Pitt week is upon us. Yawn. “But Mac, it’s Notre Dame’s longest rivalry outside of Navy, USC, Purdue and Michigan State.” So what? If we’re really committed to re-establishing a national schedule with a diverse set of teams, Pitt would be the first team I’d dump. I haven’t cared for the Panthers since ’82 when they were #1 in the country and crapped the bed against ND, duping us all into believing Faust was a decent coach. That, plus the fact I just miss Pitt’s classic blue-and-mustard unis.
Screw it. I want to talk about something else. How about the easiest of targets five weeks into the schedule, Coach Brian Kelly? More specifically, let’s talk about his offense.
There’s been criticism of Kelly’s offense since before he even took the job at Notre Dame, with pejoratives like “gimmicky,” “soft,” and my new personal favorite “metrosexual” used to describe its shotgun formations and multiple-receiver sets. The thing is, Kelly’s offense is neither gimmicky nor metrosexual. Recently deconstructed in an excellent Rivals article, his offense is in fact fairly basic. It’s not about X’s and O’s, it’s about repetition and execution. And scoring. All the freaking time.
What we’re seeing with the 2-3 Irish is an unfinished project. The players are still learning their assignments, and our lack of depth at QB prevents Kelly from taking chances with Dayne Crist rushing the ball. You don’t think Kelly considers the running game a weapon? In his four starts in 2009, Cincinnati QB Zach Collaros averaged 86 yards rushing per game. And if you look even further down the Brian Kelly resume, you’ll find a Grand Valley State offense that utilized a “spread run” formation: power football with pulling guards and tackles, all from the shotgun. In 2001 that GVSU offense averaged more than 58 points (an all-time Div-II record) and 230 yards rushing per game.
We would all like Kelly to run the ball more. We would all like our o-line to show an ability to take over a game for seemingly the first time since the Lou era. But let’s at least acknowledge the possibility of success even if ND doesn’t manage to forge a power-I, old-school mentality in Kelly’s tenure.
In the history of the BCS era there’s been at least 10 “metrosexual” offenses that have won a BCS bowl, if not more: Boise State last year, Utah the year before that, West Virginia and Kansas in ’08, Boise and Louisville in ’07, West Virginia in ’06, Utah in ’05, Oregon in ’02, and Oregon State in ’01. And if not for the fact he had a physically gifted tight end for a QB for four years at Florida, Urban Meyer ‘s Gator NC-winning teams would have likely been right where Meyer’s teams were in his years at Bowling Green and Utah: barely cracking the Top 50 in rushing .
The NFL record book is even more compelling, with six of the last 11 Super Bowl winners utilizing pass-first offenses. That “gimmicky” shotgun offense now comprises well over 30% of the snaps in the NFL. And the first NFL team to take more than 50% of its offensive snaps from the shotgun formation was the 2008 New England Patriots, the single most productive offense in NFL history.
Yes, Stanford completely kicked our teeth in. And yes, Coach Jim Harbaugh has The Cardinal playing a mean, physical brand of football you can’t help but envy. But let’s not get so consumed by that beatdown that we can’t see the forest through the trees. (Pun very much intended.) Kelly’s offense works. With the right personnel in place—and that is happening as we speak—it can score gobs of points and be physical at the same time. Let’s at least let Coach Kelly finish pouring the foundation before declaring that the façade sucks. As Stanford was kind enough to remind us just this past week versus Oregon, in a game of power versus speed, speed wins.
and BTW, I hope Mark May will stuff that in his shirt
or any other place on his body and arrogant, vein conceited self
go Lou
rant to may every day
may annoys most I know –fans for several other teams mind you
ESPN keeps him just for the ratings
because whether we like it or not-we love to hate him
IRISH BEAT PITT
final word there-stuff it mark-(if he’s like this in his personal life, I wonder about his wife-poor girl)
At the start of the year, I looked at the first half of our sched and realistically lumped Purdue and BC in the “should win” column. Michigan, with a two year head start on their transformation and Pitt, with a predicted top Big East program, I had as “toss ups.” Michigan State was set to be a top B10 program and will likely win part of the B10 title. They don’t play OSU and already beat Wisconsin. Stanford is a top 10 team and one of the best in a loaded pac 10. I had these two in the “likely loss” column. We have one the 2 we should, split the toss ups and lost to the two I thought were likely to beat us. An important factor is we were in the Michigan game and got beat by a super freak. We took the likely B10 co champ to OT and only got beat on trickeration.
