5 Things Killing Notre Dame

[theclassickiller]

so i posted these onto the espn message board first. but there arent that many real notre dame fans on there so im going to post them here also because i will get actual intelligent fan feedback. these are the top 5 things that are holding the irish back right now. there is some harsh criticism but just keep in mind i love notre dame and the criticism is only our of my love for the team. but without further ado...

5 THINGS KILLING NOTRE DAME

#5. BLOCKING
i have the inside scoop straight from me, my favorite source on all things notre dame. usually this source tells me exactly what i want to hear and i love it. plus no membership costs or anything ridiculous... but to get back on track. heres the latest feed: nd has recruited 3 top-10 classes of highly-touted girls. im not making this up people! its from a reliable source!

but enough of the joking around... from me and from the irish blockers! what is going on? why dont we have a wedge on kickoff returns? did frank beamer honestly say that was how its supposed to be?
charlie: i want to get some good returns out of my men. we havent returned a kick since julius jones played here... then played here again!
frank: charlie charlie charlie, its simple my brother in blubber. dont create a wedge! tell all of your guys to stay behind the opposing teams players. that way if your return man breaks through the first wave of defenders... hes home free!
charlie: wait... what? parcells would have never done...
frank: golden tate charlie... golden tate.
charlie: master is wise.

as long as our return man does break the first line of tacklers, it may actually work! with only notre dame players ahead of him all he has to do is hope none of them are offensive linemen! because we all know what the notre dame offensive linemen would do: huddle together and jump in front of the returnman. ha oh i kill myself.

what about on punt returns? notre dame has two of the best gunners in the nation... and so does every other team as long as they are playing notre dame! why is no one blocking these guys? i was watching all of the highlights this weekend and on big returns the return team was always matching up one on one with the kicking team (with the exception of the punter, but youd better not get tackled by the punter). why arent we doing this? i dont know how many of you watch the practice videos and read the reports, but during spring training camp sam young had the chance to return a punt. i like that idea! let the gunners go have fun! but honestly, what is allen supposed to do when no one comes back to him to help? its infuriating to even watch!

now the part where i just want to grab something and throw it at latina. when i do the calculations myself i get that our offensive line averages 316 lbs! why cant we win the line of scrimmage with 1580 lbs latina? what is the problem here? and the thing is for how big they are, we have quick linemen! what is the problem here latina? i have no answer for this one and it blows my mind. i feel like even without coaching this much man should win a battle of shoving anyday. and with a little coaching they should win a battle of blocking anyday! this lack of a running game behind 1580 lbs of blockers just absolutely defies logic... and physics... in only a way coach latina knows how to do. until next time... discuss!

-TCK

up next... 5 things killing notre dame (4): inexperience.

 

[theclassickiller]

5 Things Killing Notre Dame #4

5 Things Killing Notre Dame #4

5 THINGS KILLING NOTRE DAME

#4. INEXPERIENCE
the first thing people love to do when a talented team underachieves is blame the coaching. and in a way i do. ill get to that with one of the later 5 things. but thats only 50% of the problem here, and the other 50% is the part notre dame hating obama loving daisy picking sign picketing... just kidding. all of my political views aside, the other 50% is the part notre dame haters love to ignore. if you think pete carroll walked into an empty program like notre dame... well youre wrong. check it. if you think tressell walked into an empty program like notre dame... youre wrong again. check it. if you think urban meyer walked into an empty program... i hate urban meyer. and also youre wrong. check it.

the second 50% is that weis walked into a program that had nothing but a few talented offensive and defensive players who were never utilized correctly. those who like to think of quinn, samardzija, walker, stovall, zbikowski, and laws as willinghams guys that made charlie look good should put their glasses on right side up. those are weis' guys that made willingham look good. think about it. if weis hadnt turned those guys into college football superstars there would be no argument that willingham left weis with a farmers hand. but weis took these guys that had playing experience and taught them the other half of the game. the result was ty didnt look quite as bad as he would have looked. he just looked awful, not quite disgusting.

but how come charlie can take those guys and reach two back-to-back bcs bowls but cant do that with his own guys? two reasons for you: they had experience. and notre dame brings in a lot lot lot lot lot lot lot of mad loot for bcs bowls.

