NDOM
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I forgot who it was for us that hit pritchard but our d back already had momentum and no way in hell would have been able to stop and not hit him. I think it was a good noncall.
Stanford Postgame Discussion and Analysis
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I forgot who it was for us that hit pritchard but our d back already had momentum and no way in hell would have been able to stop and not hit him. I think it was a good noncall.
GoshenGipper
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I would have been ok with them calling it but they didn't call either of the ones on Stanford either so I guess that part was fair all the way around. Even if it was incorrect.
KamaraPolice
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Did they call helmet-to-helmet on that?
I'm pretty sure they have stopped calling helmet-to-helmet altogether in college football. USC has about 10 blows to the head on guys every game. Matter of fact, the "hit of the year" that we got to see all off-season was a vicious helmet-to-helmet by a USC player on a UCLA guy down the sideline.
Only helmet-to-helmet i've seen called was a by a dumbass punter who speared a guy laying the ground and fortunately didnt break his neck (looked like it did though).
I'm pretty sure they have stopped calling helmet-to-helmet altogether in college football. USC has about 10 blows to the head on guys every game. Matter of fact, the "hit of the year" that we got to see all off-season was a vicious helmet-to-helmet by a USC player on a UCLA guy down the sideline.
Only helmet-to-helmet i've seen called was a by a dumbass punter who speared a guy laying the ground and fortunately didnt break his neck (looked like it did though).
IrishRamMan10
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pritchard was still falling down when he went to hit em...... cant stop then
SoCalDomer
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I agree, in real time it looked as though it might have been helmet to helmet. In slow motion, it looks like a pad or his forearm actually hit his head.
But that doesn't actually defend the ref's non-call. If it looked like helmet to helmt in real time (what the refs saw it in), they should have called it. I don't think it would have been unreasonable for them to call it. Except a reasonable call would have been out of character for this group of officials.
GoshenGipper
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It was Lambert
SoCalDomer
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KamaraPolice
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<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/WiT2olBfoJY&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/WiT2olBfoJY&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>
its right at 1:45. The second shot shows the guy who hit him high, but on the third shot you can see #58 lower his head to go helmet-to-helmet.
USC had some nice cheap helmet-to-helmet on Rudy Carpenter on Thursday night too. Way to go Pete.
its right at 1:45. The second shot shows the guy who hit him high, but on the third shot you can see #58 lower his head to go helmet-to-helmet.
USC had some nice cheap helmet-to-helmet on Rudy Carpenter on Thursday night too. Way to go Pete.
tripsdad
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Uh, my point was that I saw it opposite of that.
SoCalDomer
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Sorry, i re-read your post and I misunderstood.
But now I'm confused because I recall seeing many slow motion replays and it was definitely not helmet to helmet.
I think i dvr'd the game, I'll rewatch if i have the chance.
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IrishRamMan10
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in person it did not even look like helmet to helmet at all to me in real time from where i was sitting. Lambert appeared to hit prichard with about his collerbone area
tripsdad
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One of the slo-mo replay angles was the only time that I saw helmet-to-helmet. Anyone else...? I guess we need someone who TIVO'd the game to post a clip - both slo-mo and real-time - if that is possible.
Stanford Game Analysis!!!!
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I will start by saying that ending the season with a W feels oh so good. Even if we had lost the game in the end, I still could walk away with many positives. This game was sooo close to being an ND blowout. Two fumbles and a TD taken away!!! Well, I will get into my analysis.
DEFENSE: I have to start with the side of the ball which won the game for us. They played a really solid game. There were a couple missed plays, but overall we stopped everything they thru at the D. So here is my position analysis.
