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Notre Dame (football only discussion)

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Weis: Irish better than they were last year
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 08/30/06

Charlie Weis believes he has a better team than a year ago.
The Notre Dame coach is eager to see whether he's right, and believes Saturday's game against Georgia Tech should provide a good indication of just how good the second-ranked Fighting Irish can be.
"I think the excitement of having your players go against somebody other than yourself, that's always exciting," he said Tuesday. "Going on the road to me is always exciting, and going against a topflight opponent is always exciting."
Although Georgia Tech is not ranked, Weis pointed out that the Yellow Jackets have won six of their past seven openers, including a 23-14 win at No. 16 Auburn last season — one of six ranked teams Georgia Tech has beaten the past four seasons.
"This is going to be a tough task we're going down there for and that excites me," Weis said. "That's part of being a competitor."
Weis has said repeatedly throughout camp that this year's team is better than last season's squad that finished 9-3 and ranked No. 9. At this time last year, he still wasn't sure who would start at some positions. This year, there are many more answers.
"I know who can do what, so I wouldn't say I have too many questions about what we can or cannot do," he said.
He knows others do have questions, though, especially about the defense. The Irish ranked 75th in the nation last year in total defense — their worst showing since the squad that finished 2-7 in 1962 finished 81st. The 397 yards a game given up last year were a school record, and the Irish often were beaten for big plays.
But Weis is confident as Notre Dame prepares to play a team with a standout wide receiver and quarterback who can run as well as throw. That combination spelled trouble in the Fiesta Bowl last year, when the Irish defense surrendered a school-record 617 yards total offense in a 34-20 loss to Ohio State.
"Everyone's telling me how bad the defense is. I guess we'll just have to wait until Saturday night to find out," Weis said. "We'll see if we have any speed or not."
Weis said the biggest reason he is confident the Irish will be better this season is the number of veteran linemen on both sides of the ball. The Irish return four starters on the defensive line, and two backups also have started. On the offensive line, four starters return.
"Anytime you have an experienced group of linemen on both sides of the ball, that bodes well for your chances. (Bill) Parcells told me a long time ago it always starts with the big guys," he said. "Any time you have two veteran lines you have to think you have a chance."
 
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Notre Dame ready for real return to glory

By Jon Wilner

Mercury News

Sorry, Irish fans. The most anticipated Notre Dame football season in more than a decade will not end in the Fiesta Bowl. Or in the Orange Bowl. Or the Sugar or Rose.
It will end in the national championship game.
The guess here is that after 400 Brady Quinn passes, 100 Jeff Samardzija catches and sainthood for Charlie Weis, the undefeated Fighting Irish will play for their first title since 1988. And they'll do it against Auburn in the inaugural Bowl Championship Series National Championship game.
That's right. The BCS has added a title game to its lineup. The top two teams in the final BCS standings will collide after the Fiesta, Rose, Orange and Sugar bowls. The venue will rotate among the four BCS bowls under what's been dubbed the ``double-hosting'' format. This season, the Fiesta Bowl will host the Big Kahuna on Jan. 8 at the new Arizona Cardinals stadium in Glendale. In 2008, the Sugar Bowl will host the title game.
The addition of a fifth BCS game creates two more at-large berths -- opportunities for teams from non-BCS conferences such as the Mountain West and Western Athletic to share the spotlight and the wealth. Of course, it also means more potential slots for the big boys. In eight years, only one team from a non-BCS conference has played in a BCS game: Utah, two seasons ago.
``We had two objectives,'' Pacific-10 Conference Commissioner Tom Hansen said. ``We've had teams left out that should have been in a BCS game, and there was a feeling that we needed opportunities'' for non-BCS teams.
BCS officials also made it easier for the non-BCS leagues to cash in: Teams that finish in the top 14 of the final standings -- it used to be the top 12 -- are eligible for BCS games. Meanwhile, teams that finish in the top 12 -- it used to be top six -- earn automatic bids. A non-BCS team also qualifies if it finishes in the top 16 and is ahead of a BCS conference champion.
Hey, what would college football be without a confusing bowl system? (Answer: every other team sport.)
The BCS title game isn't the only change to the upcoming season. Here's a quick recap of three others:
• The extra game. Many major-conference teams are using the 12th regular-season game to pad their record and wallet by scheduling a home game against a cupcake. But the Pac-10 has taken a different tact: it's expanding intra-league play. For the first time ever, each team will play nine conference games. No more ``misses.''
``I think it's better for the Pac-10 that everyone plays everybody,'' Stanford Coach Walt Harris said.
Perhaps, but it means Pac-10 teams will have one more opportunity to lose than their patsy-playing BCS brethren.
• Speeding up the games. No rule change in recent years has rankled coaches as much as 3-2-5-e, also called the ``ready-for-play'' rule. After a change of possession, the game clock will start as soon as the ball is set by the officials -- not when it's snapped.
The intent of 3-2-5-e is to shorten the games, and it'll do that by reducing the number of plays. (Estimates call for 10-15 fewer plays per game.)
``It's a huge change, and I don't like it,'' San Jose State Coach Dick Tomey said. ``If you're ahead late in the game, you have a much better chance to win because it will be harder to get the ball back. . . . More than ever, you have to be in control of your timeouts.''
The new rule could cause a plethora of false start and delay-of-game penalties early in the season as teams adjust to the quickened pace of play.
• The broadcast schedule. ABC's coverage now includes ``Saturday Night College Football,'' a 12-week, prime-time series featuring elite national matchups.
The series makes it debut Saturday, with Notre Dame visiting Georgia Tech. The following week, ABC will show Ohio State at Texas.
Pac-10 teams are scheduled for 12 appearances, including five by USC and three by Cal.
All games will begin at 5 p.m. Pacific.
 
