The No Huddle Spread

My father has coached football for 30+ years (obviously this is where I get my extensive football knowledge). When he became a head coach we both sort of brainstormed to come up with an offense. It is primarily a pro-I offense where the flanker is in motion nearly every play. The idea is to utilize the different placement positions of the flanker via motion to create a different formation from the same starting point. This results in an additional blocker in many cases and the flanker is also used as a decoy. The pro-I forms the base of the offense. However, it is always prudent to have a hurry-up or no-huddle offense. Recently my father asked me to take a pass at a no-huddle or hurry-up offense.

A little explanation of my philosophy behind a no huddle offense is necessary. First, it should be of the same vein as the base offense. Two, it should be fairly simple both in the number of plays and in the variety of routes. This set of plays only employs a handful of routes: the out, short post/slant, post, bench, seam, lasso, and hook. Third, it should be able to attack all of the defenses it will likely face. For high school that would primarily be man, cover two, and cover three. Fourth, it should have an element of the run. Five, it should have some form of a screen play. And finally, it should be able to get to the sideline to stop the clock.

Here is likely what I would run, at a first glance, as a no huddle spread offense. Everything (but the players themselves) is drawn to scale and I have used the following nomenclature:

X - SE or #1 receiver
Y - FL or #2 receiver (even though I refer to Z as the flanker in the play names it is just because he is off the line)
Z - TE
W - FL or #3 receiver

Red indicates motion, blue the place the ball is designed to go, and the vertical black dashed lines are the hash marks.



Obviously this is more geared towards a no-huddle offense than a hurry up. The abundance of motion would slow the play execution tremendously (although in hurry up you could just line the Z receiver wherever the motion leads him). Additionally, it is run heavy and only has one play (#8) that goes explicitly for the sideline.

It is, however, highly effective against man and zone, has enough similar looks to be effective at confusing defenses, is versatile, and has a significant run presence. It has an answer for just about anything a defense would dial up.

That said, you can't do any of it if you can't protect the QB with six (5 OL + HB).

Weis Press Conference: Powlus and Brown

Well, I read most of the press conference concerning the new changes to the coaching staff and would like to give my take on it.

Weis said Minter and Vaas didn't have their contracts renewed. To me, that says two things. First, it says that they were essentially fired. And second, it says that Weis isn't going to put up with poor performance. Having only a two year contract means that you can be terminated in a relatively short time frame without the lingering effects of said performance lasting too long. It's cut-throat, I know, but if you want to win you have to be the best. A two year contract basically means you are interviewing again for your job at the end of it.

Second, I agree with what David said when he commented on my last article (link here), Powlus is going to be a killer hire. The things he said in the press conference have already shown me that he understands Notre Dame, the program, the pressure surrounding it, the way to bring along a QB, etc. Plus, he knows how to handle the media. Weis said Powlus has already earned his trust and that he believes it will be a good fit going into next season since a lot of time will be spent bringing the QBs along.

I like Corwin Brown more now than I did prior to this press conference. Weis diffused much of my angst by saying that he went to Groh, Belichick, Parcells, and Crennel and they all came up with the same name: Corwin Brown. This is a good fit for the program. He will run the defense in a manner that Weis is familiar with causing less speculation, anxiety, and uncertainty during the flow of the game. On top of that, he spoke like Weis speaks in terms of his defensive philosophy: you prepare for the teams accordingly but not without being aggressive and dictating the game via your gameplan. If you have a team that runs the ball well, you prepare for the run, if they aren't good at handling pressure, get after the QB, if they can protect, sit back and play coverage, etc. But he also said "You have to get after it. I believe in being aggressive. You have to hit. You have to run. And you've got to play hard. And that's what I believe in. You have to hit and run and you gotta play hard and that's what we're going to do. We're going to be tough." only shortly after talking about how a good foundation of fundamentals is essential to sound defensive play. He's saying the right things, but talk is cheap, it's much more difficult to get the words to show up on the field.

A few quotes from the press conference (link here) that I thought were particularly interesting:

"We have a system in place and within that system we should be able to address different matters that will come up within a game and I feel personally that you have to, sometimes you have to dictate what the game is going to, how the game is going to unfold. Sometimes you have to be the aggressor."

"It's all about players. I've really not been here long enough to really comment on the players. But the one thing I know just by all these guys being here is that they welcome the pressure. These guys are going to be confident and they're going to be aggressive and they're Notre Dame. So that's what you know about our players right now. And believe me, it's all about our players."

"I coach like I played. It's fast and hard. I also believe that you have to know your players, and you gotta respond to them. So some players they need harder coaching. Some players they need more explanation. So that's what I do. I don't believe in just approaching everyone the same way. And that's how I do it."

"I think there is an adjustment, because they're younger and also these guys are students so you don't have them all day. But at the same time at the end of the day it's still football. And it comes down to two things. Blocking and tackling and how you play and getting after the guy with the ball."

It also appears that he is keeping the defensive staff that we have. He didn't say he would be working with the linebackers specifically, but with all of the skill position players (safeties, linebackers, corners) so it may be that some duties of the defensive coaching staff will change. The bottom line appears to me that Brown is a good fit for Weis because they have the same background and experience. They also seem to run the same types of systems and have the same attitude towards football in general. This will only help game planning as Weis often tries to gameplan with both offense and defense in mind.

I'm still skeptical about Brown's ability to call defenses and be the architect of a properly and effectively designed defensive gameplan but he'll have plenty of opportunities to prove himself in the near future, i.e. next season.

Finally, Samardzija isn't going to the NFL. He's going to stick to baseball. This may have been the been the plan all along and would explain the often-times lack of effort in his play this season.

Update: The State of ND Football

Ok, a somewhat-quick update to the state of Notre Dame football. I'll essentially go through four things.

