Talk is Cheap
Talk is cheap, People. All the chatter on the message boards, blogs, and press conferences this week doesn’t mean squat. Actually, all the talk makes me sick. We can talk and analyze all we want, but it won’t change the fact that this team has grossly underperformed. It’s an embarrassment.
Put all the excuses aside. Stop bitching at ESPN hack writers. Quit finding reasons to avoid the obvious. The 2007 version of Notre Dame football has been an abomination. We deserve every slight we take. All the pundits are correct. The only defense is to perform on the field.
If Charlie doesn’t like being compared to Willingham, then he needs to stop coaching like Willingham. If Notre Dame wants to avoid the negative press, it needs to stop playing like a high school team.
Talk is cheap. You can make excuses or blame yourself all day, but at the end of the day all that matters is winning. Play well and win. It is that simple. Lose this weekend and the jackals will be out in full force(we haven’t heard anything yet.) Win this weekend and all our woes will be silenced(at least for a week.)
Enough talk. Let’s go hit somebody and play football.
Fire it Up!
September 13th, 2007 at 1:27 am
1. you are correct. nothing will shut up the media hacks like winning. however, that does not mean that these media hacks and crooked refs should not be punished economically. after all, they are using the dollars of the companies in which we all own stock illegally to promote renegade programs like usc and to bash nd with fraudulent information.
2. the fact is that these jerks have driven recruits away from nd to other schools using our corporate funds.
3. sure, the team has to win, but the crooked writers and the crooked refs have to be terminated with severe economic prejudice.
4. we cannot coach or play on the field, but we can do our best to make sure that notre dame and all college football teams play on an even playing field with honest refs and honest information in the media for recruits.
we all look foward to winning,
bob gilleran
September 13th, 2007 at 4:20 am
Boy, that’s a needed dose of reality. Well said!
September 13th, 2007 at 4:53 am
Perfectly said. No more whining – start winning.
September 13th, 2007 at 6:01 am
You summed it up really well. Nothing but winning will shut the mouths of the media. I really quit reading the 20-25 negative articles a day as they said essentually what I felt.
September 13th, 2007 at 8:29 am
Charlie would likely say the same thing.
September 13th, 2007 at 10:10 am
Absolutely true. Charlie, Corwin & Team—make it happen, guys!
September 13th, 2007 at 12:30 pm
This is more in responce to Bob G. I doubt economic pressure would make a difference.N.D.bashing is inherent in these people.We know why they hate N.D. and all the institution stands for.Even when they don’t,we know.The team is the public face of N.D. and that is what they go after when it is down.They are down now,so here they are.We won’t stay down but at some point in the future they will be down again and the bashers will once again crawl out of what ever fetid and festering sewer they live in to get their kicks.This Sat. we will once again see the Irish take the field.They will play in the same great tradition that has been the predominant feature of their preformance in the past.GO IRISH!
September 13th, 2007 at 2:12 pm
As loyal fans, we certainly can be guilty of loving our team too much. We endure every boring weekday in the fall in anticipation of that unique adrenaline rush that comes every Saturday 10 minutes before kickoff. As the season progresses and the undefeated season stays alive, that anticipation and emotion only gets hightened. I think a lot of us feel deprived of that great feeling after this 0-2 start.
Realistically, we shouldn’t feel deprived of anything this season. Anyone with a brain knew there was a chance of us starting 0-2. While nobody expected the thorough beatdowns, they should be somewhat excused because of the youth on this team. Someone is going to step us as a leader on the offense, and it is probably going to be Jimmy. If that isn’t exciting to you, I don’t know what is.
I am going into every Saturday this year just as excited as I would be during an undefeated season. I can’t wait to see the ATHLETES on this team develop into FOOTBALL PLAYERS. They can play better and they will play better as the year progresses.
I want to see improvement this week, but most importantly, I want to see some more shots of Wolverine fans sh*tting themselves in the stands after another thorough drubbing at the hands of a visitor. Go Irish!
September 13th, 2007 at 2:46 pm
1. with the media hacks, you will notice that trev alberts was fired by espn.com and there are more firings coming and economic retribution. the racist diatribes, like pat forde’s recent one at espn.com, have nothing to do with nd’s 0-2 start, but there have been, and will be, recruits influenced by this fraudulent trash. just look back at the 2004 and 2005 recruiting years for the hard evidence( the recruits who switched their verbals when these same hacks turned the tyrone episode into fraudulently painting nd racist) and a few who went elsewhere in 2006 and 2007. when these jerks are fired and punished economically, there will be no more of this.
remember that these media hacks are collecting our money from disney and other publicly traded companies in which we own stock and using those funds to promote their own private agendas, which include spreading fraudulent information about nd to impressionable recruits and their parents and coaches.
the media hacks who are justifiably bashing nd for this 0-2 start are in a completely different category and i agree with you about them.
