Johnny Irish

It is a sad state of affairs in South Bend right now and the only light at the end of the tunnel is a train coming. We are stuck with Charlie and all of his incompetence and we owe it all to Kevin White and Father Jenkins. How can you extend a contract in its first year? You talk about business sense, what was that all about?

As you can tell, I am not a big fan of Charlie. I played at Notre Dame in the early 70's and won a national championship in 1973. They dedicated a statue to Ara Parseghian before the MSU game this year and there were a couple of hundred former players attending. Charlie couldn't spare 5 minutes to show up and honor Ara and don't think that didn't go unnoticed. He also has nothing to do with former players, only if you were stars like Montana and Theismann. Does this type of behavior sound familiar? Ask Tom Osborne down in Nebraska.

Last week I met an elderly man wearing a Navy cap while I was walking down the streets of my hometown of Canonsburg,Pa. wearing my Notre Dame sweatshirt and sweatpants. I told him "Congratulations on your first win over our guys in 43 years!" The fella said thank you,and lamented my Irish being 1-8 (now 1-9). That is just one of the many reasons why the University of Notre Dame and the United States Naval Academy have a great relationship with each other. And after the November 3 game between the Midshipmen and the Irish,I have the utmost respect for Navy and Notre Dame,especially when the Irish were invited to join in to sing the "Navy Blue and Gold" and the Middies were invited to do ND's alma mater song. Those lowlife fans from Rutgers should learn a lesson from the University of Notre Dame on how to respect the United States Naval Academy!
Go Navy...Anchors Aweigh! Go Irish...Play like a champion today! And by the way Garvo,if you are reading this:Destroy Al Qaeda,demolish Ahmedinijad,win the Iraq War,and come home safe. We can win this war. Notre Dame football is to the U.S.A. as is U.S.C. is to Al Qaeda,Ahmedinejad and the Taliban! Go Irish,Go Garvo,Go U.S.A.! God bless them all!

Garvo, we appreciate the service that you and yours are doing for us in a misbegotten situation. We support & pray for all of you.

Football is ONLY entertainment for you. I am sure that with the situations you guys face on a daily basis, this is all drivel, as it should be. But, for a moment, can we ask you to examine each game as if it was a strategy set out by your commander for you to follow to accomplish a daily or weekly goal? In your mind, does CW show the adaptation in his gameplan to meet specific situations week-in & week-out that you guys are called on to make? That answer would be an interesting one.

While many bloggers attempt to get at the issue, basically I think we are all saying that the ND Fighting Irish, as we know them, are UNDER-performing given what we feel is the current talent level [regardless of Ty's slack recruiting].

As I have said in SEVERAL previous blogs on this site, it all boils down to GAMEPLANS. We CAN win; we can be creative with our plays...why not? What have we to lose? Another game? Again, look at what Boise State pulled off against Oklahoma in the bowl game last year. We can change game plans WEEKLY. The coaching bias against this says: athletes need to learn & practice one offense until they can get it right. Yes, perhaps with students of low intellectual ability; BUT with the scholar/athletes that ND has, THEY are capable of learning MORE, FASTER, & no one attempts to make them. I HAVE DONE IT...IT WORKS. I would GLADLY offer my services to CW as a consult.

Here's one suggestion I have right now...& I have mentioned this before on here. Now perhaps is a good time to reiterate [this is just one example of many ways to help the present situation]: The way CHARLIE does the quick pitch CURRENTLY IS: Allen alone in the backfield as the single set back behind the QB, takes a quick pitch & tries to get outside! WHAT HE SHOULD DO: Split backs - align Aldridge over guard [to short side] ALIGN ALLEN OVER BETWEEN GUARD/TACKLE OR OVER TACKLE to the wide side. As Aldridge dives forward faking the dive play, the QB reverses out [which looks for a second like a dive handoff to Allen] & spiral pitches [here's the technique: underhand throw with thumb on the laces, top rotation on ball] to Allen who has started moving wide laterally [no fake]. With his speed, he is already ahead of the DE/OLB & if we use the 2 receiver side, we have one block down on the OLB & the other run an inside slant toward the safety. When the corner reads run, he may have to reverse his step which costs him distance OR its a 1-on-1 with Allen. Now before you armchairs say: "Yeah but then everytime you line up like that they know its coming." NO, note I said that Aldridge is the DIVE BACK. Important part, because QB reverses out to the diveback side to pitch it; so another play with the SAME identical alignment is the dive into the line with Aldridge carrying & Allen hauling ass like he has a pitch. NOW even a third option off this play [I NEVER said what the QB did AFTER he pitched or handed the ball off did I?], he always ROLLS [with hands held up like to pass]to the opposite side of the pitch - A GOOD FAKE...always carried through...same after a dive handoff and fake pitch...why? To set up a rollout pass off that play. See what I mean? We don't need alot...we just need to make adjustments to accomodate our talent...ie. Allen's alignment adjusted to benefit his speed..ITS NOT ROCKET SCIENCE!! So, why hasn't Charlie come up with that idea to exploit Allen's speed, Aldridge's inside the tackles running & the pressure that a rollout pass puts on defenses - ALL IN THE SAME PLAY ALIGNMENT???????

