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Notre Dame (football only discussion)

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Updated Sunday, September 3, 2006 at 9:45 p.m.

(I was eating all day)



Notre Dame Is Overrated -- And Weis Is Miserable



Say what you want about a hostile environment, or that Georgia Tech is really a good team, or that Coach Donut had a bad breakfast, but one thing is clear to us -- Notre Dame is way overrated.



Why? Georgia Tech basically played them even during the game. Brady Quinn doesn't look like the next coming of Joe Montana -- but more like Danny Wuerffel.



And there's that Weis factor. Per one ND insider "he has the team so fu--in' tight they couldn't sh-t a pea. All he does is constantly bang those kids verbally."



Per one NFL scout who has evaluated Notre Dame the last several years: "I believe in discipline but when you browbeat kids all the time after awhile they don't respect you .... they hate you."



Get a load of these Weisisms from Saturday:

Trailing 10-0, Quinn had a first and goal at the 5 with no time outs left. Weis called a run-pass option, leaving the decision in his senior quarterback's mind.

"I told him, 'Don't make me look stupid now,' " said Weis.

Weis kept reminding them throughout the game about the 617 yards they gave up in a 32-20 loss against Ohio State in last year's Fiesta Bowl.

"Our much-maligned defense," said Weis. "If I heard 617 one more time, I was going to puke. I challenged the defense every day."

CFT Analysis: Notre Dame won't win the national championship ... they'll be lucky if they go 9-3.

collegefootballtalk.com
 
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I watched half of the game with a Notre Dame "fan". Now he's a nice guy, but this is pretty representative of NDC's "biggest fanbase":

-He went out to dinner with his girlfriend at 7:30, didn't get back until 10 minutes left in the half.
-He said, "where's that boxer guy on defense, he's awesome." Didn't even know his name.
-He said, "I like Notre Dame because my parents did. My dad liked that they were always on TV and he thought their uniforms were cool."
-He's also a Yankees and Cowboys fan. Frontrunner.



He really is a cool guy, and he has a healthy hatred for Penn State, but that's the typical domer fan.
 
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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...

:slappy: Funniest thing I've read all year.
 
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Irish 'D' is one good 'O' away from an 'L'
Print this | E-mail this | Comments on this article: 155
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Posted: September 6, 2006

Get out of the way -- the big man's going to puke.
Before we get all giddy about the Notre Dame defense -- yes, I said defense -- saving the Irish hide, let me remind you that Georgia Tech was playing last week's opener with a glorified safety at quarterback.
Before subway alums start Googling "cheapest January flights to Phoenix," let me state that no matter how good it looked or felt, this Irish defense still is far from championship material -- and isn't far from the unit that finished last season by giving up a staggering six hundred seve … wait, everyone step back.
"If I hear 617 one more time," coach Charlie Weis says, "I'm going to puke."
That can't be a pretty sight.
But we're one week in and I'm feeling queasy about SN's preseason prediction of Notre Dame winning it all. Hell, I might puke.
Yeah, I know the numbers: ND gave up only 259 yards in an ugly 14-10 victory at Georgia Tech -- 358 fewer yards than that Fiesta Bowl loss to Ohio State. So Weis says the defense won the game, and safety Tom Zbikowski says it's a new day for the unit.
And I don't buy it.
This team still can't get a consistent pass rush without bringing linebackers and safeties. Still can't stop a power running game because its linebackers constantly are out of position and lack lateral speed to chase plays. Still can't cover in the secondary; still can't find the ball in the air.
And that was against a one-dimensional offense whose quarterback makes Chris Rix look like Chris Weinke.
"By no means were we perfect," Zbikowski says. "But we're more comfortable out there, more confident."
I'll be impressed when I see this unit put up a similar performance against the balanced offenses of Penn State and Michigan the next two weeks. At the least, give ND credit for making adjustments in the second half so it could get out of Atlanta without derailing a championship season before it started.
For some reason, it took the Irish two quarters to realize that double-covering Tech stud wide receiver Calvin Johnson would render the Yellow Jackets' offense useless. For some reason, Tech didn't adjust to ND's doubling Johnson. For some reason, Tech put the game in the hands of quarterback Reggie Ball, who hurt the Jackets in three previous seasons with his uneven play.
Earlier this summer, when asked about Ball's three years of maddening inconsistency, coach Chan Gailey said, "We're hoping it all clicks this time around."
Well, it hasn't. And that, more than anything, is why it's a feel-good week in South Bend.
But please, let's all drink a nice, tall glass of reality: It's only going to get harder for the Irish -- quickly. This defense will be exposed by a power running game (Penn State) or an efficient passing game (UCLA). Or both (Michigan, USC).
It's painful watching ND's linebackers; they can't get off blocks, can't fill holes, can't chase plays. Maurice Crum and Mitchell Thomas look like elite athletes but were saved in run support by safeties Chinedum Ndukwe and Zbikowski all night. When your middle linebacker -- that's Crum -- has six tackles, and they had to have been the quietest six in the history of tackles, you've got problems.
At some point, the Irish staff will have to play kids and hope for the best. We're four quarters into the season, and it's already apparent star freshman linebacker Toryan Smith needs to play, even if he hasn't picked up the scheme. So does freshman cornerback Darrin Walls, who looked like he knew where he was in spot time against Tech. If it weren't for undersized linebacker Travis Thomas' gutty play (he weighs 200 pounds) and the hammer brought by ND's big-hitting safeties, there would be little positive to say about the unit.
Want to see a defense? Check out the guys who were on the other side of the field, the defense that made Weis' sleek Maserati look like a '57 Ford Falcon.
"There are no bad W's," Weis says.
Yeah, well, there are bad D's. And this one looks a lot like last year's group that gave up 617 yards in one game.
Sometimes it's best to puke and start over.
 
