Suggestions For Charlie Weis: Week Six

Hello, Duval Kamara 

Welcome back. I’m glad you decided to join your teammates on the field. Duval had 58 yards receiving on Saturday coming on five catches.

This is certainly very minor compared to the record-setting numbers he had as a freshman wide receiver last year, but considering that Kamara had only 45 total yards previous to Saturday’s game, it was nice to see Kamara making catches again and on a consistent basis.

Hopefully, this is a sign that he has instilled some sort of confidence in the coaching staff. It sure will be nice to have him back on the field along with Mike Floyd and Golden Tate.

The Safety Net of the Defense 

The play of the safeties yesterday may have been the only bright spot to the entire Notre Dame defense on Saturday and through the season so far.

Both of Notre Dame’s safeties, David Bruton and Kyle McCarthy, are leading the defense in tackles, with Kyle McCarthy having three more tackles than David Bruton with 56.

They are both on track to break the century mark in tackles by the end of the season and they were both the only safety net that the defense had on Saturday-especially with the way the cornerbacks were playing.

The Bad

Impact of the Kicking Game 

It’s fairly safe to say that Brandon Walker did not fail anyone on Saturday, which is the first time he’s achieved this feat.

However, his performance throughout the season had a big impact on Saturday’s game.

Why?

Two weeks ago, I said that the performance of Brandon Walker would come back to haunt this team and potentially cause them to lose a game. Well, in instances like this, I hate to be right.

On fourth and seven from the Notre Carolina 27, Charlie Weis elected to go for a first down rather than attempt a field goal.

And who can blame him?

Sure, Walker had been perfect for the day, but nothing in the previous five games had told him that Walker would be a reliable choice. Had Charlie Weis elected to kick a field goal and had Brandon Walker made the field goal, it would have pulled the game within three points for the Irish, who would have been driving for a field goal rather than a touchdown at the end of the game.

As it was, the Irish attempted the conversion and failed. Nobody could blame Coach Weis for his decision, but the lack of a kicking game pigeon-holed Charlie Weis into making that decision.

Had Brandon Walker been even 50 percent on field goals for the season, Coach Weis’ decision might have been different and the outcome of the game might have been different as well.

Still Making Mental Errors 

Notre Dame out-gained the Tar Heels by a difference of 150 yards. They committed three fewer penalties for 22 fewer yards. They also turned the ball over a total of five times (including conversion on downs), which was five more than the Tar Heels had.

Usually, if a team does not win the turnover battle, they do not win the game and this proved to be true for the Fighting Irish on Saturday.

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