Bleacher Report - Articles by Eric Murtaugh

Notre Dame-Stanford: Not Many Reasons To Watch

Eric Murtaugh — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 15:04:51 -0500

How disappointing has this 2009 season been for Fighting Irish fans? How many would have believed Notre Dame would be limping across the country to play Stanford in the season finale with a 6-5 record?

When the 2009 schedule was first released, many pointed to this game against Stanford as a tough test to end the season. The Cardinal always play Notre Dame tough, coach Jim Harbaugh would have his team ready, and a possible BCS bowl game could be on the line for the Fighting Irish.

Instead of playing for a BCS berth, Notre Dame comes into this game with little to play for. And for that reason, this game does not have many reasons to be watched on television.

Of course it may very well be Charlie Weis’ last game as coach of Notre Dame, but that has been a foregone conclusion and it is barely exciting to watch a game just to see how a coach will walk off the field one last time.

Barring the chance that Notre Dame does not play in a bowl game, this could be the last game in which both Golden Tate and Jimmy Clausen suit up in the blue and gold. And perhaps many players will be auditioning for their soon-to-be new coach as well.

So I will concede there are a couple reasons to watch this game.

But the sad fact is that Notre Dame has little to gain from this match up, against this Stanford team at this stage of the season.

Most of us are ready to watch another Irish loss to a tough but less talented Stanford team. And even if Notre Dame does win, it will be utterly meaningless.

With a victory we’ll hear about how overrated Stanford was, how much more talent Notre Dame has and the pundits will write how the Irish should beat Stanford every time they meet.

With a loss, it will vindicate all the mounting reasons why Charlie Weis should no longer be the coach in South Bend.

So what can we expect from tonight’s game in Palo Alto?

Without Armando Allen at halfback, the Irish will have a difficult time running the ball. Then again, running the football may not be in Weis’ game plan to begin with.

Expect Robert Hughes to get the bulk of the carries. But also expect the inevitable abandonment of the running game for long stretches. Weis has done this for the past three years and there is no reason to believe this game will be any different.

But wouldn’t it be funny if Notre Dame actually put together a well-balanced offensive performance and played dominant defensively? How would ND Nation feel if the Irish played like we’ve always wanted this team to play, but only in Charlie Weis’ last game?

Of course that won’t happen.

Unfortunately, this will probably be more of a showcase to the NFL of the talents of Clausen, Tate and Floyd. These three will “get theirs” but Notre Dame will end up on the short end of the stick as a team once again.

On the other side of the ball, Stanford brings the exact type of offense that is like kryptonite to the Notre Dame defense: a strong power running game led by Heisman candidate Toby Gerhart mixed with a competent passing game adept at setting up the play action pass.

It’s hard to imagine how Notre Dame, who couldn’t stop Pittsburgh, could slow down this Stanford offense, which looks to be similar yet stronger than the Panthers version.

There will be points put up on the scoreboard but Notre Dame is still a big underdog in this game. I expect Stanford to win by 10 and to have everyone singing Harbaugh’s praises and pleading that he becomes the next coach in South Bend. (It is not happening, by the way).

What we really want is to get this game over with and see what the future holds. Who is going to be the new Irish coach? Will Notre Dame accept a bowl bid if they are given an invitation? Will Clausen and Tate turn pro?

These are the urgent matters at hand for Notre Dame. Tonight’s game against Stanford is merely a prelude to all of the decisions awaiting the fate of this program.

Notre Dame's Demise: The Top Twelve Losses Under Bob Davie

Eric Murtaugh — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 13:45:28 -0500

The list of the most important games in modern Notre Dame history continues as we take a look at the biggest losses while Bob Davie was head coach. Bob Davie took over for the legendary Lou Holtz at the start of the 1997 season and struggled for five years to return the Irish program to prominence. Over the course of his five seasons as coach, Davie led Notre Dame to some stirring victories, but also some heart breaking losses. Here are the top 12 terrible losses under Bob Davie.....

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Charlie's Ego: Weis Should Do What's Right for Notre Dame

Eric Murtaugh — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 17:58:35 -0500

It will be the end of an era in a week’s time, as Charlie Weis almost assuredly won’t be coaching at Notre Dame any longer. To say this season was a disappointment for Weis is a gross understatement.

This was one of the most disappointing, if not the most disappointing, season in the history of Irish football. You can’t keep a coach at Notre Dame in his fifth year when statements like this are being thrown around.

It is hard to understand how a team filled with such talent and promise could be this bad with an embarrassing record of 6-5, which could easily fall to 6-7 at year’s end. The Irish are in a position even the most repulsed detractors of the program couldn't have dreamed this team would fall to.

And make no mistake about it, this failure lands directly at the feet of Charlie Weis. We don’t need to discuss the reasons why he has failed, because anyone who watches one Notre Dame game can see the multiple problems and what needs to be fixed.

Weis should be commended for his graduation rates and strong recruiting, the latter most especially because of the shape the program was in when it was handed to him from Tyrone Willingham.

Yet as far as Weis’ main responsibility and job, winning football games, he may go down as perhaps the worst coach in Notre Dame history, and one of the biggest underachievers in college history.

As time goes on, the pain of Weis’ failures may dissipate, but it will take some serious revisionist history to prove he was a better coach then Davie, Willingham, or even Faust.

Too many blowout losses. Too many losses to inferior opponents. Too many brash coaching mistakes. A complete lack of football fundamentals. All of this garbage with better players on his roster in comparison to these other coaching failures. It is truly heartbreaking.

So what will happen to Weis and his large ego? Will he be fired? Will he step down?

For a long time I believed Weis would step down. I’ve even ignored most people’s observations that Charlie Weis does in fact have a large ego and thought he could see the writing on the wall and resign.

There were even rumors swirling last night that Weis had already resigned before the UConn game and would be expected to stay with the program in some recruiting capacity in the future.

After his press conference today, this seems highly unlikely, as Weis told reporters he would not step down.

Bad decision Charlie.

The truth is ND Nation does not look kindly upon Mr. Weis right now, and forcing the school to fire him and spend tens of millions of dollars will make matters much worse.

Unfortunately, he’s about as entrenched as a coach can be at a school: huge and lengthy contract, former student, built a new house in South Bend, started Hannah & Friend’s charity, wants his son to graduate from Notre Dame.

It just doesn’t seem right for the school to pay him so much money and leave more of us bitter and angry. Weis is walking a fine line between forcing everyone to treat him either like Faust or Willingham were after they departed South Bend.

If he were to resign and stick around town for a while, people will forgive him for being such a poor coach. We’ll realize he didn’t have what it takes, but give him credit for working hard and bringing some great players under the golden dome.

If he forces AD Jack Swarbrick to fire him and walks away with millions of undeserved money, no one will be happy. Whether he stays around for a while or goes back to the NFL really won’t matter. We’ll only remember how he ungracefully left the school and didn’t do the right thing by stepping down.

It’s hard to imagine if Weis is fired that people will really tolerate his presence on campus like they do nowadays with Gerry Faust. If fired, Weis will endure harsh treatment from everyone for the rest of his life. Does he really want that?

That’s why I say if Weis has no intention of stepping down, he should be fired immediately. If he won’t step aside, then I am in favor of letting him go after Notre Dame travels to California to play Stanford this weekend.

I’ve been a big promoter of the notion that there are many problems with Notre Dame football beyond the coaching, but enough is enough. Who cares if the players support him and that they walked out of the tunnel arms linked with him in a sign of solidarity.

If anything, I took this as just another weakness inherent in the players, coaches, and the program as a whole. UConn just had a player murdered a month ago and Notre Dame is the team walking out onto the field like a funeral procession with tears clouding Weis’ eyes?

What is going on?

It is time to cut the cord on this pathetic display of weakness both on and off the field. If Weis wants to salvage some of his reputation, he should do the right thing and resign his coaching position from the University of Notre Dame.

Should Notre Dame Roll the Dice And Make a Deal with the Devil?

Eric Murtaugh — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:47:05 -0500

Everyone inside the college football world seems to agree that this will be Charlie Weis' last season as head coach at Notre Dame. After only two and a half weeks of red hot speculation, dozens of coaching candidate replacements have been scrutinized and debated without end.

But one topic that keeps popping up when discussing the future of Notre Dame football is all of the off-field issues the program has to deal with. These problems, some would say excuses (what I call internal issues), can be summed as follows:

The high academic standards prevents Notre Dame from recruiting at the highest level in college football. It does not prevent Notre Dame from recruiting at a high level, as evidenced by the likes of Clausen, Tate, Floyd and Te'o, but the program has to fight an uphill battle (especially on defense) in this realm which it has been losing to the likes of Florida, USC and Texas for nearly 20 years.

Additionally, Notre Dame players are true student-athletes who are forced to live with the general student population and devote sufficient times to their studies all with a heavy emphasis on maintaining high grades.

In short, Notre Dame is not a football factory. It is not a place where a recruit can sleepwalk through three years of school, breeze through unchallenging classes and focus their attention exclusively on football.

Moreover, this does not include other factors (external issues) that have hindered the Irish football program over the past fifteen years or so:

Reduced scholarships, increased parity, the abundance of televised games (and the marketing of programs via the internet, phones, etc.) and the penchant for the best athletes to enroll in southern or western schools, not just because of academic concerns, but because of warm weather and beautiful co-eds.

Now, there are clearly two groups of people who take opposing views on these issues.

One group views these problems as the main deterrent holding Notre Dame back from regaining its stature in the college football world, while the other group tends to view the coaching as the main problem, with all of the external issues mentioned above merely being weak excuses.

My opinion on the matter is that these issues are definitely real, they are making it increasingly difficult for Notre Dame to compete, but dealing with these issues goes hand in hand with picking the right coach.

The real question is, what should Notre Dame do in the future if, or when, it decides to hire a new head coach?

Does the school need to relax its academic policy, turn a blind eye and make more of a commitment to winning football? Or does the school only need to hire a top level coach like Urban Meyer to fix things? Is it necessary to do both?

The rumor is that back in 2004, when Meyer turned down the coaching gig in South Bend in favor of Florida, the Notre Dame Administrations refusal to budge on the academic issue was a big problem and ultimately stalled the negotiations between the two parties.

No matter if you believe this or not, I think it is tough to overlook this.

So another question must be asked: Can Notre Dame win with someone like Urban Meyer as coach and sticking to its current academic policy?

Could Meyer recruit like he does in Gainesville on a consistent basis while coaching at Notre Dame? Should we expect a return to .725 percent winning football and national title contention once a great coach finally graces the sidelines of Notre Dame Stadium?

Or what about someone like Jim Harbaugh who is the newest hot candidate for the Irish job? I have no doubt he'd improve Notre Dame because he seems to do more with less at a similarly academically stringent Stanford school. But how much better could he really do?

Would Irish fans be happy if Harbaugh wins 65% percent of his games, a significant improvement over Davie/Willingham/Weis?

Take a look at this year as well: Harbaugh has defeated two top-ten teams in Oregon and USC, but also lost to Wake Forest, Oregon State and Arizona.

Will Notre Dame fans be content to win a little bit more, beat some top teams once in a while and be more competitive, but not really approach the level of success of the Holtz/Devine/Parseghian regimes?

I think there's really only one answer to this problem: Notre Dame has to roll the dice and make a deal with the devil in order to start winning again.

Here's a scenario that I think would be twice as devastating as the last fifteen years:

Notre Dame hires Urban Meyer (or another "can't miss" & "proven winner") as head coach. But the administration won't budge on academics and Meyer ends up being a severe disappointment.

Perhaps Meyer will look good when compared to Notre Dame's last three coaches, but what if he never wins a title, loses some big games, and is saddled with many of the same problems we've seen the past 15 years?

The impact of having the "best coach in college football" and still not winning will place such a stigma to the program that it may not fully recover. If Meyer can't do it then it’s unrealistic to think that anyone can.

How much longer can Notre Dame stay relevant when it accepts mediocrity on the football field in favor of academics? What will become of the program when someday NBC doesn't televise home games and it’s more difficult to watch the Irish each week?

How far off is Notre Dame from not selling out home games, losing money and turning into a sparkly version of Northwestern?

Do the priests really care about winning football games as long as the program continues to pour millions into the school each year? Perhaps the best thing that could happen to Notre Dame football is to start losing money?

I may be overreacting to an eventual and massive downfall for Notre Dame, but I think these are some of the issues fans of the program have to seriously ponder.

What if even the greatest coach doesn't solve these problems?

That is why in the end, it is paramount that the Notre Dame administration make some tough but necessary concessions in order to bring winning football back to South Bend.

I'm not saying throw caution to the wind, but if the school wants to get serious it must bring in someone like Meyer, Brian Kelly or Gary Patterson and let these great coaches take over the entire program with no interference from the priests. Give the next coach five years of free reign like Lou Holtz was given.

Will there be trouble, suspensions, and a few problem players if this happens? No doubt, but it's a tight rope the University must walk at some point in the future.

Do you remember Holtz teams fondly for dominating on the field from 1988-1993? Or do you shake your head at the few problem players that caused the priests to blush during that same time?

Irish legends like Paul Hornung and Joe Montana have been stating for years that Notre Dame cannot be an Ivy league-type school and recruit the defensive players necessary to win in today's college football. And what has been the weakest aspect of Irish football the past 15 years?

The defense!

Why have we been so quick to dismiss these legends, who by the way, never had to deal with a tenth of the restrictions today's players do when they slipped on their gold helmets?

It makes me proud as a Notre Dame fan to know that the current team has a cumulative GPA over 3.0 and that they are nice young men who stay out of trouble. But I'd much rather have a team full of nasty football players who battle and bring pride to Notre Dame with their success on the field.

Since the 1950's, Notre Dame has deemphasized football and made it increasingly harder to compete. But the internal issue of academics was never the hindrance that it is today because Notre Dame has become a bonafide elite academic school in the past 20 years.

Even more important, there was never the external issues making it harder for Notre Dame to compete until the early 1990's. So, Father Hesburgh may have tightened academics the best he could for thirty years, but Notre Dame was still "the place" to play and was full of ridiculous amounts of talent in the “down” years of the late 50’s/early 60’s and early 80’s.

There have been some admittedly horrible coaches at Notre Dame before Holtz took over, but even those coaches had deeper and better talent than what Weis is bringing in today. Notre Dame could win five games and still end up with a few All-Americans and send a handful of players to the NFL each year.

Now the ball is in the other corner, with external forces working against Notre Dame and the academics are as strict as ever. It's a policy that will not work and cannot work. It has never worked at Notre Dame.

The example of Lou Holtz is pertinent to this discussion. He was great friends with the Notre Dame Athletic Director and it is generally agreed that the administration “left Holtz alone” to get the Irish program back on its feet.

With the services of super-recruiter Vinnie Cerrato, Holtz was able to assemble incredible talent and dozens of impact players including 21 NFL draft picks in the first two rounds (10 1^st round) from 1989-1994.

Eventually, Notre Dame’s leaders grew “uncomfortable” with Cerrato and his players and by 1991 he had left for a position with the 49ers. The administration also began its academic clamp down (that has continued and increased till today) beginning around this time.

With Cerrato’s recruits as upperclassmen (beginning in 1988) and until his last recruiting class played their collective final game in 1993, Notre Dame went 64-9-2 (.866%).

Without Cerrato’s recruits making an impact on the program, Lou Holtz went 36-21-1 (.629%).

Do you see the correlation? Lou Holtz was a great coach, but without the ability to recruit like Texas or Florida, Holtz became just a very good coach.

That’s why if Urban Meyer or someone of that stature comes to Notre Dame I would fully expect an improvement over the past 15 years of Irish football, but without the chains being removed from recruiting, no one will bring Notre Dame back to elite status.

That's why I say President Jenkins and AD Jack Swarbrick need to roll the dice, lay it out on the line, and commit to winning.

What Does Notre Dame's Charlie Weis Bring To the Table?

Eric Murtaugh — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:03:01 -0500

For a long time I was a Charlie Weis apologist, someone who defended his poor performances the last two years and believed better days were ahead. Now, it’s pretty tough to stick up for Charlie.

But let me be clear: I think Charlie Weis is a really great coach.

It’s just he’s not the kind of coach one needs leading a program like Notre Dame. Weis’ coaching abilities are based largely around his teaching abilities primarily to offensive players. He is able to get teenagers and young men to understand and execute complicated offensive systems while honing the talents of his best players.

Most of all, Charlie Weis is adept at developing quarterbacks as evidenced by his work with Brady Quinn and Jimmy Clausen. While Weis has been coach at Notre Dame, the Irish offensive record books have been rewritten.

However, all this really means is that Weis may be nothing more than a glorified quarterback guru.

Weis can recruit top flight skilled players on offense and his aforementioned destruction of the record books is certainly admirable. But in the end, this type of coaching isn’t helping Notre Dame and it is plain this program is underachieving.

The funny thing is we are always told that Weis is an “offensive genius” and someone who can out-scheme any opponent that’s placed in front of him. Everyone says his offensive game plans are second-to-none in college football and the pro game.

I’m not so sure I agree.

What’s Weis’ biggest problem? He hasn’t developed a strict system on offense to work from and he loses his patience and cool far too much for someone who is a supposed game-planning god.

If you ask anyone what kind of offense Notre Dame runs they are likely to tell you it is a pro-style offense. But is it really?

NFL teams run the ball a majority of the time while Notre Dame rarely runs the ball. Watching the game against Pitt last weekend I couldn’t help but believe that it was Pitt who had the pro-style offense and not Notre Dame.

Pitt was pounding the ball on the ground and mixing in a solid short passing game, getting the fullback involved, and taking periodic shots down the field. In other words, Pitt looked like an NFL team.

Weis was fairly stable in his play-calling in his first two years, but ever since then it’s been a mess of epic proportions. With an injured Clausen in 2007, Weis decided to implement a spread option attack with Demetrius Jones.

After one half of football Weis reverted to his former system with Sharpley and later a healthier Clausen. Who knows how far this set the team back, but the results that year show that it wasn’t pretty.

Since then the game-planning has been more consistent and based around the arm of Jimmy Clausen, yet it isn’t really a pro-style offense and there’s no overriding identity to the offense.

Once in a while, Weis will have Notre Dame play a true pro-style offense, other times he’ll go five wide shotgun for long stretches of games. Some games he’ll give opponents (usually weaker ones) a heavy dose of a power running game, while other times he’ll flat out refuse to run the ball for an entire half.

As good as this offense has been this year statistically (especially in terms of yardage), this lack of identity is killing Notre Dame. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the red zone where Weis’ tendency to throw the ball at all costs and to rely on the ever difficult fade route to Floyd or Tate just doesn’t work against good teams.

When you add this lack of identity with the fact that Weis seems to panic even when the Irish are losing by one score in the first quarter, well it is clearly a recipe for disaster.

How many times have we seen Notre Dame come out and run the ball effectively, fall behind by three or seven points, then effectively stop running the ball the rest of the game? How many fourth down attempts have been squandered in close games because Weis would not settle for a field goal in a close game?

Nowhere is this style of coaching more apparent than the Navy game this year. Hughes was running hard as usual and Riddick was ripping Navy for serious yards early in the game. Then, Notre Dame faced a fourth and two deep in the red zone trailing 7-0.

