Kelly's Comment

[zcoult41]

I don't play football but if I was on that field and we're only down by two touchdowns and the coach is not calling timeouts with six minutes to go I'd be pissed. Like to hear opinions of former players on this.

My original thought after the game...why the hell did he take his timeouts home with him? Now I believe it's apparent. I think theres more going on behind closed doors then what we all know. Now it's starting to leak. I mean according to our "running back" its #everymanforhimself .... Who's to say Dayne wasn't pissed because he had been cut of a job and fumbled it himself intentionally? I know thats a stretch. But, maybe Kelly sensed that his players had quit and didn't want to prolong the defeat. If I was Kelly I would of agreed with the USC players and said you know what...They are right...we did quit as a unit....but he didn't...he stood up for them..I bet that seems like a mistake now to him

 

[irishfanjho15]

I don't play football but if I was on that field and we're only down by two touchdowns and the coach is not calling timeouts with six minutes to go I'd be pissed. Like to hear opinions of former players on this.

I played college ball, not D1 but D3 and I can see both sides. As a coach you're thinking if we get a stop on this set of downs, yes we lose the time they run out but we have enough time to score plus we still have our timeouts to stop the clock when they get the ball back if the onside doesn't work (or we kick it deep). The problem with being down 14 with that much time left is just that, you're down 14 and you have to decide what's more important? Stopping the clock with 2 minutes or less or with around 4 or 5 minutes. At a certain point it is all semantics. Your D has to get a stop and in order to help your O. Timeouts weren't going to stop them ripping off chunks of yardage. Very much a strategy it just didn't work out, always a lot of second guessing when it doesn't.

 

[AllGoldEverything]

Im glad Kelly made those comments.

Its time for these kids to grow up and start playing to their potential, that 5 star rating doesnt mean sh*t now.

Maybe Notre Dame will start playing with an attitude like they used to.

 

[connor_in]

I don't play football but if I was on that field and we're only down by two touchdowns and the coach is not calling timeouts with six minutes to go I'd be pissed. Like to hear opinions of former players on this.

Just fyi...this was discussed vehemently and at length in another thread on USC calling us quitters...many pages of back and forth...FWIW

 

[loomis41973]

All of those players who like to run their mouth can hit the road. Hell, I'd open the door up for them. That goes for players of All American caliber to 4th string. I remember the last time I got called out and went home and cried to mommy because coach hurt my feelings. She said grow up. I guess I should have jumped on facebook and started talking **** about the one who was leading the pack. No one and I mean no one is bigger than the team. At times, the truth hurts. What BK said is 100% true. You can tell which recruits were his and those of Coach Weis. Different style of players. The University of Notre Dame should give scholarships on the basis of 1. a student-athlete whom performs well in the classroom and on the field and 2. being a first class individual whom carries him/herself in a way that represents the University, the team, the alumns in a classy manner. Not some adolescents. Note to all those players who believe in "evey man for themselves"...It's going to be a cold and lonely world out there. If you don't want to unite and come together then get the heck out of town. I sure as hell know I dont want someone representing such a fine institution like that. That slaps all of the organizational members in the face by giving them that image. Maybe some of the immature kids on the team should try JUCO for a year or two before moving up to the big leagues. I think players using social media to call out coaches is insane. If you really have something to say- say it to their face... I'd say to the players whom are "tweeting" and "posting" negative stuff about the progam what Kevin's sister from Home Alone said to Kevin: "Kevin, you're such a disease!" Win or lose this weekend BK, I'd respect you a lot if you decided to bench those players who are talking. Even if many of them are starters such as our tailback and All American line backer- Put your foot down.

Big reps for you.

 

[GoldenIsThyFame]

Brian Smith on Twitter:

"There is always a method to the madness"

"but if I was a player on the team now...I'd be pissed. Esp guys that are putting in work like 5,20,25,3,4,80,52,6 etc."

"I'd be pissed because they are busting their *** just to be told they are not bought in. Low blow. But BK knows what he is doing."

