Post Game Report Card: Georgia Tech

So, to say that this first game was a disappointment would be an understatement. I was shocked that this was the best effort our team could put forth. I put together a scorecard to review how I thought each position fared against Georgia Tech.

Quarterbacks: D

It is hard to be too critical of these guys because they are all so green. That said, Demetrius Jones looked horrible. He played hard but failed to protect the fooball (two HUGE fumbles) and wasn’t allowed to throw the ball. Sharpley looked ok in relief, completing 10 of 13 for 92 yards. However, he was slow to get the ball out and was sacked 7 times. The golden boy Clausen actually got in the game and looked ok as well, completing 4 of 6 for 34 yards (and looked a lot more composed than Sharpley who I thought was going to have a heart attack every time he stepped into the huddle).

Who knows where this leaves us going into future weeks. Clausen was healthy enough to play and may get the call moving forward. However, I bet Weis doesn’t want to have the kid destroyed behind our line, so don’t be surprised to see him give DJ or ES other opportunities. All I know is we need to be a lot better here and there is NO question Clausen is as far along in ability and composure as the other two.

Running Backs: D

The only reason I give our backs a “D” following a -8 rushing performance was Armando Allen. He had a couple of runs where you could see the guy has abilities (3 runs for 25). Travis Thomas did nothing (7 carries for -7), Schwapp did nothing (1 for -1) and Aldridge did little (6 for 19). These guys need an opportunity to hit holes though, which the O line did not provide. They sucked (see next section).

Offensive Line: F

Run block? 41 carries for -8 yards. Pass block? 7 sacks on Sharpley. Honestly, put me in coach, cause I think I can play. I was shocked how badly we played in both protections. Yeah, Tech is tough because of their tendency to blitz, but we have been working on that. I don’t know what else to say about these guys I am so disappointed.

Tight Ends: D

Carlson and Yeatman caught 4 balls but weren’t a big factor in the game. These guys need to be better safety nets for whoever is in at QB. Didn’t seem to be very helpful in the blocking schemes but can’t say I was paying a ton of attention there. I really thought we would hear more from these guys today.

Wide Receivers: C

I really can’t say much about this group as they weren’t thrown at much. They seemed to catch what was thrown at them but didn’t create much separation for the QB’s. Parris and Kamara looked solid. Grimes was invisible. West was ok but dropped a catchable ball along the sideline from Sharpley. They were anything but the weakest link on this team, but nothing sticks out here.

Defensive Line: C

Ok, so I have to preface this by saying I expected these guys to be very weak. While they didn’t create a lot of pressure on the QB and allowed a lot of running yards, I thought they played ok. The O Line for Tech was excellent and these guys did a pretty good job stuffing the middle. Most of the yards Tech generated were around the corners and not up the middle.

Linebackers: D

So these guys are young, but they were fooled about 50 times during this game. John Ryan has an awesome motor, but bit on about 5 different play action type plays. I also thought they looked slow as compared to Tech.

Secondary: B-

David Bruton played pretty well today and Tommy Z had a couple of nice hits. The corners played ok and looked good in coverage but were not thrown at often. There were no big plays given up by these guys, but none generated from these positions either.

Special Teams: C

Hey, we are 1 for 1 on field goal attempts, so we got that going for us. Walker perfectly split the uprights on a 24 yard chip shot and showed a lively leg. I also thought we were acceptable kicking off and in coverage. The return game left something to be desired, but Allen and Tate will gain a better feel here with experience. Geoff Price was awful and that first quarter shank really hurt us. He is supposed to be All-American caliber?

Coaching: D

I have to be honest. I am shocked Weis fielded this team. I think he was a bit shocked as well. They looked totally unprepared and didn’t adapt well to early struggles. Weis didn’t surprise anyone. I wouldn’t have wanted to be in the locker room after the game.

Future Weeks:

I caught glimpses of a few teams that we are going to play in the next few weeks and the road will only get tougher. Penn State looked tough with Morelli looking solid, Michigan had a more shocking loss than us (that said, I don’t think we are any better than App. State) and MSU also looked impressive against UAB. I know Georgia Tech is a more worthy opponent than anyone these three faced, but that still doesn’t give me much hope.

Final Thoughts:

Please let me know if you saw anything differently. I am not trying to be overly negative, but there is not a lot to talk up here. I was probably generous with commentary/grades above. Pat Scoggins, you are looking very smart right now.

Georgia Tech Keys To Winning...And Some Other Stuff

A few things to talk about now that our game with Georgia Tech is drawing near...

Depth Chart

Charlie Weis released the "official" depth chart last night. There are still a few positions that are listed with OR's but for the most part things have ironed themselves out. A few surprises jumped out at me initially.

There are no surprises at quarterback, running back, or fullback. I have a feeling it is more like Travis Thomas and then the rest of the guys. It's tough to tell if it will be Parris or Hord as our third wide receiver as one is listed as backing up Grimes while the other is listed as backing up West. I think that we may see some of each depending on the personnel package and what type of play we are trying to run.

Along the offensive line Bartley Webb and Chris Stewart aren't listed in the two deep. That means that freshmen Matt Romine and Taylor Dever surpassed them with very little time in practice. This surprised me a little. The other thing that jumped out at me on the offensive line is that no one's name was listed twice. That's quite a feat giving the small number of players we have at this position and speaks to the talent and depth that we have developed. It looks like Wenger beat out Carufel for the starting job at right guard. That means he and Sam Young will be playing together again after doing so in high school, albeit with Wenger then manning the center position.

One of the biggest surprises to me is Will Yeatman is listed as the number two tight end. This surprises me for a couple of reasons. One, Reuland is widely reported to be the faster, better pass catching threat of the two. And second, Yeatman missed quite a few practices last spring due to Lacrosse. I would have thought this would give Reuland time to progress a little more. My guess, and it is only conjecture at this point, is that Yeatman will be more advantageous as the second tight end given our proclivity to run this year. He is bigger, more agile (although not faster), more physical, and stronger than Reuland. This makes him a better prospect to be used as an H-back, which is how I believe he will be used.

It appears that Brockington and Smith (Toryan) are still battling for the inside linebacker position. Given Brockington's show in the linebacker agility drills in practice (easily the best of all the linebackers) that must mean Toryan brings something special to the scrimmage/game aspect of the position. I'm guessing he is more physical at the point of attack, something we may be in need of against certain teams. Look to see these two guys used fairly interchangeably. Ryan and Vernaglia locked down the outside linebacker positions with Kerry Neal and Brian Smith both listed as backing up Vernaglia and Maurice Richardson (my darkhorse) listed as backing up Ryan. Many out there believe it is only a matter of time before Neal or Smith pass up Vernaglia.

The biggest surprise of the depth chart is that Darrin Walls is listed as a starting corner rather than Ambrose Wooden. If Walls gives us the best chance to win then so be it. I do, however, feel for Wooden. He is often maligned at his position but people seem to forget that his hustle really paid dividends for us over the last two years, especially saving the touchdown against Michigan two years ago. I really enjoy watching players I know go hard all game, every play. Considering he never played corner until his sophomore year at ND I think he's done quite nicely. Everyone raves about the coverage skills of Walls (and Gary Gray and Raeshon McNeil) but it was a lack of physical play that made him a liability to me. Deon Sanders was a great coverage corner but in the latter years of his career people figured out how to beat him, run it right at him.

The final item of note on the depth chart is Armando Allen and Golden Tate being listed as the kick returners. Provided their nerves don't get the best of them this should be a great combination of return men for us. Both have exceptional speed and quickness (evident by their high school track records). With the kickoff being moved back there will be more opportunities to set up blocking lanes. Speed will become an even greater asset in the return game.

ESPN Predictions

The talking heads at ESPN are back at it again. I'll give you one piece of advice. Ignore everything college football analysts say with the exception of Kirk Herbstreit. He is the only intelligent, impartial, and consistently correct analyst there is in college football. I hate to make that statement and leave Lou Holtz out, but it's true. He and Mark May are simply there for television ratings via antagonizing charades. Lou's prediction of ten wins and May's prediction of five are both uninformed and laced with bias. Only Herbstreit's prediction of eight wins is reasonable. Add in the bowl game to give us nine and you reach my prediction.

Also, prepare yourself for the upcoming statements from the media about losing Brady Quinn and how he is irreplaceable. These comments will become even more prevalent when we approach games against the better teams on our schedule. Never mind the fact that these are the same people that said he wasn't that good, and that he didn't perform in the so called "big games." The irony is so thick you could cut it with a knife. If he wasn't that good and couldn't perform in big games last year then how is he so irreplaceable this year?