What happened? Instead of kicking the field goal and gaining a little bit of momentum, Weis decided to gamble on a big momentum swing with a pass play to the end zone. The pass ended up incomplete and Navy took over.

First, there is no identity on offense where Notre Dame can run the ball as much as pass the ball. That put them in the predicament in the first place. Secondly, Weis panicked early in the game and ended up doing more harm than good.

Navy took over and marched down the field scoring a touchdown and gaining a momentum swing twice as large had Notre Dame scored a touchdown on their previous possession. The Irish never recovered, the red zone troubles continued, and the team lost a game they should have easily won.

What this all means is that Charlie Weis isn’t a very good football coach. I wouldn’t even call him a great offensive coordinator at this point either. And I’m not even taking into account that he seems to bring nothing to the table defensively, doesn’t fire his team up, and seems unprepared in far too many embarrassing moments.

There are times when it seems like Weis is more concerned with showcasing his talented skilled players and proving to everyone how much of an offensive genius he is by running dozens of different formations throughout any given game.

We were told that wide receiver Michael Floyd would see limited action against Navy to ease the budding star back into the lineup after breaking his collar bone.

“Boy did I trick everyone!” Weis exclaims!

Instead, Floyd was targeted early and often, including several failed fade routes that left the Irish empty handed and scoreless. Weis ended up showcasing Floyd all game long, but was it the best thing for the team?

So many of us just want Notre Dame to get tough again, run the ball with power, set up the play action and take advantage of the passing game this way.

Instead, we’re subjected to shotgun formations with no threat of running the ball and endless gimmicky gadget plays.

At this point, I’ve changed my mind and believe the odds are a new coach could improve this team offensively. You can’t argue with some of the stats Weis has been able to put up in his time in South Bend, but its becoming evident that his style doesn’t lend itself to winning football games at the college level.

That’s why probably the best position for Weis right now is being a quarterback coach. He can be successful as on offensive coordinator in the NFL, but even that position may be too much for him at the college level.

After five years it looks as though that is who has been leading the Irish on to the field each weekend, merely a quarterback guru who can talk a big game and recruit a collection of really great skilled athletes on offense.

With these players in place, Notre Dame should go out and find a proven coach who has won at the college level, will install a program identity, run the ball, and play tough defense.

It is imperative that a new coach commits to a system and recruits players to fit that system. Look at the top teams in the country right now and you’ll see the overriding theme is tough defense mixed with a consistent game plan and identity on offense.

It’s simple and fundamental: run the ball, play tough defense and play smart football. Notre Dame doesn’t do any of those things. And it is all but a foregone conclusion that the Irish never will with Charlie Weis at the helm.

Is Notre Dame Really Full of Elite Talent?

Eric Murtaugh — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:25:52 -0500

The future of Charlie Weis' job is up for debate after another disappointing season from a team supposedly stacked with talent.

Is this really true?

According to various scouting services, Weis has brought in very strong recruiting classes to South Bend over the past four seasons. So I thought I’d do a little research and see how Notre Dame compares to two elite programs, the University of Southern California and the University of Florida.

On the surface, Notre Dame’s recruiting classes seem to be in the same grade as these two powerhouse programs. Here are the average individual rankings (ESPN) for the three teams' top recruits from 2006 to 2009:

Notre Dame—82.575

USC—84.0

Florida—83.025

Obviously, the Trojans and Gators have a slight edge in talent, but it is not a terrible disparity to the point where Notre Dame doesn’t belong in the conversation.

Also, let’s take a look at the amount of ESPN 150 top recruits and how each school fared over the past four years:

Notre Dame—37

USC—42

Florida—48

Now this is where things begin to get a little more complicated and the recruiting of USC and especially Florida becomes stronger. Notre Dame brought in a very admirable 37 players, which is certainly among the most in the country, but Florida brought in almost three extra “star” players per recruiting class.

Those extra players make a big difference.

Most damaging of all is what kind of players are being recruited. To put it another way, Notre Dame has been relying heavily on highly ranked offensive skill position players, whereas USC and Florida have been bringing in more well balanced classes.

Out of those ESPN 150 recruits, this is the number of defenders brought in from each school:

Notre Dame—10

USC—18

Florida—25

The disparity now becomes crystal clear and convincing. Notre Dame has been able to recruit some really great offensive players, but is struggling (as it has for 15 years) to bring in a lot of elite defensive talent.

Also, what these numbers do not take into account are JUCO transfers, a key component to adding veteran depth to recruiting classes. Both USC and Florida have brought in transfers who are currently making an impact on the field.

So while Notre Dame has begun to run with the big boys on the offensive side of the ball, it still has a lot of work to do on defense.

There has to be something said about coaching and developing talent as well, because that ultimately plays a key part in how well a football team performs every Saturday.

As well, bringing in highly ranked recruits doesn’t necessarily mean those players will live up to their talent and have a large impact on a program.

There is no doubt that Notre Dame needs to work on recruiting more impact defensive players. The cry that the Irish has “national championship” talent needs to stop.

Take a look at the current “elite” defensive recruits that are playing in South Bend:

T. Smith (Sr. LB)

R. McNeil (Sr. CB)

B. Smith (Jr. LB)

I. Williams (Jr. DT)

K. Neal (Jr. DE)

S. Filer (So. LB)

S. Fleming (So. LB)

J. Slaughter (So. CB)

E. Johnson (So. DT)

T. Stockton (Fr. DT)

M. Te’o (Fr. LB)

This is a pretty decent group of players, but it is nowhere near the level of talent of USC, Florida, or even Alabama. You’ll see the same kind of list at dozens of other programs around the country.

There’s some promise with the younger players on this list, but for all intents and purposes, Notre Dame is getting virtually zero impact performances from its top upperclassmen defensive recruits.

The inability to consistently recruit big time, blue chip defensive players has been an Achilles heal for Notre Dame for a long time.

If the administration decides to go in a different direction with a coach, they’d be well advised to bring in someone who gives them the best chance at attracting this defensive talent.

The Top 10 Terrible Notre Dame Losses Under Charlie Weis

Eric Murtaugh — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:13:27 -0500

What follows is a look at the ten worse losses while Charlie Weis has been head coach at Notre Dame. Just last weekend Weis lost his 24th game in 5 years and his job is now on the line more than ever. To put things in perspective, former Irish coach Lou Holtz lost only 30 games in 11 years in South Bend. This list is made up of crushing losses that take into account such factors as: *Was Notre Dame a heavy favorite? *What were the repurcussions of the loss? *How well did the team perform? Let's get right to it!

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Charlie & The Curse: This Notre Dame Fan Needs Support

Eric Murtaugh — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:26:45 -0500

There have been times when I’ve become severely depressed after watching a Notre Dame loss. Nothing was worse than driving eight hours to South Bend to watch the Fighting Irish defeated by Navy, then cutting my vacation short because I had to return home and glue the pieces of my love for the Irish back together.

I don’t want to make light of those with real depression problems, but after Saturday’s loss I’ve found myself utterly confused and lost. It was the only time in my life that I’ve questioned why I’m a Notre Dame fan.

I’m just going to let it all out and get it off my chest:

Get rid of the natural grass

I was arguing with my buddy before and during the game that the natural grass hinders the Irish because they are always slipping. And it never seems to affect the other team.

Floyd slipped on his first catch, Parris nearly blew out his knee when he fumbled, and Floyd got tackled by the grass late in the 4^th quarter on what could have been an enormous game-changing catch. There are a dozen examples every game.

Is it really worth the “tradition” of having natural grass when it is so clearly evident that the football team plays better and runs faster on modern surfaces?

Home field advantage?

My first Notre Dame game last year was an awesome experience. But I was more in tune with a lot of criticisms of the Irish program/campus/experience this time around and the loss to Navy just magnified it all.

It seems that there is some weird reverse home field advantage working against Notre Dame. Nearly every visiting opponent gets jacked up to play at ND Stadium because of the tradition, the national broadcast, and there’s always this target on the Irish even when Notre Dame clearly isn’t a good team.

In contrast, Notre Dame is always slipping all over the field and playing in front of a painfully quiet crowd that gives them zero home field advantage. That doesn’t even bring into account the expectations the players must feel to win at home under such circumstances.

I couldn’t believe how quiet the crowd was against Navy, specifically in my section. There were about four third down plays when Navy had the ball and the crowd got somewhat close to loud and only one or two other instances throughout the entire game.

Seriously, there were maybe two or three men who were loud near me and the rest of the people just seemed to do nothing during the entire game. People were carrying on conversations not related to football, playing with their phones, leaving their seats multiple times, or otherwise just sitting there in muted silence.

In effect, Notre Dame sets up the perfect conditions for opponents to come in and steal victories from this team.

Is there a curse?

I know there are thousands of hardcore rabid Notre Dame fans out there, but how many attend the games each Saturday? As I was leaving the stadium Saturday my mind kept thinking there is some sort of curse on the football team.

Why a curse? I believe it’s because the stadium is full of so many people that are not fully invested in the football team, particularly whether it wins or loses, that the ghosts of Rockne & Co. are very angry.

Sitting in the stands at the end of the game I wanted to puke, cry, scream and shout in anger that Notre Dame had just lost to Navy. I looked around and all I saw were happy faces who looked as if they’d just watched an intriguing movie and not a devastatingly painful Fighting Irish loss.

No one seemed to care and I am not exaggerating in the least bit. I saw a group of Latino men who seemed as crushed as me, but literally everyone else buoyantly shuffled out of the stadium as if they were leaving Disneyworld.

I understand that football isn’t that important in the grand scheme of things, but it just seems counter-productive, and downright wrong that there could be that many people in the stands who could care less whether Notre Dame wins.

There’s also a former USC quarterback doing color commentary for Notre Dame games on national television. Don’t tell me that isn’t bringing unholy hatred from deceased Notre Dame players. Could you imagine Joe Montana calling games for USC or Michigan?

About Charlie

Due to the above issues, I didn’t leave the game blaming Weis or thinking that he should be fired or that Notre Dame lost because Weis is the coach. However, I think his time has passed and I’m finding it very difficult to support him.

But I still don’t think a lot of the problems are due to Weis (in the grand scheme I still blame the administration). I’m definitely baffled by the play of the defense and there are some questionable play calls every single game, but the team racked up 512 yards of offense, never punted, and were one field goal miss away from winning.

Weis didn’t throw an interception in the red zone, miss two field goals, fumble at the goal line, or prevent the Irish from putting this game away. The players really shot themselves in the foot in my eyes.

But ultimately, Weis is the leader of the team and he is responsible for yet another disappointing loss. Now more than ever he is standing near the precipice of being fired.

The biggest problem is that the defense isn’t very good and Weis isn’t a defensive minded coach. He also makes it difficult for his offense to succeed by not running the ball enough and throwing fade routes at the two yard line.

It may be true and I would agree that this team probably isn’t coached very well outside of a few offensive players, but looking at this game exclusively I didn’t think Weis was the problem.

On a program wide level I am starting to believe Weis doesn’t have what it takes and I am ready to move on. But leaving South Bend this weekend I had a lot of questions about Notre Dame football and not many were concerned with who is coaching.

Still, what if Notre Dame goes into Pittsburgh and takes home a victory? What if they finish strong and end up 10-3? A lot of people may think Notre Dame won’t do this and that they are heading into downward spiral, but I’m still not sure.

It may seem like Weis will definitely be fired right now, yet I still think there is much more drama, confusion, and debating to follow in the coming weeks.

Notes & Rants

*Do you think this was one of those games where Weis didn’t think he’d need Armando Allen but that he probably could have played?

*Anyone who thinks that Hughes doesn’t drag down the offense is fooling themselves. In reality, he may be the slowest and least explosive running back in Notre Dame history.

*Which is why I don’t understand how Weis could go back to Hughes against Navy after seeing how effective Riddick was with his limited carries? If we start the game running the ball more with Riddick I think Notre Dame wins easily.

*I was ripping my hair out wondering why the Irish didn’t put a defensive lineman under center when the Navy fullback was gashing through the middle of the field. Even a little seven year old boy made that comment (hey someone was watching the game!).

*I still think the defense is not very talented and they are poorly coached. How many players on the defense will play in the NFL? They’ll be lucky to have one with a decent pro career and we all know which players that will be.

*I’m starting to believe a different coach would improve this defense and could keep the offense relatively strong with the current talent on the roster for the next two to three years. It’s after Weis’ recruits are gone that I’m worried about.

Jimmy Clausen vs. Brady Quinn: Which Notre Dame QB Had the Better Junior Season?

Eric Murtaugh — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:52:35 -0500

Recently, I was pondering the play of Irish quarterback Jimmy Clausen and thinking to myself, "how great he has been performing thus far this season." Then it occurred to me:

Is Clausen playing better than Brady Quinn at the same point in their respective careers?

I realize the discussion isn't complete because there are still five games left in Clausen's junior season, but I thought I'd see how things have shaped up nonetheless.

I don't really want to compare the skill of each player, although I will comment that I think it is becoming clear that Clausen's ceiling is (and always was) much higher than Quinn's.

The two main things I want to focus on for this discussion are overall team ability (particularly on offense), as well as what each schedule was like for each player.

Was the 2005 Notre Dame team better than the current 2009 squad? It is an excellent question and one Irish fans have been asking for months now.

At this point, it is probably too close to call. Both defenses gave up a ton of points and were not considered to be anywhere near great.

The 2005 team lost close games to Michigan State and USC, while the 2009 team has lost close games to Michigan and USC.

On offense, the 2005 team had less depth and fewer heralded players but was able to move the ball and score at a much higher clip than the current 2009 team.

It appears that today's team may be more skilled, but for some reason the 2005 team was a really cohesive and more well-rounded offense.

However, when looking at the schedules, I was a bit shocked to discover that Quinn had it a little easier than Clausen. That may explain why the 2005 team put up better numbers.

The 2005 team beat up on bad Syracuse and Washington programs and defeated average Purdue, BYU, Tennessee, Navy, and Stanford teams, while also winning against good Pitt and Michigan teams.

Quinn and the Fighting Irish also lost to a good Michigan State team, a great USC team, and a really good Ohio State team.

So far this year the schedule has been a bit more demanding in my eyes. Despite what their records say or may not say, I believe Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, Washington, and BC are all relatively good teams.

Nevada is below average, and Washington State is just abysmal.

Given the last four games of the 2009 schedule (Navy, Pitt, UConn, and Stanford), I can't see how this year's team is having it any easier than Quinn's junior year.

Moreover, it also seems Clausen is having a better year statistically, although the last month of the season will be a big test.

Still, given the number of comebacks (four), and near comebacks (two) engineered by Clausen, the argument is beginning to sway in the Californian's favor.

When Quinn finished his junior year, he had compiled what many believed was the greatest season for a quarterback in school history:

292 completions

450 attempts

64.9 percent completion rate

3,919 yards

32 touchdowns

7 interceptions

158.4 rating

Speaking for many Irish fans, those numbers were really mind-blowing given the ineptitude of the previous four or five offenses in South Bend.

That quarterback rating was seventh-best in the country and good enough to get Quinn some Heisman buzz heading into his senior year.

On the other side, Clausen is putting together what could be an even better season statistically. If we average out his current numbers and add a fifth game for a bowl appearance, here's what Clausen is on pace to put together:

279 completions

417 attempts

66.9 percent completion rate

3,766 yards

29 touchdowns

3 interceptions

164.24 rating

Even though Clausen may have a more explosive offense, his team is working its way through a more difficult schedule, and that makes these numbers certainly jaw-dropping.

If a Notre Dame quarterback can't get invited to the Heisman award show with those numbers, in a year with mediocre star play, it may never happen.

So with about a month left in the regular season, Jimmy Clausen is set to put together a better junior season, in my opinion, than former Irish quarterback Brady Quinn.

Mr. Biletnikoff Says: Notre Dame WR Tate Is Truly Golden

Eric Murtaugh — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:02:50 -0500

Right now, the best receiver in the country is Notre Dame’s Golden Tate and the race for the annual Biletnikoff award may not be very close.

The time has come for the rest of college football to take notice of the fiery wideout wreaking havoc on every single opponent his Fighting Irish line up against.

In theory, Tate should probably be receiving some Heisman talk, but with his teammate Jimmy Clausen in that discussion, it is highly unlikely Tate will seriously contend for that trophy.

But the best receiver in the country? Golden Tate has that honor on serious lock-down.

Before I get into the numbers (and they are very good), let me first bring up two reasons why Tate is having a magnificent year.

First, Tate doesn’t have NFL size and his listed height of 5-foot-11 is probably a bit generous. He’s not even 200 pounds but is still as dominating physically as anyone currently hauling down passes in the NCAA.

Second, many believed that with the injury to fellow superstar receiver Michael Floyd (early in Notre Dame’s third game), it would be difficult for Tate to continue playing at such a high level.

He has not only maintained his level of play, but has played even better despite facing constant double- and triple-coverage. It almost cannot be explained.

And it’s not so much that Tate has been piling up the statistics, but more so in how he is doing it.

Despite his size, he’s broken dozens of tackles, gained extra yards and fought his way to the end zone. Often times it takes two or three defenders to tackle Tate, but they usually end up just pushing him out of bounds as he flicks the ball defiantly to the ground and struts back to the huddle.

In open space, he is as elusive as they come in college ball and has even showed an extra gear with his top-end speed, leaving opponents in the dust as often as he plows through them.

In 2009, Tate has torched Michigan and Michigan State for 242 yards and three touchdowns while putting up the second-most receiving yards in school history against Washington.

Against USC, he caught one of the year’s best touchdown passes on an impossible deep ball while being double-covered. He followed that up later in the game by catching a slant route for a score while simultaneously dropping Trojan safety Taylor Mays (nearly twice his size) to the turf.

If that wasn’t enough, Tate also willed his team to victory against Boston College, catching two touchdowns (the last being the game-winner) while going over 100 yards receiving in a game for the fifth time this season.

Last weekend in San Antonio, Tate came down with a miraculous Hail Mary catch in the end zone despite being surrounded by three taller defenders. It’s as if Golden Tate defies all logic in all that he does each and every week.

One thing is for sure: this has clearly been a special year for Golden Tate. He is making plays like Tim Brown and Rocket Ismail, two of the most special athletes in Notre Dame history.

He is currently on pace to break several Irish single-season receiving records and even has an outside shot to own some career receiving records this season, as well. If he comes back for his senior season, Tate will own nearly every Irish receiving record.

Even better, Floyd is expected back soon and although this may decrease the number of balls thrown in Tate’s direction, it will almost certainly give him more room to do damage. No one is smiling about this more than Charlie Weis.

As it stands, Tate’s numbers break down like this:

56 receptions (16th nationally)

927 yards (2nd )

16.6 average (40th )

9 touchdowns (2nd )

There are only a handful of BCS-conference receivers with more receptions, but there isn’t anyone really close to Tate in terms of the whole package when you break down the stats.

And this doesn’t even count the 19 rushes, 155 yards and two touchdowns Tate has compiled while abusing defenders out of the Wildcat formation.

I had been thinking that Tate’s lack of size, his commitment to the Notre Dame baseball team, and the general pattern of Irish athletes getting their degrees meant that Tate would definitely be back for his senior season.

