Oh Ye of Little Faith...

[Irish Envy]

It always amazes me to see so-called Irish "fans" and how they react after games. I'm not just talking about a few on here, but I took the time to visit about 5 other discussion forums and the belly aching, pissing and moaning were in full effect.

I'm not quite sure what people expected the Irish to do last night?

Our Fighting Irish went on the road into a very hostile Bobby Dodd Stadium and played a very fast, very athletic defense. While they did lose a couple players from last year's squad, they also returned some very talented players. This defense was the 22nd ranked defense in the country last year, and looked it last night.

Maybe we should play a MAC school for our opener? a D I-AA school? Ooooh, maybe a directional Texas (or insert state) school? That's what the rest of the teams in the Top 5 did, and most of the Top 25 for that matter. They also played these cupcakes on their home turf.

Oh No! Weis needs to get on the horn with Southwest Northeastern Texas College of Household Appliance Design right now and get them on our schedule! Get the fuck outta here!

Notre Dame played a Top 25 team last night in Georgia Tech. Tech has a chance to win 8-10 games this year depending on how they play and develop. There is no doubt about that in my mind. Reggie Ball took his offseason seriously and it showed last night. I'm also a firm believer that #21 is a NFL type of talent, right now.

The truth of the matter is that Notre Dame played the type of foe that dominated and wiped us off the field last year. In our three losses last year, we were beaten by faster, more athletic teams that featured mobile quarterbacks and/or gamebreakers at the skill positions.

Last night, we could have folder when they came out and busted us in the mouth.

But they didn't.

In fact, as the game wore on, we played to our strengths and ran the ball. We beat them up with our physicality, something we abandoned in those three loses last year. After we wore them down, then we went to the air. It was pretty damn textbook, in fact.

Additionally, our defense didn't roll over this year. Last year, when facing an opponent with speed at those skill positions, our defense played dead. This Georgia Tech offense averaged right around 350 yards offense last season. Last night, they were only able to rack up 259 yards and Calvin Johnson accounted for 111 of those by himself.

With as little defensive line penetration we had, our defense was above average. Our linebackers flew around with speed. Our secondary was more active (Mike Richardson aside) and was laying some punishing hits on receivers, ball carriers. They played hard and it showed last night because they could have easily given up 200+ yards to Johnson. They didn't and were a big reason why this Notre Dame team won.

Guys, if you want to be fair weather fans, so be it. It's not my place to question your allegiance to Notre Dame. However, we played well last night and won. And... when these guys click in all facets of the game, they will be downright scary.

 

[tmacirish]

Agreed. I think nerves got to BQ, and the offense took alittle while to get rolling. The O will come alive im not afraid of that. THE DEFENSE HOLY CHRIST THEY ANSWERED QUESTIONS. We won that game with our defense, which makes me feel great. One thing that scares me svoboda is how bad that kickers showing was. that game shoulda been 20-10 atleast, that can show to be a big problem especially the next 3 games and the bcs game. That needs to be fixed asap.

 

[Irish Envy]

Only one kicker was bad, and that was Carl Gioia.

Bobby Renkes put that ball deep on kickoffs and Geoff Price was booming the ball all night. Those guys really, really were the unsung heroes last night as GT didn't have good field position all night it seemed.

Fixing the field goal unit shouldn't be terribly difficult... I hope.

 

[luckofirish8]

Only one kicker was bad, and that was Carl Gioia.

Bobby Renkes put that ball deep on kickoffs and Geoff Price was booming the ball all night. Those guys really, really were the unsung heroes last night as GT didn't have good field position all night it seemed.

Fixing the field goal unit shouldn't be terribly difficult... I hope.

i agree, but finding a kicker isn't hard...finding a good one may be.

 

[nshope]

I agree guys. An opening game is just that...an opening game. Adjustments will be made and we'll continue to get better and better. We are NOT Penn State, Ohio State, Texas, or Michigan and line up second tier teams to open the season.

I think we did OK in the opener all things considered, but we need to bring it with more intensity. Only guy I saw flying around and playing with intensity was Tommy Z. Have GOT to cut down on the penalties and the kicker needs to get in the game-time frame of mind.

