USC game observations

[Axl Rose]

-Just get rid of the fullback position! We haven't had good fullback play at ND in years! Just get rid of the position and add another receiver, I think its been shown through the years that spreading the defense out is more successful in college then just lining them up and pounding the ball. We need Kamara's size on the field, we need Parris's reliant hands, we need Tates speed and big play threat. We don't need Schwapp's awful blocking, running, and garbage catching ability.

-Can we please bench Turkovich and Duncan? They've been awful all year and they aren't getting better, if they start next year we'll be DOA. Start Romine and Stewart and get them some experience for next.

-I hope we don't have to waste another scholarship on a kicker next year, but the way things are going we may have to to. Walker's been terrible, Whitaker would be lucky to get the ball to the 15 on kick offs, and Burkhart has been a waste of a scholarship.

-Laws, Carlson, Kuntz, Bruton have played great all year and should be commended.

-Smith and Neal has me excited about the future of our defense.

-I don't know if the rumors about Sullivan are true but he should be benched for his play none the less.

 

[SoCalDomer]

It would be nice to be able to point to a few things and say if we fix those things, we'll start doing well. I think we're past that. There is no easy answers for not getting the team ready to play, dropping passes, poor effort, poor execution, missing blockes, missing tackles, missing... THE GAME!

 

[wallym]

good observation on the fullback. There were plays when Schwap hit nobody...that goes for our O line too. Regardless, if you watched the 2nd half, all we did was pack it in. Even our 4-5 wide formations were "bunched". We did nothing to spread their "D" out, or anything to make them think more. My wife (who knows nothing about football) stated "wasn't this guy the O coordinator for 3 or 4 super bowl champs"?

I'm at a loss for words as to how bad CW is as a head coach. It all starts at the top in my opinion, but we're locked-in with CW for a long-time. Something has to change.

 

[LOVEMYIRISH]

I'm at a loss for words as to how bad CW is as a head coach. It all starts at the top in my opinion, but we're locked-in with CW for a long-time. Something has to change.

I thought it was interesting that Carroll in his presser said that it was obvious this season was going to be bad for Weis. He said he knew it in 2005.

Interesting...

 

[NDgettysburg]

I'm at a loss for words as to how bad CW is as a head coach. It all starts at the top in my opinion, but we're locked-in with CW for a long-time. Something has to change.

saw a guy from the Boston Globe on NESN a couple weeks ago saying that Weis is gonna use this season as a reason to bail back to the pros. Thought it was crazy at the time, but the more we slide, the more it sounds plausible.....especially with the number of players leaving the team.

 

[LOVEMYIRISH]

saw a guy from the Boston Globe on NESN a couple weeks ago saying that Weis is gonna use this season as a reason to bail back to the pros. Thought it was crazy at the time, but the more we slide, the more it sounds plausible.....especially with the number of players leaving the team.

He's an idiot. He's not looking to bail. This is his alma mater. It's not the money, it's love.

Love for the game, love for his team, love for Our Mother.

 

[roto-stud]

I watched Stewart play right tackle for the last couple of possesions...I watched him move people run blocking....he deserves a start....ditto on the fullback...he brings nothing to thr table...

 

[wallym]

Hell no it's not the money, he's got plenty of it since we signed him and his buyout clause is ridiculous. He's not a dumb guy, but he is lacking some skills with developing players.

 

[SoCalDomer]

When Vanderbilt can upset SoCarolina, Stanford can beat USC, Appalachia upset Michigan, there is simply no excuse that we can't make FIRST DOWNS.

The one win we have was a defensive win against a team that is playing schzophrenic. UCLA got blown out by Utah, lost to us, then upset Cal today.

People keep saying wait until 2008 and 2009 because of the incoming talent. Do vanderbilt, Stanford and Duke have more experience than us? If Weis can't teach these guys how to get 1st downs and move the ball, I don't see him being able to teach more talented players to win championships.

I'm not jumping on the fire Weis bandwagon. I just don't have any hope for the future when the results are this bad.

 

[jonesman]

Guys,
How do think our chances are now with Floyd?? Ask yourself, would you come to ND or go to OSU????? CW better take a hard look in the mirror this week.

