To make an argument that we held Navy to its lowest running yardage total for the year is totally missing the point. We were playing NAVY! Who have they played this year such that we should be impressed with their offense? Pittsburgh? Cmon guys. Get real. We are ND. We have far superior talent then Navy, Purdue, Michigan State, Air Force, etc. Yet, we are going to likely lose to all of them. Worse, we look totally inept! It is hard to believe that our guys no matter how young they are can perform so poorly on game day. I am not a professional coach but I have watched many years of football both pro and college. Success and failure appears to be a combination of both talent and using that talent with the right schemes, game plans, etc BASED on the specific talents of the players. I honestly believe CW has been a horrendous evaluator of the talent his kids have and has not put them in a position to win based on his game plans and schemes. CW must take the blame. These kids are all highly recruited and I just cannot believe they are as bad as they are showing this year.
I know Charlie said he had a reason why he didn't kick the field goal, but you guys sounded like you were buying it. I can see having a general goal of trying to get inside the 20 yard line before trying a field goal because of the conditions and how Walker was kicking pregame, but the slavish adherency to that goal with the game on the line is crazy. The wind was not blowing that hard at the end of the game, and we know that Walker has enough leg to kick from that distance. The one he missed had plenty of distance. At that point it was time to chuck the notes and send Walker out to kick and expect him to make it. He was definitely capable of it.
I think this decision is reflective of the way that Charlie knows and recites every single statistic of the upcoming opponent at the Tuesday press conference. I think he gets so caught up in that that he loses a feel for the game or in otherwords can't see the forest for the trees.
Another thing I am wondering and I haven't heard discussed is do you think Charlie consulted with his assistants before making the call and whether they were on board with the decision. Remember, ND called a time -out before the play. Did they talk about whether to kick it or go for it, or did Charlie just say we are going for it, and the other coaches were too afraid suggest otherwise. I guess I find it hard to believe that they discussed it and that they were all saying go for it.
I think waydomer has a point and if it was my call I would have kicked the field goals (both of them) With that said, I am a Charlie believer, I like it that he doesn't sugar coats it and that he is the first one to point the finger at him but I find myself scratching my head more and more on some of his decisions lately. I get the feeling it’s because he may be second guessing himself and maybe also being stubborn & hard nosed (ala Belichick). I think some of the things he says or the calls he makes on the field are based on the expectations he has of his team and won't except anything less (ex. he expects every 4th and 9 play to go as planed). In a way, you want your head coach to have those expectations of the team but at the same time he needs to be objective enough to know that sometimes that's not enough. I think he is still learning the college ranks and how to deal with 18 year olds, and I don't know, maybe the fact that there are so many of them has compounded the problem.
Navy is a good football team year in and year out. Paul Johnson is an excellent coach and will end up somewhere big in the near future (i.e. Nebraska). They are disciplined, they have experience, and they are fundamentally sound. They may be undersized, but option football makes up for that. Notre Dame has had close calls with Navy with a lot more talent than what we have right now. It's not realistic to assume an automatic victory this year with the way we've been playing game in and game out. Granted, a few plays here and there, an attempted 41 yard FG, and maybe we pull it out. But it's certainly not inconceivable to suggest we knew this game was a toss up. 3 point favorites at home by the oddsmakers is essentially a toss up. If we had God coaching this team this season, the best we'd be right now is 3-6.
Wow I just don't know what to say anymore. It seems like no matter how many times I say 1 and 8 it just won't register for my brain. But come on people the law of averages catches up with everything at some point.
43 freaking times in a row is amazing. It is unheralded in the history of sports. I am just as pissed about this season as anyone but you need to take a step back and look it. 43 and 1 is remarkable, and for those people we say we should NEVER lose to them give me a break. Anybody can beat anyone even so when our team is as bad as they are this year. Thankfully it happened on a horrendous year like this one, and we didn't lose to Appalachian State for crying out loud.
And among other things I find it extremely sad to see that I have not heard a peep about Robert Hughes punching in the first touchdown, say what you want about Coach Weis but he is a good man and things like that show it. There was a kid who lost his own brother less than a week before. When he jammed that ball into the end zone it meant something to me, and it meant something more than what losing to Navy for the first time in 43 damn years ever will.
It is really sickening to me when our own fans sound worst than the talking bobble heads on ESPN these days. Anyway guys awesome show like always... until you go big time I guess I'll settle for the 3 shows a week for now, but could we move it up to 25 minutes? Haha! Gooooo IRISH!