In my opinion, right now, we are a mid to top B10 program, a top Big East program, a top ACC program and prbably middle of the Pac. That’s really not a bad launching pad for a team with a new coach, new O and D system and a ton of new starters. The O is looking like they get better each week and the D is much improved over last year.
The remaining games include 4 “should wins” (WMU, Tusla, Army and Navy), a toss up with a USC team on an elevator going down that should pass ours going up and a likely loss to a Top 10 Utah. If we can win all that we should, beat SCum and upset Utah, this team is on schedule for greatness. beat all the “shoulds” and SC and play Utah close it will still show we are headed in the right direction.
I don’t want to be labeled someone that accepts “mediocrity” but I recognize that we are rebuilding. Having ND beat the teams they should is a major improvement. Add that to winning a majority of the toss ups and being in the game with the “likley losses,” and I am happy with the direction. With the recruiting BK is doing and a winning record with a win in a bowl game and I think year 2 will be right on schedule. There shouldn’t be any likely losses next year, just should wins and toss ups. By year 3 we should be poised to be one of the teams favored to win them all.
It took alot of years to sink to where we have been, I finally feel like we are climbing back. If we finish this year by beating all that we should and a low level bowl game, thats progress. Next year the progression should lead to one of the BCS games maybe more. By year three of this climb, we finally should shut up the haters and put ND back where it belongs.
GO IRISH
How many years of eligibility does crist have?
Crist sat out his freshman year, and his first playing time was last year. He has 2011 to finish up his normal four years and could be back for 2012 if he choses.
He used a year of eligibility last year, although he didn’t play much. He really is a first year quarterback and gets better every game. On the positive side, he’s not sailing uncatchable balls out of the end zone like in the first three games. He should have hit Floyd on that “one hander” and tough to blame him on the wide open Rudolph pass as he was passing to where his room mate would have normally been. They should rest him (Rudolph) up until the Utah game. With the potential pro football lockout next year, perhaps both Rudolph and Floyd will be back for 2011 which would be outstanding.
FXM is right–lets not laugh at UTAH or—ANYBODY until you play them~!!!!!!!!!!!!
As for this article, the writer should think twice about saying
“It’s Pitt week–YAWN.”
Talk about food and fuel for fire!
Really???
Anything can happen to anybody! ( just ask Les Miles the past two weeks with his blessings from the powers above Tenn. victory and then Gator land )
Pitt ALMOST took this–at the end– NEVER say YAWN-
we are TOO soft on the corners
Fix this and we step it up a notch
Pitt should not have received that last TD—but they DID
and I thought–here we go again–
Pitt is not what people thought they would be
but THERE IS NO GUARANTEE
AND I SAY KEEP THIS GAME IN THE SCHEDULE
Because of Pittsburgh location in the country, our alumni there ( just outside of most of Big 10 country -sans Penn State)
and —ND has not had the greatest luck in Pitts Place-
Pitt Yawn??/ hardly
they deserve more credit than that
Glad ND won–
Progress is being made
but yawn on any team??/
don’t think so
Lucky Lep,
I do believe the team is moving in the right direction. I think each week they grow. A couple of penalties and dropped passes and ND blows out Pitt. I think that BK will fix these problems and they will be a much better team by Utah and SC. The defense gave up one big play on a rookie mistake by Slaughter. I think people in the media and in college football don’t understand how young this team is. They are starting a lot of first year starters at key positions. I think they will grow this year and have a good chance to win out. I also think you will see a different team come November and in a bowl than you saw last year. The only thing I disagree with you on is that Pitt is a good team. The Big East is a joke and their defense was not that good. ND makes a couple of plays and the score would have bee 21-3 at half time.
Pitt is not great, but they are not a joke the lost to Utah in OT in their house. And lets not laugh at Utah until after we play them.
