Courtesy of neworleanssaints.com

By TLarner

Here’s a look at the home of the Super Bowl Champion Saints, the NFC South.

“Play Like A Champion Today”

Atlanta Falcons

Strength- The Falcons have an offense with plenty of playmakers. Former Boston College star Matt Ryan enters his third year as Atlanta’s starting quarterback. After being named the Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2008, Ryan avoided the “sophomore slump” by throwing for nearly 3,000 yards and 22 touchdowns in only 14 starts. Ryan’s longest pass came in Week 5 against San Francisco when Roddy White broke a tackle on a short curl route, and went 90 yards for a score. White has established himself as one of the best receivers in the NFL. Since 2007, he has caught 256 balls for 3,737 yards and 24 touchdowns. Running back Michael “The Burner” Turner looks to rebound after an injury-plagued 2009. Turner was held to 11 games, and ran for 871 yards and 10 touchdowns. The final piece to an all-star puzzle is tight end Tony Gonzalez. The future Hall of Famer is playing in his 14th season (2nd with Atlanta). While with Kansas City, Gonzalez had over 10,000 receiving yards and 76 TD’s. In search of a Super Bowl ring, he was traded to the Falcons in 2009.

Weakness- Atlanta’s passing defense was terrible in 2009. Ranked 28th overall, they gave up 241.9 yards per game. Opposing quarterbacks had an average 89.5 passer rating. The Falcons were also tied for 26th with only 28 sacks. Corner Brent Grimes led the team with six interceptions. He started eight games at corner, and was fifth on the team with 66 tackles. Chris Owens came on late into his rookie year, and started the final six games. Chevis Jackson is another young corner who looks to improve in 2010. Jackson played in the nickel role his rookie year, taking a pick back 95 yards for a score in 2008. However, he failed to produce in ’09. Brian Williams was signed as a free agent from Jacksonville last season, but tore an ACL in Week 6. His veteran leadership is valuable to this young group of athletes. Atlanta’s free agent splash this year was corner Dunta Robinson, formerly of the Texans. Robinson recorded 393 tackles and 13 interceptions in his six seasons in Houston. Add to the mix rookie Dominique Franks, and Atlanta hopes the defense can solidify and lead them back to the playoffs.

Biggest Question- Who will be Atlanta’s kicker in the 2010 season? I see no questions with any offensive or defensive playmakers, and the Falcons have had trouble in recent memory with the kicking game. Jason Elam struggled mightily in 2009. He had a 62% success rate, and missed many short range kicks and field goals that would have changed the course of a few games. In the middle of the season, Atlanta held a kicking tryout after releasing Elam. Currently, the traveled veteran Matt Bryant is the only kicker on the roster, but the team has its concerns. Bryant went 7 of 10 last season after Elam left. This preseason, Bryant has missed kicks of 47 and 50 yards, and an extra point. Extra points should be automatic for NFL kickers. The Falcons cut Steve Hauschka in August, but may be looking for someone after teams make cuts for the final 53 man roster. We’ve seen too many teams rise and fall on the foot of a field goal kicker (2002, ’03, and ’04 Super Bowls were all won by New England by three points).

Carolina Panthers

Strength- Last season, there was no greater duo of running backs than that of DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart. The Panthers were third in the league with 2,498 total rushing yards. Williams was taken in the first round of the 2006 draft, and Stewart in the first round of the 2008 draft. Both have lived up to their hype. Williams ran for 1,117 yards and seven touchdowns with a 5.1 yard per carry average in 2009. Stewart followed up with 1,133 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also averaged 5.1 yards per carry. In 2008, the pair combined for 2,351 yards and 28 touchdowns. Don’t expect any less from the Panthers this season. Star linemen Jordan Gross, Ryan Kalil, and Jeff Otah will lead the way.  Carolina is going need a heavy dose of the ground game to protect Matt Moore, who takes over as the starting QB. Moore started seven games last season and has shown many signs of brilliance. Yes, Jimmy Clausen was drafted out of Notre Dame this year, but do not anticipate seeing him on the field this year. He’ll be on the bench, learning the offense, and watching Williams and Stewart tear up defenses.

Weakness- This offseason, the Panthers lost Pro Bowl defensive end Julius Peppers. He was publicly frustrated with the Panthers organization, and signed with Chicago this year. Without Peppers, Carolina does not have much of a pass rush. Everette Brown was taken in the second round of the draft last season. As a rookie, he made 22 tackles with two and a half sacks. Charles Johnson enters his fourth year with the team. Last season, he recorded 25 tackles and four sacks. Tyler Brayton is the veteran end in Carolina. Brayton spent five years in Oakland before joining the Panthers in 2008. He recorded five sacks, starting 15 games opposite Peppers. While these defenders have potential, they will miss having Peppers at the other end. Now, opposing offenses will not have to use a double team to stop one guy, and can focus on both ends equally. The Panthers are also very young at the tackle position. Starters from last year Damione Lewis and Hollis Thomas are no longer with the team.

