just remember

[mick2]

This team is still VERY young!!!!

the offense is all freshmen and sophs, mistakes are bound to happen.

just like last years offense this years defense is feeling the recruiting void, we are so thin it's crazy!!

i would have liked to go 2-0 against msu and purdue, but i'l settle for a split and a 3-1 record headin into stanford, nc, and udub.

msu is over with lets focus on purdue.

Stay positive fellas, its gonna happen.

GO IRISH!!!

 

[Timugen]

This team is still VERY young!!!!

the offense is all freshmen and sophs

But the line isn't....and that's where our biggest problems are.

The "young" players on offense are at the skill positions and they've been performing rather admirably considering their inexperience. It's the line that's holding this offense back, and youth is no longer an excuse for them.


Hopefully we stick it to Purdon't to give us a little momentum going into the middle of the season. This team has the talent to really shock some people....it's just a matter of whether or not they can deliver on gameday.

 

[NDOM]

Thats right. Our offensive line isnt young anymore. And thats where 99% of our problem is. If they cant establish the ground game then we have to be one dimentional and we all know that we arent that.

 

[mick2]

the line should be playing better, we have shown improvements on the pass blocking but struggle opening holes for the run, but this line has some players that switched positions, and it will take some time to gel. lets get thru purdue, we will progress as the season goes on.

 

[GreenGoblin]

the line should be playing better, we have shown improvements on the pass blocking but struggle opening holes for the run, but this line has some players that switched positions, and it will take some time to gel. lets get thru purdue, we will progress as the season goes on.

We were lucky to get through San Diego State and Michigan, I don't think we'll do much better against Purdue, a team with a great defensive front seven.

 

[tko]

yo guys, we weren't going undefeated this year. granted, MSU was a game we could've won had we not turned the rock over but it happened and we need to correct those issues STAT. i think this team has to maybe migrate to the pass first to set up the run similar to what the quinn regime did. i know it sucks b/c you want to pound the ball and control the clock but we simply aren't able to do that. rather than keep going to that well and getting ourselves in a hole and in conservative mode why not come out slinging and establish the run after we loosen the d up. another problem on offense is JC refusing to work the middle of the field. i appreciate that he has faith in floyd and tate but we have to open up down the seam. also, kumara needs to get in the weight room. i know he's a sophomore and that pass in the endzone was a bit late but he has to be stronger and own his space. he should learn from floyd. michael has great control and strength in the air. just my thoughts now rip me.

 

[bliv711]

This team is still VERY young!!!!

the offense is all freshmen and sophs, mistakes are bound to happen.

just like last years offense this years defense is feeling the recruiting void, we are so thin it's crazy!!

i would have liked to go 2-0 against msu and purdue, but i'l settle for a split and a 3-1 record headin into stanford, nc, and udub.

msu is over with lets focus on purdue.

Stay positive fellas, its gonna happen.

GO IRISH!!!

Yes, we're almost exactly as young as the team Alabama has on the field...a team with a relatively new coach who we've "out recruited" two of the past three years. We're almost equally as young as the Florida Gator team of last season...the team whose sophomore QB won the Heisman Trophy in just his first full year of starting. According to Rivals and Scout, we are MUCH more TALENTED than South Florida or East Carolina or any number of teams that have looked better than us. So why are we getting smoked by teams like Michigan State?

I've been watching this "train-wreck" since the mid-90s. I decided back then that I would rather have a group of classy, talented student athletes on "my" team than a bunch of guys who can't read or write. Winning would be just the icing on the cake. I got exactly what I wished for.

Frankly, I am proud of the young men that took the field against Michigan State. It looked to me like they left everything on the field...they just lost. Monday morning, they'll be right back in class.

Just a little history lesson here so I can make a point. Since 1995, how many teams has ND beaten that FINISHED the season ranked in the Top 5? Top 10? Even Top 15? How many of those same opponents have we outgained in total offense and how many of those opponents have we "out-defensed".

For what it's worth, here is my take on the issues on the field with our current team: coaching. I'm not on the fire Charlie Weis bandwagon...I'm old school...if you have a contract with someone, you live up to it's terms unless the contractee has done something to violate the agreement.

Some coaches are great college coaches, some are great professional coaches...rarely will you find a coach great at both levels. Pete Carroll, love him or hate him, is a great college coach...he was NOT a very good professional coach. I say he's a great college coach not just because he wins a lot of games, but also because he CONNECTS with his players. Just watch him on the sidelines during a game...smacking the helmet of a player that just made a great play, etc. Lou Holtz and Bobby Petrino are other examples of "college" coaches rather than NFL coaches. Well, I think Charlie Weis is one of those coaches that is better suited to the more "business-like" setting of the NFL.

 

[tko]

charlie isn't going anywhere b/c he recruits his balls off. most think he can't coach that talent but getting rid of him will only delay what's being built here. the problem with Ty was that he couldn't and didn't recruit. all he cared about was protecting his posse of mediocre coaches and teeing it up on the course. the firing of Ty needed to be done, regardless of his effing color. that wasn't the issue as Wilbon and Saunders and Jesse and all those other "racist" clowns think. his coaching ineptitude is showing at UW but of course when he gets canned the race card won't be played.