 

[SoCalDomer]

I don't know about Floyd and I doubt it helps to speculate.

As for Weis looking in the mirror. I don't have any doubts that he finds what happens on Saturdays unacceptable. My question is whether he knows what to do as a head coach at this level to change it.

I don't doubt he has skill as an offensive coord. But that's not what we need.

 

[roto-stud]

I didn't realise that Floyd was picking a school with the only consideration being the quality of the football program...I believe that's an insult to that high school kid

 

[Junkhead]

I didn't realise that Floyd was picking a school with the only consideration being the quality of the football program...I believe that's an insult to that high school kid

True, but it sure doesn't help seeing transfers, 9 blowout losses in 10 games, and coaching skills being questioned. I hope Floyd comes to ND, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

[Master Guns]

It would be nice to be able to point to a few things and say if we fix those things, we'll start doing well. I think we're past that. There is no easy answers for not getting the team ready to play, dropping passes, poor effort, poor execution, missing blockes, missing tackles, missing... THE GAME!

Speaking of missing tackles, at times the Irish looked like a bunch of clowns taking each other out on missed tackles. Who needs blockers down field when the Irish secondary is its own worse enemy?

 

[Master Guns]

He's an idiot. He's not looking to bail. This is his alma mater. It's not the money, it's love.

Love for the game, love for his team, love for Our Mother.

Now if only the team believed all that stuff about "love" and "our Mother", we would be marching up and down the field! I honestly think that they've forgotten the fact that they are playing football at Notre Dame and there is a standard to live up to. The coaches can't motivate either. Where in the hell is Rudy????

 

[goldandblue]

Missing tackles comes in when you go out there on defense pumped up playing your ass off then you see your offense do the same thing it's done the last 8 weeks. You give up, you lose heart. Trust me when I played High School ball, it was the same freaking way. That's why the defense looks pretty good every week the first few series and then things break apart. They sit on the sidelines and watch that sorry ass offense go out there and go three and out over,over,over,over and again. I know exactly what they are going through. I'm not saying we don't miss tackles and it's NOT all the offenses fault, but I promise you it plays into it.

 

[jonesman]

Roto,
Guess what, most of the best high caliber talent are NOT looking at whether the college is ranked tops in academics. If this was the case, UF and OSU would not get any 5 star kids. I am the biggest supporter of ND being a great institution, but that does not put the Floyd's of the world on the field. Floyd has made it clear his goal is to raise his game to achieve the NFL and whoever gives him the best chance will get his services. Which O would you want to play for???? ND or OSU???

 

[johnnd05]

Via the Roundup, here's my analysis of the SC game ...

Forget about it.

<small><!-- by John --></small> If you go to the “Statistics” pages on UND.com and ask for the box scores for the 2006 losses to USC or LSU, or for this year’s loss to Michigan, here’s the page that pulls up:

I’m not sure if it’s the product of an overexcited intern, a glorious act of God, or just some beautiful mistake, but that seems about right to me. The same goes in spades for yesterday’s loss, and while I was disappointed to wake up this morning find that alcohol hadn’t been able to do the trick (I guess you have to get numbingly drunk BEFORE the event you want not to remember), I’m about to see what comes of a well-placed hammer blow to the head.

So no, no game breakdown this week. Too painful. If you really need such a thing, check out this solid - and actually somewhat positive - post by ColonialHead. Blogging may be a bit light this week as I recover from the hammer blow and try to take advantage of ND’s fall break (not mine, unfortunately). But I will have a Friday Night Lights breakdown up, hopefully by tomorrow, as well as some stuff thinking about what these past eight games mean for the future of ND football. Oh, and I plan to capitalize on this season’s one really positive thing and get the Trevor Laws Heisman campaign underway in full force.

But for now, the Irish Roundup is pleased to bring you … Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear.
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<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/rdklako-Hy4" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="350" width="425"></object></p>

 

[stonebreakerwasgod]

Our D line has played pretty hard. Especially Laws. I give em credit for that.

 

[rockne19]

i would be very surprised if flyod still wanted to come to this mess!