Now, I’m not so sure. He must be getting outstanding reviews by scouts who love the passion and talent he brings each game.

And why wouldn’t scouts be in love with Golden Tate? He is the best receiver in the country right now.

Green with Envy: A Look at Notre Dame's Uniforms

Eric Murtaugh — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:01:18 -0400

A few months ago I wrote an article detailing the history of Notre Dame's football uniforms (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/210445-my-changes-to-notre-dames-football-informs ) and made a few suggestions about what I would like to see different with the Fighting Irish wardrobe.

I thought now that we are heading into Notre Dame's first ever primetime "home" game that it would be a good idea to revisit some of my ideas and recap some of the things we have seen this year.

First off, as expected Charlie Weis has not made any major changes to the Notre Dame uniforms this year. In fact, he has kept the same design for five straight years now which is the longest Notre Dame has gone without major changes since probably the Holtz era.

The only minor change this year (although visually it makes a big difference) is that Weis has had the Irish wearing "pro-style" socks in the last two home games now that the weather is turning cold.

In past years throughout Weis' tenure, Notre Dame would wear knee high navy blue socks during this time of year with the Adidas logo prominently displayed. I never had a problem with this look, although I was never crazy about having the Adidas logo on there.

Does anybody else think it is cool that Notre Dame and many other college programs go without socks when it's in the warmer part of the season, and then decide to wear them when it is cold? I've always thought this was a neat thing to do and just another thing that makes the college game better than the NFL.

This year, Notre Dame has decided to wear blue socks with white on the bottom, giving the team a more professional NFL-style look. Normally, I would shy away from anything making the Irish look like some of the NFL teams today, but I really like this look.

One reason is that the blue used in the socks seems to be brighter than in the past (although being paired with white it may just seem that way) and it stands out much more. The other reason is that I it makes the team look bigger (two colors make the legs look longer) and faster (the eye cannot track white as quickly as dark colors thus giving the appearance of more speed).

Also, when Notre Dame wore the long dark blue socks they always looked black to me and didn't seem to match the uniform that well. I wonder if we will see the pro-style socks with the away uniform in the future or if Weis will have the Irish stick to the long knee high white socks.

Now let's revisit some of my suggestions on uniform changes:

Shamrock on the Helmet

As of today, Notre Dame currently holds the longest streak of wearing the same helmet (Gold with gray facemask) in NCAA history. I am very supportive of traditional styles, but I really think it would be neat if Notre Dame wore a shamrock on just one side of their helmet (worn on both side of the helmet from 1959-62).

They wouldn't have to do this for an entire year (although I think I'd support that), but I believe it would be an interesting idea to use (a la the green jerseys) and pump the team for a big game against say...Boston College perhaps?

The Leprechaun

Has there ever been such a great logo that is so under used? You can walk around the Notre Dame campus for hours and never see the fighting leprechaun logo. Something has to be done where this wonderful mascot is displayed more prominently by the school.

I don't think it should be put anywhere on the uniforms (except perhaps at the end of the collar where the inter-locking ND logo currently is) but there could be some other good places. How about putting the leprechaun on some sideline hats or on the back of those giant winter coats guys like Crist wear on the sideline or even on the skull caps like Golden Tate wear?

ND Logo on the Sleeves

I've never been too crazy with the current jerseys and the absence of the inter-locking ND logo on the sleeves. This is probably because I grew up watching Tim Brown, Tony Rice, and Rocket Ismail flying down the field with the ND logo so prominent.

Moreover, I always thought having four sets of numbers on a jersey was a bit much but in this age of television it is probably a necessary evil. How about a compromise? Notre Dame should keep its current style for home games and switch to the inter-locking ND logo on the sleeves on the road.

Removing Gold

As I've stated in my previous article, I am in favor of removing the gold outline from the numbers on the road white uniforms. I believe this would be beneficial because it is how the uniforms looked when first used under Ara Parseghian and it would bring more attention to the gold helmets.

As far as the green jerseys are concerned, a more traditional look based on the Paul Hornung era is what I would like to see. Just a simple green jersey with white numbers will do the trick!

Socks

I've already covered the changes in the socks, but I have some ideas of my own. One would be to utilize some striping, but with the new style Weis has been favoring this year it seems unlikely.

If I remember correctly, we have seen some striping on the lower cut blue socks in the recent pass. I believe Clausen had white stripes (Adidas socks perhaps?) during the Hawaii Bowl, and both Clausen and Allen had the same socks for the Michigan game. It also seemed that Allen had this pattern on his forearms during the Michigan came as well.

The other small addition I would make is to put a green shamrock on the socks. It would certainly be better than the Adidas logo we have seen in the past.

Paint the Field

Other than changing the helmets, this subject is sure to rile up the fan base more than anything else, especially from the more traditional folk.

Side note: Can we finally get rid of the natural grass in Notre Dame Stadium? I know it gives it that old-school look and many say football is supposed to be played on it, but it is getting out of hand.

How many more times do we have to see Armando Allen slip on that cut that could spring him for that much needed long touchdown run? Or how many more times does Clausen have to slip while in the pocket? And let us not forget Kamara's slip on the last play against USC.

You may say that both teams have to play on it, but I'm just sick of watching the field look like eastern France during World War I after only a few series. Seriously, it looks like ten of the world's worst golfers were let on the field and allowed to just hack away at the turf leaving dinner plate sized divot holes in their wake.

During last week's game against Boston College an Eagle defensive lineman came to hit an Irish lineman and they just slid backwards about three feet while engaged. This field is a mess and stuff like that should not be happening.

So, if Notre Dame was to install field turf next season it would make it that much easier to paint the field. I'm not advocating anything too radical, but I think there should be some paint laid down.

If they are going to keep the old-school white diagonal slash marks in the end zone, why not put a logo at midfield? Don't tell me a giant ND logo, shamrock, or leprechaun wouldn't look totally amazing because it would. Plus it's easier to tell where the ball is on television with a midfield logo.

And if you don't want that, then why not put something in the end zone? It's curious that many people believe that Notre Dame's current uniform is the "traditional" style, yet they have only been worn from 1964-77 and since the Holtz era in the late 80's.

That is nearly three quarters of a century wearing the supposed "non-traditional" uniforms.

The same goes for the end zone paint. It hasn't always been in its current style and the field has been painted before. In video clips and pictures I have seen, the end zones were definitely painted in the 1970's during the Rudy and Montana era.

These designs included the word mark IRISH or FIGHTING IRISH, along with the leprechaun and football logo. If it has been done before, then I don't think it is too much of a break with tradition to do it again.

If anything, it could be used like the green jerseys as something to do for a big game that is getting a lot of hype. Can't you just see ESPN Gameday remarking on Saturday morning, "And they've painted the end zones for today's game folks...you better watch out!"

The last thing I'll say is directed toward this weekend's neutral site "home" game in San Antonio, Texas. Will we see the field painted in Notre Dame colors? Will it be treated like a bowl game where both teams get their own end zone painted? What are the chances we see some sort of patch on the jerseys to mark the occasion?

I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Go Irish!

Irish Roots: The Secret To Notre Dame's Continued Success

Eric Murtaugh — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:37:56 -0400

Throughout the first half of the 2009 season, Notre Dame Head coach Charlie Weis has marched an explosive and threatening offense onto the field each Saturday. While the Fighting Irish defense has been struggling all year long, the Domers offense, led by quarterback Jimmy Clausen, has been mostly cool and efficient.

But, there still is much room for improvement and the continued success of the Irish offense depends on the team getting back to its roots and running the ball.

It is true that Notre Dame was one of the first programs to utilize the forward pass and the school has produced numerous college legends at quarterback including: Frank Carideo, Angelo Bertelli, Johnny Lujack, Paul Hornung, Daryle Lamonica, John Huarte, Joe Theisman, Joe Montana, Steve Beurlein, Tony Rice and Brady Quinn.

However, for over a century of football in South Bend the running game was the most important weapon to the team's success on offense. And today, with a high flying aerial attack in place, Notre Dame would do well to also commit to running the ball as best as they can.

During Charlie Weis' first two seasons at Notre Dame, the team scored a school record shattering 843 points, posting nearly 34 points per game. While many will remember the arm of Brady Quinn as the force behind this offense, let us not forget that the 2005 and 2006 teams boasted a strong and versatile running game.

In 2005, tailback Darius Walker ran for 1,196 yards and nine touchdowns, while the following year he gained 1,267 yards and seven touchdowns. To go along with the very respectable 4.85 yards per carry average, Walker also caught 99 balls for 742 yards with another three touchdowns.

While many fans were never enamored with Walker at running back, myself included, it is clear now in hindsight that he was able to put up tremendous numbers, became an integral part of the offense, and will forever be one of the more underrated players in Irish history.

Which leads us to 2009 and the current state of the Irish running game. It is absolutely crucial that Charlie Weis develops the current talent at running back over the next six games, and into next season, in order to ensure long term success on offense.

Partly because of the previous regimes coaching and partly because of his heavy reliance on Darius Walker as the exclusive running back, Weis was left with a set of far too inexperienced tailbacks during the 2007 season at a time when he needed a strong ground game more than anything else.

During that disastrous 2007 season, Notre Dame started an inexperienced sophomore James Aldridge tailback while rotating true freshmen Armando Allen and Robert Hughes. This trio struggled mightily all year long and when you tally up the sack yardage, the team only rushed for 903 yards at 2.1 yards per carry.

To put that in perspective, Notre Dame has already rushed for that many yards through seven games this season.

Thanks to a strong recruiting effort by Charlie Weis, this lack of experience may never occur again anytime soon. But it is paramount that Weis quickly develops his growing stable of running backs so that Notre Dame can be even more dominant on offense in the future.

Clearly the go-to guy right now is junior Armando Allen who has rushed for 514 yards but has been banged up for the majority of the season. When he is healthy, Allen brings a Walker-like game to the Irish offense and is the team’s best weapon right now not named Golden.

The questions arise as to who will continue to back up Allen and which players will step up and assert themselves as the No. 1 runner in the future.

Junior power runner Robert Hughes has been filling in behind Allen and has gained 180 yards on only 40 carries to go along with three touchdowns. Bringing up the rear, sophomore Jonas Gray has picked up 98 yards on 26 carries and true freshman Theo Riddick has chipped in 43 yards on only seven attempts.

Everyone knows Charlie Weis is going to stay with a pass-first offense, but in order to reach the offensive output of the 2005 and 2006 teams, Notre Dame will need a healthy and effective Allen or one of the younger backs to provide excellent back-up carries.

Notice how I didn’t include the veteran Robert Hughes in that scenario? I hate to continue beating this drum, but I don’t think Hughes has much to offer in the form of a running back at Notre Dame. Yes, he’s got pretty good speed and agility for his size, but overall he doesn’t have anywhere near the speed of Allen, Gray, or Riddick.

What’s more, Hughes isn’t much of a threat to catch the ball out of the backfield and that is another slight that can’t be ignored. That’s not to say that Hughes can’t come in and run hard from time to time, because he certainly has this year against Purdue and Washington, but he’s clearly less talented than the other backs waiting to carry the ball for the Irish.

If I am Charlie Weis, I make it a priority over the next two games to give Jonas Gray and Theo Riddick significant amounts of carries whenever possible. This will give Notre Dame two more speedy running backs to utilize in their tough games to close out the season and perhaps more importantly, give the team a lot more confidence in the ground attack heading into 2010.

I don’t believe Weis is doing the team any favors if he continues to give the ball to Hughes whenever Allen is tired or banged up. Even worse, if Notre Dame is sporting healthy leads against Washington State and Navy, Gray and Riddick have to be given the ball.

Clearly, the strength of the Notre Dame offense is the passing game led by Jimmy Clausen, Golden Tate and Kyle Rudolph. However, running the ball is so obviously important to the game of football and it has to be something the Fighting Irish can do effectively against anyone if they want to compete with the best.

This means that even if Notre Dame is breezing through their next two games, Weis shouldn’t just run the ball continuously like he did against Navy last year. But instead, he should keep a balanced offense that mixes up the play calling so that the fresh running backs can gain some confidence without eight men stacked in the box.

It also wouldn’t be a bad idea to develop backup quarterback Dayne Crist as well.

Great Expectations: Why Charlie Weis Is Not the Problem at Notre Dame

Eric Murtaugh — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 18:19:12 -0400

I was doing some hearty coverage of Notre Dame football last night when I came across a blog that made some forthright comments which aroused my interest. Here is a short summary of what was written:

*Charlie Weis is not the problem at Notre Dame

*No coach in South Bend could recruit like Carroll at USC

*Notre Dame is like a small market MLB team

*ND as a program & school cannot recruit dominant defensive players

*Weis has pretty much maxed out ND recruiting

*The program has a bigger image of itself than in reality

*Notre Dame is a "rich man's Stanford", a second-tier school that can't hang with the big boys in college football

*ND has zero shot at beating USC until at least 2013

*Weis' biggest problem is his physical appearance

Let those comments sink in for a moment if you can. Now, I know a lot of Irish fans are going to be somewhat surprised by all of this, but you have to ask yourself: how much of this is true?

I have to admit, I believe a lot of these comments are very true.

Do you think the Notre Dame program has a bigger image of itself than in reality? I'm not sure how the powers that be who are running the University truly feel, but a quick look at history would seem to demonstrate that football is not a priority, or at the very least, not one of the top one or two priorities like it used to be.

In other words, Notre Dame is not a football factory. We all know this and we all know Notre Dame is not the veritable minor league training ground and stop off point for football players the way USC and Florida are.

So, the issue of where this self image comes from is not really about the school itself (except the coaching staff who obviously need to promote that image with statements like "9-3 just isn't good enough"), but it comes from us, the fans of Irish football.

But nothing really bothers me more then if someone says Notre Dame needs to get back to being an elite program because it's NOTRE DAME. Why don't people say the same things about Army? The USMA has a proud tradition of excellence in football, why don't they compete for national titles?

I know the comparison with Army is a bit of a stretch, but my point is, at the end of the day Notre Dame's tradition and past mean very little. Sure the storied tradition helps somewhat with recruiting and the large fan base with deep pockets boost the University's capabilities, but I just don't like the notion that Notre Dame has to be an elite program just because it's Notre Dame.

Make no bones about it, this has been a bitter pill to swallow for many Irish fans. We have a glorious tradition of football, but the playing field is so undeniably un-level and it is difficult for Notre Dame to compete against such stacked odds.

Sure it sounds great and makes one feel proud when we chastise the program, coaches, and other fans for accepting not just mediocrity, but really good football too, all because this is Notre Dame and it should not be happening.

We've witnessed a program, on its knees from lack of recruiting, climb out of that hole and become respectable again. It's very possible we could see this program go from 3 wins, to 7 wins, to 10 wins, but there will still be thousands of people claiming this is not good enough because this is NOTRE DAME. I don't like that perspective.

Which leads me to Charlie Weis and I agree that I don't think the problem is the head coach right now for Notre Dame. In fact, as time goes on I think we'll see that he's done a pretty impressive job of taking this program to the next level from its 1997-2004 darkness, although he may never get it to an elite level.

But again, does anyone really think another coach could bring Notre Dame to the level of USC right now? Even if we assume someone like Brian Kelly is a better college coach, that still leaves the Irish quite a distance from being elite, especially on the defensive side of the ball.

What Notre Dame desperately needs are a couple of Buck Nasty defensive linemen who can dominate the way they do at USC, LSU and Florida. But Notre Dame makes it all but impossible to recruit that stud DT from Long Beach, California with a 2.5 GPA, nor does this kid have any desire to go to Notre Dame. Brian Kelly, Jon Gruden, or any other coach won't change that fact.

Not only does Notre Dame need some Buck Nasty's on their defense, but they need to continually bring in a couple every single year if they want to be a truly elite team. Manti Te'o would be an example of the type of player Notre Dame would need. The Irish need about five or six more of him to be seriously discussed as an elite team.

Just think about it for a moment. The signing of Te'o was heralded as a momentous steal by Weis and Te'o has come in with deserved hype and expectations. But he's just one player. USC has been churning out Manti Te'o type players every season for the past decade.

How many current Notre Dame defensive players would start at USC? How many would even play at all over four years?

And I do think a lot of people are overly harsh of Weis because of his physical appearance and his demeanor which fuel a lot of the hate that is thrown his way. That and the dismissal of Tyrone Willingham.

I suspect if Jim Harbaugh had the exact same record as Weis at Notre Dame we'd be hearing, particularly from non-Irish fans, about how hard it is to win in South Bend and that Harbaugh was doing a great job of digging the program out of the days of Willingham.

As it is, Weis has done an excellent job of recruiting but he still has not been able to recruit dominant defensive players just like his predecessors could not stretching back to the mid 1990's. I’m not going to say that Weis is going to win a title in South Bend, but I think he is clearly bringing the program in the right direction.

There are two things I will stick fast to about Weis. First, he is one of the best offensive minds in all of football. Clearly this guy can score as evidenced by his complete obliteration of the Notre Dame record books over the past five years.

Secondly, I don’t blame Weis for the 2007 season as I still blame Willingham for that and I view it as an aberration of a season. Weis came in and won 19 games in his first two years and then didn’t just forget how to coach folks. Weis will never lose that badly ever again at Notre Dame.

Charlie Weis’ winning percentage currently stands at .589 which is slightly better than his predecessors in Willingham and Davie. If Notre Dame is able to win the rest of their regular season games, Weis’ will move to a very respectable .629 winning percentage.

What’s more, if we take out the aberration of 2007 completely, Weis’ winning percentage is .681 which would have him scratching at the door of where other elite coaches are. Minus the 2007 season and plus six wins to close this season and Weis would be at top 12 winning percentage of .720 behind the likes of legends and legends to be Carroll, Paterno, Stoops, and Bowden.

Many will cry that I can’t remove 2007 because it still counts, which is true, but the reason I bring up these numbers is that Weis could very well be in to the .650 winning percentage range within a calendar year. That would put Charlie Weis at just about the same winning percentage as Frank Beamer’s career at Virginia Tech.

While some call Notre Dame a mid-major along the lines of Michigan State or Boston College, and others shout that Notre Dame must be an elite school, I think the Irish’s potential is somewhere along the lines of Frank Beamer’s Virginia Tech program.

Without the Buck Nasties continually prowling the field on defense for Notre Dame, as they do at USC and Florida, the Irish can never attain the level of success like the Gators and Trojans have over the past decade.

But that doesn’t mean Notre Dame cannot be successful. With the level of recruiting that Weis has been bringing in for a few years, the Irish can be very similar to Virginia Tech and go out and consistently win 10 games a season and try and run with the big boys every three or four years.

It’s time to stop complaining that Notre Dame isn’t an elite program anymore and put some things in perspective. Charlie Weis has done a great job recruiting and has this team’s stock rising. Two months from now we may be smiling at the renewed success in South Bend and another ten win season.

Scouting Jimmy Clausen: Is This Notre Dame QB the No. 1 NFL Pick?

Eric Murtaugh — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 13:21:08 -0400

Will he stay or will he go?

Before the 2009 college football season began, very few people believed Jimmy Clausen would be leaving South Bend a year early to enter the NFL draft. Now, it is looking like a strong possibility.