The Clausen Inconsistency and Mandel's Stupidity

Jimmy Clausen was available to the media on Friday as part of the only day that the freshmen will be able to talk to the media all year. I'm certain it was a circus. He read a prepared statement saying that he did have a bone spur, that he had a minor arthroscopic procedure to remove it, and that he had been rehabbing it ever since while practicing and throwing every day. He said he was "day-to-day." This statement, although seemingly inconsistent, never contradicted anything Weis said.

Weis never denied the rumors that Clausen had a bone spur, he simply said he was full go in practice last spring. He told him not to throw for a while, to give it a rest. I'm sure this allowed it to subside enough for him to get the necessary reps in the spring. The surgery to officially repair it came just after the spring in order to be ready for the fall. He also never said he was fully healthy in fall practice, he simply said he would be ready to be the starting quarterback on September 1st against Georgia Tech. And as for the "day-to-day" status. We all (read the media) seem to forget Weis' rant two years ago about how any time a player was asked about an injury they would say they were "day-to-day."

This is all just another smoke screen and should be the final lesson to us that if Weis' doesn't want us to know something, we won't know it. He's looking out for the best interest of the team by keeping everything as a guessing game for Georgia Tech and increasing their preparation. He's even said this to the media and requested that they not ask him questions about who the starting quarterback is. He also said he hasn't even told the starter who he is so that Sharpley, Jones, or Clausen won't have to lie to the media (in the same breath he said that if the starter doesn't know who he is by now he isn't very smart). There's a good article about it here and here and proof all over the publications that cover Georgia Tech football that it is forcing them to prepare for two different types of quarterback.

The media, however, is hating it. They just can't stand not having the coverage of such a huge money making publication in college football. So what do they do? They mistakenly portray Charlie's intelligent and completely justifiable handling of the situation as arrogance in order to take a shot at him and the program as well as to get their writing to the front page. There's nothing that readers crave more than a good, controversial story about Notre Dame. Notre Dame lovers and haters unite in a common goal to read, banter, and, in the case of the lovers, dissect the writing for it's usual lack of factual basis and logical conclusions.

Stewart Mandel over at Sports Illustrated is just the latest in a long line to do this although his attack is even more direct and personal. Reading the article you can just feel the emotion in it, the pure amount of disdain and anger Mandel has for Weis. But I can't stress enough the fact that the article is void of nearly anything intelligible. It is really comical given the fact that journalists are supposed to be impartial. I just don't understand why the media is so angry about this that they would take retribution with personal attacks on Weis. I guess he expects it though as it has certainly deflected attention away from the quarterbacks themselves.

I'm not going to link the article because I don't want it to get any more hits than necessary, but his lack of football knowledge shines through with statements like "That’s interesting, considering numerous other coaches who seem to know what they’re doing -- Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops, Florida State’s Bobby Bowden, Nebraska’s Bill Callahan -- apparently did not see the same harm in publicly announcing similar decisions over the past week." and "Does Weis really think Jackets defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta hasn’t watched every available high-school tape (or, in Sharpley’s case, those two collegiate pass attempts) of the three QBs by now? Furthermore, Tech just played the Irish last season, so it’s not like Tenuta isn’t familiar with Weis’ offense (which is far more important to know than the identity of the QB himself). And while the athletic Jones does present a potential wrinkle with his running ability, I’m guessing the Jackets aren’t unfamiliar with the concept -- considering their last game was in the Gator Bowl against West Virginia speedster Pat White.".

I guess Mandel didn't bother to check his first statement against the fact that they don't have as much quarterback talent on their roster at those other schools. Additionally, Oklahoma and Nebraska play North Texas and Nevada respectively as their first games. If our first opponent was a pancake like that I doubt Weis would be that concerned either. The second statement is simply asinine given a couple of facts. First, there are numerous reports out there that Tenuta has been preparing for two different types of QB's, one mainly passing and one who is more athletic and versatile. Mandel's statement that the offense is far more important than the identity of the QB is ludicrous given Weis' history of saying he caters his offense to fit his players and would undoubtedly adjust it to fit Demetrius Jones' particular set of skills. Second, Tenuta is indeed familiar with Pat White and the more versatile quarterback from the bowl game last year. In fact, he is very familiar. West Virginia hung 311 rushing yards on Tenuta's famed defense last year with a mobile quarterback in a spread offense. That's something to assure that you are very familiar with it. Mandel dismissing the importance and magnitude of facing a Jones-type player vs. a Clausen-type player is ignorance of football at its best.

Background

I would like to thank Pat Scoggins for his yearly background. He does a fabulous job with it every year and this is no exception. Please download and post for your background to support the Irish. If you have problems with it email me (you can find my email address in my profile at the upper right of the main blog page) and I'll try and work with you on it.

ESP

Well, it's coming around to that time of year again. For an explanation of the ESP visit the link on the right side of the blog of just go here. I'd like to take this opportunity, however, to lay a few "ground rules" for these two things. I would like to once again give credit where credit is due for the ESP. I did not come up with this alone. Vinnie and I both put this together with a considerable amount of work. The ESP won't be released until week six of the football season. As I've said before, pre-season polls are meaningless and give unfair advantages to many teams by creating a "lose early is better" scenario in college football. While these pre-season polls still factor into our analysis, the magnitude by which they do is less later in the season. For this reason we will not release the ESP until after week six. Finally, I'd like to point out the fact that the AV Ranking, our computer ranking and one-third of the ESP ranking, successfully predicted the winner in four of the five BCS games last year including Boise State and Florida. The one we didn't successfully predict was USC and Michigan but the margin by which Michigan was ranked over USC was nearly nothing suggesting the winner of that game to be a toss-up. I'd say that's a pretty good validation of our model.

Georgia Tech Keys To Winning

My final topic of interest are the Georgia Tech keys to winning. And make no mistake about it, this is a game we can certainly win. I know many of you may disagree thinking that we barely edged it out last year, that they return a solid corps of players, and that we lost a ton of offensive talent. Let me explain...

Georgia Tech's defense last year was much better than most expected but it is a defense predicated on speed and aggressiveness. They like to blitz from all angles and they employ fast, aggressive players in their secondary and at the linebacker position. In fact, I would say that the linebackers are a little undersized to give them more speed at that position. That type of defense poses significant challenges for a finesse type of offense like we had last year. We tried to outplay them in the running game using zone blocking schemes rather than trying to create running lanes via traps, folds, iso's, and other more "angled" blocking schemes. We also tried to spread them out and make them cover the whole field. Those were our strengths but it is precisely those types of offensive strategies that their defense was built to defend.

This year, I believe we are more of a physical running team at the point of attack. I see us using more counter, trap, and trey blocking techniques to try and create lanes for our runners. The way to beat a fast, aggressive defense is to run right at them (negate the speed) and use mis-direction plays, e.g. a counter running play, to take them out of position (allow their aggressiveness to take them out of the play).

Accordingly, I think our offensive success hings almost exclusively on two things. First, we need to control the line of scrimmage and play well at the point of attack. I belief we have the depth and talent at offensive line to do this. And second, we need to run with a physical attitude and downhill presence. Again, I believe we have the depth and talent to do this. Want proof of this blueprint? See Clemson's game against Georgia Tech last year where they only completed seven of the sixteen passes they through but put up 321 yards of rushing offense to win convincingly.

Problems will arise with negative yardage plays. We really can't afford too many of these as a more physical running game is a "nickel and dime" type of offensive approach. We likely won't have a passing game to make up for negative yardage plays. As such, look for Weis to a) run some play action passes on non-obvious play action downs and b) motion from tighter formations into more of a spread formation with our two and three tight end personnel. The former will be slightly risky but has the capability to pay huge dividends especially with our talent at tight end. The latter will allow us to spread out their defense while still having larger bodies on the field. This creates mismatches for us getting a safety or a linebacker covering our tight ends.

You will hear everyone talk about how difficult it is going to be for a new quarterback to face this type of a fast, aggressive defense. Ordinarily I would say that is the case. But I don't think Weis will ever give our quarterbacks the opportunity to get rattled. He knows we aren't going to win this game with if we have to come back with a few minutes left. He's going to do everything in his power to prevent his quarterback from being placed in those situations. This, combined with a straight-ahead, physical running game should take Georgia Tech's defensive strengths and make them their weakness.

On defense I think our success depends purely on stopping the run game. With an inexperienced quarterback playing in a hostile environment (and if you are going to the game do your part to make it this way) I believe they will look to establish the running game early and often. They return the ACC's leading rusher and several offensive lineman while losing All-World receiver Calvin Johnson. This all points to them being a run-first type of team. If we can stop their running game and get them into third and long our chances of getting our defense off the field dramatically improve. Of course, I am basing this on my perception of our improved outside pass rushing capabilities. I believe we will be able to pressure their quarterback on obvious passing downs by blitzing from the outside.