2. as for the crooked refs, like dennis lipski of the big 10 and the all pac 10 crew who stole that nd win over usc in 2005, charlie already took some steps, after the big 10 refused to do anything about lipski( despite the film charlie sent to dave parry of the big 10 isolating the bogus calls against nd and the non calls against michigan), who presided over the 2006 michigan massacre of nd in south bend.
3. charlie terminated nd’s long term agreement with the big 10 to supply refs for nd’s away games and substituted big east crews, a factor which could be crucial at this week’s nd michigan game at the big house.
remember that the conference officials who pick and supervise these crooked refs also derive their salaries, like the refs, directly or indirectly, from publicly traded companies in which we own stock.
the same is true of the ncaa jerks who punished oklahoma for being honest and self reporting violations while letting usc get away with the bushgate coverup, despite the evidence posted by some brave reporters at yahoo sports.
you can still find that evidence if you search under the name reggie bush under reggie bush investigation- cash and carry.
my friends and i are proud to have furnished a lot of those leads to the reporters at yahoo.
we are getting a lot of help from some very angry sooners, who were also victimized by a crooked pac 10 ref crew at their 2006 game vs oregon.
with the michael vick case haven removed the untouchability protection from famous sports figures and the 1st of many crooked nba refs having pled guilty to federal crimes, you can bet your bippy that the feds have picked up the ball on bushgate, carrollgate, and uscgate
4. fortunately, although we all love nd, we do not have to agree about everything, nor do the same things. bringing down the economic thunder on the seriously atrocious media hacks and the seriously crooked refs just happens to be where my expertise lies.
5. on the crooked ref front, usc was getting rescued by crooked pac 10 refs all season in 2006, with the exception of one game, when ucla beat them 13-9, and pete and the usc players looked dismayed that none of the refs would step up to rescue them, as they had been doing all year.
6. my friends and i can take credit for that game and we are bringing the thunder down on the pac 10 to avoid another 2005 with usc at south bend this season.
7. the nfl now has real time ref review and watches every ref very closely. this did not happen by accident. take a look at dan e moldea’s 1989 book ” how organized crime influences professional football”. the changes did not happen overnight, without a long fight and some help from the fbi.
among the key ref atrocities in the nfl that brought about those ref system changes was a game between buffalo and new england at new england, where the reffing was so crooked that the head coach and owners of the buffalo bills went to the nfl and demanded real time review and strict scrutiny of all nfl refs.
new england’s head coach at that time? pete carroll, who was fired after that season. just a coincidence? we will find out.
crooked big 10 ref dennis lipski’s mentor? bo and lloyd and michigan boosters. dennis has quite a track record and not just in michigan games against notre dame.
having had their baptism of fire, we fully expect that this nd team will give usc and every other team on the schedule a run for their money at south bend this year, with an honest pac 10 crew.
the same applies to the big 10 ref crew that will show up at south bend for the michigan state game this year.
7. it is up to charlie, his staff, and the players to win. each of the rest of us can contribute in the ways that we are best at to cover their backs.
go nd, beat michigan!!!
bob gilleran
September 13th, 2007 at 4:39 pm
Bob G. I stand corrected.I had no idea the crooked ref.thing was that bad.Go get um.GO IRISH!
September 13th, 2007 at 4:52 pm
Bob, your comment is seven times longer than the original post. Well done. I can only hope the ND offense is as productive this weekend.
Seriously, thanks for the input. Interesting stuff…
September 14th, 2007 at 6:51 am
[...] JVH at IRT, I think, could probably get the guys pretty wound up with a pre-game speech before the Michigan (sucks!) tilt. But he’s refuse because talk is cheap. [...]
September 14th, 2007 at 7:14 am
>> >>Columbus, OH (AP) – A seven-year old boy was at the center of a Franklin County courtroom drama yesterday when hechallenged a court ruling over who should have custody of him. The boy has a history of being beaten by his parents and the judge initially awarded custody to his aunt, in keeping with child custody law and regulation requiring that family unity be maintained to the highest degree possible.The boy surprised the court when he proclaimed that his aunt beat him more than his parents and he adamantly refused to live with her. When the judge then suggested that he live with his grandparents, the boy cried and said that they also beat him. After considering the remainder of the immediate family and learning that domestic violence was apparently a way of life among them, the judge took the unprecedented step of allowing the boy to propose who should have custody of him.After two recesses to check legal references and confer with the child welfare officials, the judge granted temporary custody to the University of Michigan Wolverines,whom the boy firmly believes are not capable of beating anyone.
