Jimmy Clausen. King of the Chuck it up and pray.

[NDMontana]

so... you don't think Crist would be better... but you still want to see him in there. that is the most confusing thing i've read all day.

I'd like to see his mechanics, see how looks throwing the ball down field. I'd also like to think that he would have some live game action in case JC doesn't pan out. I don't expect him to be consistently excellent at this point in his career. I would expect some flashes of brilliance, I haven't seen any! Then again I'm Irish so by nature I'm a pessimist. I have an abiding sense of tragedy to sustain me through temporary periods of joy....maybe I don't look hard enough for the positives.

 

[NDMontana]

my personal opinion is that clausen is our quaterback and I think we ALL need to back him 100%!! I mean come on guys where the heck is your team spirit? I'm irish for life what about you?

I'm not rooting against Clausen. I pray and hope that he becomes a great QB. As long as he's wearing the Blue and Gold than he's on my team and I'm rooting for him.

 

[WaveDomer]

Here we go...

Here we go...

We lose a game on a few bad plays and people start going cannibal. People need to chill a bit. Did anyone honestly think we were going to go out and run the table? No. So don't get nutty after a loss.

 

[patman1868]

patience is not something many on this board have, but i agree completely with your statements patman.

Yeah I agree, but that seems to be how most online message boards work. I just think people think he should be torching defenses right now just because of how highly rated he was. The fact of the matter is that he was under a lot of pressure today, which will screw up pretty much any QB. He did make some questionable throws but so will anyone under pressure and he has gotten better at throwing the ball away. He is still a true sophomore, and even though he got playing time last year its not like it probably helped a whole lot since he spent most of the time on his back or running for his life. At least he is getting solid protection at times this year, lets see what he can do with it.

 

[SteveM]

Slavic Orientation

Slavic Orientation

my personal opinion is that clausen is our quaterback and I think we ALL need to back him 100%!! I mean come on guys where the heck is your team spirit? I'm irish for life what about you?

And Charlie's our coach, yada, yada, yada...

I'm Polish. Irish thinking is Frank McCourt, wallowing in pathos at how things are. Polish thinking is acknowledging how things are and moving on to something better...

SteveM

P.S. I was watching a cooking show hosted by an Italian woman. She had a special guest on who was half Italian and half Irish. He said he had learned much about cooking from his Italian grandmother. When the hostess inquired about what he had learned about cooking from his Irish grandmother, he replied, "Clean as you go."

 

[NDMontana]

We lose a game on a few bad plays and people start going cannibal. People need to chill a bit. Did anyone honestly think we were going to go out and run the table? No. So don't get nutty after a loss.

How 'bout those Broncos!! At least my secondary team did well today! My folks live in Boise, too. Great city!

 

[ndlb41]

And Charlie's our coach, yada, yada, yada...

I'm Polish. Irish thinking is Frank McCourt, wallowing in pathos at how things are. Polish thinking is acknowledging how things are and moving on to something better...

SteveM

P.S. I was watching a cooking show hosted by an Italian woman. She had a special guest on who was half Italian and half Irish. He said he had learned much about cooking from his Italian grandmother. When the hostess inquired about what he had learned about cooking from his Irish grandmother, he replied, "Clean as you go."

Whatever dude, my point was my i will never question my fanhood and will ALWAYS stand behind my team-good, bad, or ugly!! By the way im irish by choice not by heritage

 

[no.1IrishFan]

We lose a game on a few bad plays and people start going cannibal. People need to chill a bit. Did anyone honestly think we were going to go out and run the table? No. So don't get nutty after a loss.

Right on,we left some points on the field and a couple costly turnovers cost us the game but it wasnt a blowout or anything, you guys are acting like we just got shutout 46-0 against Sam Houston State or something. We played a good team and played them pretty well, if it werent for 2 missed field goals and an interception that was almost a completion in the end zone its 20-24 and a damn good ball game. We will be fine, just relax.

 

[GreenGoblin]

capitalization is not required. the tone in these threads is coming close to going over the line. everyone please calm down a little. if you disagree with a particular poster, discuss why without calling names or going after the person.

if you're too emotional after a tough loss, decide for yourself whether you should allow a cooling off period before you discuss these things.

Why are you quoting me? I'm not the one calling 5-6 of YOUR members idiots. If that the type of poster you want around here? People who aren't old enough to use computers who feel the need to name call like children to get their points across?