Why He Enters the 2010 Draft

Obviously, Clausen wouldn't be rumored to leave early unless he was getting significant attention from scouts and media alike to warrant such a decision. Now, after a tumultuous first two seasons at Notre Dame, Clausen is finally being recognized as an elite quarterback and a fine NFL prospect.

Through six games this year, Clausen has put up impressive numbers (1,804 yards, 65 percent completion, 14 TD, 2 INT) and has forced his way into the Heisman conversation with three fourth quarterback comebacks, and nearly two more as well against Michigan and USC respectively.

As of right now, Clausen's stock is sky rocketing and that is sufficient reason to believe he will enter the draft. Depending on who you consult, he is rated as one of the top quarterbacks, ranging anywhere from the top spot all the way to the fifth or sixth best signal-caller.

Also helping matters are the falling stocks of Bradford, McCoy, Tebow and Snead. Not too long ago it was assumed these players would be ultra-high draft picks in 2010. Now, they may all fall out of the first round or worse.

Money is almost certainly going to play a part in Clausen's decision with NFL owners seeking to adjust the rookie pay scale in 2011. With a high stock now, staying for his senior season could cost Jimmy Clausen millions of dollars.

Why He Stays at Notre Dame

Despite the ever increasing amount of praise for Clausen, there are still plenty of reasons to believe he will play out his eligibility in South Bend.

His stock may be high right now, but there is no guarantee it will remain so over the next month or two. In other words, Clausen may very well struggle down the stretch, making a return to Notre Dame all but a foregone conclusion.

Also playing a part will be the amount of returning starters and athletes on the offensive side of the ball, where only two linemen and one receiver will be hanging up their gold helmets.

That means out of the eighteen players currently playing significant minutes on offense, an appetizing fifteen will be back next year, including two of the nation's best wide receivers in Golden Tate and Michael Floyd.

Moreover, you have to also factor in what kinds of goals Clausen would like to achieve at Notre Dame. Right now, his stock is higher than his teams, but the Irish program is on the rise despite two crushing losses in 2009.

Notre Dame isn't winning a national championship this year and it would take some breath taking performances from Clausen for him to even be invited to the Heisman presentation in a couple months.

Next year, his team could come into the season with a high ranking and loads of returning starters and difference makers.

Thoughts of a national championship with a stronger team, being the Heisman front-runner and breaking numerous school records, may be too much to pass up.

Scouting Profile (Weaknesses)

Coming out of high school, Clausen was a very polished quarterback with a very high skill set, but his freshman campaign at Notre Dame showed us many weaknesses that needed to be worked on.

The biggest knock on Clausen is that he is very slow and not a good runner. Although this may not be terribly important as he is a pure pocket passer, this lack of mobility has led to more sacks and less opportunities via broken plays than one would like.

Also, his lack of speed directly affects his escapability in the pocket as he sometimes loses his feet and leaves himself in bad positions to make plays downfield.

Another huge weakness in the past was that Clausen would turn and run away from oncoming defenders when his pocket collapsed, often resulting in drive killing sacks of ten yards or more.

As far as throwing the ball is concerned, Clausen has a bit of a long wind up and had problems in the past with staring down receivers. This weakness, coupled with his burden to carry the offensive load for Notre Dame, was the primary reason he threw seventeen interceptions last year.

Many people, particularly those outside of Notre Dame, have also questioned Clausen's attitude and leadership abilities. He has come off as cocky, brash and arrogant while being labeled as someone who cannot lead his team to a big victory.

Scouting Profile (Strengths)

It is important to note that Jimmy Clausen has made tremendous strides over the past year in improving his overall game, and particularly his weaknesses.

He will always be rather slow, but he has showed tremendous development with his receiver progression, pocket presence, attitude and leadership.

Gone are the days of running away from blitzing defenders, and Clausen now feels pressure extremely well and steps up into the pocket or side steps in order to make a play. He also does so while keeping his eyes down field in order to find an open receiver or make a smart play of throwing the ball away.

Further, Clausen has virtually cut out staring down receivers from his game and is exceptional at keeping his eyes down field, going through his progressions, and checking down if nobody is open.

In general, Clausen has been much smarter with the ball and decision making, as evidenced by his high passer rating and only two interceptions and one fumble.

He also possesses a great set of overall mechanics. Now that he has improved his pocket presence, footwork and decision making, Clausen brings the total package (minus the threat of running).

Clausen is ready to throw quickly by keeping the ball up near his ear always waiting to fire a pass away. What's more, he sells the play action fake very well and shows nice fluidity and form in various three, five, and seven step drops.

With regards to pure passing ability, Clausen is probably at the top of the list throughout college football. He has a very strong arm, incredible accuracy, shows nice touch on short routes and screens, as well as throwing one of the best deep balls in the country.

Although his delivery is somewhat long, the amount of zip and speed Clausen puts on the ball makes up for that fact. This enables him to set his feet and deliver accurate and hard thrown out routes and other patterns.

Perhaps most of all, Clausen's maturation as a leader and his seemingly changed attitude are night and day from when he rolled into the College Football Hall of Fame in a limo announcing his commitment to Notre Dame. It could be that Clausen was simply confident, not cocky, and in the past was not ready to assume the leadership role his position entails.

Today, he is getting praised for his toughness as he battles a season long turf toe injury, has been named a team captain, and has rallied Notre Dame in the last five games, bringing home three victories in the process all while being his teams MVP.

Summary

In my opinion, Jimmy Clausen will be coming back for his senior season at Notre Dame and he will most likely be the top quarterback taken in the 2011 NFL draft.

When it comes down to it, I believe Clausen still has too much to prove at the college level and leaving early would leave too much on the table, despite the luring of riches in the NFL.

A possible run at a title, real shot at the Heisman, all the returning starters, a chance to break school records and cement his legacy with the likes of Hornung, Theisman and Montana; and a possible epic showdown in his native southern California against the Trojans to conclude the 2010 season, is way too much fun and responsibility to pass up.

I don't think money will be as much of an issue since Clausen's family is said to be very well off, and you would think he would be confident enough that he will earn a big contract by playing well in the NFL anyway.

By all accounts, Clausen and Washington quarterback Jake Locker are probably the two best choices for the "franchise" label. It's no surprise that both are getting great reviews, as they are now the top two quarterbacks on Todd McShay's draft board despite both being juniors.

In my view, any NFL team probably couldn't go wrong with either guy. Clausen reminds me of a slightly less talented version of Dan Marino, while Locker seems to be a more athletic version of Ben Roethlisberger.

Will Clausen succeed in the NFL? We won't know for sure until years from now, but I like his chances. He will have to adjust his game to the speed of the NFL and make up for his lack of mobility, but he has the arm and smarts to do so.

I know there are a plethora of scouts drooling over his ability to stretch the field, throw accurately, and throw the deep ball with precision. But here's to hoping he stays one more season in an Irish uniform.

Stay Positive, Irish Nation: Why the Loss to USC Is Promising

Eric Murtaugh — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 14:51:16 -0400

Where does one start with this game? Well, let me say the 2009 matchup between Notre Dame and USC played out almost exactly like I thought it would.

I know a lot of people will be chastising the Irish for losing eight in a row to the Trojans and the continuing lack of a big win against a top team. And many will say this is the end of the line for Weis and that there are no moral victories in defeat.

However, I’m not buying any of that. I never thought you could go from zero touchdowns in two years worth of games to a victory despite USC losing a handful of key players. The talent gap is smaller now, but Notre Dame still has a bit more to go to defeat top 10 teams.

Here’s what I take away from this game:

Negatives

The Irish defense just is not good enough to win big-time games. The secondary continues to be dismal and is clearly the Achilles' heel holding Notre Dame back from taking the team as a whole to the next level.

They did an admirable job bottling up the Trojan running game but allowed a freshman quarterback to scorch them in the biggest of moments. And although the tackling was slightly improved, it is still too weak and it cost the Irish once again.

On the other side of the ball, the offensive line had a hard time containing the USC defensive line, particularly early in the game. As improved as the Irish offensive line has played this year, they still struggle mightily against quick defenses coming off the edges.

Positives

You have to be impressed with the way Notre Dame fought back in this game, even if they couldn’t score at the end of the game. With the effort, the Irish showed that they can hang with the best of teams in the country and that is promising.

And given the circumstances (Clausen’s injury, no Floyd) it is still exciting that Notre Dame could put almost 400 yards and 30 points up against one of the nation’s best defenses.

Up front on defense, the Irish played pretty well against the Trojan rushing attack, limiting them to only 3.7 yards per rush and was able to get decent pressure in the face of Barkley after being blocked for the good part of the first half.

Player Profiles

Manti Te’o : Another strong game from the Hawaiian linebacker, as he seems to be getting better and better each week. He’s not a dominant player by any means but for a true freshman, he is a vicious tackler and solid playmaker on defense.

Robby Parris : Just an all-around gutsy effort by Parris as he stepped up and had a huge game finishing with nine receptions for 92 yards. Hopefully in the coming weeks he will become a more reliable target in the passing game.

Armando Allen : Not an outstanding performance by Allen, but he showed a lot of grit and toughness when his number was called. Fifty-one yards on 12 carries isn’t going to blow anyone away, but he averaged a better YPC than the mighty McKnight.

Harrison Smith : Flat out bad day and season for Smith at the safety position. Can you think of one marginally important tackle or pass breakup that he has had through six games? I don’t think there’s any doubt that H. Smith is the biggest liability on the defense.

Golden Tate : How can he not be considered one of the best receivers in the country? Back to back elite games by Tate, all without the presence of Floyd, make him a truly special player. Golden should probably be getting some Heisman votes as well.

Jimmy Clausen : He struggled early against a strong pass rush, but settled in and came away with another strong performance. It would have been nice to see a touchdown at the end of the game to force overtime and a possible miracle comeback, but in no way did Clausen play poorly.

A lot of people are going to write Clausen off and he probably won’t win the Heisman, but he’s still the best quarterback in the country in my mind.

Summary

For some reason, I wasn’t that heart broken after this loss. I think this had to do with the fact that I expected a close loss and that it was nice to see a strong comeback after it looked like USC was going to run away with the game in the second half.

Obviously, the Irish defense needs to play much better or games against BC, Pitt, Stanford, and even Navy could be closer than they probably should be. It’s almost unfathomable how awful the Notre Dame secondary has been all season long and something needs to change.

Right now, I have to say that the play of Harrison Smith is absolutely killing Notre Dame. He’s a complete non-factor in coverage and has been the most unreliable tackler on the whole roster.

As much as McCarthy has been a hero on defense, his play isn’t helping the situation either. He is the team’s most sound tackler but has been playing too close to the line of scrimmage and hanging Harrison Smith out to dry in coverage.

So while McCarthy may be doing an admirable job, I think we have to face the facts that Notre Dame doesn’t have REAL safeties playing right now.

We’ve seen the defensive line improve significantly throughout the season and even the linebackers have improved slightly (although they’re still not great in coverage either). The way these two units played against USC’s top flight offensive line is very encouraging.

But the play of the corners and safeties has been about as bad as it can get. How does a giant tight end get behind the entire defense TWICE in the biggest of moments? How has Notre Dame’s supposed strength on defense turned out to be such a liability?

At this point, I don’t know how much of this is coaching but this team does not tackle well and there is constant blown coverage all over the place. If it were up to me, I would start looking to get someone else playing time at safety and I would force them to stay deep in coverage.

And despite McCarthy being such a great tackler, I would keep him back in coverage as well and help the passing defense. With the improvements of the defensive line I feel pretty confident that this team can stop the run.

The only problem is Boston College, Pitt, Navy, and Stanford are all going to try and run the ball down Notre Dame’s throat, so we probably won’t be seeing the safeties deep in coverage.

On offense, I came away pretty impressed with the way Notre Dame made adjustments and mounted a comeback in the second half. Once the line started giving Clausen time and room to throw, things really started to open up and the offense looked very strong.

All in all, I’m very happy and excited with the way the offense performed. There were a lot of questions and accusations coming into this game that Notre Dame couldn’t play against an elite defense. I don’t think there are many questions anymore.

Plus, let’s not forget Notre Dame was playing without the services of Michael Floyd, who, by all accounts, could have been the difference in this game. With Floyd in the lineup, this team can hang 30 on any team in the country, and yes that includes the likes of Florida, Alabama, and others.

Barring more injuries, this offense is about as good as you’ll see in college football. They don’t turn the ball over and there is finally enough balance to open up the passing game. This bodes well for the future.

In regards to Weis, I think he has shown that he can develop talent and make Notre Dame very competitive with the elite teams when he has veteran guys to work with. Perhaps a different coach would have the Irish playing better defense, but you’d be hard pressed to find one who could get this offense playing as well as it has.

I was of the opinion that, unless this game was a complete blowout, I would still have confidence in Weis as coach. Yes, Notre Dame desperately needed a win in a game like this, but all is not lost.

Weis needs to come back and run the table the rest of the season, or at least, finish the regular season 9-3 (I still think it will be 10-2). Doesn’t everyone remember how bad this team was only 12-20 months ago? The Irish need to start beating good teams before the giants can be slayed in the future.

I know a lot of people are chomping at the bit wanting Notre Dame to get back to a top team, but the defense just isn’t close to being good enough for that to happen. If Weis can pick up double digit wins this season and get Notre Dame to a good bowl game there will be a lot of promise going into next year.

Anyway, there is still a lot of promise left for this 2009 season.

Notes

*How nice was it to see John Goodman get some playing time and have an impact on the game? Even Kamara had a couple strong receptions that helped Notre Dame move the chains. I think the rest of the year Weis should develop Goodman, Evans and Walker as much as possible.

*Does Kamara stay on his feet and catch the last throw of the game if Notre Dame Stadium had field turf?

*Anyone else sick and tired of listening to NBC’s broadcast team?

*How about the pro-style socks Notre Dame wore? I’m usually very critical of the socks NFL teams wear, but I thought Notre Dame looked really good with the blue on top of the white. It made the players looks bigger and faster.

*Nobody, and I mean nobody, throws the deep ball better than Clausen. Bradford, McCoy, Tebow, Snead and others could get ten chances each to make the throw Clausen did to Tate and there wouldn’t be one ball thrown as perfect as Clausen’s was.

Notre Dame-USC: Irish Need the Shillelagh, but Have the Trojans Grown Attached?

Eric Murtaugh — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:34:43 -0400

In five days the Notre Dame football team will confront their arch-nemesis USC and seek a victory which has eluded the Irish for far too long. It's been such a build up with both teams enjoying bye weeks coming into this weekend that I've had a hard time finding something to say about the matchup.

Needless to say, this is a huge game for Notre Dame. It's now a cold hard fact to many that if the Irish want respect, then they have to beat USC this Saturday. It's just that simple. Or is it?

Even though the prospects of defeating the Trojans are as good as they have been in some years, there is still a lingering feeling of certain defeat for the Irish, especially in the eyes of many fans. Losing every contest for almost an entire decade will do that to you.

That is not to say that I'm not hopeful or that Notre Dame can't win, but until there is a victory against USC I am helplessly cautious.

And let's be honest, USC is still really, really good. Sure, they lost to Washington but Barkley makes their offense 25 percent better and Mays makes the defense 25 percent better, if not even more. With those two in the lineup, USC would have taken down the Huskies.

Further, this is definitely a crossroads moment for Charlie Weis and there is more pressure than ever to win this game. Right now, I don't want to entertain the thoughts of what would happen if the Irish win Saturday. Those discussions should be saved until the shillelagh is back in South Bend.

But I have to ask: what is going to happen if Notre Dame loses again to USC?

Of course the usual crowd will be out for blood shouting that Notre Dame can't beat the top teams in college football, Weis never wins the big game and the program is terminally mediocre. However, unless there is another Trojan blow out, these concerns are less important to me than you would think.

The reason is two fold: First, as I've already stated, USC is a top program and when all is said and done they could be in the national championship picutre. In this way, losing to such a formidable opponent isn't as crushing as losing to Michigan, Nebraska, or even Ohio State or Penn State.

USC is still a top five team in my eyes until proven otherwise.

Secondly, even with a loss the Irish can show improvement and take positives away from how they performed. Remember it was only 10 months ago that Notre Dame lost to Syracuse and couldn't gain a first down against USC. As much as another loss to the Trojans would be deflating, I don't think it's fair to say all is lost if that does in fact occur.

I don't mean to sound pessimistic or concede defeat to USC before the game is even played, but I think it is important to be realistic here.

As much talent as there is on the Irish offense, the truth is that the Notre Dame defense is decidedly average, or worse. Which means more than likely Clausen and Co. will have to put up at least 30 points to stay in the game.

And since 2004, in over five years of football, USC has only given up 30 or more points three times (Oregon State 33 in 2006, Texas 38 in 2005, and Notre Dame 31 in 2005). Clearly, the Fighting Irish have their work cut out for them.

What I really want is to fight the urge to give up on the season or give up on Weis as head coach if USC is victorious Saturday. I'm not one of the Irish supporters who demands excellence RIGHT NOW or else proclaim all is lost if those lofty goals aren't met.

I want Notre Dame to win as bad as anyone but a loss to USC is not the end of the world. If it does happen, the Irish will need to pick themselves back up and march forward to a ten win regular season.

Maybe that will get Notre Dame into a BCS bowl and face an opponent outside of the top five in what would be an excellent measuring stick heading into the 2010 season. Even with a loss to USC, a record of 10-3 or 11-2 would be something special.

I guess what it boils down to for me is that I want to see progress in the form of a better Irish defense and wins against ranked teams in the future, except I still think beating USC is asking a bit much at this point.

Beating a ranked Pitt team, or defeating say, No. 12 Nebraska in a bowl game seem like more realistic steps for Notre Dame. What this means is that the Irish have to start beating good teams before taking down the great ones.

But you never do know what's going to happen on Saturday and I expect Notre Dame to give USC a good run for its money. But win or lose, let's keep things in perspective and hope this team shows enough progress to continue a successful season.

Other Thoughts:

*Do you think an impending Alabama-Florida SEC championship game is more exciting than the Super Bowl? I sure do.

*I was reading a blog that talked about how Notre Dame should switch to field turf because the natural grass is just too much of a mess. I think I agree with this after watching Clausen slip about ten times against Washington in early October.

And I'm not too crazy about them growing the grass to ridiculous lengths for the USC game either. As much speed as the Trojans have, they have a more distinct advantage in size and power on both lines. I'd rather see Notre Dame try and take advantage of their speed with guys like Allen, Tate, Rudolph, and Te'o.

*ESPN College Gameday is not in South Bend this weekend on a college campus, but instead will be in Dallas (and not on a college campus) for the Oklahoma-Texas game. I find this very dissapointing.

*Speaking of the Red River Shootout, I really want to see the Sooners win. I tabbed Texas to win the crystal ball this year but they've been lackluster against a seriously weak schedule and I just love to see chaos in the polls.

I still think there's something special about Colt McCoy but I'd love to see Oklahoma jump back into the top 10 with two losses and have everyone pulling their hair out. You just know that if OU wins the Big 12 they will be in the national championship discussion even if teams like Cincinnati or Boise State are still undefeated. Long live the BCS!

*Any chance we see the green jerseys for the Irish this weekend? It has been a while since they've worn them. What if it is a close game at half time and then Weis decided to go with the switch from blue to green? I'd say there's a 10 percent chance we see them at all.