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Irish Defense Remains A Question

September 1, 2006
By DESMOND CONNER, Courant Staff Writer
When a Notre Dame football team is good, it's hyped. When it's really good, it's super-hyped.

But have the talking heads and prognosticators over-hyped the second-ranked Fighting Irish?




You make the call.

Notre Dame has a golden boy at quarterback in senior Brady Quinn, who would probably get the Heisman if preseason hype counted for anything. There are plenty of returnees from a 9-3 team.

They have an outstanding coach in Charlie Weis, an offensive wizard and stickler for being prepared.

But defense wins championships and the Irish should be watched closely before the words national championship can be aligned with Notre Dame.

The defense was weak last season and the Irish were often at a speed disadvantage.

They will be tested right away. The Irish visit unranked Georgia Tech, which features versatile quarterback Reggie Ball and All-America receiver Calvin Johnson, Saturday (ESPN, 8 p.m.).

The Irish held two opponents to 10 points or less last season. In their three losses they gave up 34 or more points, including the 34-20 Fiesta Bowl loss to Ohio State.

After the Georgia Tech game, there's No. 19 Penn State and No. 14 Michigan and unranked Michigan State and Purdue in September. All but Michigan State are in South Bend, Ind.

The Irish could be in contention with one loss but two and they're likely done. If they are in the national championship picture in October (that will mean a win at home against unranked UCLA, too), their final test will come in the season finale at No. 6 Southern Cal.

If Quinn is the star on offense, senior free safety Tom Zbikowski is his equal on defense.

He certainly has motivation to make his last season memorable.

"Yeah, ESPN loves to talk about us, how bad our defense is, so this will definitely be a good opportunity to prove them wrong," Zbikowski said on a conference call he shared with Quinn Wednesday. "We saw the video clip with those guys talking about our defense, how good the offense is, how bad the defense is. I saw it live, so I wasn't too happy for the rest of the day but we'll be ready to go."
 
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While they played like s*** the first half, the second half adjustments definitly played in big time for ND, as their defense gave up no more points. The defense is much better now, not making as many mental errors, and they switched a few quicker players in. Obviously they're not up to 2005 OSU's D level in any way, but they're giving up fewer long passes. The offense was sluggish, and while the numbers were lower than usual, they still ended up with respectable yards. We need a new kicker, badly. The score should have been 20-10 easily with the missed kicks. I expect the offense will click better for the Penn State game, and hopefully the defense can play at the same level they did in the 2nd half. We had a lot of problems picking up blitzes early last season too, if PSU blitzes a lot I imagine we won't stumble as much.
 
