Weis compares Notre Dame to New England Patriots
Facing a lot of questions about how his team will respond to the Michigan loss last weekend, Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis compared this moment to one he had while offensive coordinator for the NFL’s New England Patriots.
Mark Snyder of the Detroit Free Press reports that Weis drew inspiration from his former head coach Bill Belichick.
He recalled a 2004 game when New England was riding a 21-game winning streak, only to be pounded in a game at Pittsburgh. Weis, then the Patriots’ offensive coordinator, remembered how coach Bill Belichick handled the situation.
“I think when we got back there, the one thing we did do before anything else — the first thing we did — was address the team,” Weis recalled. “Say, ‘Look, fellas, this is not a funeral we’re going to, OK, this is a football game we just lost. We have another opportunity to go out and play.’ The next week I remember we went into St. Louis, who was supposed to be pretty good, we stomped them. I’m not saying anything like that is going to happen at Michigan State, but that’s what the follow-up of that game was. Everyone had written us off.”
With all due respect to Weis, Notre Dame is not the NCAA equivalent of the New England Patriots, and no one has written off the Irish. Mainstream media is talking about how Notre Dame can still run the slate and get a BCS title game invite, while Michigan State is the team being written off.
It is interesting that Weis would reference a 2004 matchup with the St. Louis Rams. In that game, the Patriots used their defense, and a few trick plays to take control and dominate. A similar formula against Michigan State seems likely, as Weis is already well-known for taking risks on fourth down, and trick plays have worked very well for Spartan opponents so far.