Now that Lynch is gone, time for some reflection

[jodyndfb]

That's because those kids are too busy getting arrested or kicked off for academic reasons.

And they still win!!

 

[irishff1014]

0 play makers, 0 CB's, QB situation isn't figured out yet. Recruits leaving. Missing out on Greenberry, Wright, Sheppard, Decker, Darby you guys can call it all you want staff lost out on those guys. I stood by Charlie Weis and think he got a raw deal. I was extremely high on Brian Kelly coming in. I am just wondering what he has done to impress you guys to show he can get the job done? I really hope the guy gets the job done cause i am sick of not winning but really what has he done so far? He needs to make a statement this year he is recruiting well but its not like he isn't doing stuff Charlie Weis didnt do. This is year three and I have yet to see us make the jump forward. So we are going to get this ship sailing in year four, five or six? This is Notre Dame and i know i will get bashed for this post because i know many of you stand behind Kelly but he just hasn't done anything for me. This Lynch thing really puts a black eye on this program right now. He is a amazing talent and he will be a huge loss. I stand behind Brian Kelly but i really do after this loss it is time for a reality check.

I normally don't agree with GB be on much but i see exactly where he is coming from. Alot of people on here expected Kelly to come in over night and set the world on fire. DOn't get wrong i have said from day one i really like the Kelly signing. When he speaks he lays it on the line but What are they doing to get these young man to have so much interest in ND to then only do we get **** on? I just don't understand.

 

[chadder20]

How does anyone know this is even a football issue. Kelly made mention that he was proud of the work he did in the classroom, so maybe the work in that department was not enough and he couldn't handle it and wants a school where the only book he will be given is the upcoming opponent's playbook and video.

If you look at it, he has plenty of playtime for his career ahead of him so not having a starting role isn't what led to this. In addition, the team is going to be in a position to go to a BCS bowl in the next year or two, so that's not it either. Leads me to believe we are not being told the entire story. So, to blindly put this on BK is a croc.

 

[irishff1014]

Please tell me who you think we will get to a bcs bowl with tommy as qb? Because it sure sounds like he is the favorite to be the starter

 

[Buster Bluth]

A coach can only do so much. I have been behind BK 100% and will continue to be, but if you don't have the players to match what is lined up across from you.. You are destined for failure!!!

Not a fact, not at all. And Notre Dame isn't doing too poorly on the recruiting trail.

 

[mgriff]

Not a fact, not at all. And Notre Dame isn't doing too poorly on the recruiting trail.

True, but losing the players we have is astonishing. Tee was almost certain to start at CB and we lost him. Lynch is an elite player, like it or not. We do not have people behind them to just step in and play, as much as "next man in" can placate the fans, it simply isn't true. All is not okay at ND, but that doesn't mean we have to panic. Realization that there may be a problem is a good start though.

 

[FLDomer]

I'll reflect on this: It's over its done with, I can't do anything about it, it's not going to make me like ND less, there are greater tragedies in the world and it sure as FVCK aint gonna ruin my weekend!

Bottoms Up! Cheers!!! GO IRISH!!!

 

[CarrollVermin]

That's because those kids are too busy getting arrested or kicked off for academic reasons.

Is that so? How many players under Miles or Saban have been arrested or academically ineligible? Name them for me.

 

[FLDomer]

Is that so? How many players under Miles or Saban have been arrested or academically ineligible? Name them for me.

LSU players turn themselves in after arrest warrants issued - ESPN

Here are a couple...

 

[Zbi]

I just found this out via twitter. I was not happy when I found out however, our defensive line is still going to be the strong point of our defense. Would have Lynch made a huge impact? Absolutely. Are we still going to have a very good d-line without Lynch? Absolutely. With players like Tuitt, Nix, and Kapron; ND will be fine on the defensive line.

 

[CarrollVermin]

LSU players turn themselves in after arrest warrants issued - ESPN

Here are a couple...

Yeah, and what the National Media will not tell you is that both of those charges were dropped after the guy came forth and admitted to attacking the athlete.

