Questions for ND fans..

[jerseyborn1971]

Yes, I don't make excuses for poor performance.

Michigan had a terrible 2005 campaign. And we never forget those failures. Don't worry, the core group who experienced that season will never allow it to happen again.

Why did they allow it last year? You would think if it was within your power, you'd never allow that.

 

[scooper]

I don't necessarily agree that UCLA and GTech will be hard. UCLA will improve, but who knows which team is going to show up. BC will be a hard game, notwithstanding O'Brien's departure to NC State.

I have a feeling PSU's offense will be much better next year. They're really close. If Morelli hits those excellent recievers in stride, PSU can be explosive. They will continue to have a good running game. Their problem is that they lose a lot of guys on defense. However, I think it's really tough playing in Beaver stadium (no one every blows them out there), and even if their offense sputters, Nd will have a hard time pulling off a win there with inexperienced players.

A lot will also depend on improvment. If you're breaking in a bunch of new guys, you can't really expect them to get it right away. But you do expect them to improve. Unfortuantely, Nd's schedule is front loaded (all the good teams are at the beginning of the season). UM will be on a championship run next year, and I don't expect a loss to Nd at home. PSU is probably a loss. BC and UCLA can go either way. I'll split that. USC continues to have better athletes, so that's probably a loss. So 9-3 would actually be pretty good. 8-4 is a little more realistic. But as much as any of you don't want to hear this, I also think it's possible Weis can get frustrated with the hothead Clausen, or Clausen can get impatient. If that happens, with the frontloaded schedule, the team can implode early on and lose a lot of games, like Alabama this year.

VV, this is actually a very good breakdown of next season for the Irish.

My one question, though, is how do you get that Clausen is a hothead? Because he gets a lot of hype? Because of the press conference? From what we know about him, that's not his day to day personality and he's pretty much a laid back kid.

 

[VictorsValiant]

Good question.

Because we were complacent. It's human nature, and it bit us.

We had gone to two consecutive Rose Bowls and had a pretty easy time with Big Ten opponents. But we saw 2005 coming. In 2004, the wins were less decisive. Too many 4th quarter comebacks. Poor defensive coaching and offensive execution. I knew were weren't going to get away with uninspired play forever. In 2005, players were unfit (Alan Branch and Jake Long were both injured. I'm not saying they had it coming, but both gained strength and lost weight during the offseason and they're not injured this year). Henne was choking up games, and the defense wasn't aggressive. All the close games of 2004 were reversed in 2005 (all the losses were close). That is why I really dislike comebacks and close games. You put yourself in that position (like Florida has this year), and sooner or later it's going to come back and bite you. It's never good to live on the edge.

 

[jerseyborn1971]

Good question.

Because we were complacent. It's human nature, and it bit us.

We had gone to two consecutive Rose Bowls and had a pretty easy time with Big Ten opponents. But we saw 2005 coming. In 2004, the wins were less decisive. Too many 4th quarter comebacks. Poor defensive coaching and offensive execution. I knew were weren't going to get away with uninspired play forever. In 2005, players were unfit (Alan Branch and Jake Long were both injured. I'm not saying they had it coming, but both gained strength and lost weight during the offseason and they're not injured this year). Henne was choking up games, and the defense wasn't aggressive. All the close games of 2004 were reversed in 2005 (all the losses were close). That is why I really dislike comebacks and close games. You put yourself in that position (like Florida has this year), and sooner or later it's going to come back and bite you. It's never good to live on the edge.

Hmm, those sound like excuses to me.....

OK, seriously, I say that because that's what it feels like to be an ND fan when someone comes on our site and starts criticizing us.

 

[VictorsValiant]

Yeah, the press conferences really expose him as an arrogant little prick. For example, the quote about the championships.

No humble player will ever say he's going to be great, no matter how much potential he has. Talking about the team is one thing (and overinflated if you say 4 championships), but talking about yourself in that way exposes you.

I'm sorry, but he reminds me of Chris Simms. While it's perfectly possible Weis can turn him around and have him mature, there are warning signs. Weis has never dealt with hotheads before in the last decade. He's been with two NFL franchises where arrogance is a non-starter. Now he's going to have to deal with Clausen and a bunch of other adolscents. And he won't have the luxury of redshirting them so they can ease into the game. This is where Weis is going to determine is future. If he can handle this, then he'll be the best football coach in the country.

 

[scooper]

Good question.

Because we were complacent. It's human nature, and it bit us.