Biggest Question- Is Matt Moore the right man for the quarterback position? Moore has made eight starts in his three years. In rookie season, he started the final three games, and won two. Last season, Moore started the final five games, and was very impressive. He went 4-1, beating Tampa Bay, Minnesota, the Giants, and New Orleans. He threw for 990 yards and eight touchdowns, and only one pick. He takes over his first season as the full time starter in 2010. If he can play as well as he did last season, Carolina may be a formidable opponent, and could improve from being a .500 team to making a wildcard bid. As previously mentioned, this team has a run-first offense, as do many teams with young quarterbacks. However, there are some people who want to see rookie Jimmy Clausen on the field. Clausen figures to be the most NFL ready QB in this year’s draft. In Notre Dame, Charlie Weis ran a pro-style offense, very similar to the Panthers. I believe he is better off with the headset on the sideline for at least the first year. Many quarterbacks with high expectations have been thrusted into a starting role too early, and have failed miserably. It will be interesting to see who is taking the snaps for Carolina at the end of the season.

New Orleans Saints

Strength- What would the NFL look like if the Miami Dolphins signed Drew Brees instead of Dante Culpepper in 2006? The Saints would not have won the Super Bowl, I can guarantee that. Brees has exceeded many expectations in his career, and last season was no different. Many said he was too short. San Diego let him go because of the multiple shoulder surgeries he had. They felt his arm wouldn’t be strong enough. In the past two seasons alone, Brees has thrown for over 9,500 yards and 68 touchdowns. In the 2009 regular season, he had 34 touchdown passes, a 70.6% completion rate, and a 109.6 passer rating, all first in the league. Don’t forget the Super Bowl ring. Against Indianapolis, he went 32 of 39 (82%) for 288 yards and 2 scores. He is arguably the second most valuable quarterback to his team (I would argue Peyton Manning is #1). He has turned Marques Colston, who was three picks away from being Mr. Irrelevant, into a top level receiver. Brees is also considered one of the best fantasy players for this year. If you need a QB, take this guy.

Weakness- The Saints’ offense was strong enough to overcome their poor defense last season. Surprisingly, the Super Bowl winning defense gave up 357.8 yards per game, ranked 25th overall. On the ground, they gave up 122.2 yards per game, 21st in the league. They were tied for fourth worst with the Buffalo Bills with 19 rushing touchdowns surrendered. This could be a problem in a division full of good running backs. In Week 8 against Atlanta, Michael Turner ran for 151 yards and a touchdown. DeAngelo Williams rushed for 149 yards and two scores in Week 9 against the Panthers. The Buccaneers’ Cadillac Williams had 129 yards and a touchdown in a Week 16 victory over the Saints. In the final game, Carolina’s other star running back, Jonathan Stewart, rushed for 125 yards and a touchdown. While the New Orleans defense gave up a lot of yards through the air, they were third in the league with 26 interceptions. Safety Darren Sharper led the way with nine of those picks. Sharper has recently been placed on the Physically Unable to Perform list, meaning he’ll have to miss the first six games this year. If the Saints are going to repeat as winners of the Lombardi Trophy, their defense will need to improve.

Biggest Question- How many weeks can the Saints go undefeated this year? New Orleans is a huge favorite to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl this season. Last season, the Saints went 13-3, with those 13 wins coming in a bid for an undefeated regular season as they began 13-0. With Drew Brees leading the high powered offense, many penciled in the Saints next to New England, who went 16-0 in 2007. As many teams do, the Saints rested their starters at the end, giving up a shot at history. This did almost hurt them, as the Vikings were one Favre interception away from going to the Super Bowl. In 2010, I expect the offense to continue to play efficiently, and Greg Williams will tighten up that defense. The big question in Louisiana is whether or not the Saints can be the first team to repeat as World Champions since New England did in 2003 and ’04.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Strength- Let’s face it, Tampa Bay was downright terrible last season. They are in the infamous rebuilding stage. While these players are not immediate Pro Bowlers, they are the future of the franchise. Second year quarterback Josh Freeman hopes his struggles are behind him. Freeman started the second half of last season as a rookie. He threw for 1,855 yards, 10 touchdowns, and 18 interceptions. Of course, there always is a significant learning curve as a rookie QB, and Freeman should be more comfortable in the pocket. Kellen Winslow will be a big target for the young Freeman. The tight end had over 1,100 yards receiving and five touchdowns grabs in 2007 with the Cleveland Browns. After battling back from staph infection, he managed to gain 884 yards and five TD’s in his first season with Tampa Bay in 2009. A big play tight end is always a novice quarterback’s best friend.  On defense, middle linebacker Barrett Ruud led the team in tackles for the third straight season. Rookie tackle Gerald McCoy has drawn many comparisons to Warren Sapp. He’ll be an anchor in the front seven for years to come. Safety Tanard Jackson should continue to improve. He returned two of his five picks for touchdowns in 2009.