I believe both our offensive and defensive success depends primarily on controlling the line of scrimmage and good play from our offensive line and defensive front seven. This will not only set the tone of the game but will go a long way in determining down and distance. I look for this game to be a "grind it out" type of contest void of quick strike offensive plays. That isn't, however, to say that a score won't come from special teams where I'm excited about the combination of Golden Tate, Armando Allen, and long kickoffs.

Hand's Punishment

The least pleasant item on the list involves the punishment of Derrell Hand. For the record, when hand was arrested I thought he would, in the least, be out for the season. Per the precedent ND set with Kyle McAlarney, get arrested for a misdemeanor and get indefinitely suspended from your athletic team as well as expelled from the University. I was mistaken. Apparently McAlarney's punishment wasn't a precedent. Rather, it was an aberration. Hand will have no removal from the University. He will serve a three game suspsension and probably received some community service and a fine in addition to the requirements of the pretrial diversion program he entered. This reeks of favoratism from the University for the football team, something we don't need.

I don't presume to know all of the facts of the situation and, as such, I do not want to make comments about right and wrong or the punishment Hand should face. I hope the University treated Hand like any other student and punished him accordingly. From other residential life cases I am more intimately familiar with, that doesn't seem to be the case but that is another discussion for another time. My concern is there is little doubt the way the University handled this will be used against us in the future. Critics will point to the disconnect in the way the University treated one of their basketball players vs. one of their football players. It is just giving the media more ammunition they don't need. They are already critical of our football program and our perceived "sell our soul to win" attitude regardless of the fact that the overwhelming majority of other programs have far more disciplinary problems than we do. Just like the Willingham fiasco, real or perceived, this inconsistency in the way that ND handled the situation will come back to bite the University. The bottom line is that we are held to a higher standard. Perhaps we should be, don't we hold ourselves to a higher standard?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the University should punish Hand just like they punished McAlarney for the sake of consistency. As I said above we most definitely do not have all of the facts of the situation which is a positive indication of both damage control and respecting both athletes' privacy. I am saying, however, that the University should be prepared to handle questions about the inconsistency in a very prepared, direct, and non-vague manner. It is this type of thing that has come back to bite us in the past and this negative publicity has usually been amplified by either no response to the attention the situation was getting and/or an unprepared, inept response(s) at the time of questioning. I just want to avoid this happening in Weis' third year when the comparisons to Willingham will inevitably surface. Nevermind the fact that Washington's program has so many discipline problems from Junior College transfers and a terrible record, people will still point to Charlie's record in his third year and directly compare it to Willingham's sans any other links between the two coaches, programs, and players. Only an uninformed football observer or a "journalist" hell bent on casting ND in a negative light would make such an unsubstantiated comparison...but they are out there.

Mike Coffey very nearly echos my sentiments and much more elequently (link here).

Fall Update I

Well, it's been a long time, but it's good to be back. I have a lot to discuss including, but not limited to, a supplement to Dave's post previous post (link here). I'll start out with a list of things I'm going to talk about and go from there.

1) Updated season record predictions
2) Corwin Brown
3) Recruiting
4) Charlie Weis
5) Depth chart analysis
6) Closing remarks

1) Updated Season Record Predictions

Thanks to those of you who submitted comments on the record prediction post (link here), I appreciate the participation. Unfortunately, the guys over at Blue-Gray-Sky have a larger reading audience so there analysis was more comprehensive and utilized a larger population size. Just remember, you saw it here first. To supplement what I wrote earlier, here are the results. Interestingly enough, more people picked a 9-3 record than anything else. Winning eight games and losing four came in only slightly behind the most popular 9-3 choice. The disparity lies in the fact that people can't seem to agree on which games we are going to win beyond our final four. Particularly, Penn State and Boston College are on the fence.

2) Corwin Brown

I am quickly becoming a fan of Mr. Brown. He is an off-the-chart recruiter who really closes on kids with his hard work ethic, NFL pedigree, and the uncanny ability to relate to many of them due to his background. He's been in their position, he knows what it takes to succeed at the college and professional level despite pretty overwhelming odds, and he is articulate enough to communicate this to the recruits. If he is half as good at coaching as he is at recruiting we are in for a good showing and vastly improved defense. He really is saying all the right things and he teaches constantly. Couple that with Bill Lewis' constant instruction and the boys are going to be learning a lot, very quickly. The fact that Charlie wanted to hire him when he first came to ND speaks volumes of his confidence in him. I don't think it's a stretch to say that we got ourselves a steal. Even if he doesn't prove to be a great defensive signal-caller, it is safe to say the talent upgrade we are experiencing on the defensive side of the ball will pay dividends.

3) Recruiting

Speaking of recruiting I'm not sure you could have written a better story for this off-season. We had needs all along our defensive front seven, particularly at nose tackle. We also needed to bring some more speed and physicality into our secondary. We have exceeded expectations in pretty much all of those areas. Jamoris Slaughter and Robert Blanton are both tall, physical corners with very good speed. They are not afraid to hit and will offer a nice complement to the coverage skills Gary Gray, Raeshon McNeil, and Darrin Walls possess. Dan McCarthy is another safety in the Harrison Smith/David Bruton mold, very rangy, very instictive, and the ability to play centerfield. All three of those players have the capability to contribute early and often and will continue to solidify the tremendous depth building in our secondary. With these types of players our secondary will move from liability to strength.

Along the front seven we have faired even better. Steve Filer and Darius Fleming are exactly the type of talent we have missed out on in the past two years at the linebacker position. Both move extremely well laterally and are very physical at the point of attack. These guys are a homerun by the recruiting staff. Anthony McDonald is a little bit different type of player but I might like him even more. He plays with great leverage and his coach says he can't get him out of the film room.

Along the defensive line we have brought in, what I believe, to be our biggest pull in this class, Omar Hunter. Hunter is a man among boys. He is as quick as any defensive lineman in the country off the ball, he plays at around 300 lbs, and he has incredible closing speed down the line of scrimmage. He can go around, through, and over about anyone he lines up against. I think he will be a beast for us in the middle. Rounding out the defensive line are Sean Cynwar, Hafis Williams, Brandon Newman, and Ethan Johnson. Johnson may be the best defensive end in the country this year especially coming off the outside.

While not all of these guys are ranked number one at their respective positions I hardly put much stock in that. Since they have committed early they won't get as much evaluation or publicity and the list of who offered them scholarships is a veritable who's who of college football's elite programs. These kids are all talented. Weis and Brown identified them early, went after them, and closed on a lot of them. For many of these kids it came down to us and another school, e.g. USC, tOSU, Michigan, etc. and we won the battle.

While it is exciting to see the type of talent we are bringing in on the defensive side of the ball the talent on the other side isn't bad either. It's been no secret that Weis can recruit tight ends and with the success Fasano had and Carlson is having I don't look for things to change soon. This year we nabbed two excellent prospects.

Kyle Rudolph may be the most impressive player I've seen on film this year and is certainly the most impressive at his position in the last several years. He runs extremely precise, careful routes, he catches everything out in front of him with his hands, he is fast for his size, and he creates mismatches all over the field with his height (6'7"). He'll have to get bigger (225 lbs) to handle the blocking aspects of the position but splitting him out wide will be a nightmare for defenses. In addition to Kyle, Weis went back to his NFL days and received a committment from the son of a former player he coached. Joseph Fauria also committed to play tight end at ND, the blocker to Rudolph's pass catching abilities. At 6'8" 270 lbs and with excellent agility, Fauria has the ability to become one heck of a goal line tight end. Both of these guys are an offensive coordinator and quarterback's dream in the red zone. Take the snap, one step, throw it up and let them go get it.

Throwing to these two fine tight ends may fall into the hands of one of our current quarterbacks on the roster. However, if they can't cut it we picked up yet another excellent quarterback prospect from California, right out from under USC's nose. Dayne Crist will come in more physically prepared than possibly any quarterback we have on the roster. He has the height, build, and arm strength to be an excellent college quarterback. His mobility is also very, very good. In the film I saw of him he may even be better throwing on the run than out of the pocket where he is still very good. I think this is a huge pickup for us and will further the tremendous amount of talent we already have at that position.

We have also received committments from many fine offensive lineman. While most of them I view as project players that will need some time to build strength and stamina, they will all further the excellent depth we are creating at that position. The committ of wide receiver John Goodman gives us yet another receiver in the Samardzija mold (Robby Parris being the other). He averaged a staggering 45 plus yards per kickoff return last year indicating the ability to be a play-maker after he gets the ball into his hands.

If we get another wide receiver (Michael Floyd), another good offensive lineman (Trevor Robinson), and a running back (Cyrus Gray) I think this class will turn from homerun to grand slam in a hurry.

