It’s our turn at HLS to host the Gathering this week. We’ve got snacks in the cupboard and beers in the fridge, but remember: The Lord helps those who help themselves…
- What photo of some member of the 2008 Irish squad doing something, anything at all, really, says all 1,000 words that need to be said about this team? OR, which photo of some member of the 2008 Irish squad doing something would tell 1,000 lies about this team if you only saw the photo and didn’t know better? (Double-secret word score bonus for answering both mutations of the same question)
I asked this question just to make a point. And I make that point with this photo:
Just a few months ago, we saw that picture and thought, “Yeah! Notre Dame! F*&K YEAH! We’re on our way!” But today we know that the picture was lying to us by ommission. We thought it was telling us that ND was headed in the right direction, and, perhaps, to an extent, it was right, but what it was really telling us was that Michigan (sucks!) would be taking a lot from its knees this season. What was supposed to represent a spring board into a big pool of success was really just a mild affliction of joy. Turns out beating Michigan (sucks!) just doesn’t mean anything anymore. - Some of you may know that I (domer.mq) am a football stat geek. Which statistic do you think geeks like myself should really be paying attention to this season and why? (Can pertain to ND or CFB in general.)
Apropos of ND’s meltdown against Pitt last weekend, I direct your attention to the split statistics of ND’s opposition’s rushing attack. For example, on average, Pitt gets 4.69 yards per carry in the 1st half and 3.64 ypc in the 2nd half and OT. But against ND this weekend, Pitt got just 3.4 ypc in the 1st half and 4.4 ypc in the 2nd half. In fact, the Irish have a tendency to let their opposition gain more yards per carry in the 2nd half than in the 1st, allowing 3.86 in the 1st and 4.14 in the 2nd. And that’s the very nature of the problem with the Irish. Despite holding leads in 7 of their 8 games, since the Irish never pull away, the opposition gets to keep running the ball more and more, which leads to a tired defense with an already thin front 7. And it’s not about the opposition having to pass a lot to catch up. The Irish have defended 133 rush attempts in the 1st half and 123 in the second. Teams just know that they can stick to the run, and if the Irish trip up just a few times, their patience will be rewarded in the end. - Seeing as how Boston College is nothing but an up-jumped program enjoying the luxury and soft Corinthian leather of an ACC schedule, which team from the current top 25 would you love to see this year’s Irish play this weekend in Fredo’s stead? Why? Do you think the Irish would win? Describe the game. Paint us a picture! I’ll get the popcorn!
#2 Texas Tech. For all the bloviating done by ND fans about the need to get back to a “power running game,” and the fact that ND’s current defense has a real problem defendinganybodypower running games, wouldn’t it be interesting to see how ND does against Texas Tech? Now, would the Irish win? Well, per my rant earlier this week, I can’t say that I’d actually expect them to win, so no. In fact, I’d fully expect Mike “One Eyed” Leach and his marry band of football pirates to give ND a thorough lesson in ass whipping. Maybe then the Irish would get it through their thick skulls that opponents were born to be beaten like an insolent serving boy by a member of royalty. Might as well see a blowout in Notre Dame stadium one way or another, right? - Let’s dispose of the gradient colors and subtle vagaries of college football for a moment and answer this question with one of the supplied, absolute answers and a blurb defending your pick. No waffling! The Question: Why is Notre Dame unable to put away games when leading going into half time? The possible answers: 1) ND Players all have a soft, nougat center 2) The Coaches don’t want to tick off potential future employers 3) God doesn’t think it’s classy to blow a team out 4) The ND Fanbase can’t really stomach blowouts any more than they could stomach a protracted land war in Asia. Remember, you must pick one and you must defend it with great vigor!