 

[CarrollVermin]

Serious question, because at the end of the day I really could give two cents what LSU and Bama do...when Kelly talked about bringing "his guys" in here...what did he mean? Guys like Darby, Tee, and Lynch? What good does it do to recruit them in when you cannot keep them? I wish BK would define what he means by "RKG".

 

[FLDomer]

Yeah, and what the National Media will not tell you is that both of those charges were dropped after the guy came forth and admitted to attacking the athlete.

You didn't ask if convicted, you just asked arrested. Just sayen

 

[anarin]

Yeah, and what the National Media will not tell you is that both of those charges were dropped after the guy came forth and admitted to attacking the athlete.

You're right. LSU and Alabama only recruit upstanding young men that are 4.0 GPA guys.

 

[FLDomer]

Serious question, because at the end of the day I really could give two cents what LSU and Bama do...when Kelly talked about bringing "his guys" in here...what did he mean? Guys like Darby, Tee, and Lynch? What good does it do to recruit them in when you cannot keep them? I wish BK would define what he means by "RKG".

Can we focus on the positive ones and not the negative. Darby didnt even make it to NSD. Weis never had a guy flip, or not hack it acedemicly (Tee) or flake like Lynch...he did just none of them were as good as players as Lynch or Tee. BK has also brought in class acts like Tuitt, Niklas, Rabasa, Day, and quite a few more that frankly dont want to type out all the names. Instead of p!ssing and moaning about the bad apples lets look at the good ones and be grateful that BK could get players of that caliber to come to ND. For every thing there is a positive and negative angle to look at it, and focusing on only looking at the negative is gonna make for a miserable life.

 

[CarrollVermin]

Can we focus on the positive ones and not the negative. Darby didnt even make it to NSD. Weis never had a guy flip, or not hack it acedemicly (Tee) or flake like Lynch...he did just none of them were as good as players as Lynch or Tee. BK has also brought in class acts like Tuitt, Niklas, Rabasa, Day, and quite a few more that frankly dont want to type out all the names. Instead of p!ssing and moaning about the bad apples lets look at the good ones and be grateful that BK could get players of that caliber to come to ND. For every thing there is a positive and negative angle to look at it, and focusing on only looking at the negative is gonna make for a miserable life.

Sure, but how are you sure that this is not an endemic problem with the program? Are you willing to make a sacrifice at depth or miss out on other players in recruiting for the same of landing these types of athletes?

 

[FLDomer]

Sure, but how are you sure that this is not an endemic problem with the program? Are you willing to make a sacrifice at depth or miss out on other players in recruiting for the same of landing these types of athletes?

How are you sure that is?? A year ago there was no talk of this, "OH the sky is falling" crap! To be an endemic it seems it would last longer than a yr. Besides the DB position, I would say we are pretty deep in the DL, OL, RB, TE, LB, S, QB, WR (all be it unproven)...

 

[CarrollVermin]

How are you sure that is?? A year ago there was no talk of this, "OH the sky is falling" crap! To be an endemic it seems it would last longer than a yr. Besides the DB position, I would say we are pretty deep in the DL, OL, RB, TE, LB, S, QB, WR (all be it unproven)...

I would agree with you, 100%. And for it to be endemic, I guess you need a greater sample size than two years. Still, those departures are not a great recruiting tool for the future...nor is going 8-5 the last two years.

 

[Old Man Mike]

Let's see: the thread title was about reflecting upon what Aaron's departure means for the team... I think.

1). Aaron being gone deprives us of an All-American pass rusher. Those guys are rare birds and that will hurt. An analogous situation is the departure of Mike Floyd. Not having him this year will also hurt. Somehow by not actually talking about how the team will function on the real field, the door has opened on the site to talk instead about things futuristic based on essentially nothing but emotionalism. One might as well initiate a thread demanding that the NCAA allow Mike to come back because we are so dependent upon having him on the field. The question worth talking about is how we see the lack of Aaron's availability affecting this year's team, and not engaging in whimpering contests about stuff that no one can know and therefore people just make assertions up. Gee, we lost Kyle Rudolph prior to last season: we'll never recover from that.....

