascend to a big league roster as 50th-round picks, it was a smart move for Sharpley (at Weis's suggestion) to quietly go through the application process for a fifth year after the spring semester ended.<br /><br />There were two competing schools of thought on this one: a) that it was a positive for Sharpley to return and provide some needed depth at the QB position while also bettering himself with a year of post-graduate work for life after football, all while getting a summer to prove himself in pro baseball (the Mariners agreed to let Sharpley return at the start of fall training camp, similar to the deal Jeff Samardzija cut with the Cubs before his senior season in 2006). Then there was b) Weis is so desperate for a quarterback he's reaching to the scrap pile after whiffing on Jake Heaps, Blake Bell, Nick Montana, Austin Hinder, and every other good quarterback in the universe...or something like that.<br /><br />Look, it's true that if either Demetrius Jones or Zach Frazer were still at Notre Dame, Sharpley likely would've played his last season in '08. Ditto if Weis already had a quarterback in the fold either as an incoming freshman or a rising high school junior. But even if that were the case, that the Irish had a commitment from a Montana or some such, that wouldn't exactly do much to plug one of the holes in the current rosts, which is the kind that seems insignificant (who ever really thinks about the thrid string anyway?) until the moment you need it, at which point it gets exposed for the gigantic sieve that it is. Phrased differently: as the roster currently stands, the Irish are one snap away from untested redshirt freshman Dayne Crist having to take over the offense. And if that came to pass, the Irish would then be one snap away from probable disaster with either walk-on Nate Montana or emergency QB John Goodman at the reins. So the question becomes do you want flashbacks to the Pat Dillingham era if an injury crisis erupts in 2009, or at least some tested veteran presence in the 'last resort' spot? At quarterback, it's a good idea to go three-deep.<br /><br />Safe to assume that both of these players are welcomed back with open arms, with the caveat of course that there are no guarantees in this life, particularly in the case of Harangody. Now that they're back, so are we. Buckle up, Irish fans - it's going to be a very interesting year.</p>Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246894567183968746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15427820.post-70299162931443347762009-04-17T00:34:00.001-07:002009-04-17T00:35:42.472-07:00iPhone, Blog Home...Alright, time to see if this mobile blogging thing works. This was sent from my iPhone. No, really. Couldn't make that up.Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246894567183968746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15427820.post-66373752048843467722009-03-02T23:34:00.000-08:002009-03-03T00:12:50.471-08:00Bubble BurstsBarring an unprecedented run next week in an arena they always seem to have a difficult time in, Notre Dame will not be making a third straight trip to the NCAA basketball tournament.<br /><br />The odds certainly weren't in the Irish's favor as the calendar flipped to March, with them scrambling desperately to recover ground after a seven game losing streak across January and February. But the dream is now officially over for Mike Brey's team after a close battle tonight with #16 Villanova turned into a blowout over the final 8 minutes, with a final of 77-60 that felt like a much closer game for a long time - except when it counted the most. We can play the blame game at a later date; at this moment, what seemed to be so promising back in Maui has fizzled and died on the vine before getting the chance to flow deep into March as we all hoped it would. Post mortem to follow.<br /><br /><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 160px; height: 215px;" src="http://vmedia.rivals.com/uploads/961/F508056.JPG" alt="" border="0" />Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246894567183968746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15427820.post-65616801177538679722009-02-12T14:39:00.000-08:002009-02-12T15:08:50.090-08:00Taste of the IslandsSo, last Wednesday Notre Dame signed its recruiting class. It was a modest haul by many estimates, with the class ranking somewhere in the lower half of the top 25 by the major evaluation services - 24th by Scout, 20th by Rivals, 14th by ESPN - but the Irish got a big boost right at the finish with the signing of Manti Te'o:<br /><br /><center><object height="361" width="440"><param name="movie" value="http://espn.go.com/broadband/player.swf?mediaId=3884151"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://espn.go.com/broadband/player.swf?mediaId=3884151" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" allowscriptaccess="always" height="361" width="440"></embed></object></center><br /><br />Just to get an obligatory <span style="font-style: italic;">Anchorman</span> quote out of the way, Te'o is kind of a big deal. People know him. He has many leather-bound scalps of running backs who've been flattened into the Earth by one of his hits, which you can scope out on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=&search_query=Manti+Te%27o&aq=f">numerous YouTube videos</a>. He was also the consensus National Defensive Player of the Year whom the trudging, "bumbling" 7-6 Notre Dame Fighting Irish beat out the USC Trojans for. That's a nice accomplishment. It wouldn't hold a candle to actually beating them on the field of play, but don't discredit the effort that went in to convincing a player of Te'o's caliber to join the Irish. This was a great performance by Charlie Weis and his top recruiting lieutenant, much-maligned special teams coach Brian Polian.