September 14th, 2007 at 7:18 am
>> >>Columbus, OH (AP) – A seven-year old boy was at the center of a Franklin County courtroom drama yesterday when hechallenged a court ruling over who should have custody of him. The boy has a history of being beaten by his parents and the judge initially awarded custody to his aunt, in keeping with child custody law and regulation requiring that family unity be maintained to the highest degree possible.The boy surprised the court when he proclaimed that his aunt beat him more than his parents and he adamantly refused to live with her. When the judge then suggested that he live with his grandparents, the boy cried and said that they also beat him. After considering the remainder of the immediate family and learning that domestic violence was apparently a way of life among them, the judge took the unprecedented step of allowing the boy to propose who should have custody of him.After two recesses to check legal references and confer with the child welfare officials, the judge granted temporary custody to the University of Michigan Wolverines,whom the boy firmly believes are not capable of beating anyone.
H/T to Subway Domer
September 14th, 2007 at 8:20 am
Robert love that analysis. You got a Pal her my friend
September 14th, 2007 at 10:16 am
When did “rebuilding” become such a dirty word?
September 17th, 2007 at 8:40 am
Well, I had a nice long post. It got screwed up and didn’t post. So no Pep Talk. Took too long.
In summary:
MSU is twofold
1) ND’s first drive results in points or a drive with a punt pinning MSU inside its own 20
ND wins 24-17
2) ND’s first drive results in a 3-n-out, a turnover or MSU starting in ND territory (bad punt coverage)
MSU wins 28-7
As for the rest of the season, a lot hinges on this game. Since I an an optimist, I will assume we win this weekend.
@ Purdue W
@ UCLA L
Boston College L
USC L
Navy W (Dear God we better)
Air Force W
Duke W
@ Stanford W
Season result: 6-6
If we lose: Christ, we could easily be anywhere from 5-7 to 3-9
Should Charlie be fired: Hell no. Any ass could see that we were going to be the worst this year. 5-7 would put Charlie at 24-13 (not much better than TW). 3-9 would put him at 22-17 (one more win, one more loss than TW).
I am hoping that the Offense gets it together. The confidence of the whole team will be higher once they score a fricking touchdown.
GO IRISH. Kick Sparty in the junk.
Oh, FWIW, my stepfather (ND 66) was talking to a MSU grad, and it was rumored that MSU was considering moving homecoming this year to ND (even though it is an away game) becasue that wanted to ensure a victory. They would bring the floats and the Miss Bovine competion winner and everything.
September 17th, 2007 at 10:42 am
Dodd actually has a sound post with no flames or undeserved praise:
There is hushed talk about the so-called “gap” in recruiting that is supposedly undermining Notre Dame’s season.
Before giving you the numbers, understand that any coaching change is, in general, not a positive for recruiting. New coach, new assistants, all hustling to sign a respectable class.
And ND has been changing coaches frequently. Weis is the fourth coach since December 2001.
The top 100 barometer is a good place to start. In 1998, Bob Davie was able to land 11 of the top 100 recruits, out of a class of 22. Four years later those players were the foundation of a 5-6 season that cost Davie his job.
In 1999, Davie got eight top 100s (out of 21). That class produced keepers such as Julius Jones and Jeff Faine. Those seniors finished 10-3 under Willingham in ‘02.
In 2000-’01 combined, Davie signed only 11 top 100s. Smack in the middle of the 01-02 recruiting season, Davie, and subsequently, O’Leary were fired.
However, Willingham’s first two classes in ‘02 and ‘03 were strong. They produced tight end Anthony Fasano, receiver Rhema McKnight, safety Tom Zbikowski and quarterback Brady Quinn. Those are the players Charlie Weis was able to win with. Nine fifth-year seniors from that ‘03 class still remain.
Where it goes bad is 2004. Only seven of the 17 players Willingham recruited are still around. Three of those players are starting — linebackers Maurice Crum and Anthony Vernaglia and cornerback Terrail Lambert.
Weis tried to salvage the 2005 class after Willingham’s firing. Still, no top 100 players signed. Weis made a comeback in 2006 with nine top 100s. The 2007 class might have been better. It was topped by Jimmy Clausen.
The “gap” occurs with the current four-year seniors (there are only seven) from the 2004 class and a mediocre 2005 class (14 current juniors).
Notre Dame’s best recruiting days are ahead but it might take a couple of years. Weis’ 2008 class is currently rated No. 1 by Rivals.com. It has 14 four-star commits and counting.