tommyIRISH23
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Lets face it, these kids have more pressure on them then pretty much anyone there age. Every media outlet in the country is going to have them under a microscope. I am not at all worried about BK, and his staff handling it..I am worried about the team. Here is my worries;
1. Breaking the "here we go again", and the culture of losing that ND has had for too long.
BK can only mentally prepare them so much, they are not robots, and will have to, at some points, dig deep inside eachother to overcome some adverse situation. It could be in week 1, or 10...but it will happen, and only they can rise and meet the challenges. They have to beable to fight the "here we go again" attitude when things get bad, and realize that its no okay to lose. I am afraid that they have become accustomed to defeat. They cant revert back to old habits.
They need a leader. I have heard great things about Dayne. But has he earned enough stripes from the team, because in battle he is raw, where the rest of the guys will trust him to carry them over the top? Especially with the older veteran guys (a point ill touch next). I think Kyle Rudolph, Armando Allen, and MF are they guys that the offense is going to look too. I know they are confident, and respect Dayne, but they MUST believe in him. If those guys are won over, then Dayne is in a great place because the rest will follow. A leader needs to step up on defense, I think Manti will emerge as the cornerstone of the unit.
The good part is a lot of these guys are young, and came in together. Whereas Jimmy had to come in and earn the respect of the upperclassmen as a frosh...thats a part of why 2007 went so bad.
I believe the locker room was very divided last year, and a shit show at the end. Are all those wounds healed? And are they healed enough withstand a stressful situation early on in the season?
The expectations we have for ND have not changed, but are ours, and the players at the same place? We are fans, and ofcourse we are irrational. We drive the media, if it wasnt for us there would be no sportscenter, bleacher reports, irish envy..etc. We but a spot light on these kids, and there everyone move becomes national news. If things go bad, and fans lash out...can this fragile team handle it?
I cannot fathom the pressure they must feel at that age. After what they have been through, their minds are fragile, they need to beable to block out some of the attention and focus.
Obviously, if they get off to a fast start...theyll be in good shape. Theyll build confidence, and the memories of last season will be far away. But the schedule is not easy. Winning early is CRUCIAL for the direction of the program. Those first 6 games are SO big for our program. If they can start out 4-2 to 6-0 then 8 to 10 wins is easily attainable and recruits will pile in/stay, confidence will soar, media will be all over the irish...theyll be flying high into next season.
0-6 to 3-3 will be bad leading to 5-7 to 7-5 record. Recruits will jump/not come, confidence will drop, expectations lower, media will be all over with there shit that ND cant win, and theyll revert back too there mind states from before.
Guys, these first 6 games are SO important to ND and her future. ND has never done it the easy way, and it would just add to the ND mystique if they pulled this off.
I cant wait. This is going to be awesome to watch. GO IRISH!!!
1. Breaking the "here we go again", and the culture of losing that ND has had for too long.
BK can only mentally prepare them so much, they are not robots, and will have to, at some points, dig deep inside eachother to overcome some adverse situation. It could be in week 1, or 10...but it will happen, and only they can rise and meet the challenges. They have to beable to fight the "here we go again" attitude when things get bad, and realize that its no okay to lose. I am afraid that they have become accustomed to defeat. They cant revert back to old habits.
They need a leader. I have heard great things about Dayne. But has he earned enough stripes from the team, because in battle he is raw, where the rest of the guys will trust him to carry them over the top? Especially with the older veteran guys (a point ill touch next). I think Kyle Rudolph, Armando Allen, and MF are they guys that the offense is going to look too. I know they are confident, and respect Dayne, but they MUST believe in him. If those guys are won over, then Dayne is in a great place because the rest will follow. A leader needs to step up on defense, I think Manti will emerge as the cornerstone of the unit.
The good part is a lot of these guys are young, and came in together. Whereas Jimmy had to come in and earn the respect of the upperclassmen as a frosh...thats a part of why 2007 went so bad.
I believe the locker room was very divided last year, and a shit show at the end. Are all those wounds healed? And are they healed enough withstand a stressful situation early on in the season?
The expectations we have for ND have not changed, but are ours, and the players at the same place? We are fans, and ofcourse we are irrational. We drive the media, if it wasnt for us there would be no sportscenter, bleacher reports, irish envy..etc. We but a spot light on these kids, and there everyone move becomes national news. If things go bad, and fans lash out...can this fragile team handle it?
I cannot fathom the pressure they must feel at that age. After what they have been through, their minds are fragile, they need to beable to block out some of the attention and focus.
Obviously, if they get off to a fast start...theyll be in good shape. Theyll build confidence, and the memories of last season will be far away. But the schedule is not easy. Winning early is CRUCIAL for the direction of the program. Those first 6 games are SO big for our program. If they can start out 4-2 to 6-0 then 8 to 10 wins is easily attainable and recruits will pile in/stay, confidence will soar, media will be all over the irish...theyll be flying high into next season.
0-6 to 3-3 will be bad leading to 5-7 to 7-5 record. Recruits will jump/not come, confidence will drop, expectations lower, media will be all over with there shit that ND cant win, and theyll revert back too there mind states from before.
Guys, these first 6 games are SO important to ND and her future. ND has never done it the easy way, and it would just add to the ND mystique if they pulled this off.
I cant wait. This is going to be awesome to watch. GO IRISH!!!