4) Charlie Weis

I'd have to say that this fall camp has been very intriguing to me. Weis has been playing games with the media and loving every second of it. He always seems to have this "I know something you don't know" grin on his face leading me to believe he's either a) overly confident/arrogant or b) surprisingly pleased with the offensive progress of his team. For the record, I do think he has purposely mislead people about the QB race, I don't think Clausen is out of it, I think he knows exactly who is going to start, and I think he is handling things very well with respect to the competition and media attention. None of these guys can say they didn't have their shot. That said, I am concerned that one quarterback isn't getting the majority of the reps to develop timing and cohesion with the receivers. We may be a play-action team this year but that doesn't mean our quarterbacks and receivers don't need to work together.

Weis has spoken on multiple occasions about how our depth is improving across the board, how it has brought more competition, and how he isn't afraid to play a lot of people. This can only be good for us going forward. He has specifically singled out Travis Thomas for his leadership, James Aldridge for his play post-injury, Armando Allen's speed, George West and David Grime's play, and the physical presence of Toryan Smith.

If you had asked me about two weeks ago what I thought we were going to look like as an offensive football team this year I would have been able to tell you in a heartbeat. We will play 8-9 offensive lineman, run the ball 45-50 times a game with three backs, play-action the hell out of people in unpredictable situations, become a perfectionist offense in the screen game, control the clock, keep the score close, keep the defense fresh, and play to stamina so that in the end of the game 3 and 4 yard runs turn into 8 and 9 yard runs. It was this logic that had me picking Sharpley as the starter. He can run the team and he won't get you beat with stupid mistakes. The thing is, he won't win a game in the final minutes for you either.

All my logic went out the window when Weis started talking about how he needed a quarterback that could win games. Essentially, he said that with a young team, if you play it safe, you're only going to win the ones you're supposed to win. He said he needs more of a playmaker, a guy who can do some things to help you win. While I don't disagree with this, it sort of surprised me given the fact that we cannot turn the ball over and beat many of the first eight teams on our schedule this year. However, if this is his approach to the sitaution I think he will go with Demetrius or some combination of Demetrius/Sharpley or Demetrius/Clausen.

5) Depth Chart Analysis

In the form of Dave's post last week (link here) I thought I would do a little rundown of our depth chart and what I've seen through fall camp. I'll break it out by position like he did working with the offense first.

Quarterbacks: I'd like to say I knew who was going to start but Weis has been keeping things so close I really have no idea. Furthermore, any "leak" from practice should be disregarded as a blatant rumor because the odds are Weis let it get out himself as a sort of diversion tactic. He has been a master strategist of this whole situation such that Tenuta et al will have some serious preparation work on their hands. The reality of the situation is that it looks like we will be a run heavy team that utilizes the play-action passing game. Something tells me, however, that he has a few trick plays up his sleeves.

As for the "Clausen is injured" situation, I wouldn't put much weight in it. Is he back to 100% right now, perhaps not, but he will be. Weis is arrogant but he isn't stupid. He wouldn't have Jimmy out there throwing if it meant he was going to be injured or that his healing would be slowed. I fully believe he could start in the Georgia Tech game if he is Weis' selection. The story is still the same on all of the quarterbacks. Jimmy is a picture in consistency, Sharpley has the best grasp of the offense, and Demetrius is a "wow, look at that" and "what the hell was he thinking" quarterback all wrapped into one.

What worries me a bit more is how everything will play out after a starter(s) is named. If one quarterback establishes himself as a very capable candidate to be the starter both now and in the future will we see another transfer? Additionally, if one quarterback plays but doesn't prove to be capable of being the play-maker Weis covets will he keep the competition open throughout the season and into next year? Personally I don't want to see anyone transfer but I think using both Jones and Clausen is about the only way that will happen. I can see Sharpley going back to concentrating on baseball, and the split in time enough to keep Jones and Clausen around. But in this day and age of immediate playing time or transfer, it's tough to tell.

Running backs: This is probably the position that has me the most excited. We have talent in the form of power, vision, speed, and depth. We have five running backs that can play such that our primary problem will be trying to give them all carries. And believe you me, it's a good problem to have. Let's start with the undisputed leader of the group, Travis Thomas. I don't know about you, but when I hear the name Travis Thomas I think about the bone crushing touchdown run he had where he gave Justin King a piece of his mind. It is exactly that type of determined run that we will need this year in third and short situations. Thomas is a downhill runner who cuts at full speed and is very physical. Junior Jabbie is of the same mold, albeit slightly more shifty. The freshman Robert Hughes rounds out thise physical style of back. He has impressed me a great deal with his agility. At 235 lbs he looks awfully nimble. I won't say Jerome Bettis-like yet, but he has the makings of a great inside runner. He simply destroys the gauntlet machine.

Next we have James Aldridge who seems to finally have come back from his injury. At 100% he has made some cuts that have left me nearly speechless. He definitely has that second gear you look for a running back. While he isn't a threat to score on any play, he can get to the outside and make you pay with his speed. The final tailback in the discussion is the one getting all the attention. Armando Allen is, as they say, is fast. He is the game breaker we haven't had since Tim Brown, Rocket Ismail, and Ricky Watters. Any time he touches the ball he is a threat to score. He doesn't have good speed, he has great speed. And for a guy at 185 lbs, he runs with quite a bit of power. Get him out in the open on a draw, screen, or toss play and just watch him work. The only drawback I can see to him is that he won't be able to handle a ton of pounding at such a (relatively) low weight. This will likely mean he splits carries for the duration of his career but Reggie Bush wasn't much bigger during his college tenure (and no I'm not comparing Allen's abilities to Bush's). All five of the backs seem to have very soft hands leading me to believe we may not miss Darius in our passing game as much as I thought.

Since we are talking about speed I'd like to echo a sentiment that I have held for a long time and Weis affirmed during a recent press conference. I have maintained that there are very few football players that run the 40 faster than 4.5 seconds. The guys who do are a breed of their own but most stats are exaggerated. This is especially true at the high school level. To give you a reference point, Darius Walker was listed as a 4.4 guy coming out of high school, and I think we all know that isn't the case. It's like Weis said (paraphrased), "Those guys in high school running the 4.3's are running them with broken stop watches. I coached in that other league for fifteen years and I only knew a handful of guys who ran a 4.4 or better. If you run a 4.5 you're pretty fast, if you run lower than that you're exceptionally quick."

At the fullback position I think we will see a lot of Luke Schmidt this year. I say this based on two primary reasons. First and foremost his blocking has improved tremendously. He has gotten stronger and more physical. He also breaks down much better with a wider stance when he blocks. The second reason I think we'll see him is his ability to create mismatches catching the ball out of the backfield. Even though he's added weight he's still extremely agile for his size. He can really be a weapon out of the backfield for us and a good complement to a healthy Schwapp who is as tough of a blocker and inside ball carrier as there is.

Offensive line: I haven't paid a ton of attention to this position in the film I've watched of practice. What I can say is that we have a lot of athletic big men at this position. In addition to Sam Young and John Sullivan who are very talented at their respective positions, we have a ton of depth and capable players in Turkovich, Duncan, Carufel, Wenger, and Bemenderfer. Even the young guys Dever and Romine very much look the part. I'd say this position is going to be a real strength for us this year when they get some experience and gel.

Wide receiver: I have watched more film of the wide receivers than any other position on our team. I am very curious as to how they will play this year as I think they will go a long way in determining our success. To start, David Grimes is catching everything near him and even going up for some balls that I didn't think he would be able to get as he is on the shorter side. I think he is going to be a very solid receiver for us mostly because he has tremendous quickness and route running ability. I'm still not convinced he is a "go-to" type of guy but if the rest of the receiving corps plays at a consistently high level he doesn't need to be.

George West looks like he has really bulked up. Having said that, I don't think he's lost a step as some people are reporting. He looks very fluid and quick to me, so much so that I think he would be an excellent candidate to take over Samardzija's responsibilities on the quick arrow routes Weis likes to run. In the open field West will make people miss and get some extra yards. He doesn't have great straight-line speed but he definitely has very good straight line speed.

After Grimes and West there is a definitive drop off in talent. It isn't that the athletic ability isn't there, it is just largely raw and unpolished. This is mostly true of Tate and Kamara but also somewhat true of Gallup. Although I admit the route running of Gallup and Parris has improved, they still aren't quite to where Grimes and West are. If I had to put money down now I'd say Parris is the number three guy. D.J. Hord looks to really be getting back "into the groove." He has got his strength back and hasn't missed much of a beat in terms of speed. His improvement in catching the ball could push him right up there with Parris competing for the third wide receiver spot.