charlie is working with young guys right now who have never truly had a leader above them in their position that they could learn from. these are guys who are freshman and sophomores that are having to step into leadership roles 2-3 years before they should have to. does anyone else notice that all of the playmakers on this team are freshman and sophomores? check it out:

offense:
jimmy clausen, qb, sophomore
robert hughes, rb, sophomore
armando allen, rb, sophomore
golden tate, wr, sophomore
michael floyd, wr, freshman
duval kamara, wr, sophomore
kyle rudolph, te, freshman
trevor robinson, rg, freshman

defense:
ian williams, nt, sophomore
ethan johnson, de, freshman
harrison smith, slb, sophomore
brian smith, mlb, sophomore
kerry neal, wlb, sophomore
gary gray, db, sophomore
rj blanton, db, freshman

that equals out to 8 impact players on offense and 7 impact players on defense that are all sophomores and freshman. thats a lot of raw inexperience talent people.

these guys have what the previously named stars didnt have to start their careers: the know how and coaching. they dont have what the previously named stars did have: experience and leadership.

here is something i wish everyone across the country could understand:
ty willingham gave out SO FEW scholarships that had the leftover unused scholarships been revoked by the ncaa, it would have been the second worst penalty ever handed out by the committee. thats pretty sad. i think that man should go down as ty "death penalty" willingham.

charlie is pulling us out of the pit we found ourselves in when we brought in an aspiring golf shop pro. its not going to be easy. its not going as fast as i had hoped and thought. but if anyone out there could do a better job than charlie is doing please let me know. and you had better have a darn good example too. until next time... discuss!

-TCK

up next... inexperience in part leads to the number 3 thing killing notre dame.
5 things killing notre dame (3): turnovers.

 

[theclassickiller]

5 Things Killing Notre Dame #3

5 Things Killing Notre Dame #3

5 THINGS KILLING NOTRE DAME

#3. TURNOVERS
someone is just bound to make a joke about how apple turnovers are killing charlie. but on that note he does look slimmer this year. after you know the guys story about his fight with weight you gotta feel bad for him. its still fun to poke at him every now and then though. but hes doin good and dang... he is tough. thats a decent amount of weight to be walkng around on a torn acl and mcl with no crutches. maybe floyd should learn from it. why did he keep getting up so slow after he didnt make a catch? hopefully nothing is wrong with him physically, thats a huge asset to lose.

anyway back to the topic at hand. which is turnovers turnovers turnovers. how many turnovers are we going to have this year? well if we continue at this pace... 32! if it werent for michigan we would be losing the turnover battle badly already. but we are up one if my memory serves correct.

if you watched the michigan state game you will probably agree with me. the more talented sideline was wearing white and gold. if you just looked at the box score and read some pat forde article then you will most likely be lead to believe that notre dame just didnt perform. we performed for sure. we just couldnt not turn the ball over at critical points in the game. and i mean the worst possible points in the game. the momentum of the game was hanging on a wire in that game halfway through the first quarter. we stopped msu on their first possession and forced a field goal. a couple of drives later we march down the field with about 6 minutes left in the quarter and wouldnt you know it... a pass to duval kamara gets intercepted. it may have been intercepted. it may have been a touchdown. unfortunately for us there were two defenders surrounding kamara and the officials couldnt tell who had control when his feet hit the ground. momentum officially gone.

i love kamara and i was expecting a breakout year from him this year. what a physical specimen of a receiver. but that play should have been brought down. he had 7 inches on those corners and a heck of a lot more vertical leaping ability.

but had he brought it down it would have been 7-3 notre dame and we could have taken that momentum through the first half and maybe gone into halftime tied at 10 or even up on msu.

msus first touchdown was off of a jimmy pass (to kamara) where a combination of bad route running and a lame pass resulted in an interception. with only about 20 yards to go and javon ringer in the backfield, the result was predictable. the irish made it hard on him though and may have sent a message to anyone watching. we arent going to let you get easy yards in the redzone.

second half. our offense is clicking on all cylinders and we march down the field again. pass to floyd right on target and looks good for the first down... but he fumbles. another wasted opportunity in the redzone. 0 for 2 on the day.