Weakness- The biggest obstacle in Tampa Bay is overcoming inexperience. As a rebuilding franchise, they will endure many hardships while these young players develop. Freeman threw 18 picks last season. That’s a number that must come down. He doesn’t have a strong group of receivers to throw too. Rookie Mike Williams has earned a job as a starting receiver, along with Maurice Stovall. Stovall only had 24 catches for 366 yards last season. Another rookie receiver, Arrelious Benn, will start the season as a backup. Defensively, the Bucs finished 2009 ranked 27th overall in total defense. They allowed 365.6 yards per game. Their run defense finished dead last. Two more rookies, tackles McCoy and Brian Price, are making people nervous about the defense in the future. Their ability to stop the run is very important in the NFC South. Tampa Bay has many more playmakers who have only a couple years experience or less in the NFL.

Biggest Question- Can Cadillac Williams return to his old self? Williams was the 2005 Offensive Rookie of the Year. He started his career hot, becoming the first running back in the NFL to run for over 100 yards in his first three career games. He finished that year with 1,178 yards and six touchdowns. Since then, the Cadillac has had some engine problems. He played in only 10 games between 2007-’08, making five starts as he suffered injuries to both knees. He may be back, healthy and ready to rumble. In 2009, he started 15 games and ran for 823 yards and four touchdowns. He also recorded career highs with 217 receiving yards and three touchdown catches. If he can break the 1,000 yard barrier this season, he may finally prove he’s rejuvenated his career. If he has another lackluster year, the Cadillac may be headed off up the highway.

Division Prediction- Tampa Bay should improve some from the three wins they had in 2009, but honestly, six wins may be a good year for them. They will probably beat New Orleans once, in Week 17 when Brees is on the bench, resting for the playoffs. Carolina will be another middle of the road team. Their ground game is great, but they lack any weapons for Matt Moore (or Jimmy Clausen) to throw too, and defensively they may have some struggles. Atlanta will be in the run for a wildcard spot. Matt Ryan, Michael Turner, and Roddy White make a dangerous trio on offense. And seeing that White is my top fantasy receiver, let’s hope he and Ryan break some records. The Saints are going to be on top of the South again. How far will they make it? We’ll have to wait and see.

AP Photo/Bahram Mark Sobhani

Notre Dame’s Halloween “home game away from home” went about the way most people thought it would as the Irish dominated Washington State en route to a 40-14 win that was essentially over midway through the 3rd quarter.   The play of the game was Clausen’s 50 yard Hail Mary pass to Golden Tate as time expired in the first half.   Tate managed to wrestle the ball away from 3 WSU defenders as the “lucky” touchdown gave the Irish a 30-7 halftime lead and quashed the momentum that the Cougars grabbed with a TD just 90 seconds earlier.

Clausen had another efficient game before leaving in the 3rd after dinging his bad toe again.  JC was 22-27 for 256 yard, 2 TDs and no INTs.    Good to see second teamer Dane Crist get in there and fire a pretty TD strike to John Goodman, but he suffered a knee injury shortly after that.    Robert Hughes had a nice game for the Irish while Armando Allen rested and of course Golden Tate had another monster performance, including 80 yards receiving, 61 yards rushing and two TD’s.   The Irish “rediscovered” Kyle Rudolph who had 6 catches.   ND’s defense held up their end of the bargain allowing only 14 points and 206 yards of offense.   Notre Dame had 32 first downs to WSU’s 12.

AP Photo/Bahram Mark Sobhani

Next week, the Irish host the pesky Midshipmen from Navy (6-3).   This is not one of the better Middie teams this year as they lost a close one to Temple Saturday.   However, looking past them is dangerous and stopping their option attack will take some focus during film study and practice this week.    Notre Dame is now 6-2 and “should be” 7-2 heading into a showdown vs once-defeated #16 Pitt on the road in 2 weeks.    So the Irish have yet another chance to win a big game and stake a claim to a much higher ranking.   This game will be a huge test for Charlie.

Some very surprising results in other games Saturday as Oregon trounced USC 47-20 and Meeeeechigan fell to Illinois 38-10.    Maybe Zook is off the hook and RichRod is really feeling the heat?   The UM Skunkbears (5-4 and 9th in the Big 10) are really struggling these days, which certainly pleases Irish fans   ;)

As for our time here in San Antonio, it was great fun.   The Rivewalk has never been better and always seems to be improving.   The place was hopping Wed thru Saturday.    Although a “home game” for the Irish, it was nice to see thousands of Cougar fans also make the trip.   SA really rolled out the red carpet for this game and everything was extremely well run.   I expect ND to keep SA on it’s list for periodic barn-storming visits such as this one.   This event was GREAT for recruiting in a very fertile  area.