This is another position (like the secondary) where depth has really improved the play across the board. With the exception of Richard Jackson (who seems to be a lost cause) all of the receivers are playing much better than at this point last year. The young talent of Kamara and Tate has really forced better play from the guys with more experience. Tate is as quick as anyone on the team and nearly as fast as Allen. He is beginning to look more and more comfortable in his route running and could really develop into a weapon in the open field for us. I don't look for him to become a huge factor in the passing game this year but it might be difficult to keep him off the field in the return game.

The brightest spot I can see in the receiving corps has to be Duval Kamara. In my opinion the guy will play as much as he wants as soon as he learns the playbook. He has the size, strength, and speed to be a big-time receiver. Right now he looks like Stovall did his senior year but I think Kamara is quite a bit faster and a better route runner. He catches everything out in front of him, and he has incredibly large hands. I can't see him not being on the field a lot by the season's end.

Tight end: What isn't to like about our tight ends? Ragone looks quicker than some of the running backs in agility drills. I've never seen someone as agile as Yeatman weighing 260 lbs. Reuland is coming along quite nicely in all the facets of his game and I think you'd be hard pressed to find a better tight end in the country this year than John Carlson. I'd look to see a lot of multiple tight end sets not only because they are some of the better players on the field, but also because Weis seems to be a huge fan of using timed motion trap plays with them. We ran it a handful of times with Walker but with more physical, downhill type of runners we will likely look to exploit our talent by creating lanes with angle blocking schemes rather than zone stretch plays. Having said that, giving Allen the ball and letting him stretch the sideline isn't a bad option either.

Nose tackle: I'd say this is our weakest position of any on the field. I'd also say this position will be a huge factor in winning games for us. If teams can effectively run the ball against us we won't be able to win. Not many of the teams we face will naturally try and pound it out (save possibly Michigan) but they may switch to that strategy given our lack of size in the front three. Pat Kuntz has his weight up to about 280 lbs and plays with a high motor but I still don't think he can handle the duties. Ian Williams looks the part with arms as big as my thighs but he's young, raw, and unpolished. I think they'll split time but we cannot afford an injury at this position.

Defensive end: Laws is a mainstay at one end but the other position isn't set in stone. To me, it seems like it's Justin Brown's to lose. He is lightning quick off the ball and can really blow up plays. My concern is that he plays too wrecklessly and will get into trouble being out of position. He also isn't the ideal size (261 lbs) for a defensive end in the 3-4. I'd look for whoever plays at this other end position to get a lot of runs his way. Teams will naturally run away from Laws.

Inside linebacker: I think this will be a strength for our team this year. Scott Smith has come on strong lately as has Brockington. Brockington looks more agile than about any of the linebackers and seems to have improved his speed in the off-season. Crum looks 15-20 lbs heavier but hasn't lost his mobility. He is playing lights out right now. I think Toryan Smith will see the field at some point. He has to, he destroys people when he hits them. The guy is strong as an ox, plays with incredible leaverage, and has really come on strong as of late. It's going to be tough to keep him on the bench.

Outside linebacker: John Ryan and Anthony Vernaglia seem to have this position locked up. I worry about Ryan's lateral movement but he is very strong at the point of attack. Vernaglia has improved 100% over the past year. It's good to see him taking advantage of the opportunity the 3-4 has provided him. He is a perfect fit for it athletically. All he needed was to improve his physical play at the point of attack, which he has done. I think we'll see Maurice Richardson playng too. He's just too solid as an outside pass rush presence. While it seems that he's either in Weis' doghouse or injured (he's been practicing with the third team) I can't see him not getting some playing time on obvious passing downs.

The wildcards in this mix are the freshmen Brian Smith and Kerry Neal. Everyone knows about Neal, he's a freakish athlete in terms of size and speed. The big surprise (to me at least) has been the play of Brian Smith. He has really, really put on a show in practice. He came in heavier than anticipated but has great speed for his size. When we first recruited him I didn't think he would be able to play on the outside (he had a rather thin frame), but I was poorly mistaken. He has bulked up and could contribute this year at the outside linebacker position.

Cornerback: I think this position will turn into a strength for us this year. I don't say that because Wooden or Lambert will play that much better. I say that because I think we will have a simple scheme with a greater pass rush on the outside. That spells out good things for guys who were left alone far too often for far too long the past two years. The talented youth at this position is also impresssive. It looks like Walls and McNeil have both put on some weight and are playing more physical. I've seen it written in many places (but it's so true), the fact that Leo Ferrine was a nickel back two years ago and is playing with the third team now speaks volumes about the talent and depth we have at this position.

Safety: Obviously we have Zbikowski back. He will certainly be a strength of our defense as he has slimmed down and determined to play better this year. Look for Corwin to give him less run responsibility so he isn't the victim of play-action as often. I think Bruton will replace Duke quite well. He is a very good athlete with long arms and tons of range. His change of direction isn't great but we shouldn't be leaving him out on an island in man coverage anyway. Since he has put on more weight and gotten stronger I think he will really be a solid player for us in the years to come.

Another freshman I've been very pleasantly surprised about is Harrison Smith. The kid can flat out run. I mean he can fly. I don't know if he looks fast because he plays so committed to his insticts or if he really is that fast but he is as impressive of an athlete to watch as there is in our secondary. It will be difficult to keep him off the field in a year's time.

6) Closing Remarks

In closing I'd like to caution everyone to not measure the success of this season in wins and losses. How we play, the effort, intensity, hustle, etc. and how close the games are will go a long way to determining how good of a team we have both now and in the future. The talent is there, it's just young, raw, and inexperienced. That said, I don't think an eight win season is out of the question. If we get nine wins I think it has to be the result of vastly improved defensive play. Look for more updates to the blog as the background will be going up soon along with the countdown spreadsheet and some words about the updated ESP.

Fall Insights

So Anthony has been nice enough to add me as a writer on his blog. I thought I would spend my first commentary updating everyone on what I am seeing/hearing on the position battle front. Here is what we are seeing so far this fall:

Quarterback: Weis has announced to the press that he will not let anyone know who the starter will be until Georgia Tech. This is definitely not surprising. From what I can tell, this remains a three way battle, with Sharpley and Jones the most likely to play against Tech. I have a feeling Weis may start the year using both of these guys in different situations (I am sure he will settle on one guy by year end). I think Clausen sits early, perhaps because of his elbow (still no idea how serious that is, but he hasn’t thrown hard in front of the media…. Again, take that for what its worth), perhaps to preserve his confidence, or perhaps to lend experience to the tough part of our schedule. Stay tuned, this one will be debated until the first game.

Running Back: This is going to be a really fun year to watch this year. Travis Thomas has something to prove and has supposedly looked superb this fall. James Aldridge is also gaining confidence and getting his step back. Freshmen Armando Allen and Robert Hughes have also impressed, with Allen showing his speed and ability to be a difference maker and Hughes proving to be the biggest, most physical back in the stable. Junior Jabbie, the spring game star, is also one still in this mix. Honestly, Darius Walker leaving opened the door for a great spring/fall competition and these guys have all stepped up. Mike Haywood claimed that all five would play in some capacity (see special teams for a few) against Georgia Tech. I think this could prove to be the deepest backfield we have had in years. If these guys can build off of their immediate experience, I think some combination of these five will not only be more exciting, but more productive than Darius last year.

Fullback: Asaph Schwapp is back and seems to be about 99%. Last year’s injury v. Penn State seemed to be holding him back in spring practice, but his confidence and physical play appears to have returned this fall. Luke Schmidt will definitely see the field this year and offer a changeup to Schwapp’s style. Schmidt is taller and faster than the typical fullback and will provide a different look at the position. I wouldn't be surprised to see him lining up with Schwapp in the backfield in some situations.

Wide Receiver: During spring practice I claimed that the wide receivers would surprise this year. I am standing by this statement and truly believe that these guys will overachieve. David Grimes and George West appear to be the two starters entering the season, and while they may not look like Samardzija and McKnight, I think they will be solid. Remember that Weis saw a lot of success with small, disciplined receivers in New England. Also, D.J. Hord is back and is rumored to be showing the speed that made us think he was going to be a key contributor prior to his achilles injury. Also, freshman Duval Kamara brings a much needed big body to the field. He is going to be dangerous red zone weapon and really has shown the most natural hands on the team this preseason. Robby Parris is the second biggest body on the team and should be a solid contributor as well. Add in Gallup Jr., Jackson and Golden Tate (another freak athlete who is switching positions but will find his way on the field this year) and there is no lack of depth or talent in this group. Again, watch for these guys to surprise.

