Weis: ND will win 9-12 games this year.

[takeownershiptoday]

ND is a 5 win team based on this schedule

[coach_]

Originally Posted by takeownershiptoday

ND is a 5 win team based on this schedule

Wanna take bets on whether or not the rules would be bent to let them into a BCS game with a 5-7 record?

"RETURN TO GLORY!!!!"

[coach_]

Originally Posted by Sparticane

I would definitely say that out of all of the teams on our schedule, Notre Dame is one of the schools that scares me the least.

I think that it's possible for them to pull a couple surprises out of Charlie's pants to pull off a win, but I don't think it's likely. If their spring game was any indication of what their o-line is going to be like, Jimmy Clausen is going to have a loooooong season.

[Blade Runner]

I would say 6 wins would be a vast improvement, considering how awful this team looked last year.

Unless ND magically got a considerably better offensive line, I don't see them winning more than 7. They benefit from a light schedule (although teams like Washington, Pitt, Stanford and North Carolina are all expected to be improved). So, the only "easy" games on their schedule IMO are San Diego State and Syracuse. I'm thinking 6-6 personally.

San Diego St. W
Michigan L
At MSU L
Purdue L
Stanford W
At UNC W
At Washington L
Pitt L
At BC L
Navy W
Syracuse W
At USC L

[coach_]

Originally Posted by Blade Runner

I would say 6 wins would be a vast improvement, considering how awful this team looked last year.

Unless ND magically got a considerably better offensive line, I don't see them winning more than 7. They benefit from a light schedule (although teams like Washington, Pitt, Stanford and North Carolina are all expected to be improved). So, the only "easy" games on their schedule IMO are San Diego State and Syracuse. I'm thinking 6-6 personally.

San Diego St. W
Michigan L
At MSU L
Purdue L
Stanford W
At UNC W
At Washington L
Pitt L
At BC L
Navy W
Syracuse W
At USC L

Originally, I had Michigan marked down as a win for them, but I think that the Michigan defense is going to tear the ND offense apart. I think they are going to lose to UNC, but they'll probably beat Washington.

[haveacigar535]

Originally Posted by coach_

I think that it's possible for them to pull a couple surprises out of Charlie's pants to pull off a win, but I don't think it's likely. If their spring game was any indication of what their o-line is going to be like, Jimmy Clausen is going to have a loooooong season.

if he has wins inside of his pants, then they might end up winning 8 or 9 games. The man has some enormous pants, that's for sure.

[coach_]

Originally Posted by haveacigar535

if he has wins inside of his pants, then they might end up winning 8 or 9 games. The man has some enormous pants, that's for sure.

8 or 9? You underestimate the size of Charlie's pants.

[Blade Runner]

Originally Posted by coach_

8 or 9? You underestimate the size of Charlie's pants.

My theory is his coaching ability is stored within his fat, so since he has been losing weight, he has been losing his coaching ability along with it. If he wants to keep his job, he'd better spend a lot more time at Burger King.

[haveacigar535]

Originally Posted by coach_

8 or 9? You underestimate the size of Charlie's pants.

well i'm assuming that they'll win 2 on his merits, and 7 out of his pants. now, that depends how big the wins are, where in his pants they are stored, etc.

[Spartan4ever]

Originally Posted by IGGcitable

How much can a fatass who never set foot on the field, even in high school, know a goddamn thing about technique?

Stud HS football players are elite athletes (certainly compared to you and me).

They generally have a very dismissive attitude toward people in terrible physical shape. This can be overcome of the players know the guy was a good athlete decades ago or was a good player despite being a lardbucket. But stud football players see a gut-bucket like Weis, who never played anything beyond HS gym class, and their first subconscious instinct is, "this guy doesn't have a freaking clue what it's like to be world-class fast or world-class strong or a world class athlete in anything. Why the hell should I listen to him on how to save steps on pass routes, how to shed blockers, how to use leverage in tackles, etc etc. How the hell would he know?"

So the players will stand there and nod their heads, "Yep, yup, you betcha, yessir," as Weis goes into his spiel. But the second --- the instant -- things start coming apart on the field, the players think, "Mmmm hmmmm. I knew it."

I don't nesessarily agree as there are several large D1 coaches who have found success (Mark Mangino at Kansas, Ralph Friedgen at Maryland) after taking over programs that had been struggling.

As a former player I didn't expect Darryl Rogers to physically perform a drill in order for me to understand what he was trying to teach me. As a youth I attended kicking camps hosted by Edward "Doc" Storry and Lou Groza, and neither of these men were physically able to show me how to kick a football. Storry was well into his eighties when I attended his camp, and Groza could barely walk due to having an artificial hip, yet each of these men knew how to instruct myself and others in how to kick a football. I volunteer with the Wake Forest punters and placekickers and offer them instruction even though my physical ability to punt or placekick a football has greatly diminshed with age. What I notice that grabs a players attention is their actual improvement in performance after they have implemented what a coach has instructed them on as far as fundamentals/technique.