*The odds went up that Tim Tebow will be bringing home his second Heisman after his Gators defeated LSU on Saturday night. Unless someone steps up big time (No. 7 on Notre Dame), Florida is going to keep on winning and Tebow will be the front runner. Did I mention a Florida-Alabama matchup yet? It's going to be epic.

Jimmy Clausen and Notre Dame Hand Washington Huskies Devastating Loss

Eric Murtaugh — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 22:08:24 -0400

It was another thrilling victory again for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish as they defeated Washington in overtime yesterday. The Irish now stand at 4-1 heading into a bye week and a looming matchup with archrival USC in two weeks.

So what are we to make of Notre Dame after five weeks?

I think a lot of people believed before the season that a 4-1 record for the Irish would be a pretty decent start, and I think what we have learned is exactly that: Notre Dame is a decent team.

Unless Notre Dame improves significantly in a handful of key areas, particularly defense, this team is not a national contender, but there are still a lot of positives for this team as one of the biggest games of the Weis era comes up in a couple weeks.

If there’s one thing this team can do, it is throw the ball. Quarterback Jimmy Clausen is going to become a national Heisman contender over the next two weeks; there’s just no way he won’t be in the discussion now.

Clausen threw for 422 yards against UW, and this wasn’t one of those Weis games where Notre Dame abandoned the run and just threw it all over the field. The Irish ran the ball a respectable 29 times in the game, and Clausen only attempted 31 passes.

For now, I’ll just say Clausen is one of the most improved players in the country. He’s proven two things this year that bring a whole new dimension to his game and Notre Dame’s chances: he’s tough and he’s becoming clutch.

Elsewhere on offense, Golden Tate is an incredible athlete. His 244 yards receiving was second most in school history, and Tate is also becoming a clutch player. I wasn’t sure what Washington was doing, because it didn’t seem like they were doubling Tate, who was open all day long.

The other positive news for Notre Dame is that Nick Tausch has turned into a reliable and steady placekicker. The kicking game was a real liability the past two years, and Tausch has started 10 for 11, including tying a school-record five field goals against UW.

The running game was disappointing against Washington, and that is something that will have to improve if Notre Dame wants to beat USC. Armando Allen had a very mediocre game before being injured and replaced by Robert Hughes at tailback.

I’ve been hard on Hughes in the past, but I have to admit he really stepped up and played really well against the Huskies. In fact, he was the reason Weis could keep the offense relatively balanced after Allen left the game.

Overall, the offensive line for Notre Dame has been outstanding. They still struggle in short yardage situations, but Notre Dame can pretty much run the ball when it wants to and the line has been giving Clausen great protection all year.

On defense I don’t know what to think or say. On the one hand, they are statistically a downright bad defense and gave up 457 yards to Washington. Yet, for the second time this season, they came away with improbable stops when it counted most.

Still, I can’t shake the feeling that the defense is at best average. Clearly, the defense has been the most disappointing aspect of the 2009 Irish club and will need to play better if a BCS bowl is going to be discussed.

I can’t figure out what is wrong with the defensive backfield. This was supposed to be the beast of the Notre Dame defense, and they have been pretty bad this year. McCarthy is a great tackler and has been the defense's best player, but he isn’t great in coverage and his fellow safety Harrison Smith has been all but invisible this year.

Corners Darrin Walls and Rasheon McNeil have been picked on quite frequently this year and have not been doing much in coverage. Sophomore Robert Blanton has been better in coverage, but the playmaking ability is missing. From what I’ve seen, Gary Gray has been the most dependable corner and he needs to play more in the future.

On the coaching front, I think Charlie Weis is slowly learning the college football game, and he played his cards very well against Washington. Basically, he coached a very un-Weis like game and it worked amazingly.

Going forward, it will be beneficial and likely that Weis will not be gambling so much on fourth down. In the past, he might have tried to force a touchdown on fourth down near the goal line on a couple of occasions, but smartly relied on his kicking game.

Obviously, the game against USC is going to be huge. The Trojans offense may not be as powerful as in the past, but it is still a dangerous unit, and Barkley probably won’t be hesitant to throw the ball against Notre Dame.

That means it’s going to be tough to keep USC under 30 points, and the Irish offense will be facing its toughest test of the year against a top five defense. Without a strong running game, Notre Dame will be forced to rely heavily on the pass, and that most likely will not work.

Armando Allen seems to have a beat-up ankle and, even after the rest of the bye week, he may not be 100 percent. Hughes's effort has been admirable in the past two games, but he doesn’t present a huge threat and has trouble being effective if large holes aren’t opened by the offensive line.

Weis seems reluctant to give Gray and Riddick any carries, but they may be needed to add more speed against USC. It would also be a good idea to get Tate the ball as much as possible, and give him some carries out of the backfield, too.

The receivers played better against UW, but there still isn’t a decent number two. Evans finally made a name for himself this weekend, and I think it’s safe to say he will be sharing most of the playing time with Robby Parris. Clearly, Evans has the ability, and Parris (besides his drop in the end zone) is a smart player with reliable hands.

Sticking tight end Kyle Rudolph at wideout was also a great move by Weis, and it could be very effective against USC. If Notre Dame can get another tight end to block consistently and become a small threat in the passing game, Rudolph could be a huge threat. Weis could then use Rudolph in a Dallas Clarke-type role and create mismatches all over the field.

The Irish defense really feeds off energy, and with the home crowd, they have a chance to beat USC. Two areas the defense really needs to improve on are tackling and coverage. The tackling against Washington was mostly abysmal, and it is still too easy to move the ball through the air against Notre Dame.

The good thing is that Notre Dame is winning games they would usually have lost in the past. That is a big sign of progress, and I believe Weis has really done well this year game planning for opponents. Beyond USC, there are still a few tough games (BC, Pitt, and Stanford especially), but the Irish can still be a 10-win team.

As bad as the defense has played, it will be very difficult to stop the Irish offense. The anemic efforts against Michigan State, Pittsburgh, BC, and Syracuse in 2008 are not going to happen this year. That’s why this team still has hope for greater things.

Notes

*Manti Te’o played his best game of his brief career against Washington and showed why he’s one of the best defensive recruits in the nation. From this point forward, he should be starting at outside linebacker and giving the defense a big boost in speed and playmaking ability.

*How about the defenses multiple goal line stands? Have you ever seen such big stops so close to the end zone? I have to give credit where credit is due, and the defense played incredible down there, especially on the game-sealing big hit on the UW receiver in overtime.

On the touchdown that was overturned (and probably would have won UW the game), I thought the player was down at the half-yard line after seeing the replay, but I still thought it would be better for the Huskies to score (assuming they would score anyway from the one yard line) and leave Notre Dame with more time on the clock to come back.

Little did I know the Huskies wouldn’t put it in for six. I was very surprised Sarkisian went for field goals twice down that deep. It was weird to watch Weis be conservative in moments he usually wouldn’t be, and for the Huskies to not try to put the dagger in the Irish’s heart late in the game.

*Jimmy Clausen is officially one of the best quarterbacks in the country. His failed swing pass to Allen that was scooped up and brought back for a score was a huge blunder, but how many passes has Clausen thrown that were even close to being considered bad?

There was one ill-advised throw into the end zone that was almost picked off, but other than that, Clausen had two drops and a few balls that he rightly threw away. Even the interception to Allen should have been caught.

*This was another game that had ridiculous officiating. The refs were bad to both sides, too, overturning Washington’s touchdown at the one-yard line, which was questionable, and not spotting Hughes’s knee down on the two-point conversion.

Also, how do you call roughing the passer on Johnson, passing interference on Brown, and, worst of all, the roughing the snapper on the Washington field goal? All three were just terrible calls.

*Is this team better than the 2005 or 2006 teams? Before the Washington game, I thought this was a team very similar to Weis’s first two clubs—most likely, 10 wins and a BCS bowl appearance.

But after the defense gave up massive amounts of yards again, I’m not sure they can carry Notre Dame to a BCS berth. Can the Irish rely on Clausen to lead miracles every single game?

Obviously, beating USC would be a huge statement, but I think even keeping the game close in two weeks will bring optimism. USC might have had a hiccup against UW, but I still think they are a top-five team and will be very dangerous.

A loss to USC would reignite the hot seat for Weis, but even still, Notre Dame can win the rest of their games and shoot for winning a BCS game. No matter what, so far this year, Weis has Notre Dame improving and that is a very positive sign.

Cleveland Browns QB Brady Quinn Endures Coach Eric Mangini's Seven Deadly Sins

Eric Murtaugh — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 12:23:58 -0400

Here are the seven sins of Browns Coach Eric Mangini- that have left a bad taste in my mouth- in regards to quarterback Brady Quinn.

No. 1 The Lack of Snaps in the Preseason

With all the drama that's unfolded over the past few days, this reason still stands as one of the biggest why not only Quinn struggled, but the Browns team has as well.

Due to the painstakingly long quarterback competition, neither Quinn or Anderson was able to establish any rhythm or chemistry with the offense. This was more damaging for Quinn, who had only a dozen quarters of NFL football under his belt coming into 2009. Unlike Anderson, who came in with ten times the experience.

Any way you slice it, this was a big problem right from the beginning. We've heard Tom Brady say he'd like more preseason games coming off his injury so that he could get back into a groove and find a rhythm. Same goes for Peyton Manning coming off his injury last year.

In essence, the Browns were still in preseason mode because of the lack of snaps given to Quinn in the preseason. Not only that, but the lack of practice and the coaching involved has seemingly stunted Quinn's growth as numerous observers who have watched Quinn over the last seven years have duly noted.

No. 2 Bad Play-Calling

There are three truths that are slowly becoming etched in stone for the Browns.

The first is that Mangini is not a good head coach.

The second is that Dabol is not a good offensive coordinator.

And the third is that the Browns problems and ineptitude do not start or end with the quarterback position, regardless if Quinn or Anderson is playing.

From the start of the season, the Browns have run a very conservative offense relying on short passes, screens, and the ground game. The result is that it hasn't worked.

Quinn may not have been executing this gameplan rather effectively, but it's still on the coaches for preparing such a ludicrous game plan in the first place.

The coaching staff severely limited Quinn's time in the preseason, continued to play it safe to start the season, then ultimately cried foul when Quinn was unable to do anything but play it safe.

I know Quinn has been holding the ball too long, been hesitant to throw down field, and hasn't picked up enough third down conversions, but really, what did the coaches expect given the circumstances?

Mangini was supposed to preach ball control offense, limited turnovers, and a strong power running game. There's been no running game and now Mangini wants to bring in Anderson who is the antithesis of a ball control quarterback?

To use a baseball analogy, Cleveland has been implementing a game plan and coaching Quinn to bunt and hit singles. Now, they are benching him because he hasn't hit enough doubles and home runs.

No. 3 Complete Lack of Trust

This was one is important because it not only affects Quinn's game plan, but has permeated throughout the entire Browns roster.

When Mangini subjected Cleveland nation to an intense quarterback competition, it was with the intention of picking the right guy who could give the Browns the best chance to win on Sunday.

The head coach has even made trust a sticking point throughout his time in Ohio- and stated in the past- that whoever won the quarterback competition would be the starter he would stick with.

Apparently, trust is only a one-way street for Mangini.

The more level-headed Browns fans stressed continually this preseason that if Quinn were to win the job that Mangini & Co., would need to be patient and develop the young guy for the sake of the future.

Not many people expected great things from Cleveland, so it was assumed there would be a level of trust between Mangini and Quinn as the year progressed, and the development continued, but reality is otherwise.

That trust is completely gone.

No. 4 Two and a Half Games

This one is a real throat punch indeed.

Again, scores of Browns fans wanted to see Quinn play, at minimum, eight regular season games in 2009, to see what they have in their first round draft pick.

No matter how you look at it, pulling Quinn after ten quarters of football is completely uncalled for. I don't even want to elaborate on this topic because it is such a joke it's not even funny.

No. 5 The Peformance of Derek Anderson

If number five was a punch to the throat, this one is a bunch to the groin.

If Anderson had come in against Baltimore and played in any way better than Quinn, then I wouldn't have as much of a problem with the quarterback switch (although two and a half games?? Really??).

Instead, Anderson throws three interceptions and is once again at the bottom of the league in passer rating. Maybe if DA led the Browns to a touchdown or two this would make sense, but it makes anything but that.

Instead, Anderson couldn't complete 60 percent of his passes and turned the ball over on three of four possessions. Is that supposed to convince me of something, when DA is allowed to chuck the ball down field indiscriminately without repercussions from the head coach?

To use the baseball analogy again, Quinn has been striking out too often, but has been bunting and hitting singles just like the coaches planned.

On the other hand, Anderson has been told to swing for the fences and hit a couple singles, but nonetheless, struck out at a higher rate than Quinn.

The only difference is, despite common logic, Mangini is more forgiving of the veteran quarterback mistakes than the inexperienced quarterback mistakes.

No. 6 Panic Decision

At this point, with reason number six, something doesn't smell right and isn't adding up.

Remember how we were subjected to the perilous long quarterback competition only a month ago and how serious a decision it was?

Remember how Quinn outperformed Anderson in nearly every aspect of preseason, and Mangini still took every last minute to name Quinn the starter against Minnesota?

Now, this same guy takes only 48 hours after a three interception performance by Anderson to, in fact, name said Mr. Anderson the starting quarterback next Sunday.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around that.

However, it looks as if Mangini is simply panicking and despite cooler heads, who believe the Browns should stick with Quinn and develop a quarterback for once, the head coach is going for broke with Anderson.

No. 7 Set Up For Failure

Admittedly, this reason is nothing more than my conjecture, but it sure seems like this was nothing more than a set up.

There are numerous media sources and experts telling the world that Mangini has favored Anderson all along, but felt pressure to play Quinn from ownership, fans, etc.

Do I believe this? I'm not really sure and we may never know the truth. But what I do know is that it sure as heck seems like it is.

Why else does Quinn have to start against three tough defenses, work with an uber-conservative game plan, and get crucified for his mistakes, only to see Mangini open up the play book for Anderson, forgive him of any mistakes he may make in the process and conveniently name him the starter against a weaker Cincinnati defense at the first chance the coach could get?

I do know that this mess of a situation, as I predicted long ago, would happen with both Anderson and Quinn on the roster.

How is it that Quinn, once one of the most confident young quarterbacks in the league, has become so hesitant and indecisive? He wasn't like that last year folks. Like ESPN's Chris Mortensen mentioned yesterday, the problem is bad coaching and bad ownership.

If Lerner really wants Quinn to play quarterback, then he cannot be happy right now. Either way, having an owner like this is not good for the Browns.

But then, what about Quinn's contract incentives? Are they playing a part in this decision? Does Lerner really want Quinn as quarterback bad enough to pay him $11 million dollars if he gets 70 percent of the snaps?

And if Mangini really wanted Anderson to start, why did we have to go through all of this? Why couldn't Quinn have been traded? Why put Quinn in this untenable position that has been destructive to both him and his teammates?

It is fine if Mangini wanted to play Anderson all along, but the resulting fiasco just reinforces the truth that Cleveland really does have a bad owner and a horrible coach. If Mangini doesn't want Quinn, then trade him immediately.

I don't care if Quinn plays this year, but I'd rather he sit behind Hasslebeck, Delhomme, or Bulger with an organization willing to actually develop a young quarterback, instead of hanging him out to dry and making him a scape goat for the coaches own destructiveness.

We Can't Work It Out: Why The Cleveland Browns Should Trade QB Brady Quinn

Eric Murtaugh — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:06:33 -0400

It's not even a month into the season and I'm already fed up.

I don't claim to be a rabid Browns fan—I'm more of a college football guy, but out of all the NFL teams, Cleveland is my favorite.

Now I have to ask: What the heck is going on with the Cleveland Browns and what have they done to Brady Quinn?

Before Eric Mangini came to Cleveland I didn't know too much about him except that a lot of Jets fans did not like him and many Cleveland fans were divided over his hiring.

When Mangini came to the Browns, I expected him to trade either Derek Anderson or Quinn. When this did not happen, I put up with it and looked forward to the impending quarterback competition that would unfold knowing Quinn would prove himself once given the opportunity.

Then, for the entirety of training camp and preseason ball, Mangini didn't make up his mind as to who the starter will be. Alarm bells started going off and this was the mistake that, as a lukewarm Browns supporter, put me over the edge.

You can talk about having an "advantage" by forcing opposing teams to prepare for two quarterbacks and relish the fact that you have two solid quarterbacks to choose from, but this approach does not work.

It especially doesn't work with a team searching for an identity behind a rookie coach.

The Lions handed the keys to Stafford. The Falcons did the same with Ryan, as did the Ravens with Flacco, and the Jets with Sanchez. All of these teams are on the rise because they had the guts to make a pick and stick with it.

Now with a whole other pile of garbage and negative media coming out about Eric Mangini—I am clearly not a fan of this coach anymore.

Back to Brady Quinn, if I may. I am really rooting for this guy to succeed in the NFL and I never thought his career would come to this point. It's almost laughable what kind of situation he's walked into since being drafted by the Browns.

The only situation resembling Quinn's is perhaps Matt Leinart's in Arizona. I was never on the Leinart bandwagon and I would certainly be upset about his current situation if I was a fan of his.

But at least the Cardinals gave him over 20 games experience and brought in a proven quarterback to lead the team and from which Leinart could learn. It may be a bitter pill to swallow for Leinart, but at some point you would think he is going to get a chance to start again and will be much improved because of his time behind Warner.

The same cannot be said for Quinn and the Browns.

When Cleveland made a move with Dallas to pick up Quinn I was elated. I had thought that my favorite college player could go to my favorite pro team, but I didn't think it would actually happen, especially after the Browns took Joe Thomas with their first pick.

Now, the local boy had come home to play for his favorite team and everything was going to be awesome. However, it didn't take long for things to sour.

Almost immediately there were rumors out of the Browns camp that Quinn would be brought along slowly, possibly not even start or play his rookie season. I thought Quinn was pretty NFL ready coming into his senior season at Notre Dame, but this didn't really bother me because I expected him to progress slowly in the NFL anyway.

This was mistake number one.

Not shortly after this, Quinn did not report to camp because of a contract dispute. I can't really blame anyone for this except Quinn and his agent, but we have to remember this still is a business. As it was, did it really matter that Quinn ultimately showed up a few days late to camp? Was he going to get a fair shot at the job anyway?

This was mistake number two.

And knowing what we know now, let's just get it out of the way and despite my initial giddiness, lament the fact that Quinn was drafted by the Cleveland Browns.

This was mistake number three.

Then during the 2007 season, the Browns miraculously play out of their minds led by a strong, but inconsistent year by Derek Anderson. Cleveland reeled off 10 wins and just barely missed out on the playoffs.

This wasn't so much a mistake, as it was a stroke of bad luck for Quinn.

During the off-season, there was plenty of debate about what to do with the quarterbacks in Cleveland. The consensus seemed to be to trade one of them and move on. The Browns instead inked Anderson to a sizable contract extension while knowingly keeping Quinn as the backup.

This was mistake number four.

The 2008 season began and it didn't take long for things to go badly. Anderson looked super shaky and by mid-season Quinn was given his first start against Denver.

Finally!