<br /><br />Perhaps the biggest immediate impact Te'o might have is a psychological one, his presence alone seeming to help keep up the momentum from Notre Dame's bowl victory in Hawai'i. It also netted the Irish a small but speedy teammate in wide receiver Roby Toma, a now ex-UCLA commitment with a slight frame that still houses a 4.45 speed. Additionally, Te'o jumping on board was all the evidence that Oakland, CA linebacker/defensive end <span style="font-weight: bold;">Chris Martin</span> needed - he gave Weis his verbal commitment for the class of 2010 before the ink was dry on the 2009 letters of intent. He also has <a href="http://southbendtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090212/SPORTS13/902120297/1001/Sports">a pretty good spiel ready</a> for the intense recruiting that follows instead of precedes a commitment these days: <blockquote>“I call it a script, but it comes from the heart,” said the 6-foot-4, 232-pound junior defensive end/outside linebacker from Oakland, Calif., who last week verbally committed to Notre Dame to be part of its 2010 freshman football class.<br /><br />“When other coaches call me, I’m going to be up front and honest,” the Bishop O’Dowd High standout said. “I’m going to say, ‘I appreciate the attention you’re giving me. But I’m committed to Notre Dame, and that commitment is solid.’ ”<br /><br />Pause, pause. Click.</blockquote> Here's the 3-minute slice of Weis on Signing Day courtesy of Rivals.<br /><br /><center><div><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=8,0,0,0" id="yfop" height="333" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://d.yimg.com/cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/fop/embedflv/swf/fop.swf"><param name="flashvars" value="id=11872604&shareEnable=0"><embed src="http://d.yimg.com/cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/fop/embedflv/swf/fop.swf" name="yfop" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" flashvars="id=11872604&shareEnable=0" height="330" width="400"></embed></object><br /><a href="http://www.blogger.com/video/college-football/Weis-recaps-wild-Signing-Day-44044">Weis recaps wild Signing Day</a> @ <a href="http://rivals.yahoo.com/video">Rivals Video</a></div></center>Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246894567183968746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15427820.post-3341337435697685362009-02-12T14:36:00.000-08:002009-02-12T14:39:17.621-08:00Again, Read Your Email, Please...There's not much point in having the blog email box open for business (and <a href="http://section29row48.blogspot.com/2009/01/in-which-i-remember-password-to-email.html">putting up a post trumpeting that announcement</a>) if you're not actually going to live up to your word and check the mail. Or update the blog. To wit....<br /><blockquote>I'm getting heat from my fellow "inside circle" that signing day has passed and there is no blog from George. We're all waiting.<br /><br />Hope all is well with you...somebody mentioned it and I thought it a good chance to give you some crap.<br /><br />It was either this or diss the Sox.<br /><span style="color:#888888;"><br />Ken Girouard</span></blockquote>Diss the Sox? He wouldn't dare.Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246894567183968746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15427820.post-81881935559485570312009-01-26T23:50:00.000-08:002009-01-27T01:10:46.806-08:00When the Streak is Over<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://vmedia.rivals.com/uploads/961/F498210.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 4px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 278px;" src="http://vmedia.rivals.com/uploads/961/F498210.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Looking at Notre Dame's upcoming schedule two Monday afternoons ago, a friend remarked, "They're in trouble". I responded that they ought to be alright as long as they could defend their home court, as that would mean three quality wins in an insanely tough league. And what if they don't, he asked. "Well," I replied, "then they'll be in trouble."<br /><br />After tonight's discouraging 71-64 loss to #8 Marquette, the Irish aren't merely in trouble - they're on the bubble of the NCAA Tournament less than three weeks removed from being ranked in the Top 10. To look at this glass as still-half-full, if the season were to end right now, Notre Dame would undoubtedly have one of the strongest arguments among fringe contenders considering the schedule they've played inside the conference and out, plus the fact that they have nailed down wins against Georgetown & Texas while pushing Louisville to overtime and taking UConn and Marquette to the final minutes. The flip side, of course, is that all three of those losses (not to mention a Syracuse game that turned from a 5-point contest into a 19-point loss during the final six minutes) were games the Irish had a chance to win; they couldn't close the deal even once. At some point you're no longer a good team that's missing breaks - you're just a mediocre one that can't finish (see Notre Dame's '05-'06 season). Plus, this was not supposed to be a team that was sweating out making the NCAAs come February.