was cw playing possum in 07?

[irishmarine]

Turnaround Coming Sooner Than We Think?
by Ryan O'Leary at BlueandGold.com

Was Charlie Weis playing possum in 2007?

Of course, I’m not by any means suggesting that Notre Dame went 3-9 on purpose. But when we consider that even Pete Carroll could see a down year coming from roughly 2,100 miles away, there is at least a possibility that Weis threw caution to the wind and plunked his young bucks into the deep end, figuring that it would pay off in 2008 and beyond. Right?

It would seem consistent with Weis’ general theory regarding the final score of a game. If you’re down, he has postulated, it doesn’t matter if you lose by 1 or 40 – a loss is a loss. You go down swinging. So would the same hold true for a full season? Is it better to go 3-9 and set yourself up for better results down the line, or max out at maybe 7-5, go to a consolation-prize bowl and go into ’08 with your most talented players having zero experience?

My guess is that he was thinking somewhere along those lines. I mean, really – at some positions (offensive line, for example), the Irish didn’t have any choice but to go with unproven talent, but many of the other greenhorns didn’t need to be forced into action. We know now that Jimmy Clausen was nowhere near 100 percent at any point last season, but Weis still trotted him out there almost every week. Clausen took his lumps, sure, but now you’re not starting the 2008 season with a completely inexperienced quarterback.

Weis proved during his time in the NFL and during his first two years at Notre Dame that he’s not stupid. Last season’s debacle was almost assuredly not borne from complete coaching ineptitude – there was, at least in part, a method to his madness. Though he would never say so publicly, my guess is the roster almost dictated for him that 2007 would be a lost season. Might as well use it to build a foundation, right?

That seems to be exactly what he’s done – and from what I’m hearing around the way, Weis is privately projecting anywhere from nine to 12 victories this year. And yes, a 12-1 mark would equal the biggest turnaround (+8.5 games by Hawaii from 1998-99) in major college football history. But given the schedule, it’s not unrealistic. The only regular-season game in which Notre Dame figures to be a serious underdog is the finale at USC, so Weis could conceivably have an 11-0 team heading out there if everything comes together. At that point, anything’s possible. (Kevin Garnett even said so.)

Hey, the 1988 team was supposed to be “a year away,” right? At the risk of setting the bar too high for what is still a pretty young team, why can’t something similar happen in 2008?

BlueandGold.com // Turnaround Coming Sooner Than We Think?

[Junkhead]

wut? The Freshman played because there was zero depth in the upper classes, not some scheme to gain experience at the expense of W-L record.

[SouthernIrish]

that is a good spin.

much better than "they stunk up the place"

[The Polish Irishman]

Talk about a Domer Homer

[ndlb41]

spin it however they want, good, bad, or ugly 3-9 is 3-9 but that was also 2007 and this is 2008 lets just keep our heads high like nd always does and we will see them go 9-3 this year

[onenybrother]

Yeah right, Charlie wanted to put his job on the line

[LOVEMYIRISH]

He played the kids cause he had no better option. It was a brutal year.

I think it will pay off big time...but O'Leary needs to drink a little less when he writes.