There's a lot of news right now surrounding Notre Dame football. First, Jimmy Clausen, Gary Grey, and Armando Allen have enrolled early and started classes. Essentially, this means they will be available for Spring drills and get the extra fifteen practices allowed by the NCAA as well as become adjusted to college life now as opposed to next football season when their time management skills will be truly tested. This is huge for next season as Clausen will need the time to adapt to the offense and the all the young QB's need as many reps as possible. Fifteen practices may sound like a small number but a great deal of improvement can occur in that time. Once Allen is healthy (broken leg) he will also begin getting valuable reps. This also means they can get in the weight room with Mendoza and start building much needed strength and stamina.

Additionally, there is news on the coaching front. Although much of this is speculation, I believe things will be finalized soon. I expect two or three changes to take place. First, Peter Vaas will no longer be the QB coach. I'm not certain, but the word on the street is that he and Rick Minter (at least as defensive coordinator) have been let go. It is suspected that Ron Powlus will fill Vaas' vacancy. Minter may, however, stay on to coach the linebackers. Minter's replacement is Corwin Brown, a former Michigan safety, NFL veteran, and current secondary coach of the New York Jets. If you would like a look at his background there is a good little summary here but I'll discuss his past a little below. I believe Brown will replace Bill Lewis as our secondary coach (I think he's retiring) and take over for Minter as the defensive coordinator. Consequently, if Minter remains as the linebacker coach we won't need to fill another vacancy. If the name Corwin Brown sounds familiar there is good reason for it. In the 1992 Michigan-Notre Dame game there is an infamous run by Reggie Brooks in which he gets knocked out as he crosses the goal line and scores. Corwin Brown is the Michigan player who whiffed trying to tackle Brooks before he scored.

Now, in my opinion, there are good and bad things about these coaching changes. First, I think Powlus will be a good fit. He has been at ND as a student, player, and employer. He understands the school and its mission, the pressure of being the ND QB, and is a student of the game. His first hand experience will be invaluable for our young QB's and their maturity. While he lacks experience in the X's and O's and (potentially) the detailed mechanics of coaching a QB, Weis will compensate for that. By all accounts Vaas didn't work as diligently as Weis expected and having worked with Powlus first hand I'm sure Weis knows better about what kind of effort to expect from him. Quinn may not have needed all the extra attention, coaching, motivation, etc. but these young guys will.

I have mixed emotions about Minter. I've been on the fence about him and his performance all year long (and last season as well). I'm still not certain he is entirely to blame for our lack of "improvement" in defense. I use that word with quotations because, believe it or not, the defense did statistically improve under him from the before he took over to last year and from last year to this. The big plays, however, are inexcusable and with so many people close to the program insisting this is a function of his complex defensive scheme, it's difficult not to listen. Weis insisted he simplify things this year but perhaps he still didn't make enough progress in that area. I don't understand how his scheming could have worked at Cincinnati and South Carolina and not Notre Dame.

As for Brown, I don't like the idea of hiring a first time defensive coordinator at a big name program like ND where he will face some of the best offenses in the country. It isn't that he doesn't know X's and O's, it is that he doesn't have the experience, doesn't know first-hand how the operation works, how to prepare for an opponent, how to chart tendencies, when to gamble with the blitz, how to be the primary architect of a defensive scheme, etc. It's a tall order for someone to learn that in their first season playing the schedule we will play next year with the athletes we have on that side of the ball. This is quite a large gamble on Weis' part. There are rumors out there that Weis spoke with Jim Mora (former Atlanta Falcons head coach), Dewayne Walker (UCLA defensive coordinator) and possibly even Bo Pelini (LSU defensive coordinator).

Having said that, his past is intimately linked with Weis (Brown played on Weis coached Jets and Patriots teams) so much that Weis definitely knows what he is getting. Furthermore, the Jets head coach and defensive coordinator incessantly praise Brown and give him credit for the defensive success of that team. He was also rumored to be an excellent recruiter while working with Al Groh down at Virginia. As this is an area in which Minter struggled, this improvement should go a long way. This is especially true recruiting defensive talent as Brown played in the NFL and, like Weis, knows what it takes and has connections in The League. Brown is also from Chicago. With our recent struggles securing top talent out of that city competing with Illinois, etc. Brown should also help. I'm sure all of this is a strategic move by Weis to upgrade the talent on defense.

Finally, there is news as to which players are returning for their fifth year of eligibility and which players are going to the draft. Essentially everyone who could come back for a fifth year is coming back. Zibi, Trevor Laws, John Carlson, Travis Thomas, John Sullivan, Joe Brockington, Geoff Price, and Ambrose Wooden are all coming back. That makes for a lot of needed experience with a very young (especially on offense) team. What seemed to surprise a lot of people is Darius Walker's early departure for the NFL. I can't say I'm shocked. While I believe it hurts the development of our new QB (a back like him releasing as a safety valve is invaluable) I think it is the best decision for him. He is an outstanding student, will graduate soon, was going to be pushed for playing time next year, and went out on a high note with his performance in the first half against LSU. He's not an every down back in the NFL so he would likely go the same place in the draft this year and/or next. This will also open the way for our younger players in the backfield to get some experience.

In recruiting news we aren't making a lot of progress. We may not get any more commitments this year and that is quite disturbing given the fact that we desperately need an impact linebacker, safety, and defensive tackle. Getting a commit like Major Wright would go a long way but still not salvage the losses of Will Blackwell and Lorenzo Edwards. We need to upgrade the defensive talent badly.

I guess that's about it from my perspective. I may update this once Weis' press conference comes out.

The National Championship Game Debacle

It's wrong to be happy over someone else's loss, but I am, so here we go.

