September 5, 2005
Breaking down the Notre Dame win
The Charlie Weis era has begun with a big win over Pitt and there is much rejoicing for Notre Dame football:
Quinn seemed to have a newfound knack for knowing just where and when to run. You also have to admire his toughness in taking hits head-on… until you realize how much of the season rides on his health.
Prepare yourselves for a season of media comparisons between Charlie's first year and Willingham's first year. (References to the nadir of ND football in 2003 will conveniently be omitted.) Certain columnists and talking heads have already attempted to compare Charlie's victory over Pittsburgh to Willingham's victory over Maryland. What these comparisons conveniently omit is Notre Dame's inability to score an offensive touchdown in Willingham's debut. Or the following week. In fact, it was not until the closing seconds of the fourth game of 2002 that Willingham's team scored its sixth offensive touchdown of the year. The sixth offensive touchdown of Weis's first year came halfway through the third quarter of his first game. "Night and day," indeed.
I can just imagine Ty, sitting at home in his purple pajamas, clutching his little stuffed huskie, chewing his nails in nervous anticipation!
Speaking of Weis, the playcalling was superb. After prodding at the defense for a single series, Weis made Wannstachio's coaching staff reconsider their careers. A fake wideout reverse pass! Brilliant! Asaph Schwaph lead blocking for RPN in close yardage situations! Unstoppable! Passes completed to seven (7) different receivers! A twenty (20) play drive! Not a single punt in the entire first half! Finally, we don't have to rely on our defense to be the more reliable scoring threat.
Nevertheless, there were indications in the stat lines that earmark this team as a completely different animal than the fool's gold "Return to Glory" enjoyed by Notre Dame three years ago. Challenges in the coming weeks will offer a more telling portrait of Weis' short-term impact on the program, but those who choose to shrug off last night's effort as "Willingham 2: Electric Boogaloo" don't have the numbers on their side to support the notion.
DELIVERANCE IS HERE!! And and Choo Choo Charlie and Nuclear Minter are gonna make those backwoodsers PAY FOR WHAT THEY DID TO RUDY's DAD!!
The talent has been there all along. It just needed the right choreographer to fashion a winning dance, so to speak; and, indeed, Quinn and the offensive line performed brilliantly to Charlie's masterful script. The rushing defense deserves kudos too; the passing defense does not.
Really, it was an impressive win with nearly everybody playing a great game, and the mental and physical lapses that did occur ended up not hurting us. If there is steady improvement as the season progresses, this team will be surprisingly good on defense, and downright scary on offense.
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Phil said:
posted on September 6, 2005 9:14 PM — 68.72.23.139 — link — abuse?It was amazing to see how Brady Quinn ran the new offense. It was just what the doctor ordered.