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[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Quinn his own biggest critic

[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]September 7, 2006[/FONT]

[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Brady Quinn wants to move beyond last week. [/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]The Notre Dame quarterback knows he wasn't sharp in the opener at Georgia Tech. He saw it on film, heard about it from the coaches, fielded questions about it from the media. [/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]A Heisman-like performance it wasn't. And Quinn would be the first to say it. [/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]"Obviously, there were points in the game where everybody felt we could have started to walk away with things, and I didn't allow that to happen, whether it be misreads or misthrown balls," Quinn said. "Other than the win, you really can't take anything out from that game." [/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Quinn aims to correct those problems Saturday against Penn State. It won't be easy. [/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]The Nittany Lions boast All-America linebacker Paul Posluszny. And their 3-4 defense allows them to get extra speed on the field. [/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]"When you look at Penn State, the first thing you'll see is their linebacking corps," Quinn said. "They're talented all across the board." [/FONT]

[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]?Notre Dame's big three - Quinn, Jeff Samardzija and Tom Zbikowski - know plenty about the Nittany Lions. All three were recruited by Penn State. Of the three, Zbikowski seemed to have the most interest in the Nittany Lions.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]"I was a little bit of a Penn State fan when I was young," he said. "I was Penn State/Notre Dame." [/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Why Penn State? [/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]"I have no idea why," he said. [/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Vaughn McClure [/FONT]
 
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Irish made a 'Weis' decision

You had to wonder after last college football season why Notre Dame acted so hastily in locking up first-year coach Charlie Weis with a 10-year contract.
Sure the man was supposed to be a NFL genius, but hadn't the Golden Domers just learned their lesson with Tyrone Willingham, a coach that went 10-3 in his first season and 11-13 in his next two before being summarily dismissed?
In his first season, Weis had guided the Fighting Irish to a 9-3 mark, but their most impressive game was a 34-31 last-second loss to then No. 1 Southern Cal and they were hammered 34-20 by Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl in a game that wasn't nearly as close as the final score.
Why would the Irish bank their next 10 seasons -- a deal that runs through 2015 -- on one rebounding campaign from a guy who had never been a head coach before in the college or professional ranks.
Well, after seeing the program and coach in action Saturday against Penn State, it was easy to see that the Notre Dame officials were "Weis" beyond their years.
You couldn't come away from Saturday's 41-17 drubbing of the Nittany Lions and not be impressed with what Weis has established in such a short time at a place that is known for tradition and success.
While the program adheres to the tradition that is Notre Dame football, it gives off the aura of a well-oiled, professional machine.
Weis, the first Notre Dame graduate since 1934 to hold the school's head coaching job, has come a long way since his first job as an assistant coach at Bonton (N.J.) High School in 1979.
He climbed his way up many rungs the coaching ladder, eventually serving under and winning Super Bowls with NFL greats Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick.
While he may be a disciple of both coaches, he's hardly taken on the caustic demeanor of Parcells or the bland face that Belichick projects.
He has an affable, no-nonsense approach and self-depricating sense of humor that is appealing. Unlike many coaches, his words seem genuine. He speaks with a passion for the game that translates his news conferences into a session of Football 101.
You can understand why Weis' charges like playing for him and why he's amassing an impressive array of some of the nation's most highly-prized recruits.
Even the most true-blue Nittany Lion fans had to be amazed at what Notre Dame was able to both offensively and defensively against Joe Paterno's squad Saturday.
They literally ran Penn State's defense ragged in the first half, while rolling up a 20-0 halftime lead and later increasing the margin to 41-3 early in the fourth quarter.
The Fighting Irish offense, with Weis calling the plays from the sidelines, carved up a good Penn State defense with surgical precision. They didn't need gimmicks like receivers lining up at quarterback or halfback option passes to do it, either.
Notre Dame lined up and went right at Penn State, something that was a trademark of the Nittany Lions during their glory years. Weis was able to make adjustments to the game plan on the fly and had quarterback Brady Quinn find the soft underbelly of the Nittany Lions defense with passes to tight end John Carlson and running back Darius Walker.
Defensively, the supposedly slow Irish were quick to the ball and forced three turnovers.
The aggressiveness carries over into Weis' decisions. He proved he's willing to take a chance by gambling on four fourth-down plays and his team converted on each.
A fake punt with the Irish leading 27-3 in the third quarter brought the biggest howl from some of the Penn State faithful, who thought Weis was running up the score.
Hardly. It was an aggressive coach taking a chance to deliver the knockout blow against Penn State, which still had it's starters on the field. It also was a confident coach that knew even if his team failed on the fourth-and-3 play from the Penn State 48, that his defense would shut down the Nittany Lions.
That type of confidence is infectious and you saw it translated to his players. They were well-prepared for anything the Nittany Lions could throw at them.
In just one brief snippet, it was easy to see why Notre Dame sought to lock up their coach long-term and hope that the calls that are certain to come from NFL teams will go unanswered.
Call it a "Weis" decision.
 