 

[bliv711]

charlie isn't going anywhere b/c he recruits his balls off. most think he can't coach that talent but getting rid of him will only delay what's being built here. the problem with Ty was that he couldn't and didn't recruit. all he cared about was protecting his posse of mediocre coaches and teeing it up on the course. the firing of Ty needed to be done, regardless of his effing color. that wasn't the issue as Wilbon and Saunders and Jesse and all those other "racist" clowns think. his coaching ineptitude is showing at UW but of course when he gets canned the race card won't be played.

I agree, Charlie isn't going anywhere...but I also think it's more than his recruiting ability that has him some "job security".

 

[tko]

I agree, Charlie isn't going anywhere...but I also think it's more than his recruiting ability that has him some "job security".

good point but the admin cannot afford to get back on the coaching carousel we have to let it play out on the field the next few years. i don't think this team repeats last year. i still think they win 9 games, continue to call me crazy

 

[wahoo]

If you want to win consistantly you need to be able to run the ball to control the clock and stop the run to stop the other guy from controlling the game. I haven't seen that happen since Weis took over the program. I am starting to be convinced that Charlie is not a "good fit" for the college game. He recruits well but I haven't seen that translate to wins on the field.

 

[bliv711]

tko, I am in complete agreement with you. we need to live up to our commitments...and we made a 10 year one with Charlie.

Firing a coach can really send a program into a chaotic spin for a few years. I think the only reason you fire a coach is if they are doing something illegal or if they fail to live up to the terms of their contract.

The last thing we need to do right now is fire Charlie. We are already a program mired in mediocrity on the field and have been pretty much for the past decade and a half. If we keep firing coaches, thing will likely only get worse.

 

[PADOMERNUT]

Purdue has a great defensive front seven???? When, in 1998??? This is Purdue's worst defense in a decade

 

[Timugen]

charlie isn't going anywhere b/c he recruits his balls off. most think he can't coach that talent but getting rid of him will only delay what's being built here. the problem with Ty was that he couldn't and didn't recruit. all he cared about was protecting his posse of mediocre coaches and teeing it up on the course. the firing of Ty needed to be done, regardless of his effing color. that wasn't the issue as Wilbon and Saunders and Jesse and all those other "racist" clowns think. his coaching ineptitude is showing at UW but of course when he gets canned the race card won't be played.

Are you seriously still blaming this team's performance on Ty?

Really?

Yes, Ty sucked at recruiting and left the cupboard empty.

But at what point does [NAME REDACTED] become accountable for the shortcomings of this team? And I'm serious as a heart attack when I ask that question, because it seems that there are still people willing to fall back on the "Ty couldn't recruit" crutch.

Ty is no longer a part of the equation.

We have the talent necessary to win.

When we don't win, it has nothing to do with Ty's incompetence.

How's 'Bama doing? They're a "young" team with a new head coach, but they seem to be just a tiny little bit better than us.

Yes, Ty drove this program into the ground, but the time for blaming him for the team's current performance has eclipsed.

 

[NDOM]

Ty Ty Ty! 30 years from now people are still gonna be blaming Ty.

 

[NDinL.A.]

We were lucky to get through San Diego State and Michigan, I don't think we'll do much better against Purdue, a team with a great defensive front seven.

Green Goblin, the more you talk the more it sounds like you really don't watch football. Sorry, but you go on and on about fire Charlie this and that, and bring in some kid who can't beat Marshall and NC State despite having the 15th ranked team in the country, and then you tell us the Purdue has a great defensive front seven????? C'mon man. Lighten up, and make sure when we get our 8 wins this year w/ a bowl victory, and our BCS bowl win in 2 years when these guys are seniors and juniors, you come back here. 'Cause you sure as hell weren't here wanting Weis gone after last week's wins, and you sure as hell weren't here when Weis took us to back to back BCS bowls. I wish I didn't have to do something all day so I could respond to all your negative, repetitive posts all day. We'll be back, support this team bro! Go Irish!!!

 

[bliv711]

Ty Ty Ty! 30 years from now people are still gonna be blaming Ty.

I agree, that is the way some folks rationalize the woes of the current team.

I don't put much weight in Rivals or Scout talent rankings, but if I did, I'd have to note that all of Ty's and all of Charlie's recruiting classes were better than South Florida, East Carolina, Kansas, Missouri...any number of teams.

The "YOUTH" rationale is also getting old if your main focus is winning or losing. Yes, we have a relatively young teams as far as starters go. But many other coaches in different programs are having far greater success than Charlie in programs (2007 Florida, 2008 Alabama to name a few) with relatively the same experience level.

I previously stated I would NOT even consider firing Charlie though. We made a 10-year commitment and we need to live up to it. As long as he is upholding his end of the deal, we need to keep him...win or lose. Most importantly, ND football graduates it's players at a staggering rate compared to most of the "powers-to-be". After 10 years when Charlie's contract is up for renewal...............................

 

[mick2]

all i know is that we need to get that "revolving door" going. being young is one thing, but being young and thin at virtually every position is another thing. rebuilding a program doesn't happen overnight. quit demanding a coaching change it aint happening so just stay positive.