DL: Trevor is unbelievable. He played his usual awesome self. Ian Williams is becoming a true force in the middle. He comes of blocks well and flows like an experienced guy. We have found a REAL NT in Ian. Justin Brown had his best game of the year. I feel he could be real solid next year with some more weight. Grade: A-
OLB: Was there a bigger pick up in our recruiting class last season than Brian Smith. He is simply awesome. He sheds blocks, runs like a deer and punishes people. He is becoming unblockable. Neal also had a very solid game. Next year teams will fear this tandem. Ryan struggled again today getting off blocks. Grade A-(you have to come up with turnover or game winning stop to get A+)
ILB: Brockington had one of his better hitting games, but he still gets beat on many plays. Crum missed a few tackles today that he shouldn't. This position is my biggest concern on the entire team for next season. Toryan Smith must not be showing much, he is not getting on the field much at all and our starters are not all-americans by any stretch. We may have to look at moving Mo Richardson or someone else in there to help. Grade C+(They did not make any huge mistakes, but just don't have the physical skills to dominate)
Safety: This was Zibby's best game of the season. He hit hard, made an INT and just was in good position alot. Bruton just likes to hit people. He is going to be on AA watch list in 2008. I was happy to see no breakaway bombs. Grade B+
CB: Darrin Walls had another solid game. Even when a ball is caught against him, he is in position to make a solid tackle. McNeil looked fairly good in his time on the field. Wooden got lost on a couple plays. Lambert has become pretty solid. Have you noticed that on deep balls this season, we are not letting the WR's get behind us. Grade B+
Coaching: C. Brown called a good gameplan here. He was a bit timid on the blitz, which I believe comes from getting burned on a couple long QB runs for first downs. These plays are examples on how our ILB's are not capable of running down QB's in open field. We need a mid field general. Overall, the kids love playing for Brown and the D recruits should be salivating. This D will only get better and NASTIER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
OFFENSE: I saw some really positive things, but there is plenty for off-season work.
QB: Jimmy, Jimmy I was so glad to see your improvement the last couple weeks. Well, you took a little step back into freshman land today. He made some solid throws, but also had some shaky plays. 3 times he ran out of bounds when he could have thrown it away, costing us 10 yards each time. The INT ball was a bad mood. Jimmy needs to look some guys off a bit. Finally, some of his struggles today was due to the horrible playcalling. Grade: C-(JC will be great, he just learned alot today)
RB: HUGHESSSSSS!!!! You have to love this kid. He never goes down on the first contact. He runs possessed. Allen had a couple good runs, he just did not get enough carries to get a rythm. On the one play he got killed in the backfield when our FB, who will remain nameless, got blown up. Aldridge only got a couple plays which I assume is due to the ankle and a field that could have hurt him worse. Jabbie looks solid every time he plays. I hope he comes back for a 5th year, he will be a good spot duty guy. Grade A-
FB: Do I really need to say much here. Scwaap is terrible and yet CW continues to go with him and leave Luke Schmidt on the sideline. This is a debacle. Grade D-(he made a couple blocks, so he avoided the F)
WR: Kamara is coming of age. He is about to blossom into another Stovall. He won't outrun people, but he will out jump and out catch. Grimes has finally come back to the guy we remember from last season. He made TD catch that was stolen. Parris looked slow today on the few plays he was in. We are in desperate need of a third receiver who can stretch the field. Tate, Hord or an incoming recruit will need to be that guy. These guys could have had more catches today had we run another route besides the go route. Grade B
TE: Carlson, thanks for all your effort over the last 2 years. John had a solid game today, making a nice catch in traffic again. Yeatman does a decent job at blocking. Ragone, you need to work on your blocking, put on about 20#'s and keep your mouth shut until you can back it up. Watch this kid. He is running his mouth all the time. He alone cost us the 4th down and 1 play in the first half. He TOTALLY missed his block. Grade C+(Ragone cost them on this grade)
OL: After playing OL and coaching OL, you can see that these guys are getting a groove. I know there were some sacks, but alot of that is playcalling. I look at the individual performance. Turk moved some guys today. I love watching Stew. He tries so hard. Olsen has a mean streak. Wenger snaps the ball so much better. These guys are starting to feel success. Young had the most struggles today. He just is slow getting out of the blocks. Grade C+(Expect this group to become stout next season)
Coaching: Wow!!! Where do I start here. CW has some serious serious personal evaluation to do in the off-season. The playcalling was off the charts bad today. Are you telling me that we only have two pass plays, go route or screen??? How many times did we see Jimmy just flinging it down the sidelines?? The DB's were step for step with us. They knew it was coming. Then we run the screen so many times it makes me ill. I don't care if we get ONE lone run by Jabbie, it is still uncalled for. I am convinced that CW's big playcard only has about 5 plays on it. Go Route, Screen, Run Right, Screen, Run left. The announcers were even questioning why he kept doing the long go routes. We criticize the OL for struggling with blocking, but this is because the playcalling allows the D to lay their ears back. Ask yourself how many times you know exactly what is coming the instant the play is snapped. Further, our plays are developing soooooooooo slow. This is coaching. CW should not be going to NE to figure this out. Belichick recently commented when asked about the college spread O, "I can't comment on that since I really never watch college football and don't know what they are doing there." Finally, we have some good progress to smile about.