To make an argument that we held Navy to its lowest running yardage total for the year is totally missing the point. We were playing NAVY! Who have they played this year such that we should be impressed with their offense? Pittsburgh? Cmon guys. Get real. We are ND. We have far superior talent then Navy, Purdue, Michigan State, Air Force, etc. Yet, we are going to likely lose to all of them. Worse, we look totally inept! It is hard to believe that our guys no matter how young they are can perform so poorly on game day. I am not a professional coach but I have watched many years of football both pro and college. Success and failure appears to be a combination of both talent and using that talent with the right schemes, game plans, etc BASED on the specific talents of the players. I honestly believe CW has been a horrendous evaluator of the talent his kids have and has not put them in a position to win based on his game plans and schemes. CW must take the blame. These kids are all highly recruited and I just cannot believe they are as bad as they are showing this year.
ReplyDeleteI know Charlie said he had a reason why he didn't kick the field goal, but you guys sounded like you were buying it. I can see having a general goal of trying to get inside the 20 yard line before trying a field goal because of the conditions and how Walker was kicking pregame, but the slavish adherency to that goal with the game on the line is crazy. The wind was not blowing that hard at the end of the game, and we know that Walker has enough leg to kick from that distance. The one he missed had plenty of distance. At that point it was time to chuck the notes and send Walker out to kick and expect him to make it. He was definitely capable of it.
ReplyDeleteI think this decision is reflective of the way that Charlie knows and recites every single statistic of the upcoming opponent at the Tuesday press conference. I think he gets so caught up in that that he loses a feel for the game or in otherwords can't see the forest for the trees.
Another thing I am wondering and I haven't heard discussed is do you think Charlie consulted with his assistants before making the call and whether they were on board with the decision. Remember, ND called a time -out before the play. Did they talk about whether to kick it or go for it, or did Charlie just say we are going for it, and the other coaches were too afraid suggest otherwise. I guess I find it hard to believe that they discussed it and that they were all saying go for it.
I think waydomer has a point and if it was my call I would have kicked the field goals (both of them) With that said, I am a Charlie believer, I like it that he doesn't sugar coats it and that he is the first one to point the finger at him but I find myself scratching my head more and more on some of his decisions lately. I get the feeling it’s because he may be second guessing himself and maybe also being stubborn & hard nosed (ala Belichick). I think some of the things he says or the calls he makes on the field are based on the expectations he has of his team and won't except anything less (ex. he expects every 4th and 9 play to go as planed). In a way, you want your head coach to have those expectations of the team but at the same time he needs to be objective enough to know that sometimes that's not enough. I think he is still learning the college ranks and how to deal with 18 year olds, and I don't know, maybe the fact that there are so many of them has compounded the problem.
ReplyDeleteNavy is a good football team year in and year out. Paul Johnson is an excellent coach and will end up somewhere big in the near future (i.e. Nebraska). They are disciplined, they have experience, and they are fundamentally sound. They may be undersized, but option football makes up for that. Notre Dame has had close calls with Navy with a lot more talent than what we have right now. It's not realistic to assume an automatic victory this year with the way we've been playing game in and game out. Granted, a few plays here and there, an attempted 41 yard FG, and maybe we pull it out. But it's certainly not inconceivable to suggest we knew this game was a toss up. 3 point favorites at home by the oddsmakers is essentially a toss up. If we had God coaching this team this season, the best we'd be right now is 3-6.
ReplyDeleteWow I just don't know what to say anymore. It seems like no matter how many times I say 1 and 8 it just won't register for my brain. But come on people the law of averages catches up with everything at some point.
ReplyDelete43 freaking times in a row is amazing. It is unheralded in the history of sports. I am just as pissed about this season as anyone but you need to take a step back and look it. 43 and 1 is remarkable, and for those people we say we should NEVER lose to them give me a break. Anybody can beat anyone even so when our team is as bad as they are this year. Thankfully it happened on a horrendous year like this one, and we didn't lose to Appalachian State for crying out loud.
And among other things I find it extremely sad to see that I have not heard a peep about Robert Hughes punching in the first touchdown, say what you want about Coach Weis but he is a good man and things like that show it. There was a kid who lost his own brother less than a week before. When he jammed that ball into the end zone it meant something to me, and it meant something more than what losing to Navy for the first time in 43 damn years ever will.
It is really sickening to me when our own fans sound worst than the talking bobble heads on ESPN these days. Anyway guys awesome show like always... until you go big time I guess I'll settle for the 3 shows a week for now, but could we move it up to 25 minutes? Haha! Gooooo IRISH!