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Defense making statement for ND


By Tom Coyne the associated press


SOUTH BEND, Ind. ? Notre Dame's defense didn't like hearing about big plays last season. It doesn't mind now.
That's because instead of giving them up, the Fighting Irish defense is making them.
Instead of the long touchdowns of last season ? such as the four touchdowns of 55 yards or longer that Ohio State had in the Fiesta Bowl ? the second-ranked Irish (2-0) gave up just two runs longer than 20 yards and one pass longer than 20 yards in beating No. 25 Penn State 41-17 Saturday. None went for touchdowns.
"If you give up a 20-yard run, you still have a chance to go ahead and stop them or hold them," head coach Charlie Weis said. "When you play through three quarters, and you've given up three points, the odds of you winning usually are pretty good."
Specially when your defense scores. Safety Tom Zbikowski forced one fumble and ran back another for a 25-yard touchdown. Safety Chinedum Ndukwe forced another fumble and had an interception. Defensive end Victor Abiamiri had a key sack.
Abiamiri said the defense came into the season looking to contribute more.
"We're motivated to not be second-class citizens on this team," he said.
So after hearing repeatedly in the offseason, often from Weis, about giving up a school-record 617 yards total offense in the Fiesta Bowl, the Irish have yielded a combined 642 yards total offense through their first two games. And 172 yards of that came against Penn State in the fourth quarter after the game had been decided.
Still, the Irish defense wasn't dominant. The only two times the Irish forced three-and-outs came when they caused fumbles. Penn State was able to move the ball, but was baffled over why it didn't score more.
"It's very frustrating," Penn State tailback Tony Hunt said. "It seems like you're doing things right, but you're just not getting into the end zone."
The Nittany Lions, who managed just 76 yards rushing against Akron, had 258 against the Irish. Weis said part of that was by design because the Irish were focusing on shutting down Penn State's speedy receivers.
"You can't shut down everything," he said.
Through two games, the Irish rank 63rd in the nation in total defense, but that number may not provide a true measure. While some teams are playing directional schools and Division I-AA teams, the Irish opened against Georgia Tech and Penn State. They are giving up 76 fewer yards per game than a season ago, including 82 yards fewer yards passing, and rank 31st in the country in scoring defense at 13.5 points a game.
Weis isn't surprised.
"I had a lot more confidence in the defense than everyone else did," he said.
Weis said the Irish are playing better defensively because they are more comfortable in their second season under defensive coordinator Rick Minter's system. Ndukwe agrees.
"It's more fun when you now what's going to happen, where you're supposed to be, and where your buddies are supposed to be," he said.
It's a start, Weis said, but the Irish need to continue to get better, specially with No. 11 Michigan (2-0) coming in to play Notre Dame on Saturday. But the Irish players are gaining confidence with each game.
"If we keep making plays and keep getting turnovers, we'll develop into a very good defense," Zbikowski said.
 
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Brady Quinn's mother recently told a reporter that she and her son have the same quality: being anal-retentive. That's news to the Notre Dame quarterback. Actually, Quinn is looser than ever these days, but he'll get uptight when the offense isn't clicking. He pulled his linemen to the side for discussions during the Penn State game. Quinn hopes he won't have to do the same Saturday against Michigan, though he feels the offense still is finding its identity.
-- Chicago Sun-Times
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/scorecard/09/14/truth.rumors.college/index.html
http://www.suntimes.com/output/campus/cst-spt-local14.html
 
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