AP Photo/Michael Conroy

Whew!   Another gut-wrenching, closer-than-it –ought-to-be nightmare that turned out okay for Notre Dame.    But THIS time, it was the Irish DEFENSE that really came through when the pressure was on in the 4^th quarter.   And I’m not sure how they did it.  As confounding as this team’s defense is in terms of failing to stop opponents on obvious passing downs, the Irish somehow forced BC into several costly 4^th quarter turnovers to save this game and generally bail out the offense after a mostly ineffective day.   ND improved to 5-2 with the 20-16 win.

The first half was extremely frustrating to watch as the Irish continually shot themselves in the foot with untimely offensive penalties (you guessed it … from that veteran offensive line), a stupid move by Clausen resulting in a safety, and some gosh awful punting from ND’s  Ben Turk.   (Charlie just texted my sister and asked her if she wanted to try out for punter this week).   And for much of the first half, ND failed to get much pressure on David Shinskie, BC’s 25 year old rookie QB who spent the last 6 years or so playing minor league baseball.   After two long passes by Shinske and another blown coverage by ND near the goal line, the Eagles went up 9-6.    Clausen, Tate & Co responded with a TD of their own shortly before half for a 13-9 Irish lead.   Jimmy had a key scramble for a first down with 2:18 left to key the drive.

AP Photo/Michael Conroy

Tate would go on to have a career day with 11 catches for 128 yards and 2 TDs.

#7 JC had a pretty efficient day going 26-39 for 246 yards,  2 scores and again no INT’s.   He also made some pretty big plays with his feet and again exhibited great leadership.   I think he’s still in the Heisman discussion.

So at the start of the second half with ND kicking off, most ND fans were asking once again “Can the Irish D and special teams actually sustain the positive momentum we just gained??”   The answer was again a resounding “nooooooooo”.   ND allowed a pretty long return and after 3 plays, BC was already at ND’s 30 yard line.   On 2^nd and 10 in yet another OBVIOUS passing situation, the Irish failed to pressure Shinskie and again he burned them for 27 yards and BC would go on to score an easy TD for a 16-13 lead.   At that point, Irish faithful were again resigned to “Here we go again … another game against lesser talent goes down to the wire”.   And of course the obvious question  “Does ND even HAVE defensive coaches?”

AP Photo/Michael Conroy

Things were looking bleakest after BC marched to ball down the field after starting on their own 8 yard line.   This drive featured several more obvious passing downs where the Irish D failed miserably.   ND’s defense can make any QB look like Dan Marino or Johnny U … no experience is necessary … just plug in your freshman and watch him march down the field!!!   But WAIT … here’s where “the magic “starts.   BC fumbles on ND’s 3 yard line and the Irish recover!!!!

After the Irish failed to move the ball, ND’s punter Turk again unleashed a MONSTER 32 yard punt!!   Did this kid have his good leg study for midterms???    Why is he kicking with a wet noodle?   Can’t we just get one of those soccer goalies to punt???

Bad punt?   No problemo … more magic transpires as Kyle McCarthy steps in front of a Shinskie pass for the first of his 2 INTs.   The Irish were then able to drive deep into the red zone early in the 4^th where we would witness a another huge failure by 1) our offensive genius head coach and 2) our “soft when we need tough yards” veteran offensive line.   The Irish had a 4^th and goal from the one.  A “good team” at home just pounds this in.   Instead, Hughes went down like a rag doll at the 1 foot line.   In several games this year, ND just doesn’t seem capable of scoring when inside the 10 … it’s like we’re too close or something.   Hard to stomach when you’re overpaying this supposed offensive genius to be your head coach.

Anyway … I digress … there was still 10:20 left in the game and ND was only down by 3 and of course BC was pinned deep near the goal line.   So there’s hope … especially for ND’s cardiac kids.  ND got the ball back at midfield after forcing a 3 and out.   Gee, their punter managed to kick it 50 yards from his own endzone … did he cheat???   Soon after that, Clausen-to-Tate along the sideline resulted in a 36 yard TD play and an Irish lead of 20-16.   Somehow, this score held out, even with 8 minutes left!!

At the 4:23 mark, Kyle McCarthy again intercepted an errant BC pass.   The Irish offense went ultra conservative and punted it back to BC with 3:20 left.  At this point, my fingers were bleeding as I had gnawed my nails past where they ought to be.   After a great screen pass read by Manti T’eo resulted in a 7 yard loss, BC faced a do-or-die 4^th and 17 OBVIOUS PASSING SITUATION.   Hello  … anyone home in the defensive booth????   Yes … AGAIN ND applied no pressure to the QB, nor any coverage, and were burned by a 30 yard pass play.   Then a pass interference call.   Geeez … I don’t even want to watch.    BUT THEN … more unexpected magic … the Irish put pressure on Shinskie and Brian Smith ends the game by picking off the pass.   3 INTs and 1 fumble recovery for the Irish D in the second half.   And on a day when the offense was fairly pedestrian.  Who woulda thunk it????

