in football news <t>not to breakup the Illini title march to the Big 10 crown but...<br/> <br/> Our freshman continue to impress. We are still making silly mistakes. The line is pass blocking better but I wish they could dish out a pounding. Our RBs are pounders who would explode under a much better line.<br/> <br/> The QBs are ok. Clausen is the talent, but got hurt. Sharpley has poise, but a long eye for the action. Both look good though.<br/> <br/> The defense just lacks play-makers. The youngsters really give me a lot of hope.. <br/> <br/> Silly mistakes on both sides of the ball at the worst possible time continue to plague this team.<br/> <br/> One thing I was impressed to see is an 0-5 team still fighting. That's a sign that totally counters the whole 'Charlie has lost the team' charge we've heard lately</t>
Been a fan since 1966 (my earliest recollection was Hanratty to Seymour) at the age of eight. My father got me interested in them. He's very ill now but still a huge fan. I used to watch the Lindsey Nelson abbreviated games on Sunday mornings and thought I was watching the real game. I wasn't too bright. My father used to walk in and do a "Carnac" type thing where he'd say, "I predict Notre Dame 27 Navy 21," and leave the room. Of course he already knew the final score but I thought he was a genius. I haven't gotten any smarter as I've gotten older but my loyalty to the Irish has never waivered, and I'm not about to abandon them now. This too shall pass, and sooner rather than later. Charlie said this team reminds him of the 1993 Patriots who started 1-10 but steadily improved that year. They won their last four and the next season they were in the playoffs. This team has shown improvement that last two weeks. No reason to think that trend won't continue. It's still great to be an Irish fan.
I don't have as sharp an eye as most observers, but the kid on defense who caught my eye today is Kyle MCCarthy at S. LOL! Way to go Gip! Give 'em xxxx!
I really liked a lot of the younger kids today. I thought the second half of this Purdue game was the first, real, Fighting Irish football that I've seen all year. They actually executed some things well and several players stood out: Sophs George West, and Robby Parris looked good at WR; while true freshmen Golden Tate and Duval Kamara looked even better. I hate to say that the passing game improved when Grimes got hurt...but it improved when he got hurt. These four worked to get open, while Tate and Kamara proved that they could catch in traffic and over the middle... Brian Smith and Kerry Neal are a couple of nasty boys who're very fast and (except for Trevor Laws) they're the only pass rush we've got. In fact, Brian Smith needs to calm down. That cheap shot he took at Painter's jaw could have gotten him ejected. We need them both on the field... The Oline is coming along slowly, but its coming. Carufel looks better and better at guard... Love those safeties. TZ, Bruton, McCarthy, Herring and more good ones ready on the bench. I wish all the positions were stocked like that one. The special teams are still the worst in Div-I. All kicks missed or blocked; no punts returned; kick-offs going nowhere. You don't need great players for special teams: you need pride and effort. This is an area of poor coaching for sure... .............JO'Co
Did anyone see the banner in the endzone that said something to the effect "If Rudy was here he would be starting"? :lol:
Has it dawned on anyone yet that you went to bowls the last two years with "Ty's kids" and now that it's mostly "Charlie's boys" you ain't doing so well?
It's dawned on me. Jury is out as far as Charlie goes in my mind. He was a great O-Coordinator in the pros working under two HOF coaches. But this is college and these kids run on emotion as much as on play calling. This team is definitely going to get better but I question why it got so bad to begin with. Players leaving a program is not unusual; leaving in the middle of a season is. I watched Auburn handle Florida using three true freshmen O-Linemen; like wise Georgia did the same to Bama. And now, just when the offense is showing that it can be a little competitive, the defense seems to heading south. Numbers don't lie, we are on a seven game losing streak where we have surrendered 30+ points per game.