 

[DillonHall]

All of those players who like to run their mouth can hit the road. Hell, I'd open the door up for them. That goes for players of All American caliber to 4th string. I remember the last time I got called out and went home and cried to mommy because coach hurt my feelings. She said grow up. I guess I should have jumped on facebook and started talking **** about the one who was leading the pack. No one and I mean no one is bigger than the team. At times, the truth hurts. What BK said is 100% true. You can tell which recruits were his and those of Coach Weis. Different style of players. The University of Notre Dame should give scholarships on the basis of 1. a student-athlete whom performs well in the classroom and on the field and 2. being a first class individual whom carries him/herself in a way that represents the University, the team, the alumns in a classy manner. Not some adolescents. Note to all those players who believe in "evey man for themselves"...It's going to be a cold and lonely world out there. If you don't want to unite and come together then get the heck out of town. I sure as hell know I dont want someone representing such a fine institution like that. That slaps all of the organizational members in the face by giving them that image. Maybe some of the immature kids on the team should try JUCO for a year or two before moving up to the big leagues. I think players using social media to call out coaches is insane. If you really have something to say- say it to their face... I'd say to the players whom are "tweeting" and "posting" negative stuff about the progam what Kevin's sister from Home Alone said to Kevin: "Kevin, you're such a disease!" Win or lose this weekend BK, I'd respect you a lot if you decided to bench those players who are talking. Even if many of them are starters such as our tailback and All American line backer- Put your foot down.

Me being an ***: Just because 'whom' is a word doesn't mean that 'who' isn't.

 

[connor_in]

Just a quick note...I have read a few different places that printed what Kelly said (haven't seen the video yet, at work and they block that stuff). However, the places that have more of the quotes or transcript of the encounter lead me to think that this is blowing up way more than it needs to be. Unless the video/audio show him saying what he did in a crappy/mean inflection, when taken in full its not as bad as some here seem to make it out to be (IMHO). Yes, he was doing some calling out (my head is not in the sand and I am not a kool aid drinker by any means) but the level to which some people are taking this on a number of different ND boards seems excessive. The same is true of some of the player responses posted here. It seems like they are being blown way out of proportion too and too much read into them (IMHO).

I know that we don't and probably never will have all the facts whenever it comes to any mostly behind doors situation with the program and what we do is guesstimate and extrapolate on any of these boards.

Personally, my take is not to get too angry with either side at this point, & see what follows from here, especially on the filed these next couple of weekends.

Go Irish...Beat Navy!

 

[Te'o4Heisman]

I don't play football but if I was on that field and we're only down by two touchdowns and the coach is not calling timeouts with six minutes to go I'd be pissed. Like to hear opinions of former players on this.

Ridiculous. The defense needs a third down stop otherwise whats the point of calling the time outs. Go back and actually look at the time on the clock and the play by play sequence of events. The defense had exactly ONE chance to get a 3rd down stop in a situation where a timeout would have been called. No coach is going to call a timeout down 2 touchdowns after they just get gashed for a 15 yard run and first down. Timeouts coincide with STOPS, or at the opportunity for a big stop.

 

[Irishpinoy]

Just fyi...this was discussed vehemently and at length in another thread on USC calling us quitters...many pages of back and forth...FWIW

Ooops! Didn't go in that one. Anyways, heading to Vegas today and I'm betting my fortune on the Irish tomorrow.

 

[NDMontana]

I am torn on this issue. On the one hand, he is absolutely justified in calling his players out; on the other hand, if these guys couldn't look in the mirror and recognize that they are not cutting it then I doubt anything he says will affect them.
Personally, I think this was a more a message to his recruits and potential recruits. Message being that if you come in, work hard and allow yourself to be coached, you will play. Perhaps this fires up the younger guys and galvanizes them, in essence by making this an "us against them" situation these younger kids will form a stronger bond. Of course this opinion is jaded as I have been saying since day one that Kelly should seperate the two groups and limit their interaction with Weis's guys. Clearly that is impractical but Kelly may be attempting to do just that. Finally, I am glad to have a coach who wants to create a program that will have years of success instead of patching every season together.