The Irish were clearly bailed out by some timely defensive magic in this one.   Not competence, but magic.   Still, it was great to see the much maligned unit shine under pressure and essentially win the game on a day when the offense disappointed.   And it was nice to see Charlie notice that his nose was running so he could wipe it off before being embarrassed in the post game interview.  Usually, he doesn’t notice until it’s too late.   And major kudos to Golden Tate who is clearly carrying this offensive team on his back in terms of the grunt work.   Good work and hard running by Armando Allen.  Nice to see Manti T’eo really hit someone as well as Harrison Smith not being a total liability this week.   Kyle McCarthy was really clutch today with two INTs.

Another very nervous afternoon against a team with less talent … but another win.    We’ll take the win and not look back.   The team is clearly banged up and has been on an emotional roller-coaster the last 2 weeks.    This upcoming week features a trip to San Antonio for a game vs lowly Washington State, easily one of the worst teams in the country.   It’s time to get some of the second stringers some meaningful game time and some rest for the banged up starters.   If this is any kind of a nail-biter or worse, Charlie should be fired on the spot!!!    I’ll be there in person, and I’m prepared to give him the pink slip if necessary.

In addition to the Irish win, there was other good news.  You guessed it  …  Michigan lost !!    And Miami lost!!!   Ahhh … time to pop open an Alaskan IPA.   Y’all have a great week now.  No blog from me next weekend as I’ll be too busy partying on the Riverwalk.

AP Photo/Michael Conroy

It’s darned exciting … but I’m stressed out.  Can’t ND play another game like the Nevada contest one of these days?   In case you missed JC … that’s Jimmy Clausen, who’s been playing like another JC … he rallied the Irish for TDs near the end of regulation and then again in overtime to give Notre Dame it’s 3^rd cardiac arrest win in the last 4 nail-biting games by a 37-30 score in overtime.  Clausen also threw for over 400 yards and hopefully made Heisman voters notice that there are legit candidates playing above the Mason-Dixon Line.

Well, one might’ve thought coming into this contest that the Irish would have success running the ball on Washington.   After all, UW gave up 325 yards on the ground to an unranked Stanford squad last week.  That and, you know, the Irish have “a veteran offensive line that is coming into its own”.   Oh … and UW was ranked something like 108^th nationally in rushing defense coming in.   Nope … again the Irish baffled logic and failed to expose a less-talented opponent at home.  At least the passing game was working … and it saved the Irish in the end.

The first half saw ND keep the game closer than it should’ve been.  This was capped by another failure to close the first half as the Irish gave up a FG after allowing Washington to travel about 60 yards in less than a minute.    In addition to the fumble by Clausen returned for a TD, which was really the play that kept Washington in until the end, another big second half disappointment was ND’s inability to score a TD once reaching the UW 2 yard line and had to settle for a FG to take 19-17 lead.  Then after relinquishing a Husky TD on their first drive of the 3^rd, ND quickly moved to Washington’s 30 yard line where they had a 2^nd down and two.  A false start penalty on the Irish spoiled a good chance of keeping the chains moving and Turk punted.

AP Photo/Michael Conroy

Down 24-19 late in the 3^rd, Locker easily moved Washington inside ND’s 5 yard line only to be stuffed at the one on 4^th and goal which seemed to energize the Irish.  ND marched right down to the UW 7 yard line in about 6 plays highlighted by a 37 yard romp by Robert Hughes.  But AGAIN, ND failed to capitalize on being well inside the red zone and only gained 2 yards to the 5 and had to settle for yet another Nick Tausch field goal with 12:23 left in the game.   The inability of ND to stuff the ball in the end zone on the numerous chances it had inside the 10 is both an offensive line failure and a coaching failure.  This supposed veteran OL lacks both toughness and smarts … things that are terribly important in key short yardage situations.   And you’ve got to put a lot of the blame on this Irish coaching staff.    If you cannot get an experienced O-line to give you that push, especially against a suspect rushing defense, then you’re simply not doing your job.  And in taking a look at 3^rd down efficiency for both teams … ND, playing at home, converted on only 20% while Washington was clutch 41% of the time.

With the score 24-22 on Washington’s next possession, Locker again marched the Huskies down to ND’s 36 yard line where they faced a 4^th and 3 situation with 9:42 remaining.  After a time out, UW got a key first down.  Then the the Irish gave up a 16 yard rush right up the gut and Washington would go on to score another easy TD after moving the ball effortlessly down the field to make it 27-22 Huskies.