The team played for one half. The problem I saw again was inconsistancy on offense. They were three plays away again from breaking the game wide open. Crist rushed the pass on the double pump, he had Floyd wide open. Also when they ran the ball in the first half they were successful and moved the ball. They also need to keep that high tempo.
Defensive side of the ball I think they are coming along. I called the touchdown to make it 17. I said watch the saftey get sucked up and beat deep. Again, the defense needs to stop the big plays and keep forcing teams to drive the field. If this would have been last year they would have driven the length of the field and we would have batted the ball down in the endzone. This team is a work in progress, but I like the direction they are going in. I think ND can beat Utah and SC but will have to play 4qts to do it.
Jack:
Enjoy the win! Stop focusing on the negative and focus on the positive. The team is moving in the right direction. They played a good team. This is not Western Mich. It is Pitt. Lets celebrate the victory!
By the way Sparty ripped that S off Denard’s chest that we put there. Good grief.
I want to remain objective here, and I don’t watch any other team as closely, now, is it my imagination or does this school seem to get the short-end of the stick on a ton of calls year in year out?
FMX,
Every college team in America runs a “PICK” play.
USC makes a living with them.
We run one and the very first time we get called for offensive pass interferance.
Most officiating crews will let a team run one or two of those in a game before they start calling it.
I also don’t like that a coach can only make one challange per game. It should be one challenge per Half.
Unless it’s an obvious play that will be over turned with review, I think Kelly, knowing that ND doesn’t have their own officials, tends to want to hold on to it for the second half, or for late in the game if needed.
I would have pounded the ball at the 13 yard line for 6 at the end of the game! Finishing the game right and teaching your team in no uncertain terms the need to execute regardless of circumstances would have been a big leg up for this program at this point. Definitely a missed opportunity in my view. Everyone I watched the game with says no way – dont chance it and take the knee and take the win. I totally disagree. If the ball in out at the 30 or 40 – even the 25 then yes – take a knee. BUT NOT AT THE 13 YARD LINE WITH 1:30 LEFT!!!!! I thought Kelly said he wasnt coaching or playing scared? It would have been a huge growing moment for this team as a whole especially after the horrible ref calls in the 4th for both sides! A win for sure – but pretty damn ugly especially after dominating at half. 3 friggin points in the 2nd half……
I think because they played like crap BK does not want them to win by 13 and imagine everything is fine. And he also respects Wanny and doesn’t want to be like Harbaugh.
On offense, we remain less than the sum of the parts. If you told me Riddick was going to be having this level of sucess, I would tell you we would be scoring 40 pts. a game. But, a win is good.
I think we are beginning to see an Irish offense that is coming together. I would still like to see a bit more of a ground game. Especially when we’re trying to close out a game in the final minutes. However, Dayne seems to be playing football and not over thinking the game. He spread the ball around nicely hitting all of his receivers and appeared to be really accurate. They still have some work to do but I’m feeling a heck of a lot better that they are making positive strides with every additional week into the season.
For the first time in a long time I was really enjoying our defense play. The d-line played a hell of a game, pass rush off the edge and d-backfield that was pressing some very…very big receivers. They locked down two very good running backs today. Most of their combined 100 yards of rushing came off of one 4th and 1 40-50 yard play.
The way I see it, you take away two penalties and one broken coverage this game would have been a blow out. The score doesn’t really tell the story of how well the Irish played today. They had some breakdowns but they were showing a lot of fight today.
It’s a good time to be an Irish fan! This team is learning, improving and Fighting! GO IRISH!!!!!!
Well, I guess a win is a win.
i wanna see this team play for 4 quarters. whether on offense or defense, there are quarters where they look like a different team. 4quarters = dominant win.
Go irish!!
and to the hater who called me the swami. mich is simply not one of the best teams on our schedule. this is based on facts. they gave up 37 points to umass and 35 to indiana, once mich plays a good d they will be exposed.
