Well the whole Irish quit thing has become the story of the game. I actually never thought about that until after the game when people started complaining that Kelly didn't use his timeouts. In the last 6 minutes of the game I was hoping that they wouldn't score and that we'd some how at least force them to kick a FG, I was surprised that Kiffin was just running the ball and the clock and ultimately took a knee rather than run another play. It never really occured to me that we should be trying to take timeouts. But as has been pointed out, strange things can happen if you give them a chance, fumbles, Ints, etc...somebody pointed out that a few years ago with not a lot of time left navy scored several times after having been whipped the whole game and almost recovered a 2nd onsided kick and might have won the game if they did. Kelly took that possibility, however small, out of the picture.
I agree with so much of what Sid said except for this... That's not true, I have.. I have all the time. Hell, I am flat telling you that he made a mistake a play that was 'successful' in this very thread. I just have a lot of bad going on so I don't come here to air that crap out on you guys, but I do check in to read. If I were posting every day, there'd be one consistent, I'd be bitching about Tommy Rees every single game. Does anyone remember the old Ron Powlus scuffles we use to have back in the day? (sorry to bring that up)... Ron Powlus is about 2000 times BETTER than Rees. In fact, I am insulting Powlus and his legacy by even making the comparison... Other than that, we are much closer in mind than you think.
Sid, Glen Mason took the Gophers to 7 minor bowl games from 99-06. They fired him after the Gophers blew a 31 pt. 3rd Q lead to Texas Tech in his last bowl game. M fired him based on the " can't take us to the next level" theory. Their subsequent hirings have taken them to a level of futility matched only by the Northwestern teams of the 70's.
Bobda, I completely forgot that Mason did an admirable job there. Actually, they've gone to the next level in the post-Mason era. It's just not in the direction they intended.
Corey, Whatever you say and however I may disagree with you, my respect for your thought process and your opinions is solid. If anything, in every case, after I pull my knee back from its jerking position and think about your comments, I get where you are coming from. If I debate you, it's because you have given me a chance to express my thoughts in writing, albeit in opposition to your position. In the end, we are on the same side and want the same thing. That's what makes us friends. Re: Rees. We can agree to disagree on his abilities apart from the offensive scheme. I understand what you are saying as it pertains to Kelly's offense. I also understand what you are saying about his inability to pick up his alternate receivers. My point is, he is a D-1 QB on a reasonably good, if inconsistent D-1 team, so he must be better than awful. My guess is that Kelly sees him as the best alternative at this time, pending the development of the other QBs on the roster and whatever the QB recruiting process produces.
Sid, Well said and agreed. That being said, it's almost a shame you can't spend the day watching games with us. Multiple screens and video editing software (I have buddies who run various football websites, companies and web businesses)... It's really rough some of the missed opportunities.. You'd have fun though. Lots of laughs (even in the pain of games like last week), way too much profanity, obscure football/historical/literary comparisons flying around and far too much bad food to eat.
I'd like that. I might learn something about the game other than always watching the ball. Bobby Knight once said that the best way to learn the game of basketball is to watch the play away from the ball. I've tried to do that in both football and basketball, but I'm not disciplined enough to keep my eyes away from the ball.....or I'm just too darned old to learn something new. Probably a little bit of both.
The only thing you'd gain is weight and perhaps a few more dirty words, but it's fun. The next several weeks my son will be with me, so we'll have to be on (somewhat) good behavior. On a Glen Mason note... it should be mention (as a former employee of the u of m) that it was widely known to be a joke. Mason scheduled himself into bowl eligibility... They replaced the Northern Iowa's with the USC's...
ND <t>I agree with Sid. Time will tell on this one. I wouldn't be so quick to judge Kelly as a lot of ND Nation and others seems to be. He's made some mistakes and the players themselves have made a lot of mistakes. If anyone thinks that if ND had hired someone else besides Kelly that there would be more Wins on the board right now I'm afraid you are probably mistaken. The USC game was a heart breaker for me. I really thought we would win that one. We'll see how much heart this team has in the game Sat against Navy. It will probably be a more telling game than USC.</t>