If the national championship game is anything it is irrefutable support that Troy Smith didn't deserve the Heisman (and that Heisman voting is incorrectly applied). What Troy Smith faced in this game Brady Quinn faced in all the "big games" this year: no deep threat at receiver, down in the game trying to throw every down to get back in it, and poor offensive line play resulting in frequent pressure. Now Brady didn't do great in those games but Troy's six yards of total offense is absolutely pathetic. So is the lowest QB rating in BCS game history (including two turnovers). So is the lowest total offensive output in BCS game history. Forget about being a big game QB, he still is. One game of many can't dismiss that fact. (Forget also about OSU being over-rated also. Although slightly, they aren't as bad as they looked. They really didn't play any great teams all year and weren't prepared for the level of competition.) But Troy Smith is a big game QB because of the talent around him in addition to his abilities. It was entirely evident last night. Forget about the Heisman Trophy and missing practice (he only missed three), forget about the layoff (Florida dealt with it also), the fact that Smith put up the numbers he did all year was because he wasn't pressured, had a running game, wasn't playing from behind (a tribute to his defense), and had a tremendous down field receiving threat (Ginn). That isn't only him. Go back and look at all of the Heisman winners who have flopped in big bowl games. It is the same story and is the reason why the Heisman voting is wrong.

A few excerpts from articles out there...

"Smith joined the panned-theon of Heisman-winning quarterbacks -- Vinny Testaverde, Gino Torretta, Eric Crouch and Jason White -- who have stunk in national championship games. But it was a team effort." -- Wow, what a concept, Smith can't be completely blamed for the outcome of the game.

"The Ohio State offensive line that had allowed only 14 sacks all season gave up five to the Gators. 'When they build a lead, they can then dictate to us what we're going to do,' Ohio State center Doug Datish said. '…We were coming from behind, and anytime you allow guys, especially with that type of speed, to pin their ears back and not have any reads, it's tough.'" -- Wow, how many times has that been mentioned to alleviate Brady's culpability for poor play this year?

"Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith played so gruesomely awful (4-of-14 for 35 yards, one interception, zero touchdowns) that the Heisman people might want their trophy back. OK, that's a cheap shot. Smith didn't get much help. Star wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. apparently injured his left foot moments after returning the opening kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown. It was the last time he touched the ball and the last time Ohio State had the lead. Ginn spent much of the rest of the game on the sidelines. Hard to score while you're leaning on metal crutches, eh, Jim? " -- Wow, what is it like to not have a receiver with superior speed to be a down field threat?

"With the confetti strewn all over the grass at University of Phoenix Stadium, the Buckeyes' undefeated streak over and the total offensive yards battle won by Florida, 370-82, we've become aware of something else about Smith: He had never seen anything like the speed of Florida's defensive line." -- Wow, I guess I didn't realize that Smith wasn't responsible for that. Quinn always was.

"For what seemed like the first time all season, early in a nightmarish first half of the title game, the nation's most unflappable signal-caller looked flustered. And even though Smith took the blame -- 'It's a lack of execution on my part as a quarterback,' he said -- it was hardly all his fault. What would you do if you lost your most dangerous receiver, Ted Ginn Jr., to an injury in the first quarter? And if two defensive ends with the size and speed of velociraptors -- the 6-foot-6, 251-pound Moss and the 6-5, 262-pound Harvey -- were scorching your O-line and getting up in your grill on nearly every passing play? '[Smith was] running for his life,' said Harvey. 'That's what good D made him do.' Even the strongest Heisman stiff-arm couldn't deflect that degree of heat." -- I revert to previous comments.

"The Florida debacle was just one game in Smith's decorated college career. He still delivered Ohio State fans the greatest regular season by a quarterback in school history, and got the Buckeyes to the brink of their second national championship of the decade. OSU coach Jim Tressel deflected the blame for the loss away from Smith, saying, 'I think we, at times, put Troy in a situation that was tough from a scheme standpoint.'" -- Wow, no one in this country was asked to do more than Quinn.

Although some of it is objective, it's amazing to me how those types of considerations weren't taken into account when Brady was crucified in the media this year. Again, just like his criminal past, Smith gets a pass.

LSU Game Summary...And Some Other Stuff

The haters are already out there. ESPN, Sports Illustrated, CBS sportsline and virtually every other internet sports publication has already started the Irish bashing. It's amazing how much people love to have on Brady Quinn and Notre Dame. Last night didn't prove anything the USC game didn't (I am not lumping Michigan in there because I don't think they are a better football team than us, we gave that game away). We cannot make mistakes and win against a quality opponent (like LSU) and we made plenty of them. I don't understand how our football team can be so dramatically different this year from last in terms of how we play in big games seeing how we are basically the same team. And I really don't understand how a team like Ole Miss can push LSU to the brink of defeat and we can't. It just goes to show you, as this bowl season proved, anyone can beat anyone on any given day. It also goes to show you that every team we play gets up to play us. We always get their best because everyone loves to hate us. Amazing, we aren't tooting our horn, the media does. But as soon as we are over-rated it is our self-righteous NBC football wielding contract arrogant attitude that is to blame. I'm sure every school in college football wouldn't jump at a television contract if they could get it. Right.

A few things I learned this bowl season. Les Miles isn't good on the camera. He was given a plethora of opportunities last night when prompted with questions and didn't once deliver anything resembling intelligent dialogue. The same can be said for his players. We also learned that Fox can't cover college football games. The commentary, setup, and even sound was terrible. You can't take guys that follow NFL football all year, thrust them into the bowl game, and expect good results. It just won't work. Mike Bobo is going to be one heck of a good offensive coordinator down in Georgia. Don't ever, ever bet against Pete Carroll in games following a bye week or bowl games. Even though USC (particularly Dwayne Jarrett) has no class, the guy is just too good. Additionally, Dwayne Jarrett can taunt his opposition but Jeff Samardzija can't. I don't know if I would call what he did taunting but I certainly would what Jarrett did. The Statue of Liberty play call in the Boise State game was a thing of beauty. Congrats to the media dubbed "BCS spoilers."

If you told me that Darius had 100+ yards rushing and we had a 2:1 time of possession advantage at halftime I would have told you we would win the game. I thought the longer we kept it close, the better chance we had of winning. Keeping their defense on the field for 19+ minutes and posting nearly 250 yards of first half offense were really good signs. I don't know about the fake punt, we might as well have just handed them seven points. But if it works, Weis is a genius. Unfortunately, it didn't, in the second half the roles reversed. They were on the field almost the whole half and we managed a paltry amount of yardage.