We had gone to two consecutive Rose Bowls and had a pretty easy time with Big Ten opponents. But we saw 2005 coming. In 2004, the wins were less decisive. Too many 4th quarter comebacks. Poor defensive coaching and offensive execution. I knew were weren't going to get away with uninspired play forever. In 2005, players were unfit (Alan Branch and Jake Long were both injured. I'm not saying they had it coming, but both gained strength and lost weight during the offseason and they're not injured this year). Henne was choking up games, and the defense wasn't aggressive. All the close games of 2004 were reversed in 2005 (all the losses were close). That is why I really dislike comebacks and close games. You put yourself in that position (like Florida has this year), and sooner or later it's going to come back and bite you. It's never good to live on the edge.

You know your issues in 05 better than we do, but here are the differences at UM that I see from 05 to 06.

On offense, your young guys matured and just as important, most stayed healthy compared to 05. The continued development of Manningham can't be overstated.

Now the biggest difference-Ron English. I see this as the biggest change from your last two teams. Your defense was more aggressive yet more disciplined. And just better coached in general.

 

[VictorsValiant]

They're not excuses, they're underlying points of weakness. And trust me, no one was saying those things in a good way. Carr had to remove his two coordinators and there was justifiable heat on him to do something this year.

 

[scooper]

Yeah, the press conferences really expose him as an arrogant little prick. For example, the quote about the championships.

No humble player will ever say he's going to be great, no matter how much potential he has. Talking about the team is one thing (and overinflated if you say 4 championships), but talking about yourself in that way exposes you.

I'm sorry, but he reminds me of Chris Simms. While it's perfectly possible Weis can turn him around and have him mature, there are warning signs. Weis has never dealt with hotheads before in the last decade. He's been with two NFL franchises where arrogance is a non-starter. Now he's going to have to deal with Clausen and a bunch of other adolscents. And he won't have the luxury of redshirting them so they can ease into the game. This is where Weis is going to determine is future. If he can handle this, then he'll be the best football coach in the country.

He didn't say he was going to be great. The video is still out there if we want to break it down. He didn't mention a single award or accolade for himself.

He did mention four championships. He didn't say we would win them. He said he wanted to. Well...good! I want players that want to win championships every year. No team will ever achieve that, but it should always be the goal, and that's the goal he has stated.

I can understand the press conference and the limo, though the limo was actually cheaper than it would have been for his entire family to rent cars for the weekend-a point the haters fail to accept. But his speech itself contained very little "look at me" but rather "here is what I want US to do." Please forgive the guy for setting lofty goals for him and his teammates.

But, if that's what the haters want to use against Irish players, a desire to win it all, so be it.

 

[jerseyborn1971]

If what you say about Clausen is true, we're glad we have 3 other guys that can play ahead of him. If JC has an attitude problem, it will quickly be remedied by playing 4th string behind 3 other guys that could do the job.

 

[VictorsValiant]

I think the limo really sparked the link between him and Simms. He did the exact same thing before committing to Texas.

Now, does a humble 18 year old who's done nothing at the college level enter a press conference in a limo?

And I'm not just saying this to bash Nd.

Brandon Graham (arguably the best prospect of '05) was ready to play, but he made comments about how he was going to make an immediate impact and such. He did not play this year. And while one can argue that he didn't play because LaMarr Woodley was in front of him, I don't think it's a coincidence that he didn't get any time.

 

[jerseyborn1971]

I think the limo really sparked the link between him and Simms. He did the exact same thing before committing to Texas.

Now, does a humble 18 year old who's done nothing at the college level enter a press conference in a limo?

Scoop already addressed that. Plus, 18 year olds take limos to the prom for crying out loud. It's not a big deal.

 

[VictorsValiant]

Fine, if it was all about renting cars, then I need to see some evidence that the family brought their cars with them too. How many family members did he actually invite, anyways.

And don't you think it's a little tacky to have Clausen in the limo? I mean, it doesn't take a genius to figure out how bad that would look to the public.

Look, I have no idea how Clausen going to turn out. For all we know, he can be great. Let's assume he is. Who is he going to throw the ball to next year?

 

[alexnd]

Fine, if it was all about renting cars, then I need to see some evidence that the family brought their cars with them too. How many family members did he actually invite, anyways.

And don't you think it's a little tacky to have Clausen in the limo? I mean, it doesn't take a genius to figure out how bad that would look to the public.

Look, I have no idea how Clausen going to turn out. For all we know, he can be great. Let's assume he is. Who is he going to throw the ball to next year?

David Grimes, DJ Hord, Darius Walker, James Aldridge, Carlson/Reuland/Ragone, Duval Kamara, Greg Little.

you know, receivers, TEs, Runnign backs.

 

[jerseyborn1971]

Fine, if it was all about renting cars, then I need to see some evidence that the family brought their cars with them too. How many family members did he actually invite, anyways.

And don't you think it's a little tacky to have Clausen in the limo? I mean, it doesn't take a genius to figure out how bad that would look to the public.