End of Season Thought: We ended the season with two pretty solid victories. Stanford should have never been that close. We have lots of youth on the team who are going to be sooooo good next season. Our Defense will become fearsome next season if we can fill the LB void. Our Offense has some playmakers and a QB who will lead them to many W's. There is an incredible influx of talent coming that should be really excited to play with the other youth on this team. The IRISH will be back among the better teams in 2008 and will dominate in 2009. Thanks to all the great Seniors. Zibby, Laws, Carlson all lead with class!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Thanks. Trevor, get rich, you earned every penny!!!!
GO IRISH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I just rewatched the game and have to change Schwaaps grade to an F-. He missed way too many blocks and his fumble was inexcusable. Further, I forgot to grade out Offensive Coaching. That grade is a D(plain and simple)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I will start by saying that ending the season with a W feels oh so good. Even if we had lost the game in the end, I still could walk away with many positives. This game was sooo close to being an ND blowout. Two fumbles and a TD taken away!!! Well, I will get into my analysis.
DEFENSE: I have to start with the side of the ball which won the game for us. They played a really solid game. There were a couple missed plays, but overall we stopped everything they thru at the D. So here is my position analysis.
DL: Trevor is unbelievable. He played his usual awesome self. Ian Williams is becoming a true force in the middle. He comes of blocks well and flows like an experienced guy. We have found a REAL NT in Ian. Justin Brown had his best game of the year. I feel he could be real solid next year with some more weight. Grade: A-
OLB: Was there a bigger pick up in our recruiting class last season than Brian Smith. He is simply awesome. He sheds blocks, runs like a deer and punishes people. He is becoming unblockable. Neal also had a very solid game. Next year teams will fear this tandem. Ryan struggled again today getting off blocks. Grade A-(you have to come up with turnover or game winning stop to get A+)
ILB: Brockington had one of his better hitting games, but he still gets beat on many plays. Crum missed a few tackles today that he shouldn't. This position is my biggest concern on the entire team for next season. Toryan Smith must not be showing much, he is not getting on the field much at all and our starters are not all-americans by any stretch. We may have to look at moving Mo Richardson or someone else in there to help. Grade C+(They did not make any huge mistakes, but just don't have the physical skills to dominate)
Safety: This was Zibby's best game of the season. He hit hard, made an INT and just was in good position alot. Bruton just likes to hit people. He is going to be on AA watch list in 2008. I was happy to see no breakaway bombs. Grade B+
CB: Darrin Walls had another solid game. Even when a ball is caught against him, he is in position to make a solid tackle. McNeil looked fairly good in his time on the field. Wooden got lost on a couple plays. Lambert has become pretty solid. Have you noticed that on deep balls this season, we are not letting the WR's get behind us. Grade B+
Coaching: C. Brown called a good gameplan here. He was a bit timid on the blitz, which I believe comes from getting burned on a couple long QB runs for first downs. These plays are examples on how our ILB's are not capable of running down QB's in open field. We need a mid field general. Overall, the kids love playing for Brown and the D recruits should be salivating. This D will only get better and NASTIER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
OFFENSE: I saw some really positive things, but there is plenty for off-season work.
QB: Jimmy, Jimmy I was so glad to see your improvement the last couple weeks. Well, you took a little step back into freshman land today. He made some solid throws, but also had some shaky plays. 3 times he ran out of bounds when he could have thrown it away, costing us 10 yards each time. The INT ball was a bad mood. Jimmy needs to look some guys off a bit. Finally, some of his struggles today was due to the horrible playcalling. Grade: C-(JC will be great, he just learned alot today)
RB: HUGHESSSSSS!!!! You have to love this kid. He never goes down on the first contact. He runs possessed. Allen had a couple good runs, he just did not get enough carries to get a rythm. On the one play he got killed in the backfield when our FB, who will remain nameless, got blown up. Aldridge only got a couple plays which I assume is due to the ankle and a field that could have hurt him worse. Jabbie looks solid every time he plays. I hope he comes back for a 5th year, he will be a good spot duty guy. Grade A-
FB: Do I really need to say much here. Scwaap is terrible and yet CW continues to go with him and leave Luke Schmidt on the sideline. This is a debacle. Grade D-(he made a couple blocks, so he avoided the F)
WR: Kamara is coming of age. He is about to blossom into another Stovall. He won't outrun people, but he will out jump and out catch. Grimes has finally come back to the guy we remember from last season. He made TD catch that was stolen. Parris looked slow today on the few plays he was in. We are in desperate need of a third receiver who can stretch the field. Tate, Hord or an incoming recruit will need to be that guy. These guys could have had more catches today had we run another route besides the go route. Grade B