Tight End: John Carlson is back and should be the ultimate safety weapon for whichever QB is in there. Expect to see a lot of Konrad Reuland on the field as well as Will Yeatman in our 2 TE sets. Both guys have developed nicely and should contribute this year (I am hearing specifically that Reuland will have a breakout year). Mike Ragone, the stud freshman recruit, is still small and needs to build up his frame a bit, but could see time early because of his speed. Weis has made a huge point this fall in pointing out speed and eluding to his desire to use it this year.

Offensive Line: This is going to be an overly young group this year. Paul Duncan and Sam Young should serve as our starting tackles, Mike Turckovich and Dan Wenger should serve as our starting guards and John Sullivan will anchor the line at center. Get used to a rotation here though as offensive line coach John Latina is expecting to use eight guys here this year (three tackles, three guards, two centers) to keep people fresh and maintain flexibility. This strategy hasn’t been used during the first two years of the Weis regime, due to lack of depth. We are starting to see the recruiting classes of the past few years come to fruition here. While this group will have its growing pains, I would bet that they will be significantly improved over last year (especially in the run).

Defensive End: Trevor Laws will anchor the left side of our line. His move to the outside should actually be a good thing in my opinion. Playing in the trenches the last few years has put him against a lot of double teams and limited his pass rushing ability. Expect to see him build on his past success on the outside. Past Laws, this position remains a question mark. Dwight Stephenson should start on the right side, but Paddy Mullen and Kallen Wade will also see some time this year. Don’t be surprised to see Andrew Nuss play in some situations as well. Even though the freshman is moving over from the offensive line, he is a man child and I can see Brown wanting to get him on the field.

Defensive Tackle (Nose Tackle): This is another position where there are question marks. Patrick Kuntz will start here and has looked good this fall. However, while he is lean and fast, he is definitely undersized. Ian Williams looks the part and has also impressed, so expect to see him on the field as well. Sadly, we still lack depth here (especially after the Chris Stewart experiment failed) and the D line could prove to be a weakness this year.

Linebacker: I am actually really excited about this crop of LB’s. Toryan Smith and John Ryan will start on the outside and look like beasts. These guys are much bigger and more physical than in past years (thanks to the 3-4 switch and recruiting). Maurice Crum will take one of the inside spots this year (he was the most underrated player on our team last year in my opinion). Scott Smith, Anthony Vernaglia and freshman Kerry Neal will battle for the other spot. Also, watch my darkhorse Brian Smith here. I love watching film on this kid and think he is going to be a very good back. He could see some playing time here and impress.

Defensive Back: We should be looking much better here this year. We are building some awesome depth across all of the DB positions. Tommy Z is back and has a chip on his shoulder. I wouldn’t bet against him being back to his old self again as the shoulder is good again and he has lost some of the weight that slowed him down last year. David Bruton will be a force at safety as well and has really built up a bit while maintaining his speed. Ray Herring and Kyle McCarthy (along with freshman Harrison Smith) will provide needed depth here. At corner, Terrail Lambert and Ambrose Wooden are back. I think Lambert will prove to be a solid cover guy this year, as he improved a great deal last year. Wooden reminds me of Brock Williams in the fact that he has the stats but just can’t seem to put it all together. Raeshon McNeil and Darrin Walls will see a lot more of the field this year as well. Munir Prince will be fun to watch develop here, as a lot of smart people feel he has a better chance of utilizing his unique speed on the D side of the ball. Unfortunately, Gary Gray (freshman recruit) who was supposed to play early is out for the year. To give all of you guys an idea of how far we have come, Leo Ferrine, another cornerback, played quite a bit in nickel packages two years ago. This year he is third string. There is a ton of young talent here.

That should fill you in on what I am seeing and thinking at all of our positions. There is no question we are getting more talented. It should be a blast to watch us play this year and if we can gain experience and make it through the early part of our schedule relatively unscathed, this could be a BCS team. That said, I do think 8-4 is realistic. I am sure Anthony will add his opinion and would like to hear what the rest of you are thinking as well.

Final thoughts: Recruiting is still looking great this year. We still need to grab a killer wide receiver (Michael Floyd would do nicely) and maybe one more offensive lineman (Trevor Robinson). Past that, I feel like the team did a superb job, especially on the defensive side of the ball. If Corwin Brown can coach like he can recruit, things are looking up. Ok, look forward to your comments.

ND Football Success Predictions

My buddy Vince, for better or worse, loves spreadsheets. He loves everything about them, but especially plotting things. On the way back from the Blue & Gold game he asked everyone in the car which games he thought we were going to win or lose next year. The schedule for next year is as follows:

S 01 GEORGIA TECH
S 08 @ Penn State
S 15 @ Michigan
S 22 MICHIGAN ST.
S 29 @ Purdue
O 06 @ UCLA
O 13 BOSTON COLLEGE
O 20 SOUTHERN CAL
N 03 NAVY
N 10 AIR FORCE
N 17 DUKE
N 24 @ Stanford

Based on this schedule and the response of those four people in the car, myself included, he charted a few things including the number of people that picked each possible record as well as the percent of people who chose us winning each game. These two trends are shown below. The sampling size grew to include some people at work increasing the number to 13 and now it is growing to include the readers of this blog.



Based on this analysis, if you say that the Irish will win each game greater than 50% of people pick them to win, their record will be 8-4 next year. I'd like for whoever is interested to submit a comment to this post and state your predicted record for next year. Please include a win or loss specifically for each game. Submitting a comment is easy, you just have to register first. They ask for an email address but they don't send you junk mail to the best of my knowledge. Vinnie will re-run the numbers and come up with a new summary based on a larger population size.

Spring Practice Update II

First off I’d like to start by saying that it was great to be back on campus. After being away for the better part of a year and a half it was nice to see the place I called home for six years. The campus is expanding like crazy and some parts of it I didn’t even recognize. Construction is everywhere both in the form of buildings and roads.

Thanks to everyone who came out to the tailgate. We were lucky to have such great weather for the tailgating and game. I think a good time was had by all. There was some PS2 NCAA College Football 2007 on hand and plenty of trash talking ensued. We also had some cornhole which invited more than a few neighbors to participate in the activity. Finally, thanks to Vinnie and his father’s restaurant Da Vinci’s for supplying the food. If you are in the Elkhart area, it’s worth the stop. I recommend the baked mostaccioli. It’s breathtaking, I assure you.

I want to talk about several things, the Blue & Gold game, Corwin Brown, and recruiting …in that order. But before I get to the Blue & Gold game I’d like to say a few things about the game itself. The Blue & Gold game counts as a practice and since there are only fifteen in the Spring coaches typically use it, at least to some extent, to that end. As such, you really can’t get a whole lot out of watching a game like this as far as a status check of the team goes. This is evident by a plethora of people out there on message boards, as well as “sports journalists” (I put those words in quotes because everyone by now knows my opinion of them), talking about the game citing a multitude of different opinions. Some people criticize this and glorify that, but for others it is the other way around. Most of the things I will say here are barely observations. Nothing I speak of is likely as good or as bad as I might state.

To give an example I’ll take one particular match-up of the game. Both Ara and Lou said that they were particularly impressed with the secondary. And I’ll admit, they looked good. But you have to take that performance in context as there were essentially no deep balls thrown, the offenses ran nearly 75% of the time, and our receivers looked terrible. It is far more likely that the secondary is somewhat improved, that the play-calling and rules of the game were to their benefit, and that our receivers aren’t as bad as I fear.

On a side note, it has been well documented that Holtz was right back where he used to be as coach of ND. He paced up and down the sideline, picked grass, and chewed out players. If you looked closely you could see the student manager following him up and down the sideline with the cord to his headset....

Offense

Well let’s get it out of the way. In my opinion, Clausen had the best day of the four quarterbacks. Everyone is talking about his 3 of 7 day but at least 3 of those incompletions were to avoid a sack. I don’t call that a poor throw, I call it good awareness. And given our status next year, unproven QB and receivers, young offensive line, etc. throwing the ball away and living to fight another down without the long yardage situations is key for the success of our offense. He was accurate on most of his throws intended for a receiver with the exception of one and he had, by far, the most competent throw of the day on a bench route to his left. The throw was in the air, waiting for the receiver, before he made his cut. It really was pretty.

Clausen is beginning to win over his teammates as well. Comments by both Travis Thomas and Maurice Crum were positive in that respect. That said, I still think he is slightly behind Sharpley with respect to being the starting QB at ND. He doesn’t quite understand the offense as well as he needs to (it was evident by a miscommunication that forced him to call a timeout) and I was very surprised at his lack of mobility on Saturday. For someone who is supposed to run a 4.7 40 he didn’t look too fleet of foot. Just remember folks, there’s a lot of time between now and Georgia Tech and I’d be hard pressed to think that Charlie would leave him out of the “top 2” going into the Fall. This means he will have many reps and begin to learn more.

