Sabbatical Over: 2009 Season Nears

VaticanSmoke is firing back up after a few months off. Why have I taken time off? Largely because Notre Dame athletics, particularly football, are dormant during the late spring and early summer. The fact that Charlie Weis is on Twitter has definitely been entertaining. Certainly I have been Twittering a decent bit also (my Twitter page here). And I have been doing meth with Jeremy Mayfield.

The timetable for ND Football between now and the opening kickoff on Saturday September 5th at 2:30pm central standard time in South Bend vs. Nevada is pretty simple. Currently, players are all on campus taking summer school. Freshman arrived on June 21st, while the upperclassmen arrived June 22nd. In addition to summer school, the players are working out both in the weight room and on the practice field. Coaches are not allowed to supervise these workouts, which typically include 7 on 7 drills. Then comes August 8th - the first practice of fall camp.

In my mind, summer - the most relaxing and dullest time of the sports year (coincidence?) - begins after July 4th. Each year about this time a few days after the all star game, I come to the realization that the only thing I am really looking forward to in the world of sports is the Irish kicking off in early September. Since kickoff is still 7 weeks and 2 days away, this final quiet before the storm always seems excruciatingly long. Once practice starts in early August, however, the daily practice reports, injury updates, and countless national articles will begin flowing all over the interwebs, getting me my "fix" just like Jeremy Mayfield does in his RV before races.

We'll get into the specifics and predictions for the coming season later. My only current observation is that it's absolutely amazing what a convincing bowl victory can do for a program. I can vouch for this particularly since the Irish last bowl win preceding the 2007 Hawaii Bowl was the 1994 Cotton Bowl(!). The bowl game performance has provided 7 months of fuel for growing confidence and optimism - which more often than not are key ingredients leading up to any successful season. Imagine how much worse we'd feel if the Irish hadn't had such a convincing performance in Hawaii? The pressure and criticism of Weis and the coming season would be much more unbearable than it already is. The bowl game victory has alleviated quite a bit of that pressure, at least until September 5th.

I realize that lots of teams are optimistic in July! And I've been wrongly optimistic before, certainly. However, the key question that must be answered this fall by every college football team that dares to be good is simple: How will your team handle adversity? The answer is something the Irish have lacked the past two years - Maturity. Maturity is the act of merging in game experience and mental fortitude, while having grounded confidence. The Irish have #1, appear to have #3. Do they have #2? Certainly taking your coach to the brink of losing his job over the past two seasons provides the Irish players with experience in tough situations. Whether they have learned from the past two seasons' lessons will tell the story of this 2009 season.

So check back more often, as I plan to post a bit more frequently than quarterly :)

Spring is in the air . . .

Spring is here, and I know this for two reasons. First, my black car is now green with pollen. And second, its going to be 70 degrees and sunny in South Bend, IN, this weekend, a temperature rarely reached until May.

Along with springtime comes spring football, and tomorrow will be the annual Blue Gold game at Notre Dame stadium. The game will be Offense vs Defense (as opposed to two different teams), using a modified stableford-type scoring system. Here are the ways the teams can score:

• Offense - 1 pt for first down, 2pts for 10 yard rush/20 yard pass, 3pts for FG, 6 pts for TD, 1pt for extra point, 2pt for 2pt conversion


• Defense - 2 pts for defensive stop or a sack, 3pts for a 3-an-out or a FG, 6pts for a turnover, 10pts turnover for a TD, 1pt missed extra point, 2pts failed 2pt conversion, 3pts missed FG

Scoring system seems pretty fair, and last year a similar system allowed the game to be decided on the last couple of plays.

Things I would like to see tomorrow:

1. Offense winning - Our defense last season was the best ND defense in 10 years. There are young, talented players that can run at numerous positions. The secondary might be the best since Holtz, and the linebacking core is exciting as well. If the offense can score well on these guys, I will be happy. Particularly given the familiarity our offense has with the defense (guess that goes two ways).


2. Tight End seam routes - ND 's best offense last year was to throw go or fade routes to Golden Tate or Michael Floyd. Eventually defenses caught on that these were the only real weapons we had, and forced us into a shorter passing and running game that we never could capitalize on. Fades and go routes to Floyd and Tate will still be our strength - those plays become more effective with multiple receiving tight ends that can command the safeties attention, allowing one on one coverage for Floyd. Kyle Rudolph (pictured), sophomore returning starter and former #1 ranked TE in the country (2007), as well as 4 star 2007 recruit Mike Ragone, should give the Irish a few speedy options to get safeties' attention.


