Projection, Please

My partner in crime that writes as a student blogger for the Sporting News posted his projected offensive and defensive starting lineups for next season (most of you probably read it when it was posted on NDLNA a few weeks ago), and I felt that it was my obligation as a friend to analyze his predictions and test their validity. Let's start off with the 2008 offense:

Potential Offensive Starters:
QB: Jimmy Clausen, SOPH
RB: Robert Hughes, SOPH
RB: Armando Allen, SOPH
WR: David Grimes, SR
WR: Duval Kamara, SOPH
TE: Will Yeatman, JR / Mike Ragone SOPH
LT: Sam Young, JR
LG: Eric Olsen, JR
C: Dan Wenger, JR
RG: Mike Turkovich, SR
RT: Chris Stewart, JR
K: Brandon Walker, SOPH

O-Line

The first thing that stood out to me when I read this was the experience at the O-Line. The group somewhat lacks a senior presence, but having a starting line that consists of all upperclassman should give ND a decided advantage in the trenches compared to last season. Senior Mike Turkovich was nasty and aggressive at times last year, and Olsen, Wenger, and Stewart all showed that they have the necessary combination of skill and desire to be effective. With three year starter Sam Young protecting Jimmy's blind side, this group has a lot of good potential for the next season; the challenge will be if they can learn to play together, something that the 2007 squad was largely unable to accomplish. The Rock Report emphasized the need for experienced depth and talent (to increase competition), and it looks like the right tackle position will be full of competition this year. Rising senior Paul Duncan will challenge Planet Stewart, causing both athletes to work harder.

Time to get physical, men

Running Back:

Hughes was good at the end of '07, but the question is will a healthy Aldridge with two years of experience win the job? My guess is that the starting job is James' to lose; Allen will be used for speed and Hughes for hands on 3rd down situations (or goal line sets), but Weis has said before that he thinks Aldridge is the 'most complete' halfback. I personally believe that we have yet to see Aldridge at 100%, and I'm hoping that he can find a way to take advantage of a better offensive line next season.

Receiver:

The receivers will need to step up in '08 if the passing game is to improve. I agree that the starting two will be Kamara and Grimes, but as a senior, Grimes will need to show that he can be a consistent target. Duval will look to build off of an impressive freshman campaign, but Robby Parris should enter with a chip on his shoulder, and don't be surprised if he rebounds for a big year. Another issue will be if coach Ianello can groom Golden Tate into the playmaker we saw against Purdue. Incoming freshman Michael Floyd will look to get in the mix, but unless he has an incredible summer, expect to see more of Grimes Parris and Kamara for the first few games.

Tight End:

ND lost one of its biggest offensive threats in John Carlson (who is still projected as a dark horse first round pick), but what the Irish lost in playmaking, they made up for in Nastieness. Yeatman is a physical blocker who will add to the run game, and I distinctly remember him making some physical receptions in 2007. Young gun Mike Ragone and incoming 5 star recruit Kyle Rudolph will get chances to prove themselves when Weis runs the double tight and some goal line packages, but Yeatman will get most of the action; he's one of the players I expect to have a breakthrough year.

I think you hear him comin'

Kicking:

I think this is another crap shoot, and quite honestly, I wouldn't be too surprised to see a walk-on get a few looks at this position. I hope that Brandon Walker will get rid of his butterflies next year. Who knows? Once he gets a good off season of lifting in him, the Irish may just be able to attempt 41 yarders this year.

"Wait a minute?" you ask, "Notre Dame has the top ranked recruiting class this season. Why aren't there any freshman in the starting lineup?"

While I was a huge critic of Clausen at times last year, and I think very highly of some incoming players like Michael Floyd, I don't think many freshman will immediately see the field on offense next year. Writer Shawn Courchesne put together a nice article about Zach Frazer and the UConn practice squad, describing the importance of the scout team. Last season, the Irish were so thin at so many positions that they couldn't afford to run very physical practices, and the starters weren't able to get many good looks at opposing schemes before they played against them. This year, the star studded freshman class should be able to give the defense pretty good looks while the newbies can adjust to the college game and get a chance to develop before they are thrown into the fire of a live game.

Case of the Mondays

The first Monday fully removed from ND's football season has undoubtedly left some of our loyal readers in a head-pounding Duds and Studs withdrawal, so the crew thought that it would be helpful to post something today, even if it is just a vain attempt to fill a void that likely won't be satisfied until after the San Diego State game.

While perusing NDLNA, I came across a decent writeup by MSNBC.com analyst Eric Hanse, which points out some highs and lows of the season. Hanse found some silver lining in the season both in the play of freshmen nose tackle Ian Williams and wideout Duval Kamara, and the statistical improvement of the defense from 2006 to 2007 is also worth taking a look at. Regarding Kamara, BlueandGold.com came up with a cumulative playing time chart for the season, and #18 was able to log the most playing time for a freshman receiver since Rocket Ismail on the 1988 squad. It's worth noting the presence of underclassmen that are either at or near the top of their position; hopefully these young players can build off of the quantity of experience they were able to get this year and use it to better prepare for next season.

The Charlie's Nasties crew always tries to present a fair and unbiased opinion whenever possible, so in order to attempt to do so, I give you this article defending the Nasties crew's favorite scapegoat, John Latina. Our friends at the Irish Roundup offer several factors out of the realm of John's control that have negatively contributed to the offensive line's performance over the last three years, and the post suggests that Irish Nation should (like the case with Weis) hold off on passing judgement until he is given another year to redeem himself. In my mind, however, a good coach is able to fix the type of problems (missed assignments, inability to adjust to defenses) that have plagued the line this year, and I am still blown away that Chris Stewart went unnoticed and unused for the first half of the season. I mean, come on, looking at this picture, doesn't one player kind of, um... stick out as possessing some good physical traits for excelling at the right tackle position?