And boy did his first start look impressive. This is what I've been waiting for, I thought to myself. Quinn looked nothing like a rookie, just like I knew he wouldn't, and he played outstanding despite the team's loss.

The next week Quinn and the Browns came to my hometown to take on the Bills. Once again, Quinn came out looking polished. Then, late in the second quarter a replay was shown of Quinn hitting a Bills' helmet on his follow through with his hand.

That's not good, I thought. From that point on, until his benching the next game, Quinn seemed slightly less effective and we later found out he had broken his index finger.

Stroke of bad luck number two.

Which leads us to the beginning of this season and all of the nonsense that has accompanied the Browns thus far. It's beginning to look like Mangini's hiring was mistake number five for Quinn, and Mangini's handling of the quarterback situation during the preseason mistake number six. The actual coaching in the games thus far could be considered mistake number seven as well.

Today, something isn't right with Quinn and I'm almost positive it has to do with the coaching in Cleveland. It's been nearly three years, but the Browns have taken one of the most talented quarterbacks in college history and done almost everything in their power to make sure he cannot succeed.

I'm not going to sit here and tell you that Quinn is the next superstar in waiting either. He's not a genuine pure passer and he struggles when not in a rhythm. His arm strength is good, but he won't make those pin hole passes guys like Favre and Cutler can make.

And although he is capable of throwing the deep ball, he has struggled with his accuracy at times down field, especially with receivers he doesn't have chemistry or rhythm with (see above). And lastly, he has been trained by Charlie Weis in college to play it smart and he is more willing to hit the safe short pass that's wide open than the deeper pass that is kind of open.

None of these criticisms mean that Quinn won't be a good quarterback though. A lot of these things Quinn can work on and all he needs is the playing time to do so. But there is a ton of upside with him as well and he has many qualities one would look for in a franchise quarterback.

Quinn showed in those brief moments against Denver and Buffalo what kind of potential he has in this league, and now I can't wrap my head around what is going on.

Quinn has amazing footwork but he's been given shotgun plays that stifle the running game and don't allow any play action passes. Why? If you're afraid of giving up sacks at least let Quinn play under center and give the running game a chance to succeed and allow some rhythm to develop on play action and bootlegs.

At this point, I am 100 percent in favor of the Browns trading Quinn. At first I was against it because I wanted to see him succeed for his hometown team and a trade would kind of be a knock against him and a step back in terms of confidence.

Now I just don't care. What Quinn needs more than anything is a fresh start somewhere. Someplace that is willing to give him a fair shot and not a bunch of BS and 6 starts over a three year span.

I kept telling everyone this off-season that keeping Quinn and Anderson was nothing but trouble. And what do the Browns do now? To tell the truth I'm not even sure I want Quinn starting anymore because:

A.) The Browns have the least amount of offensive talent in the NFL

B.) The head coach seems incompetent and foolish

C.) The offensive call-playing is a joke

D.) Even the most dedicated Browns fans are going to get restless unless Quinn plays significantly better

Point D is all the more true especially with the likes of Ryan, Flacco, and Sanchez coming into the league with instant success.

But that's another thing I kept telling everyone: don't expect miracles from Quinn. You can't expect him to suddenly take this team to the next level. These other young quarterbacks were placed in perfect situations for signal callers: teams with strong running games and tough defenses. Quinn has none of that to work with.

As a Browns fan and Quinn supporter, I just don't know where to go from here. I can't think of a situation for a first round quarterback that was been this convoluted and filled with such ineptness from a team perspective and bad luck from a players perspective.

From day one Quinn had been mishandled at nearly every turn by the Cleveland coaching staff. It may be time to cut ties and trade him to another franchise. I know I am perfectly at peace with that outcome.

Contemplating Our Lady Du Lac: Thoughts On Notre Dame & Other Things

Eric Murtaugh — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 17:51:48 -0400

We are a quarter of the way through college football's regular season already...unbelievable isn't it? Here are some thoughts on my beloved Notre Dame Fighting Irish and other topics as well.

*How many people thought the Irish offensive line would be playing this well so far? Sure there are still some issues, but it's reassuring to think that Notre Dame may be able to run the ball with success against USC, Pitt and other tough defenses.

*Is there any doubt that Jimmy Clausen is the team MVP? Golden Tate, Armando Allen, and Kyle McCarthy have all played tremendously this season, but Clausen seems driven to take this team to the next level.

*Is Sam Young the most over-hyped and disappointing recruit over the last twenty years of Notre Dame football? Let's remember he was considered the best lineman, and leader of possibly the worst offensive line in Notre Dame history, and so many people were raving about him coming out of high school. Young is probably the most hot and cold and inconsistent player in recent memory. Where does his NFL stock stand?

*How much athletic talent does Golden Tate have? He reminds me a lot of the type of player from the 1930's or 40's who could play five different positions and reach All-American at every spot. We all know he's a great receiver (if still a bit raw), but I was amazed at his speed and shiftiness taking hand-offs from Crist and running the wildcat. Tate is definitely a special talent.

*What are we to make of Manti Te'o? It seems the coaching staff is easing him in to more playing time, which is not surprising, but I'd like to see this kid starting soon. I refuse to believe that Toryan Smith is better, especially in pass coverage, which the Irish really need help with. I think it would be great if Te'o started after the bye week and had a strong game against USC.

*I'd have to give the coaching staff a solid B grade so far. I think for the most part, Charlie Weis is upholding his end of the deal and there have been significant improvements with the offensive line and running game. I still can't figure out this defense though.

*Speaking of the defense, they seemed to blitz less often against Purdue and it seemed to bring about better results. I'd like to think this unit is slowly improving and won't bring Notre Dame down, but I just don't know.

*Have two players been better suited to play in South Bend with names like Golden Tate and Dayne Crist?

*Back to Crist for a moment. This kid is going to be very, very good. He may never be as accurate as Clausen or put up the big numbers, but he looks like a winner to me. He's physically imposing and has quick feet to go along with a cannon arm. Anyone think Willingham could have recruited two elite quarterbacks within two years of each other?

*Most disappointing players in 2009? Sergio Brown, Duval Kamara, and Eric Maust.

*I get the feeling this team is a lot like the 2006 squad from a few years ago. Extremely lofty expectations, probably won't live up to them, but will most likely be a solid 10 win team with a BCS appearance. Winning a BCS game could do wonders in South Bend.

*I was really pumped up when Nick Tausch kicked the ball into the end zone late in the game against Purdue. It was definitely one of the highlights of the game for me. I think it's time Weis starts letting Tausch attempt 40+ yard field goals. We're going to need confidence in the kicking game at some point.

*It really bothers me to watch referees after touchdowns are scored in college football. In the No Fun League at least the referee just wants to take the ball, sometimes not even that. In college there's always a referee butting into even the most simple of celebrations. They always seem to be looking to say, "Hey, hey...break it up now" or "If you take one more step you are going to fall of a cliff and die so I'm going to put my hand on your chest and push you back to your sideline" or "Excuse me! (bumping his way into the face of the player who is simply standing with arms raised in celebration) Don't do anything stupid now...give me the ball. Hey! Why are these larger players coming to congratulate you!?!? Go back to your bench!"

*Is this turning into a bad year for the Heisman race? Realistically, Tebow and McCoy are still leading the race, but there is certainly a lack of high profile contenders who are really playing at a high level week in and week out.

*Which top 40 teams are trending noticeably upward for this year and next? I'd say Alabama, LSU, Miami, Va Tech, Michigan, and Notre Dame. You could probably throw in a couple teams like Auburn or UCLA and maybe some mid-majors, but you never can tell with those crazy mid-majors.

*So I can't help but ponder what the 2010 preseason poll will look like, it could be crazy next year. I expect Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, Penn State, and a few other "elite" programs to have down years. If Notre Dame plays well this year, don't be surprised to see them in the top 10 to start next year. Think of all the players coming back.

*Speaking of the polls, they make me want to rip my hair out. They were discussing on PTI if the polls shouldn't be released until later in the season. And both commentators were saying that the polls don't really mean anything and that it's not that big of a deal. Really? The polls are an intergral part of the BCS formula! Of course the polls matter.

*Boise State is ranked at number five people. I'm not saying they should or shouldn't be, but odds are they will be in the top 3 in four weeks, if not higher. What if Boise State claims the number one spot at some point? Do the Broncos hold on to number one from late October to December only to see one-loss SEC & Big 12 champions battle for the crystal ball?

*How is Iowa ranked only two spots higher than Penn State? Should Penn State even be ranked? Why is Miami ranked below Penn State? I have a lot of beef with the way Penn State is being treated and I generally like the Nittany Lions. Should Ole Miss be ranked? Why are one-loss Oklahoma and one-loss Ohio State ranked nine and eight spots higher than one-loss Miami?

Here's my top 25:

1. Florida-Number one until they lose.

2. Alabama-Playing like a legit national champion.

3. Texas-My pick to win it all; They've been so-so this year.

4. LSU-They'll be outside the top 20 in two weeks.

5. Boise State-Get used to seeing them here.

6. Cincinnati-I like the way this team plays

7. Houston-This team is good; Honeymoon might be over soon though.

8. Iowa-How will they play with a target on their backs?

9. Virginia Tech-Big win this weekend.

10. TCU-They play some good ball down there in Texas.

11. USC-Still the Pac-10 favorite until proven otherwise.

12. Michigan-Still undefeated; Closer to the Big Ten top than people think.

13. Oklahoma State-Can they join the Texas-Oklahoma party?

14. Ohio State-Is the offense good enough to win the Big Ten?

15. Oklahoma-The road to redemption starts soon.

16. Miami-How will the face adversity? Still a dangerous team.

17. Georgia-They're going to mix it up in the SEC.

18. Oregon-The Ducks have played well since week one.

19. BYU-Might not recover from the loss to FSU.

20. Georgia Tech-Ramblin' Wreck had a hiccup against Miami.

21. Nebraska-This program is headed in the right direction.

22. Cal-They never seem to win the big games they're favored in.

23. Kansas-Quietly sneaking up the polls; Time to beat a tough team.

24. Ole Miss-They have a lot to prove now, let's see it Rebels!

25. USF-Bringing more credibility to the Big East.

Inside The Irish Huddle: Live Blog Of Notre Dame @ Purdue

Eric Murtaugh — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 23:53:41 -0400

Coming off a tough victory over Michigan State, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are traveling to West Lafayette to battle Purdue tonight under the lights. The Irish have a couple offensive weapons banged up and missing (Michael Floyd) and they are looking for their defense to step up its game as well.

Some think Notre Dame will roll tonight, while others think it will be another close in-state rivalry. Let’s go inside the huddle and pick up the action.

7:57PM-There’s two things I am looking for in this game besides the obvious win for the Irish. First, I’d like to see the defense play much better, blitz less, and disguise any subsequent blitzes much better. Also, I’ll be looking to see who fills the void for the injured Michael Floyd who is out for the remainder of the regular season with a broken collar bone.

8:02-The lovely Erin Andrews tells us that Armando Allen will be playing tonight but will not be starting. Who is going to start at running back for the Irish? Odds are that it will be Jonas Gray, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Robert Hughes as well. I really don’t want to see Hughes as the starting tailback. He’s a perpetual 3 yard runner.

8:06-I’m excited to see what Dayne Crist has to offer. It looks like there’s a good chance he’ll be getting a fair amount of playing time tonight. If the Irish can move the ball with him under center everything will be gravy.

8:08-If Vegas had odds on if the opening kickoff by Tausch goes into the end zone, what do you think the line is? He almost had it this time, kicking it to the one yard line!

8:10-Notre Dame would have liked a three and out by Purdue but the Boilermakers pick up the first down.

8:12-Bolden just ripped off a bug run that looked like there were no Notre Dame players on the field. Luckily, Fleming makes a big tackle in the back field to follow that up.

8:13-A quick slant route leads to a touchdown for Purde. That pretty much played out exactly how the Irish didn’t want the defense to play to start the game. What is wrong with the Irish coverage? It just can’t be this bad.

8:17-Riddick takes the ensuing kickoff and looks like he’s going to run for a touchdown but is tackled by the kicker. Clausen hands off to Gray, who gets the start at running back, and there’s an offsides call on Purdue.

8:19-A nice screen pass to Gray nets a big gain. Expect to see plenty of screen tonight.

8:21-On third and very long, lineman Sam Young false starts. Has there been a more disappointing lineman in Irish history with this much hype coming out of high school?

8:22-Clausen throws a dart to Kamara that comes up a yard short of the first down. Is there any doubt that Weis won’t be going for it? Clausen stays in shotgun, it’s pretty clear he won’t be taking many snaps under center if at all, and hands off to Gray who gets stuffed for a loss. That was way too predictable.

8:28-Purdue converts another third and long with an easy as can be pass across the middle. If I was playing against Notre Dame I wouldn’t even run the ball.

8:29-Another third and long for Purdue, can the Irish stop them? Interesting call by the Boilermakers as they run a QB draw that goes nowhere. Notre Dame is due for a punt return touchdown.

8:31-Clausen is getting good protection and fires a throw to Gray again out of the backfield. The Irish need for receivers to start getting involved. Yet another false start on Notre Dame.

8:34-On third down Clausen goes deep to Tate and picks up a pass interference call. I know Notre Dame is really good at the deep ball but I would really like to see more passes in the middle stretching the field that way.

8:36-Another third down and Clausen is forced to scramble and can’t pick up the first down. There was a flag thrown after the tackle, a taunting infraction, that gives the Irish a first down. Is that a make up call for the past two games of horrible officiating?

8:38-A touchdown pass is brought back after an illegal formation penalty. I swear Notre Dame is trying to set records for most penalties through four games. What is the record in Irish history anyway?

8:41-Facing a third and ten, Notre Dame calls a timeout. Has any other team called more first quarter timeouts over the last half decade than Notre Dame? It seems like on every second or third drive of the game the Irish call a timeout.

8:44-Clausen can’t hit tight end Kyle Rudolph on third down and Notre Dame settles for a field goal by Tausch. I am so glad that Tausch looks like a much more dependable kicker than Walker. He could pay huge dividends in the future. Is the kickoff going into the end zone? Nope, it bounced to the goal line and was scooped up.

8:48-After a couple nice gains by Purdue, Darius Fleming makes another big tackle in the back field setting up a third and long. It’s nice to see a Notre Dame defender show up for the game! The first quarter comes to an end before the ball could be snapped.

8:53-A pass breakup by Kyle McCarthy leads to a punt by Purdue. McCarthy just continues to play outstanding. That’s two players who have showed up on the defensive side of the ball. Quarterback Dayne Crist is now in for Clausen and takes a QB keeper for a long run.

8:55-Crist fires a ball to Kamara that is dropped. If you’re counting on Kamara picking up the slack in Floyd’s absence, don’t hold your breath. On third down, Notre Dame puts Tate in the backfield and he runs for the first down.

8:57-Robert Hughes is now in at running back and breaks off two great runs. He’s trying to prove me wrong out there as I wasn’t crazy about having him run the ball too much. He’s getting great blocking and Notre Dame is about to score. And they do, as Hughes rumbles into the end zone. The Irish now have their first lead of the game.

9:01-What kind of talent is Dayne Crist going to turn out to be? He’s bigger than Clausen, seems to have a stronger arm, and as he’s shown in this game, he can move his feet and is very mobile. That bodes well for the future of Notre Dame football.

9:04-Purdue completes a pass on first down for about five yards. I’d say about half of all completions against Notre Dame this year have come with no Irish defender within five yards of the receiver. How does this happen?

9:07-Notre Dame is using better schemes tonight, rushing just four guys and sitting back in coverage more often. Purdue can’t move the ball and is set to punt as we go to commercial.

9:11-Notre Dame has run two straight wildcat plays on this new drive, before Crist comes back on the field and hands off to Hughes on first down. I’m pretty sure the Irish could just run the ball all night long and win this game.

9:14-Golden Tate lines up as the running back again and scampers for a first down. Man does he show some speed once the ball is in his hands. After Hughes runs for three, Tate takes a snap out of the wildcat and run for a touchdown. Golden Tate cannot be stopped when the ball is in his hands.

9:19-Purdue can’t get anything on third down and Fleming makes another strong tackle as the quarterback tries to scramble but gets nowhere. Tate takes the punt for about fifteen yards and is wrapped up near the sideline.

9:25-Clausen is back in trying to run the two minute offense before the half comes to a close. A third down is coming up after a couple of short completions, both to Kamara. As we go to commerical I’m wondering what the patch on the Notre Dame coaches sleeves means?

9:27-Clausen gets his pass tipped on third down and Notre Dame’s drive ends prematurely. After a heinous punt by Eric Maust, the Purdue return man took the ball on a bounce and brings it near midfield. Seriously, Maust has proved time and again to be a very inept punter and something has to be done about that.

9:31-Purdue completes a short pass and picks up a short run, but cannot complete a pass on third down. The broadcasters think Purdue should kick the field goal but Purdue goes for it and the pass is dropped…turnover on downs.

9:33-Clausen hits Rudolph on a screen pass that picks up some nice yardage as there’s now less than a minute left in the half. Notre Dame is now in Purdue territory. After a timeout Clausen hits Shaq Evans on a nice out route. Evans lost his shoe on the play but still made the catch. Well done.

9:36-Coming out of a timeout Clausen goes to deep into the end zone for Evans but the ball is intercepted. Jimmy Clausen’s streak of passes without an interception has come to an end. I would have liked to see some more conservative play calling in this situation an shot for a field goal instead of the home run ball.

9:40-Purdue’s short possession comes to naught and the half comes to an end with Notre Dame leading 17-7. All in all not a bad half for the Fighting Irish. After giving up a touchdown on Purdue’s first drive, Notre Dame kept the Boilermakers under wraps the rest of the way. The offense looks decent, although Clausen has not found a groove with limited playing time.

In the second half I think Notre Dame will continue to run the ball a ton and utilize the wildcat formation because it has been too successful this far tonight.

I have a feeling Clausen will play to start the half but if the Irish get up by more than two scores the ball will be given to Crist the rest of the way.

10:02-Crist comes out to take over for Clausen as the second half starts. I don’t have a big problem with this as long as Notre Dame continues to run the ball successfully. However, there most likely won’t be any chemistry developed with the receivers which was a goal I thought the Irish needed to achieve tonight.

10:07-Notre Dame continues to run the ball, but is stopped on third down as Tate can’t shake a defender after a handoff. Maust kicks another lack luster punt and the Purdue return man adeptly takes the ball and runs for fifteen yards.

10:12-A nice pass on a scramble by Purdue is followed up by a sack by Fleming and a near interception by cornerback Robert Blanton. The Boilermakers throw another incompletion and are forced to punt once more. It’s time for Notre Dame to march down the field and put this game away.

10:18-Still more running of the ball by Notre Dame, although Crist did finally attempt a pass and complete it to Hughes out of the back field. After an illegal formation, Hughes runs the ball and Crist hits Rudolph on a play action for the first down. I’m very impressed with Crist’s footwork and general presence in the pocket.

10:24-Notre Dame is eating massive amounts of clock right now as third and ten approaches. A half back draw to Hughes gets about two feet and the Irish are left with a fourth and ten. After a timeout, Crist is unable to escape pressure and is sacked turning the ball over to Purdue. The Irish need to put Purdue away but continue to not be able to do so.

