What I think about this season...

[KMac151993]

I will admit I believed the hype of Charlie Weis and the bringing in of something special. The truth is that this team is far away from being a national championship contender or better yet a Top 10 team. The team played so hard yesterday but some clear coaching mistakes took place, I will forgive not going for the field goal there in the 4th qrt when he should have taken the points, that is not having experience as a head coach. The penalties and poor tackling is just poor discipline. They have yet to figure out how to handle the zone blitz and the D looked totally unprepared for the game Sat. Overall the whole campus just did not have a buzz about it untill the 4th Qrt. when the stadium was the loudest I have ever heard. We were given multiple gifts and could not capitalize on them, Quinn is still sporadic and some of the play calling, such as giving it to a freshman two times on short yardage. I believe Weis is the right man for the job and will turn it around but I think yesterday showed just how far the program has to come before we are back to "that" level.

 

[punishment]

I've been coming to this site for a couple of months now, but never signd up. I did now, one because it was about time, but mainly because I wanted to reply to the first post on here.

A week ago at this time, the statements on these message boards read like "I don't doubt Weis' decisions," "If Weis likes him as a recruit, so do I since he knows better," etc., etc. And now, after one loss, we suddenly begin to question him.

I realize we fall into Irish hysteria very easily, and want to believe that if we win our first game of the year, that we are automatically national title contenders. But the fact of the matter is, we are far from. Weis has our guys playing at a level higher than their capabilities, because he has them playing as a TEAM.

I for one, will not second guess Weis' decision to go for it on fourth down. I know I wanted him to go for it. I won't second guess Weis for several reasons. First, he knows his team better than I do. Second, MSU's defense was not stopping us and we were moving the ball like USC on one of their weak Pac-10 opponents, and three, we had huge momentum.

You know one thing I did feel yesterday though, that I haven't felt in a long time............ I actually felt like we could come back and win. Under Davie and Willingham, if we fell behind by 10 points, I always had that feeling that the game was over. But with Weis, even trailing by 21 near the end of the third quarter, I still felt like we could come back. And that is a great feeling, and one I have not experienced in a long time. I actually BELIEVED we could come back.

Give it time, don't give up on Weis. In time, he'll have the players he wants. If he can win with the 3 star talent we currently have, and with a bench as thin as a high school football team from a town of 500 people, then with a couple of years of Weis recruitng, I'm sure we'll be alright. But don't give up on the season just yet, we will have growing pains, but we'll grow, we'll just do it in baby steps.

 

[iloveirish_12]

I agree with punishment. Everyone is coming down now cause of one loss. Lets not give up let. It will be ok. It is Weis's first season. Just think we would be 0-3 with willingham at coach. So be thankful.

 

[guff]

KMac - careful or you might break an ankle jumping off the bandwagon.

Maybe I have a faulty 'buzz sensor' but I thought the campus had a real positive energy (to use a hippee term). Prior to the game, I felt nothing but fan confidence and every one I spoke to thought the Irish would kick Spartan ass. Sitting in the stadium -Sec. 24 Row 30 Seat 13- the place was loud. The wind got knocked out of our sails after the Int for TD but that happens at every stadium in America. During the comeback, that stadium was jet engine loud.

That sort of noise and energy doesn't just appear. If it's not in before the game starts it won't be in when the comeback is happening because that sort thing is borne of believe in your team, the players and coaches. If we -the screaming maniacs in the seats - didn't think they could win, we wouldn't have been screaming maniacs. Instead we would have been pouting naysayers - "They can't comeback"

This team has guts. They give it everything they got. There is no other coach I'd rather see on the sidelines. And next week they are going to kick some Huskey ass.

One game will not shake my confidence in this team or this coach; I lived through the Faust Years.

