They Still Get Me Fired Up - The NDHaters
The NDHaters always go for the same stuff: When ND is losing it's because the "academic standards" are too high. When they are winning it's because the head coach has somehow gotten the admissions department to "Sell its soul for football glory."
Totall bullshit. ND does not raise or lower standards based on who the coach is.
Also, more the weather crap. Like the weather is any better in Ann Arbor or Columbus. Give me a break.
Of course he throws in the usual jab at our playing the service academies.
The Haters love the line "ND can't sell itself anymore." Let's see, ND has needed to get out there and recruit like hell for about, hmmmm, I don't know, 50, 60 years now. Maybe more. Somehow it's ALL DIFFERENT TODAY. Right.
I hate these pricks. Don't they ever give up?!
Charlie Weis: Gridiron God or Mere Mortal?
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Athlon Sports
Published: May 30, 2006 - 5:00am
The Next Notre Dame Legend
He’s Not There Yet
By Mark Schlabach
In only one season as his alma mater’s football coach, Charlie Weis has awakened the echoes at Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish were ranked among the top 10 teams in the country last season, came within a bad spot and impromptu quarterback sneak of upsetting two-time defending national champion USC and played in a Bowl Championship Series game. In a little over four months, Weis put college football’s most storied program back in the national consciousness, where it belongs.
But don’t put that buzz cut on Touchdown Jesus just yet.
Yes, what Weis did at Notre Dame last season can only be described as remarkable. He took over a program that had floundered under former coach Tyrone Willingham — the Fighting Irish were 6–6 in 2004 — and turned it into one of the most feared offenses in the country. Last season’s team, which featured the passing of Brady Quinn, running of Darius Walker and pass catching of Anthony Fasano, Maurice Stovall and Jeff Samardzija, scored more points than any other team in Notre Dame history.
And with Quinn coming back for what could be a Heisman Trophy-winning senior season in 2006, and blue-chip quarterback prospect Jimmy Clausen committing to come on board in 2007, the Fighting Irish won’t slip much offensively in the immediate future. In fact, they figure to have a sizable advantage every time they step on the field because of the man calling plays on the sideline.
So why not put Weis among the ranks of Knute Rockne, Frank Leahy, Ara Parseghian and Lou Holtz the great Fighting Irish coaches of the past? As the 34–20 loss to Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl proved, Notre Dame still has a long way to go, especially on defense.
Notre Dame had problems stopping opponents last season — how else to explain a three-point loss to a Michigan State team coached by John L. Smith? If Notre Dame’s defense had figured out how to stop USC quarterback Matt Leinart just once in the final seconds, the Irish might have been talking about Roses instead of Tostitos.
Weis succeeds on offense because of his coaching pedigree. He plugs players into his system, which has proved to be nearly fool-proof. Quarterbacks will sign with Notre Dame because Weis coached Tom Brady, who went from a late-round pick to a two-time Super Bowl MVP. Running backs and wide receivers will sign with the Fighting Irish because they will want to play in those record-setting offenses. And offensive linemen will go to South Bend because former Notre Dame linemen still litter the NFL.
But Weis’ real challenge, along with continuing to loosen the high standards of Notre Dame’s admissions office, is finding superior athletes who want to play defense. Not since defensive lineman Renaldo Wynn was chosen by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 1997 has Notre Dame had a defensive player drafted in the first round (only two Fighting Irish players — offensive tackle Luke Petitgout in 1999 and center Jeff Faine in 2003, it should be noted, were first-rounders since Wynn).
Finding big linemen, menacing linebackers and super-athletic cornerbacks should be Notre Dame’s biggest priority. Because as prolific as Weis’ offense was in New England, the Patriots won three Super Bowls with defense. And Notre Dame will struggle to stop most teams, except when it plays the military academies.
Weis has two outstanding recruiters on his staff: Mike Haywood and Rob Ianello, who were the recruiting coordinators at Texas and Wisconsin, respectively. They have already left their mark and understand Notre Dame isn’t the football program that it once was. Notre Dame has to work as hard as everyone else, or even harder, in recruiting, something Willingham and his staff weren’t willing to do.
Despite Notre Dame’s storied tradition, the school doesn’t recruit itself anymore. The weather stinks. The school has a stricter conduct code than places like Miami, Oklahoma, USC and Texas. And that lucrative contract with NBC doesn’t mean as much anymore because everybody plays on TV.
Notre Dame will be good enough to return to the Bowl Championship Series this season, perhaps even play in the Fiesta Bowl for the national title. Who knows? Maybe the Fighting Irish will even win a bowl game this season, something they haven’t done in more than a decade. But before Weis can be mentioned in the same breath with Notre Dame’s five Hall of Fame coaches, he has to win consistently, like the Irish did under Leahy, Parseghian and Holtz.