Sharpley had the second best performance, in my opinion, and it was a close second as well. He ran the offense efficiently, he looks comfortable under center, and he has sufficient accuracy and arm strength. I stick by my former statement and say if we had to play tomorrow he is our guy (link here). But I also still believe he isn’t the long-term solution. I can see him and Clausen battling it out in the fall.

Jones looked decent at times and poor at others. It’s difficult not to get excited about his 31 yard run, especially when you watch it on the highlights and see him separating from the linebackers. But his pick was a terrible throw into coverage and behind the receiver and his touchdown pass was a good adjustment on the ball by Parris on a deflected throw. He doesn’t look comfortable dropping back. The bottom line on Jones is that he is too volatile. While it’s exciting that he might be able to bail us out of some third down situations with his legs, if he isn’t accurate defenses will commit to stopping him via a spy and he won’t be able to make them pay for losing a pass defender. His throwing motion is still awful.

Frazer, in my mind, has to be completely out of the race. He didn’t have a single completion on Saturday and what’s worse, he didn’t have a decent throw. I can’t see him making the “top 2” cut.

While we are talking about quarterbacks I think it’s hilarious that the popular trend in writing among the “sports journalists” is that it is going to be impossible to replace such a great player like Quinn and his 30+ ND passing records. Never mind the fact that these are the same writers who were trashing his play all last season and tearing his draft status apart. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, sports journalists are simply story spinning, story-line creating, fickle writers just trying to sell their product.

Without a doubt the most positive thing on the offensive side of the ball had to be the running game. And make no mistake about it, it is nothing like it has been since Weis arrived. We may have run four or five zone plays all day long. Most of the running was off tackle, much of it in the form of isolation plays, treys and counter treys, and some trapping. All four of the tailbacks looked good when given a bit of room. Travis Thomas had one of the best moves of the day when he juked an un-touched defender just after taking the handoff. You can see the speed in Armando Allen, but he did look timid like Munir Prince at times. At one point Aldridge made such a great cut and I thought it was Allen until they called his name. And Jabbie made the most out of every opportunity he had. The media is in love with Jabbie now but if you really look at the game he had more opportunities than the other backs. For the most part, there were more holes and more space for him on his carries. If he is currently behind Aldridge and Thomas it says to me that we can expect very good things from them given the same opportunity.

On top of the tailbacks playing well both Schwaap and Schmidt played well. Schmidt has improved his blocking tremendously, mostly by keeping his feet wider and breaking down before taking on the defender. Schwaap is just a beast and showed his knee is back to healthy. He was running over people and will be a nice compliment to the tailbacks mentioned above in our ground game. You heard it hear first, at one point during the season we will line up in a two tight end, I backfield formation, motion both tight ends out as well as the tailback, and give it to Schwaap right up the middle on a short yardage situation. The moral of the story is that we are talented and deep in the backfield.

Speaking of tight ends they got a lot of action on Saturday. Carlson looked decent but I think he may have lost a little speed. It’s possible that he added the weight via strength to help with blocking but he may have sacrificed some of his speed and agility in the process. Reuland looked decent but bobbled most of the passes thrown his way. Catching those clean can help with the RAC (run after catch) yards. Yeatman looked rusty, probably the effects of not practicing every day.

The offensive line played well at times and poorly at others. If I had to grade the run blocking I would probably give it a B+. If I had to grade the pass blocking I’d probably give it a C-. The run blocking grade would have been even better had it been more consistent. Most of our success came via traps and isolation plays utilizing a pulling guard. We used a lot of motion with a fullback or tight end coming behind the QB and kicking the outside defender. It was fairly successful. The pass blocking was less impressive but the fact that only two hands were needed for a sack doesn’t help the cause. Still, I don’t believe I saw one time where our QB dropped back and was able to cleanly deliver the ball free from pressure. Sam Young looked pretty good. He held his own with Maurice Richardson who abused the other tackles all day long.

I would have to say our receiving corps looked terrible on Saturday. I saw some decent blocking from some of them but overall we weren’t able to gain separation from defenders and lack any real down-field threat. This may, however, be an overstatement as there weren’t many deep routes. West is out and Kumara isn’t on campus yet but it seems like we don’t have someone who’s going to get us that jump ball like Samardzija or Stovall. Richard Jackson was my hope in this area but he couldn’t catch a cold on Saturday. I’d have to give Parris the best grade of them all but he lacks true speed and doesn’t catch the ball with his hands (he really does look like a Samardzija clone though). This is a problem area for our offense that needs to be addressed soon. Not being able to get open killed us in both the USC and LSU games last year and it will only be more detrimental to our success this season.

Overall I’d say it was difficult to glean anything substantial about the offense. Weis said he wanted to have the day focused on the run and getting back to a more physical, tough approach to the game that we had “gotten away from.” This is good news if he sticks with it because we shouldn’t have to throw it on third and short and I want to see the “nasty” football team he promised us. The bad news may be that a consistent, good running game means eight in the box from opposing defenses. If we can’t develop a legitimate down-field threat and/or a QB to get that threat the ball play action is our only weapon against other teams selling out against the run. However, if we can consistently move the ball on the ground it will help us control the clock, take pressure off the QB, and rest the defense. With four running backs legitimately pushing for playing time and multiple offensive lineman fighting for each position, we should be able to keep our players fresh during games. This may prove helpful but we have to develop in our receiver corps to have a legitimate shot at winning some of our tougher games. Additionally, long, ground-based drives require elimination of mistakes such that we will really need to play disciplined football to be successful.

Defense

Defensively, as I stated above, I think our secondary looks much better. That said, it could be that the receivers played that poorly. Both McNeil and Walls looked a stop quicker and much more physical than last year. This was especially true at the line of scrimmage playing bump-and-run coverage. Wooden’s play was very encouraging both in run support and against the pass. Lambert looks to be faster and in better shape than last year. Both Bruton and Herring looked very rangy when on the field. At 6’3” Bruton may turn out to be the true center fielder we’ve been looking for. Last, but not least, Zibi had a quiet, but good day. He was tough against the run but looked much better against the pass, particularly blanketing Carlson down the field.

The one thing that stood out to me about the defense more than anything else was the ability to get pressure from the outside. Richardson was responsible for this more often than anyone else but in general we were able to get good pressure from the outside. As stated above, this could be the result of poor offensive line play. Hopefully, however, it is an indication of good things for our pass rush on defense. If this is an area of improvement expect the secondary to benefit.

Our linebacker play was improved in most areas. The pursuit was good and we were aggressive. We still, however, have too difficult of a time on the inside shedding blocks from offensive lineman at the next level. I think the defensive line is partially to blame for this as the inside linebackers in the 3-4 scheme are supposed to be able to run and make the tackles but we were still guilty of it. Vernaglia had a solid game. Even though he over-pursued at times, he wasn’t out of position often, was physical, and really played well against the run in many cases. Toryan Smith was lighting people up, but you can tell he is still young and plays too much on reaction rather than instinct. A little more time and I think he will really be a force in the middle for us.

It was difficult for me to tell if the defensive line played well or not. In this type of defense they really aren’t the “playmakers” and didn’t show up much on the stat line. I did note that Justin Brown played well. He seemed to be very quick off the ball and really blew up a few plays. Chris Stewart is really tough to move on the inside but he must play lower and maintain leverage. Being tough to move and being able to control the A-gaps are two different things.

That’s about all I have on defense. To be honest, I really didn’t play as close of attention to them as I should have. Overall I think they were more physical than they had been in the past. I saw some pretty big hits out there, some being given, others taken, but the pursuit, speed, and physical play did seem to be elevated from last year.

Corwin Brown

I’m not going to lie, I’m falling in love with Corwin Brown. I read this excerpt on Blue Gray Sky (link here) that is excellent. It is some comments written by a coach that attended the coaching clinic at ND and listened in on Brown’s session. Brown talks about his philosophy, “first the players, then the plays,” like he extracted it from the Belichick Football Bible. He gets it, you cater your defense to the personell you have. Weis knows it on offense, that’s why we ran 75% of the time on Saturday and threw to the tight end a lot. That’s why our running game this year will look nothing like it has in the past under him. The players seem to love him (Brown), they respect him, they want to play hard for him. He is making waves on the recruiting trail. And on top of all that, he is imparting to all of those defenders who are playing for him the very simple philosophy that they must run and hit, attack the football, and go hard. When he was with the Jets his secondaries always forced tons of turnovers. It was those three things that did it. You have to like it.

But the thing that impresses me the most about him is that he gets football. For the first three spring practices he practiced one defensive front and two coverages. If all else fails, he can come back to that. He can get it done with that. It isn’t that he doesn’t know more complicated and intricate defenses, it is that football isn’t about doing a lot of things. Football is about doing a few things well, and making it look like a lot of things. With twenty hours of practice a week you don’t have the time to practice a lot of things. And Corwin gets this. At this point it is still just talking as I said before (link here), but I really, really like the stuff he is saying.

