Ask Merckxe525 aka Dear Abby

IrishLion

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IrishLion

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Honestly don't think @Dale has been out of line at all.

@Merckxe525 and @BuaConstrictor have been dumping more insider info than this site has ever gotten, which of course is greatly appreciated, and I've enjoyed reading... but I was wondering when someone would push back, not even in a "too good to be true" way, but in a "everything has been painted as more good than bad, but we've seen the recruiting misses at the top of the board recently" way.

For me, I struggle to maintain satisfaction with how things are going (because they ARE more good than bad... we just went to the natty despite being extremely short-handed!), but only because I know this program is SO FUCKING CLOSE to getting over the hump if they can just hit at QB and can land an elite WR or two (and can sustain the elite defense, despite coaching changes, if they can grab an elite pass rusher on the regular).

So I think it's natural for those inside the program to share just how good things are, and how they're getting better, because that's the reality., We have the right guy leading the program, and he's shown tangible evidence that he learns from his mistakes and short comings, and does so quickly. And I understand that you can't just share the details about everything out in the open.

On the flip side, I think it's natural for those of us on the outside to have questions about the overall rosy outlook, when we know that this program still has some things to take care of to finally win one. We know things are going great... but we want to know when ND is gonna stop letting NIL money drive high school recruits and their support systems to other places, for example. We're hearing that ND is working on making that a non-issue, but in general terms. It's hard to swallow general terms being discussed about one of the program's few shortcomings in the context of the flood of specific insider info that's been shared.
 

Dale

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Honestly don't think @Dale has been out of line at all.

@Merckxe525 and @BuaConstrictor have been dumping more insider info than this site has ever gotten, which of course is greatly appreciated, and I've enjoyed reading... but I was wondering when someone would push back, not even in a "too good to be true" way, but in a "everything has been painted as more good than bad, but we've seen the recruiting misses at the top of the board recently" way.

For me, I struggle to maintain satisfaction with how things are going (because they ARE more good than bad... we just went to the natty despite being extremely short-handed!), but only because I know this program is SO FUCKING CLOSE to getting over the hump if they can just hit at QB and can land an elite WR or two (and can sustain the elite defense, despite coaching changes, if they can grab an elite pass rusher on the regular).

So I think it's natural for those inside the program to share just how good things are, and how they're getting better, because that's the reality., We have the right guy leading the program, and he's shown tangible evidence that he learns from his mistakes and short comings, and does so quickly. And I understand that you can't just share the details about everything out in the open.

On the flip side, I think it's natural for those of us on the outside to have questions about the overall rosy outlook, when we know that this program still has some things to take care of to finally win one. We know things are going great... but we want to know when ND is gonna stop letting NIL money drive high school recruits and their support systems to other places, for example. We're hearing that ND is working on making that a non-issue, but in general terms. It's hard to swallow general terms being discussed about one of the program's few shortcomings in the context of the flood of specific insider info that's been shared.

Hey Lion everyone agreed to move on already
 

IrishLion

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Move it to DMs people. We don’t need a public hearing on this drama

This is an internet message board, and the thread is about @Merckxe525 and insider info.

This is the exact place for a public hearing on the drama, imo

(and it's the offseason, if I can't riff, you might as well throw me in internet jail)
 
I

irishu

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This is an internet message board, and the thread is about @Merckxe525 and insider info.

This is the exact place for a public hearing on the drama, imo

(and it's the offseason, if I can't riff, you might as well throw me in internet jail)
I just don’t see what points are left to be made. There’s already 50 posts about it and it’s the same few things being repeated. Getting annoying.

That’s all I have to say about that
 
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irishu

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Yo Merck,

Will there be any packages for Buchner in the offense (not special teams)? I think it was O’Malley who was theorizing about it on a podcast this week
 

BigHossBU

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When will we start prioritizing football over other “extra curricular” events, and re-install natural grass?
 

fightingirish26

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Honestly don't think @Dale has been out of line at all.

@Merckxe525 and @BuaConstrictor have been dumping more insider info than this site has ever gotten, which of course is greatly appreciated, and I've enjoyed reading... but I was wondering when someone would push back, not even in a "too good to be true" way, but in a "everything has been painted as more good than bad, but we've seen the recruiting misses at the top of the board recently" way.