Anyway, the point is that a player shouldn't have to threaten to transfer to see some playing time. I know that sometimes players perform differently in practice than in games, but when the team opens the first three games struggling to net positive rushing yards, then there's not really any excuse for not giving the bottom of the depth chart some opportunity.

In other news, if you haven't noticed yet, the Nasties crew has finally sold out. Contract negotiations with Brugg and the Golden Boy have resurfaced and have been proceeding amicably up to this point, but it looks like the site is going to need to generate some revenue to put up with their demands. So if you like what you read around here, I encourage you to support us by checking out the ads in the right column of the page. With the holiday season fast approaching, it never hurts to find some nice ND apparel online.

This picture is seriously from one of the ad sites.

Lastly, a quick congratulations to the men's bball team for a nice win over Eastern Michigan last weekend. I have a film screening in the DPAC tomorrow night during the Kansas State game (which will be played at the Madison Square Garden), but you can bet that they'll be at least one laptop in the theatre pulling up a gamecast.

Go Irish! Beat Wildcats!

Duds and Studs: The Last Hurrah

Congrats to the Fighting Irish for taking down the Cardinal in their last game of the 2007 campaign. The official box score was as follows:

Notre Dame: 35
Stanford: 14
Officials: -14
Duds:

ESPN: Electing to use the C-Team announcers to cover a more notorious game during rivalry week, ND was stuck with what appeared to be the J-Team, consisting of a field reporter with spray on hair and two announcers that couldn't help beating everything to death.

Announcer A: Look at number 20 for Stanford! That linebacker's all over the place!
Announcer B: I agree, if you had to take a guess for who made the tackle last play, you could say Clinton Synder and you would be right 90% of the time.
A: Clinton Synder is around the play almost 90% of the time.
B: He really is all over the place.
A: Well, B, that's because he was a 2 star recruit and he plays with more heart than 4 star recruits...

Officials: "The call on the field is reversed" seemed to be the most popular words out of their mouths, and the 'indisputable evidence' that overturned Grime's endzone circus catch might have caused riots if it became a deciding factor in the game. The primary reason these officials make the duds list, however, is that they failed to keep the game in control. There is absolutely no reason for the Notre Dame vs. Stanford game to escalate to FIU/Miami proportions. The drive where the announcer's son and his bash brother decided to headbutt Clausen after a play and de-cleat a stationary David Grimes after the whistle (respectively) could have resulted in ejections; labelling them as "off-setting personal fouls" was ridiculous. This foul play seemed to stem from Lambert's (even though it wasn't necessarily malicious or intentional) hit on Pritchard, and it was missing this call that really turned the game downhill for the officials.

Defensive Fundamentals: In a showing that made the Duke game look like a masterpiece, our defense seemed to forget how to take pursuit angles or break down when they were tackling. The preferred method of lunging at the feet of Stanford's players was able to quell a less than impressive offense, but it is obvious that Corwin needs to address this issue during the offseason.

O-Line: As opposed to positions like linebacker or defensive tackle, the problem at this position is that if one player misses an assignment, it usually blows up the entire play. Blitz-ford delivered as advertised and dished out 5 sacks on Clausen as well as creating several other pressure situations. To Weis' credit, he didn't mess around this game, pulling players in Lou Holtz fashion if they failed to properly execute an assignment. While Chris Stewart and Dan Wenger showed some promise, Sam Young needs to learn how to stop a speed rush; the opposing gameplan on him appears to encourage pinning back one's ears and sprinting around him. Fortunate for us, Young appears to have the talent and desire to correct this weakness.

Jim Harbaugh: I have to admit that I enjoy some of his outspoken nature, but could you imagine being Mrs. Pritchard and watching Harbaugh send your son back onto the field after suffering an obvious concussion? I think that he will have a hard time convincing parents to trust him with their children after that.


Studs:


Robert Hughes: Despite the Notre Dame v. Reggie Bush circa 2005 efforts by the Cardinal grounds crew, Hughes succeeded in becoming the first freshman to eclipse the century mark in back to back games since Autry Denson in the 95 season. It would have been nice to see him finish his two long runs, but it's becoming clear the Hughes likes his role as a feature back, turning 18 carries into 136 yards and a touchdown.

The D-Team: Darrin Walls, David Bruton, and Ian Williams join permanent resident Trevor Laws in this group. All performed well with Williams recording 6 tackles, Walls and Bruton providing good coverage, and Laws being Laws. The young outside linebacking duo of Kerry Neal and Brian Smith looked pretty decent as well.

Brian Smith says "Give me a low-five"

Duval Kamara: The late season Golden Tate, Kamara has proven to be ND's most consistent aerial weapon, however, Charlie could improve on mixing up his play calling to the #1 receiver. It seems like whenever someone catches a deep ball, Weis has to run 3 or 4 fly routes to him before reverting back to the out and slant patterns. Irish fans should be especially thankful for Kamara's consistency when considering the drop in production from Parris and the inconsistency of Grimes. While #11 is able to make a spectacular catch from time to time, his inability to haul in the gimme's could move him into the slot next season if he doesn't show improvement.

Tom Zbikowski: It was great to see Zibby back in his old form for his last game with the Irish. His punishing hits and momentum changing plays in the Stanford game serve as a reminder for what the Irish will be missing at the safety position next year.

Also, props to the Blue and Gold supporters that made it out to Palo Alto for the game; judging by the crowd noise, it almost sounded like a home game on TV. Good job sticking with the team throughout this struggling season. As former Irish head coach Gerry Faust said, "It won't be long before they're back on top again. Sometimes it's good to go through these things. It makes you stronger. The crucifixion has to come before the resurrection."

Go Irish. Beat Aztecs!