Remember this? What I said...
Troy Smith is the heartbeat of this football team. He is their leader. They will go as he goes. That last drive against scUM was fantastic.
Notre Dame has got to avoid the big play. That means tabs on Troy Smith, Ginn and Holmes.
And you said:
Smith is not a great QB. The reason he drove on us is because our defense was terrible. To stop them, you need to contain Pittman and force Smith to throw the ball, which he can only do well if he has time and if there's no pressure on him
Troy Smith has pretty much stuck it to both of us, hasn't he? And just about any QB is going to be better if he has time and no pressure on him. When the coverage was there and Troy had to get away, he did. Brady Quinn could not.
He's big, but he's not very mobile. Swats high school linebackers away like they're gnats.
The 21st century is here. Big, slow, lumbering white pocket passers aren't a thing of beauty anymore.
The first quote was in regards to Mallett, Victors.
The second was obviously not because it was in regards to the subject in question pertaining to the NFL. I haven't said a negative word about Mallett. Oh, I also said he was one of my five favorite QBs in this upcoming class as well. One more compliment and I'll be clinging to his nuts.
Quote number to is A general broad statement by me, thinking outside of the box. Running, athletic QBs haven't had much success in the NFL....to this point. The forward pass was once a radical concept. Athletes are evolving, my friend. My guy Maison seems to agree, in principle, with what I'm saying. And I'll repeat it, in plain English.
YOU CAN STILL HAVE A PASS FIRST MENTALITY. But when all else fails, why not have a guy that can CREATE SOMETHING WHEN THE PLAY BREAKS DOWN? That's it. Throw Vick into the argument. How about Donovan McNabb? He actually developed his passing, unlike Vick, and even went to that game....the Super Bowl. That's the one. McNabb understood he could not run first. He has to pass first, run second. Now he hardly runs at all.
But I'm sure that you, like many others out there, will find a way to chop up McNabb ala Rush "To the Buffet Line" Limbaugh. That 99 QB draft really turned out some turds. McNabb was not one of them. And considering those battery throwing, about as bad as New Yorker Philly fans wanted Ricky Williams, I'd say McNabb was a rather wise choice. He also hasn't been on any yachts having hooker parties either.
Yes, Frazer does not fit this mold. Clausen does not either. But Jones does. And while Weis wants Jones to be a pass first guy, you cannot escape the fact that Jones was a dual threat QB that played in a passing offense but also had DESIGNED running plays called for him at times. When his protection broke down or the receivers were covered, he was able to take off and keep drives alive by avoiding negative yardage plays. Kind of like what Brady Quinn was unable to do against Ohio State when they were constantly beating his ass into the ground.
I have a feeling Charlie Weis will be able to keep Jimmy Clausen very humble. I also feel Daddy Clausen had all to do with the presser and limo, not Weis or Notre Dame or anyone else with the university. They have no say in that kind of thing. He's verballed, it's over and that's the end of it. It was a stupid press conference. Yeah, he had a limo like Chris Simms did. But Simms showed up to CAMPUS in a limo. Clausen took one to a presser. At least he's not Ryan Perriloux, talking mad shit about LSU's QBs already there.