Offense

Brady had arguably his worst game of the past two years. He didn't look like the Brady I've seen in the past. His throws were errant and he didn't have a lot of touch on many of his throws. He looked over-hyped. It's tough to be in his position against a team like LSU with a defense like they have but he had time and a running game and he didn't execute. I think he hurt his draft stock because the knock on him is that he can't win big games. I guess people forget about the USC game last year when he outplayed everyone's favorite poster boy Matt Leinart. People must also forget that Peyton Manning never beat Florida. However, real or perceived, last night did nothing to change people's opinions. He did manage to show his footwork again, Brady isn't slow. But we just can't win when we don't capitalize on turnovers, don't catch passes we should on third down, and don't hit open receivers. Throwing off your back foot into the flat on inside man coverage isn't necessarily a good idea either.

I thought the offensive line played a pretty dang good game. They controlled the line of scrimmage and Carlson did an excellent job sealing on the outside. I thought they were going to be the deciding factor in this game and they held up their end of the bargain. I was really impressed with how well they played. Unfortunately, we have a secondary that couldn't cover themselves let alone the other team.

Darius had a good game running, catching, and pass protecting. He looked a step faster last night. He really is invaluable in our offensive scheme. I typically hate the way he runs the ball, last night was the exception.

David Grimes had the game of his life. It wasn't just the amazing catch for the touchdown. He was blocking down field all game long. Weis was using wide receiver crack blocks to seal the inside and Grimes took on quite a few linebackers with success.

I'm kind of surprised that we didn't use Carlson more in the passing game. I didn't play that close of attention but I guess he just didn't get open.

Defense

I don't know how we can be so bad in the defensive backfield. Last night it looked like we had four Clifford Jefferson's out there. Can we just not recruit someone who can cover, anyone, someone? I wish my name was Jimbo Fisher because our defense made him look like a genius. It didn't matter what play LSU called, it worked. I don't know if JaMarcus Russell is that good because he didn't have to make a tough throw all night. I thought we would play a lot of zone and try and give them everything underneath but we tried to mix it up a lot and confuse Russell. It didn't work.

Their offensive line owned our front seven. Our defensive line played their worst game in recent memory and our linebackers were swallowed up by the offensive line and tight ends. We couldn't stop anything and really failed to get much pressure on Russell. Even when we blitzed we didn't get there.

I don't think there was one person on defense that had a good game. I will say this though, we played hard. We may not have played well but we were hitting and playing hard. Duke and Richardson played particularly hard.

Special Teams

The one bright spot all night (as far as tackling goes) was David Bruton. That kid is great on special teams kickoff and punt coverage. Other than that, we didn't have a big play in the special teams game. We had plenty of opportunities on kickoff returns but didn't take advantage on any. The failed fake punt was a disaster.

To say I'm disappointed in how the game turned out would be an understatement. However, I took friendly advice and played it out on my newly acquired XBox 360. Final score, ND 52, LSU 24. That's right, I ran it up.

And to close out...temporarily, a nice article on Tressel here. Thank Kinder. Nota bene that Tressel promises greatness in the classroom. I guess the 34% African American football player graduation rate and largest disparity between white and black graduation rates among all bowl bound teams is considered "great" to The Ohio State University. It's a pity they make so much money on these kids without preparing them for the real world.

More Thoughts...

I kind of got to thinking about a few more things and had some dialogue that prompted me to want to write more.

First, it is laughable that LSU suspended a few of their players for a couple of quarters. Jimmy Johnson said it before the game and he was dead on: "Oh come on Tim [Brown], this is LSU not Notre Dame, these guys will be in after the first series." Weis told our players if any player violated a curfew or broke a team rule they would be sent home. What a joke of an effort at discipline it was.

Second, it was pointed out to me (thank McColgan) that our secondary is really sort of victimized by self-fulfilling prophecies. They've heard over and over again how slow they are and how they always give up the big play. This just feeds off itself. Other teams see and hear this and keep testing us deep more and more. If the percentage of big passing plays given up by our defensive secondary (vs. the number attempted) was examined and compared to other teams I'm not sure there would be grossly large disparity. Teams just go deep on us far more often than "normal." This will continue until we prove we can stop it or until we are able to consistently get pressure on the opposing QB. To me we weren't visibly slower than them last night, we were just greatly out of position on many occasions. It's tough when we have three converted wide outs playing in our secondary.

I don't anticipate this problem getting any better soon. A lot of people are calling for Minter's head but I'm not convinced that is the problem. I feel that Weis knows how to come up with a defensive gameplan. If you know offense you know defense and I'm sure he "checks" the game plan going in. I think the talent gap is more severe than I believe, more serious than I anticipated, and a larger contribution to our defensive performance than I have previously acknowledged. We have more highly regarded talent coming in and Weis has said the first few classes have to be loaded with difference makers while the subsequent ones can have fewer. He's right, we need to have a depth of talent to push people for playing time and be able to play multiple persons at the same position to keep people fresh during the game.

Finally, our wide receiver play this year, at times, was poor relative to last year. While Carlson surpassed Fasano in his play, Samardzija wasn't the same receiver and McKnight dropped far too many balls, many of them in clutch situations. We only played three wide receivers this year (with any consequence) which goes to show you that we don't have the talent behind them to push them to play better or to take their place.

The bad news about our current state of football affairs is that Weis can't seem to (read hasn't yet) beat a top tier team and people are slowing us down on offense. Usually the second year is a good indication of the future for a coach. In this case, let's hope that is the exception rather than the rule because I am certainly not satisfied with our performance this year. The good news is that Weis seems to understand this. He knows we don't have the talent to play with the big boys but he isn't going to say that, isn't going to stop trying to win every game, and isn't going to not support his players in every way possible.

Keep the faith and continue support and let's ride it out.