Recruiting

Well, many people know that recruiting is going well thus far this Spring. Weis has grabbed two top tight end prospects in Rudolph and Fauria and what many regard as the top QB in California and top passing QB in the nation in Crist. These recruits are coming to ND despite a ton of talent and depth at their positions. This is huge for our recruiting. You don’t build a dynasty by taking years off recruiting players. You do it by bringing in top players over and over again. Look at the backfield at USC. They have 5-7 running backs that would probably start anywhere in the country. You can never predict injuries or transfers so it’s great to see us stocking up. We have also really addressed our need at linebacker by getting three commitments thus far. I really like this McDonald kid. He can run for his size, his coach says he can’t get him out of the film room, and he wants to destroy people when he tackles them. The future looks bright and it’s only April.

Spring Practice Update I

I just wanted to write a few things regarding spring practice this year. I've watched several days of practice video. Much of it is just the first twenty minutes of practice consisting of stretching and drills. However, last Saturday the entire practice was open to the media. Much of what I write here will be based on what I saw in those bits of video in addition to what I've read on the Internet and Weis' comments from his press conferences.

Let me state up front that I by no means assume this to be an accurate account of the state of ND football. It is difficult to sufficiently glean nearly anything substantial from what is out there. Weis runs a pretty tight ship in terms of what he lets get to the media and I don't blame him. I'll discuss a bit about Weis (and Bill Lewis), the offense, and the defense. This will be mostly a stream of consciousness type of thing. Finally, let's remember that we are nearly five months away from our first game.

Weis

It seems that Weis is too comfortable. I previously wrote that I believed we were nasty and intelligent the first year of Weis' tenure but not as much last year. It seems like we don't have that any more. I'm all about having fun at practice (which is what seems to be going on), but where is the business-like attitude? We don't have the athletes (yet) to have much room for error and we certainly don't have the experience. I feel like Weis isn't imposing a sense of urgency like he should. On top of that, he has made comments about using different quarterbacks in different situations. To me, that is a terrible idea. I know, I know, look at how well it worked for Florida last year. But show me that one time it was successful and I'll show you a dozen when it wasn't. I like his general approach to the quarterback selection process: see who can run the offense, then make the reads, then get the accuracy of the throws, but I think not having one guy, one leader, is divisive for the team.

Bill Lewis

I have to give Bill Lewis a shout here because the guy never shuts up during practice. From the moment the players arrive until they leave he is constantly coaching. Even during stretching he is going to players to work with them on certain things. We are fortunate to have him.

Offense

Quarterbacks

If we had a game tomorrow I believe Sharpley would start. He knows the offense, has command of the huddle, and is proficient enough throwing the ball that we could be successful provided we had a decent running game to take pressure off the passing game, help keep the defense off the field, and slow the game down. The place where we would hurt would be in third and long situations. However, I have a feeling that is going to be problematic for us all year.

Clausen, I believe, is right behind him. His release is super quick, his accuracy (at least on the short and intermediate throws which is all I have see him make) is dead on, and his polish is superb. If he had more time in the offense I believe he would be the hands down winner. The problem is that he doesn't know the reads, the checks, etc. and doesn't have the trust of the other players (or Weis). Between now and next fall that may change.

Frazer looks the part but he seems to have problems with leading receivers on his throws. He has a cannon for an arm and has the strength to make all the throws but the physical tools seem to be where the positives stop. In another system where a coach paid more attention to a backup quarterback and their development he might have a shot at becoming a good quarterback but I don't see it happening here.

Jones, to me, looks the worst of all four quarterbacks. I was rooting for him as the starter because I like his ability to create with his athleticism. However, his throwing motion is terrible, he is frequently grossly inaccurate, and he doesn't seem to have particular control of the team. This doesn't seem to be the general indication of his performance from the media and Weis so it could be that I just caught some bad clips.

One final note about the quarterback situation. If one quarterback is able to separate themselves from the rest of the pack I would expect (at least) one of the others to transfer (or go to another sport in the case of Sharpley). Weis is a one quarterback type of guy and with the limited time and practice constraints he doesn't seem to be too keen on working much with the number two and three guys. If one of the younger guys gets the nod and plays well or even sufficient, I would expect him to be the starter for a while to come (barring injury of course).

Carlson

I didn't give any other individual their own category but Carlson deserves it. He looks to be 20-25 pounds bigger than last year and he hasn't lost a step. In fact, he may be slightly faster. He looks much stronger on his blocking and I think we will see him be a receiver like he was last year and a blocker like Fasano was the year before.

Offensive Line

I have to admit I haven't seen much to form an opinion on the offensive line. The word on the street is that they are playing well and that there is a lot to be happy about. I will say this, Sam Young isn't human. I've never seen someone so large have so much agility and quickness.

Running Backs

Travis Thomas and James Aldridge look very similar running the ball. Thomas seems to have a little better acceleration while Aldridge seems to have a little better "top speed." Both look very physical and you can tell the difference between Aldridge now and a year ago. He looks much stronger in the lower body and much less timid. I can't see Weis not playing them both a significant portion.

This just in, Armando Allen is fast, and quick, and fast. During the running back drills he makes the other backs look slow when they are cutting. And the great thing about him is that he doesn't seem to need to gain size or strength like most freshmen playing a skill position. Luke Schmidt had a nice off-season adding quite a bit of weight (~20-25 lbs) and improving his upper body strength. He doesn't seem to have slowed down much either. Schwaap is getting back into a rhythm coming back from his injury. The bottom line is that we look very deep at running back and we should be productive if for nothing else but having fresh legs throughout the game.

Recievers

Weis has said that Grimes is the clear number one while George West has established himself as the number two guy. I believe we need someone else to step up. It isn't that I don't like short receivers but having two guys that are less than 5"10' doesn't help the vertical passing game. Carlson will alleviate some of that but we need someone on the outside for the jump balls a la Samardzija and Stovall. Small receivers like Grimes and West also typically have problems with beating press coverage. Rhema and Samardzija had issues with this last year and the results were catastrophic for our offense. Their problems, however, were in gaining separation from the defensive backs after the initial push at the line of scrimmage. West and Grimes problem will likely be more related to the physical play at the line inherent when facing bump-and-run coverage.

Having a consistent running game will help take the pressure off the passing game and alleviate some of the need to go downfield as much but I still believe we need a third receiver with some size. That said, I'm not sure there are many defensive backs out there that can cover West one-on-one provided he can get off the line. He is lightning quick. The one disappointment thus far of the spring practice (as far as I am concerned) has been D. J. Hord. Hord has the tools to be a very good receiver but he seems to be quite slow coming back from the Achilles tendon injury of last year.

Defense

Defensive Line

Like the offensive line, I haven't been able to get much from what I've seen on the defensive line. It does, however, appear that Kuntz is the leading candidate for the nose tackle position. This could be problematic as he doesn't have superior size or quickness to be a dominant force in the inside. Playing on the inside of a 3-4 (which I think is really a 5-2 with stand-up ends) you want a nose tackle who is big and strong or small and quick. Either way they need to be able to play both A-gaps and stuff the inside run while simultaneously providing sufficient pass rush up the middle. One bright spot has been Kallen Wade. He has put on about 40 lbs since arriving on campus. He really looks completely transformed. Weis mentioned he will get even bigger and I think once he gets to the right size and gets some explosiveness and speed he could be a dandy.

Secondary

Ambrose Wooden simply amazes me. The guy has all of the natural athletic ability in the world. He just can't get the mental part of playing corner down. He has the quickness and the speed. He just doesn't play fundamentally sound enough to be a dominant defensive back. And it isn't because of a lack of effort either. Lambert looks like he may have gotten a little bigger but he hasn't lost any speed and he is just as physical. Bruton can cover a lot of ground and at 6"2' he has the size to be a good center fielder. All in all I would say the secondary look good in practice but I can't tell if they really look good or if our receivers look bad. With history as hindsight I'm leaning towards the latter.

Linebackers

Our linebacker play looks to have improved...some. Both Toryan Smith and Maurice Richardson look much better than last year. Richardson is un-blockable when he's coming off the edge. He has too much speed for a guy his size. Opposing quarterbacks better learn to step up into the pocket or they are in trouble because there aren't many offensive tackles that will be able to block him. Smith looks like he wants to kill someone every time he hits them. I said when we signed him that he hits like Zach Thomas and so far he hasn't disappointed. He plays with tremendous leverage. The one guy who has disappointed me somewhat is John Ryan. He doesn't play with much speed or intensity and often times looks out of position, lost, or not knowing what he is supposed to be doing.