 

[ojo_223]

Jimmy has had success with this throw this year. Remember last year? Think about it, he could not make that throw last year. He has the receivers to make this throw and be successful. However, almost all of his interceptions have come off of this, he does lock on to a man too quickly, and he needs to tuck it and run once in a while. He is learning and will get better, I believe. The biggest help to his development would be a rise in the running game.

 

[midwestguy]

Anyone see a decided schematic advantage today?

Anyone see a decided schematic advantage today?

I sure didn't.

It seemed like we just dropped back and chucked it up.

I thought the D played well enough to keep us in some games this year. Michigan State had a stud for a RB. Did we recruit that guy?

 

[ojo_223]

And he had some holes big enough to drive a Mack truck through. Did we recruit any of the guys providing those???

 

[GreenGoblin]

And he had some holes big enough to drive a Mack truck through. Did we recruit any of the guys providing those???

We've recruited well, sadly, our coaching staff has proven to be inept at developing the top tier talent we have recruited.

 

[fortwayne_nd]

In general, the play on the field gives me hope for the future. I'm seeing many 1st and 2nd year players making plays and contributing. Guys who want to be on the field. And they are getting a lot of playing time.

After last year, my expectations are pretty low. My thoughts now turn to how the team will look in Clausen's senior year. Weis could quite likely never win a NC at ND. But if he can build a program that is consistently ranked and can win their share of bowl games, that will be a huge turnaround. Its been 15 years since ND was relevant.

But I'm still not convinced that ND will be an elite program once again with Weis at the helm.

 

[ojo_223]

Just seems like the focus of the offseason was to cut back on the number of sacks and just assume the running game would get better. The pass blocking is better, but where is the run game? I keep hoping week after week that our monster O-line (they are big) will blow people up and give Jimmy a more effective use of the play action. Still hoping.

 

[GoIrish41]

Whats going on with Sam Young? He seems to be completely out of it and disinterested at times.

Wow, any fans at the game you want to call out while you are at it? Perhaps someone who was not cheering loud enough? Give these guys a break. They are young and much, much better than last year. JC will get better, and when he does, he'll be lights out. Young hasn't given up a sack all year. They faced a better team today is all. They will still win 9 or 10 games this year.

 

[GreenGoblin]

In general, the play on the field gives me hope for the future. I'm seeing many 1st and 2nd year players making plays and contributing. Guys who want to be on the field. And they are getting a lot of playing time.

But I'm still not convinced that ND will be an elite program once again with Weis at the helm.

Floyd is going to be a first round pick in the NFL if he keeps this up.

and I agree, Weis hasn't done anything to prove to me, or the die hard Notre Dame faithful that he is right for the job. Romeo Crennel has miserably failed in Cleveland and Weis hasn't done any better here. Is it because of the cheating? Is it because Bill Belichick is that good of a coach? Or is it the fact that these guys are great coordinator but not good coaches and talent evaluators/developers?

Wow, any fans at the game you want to call out while you are at it? Perhaps someone who was not cheering loud enough? Give these guys a break. They are young and much, much better than last year. JC will get better, and when he does, he'll be lights out. Young hasn't given up a sack all year. They faced a better team today is all. They will still win 9 or 10 games this year.

They are young? Sorry the "young" excuse is over. We have four juniors and senior starting on our offensive line. They are far from young. Our line is fat, slow and consistently gets over-powered by players, whether they are from USC or San Diego State. Apologists like you need to wake up and look at the real picture. We were horrendous last season, we were young back than. This season we are marginally better and we are older. Our skill position players are young, but our offensive linemen aren't.

 

[JughedJones]

I see huge improvement on both offense and defense.

We really need a damn kicker, but other than that, we're just very young. JC threw some incredible looking balls today, it will click for him.

If we can go 8-4 this year I think everyone will consider it a win. Lest we forget, in that hypothetical 8-4 season MSU was figured in as one of the losses.

All in all I think the play on the field was much better than the score indicates.

 

[Junkhead]

There has been progress since last year, but not anywhere near enough so far. The O-line is pathetic still. No matter who we play, you see truck-sized holes the RB can run through. When we have the ball, I don't recall seeing any hole of note opened by the OL in 3 games. There is something fundamentally wrong, and who knows what it is.

 

[Golden_Domer88]

Time for a new coach!

 

[NDMontana]

There has been progress since last year, but not anywhere near enough so far. The O-line is pathetic still. No matter who we play, you see truck-sized holes the RB can run through. When we have the ball, I don't recall seeing any hole of note opened by the OL in 3 games. There is something fundamentally wrong, and who knows what it is.