Notre Dame doesn’t need another one-hit wonder. Even the non-descript Bob Davie won nine games twice. And don’t forget that in his very first season at Notre Dame, Willingham won 10.
Totall bullshit. ND does not raise or lower standards based on who the coach is.
Also, more the weather crap. Like the weather is any better in Ann Arbor or Columbus. Give me a break.
Of course he throws in the usual jab at our playing the service academies.
The Haters love the line "ND can't sell itself anymore." Let's see, ND has needed to get out there and recruit like hell for about, hmmmm, I don't know, 50, 60 years now. Maybe more. Somehow it's ALL DIFFERENT TODAY. Right.
I hate these pricks. Don't they ever give up?!
Charlie Weis: Gridiron God or Mere Mortal?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adjust font size
Athlon Sports
Published: May 30, 2006 - 5:00am
The Next Notre Dame Legend
He’s Not There Yet
By Mark Schlabach
In only one season as his alma mater’s football coach, Charlie Weis has awakened the echoes at Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish were ranked among the top 10 teams in the country last season, came within a bad spot and impromptu quarterback sneak of upsetting two-time defending national champion USC and played in a Bowl Championship Series game. In a little over four months, Weis put college football’s most storied program back in the national consciousness, where it belongs.
But don’t put that buzz cut on Touchdown Jesus just yet.
Yes, what Weis did at Notre Dame last season can only be described as remarkable. He took over a program that had floundered under former coach Tyrone Willingham — the Fighting Irish were 6–6 in 2004 — and turned it into one of the most feared offenses in the country. Last season’s team, which featured the passing of Brady Quinn, running of Darius Walker and pass catching of Anthony Fasano, Maurice Stovall and Jeff Samardzija, scored more points than any other team in Notre Dame history.
And with Quinn coming back for what could be a Heisman Trophy-winning senior season in 2006, and blue-chip quarterback prospect Jimmy Clausen committing to come on board in 2007, the Fighting Irish won’t slip much offensively in the immediate future. In fact, they figure to have a sizable advantage every time they step on the field because of the man calling plays on the sideline.
So why not put Weis among the ranks of Knute Rockne, Frank Leahy, Ara Parseghian and Lou Holtz the great Fighting Irish coaches of the past? As the 34–20 loss to Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl proved, Notre Dame still has a long way to go, especially on defense.
Notre Dame had problems stopping opponents last season — how else to explain a three-point loss to a Michigan State team coached by John L. Smith? If Notre Dame’s defense had figured out how to stop USC quarterback Matt Leinart just once in the final seconds, the Irish might have been talking about Roses instead of Tostitos.
Weis succeeds on offense because of his coaching pedigree. He plugs players into his system, which has proved to be nearly fool-proof. Quarterbacks will sign with Notre Dame because Weis coached Tom Brady, who went from a late-round pick to a two-time Super Bowl MVP. Running backs and wide receivers will sign with the Fighting Irish because they will want to play in those record-setting offenses. And offensive linemen will go to South Bend because former Notre Dame linemen still litter the NFL.
But Weis’ real challenge, along with continuing to loosen the high standards of Notre Dame’s admissions office, is finding superior athletes who want to play defense. Not since defensive lineman Renaldo Wynn was chosen by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 1997 has Notre Dame had a defensive player drafted in the first round (only two Fighting Irish players — offensive tackle Luke Petitgout in 1999 and center Jeff Faine in 2003, it should be noted, were first-rounders since Wynn).
Finding big linemen, menacing linebackers and super-athletic cornerbacks should be Notre Dame’s biggest priority. Because as prolific as Weis’ offense was in New England, the Patriots won three Super Bowls with defense. And Notre Dame will struggle to stop most teams, except when it plays the military academies.
Weis has two outstanding recruiters on his staff: Mike Haywood and Rob Ianello, who were the recruiting coordinators at Texas and Wisconsin, respectively. They have already left their mark and understand Notre Dame isn’t the football program that it once was. Notre Dame has to work as hard as everyone else, or even harder, in recruiting, something Willingham and his staff weren’t willing to do.
Despite Notre Dame’s storied tradition, the school doesn’t recruit itself anymore. The weather stinks. The school has a stricter conduct code than places like Miami, Oklahoma, USC and Texas. And that lucrative contract with NBC doesn’t mean as much anymore because everybody plays on TV.
Notre Dame will be good enough to return to the Bowl Championship Series this season, perhaps even play in the Fiesta Bowl for the national title. Who knows? Maybe the Fighting Irish will even win a bowl game this season, something they haven’t done in more than a decade. But before Weis can be mentioned in the same breath with Notre Dame’s five Hall of Fame coaches, he has to win consistently, like the Irish did under Leahy, Parseghian and Holtz.
Notre Dame doesn’t need another one-hit wonder. Even the non-descript Bob Davie won nine games twice. And don’t forget that in his very first season at Notre Dame, Willingham won 10.
posted by Rocket at 1:13 AM
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