Look, I have no idea how Clausen going to turn out. For all we know, he can be great. Let's assume he is. Who is he going to throw the ball to next year?

Greg Little
Duval Kamara
DJ Hord
Grimes
Carlson
Ragone
D Walker
Armando Allen
Konrad
Jeez, take your pick

We have issues at DT & LB, but dont worry about who the QB will be throwing to. If you're counting on the QB not having anyone to throw to, you're in for a surprise.

 

[jerseyborn1971]

And I'm sure the ND athletic department will get those receipts right over to you. It only looked bad to people who hate ND. And who cares if it looked bad to them, he's going to ND! You're going to hate him anyway.

 

[scooper]

Fine, if it was all about renting cars, then I need to see some evidence that the family brought their cars with them too. How many family members did he actually invite, anyways.

And don't you think it's a little tacky to have Clausen in the limo? I mean, it doesn't take a genius to figure out how bad that would look to the public.

Look, I have no idea how Clausen going to turn out. For all we know, he can be great. Let's assume he is. Who is he going to throw the ball to next year?

That's the point...THEY DIDN'T BRING CARS WITH THEM. Mr. Clausen was asked about it in an interview. He explained that they had a large family contingent with them. They all flew in from California. To move that group around for the weekend, it was cheaper to rent one vehicle (the limo) than to rent multiple cars.

Forgive ND recruits if they don't have Ed Martin supplying them with vehicles.

 

[scooper]

And who cares if it looked bad to them, he's going to ND! You're going to hate him anyway.

Good point. If Mother Teresa had done all that work in Calcutta in a Notre Dame jersey, should would have caught hell for it.

 

[jerseyborn1971]

The limo thing won't be a problem for tOSU recruits next year. Troy Smith can use his employee discount when he's working for the Greater Columbus Enterprise Rental Car Management Training Program to get as many compact vehicles they need.

 

[Aerosmith777]

I think there are some pretty important difference between Clausen and Simms. The biggest is simply who'll be coaching him the next 4 years. I dunno what you think of Mack Brown, but personally I don't think too highly of him as a coach, and he's not the type of guy I'd want my son to play for. I don't think he's a great molder of talent, I think he's just a great recruiter in a great state for recruiting and that overshadows his deficiencies as an X's and O's guy, ntm as a motivator. I also think he'll be exposed a little now that he's lost his def. coordinator.

Besides that, Clausen's also not the son of a former NFL great. There is a difference. In his case, he was renting the limo. In Simm's case he probably owned the limo.

And on top of all that, Clausen's gonna have to earn his spot, something Simms didn't really have to do. He's got 3 QB's ahead of him on the depth chart right now, 1 who was a 4-star top 3 QB in his class, another who was 4-star top 15 and has been learning the offense for 2 years, and a 3rd who is very mobile and a HUGE fan favorite. I have to think winning a job against talent like that tends to humble a guy.

 

[grantland]

I don't necessarily agree that UCLA and GTech will be hard. UCLA will improve, but who knows which team is going to show up. BC will be a hard game, notwithstanding O'Brien's departure to NC State.

I have a feeling PSU's offense will be much better next year. They're really close. If Morelli hits those excellent recievers in stride, PSU can be explosive. They will continue to have a good running game. Their problem is that they lose a lot of guys on defense. However, I think it's really tough playing in Beaver stadium (no one every blows them out there), and even if their offense sputters, Nd will have a hard time pulling off a win there with inexperienced players.

A lot will also depend on improvment. If you're breaking in a bunch of new guys, you can't really expect them to get it right away. But you do expect them to improve. Unfortuantely, Nd's schedule is front loaded (all the good teams are at the beginning of the season). UM will be on a championship run next year, and I don't expect a loss to Nd at home. PSU is probably a loss. BC and UCLA can go either way. I'll split that. USC continues to have better athletes, so that's probably a loss. So 9-3 would actually be pretty good. 8-4 is a little more realistic. But as much as any of you don't want to hear this, I also think it's possible Weis can get frustrated with the hothead Clausen, or Clausen can get impatient. If that happens, with the frontloaded schedule, the team can implode early on and lose a lot of games, like Alabama this year.

Agreed on most points, however, your last point assumes Clausen will be starting the early games? I do not agree with that. Probably Sharpley will start the early games but we shall see.

 

[iam3r3rd]

To get back to the original question, 8-4 and I'd be satisfied. I'm not going to call for Weis' head if we're 7-5 or anything, but I think that we're capable of being 9-3 (losses to USC, UM, and one of UCLA, GT, and PSU).
If you want to look for a team that was successful with a freshman QB, look no further than West Virginia 2005 or Texas 2006 (sans injury to McCoy). It can be done, maybe not to the tune of a national championship, we can have a successful season with a freshman QB.