10:32-Purdue executes a big screen play and moves the ball into Notre Dame territory. They now have a big third down coming up and they pick it up with a short pass. The Boilermakers run the ball for no gain and the third quarter comes to an end. The score remains 17-7 Notre Dame.

10:38-On third down, Purdue completes one heck of a pass near the sideline and the receiver nearly scored a touchdown taking the ball down to the one yard line. The play is now under review, as it looked as if the receiver might have stepped out of bounds closer to the five yard line. It seems to me it was definitely a catch and that he did keep his foot in bounds before heading toward the goal line.

10:43-After two unsuccessful plays, Purdue completes a slant pattern for a touchdown. Crazy as it may be, Notre Dame’s lead is now down to three. Sergio Brown was beaten on the coverage for the touchdown. Am I the only one who thinks Brown should not be playing as much as he is?

10:50-On first down, Crist had Tate open on a deep ball but sailed it about five yards too long for the incompletion. Tate then takes a WR run for a loss and a screen pass is incomplete. Notre Dame punts and gives Purdue great field position after a penalty on Harrison Smith for kick catcher interference.

10:54-Third and ten for Purdue and they convert with a tough WR screen that nets about eleven yards. The Boilermakers are now into Notre Dame territory and looking to take the lead. Jimmy Clausen is now warming up on the sidelines as it looks like he’ll be coming back into the game on the next Irish drive.

11:00-Purdue has some momentum now, but shoots themselves in the foot with an illegal formation and delay of game. A pass over the middle gets close to the first down line, but a run on third down is stopped for a loss. Big fourth down coming up and Purdue is going for it. Lucky for the Irish the pass down the sideline is intercepted by Darrin Walls.

11:02-Clausen is back in the game and hands off to Hughes on first down. Will Notre Dame play less conservative with Clausen back in? Will Purdue respect the pass more as well? Clausen is pressured on second down and gets tackled and third down is no better with a screen pass that goes for a minimal gain. It didn’t matter as there was another holding call on Sam Young which Purdue declined.

11:06-There is under five minutes left to play and now Purdue has moved the ball to midfield on a nice run. That is followed up by another WR screen that goes for huge yards but is called back by a block in the back penalty. I don’t have a good feeling for the third straight week as the game is on the line with the Notre Dame defense on the field.

11:10-As it happens, Purdue scores easily on a pass to the running back who was left uncovered and trots into the end zone for the score. The Boilermakers now lead 21-17.

11:13-Clausen has the Irish moving with slightly over two minutes to play. He nails Tate for first down and then Rudolph for another big gain. Can Clausen engineer a fourth quarter comeback again? On second down Clausen gets sacked leaving a third and long . Notre Dame takes its last timeout of the game.

11:17-Clausen nails Parris on third down for the huge first down to keep hope alive. He then misses on a fade pass to Tate, but hits Golden once more for another first down. It’s now first and goal from the four. It’s surprising that Clausen passes the ball on first down and it is incomplete to Parris. Second down Hughes runs for about a yard. Purdue calls a timeout.

11:21-Clausen can’t find anyone open and throws the ball away on third down. It’s coming down to this last play now. Fourth and goal with 29 seconds left. This time Clausen is able to hit Rudolph for the touchdown. Tausch hits the point after and Notre Dame leads 24-21. Wow.

11:25-Tausch actually kicked the ball into the end zone and Purdue didn’t get much on the return. On first down, Irish linebacker Manti Te’o picks up a sack and Purdue is forced to take a timeout. On the next play, the Boilermakers run an end around and pitch the ball twice but the second ends up a fumble and Notre Dame recovers. Game over.

It certainly wasn’t pretty but give Notre Dame credit for holding on for the victory with key injuries at key positions. Another close game came down to the wire and the Fighting Irish pick up a victory for the second straight week.

Don't Call Them Shorts: Rating the NHL's 30 Hockey Pants

Eric Murtaugh — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 22:16:54 -0400

One of the more underappreciated aspects of a sports uniform is the pants hockey players wear. Pants may not be as popular as jerseys or as noticeable as helmets and socks, but they still play an integral role in the overall look of a hockey player. What follows is a look at all 30 NHL clubs and the pants they currently wear. What's interesting about the NHL is that 24 teams, a full 80 percent of the league, wear pants that are either black, navy blue, or blue. The main reason for this is because dark colors are more easily representable in hockey and the darkness is relatively immune to the ice and all the water that inevitably soaks into the pants. What you'll also see is that more NHL clubs need to liven their pants up a bit because it's never fun when 80 percent of the team's wear the same two colors.

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Outside The Irish Huddle: A Big Win and Big Injury As Notre Dame Fight On

Eric Murtaugh — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 18:19:27 -0400

It was another memorable Saturday in Notre Dame Stadium as the Michigan State Spartans came ready to play, only this time the Fighting Irish held on for the victory.

After the bewildering defeat by Michigan a week earlier, it was nice to see the Irish bounce back and beat an opponent that always savors beating Notre Dame. Here are my grades for this weekend's game:

Quarterback: A

Clausen picks up another terrific grade with a very gutsy and heroic performance. We may look back on this game and see it as a turning point in his career. Shaking off an ankle injury Clausen was nearly mistake free and continues to move the ball down the field.

Right now, dare I say he's quietly making a case for the Heisman?

Running Backs: B+

Armando Allen continues to impress and has officially become the number one back in the Irish staple. He is showing more explosive speed and even more important, strength and toughness to fight for extra yards.

Heck, he even threw for a touchdown pass! We didn't see much of the other backs in this game, but Jonas Gray did rip off a nice long run during his limited time on the field.

Wide Receivers: B+

I'll have more on the injury to Floyd later, but suffice to say he will be missed. Golden Tate really stepped up against the Spartans and caught the game-winning touchdown as well picking up two key first downs in crunch time.

Tight end Kyle Rudolph seems to be improving each game and he had another stellar peformance. The time has come for the depth of the wideouts to be tested and somebody needs to step up.

Offensive Line: B+

With the way the line is playing there isn't too much to complain about. They did give up their first sack of the year (although it was a missed block by a RB) but they have been generally excellent in pass and run blocking.

Of course, the penalties have been piling up over the past two games and that is something that needs to change.

Defensive Line: C

The defensive line probably had their best game of the year against Michigan State, but they are still decidely average. They made some key stops against the Spartan ground game, but State was able to run the ball pretty effectively a large portion of the game and especially early on.

As far as attacking the quarterback on blitzes, the defensive line is getting shut down.

Linebackers: D

This was a tough game for the Irish linebackers. Brian Smith, Toryan Smith, and Manti Te'o were all but invisible for long stretches at a time and were unable to get much pressure on Michigan State's quarterbacks. Even worse, there weren't any tackles or defensive plays worth remembering.

Defensive Backs: C+

If not for Kyle McCarthy's play, the defensive backs would be in big trouble. I've made it no secret I don't favor the heavy blitzing by Tenuta and it is absolutely killing the Irish defensive backs.

As it is, I don't expect many things to change so the corners are going to have to start making plays, meaning more pass break ups, interceptions, and turnovers.

Special Teams: B

The best thing was that Tausch hit both of his field goal attempts, although he did miss an extra point. However, would Notre Dame have lost this game last year with Walker's leg? There was nothing spectacular or horrible about the special teams in this game, besides the fact that Maust had a couple decent punts.

Coaching: B

If not for the play of the defense, the coaching would have a much higher grade. Charlie Weis did a better job of managing this game and he has the offense working on all cylinders and Saturday was no exception.

The one thing I wanted to see was a score on the third drive of the game and more time burnt off the clock on Notre Dame's last drive. Concerning John Tenuta and Corwin Brown, well they have a lot of work to do this week to fix the defensive problems.

There are only two problems I have with the offense throughout the game against Michigan State. The first is that Weis made some bad play calling on Notre Dame's third possession of the game, a drive which I thought was crucial to the game.

Facing a third and four coming out for the second quarter, Weis dialed up a wildcat to Allen that came up just short of the first down. Now, I don't have a big problem with the wildcat (mostly because it's been fairly successful so far this season), but I would have liked the ball in Clausen's hands in that situation.

Also, it was another risky move to run a toss play to Allen on fourth down. Even though he picked up the first down (barely), I question that play call.

Again, I thought this drive was really important because if the Irish scored a touchdown it would have really put State behind in the game and Notre Dame would have all the momentum.

As it was, the Irish were flagged for a false start by Young and a holding penalty on Robinson. Notre Dame was left with a second and 25, and yet again Weis makes me scratch my head and puts the Irish in a two tight end set.

The result was that Clausen was sacked and injured on the play and the drive ended after a screen pass from Crist to Hughes got nothing.

I'm not completely blaming Weis for this drive but it seems like once every game he deviates from the gameplan, or at least from what's been working, and calls some really odd plays. And it always seems to happen when Notre Dame has a chance to put an opponent in a deep hole early.

The other problem I have is that Weis has a tendency to go for the home run, so to speak, instead of chewing up clock when it is necessary. I felt this way when Quinn was leading the Irish down the field against USC in 2005.

It was clear Notre Dame could move the ball but they kept hurrying it down field and passing too much. As a result, the Irish left too much time on the clock and gave USC enough time to come back and win the game.

Same thing happened last weekend for Notre Dame, but instead there was no Bush Push. It was fairly clear that Notre Dame was moving the ball and would get a great chance to score.

Once they got near midfield, I was praying Weis would keep running the ball and eating up the clock.

Instead, he went for it all too soon and Clausen hit Tate on a deep route that gave Michigan State plenty of time to come back and score to win the game for themselves.

On the defensive side of the ball, there needs to be major improvement. Frankly, I don't feel like getting into it much more because it has been talked about ad nauseum for the past three days.

Overall, this was a big win for Notre Dame. I know a lot of people will say that it was "just" Michigan State and that they had previously lost to Central Michigan, but the Spartans are a quality team and they always seem to play 50 percent better than usual whenever they face Notre Dame.

It wouldn't surprise me if MSU stays in the Big Ten race and upsets a team like Penn State or Ohio State along the way either. Even though he gave the game away at the end, Kirk Cousins is a very good quarterback and the Spartans are pretty solid throughout their roster.

The next three games are going to be crucial for Notre Dame especially without the services of Michael Floyd. Will the Irish miss Floyd at wide receiver? Absolutely, but I don't think it's cause for much doom and gloom.

I actually have been wanting to see Notre Dame commit more to running the ball, stretching the field vertically with Rudolph, and running more crossing patterns with a multitude of receivers.

So in a lot of ways, Floyd's injury may be a blessing in disguise because it will force the offense to do all of these things in order to move the ball. If they are able to do this, then the Irish offense will be controlling the ball and clock even more so than in the past and I think it's a winning formula.

Up next are the Purdue Boilermakers in a night game in West Lafayette. Barring a Boilermaker miracle, the offense should be able to score a multitude of points. Determining who will fill the void left by Floyd's injury will be paramount before Washington and USC come to South Bend.

Let's also hope that the Notre Dame defense is learning from its mistakes and changing their game plan for this weekend. As good as the offense is, the Fighting Irish can't become a great team when the defense continues to give up 30-plus points.

Two Things I Was Right About the Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Eric Murtaugh — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 15:31:04 -0400

After suffering a near heart attack watching the Notre Dame Fighting Irish hang on to defeat Michigan State yesterday, I realized two of my strong predictions for the season are manifesting themselves as true.

A) Armando Allen is becoming a top-flight running back.

B) Defensive coordinator John Tenuta’s blitzing schemes are not working and are hurting the Irish defense.

First, Allen has blossomed into the runner many experts thought he had the potential to be. Let’s give credit to the offensive line as well because they are playing much better and opening holes for all Notre Dame ball carriers too.

Still, even when there aren’t large holes, Allen is making plays, gaining extra yards, and showing extra toughness which Irish fans have always wanted to see from him. He’s averaging well over five yards a carry which is production that Notre Dame desperately needs to have a well balanced offense.

With Michael Floyd’s injury, the play of Allen is all the more important as the Irish will inevitably be forced to run the ball a little more in the coming weeks. Thankfully, the ground game is finally at a place where there’s confidence to hand the ball off and make first downs.

Now about the defense and the endless blitzing dialed up by John Tenuta. It’s just not working and is putting the Irish defense at a needless disadvantage. I was hoping that I would be proved wrong on this point, but all signs are pointing to the contrary.

There are a few reasons why the blitzes are not working. First, as most people notice, the defensive line cannot get a good enough push and have been unable to get any pressure on Nevada, Michigan, or Michigan State quarterbacks.

I don’t care if Mike Singletary and Ray Lewis line up at linebacker for Notre Dame because it’s not that hard to defend a blitz with a non-threatening defensive line.

Secondly, the linebackers have not been quick enough to get near the quarterback in time to make the blitzes worthwhile. As a result, Notre Dame continually sends five or six men at the quarterback while leaving the secondary out to dry.

The result is that the Irish have made opposing offenses look much better than they are and there’s a loss already on the schedule that I believe wouldn’t be there with a less aggressive defensive game plan.

It’s maddening to watch Notre Dame blitz on play after play and continue to do so when it is so clearly not working. There is also no schematic advantage for doing this when everyone and their mother knows it’s coming on every down.

Another thing that has bothered me is that too many blitzing defenders are being sucked into blockers and not trying to get to the quarterback. Numerous times I have watched as a linebacker would come off the edge to meet an offensive lineman, and instead of trying to get around him and get after the quarterback, they simply engage the lineman and doing nothing more.

Notre Dame might as well play with one linebacker on the field because that is what they’ve been forced to do for three games this year. After all those blitzes through three games (probably 80 percent of all snaps and over 90 percent of snaps yesterday) Notre Dame has a grand total of four sacks, including zero against Michigan State.

In my opinion, it would be like Notre Dame trying to run the ball up the middle and getting stuffed each and every time, but continuing to do the same thing over and over. In effect, the defense is playing into all of their weaknesses. Isn’t insanity doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results?

I’ll give the Irish credit on State’s last play because they did get some pressure (although it was still late) but Cousins simply lost his cool and made a dumb play, something he was not doing all game long.

If you’re blitzing on 90 plays a game and only getting real pressure on half a dozen plays, then the game plan needs to change.

The question now becomes, will anything be done to fix the problem? What does Tenuta have to offer besides his blitz packages? Is it realistic to think Tenuta will tone down the blitzing in the coming weeks?

How much longer are we going to give opposing wide receivers ten yard cushions and wonder why it’s easier than back yard flag football to complete passes?

How much longer are we going to continue to see the one linebacker Notre Dame didn’t send on a blitz get lost in coverage and blown by a faster wide receiver?

So far, Notre Dame has given up 307 yards to Nevada, 430 yards to Michigan, and 459 yards to Michigan State. The Fighting Irish will have a hard time winning games giving up that kind of yardage.

At this point, given their preseason hype, the cornerbacks for Notre Dame have been the most overrated and disappointing. But because they are working at such a disadvantage with wild blitz packages in front of them, the corners are doing more than they should have to.

In conclusion, the defensive game plan needs to change and the incessant blitzing needs to stop. It could mean the difference between giving up 350 yards and 25 points to Purdue or giving up 225 yards and burying the Boilermakers before the fourth quarter begins.

The Top NBA Road Uniforms: The Odd Numbers

Eric Murtaugh — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 13:37:57 -0400

My last slide show took a look at the top NBA road uniforms starting with the even numbers and today I will be finishing the list up and taking it to number one. There's another 15 teams on this list and some are bound to disgust and some are bound to delight. We already know which team I've picked as the worse road uniform, but what team will claim the number one spot?

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Inside The Irish Huddle: Live Blog of Notre Dame vs. Michigan State

Eric Murtaugh — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 19:31:41 -0400

One of the better rivalries in college football takes place today as Michigan State invades South Bend to face Notre Dame. Both teams are coming off crushing losses last week and will be looking to take possession of the Megaphone.

Let’s go inside the huddle for today’s kickoff.

The game starts off with another short kickoff by Irish kicker Nick Tausch and the ball is taken close to midfield by the Spartans.

A nice five-yard run on first down by State is followed up by a dropped pass and an incomplete pass so the Spartans are forced to punt.

The Irish have come out in a five wide set and Clausen wastes no time moving Notre Dame down the field with three completions including a 52-yarder to tight end Kyle Rudolph. On the fourth play of the drive, running back Armando Allen takes the ball out of the wildcat formation and runs unmolested into the end zone.

State’s second drive is moving much better as they are mixing up run and passing plays and have converted a big third down in Irish territory. But the drive stalls after State moves near the red zone but settle for a field goal.

Theo Riddick takes the kickoff close to midfield and the Irish are back in business on their second drive. Notre Dame remains in empty back-field sets and Clausen has yet to throw an incompletion. Seconds later, Clausen nails Michael Floyd on a corner route in the end zone. The extra point is missed by Tausch.

A long run and a 12-yard pass and State is moving once again into Notre Dame territory. A couple nice defensive plays by Kyle McCarthy and State is in third and long. Spartan quarterback Kirk Cousins is unable to hit his receiver and the ensuing field goal hits the upright and is no good.

Once again the Irish are in empty back-field sets and Allen has not seen the field besides his wildcat touchdown run. The first quarter ends with the Irish left with their first third down attempt of the afternoon.

This is the kind of moment where I think Weis needs to convert the third down. The Irish can really put the pressure on Michigan State and Weis tends to call very odd plays in these situations. And he does once again, with a wildcat to Allen that comes up a yard short. Luckily, a pitch to Allen comes within inches of picking up the first down.

After a false start and holding call on Notre Dame, the Irish are left with a second down and 25. Oddly enough now, Weis decides to line up in a run formation. Clausen is sacked immediately after receiving the snap and is being looked at by the trainers.

Backup quarterback Dayne Crist comes in for the third and forever and a screen pass to Hughes goes nowhere. That was a drive Notre Dame needed to put points on the board in my opinion. They need to put State away in moments like this.

So it happens, Michigan State has grabbed some momentum and after a horrible call against Robert Blanton for a late hit and another penalty against Harrison Smith for a late hit, the Spartans have moved into Irish territory.

You have to love college referees.

On the next play, a half back pass finds the end zone and the Spartans are back in the game. To add more salt to the wound, Michigan State recovers an onside kick at only nine yards from the kickoff, but it was ruled the ball had gone ten yards.

Would it be called any other way?

The Irish defense steps up and on a screen pass Kapron Lewis-Moore causes a fumble that is recovered by Toryan Smith. That was a much needed turnover.

Now Clausen throws his first incompletion (a drop by Parris) and Allen is now getting carries and showing a nice blend of power and speed. Weis is looking to run the ball more now and Jonas Gray rips off a long run to the left side for 15 yards.

A fade route to Floyd looked to be a touchdown but was ruled it was not so, even after a review by Notre Dame. A wildcat run by Allen brings the ball to the goal line, but Clausen fumbles the snap on third down and Notre Dame settles for a field goal.

The Irish defense looks sloppy here as the first half is coming to an end and the Spartans are threatening to score. Notre Dame’s blitzing continues to be ineffective and State is inside the red zone after a couple nice completions.