2). Our remaining D-Line is composed of many veteran proven players, some of whom may become All-Americans and NFL players themselves. KLM and Tuitt are a DE pair who most college coordinators would kill for. Big Lou is an NFLer waiting to happen. Chase Hounshell is REAL good; our young early enrollee Mr.Day has been wowing the staff. That's FOUR quality DEs. Big Lou needs a back-up; maybe Tony can do it, maybe Kona, maybe Jones, maybe even Stockton. Somewhere in all that lurk probably two-deep fine D-Lines.

3). Our 3-4 package looks secure, therefore. What happens when we want to go 4-3?? Prince Shembo or Ishaq Williams walks forward and puts a hand on the ground. Shembo is very nearly our best pass-rusher anyway. Maybe this is just what Ishaq needs to light him up. Niklas doesn't have to shift back; he will become an NFL quality blocking tight end and we will roll on that side of the ball. Rabasa could always move over to DE or Cat and rush the passer --- he used to be pretty good at it. Yes we will miss Aaron; we are still loaded and not reduced to "Ivy League ball" like dozens of crazy comments seem directly or by deduction condemning us to.

4). We are doomed without Aaron.... hmmm.... the season that I watched last year would have probably ended up with the same record without the big man on the team, especially if KLM was not hurt and Ethan dinged. We would have won many more games with Tony Pike or Zach Collaros quality QB play than anything else by far. Since Kelly has demonstrated that he can get a Pike or Collaros playing high-quality QB, the thought that last year's team might have won nearly all its games without Lynch but with Collaros doesn't seem like a fantasy. Suddenly that same team [+Collaros & - Lynch] would be in the BCS hunt. Yep... doomed... never get another great recruit... I wanted Aaron on this team because he would have made things easier and was thrilling to watch. When our QB finally shows up, we will still win. Once Diaco can get two CBs seasoned, our D will still choke our opponents.

5). Aaron seems to have left school primarily because he is crazy-in-love and can't live without her, or at least so he thinks. That sounds "normal" to me, even if it's immature. Anyone trying to lay this thing on anything but a love-sick puppy has got to show me better evidence. It certainly says nothing about the staff, the university, nor Notre Dame recruiting.

I get that people are somewhere along a spectrum of "disappointed" to "sad" to "mad-at-the-world". A fair amount of that spectrum is just as emotionally reactionary and unwise as the young man who made this problem arise himself. Everyone should re-read their "contributions" to this thread and get out a mirror.

Godspeed young Mr. Lynch. You just made an absolutely terrible reactionary life choice, but a common one among teenagers. My real prayers of support go out to your Mom, who will always love and defend you, but who must be very disappointed right about now. By the way, you might still have a window of return if you get your act together ASAP.

 

[Pachuco]

Every doubter and defector questions whether or not there is any coach/staff left that can save Notre Dame football and restore the glory years, but what about the crumbling colesium known as NCAA/college football? Rome is effing on fire, and everyone is scratching their heads as to why Notre Dame is jinxed. Plain and simple: the game done changed. It's no longer a sport that promotes team, loyalty, ethics,*heart. And neither is that the desire of most high schoolers with aspirations of the instant gratification (and i mean this in the athletic sense). It's a culture obsessed with me, me, me ... from the NCAA to the coaches to the players to the fans on down.*

For ND being the school that it is, I'm surprised and thankful we are still able to pull in the talent that we do. ND is an exceptional school. It's nothing like Stanford. You have to be ready to be tested on all levels of personal endurance, and if you aren't prepared to face those obstacles, you have to leave, because it is damn hard to grow up at ND. You most certaily grow, but it's not a place that waits for you to grow up. There's a difference.*

Good luck, young man Lynch.

 

[FLDomer]

I would agree with you, 100%. And for it to be endemic, I guess you need a greater sample size than two years. Still, those departures are not a great recruiting tool for the future...nor is going 8-5 the last two years.

They do not help, and I agree winning does help, so we need to suck it up and focus on the players that want to be here, and as a fan base put our support behind them, and not whine about the guys that bailed on them, us and most of all Notre Dame!

 

[IrishMoore1]

If Stanford can do it, ND can do it too. It took Harbaugh at least 4 years to turn around that program. ND is not a place that can be turned around in 2 years. It needs more time to be built back up.