My word exactly – a four quarter game would be great – next week should be a real walk and cahnce for some time for backups – sorry Western ( hey I went there for two years) and after that take Navy down – do not overlook them – minimum sefen wins looking good now – Navy is the key and then Utah and USC is gettable this year – it just takes time – this should really help recruiting and it looks like BK is getting that done too
I also agreed with Bill and didn’t want to fire Weis last year, but as the flaws in his program became more and more obvious I knew it was a time for a change. I think what we are forgetting is this is how the first year should go. We were spoiled with Willingham and Weis’s first years in South Bend. Their great starts were marred with obvious problems that I as a fan was to blind to see. I have seen steady improvment in this team week to week. I think we also forget they are a young team. The leader on defense is a sophmore and other than the two corners this defense is young. The offense is also young. There is only two returning starters on the o-line and the QB is young. If I continue to see the growth and maturity that I think we will see this team will surge in November and not fail. We will see, ultimately after this week ND will be favorites in most of their games except maybe Utah and SC. We will see after today if the defensive performance last week was fluke or for real and if the offense can sustain a presence for an entire game.
sounds good to me Delta
GO IRISH!!!! IT’S PITT WEEK…while not as big a rival as SCum and below Meechigan in status, I must admit I get fired up about Pitt. I hope that BK’s coming out party is against the Pitt Markmay’s. Give Lou something to rag the bastard about on college football final.
I agree, we need this one for Lou!
Lets start by I am hoping and cheering for ND and I too thought about the not let up argument but i am not in favor of double pass in that situation to prove my point. (But who am I?)
Spread run play are scary b/c it makes the game 11 on 11 and when u have a dynamic QB and back like oregons who both can slip through a crease and make one guy miss it goes for big chunks. (nd doesn’t Have)
the spread isn’t wrong but If i am Notre Dame I am ground and Pound with Defense b/c of location and Caliber of student. i would always have spread package involved especially based on personel. Crist/ Rudolph / Floyd are not typical spread guys.—
talk about toughness when u practice ground and pound all week ur offense and defense becomes tougher… it just a physically and mentally tougher practice.
standfords style of 9 guys in the box and plow ahead needs to be well coached and executed sharply. I still believe notre dame can recruit a higher caliber talent then Standford.. and Focus on more athletes on defense b/c that goes with the ground and pound style currently used successfully by
Alabama Saban a defensive genius –
Jets 09AFC Championship game ryan def genius .
Steelers superbowl competitors with rookie rothesberger and 10this yr with batch.
Cincy 09 team
the pat beat the colts yrs back by keeping the ball away from peyton manning.
Giants beat the pats with great defense–running offense and little bit of luck
Baltimore won a super bowl stickly defense and special teams
On and on
It’s all about athletes. You get the right guys I don’t care what system you run. It ain’t about the X’s and O’s its about the Jimmy’s and the Joe’s.
Absolutely!
I thought i was the Johnny’s and Joe’s..
I disagree to a point. Coaching is first/ players 2nd/ 3rd is probably scheme….
..The johnny’s and the Joe’s is the difference which takes a good team and makes them a great team the undefeated teams that competes in the national championships game…Our Johnny’s and Joe’s were better then stanfords in my opinion but we got smacked and i believe we were more talented then Michigan and Michagan state with the big exception of Denard and they lucked out..
I do believe Kelly is a good coach it just hurts me to see the team going shut gun and running the smash route 90% of the game.. and the gimmicky double pass up big late in the 4th qrt….
look at all the programs that turn around like alabama, florida, TCU, Boise state, b/c of coaching
Look at lsu during saban and then after saban..
I’m not sure where to put the value of players. I mean, it matters, but to a point.
Look at your Boise State teams, from a talent perspective they shouldn’t stand a chance. From a scheme/mentality/execution standpoint I personally think they’re the best in the country. (not saying they should be ranked ahead of bama, just from that standpoint). Also I think there is some value to making quality use of gimmicky plays every once in a while. I think Chris Peterson does this amazingly at Boise.
I’ll readily admit that I was openly opposed to the idea of firing Weis for Kelly for the majority of last year. I soon came to terms with this idea as the season fell apart and it became obvious we weren’t going to get any of the guys I’d have cried for (Read: Peterson & Harbaugh). But then I decided to sit back and see what Kelly had to offer. And I gotta say, I think his offensive and defensive schemes fit in with a trend you’re starting to see both throughout college football and the NFL.
