Davie Turning the Corner?
UHND.com - Frank Vitovitch
September 12, 2000

Notre Dame, Ind - Say what you want about Bob Davie's decision to play for overtime (and I have multiple times!) or about some of his game time decisions, but this year I have seen a much different Bob Davie.  I see a Bob Davie that has his team ready to play, a Bob Davie that has taken over the defense with excellent results, and a Bob Davie that has stopped making excuses.  Whether some fans would like to admit it or not, Bob Davie is developing into a good coach.

Now, while I acknowledge that he is developing into a good coach, I still don't think a head coach at Notre Dame should have to develop, but that's another story.  Davie has gotten his team ready for two hard fought games in back to back weeks without a let down.  He has kept his team focused and the best thing he has done was to stop making excuses.  An article the other day, I am not sure from where, had a quote from Bob saying something along the lines of Arnaz's injury is not an excuse and that they won't feel sorry for themselves because no one else will.   Last year, and in previous years we heard a lot of excuses and it is great to see them coming to a halt.

Whether Notre Dame fans want to admit it or not Bob is slowing fixing the problems in the program.  Last year's defense was atrocious.   Anybody and everybody was scoring at will on Notre Dame.  This year's defense played the best defensive game a Notre Dame team has played in a long time this weekend against Nebraska, and played a sterling second half against Texas A&M.  The defense is more aggressive (it still has a ways to go however) and is faster.   Players like Anthony Denman, Tony Driver, and Rocky Boiman are flying to the ball and making big plays. 

Notre Dame has 18 sacks all of last season.  This year they have already registered 5 against two team with strong offensive lines.  To put that in perspective.  Last season the Irish averaged one sack every 22.6 passing attempts by their opponents, but have improved that number to one sack every 8.6 attempts this season.  That is a drastic improvement especially when you consider the lines Notre Dame has went up against.

Another disaster area for Notre Dame was special teams.   Last season Notre Dame was a dreadful 8 for 18 on field goals and 36-41 on PAT's.   This season however, Nick Setta has made both his field goal attempts as well as all six of his PAT's.  Many people may say Notre Dame's kicking problems aren't fixed yet because Setta's field goals were only from 32 and 27 yards, but last season the Irish missed field goals from 37, 22, 21, 33, 29, and 25 yards.  Six of Notre Dame's ten misses on field goals were from 37 yards and in - field goals that should be easy points.  

Notre Dame's return game has also looked extremely sharp this year.  The results in the Nebraska game are proof that the return teams are at the top of their game.  Nebraska has one of the best special teams units in the country year in and year out, but against the Cornhuskers the Irish returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown and a punt 83 yards for a touchdown.  With a completely inexperienced quarterback in Gary Godsey, the returns teams can lighten the load on Godsey by giving the Irish good field position.

This week will truly be a barometer for how far Bob has come as head coach.  He needs to get his team refocused and must get a quarterback who has never taken a college snap ready for the #12 team in the country.  If he can rally his troops and lead Notre Dame to a victory, I think he will have proven he can be a great coach for Notre Dame.  That being said, one game will not prove that he IS a great coach.  I still think he has got a ways to go, but I must say I have been very pleased with the improvement he has made to this team.

While many people still question his gameday coaching abilities, he has proven to me that he can bring in top notch talent, prepare his football team, and correct mistakes he has made.  While I still do not agree with many of his calls (pass on 4th and 1? Sit on the ball for OT?), I think he has come a long way.   His clock management still needs improvement, but many Irish fans don't understand he was a defensive coach for his whole life before being the head coach - of course he won't be a pro at managing the clock.  Clock management improves with time.   Notre Dame fans are generally not that patient when it comes to things of that nature.  They want to win, and to win every year which is completely understandable.

You also have to consider of the bad breaks this guy has been handed.  He gets his team to 9-1 heading into the final game of the year with a BCS game assured for the most part if he wins and his team leader and only experienced quarterback goes down.  Last season, despite his clock management miscues, officials gave Daive and Notre Dame a few raw deals late in important games (excessive celebration on Bobby Brown comes to mind).  Now this year, it looks like he has a legitimate top 10-15 team and his quarterback goes down again.

Lastly, if anyone reading this thinks I am making excuses for Bob Davie or accepting losing at Notre Dame, I am not.  The point of this article was to point out to fans that Bob Davie has been doing a lot of good at Notre Dame, but the only thing people seem to focus on is the negative.  Bottom line - Bob Davie called a whale of a defensive football game and had his team prepared to play against the #1 team, but those positives are greatly overshadowed by the decisions late in the ball game on offense.  At first that's all I had focused on too, but when I sat back and thought about it, I thought Davie did a pretty good job Saturday and this off season.