The loss sucks, but there is an intangible that encourages me that we are only one or two down D linemen and a couple of really solid O linemen away from returning to the upper echelon of college football...........with THIS coaching staff. I'm sure there are those who will disagree with me, and that's OK. What makes me feel this way is the clear trend over the past 4 games of flat out refusing to lose; of digging deep down our throats and squeezing every last drop of blood from our hearts; of looking defeat square in the eye and saying F--- you. This is a TEAM attitude. It can't happen because of one player (Can you spell Jimmy Clausen?); not even because of 3 or 4 players. It has to be something that pervades every fiber of every being of every member of the team....EVERY member of the team. It is not self-injected. It can't be. No group of 80-some athletes ever thinks or feels the same to a man. It has to come from the head coach through his assistants. How he does it is known only to those people in the locker room, but it is certain that he and his staff are creating a refuse-to-lose attitude. Such an attitude goes with the uniform, no matter who is wearing it. Yes, we are getting better athletes, and that certainly makes a difference, but great athletes alone do not guarantee winning programs. Ultimately, it is the coaching that makes the difference. I can assure you that I did not feel this way in the third quarter yesterday, but by the time the game ended, even though we came up short, I realized that we are watching something very special take shape. Refusing to lose does not guarantee that we always will win, but it damn sure guarantees that we will fight tooth and nail to the last whistle, which is exactly what we have done the past 4 games. I expect this attitude to prevail throughout the rest of the season and into the future. If I'm wrong, then call me a silly optimist. But I don't think I'm wrong. The defense rightfully should take the heat for its shortcomings yesterday, but it was the defense that saved our game vs. Washington, and it was the defense yesterday that kept our chances alive with the interception. So I'm not kicking the defense to the curb quite yet. There is no question that USC was the better team on the field yesterday, the first time this year that our opponent was the decidedly better team. Even so, we came oh so close to stuffing their bicep-flexing arrogance up their you-know-whats. We refused to lose, but we lost anyway. Yet in the loss emerged the rock-solid foundation of a program that is on its way back up to the top. Just my opinion. There. I feel much better now, thank you. :wink:
Sid I agree with your post but I have serious concerns about the future. First and most importantly, for the first time I see JC leaving. I know if things were usual there would be no problem. However, as I understand it, the NFL collective bargaining agreement will be expiring and this might be the last time for incoming rookies to be tremendously overpaid. Second, we had SC playing with a freshman QB. This kid is really good. He's going to be a pain in the ass for the next 2 or three years depending on how long he stays. Third, our O line is made up of seniors and 5th year guys who should have been fed up with losing to SC. They could have done better. I'm not sure that next Nov. when we play in LA that we'll have any better chance to beat them than we had yesterday.
No doubt if Clausen comes back along with Floyd, Tate, and the other skill players on offense we'll be very good on offense. But remember the guy behind him was a top rated QB in his own right and will be in his 3rd year in the system. He's a little bigger and more mobile (no Vince Young). As far as the OL everybody loses players, USC has a Sr. dominated OL and will lose a lot of those guys. No doubt they will still be good as the guys behind them are all 4* and 5* guys. I am encouraged that Verducci has made significant improvements in the OL, it's too bad Charlie didn't make this move sooner I'd like to see what Verducci could have done with this bunch with 2 or 3 years to work with them.
Sid, I very much agree with you about the effects of missing a few key DLs. I just finished watching the DVR of the game as I was unable to watch the 1st half yesterday. We were able to shut down their run at times, but we always had to go 8 or 9 in the box to do so. We have to blitz in order to put pressure on the QB... Whereas USC can rush 4 and drop 7 to achieve the same amount of pressure. The fact that we are taking men out of coverage in an attempt to get pressure leaves WRs wide open. Sure, we could back those guys off but then people will just chew us up 4 yards at a time on the ground and have all day to throw. Gip, I really like what I've seen of Verducci so far. I'm thinking that he'll be able to keep producing road graters for some time to come. In year 1 of what he's doing, we seem to be getting better. We still have guys getting beat from time to time in one on one matchups, but they aren't getting turnstiled like they were in the past on each play. I've seen quotes from Clausen that seem to indicate he hasn't given much thought to the NFL, but one never really knows about such things. Interestingly enough, I think we become a more run oriented team with Crist in at QB. Charlie's wildcat looks and the running game with Crist at QB gives me a ray of hope for the future.
Clausen is a sharp cookie, he knows not to talk about going to the NFL or the Heisman. Probably a lot depends on his draft position, which may be pretty high if so even Charlie says it's tough to stay.
Good thoughts, guys. There are so many possibilities for next year........Will he stay or will he go?.........Who replaces whom on the OL?.......etc.....that my feeble brain cannot comprehend what might happen. So I'll just settle in and enjoy the rest of the season one game at a time. Corey, can you imagine having 4 down D linemen who do not need help from the LBs or CBs to exert pressure on the QB? Tenuta and Brown would be asking, Is this heaven? :lol: Unfortunately, that's one area where we have a long way to go. By the way, would someone please tell me why Ragone is supposed to be so good? (rhetorical) It certainly can't have anything to do with his blocking.
I hate to say it but it's been a long time since a NJ product did much after reaching ND. Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems like we get a lot of busts from NJ. I know Ragone had a very severe injury in HS and didn't play his Sr. year and was injured again at ND. This is really his first year, so maybe the best is yet to come.
They're all redshirted except Riddick. And I'm sticking with my story. Carlo is a better tackler than most of the guys starting right now and he's faster than Teo.
From what I've heard about Carlo, he's going to be a good/great one at ND. Especially with those LBs a lot of the game is mental once the physical end is built up. It may simply be a matter of keeping that same physical edge while making the right reads. I know McCarthy took a lot of heat about that go ahead TD by Purdue in which the kid was uncovered and wide open. The TV commentator noted that our safety rolled over too further. Weis acknowledged the blown coverage but didn't cast blame. After watching the replay of that game on DVR, I am betting that blown assignment was Te'o. If you watched his pursuit on the play, he committed two cardinal sins. He lost outside contain and he didn't follow the back out of the backfield.. He followed the play fake inside and got into the scrum before turning around and trying to catch up (he was 20 yards behind at that time).. I'd bet dollars to donuts it was the kid making a bad read, but Charlie spared him the blame in public. I just get that feeling that we are literally 1 5star all-everything DL away from filling that gap and turning that guard sideways. It doesn't take much to turn a play on its head and I can't help but thinking that is the one difference in our defense.
BTW-Zeke Motta is going to be something fun to watch for the next few years. He knocked a few mouth pieces out Sat night.