A season ticket holder I work with told me the other day he parked at the mall and left his two tickets for the Duke game on his front seat. When he came back to his car he discovered someone had broken in.....and left two more on his seat :roll: (Sorry guys....couldn't resist , it really was a season ticket holder who told me that joke)
That was a very satisfying win, I know it's Duke. But a couple of things stood out in my mind. 1. Clausen is starting to be the player that we expected. That throw to Grimes for the TD was a big time throw. The TD to Kamara was also a great play, he side stepped the rush and stepped up and put the ball right where Kamara could use his height to out leap the Duke CB. He also threw a couple of other fade routes where the ball was right there but the Duke CB made some great plays. I think mostly though he showed me the footwork that a QB needs in the pocket to stay upright and get the ball out of there. Also looked quick (not fast) when he turned it upfield. If his recievers get better in the offseason he could have a really good soph campaign, still too many drops of passes he puts right there for them. I'm impressed with his accuracy and now also he's starting to show me some arm strength. 2. Dan Wenger, did you even miss Sullivan? I didn't. I wish Sully well in the the NFL though. 3. Robert Hughes. That kid will be great, he's big, he's determined and he has great feet (dare I say like Bettis?). 4. Armando Allen. Before today I hadn't seen much of what everybody was so excited about. I hadn't seen any explosiveness or special speed. I still haven't seen any special speed, but he ran the ball very well much like Darius Walker did, good vision and not afraid to take it between the tackles. If he improves in the off season he and Hughes can be quite a duo in the backfield. 5. WR's...still a long way to go here. That drop by Robby Parris was really tough to watch, but then they go and make some great catches like the one that butterfingers Grimes made for the TD. This group needs a lot of improvement but they are very young as well, hopefully that improvement is comming. Because Clausen can get them the ball. 6. OL...light maybe at the end of the tunnel. I know it was Duke but still maybe they are turning. 7. Defense, played well but even though they shutout Duke till Charlie put in the Zibby at QB and TT coughed up the ball on his last carry in the Stadium and the scrubs gave up the TD. They still have a long way to go, I'm hoping that a 2nd year in Corwins system will make the difference but I have more faith right now that the Offense has turned the corner and can be very good next year than I do the Defense. Atmosphere. I watched the whole end of game on NBC then over to NBCSports.Com and I have to tell you it was impressive to see the students staying and staying and cheering the team. To hear guys like Zibby, Laws and Carlson talk about their careers and how much they loved their Notre Dame experience really meant a lot to me. I have heard many negative unsupported stories about the team, Charlie, etc. Watching everybody at the end of the game and Charlies post game, I've got some hope that most of them aren't true or are greatly exxagerated. GO IRISH!! Jimmy Clausen for Heisman in 2008!!!
Terry, I agree with everything you said except the part about Sullivan and the NFL. The only way he gets into a pro game is to buy a ticket like the rest of us.
Terry Good points. I was impressed with Clausen today. He threw well, moved well and even threw the ball away when he should have. The WRs were a big disappointment. Got to give the D credit, they almost shut out a bad team. Then again they are an ACC team so you don't expect much.
A win is a win! Take it as a positive and move on. Congratulations, I know it has been a long season for the NDers.