 

[KMac151993]

I am not saying Weis is a bad coach or that he will not turn around the Irish fortune but I am saying that I along with many others took wins over Michigan and Pitt to far. Pitt is a terrible team and Willingham always found ways to beat Michigan. I agree Weis knows the team 10000x better then I do. I am just saying that yesterday we saw Weis's inexperience as a head coach and the lack of depth take its toll. The players played their hearts out yesterday and did everything in their power to win that game, I mean I sat there and was critical of Stovall's drops and Quinn's misreads but in the end I had to be proud of the effort that they showed, something that Weis has brought in. But what upsets me is they still haven't solved the zone blitz yet, foolish false starts doomed many drives and mistackles were all over the field. Now Weis will correct those dont get me wrong, and I am not giving up on Weis at all hes a great coach and will win a national title but this team is not a Top 10 squad yet and mistakes like those will cost you a game and it did. And I agree during that game I always felt we could come back and would, its nice to see the players have that attitude and fight in them. But I will stand by my decision to kick the field goal. You always take the points, MSU stuffed the short yardage game all day and forced the "fumble" down by the goal line. To me at the time it sent the message hey the D hasn't stoped them today we have to score now or we won't get another shot. Those are just things that down the road he will learn from and apply, he is a rookie head coach and is going to make mistakes and take some time to iron out what he wants done. I am happy with the effort that was displayed by the players from Jeff S. to Zibby those guys played and gave everything they had and more, it was a shame they lost and hopefully they can bounce back for this weeks game. GO IRISH BEAT HUSKIES!

 

[Vince Young]

KMac, I'm with ya. I spent a lot of the offseason wondering why people were getting themselves so built-up over C-Dub, and I was almost afraid of what might happen after the first loss. That's why I said repeatedly that all I expected out of C-Dub's first season is an improvement over last year. Just do better than 6-6, that's all I ask out of the first year, and we'll talk about next year's expectations later.

Fortunately, people seem to be taking this loss in stride. Yeah, I didn't like some of C-Dub's calls yesterday, but he still engineered one hell of a comeback over all. And most importantly, he got this team to believe that a 21-point deficit was NOT the end of the game.

The future is bright for this team. Just be patient, guys. We NEVER had a realistic shot at a national title this year; it just wasn't going to happen. What we DO have a shot at is a season that's fun and exciting to watch.

 

[jiggafini19]

I talked to a couple of friends that were at the game. It was clear to them that the crowd was very hyped and energetic, not the same as the crowds in previous years that were full of fans who were alive when Rockne roamed campus. Weis is bringing back the excitement and attitude that has been lacking since Holtz left. He will recruit and he will win. He doesn't sugarcoat losses either, something I particularly like out of a coach. Optimism is one thing, but reality is another.

They need to rebound quickly and get another win.

 

[Batch]

I thought the game was well fought. Our kids never gave up and in previous years being down 3 touchdowns in the second half, they would have. And to be honest I dont think there are a lot of teams that wouldn't have given up.

Yes there were some mistakes that could have been avoided but to be honest I am not going to second guess Coach Weis. Admittedly when we were going for it on 4th and 15 I was saying "WTF?" under my breath, but after Coach Weis explained his reasons for that it made perfect sense to me. I think Coach Weis is always going to play the percentages. As far as the penalties go we all have to remember that this was only the third game under this new offense and two of those false start penalties should not have been called after Coach Weis explained to the zebras what was going to happen before the game.

Our Defense - Well I am of the mind that we were out of position on a few plays. But on some of those plays we were just out manned. It's not often that you are going to face as big a recieving core as what MSU has. Also I think that Michigan State is a pretty good team and I have always liked John L as a coach.

And I will ask you all this...After watching these last 3 games is there a team on our schedule that you think we have no chance of beating???

One last thing...and I am not trying to be an ass. But Kmac sometimes reading your posts hurt my eyes...paragraphs are your friend.

Go Irish!!

-Batch

 

[domerforlife]

Hey, we lost one. key word is "one" - we're supposed to have lost 3 at this point. we're 2-1 going into beat ty. i am pretty damn happy with where we are. and i agree - teams of the past few years would have accepted defeat in the 3rd quarter. we showed alot of fight and swagger coming back like we did. i still see us as 4-1 going into the usc game.

GO IRISH!

 

[Rip Rap]

First, that was a good loss, in the sense that we fought back from what was looking like a blow-out. Weis said at the beginning of the season that while we won't win them all, we will always be competitive. He hasn't lied.

Second, if MSU plays Michigan the way the way they played us, they'll beat them. MSU could turn out to be one of the best teams in that conference. They've never hung 44 points on us before.