TE: Carlson, thanks for all your effort over the last 2 years. John had a solid game today, making a nice catch in traffic again. Yeatman does a decent job at blocking. Ragone, you need to work on your blocking, put on about 20#'s and keep your mouth shut until you can back it up. Watch this kid. He is running his mouth all the time. He alone cost us the 4th down and 1 play in the first half. He TOTALLY missed his block. Grade C+(Ragone cost them on this grade)
OL: After playing OL and coaching OL, you can see that these guys are getting a groove. I know there were some sacks, but alot of that is playcalling. I look at the individual performance. Turk moved some guys today. I love watching Stew. He tries so hard. Olsen has a mean streak. Wenger snaps the ball so much better. These guys are starting to feel success. Young had the most struggles today. He just is slow getting out of the blocks. Grade C+(Expect this group to become stout next season)
Coaching: Wow!!! Where do I start here. CW has some serious serious personal evaluation to do in the off-season. The playcalling was off the charts bad today. Are you telling me that we only have two pass plays, go route or screen??? How many times did we see Jimmy just flinging it down the sidelines?? The DB's were step for step with us. They knew it was coming. Then we run the screen so many times it makes me ill. I don't care if we get ONE lone run by Jabbie, it is still uncalled for. I am convinced that CW's big playcard only has about 5 plays on it. Go Route, Screen, Run Right, Screen, Run left. The announcers were even questioning why he kept doing the long go routes. We criticize the OL for struggling with blocking, but this is because the playcalling allows the D to lay their ears back. Ask yourself how many times you know exactly what is coming the instant the play is snapped. Further, our plays are developing soooooooooo slow. This is coaching. CW should not be going to NE to figure this out. Belichick recently commented when asked about the college spread O, "I can't comment on that since I really never watch college football and don't know what they are doing there." Finally, we have some good progress to smile about.
End of Season Thought: We ended the season with two pretty solid victories. Stanford should have never been that close. We have lots of youth on the team who are going to be sooooo good next season. Our Defense will become fearsome next season if we can fill the LB void. Our Offense has some playmakers and a QB who will lead them to many W's. There is an incredible influx of talent coming that should be really excited to play with the other youth on this team. The IRISH will be back among the better teams in 2008 and will dominate in 2009. Thanks to all the great Seniors. Zibby, Laws, Carlson all lead with class!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Thanks. Trevor, get rich, you earned every penny!!!!
GO IRISH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I just rewatched the game and have to change Schwaaps grade to an F-. He missed way too many blocks and his fumble was inexcusable. Further, I forgot to grade out Offensive Coaching. That grade is a D(plain and simple)
SoCalDomer
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Turns out I didn't dvr it, because I set it when it was scheduled on ESPN2 and they moved it to ESPN.
Oh well, it's all academic now.
tripsdad
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Agreed. Either way, Jim Harbaugh (by the way, did he actually graduate from UM, or just attend?) is a complete jerk for putting the kid back in. Did you notice how his head flopped like a rag-doll's when he was tackled by the sideline?
SoCalDomer
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Ya, the announcers were going nuts with how wrong they thought it was to put him back in.
The announcers were wrong, both about "the hit" and the effect it had on the QB. The hit was Lambert's face mask catching, probably, the top of the QB's cage, pulling off his helmet. It was obvious Lambert did nothing to spear the QB.
6 minutes after the announcers started hand-wringing over the QB, even they announced that the sideline crew checked the boy out, and he was alert and good to go.
The announcers DID get the Grimes catsh right. It was an all=world lay-out, with the left hand kept carefully UNDER THE BALL. The replay refs (a PAc-10 crew) did what Pac-10 refs usually do. They homer-ed the call. It's the price you pay for the West Coast exposure, but it's pretty obvious dishonesty, nonetheless. How else has it taken THIS long fot the comference (PAC-10) to even get close to doing someyhing about Bush-Gate, and never did ANYTHING about the Leinert/Jarrel $8000/month condo scandal.
Anyway, it's nice to be on a winning "streak", hoewever modest. Go Irish!
IrishAlum1997
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This f'ing sucks. I have watched every friggin' snap this season, and I don't get to watch a victory in our season finale because espn moved networks and my DVR did not record it.
I had a horrible day at work and all that got me through was my time from 2-5am where I can watch my Irish. I knew NOTHING about the game and was ready to watch it as if live.
I AM FU@$ING PISSED!!! I AM GOING TO NESTEA PLUNGE FROM MY ROOF!
