R
realitycheck
Guest
-- Weis played Brady Quinn too much in 2006 to try and pad his stats and win him the Heisman
-- Because of this, he squandered a great opportunity to develop a QB for 2007, a season he supposedly warned his close friends about when he took the job.
-- He didn't turn down Mitch Mustain because of Jones or Frazer, he turned down Mustain to try and maintain good standing with Jimmy Clausen
-- Weis felt that landing Clausen would open the floodgates for elite recruits in 2007. That's why Clausen announced the weekend of the spring game, and that's why Clausen's announcement was such a big circus. Weis thought the celebrity of Clausen would bring in Marc Tyler, Arrelious Benn, Marvin Austin, Greg Little, and more. As we saw, those plans didn't come to fruition, instead leaving ND with a 2007 class that was much smaller than initially envisioned.
-- It's clear that Weis promised Clausen's camp that he would hold off on playing D Jones and Z Frazer in 2006, that way Clausen (arriving in the spring) would get equal opportunity to land the starting job in 2007.
--Weis threw D Jones under the bus after Georgia Tech in 2007. Granted, Jones is very immature and only made the situation worse, but if a few fumbles is all it took to get Jones yanked in 2007, why is Clausen allowed to throw pick after pick without even the threat of getting benched? Was Jones's game against GT in 2007 really that much worse than Clausen against BC in 2008?
-- Because Clausen was essentially handed the starting job over their friends (Sharpley, Frazer, Jones) the upperclassmen harbored resentment towards Jimmy. Sullivan's attitude towards Clausen is widely known, but it wasn't just him on the offensive line. This rift between the older and younger guys killed team chemistry.
Is this the only reason ND sucked in 2007, and is struggling in 08? Absolutely not. The OLine still bears the majority of blame for the team's struggles. Additionally, the switch to the 3-4 defense made 2007 a rough transition year on defense.
But the ironic legacy of Charlie Weis's tenure at ND may end up being that the one player Weis pegged as the savior of his program ended up being the player that got him fired
-- Because of this, he squandered a great opportunity to develop a QB for 2007, a season he supposedly warned his close friends about when he took the job.
-- He didn't turn down Mitch Mustain because of Jones or Frazer, he turned down Mustain to try and maintain good standing with Jimmy Clausen
-- Weis felt that landing Clausen would open the floodgates for elite recruits in 2007. That's why Clausen announced the weekend of the spring game, and that's why Clausen's announcement was such a big circus. Weis thought the celebrity of Clausen would bring in Marc Tyler, Arrelious Benn, Marvin Austin, Greg Little, and more. As we saw, those plans didn't come to fruition, instead leaving ND with a 2007 class that was much smaller than initially envisioned.
-- It's clear that Weis promised Clausen's camp that he would hold off on playing D Jones and Z Frazer in 2006, that way Clausen (arriving in the spring) would get equal opportunity to land the starting job in 2007.
--Weis threw D Jones under the bus after Georgia Tech in 2007. Granted, Jones is very immature and only made the situation worse, but if a few fumbles is all it took to get Jones yanked in 2007, why is Clausen allowed to throw pick after pick without even the threat of getting benched? Was Jones's game against GT in 2007 really that much worse than Clausen against BC in 2008?
-- Because Clausen was essentially handed the starting job over their friends (Sharpley, Frazer, Jones) the upperclassmen harbored resentment towards Jimmy. Sullivan's attitude towards Clausen is widely known, but it wasn't just him on the offensive line. This rift between the older and younger guys killed team chemistry.
Is this the only reason ND sucked in 2007, and is struggling in 08? Absolutely not. The OLine still bears the majority of blame for the team's struggles. Additionally, the switch to the 3-4 defense made 2007 a rough transition year on defense.
But the ironic legacy of Charlie Weis's tenure at ND may end up being that the one player Weis pegged as the savior of his program ended up being the player that got him fired