Sure, it might not be the traditional I-formation power running we’re used to seeing. But the spread does do a great job of leveraging better athletes and giving them the ball in space. There’s also (as Mac pointed out) some real nuances to a lot of the route-running within a spread formation that disguises some plays better and opens up space for others.
I’m just excited to see the transformation in progress. Also, I would punch a midget in public if we could bring in a Defense that executes like the BSU defense. Though I will note, our secondary has played a LOT better as of late. Especially once Diacco decided to have the corners press every once in a while.
So what’s it gonna be this week?
I actually mean that in a good way. Every week Kelly does something to surprise me, especially with his players.
We all knew what Allen, Floyd, Teo, Rudolph, and Riddic could do it. But every week players are put in, or step up and surprise me.
I started off concerned about one of our offensice tackles Zack Martin.
Not any more. He is solid as a rock.
That Kid Carlo Calabrese brings his best game every week. We got something going with him and Teo lined up side by side.
Cierre Wood has shown flashes, as has TJ Jones.
In the last game it was Bennett Jackson with his speed on kick returns, and Prince Shembo and his speed off the edge.
Who will it be this week? I can’t wait to find out.
But one thing is for sure, this team is really starting to take shape
I agree Shaz! Carlo has gotten better every week. Shembo looks like he has fire as well.
We contain the run this and the offense gives our defense a chance to watch the game it will be a good day.
I hope to see more of shembo on pass downs he looks explosive even in his stance..
I still am very curious about JOnas Gray whom can’t catch a break and FLier who impressed me on 1 play this season.
Notre Dame up 31 to 14 in the fourth quarter and they ran a double pass with goodman..
That is gimmicky and not Notre Dame Football that I Love. Standford is a smart school that knows they aren’t going to be as fast as top competition in the NCAA but they can be physically tougher and play a unique style of football that is well coach…..
But we have coach kelly who is a good coach so GO ND.
I can see from your handle the kind of football that you enjoy. As do I. However, smash mouth football is a thing of the past. You could argue that Standford proves that it’s still relevant in football…. until you see what Oregon did to Standford last weekend.
Scoring quickly and often will make a team like Standford one dimensional and force them to abandon the power running game. I’m not saying that I like it because I enjoy watching teams like the Steelers of old pound the football, eat up the clock, and let their fresh defense loose on a team that needs to score lots of points by airing it out.
I’m not saying that teams who run the spread should abandon the running game but keep in mind that a 3-5 yard reception effectively eats up clock just as well as a 3-5 yard run.
Running the spread and smashmouth football are not mutually exclusive. All Oregon did was beat Stanford up one side and down the other in the second half.
Being at the game, I had a sense that all Oregon was doing was running the ball down Stanford’s throat. Looking at the stats the next day confirmed that feeling. I’ll be most would be surprised to know that Oregon ran the ball 30 out of the 33 second-half plays.
It’s all about execution in the spread. Oregon forced Stanford to respect the QB’s ability to run as well as throw. Stanford was toast at that point.
Given time, I’m hopeful Kelly can realize the same success at ND. But rest assured, it will take time.
Oregon’s QB is like Denard, as is Hernandez at Nebraska, which begs a great topic for discussion, would you trade Crist for Denard?
There is a reason these offenses are reffered as “west coast” where they can air it out.
But not all teams have the luxury of playing on the west coast.
Come late November in the Mid-west or upper east coast, when teams are fighting for a place in the BCS, the weather isn’t always so accomadating.
Frozen ball, frozen field, high, swerrling winds, snow, sleet, freezing rain, and slippery conditions can make passing the football near impossiable.
It is then that a good power running game quickly becomes a head coaches best weapon.
Bama is old school smash-mouth, but we can not get those Orcs that Saban has through admissions
PRtheB,
“Gimmicky” Is a good word and I thought the same at the time.
Then I considered that maybe Kelly was just trying to teach his team to keep their foot on the gas and not let up.
“Let-down” another good word that discribes many a ND game from seasons’ past.