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The following people have more touchdown passes in Division I-A college football than Brady Quinn in the 2006 calendar year. Brady Quinn is behind all of these guys. He has zero - tied with Ron Powlus and Jimmy Claussen.

Graham Harrell, Texas Tech
Chase Daniel, Missouri
Bobby Reid, Oklahoma St
Erik Ainge, Tennessee
Omar Haugabook, Troy
Troy Smith, Ohio St
Zac Taylor, Nebraska
Tyler Palko, Pittsburgh
Ben Olson, UCLA
Will Proctor, Clemson
John David Booty, USC
Drew Tate, Iowa
Matt Ryan, BC
Chris Leak, Florida
JaMarcus Russell, LSU
Kevin Kolb, Houston
Paul Smith, Tulsa
Adam Tafralis, San Jose St
Jacob Doss, Wyoming
Steven Moffett, C Florida
Sean Glennon, Va Tech
Clint Cochran, Toledo
Anthony Morelli, Penn State
Colt McCoy, Texas
Nate Davis, Ball St
Jeff Rowe, Nevada
Jared Zabransky, Boise St
James Pinkney, E Carolina
Paul Thompson, Oklahoma
Matt Moore, Oregon St
Colt Brennan, Hawaii
Bret Meyer, Iowa St
Chase Clement, Rice
Pat White, W Virginia
Rudy Carpenter, Arizona St
Chad Henne, Michigan
Curtis Painter, Purdue
D.J. Hernandez, UConn
Chase Holbrook, New Mexico St
Sean Canfield, Oregon St
Matt Grothe, S Florida
Kerry Meier, Kansas
Joe Tereshinski III, Georgia
John Stocco, Wisconsin
Graeme McFarland, Indiana
Drew Stanton, Mich St
Bryan Cupito, Minnesota
Perry Patterson Jr., Syracuse
Luke Getsy, Akron
Brandon Cox, Auburn
Isaiah Stanback, Washington
Joey Lynch, Ball St
Trent Edwards, Stanford
Phil Horvath, N Illinois
Dennis Dixon, Oregon
Alex Brink, Wash St
Joe Dailey, UNC
Reggie Ball, Ga Tech
Marcus Stone, NC State
Blake Powers, Indiana
Ben Mauk, W Forest
Syvelle Newton, S Carolina
Tom Brandstater, Fresno St
Jeremy Young, So Miss
John Beck, BYU
Sam Hunt, UAB
Bernard Morris, Marshall
Zac Champion, La Tech
Stephen McGee, Texas A&M
David Johnson, Tulsa
Rocky Hinds, UNLV
Woody Wilson, N Texas
Joe Ganz, Nebraska
Dustin Grutza, Cincy
Joseph Ayoob, California
Gary Rogers, Wash St
Mike Kafka, N'western
Nick Davila, Cincy
John Parker Wilson, Alabama
Brett Ratliff, Utah
Steven Wichman, Idaho
Dan LeFevour, C Michigan
Tyler Jones, E Michigan
Julian Foster, Troy
Joey Elliott, Purdue
Kinsmon Lancaster, La Monroe
Earl Bennett, Vanderbilt
Willie Tuitama, Arizona
Matthew Stafford, Georgia
Thomas Peregrin, W Michigan

Seriously, all of these guys deserve a Heisman Trophy! And that's not even counting the guys like Matt Leinart, who threw TD passes in bowl games that took place in 2006, or guys who threw a TD pass in a bowl game in January who didn't throw one this week.
 
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Thats funny, cause after they figured out how to pick up the blitz, Quinn led an 80 yard drive and scored NDs first touchdown himself on a 5 yard keeper, he also had a 10 yard run for a first down on 3rd and long. He didn't throw great into the endzone, but he found a way to win even through the blitzing and covered receivers. Who cares if he hasn't thrown a TD pass, don't be jealous that hes getting all the media attention. We never asked for it :biggrin:
 
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If you want to puke..Read this!

http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=124113

READ THE LAST 3 PARAGRAPHS!

