Weis tells Irish “Let’s get physical”
Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis said he was going back to basics this week after the Irish were manhandled 38-0 against Michigan. The South Bend Tribune reports that Weis has made practices more physical by pitting his starters against each other including a rare full-pads practice on Sunday. Weis plans on going full-contact most of this week in hopes that he can toughen up the Irish.
The Fighting Irish (0-3) went into training camp mode to try to get going in the right direction. They went through a rare full practice on Sunday, instead of watching film and running. Both Sunday and Tuesday coach Charlie Weis had the first-team offense go against the first-team defense and had every play continue until the ball carrier was tackled — an unusual practice even for training camp.
“It obviously brings a whole different tempo to practice,” he said.
The Irish are looking to improve the tempo because they are last in the nation in rushing offense (-4.67 yards per game), last in total offense (115 ypg), worst in sacks allowed (23), and ninth worst in rushing defense (285 ypg). Getting more physical is the only way to solve the team’s problems, Weis said.
“When you lose 38-0, there are plenty of problems out there,” he said.
In this story, also from the South Bend Tribune, Weis says that this season’s adversity hasn’t affected true freshman golden child Jimmy Clausen and said that the quarterback has welcomed the tougher practices.
“Mentally and emotionally, he hasn’t blinked an eye,” said the Notre Dame third-year coach, whose heretofore porous
protection for Clausen will be challenged once again, this time Saturday by the nation’s co-leader in sacks, Michigan State (3-0).
“He hasn’t wavered one bit. He’s shown that on the sideline too. When I’ve looked into his eyes — we call them faraway eyes — he hasn’t shown an inch of that.”
That and all the other puffy prose emanating from Weis’ post-practice media gathering doesn’t mean the bleeding has stopped, though.
What is definitive is that the Irish are doing something different to rectify the worst offensive statistics in Division I-A in rushing offense, total offense, scoring offense, sacks allowed and tackles for loss allowed.