Kelly did a hell of a lot more dressing down of players and coaches alkie while at Cincinnati – I say its about damn time! He’s not a friggin administrator or emotional support therapist – he’s the damn head coach of ND! Got to shout the remaining traces of Weis out of the players system if you ask me. GO IRISH!
Shaz,
Excellent insight, controlled yelling coupled with teaching interjected into the conversation immediately by Kelly seems to be his successful forte.
Remember how Harbawl jumped around throwing things blowing a gasket in his prior visited to ND stadium? As long as Harbawl is winning he’s OK for the moment.
Did BK stiff (walk away from) Harbawl at the end of the game, or did I just imagine (and hope) that he did?
Most of us have followed ND for many years. There was the Davie era, followed by Willingham and Weis. But not since Lou Holtz have stories popped up about a ND coach (BK) yelling at his players on the side line.
I’m a old school guy. My coaches yelled at me. Coaches aren’t coaching if they are not yelling at somebody. Screaming coaches and football go hand in hand. But I do have two schools of thought on the subject.
One is what I like to call the Tom Coughlin style. The guy is strict, A disciplinarian, intense, and one heck of a yeller. While there are some teams or programs that need a guy just like him, and early on he seems to make very good progress, there is no doubt, with today’s “modern” players,
his act wears thin after a while. And when it does, players seem to just tune him out completely. Paul Johnson of Georgia Tech seems to be of the same mold. You can’t argue with the success and results he got when he was at Navy. They were the habitual 1-11 or 2-10 team before he arrived, but his Gerogia Tech squad seems to be slipping of late. Makes you wonder.
Then there are coaches like Nick Saban. A perfectionist. A eye for details.
He won’t tollerate mistakes and lapses in judgement. Hard to argue with his style or the resulting success. Though you never see a softer side. If there is one.
Then there is Brian Kelly. He won’t wait until half time, or Monday’s film study to correct a problem. He won’t lose trust and throw a player in the dog house and forget about him like Weis used to. He gets in his players face when the mistake is fresh in everyone mind. He yells yes, but he also teaches at the same time.
And he also has his players’ backs. He stood up for Cierre Wood when there were those who wanted to throw the kid under the bus for missed blocks and lost fumbles. Lou was criticized for embarressing his players on national TV. But In the end, Lou elevated the play of his player and helped them accomplish great things. His players respected and loved him (especially those drafted into the NFL).
This is one of the simalarities I see between Holtz and Kelly. I think the final results will be very similar as well.
Good comments Shazam. Ripping a player’s face off and forgetting about him is the sign of a bad coach, a very bad coach. Good coaches understand the psychology of building back up. You’d see Lou chewing someone’s facemask off. Then, 10 minutes later he’d have that little grin, with his hands on that player’s shoulders, nodding at them and chirping some more. You knew what he was doing. He was telling them how much he believed in them and KNEW that they could do alot better.
I see Kelly as that kind of guy.
Western Pennsylvania is a deep well of football talent only a 6 hour drive from ND and continuing to play Pitt gives ND exposure in this market.
I just want to draw attention to this point here.
Don’t underestimate the Pennsylvania recruiting grounds.
it was 07 pats that set scoring record
Good article McSweeney. Cogent thoughts- keep ’em coming!
I have been very frustrated by the lack of weekly progress in certain areas, as I’ve made quite clear, and that has been concerning to me. That being said, I absolutely still think Kelly is the right man. I LOVE his demeanor and his riding the players hard when they make mistakes. He demands excellence, like Lou. That’s something I missed so much under Weis.
My 2 biggest concerns are: 1- Crist’s inconsistency. There are times when he looks VERY confused and timid and it scares the $%^& out of me. I know he’s a newbie and some of that is to be expected. BUT, IMO, we are 5 games deep into the schedule and his butterflies should be dying about now…
2- Defending the run.
As we said after the frustration of the Stanford ass-whooping, those next 2 weeks (i.e. BC and Pitt) were going to be critical and telling. A convincing win on Saturday can get this team ‘over the hump’. We’ve had 2 very close (coulda shoulda woulda) losses against UM and MSU. Stanford is just a much better team.
