Archive for the ‘Notre Dame Football’ Category

Last Saturday during the 3^rd quarter of the Miami versus Florida International game, a bench-clearing brawl broke out. Punches were thrown, helmets were being used as num-chucks, and the ever so popular new fad as to stomp on your opponent was alive and kickin’.

The whole thing started off after a point after point the Hurricanes up 14-0, and an FIU player body slammed the Miami kicker after some scuffling between some linemen. Things got out of hand quick, as Miami players started taking off their helmets and swinging them at Florida International players. At one point an FIU player was on the ground and being stomped by a few of the U players, most notably Brandon Merriwether. After this fight took place Miami players got in a circle, raised their helmets to the skis, and began jumping up and down celebrating their supposed “victory” in this brawl.
Miami has handed out 13 suspensions for the fight, 3 of which are starters, but if you ask me, that should only be the beginning of the punishment. If the Canes ever want to get rid of the “Thug” and “Dirty” logo that has been stamped on them, then it must start by cleaning a mess that they have created.

Sure, these Miami players claim that FIU started the fight and that they were only acting in self-defense. To that I say bull crap. Why should anybody believe a word that comes from Miami anymore? This is a team that was involved in a scuffle with Louisiana State after a bowl game a few years back, and who also pulled some similar antics at Louisville as well. I will not even go into embarrassing the school by pointing out the alum that went there who ended up in jail or rehab.
Miami has created an image for themselves, and it is a bad one, like it or not. Honestly, they can take a giant leap in getting rid of that image. They can turn this thing into a blessing in disguise.

Two things can happen in the next week or so. One of them is that Miami could do the right thing and not participate in any bowl games this season. That is what South Carolina and Clemson did and neither school is looked down upon because of it. Also, they should sit Brandon Merriwether for the remainder of the year. You may be thinking I’m sounding a little bit harsh, but I honestly was thinking of suggesting expulsion for the kid.

The other thing that can happen is something that I believe will happen, and that is Miami will suspend these kids for a game, and go on like nothing happened. That would leave pretty much no room for the Miami football team and school itself to recover, and would have all the Miami haters out there saying “I told you so”

That brings me to my next point. I wonder what Charlie Weis would do in this situation? I wonder what Charlie Weis would do if his players celebrated after winning a brawl during the middle of a football game? What would he do if Darius Walker, Brady Quinn, and John Carlson became the 8^th floor crew and wrote rap song, which has lyrics that would make Snoop Dog blush and have it end up on the Internet? Well, he can’t legally kill the kids, but I’d be willing to bet the punishments would be much harsher than Miami could have come up with.

Honestly, had Charlie Weis been in Larry Coker’s shoes, and reviewed the game tape, I can assure you that the two things I mentioned above may have happened already. 1. They pull themselves out of bowl eligibility. And 2. Brandon Merriwether is suspended for the remainder of the year. You can also bet that the majority of the suspensions given out by the U would not be enough for Weis, as most of them would be seen as 2 or 3 game suspensions in his eyes.

Thankfully, Charlie is our coach. A coach who has class. A coach who made the guarding “The S” a complete bore for Michigan State, as he never intended on doing anything in the first place. Nothing like the Miami incident has ever happened at Notre Dame unless you count the pre-game fight in 1988 between Notre Dame and…you guessed it. Miami. Notre Dame players who have been caught by the police in the past 20 years can be counted on one hand, and the graduation rate of 95 percent isn’t half bad either. Notre Dame would never stand for the stuff that Miami let’s slide. And Miami fans wonder why the media loves Notre Dame so much and hates on Miami. That’s like picking between a priest and a crack dealer.

Case in point, this is just a short little write up on how lucky we all are to be Irish fans. We have a squeaky clean team with a squeaky clean image. I know that all Irish fans are looked at as snot nosed, and have that “holier than thou” attitude. So what? I have that attitude, and I’m sure many share it with me. Why shouldn’t I be proud of my team? After all, Notre Dame is where schools like Miami wish they were.

Because Notre Dame’s struggles on 3^rd downs have been so well documented, I chose this game to break down what the Irish do in these situations. The Irish converted on just one 3^rd down last week; let’s see what they did and how they did it this week against the Boilermakers.