LSU Keys To Winning

Season In Review

The more and more I think about our season the more I think that the reason we didn't win all of our games came down to one fundamental thing: poor offensive line play. I took a look at this year compared to the last and a couple of statistics stood out at me. On defense we gave up significantly fewer yards, mostly in the passing game, and fewer yards per rush. However, the yards per play was up a little bit and the number of plays against us was up slightly which, given the new rules this year to shorten the game, means it was up more than that. On offense, our time of possession was down and, even though our yards per carry were up, our rushing touchdowns (way down) and yards per game were down.

To me this all points to the offensive line. We didn't have a consistent, tough yardage, inside running presence. Due to that our play action passing game wasn't as effective. This manifests itself in several areas. First, we don't control the clock like we did in the past. This leaves the defense on the field for more plays. Therefore, even though they are playing better than last year they are more apt to get tired and therefore more likely to give up big plays. Second, this takes away our ability to play action and go down field. It isn't just that Samardzija and McKnight can't separate from many of the defenders. Without pulling the safeties up with play action we can't really go down field with the ball. We just don't have the athleticism or speed at the wide receiver position unless we get one-on-one coverage with jump balls. Effective play action helps facilitate that.

Finally, opposing defenses know we have to throw the ball. Any team with a decent defensive line can pin their ears back and come after us. This has resulted in more pressure on Quinn and, consequently, more sacks. It has also created serious problems converting third and fourth downs. Third and long and they send the house, third and short and we can't pick up the tough yards with our running game. There is only so many times you can run a QB sneak. Fourth down is more of the same.

Consistent with the thought that you are never as good or bad as people think you are it is certainly true that the offensive line is solely to blame. The absence of a consistent pass rush threat opposite Victor has been one of the true detriments to our defense. Additionally, our linebacker play this year has been some of the worst I have seen. Looking at Brockington's play and then reading people say he has really improved into a meaningful role tells you how bad we are at that position. We don't take on blocks with the outside shoulder, we don't skate and read upfield, we don't turn plays back inside, and we don't know how to read. The absence of physical running by Darius has also been a primary contributor to all of this. Watching the Army game with a couple of friends it was noted how he goes down on the first touch virtually every play. However, after seeing Aldridge miss the simple catch out in the flat I realized how valuable Darius is and why he is still the starter.

LSU Preview

I'm not going to lie folks, LSU is good. In fact, if they had better coaching they would be playing for the national title. I'm not sure what they were thinking hiring Les Miles but LSU has as much, if not more, talent than any other team in the country. And that talent comes in size, strength, speed, and athleticism. Better coaching, more discipline, and the elimination of self-inflicted mistakes would have them undefeated in the SEC and playing for the national championship. Of particular concern is their talent at wide receiver. Bowe and Doucet, have speed to spare. They aren't of the Mannigham and Jarret mold where they are bigger targets and more of possession type receivers with good speed. These guys have top-line speed. At the running back position they use three different guys, all of whom I'd love to have starting for us. Brady Quinn is having a fine year but what about JaMarcus Russell? He completes near 70% of his passes and has an excellent TD to interception ratio himself (26:7). On top of that, Russell is such a physical presence (goes about 260 lbs) that it is difficult to pressure him from the outside as he steps up into the pocket well. And defensively, they might have the best in the country. They are aggressive, fast, physical, and deep. They hit hard, cover well, blitz from all over the field, and stuff the run nearly as good as anyone in the country. At safety LaRon Landry is about as good as they come. This isn't going to be an easy game for us. LSU is really the last team I would want to draw from any of the BCS teams minus maybe OSU.

Offense

The key to us winning this game is several fold. First, protect the football. We can't turn the ball over and win this game. Second, we must take advantage of their aggressive defensive play. This can come in several forms but the one way I think we can primarily take advantage of it is in the screen game and with double move routes on the outside. This means we have to be able to protect Brady. Big surprise, in order to win, our offensive line must play well. Because LSU has such good safeties, they like to play a lot of cover two. The tight end, hopefully Carlson but Freeman if necessary, will be essential to exploiting this down the middle of the field. I think the tight end, along with solid offensive line play, will be the key to winning this game. Ball possession, controlling the clock, and long, meticulous drives (as Weis likes to call them) are key.

Defense

On defense it will be particularly important not to give up the big play. With the speed they have at receiver, particularly Doucet, they can break it pretty much any play and they will run the bubble screens, quick slants, and seam routes in one-on-one coverage to try and create with their speed. They will also use the running back by committee approach to wear us down. I believe the key will be to get them into third and long and get pressure on Russell up the middle. Coming from the outside will only flush him out of the pocket where he may be even more dangerous than as a drop back passer. Additionally, they run a pretty timing oriented passing offense. Disrupting the passing lanes via pressure up the middle and being physical with the receivers at the line of scrimmage will also be significant to success (see blueprint from the Florida vs. LSU game). We didn't do this with USC, let's see if we learned our lesson. Put Zibi up on the line and let him smack them around a few times, let him take the short zone, and give him help over the top.

Special Teams

On special teams it is unlikely we will get a big return. The most important factor here will be not giving something big up to them. Good kickoff and punt coverage will be essential as one little gap and they can spring it for a score. I also wouldn't be surprised to see us go after some punts and/or fake something ourselves. Weis is liable to pull out all of the stops here.

General Comments

To be perfectly honest, this game could be over at halftime with LSU pulling out ahead and just playing keep away and exerting superior athleticism for the second half. They are every bit as talented as any team in the country and are playing in their own backyard. I pray this doesn't happen because I don't want to hear all the media crap if it does. That said, they aren't coached very well and they are certainly prone to their fare share of mistakes. If we can keep it close and not turn the ball over, we can win as anyone can beat anyone on any given Saturday. Even then we will need a significantly poor game of play on their part to keep it close and I just don't see it happening.

LSU 31, ND 24

The Heisman Trophy Ceremony

If you are like me, you were supremely disappointed with the Heisman ceremony on Saturday night. Not only was it void of nearly any objective, intelligent football commentary, but it has also become like so many other things in college football, another money making scheme. It is more and more blatantly obvious to me that sports journalists (if you can even call them that), and even sports coverage in general, are more interested with creating and spinning stories than actually presenting factual, pertinent information from which the general public can base their own perceptions and opinions. I guess it really isn't that different from other types of journalism though.