 

[mirertobrooks]

I totally agree with you Svo, my post on "the never been more disappointed thread" is a downsized version of what you just said. I think the big question mark coming into this season was our defense, they played their butts off. I have zero concern about the offense getting rolling. You couldn't ask for better special teams, except the FG kicker. The offense controlled the game in the second half. Yes some aspects of the game were disappointing (from a superfical stand point, I wanted Brady to take control of the Heisman race and put up big numbers), but I'll take a 4 point victory on the road at night first game of the year against an ACC opponent all day. I mean what do people expect first game of the year, (I expect to see penalties, miscues, and young guys playing in their first game) I was kind of hoping for a similar victory vs Pitt last year, but guess what ND is 1-0 just like they were last year at this point. I'm totally over it, let's talk about Penn St, and how excited are you to see Munir get the ball. Spitting image of Rocket.

 

[Vince Young]

I can't agree that we played "good," but we took on a team that was AMPED for this game in their home stadium in front of a highly partisan crowd... and won anyway. I'll take it.

Georgia Tech lacks talent overall, and their coaching staff is awful. But the GT players took it upon themselves last night to come to together and play to the absolute limit of their ability. ND's players were the exact opposite; they looked flat and uninspired and made way too many mental mistakes. 90% of the time, that's the perfect recipe for an upset.

But not last night. We dug ourselves into a hole last night, but still had the stick-to-it-iveness to climb back out of that hole. It's very reassuring to know we can have an off-night and still find a way, some way, ANY way, to pull off the W.

 

[solo]

I have several comments.

1. Fans are entitled to have opinions. If you happen to be of the opinion that we didn't play up to our potential last night, why does that make you a "fair weather fan"? My definition of a fair weather fan is a fan that only cheeres for as team when they are doing well. The term has nothing to do with fans that cheer on the team EVERY WEEK but feel that they have the right to their opinions.

2. GT is not ranked. We didn't go play a top notch team on the road. We played an average ACC team on the road. They finished int he middle of the ACC pack last year and will probably do thast agaion this year. They will probably win 8 games. They aren't a bad team, but didn't show us that they are top 25 worthy either.

3. This was a good win. But no need to make more out of it than we should. ND SHOULD HAVE won and did. It probably shouldn't have been as close as it was. ND clearly did not play like the 2nd best team in the nation.

 

[73english]

One Game, More on the Way

One Game, More on the Way

Good points made and this test away at GT will help mold the team...much more than PSU's flat performance against the mighty Akron Zips. Brady Quinn missed some passes he will connect on later (hopefully soon) and we desperately need someone who can put three points on the board. Quinn will do much better without the heat upfront.
The best news was no turnovers, although the offense looked awfully flat. Given its talent and the coaching the offense will improve mightily and soon.
And the best thing you can say about the penalties is that it is best to get them over in the first game...those can largely be coached away.
Joe Pa and CW have the kind of film they need to make improvements over the week and I give the edge to CW because he can play with the X's and O's with the very best.

 

[nshope]

Yeppers

Yeppers

I have several comments.

1. Fans are entitled to have opinions. If you happen to be of the opinion that we didn't play up to our potential last night, why does that make you a "fair weather fan"? My definition of a fair weather fan is a fan that only cheeres for as team when they are doing well. The term has nothing to do with fans that cheer on the team EVERY WEEK but feel that they have the right to their opinions.

2. GT is not ranked. We didn't go play a top notch team on the road. We played an average ACC team on the road. They finished int he middle of the ACC pack last year and will probably do thast agaion this year. They will probably win 8 games. They aren't a bad team, but didn't show us that they are top 25 worthy either.

3. This was a good win. But no need to make more out of it than we should. ND SHOULD HAVE won and did. It probably shouldn't have been as close as it was. ND clearly did not play like the 2nd best team in the nation.

Agree with everything you said. True fans expect their teams to win and when we have a team as talented as ours, I expect our players to come close to their potential. We let GT in the game for too long. I'm happy we won because that is the most important thing, but we gotta bring it harder than this week in and week out if we want to win a national championship.

 

[Vince Young]

Fans are entitled to have opinions. If you happen to be of the opinion that we didn't play up to our potential last night, why does that make you a "fair weather fan"?

Good question, but looking at Svo's post, I don't think he's aiming it at people who are making honestly critical comments about ND's performance last night. It's just that when some people see a silver lining, they immediately start looking for a dark cloud and aren't happy until they find it.

The way some people are carrying on, you'd think we lost last night 42-6 and missed the extra point on our only touchdown. THOSE guys need a slap upside the head.

Honest criticism is fine. Pointless self-destruction is worthless.

