What's up with the Shark?

[Folsteam_Ahead]

i think this thread is a great example of the rift forming amongst nd fans. all of the fans that are confident we'll win every game, and win a title (or at least expect a title every year no matter what), and like strutting to the tune of our program ruling once again are getting tired of all of the whining about how we're not good enough and won't win every game/i don't like being ranked #1 in a poll bc there's too much pressure types. hold me, i'm irish nails it. why are some of you so scared to be cocky like yankee fans? lame.

 

[Irish52]

Double teaming the Shark will certainly reduce the nr. of passes thrown his way. On the other hand, Brady needs to relax and "have fun" as they say and hopefully, we'll see more spirals on target. Another win this coming weekend will help both of them. The offensive line must play "big" against MI.

 

[guff]

CW doesn't design an offense around one guy. There is no Notre Dame equivalent of the "Randy Ratio" (the bad idea concocted by former Vikings head coach Mike Tice). ND's offense and every Weis offense is based on exploiting the weakness of a defense. It's all about the end, not the means to that end.

It's very early in the season. Most of Shark's eyepopping stats last year came at the hands of MSU (3 TD), Purdue (153 yds, 2 TD) and Wash (164 Yds, 1 TD). A lot of soft defenses remain on the schedule. The stats will come.

As for his attitude/happiness - I see no evidence of discontent. Seems the same to me.

 

[ralphwaldoemerson]

I'm not sure I understand how Samardzija "isn't the same player" he was last year. Has he had deep balls thrown to him that I haven't seen, that he's failed to make his usual circus catches on? I haven't seen it, if so. So far he's caught the one catchable touchdown pass he's been thrown; made the one impossible circus catch he's been thrown. And that's it. I don't see where he's shown he's not the same. So far he seems to have done what he could do with his few opportunities to do anything.

 

[ND Lifer]

There's nothing wrog with Shark. And as far as Quinn is concerned, at this time next year, all of you will be wishing you had him back. Enjoy these two while you can!!!!!

 

[scooper]

And as far as Quinn is concerned, at this time next year, all of you will be wishing you had him back. !!!!

You got that right. He'll probably be a Brown, which will absolutely break my heart.

 

[NDAlumSon]

Anyone have a feeling that Jeff isn't real happy about something? Was just looking at my pics from the weekend and I noticed he's not hanging out with the big names on the team as you might expect. Seems sort of odd for a guy who's so important to the offense and the team.

My answer was strictly in response to your first point..."Jeff isn't real happy about something".
I don't know what's going on off the field. Nor was that what I was commenting about even though it's a perfectly legitimate query.

I saw brady quinn placing the ball exactly where the defense couldn't get to it but his ALL AMERICAN receiver could get to it by making an athletic catch.

I'm afraid you grossly overestimate his accuracy.

There's probably not another college QB that makes those throws.

You're kidding right?

then i'm sincerely sorry for your loss, but your emotion is misguided. ND football has nothing to do with "towel-headed killers."

You're right. I let my emotion, on what has been a very tough day, get the best of me and for that I apologize.

But back to the original question that NDgettysburg proffered, "Anyone have a feeling that Jeff isn't real happy about something?"
I was commenting about on the field stuff only.
There's no doubt that on some throws that are relatively easy, Brady is way off the mark. Jeff knows it, Rhema knows it and Brady knows it.
I've seen Jeff, going back to last year, come off the turf after diving for an uncatchable ball that should not have been uncatchable, looking disgusted.
I'm just telling you what I see,..............not why I think it's happening.
I don't have a crystal ball but I got eyes.
Now, I'm on record as saying that ND is a legitimte national championship capable team
and has the chance to do something special this year but that doesn't preclude me from objectively commenting about the inconsistent throwing accuracy of one Brady Quinn.
I am commenting:
Not on his personal character.
Not on his academic acuity.
Not on his in-game decision making, his leadership skills, his toughness and certainly not on whether he's "getting along" with anybody else.
I'm commenting on his inconsistent throwing accuracy and what effects that has on the offense.

 

[ralphwaldoemerson]

If Samardzija is "disgusted" with Quinn (and I haven't seen these looks you speak of), he's an ingrate. He was nobody until Weis and Quinn + Rhema's injury made him. He made the plays, sure, but he had the QB making the throws, and choosing to go to him even when he was covered. Calvin Johnson would give his left arm to have what Samardzija has at QB.

 

[NDgettysburg]

i hadn't realized how biased i'd been ENJOYING A FREAKING WIN FOR TWO MINUTES ON A MONDAY AFTERNOON.

this thread was wayyyyy past 2 minutes old before you posted

seriously - can't posters like you wait until tuesday mornings to suck all the fun out of being a college football fan who's team just got a big win on saturday?

"Posters like me" ??? Sorry, it's my nature to look at the next game quickly. The win was alot of fun and I'm glad I went but that doesn't mean that I didn't see problems and want to talk about them.