 

[Rambler09]

I want to believe that Kelly knows what he is doing as much as the next guy, but I have serious questions about challenging players in this way. His comments have created a sort of step-child syndrome. Whether or not he meant it as a challenge, he has created a division in his team.

I am fine with him calling players out... something he has done many times. The problem is that this time it really divides the team. Earlier in the year when he said Manti or Harrison needed to step their games up you didn't see any complaints or any of this on Twitter.

For everyone using the the 'I was once criticized and I responded by being tough' lines, it's important to realize that this goes beyond criticism. This isn't 'you played poorly tonight'. This is much more serious than that. The reality is that Kelly's upperclassmen are hurt. Their angry tweets are almost certainly rooted in the rejection they are experiencing from their coach.

I'm usually ok with Kelly's public criticism of the team, but this method is a little worrisome. There are ways to challenge a team, and the upperclassmen in particular, without creating divisions and a sense that the upperclassmen are his unwanted 'step-team'. The last thing we need right now is a serious division in this team.

Let's hope Kelly rectifies this situation.

 

[BleedBlueGold]

Brian Smith on Twitter:

Brian Smith is a jack*** IMO. If anyone should understand what's going on, he should. He was probably the worst out of the entire team last year in this regard. He finally shut his mouth and bought into the system and look what happened. He played great during that last stretch.

I think the whole problem is lack of accountability. BK is putting it on the players (which is fine. The truth hurts sometimes). They're just not holding themselves accountable for the poor play and looking to point fingers.

 

[PANDFAN]

Brian Smith is a jack*** IMO. If anyone should understand what's going on, he should. He was probably the worst out of the entire team last year in this regard. He finally shut his mouth and bought into the system and look what happened. He played great during that last stretch.

I think the whole problem is lack of accountability. BK is putting it on the players (which is fine. The truth hurts sometimes). They're just not holding themselves accountable for the poor play and looking to point fingers.

amen!!!!! he wouldn't have had a shot at the NFL had it not been for BK to challenge him and the other seniors...he was mediocre and a lot of times terrible...however that stretch of games towards the end of the season he was playing some of the best football i have ever seen as a LB at ND

 

[DillonHall]

My question is this: why didn't the momentum from the end of last year carry over to this year? I think it starts and ends with the individual players. What do you guys think?

 

[NDMontana]

Ridiculous. The defense needs a third down stop otherwise whats the point of calling the time outs. Go back and actually look at the time on the clock and the play by play sequence of events. The defense had exactly ONE chance to get a 3rd down stop in a situation where a timeout would have been called. No coach is going to call a timeout down 2 touchdowns after they just get gashed for a 15 yard run and first down. Timeouts coincide with STOPS, or at the opportunity for a big stop.

On point. Like BK said--and I agree with as a longtime player--what is the point of calliny timeout when every second down is second and two or less? You cannot call a timeout after a team gets a first down, they still needed two scores so would have needed timeouts. He just needed an opportunity to call timeout but the opportunity never arose. SC took six minutes to go 45 yards. Pathetic.

 

[HawaiianIrish]

Coach Kelly you have the "Balls, Swag, and Heart" that most of us want our players to have.

Irish Faithful i pray that this is the wake up call our beloved Fighting Irish football team need to get there *** in gear....

I pray that these young men grow the fawk up and beat the living **** out of every team from here on out.

GO IRISH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[BeauBenken]

I don't get it. What did he say that stands out?

 

[NDMontana]

My question is this: why didn't the momentum from the end of last year carry over to this year? I think it starts and ends with the individual players. What do you guys think?

You are only as good as your last game, hell even play. When a season is over it is over. Momentum is bull, in my opinion. SC returns that fumble 99 yards. If ND turns around and scores its next drive then there is no momentum. ND didn't do that because they failed to execute on the next drive, not because some invisible tidal wave washed them out to sea or some wall blovked their way. Momentum only exists in the minds of whiny people, the type who say "why me" every time some breaks goes against them.