Don't sell the d-line short. They've gotten torched 2 straight weeks as well. I'm starting to think that Charlie Weis cannot develop talent. He needs to look at what worked this week and incorporate more of it into the game plan. So what worked? Spreading the field. He needs to rid the offense of what didn't work. What didn't work? Running.

At this point I'm wondering if we can compete with the Miami, Florida, Oklahoma and USC's of the world?

Let me clarify: Miami (of Ohio), (South) Florida, Oklahoma (State) and USC (University of South Carolina). I'm not sure we could.

 

[Golden_Domer88]

Um we couldnt. We would he out coached.

Coaching is our problem!

 

[GreenGoblin]

At this point I'm wondering if we can compete with the Miami, Florida, Oklahoma and USC's of the world?

Let me clarify: Miami (of Ohio), (South) Florida, Oklahoma (State) and USC (University of South Carolina). I'm not sure we could.

If it wasn't for Michigan forgetting how to play football for the first half, and San Diego state imploding in the fourth quarter, we would be 0-3 again, with the main people at fault: Clausen, Offensive Line and Defensive Line. Its the same story again this season. Our linebackers our ineffective due to our defensive line being over-powered. Our running backs are useless with our offensive line being blown up. Our QB is worse than he is due to having no time to throw the ball. Our secondary is getting abused due to us not pressuring the quarterback.

It goes on and on, and in the end, it all comes down to coaching and talent evaluations.

 

[Junkhead]

If it wasn't for Michigan forgetting how to play football for the first half, and San Diego state imploding in the fourth quarter, we would be 0-3 again, with the main people at fault: Clausen, Offensive Line and Defensive Line. Its the same story again this season. Our linebackers our ineffective due to our defensive line being over-powered. Our running backs are useless with our offensive line being blown up. Our QB is worse than he is due to having no time to throw the ball. Our secondary is getting abused due to us not pressuring the quarterback.

It goes on and on, and in the end, it all comes down to coaching and talent evaluations.

I agree with some. Clausen is much better than last year, he just needs to cut the INTs. The secondary *could* be outstanding if we got ANY pressure on the QB. The hosses on both lines are just not getting it done.

 

[NDMontana]

If it wasn't for Michigan forgetting how to play football for the first half, and San Diego state imploding in the fourth quarter, we would be 0-3 again, with the main people at fault: Clausen, Offensive Line and Defensive Line. Its the same story again this season. Our linebackers our ineffective due to our defensive line being over-powered. Our running backs are useless with our offensive line being blown up. Our QB is worse than he is due to having no time to throw the ball. Our secondary is getting abused due to us not pressuring the quarterback.

It goes on and on, and in the end, it all comes down to coaching and talent evaluations.

I don't know how he keeps landing these good recruiting classes. If I weren't an ND fan I wouldn't commit to ND. I'm thinking this last recruiting class was the end of our great recruiting hauls. I can't see anymore talented players coming to Notre Dame.

 

[GreenGoblin]

I don't know how he keeps landing these good recruiting classes. If I weren't an ND fan I wouldn't commit to ND. I'm thinking this last recruiting class was the end of our great recruiting hauls. I can't see anymore talented players coming to Notre Dame.

The Notre Dame program has been down for the last two seasons, and while this is happening, schools like USC, Florida, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Texas are getting stronger and stronger. When your an 18 year old kid, and you want to be a pro football player, not really caring for an education, do you really want to spend three years of your life in South Bend, Indiana?

The only good recruits Notre Dame can get are the kids who want a great education and to get a degree. If your going for the football, you head straight to USC or Florida, where you can be charged with a felony and still start the next day.

Notre Dame creates gentlemen first, football players second. Many of the other top schools are the other way around, so there we have a recruiting disadvantage. Throw in the fact that with three recruiting classes, all three of them being very strong, Weis has turned out a handful of decent-good college level players, coming to Notre Dame isn't as appealing as it once was 10-15 years ago.

Never the less, the Notre Dame name sells itself, and we will always get good players because of that, but we will more than likely be behind the USC's and Ohio State's in the foreseeable future.

 

[NDMontana]

The Notre Dame program has been down for the last two seasons, and while this is happening, schools like USC, Florida, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Texas are getting stronger and stronger. When your an 18 year old kid, and you want to be a pro football player, not really caring for an education, do you really want to spend three years of your life in South Bend, Indiana?

The only good recruits Notre Dame can get are the kids who want a great education and to get a degree. If your going for the football, you head straight to USC or Florida, where you can be charged with a felony and still start the next day.