 

[tadman95]

I have to agree with OMM in that I don't see anything more that a love sick 19 year old. We can argue the the wisdom of the transfer but I don't think anyone would argue that Aaron has shown a lot of maturity to date.

I personally didn't care for a couple of things he's said, particularly the part about he's just going to get Personal Foul calls. I hope he does well but I'm not going to waste any more emotional energy on him.

 

[Rudy89]

I know this is just pessims because we cant catcha break but does anyone else think this season may be another 03 or god forbid 07. As much of a downer as I can be I had a good feeling last offseason when the floyds stuff blew over now....ickkk i dunno how this year will be but I can say without hesitation Im not looking forward to at least 3 games on our schedule. I know noone is going to take this post seriously due to my past and thats ok but I dunno if ill be making a batch of the kool-aid for a while much less drinking it. But who knows maybe Golson or Keil could be a one man team hehe

 

[IrishLax]

Shortsighted decision? Sure. But it's his life and a free country.

On a personal level, it's just funny to me how little I care. Two years ago, when I first started following recruiting, I would probably lost it. Maybe I'm jaded now... maybe I'm more realistic... but the bottom line is I just don't care. Because what's the point in caring?

The best question asked in that press conference was at the 9 minute mark. Paraphrasing, Kelly was asked about the type of kids they're recruiting and if they need to do more due diligence on them to make sure they're a fit for ND. For Aaron, I don't think that applies. You can't predict that someone is going to have the emotional pull back to his "home" like he did. We've all gone over the reasons why, and it's not really important how we view their validity.

But that question DOES apply to David Perkins, Deontay Greenberry, Tee Shepard, Ronald Darby, etc. I think Kelly has learned, albeit the tough way, to not waste time with kids who about "swag" and not about the classroom. If you're prima donna at age 17.... you're not going to make it at ND. Period. When I think about how our lacrosse team recruits, we target guys who are first and foremost mental fits for what we want to be as a team. There are just as many headcases that are star prep lacrosse players as there are football players.... albeit, usually a different kind of entitlement but entitlement none the less. Kid got in trouble for smoking weed? He can go to Maryland. Kid shows immaturity? He can go to Virginia. We don't want him.

That's the approach we need to take for football. If a kid is a fit, you take him. If a kid wants to "commit" and still take all of his OVs, you tell him to come back when he's ready to shut it down and his spot might be gone. Enough passing on kids who want to be here in favor of kids with more perceived talent that don't.

Lastly, I applaud Kelly for taking the approach he did. He could've pandered to Lynch like Urban Meyer pandered to headcases at Florida. Or tried to break NCAA rules and get his girlfriend a job in South Bend. Instead he chose the team over the hyper-talented individual. Maybe that doesn't seem like a good move now in the short term, but it's completely necessary for the long term.

 

[Rhode Irish]

Shortsighted decision? Sure. But it's his life and a free country.

On a personal level, it's just funny to me how little I care. Two years ago, when I first started following recruiting, I would probably lost it. Maybe I'm jaded now... maybe I'm more realistic... but the bottom line is I just don't care. Because what's the point in caring?

The best question asked in that press conference was at the 9 minute mark. Paraphrasing, Kelly was asked about the type of kids they're recruiting and if they need to do more due diligence on them to make sure they're a fit for ND. For Aaron, I don't think that applies. You can't predict that someone is going to have the emotional pull back to his "home" like he did. We've all gone over the reasons why, and it's not really important how we view their validity.

But that question DOES apply to David Perkins, Deontay Greenberry, Tee Shepard, Ronald Darby, etc. I think Kelly has learned, albeit the tough way, to not waste time with kids who about "swag" and not about the classroom. If you're prima donna at age 17.... you're not going to make it at ND. Period. When I think about how our lacrosse team recruits, we target guys who are first and foremost mental fits for what we want to be as a team. There are just as many headcases that are star prep lacrosse players as there are football players.... albeit, usually a different kind of entitlement but entitlement none the less. Kid got in trouble for smoking weed? He can go to Maryland. Kid shows immaturity? He can go to Virginia. We don't want him.