1^st Quarter

• 3^rd down and 3 from the Purdue 27, Walker runs right off Santucci for 14 yards and a first down. 3^rd down conversions: 1-1
• 3^rd down and 16 from own 25, Draw play to Darius Walker whom goes through a huge hole for 14 yards, but is stopped just short of the first down. 3^rd down conversions: 1-2

1^st quarter breakdown

• 3^rd down and 5 or less: 1
• 3^rd down and 10 plus: 1
• 3^rd down passes: 0
• 3^rd down runs: 2
• 3^rd down touches or attempts: Walker 2.
• 3^rd down conversions: 1-2

The Irish really made it easy to take notes on 3^rd downs through the first quarter, because they only faced 2, and it seemed like every single 2^nd down, no matter how far they had to go. This obviously is not a good quarter to go by in terms of seeing what they do on 3^rd down because they barley had any, but as you see, Darius Walker got both 3^rd down touches on run attempts, even on a 3^rd and 16.

2^nd quarter

• 3^rd down and 6 from the Purdue 34, slant to Rhema McKnight complete for 8 yards and a Notre Dame first down. 3^rd down conversions: 2-3.
• 3^rd down and 3 from the Purdue 5 yard line, fade route for Rhema McKnight falls incomplete. 3^rd down conversions: 2-4

2^nd quarter breakdown

• 3^rd down and 5 or less: 1
• 3^rd down and 10 plus: 0
• 3^rd down passes: 2
• 3^rd down runs: 0
• 3^rd down touches or attempts: McKnight 2
• 3^rd down conversions: 1-2

Again, just 2 3^rd down conversions in the 2^nd quarter. Notre Dame was doing a really nice job of staying out of those situations during this game and it showed with the offenses’ production.

1^st half breakdown

• 3^rd down and 5 or less: 2
• 3^rd down and 10 plus: 1
• 3^rd down passes: 2
• 3^rd down runs: 2
• 3^rd down touches or attempts: Walker 2, McKnight 2
• 3^rd down conversions: 2-4

Because of the lack of 3^rd downs they faced, and because they only got into a 3^rd and 10 or more once, Notre Dame could stay balanced on 3^rd downs, attempting 2 passes and 2 runs.

3^rd quarter

• 3^rd down and 1 from own 45, Quinn quarterback sneak for 2 yards and a first down. 3^rd down conversions: 3-5
• 3^rd down and 7 from midfield, Quinn pressured highly and throws a prayer to McKnight who catches it for a gain of 15 yards and a 1^st down. 3^rd down conversions: 4-6
• 3^rd down and 6 from own 40, screen pass to Walker dropped and incomplete. 3^rd down conversions: 4-7
• 3^rd down and 5 from Purdue 37, handoff to Walker who powers forward behind Sullivan for 6 yards and a Notre Dame first down. 3^rd down conversions: 5-8
• 3^rd and 11 from Purdue 34, Quinn in shotgun hits McKnight on an out for 14 yards and a Notre Dame first down. 3^rd down conversions: 6-9
• 3^rd down and 7 from Purdue 18, Quinn is sacked back at the 30 by Anthony Spencer for a 9 yard loss. 3^rd down conversions: 6-10

3^rd quarter breakdown

• 3^rd down and 5 or less: 2
• 3^rd down and 10 plus: 1
• 3^rd down passes: 4
• 3^rd down runs: 2
• 3^rd down touches or attempts: Quinn 1, McKnight 2, Walker 2, 1 sack
• 3^rd down conversions: 4-6

This quarter is the quarter in which the Irish faced the most 3^rd downs, and they did a very good job on them. If Darius Walker could have held on to a screen pass from Quinn they could have converted on their first 5 attempts of the quarter. Obviously Anthony Spencer is Anthony Spencer, and he was going to get his on a down like 3^rd and 7 when you know a pass is coming and can just pin your ears back and rush…but overall a nice job this quarter on 3^rd downs.

4^th quarter

• 3^rd down and 11 from own 30, pass complete to Jeff Samardzija for 9 yards short of the first down. 3^rd down conversions: 6-11.
• 3^rd down 9 from own 21, Quinn with all day to throw hits Samardzija underneath who gets great YAC for 11 yards and a Notre Dame first down. 3^rd down conversions: 7-12
• 3^rd down and 15 from own 29, Quinn in shotgun hits Walker on a screen pass for 16 yards and a Notre Dame first down. 3^rd down conversions: 8-13
• 3^rd down and 4 from midfield, handoff to Ashley McConnell for 1 yard and short of the first down. 3^rd down conversions = 8-14

4^th quarter breakdown

• 3^rd down and 5 or less: 1
• 3^rd down and 10 plus: 2
• 3^rd down passes: 3
• 3^rd down runs: 1
• 3^rd down touches or attempts: Samardzija 2, Walker 1, McConnell 1
• 3^rd down conversions: 2-4

Can’t really say much about this quarter as the Irish were just playing ball control, so some of the stats are misleading.

