howard not buying irish hype....

[tankjeep]

Howard not buying Irish hype - College Football - Rivals.com

Apparently Desmond Howard doesn’t spend much time at Barnes & Noble.


Because word of Notre Dame’s preseason hype was news to the former Heisman Trophy winner this weekend during his indication into the College Football Hall of Fame. Told the Irish were getting mention as a Top 10 program by a couple major publications, Howard sat stunned.



“Really? Really?” Howard said. “Ask Athlon what’s that projection if Michael Floyd doesn’t play. Tell me that projection.”


Aside from Notre Dame creating enough buzz to warrant a visit by ESPN’s College GameDay to Ann Arbor on Sept. 10 for the first night game at Michigan Stadium, Howard didn’t seem to think much of Irish prospects for a major step forward in Brian Kelly’s encore season.


In fact, Howard downplayed how Notre Dame finished off Kelly’s debut with wins over Utah, Army, USC and Miami.


“Who’d they beat?,” Howard asked. “Without Michael Floyd in the offense, I don’t see them being up there being ranked anywhere in the Top 10 and maybe even with him in the offense because you’ve still got a big question mark at quarterback. That’s huge.”

discuss......

 

[PANDFAN]

this was mentioned in another thread...although can't think of its title

 

[tankjeep]

oops, my bad.....too slow on the go then. mods can delete this then.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

this was mentioned in another thread...although can't think of its title

Posted here.

 

[BurningRiver]

Aside from Notre Dame creating enough buzz to warrant a visit by ESPN’s College GameDay to Ann Arbor on Sept. 10 for the first night game at Michigan Stadium, Howard didn’t seem to think much of Irish prospects for a major step forward in Brian Kelly’s encore season.

wait, is this actually happening or does the game just "warrant" a visit by college gameday?

 

[Ben E.]

i predict that desmond will soon find a seat next to trev alberts in the talk to much sh!t, used to be on tv club....

 

[mgriff]

We really have no position to belittle him for taking this stance. It's been said Notre Dame has been back plenty of times, it's ultimately up to the players on the field to prove Notre Dame's status on the field.

I'm happy with our returning team and I think we could be very good, but I certainly won't harp on anyone who thinks it's more Notre Dame hype.

 

[Rhode Irish]

We really have no position to belittle him for taking this stance. It's been said Notre Dame has been back plenty of times, it's ultimately up to the players on the field to prove Notre Dame's status on the field.

I'm happy with our returning team and I think we could be very good, but I certainly won't harp on anyone who thinks it's more Notre Dame hype.

I agree. Not that I believe Howard is right, but how can we expect the attitude of the CFB media-types to be different? I am excited about this season because I do think we may be on the right track here, but I have said many times that I am really anxious for them to show me (and everyone else) that the hype is warranted this time. Until that happens on the field, we have no leg to stand on in complaining about not getting enough respect from the pundits.

 

[tankjeep]

We really have no position to belittle him for taking this stance. It's been said Notre Dame has been back plenty of times, it's ultimately up to the players on the field to prove Notre Dame's status on the field.

I'm happy with our returning team and I think we could be very good, but I certainly won't harp on anyone who thinks it's more Notre Dame hype.

completely agree.

 

[irishtrain]

We dont want you to buy it Desmond-just sit back and watch.

 

[Sherm Sticky]

We dont want you to buy it Desmond-just sit back and watch.

Exactly

 

[Whiskeyjack]

We dont want you to buy it Desmond-just sit back and watch.

... and choke on it.

 

[GBdomer]

I was really worried about what Desmond thought about are chances this year.

 

[IrishLax]

The reason I believe the hype is that we "should've" been 11-2 last year. I HATE saying "should've" in sports... but it's valid when prognosticating forward and measuring the talent of a team.

Now, our schedule is definitely harder this year but our team is also in year 2 and returns a bunch of starters. Just got to stay healthy.

 

[Rhode Irish]

The reason I believe the hype is that we "should've" been 11-2 last year. I HATE saying "should've" in sports... but it's valid when prognosticating forward and measuring the talent of a team.

Now, our schedule is definitely harder this year but our team is also in year 2 and returns a bunch of starters. Just got to stay healthy.

Even accepting your premise that we "should have" beat Michigan, Michigan State and Tulsa (I'm assuming those are the 3), you're now 10-2 at the end of the year and probably looking at a much better bowl opponent than Miami. I see your point, though. And I don't totally disagree. The other way of looking at it is that we "could have" finished 10-2, but found a way to pull defeat from the jaws of victory 3 times - an unfortunate habit of ND teams in recent times - and I need to see us NOT do that next season before I abandon all of my concern.

 

[IrishLax]

Even accepting your premise that we "should have" beat Michigan, Michigan State and Tulsa (I'm assuming those are the 3), you're now 10-2 at the end of the year and probably looking at a much better bowl opponent than Miami. I see your point, though. And I don't totally disagree. The other way of looking at it is that we "could have" finished 10-2, but found a way to pull defeat from the jaws of victory 3 times - an unfortunate habit of ND teams in recent times - and I need to see us NOT do that next season before I abandon all of my concern.

Definitely, but that's playing too many "what ifs." Against our 13 game schedule we got beat thoroughly in 2 games. The other 3 losses weren't just close losses... they all had freakish events. Crist going down versus Michigan leaving us with no QBs with skill/reps (and I'm talking even practice reps...), MSU... see what Phil Steele had to say, and we all know how the Tulsa game went.

If those were all straight-up close losses (UConn, Syracuse, etc. under CW) and didn't involve craziness I'd have a totally different position similar to yours about snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

I think we put an 11-2 team on the field and had bad breaks. Oh well. **** happens. Same reason Alabama put a 13-0 team on the field that came out 10-3. Stuff doesn't always go your way. But I think this team definitely has the talent/making of a 10-2 team if they stay healthy.