I don't know how to insert the story. I tried copy and pasting but it wouldn't let me. So there is the link. If someone gets to this quick and tells me how I'll fix it so everyone doesnt' have to go through the trouble of opening the link. Also I commented on the second page (username CollegeNut)
 
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Saturday proved why everyone loves Notre Dame
September 3, 2006

At halftime of ABC's coverage of the Notre Dame - Georgia Tech game, yet another useless example of sideline reporting was very evident for the world to see. ABC's Lisa Salters asked Notre Dame's Charlie Weis what halftime adjustments he planned to make to get the offense going.
Like most sideline reporters, it was very evident that Salters was either not watching the game or is a trained puppy and had to ask the "What did you say to your team" question. Weis politely pointed out for the world to hear that the 'halftime' adjustments that coaches make were already being made right in front of our very eyes.
After all, if you were watching the game, you couldn't help but notice the transition the Irish made in the second quarter after struggling miserably against an aggressive, blitz heavy attack of the Yellow Jackets. Again, it's a novel concept for most, but if you actually pay attention to what is going on during the game, you couldn't miss the subtle change.
Notre Dame came out in a pass-happy scheme, designed to test a suspect Tech secondary with quick hitches, screens and other various looks. It didn't work, and Brady Quinn and the Irish looked lost.
After wasting great field position, a missed field goal and some untimely penalties, Weis did what he always does: He found a game plan that worked and adjusted accordingly. On Notre Dame's first scoring drive of the game, Weis started getting the ball to his tight end, John Carlson. Carlson caught passes for 3, 13 and 6 yards on the drive. Marcus Freeman, another tight end, caught a 9-yard pass in the same series as well. With the passing game clicking to the tight ends, the blitz was loosened up, which opened the running game as well. Weis mixed in Darius Walker a couple of times and Quinn had a huge scramble for 18 yards.
Just when you thought Notre Dame was going to go back to the passing game, Brady Quinn ran a QB draw with no timeouts left and only 16 seconds left on the clock before the half. It might have been dumb if it didn't work, but it was aggressive and definitely caught everyone, including myself and defensive whiz Jon Tenuta, by surprise.
In the second half, Weis kept Tech off-balance by mixing up the running game with counters, a toss here and there, and even an I-formation. Eventually, the vertical passing game got going, with Rhema McKnight pulling in a huge catch on a 3rd-and-9 situation that helped set up Notre Dame's final touchdown, a counter-draw run to the left by Darius Walker.
I just threw a lot of technical stuff at you, but let me boil it down so you will understand why everyone is in love with Charlie Weis and Notre Dame. On the final game-sealing drive, when others would run to kill the clock, Weis passed the ball to get a big first down. When every other coach in football would punt, Weis rolled the dice and finished off Georgia Tech with a Quinn quarterback sneak on 4th-and-1, just inside Tech's side of the field. His head coaching opponent, Chan Gailey, had a golden opportunity to seize momentum early in the fourth quarter at mid-field, but instead chose to punt the ball into the end zone for a touchback.
Want more magic? Travis Thomas, who played a instrumental role as a running back last year, was switched to linebacker during the summer. Thomas not only played very well at linebacker on Saturday night, but there he was on offense with semi-fresh legs trying to salt away the Irish victory. It was very Troy Brown-like, and you can never get enough of that. At least I can't.
The other huge storyline in the season opening win for the Irish was a rebuilt defense. Not only was Thomas very good in his new position, but fellow linebacker Maurice Crum made a couple of huge plays. Weis and coordinator Rick Minter convinced safety Chinedum Ndukwe to lose some pounds and it helped out in coverage against the talented Calvin Johnson.
If Notre Dame can play anything close to the way they did on defense, they will find themselves heading to Glendale for the BCS title game in January.
The nay-sayers and critics are going to say that the Irish should have scored more than 14 points or did not win impressively, but I'll counter that with saying those critics have no idea what they are talking about. Perhaps last year's Auburn and Miami squads can testify to how good Georgia Tech is on defense. In the end, it was a grueling, character building; grind-it-out win for a team that is looking more and more like college football's equivalent of the New England Patriots. Of course, that is a reach, but there is that one link that makes it somewhat realistic, and that is, of course, the wisdom of Charlie Weis.
Click to expand...