2^nd half breakdown

• 3^rd down and 5 or less: 3
• 3^rd down and 10 plus: 3
• 3^rd down passes: 7
• 3^rd down runs: 3
• 3^rd down touches or attempts: Quinn 1, McKnight 2, Walker 3, Samardzija 2, 1 sack.
• 3^rd down conversions: 6-10

The 3^rd downs went from 4 in the first half to 10 in the 2^nd half, but again, the Irish really did not go for the jugular in this game, and while we did not pay for it, it certainly shows in the amount of 3^rd downs they faced between the 2 halves.

Game breakdown

• 3^rd down and 5 or less: 5
• 3^rd down and 10 plus: 4
• 3^rd down passes: 9
• 3^rd down runs: 5
• 3^rd down touches or attempts: Walker 5, McKnight 4, Samardzija 2, Quinn 1, 1 sack.
• 3^rd down conversions: 8-14

Notre Dame did a nice job of converting 3^rd downs during this game, and while you are all at home saying “Yes, but that was against Purdue whom has a horrible defense”, I’m saying that the teams remaining on our schedule besides USC don’t have defenses that are much better. The goal for the Irish is to take it 1 game a time sure, but us as fans whom don’t play in the game, we want to see the Irish go into California with 1 loss…and if the offense can continue to feast on weak teams until then, the hype surrounding the SC-ND game will be twice as much as it was last year…and that is scary.

It’s so hard for a choosy guy like me to pick my favorite media cliché that best represents the penis envy of every N.D.-hating moron with a pen or a microphone.  From “N.D. is racist” (for firing an incompetent moron) to “The academic standards are too high to recruit top athletes,” the choices are wide and varied. 

For me, though, I’d have to say that the brain-fart I enjoy most is the race-baiting, anti-N.D. media figures, struggling to come up with valid criticisms of Charlie Weis now that the firing of Tyrone “Radio” Willingham has been justified about 15 times over, clinging to their last bastion of hope:  Weis is winning with Ty’s players. 

It’s a notion that comes up from time to time by those who have some level of an ax to grind with a given program, usually after they’ve fired a head coach under visible circumstances – I’ve even heard it tossed around about Jon Gruden’s Super Bowl season (with “Dungy’s players”), as if Tony Dungy had anything more to do with that roster than a few first-round playoff exits and watching his star players implode and mail it in once the postseason hits. 

If anything, it’s most often a seriously damning indictment of the coach’s predecessor, because if the prior man-in-charge legitimately had the same collection of players, he apparently couldn’t accomplish the same things as his replacement.  In other words, I took the same guys and did what you couldn’t. 

Having said this, legitimate examples do exist of this phenomenon taking place under the appropriate circumstances.  We do occasionally see a very accomplished coach step down and have his less-skilled successor manage to keep things afloat for a season or two before steering the program onto a sandbar.  And in these cases, the successor was without a doubt winning due to the prior coach’s players (or perhaps more appropriately, winning with the prior coach’s system – players, ethics, principles, etc., which inevitably linger in the short-term of their mentor’s departure).  

A great example is Tom Osborne resigning after building a dynasty at Nebraska, which culminated in 3 national titles in 4 years before retiring after the 1997 season.  His replacement Frank Solich stepped in and actually put together a string of decent seasons, from their near-miss 1999 squad that finished 12-1 and obliterated defending national champ Tennessee in the Fiesta Bowl (and probably deserved to play F.S.U. for the title over the mighty Hokies, who built their unbeaten season on 1-AA patsies) to the 2001 team that played Miami in the B.C.S. championship game. 

Right around there, however, is where the program no longer had any remnants of the Osborne era on its roster, and the program not-so-coincidentally became suddenly and alarmingly ordinary.  The Huskers ceased to be competitive with the stronger programs in their own conference – let alone the entire nation — and Solich was canned in the aftermath of the 2003 season.

But perhaps the absolute gold standard of piggy-backing a prior coach’s success is none other than Uncle Fester himself, Miami’s Larry Coker.  Prior to taking over at the helm in 2001, the Miami program had been resurrected from the dead by Butch Davis. 

Saddled with sanctions, scholarship reductions, and bizarre off-the-field instances (including finding one of their players laying dead in his apartment bathtub), the Hurricane program was a total and literal shit heap.  The best players in the state were now heading north to play for Steve Spurrier’s Fun & Gun Gators or to Tallahassee to take advantage of Bobby Bowden’s outstanding Free Shoes and Merchandise Plan at Florida State. 