The worry coming into the game was ND’s defense and it proved to be well-founded.  Not only did they give up that easy FG to end the first half, but Jon Tenuta’s unit’s inability to make any kind of aggressive statement or adjustment in the second half is obvious.   Let’s look at UW’s second half drives:

• 57 yards for a TD (3Q)
• 79 yards and stopped on ND’s 1 yard line
• 69 yards and a FG (4Q)
• 70 yards in 1:09 to kick a game tying FG to force OT.

That’s 275 yards of offense yielded in the second half … and Washington never punted!

AP Photo/Michael Conroy

Well, as ND fans were getting ready to jump off the ledge, another great drive led by Clausen in about 6 plays gave the Irish a 1 point lead and then a 2 point conversion made it ND 30-27 with just over a minute remaining.   But once again, the Huskies moved the ball quickly down the field in very little time (about a minute) to kick the game tying FG with only 6 seconds left in regulation.

ND had the ball first in the OT and scored a quick TD made possible by a 22 yard Clausen-to-Tate pass.   Irish lead 37-30!

On Washington’s OT possession, the Irish finally sacked Jake Locker!!!!   Where was this all day?!?!!?   This helped set up a 4^th and very long and the game ended when Locker’s final pass was jarred loose by a ND defender.

Clausen for Heisman, Clausen for Heisman!!!   Jimmy was a stellar 23 for 31 for 422 yards, two TDs and again REALLY CLUTCH down the stretch when the Irish had to have scores.  Here’s a summary of game stats:

Well, we go into the off-week with some momentum BUT also plenty of nervousness.    The Irish are 4-1, a lucky 4-1.   This team is equipped with the confidence that they have the moxy and talent to come back from deficits and darn near put up 30+ point per game.  But on the other hand, a VERY LEAKY defense is preventing this team from being taken seriously … and rightly so.  Just cannot understand how this Washington team … a team the Irish completely smoked in Seattle last year (okay … it was without Jake Locker), came in to South Bend, racked up 457 yards, and took the Irish to the brink Saturday.   And the O-line just isn’t providing the toughness and physicality to make the offense completely dominant, especially when 3-4 yards are needed in key situations.

Anyway, we’ll take the win, which sets the table for the Irish to take the major step we’ve been waiting on for several years:   beat USC!    ND has two weeks to rest, get healthy, and prepare for this home game on Oct 17.   USC is beatable, but it won’t be easy by any stretch.   They are going through some growing pains with a new young QB, a young defense and new coordinators.   But if the Irish can somehow win this game against the 7^th ranked Trojans, this will create significant and much needed momentum for possibly a great season and also for the program in general.   Losing, or worse yet, not competing in this game will only stir the doubts about the coaching staff’s ability to ever bring the ND program firmly into the Top 10-15 in the country … a place were fans and alums expect it to be annually.

So … it was good to get the win, yes we needed some luck (like the overturned UW touchdown), but it’s good to be 4-1 right now.  And a doubly good day since the Michigan Skunkbears lost to Michigan State!!!

Have a great week  … and you can rest up with the Irish to get ready for the USC game.  See ya in 2 weeks!

AP Photo/Darron Cummings

By Paul Gotham

With their leading rusher and receiver on the bench and a hobbled quarterback shuffling in and out of the game, the Notre Dame Fightin’ Irish made good on fourth down for a road win. Something they hadn’t done against a Big Ten foe since the first year of the Charlie Weis tenure.

Jimmy Clausen found Kyle Rudolph in the end zone, and the Irish upended a pesky Purdue squad, 24-21. The touchdown came at the end of 12-play drive.  Clausen completed six of nine passes as ND marched 72 yards in 3:17.

Minutes earlier, Joey Elliott found Jaycen Taylor open in the middle (a common theme for Purdue), and the Boliermakers took their first lead in the second half. After the extra point, Purdue led 21-17.

Clausen took over from there. Hobbled with a sore toe on his plant foot, Clausen and Notre Dame took possession on their own 28. The junior signal caller completed passes to Golden Tate, Robert Hughes, and Kyle Rudolph, and ND had first down on the Boilermaker 32. Completions to Robby Parris and Tate gave the Irish first and goal on the Purdue 4-yard line.

The drive almost stalled there. A pass over the middle fell incomplete. Purdue stuffed a draw. On third down, Clausen tried to find Tate in the corner of the end zone. Again, the pass fell incomplete. Those plays served the purpose of setting up the drama as Clausen, out of the shotgun, avoided pressure and found his trusty tight end, Rudolph, for the score.

AP Photo/Darron Cummings

Dayne Crist came off the bench and sparked the ND offense. With Clausen injured, the coaching staff opted to insert the sophomore early to get him some touches. Crist responded with a 16 yard rush on his first play from scrimmage. ND completed the drive with a touchdown and a 10-7 lead in the second quarter. ND ran the ball eight times for 73 yards on the drive.  Tate and Robert Hughes carrying much of the load.