GOOD BYE ALL!!!
Re: the "hit"
I Tivo'd the game and have watched it several times frame by frame. Lambert hit him helmet to helmet. It was by no way intentional; it was more a case of a QB that that doesn't know how to take a slide. Lambert came in high with his HEAD UP to make the tackle, as opposed to coming in with his HEAD DOWN to tee off on the QB and the helmet-to-helmet contact really was just incidental. To top it off, the helmet contact wasn't really that severe; it was more just Lambert completely jacking the guy up that resulted in his helmet coming off (and hence all the discussion about the helmet-to-helmet contact.)
But I really couldn't disagree with the refs (which was a rarity in this game) on this play either way regarding the call or non-call. If they throw out the laundry then I have no problem because it was technically a helmet-to-helmet hit. If they don't (which they didn't) I have no problem because the helmet contact was completely incidental, no matter what some TV broadcasters wanted to try to blow it up to.
The one thing that is for sure though is that Jim Hard-on was an idiot for putting that kid back in for a 3-7 team in a game that meant absolutely nothing. If I was on that team(at any position) playing for him that would tell me that he doesn't give two shits about me other than what I can do for him and I would be gone.
I Tivo'd the game and have watched it several times frame by frame. Lambert hit him helmet to helmet. It was by no way intentional; it was more a case of a QB that that doesn't know how to take a slide. Lambert came in high with his HEAD UP to make the tackle, as opposed to coming in with his HEAD DOWN to tee off on the QB and the helmet-to-helmet contact really was just incidental. To top it off, the helmet contact wasn't really that severe; it was more just Lambert completely jacking the guy up that resulted in his helmet coming off (and hence all the discussion about the helmet-to-helmet contact.)
But I really couldn't disagree with the refs (which was a rarity in this game) on this play either way regarding the call or non-call. If they throw out the laundry then I have no problem because it was technically a helmet-to-helmet hit. If they don't (which they didn't) I have no problem because the helmet contact was completely incidental, no matter what some TV broadcasters wanted to try to blow it up to.
The one thing that is for sure though is that Jim Hard-on was an idiot for putting that kid back in for a 3-7 team in a game that meant absolutely nothing. If I was on that team(at any position) playing for him that would tell me that he doesn't give two shits about me other than what I can do for him and I would be gone.
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GoIrish41
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the play by play guy's reaction to that play on TV was "how do you not make that call?" I thought it was a helmet to helmet hit in real time, and the replay just confirmed. I may have had a better view than you since you were at the game and I saw it on TV.
which brings me to my real point. it doesn't matter what any of us saw or thinks we saw. the refs are getting paid to see this stuff. this rule is intended to protect players and when the refs miss a penalty like this, it is just shameful. it was a very bad no call, as were the subsequent no calls on late hits by standford. these were among the worst officials I've seen all year. ... and don't get me started on the replay guy.
onenybrother
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I woke and the season didn't exist no more. It felt like it never happened. Until I got my morning paper. Next year cant get hear fast enough.
First off after reviewing this game, Stanford is cheap and dirty and I think that comes right from the coaching staff. Harbaugh is a tool and I hope this is his best season ever at Stanford and he is gone and forgotten in 3 years. I hope number 20 comes back next year and someone on our team rips his head off. The head butt to Jimmy was bogus and the ref must have been a Stanford grad because that call was stupid. That wasn't the only "play" that guy made and I think he is as cheap and dirty as any player that played at the "U". Why, if as Mark May stated Stanford was faster than us, did they water down the field in the morning? Everything I have read and heard about such a move is down by the home team to combat a speed advantage the other team has. How many times did we have slip by Allen or Hughes in the back field when they were making a cut? Those plays put us a 2nd or 3rd and long and made getting a 1st down very difficult. We beat three teams yesterday, Stanford, the on field ref and the replay booth. What game were those guys watching? Can anyone honestly say from the angle shown that Grimes did not catch that ball? If the excuse of the ball moved in his hand is used, it looked to me like it moved down his forearm and into his face mask. I think the announcers made a big deal about the hit to the Stanford QB. His slide was more body first than feet and It looked to me like Lambert was already into diving low to make the tackle. I think if the helmet did not come off it would not have been such a big deal.
SoCalDomer
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Isn't that cheap and dirty?
How about we just beat them soundly, which is the point of a football game.
johnnd05
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Let's start moving forward now.
Let's start moving forward now.
(Via the Roundup.)
