We really like that Charlie Weis is using Twitter. It gives us a fair bit of insight into what he's doing in order to get ND back to winning football, and it's provided the basis for one of our stupid, weekly features. And he's managed to inform his audience without any real gaffes like, say, breaking NCAA rules about recruiting by celebrating the verbal commitment of a recruit. But today's latest Twitter novella by Weis has sort of stuck in my craw, and so I'm going to plaster it here, explain why it's bugging me, and then see if our fine readers can persuade me not to be bothered by it.
These comments really bug me, but I figured I'd bring them up for discussion and see if I can be persuaded that they shouldn't bug me. My first reaction to these thoughts is that SoCal, Oklahoma, Florida and the like didn't deal with "a few close games" in 2009. But SoCal had a couple, losing to Oregon State and barely pulling it out against Arizona and Cal. Oklahoma lost by 10 to Texas and 10 to Florida. Florida beat Oklahoma by 10 and lost by 1 to Mississippi. But I guess what really bugs me is that in the vast majority of the games played by these three teams, it never came down to winning a close game and having to make some plays to win those close games. In fact, losing to Mississippi was largely forgiven by the voters by virtue of Florida blowing the doors off everyone else. Oklahoma was really able to overcome the Texas loss partly because of their incredible scores. Everyone was lamenting that SoCal wasn't up against Florida in the BCS championship game because, by and large, they looked absolutely dominating.
And my reading of Weis' comments today really is built on top of years of comments by Weis that really has convinced me that Weis constantly looks at any game against any opponent as a situation wherein he and the coaching staff must "find a way to win," rather than "find a way to blow the doors off this opponent to further our argument for the BCS championship." Charlie Weis seems to look at the season schedule and sees a bunch of games against mostly-level competition. Carroll, Stoops, and Meyer seem to look at their schedules and see the makings of a campaign to win a vote.
Discuss.
By AnnArborIrish May 20, 2009 - 12:31 pm
Now, domer, sir, you’ve just gone and opened up a whole can of “strength of schedule debate” with a side serving of “conference perceptions are Self-Enforcing Chicanery” assertion. See what I did there? I’m so cleveresque.
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By domer.mq May 20, 2009 - 12:48 pm
AnnArborIrish,
I see what you did there. Also glad you didn’t miss anything that I was doing.
Nice use of “Chicanery.”
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By san diego irish May 20, 2009 - 12:49 pm
I don’t have a problem with what he’s saying. I think you can acknowledge that no matter how good your team is, it is likely to have a few close games that will need to be won by big time players making big time plays. Even if the goal is to crush everyone, it won’t always go that way. I don’t think he sees it as even competition, otherwise he never would have made the purported statements about never losing to the likes of Purdue, etc. again.
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By irish64 May 20, 2009 - 4:35 pm
Let’s just score 60 points per game. That should do it.
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By irish64 May 20, 2009 - 4:36 pm
Or better yet, 70 points per game. Reschedule American Medical and win 142-0. Again.
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By Jim May 20, 2009 - 8:09 pm
Interesting insight. I think that is a Pro football instinct because of, “any given Sunday.”
HE should be instilling a Lou Holtz type we’re the baddest mo-fo’s and we’re going to hang half a hundred on every team we play.
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By tjak May 20, 2009 - 11:21 pm
I love Lou Holtz, I even have a picture on my Notre Dame Wall of me and my brother with Darius Walker’s dad, Jimmy, because he was coached by Lou Holtz at South Carolina. I think if I am not mistaken, that Coach Holtz made every game, especially games against patsies, a titanic struggle. I am not saying Weis is doing this, but maybe Domer you are reading too much into this. I, however, do wish Weis would be more willing to finish of opponents in the second quarter, rather then waiting to hope navy doesn’t convert on that last play.
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By domer.mq May 21, 2009 - 9:14 am
tjak,
He publicly made it a titanic struggle. Privately, in the locker room, Holtz made it clear to the players that they were to annihilate the competition. Weis doesn’t do that. Weis talks to his players about how they need to make plays to win games, and sometimes I think that results in most of the team waiting for someone else to make a play.
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By tjak May 21, 2009 - 10:09 am
I guess you are right. Maybe this will change this year, with his future as coach on the line.
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By The Biscuit May 21, 2009 - 10:40 am
i think it’s a base philosophical thing. Weis thinks you need to plan to beat a team. this is true. but teams with the best laid plans often lose, even if they execute well, bc the other team simply wants it more. i think as Asst Head Coach, this will be Corwin’s job. rally the troops, fire ‘em up, instill that fire, all that. kinda like Keanu’s role in The Replacements
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By trey May 21, 2009 - 8:55 pm
I agree with the pro-coach mentality angle. Charlie still has the mindset that all teams are basically one or two plays away from ultimate greatness. I reserve judgment on whether that is a good or bad assumption
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By VicPaul May 22, 2009 - 9:52 am
Boys, it’s called ‘Coach Speak’. We’re not in the locker room, we don’t know what’s said in there. And besides, I seem to remember Weis getting pretty fired up for that Michigan State game a few years ago. Would you rather have that cry baby Harbaugh? No thanks.
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By tjak May 22, 2009 - 3:40 pm
That was a great scene eh VicPaul. It was sweeter when John L. sent out three of his homies to protect centre field.
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By The Biscuit May 22, 2009 - 6:48 pm
tjak, nothing tops that moment…especially when they sent the ‘widdle guy’ himself! ha. that was great.
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By irish64 May 24, 2009 - 12:04 pm
Of course, we could schedule Delaware State, Indiana, Eastern & Western Michigan, Minnesota and Illinois…..instantly bowl eligible
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