After yet another penalty by Notre Dame, this time a face-mask call, Michigan State punches the ball into the end zone from the goal line and takes their first lead of the game.

Notre Dame doesn’t have much time left and after a couple plays Crist throws a deep ball that is intercepted by State as the clock hits zero. Clausen left for the locker room just moments before to get treatment for his injury.

It looks as if Notre Dame has not learned from its mistakes last week and continues to blitz all nearly every play. Just like last week there is not enough pressure on the quarterbacks and State is content with quick passing and running up the middle.

Coming out of half time Notre Dame picks up a first down followed by a long completion to Golden Tate. On another wildcat formation, Allen takes the snap and throws a touchdown pass to Parris giving Notre Dame the lead on an efficient and quick first possession.

On State’s ensuing drive, they get nowhere and are forced to punt. This time on third down, the Irish blitz got pressure and forced an incompletion. Tate takes the punt into Michigan State territory as we got to commercial for the 85th time today.

It’s just been announced that Floyd has broken his collar bone—this is a huge blow to the Notre Dame offense. The Irish are committing themselves to running the ball now as a 3rd-and-5 approaches.

Tate makes a strong second effort to gain the first down, but now the Irish are in second and long after yet another holding penalty. That’s followed by a huge drop by Tate near the five yard line and an incomplete pass leaving a long-field goal attempt. Tausch nails it so it’s now 26-17 Notre Dame.

State comes back with a big third down conversion and a long pass to the tight end to move into Irish territory once again. The Spartans convert another third down followed up by a long pass bringing the ball inside the five yard line.

Moments later State runs to the left side and gets another touchdown. However, the PAT is blocked keeping a three point lead for the Irish.

Another holding call on the kickoff leaves the Irish a long way from the end zone. Notre Dame picks up a first down on a pass to Kamara but the third quarter comes to an end with the Irish left with a third and two. After the commercial Allen picks up the first down.

The drive stalls near the midfield and the Irish are forced to punt. The Spartans take over inside their own 20 with 12 minutes to play in the game.

Notre Dame forces State into a third down, but a dump off on a slant pattern picks up huge yardage and the Spartans are inside the red zone. Two plays later Cousins hits his receiver in the end zone to take the lead.

Notre Dame takes the ball and is slowly moving the chains down the field and into Michigan State territory. There’s now less than seven minutes left and the Irish are at the 39 yard of State. If the Irish score will they leave too much time on the clock?

Indeed they may as two plays later Clausen connects with Tate for a big touchdown pass. Once again, the play is under review. It looked like he had a foot in with possession and the replay confirms it.

The onus is now on the Irish defense which has not played well all day long. Notre Dame leads by three and needs to come up with a stop on this Spartan possession.

On the first play, Walls nearly picks up an interception and the second down pass is thrown high and incomplete. It’s a big third down here. Another blitz package is dialed up and the Spartan receiver just can’t hang on to the pass from Cousins. State is punting.

On first down, Allen rushes up the middle for a nice gain but a personal foul penalty against Irish lineman Sam Young brings the ball back to the twelve yard line. That was the tenth penalty of the day on Notre Dame.

A huge play by Golden Tate as he catches the ball and shakes two defenders to pick up the first down. A wildcat formation goes nowhere and Allen picks up some nice yards, but Notre Dame is stuck with a third down and six.

Clausen tries to find a receiver but Goodman cannot come up with it and the Irish are forced to punt. On the punt there is an illegal block against State.

State is continuing to utilize short passes and has moved the ball into Irish territory with under two minutes to play. A third down pass is almost intercepted by Ray Herring but is miraculously caught by the State receiver.

After another huge blitz by Notre Dame, Cousins had a target wide open by a mile in the end zone, but just misses the completion. He’ll remember that pass because he throws an interception to Kyle McCarthy and it looks as though Notre Dame will hold on to the victory 33-30, their first in six attempts against Michigan State in South Bend.

Notre Dame Fans are Screaming for Charlie Weis' Job, Others Fighting Mad at Idea

Eric Murtaugh — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:29:02 -0400

Being a Notre Dame fan is an emotional roller coaster I wouldn't wish on anyone. Coming into this season I was very excited about the prospects of the Fighting Irish. Finally, after two rough seasons the chips had fallen into place.

After week one's shutout of Nevada my opinion hadn't changed one bit. The offense looked unstoppable and the defense was aggressive and able to make timely plays.

But just as soon as that roller coaster soared into the sky did it come tumbling down with a tear-jerking loss to Michigan. Now, my opinion changed quickly.

Suddenly the defense appeared average at best and Nevada could have easily scored 20 points or more, I thought. A close victory over Nevada and a loss to Michigan is not the way I envisioned the season beginning.

Then there's all those terrible ghosts of Charlie Weis which seemed to come flying out of the closet last Saturday. Wasted and avoidable time-outs, poor halftime adjustments, another horrible third quarter, and questionable play calling to end the game brought back memories of 2007 and 2008.

Not surprisingly, many people are calling for Weis' head, or at the very least, willing to admit that his days in South Bend will not last much longer. However, there are probably just as many voices, if not outright defending Weis, then at least pointing out that the loss to Michigan wasn't clearly the coaches fault entirely.

So what does the future hold for Weis? Like many, I've bounced all over the place debating what should be done regarding this topic.

As of right now however, my faith is still in Charlie Weis at Notre Dame. Or to put it another way, I think he should stay in South Bend barring a momentous collapse this season or if Notre Dame cannot win nine games. At least I think that's what I believe.

We will get a clearer picture of what this season holds after this weekend's game against Michigan State, but I still firmly believe the Irish can win nine or 10 games and build on that success, however hard of a pill that may be to swallow for those of us who sought greater expectations.

The biggest issue that kept creeping into my head when I was debating if Weis should be fired, was which coach would replace him? What coach out there could Swarbuck and Co. bring to South Bend that we know could take this team to another level? Immediately two scenarios came to mind.

First, there's a good probability that Notre Dame would be getting a better game day coach if Weis is fired. But that would most likely be followed by a dip in recruiting, because let's admit Weis has been able to bring in some talented players and I'm very suspect that the next coach will be able to. At this point, which do you think is worse or better for the Irish?

What I was thinking is this: After this season Notre Dame fires Weis and replaces him with Coach X. Odds are this new coach would have a better grasp of the college game but his players would have to adjust to a new system during a year (2010) where even outsiders are predicting at least a small window chance at a National Title.

With this scenario, would Notre Dame be better off heading into next year? What do you think the odds are that Clausen or Floyd bolt to the NFL is this happens?

The other issue I was grappling with was Weis' ability to recruit and build up an offensive juggernaut. However inept he seems to be during games as a coach, at least Weis can put sufficient points on the board to the point where top recruits want a piece of the action.

On this topic, I've thought about Weis continuing to bring in top athletes, on offense especially, but seemingly getting out coached and struggle to win big games. This scenario would more than likely bring us an average of 8 wins a season I presume.

On the flip side, Coach X would probably not be as good of a recruiter, but his Irish team would be better coached and I presume they'd win an average of 9 games a season.

Obviously, Coach X sounds like the better option right? Or does it?

The thing about Coach X is that I think he would be consistently above-average. Notre Dame would be winning most of the time, kind of in the style of say Oregon or Oklahoma State, but never seriously challenge for a title.

The consistent winning would probably bring in a few blue chip recruits from time to time but we would have to deal with everyone shoving it in our faces that Notre Dame is just a second-tier program.

The one thing about having Weis as coach, and thinking about this year's team (or the 2010 squad), is that the offense is going to win us some game we should probably lose. At some point in the future, those stellar athletes are going to win a big game or two. It could be this weekend or it could be against USC in a few more weeks.

And that's the one thing I can't stop thinking about. What if Notre Dame hires another coach but he doesn't have what it takes to bring in the special talent the Irish have been lacking since the early '90s and that which Weis has at least been able to slowly stockpile.

Sure, Coach X and his team's would probably overachieve and sometimes beat a top 15 team, but I get the feeling we'd be falling back into mediocrity and it be a lot less maddening then the current Weis regime, better than the Willingham regime, but more like the Davie regime.

I guess there's two points that we just can't escape. A) Charlie Weis is a great recruiter. B) Charlie Weis has yet to prove he's a good coach. It's like one big yin-yang of contrast that doesn't seem to make sense.

First, Weis wins more games in two years than any coach in school history. Then he turns around and loses more games than anyone over a two year span. What have we learned from this? Heck if I know.

A lot of the problem is that there's probably only a half dozen men out there who could realistically bring Notre Dame back to elite program status. Even then, I'm not so sure even the best coach (and recruiter) in the world could hold on to excellence for very long in South Bend.

The academics, the weather, the growing parody in college football, and the last 15 years all demonstrate that the days of perpetual football dominance have come to an end for Notre Dame. With Weis, at least we know we have someone who can bring in top talent and have a shot at things like BCS bowls and National Championships.

So that's why I'm still behind Weis at this point. I'm not sure who could come in and do a better job and I'm at least excited about the explosive offense and the impending first round draft picks that are going to make Notre Dame look really good.

While that may not satisfy some fans who clamor for a dominant team, I think we should be happy that the talent assembled today gives us hope that there is a shot at something bigger on the horizon.

The loss to Michigan was bitter and gut-wrenching, but I think we have to look at the big picture and see an upward trend in all things Fighting Irish.

Top NBA Road Uniforms: The Even Numbers

Eric Murtaugh — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:41:25 -0400

A few weeks ago, I took a look at the dark colored uniforms from the National Football League and now it is time to look at the NBA. You may have noticed in the past that my design tastes are old school and that I prefer classic and timeless uniforms in contrast to most modern designs that are tacky or built on fad. However, basketball is the one sport that I think can get away with a lot of different designs and especially color combinations. Although basketball is not my favorite sport I can at least appreciate the variety of colors and color schemes employed by many NBA teams today. So without further ado, here are the top road uniforms from the NBA. This first slideshow will feature the even numbers and the second will feature the odd numbers and the eventual number one team. Feel free to post any comments or let me know what you think the list should look like.

Begin Slideshow

Outside the Irish Huddle: Any Hope Left in South Bend?

Eric Murtaugh — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 13:21:06 -0400

Before I get into the ramifications of this past weekend's loss to Michigan, let's hand out some grades to specific Notre Dame positions.

Quarterback: A

You can't really put much blame on Jimmy Clausen in this game, as he continues to be Notre Dame's best player and is putting together a scorching start for an Irish quarterback. He didn't turn the ball over, he threw for 336 yards plus three touchdowns, and he engineered what could have been a game-winning drive in the fourth quarter.

You would have liked Clausen to be a little more accurate, but I put most of that on poor passing calls from Charlie Weis.

Running Backs: B+

Well, we finally saw Armando Allen have a breakout game, running for 139 yards on 21 carries to go along with a touchdown. Had they correctly called his screen pass as inbounds, Allen would have finished with almost 100 yards receiving as well.

The bad news is that Jonas Gray had a costly fumble and Allen was dinged up on the last drive, forcing Weis to throw the ball with Robert Hughes in the backfield.

Wide Receivers: B+

Looking at the stats, you would think the wideouts deserve an A grade, but they could have played better. Obviously Golden Tate would like to catch those two passes that were right in his breadbasket.

Am I alone in thinking Duval Kamara really isn't that good? The Irish need a legitimate third receiver, and although Kamara has size, he's neither fast nor very physical. Why don't John Goodman, Robby Parris, and Shaquelle Evans get more PT?

Kyle Rudolph had a fairly quiet game, but Michigan kept a good eye on him.

Offensive Line: A

It doesn't seem to make sense that this was the line's best game in years and Notre Dame still lost. They didn't give up a sack, and they cleared numerous running holes for Allen. The penalties were costly, but I think a lot of the calls were pretty ridiculous if I do say so myself. I'm not going to knock Sam Young for pancake-blocking a guy and getting a penalty for it.

Defensive Line: D

The weakest link on the Irish roster was taken advantage of this weekend, that's for sure. Quite simply, Notre Dame's defensive line did not match up well against Nevada or Michigan, and it showed in both games. The heavy blitzing attack is not effective without the D-line getting pressure, and they have not done that. Plus, there's not much size inside to stop the run. It's definitely a cause for concern.

Linebackers: C+

I thought the linebackers played decently, but nothing spectacular. Brian Smith continues to be the best linebacker, and Toryan Smith is playing very well too. Manti Te'o was fairly quiet, but it appeared he didn't play that much. It would have been nice if one of the linebackers had come up with a big play on Michigan's last drive.

Defensive Backs: C-

Kyle McCarthy and Harrison Smith continue to lead the team in tackles and are playing very well, but they are playing too close to the line of scrimmage and not helping out enough in coverage. After two games, Robert Blanton, Darrin Walls, Raeshon McNeil, and Gary Gray have to show me more because they have looked pretty average thus far.

Special Teams: D

The kickoff return for a touchdown was pretty much the difference in the game, and it is all the more painful seeing as how the Irish have been so good in coverage for quite some time. Nick Tausch's missed field goal was big, but he settled down and hit two more. At this point a 66 percent success rate in the kicking game is what I'll take.

However, Notre Dame definitely has to get someone to kick the ball deeper on kickoffs and find a punter who can actually drive the ball downfield. Michigan had great field position all day long.

Coaching: C-

I think Weis will get more derision from this loss than I think he deserves in terms of his play calling, but the fact remains that his team lost yet again to an inferior opponent. On the defensive side of the ball, the heavy blitzing did not work, and I've been rallying against it for quite a long time now.

Still, the players play the game, and if Gray doesn't fumble or someone tackles the Michigan return man before his touchdown, we might be singing the coaches' praises.

Review

This was definitely one tough loss to swallow for Irish fans everywhere. It hurts because we know Notre Dame is better and it was such a close down to the wire-type loss. Still, there are some positive to take away and lessons to learn from this game.

First off, the Irish offense is very, very good. Clausen has been playing tremendously, and Allen is playing up to his potential. The offensive line has looked markedly improved, and there is so much to be happy about with their play thus far.

Suffice to say, the offense probably won't be much of a problem this season. Only USC may slow them down and keep them under 30 points, but I'd expect at least another big day against Michigan State next weekend.

On defense there are a lot of problems and questions. As I've stated, I don't like the amount of blitzing Jon Tenuta is dialing up on nearly every play. The D-line can't get enough pressure, and the roster doesn't have any spectacular pass rushers as it is.

I would like to think the Irish would have been better off sitting back, stopping the run, and forcing Tate Forcier to beat Notre Dame with his arm or legs against more solid coverage.

A good analogy would be the way certain hockey teams employ the trap to slow down quick offensive teams. It's usually a bad idea to send in two or three forwards on the forecheck against highly skilled teams because they will move the puck quickly and create mismatches down the ice.

That's basically what the Irish have done for two weeks, and Michigan made them pay while Nevada did not. We're constantly sending linebackers and nickelbacks in a weak attempt to chase down the quarterback, when what they're really doing is making it easier for those quarterbacks who can simply sidestep one defender and have favorable matchups downfield.

With that being said, the Irish blitzing will probably be more effective against less mobile quarterbacks in the coming weeks, but the blueprint is there, so to speak, on how to defeat this defense. Hopefully there will be some adjustments and the defense will step up and play better going ahead.

As far as coaching goes, I'm definitely concerned, although I'm not about to ditch Charlie Weis just yet. This team at the very least is showing signs of improvement and is playing much better than last year.

My biggest problem with Weis and his play calling is that he is so quick to abandon the run game and that he constantly calls boneheaded plays in crucial situations. These two factors have haunted Notre Dame throughout his entire career in South Bend.

Of course the Irish running attack wasn't very good last year or the year before, but against Michigan it was working with great precision. But after two runs in the third quarter were stopped for short gains, Weis practically gave up.

I realize Notre Dame had a huge advantage with Michael Floyd and Tate, but Allen was playing so well, and it was a mistake to allow Michigan to know the pass was coming on every play. When that is added to the choice not to run the ball on the last possession, well, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

So what does Notre Dame do from here? I think there's still hope, but this loss will take a while to get over, even if the Irish beat Michigan State and later head into the USC game at 4-1.

I really look at this loss and marvel at all of the bad things that happened to Notre Dame. There wasn't one big problem but a host of seven or eight things that combined to cause one heck of a rough loss.

Still, Notre Dame needs to fight on and build momentum as the date with the Trojans comes closer, because a lot of people are looking at that game as a bellwether for the season and program as a whole.

But first, the Spartans must be defeated on Saturday.

Let's Put Blaming Brady Quinn on Hold

Eric Murtaugh — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 23:10:23 -0400

Following this afternoon's game against the Minnesota Vikings, it didn't take long for the ax to come out against Brady Quinn, did it?

While I'm certainly not going to defend Quinn's performance and tell you that it was anywhere near great, let's not rush to bench him after one game in the 2009 season.

Quite frankly, I didn't think Quinn played very well, but I don't think he played that poorly either.

Let's not forget that the Vikings are a legitimate Super Bowl contender this season and that it was a long shot for the Browns to pull out a win.

You may say I'm making excuses, but that's just the cold, hard reality of the NFL.

Plus, the Browns looked pretty good in this game, and I think there are some positives to take away from the loss anyway, even with Quinn's performance.

Here's another reality the Browns have to face, as well as anyone who supports Derek Anderson as the starting quarterback: The Browns desperately need a quarterback with pocket presence, vision, and quick feet.

Today, Quinn showed he at least has those qualities, and we already know Anderson does not. Say what you want about DA's arm strength, but I believe this game would have been much uglier for the Browns with Anderson behind center.

Moreover, Anderson has never, in his entire career stretching back to college, been an accurate passer.

Today, Quinn at least showed decent accuracy with 60 percent of his passes completed, to go along with those pesky (now expected) drops by Cleveland receivers.

But enough about Anderson. What Browns fans have to realize is that Quinn has so much more to offer, and that over time, it will pay off.

Quinn's fumble today was certainly inexcusable, but let's not pretend that's going to happen every game.

His interception was a big hurt to the Browns, but it was more of a miscommunication with the receiver than a clear cut bad pass.

In fact, had Edwards ran the route Quinn thought he would it could have been a nice gain.

As it stands, Quinn played mediocre...but I must stress that it's not the end of the world. He at least showed he can scramble and makes plays, retain quality accuracy, and escape sacks and turn broken plays into gains with his running (again all things Anderson has never been able to do).

I thought Quinn showed good leadership throughout the game and was able to call some nice audibles at the line of scrimmage.

Cleveland fans should be more worried about the running game more than anything (Lewis rushed for 57 yards, Quinn for 21) and the play calling was very questionable.

The Browns definitely need to cut back on the shotgun formations and get away from the conservative play calling. But, let's remember the Vikings are a tough team and the coaching staff probably wanted to keep it that way.

Regardless, the Browns played pretty well today against a very good team. Quinn might have played poorly at times, but I guarantee he'll play better in the future.

Just stay patient with Quinn and give him more time than one game this season or four games total in his career.

You have to resist the temptation to think that your quarterback should go out and just fire the ball down field and think that it's going to beat good teams and take the Browns to the playoffs.

And lastly, take a look around the rest of the league and you'll see quite a few other quarterbacks who had a much worse day than Quinn did against Minnesota. Are you ready to throw them under the bus as well?