 

[Irish Envy]

Good question, but looking at Svo's post, I don't think he's aiming it at people who are making honestly critical comments about ND's performance last night. It's just that when some people see a silver lining, they immediately start looking for a dark cloud and aren't happy until they find it.

The way some people are carrying on, you'd think we lost last night 42-6 and missed the extra point on our only touchdown. THOSE guys need a slap upside the head.

Honest criticism is fine. Pointless self-destruction is worthless.

Yep, I'm talking about the Chicken Little "The sky is falling" people out there. I read one fan that said Notre Dame shouldn't even be ranked in the Top 25. Those kid of "fans" deserve to root for Humboldt U.

 

[NDgettysburg]

Don't know about the rest of you but I thought the playcalling in the first half absolutely sucked. WAY too much passing, especially on first down. I don't know how many times an incomplete pass on 1st down all but killed a series (most often because it was folllowed up with another incomplete or a run that gained little leaving 3rd and long).

Was funny to see it pointed out that GT was only 2 for 10 on third downs...well hell, they were getting first downs on 2 plays most of the time.

Charlie Weis football or not, I still like to see the run set up the pass and it just seemed like we abandoned the run from the opening kickoff and didn't rediscover it until the 2nd half. To have a nice mix of run and short pass get you all the way down to just outside the red zone only to abandon those types of plays for throws into the end zone is just frustrating as hell.

I don't care about making the highlight reel on ESPN with 60 yard TD passes and the like, just win. If that means getting small chunks of yards and moving the chains, so be it. Screw the huge passing numbers and screw the Heisman. Winning every game and the NC is the goal.

 

[AZIRISHFAN]

You know when I look at the rest of the Top 25 I only see a couple of other schools that actually travel and play a "real" game. Not against a Directional school or a school that has just come up from D-II. USC won theirs against a decent Arkansas team but didnt blow them out like last year, Cal got their block knocked and they are still humming Rocky Top this morning!

We went into a hostle enviroment against a good team not a great team and came away with a victory. Was it the 42 point offensive explosion everyone was looking for nope. But, it didnt have to be. Our Defense stepped up and slowed down a productive offense. If our field goal team can bring it along we will be fine. I know JoePa and Carr dont have the imagination or the balls to bring a blitz package like we saw last night. The next 2 are also at home so we should be fine in getting everything settled and the offensive machine back in full gear.

I happy about several things I saw last night. We played at a "B" level and still got the victory. I think in the past if we would have struggled in a hostile enviroment down by 10 going into the 1/2 we would have ran out the clock to regroup and caved in the 2nd half. But, that didnt happen we stepped it up and got the "W"

 

[nshope]

Not in the top 25??

Not in the top 25??

Yep, I'm talking about the Chicken Little "The sky is falling" people out there. I read one fan that said Notre Dame shouldn't even be ranked in the Top 25. Those kid of "fans" deserve to root for Humboldt U.

Dude, I'd love to know who said we shouldn't be in the Top 25 and stomp a mudhole in them and walk it dry (a la Stone Cold Steve Austin). We won and that's what matters. That's what puts teams in the top 25...WINNING. Losers are no-namers that don't make the rankings.

 

[Vince Young]

I read one fan that said Notre Dame shouldn't even be ranked in the Top 25.

Yikes! That guy needs more than a slap upside the head. He needs 5 minutes locked in a closet with Tom Zbikowski.

 

[Irish Legend]

I agree guys. An opening game is just that...an opening game. Adjustments will be made and we'll continue to get better and better. We are NOT Penn State, Ohio State, Texas, or Michigan and line up second tier teams to open the season.

I think we did OK in the opener all things considered, but we need to bring it with more intensity. Only guy I saw flying around and playing with intensity was Tommy Z. Have GOT to cut down on the penalties and the kicker needs to get in the game-time frame of mind.

Amen!!!

 

[rontdtarchala]

"Who ever said we don't belong in the top 25 is an idiot....period. I have made several comments this morning that may upset some but dang it its the truth...we have some major things to fix and thats exactly what coach will do...we did not play a major acc team...evil crowd or otherwise we have many area's of concern and they must be rectified to get to where we need to be...