What exactly is the waiting period before you can discuss your fears for the coming week's game. Would like a point of reference.

why are some of you so scared to be cocky like yankee fans? lame.

It's not fear, it's respect for the next opponent. If I wanted to be "cocky", I'd be a fan of one of those schools in Florida.

BTW - Yankee fans are about the most annoying group of people I've ever been in the company of.

If Samardzija is "disgusted" with Quinn (and I haven't seen these looks you speak of),

As I wrote in my very first post....maybe it's just me.

 

[guff]

NDAlumSon - I watch the game again on NBCsports.com. I'm missing the wild inaccuracy that you're describing. The TD pass to Shark was thrown in high because there was PSU DB in front JS. On that play JS was the only option - there were no other receivers. The three TEs and one RB stayed in and blocked it was the ultimate in max protect. A good QB throws the ball high to his 6'5" receiver - if he catches great if not that's why God made 2nd down. Anything lower than 8 ft might get picked off, anything higher is in the stands.

And after he catches the TD the team comes over to celebrate with him, including Quinn. As Quinn is about to make his way back to the sidelines JS grabs him by the shoulder pad and says something to him. In my world JS says "That's the first of many". In your world he says "You good for nothing son o' bitch! You made jump for that ball." If you don't believe me watch it. In the meantime, take these two whities and chill.

 

[Irish_Football_Fan]

What ? You mean the part about settling the f**k down?
I lost friends and loved ones 5 years ago today to towel-headed killers.
I won't be settling down. Not today !
Regardless of my mood, the Brady criticism stands and is accurate.

Dude, that has nothing to do with the conversation. You gotta chill out.

 

[nshope]

Dude, that has nothing to do with the conversation. You gotta chill out.

Have to agree with him here. Sympathize with you pal, but not for here. This is ND and college football talk. The real life issues get checked at the door or the other thread that was mentioned.

Furthermore, the bad Brady vibe I'm getting from some people here is totally absurd. Dude is putitng up numbers just like last year against good defenses. Those stats get padded and inflated when the Navy, Air Force, Army part of the schedule comes up. Only stat that matters against these opening opponents...a WIN!!!

 

[Pete]

Shark has a lot on his mind right now.

1. He is trying to figure out if he should take his signing bonus out of the cd that he purchased and invest it all in foreign oil.

2. He is thinking, "Damn I cut my hair to short. This high and tight sh*t is for the birds."

Just watch this video, it will make you all warm and fuzzy on the inside.

http://dietler.net/nd/videos/quickplay/?video=sharkattack

 

[Folsteam_Ahead]

BTW - Yankee fans are about the most annoying group of people I've ever been in the company of.

you know why they're annoying??? BECAUSE THEY WIN! AND THEY KNOW THEY'LL WIN! i'd like to tell someone 12 months in advance we'll win the title and have them praying a force of nature derails nd bc that's all that can stop us.

i hate the yankees as much as anyone else. but when you're the best, act like the best. "respecting" the next opponent shouldn't make you shake in your boots. notice faults but know they won't matter bc we'll be prepared and kick some ass. end of story.

 

[ralphwaldoemerson]

Agreed. Yankee fans are annoying - to people who aren't Yankee fans. And guess what, we're all annoying to fans of every other school (except, say, Navy, with whom, and with whose fans, we all get along). ND fans are the most annoying in college football. Because we've had the most practice. And now that we're back, we're the most annoying again. This is a good thing.

 

[Indydomer]

Wow!! Disgusting thread. We win our first two games and prove to some of the haters that we are for real and you guys are still down on Sam becasue he doesn't have 20 catches already. Thats pretty ridiculous. We just smoked Penn State, and we are going to whip Michigans ass this weekend. Remember this is the game that everyone was worried about, so how about we talk about how we can beat them not how we can lose to them. Leave that to the other assholes who pick us to lose every week.

 

[scooper]

Wow. If you want proof about teams gameplanning against Samardzija, check this out:

http://houserockbuilt.blogspot.com/2006/09/if-only-we-had-15-defenders.html

Three guys on the Shark with Rhema running free. Teams are going to pay for over covering Samardzija. When they start to roll more coverage to Rhema, the Shark's numbers will rise again. Otherwise, we seem to have another stud TE and a RB who can catch with the best of them.

 

[domerfor life]

Wow!! Disgusting thread. We win our first two games and prove to some of the haters that we are for real and you guys are still down on Sam becasue he doesn't have 20 catches already. Thats pretty ridiculous. We just smoked Penn State, and we are going to whip Michigans ass this weekend. Remember this is the game that everyone was worried about, so how about we talk about how we can beat them not how we can lose to them. Leave that to the other assholes who pick us to lose every week.