I'm not particularly disappointed that Brady came in 3rd in the Heisman balloting. If you don't win, it really doesn't matter what place you finish and I knew going in that he wasn't going to win. The fact that he only got 13 first placed votes is darn near a crime against humanity but he'll go top five in the draft and make a zillion dollars. Troy Smith, on the other hand, might not even be drafted as a quarterback. It's interesting to me (just like the article I sent out last week illustrated) that the Heisman voting has turned from the most outstanding player to the best player on the best team. I've said it all along, no player with a supporting cast like Troy Smith, Matt Leinart, et. al. has can legitimately be considered the most outstanding player in college football without proving week in and week out that they are the most dominating player on the field. Look at the several past Heisman winning quarterbacks. They never did jack in the NFL because the reason they were any good in college was primarily due to the other players on the field and the level of competition they played. Smith will be no different.

What upsets me most about this year's Heisman trophy presentation, experience, etc. was best illustrated by one of Fowler's comments during the actual presentation ceremony. He said something along the lines of "it's hard to find something bad about that kid" in reference to Quinn. I immediately turned to my best friend sitting next to me. We were both thinking the same thing, only he said it first..."can't say the same thing about Smith now can we." Don't get me wrong, by recent accounts and the way he has handled himself this year, Troy Smith seems to finally be understanding the responsibilities that come with his status and success. He needs to conduct himself in such a way that he always keeps in mind what he represents and the type of roll model he is. Brady Quinn even said it in his little interview portion of the Heisman ceremony. But Smith shouldn't get a pass on all of the actions in his past that are much less than reputable just because he had a tough childhood. Additionally, Troy Smith should never have taken a snap over the past two years. If you accept money for playing college football you should be finished, plain and simple. That isn't a grey area of the rules. That one is cut and dry. It's quite disappointing that someone who is guilty of that can be chosen as the winner of college football's most prestigious award and to represent it on the stage Smith does.

The thing I was really pleased about is the fact that after last night I really can't imagine a better ambassador of ND football than Brady Quinn. He is a gentleman, he is respectful, he is the model of a student-athlete, and he is a great poster-boy for ND football. Be thankful he had the opportunity to get the publicity he has had and behave the way he has behaved. It speaks volumes of ND, Weis, and the type of football program we have.

I hate the fact that USC and OSU now have the same number of Heisman trophy winners we do. What's worse, until we get much better (by the current standard of voting) we won't get another one for quite some time. We have a few playmakers on the roster and coming in next year but until we consistently win big games (via a strong supporting cast) we won't be able to meet the qualifications for another winner.

Those Crazy Persons In The Media: Stay the Course

Ok, I've said it already but it needs to be said again. The people who crucify us in the media are the same people who anoint us before. They see improvement on the field, translate that into talent rather than coaching, anoint us as a better team, and then crucify us when we don't live up to their self-placed expectations. This is just proof that most of the so called pundits know nothing about college football. Furthermore, they never realize the obligation they have to delve into the real reasons and blame the truly responsible parties. They just chalk it up as another reason to hate the Fighting Irish.

I know what you're thinking, Weis talks just like the pundits do. But what else should he do? Is the guy going to bash his own players? Is the guy going to say we shouldn't or can't win against a certain opponent? Will he ever do anything but blame himself at the forefront of the interaction with the media? No. Does he know we aren't where we need to be in terms of talent? I'm sure he does, but he sure as hell isn't going to tell the general public that. That's not fair to the players he has right now nor is it productive to the future direction of the program.

The notion(s) and argument(s) that we don't have the talent of the top teams in the country and don't deserve a BCS bid aren't ill-founded, they are just ill-constructed. It is readily apparent that we don't have as much talent as other top teams in the country. I don't know if anyone has ever disputed this. We have talent, and in a good amount in some cases and at some positions, but not the kind of talent that allows us to win without mistake-free football. Weis isn't going to publicly admit that. That would be devastating to the team and players he currently coaches. What he is doing is only losing to top 5 football teams, winning the games he is supposed to, and winning recruiting battles.

The concern I have is that, while at New York and New England, Weis always had pretty good defenses. That isn't the case right now. And this is not only true from a talent level but also potentially from the coaching level. That has to improve and that is a valid, well-founded, even well-constructed concern. But the media's constant over-stating and then criticizing of our football program is pure publicity, story-spinning, and hate for a university that tries to do things right. And for all those people out there who think we lower our standards to recruit...go talk to Dwayne Jarrett. He was peeved because we stopped recruiting him when we found out his grades weren't up to snuff. He took it personally that we said he wasn't smart enough to attend Notre Dame. Last time I checked it isn't our responsibility to make sure high school athletes who want to play college football do their homework.

Stay the course, keep the faith. I have doubts as does many people close to the program. But stay the course, keep the faith, let's keep winning these recruiting battles, doing things the right way, and conducting ourselves with respect and class.

Woodworking Projects

One of my favorite things to do is build stuff. I have a variety of tools (nail guns, skill saw, double-bevel miter saw, compressor, jig saw, router, etc.) and have completed several projects I am pretty proud of. Typically I work with my buddy Vinnie (Vincenzo Siciliano, he's German). Most of them are shown below. If you are in the Cincinnati area and want some work done just let me know. I apologize for the appearance of the pictures below. It's really tough to get the picture editor in this thing to do what you want it to.

Cornhole Sets

These are the sets Vinnie and I made for a few people while on vacation, er a work assignment, down in South Carolina near Hilton Head.

Some more sets we did for a friend we met in Hilton Head.

And finally, for the Marines in MCAS Beaufort (just outside of Hilton Head).

These are some sets Vinnie and I made for our friends we work with here in Cincinnati. Yes, it was physically painful to do the OSU set.




















Some UC sets we did for another friend in Cincinnati.

























A few examples of some of our finer stenciling work...





















Anyone a Browns' fan?

