'Tis the season for "preview" articles, and rest assured that OC Domer will write his in due course. But before we get too wrapped up in the hope and optimism that precedes every Notre Dame football season, I think it is useful to take a look back at the 2007 season, not just to wallow in self pity, but to see what lessons can be learned from that disastrous campaign. Once identified, those lessons can be used as benchmarks against which we can evaluate the 2008 team once the balls are in the air for real.
In his 2007 season wrap-up press conference, Coach Charlie Weis stated that once recruiting was over, he and the staff would begin systematically addressing the "what went wrong" issue and the "how can we fix it" question. I stated at that time that I did not expect that Coach Weis would be issuing a White Paper in the Spring detailing the results of that inquiry, and I was right. While Charlie appropriately takes the full blame for everything that went wrong on the field, he also has been very adept at avoiding any substantive discussions about why things went as poorly as they did last year, or how he is going to fix things for 2008.
In the absence of a White Paper from Coach Weis, Irish fans (and bloggers) are left to break down the 2007 season on their own and to try to fashion a sort of blueprint for an improved 2008. My contribution to this effort is set forth below, in the form of my Top 10 Irish Lessons Learned from the 2007 football season:
10. Special Teams are too important to be left to a committee.
2 comments Last one added 11 months ago — Leave a Comment
Nicolas 11 months ago
Great analysis OC. It's nice to read an article that goes beyond the typical pablum regarding talent levels, personnel, recruiting rankings, etc. Football is a intricate team sport with many moving parts and quality talent is only one of many components of a successful team. The other aspects, like the items you discuss above, are equally important but not discussed by most sports "journalists" because they require actual analysis and not just a quick look at the roster, stats, and a few espn highlights.
Can't wait to see how much Charlie learned from last year. Go Irish.
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Jon Hunn 11 months ago
Great article, OC! I have come to these conclusions myself in my discussions with other ND fans, but it's also good to hear others' points of view as well. Very good stuff, here...
-Jon
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