I’ll be taking my 6 year-old son to his first ND game this Saturday! I am so excited because I know neither one of us will ever forget it!
GO IRISH
How cool man… his first ND game! Hope ya’ll have a great time!
Thanks IrishChan. It will be fun to watch.
I agree with you boys kelly needs time to get this thing going he needs time he took over a team that has some talent but has underachieved the last few years not only changing the offence but the mentalaity and the culture at ND i like his fire and passion its been sorely lacking from a nd coach since lou hopefully we can beat pitt this weekend get back to 500 and go from there im a huge ND fan and want them to do well but im also a realist there not what they use to be but they can be again in time GOOD article BEAT PITT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Can we send out an APB for Robert Hughes? It is tiring watching Armando get dropped by the first defender….we need some power running!Seriously, is he in Kelly’s dog-house? What’s up?
Agreed. Armando is a nice back but he is no threat to break anything so why not go with somebody a little tougher between the tackles.
Kelly made some impressive adjustments in our 31-13 win and I won’t mention specific names. However, it demonstrates our new CEO has excellent follow through on promises made with results!. In the past we would see continuous ineffective redundancy at the highest level.
As for Pittsburgh, well, let’s achieve another “must win” and then dump them off the schedule for an SEC team!
All aboard the BK-Express……………………………Go Irish!
Our schedule strength is already #8. Do you really think any SEC team is looking to strengthen their schedule?
Wow Ted, glad to see you looked into your crystal ball and predicted the win/loss records for the best teams on our schedule.
Give me a call when you get a chance, I need to put some money down on NBA, NHL, MMA, and heck, let’s throw the November election races in there lol.
Fact is, you don’t know how good those teams are until December/January when their season is over. Till then – this is nothing more than a crystal ball.
irisheye62,
Better a fool than a leprechaun, I guess.
Now, read you should more carefully. I was not the first nor the last to bring in pro football by way of a comparison. I was not the one who suggested comparing ND’s 34 D to the Ratbirds or the Stillers. Besides, who died and made you the czar of this site to dictate to me or anyone else what we can say and not say?
Also, I never said you said you knew more than an NFL coach. I just suggested that it sounded like you believed you know more about football than the rest of us here. So, again, you should read more carefully.
What’s more, I never said you or anybody else here a “sad-ass.” I called the Brownies and Bungles “sad-ass.” You should read more carefully.
About the not cheering for ND remark, I was using hyperbole. That’s a figure of speech, in case you don’t know, irisheye. Funny how everyone else picked up on that.
Shaz and I have our agreements and disagreements. But I have nothing but respect for his passion for ND football and insights. What’s more, I also respect your passion for the Irish, however much we may disagree here or there. Sadly, you don’t seem to reciprocate the respect. On the contrary, you counsel that I should have some discernment. Perhaps the one that needs discernment is you, irisheye62, lest you look the fool.
Great article McSweeney. Speed most always prevails. I hate the fact that so many are bailing on Kelly, because they feel it’s not producing the wins it should be. It is his first year in office ladies and gents. These are not his players in his program right now. Not saying that he doesn’t have the talent to win ball games. Obviously they were in prime position to beat two teams that are currently 5-0, one with a possible heisman leader. Power football is a thing of the past, especially in the NCAA and NFL (some high school teams can get away with it). Go Kelly, the Fighting Irish, and the Spread!
i agree that we need to give kelly more time to develop, but let’s not get carried away.
mich will finish with at least 3 losses – if indiana can score 38 on them how many will iowa or osu put up?
mich st., depending on what happens this weekend, will also finish with 2-3 losses.
stanford has a lot of tough games left as well, including usc this weekend who is coming off of a loss. stanford will lose a couple more as well.
the fact is, these teams aren’t that good. let’s not give them too much credit just because they beat nd.
Ahem.
As someone who currently resides in Iowa City, I can assure you they’ve passed a law against scoring more than 45 points against any team. I’m fairly certain that number is mandated to drop to 31 points against any Big-Ten Opponent.
But seriously, Iowa will probably beat the tar out of Michigan, just don’t expect it to be on offense.
Iowa City???