My Stanford recap is still in the works. In the meantime, I thought it was worth passing along <a href="http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=273280024" target="_blank">this tidbit</a> from the AP report on yesterday's game:
<blockquote>As soon as the final whistle blew, the Notre Dame players gathered in the end zone to salute their fans and savor a season-ending victory.
The celebration continued in the locker room with multiple renditions of the school's fight song and pictures for the departing seniors. The Fighting Irish managed to put a positive finish on the worst season ever for college football's most storied team.
...<strong>
</strong>
"When we were singing in there -- and the last two games we didn't even worry about our record, just that we were winning those games," senior safety <strong>Tom Zbikowski</strong> said. "It feels good to get that feeling back of winning games."</blockquote>
That's exactly what you want to hear about a young team that's trying to build for the future. There are no illusions, and there is no shortage of frustration, about the awfulness of a 3-9 season, but that doesn't mean you have to hang your heads:
<blockquote>"It's still 3-9. Let's not kid ourselves," <strong>[Charlie] Weis</strong> said. "But at least it's 3-9 with two wins at the end of the year. Now all of a sudden, you're going into the offseason winning the last game at home and then we go on the road and win our last game there. Let's start moving forward now."</blockquote>
Well said, Coach. The 2008 season begins today. 286 days 'til kickoff ...
Let's start moving forward now.
(Via the Roundup.)
My Stanford recap is still in the works. In the meantime, I thought it was worth passing along <a href="http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=273280024" target="_blank">this tidbit</a> from the AP report on yesterday's game:
<blockquote>As soon as the final whistle blew, the Notre Dame players gathered in the end zone to salute their fans and savor a season-ending victory.
The celebration continued in the locker room with multiple renditions of the school's fight song and pictures for the departing seniors. The Fighting Irish managed to put a positive finish on the worst season ever for college football's most storied team.
...<strong>
</strong>
"When we were singing in there -- and the last two games we didn't even worry about our record, just that we were winning those games," senior safety <strong>Tom Zbikowski</strong> said. "It feels good to get that feeling back of winning games."</blockquote>
That's exactly what you want to hear about a young team that's trying to build for the future. There are no illusions, and there is no shortage of frustration, about the awfulness of a 3-9 season, but that doesn't mean you have to hang your heads:
<blockquote>"It's still 3-9. Let's not kid ourselves," <strong>[Charlie] Weis</strong> said. "But at least it's 3-9 with two wins at the end of the year. Now all of a sudden, you're going into the offseason winning the last game at home and then we go on the road and win our last game there. Let's start moving forward now."</blockquote>
Well said, Coach. The 2008 season begins today. 286 days 'til kickoff ...
stonebreakerwasgod
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I'm with Zibby, it felt great to win the last two, and now this coach, team, and all of us with Irish fanhood, can move on to next year with a two game winning streak.
First off - Timugen I completely agree with what you said. It was technically helmet to helmet, and I do think they should have called it. That being said it was a clean attempt, and Lambert wasn't trying to make some dirty USuCk hit.
What was with them watering the grass? I was thinking it must have rained, but instead it was something they tried to do?? Field crew gets an F for the day.
Stanford is apparently recruiting kickers the same way we are. Poor guy already has the name 'Belch' and then has to play for Harbaugh AND be awful. Rough.
The D played so well and so many of the positives from that game are from the young guys. If Walls continues to improve at this rate he is going to be a first-day draft pick. Speaking of that, Trevor effin Laws...Period, the end. Man are we going to miss him next year - he really is the one hole we will probably have a tough time filling of the departing players. Wooden seems to have regressed, and Lambert....is a mixed bag (plays well on one play then seems confused or lazy on the next) - it will be interesting to see if he comes back next year. McNeil is also improving - It's going to be nice to see Gray, Walls, and McNeil in the upcoming season - first time with a real coverage since 2002. Ian Williams has shocked me with how well he is playing already - I never had such high expectations so early. I don't know if we are thinking of Omar Hunter as a NT or a T Laws replacement, but I hope it's the latter so we can see both in at the same time. ILB are still a liability to us - we give up so many inside runs on first down that go for 5+ yards, and that is not ok. Zibby looked circa 2005 and I couldn't be happier - the int was a great one handed grab.