That's the approach we need to take for football. If a kid is a fit, you take him. If a kid wants to "commit" and still take all of his OVs, you tell him to come back when he's ready to shut it down and his spot might be gone. Enough passing on kids who want to be here in favor of kids with more perceived talent that don't.

Lastly, I applaud Kelly for taking the approach he did. He could've pandered to Lynch like Urban Meyer pandered to headcases at Florida. Or tried to break NCAA rules and get his girlfriend a job in South Bend. Instead he chose the team over the hyper-talented individual. Maybe that doesn't seem like a good move now in the short term, but it's completely necessary for the long term.

Agree with ALL of this. Every word.

 

[ChiefSecond]

Looking at the long-term (long term being however long BK lasts..i think he'll be here at least five more years) we're NEVER going to field a SEC defense...we can't recruit or hold onto people like lynch, darby, shepard. BUT THATS OK! In the long term we're going to win because of OFFENSE not defense. BK was brought here to light up the score board...not recruit the #1 defense in the country.

We'll always be able to recruit elite QB's, O-line men, TE's, RB's and WR's. And truth be told we dont need "elite" recruits...we just need very good players who fit the system well. I have no doubt in my mind that with gunner kiel and the weapons we're recruiting on offense that within a couple years BK will have this offense torching mother****ers for 50pts per game.

Defensively you just need to accept that we can field that kind of defense...elite DE's and CB's are elite because they are pure athletic specimens, unfortunately 9 times out of ten those specimens just dont have the brains.
But thats not to say we can't consistently field a strong defense..just like the one we'll have this year..it's jsut that our defense will always have some holes, and we'll never be on the field to ATTACK, we'll be out there to bend not break. WHICH IS JUST FINE.

Our success hinges on our offense..thats the reality of the situation. Over the last two years you all have fallen wayyy too in love with the defense.

I'm not too surprised (or concerned) with Lynch departing...everytime i heard him in an interview he just didnt seem like an ND guy. The polar opposite of guys like tuitt and sheldon day.
Ishaq williams is another one who won't surprise me one day...

 

[woolybug25]

Our success hinges on our offense..thats the reality of the situation. Over the last two years you all have fallen wayyy too in love with the defense.

.

Why cant we have an SEC level defense? We have recruited on defense better than many of them over the last few years. You are acting like Lynch is the only dude we had on our defense that could start in the SEC. We have plenty of talented guys on our defense and guys like Day and Jones both chose ND instead of taking their talents south. In fact, most of the guys on our front seven chose Notre Dame despite having offers to the SEC's best teams.

You have no basis for this argument.

 

[IrishInFl]

Ok, I'm back from work, so I'll write what I know.

First off, Aaron didn't want to come to Notre Dame. What happened, in particularly in San Antonio at the AA bowl, Alice was pleading her case for Aaron to go to ND. This is why he was quoted as saying that he was confused. He wasn't confused on where he wanted to go (he wanted to stay in the state of Florida the whole time), he was confused as to why she was having second thoughts. When Langston wrote the quotes, he intentionally made them somewhat cryptic because Aaron asked him to. Then there's further pieces of evidence of his not wanting to be at ND. During last year's FSU spring game, Langston told me that he thought Aaron was not mentally prepared for ND. It turns out he was correct.

At one point, he stated on his FB or twitter (I can't remember which one), that he was surprised that he liked ND so much. Why would anyone who WANTED to be there say that? Then There's the FB post of Aaron ssaying that he didn't want to be there anymore.

In addition, I thought I should mention how much Alice was committed to Notre Dame. I have only told this to NDinL.A. Alice gave me Aaron's cell number. I was obviously skeptical, until Langston told me that it was indeed his number.

The fact of the matter is that Aaron never wanted to be here in the first place, and that Alice pushed him to do so. I personally like Alice still, as she was very kind to me. For the people saying for Aaron to "grow up" or "grow a pair", he did. He defied his mother and did what HE wanted to do. While I think he is making a HUGE mistake, I understand why he is doing so. I wish him the best of luck, and hope that I can stay in contact with Alice, as I believe she is a wonderful person.

 

[CADomer]

Looking back it would have been better if his mom would have just let him go to FSU to begin with.

You can't force someone to be where they don't want to be.