Really???
This might be my only chance.
Is that whole cow-tipping thing real or just made up?
If it is real, I’m guessing that 20% is suffeciant. That’s
what I normally tip my bartender.
Currently resides. I didn’t grow up here Shaz. I grew up in CT. So, I don’t go cow-tipping. But I do go Bartender Tipping from time to time. (all & every).
I’m not saying that they are the caliber teams that ND should be competing with (through the expectations of most of ND Nation), but both of those teams are surprisingly decent teams. I just think people need to be a little more patient, and being a little more positive at some of the progress that Kelly has had on the mentality of the program. Teams that we beat are not good enough, and the teams that we lose to are embarrassing. It’s hard to move in a positive direction as a program with everyone so negative.
Really? I didn’t realize we (The Fans) are responsible for the football program not moving in a positive direction. Grow up! Learn how to handle criticism. Life isn’t just a bunch of roses. Just win baby!
I’m sorry but because you’ve gone ahead and reference Al Davis:
Jamarcus Russell is a great kid. He’s going to be a great quarterback!
Not everything Al Davis says makes sense but Just Win Baby does make sense. And Jamarcus might still be a great quarterback for the San Quentin Stallions. F$ckin criminal deadbeat loser!
Don’t forget the other thing that Al said that also makes alot of sence….
Lane Kiffin is a liar!
True. Maybe Davis isn’t senile after all! Naaaaaaa!
Well their not that bad either Ted. Standford had Oregon on ropes until their offense let loose on Standford. Michigan (Robinson) may be one the electrifying players in the game today and can obviously carry a football team on his shoulders. MSU is a strong football team as well.
“if indiana can score 38 on them how many will iowa…put up?”
Is that a trick question? Comparing the IU offense to the Iowa offense is like comparing a Ferrari to a dead horse. IU’s defense sucks, but they have the most prolific offense in the Big Ten.
waitwhat?!?!?
ok, I’m pretty sure you’re saying Indiana has a great offense and Iowa has a trashy one. But for a second there I thought I read you saying Iowa’s D sucks. And if you were even thinking of implying that Iowa has an offense and/or you were thinking of implying Iowa has a crappy Defense, well… I was going ot have to suspend your blogging privileges to be frank.
Instead I’ll just have to enjoy my “Bill, you’re an idiot” moment.
IF22,
I agree with everything you said, except the part about a power running game being a thing of the past.
Alabama, the defending national Champion, won with a power running game and a excellent defense.
Before them it was Florida behind the power running of Tim Tebow.
Not saying a great passing team or speed team can’t win. They certainly do.
But good defense, and a strong power running game go back to the first games ever played. That style has withstood the test of time and is still winning championships today.
It’s held it’s place for over a 100 years of organized football.
I agree that there are teams that are still succeeding with a power running game, but Florida can’t be categorized with Alabama. Florida runs a power game through the spread option. And I didn’t necessarily mean power as in powerful running backs, I meant the smashmouth football that is line em up and let’s see if they stop us. And of course you need great defense. Very few teams if any will win a NC without a solid defense.
But I didn’t mean power running backs. You absolutely need strong powerful backs (something ND has lacked in the backfield). I meant the strategy behind the players.
IF22,
Good point
“I agree with everything you said, except the part about a power running game being a thing of the past.”
WHAT are you disagreeing with exactly? I never said a power running game is a thing of the past. In fact, I said I envy Stanford’s offense. My only point is we don’t need to be married to the idea of the Blarney offense and three yards and a cloud of dust.
Big Mac,
My retort was for IrishFan22.
I also envy just about everything that Stanford has done under Jim Harbaugh.
As long as there are teams that reside in the Plains, Mid-west, and upper east coast where the weather turns particularlly nasty in November, the power running game will always have it’s place in football.
AMEN!! Well stated analysis.
1. Can’t agree more, great article.
One problem. NOTRE DAME DOESN’T HAVE SPEED AND THEY DONT HAVE POWER SO WHAT DO WE DO NOW.
If ND’s offense is Metrosexaul, and the QB is one of the main accessories, Dayne Crist’s performance has been like a bad haircut.