Davis took over and recruited both athletes and accountability.  Team unity was developed.  The same program filled with a roster full of thugs on the take from rapper Luther Campbell just a couple of years prior was now spending its Thanksgiving holiday delivering meals to low-income families in the Miami area.  Excellence in all phases of the game became the expectation, and before you knew it, the Miami program that previously maintained a questionable high annual ranking due to flashy skill position players running up big passing stats and scores against weak schedules now had a ridiculously loaded defense and a running game so stacked that future NFL superstar Clinton Portis began his career as a defensive back. 

After two straight New Year’s Day dismantlings of Joe Hamilton’s prolific Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and Spurrier’s S.E.C. Champ Gators, Davis bolted for the NFL, leaving Offensive Coordinator Coker as the next in line to run the show.  And for 2 straight seasons, he certainly looked the part, winning one national title and coming within one horrific pass interference call of another. 

But much like Solich, once the players who were recruited and developed under Davis’ watch were gone (most of them currently spending their winter vacations at the Pro Bowl in Hawaii), the program took a very immediate and precipitous drop, to the point that they didn’t even belong on the same field as L.S.U. to close out last season, and have kicked off 2006 with an even-worse-than-it-looks 1-2 record.  He’s now a dead man walking (metaphorically speaking, of course - not literally like Paterno). 

University of Miami Head Coach Larry Coker answers questions about his employment status

Going back to my original point, I’d now like for someone to make a reasonable comparison between the above situations and Charlie Weis pulling a top-ten finish out of a program that had spent two years racking up blowout losses at a rate never before seen at the University of Notre Dame.  Tell me how the Irish shattered every conceivable passing statistical record, came within one illegal push of beating the #1 team in the nation (who had beaten them by 31 points during each of Willingham’s three seasons), and earned a B.C.S. bowl berth due to the outstanding foundation laid by Tyrone Willingham’s inept staff.  Explain to me in credible terms and reasoning how Weis was helped along.

As a compromise, I’ve decided we can make a deal that will make everyone happy:  Michael Wilbon (when he’s not on the verge of a stroke on “P.T.I.”), Rod Gilmore (when he’s not giving head through a glory hole in a highway rest stop), Mark May (when he’s not heroically attempting to prove that he’s the biggest moron God ever created), and the Reverend Jesse Jackson (when he’s not…..never mind – it’s too easy) can continue to give Willingham some measure of credit for the players that are currently setting offensive records under Coach Weis.

But in exchange, they all have to come right back next year and give him every bit as much blame for the fact that the Irish will have a whopping total of approximately 20 upperclassmen on scholarships (half of whom likely wouldn’t crack the two-deep portion of the roster of the average Top 30 program), forcing us to throw the freshmen and sophomores from Weis’ first two recruiting classes (not coincidentally ranked in the Top 5) all over the starting line-up.  I expect them to remember this when we’re struggling to have a winning record in 2007.

Do we have a deal?          

Colin Cowherd fell off the ND bandwagon this morning.

Oh well. He is a good example of why fans should not pay much attention to pundits and broadcasters. He talked the Irish up preseason for much of the same reasons we, the fans, thought would eventually happen. And so far, against what Jeff Sagarin ranks as the toughest schedule in the country, the Irish have struggled, while still managing a 3-1 record. So as fast as the Irish have not lived up to expectations so far this season, they could possibly make their way back to the form they had last year. But don’t fool yourself. If that were to happen, everybody would then say it was because of the cupcake schedule the Irish now face until Thanksgiving weekend.

Speaking of the schedule, I couldn’t help but notice the headline on Drudge Report that said the Irish will now play the worlds easiest schedule from here on out.

Okay, it wasn’t on Drudge, but the play that this is getting is wide and far throughout sports bureaus in newsrooms across the country. If any of your friends choose to remind you that the Irish schedule softies and never play anybody tough, kindly remind them of the following blockbuster matchups.

• West Virginia vs. Marshall, Eastern Washington, East Carolina
• Ohio State vs. Northern Illinois, Bowling Green
• Georgia vs. Western Kentucky, UAB
• Michigan vs. Central Michigan, Ball State
• Texas vs. North Texas, Rice, Sam Houston State

I was watching the Penn State vs. OhioState game on Saturday.

Bonnie Bernstein might be the best looking sideline reporter there is.

So I was watching Bonnie Bernstein on Saturday.

I was told there were a couple teams playing football on the same channel. Hmmm…

Am I the only one not bothered by Brent Musburger or Bob Davie?