 

[howlingthunder]

I've got two things:

First off - what the hell happened to tackling? FUNDAMENTALS! Dude if I tackled like that in High School I would have lost 30 lbs doing laps. GET PHYSICAL! If we can't beat them then break them. My hockey coach used to tell me when I was a kid that as a defenseman if the other guy was faster than me, hurt 'em. That will definately slow them down.

Second - I saw a lot of Patriots plays yesterday. Anyone else?! This is ND. Build a plan for ND and hammer it. They will rise.

Out.

 

[Epitome]

This is the first time in my life that I have been so disgusted with ND football that I stopped watching the game at half time.

 

[NDOM]

I've got two things:

First off - what the hell happened to tackling? FUNDAMENTALS! Dude if I tackled like that in High School I would have lost 30 lbs doing laps. GET PHYSICAL! If we can't beat them then break them. My hockey coach used to tell me when I was a kid that as a defenseman if the other guy was faster than me, hurt 'em. That will definately slow them down.

Second - I saw a lot of Patriots plays yesterday. Anyone else?! This is ND. Build a plan for ND and hammer it. They will rise.

Out.

Out? Love the Jim Rome touch my man. Nice. I too saw alot of patriot plays as well. But New England makes it look better.

 

[johnnd05]

This is the first time in my life that I have been so disgusted with ND football that I stopped watching the game at half time.

Half time? HALF TIME? Come on, it wasn't THAT bad in the first half ...

Plus, you missed Lambert and Wooden running around like headless chickens at the LOS and then tackling each other at the goal line. Woohoo.

 

[NDOM]

Half time? HALF TIME? Come on, it wasn't THAT bad in the first half ...

Plus, you missed Lambert and Wooden running around like headless chickens at the LOS and then tackling each other at the goal line. Woohoo.

Good one Johnnd05. That was classic. I also had to get another post because my post count was sitting at 666. YUK!

 

[SoCalDomer]

I agree that there's no point or purpose in breaking down this game or for us to dissect each aspect that failed. I don't mean that as a slight to our team or their play, but rather I want to encourage all of us to maintain positive attitudes about our team.

I hope we can turn it around, even if there's no basis to believe we can at this point. Even if our team never turns it around, i will still cheer for ND. We don't need to be dishonest about our shortcomings, but we don't need to do the same things other schools do when their team hits the skids. Our school is different from every other school out there; our fan base should be too. Let's show the CFB world we don't call for blood and lose our heads when the chips are down.

 

[BeatSC]

I think the punt coverage was excellent. After that it is hard to figure. I'm getting tired of not givinng the defense a chance. I'm also tired of the soft coverage schemes and the lack or creative blitz schemes. ND should have taken their chances man on man and put some real pressure on Sanchez. For 6 years we've been turning USC QB's into pro prospects on a national stage; Palmer, Leinart, Booty and now Sanchez. Jamarcus Russel became the #1 pick because he got to pass against the ND defense and Brady had to play against LSU. What would Brady have done against the ND Defense? You know he's thought about it. Sorry for the rambling.

 

[Epitome]

Half time? HALF TIME? Come on, it wasn't THAT bad in the first half ...

Plus, you missed Lambert and Wooden running around like headless chickens at the LOS and then tackling each other at the goal line. Woohoo.

Although I would have liked to see the bobsie twins further humiliate themselves, our lack of offense was killing me. Brutun makes one of the most unbelievable blocked punts I have ever seen and the offense goes out of their way to assist USC in pitching a shut out.
I can't take any more of this sh@t

 

[quiksilver253]

what rumors about sullivan?

 

[IrishAlum1997]

My buddy and I chuckled when we were listening to the post-game show in the car after the game. Reggie Brooks and Mirko were commenting on how they were surprised/impressed by how the fans got behind the team in the 4th quarter after getting a first down. They were saddened by the fact that we had resorted to cheering for first downs.

A bit of a misanalysis, fellas. What happened there was what we know to be a 'Bronx cheer.' An 'it's about f@rcking time we moved the chains with something besides a penalty' cheer. It's sarcasm, not support.

Man, 2008 better be good.