The offense played...inconsistently - which I know comes as a shock to everyone. After we got to the 5 on the first drive I thought it was going to be like the second half of the Duke game. Theeeeen we fumbled it away about 3 times in a row. We now are able to put together solid drives, regardless of an all-too-noticeable OLine (although they do look much better, and boy am I glad we have had Wenger in). Clausen had a good throwing game, just made some dumb frosh decisions - for God's sake just throw it away once you get to the sideline). Anyone saying Sharpley should be in is drunk - JC continues to get better and has been one of our better players in the past two games (three but screw losses). Hughes is some sort of demon and I cannot see how Aldridge is going to hold him off without a superhuman offseason. Hughes isn't going to outrun many secondarys but he sure can break tackles. Kamara looked good, and Grimes gave a good showing of why he is a starter - the story on Parris was interesting, but he needs to show more fight in the air. Scwaap shouldn't ever ever ever get another carry. EVER. Blocking has improved for him but it still aint great. One last thing - WE NEED A DAMN CONSISTENT KICKER - ARGH! Still wondering why we didn't kick against Navy? I'm not.
Coaching - Well I disagree with those that are disappointed, but most of our setbacks were purely execution. The screen is infuriating, but it should get see a lot less use next season. Harbaugh demonstrated how we still have superior coaching - they mismanaged the end of the first half horribly, possibly costing them a win. Putting a player with potential injuries back in? Insane. The sideline warning - not helping his team. Bottom line, we did what we needed to do to win, in spite of a lot of dumb on-field mistakes - and Stanford almost actively tried to lose. We do have quality coaching folks, and Standford does not.
What was with them watering the grass? I was thinking it must have rained, but instead it was something they tried to do?? Field crew gets an F for the day.
Stanford is apparently recruiting kickers the same way we are. Poor guy already has the name 'Belch' and then has to play for Harbaugh AND be awful. Rough.
The D played so well and so many of the positives from that game are from the young guys. If Walls continues to improve at this rate he is going to be a first-day draft pick. Speaking of that, Trevor effin Laws...Period, the end. Man are we going to miss him next year - he really is the one hole we will probably have a tough time filling of the departing players. Wooden seems to have regressed, and Lambert....is a mixed bag (plays well on one play then seems confused or lazy on the next) - it will be interesting to see if he comes back next year. McNeil is also improving - It's going to be nice to see Gray, Walls, and McNeil in the upcoming season - first time with a real coverage since 2002. Ian Williams has shocked me with how well he is playing already - I never had such high expectations so early. I don't know if we are thinking of Omar Hunter as a NT or a T Laws replacement, but I hope it's the latter so we can see both in at the same time. ILB are still a liability to us - we give up so many inside runs on first down that go for 5+ yards, and that is not ok. Zibby looked circa 2005 and I couldn't be happier - the int was a great one handed grab.
The offense played...inconsistently - which I know comes as a shock to everyone. After we got to the 5 on the first drive I thought it was going to be like the second half of the Duke game. Theeeeen we fumbled it away about 3 times in a row. We now are able to put together solid drives, regardless of an all-too-noticeable OLine (although they do look much better, and boy am I glad we have had Wenger in). Clausen had a good throwing game, just made some dumb frosh decisions - for God's sake just throw it away once you get to the sideline). Anyone saying Sharpley should be in is drunk - JC continues to get better and has been one of our better players in the past two games (three but screw losses). Hughes is some sort of demon and I cannot see how Aldridge is going to hold him off without a superhuman offseason. Hughes isn't going to outrun many secondarys but he sure can break tackles. Kamara looked good, and Grimes gave a good showing of why he is a starter - the story on Parris was interesting, but he needs to show more fight in the air. Scwaap shouldn't ever ever ever get another carry. EVER. Blocking has improved for him but it still aint great. One last thing - WE NEED A DAMN CONSISTENT KICKER - ARGH! Still wondering why we didn't kick against Navy? I'm not.
Coaching - Well I disagree with those that are disappointed, but most of our setbacks were purely execution. The screen is infuriating, but it should get see a lot less use next season. Harbaugh demonstrated how we still have superior coaching - they mismanaged the end of the first half horribly, possibly costing them a win. Putting a player with potential injuries back in? Insane. The sideline warning - not helping his team. Bottom line, we did what we needed to do to win, in spite of a lot of dumb on-field mistakes - and Stanford almost actively tried to lose. We do have quality coaching folks, and Standford does not.
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solo
Guest
It was nice to get the W, but this game raised just as many questions as answers and gives me very little hope that next year we will be better than .500. Against a really bad Stanford team that had a lot of players injured we could only muster 313 yards of total offense? We gave up 5 sacks and turned the ball over 4 times? Once again we failed to convert on 4th and short? It was a lack luster effort. It was like watching a parody of ND football. Thank God Stanford WR's dropped TD passes on consecutive plays in the waning moments or we would have been in OT.