How about the Bengals?

And last, but not least, the best sets in the world.

Shelves

Here are some shelves that Vinnie and I built. The set on the left was my custom design for a friend I work with. The set on the right Vinnie and I built for his wife.

Built-In's

Over this past Christmas my cousin and I built some built-in's for a room in his house. Here is the unfinished look (no cabinet doors, caulking, wood putty, sanding, painting, etc.) with a couple of finished pictures below.

Entertainment Center

Another Christmas, another project with my cousin. Before:

After:

And soon to come, the finished pictures...

USC Game Summary

When Weis first signed on as our coach at Notre Dame I didn’t really know much about him. As time progressed his candor in both press interviews and his book has allowed me a glimpse into what makes the man tick. After learning of his background with Parcells and Bellicheck and his success on the very elite level of the NFL I was encouraged that we would have a decided coaching advantage in every game we played under his tenure, a remarkable change from what I was used to. I was, however, misguided as to the extent that coaching can improve a team. Saturday night was living proof of this. I am still baffled how a USC team with less offensive talent could put up more points and with more ease than they did last year against our improved defense. I knew that we wouldn’t score as many points, USC’s defense is vastly improved this year over last (when injuries just plagued their secondary), but I really thought we had a better shot at stopping them with Bush et. al. gone and a better defense.

We were not poorly prepared for the game Saturday night. The comments of Weis, Quinn, Zibi, etc. after the game are evident of that. Although I’m still uncertain as to what our exact goal was on defense, the consistent success we had at the end of the first half was evidence that Minter did have a game plan that worked, albeit only temporarily. What was readily more apparent to me was the talent gap between USC’s receivers and our secondary. Trust me, I hate to admit it. I think it is almost allowing defeat through an excuse. But Dwayne Jarrett and any member of our secondary will only be mentioned in the same sentence to impart the unavoidable knowledge of what came to be Saturday night. Jarrett is in a class of his own. This talent gap was also evident on the USC defensive side of the ball where their speed really gave us a lot of problems. The thing I struggle with is as follows: for me, talent gaps are evident in players not being able to make one-on-one plays. What I saw a lot of times Saturday was USC receivers making catches wide open. It’s tough to say how much blame should be based on talent vs. coaching but it is very likely a bit of both.

Like I said after Michigan, I thought losses like this (large point differentials) were a thing of the past. To me, they hurt so much because it just gives the nay sayers more ammunition. The anti-ND sentiment will be prevalent throughout the media this week with many “experts” saying how ND is over-rated and not in the same class as many of the top teams in the country. In my opinion, that is true, but it has been that way since the beginning of the season. Remember, these are the same idiots that ranked us pre-season number two. It is through their own mistake that they have the circumstance to be able to criticize us this way. At the beginning of the year I thought we were a three or four loss football team. As it turns out, we only played two (maybe three) quality opponents. But you are never as bad or as good as anyone says you are. Writers love to spin stories and they will do so in absence of knowledge or logic. The general opinion after the game was that USC beat us badly. The truth is that we didn’t take advantage when we had the opportunities and the game should have been much closer than it was. This wasn't like the Michigan loss where we gave them everything we could. In this game we played fairly solid football. It is just that we have to play flawless to win against a team like this because of the talent gap. We couldn't string it together on a consistent basis. Last year we did, this year we didn't. Quinn is an excellent football player, not to mention QB, but he can't do it all.

Give USC credit, they played well. Pete Carroll, as much as I hate him, is as good of a college football coach as the NCAA has seen in some time. He is masterful at getting his players prepared for games, motivating, and recruiting. Weis should take some notes from him as we have come out really flat in many of our big games during his tenure. Carroll’s halftime adjustments are also excellent. That said, we didn’t take advantage of the opportunities we created. Had we done that the game would have been closer and the outcome much more in doubt. I’ve come to realize that good football coaches can only put players in the position to make the play. They can’t make it for them. That’s were talent manifests itself.

Before I get into some general comments on the game, I’d like to point out the fact that USC has little class. They are embarrassing to the university with their actions at the pep rally and after plays on the field. Only people who are around class and can recognize the difference know this. Pete Carroll, for all of his worth as a college coach, cares more about winning than winning the right way. Don’t get me wrong, Carroll, at least in the public eye, conducts himself with class. But I have to figure he isn’t always like this behind closed doors since this behavior doesn’t trickle down to his players. Further evidence of their lack of class was the “Quinn rhymes with Brokeback” sign and scream of “The Four Horsemen were gay” on college gameday. I even heard a story of a ND fan getting strangled by a USC fan in the stands. No kidding, charges were filed. I don't write this to take solace in the fact that we have that and they don't. I write it because the University of Notre Dame football program has high visibility and with that comes a responsibility to conduct ourselves with good behavior. I write it because we must understand what many other big college football programs don't. The visibility of Weis and the football program means we have a tremendous asset. We can sell the things we want to sell and represent the ideals that the university stands for to the public at large. Other programs don't always realize the responsibility that comes with this power. I implore you as representatives of the university, do not act like what I have described above. Treat our opponents with respect and class. Celebrate with our team, alumni, and university, never against the opponent. Represent the university the way it should be represented and with the class it deserves.

On to the football stuff…

Offense

On the offensive side of the ball we lined up in more formations and with different personnel packages than I had seen all year. I have to reason that USC felt the same way. The problem is, none of it really seemed to work effectively and consistently. Weis definitely had a very specific game plan against USC. Unfortunately for him, instead of playing mostly zone defense, Carroll employed tight man-to-man coverage which we really couldn’t shake. Their secondary blanketed our receivers for much of the game and even when Quinn had time there was rarely someone open. No matter what Weis tried, they adjusted and their speed compensated for any slight lapses they had. Even though that is all true, we still moved the ball, we just couldn’t get touchdowns inside of the red zone.