Age hasn't been kind to you, Tod. You are still a cranky talking head - in your case, yakking head - who would rather throw out hollow, mindless insults than be bothered by facts that would tend to neuter your sharp tongue. The aspect of Ty's time in South Bend that was more troublesome than his record, and which probably was the deciding factor, was his lazy approach to recruiting vs. the more successful D-1 coaches. He would not go to kids' homes. He did not visit schools. He simply would not leave South Bend. There always are a certain number of elite HS athletes who would come to ND even if Tod Jeffers was coaching. Brady Quinn was one of them. Jeff Samardjzia was another. Those are just two of many during Ty's time at ND. They were the no-brainers. The rub is that he missed many, many top recruits because he simply did not pursue them with vigor. I am as far from a recruitnik as you can get, but even I noted that our recruiting rankings during Ty's years was lower than previous years. As a result, his teams sorely lacked depth. Let's move ahead to this year's team. The 5th year seniors, the 4th year seniors, and roughly half of the juniors are Ty's recruits. There are only single-digits 4th year seniors left from the original recruiting class with virtually no playing experience, much less starting experience. Yes, there are many players on the field who are "Charlie's boys" but they are true freshmen and sophomores with a sprinkling of juniors. There is very little starting experience on both sides of the ball. The only interior OL with experience are the center and the soph RT. I was a strong Ty supporter until 2/3 through his third and last season when sitting at the BC game I had no choice but to admit that his team on the field lacked fire or heart or something that made the fans in the stands feel that we had a chance to win. We had a huge halftime lead. In the 2nd half, as we had done so many times before, we wilted and gave up the lead. The straw that broke the camel's back for me was a coaching call that sent the message to me that we were conceding the game. I won't go into detail but suffice to say that I, one of Ty's strongest supporters, was livid beyond appeasement. Let's look back at your previous post which I quoted above and use the same argument with Ty's teams. His best record was his first year with almost 100% Davie's recruits. Davie was not a good HC but he was a tireless recruiter and brought in some excellent players. As Ty's recruits moved in and Davie's recruits finished up, the team got worse. Same with Charlie, right? The difference is, the cupboard of underclassmen in Ty's last year was the barest it's been in recent memory and getting worse. Those who follow the program knew it and knew a year like this one was coming, no matter what happened with future recruiting. Granted, we did not think it would be this bad, but we knew we were going to pay the piper for the recruiting drop-off during Ty's years, no matter who was the HC. Conversely, Charlie has recruited energetically and tirelessly and has brought in excellent classes of sophomores and freshmen with an '08 class on the way that also looks great. We are now seeing 4 and 5-star freshmen and sophomores leaving because they can't move up on the depth chart and they know it's not going to get better when next year's recruits step onto campus. I see that as a positive sign that we are building quality depth. I don't expect this post to change your mind or your attitude, but I just wanted to enlighten you with some factual information.
Thanks for "enlightening" me but the simple fact is that Notre Dame these days is at best a mid level Division 1 team with no prospects of getting much beter. I'll grant you that some (such as NBC) are still buying into the ND mystique but that's yesterdays news. The Domer's fan base will always consist of catholic kids who never went to college and those fans who just want to attach themselves to a perceived winner. When NBC dumps ND (inevitable) see how fast they go crawling to get into some conference to beef up revenues. Thanks for acknowledging that I'm a cranky old man. It beats sitting on the porch suffering from hardening of the attitudes.
So Pitt lost, West Virginia lost as did Penn State. And all you can find time for is busting on a program that you have no interest in? Did your parrot crap in your cornflakes?