That's an example of what I mean when I say GAMEPLAN or strategy. And as I have watched our players over the last 2 years, we HAVE talent, but LACK the gameplan creativity to hide our weaknesses or exploit the other teams. We also NEVER change. Watch our pass routes..TOTALLY lacking in imagination...for 3,5,7 step drops. Why not dink & dunk passes with 3 step drops or 1 steps & just RARE deep?

Food-for-thought to Garvo, et.al. SMART MEN know when to listen & learn...the ignorant think they know it all. Which one is Charlie? Football is NOT rocket science - it REALLY ISN'T!

So we now resort to personal attacks. That's really good. That'll help win games. Let's just fire him now to include the AD to. That will solve everything. Oh and set the program even further behind if you know anything about college football. Here's another idea why don't the both you step up to the plate and offer to coach the team. I'm sure that everything will be much better. I'm sure all the new recruits will stick around for you. So go ahead step up if you think you can and solve all the problems that ND is having.
What NO BALLS? You have the ability to insult people through the internet but do you have the balls to tell them in person? I'm willing to bet you don't. But if you do get up the nerve come find me in IRAQ IF YOU HAVE THE BALLS to come here and tell me in person as well.
It's a sad year but it was over before the 1/2 way point. The upper classmen never steped up to lead and let the freshman and sophomore classes down. C.W. has made mistakes as well but because he hasn't a National title in 3 years makes him a shit bag. Tys boys were and are just average players and besides it's crap shoot with any of the recruits. It is what it is. Just get over it and stop with the personal attacks unless of course it make you more of a man to do so. I want to see the team win just as much as the next guy but I don't waist my time being a weekend coach who supposedly has all the answers but doesn't offer any solutions.

I disagree with the other posters. This is a seriously depleted team that obviously lacks talent, especially among juniors and seniors, thanks to Willingham's deficient recruiting. Yes, I'm surprised by how non-competitive they are this year. But 3 years (really 2 recruiting classes, since Weis got a late start after Willingham was canned) is not enough time to turn this around. ND was living on borrowed time during Brady Quinn's last two years and now the "chickens are coming home to roost." The worst thing would be to destroy what Weis is trying to do here. This is a transition year, plain and simple. I think that we'll see if something is seriously wrong with the coaching of these players over the next two years. Hopefully Weis can hang on to the commitments he has, since I'm sure the Urban Meyers of the world are whispering in their ears. If they (and we) keep the faith and hang in there this will not only turn around, but we'll be a national power again, and consistently. A program needs to develop. Willinghan was not the answer. I'm not convinced that Weis isn't the answer either, despite this season. Let's have some stability here. We'll get the last laugh, believe me.

"The greatest test of courage on earth is to bear defeat without losing heart." Robert Ingersoll

Once again, we made the road trip to SB, cranking the fight song, getting our game faces on for a VICTORY!!! I said it last week, I don't sense this team has the spirit, the will and the leadership to turn this mess around. It is disappointing but not disheartening. I have to believe that out of these trying times, leaders will emerge with the courage to restore the tradition and once again, "shake down the thunder from the sky". All we have right now is the hope and the renewal that comes from a fresh start.

I wrote earlier this season about (it's not the 1-7) and it's not the 1-9. This is not about finding a way to win. This is about a team, a program, that has fallen so far down the NCAAFB ranks due to the poor and inept oversight of the AD, Admin and now the third bad head coaching choice in 11 years, that losing has become acceptable.
DID ANYONE WATCH any games this year?!!!!! Anyone???? They got smoked by AF. Out hustled, out hit, out run by a smaller and slower team.
They can't tackle, block or maintain an assignment. CB's leave their man wide open, LB leave the TE who catches wide open TD and the OL can't run, pass or screen block. Defensive players were cut blocked for 8 straight qtrs and never adjusted. This is game 10 we're talking about. Game 10 and asst coaches looked bemused and the players look like they can't wait to get the hell out of the stadium.

I have been enraged from the very first game this year. If any of you watched the GT game you could see that the previous 4 months of prearation was for not. Then incomes JC and it is clear he is not ready for NCAAFB prime time. DJ leaves Zach F. leaves and then we are 2 hits away from Tommy Z taking snaps from center.
We have an OL that can't get 1 yd against Navy or AF.
Joe Montana(my favorite player of all time BTW) wouldn't be successful in this O with this OL.

Once again folks CW is not our guy. Read this and save your, give it time BS to for someone else. CW is a punk from NJ, a big mouth who is arrogant and can't back it up. I'm a northeast guy and I admit that we have less patience as well as tolerance for BS than in other areas of this great nation, but we call out blowhards like CW. "The days of losing to the Purdues and BC's are over". "We already have a schematic advantage over most teams".???????????? Are you kidding me????? CW, your teams are never, ever ready to compete on Saturday. What the F*&^ do these guys do all week and what have they been doing since last spring.
I'm sick of this guy and sick of the people who still support this jerk. Send him back to the NFL, or anywhere but get him out of South Bend.
Or keep him if you want and let him bring in all those 5 star recruits next year and maybe he'll scrape out 2- 3 wins. That would be awesome, a real sign of improvement.