 

[tommy]

if you think or thought we wouldn't have to play 2 or 3 maybe more games like this you are crazy talent aside g tech wanted a win bad their fans wanted to beat us more then any other team maybe not uga but it is close if you were to say we won the nc and didnt have to play 2 or 3 games like this where we had to step up defense and perhaps brady didnt throw for 500 yards your out of your mind this is going to be one tough season ever time we go in to a stadium ours or away the team on the other side will be pumped up even more then g tech so i say good show defesnse and brady didnt buckel they had some go d set up against him but he stood in there hell he ran the first td of the season he isnt going to win the heisman like that but he is going to win games like that and im sure this isnt the best we have seen out of our offense got damn it didnt you see that hit the duke put on c jhonson and thats not calvin from the mc donalds comercials thats 6 5 235 calvin and he got rocked and he knew it mvps brady quinn d walker and the whole defense maybe minus the line they had problems but its the damn first game of the year go irish baby 1 12 to go and it wont get any easyer

 

[scooper]

Don't know about the rest of you but I thought the playcalling in the first half absolutely sucked. WAY too much passing, especially on first down. I don't know how many times an incomplete pass on 1st down all but killed a series (most often because it was folllowed up with another incomplete or a run that gained little leaving 3rd and long).

Was funny to see it pointed out that GT was only 2 for 10 on third downs...well hell, they were getting first downs on 2 plays most of the time.

Charlie Weis football or not, I still like to see the run set up the pass and it just seemed like we abandoned the run from the opening kickoff and didn't rediscover it until the 2nd half. To have a nice mix of run and short pass get you all the way down to just outside the red zone only to abandon those types of plays for throws into the end zone is just frustrating as hell.

I don't care about making the highlight reel on ESPN with 60 yard TD passes and the like, just win. If that means getting small chunks of yards and moving the chains, so be it. Screw the huge passing numbers and screw the Heisman. Winning every game and the NC is the goal.

I agree. I thought more Walker early would have made this a different game.

 

[LOVEMYIRISH]

It always amazes me to see so-called Irish "fans" and how they react after games. I'm not just talking about a few on here, but I took the time to visit about 5 other discussion forums and the belly aching, pissing and moaning were in full effect.

I'm not quite sure what people expected the Irish to do last night?

Well, I was expecting them to play a little better. I look at Tennessee. They played an opponent which was most likely the equal of GT. They whallopped them.

Our Fighting Irish went on the road into a very hostile Bobby Dodd Stadium and played a very fast, very athletic defense. While they did lose a couple players from last year's squad, they also returned some very talented players. This defense was the 22nd ranked defense in the country last year, and looked it last night.

Yeah, their Defense did not miss a beat, They were quite good. But we made a number of mental errors that made them look better.

Maybe we should play a MAC school for our opener? a D I-AA school? Ooooh, maybe a directional Texas (or insert state) school?

We do that in coming years. Nevada, SDSU, etc.

I never condone a DivI-AA school...that's just not right. But I can live with a rent-a-victim like SDSU or Nevada.

Notre Dame played a Top 25 team last night in Georgia Tech. Tech has a chance to win 8-10 games this year depending on how they play and develop. There is no doubt about that in my mind. Reggie Ball took his offseason seriously and it showed last night. I'm also a firm believer that #21 is a NFL type of talent, right now.

Tech will finish no better than 7 wins. They have no offense and a decent defense. They MIGHT get 8 wins, but its unlikely.

There is no way they are a top25 team though. Not with that Offense. They are a 26-40 ranked team.

In fact, as the game wore on, we played to our strengths and ran the ball. We beat them up with our physicality, something we abandoned in those three loses last year. After we wore them down, then we went to the air. It was pretty damn textbook, in fact.

We definitely wore them down. But still we only scored 14 points.
With as little defensive line penetration we had, our defense was above average. Our linebackers flew around with speed. Our secondary was more active (Mike Richardson aside) and was laying some punishing hits on receivers, ball carriers. They played hard and it showed last night because they could have easily given up 200+ yards to Johnson. They didn't and were a big reason why this Notre Dame team won.

Without a doubt the Defense looked better. Although I question the front 4 just a bit.

Guys, if you want to be fair weather fans, so be it. It's not my place to question your allegiance to Notre Dame. However, we played well last night and won. And... when these guys click in all facets of the game, they will be downright scary.

We won. I did not see us play well. But I saw us win. And as OSU proved in 2002, you don't have to play well to win it all. You need to play well enough and at the right times.

Hope is most definitely not lost, but if the guys don't step it up in coming games we will be 9-3 going into bowl season...

If nothing else, this gives Weis great ammo for practice...AND since GT was so agressive on Defense...well, we learned a lot about defending the blitz.