AP Photo/Darron Cummings

With Armando Allen sitting on the bench, Hughes came back to life. The junior rushed the ball four times for 36 yards on the drive. In all, Hughes led the Irish with 68 yards on 15 carries. Hughes entered the game 20 yards on seven carries. Hughes gained 294 yards on 53 carries as a freshman and 382 yards as a sophomore.

Tate, a former tailback, scampered for 55 yards on 9 carries. He also made five receptions for 57 yards. With Michael Floyd out for the season, Tate received more attention from the defense. Floyd has 13 catches for 358 yards and five touchdowns.

Allen leads all Irish rushers with 326 yards on 59 carries.  The junior sat with an injured right ankle.

While the Irish offense adapted to win the game, the defense will keep this ND squad from championship aspirations.

ND offered little resistance as the Boilermakers mounted two touchdown-scoring drives in the fourth quarter. Missed tackles and blown coverage were too common as Purdue took the lead late.

Darrin Walls thwarted what could have been another touchdown drive with a spectacular interception on the Irish 22. Replays showed the pass was under thrown. Elliott missed a pair of passes earlier in the game which would have gone for  long gains. Couple those mistakes  with 13 penalties for 103 yards, and the Irish should be thankful to leave West Lafayette with a win.

Notre Dame’s last road victory over Big Ten came September, 23rd 2006 when the Irish downed Michigan State, 40-37.

Whew!!!    As I’m sitting here sipping my victory brew, an Alaskan IPA if you’re wondering, I feel the need to offer thanks.   Thanks to the “Football Gods”!   Thanks to whomever had a hand in seeing to it that, this time, it was the Irish who snatched victory from the jaws of defeat instead of the other way around!   Thank God Notre Dame pulled out this win!!!     I really don’t think I could’ve taken a defeat today … not another gut wrenching close loss … not ANOTHER home defeat to the Michigan State Spartans of all unlikely teams … not ANOTHER extremely disappointing loss to yet ANOTHER team we clearly outrecruit every year.  As uncomfortable as it was, the Irish REALLY needed a win today and the ball finally bounced their way at the end of the game when it really mattered.   Irish 33  Spartans 30.

In some ways, many observers will claim the Irish got lucky.   MSU gained more net yards (458 to 438) and were clearly able to move the ball almost effortlessly at times against the Irish D throughout the game, and especially in the second half.     (Last week, the Irish clearly out-statted Michigan … and lost).   And in other ways, some will claim that ND finally got THE break it deserved after suffering through yet several more bad/unlucky breaks in this game.    (Floyd’s first half touchdown that somehow wasn’t, Tate dropping yet another clear TD pass, Sam Young continuing to haunt this team with untimely penalties, etc).    Either way you look at it, the Irish are 2-1 after challenging themselves to open the season with 3 quality opponents.

This was really a “character win” by the offense as Jimmy Clausen played most of the game with an injured toe or ankle, Armando Allen was banged up and of course Michael Floyd left the game in the 2nd quarter with the broken collarbone after his apparent TD catch that was overruled.   Clausen had another excellent and gritty game as he again hit 300 yards in passing with two TDs (really three) and no INTs.    Allen had 115 yards and a TD on 23 carries.   And when Tate wasn’t dropping a sure TD pass, he managed a TD and 127 yards on 7 grabs, including two or three extremely clutch plays to get 1st downs in the 4th quarter.    Kyle Rudolph also contributed with 95 yards on 6 grabs.

The Irish started quite hot on offense, but again let their coaching staff get in the way.   With a 13-3 lead early in the 2nd quarter and the ball at about MSU’s 45 yard line … and after having moved the ball effortlessly with a ”conventional offense” … ol’ Charlie decided to get cute on a 1st down play and called for a halfback pass from Golden Tate on a fake reverse.   Problem was, Tate is a left-handed thrower and Charlie had him rolling to the right.   Duh!!!    WHY DID WE EVEN NEED TO GET CUTE LIKE THAT?!?!?!?    All of our conventional plays were working and MSU was back on it’s heels … until Charlie gave them life.    This was one major turning point in the game.   After that, Clausen got sacked on what became an obvious passing down and that”s when he got hurt.   ND started going backwards and the Spartans gained confidence and started moving the ball and scoring on ND’s porous defense.    Does anyone else feel that CW gets way too cute with play calling when he doesn’t need to … and it ends up back-firing????    He did it last week and again today.

Okay, can somebody explain to me how Floyd’s 2nd quarter grab in the endzone was not a TD?!?!?!?!?     He clearly had possession of the ball and was able to get BOTH feet down … and ya only need one.   Okay, I’ll move on.