Clausen? While I have seen him make some progress this year and some nice throws, he has not learned to throw the ball away, he takes unecessary sacks, and he puts the ball up for grabs for anyone to catch (even the other team) far too often. Against Duke and Stanford you can get away with that, against most of the teams we play you can't.
The OL still can't run block. Shouldn't they be a cohesive experienced unit 12 games into the season? How much better will they get in one off season? We finally have a stable full of RB's and nobody to open holes for them. Still not picking up blitzes consistantly either. Add another 5 sacks to the already league leading sack totals we yielded. Ouch.
The WR's are still dropping passes and not getting separation. This will hurt the ground game if/when the OL ever comes around.
Finally, Weis says he needs to watch film to get to the root cause and needs to go to his NFL buddies for help. The problems are obvious. Why can't Weis see them after watching every minute of every game multiple times?
This was the hardest season I have ever endured in my 20+ years as an ND fan. Unfortunately, I only see modest improvement for next year. Something along the lines of 6-6 or 7-5.
Clausen? While I have seen him make some progress this year and some nice throws, he has not learned to throw the ball away, he takes unecessary sacks, and he puts the ball up for grabs for anyone to catch (even the other team) far too often. Against Duke and Stanford you can get away with that, against most of the teams we play you can't.
The OL still can't run block. Shouldn't they be a cohesive experienced unit 12 games into the season? How much better will they get in one off season? We finally have a stable full of RB's and nobody to open holes for them. Still not picking up blitzes consistantly either. Add another 5 sacks to the already league leading sack totals we yielded. Ouch.
The WR's are still dropping passes and not getting separation. This will hurt the ground game if/when the OL ever comes around.
Finally, Weis says he needs to watch film to get to the root cause and needs to go to his NFL buddies for help. The problems are obvious. Why can't Weis see them after watching every minute of every game multiple times?
This was the hardest season I have ever endured in my 20+ years as an ND fan. Unfortunately, I only see modest improvement for next year. Something along the lines of 6-6 or 7-5.
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solo
Guest
Actions of a quality coach or not?
1. Waste valuable spring practice time implementing a spread package that was abandoned after the first game
2. Fail to properly motivate his team emotionally for every game
3. Go into a game with a gameplan that ensures a loss
4. Can't figure out a way to stop the triple option against a team outmanned at every position
5. 3 games into the season start having physical practices to replace the low intensity NFL type practices that were the norm
6. Make light of breaking the 43 year win streak.
7. Fail to recruit a kicker that can make a 40 yard FG in his first 3 seasons as coach
8. Fail to field a solid defense in his first 3 seasons
I would say that the above actions are that of a coaching staff that is either incompetant or learning how to coach rather than that of a quality coaching staff.
1 - It was a gamble, not going to defend it too much but he sure would look like a genius if it would have paid off. It was made out of necessity too since our starter was injured and it didn't seem we could win with Sharpley.
2 - This is a weak point in terms of Weis as a coach. I can't argue with that. All I will add is that I agree with Charlie that you really can only play the emotion card so many times before it's just not effective.
3 - No. This isn't actually a point, and no coach would try to lose unless they have a draft to look forward to.
4 - Who exactly has been able to control the triple option? We lost narrowly and we really have barely avoided losses to teams that run that offense even in good years. You need players to be experts at disciplined coverage and getting that from Frosh/Sophs is a challenge. Also - are you referring to this as Corwin being a bad coach?
5 - Let me know when we have a full roster of lineman. It won't be before national signing day, I can assure you of that. There was a reason we went into the season with few injuries. Imagine if we started the year with Sullivan and Kuntz out... it look sfine now but could have been murderous then.
6 - Again, not valid. It isn't making light of it. As a coach, you treat each game as if it were the only one of the season or the only game you have played. You can't focus on some winning streak - thing the patriots are concerned with the 72 (think it was 72) dolphins this year? They want to win each game of its own accord.
7 - Kicker recruiting? Are you serious? Not to mention that Walker was (and this is subjective) highly touted in terms of the kickers in his year. What a glaring flaw in our recruiting system. By this logic, Holtz must have been an awful coach since he refused to even carry scholarship kickers.
8 - We had Minter. He got two seasons, which is if anything a short test period, then he got canned. Weis brought in Brown who has already made strides with the D. Please find me a reason that this could come back to Weis.
Of those points there is one that is valid and that is motivation. Charlie just isn't a very exciting/excitable guy and that can be good or bad (see good - Belechick, bad - Nutt).