 

[punishment]

We could have begun our season playing a D-1AA oponent or MAC school like everyone else and beat them 51-7. But then there are all those posters who hate the fact that we don't play the teams ranked #1-11 during the season. So we can't play a MAC team.

Was USC any worse last year because they couldn't put Fresno State away until there was less the end of the fourth quarter? These type of games happen.

I think the problem is that ND fans for some reason have unrealistic expectations and expect to blow everybody out. That's not going to happen every week. In fact, with the schedule we play, that, may only happen twice this season.

And its not about expecting the full potential out of our players, because I'm sure the players expect the full potential out of themselves also. It's about doing what you have to do to win. I would rather win 13 games by 1 point each, than 11 games by 30+points and 2 losses.

 

[KMac151993]

Well, I was expecting them to play a little better. I look at Tennessee. They played an opponent which was most likely the equal of GT. They whallopped them.




Yeah, their Defense did not miss a beat, They were quite good. But we made a number of mental errors that made them look better.



We do that in coming years. Nevada, SDSU, etc.

I never condone a DivI-AA school...that's just not right. But I can live with a rent-a-victim like SDSU or Nevada.



Tech will finish no better than 7 wins. They have no offense and a decent defense. They MIGHT get 8 wins, but its unlikely.

There is no way they are a top25 team though. Not with that Offense. They are a 26-40 ranked team.





Without a doubt the Defense looked better. Although I question the front 4 just a bit.



We won. I did not see us play well. But I saw us win. And as OSU proved in 2002, you don't have to play well to win it all. You need to play well enough and at the right times.

Hope is most definitely not lost, but if the guys don't step it up in coming games we will be 9-3 going into bowl season...

If nothing else, this gives Weis great ammo for practice...AND since GT was so agressive on Defense...well, we learned a lot about defending the blitz.

I think you hit the nail right on the head with this post.

 

[scooper]

LOVEMYIRISH, I was going to bring up OSU 02. They are the perfect example of why we should not panic.

Early in that season, a Cincinnati Bearcat receiver dropped a pass in the end zone. I mean, flat out had it in his hands and dropped it. That would have beaten OSU and they would not have been champions. They also had a couple other close calls, such as a last second TD pass against Purdue.

This season is far from over. Champions are not always perfect. But they seem to always find a way. Without playing well, the Irish toughed it out and actually physically dominated the second half. They found a way to win.

My advice to the posters here-decompress, relax, take a deep breath, let the haters hate and start geering up for PSU.

 

[luckofirish8]

I'm also a firm believer that #21 is a NFL type of talent, right now.

I know a GM in Tennessee (Floyd Reese) whose eyes light up when you mention his name. I work for a sports radio station in Nashville (ESPN 106.7 the Fan) and he says that CJ is a Top 5/Top 10 pick right now.

 

[NDgettysburg]

LOVEMYIRISH, I was going to bring up OSU 02. They are the perfect example of why we should not panic.

Early in that season, a Cincinnati Bearcat receiver dropped a pass in the end zone. I mean, flat out had it in his hands and dropped it. That would have beaten OSU and they would not have been champions. They also had a couple other close calls, such as a last second TD pass against Purdue.

just look at usc last season...how many times did they escape?

 

[pscalndfan]

I agree with you as for the first game in a very hostile enviroment they did what was asked of them they pulled out a W.It may not have been pretty but so be it.

 

[ralphwaldoemerson]

The Tennessee point doesn't really hold water. For one, it was at home for them, and while Cal was highly ranked, the talent and coaching levels were very similar (probably favoring Tenn), and the entire offseason had been spent praising Cal and bashing Tennessee, so that Cal came in complacent while Tennessee came in with something to prove, a ton of offensive talent that'd struggled the year before and a great offensive coach back calling plays for them. Tennessee also had by far the most impressive opener, so comparing us to them doesn't make much sense.

GT was at home, in the opener, against the most hyped team of the offseason. Their very talented D coordinator and defense had spent all summer hearing about what a genius Weis was and how great Quinn was.

Honestly, the setting, the crowd, the time of year, the time of night, the opposing D, D coordinator, and wideout - that was a hell game. ND won it. Now move on.

 

[LOVEMYIRISH]

I think you hit the nail right on the head with this post.

Thanks. I am trying to be as critical as possible, while not going negative. As Weis said "Constructive Criticism."