Or Pat Haden or Mike Tirico or [insert play-by-play or color commentator]. I think most people agree that Kirk Herbstriet is across the board, one of the best at his job. But these other guys seem to really tick people off. Sure they might say some dumb stuff every now and then but so what. They have to constantly be in a conversation for anywhere between three to four hours. I don’t actually think they are intentionally trying to be negative towards our team or any others. With some, thrends are easier to spot. For instance, if you truly pay attention, Brent Musburger is a frontrunning broadcaster. If your team is up, he will talk you up and talk the other team down and vice versa. I don’t think he (and most for that matter) have an agenda. And Bob Davie, I think he automatically starts off with negative points to most Irish fans for obvious reasons. But I think he genuinely tries to be objective and honest. And sometimes we get very ironic statements like when this past Saturday, he spoke about, “how Spartan Stadium is a different place at night than it is during the day.”

During the commercials of ND/MSU, I switched over to ABC to catch USC/Arizona.

Is it me or should Dan Fouts stick to color commentary. He is HORRIBLE at play-by-play. However, if Dan Fouts doing play-by-play means that Keith Jackson stays retired, then Dan Fouts is the greatest play-by-play guy in the history of sports.

The play of Brady Quinn has been greatly discussed at great length so far this year. The general consensus is that Quinn is not the same player as he was a year ago. If you look at his stats through four games however, Quinn’s not that far off from last year despite playing better defenses in the first four games this year than he did a year ago.

Here’s how Quinn’s stats look in 2005 compared to what he’s done so far this year.

For arguments sake I threw in Notre Dame’s team rushing average through four games as well. If you look at Quinn’s stats, he is about on pace to duplicate his stats from a year ago. Meanwhile, the Irish offense is averaging over 100 yards LESS a game through four games this year which begs the question, is Quinn’s “poor” performance due in part to Notre Dame’s inability to run the ball and its over reliance on the passing game?

Opposing defenses are taking the running game away from Notre Dame and making them one dimensional, which in turn is making things harder on Brady Quinn and the Irish passing game. With some weaker defenses coming up for the Irish, it is very conceivable that Quinn’s stats will continue to improve.

Could Quinn’s “poor” start also be the result of raised expectations across the board at Notre Dame? Flashback two years ago and think how giddy most fans would have been with 11 touchdowns through 4 games.

Best photo of the year so far…..

Fortunately for these Michigan State players the Notre Dame team was more concerned with singing their alma mater with their fans instead of desecrating their opponents field. Maybe if the Spartans were as concerned with protecting their lead in the fourth quarter as they were with protecting their field they wouldn’t have had to be out there.

I must say, as a Notre Dame fan, I am really pleased that our team didn’t try anything stupid after the win especially after seeing the John L Smith inteview on the flag planting from last year during the game. For those of you who missed it, Smith, with that stupid grin he always has on his face, basically was laughing while saying his biggest concern was with the fact that his players missed mid-field.

You stay classy East Lansing.

Okay, I took the liberty in recording every single Brady Quinn pass attempt during the game last night in an attempt to see how well he spreads the ball around and whom he goes to in key situations. Here are some things you need to know before reading this.

• Short pass = less than 7 yards
• Medium pass = 7-20 yards
• Long pass = over 20 yards

Also while reading, this is how it will be set up.

Pass attempt number) down/yardage…pass length…receiver intended for = result (attempted number to receiver)

Kind of complicated, but you will get it…here goes.

1. 3-6…medium for J. Carlson = incomplete (1)
2. 1-10…short for J. Samardzija = complete 6 yards (1)
3. 2-4…short for J. Carlson = incomplete (2)
4. 3-4…short for R. McKnight = incomplete (1)
5. 1-10…short for J. Carlson = complete 3 yards (3)
6. 2-10…medium for D. Walker = incomplete (1)
7. 1-10…medium for R. McKnight = incomplete (2)
8. 3-7…long for J. Samardzija = incomplete (2)

1^st quarter

• 3 attempted to Carlson (1 complete)
• 2 attempted to McKnight (0 complete)
• 2 attempted to Samardzija (1 complete)
• 1 attempted to Walker (0 complete)

Attempted passes to 4 different receivers in the first quarter…not bad at all but you would like to see Brady at least look in the direction of Grimes or Anastacio, but I did like to see that he went to 3 different receivers on 3 separate 3^rd downs.