Amen, kp. I was at the game. I can't add much to Terry's analysis. I'll just make a few thousand - er, few - comments about my personal observations. :wink: I really like how Clausen has grown in one season to the player he was yesterday. Still a long way to go (delay of game, etc.) but he showed real moxie stepping up into the pocket and running when he had to, even stiff-arming tacklers, and not sliding but running until he was down. The coach cracked open the door a bit yesterday to a long passing game, and Clausen's throws looked good. Of course, minutes after I asked why we keep throwing to #11, he makes an outstanding TD catch right in front of us. Drops of good throws by WRs were a real source of frustration yesterday for the fans in the stands. The kids coming in next year must feel encouraged by the open competition that will take place to find WRs with dependable hands. At the risk of dredging up old self-inflicted wounds, my continuing concern about senior leadership came to a head twice yesterday. The first time was when #89 caused a stupid 15 yd. penalty which took us from 1st and goal on the 4 to 1st and 10 on the 19. Then we couldn't kick a FG. That was 7 points down the drain because of one of our co-captains. Sorry, JO'Co. Like you I do not want to criticize the kids, but the 5th year seniors are men who should be held responsible for their actions. The second time was when #26 fittingly coughed up the ball which led to Duke's TD. Ever since that stupid penalty in the PSU game when he and another player were caught beating on a PSU player on the ground whose helmet had come off, I had written him off as a poor example of a co-captain. I certainly hope next year's co-captains can bring a different mindset to their roles. Were you TV viewers able to pick up on the crowd sounding out H-u-u-u-ghes every time he carried the ball? It was cool. The pa announcer started it with Hughes' first carry of the game by drawing out the pronunciation of his name. The crowd picked it up and continued it throughout the game. It was fun and I'll bet it will stick. He's a tough runner who never gives up, and he deserves the acknowledgement. So do Aldrich and Allen but they don't have names that lend themselves to the "Yo-o-o-ouk" type sound of the Red Sox fans. Not much else to add. The weather was not nearly as bad as predicted and the worst rain was a very light continuous drizzle which was hardly noticeable but left our coats damp. The best part of the day for me was watching my two oldest grandsons smiling and laughing because they were having lots of fun.
Sid we could pickup the "Huuuuuuuuuuuughes" pretty cool! Also I could pickup that more than 50% of those yellow seats, they are the ones right behind the benches were no shows. While not surprising given the season, it still sort of pissed me off.
A good win. Its great to see the seniors get a win in their last home game. Now its on to Stanford. GO IRISH PJ in Jersey
Sid To answer your question, yes you could clearly hear the "Huuuuuughs" chants. Nice that you had a great day with the grandkids.
Jimmy Clausen is coming along nicely. For the second week in a row he tossed for three TDs with zero INTs, despite the WRs dropping 14 passes in those two games. He’s learning what he can and can’t do…and he can do a lot. I agree with George (!) on his assessment of Sullivan’s senior season. I believe that George was a center, so he knows what he’s supposed to see at that position. Terry noticed it too: the middle of the Oline looked a LOT better with Wenger in there over the ball than it did with Sullivan… We now have quite a few freshmen as starters and regular contributors: Jimmy Clausen (QB), Robert Hughes (TB), Armando Allen (TB), Duval Kamara (WR), Kerry Neal (DE), Brian Smith (OLB), Ian Williams (NG), Brandon Walker (K), Golden Tate (WR/KR), and three others would have played a lot, but were stopped by injuries; Matt Romine (OL), Mike Ragone (TE) and Gary Gray (DB)… Positions that will still be wide open next year will include WR, OT, TB and kicker… The back who will get the most playing time will be the back who can pick up the blitz and block it. That’s how Darius Walker got so much playing time, despite his size and it’s the skill that finally got him a pro job, despite his lack of break-away speed. My bet is on Hughes. He’s the best pro prospect in our backfield and you know that Charlie has noticed that… Brian Smith needs to stop whacking QBs in the helmet after the play is over or he’s going to lose that LB position to incoming frosh Darius Fleming, Steve Filer or Ethan Johnson… The incoming frosh who appears to have the best chance of cracking the starting lineup is WR Mike Floyd… I’ve agreed with Sid almost 100% all year. You hate to criticize young people, but our 5th-year senior co-captains are grown men and they’re the poorest set of captains I’ve ever seen at Notre Dame. In the season where the team needed senior leadership the most, they were a no-show… Now let’s see if the kiddie-corps can win one on the road. If they pull it off against Stanford, and USC beats Ohio State in the Rose Bowl, we claim the national championship and duct-tape Gonzo to the goalposts…