Notre Dame creates gentlemen first, football players second. Many of the other top schools are the other way around, so there we have a recruiting disadvantage. Throw in the fact that with three recruiting classes, all three of them being very strong, Weis has turned out a handful of decent-good college level players, coming to Notre Dame isn't as appealing as it once was 10-15 years ago.

Never the less, the Notre Dame name sells itself, and we will always get good players because of that, but we will more than likely be behind the USC's and Ohio State's in the foreseeable future.

USC went after Clausen pretty hard but he didn't commit to them (lucky SOB's). Everybody was recruiting Floyd, too but he chose ND. We have a lot of players who came to ND that were recruited elsewhere.

As to your overall sentiment; I agree. It's harder to gain admission to ND, too. I find it amazing that the governing body of the school ratcheted up the academic standards yet they still expect and want the football program to compete with Florida and USC. Both of those schools don't even consider recruiting you unless you've committed at least one felony and have a GPA lower than 2.2.

 

[NDsuperfan09]

lol at this thread. He chucks the ball up because thats the only play Haywood called in the first half and for the entire Michigan game. MSU was prepared for that gameplan and that was why he didn't play well in the first half. He played great in the 2nd half. Was it his fault Floyd fumbled the ball off of a perfect throw, or dropped another perfect throw in the endzone when we were down 16-7? Your right though NDmontana, and the OP MSU was playing a soft defense only up 9 points. Clausen showed me more in that second half throwing the football with a semi diverse playbook than Quinn ever did as a sophomore. MSU is the 2nd best team on our schedule FWIW. What an overexageration by you trolls.

 

[cali kid]

Hey guys this is first post, as an intro I work at the church that shares the campus with oaks Christian so I saw Jimmy play many games. I think its going to be hard to get an honest accessment of what kind of player Jimmy is at the collegiate level until we get at least a minimal run attack. Both Marc Tyler and Joe Montana were at the oaks game last night. I only bring that up to state that much of the credit for Jimmy's stats in high school was due to the fact that just like any solid team the running game set up the successes for the passing game. Honestly guys what can you expect from any quarterback if he has absolutely no running game to bring up the lbs and safeties? Usually running frees up the passing game not visa versa. What we have seen is that Jimmy can hit the slants and intermediate routes when they present themselves as we have seen with Tate. But those routes will rarely be open if we don't make the linebackers and secondary feel they have to respect a decent running game. For me the jury is out until we gain some balance. I have a ton more I would like to say but I am doing this on my blackberry and my thumbs hurt.

 

[NDMontana]

He chucks the ball up because thats the only play Haywood called in the first half and for the entire Michigan game. MSU was prepared for that gameplan and that was why he didn't play well in the first half.

True. Unimaginative play calling is a huge problem. Last season, Michigan's players said that everything is window dressing with ND and that the offense is easy to read and stop. That seems like a fair assessment.

He played great in the 2nd half. Was it his fault Floyd fumbled the ball off of a perfect throw, or dropped another perfect throw in the endzone when we were down 16-7?

No it wasn't his fault that Floyd fumbled the ball. Both interceptions are squarely on his soldiers though. He's easy to read and has a propensity to throw the deep ball into double coverage on a consistent basis.

You're right, that was a perfect throw by Clausen. He couldn't have put it anywhere else but it would have been one hell of a catch by Floyd so to characterize that as "dropped" is unfair.

Your right though NDmontana, and the OP MSU was playing a soft defense only up 9 points.

I know I'm right. Yes, MSU was playing a softer defense up 9, probably because it was as apparent to them as it was to me that the ND offense wasn't posing any sort of a serious threat. Evidently that wasn't apparent to you.

Clausen showed me more in that second half throwing the football with a semi diverse playbook than Quinn ever did as a sophomore. MSU is the 2nd best team on our schedule FWIW.

Good call. The only problem I have with that assertion is that Brady Quinn wasn't a highly touted, National Championship guaranteeing, 5 star recruit.

Brady Quinn, soph year, averaged: 215.5, 1.4 TD, .83 INT, 29 attempts per game. He also completed 54.1% of his passes for 7.3 yards per attempt.

Jimmy Clausen, thus far, averaging: 208, 2 TD, 2 INT, 32 Attempts per game. Completing 57% of his passes for 7 yards per attempt.

2004: 24 Pts./Game under Willingham
2008: 21 Pts/Game under the "Offensive Guru" (thank you Michigan for handing us 28 gimmies).

What an overexageration by you trolls.

I'm no troll.