For me, I struggle to maintain satisfaction with how things are going (because they ARE more good than bad... we just went to the natty despite being extremely short-handed!), but only because I know this program is SO FUCKING CLOSE to getting over the hump if they can just hit at QB and can land an elite WR or two (and can sustain the elite defense, despite coaching changes, if they can grab an elite pass rusher on the regular).

So I think it's natural for those inside the program to share just how good things are, and how they're getting better, because that's the reality., We have the right guy leading the program, and he's shown tangible evidence that he learns from his mistakes and short comings, and does so quickly. And I understand that you can't just share the details about everything out in the open.

On the flip side, I think it's natural for those of us on the outside to have questions about the overall rosy outlook, when we know that this program still has some things to take care of to finally win one. We know things are going great... but we want to know when ND is gonna stop letting NIL money drive high school recruits and their support systems to other places, for example. We're hearing that ND is working on making that a non-issue, but in general terms. It's hard to swallow general terms being discussed about one of the program's few shortcomings in the context of the flood of specific insider info that's been shared.
This, every word
 

IrishLion

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Jesus fucking Christ guys

C’mon now. The “pushback” that came from people on this website was kid gloves shit compared to what insiders get on 247 every time they post.

If they left for that, they weren’t gonna last past the Blue and Gold Game postgame thread anyway.

First sign of lack of chunk plays in Denbrock’s playcalling, Merck’s name would’ve been tagged 20+ times. Can you imagine his reaction to THAT?
 

arrowryan

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C’mon now. The “pushback” that came from people on this website was kid gloves shit compared to what insiders get on 247 every time they post.

If they left for that, they weren’t gonna last past the Blue and Gold Game postgame thread anyway.

First sign of lack of chunk plays in Denbrock’s playcalling, Merck’s name would’ve been tagged 20+ times. Can you imagine his reaction to THAT?

We were getting great information for free, in the middle of March. Now we have to go back to the regular offseason conversations.

If he ends up being wrong on things, who cares! We’ve all been wrong on plenty of things.
 

IrishLion

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We were getting great information for free, in the middle of March. Now we have to go back to the regular offseason conversations.

If he ends up being wrong on things, who cares! We’ve all been wrong on plenty of things.

So what, we expect everyone to just take every word for truth and not be like “hey, we’ve lost some WR’s and Keon Keeley because we wouldn’t pay, but now you’re saying we will, can you provide some more info or context?”

That’s the least offensive type of questioning you can do when the only potential shortfall this program has is HS NIL spending.

I find it hard to blame a long-time IE user(s) for doing the same shit we’ve done to each other without hurting feelings for years and years
 

notredomer23

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Don’t get why you guys are mad at Dale lol. His pushback was totally reasonable, and I also understand why Mercke felt the way he did.

This thread turned into “I’ve had random thought about ND football, I’m gonna ask Mercke about it” rather than actually try to formulate good questions, use some critical thought, or simply Google it. Hopefully he returns and drops some great insider info, and doesn’t have to answer the questions of us peons
 

BuaConstrictor

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So what, we expect everyone to just take every word for truth and not be like “hey, we’ve lost some WR’s and Keon Keeley because we wouldn’t pay, but now you’re saying we will, can you provide some more info or context?”
In fairness...both of us did. I offered fuller context yesterday and even asked him (Dale/KC) to specify what his "narrowing" was because his premise was flawed.

I also push back on that we've been nothing but rose-colored glasses about the program. I shared some pretty negative stuff re: the Hillman thing and have covered ND's natural limitations in HS recruiting. I think even the subtext of what ND is changing in the way they approach recruiting for HS players (more professional etc) could be read as a BIT negative for the way things used to be.

Merckxe also lit Bowden the fuck up. lol

If people want to ask negatively geared questions, that's fine..but I disagree with some of the premises around them. If we are asked "when will ND start paying recruits up front" and the premise is that we aren't...then the premise isn't correct. I'm not painting a rose colored picture that we are, I'm just correcting the record.
 
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