 

[PADOMERNUT]

You are only as good as your last game, hell even play. When a season is over it is over. Momentum is bull, in my opinion. SC returns that fumble 99 yards. If ND turns around and scores its next drive then there is no momentum. ND didn't do that because they failed to execute on the next drive, not because some invisible tidal wave washed them out to sea or some wall blovked their way. Momentum only exists in the minds of whiny people, the type who say "why me" every time some breaks goes against them.

Not to nitpick bc I get what you are saying. But ND did score on the drive after the fumble. Jonas Gray 25 yd TD run. Where they failed to execute after getting some momentum, was the lateral/fumble after SC's missed FG.

 

[DCirishfan]

Eh, if we lose it is important, if we win it isn't. Just win and stop blowing big games.

That is all

 

[NDMontana]

Not to nitpick bc I get what you are saying. But ND did score on the drive after the fumble. Jonas Gray 25 yd TD run. Where they failed to execute after getting some momentum, was the lateral/fumble after SC's missed FG.

Yes, they did. So I look like an idiot but that proves my point. If ever there was such a thing as momentum and its impact, would not have SC's fumble return been the prime example? But instead ND DID execute and DID score the next drive. So...there ya' go.
Thanks PA!

 

[loomis41973]

Coach Kelly you have the "Balls, Swag, and Heart" that most of us want our players to have.

Irish Faithful i pray that this is the wake up call our beloved Fighting Irish football team need to get there *** in gear....

I pray that these young men grow the fawk up and beat the living **** out of every team from here on out.

GO IRISH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

+1

Time to kick the softies to the pine.

 

[irishtrinity]

I agree with him fully... Holtz benched alot of players for play, one story he put in walk-ons to the spteams b/c he wanted players out there that CARED FOR ND... I agree fully...

 

[woolybug25]

My question is this: why didn't the momentum from the end of last year carry over to this year? I think it starts and ends with the individual players. What do you guys think?

I think at the end of last year, we had some guys finally understand what it takes. Brian Smith quit overruning his coverage and missing tackles, Michael Floyd continued being Michael Floyd, Chris Stewart became a vocal leader of the offensive line and Robert Hughes realized that time was not on his side and took advantage of his opportunity (I feel like I will always be indebted to Hughes for what he did to USC. He was a warrior that day).

Unfortunetely, with the exception of Floyd, those guys left and our current seniors did not step up. Now don't get me wrong, our current seniors are good young men, but they have not pursued a killer mentality yet. Guys like Braxton Cave need to become vocal leaders of our line and quit letting teams like Air Force hit our QB. Guys like Harrison Smith need to start doing whatever it takes to make the secondary understand that it takes more than intensity, it takes attention to detail and focus. Ethan Johnson needs to see the intensity that young guys like Lynch are playing with and refuse to let a freshman be the intensity leader of our defensive line.

What it comes down to is that the change that we saw happen against Utah last year, has simply not happened with these seniors yet. The fact that they have responded to Kelly's comments with twitter vs going into his office and telling him that they refuse to be part of the problem anymore shows that they simply don't get it yet.

What gives me hope is that I look at young guys like Lynch, Tuitt and Atkinson whom refuse to let the senior apathy be part of their game being not only vocal, but backing it up with their play. Guys like Tee, Greenberry, Jones and Darby who know with all of their hearts that they are coming to Notre Dame to become men and champions. #Ballz and Swag

You are right Mr Shepard when you said that you are married to Notre Dame. Remember, marriage is about giving everything you have to make it successful. No one is entitled to a successful marriage. You have to earn each and every single day.

 

[Te'o4Heisman]

I think at the end of last year, we had some guys finally understand what it takes. Brian Smith quit overruning his coverage and missing tackles, Michael Floyd continued being Michael Floyd, Chris Stewart became a vocal leader of the offensive line and Robert Hughes realized that time was not on his side and took advantage of his opportunity (I feel like I will always be indebted to Hughes for what he did to USC. He was a warrior that day).