 

[tankjeep]

.....the talent/making of a 10-2 team if they stay healthy.

....and none of those freakish events rear their ugly head too.

i completely agree.

 

[johnnykillz]

Though Howard may have flashes of intelligence, he truly is a skunk bear.

One that feels his Michigan number should be retired.

He will always have hate for the Irish.

And we will always have a special place for the skunkbears.

 

[ndcoltsfan2010]

The key to this season is really staying healthy in my opinion. We were hampered last season with a string of injuries to key players and trying to learn a system on the fly. If we can stay healthy this season I think the sky is the limit. I think the players should definently have a better grasp on the systems in place and have that first year under their belts. I am optimistic that this season will have better results and we end up in a decent bowl game when it is all said and done.

 

[Rocket89]

Floyd is a great player, but it's not like the rest of our offense is a bunch of stiffs.

How are we ever going to even snap the ball without Floyd out there??????

 

[johnnykillz]

Floyd is a great player, but it's not like the rest of our offense is a bunch of stiffs.

How are we ever going to even snap the ball without Floyd out there??????

I was thinking about this yesterday: Riddick, Eifert, Jones, Wood, Goodman, Toma, AND Floyd.

This offense is looking up. Speed and quickness is there.

I think Riddick will be a household name by week 3; possibly Jones.

Toma in the slot might be the next.

Cierre Wood will be a household name by season's end the latest.

 

[CarrollVermin]

Does he have a point in asking "who did they beat the last few games of the season?" Look, I am not on the bandwagon of "they played an easy schedule" at the end of the season, but the question is a fair one...but that question has been hashed out repeatedly on other boards.

Learning to win games was something that was talked about in the program for a long time. We had to learn how to win. If you think back, how many games had we lost over the course of the last three seasons where we had a lead late and lost the game on the final drive...we could not close the game out. It happended against Michigan and Michigan State early in the year last year. Making those stops is critical in making the jump from an "also ran" to a quality football team. If we can continue to do this, and dominate the teams we have more talent than, the team will continue to get the attention that it merits.

 

[Rhode Irish]

I think this team definitely has the talent/making of a 10-2 team if they stay healthy.

On this we can agree, at least. When I look at our schedule I honestly don't see any "unwinnable" games. That doesn't mean I expect an undefeated season, but 10-2 definitely seems realistic. I just can't bring myself to assume a 10-2 season; I can hope for it and think it is possible, but I need to see it on the field. Yada yada, I've said all this before. Just wanted to say that I think this team could be VERY good, even though I have a small amount of nervousness about the season based on where we've been recently.

 

[ndcoltsfan2010]

On this we can agree, at least. When I look at our schedule I honestly don't see any "unwinnable" games. That doesn't mean I expect an undefeated season, but 10-2 definitely seems realistic. I just can't bring myself to assume a 10-2 season; I can hope for it and think it is possible, but I need to see it on the field. Yada yada, I've said all this before. Just wanted to say that I think this team could be VERY good, even though I have a small amount of nervousness about the season based on where we've been recently.

I totally understand your line of thinking as I myself feel the exact same way. I am very optimistic for this season, but again I have been so in the past as well only to be disappointed. I think that things are a little different this time around and I am hoping this is the year that we prove who we are on the football field. Only time will tell, but I think 10-2 is about right in terms of what we should all expect.

 

[BabyIrish]

Correct me if I am wrong, but weren't most of the injuries last year, leg injuries, calves and hamstrings?
Is there any evidence to the fact that the players were under different training methods? Or was it just a fluke?
Should we expect to see the players more healthy or just keep are fingers crossed?

 

[Bogtrotter07]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rocket89
Floyd is a great player, but it's not like the rest of our offense is a bunch of stiffs.

How are we ever going to even snap the ball without Floyd out there??????

I was thinking about this yesterday: Riddick, Eifert, Jones, Wood, Goodman, Toma, AND Floyd.

JK and 89,

I wanted to include both of you guys, because I think you have two of the most insightful perspective on the blog.

You know, I normally shy away from name calling, hair pulling or invoking mom to break up a fight, BUT; I think you hit the nail on the head.

I could never quite figure it out; but it is clear now. I think Desmond Howard is stupid. Nothing fancy. I think this affects him most as his mouth gets movin' and his brain has no idea where he is goin'.

And I think it best comes out when people ask him a direct question, and begin to interrogate him because of his (often interesting) initial response. If he does defend himself in a rational method, it is because he falls back on tried and true platitudes, with no regard for logic, or any kind of insightful thinking. That is how you get someone thinking that a school that has an untried coach, and staff, with a loosing record, at a school that has been depleted of its talent for three years, that is undergoing a major philosophic switch on both offense and defense, is ahead of a school, that is one year into a tried and true coach, with a cohesive staff.

Hmm, yes sir. Must be drain bamage!

(JK, mom always did like you best!)

 

[Bogtrotter07]

Correct me if I am wrong, but weren't most of the injuries last year, leg injuries, calves and hamstrings?
Is there any evidence to the fact that the players were under different training methods? Or was it just a fluke?
Should we expect to see the players more healthy or just keep are fingers crossed?

The Irish put a lot of effort into researching the injuries from last year. I don't think the results will be publicly released. But the Irish did get a new head trainer, (I believe he was at OK State), one that BK called the best in the business. I have a source that tells me that there has been a whole lot of changes with the program, not just on the surface, as a result of last year's injuries.

 

[BabyIrish]

Thanks Bogtrotter, that is very encouraging news, makes me more amped for the upcoming season!

 

[Rocket89]

In other news, I now have 1K posts.

 

[GBdomer]

In other news, I now have 1K posts.