3. Multiple Tight End formations - Weis's hallmark as an offensive mind is the use of multiple formations, as well as being able to run any type of play (long pass, inside run, etc) from any formation. To do this across the full spectrum, one must employ multiple receiving tight ends. To most defenses, multiple tight ends indicates a running play, whereas Weis loves to throw passes out of running formations and vice versa. The lack of depth at Tight End due to injury and attrition left Weis shorthanded in playcalling. Now with 4 solid division 1 tight ends that can block and catch (2 more freshman this fall too), Weis should be able to get more creative with formations and playcalling.


4. Defensive line pressure - The lack of tackles for a loss or sacks as a defense ranks up there with the running game as major concerns/questions. We have some young talent on the defensive line that should be playing (Ethan Johnson, Kapron Lewis-Moore, Hafis Williams). I don't want the offensive line to perform poorly, but getting some pressure on the QB is the main focus of the defensive line and the measuring stick for the new defensive line coach Randy Hart.


5. Field Goal Kicking - Accurate kicking under pressure. Brandon Walker finished the season very strong last year after an early to mid season collapse. The Irish are not going to be good enough to avoid pressure kicks at numerous points during the fall. We will win or lose at least one game on this kid's leg, so I hope he is ready.

Prediction: Defense wins a close one, 47 to 44, over the Offense.

I think the defense is going to be a good enough unit next year to win 10 games, but I am not sure the offense will be versatile enough to match that total. Offense will likely be good enough to win 8 games, so my prediction (much later this year) will probably be 8 or 9 wins. Remember, while the defense gave up 38 points to USC, no other opponent scored more than 24 points against the Irish in regulation (Pitt scored 36 in 4 overtimes, and North Carolina scored 7 of its 29 points on the ND offense via turnover). If the Irish can hold teams near 20 - meaning a slight defensive improvement over last year - they will have a great chance to win 8 games.

Defensive MVP: Ethan Johnson or Darrin Walls

Offensive MVP: Armando Allen

More to come next week. This time of the year is a bit slow for posting material, but stay tuned, I have a good slate of ideas for some spring and summer posts.

Coaching Staff Changes

After signing day on February 4th, one of the quietest times of the year for ND football typically follows. The past month there hasn't been too much to talk about, save a few tidbits here and there. Spring Practice started for Coach Weis and the Irish last week, with the biggest news being the new faces on the coaching staff. Here is a good summary, with some interesting news links:

• Offensive Coordinator Mike Haywood leaves to accept Head Coach position at Miami of Ohio. Offensive Coordinator position is effectively held by Charlie Weis, not being replaced.
• Offensive line coach John Latina is out, Frank Verducci is in as the new offensive line coach. He has NFL experience and should mix well with Weis's NFL terminology and offense. Not only is Frank Verducci the Oline coach, but he is also the "Run Game Coordinator", effectively controlling the running as a subset of the Weis offense. I like the devotion to the run game, as running the football will make or break Coach Weis and the Irish.
• Tony Alford has been named running backs coach, partially replacing Mike Haywood who worked with Running Backs. Alford is another high energy guy with experience and all seems well on this hire. Alford has spent the last few years at Louisville.
• Randy Hart has been hired as the new defensive line coach, replacing Jappy Oliver. Hart is a very energetic and tenured college defensive line coach (been at Washington the past 15 years or so), so I am fine with this hire. The defensive line has been our weakest point, so more energy and experience were definitely needed.
• New Graduate assistant and future full time defensive line coach Bryant Young joins the staff. The future Hall of Famer is one of the best linemen in the last 20 years in the NFL, and is great to have back on campus. Can't imagine his experience not being a huge asset for our defensive linemen.
• Jon Tenuta is now the Defensive Coordinator (instead of co-defensive coordinator), and he will be calling defensive plays next year (unlike last year). Corwin Brown is now the defensive backs coach and Associate Head Coach, previously being the Co-Defensive Coordinator with Tenuta. A good summary article here. I like the move because Tenuta is aggressive and is best when he has total control over the defense. Corwin is a former NFL defensive back, so his focus being on the d-backs is great as well.
• Weis will call offensive plays from the sideline. While he reserves the right to change his mind about sideline/pressbox, I think the head coach should be on the field and this is a good move. Many people think a headcoach should not call plays, but I think Weis's core competency of calling plays needs to be utilized.