Unfortunetely, with the exception of Floyd, those guys left and our current seniors did not step up. Now don't get me wrong, our current seniors are good young men, but they have not pursued a killer mentality yet. Guys like Braxton Cave need to become vocal leaders of our line and quit letting teams like Air Force hit our QB. Guys like Harrison Smith need to start doing whatever it takes to make the secondary understand that it takes more than intensity, it takes attention to detail and focus. Ethan Johnson needs to see the intensity that young guys like Lynch are playing with and refuse to let a freshman be the intensity leader of our defensive line.

What it comes down to is that the change that we saw happen against Utah last year, has simply not happened with these seniors yet. The fact that they have responded to Kelly's comments with twitter vs going into his office and telling him that they refuse to be part of the problem anymore shows that they simply don't get it yet.

What gives me hope is that I look at young guys like Lynch, Tuitt and Atkinson whom refuse to let the senior apathy be part of their game being not only vocal, but backing it up with their play. Guys like Tee, Greenberry, Jones and Darby who know with all of their hearts that they are coming to Notre Dame to become men and champions. #Ballz and Swag

You are right Mr Shepard when you said that you are married to Notre Dame. Remember, marriage is about giving everything you have to make it successful. No one is entitled to a successful marriage. You have to earn each and every single day.

Nailed it. Tee, Greenberry, etc....they all share the attitude and work ethic we need in South Bend. David Perkins is another one I think will be a difference maker in this regard. Jordan Payton would be a great fit, as would Nelson Agholor...

 

[TouchdownStevus]

Players comments reflect what ND has become. Entitled and soft... They want to be angry now, but they get smacked around on the field on a weekly basis and i dont see any anger then. Its beyond pathetic that the players have taken more offense to kellys comment than the comments the USC players made. ha real talk, what a f*cken joke.

Boise and Tcu and other smalls school dont get the same level talent we get, but every athlete they have has that boxer mentality. They believeeee they are the best, and their confidence shows on the field.

Social Media is a cool thing, and its nice to be able to interact with players, but at the same time its like Get A LIFE dude... Go read your playbook or workout or do something productive.
Because none of us care that Lo Wood hates South Bend weather or how boring campus life is... If ND is that bad then F*cken transfer cuz your part of the problem. Stop bitching all the time and make a statement with your actions.

The coaches and fan base are hard on the players because they represent us. We as fans dont root against players to be little them. We just expect more out them than they expect from themselves and thats a big problem

 

[tadman95]

Players comments reflect what ND has become. Entitled and soft... They want to be angry now, but they get smacked around on the field on a weekly basis and i dont see any anger then. Its beyond pathetic that the players have taken more offense to kellys comment than the comments the USC players made. ha real talk, what a f*cken joke.

Boise and Tcu and other smalls school dont get the same level talent we get, but every athlete they have has that boxer mentality. They believeeee they are the best, and their confidence shows on the field.

Social Media is a cool thing, and its nice to be able to interact with players, but at the same time its like Get A LIFE dude... Go read your playbook or workout or do something productive.
Because none of us care that Lo Wood hates South Bend weather or how boring campus life is... If ND is that bad then F*cken transfer cuz your part of the problem. Stop bitching all the time and make a statement with your actions.

The coaches and fan base are hard on the players because they represent us. We as fans dont root against players to be little them. We just expect more out them than they expect from themselves and thats a big problem

Good point!

 

[TheTurningPoint]

And u dont have to "friend" or "follow" them since im 99% sure havent met them....

 

[jason_h537]

This whole situation has been blown up.

Kelly called out the upperclassmen in front of the media. He obviously was trying to get a point across. Will it work? who knows but that is what he did

Several players were upset and took to twitter. Can you blame them? They were put on blast in public. Not once did I read "**** Brian Kelly" or "I quit". I and anyone else on this board would be upset and run to IE to say something.

We will see what happens from here.