Brady had a decent game putting up more total offense against USC than any other player has all season. He had tons of very critical dropped passes that our receivers should have caught. I think he did the most with what he had considering there were so many few open receivers. He did miss a couple of throws that, had he completed, would have been excellent plays. He also showed some pretty good speed on that one run. He didn’t look like a Heisman Trophy contender since he didn’t make plays when we needed them but he could have used some help in that department. Brady is inconsistently clutch. Against quality opposition he doesn’t consistently make the big plays when we need them. However, that is as much a function of the talent around him as it is his play alone. He also spent a good deal of the game on his back. Go and watch the Michigan game, see how many times they even got close to Troy Smith. It’s tough for a QB to do it all (even though that is the perception about Smith).

Rhema had a really inconsistent game. His two long balls were beautiful catches but he dropped so many critical passes that it really killed drives for us. Samardjiza had a less than decent game. His inability to separate himself from their secondary was quite evident. He also lacked physical play.

I thought Freeman played very well all things considered. He had the one drop but his blocking was above average and, for the most part, he performed when needed in the passing game.

I hate to say this but I think Bob Morton is the worst offensive lineman in the country.

I think, in general, the offensive line played pretty well in terms of giving Quinn time. They didn’t protect him all that well (he was hit often) but we couldn’t get anyone open so it became a difficult task. They also did fairly well in the running game when our draw plays weren’t all that predictable.In some instances Weis got too cute with the running play calls. Overall, I thought the offensive line played well enough for us to win.The lack of separation our receivers created was our biggest downfall on offense. The three false starts by Harris were inexcusable.

I don’t understand why we didn’t go to no-huddle when we couldn’t move the ball. We waited until it was too late in the game. It would really have negated a lot of the defensive strategy of Carroll and allowed Quinn to focus on fewer decisions seeing how he was running for his life a bit.

I was extremely disappointed with our lack of execution on our fourth down attempts.

This just in…David Grimes and George West are quick, really quick.

Defense

Under Chow USC began what I can best describe as a timing passing game. Like Mike Williams before him, Dwayne Jarrett is a tough, physical, athletic receiver that suits this type of gameplan. Whether it be in play action or short drops, USC wants to take advantage of a precise passing game that relies on timing between the quarterback and his receivers. They don’t utilize the shotgun, rarely employ five step drops and almost never use seven step drops. The advantage of this is it effectively negates the opposing defenses ability to get pressure on the QB. It is also very effective when coupled with an effective running game and play action. Finally, it makes an offensive lineman’s job, relatively speaking, easier. The downside is that it requires a very astute QB and talented skill position players. The way to stop it, to me, is force teams into third and long situations and play press, bump-and-run coverage to disrupt the timing in the passing game. We didn’t seem to try and do that. Weis mentioned that we did in his post game interview but it didn't seem to be happening. On top of that, I thought that a real key to this game would be to get pressure on Booty and we didn’t seem to blitz much at all to try and do that. Even when we did, we didn't get there. Like Leinart before him, Booty isn’t tough and is easy to rattle. We should have had a more determined effort to knock him around. When we consistently stopped them that is what we were doing, getting pressure on him and forcing him into non-ideal, less than manageable situations.

I thought our front four played a very physical game. They really pursued well down the line of scrimmage. They didn’t get to Booty often but that is as much a function of the three step drop passing game as it is their success rushing the passer.

Our linebackers were absent for much of the game. They were pushed all over the field. Where USC has fast linebackers that are physical and can take on offensive lineman, we are ineffective in shedding blocks at the second level. It really showed up in this game. The reads weren't there and we don't understand how to take on a block with the inside shoulder and force a play back inside.

I thought Mike Richardson had one heck of a game. He really played well minus one play.

Obviously the secondary, in general, played poorly. They couldn’t cover Jarrett but most of the time it looked like one-on-one coverage and I hope that it was because of mental errors, not because Minter left them alone on islands. If that were the case I would hope we were blitzing and I didn’t see a lot of it.

I was thoroughly frustrated with USC’s ability to convert short yardage situations on the ground In many cases, that is pure determination. We needed to want it more.

Special Teams

I thought our kickoff team had one of its worse performances of the season. Minus the one punt, we had good punt coverage. Our return game was average at best.

Closing Remarks

In all honesty I hope we don’t go to a BCS bowl. I think the outcome will be mostly the same against another superiorly athletic team. Our receivers won't be able to separate from their secondary and our defense won't be able to pressure the QB without sending the house and leaving an inept secondary in one-on-one matchups. That is the bottom line of this game and I don’t want to be embarrassed again. Additionally, I think this type of thing will get worse before it gets better. Our recruiting in the sophomore and junior classes was atrocious, both in numbers and in talent, a true testament to Willingham’s gallant laziness and excellent golf game. The talent may be there with Weis’ first two full recruiting classes but it still has to be developed out of its infancy. Next year will likely be a very rough year.

I have spoken very highly of our assistant coaches. However, at this point, I’m leery of whether or not Minter, Oliver, Polian, and Latina are cutting it. Oliver has defensive line talent, Abiamiri, Laws, and Landri will all play on Sundays. But we can’t get pressure with the front four alone. I really don’t understand this at all. Polian hasn’t shown consistent improvement in our special teams and this is an area we desperately need to improve in. Latina can’t seem to teach our offensive line the meaning of run blocking. Minter, I don’t know what is going on with him. Our blitzes don't pay off getting to the QB and pressuring him nearly as often as they should. But all of these coaches had significant strengths and impressive resumes. For some reason, they aren’t producing I only hope that it isn't the head coach's relationship with them. It looks like some of them aren’t that impressive on the recruiting trail either. Weis needs to learn. He needs to adapt. Whatever his psychological ploys are for getting the team ready to play in big games, they aren't working. If his assistants aren't performing, he needs to get rid of them. That is one of the things that sunk Willingham. Maybe it is a difference between the pro's and college. I don't know. Weis has still only lost (minus MSU last year) to teams ranked in the top 5 but he really needed this win as a clause on his resume. He has been owned in big games.

Oh yea, if anyone wants a new Heisman Trophy candidate, Darren McFadden is your man.