I pick #4. I don’t think most ND fans really want to see Notre Dame win blowout games. Even when Willingham blew out Stanford (oh so many, many, many) years ago, there was a definite rumbling among ND fans about whether or not that was classy. Quite a few fans seemed to find running a fake punt against a very beaten Penn State in ’06 distasteful (note how nobody minded it against UW a couple of weeks ago). I think that filters down into the leadership at ND, which then filters down to the Irish coaching staff, and then on to the players. So I blame you, ND fanbase. It’s you that got all moist in the ocular region when you first saw Weis have his players sing the Navy fight song with the middies in his first year. But what’s lost is that ND wasn’t supposed to respect their opponents too much to blow them out. They’re supposed to respect them for even having the nerve to show up and take a grand beating. Notre Dame has been undergoing a Disnification process for decades, and the ND fanbase keeps showing up to the wussified pep rallies, keeps buying anything with an interlocking N and D stitched on it, and keeps eating anywhere they bothered to plaster a big name on the sign. “Ooh, look! Leahy’s Frankfurters! Lets have one or ten!” The fanbase got excited at the fact that the 2008 Irish were able to complete a pass without anyone’s spleen exploding, and now the players are lost and confused by our namby-pamby expectations. Well, Notre Dame, I love you too much for this to continue, so in my commitment to you, I pledge to demand no less than this: Win, win now, win big, dammit! - Tennessee just began celebrating the career of Phil Fulmer
todaythis week as he announced that he’d been given the opportunity to make it look like resigning was his idea. Certainly, this is a clarion call to ADs across the country to begin worrying over their tea that, should their current HC not work out, they wont get a shot at #s 1-5 on their candidate list. Tell us about an AD who may be looking at this move by Tennessee and acting a bit more aggressively towards a reduction in force of his current football staff now rather than later. And who might that AD be trying to seduce before Tennessee already has a “hand shake agreement” with the guy?
I’m wondering what George O’Leary’s boss at Central Florida is thinking right about now. After going 8-4 in 2005, UCF lost 8 games in 2006, and then had a big bounce in 2007 with 10 wins. Today, they stand at 2 and 6, and looking at their schedule, there’s little reason to think they can win again this year. And on top of that, O’Leary is facing a lot of heat over the death of one of his players during practice this year. Sure, UCF is hardly a premier school, but in today’s landscape, coaching talent is identified rapidly, and talent floats quickly. As the dominos fall at the “premier” schools, the mid-level programs are going to see their best talent leave for bigger money and ambitions. So if UCF was already thinking they might need to make a change after the season, they may want to start the process now. Otherwise they’re going to get some slim pickings in their hunt for “the next hot commodity” in coaching. Now, who might they target? Well, Willingham has a history of cleaning up O’Leary’s mess, right? Kidding. In all seriousness, if I were the AD and I were ambitious, I’d start trying to contact Charlie Strong at Florida. Charlie Strong always seems to get mentioned for HC openings, yet never seems to land that gig. No idea why, but in the state of Florida, the guy already has a ton of credibility and plenty of contacts in the rich, velvety recruiting grounds of the Orange state. And after being “passed up” so often for bigger gigs, maybe Strong would be interested in a chance to “cut his teeth” at UCF for a 5-year contract.
We’ll post links to responses by other gatherers as they show up.
Here’s Charlie’s Nasties responsorial.
And Bad Trade’s thoughts…
OC Domer hath joined in the fun.
Brawling Hibernian adds some gallows humor to it all.
Domer Law has filed their retort.
Subway Domer fills us in.
UHND gives us their take.
Latest posts by domer.mq (see all)
- HLS Tweets for the Week of 2009-11-15 - November 15, 2009
- HLS Tweets for the Week of 2009-11-08 - November 8, 2009
- HLS Tweets for the Week of 2009-11-01 - November 1, 2009
Pops
Here are my responses:
http://tinyurl.com/6c6ta4
Good questions this week, domer.mq
domer.mq
thanks, Pops!
Tim
Your fourth point is spot on. I am one of those schmucks who dropped $500.00 Canadian on Irish stuff when I was at the Irish game in Seattle. I feel cheated and duped. When I wear and display this stuff, I expect the Irish to give everything have in honour of that ND. I learned early on in my life that if you don’t keep your foot on the petal you could still lose the game. I am sick and tired of this win with class bull. Why does every other team in the bloody world in any sport attempt to win big, except this coach and football team. As long as you are playing fair, the time for good sportsmanship is when the game is over. “If winning isn’t everything, why do they keep score.”
OC Domer
And here are OC Domer’s responses to the obtuse questions:
Click Here!
Brawling Hibernian
Brawling Hibernian’s responses:
http://brawlinghibernian.blogspot.com/2008/11/irish-blogger-gathering-saying-lot-by.html
Domer Law
Domer Law responds:
http://domerlaw.blogspot.com/2008/11/irish-blogger-gathering-illustrated.html
Subway Domer
Subway Domer responds… http://subwaydomer.blogspot.com/2008/11/irish-blogger-gathering-her-loyal-sons.html
Frankie V
Here is my take.
http://www.uhnd.com/blog/2008/notre-dame-football/ibg-lot-obtuse-questions-edition/