<br /><br />The numerous opportunities lost had to be the most frustrating part of this weekend's double-dip, a two-game skid that snapped a 45-game winning streak at the Joyce Center. In both the 69-61 loss to #3 Connecticut as well as Monday's rivalry game with Marquette (especially the primetime tilt with UConn), the Irish weren't undone by anything out of the ordinary coming from their opponent. They simply could not make open shots that were there to be made. Kyle McAlarney dropped in three 3-pointers in the first five minutes aginst the Huskies, then missed 15 straight shots. What was more maddening was that unlike in tonight's Marquette game, when the Golden Eagles played splendid defense by rotating their speedy guards to drape a defender on him all night, Kyle was looking at the basket free and uncontested a bunch of times. None of them went in.<br /><br />The same fate befell Ryan Ayers and Zach Hillesland, who were a combined 2-of-15 for 4 points against UConn, which prompted Mike Brey to shuffle the deck and pull them from the starting lineup for Monday. It worked as far as getting some stronger production out of the players who replaced them - Jonathon Peoples in particular answered with a pair of big 3-pointers to finish with 8 points, as did Luke Zeller with 8 points and 8 rebounds. The switch did nothing to stop the tailspin of the two senior captains however, who "outdid" themselves by combining to go 0-for-10 in their new role as reserves (Hillesland left the Maqruette game with an ankle injury in the second half and did not return, though Brey suggested that the ankle alone wasn't the reason he didn't play the final 13 minutes).<br /><br />Nobody's mistaking Notre Dame for a "deep" team, in the way a few select ones like North Carolina are with four to five NBA lottery picks on their two-deep. But earlier in the season they were getting quality production from all seven players in their normal rotation as well as star-making turns from Harangody and McAlarney. Luke's still getting the attention as he continues to put up Player of the Year-type performances game after game, because that's what kind of player he is. But everybody needs a supporting cast and right now he doesn't have one. Is it fatigue alone that's causing a lot of misses on shots we've seen them make before? Possibly. For comparison, let's look at the Big East's top two teams in UConn and Pittsburgh. They both have 8 players who average at least 10 minutes per game; Notre Dame has 7. Far more significantly, Notre Dame alone has four players who average more than 30 minutes per game; Pitt and UConn put together have just three (Jeff Adrien and Hasheem Thabeet for the Huskies, Levance Fields for the Panthers).<br /><br />So now we have the good news/bad news proposition. Bad news first: things are not going to get any easier. First the Irish have to play in Pittsburgh on Saturday, where it'll be interesting to see the matchup of Harangody and Dejaun Blair. Then they have three days off before going to Cincinnati, and while Cincy may not be part of the Big East's top shelf, they were still good enough to hang around against Xavier & UConn. They've also accomplished what Notre Dame could not with a win at St. John's (though that was aided by the Red Storm's best player, DJ Kennedy, getting ejected from the game). After Cincy it's off to Westwood on Saturday morning (seriously: tip-off's at 10 AM Pacific) against UCLA, then back home to face Louisville on Thursday February 12th. All told it will mean having played <span>6 </span><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>games against teams in the Top 10 in three weeks, 7 against the Top 20 (UCLA is currently #16). It's an impressive stat to put on a resume for the Selection Committee - but you have to come up with some wins. Who you played is a factor, but it's who you can manage to beat that separates you from the NIT. Right now the Irish are sorely wanting in the latter category.<br /><br />But remember, in every problem lies opportunity: sure they have to play Pitt, UCLA, and Louisville. Here's the good news for the Irish: snag a victory in one of those games and it'll go a long way towards helping them; if they could take two out of three and tack on a win versus Cincinnati, they'll get out of this stretch roughly intact and with the hardest part of the season behind them. I've seen the Bruins play - the Irish can hang with them. We already know they can match Louisville and they get the benefit of playing at home this time. And after the Cards leave they get to the more charitable portion of their conference schedule which includes South Florida, Rutgers, and another game against St. John's, plus Villanova, West Virginia, and Providence, three teams more on the Irish's level as teams that are 'pretty good, but with noticeable holes' - though two of those games are on the road (WVU and Providence).<br /><br />In the immediate post mortem, there's only one conclusion: 'The Streak' may be over, but the battle has only just begun for the cagers. Here's hoping Kyle McAlarney and the boys and can rise to the challenge.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://sbimg.sv.publicus.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?NewTbl=1&Avis=SB&Dato=20090124&Kategori=SPORTS13&Lopenr=124009997&Ref=PH&Item=2&maxW=400&maxH=300"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 325px; height: 207px;" src="http://sbimg.sv.publicus.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?NewTbl=1&Avis=SB&Dato=20090124&Kategori=SPORTS13&Lopenr=124009997&Ref=PH&Item=2&maxW=400&maxH=300" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:78%;" >Digger Phelps and Bob Knight were laughing before Saturday night's game against Connecticut, the first time the basketball version of ESPN's popular "College Gameday" had traveled to South Bend.</span>Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246894567183968746noreply@blogger.com0