The two major problems that dominated the coaching staff changes were along the front lines  -  the offensive line and running game, and the defensive line getting more pressure. Verducci as "Run Game Coordinator" hopefully will pay off. His NFL experience (with some college experience) was the obvious reason Weis hired Verducci. Having one person fully focused on the running is definitely a good thing. As for the defensive line, I am not sure how important this hire will be. Whereas the offensive line has plenty of talent that was not producing, the defensive line was under producing due to a lack of talent. Verducci was the more important hire - lets hope he can take a 4 star and above group of experienced lineman and create a running game.

 

More to come next week as we look at the most pressing questions facing the football program this spring.

 

More TAYOHHHHHHHH (Te'o)

Great piece in the LA Times that covers some of the head to head recruiting wins the Irish had over the USC Trojans and resurgant UCLA. None were bigger than Te'o, however. These types of articles from the enemy turf are the sweetest.

 

But not as sweet as this video of the ND coaching staff reacting to the Te'o announcement on live TV (it should be one of the first video options on the video tab of UND.com). Te'o did not call the coaches, instead opting to announce on national television. You can see that 15 plus trips to Hawaii and months of hard work was all laying out on the table waiting for a 17 year old to make a decision. Their reaction was not unsimilar to mine, except I screamed and high fived myself in an quiet office cube.

 

Still feels good.

 

 

 

Te'o!!!!!!!

Elite 5 star linebacker Manti Te'o (pictured) shocked much of the recruiting world this morning by choosing the Irish over USC and UCLA on national television (I love the USC hat on the table, BTW). His commitment single handedly moved the Irish class up the charts, and more importantly gave the program some recruiting momentum unlike anything since the Jimmy Clausen commitment a few years back. Rated as ESPN's top overall defensive prospect - at any position - in the country, Manti's commitment is al over the internet and even on the front page of ESPN. Check it out on the front page, and also a background piece on Te'o here. Interesting read - he says he wants to be a trail blazer, and I'd say a Mormon Hawaiian linebacker coming to ND over USC is certainly blazing a trail of his own.

The program signed a total of 17 players today, a few people smaller than we would have liked, but very high on quality. The last will be ranked in the upper teens my most services, likely the highest in the ESPN rankings. Numerous prospects from the west coast, most of which were offered by USC - always a good thing to beat them on the recruiting trail some, since the field hasn't been a good place to compete against them lately. USC won their fair share today though, as the two safeties I mentioned in yesterday's post (Jawanza Starling and Byron Moore) both chose the Trojans over the Irish.

Tons of great video and information at UND.com, including a Charlie Weis press conference where he talks about each player. You could visibly tell that Charlie Weis was very excited about this class, particularly about Manti Te'o. Weis kept trying to explain that he was excited about the entire class, not trying to emphasize Te'o over the others. But he kept failing, continually bringing the discussion back to Te'o. Weis made it clear that Te'o was a huge defensive sign - but also that he was a huge advertisement for the program, even more important than Jimmy Clausen's in some ways. Te'o's decision airing live on national TV on signing day gave the program some good pub and street cred. Also, Te'o gives ND credibility on the defensive side of the ball, where Charlie has not been as successful in recruiting.

Without a doubt, this is the best defensive recruit inked in the last decade of Notre Dame football. Will he be as good as the hype? Who knows. I can tell you that based on the countless stories and interviews I have read dealing with Te'o, that this kid is a good, honest, heady kid that puts faith, family, and hard work first. Even though he is Mormon, he has Notre Dame written all over him. He reminds me of a former Irish defensive great, who impacted the program in the best possible way back in the late 80s - Chris Zorich. They play different positions, and come from different parts of the country - but these guys play with an earnestness and faith that screams Notre Dame. Te'o talks of doing just what Zorich did - coming to Notre Dame, blazing a trail, and working as hard as humanely possible to make the program the best it can be. Whether Te'o's results will mirror Zorich's, no one knows. But I feel good about this kid raising the level of intensity and passion on the defensive side of the ball to near Zorich-levels.

I hate to say it, but this morning, I felt that Te'o's decision would determine whether Charlie Weis ho-hums along at 7 to 9 wins a year, or if the program really starts doing damage. Losing Te'o would have been very very tough. Landing Te'o brings not only a great linebacker that can quarterback the defense, but some great momentum and hope for the Irish program - a program that has been short on both recently. The Te'o commitment and the Hawaii bowl performance were comparable in importance, which says a lot. Today, I feel like it's Christmas Eve all over again. Hope is alive for the Charlie Weis era of Notre Dame football.