this team is young and inexperienced and the result is going to be more turnovers. young players make mistakes. first year players make mistakes. our problem is that we make them at crucial times and the opposition always seems to make the most of them.

does anyone believe that san diego state game should have been that close? i realize you cant just take turnovers away... but had we not turned the ball over the score would have probably been more like 35-7. thats a pretty convincing win if you ask me.

we now have 3 interceptions in the endzone, two fumbles in the redzone, and way too many good drives killed by one of the two. there has got to be some way the coaching staff can correct this problem. its not just the kids playing... i can assure you of that.

this one was pretty cut and dry. im sure everyone realizes that this is a huge problem and has led to underperforming so far this year. but the good news is it is a correctable problem and i have faith the staff with be able to fix it. until next time... discuss!

-TCK

up next... 5 things killing notre dame (2): game plan

 

[theclassickiller]

5 Things Killing Notre Dame #2

5 Things Killing Notre Dame #2

5 THINGS KILLING NOTRE DAME

#2. GAME PLAN
it defies all logic and practicallity. notre dame fans... do you realize how much coaching prowess we have on the sidelines and in the press box? do you realize how lucky we are to have two of the best playcallers (one on offense, one on defense) in college football? jon tenuta is so highly regarded as a playcaller and defensive genius that is was arguably the biggest story in college football this summer. and charlie weis was brought in because he was the playcaller for the 3-time superbowl champion patriots!

and then there is the sad realization that those two are not even calling our plays.

there are many places around the country where those in charge should not be learning on the job. president of the united states for one. playcaller for a major football program is another. now i know many college football fans love to call notre dame a mid-major program or talk about how they arent a premier team anymore, but notre dame will always be a big time program. you can imagine the espn college football front page without notre dame. it would be full of love and other than that... pretty bare.

you can try to say that the playcalling this year is the same as last year. you can claim that its still charlies calls and haywood just relays them. but if that were the case then why, for example, did we rush for 150 yards and 5.6 average against msu last year when we only rushed for 16 yards for an average of 0.7? well for one, the running calls were idiotic.

the playcalling this year is absolutely disgusting and infuriates me to no end. why is haywood allowed to ruin us like this? i just want to throw things through my windows everytime i am able to call the play right before it happens! could there be a more predictable offense? hey all opposing teams... for those of you who havent figured haywood out let me help!

Play The Odds!
By: Michael Haywood

chapter 1: rushing
everyone knows establishing a ground game is essential to opening up the passing game. my success stems from "playing the odds," as i like to say. start each game with a run up the middle. if it doesnt work... do it again. if it doesnt work that time... do it again! you see, if you do something a hundred times you are bound to get the result you want atleast once! thats my philosophy and im sticking to it! we may have rushed for 16 yards and 0.7 avg on michigan state... but according to my logic that just means we have a 300 yard rushing game right around the corner!

chapter 2: passing
once you have effectively established that you are going to run every time you have the ball, despite the result... bombs away! throwing long passes down the sidelines about 15 times a game will result a couple successful completions... again "playing the odds!" see, football is like poker. if im playing 5 card stud then that is like my 5 wide set. texas holdem is kinda like throwing tate and floyd out there. omaha is my 4 wide set! its so easy. if i fold all of my hands to start the game (run the ball up the middle) then the other players think they can read me! they see weakness and horrible scheming! but then... BANG! i get my good hand! this usually happens when jimmy audibles... but nonetheless i look good when it works! they keep pushing me and pushing me and then they call my bluff and it pays off big. of course i never get back to having the chips i started with... but thats not the point! people want to see big plays! thats it and thats all! play the odds!

chapter 3: if you cant outcoach them... put your head down
people... if things just dont go your way its not always your fault! if jimmy completes a pass that i called... then i call it again and again and again! it only makes sense! i know he can do it, he did it the first time. so if it doesnt work the second or ninth time for that matter... whos fault is that? hes just not performing. thats when you put your head down in your hands and call it a day. "ok coach, let them run the no-huddle." ya right... like that'll work! the odds dont always work in your favor people. thats the moral here. you gotta choose your hands and know when to cash out.