You have got to be kidding me...
 
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South Bend Trib

No shine of champ for Irish

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: ANALYSIS

ERIC HANSEN
Tribune Staff Writer

SOUTH BEND -- The big picture is fuzzy, but at least it's still flickering.

No. 2 Notre Dame's 14-10 escape at Georgia Tech Saturday night in Atlanta both raised and perpetuated questions about ND's viability as a player in the college football national championship scene more than it made definitive statements about it. Yet the conversation lives on, thanks to some late-game heroics.

"The logical thing that a lot of people would say is 'Well, it's the first game.'" Irish second-year head coach Charlie Weis assessed Sunday. "Well, that's a bunch of crap. In your first game, you should expect to play a lot better than that."

Weis wants answers. So do Irish fans. Here's a stab at some, as ND (1-0) heads into Saturday's showdown with No. 19 Penn State (1-0).

Did the Georgia Tech game impale Irish quarterback Brady Quinn's Heisman hype?

Impale? No. Open up the field a little bit more? Yes.

Remember, because Quinn was the preseason Heisman Trophy front-runner, he'll be held to a higher standard, at least statistically. And his mortal 246 yards passing and 0 passing touchdowns don't translate to a lot of oohs and aahs.

But he did make more than a handful of plays that translated into a narrow win in a tough environment on the road rather than letting the Irish fall through an early trap door from the national championship picture.

What do we know about this team that we didn't know before Saturday?

Freshman cornerback Darrin Walls doesn't have just a bright future. He has a glimmering present as well.


Punter Geoff Price's little one-on-one clinic with former Irish punting standout and current Indianapolis Colt Hunter Smith in the offseason has transformed the first-year regular from a question mark into an exclamation point.


Junior running back Darius Walker has the power now to go along with his pizzazz.


Safety Tom Zbikowski has his Mohawk professionally sculpted, but roommate and All-America wide receiver Jeff Samardzija helps maintain it between trips to Zbikowski's hair care professional.


What did we already know about this team that Irish fans perhaps wish they didn't?

The place-kicking situation is still scary. Senior Carl Gioia was 0-for-2 on field goals Saturday night (missing from 42 and 36 yards), putting additional pressure on the Irish defense in the fourth quarter against Georgia Tech. And the alternative is a true freshman.

"I talked to Carl about it," Weis said. "I said. 'Carl, you missed two field goals. You've got to go make the next one.' And that's what he's got to do. You don't cut somebody because he missed two field goals. You work on their confidence, and (they) go make the next one."

Does Notre Dame deserve to drop in the polls?

No, not when you play a top 40 team on the road, when your maligned secondary gets a handle on maybe the most dangerous wide receiver in the country (Calvin Johnson) and when your team gets stronger as the game goes on.

But ND probably will lose some votes for looking more like a top 15 team than a top 2 squad. Seeing that most of the struggles Saturday night were on the offensive side of the ball, the prevailing thought is the Irish have a higher ceiling than what they showed.

The unknown by the pollsters is how good Georgia Tech might be.

How good is Georgia Tech?

It'll probably be Sept. 30 before that becomes clear. Tech plays Samford, Troy and Virginia at home the next three weekends and finally runs into Virginia Tech on the road at the end of the month.

The caveat in framing upset wins by the Yellow Jackets in recent years is Tech under Chan Gailey has had a penchant for playing up and down to its competition.

Are college defenses catching up to Weis' pro-style offense?

Well, Saturday marked the lowest point total scored by an Irish team since the final game in which ex-ND coach Tyrone Willingham stood on the Irish sideline -- a 41-10 smothering by USC in the 2004 regular-season finale.