Oh Tod <t>just trying to keep the Domers honest eh?<br/> <br/> If you missed the Washington game, there was a true "Ty" moment that the idiots in the media just ate up with a spoon.<br/> <br/> When asked about the problems at ND being laid at his feet, he said that so many years have now past that this is no longer his team at ND, it is Coach Weis.......<br/> <br/> Well what they don't consider is that BECAUSE Ty was so sh*tty and lazy (except on the golf course):<br/> <br/> -We are 10 scholarship players under the max coming INTO this season (before recent transfers). If Ty didn't sign X numbers of kids, he'd figure that they'd just show up the next year...Not to mention the few who transferred in the wake of "Race Gate" when Ty's lazy, disingenuous ass was canned. (mind you, there was no bigger supporter of Ty than I when he was hired)<br/> <br/> -We have literally no senior or junior classes. Those we have, simply are not very good. I am sure they are good kids, but Ty recruited poorly.<br/> <br/> -It is true that this is now "Charlie's team" (as Sid said) because we are playing freshman and true sophs everwhere.<br/> <br/> -Ty managed to put together ONE good class..His first... His classes went from being one GOOD class to two totally MAC level recruiting classes.<br/> <br/> Things that aren't mentioned:<br/> <br/> -While Charlie is having to play with 'his' kids.. Ty is starting 13 kids who were brought into the program by the previous head coach. This number would be MUCH higher but he was able to bring in JUCO starters, a benefit that Charlie Weis doesn't have. And why, in year 3 at Washington, is Ty rebuilding what the other coach left but the noose at ND is all Charlies?<br/> <br/> -That recruiting under ND improved immediately with the firing of Ty and has steadily improved with each class... Whereas recruiting got worse by leaps and bounds under Ty.<br/> <br/> -That each of the last two years, the media has held Ty up like a champ about 4 or 5 games into the season...only to take the spotlight off his team as they fade into a heartless darkness that we grew to know too well while Ty was at ND. Why aren't there any season ending exposes on the collapse of the 'great motivators' teams??<br/> <br/> -Ty is 9-19 in 3 years at Washington despite having the ability to tap into SoCal's incredible JUCO system for immediate gap relief. A benefit that CW doesn't have at ND. Will Ty still be a genius when they get blasted in their next two games??<br/> <br/> -Ty's big wins always (and this includes his time at ND) where the other team totally no showed. They were usually won by the defense that took advantage of bonehead mistakes by the opponents offense.<br/> <br/> -Ty had 1 winning year at ND with Bob Davie's guys. He lost with 'his' guys that CW seemed to have no trouble winning with. (back to back BCS bowls)<br/> <br/> -The real dirty secret... That Ty's agent was already in negotiations with Washington DURING his last season at ND. Don't buy into that, "I planned on staying here forever" sideshow that Ty pulls. He was looking for a way out and hadn't worked on the job in more than a year.<br/> <br/> <br/> Something I've noticed:<br/> <br/> -The 'experts' are starting to notice that Notre Dame's skill people are actually quite good. The problem is, they haven't had time to throw or holes to run thru. The OL is where experience and depth comes into play the most and is the most glaring, and damning, evidence of what Ty DID NOT leave behind. Somehow, when those guys manage to block..we move the ball and score with guys who SHOULD be sitting out this year or playing special teams. From the local SEC coverage here in town to the radio Gameday crew... they have noticed this and would like to see what these young players can do with someone who can block. The TV folks don't seem to be capable of that though. Since I spend Saturday mornings listening to the radio driving the 2hrs round trip to Carson's football games, I get to listen to a lot of college football radio (which is everywhere here). While no one seems to be willing to lay any blame at all at the feet of Ty, they are ignoring the elephant in the room while doing so.</t>
I hear a number of media folks who try to bash ND by coming up with a team saddled with only 7 seniors none who start on offense is somehow a problem caused by the current coach. They don't expect everyone to believe that crap, just the ignorant anti-ND folks. Looks like they're right.
So what you're saying is that Notre Dame is 0-4 in the "Televen". FYI... I don't "hate" Notre Dame. Hate takes energy which I save for important things. I just think it's amusing that you people continue to consider yourselves an elitle program when that bus left town quite some time ago. Be patient... You still have the service academies to kick around.
now that is bull Tod <t>no one here was calling us elite before. we weren't in the top 25. we didn't complain. we knew this year would be bad.<br/> <br/> ND fans have been worried this day was coming, we just didn't realize it would be this bad. That is the funny thing.. The dark glasses and cane stumbling around the fact that no one will admit...<br/> <br/> Enjoy it though, it won't last.<br/> <br/> You can play the game that you dont care, but you're really coming off here as a front running whiner who is pissed off that its couch burning season in Morgantown. You were nowhere to be found after you got pasted last year...but magically show up to crow about the least competitive ND team that you've ever seen.</t>
The elite teams in college football go to BCS Bowls. ND has been to BCS Bowls the last 2 years. Did you get run over by that bus?