chapter 4: i dont really know how to play poker
ok so youve gotten this far and you probably think im a genius, right? well ill let you in on a little somethin... i dont know how to play poker! has that translated to my playcalling? no... i dont think it has. were 2-1, right!

ok but for real. corwin brown has all of my respect. the players love him. hes a good recruiter. and truthfully our defensive backs are beasts! but he is not a great playcaller and thats that. give tenuta that play sheet. hes viewing from above. and we all know how it worked out at georgia tech. this loyalty to our coordinators is noble, but deadly.

michael haywood i cannot say the same for. doubling as the running back coach he has really done a whole lot of nothing for this team. i love notre dame. i love charlie weis. i hate to see a guy get fired and it never looks good when it happens. but haywood has taken a whole lot of talent and made nothing out of it. and im not even talking about the playcalling anymore. until next time... discuss!

-TCK

up next... 5 things killing notre dame (1):
you may have guessed it... emotion

 

[theclassickiller]

5 Things Killing Notre Dame #1

5 Things Killing Notre Dame #1

5 THINGS KILLING NOTRE DAME

#1. EMOTION
i was only 2 when notre dame won the championship in 1988 but i do remember it vividly. it was... good. yes, it was good. we won. i remember we played that one team we beat.

but for real i wish i were a little older so i could have been coherent when holtz coached. i can watch the videos now and wish for that time. but ive never seen anything like them when i look at all the notre dame teams ive rooted for. i can only remember specific memories so far back as the end of the bob davie era. and from the time i can remember until right now, ive never seen a team fired up like the ones straight out of the lou holtz era.

this is the fifth thing that is killing notre dame (according to me of course). it is also the one that could counter all of the others and lead to an overachieving team just like the one notre dame had in 1988. there were so many excuses i could have made for the 1988 championship team throughout the year and yet we all know the result: our most recent national championship.

there are a few things that stand out when you compare our great coaches.

rockne, parseghian, leahy, holtz

they all had a few things that were absolutely required to win like they did.

strategy
love of the game
relationships
no b.s. attitude
emotion

i love charlie weis. and i think he is going to be the reason we get back on track. if charlie would get fired and another coach is brought in... our success in the future would still be attributed to charlie bringing notre dame back into the spotlight. he has resurrected a team that was falling about because of coaches who didnt fit the formula.

last year charlie was 3/5 the way there. he still had to work on relationships with his players and he still needed more emotion. he has fixed the relationship part this year.

this year charlie is has 4/5 of the characteristics of a championship coach. he doesnt put up with b.s. (and i expect yeatman will be kicked off if he did anything illegal). he loves the game. he has formed relationships with his players. and he does have a schematic advantage (usually).

he doesnt have the emotion yet. and i believe he will need to get emotional fast or he wont be our coach for many more years. we are playing uninspired ball right now and it shows. look at duval kamara. last year we went 3-9 and he looked like he was full of love for the game and wanted to have the ball thrown to him every time. this year he doesnt care. look at our running backs. last year they were running wild whenever they got the chance and they made the most out of every play. this year they go down easy and dont seem to hit holes hard at all. our blockers cant hold blocks for 1 second. our receivers and backs are afraid of getting hit. jimmy still thinks his line is going to break down every snap. its just getting ugly and someone needs to get these guys fired up.

we have as much talent on this team as half of the top ten teams. yes its young talent and they have no upperclassmen to work with. but there is one huge difference and its most apparent in the sec than anywhere. those kids play with a purpose. they play to make something happen. our guys play to not lose. they play waiting for something to happen. its backwards and scary because you wont get too far too fast that way.

charlie needs to put the puppy face away and get out the 2005 face that he wore when he knew he could win. he needs to get these guys pumped because they dont have upperclassmen to do it for them. he needs a lesson from holtz. maybe he should listen to some rockne speeches. all i know is that michigan state game was not out of reach and should not have been a loss with the advantage we had in talent.

maybe what charlie needs to do is read the lyrics to the notre dame victory march to his players before the next game and make them listen hard and think about it. its a song with emotion and pride and it represents what is notre dame football.

cheer, cheer for old notre dame
wake up the echoes cheering her name
send a volley cheer on high
shake down the thunder from the sky
what though the odds be great or small
old notre dame will win over all
while her loyal sons are marching
onward to victory

-TCK

 

[JeremyND07]

Some good points but that was way too much reading...from what I scanned it seemed good but you have too much time on your hands lol! ;-)

 

[theclassickiller]

ha youd think that but i really dont have a lot of time at all. im in my 4th year at purdue. i just happened to have time on my hands this morning because ive been up since 8 and decided to not go to my first classes ha.