Third, (and this is a streeeetttttcccchhhh), Rockne lost to MSU in his first season too.

 

[weisfaninmass]

This team would have gotten blown out under the former regime once they fell behind by 21. (This is fact based on Ty's blow out record).

Kmac -- not sure if you were at the game (which I was) but the place was energized the whole game -- the fans did not pack it after they fell behind. And it was unbelievable in the 4th. Best I have ever seen.

As C-Dub said, this was a TEAM loss. It did not come down to one bad call by the refs (which there were many), one bad play selection by C-Dub, one missed tackle by Tommy Z. To single out a decision not to go for a field goal (long one at that) when you are still down big in Q4 is comical.

 

[jiggafini19]

Third, (and this is a streeeetttttcccchhhh), Rockne lost to MSU in his first season too.

I was thinking about this.

This was 5 in a row by MSU in South Bend.

So Davie and Willingham ALSO lost to MSU at home.

The Rockne comparisons can go the other way, too. Ty was 8-0 and went in the tank after that.

Saturday showed me there is work to be done. It also showed that they will compete and the blowouts under Ty will not occur under this staff.

But SC and Purdue worry me. Tennessee's D looked good against Florida, but they have a dueling QB situation that could play into ND's hands at home. Everyone else on the schedule seems weak.

SC and Purdue are good. They'd better fix the defense for those games.

 

[weisfaninmass]

I was thinking about this.

This was 5 in a row by MSU in South Bend.

So Davie and Willingham ALSO lost to MSU at home.

The Rockne comparisons can go the other way, too. Ty was 8-0 and went in the tank after that.

Saturday showed me there is work to be done. It also showed that they will compete and the blowouts under Ty will not occur under this staff.

But SC and Purdue worry me. Tennessee's D looked good against Florida, but they have a dueling QB situation that could play into ND's hands at home. Everyone else on the schedule seems weak.

SC and Purdue are good. They'd better fix the defense for those games.

Good analysis......I get a kick out the media with these Rockne comparisons last week but not because it is so early in C-Dubs career and not because they lost to MSU this week but bc Weis was the only coach since Rockne to play his first 2 games on the road against ranked teams.

The media are so always looking for a story that they never step back and look at an accurate story.

 

[BGIF]

I get a kick out the media with these Rockne comparisons last week but not because it is so early in C-Dubs career and not because they lost to MSU this week but bc Weis was the only coach since Rockne to play his first 2 games on the road against ranked teams.

The media are so always looking for a story that they never step back and look at an accurate story.

I found it interesting that the media knew that arcane tidbid. I suspect a Sports Information Director spread that one around.

Be prepared for, "Weis wins more games than Rockne in first season!" when CW wins game #4.



Rockne was 3-1-2 in 1918.

 

[Rip Rap]

I found it interesting that the media knew that arcane tidbid. I suspect a Sports Information Director spread that one around.

Be prepared for, "Weis wins more games than Rockne in first season!" when CW wins game #4.

Rockne was 3-1-2 in 1918.

Really? The media already announced that? I thought that was my own little arcane tidbit!

I think the thing to take out of this is the reality that we are competitive and that the team will have learned alot about the importance of playing disciplined football. I still think we may have an astoundingly successful 9-3 season this year, and we'll see a season sans a USC blow-out. I'll be very happy with that. Unlike Davie and Willingham, I honestly feel like we're getting better.

 

[KMac151993]

This team would have gotten blown out under the former regime once they fell behind by 21. (This is fact based on Ty's blow out record).

Kmac -- not sure if you were at the game (which I was) but the place was energized the whole game -- the fans did not pack it after they fell behind. And it was unbelievable in the 4th. Best I have ever seen.

As C-Dub said, this was a TEAM loss. It did not come down to one bad call by the refs (which there were many), one bad play selection by C-Dub, one missed tackle by Tommy Z. To single out a decision not to go for a field goal (long one at that) when you are still down big in Q4 is comical.

I was at the game, I was not refering to the stadium atmosphere, that was great I was talking about walking around campus before the game, I have been to other games where I felt the whole campus was more energized, most of the students were complaining about the different shirts and what they should wear, the stadium was great, like i said loudest I had ever heard ND in recent times.