9. 1-10…short for D. Walker = complete 8 yards (2)
10. 1-10…short for R. McKnight = complete 6 yards (3)
11. 2-4…medium for J. Samardzija = complete 13 yards (3)
12. 1-10…long for R. McKnight = complete 32 yards TD (4)
13. 1-10…short for D. Walker = complete 4 yards (3)
14. 2-6…short for D. Walker = INT for TD (4)
15. 1-20…medium for R. McKnight = complete 17 yards (5)
16. 2-3…medium for J. Samardzija = incomplete (4)
17. 4-1…long for J. Carlson = complete 27 yards (4)
18. 1-10…short for J. Samardzija = complete 17 yards TD (5)
19. 1-10…long for R. McKnight = incomplete (6)
20. 2-20…short for D. Walker = complete 3 yards (5)
21. 3-21…long for J. Samardzija = incomplete (6)

2^nd quarter

• 4 attempted to Walker (3 complete)
• 4 attempted to McKnight (3 complete, TD)
• 4 attempted to Samardzija (2 complete, TD)
• 1 attempted to Carlson (1 complete)

1^st half

• 6 attempted to McKnight (3 complete, TD)
• 6 attempted to Samardzija (3 complete, TD)
• 5 attempted to Walker (3 complete)
• 4 attempted to Carlson (2 complete)

This frightened me a little bit that Brady did not even look in the direction of Anastacio or Grimes during the entire first half…there were also a few 2 TE sets in which he could have found Freeman. The good news is that he did not look at anybody too much or too little out of the 4 that passes were attempted to. The difference between the #1 attempted WR’s, Shark and Rhema, and the least attempted in Carlson, is just 2. Only 1 pass was attempted on a 3^rd down play and that was to Samardzija.

22. 2-9…short for J. Samardzija = incomplete (7)
23. 3-9…medium for J. Samardzija = complete 17 yards (8)
24. 2-8…long for J. Carlson = complete 64 yards TD (5)
25. 2-7…short for D. Walker = complete –7 yards (6)
26. 4-8…medium for C. Anastasio = incomplete (1)
27. 2-8…short for D. Walker = complete 6 yards (7)
28. 1-10…short for R. McKnight = incomplete (7)
29. 2-10…long for D. Grimes = incomplete (1)

3^rd Quarter

• 2 attempted to Samardzija (1 complete)
• 2 attempted to Walker (2 complete)
• 1 attempted to Carlson (1 complete TD)
• 1 attempted to McKnight (0 complete)
• 1 attempted to Anastasio (0 complete)
• 1 attempted to Grimes (0 complete)

This was probably Brady’s best quarter as far as spreading the ball around. He did not attempt more than 2 passes to a receiver and tried for 6 different targets. He also showed great confidence in Anastasio to throw that 4^th and 8 pass to him…unfortunately it did not work out. Again, just 1 third down was attempted through the air and that went to the Shark again.

30. 3-10…medium for D. Grimes incomplete (2)
31. 1-10…long for D. Grimes = tipped and caught by Carlson (2) (6)
32. 2-17…medium for J. Samardzija = complete for 12 yards (9)
33. 3-5…long to J. Samardzija = incomplete (10)
34. 4-5…short for J. Samardzija = complete for 43 yards TD (11)
35. 1-25…long for R. McKnight = incomplete (7)
36. 1-10…medium for J. Samardzija = complete for 12 yards (12)
37. 1-10…medium for R. McKnight = complete for 14 yards TD (8)

4^th quarter

• 4 attempted to Samardzija (3 complete TD)
• 2 attempted to McKnight (1 complete TD)
• 2 attempted to Grimes (0 complete)

Looks like Brady tried to involve Grimes here, firing 3 strait pass attempts to him dating back to the 3^rd quarter…none of them worked out however. Looks like the Shark is his guy in clutch situations…attempting 4 passes to him, mostly long although he took a short one to the house. On both 3^rd and 4^th down on the drive that put the Irish within 10…Quinn went to Samardzija.

2^nd half

• 6 attempted to Samardzija (4 complete, TD)
• 3 attempted to McKnight (1 complete, TD)
• 3 attempted to Grimes (0 complete)
• 2 attempted to Walker (2 complete)
• 1 attempted to Carlson (1 complete, TD)
• 1 attempted to Anastasio (0 complete)

Quinn looked for 6 different receivers in the 2^nd half, but you can see that the Shark is clearly his favorite target, attempting twice as many passes to him as anybody else in quarters 3 and 4.

GAME

• 12 attempted for Samardzija (7 complete, 2 TD)
• 9 attempted for McKnight (4 complete, 2 TD)
• 7 attempted for Walker (5 complete)
• 5 attempted for Carlson (4 complete, TD)
• 3 attempted for Grimes (0 complete)
• 1 attempted for Anastasio (0 complete)

As you see, nearly a 3^rd of Quinn’s pass attempts went to Samardzija, and 21 of 37 went to either Jeff or Rhema. He did throw to 6 different receivers, but at the same time only 4 caught balls.