 

[phork]

Omg dood, one post please.

 

[theclassickiller]

if i put it all on one post would anyone read it? ha its already too long.

 

[KAPLAN]

I completly agree, and have said that all I want this year is a bowl win. We are still 1-2 years away from a serious run.

 

[2-4]

#1 has to be the running game, running game means more control time wise, improves passing game = DEF. less tired

 

[SteveM]

Light Reading

Light Reading

Some good points but that was way too much reading...from what I scanned it seemed good but you have too much time on your hands lol! ;-)

Looks like a great read. I'll get to it as soon as I finish up Remembrance of Things Past.

SteveM

 

[phork]

I completly agree, and have said that all I want this year is a bowl win. We are still 1-2 years away from a serious run.

2 years? Holy hell. Michigan will be back to a powerhouse by that point.

 

[goldandblue]

good posts I enjoyed reading them.

 

[KAPLAN]

2 years? Holy hell. Michigan will be back to a powerhouse by that point.

In two years we should be at full strength with a Junior/Senior team. If we do not have an NT run then it will be time for Weis to go.

 

[kmoose]

In my mind, there is only one thing killing Notre Dame: the lack of a running game. Would they be ready for a NC run, with a decent running game? No. But they would be a competitive ball team, at least. We have got to figure out how to run the ball. It's not all on the offensive line, all on the backs, or all on the coaches. It's a combination of weaknesses in all three areas. I think Weis needs to hire a special assistant to come in and build them a running game, from the ground (no pun intended) up. It's not like ND cannot afford another assistant.

 

[Freeman Ara]

In my mind, there is only one thing killing Notre Dame: the lack of a running game. Would they be ready for a NC run, with a decent running game? No. But they would be a competitive ball team, at least. We have got to figure out how to run the ball. It's not all on the offensive line, all on the backs, or all on the coaches. It's a combination of weaknesses in all three areas. I think Weis needs to hire a special assistant to come in and build them a running game, from the ground (no pun intended) up. It's not like ND cannot afford another assistant.

Pretty sure there is a limit of how many paid coach's you can have on staff, so who do you want to fire for this special assistant to come in and replace?

 

[NDFan78]

In my opinion, the major problem is turnovers, specifically within scoring range. If ND had gotten point in the first half of the MSU game instead of turning the ball over it would have been a much different game.

 

[kmoose]

Pretty sure there is a limit of how many paid coach's you can have on staff, so who do you want to fire for this special assistant to come in and replace?

Everyone seems to want Latina gone. Why not him?

 

[GO IRISH!!!]

What hasn't been said? I am perplexed by Kamara as well. He should have pulled down that pass. I have yet to see him go up and get a jump ball like that. I liked seeing more of Robby Parris in the second half. He seems to have some good hands and he can take a hit. He is not afraid to go across the middle which is something I want to see more of in coming weeks.

But Kamara needs some practice on turning in to more of a defensive back when the ball is going to the other team. Just like what Tate did to break up a potential INT. Kamara looks as though he gives up when he sees he is not going to get it. Just my opinion.

 

[SoCalDomer]

I believe Kamara is suffering from a foot or ankle injury right now, and that may be throwing off his jumping and timing more than we know.

 

[GO IRISH!!!]

Interesting. I didn't know that. Why not get Walker or Goodman some reps if Kamara isn't 100%? I know they want to preserve eligibility, but if an injury is hindering performance, lets get a fresh body in there.

 

[SoCalDomer]

i think that's why Parris saw more reps last week. i don't recall the order of the depth chart, but I gotta believe a Jr like Parris would be ahead of Goodman and Walker, both true freshman.

 

[GO IRISH!!!]

I would love to see guys like Walker and Goodman and even Jonas Gray just to see if they can provide a spark.