It also was the second time in the fledgling Weis Era that an ND team went scoreless in the first quarter and the fourth time a Weis offense couldn't breach the 400-yard mark in total offense (the Irish amassed 384 yards against Georgia Tech). But it has now happened in back-to-back games. Ohio State limited the Irish to 348 yards in the Fiesta Bowl last January.

The other two low-yardage games were Tennessee and Michigan last season -- both Irish victories.

But all four of those games were against good defenses, with Ohio State (fifth nationally in 2005) and Tennessee (seventh) actually being great defenses -- and the 2006 Tech defense has that kind of potential.

One thing that makes it challenging to ever "catch up" to Weis is his ability to adjust during a game. Eventually he does figure it out, even if the offense has to grind rather than glide.

"Am I concerned? I'm disappointed," Weis said of ND's offensive performance against Tech. "I know we'll play better. I'd be more concerned if the things that I saw were not correctable. There are several things where you'll see a drastic level of improvement in one week's time."

Who were the unsung heroes in Saturday's victory?

Start with strength and conditioning coordinator Ruben Mendoza. The supposedly faster Irish defense was indeed faster, but the whole team was clearly in better condition than the Yellow Jackets in the fourth quarter. Then there was linebacker/running back Travis Thomas making plays on both sides of the ball, tight end John Carlson, Casey Cullen in kick coverage and the kickoff return team.

Are there any lingering concerns about the defense?

The defensive line still appears to be challenged in generating a pass rush on its own. When the Irish bothered Georgia Tech quarterback Reggie Ball, it generally was when they blitzed. ... BUT, the defense allowed just 71 yards, four first downs and no third-down conversions in the second half (2-for-10 in the game) and there were no defensive penalties.

How did the freshmen fare?

Nine first-year players saw action Saturday night, most of it coming on special teams -- Walls, offensive tackle Sam Young, kick returner George West, defensive end Morrice Richardson, cornerback Raeshon McNeil, wide receiver Richard Jackson, defensive end John Ryan, running back Munir Prince, and safeties Sergio Brown and Jashaad Gaines.

Young and Walls saw the most playing time. At times the Irish offensive line struggled early -- not because of Young, but in spite of him.

"He actually played pretty good," Weis said of the 6-foot-8, 305-pounder, who settled in after an early illegal-procedure penalty. "The problem for me was (Young) was not where the problems were coming from. They were coming more from my veteran group rather than from my rookie."

Squibs

Weather permitting, Friday night's pep rally will be held in Notre Dame Stadium rather than in the Joyce Center.


Saturday was the 100th season-opening victory in Notre Dame football history. The Irish have lost just 14 season openers and tied in five of them.


Backup tackle Mike Turkovich did not make the travel team, with Weis erring on the side of caution due to a head injury the sophomore suffered during training camp. A total of 67 players did make the trip.
 
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ulukinatme said:
Thats funny, cause after they figured out how to pick up the blitz, Quinn led an 80 yard drive and scored NDs first touchdown himself on a 5 yard keeper, he also had a 10 yard run for a first down on 3rd and long. He didn't throw great into the endzone, but he found a way to win even through the blitzing and covered receivers. Who cares if he hasn't thrown a TD pass, don't be jealous that hes getting all the media attention. We never asked for it :biggrin:
Click to expand...

A few years ago when the tOSU offense was struggling...JT was labeled as conservative, bland, non-inventive, and even gutless. Weis has not done anything offensively for a few games now, but he is still labeled as a genius...nobody will ever call him gutless with that spare tire and stash of midgets under his shirt.

Seriously though, its amazing how the media can direct the perceptions of the masses away from the actual truth.
 
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If GaTech had pulled that win off, it would have made my September.

"That's all I've been hearing for the whole offseason -- 617 yards. If I hear that one more time, I'm going to vomit." --Notre Dame Coach Charlie Weis on the amount of yards the Irish gave up to Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl when discussing his defense in Saturday's 14-10 win over Georgia Tech.
Click to expand...

SI.com
 
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