I agree that some of the ND players may have started to tune out Charlie, but it is because what they are being taught hasn't improved their performance, or the coaches are allowing the players to get away with bad habits. Don't believe me, just look at MSU last year versus 2006. JLS lost that team and the players quit because the coaches were routinely making poor decisions. Dantonio took over a squad that had largely failed to perform the basics and quickly got the team to perform.

[Floyd170]

Originally Posted by HoopsJunkie

Considering we won 7-games last year, and would have won at least 9 if we finished games, I don't think is answer would be that ridiculous or shocking

We actually could have won all of our games. When you lose by 7 points or less, I don't care if it's by defensive TD's or not, you could have won the game.

[mentalstate]

coach_, how exactly did the o-line for nd look in the spring game? and when answering, do keep in mind the best player by far for nd on the d-line is gone- laws. if that o-line does not Dramatically, not marginally, improve from last year, 6-6 is what nd fans should be hoping for.

[IGGcitable]

Originally Posted by Spartan4ever

I don't nesessarily agree as there are several large D1 coaches who have found success (Mark Mangino at Kansas, Ralph Friedgen at Maryland) after taking over programs that had been struggling.

As a former player I didn't expect Darryl Rogers to physically perform a drill in order for me to understand what he was trying to teach me. As a youth I attended kicking camps hosted by Edward "Doc" Storry and Lou Groza, and neither of these men were physically able to show me how to kick a football.

Well yeah, but you knew Darryl Rogers had been a good college football player, and you knew Groza was the NFL's greatest place kicker prior to the soccer-style era, so you took them seriously.

Weis's football career consists of one year, as a backup center in high school.

So as an athlete, the sum total of his entire football career consists of about 12 weeks of practices and games.

[coach_]

Originally Posted by mentalstate

coach_, how exactly did the o-line for nd look in the spring game? and when answering, do keep in mind the best player by far for nd on the d-line is gone- laws. if that o-line does not Dramatically, not marginally, improve from last year, 6-6 is what nd fans should be hoping for.

Personally, I thought that their o-line looked like it made a step forward from last year, but still a step back from where they need to be. I don't think things will be quite as difficult for Jimmy as they were last season, but it looked like there was a potential for entertainment if they come up against a good defense.

[SpartyOnInChitown]

Originally Posted by mentalstate

I don't even think ND's line 'lacked talent,' I think they lacked any real coaching. Their technique was horrible, they whiffed on everybody, and it was like a dam breaking on most plays, as it would happen to 3-4 of the lineman as well. Look at Young- went from Frosh AA to joke of a tackle. Regression like that goes straight to the coaches- guess it took Jabba a year to erase all of Young's HS coaching...

QFT. Inexperience can't be used as an excuse when the OL plays that bad. It was an absolute sieve. Jimmy the Emu was constantly running for his life.

Remember that play against scUM when Clausen got sacked by all four linemen at once?

[takeownershiptoday]

who you got in an eating contest though, Mangino or Jabba?

still impressed with the Mangino story, esp the part about being a PA toll both operator while an assistant at Youngstown St.

[SpartyHardy]

9-12? No way. I just can't see it Jabba. 6 wins may even be optimistic given the current state of your program. Enjoy your perpetual rebuilding Chubs!

[NMUCats]

Steve Megargee
It won't be much of a surprise if Notre Dame emerges from the wreckage of its 2007 season and regains some respectability by going 6-6 or 7-5, but a look at the Irish's schedule shows it isn't so far-fetched to think they could do even better than that.
Instead of beginning the season with a "Big Six" program the way they usually do, the Irish open the 2008 slate with a near-certain victory against San Diego State. Then, they play host to a Michigan team retooling its offense under a first-year coach. If the Irish pull off a victory in those first two games, they should have plenty of confidence as they face the meat of a schedule that includes only one program (USC) ranked among the top 24 teams in Rivals.com's preseason countdown.

Notre Dame returns just about everyone on offense other than center John Sullivan and tight end John Carlson. Assuming Jimmy Clausen lives up to expectations in his sophomore season – and that the line gives him enough time to throw after allowing an NCAA-leading 58 sacks last season – the Irish should at least be average, which would represent a major upgrade.

The defensive line is a major question mark, but the pass defense could be solid with David Bruton and Darrin Walls in the secondary. There are plenty of potential losses on this schedule, and you have to think the Irish will slip up at least four times while facing the likes of Michigan State, Purdue, North Carolina, Pittsburgh and Boston College.

But when you study that schedule, the only near-certain loss is the season finale against USC. So maybe that 6-6 or 7-5 finish everyone's forecasting might be more like 8-4 or 9-3.

Preseason Countdown: No. 40 Notre Dame

[newlander]

WE could go 9-3 or 10-2 with that cupcake schedule of theirs. God what a joke. But they suck, however. That 2nd game against SCum will be closer than people think IMO. I see 5 wins for them. We'll beat them by 20.