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1/2/06
1/2/06
Clashing styles
Coaches Charlie Weis and Jim Tressel have taken different approaches to today’s game. Which one is right?
Monday, January 02, 2006
Ken Gordon
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
<!--PHOTOS--><TABLE class=phototableright align=right border=0><!-- begin large ad code --><TBODY><TR><TD><TABLE align=center><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle></IMG> </TD></TR><TR><TD class=credit width=200>PAUL CONNORS | ASSOCIATED PRESS </TD></TR><TR><TD class=cutline width=200>Ohio State coach Jim Tressel is preparing a veteran group that has won all three of its bowl games. </TD></TR><TR><TD align=middle>
</IMG> </TD></TR><TR><TD class=cutline width=200>Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis </TD></TR><TR><TD align=middle>
</IMG> </TD></TR><TR><TD class=credit width=200>PAUL CONNORS | ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOS </TD></TR><TR><TD class=cutline width=200>Ohio State coach Jim Tressel </TD></TR><TR><TD align=middle>
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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Charlie Weis walked into his Dec. 10 news conference and proceeded to dissect the Ohio State football team like a frog in eighth-grade science class.
For 10 minutes, the Notre Dame coach went over what he had seen from the Buckeyes, player by player, from A (Ashton Youboty) to Z (Justin Zwick). He mentioned backups and quoted completion percentages and third-down conversion rates.
Weis finished this essay with a casual line.
‘‘I am not really totally up to speed yet on Ohio State, but I think we have a good start," he said. ‘‘Hopefully, by the time the game rolls around, I will be a little bit better prepared."
The reputation Weis carries today into the Fiesta Bowl is one of an offensive guru. Give him a month to prepare, they say, and he’ll kill you.
One of the first things out of his mouth when he was hired a year ago was that no one would out-scheme him.
For proof, he flashes his three Super Bowl championship rings earned while he was New England Patriots offensive coordinator.
Upon arrival in the Phoenix area last week, Weis took pains to talk about it as a ‘‘business trip," and touted his players’ strict curfew.
In contrast, Ohio State coach Jim Tressel does not talk about himself much. He has given his players relative freedom in Arizona. He does not have Super Bowl rings.
But he does have national-championship rings (four in Division I-AA and one at OSU).
Both coaches probably are more similar than different. It’s just a matter of where their programs are right now.
Weis, in his first year, is trying to teach a formerly downtrodden group of players how to win and prepare more professionally. He needed to establish instant credibility, and his NFL credentials allowed him to do that.
Tressel is dealing with a veteran group that has won all three of its bowl games. His team, like its coach, has a quieter brand of confidence.
But don’t mistake that for not working as hard.
‘‘(Tressel) has an unbelievable work ethic," defensive coordinator Jim Heacock said. ‘‘I don’t know if people realize the amount of time he puts in preparing for a game. He never talks about it, but we all know he’s here (in the office) early and he leaves late, and I imagine he works some at home.
‘‘He’s very dedicated and driven."
Center Nick Mangold said, ‘‘It is quite ridiculous, the amount of time (OSU coaches) put in. I feel bad for their families, because honestly, I don’t know when they go home."
Yet Tressel gave his coaches six days off, from the last day of practice in Columbus on Dec. 19 to the team’s trip to Arizona on Dec. 26.
Weis’s coaches took about two-and-ahalf days.
‘‘Rest is for after the season is over and after recruiting is over," Notre Dame offensive coordinator Michael Haywood said.
The difference in players’ freedom at the bowl site is interesting, as well. Weis said the Irish were not here, ‘‘to paint the town red."
‘‘(The Buckeyes) do it their way, we’re doing it our way," Weis said. ‘‘I sat down and explained to our guys, ‘Hey, do you want to go out on the town?’ and this has nothing to do with Ohio State or anyone else, but I can tell you what the Patriots were doing at this time last year.
‘‘This is the way professionals at the top of the game handle it."
Mangold said players had a 1 a.m. curfew earlier last week, gradually moving back to midnight and 11 p.m. during the weekend.
‘‘We’re able to handle it," he said. ‘‘We’ve got a great bunch of guys that understand what we need to do."
Haywood and Notre Dame players marvel at Weis’s ability to break down an opponent, find a weakness and exploit it. Haywood said the staff prepares individual scouting reports on each opposing player and then drills their players on it.
‘‘Our coaching staff has had so much time (to prepare), it’s only going to be to our advantage," tight end Anthony Fasano said. ‘‘It’s just so much more detailed and so more exact, and we’re going into it more confident in good game plans with all this time."
But it’s safe to say both staffs have broken down tape of every game and prepared detailed scouting reports. Tressel said he has never been on a staff that he felt ‘‘left something on the table" in terms of pregame preparation.
Though he claims he has not thought about the Fiesta Bowl in ‘Weis vs. Tressel" terms, Tressel almost gets a gleam in his eye when talking about having a month to get ready, like he’s subtly tweaking Weis’s reputation.
‘‘When you’ve had so long to prepare, you can get a little bit too honed in and say, ‘OK, I know exactly what they’re going to do in this formation, because I’ve studied it for a month,’ " he said.
‘‘And all the sudden, good coaches will kind of lead you the wrong direction and strike elsewhere. And (the Notre Dame staff) are good coaches."
Tressel’s philosophy seemed to be best summed up when he was talking about why he gave his assistants that time off before Christmas.
It spoke to the confidence he has in his team, a confidence he relays more quietly than Weis.
‘‘Life is too short to sit around looking at film and foul ourselves up," Tressel said, ‘‘because we’ve got a good group that deserves to be here, and if we do what we’re capable of doing, we’re going to have a chance."
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