This is just a solid article. Read it.
Particularly good parts that I wholeheartedly agree with and think that every overreactionary tool (anyone with the word "Cross" in their handle) should read and understand, if possible:
4) Veterans’ Day – Those rising up against Weis now will point to the three top-10 recruiting classes he’s assembled and say that there’s enough talent to win more now. However...which of those classes is not a top-10 class? (Just say “the seniors” and nod.) According to ND Facts Machine Lou Somogyi, there has been one constant at Notre Dame – when a recruiting class falls outside of the top 10 nationally, the Irish fail to finish in the top 25 when that class becomes seniors. That has never not happened.
Since the 2005 class is the smallest and lowest-rated in school history, what were we really to expect? Good seniors beat great freshmen and sophomores – and for all the grousing about how much more talented the Irish are than Boston College, the senior classes don’t really compare. You’ll see on NFL Draft weekend next spring.
It may seem tired to bring up the recruiting sins of the previous regime in Weis’ fourth year (I’m tired of it too), but they’re still a factor, like it or not.
Yes, this is one of the main points I've been making around requiring patience for this team. But it's a good one that bears repeating, and this is just written well.
Another:
I really don’t understand the quick and massive swing in public opinion. If there were one fewer turnover against UNC and the Irish are 6-3 with a win over a ranked team, the complaints would be substantially quieter, but would the team really be measurably better than it actually is? I’m not going to say that results don’t matter, because that’s the point of the game – but in a big-picture rebuilding process, which is what this is, those results need to be secondary.
The big thing is making sure the foundation is sound and the infrastructure works – and while I’m not going to pretend that The Plan is moving along perfectly, it’s reasonably close to being on schedule. Rookie mistakes (read: turnovers) essentially cost this team at least two games and maybe three. They’ve been competitive in every game so far (yes, even BC, although the line-of-scrimmage battle was certainly uneven there), something you definitely couldn’t say a year ago.
A get-rich-quick scheme seldom works. Just ask Wall Street. Charlie Weis is making the safe investments – and they’re not paying off yet, but they will.
These few paragraphs sum up my thoughts quite nicely. I'll leave it at that.
Thanks Ryan.
By McYo. November 16, 2008 - 8:24 am
Hey everyone,
C-A-L-M D-O-W-N!
We didn’t get into this mess overnight. (try 10+ years) Charlie’s majical first year was just that – majic. Newsflash: If you expect majic, it’s pretty hard to deliver.
McYo. (urban Irish)
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By Piyachi November 16, 2008 - 9:56 am
Thank you for saying it. It seems that bloggers, who have a little more accountability for what they say seem to get that a 3-9 team doesn’t enter the national title hunt 8 games into their next season. It was amazing me that no one else noticed how all the preseason talk involved how this would be a young but talented team that was bound to lose some that they coulda/woulda/shoulda won. IT HAPPENS.
So thank you for saying it. Also, McYo, the word is ‘magic’.
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By trey November 16, 2008 - 12:45 pm
Mojo + Magic + Weis = Majic
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By Jack November 16, 2008 - 10:25 pm
Progress. All we want to see is three star athletes as a group performing better this week than last week. They are demonstrably not better. What other explanation can there be but a very mediocre job of coaching. Not having a clue on two consecutive on-side kicks drives this point home for me. I’ve had enough.
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By trey November 17, 2008 - 8:38 am
I cant believe it was COACHING that led to the onside kicks. What do you coach? Go get the ball when it bounces? It’s a mentality thing and the Irish need to stop being so damn timid all the time.
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By Vin Franco November 17, 2008 - 10:43 am
All the talk of a weak schedule drives the discussion of why we schould have more victories.
This morning all four teams that beat us are ranked in the top 25 AP/Coaches polls. That doesn’t include USC who we play in two weeks. Am I missing something? I can’t imagine many teams ranked in the top 25 have played 5 opponents that are ranked.
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By Jim November 17, 2008 - 6:22 pm
Good article. A little late in commenting. I think, the one play scenario calming down the nay-sayers may not be valid. You would probably hear whining that if it was not for one play this team would be 6-4. Let us face it there are people who do not like Weis and nothing will change that or them.
I did find the article balanced with some good insight. Thanks Biscuit.
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By The Biscuit November 17, 2008 - 6:46 pm
Jim, totally agree. Without a NC to quiet them, some will always just hate Weis. Some will love him regardless as well (though of course those folks are less vocal now-a-days). What we’re about here is trying to lend some context to these discussions, with a strong dose of reality, which is almost-always missing in most conversations surrounding CFB in general, let alone ND.
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