ESPN's Spring Roundout

[Rhode Irish]

Hurts to hear some of the criticism, but I think all of it is fair. It is nice to hear that people outside of the program with no rooting interest in ND seem to share our belief that Kelly was built for this job. Obviously, Notre Dame has a lot to prove and nobody is going to be convinced we are back because we won our last four and had a top-10 recruiting class, and deservedly so.

 

[irishtrinity]

we will hear the same things every season until we win the national championship and if we don't repeat or compete the following yr they will jump on that bandwagon again..

we have had so many great teams in the past 10 yrs, it just seems if we have offense we have no defense and vice versa...

i still predict a 10-2 season with bcs bowl win hopefully.. stanford and usc are going to be great games or a train wreck

 

[woolybug25]

I can't believe that I actually felt bad for that prick when tOSU fans ran him out of town and off of twitter.

This is just more evidence that he is truly a snarky bastard. If I saw him in a bar, I would throw Neutered's drink in his face... and then laugh about it.

 

[jason_h537]

I can't believe that I actually felt bad for that prick when tOSU fans ran him out of town and off of twitter.

This is just more evidence that he is truly a snarky bastard. If I saw him in a bar, I would throw Neutered's drink in his face... and then laugh about it.

I think we were watching 2 different shows

 

[D-BOE34]

I really didn't think much of it was that bad. Yes, we have recruited the positions of need. Yes, we have been going after speed in Fla, Cali and TX. Now we just need to translate that to the field. This is the big year for successful programs. Year two baby!

10-2 or 9-3 and we are just showing progress. Which, OKIE DOKIE, I can accept that. The big time power houses were able to get the athletes, develop them, put a great coach behind them and win BCS. Which at 9-3 or 10-2 is possible but we need to do that or else! I for one feel we have had great athletes coming to play for us and just not getting the rest of what is needed. Which I feel in a way is what Urbie was saying, yet keeping it subtle.

Great O and no D. We are on our way but as of right now ... we still deserve to be put on the side of "they may be there but let me see it first hand."

Now, as a homer I honestly think we will go 10-2 and to a BCS. Do I think we win it? Maybe. Really will depend on the match up. 2012 is when we need to get back to BCS or Championship and win to show we are back. Unless we are getting there fast like I think we are, we will hear the same damn thing year after year.

 

[ThePiombino]

I think we were watching 2 different shows

Agreed. All he was doing was playing devil's advocate at worst. At best he was pointing out the obvious questions. Don't believe that qualifies as snarky. Besides, he did point out the positives as well...

 

[Old Man Mike]

I would like the glory of an NC as much as anyone. But you can also "silence all critics" and gain nationwide respect [and fear] from opponents by doing it the Beamer-way [which I prefer]: consistency in the ten-win club for more than a decade. That's why Beamer and VT are thought of as the Kings of the ACC now even over the famous Miami and FSU programs. Beamer will probably get his NC some year too.

Kelly, paradoxically, probably has greater chance of winning an NC than Beamer if all goes well. That is because we still have the mystique that no one else has. If ND comes all the way back, the fans are going to want to see if the Story Book can come to another big climax. We won't be the "third team" looking from the outside if that happens. Plus a successful Kelly plus "Notre Dame" will recruit some players whom VT cannot get.

Patience is tough for you youngsters, but I remember how nice it was when ND rolled out every season as a powerhouse, whether there was an NC or not that year.

 

[irish1958]

Kelly has been building the defense which we have lacked forever it seems. Hopefully in a couple of years, it will be a top ten or maybe even the top defense in college football.
If everybody has given up on being in contention for the NC this year, should we concentrate on next?
If so, consider this. If we go with Crist this year, and he is very successful, will he leave for the NFL? He is the prototype NFL QB. And then we will be faced with a new, untested QB next year.
If on the other hand, we go with the spread QB, either Hendrix or Golson, we will have a seasoned QB which no NFL team will ever want, and we will have them for a full four years.
Of course, if we go with Rees, no NFL team will want him as he is not "an NFL QB", no matter how well he plays.

 

[Ironman8]

From Bruce Feldman's mailbag:

College Football: Bruce Feldman's mailbag on Notre Dame Fighting Irish's chances of making a BCS bowl - ESPN

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Since that's an Insider article, you'll probably have to take that down, Ironman.

But a great read still. Thanks for posting.

It has two QBs they can win with and some good skill talent beside Floyd in Cierre Wood, Jonas Gray, TJ Jones and Theo Riddick.

Gray is "good skill talent"? Wood and Riddick are unproven, but our expectations for them are justifiable at least. Gray seems more likely to bust than not at this point. I hope he proves me wrong.

 

[IrishLax]

Gray is "good skill talent"? Wood and Riddick are unproven, but our expectations for them are justifiable at least. Gray seems more likely to bust than not at this point. I hope he proves me wrong.

*eye roll*

If Wood is unproven, then I don't want a proven running back. He showed marked improvement all year and had many consistent games with lots of touches. I don't know how that constitutes as "unproven" unless you mean that it is unproven whether or not he can carry the ball 20+ times a game... which I sure as heck hope is not our offense.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

*eye roll*

If Wood is unproven, then I don't want a proven running back. He showed marked improvement all year and had many consistent games with lots of touches. I don't know how that constitutes as "unproven" unless you mean that it is unproven whether or not he can carry the ball 20+ times a game... which I sure as heck hope is not our offense.

To be clear, I have zero doubts about Cierre. But he's not a proven commodity like some of our veterans.

 

[kmoose]

*eye roll*

If Wood is unproven, then I don't want a proven running back. He showed marked improvement all year and had many consistent games with lots of touches. I don't know how that constitutes as "unproven" unless you mean that it is unproven whether or not he can carry the ball 20+ times a game... which I sure as heck hope is not our offense.

I would love to see Wood carry the ball 20+ times a game. Assuming even a modest improvement on his 5.0 yard per carry average, we could be looking at having a 1500 yard rusher. That's going to keep the LBs from dropping too far into the passing lanes, opening things up for Floyd and whomever else is out there with him. We all know that Floyd doesn't really need help to get open, but the other guys could probably use it. It would also limit the number of times that a defense could bring the house at our QB.

 

[Bogtrotter07]

Kelly, paradoxically, probably has greater chance of winning an NC than Beamer if all goes well. That is because we still have the mystique that no one else has. If ND comes all the way back, the fans are going to want to see if the Story Book can come to another big climax. We won't be the "third team" looking from the outside if that happens. Plus a successful Kelly plus "Notre Dame" will recruit some players whom VT cannot get.

I think you are on to something, OMM. This year we have the schedule, we are the unknown, and there are a few tough programs but no one looking to be dominant. We will see . . .

 

[mick2]

2011 ND polls - College Football Nation Blog - ESPN

some cool notre dame centered polls from espn.