 

[jiggafini19]

I was at the game, I was not refering to the stadium atmosphere, that was great I was talking about walking around campus before the game, I have been to other games where I felt the whole campus was more energized, most of the students were complaining about the different shirts and what they should wear, the stadium was great, like i said loudest I had ever heard ND in recent times.

I heard it was one of the wildest crowds in years. Sounded like it, too from TV.

 

[WeisGuy05]

All I have to say is with Weis we are an optomistic 2-1 and with Willingham, at best we are a pessimistic 1-2. If the other guy was still our coach that game Saturday gets really really ugly. I second the fact that I believed we would comeback and I have not felt like that in the past. Also, every game this year I gave expected us to win. I was more pissed about those classless bastards planting their flag on our field....I was fuming.

 

[gingtoad]

The flag was the biggest show of no class I've seen in a long time. Act like you've been there before. Thats fine though, MSU just dug their hole a little deeper in the ground. Its just going to mean that much more next year. I'm sure that'll serve as fuel to the fire the next time we play them. (do we play them in 2 years at home? I'll have to look that up.) CW will use that as motivation for a long time I'm sure. If I was playing, I would be out for blood the next time I saw a MS jersey.

 

[WeisGuy05]

MSU comes back Sept 22, 2007....did you guys hear what Lou said on College Gameday after the game..."the only flag MSU will be plating again will be a white one".....sweet!!

 

[jiggafini19]

Whatever guys that are on this team that will be around next year and in '07 will remember this. When the time comes for them to remember, they will and they'll handle it much better than planting flags or taking sod.

But they have turf in East Lansing. I say take a cheerleader. I took an official vist to MSU with one of my teammates in 1995 and every girl I saw was hot. Beats the hell out of grass.

 

[BigIrish]

Whatever guys that are on this team that will be around next year and in '07 will remember this. When the time comes for them to remember, they will and they'll handle it much better than planting flags or taking sod.

But they have turf in East Lansing. I say take a cheerleader. I took an official vist to MSU with one of my teammates in 1995 and every girl I saw was hot. Beats the hell out of grass.

yes. the girls are hot. and the field is grass. i believe that switch was made a year or two ago. used to be a long standing joke that MSU had one of the best turf management programs in the country, yet their football field was turf.

 

[TomFoolery]

Man- get off of Willingham for goodness sakes! Weis could very well end up with a worst first year record if things don't change in a hurry! Let's not sing his praises until he wins at least a major bowl game....

 

[Rip Rap]

Man- get off of Willingham for goodness sakes! Weis could very well end up with a worst first year record if things don't change in a hurry! Let's not sing his praises until he wins at least a major bowl game....

WTF are you talking about?

 

[TomFoolery]

No need to repeat myself- spoken in plain english

 

[BGIF]

The Fool is apparently referring to WeisGuy05's comment, "All I have to say is with Weis we are an optomistic 2-1 and with Willingham, at best we are a pessimistic 1-2. ..."

Actually, I was puzzled over which game WeisGuy05 though Willingham would not have lost? Idaho isn't on the ND schedule.

Palko, Henne, and Stanton probably would have all passed for 5 TDs against a secondary, any secondary coached by Wilks, Baer, and Willingham. Despite the weeping and gnashing of teeth by posters over their evaluation of the ND defense versus MSU, the play was vastly improved over last year.

The golf cracks and similar ilk by others are over the top. So is TF's major bowl comment. I'm still trying to recall Ty's ND bowl win, major or minor.

Contrasting ND's next opponent's coach with the current ND coach is appropriate.

 

[Rip Rap]

Actually, I was puzzled over which game WeisGuy05 though Willingham would not have lost? Idaho isn't on the ND schedule.

Bravo.

 

[ACCIrish]

your name suits you well tom your a fool, willingham was a loser and always will be

 

[WeisGuy05]

BGIF...you are right. I was trying to give the other guy the benefit of the doubt that he may have actually wanted to start 1-0 after Pitt. Considering the way they are doing this year. I hope he could have beat Pitt considering Ohio did. Sorry my mistake.