Exactly. This "woe is us" sh*t is ridiculous. We're 2-0 against two good opponents. It's amazing that Brady completes almost 70% of his passes the last game and people are saying that he has accuracy problems. He's not perfect. What he is is a reliable leader who I have extreme confidence in. He just needs to settle down in 1st qtr and let the game come to him. Bad passes happen. We're 2-0 and we will win the next game. I'm confident that we will win every game until a team proves me wrong. Anybody who wants to harp on "potential losses" this year makes me sick. Stop being girls and grow a set!!!

 

[irishnd31]

Exactly. This "woe is us" sh*t is ridiculous. We're 2-0 against two good opponents. It's amazing that Brady completes almost 70% of his passes the last game and people are saying that he has accuracy problems. He's not perfect. What he is is a reliable leader who I have extreme confidence in. He just needs to settle down in 1st qtr and let the game come to him. Bad passes happen. We're 2-0 and we will win the next game. I'm confident that we will win every game until a team proves me wrong. Anybody who wants to harp on "potential losses" this year makes me sick. Stop being girls and grow a set!!!

Agree. What would everybody be saying if we started 0-2? Good Lord.

 

[sblxdoc]

Agree. What would everybody be saying if we started 0-2? Good Lord.

I probably would have slit my wrists by now.

 

[Indydomer]

I probably would have slit my wrists by now.

Im suprised some of these guys haven't already. Brady Quinn is the Heismann trophy winner and the Shark will get his numbers. Quit being scared to be confident. Don't look for excuses. If we lose next week. Then so be it Michigan would be the better team on that day, but don't look for excuses before the game happens. The dumb shit.

By the way I think we are going to kick Michigan's ass.

 

[NDAlumSon]

But back to the original question that NDgettysburg proffered, "Anyone have a feeling that Jeff isn't real happy about something?"
I was commenting about on the field stuff only.
There's no doubt that on some throws that are relatively easy, Brady is way off the mark. Jeff knows it, Rhema knows it and Brady knows it.
I've seen Jeff, going back to last year, come off the turf after diving for an uncatchable ball that should not have been uncatchable, looking disgusted.
I'm just telling you what I see,..............not why I think it's happening.
I don't have a crystal ball but I got eyes.
Now, I'm on record as saying that ND is a legitimte national championship capable team
and has the chance to do something special this year but that doesn't preclude me from objectively commenting about the inconsistent throwing accuracy of one Brady Quinn.
I am commenting:
Not on his personal character.
Not on his academic acuity.
Not on his in-game decision making, his leadership skills, his toughness and certainly not on whether he's "getting along" with anybody else.
I'm commenting on his inconsistent throwing accuracy and what effects that has on the offense.

Bump.

 

[irishwavend]

If you watch Jeff off the ball, it seems as though he isnt blocking with the same energy. I saw him let one guy go who ended up making the play. I dont know, man.

 

[weisguys_9]

Brady wasn't even looking at samardzija on about 3/4 of their passes yesterday. He never took his eyes off McKnight...

 

[isotopes]

Samardzija didn't run one route full speed yesterday at all

 

[nshope]

Samardzija didn't run one route full speed yesterday at all

If that's the case, he's never going to get the ball on a consistent basis and he'll continue to be "frustrated". Brady has to look so quickly through his reads that if Jeff isn't getting the space he needs, Brady is going to continue to look him off and throw to McNight because he's open. I don't think Brady is in any way dogging Jeff, he's just got to throw to the open guy, which is McNight. Now, if McNight can just learn how to NOT drop passes and Jeff puts maximum effort into every single play...we got something there.

 

[LOVEMYIRISH]

Anyone have a feeling that Jeff isn't real happy about something? Was just looking at my pics from the weekend and I noticed he's not hanging out with the big names on the team as you might expect. Seems sort of odd for a guy who's so important to the offense and the team. At the pep rally I can't spot him anywhere near the center of the lines by the podium (or even as wide as my shot went out). Haven't found himi in the pics of when the team came over to the students either. Anyone else notice this or am I just nuts (which is entirely possible)?

Is he just really laid back? That sort of personality?

You know, I have had that same feeling all 3 games.

He missed a couple blocks, did not run routes fast, and does not look like he's giving it his all...

 

[sblxdoc]

You know, I have had that same feeling all 3 games.

He missed a couple blocks, did not run routes fast, and does not look like he's giving it his all...

What about after the interception in the second half? Mich intercepted and Shark was right there to make the tackle and basically just pushed the guy. At this point I commented to my buddy that maybe he is concerned about his million dollar contract in baseball? Extremely bizarre...

 

[Óglaigh_na_hÉireann]

He's starting to piss me off and he deserves every criticism he gets until he improves his performace, because at this stage, his apathy is becoming obvious.

But, that said, I could be wrong. I mean, the first person to notice his lack of effort would be Charlie.. if there's a problem, he's sure to fix it.

 

[guff]

I've changed my opinion since this thread first started. I thought everything would be fine. I'm starting to believe he'd rather be playing in the Arizona Fall League