After 2 posts trying to talk people back off the ledge (although I’d prefer to see certain people jump already - you know who you are) in the last few posts, this post takes the other side of the coin.  Things weren’t great on Saturday, and so I’ve deemed it necessary for me to outline what I think went wrong, and some random ideas on how to fix it.   You’ll note a bit of sarcasm in here, and yes, it’s there.

Problem 1:  Fumbles.

Solution:  Hold onto the freaking ball.  Thankfully, this one isn’t too tough to figure out.  You teach young players to protect that ball like it’s the holy grail.  Nothing gets that ball loose. Nothing.  Take a hard hit?  Hold onto the ball.  Run into a freight train?  Hold onto the ball.  Get your ACL ripped up over your head?  Hold onto the ball.  This one’s pretty easy to implement.  It’s practice, strength and concentration.  Experience helps a lot too.  Just do it.

Problem 2:  Picks

Solution:  Most of our picks this year have been on Jimmy.  I think Jimmy has made vast improvement, but he has to know when to go for broke and when not to.  Even if the play is a downfield pass from the 30, you don’t HAVE to throw that pass every time.  There are options and he needs to use them.  The other issue, which MQ eloquently outlined below, is route running.   The WRs need to run good, crisp routes.  Whether they think the ball is coming their way or not.  Anything else is either 1) lack of understanding that this is important which is a youth/coaching problem or 2) laziness, which is often a youth/coaching problem.  Figure it out.  Fairly easy to implement, but it really just comes with maturity.  Shocker, the youngness of our QB/WR corps creates challenges.  SHOCKING I say.

Problem 3:  No Running Game

Solution:  There are 2 here.  Either the OL and the RBs need to develop very quickly and figure out how to play a zone blocking scheme, or the entire thing needs to be canned in favor of a more straight-forward/direct/easier to execute scheme.  Given the lack of progress here over 2 years, I’d say the latter is the way to go.  Give these guys some nice easy assignments and let them tee off.  The Zone Scheme is amazing if you can get it to work.  Well, it’s not working because our players can’t execute it.  This is something that is easily fixable if the staff wants to do so.  It requires a major adjustment midway into the season, but it’s better to do so now than December.  We need a running game to complement our passing game, and we’ll have one with this change.   This is a longer-shot of actually happening, as Weis is a pro-style guy and is probably pretty attached to the scheme.  Here’s to hoping he gives it consideration.  Barring that change, it will just take time for the backs and OL to get there, if they ever will. 

Problem 4:  Getting Busted at an Off-Campus Party the Night After a Loss and ~6 Months After Getting a Freaking DUI

Solution:  I’m not sure what I suggest here, other than getting Yeatman to have an f-ing clue.  1) You just got your ass handed to you - it’s not time to party.  2)  You got a DUI for DRIVING ON THE FREAKING ND SIDEWALK WASTED - it’s not time to party for YOU.  AT ANY TIME UNTIL YOU’RE 21!  This is just poor, poor judgment.  I’m not saying that kids shouldn’t get to party in college.  I’m just saying that you need to figure out your priorities.  You know how disappointed everyone was, including you, with what happened in the spring.  You went and talked to kids about not drinking and such.  Now you go get busted 3 games into the season, and at the least hurt the team due to an already-lacking depth at TE. I don’t know what CW/the admin should do, but Yeatman should most definitely take a look in the mirror and figure out what’s going on in his head.  This is not a commentary on the strictness of local ND police (which is lame), or ND (which is lame) or the drinking age or anything of the sort.  It’s a comment on a player that made a second terrible choice, and will likely pay for it.  As will his team(s).  This is up to the kid and administration. I have no clue what the admin will do, but I have serious doubts about Yeatman’s ability to make sound life decisions.  It’s not like he was slinging crack on the corner, but this is questionable decision-making at best.

Problem 5:  Kicking game

Solution:  Get a snapper that can snap the ball well.  Yes, this sounds easy and we know it’s not.  But it’s the only solution we have.  The kickers do look a lot better this year.  Do they look great/amazing?  No.  But there are stronger legs and more accuracy.  But there’s not a lot of confidence.  To get good results from kickers, you need confidence.  If you’re standing there wondering if you’re going to need to chase the snap and try to run away from 300 pound monsters on every kick, you’re not concentrating on kicking.  And we need that concentration.  So find a long snapper that can do the job already.  Unless there’s just nobody that can long snap, this isn’t too tough.  Takes practice, time and repetitions.  Time/experience.  Amazing how this has popped up a few times.

Problem 6:  The Sky is Falling We’re Terrible Everywhere There’s No Improvement Fire Charlie Now.

Solution:  Shut up you twit, have a beer and take a nap til December.  Then call me and pass your ‘oh so sound judgment’ then.  This has absolutely no chance of ever being implemented. And this is sad.  But I’ll try:  I triple dog dare you people that are calling for Charlie’s head now to hold off, and make that call in December.  If we’re sub-.500, I say ‘call away’.  If not, you get to drink a big glass of shut the hell up for an entire off-season.  

Wanna take that dare?  I didn’t think so.

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