Let’s talk defense now.    Clearly the Irish defense … if that’s what they’re calling it … is subpar.   I’ve seen enough to know that anyone expecting this team to run the table or go 8-1 in the remaining 9 games is simply kidding themselves.    This defense is simply not good enough for the Irish to be in the BCS conversation, so forget about it.   Right now, this team closely resembles the team that Charlie inherited with Brady Quinn and a very good offense, but a defense that was clearly “bend and break sometimes”.   We MIGHT be lucky enough to go 9-3 this season, but a top 10 squad will easily lay 35-40 points on us … and that’s no way to crack the top 10 yourself.   I suppose ND can improve, but in-season improvement has not been Charlie’s track record.    Having said that … I’m worried about Purdue laying 40 on us … even after their stunning home defeat to Northern Illinois!!!

The Irish will be without Michael Floyd for at least 4 weeks, which makes him doubtful for the USC tilt on Oct 17.    In the meantime, ND goes to Purdue next week and then hosts a rejuvenated Washington squad who did the unthinkable this week … they upset SoCal in Seattle … something the Irish would clearly love to do, but have only come close once over the past 8 seasons or so.   Losing Floyd really challenges the offense, but now we have an opportunity to develop Shaq Evans and some others.

Well … a win is a win and this team showed some character again.    They won with some banged up players, while commiting several penalties and again getting a TD taken away.   The very porous defense came through with the last minute INT to seal the win.    There’s certainly a lot to be worried about (namely the defense and the health of key players), but I want to re-emphasize that the Irish should undoubtedly be 4-1 when the USC Trojans visit in October.   Instead of a gimmee, the Washington game is looking like a challenge, but we’ve got them at home and we absolutely stomped them in Seattle last year.  True, they’ve got a new coach and their starting QB back, but we should beat ‘em and be 4-1.

I’m on the road next weekend and won’t be able to send in the recap after the Purdue game, so you’re on your own.   Hopefully, the Irish will meet expectations and handle the Boilers easily.   Maybe it will be a non-event.   Unless our defense continues to underperform ….

In the meantime … have a great week and enjoy the termination of ND’s home losing streak to MSU!!  

AP Photo/Michael Conroy

For starters, this was a pretty good performance.   Yes, ND pitched a shutout against a pretty good offense, but it was one of those games where there were a lot of “baserunners and Irish pitchers were fortunate to get the double play ball when they really needed it”.   But any time you can hold an accomplished WAC offense like Nevada’s scoreless, it should be noted and celebrated.   This was ND’s first shutout since 2002 (Rutgers).   The Irish gave up quite a bit of yardage in the middle of the field, but were both stout and lucky when it came to red zone defense.  Clearly, Jon Tenuta’s defense will frequently employ the blitz and Saturday Nevada’s offense was swarmed repeatedly from multiple directions.

On offense, Notre Dame used a highly efficient and very effective passing game to dismantle the Wolfpack.   Clausen connected on 15 of 18 throws, and with a little help from his talented WRs and TE, he amassed 315 yards and 4 TDs.   Like the Hawaii Bowl game, this was more evidence that ND’s offense will be prolific when both Golden Tate and Michael Floyd are in the game.   They are two outstanding WR’s and when combined with Kyle Rudolph at TE and running backs who can catch, Clausen has mutliple weapons with which he can perform surgery.   When the OL gives him time to throw, yards will be amassed and points scored.

As ND prepares to go into the Big House next week to face RichRod’s Michigan Skunkbears, there’s really only one thing that bothers me:   run defense.    At times Saturday, Nevada tailbacks shredded ND’s D-line and easily got into the defensive backfield.   There were holes up front followed by sloppy tackling further downfield.   Was this because the Irish were focusing so much on stopping the dangerous QB Kaepernick?   Or is this really a chink in the armor?   I suspect it’s a little of both.   If there was one recognized worry coming into this season, it was the youth of the defensive linemen.   There’s talent there, but not a lot of experience, plus they are little undersized.   Of course, this doesn’t mean they won’t get better as we go, but this is something that teams will try to exploit and we’ll have to keep an eye on it.

Overall, Irish fans should be pleased with the effort and the confidence displayed by ND Saturday.   This year, there seems to be a different “feel” … not sure what it is … I know it’s only after one game and everything could change a week from today … but the team looked quietly confident.   Business like, but having fun.   They knew what the gameplan was and they knew they would execute it.   As an observer, I never really lost confidence that ND would emerge victorious Saturday.  I can’t remember the last time I had that feeling for most of the game.   Anyway, maybe it’s a sign that experience, maturity and leadership have found their way into the locker room.

Again, it’s only one game.   I’m really looking forward to how this team “takes the show on the road” into very hostile territory.   I honestly don’t see UM beating the Irish next week … but what I’m hoping we don’t see is the Irish beating themselves.    If ND has truly improved in the maturity area, we should expect to see and Irish W and a 2-0 record.

Have a great Labor Day and a good week!