Make your own judgments based on the numbers above. My feelings? Sure, you would love to see more than 4 players catch passes…but who am I to second guess a guy that threw for 5 TD’s on that same night?

Here are some highlights from Wednesday’s press conference with offensive captain Brady Quinn. For the full transcript or to watch the archived video visit und.com.

On Saturday’s performance effecting his Heisman hopes

“Really, again, it’s easy for me to sit here and talk about things like that because they don’t really enter into my mind. We’re so programmed to look at what’s in front of us, the immediate future. Even as far as today’s practice, not Michigan State, as far as the different goals and objectives we’re trying to accomplish, or even smaller than that, just one play at a time. We talked about that a lot last year. I think that’s something that still rings true. It’s something honestly engrained into us.”

On the difference between the offense this year versus last and the loss of Maurice Stovall

“I think again it goes along with the same thing I’ve been saying. I think he was a great player. He did a lot for us. He’s someone that obviously is going to excel exceptionally well in the future. Obviously he’s going to have a great career.

I think saying we don’t miss him obviously would be an understatement. That’s not fair, that’s not true at all. At the same point in time, we’ve got the ability with Rhema to fill a lot of his talents, to really kind of go a different direction with Rhema’s game, what he brings to the table, or David Grimes, Chase Anastasio. I think there’s a lot of different guys you can bring in to help replace his shoes. At the same point in time, bring I guess a different feel to how they play.”

On his relationship with safety Chinedum N’Dukwe

“I guess you’re obviously kind of similar in the different goals you try to obtain on the football, what you want to get done, when you’re working out. Off the field, it’s a little bit different. He has his way of doing things, I have my way, which can be good at times. Obviously at other times, you kind of butt heads. Possibly he’s the most messy kid in the entire world, or just his different eating habits as opposed to mine, or if he’s using your deodorant, that can become another problem. There’s a lot of things that you don’t necessarily overlap between the two. He’s great. He’s fun to be on the same team with, but even better as a roommate.”

On the difference between the MSU defense this year versus last year

“I don’t know. I mean, we know they’re going to do a variety of things as far as coverages, blitzes, things such as that. When you look at their team, they obviously have a lot of athleticism, a lot of talent. They have a lot of guys returning as well. That poses a pretty big threat for you really coming into this game.”

On the theory that defenses are catching up to the Notre Dame offense

“I don’t look at it as that. Again, I’ve said this before, I think our offense is still trying to find its personality, who it is as an offense. I think we’ve got some different guys in some different positions. Obviously I think throughout the year you end up trying to figure out what kind of offense you’re going to end up having, what kind of mold you’re going to fit in, what is your go?to type of deal. Right now I don’t think our offense has found what exactly that is.”

On if he had any one on one meetings with Coach Weis this week

“Yeah, yeah, I mean, definitely. We talked several times Sunday, Monday. We talk all the time. Obviously those sorts of things are going to come up in the conversations. The biggest thing is, like we said before, us moving forward, putting it behind us, starting clean. Really just getting into the kind of rhythm where we want to play the way we’re capable of playing, really coming out there and putting enough points on the board to win.”

On his role as captain this week

“So far, I think the only difference is the fact you see a lot more guys looking to you. You see a lot more guys looking at you, Hey, how is he going to react? Things are going good in practice, let’s watch him, see what happens the rest of practice. Let’s see what his type of, I guess, energy is right now during practice.”

On the offensive line assuming responsibility for the loss to Michigan

“I think you’ve got to give a lot of encouragement to them. The offensive line is a position that very rarely ever gets credit for what they do. They don’t probably realize that all the time. It’s like when nothing’s been said to them, I’m sure they feel like, especially during good games, hey, I’m sure they would never say this, but why am I not getting a little recognized for this or that. Especially in times when something negative has happened, everyone starts kind of pointing the finger at them, it’s got to be tough on them.”

On the Michigan State safeties

“The first thing you notice is obviously their size. Safeties for college football, whatever you want to call them, they’re good sized. Great speed, athleticism. The second thing you notice is they’re extremely aggressive. They obviously come up, fly up, make the tackle, run plays. Also they make a lot of tackles in the passing game.”

Here are some highlights from Wednesday’s press conference with defensive captain Tommy Zbikowski. For the full transcript or to watch the archived video visit und.com.

On the mental status of Brady Quinn

“I think it’s the same thing like I was saying before. You got to move on. Even when we would win, we’d be looking forward to the following week. We got to keep that same approach, keep going back to what was successful and just making sure that each week is just as important as the following week, as the past week.”

On MSU Quarterback Drew Stanton

“Definitely going to be one of the best we go against this year. Any time you have that dual threat, that’s why they’re so successful on third down. You have that run or throw option that he has, a lot of weapons around him, it’s going to be a challenge for us.”

On how the defense is prepared for the MSU offense

“Just going through practice yesterday. Tuesday is usually the hardest day just because you implement the entire game plan. I think as a defense, we were executing it pretty well yesterday. There’s going to be mistakes made. But I think for the most part we were talking, we were communicating, it was look going for the most part. Go through the week, keep making changes, see what we like. We’ll see Saturday. Definitely feel comfortable so far with what the game plan is.”

On Demetrius Jones as the scout team QB this week

“Him as an athlete looked good. Just making sure we got to break him down from making those big plays. He’s a good athlete. He had a couple plays here and there. You got to correct those mistakes on Wednesdays and just keep getting better.”

On his role as captain this week

“I thought it would. But it’s just going to show you the character we have on this team. I think people are ready to look forward, want to just get a win. That’s what we’re worried about. We’re not looking at the past.”

On his memories of his breakout game in East Lansing in 2004

“Like I said before, I’m so concentrated just on this week. Obviously it was a big game for me, I guess you could say my first breakout game, first college touchdown. But just concentrate on getting everyone better, getting ready for this game, not worrying about past performances.”

On Weis’s demeanor this week

“Like I said before, each week, we’re just trying to get ready. Win or loss, we’re going to get ready for the next week. Can’t be looking in the past, whether it’s a big win, big loss, whatever it is, you got to look forward. There’s too many good teams on our schedule to be looking in the past, trying to change attitudes. You just got to get ready for the next game.”

On the flag planting incident from last year

“I knew that one was going to come up. I’m just getting ready for the game.”

“I mean, tough when something like that happens. I think under the circumstances, we are just trying to look forward, not looking in the past, whether it be Michigan, what happened with that, you look forward to get ready for the game.”

On the Michigan State running game

“What did they have last week, 300 some last week? You talk about them spreading it out, throwing the ball, then you look at how much they’re rushing for. Like I said before, we got to get ready for that, get in the film room and keep studying.”

On the Michigan State Receivers

“Yeah, it definitely does. I said from week one, every single week we’re going to be facing great receivers, not just one of them but multiple sets of receivers. They come out a lot of times with four wides. They don’t have any fear to throwing to any one of them.”

Frank already visited this issue, but I’d like to add a quick note about Brady 2006 vs. Brady 2005.

We can all agree that Brady Quinn and the Notre Dame offense has yet to hit their stride.  They have yet to put on the show and put up the numbers that we came to expect from the 2005 team. 

As an eternal optimist, I’ll always try to look at the bright side and the things that can still go very right for the players and team we support without a second thought.

So I got to thinking about Brady and his performance so far this year compared to his performance through three games last year.

             ATT   COMP   PERC   YDS   TD   INT
2005     117    70         60%     851    9     2
2006     122    72         59%     767    6     3

In Quinn’s first three games last year, he faced what ended up being below average defenses in Pitt, Michigan and Michigan State.  Pitt was by far the best defense of the three with the 2nd best pass defense and 32nd total defense.  But Michigan was 52nd in pass defense and Michigan State was 85th.

In 2006 though, all three defenses Quinn has faced rank in the top 35 in the country in defense.  The simple fact is Quinn has faced a much harder first three games this year than he did last.  He has put up comparable numbers and is still trying to tweak his game.  Assuming he can do so, like he did last year, is it so far fetched to think that Quinn cannot easily get back into the Heisman hunt? 

It took until Purdue and then USC last year for Quinn to sneak into the picture where he ultimately finished 4th in the voting.  The only caveat is that the three in front of his were all on undefeated teams at the time.  But the sports world loves a good story.  And fans are pundits are forgiving for early trespasses if an athlete responds in the face of adversity. 

Brady and the Irish now travel to East Lansing to face the nations 85th pass defense.  Now is the time for him to make his move as the Irish face a stretch in their schedule which this team should dominate each game.  If Quinn begins to live up to expectations and the Irish are 10-1 heading into their matchup in Los Angeles, as Frank suggested, Brady could win the Heisman during that game. 

The current Heisman frontrunner, Troy Smith, plays his last game on November 18th against Michigan.  But Quinn’s last game is November 25th against Southern Cal.  This gives Quinn an advantage, because his final performance will be fresh in the minds of voters as Smith will have had some time off. 

Should Troy Smith lose a game or Brady Quinn finish strong, it could still be an interesting race for the most prestigious award in sports.