Comments on: Here We Go Again? (aka Weis Redux)

By: rockne

rockne — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 05:54:47 +0000

A few key points:

When Crist was in the game against UM, ND outscored UM 24-7. Take Robinson out half the game and does UM lose at the wire?

Think losing both staring safeties has not hurt?

By: Anthony

Anthony — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 16:27:07 +0000

We’ve waited 15+ years for a savior. I can cut Kelly 1 year of slack. The team is not where it needs to be, it’s not where it’s gonna be, and thank God it’s not where it used to be!

By: Steve

Steve — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 15:44:42 +0000

I am not worried at all about the 1 – 2 start. New coach, new system, new quarterback with little experience. Kelly has won everywhere he has been and Notre Dame will be no different. He has to be given time get his system in place, to recruit his guys and have them develop into his team. I would anticipate the Irish being national contenders by Kelly’s third season. Look at Stanford, this is Harbaugh’s third year. His system is in place and he has many of his own recruits. Their improvement since his arrival is astounding considering where Stanford was in the few years before Harbaugh’s arrival.

Weis was a differenct coach. An X’s and O’s guy from the NFL that failed to develop many non-skilled position players and had no track record of success at the college level and it eventually showed itself.

By: Phil Russo ND '80

Phil Russo ND '80 — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 09:09:05 +0000

In reply to michael martino. I could not have said it better. With Crist out in the first half of the Michigan game we were going nowhere with little momentum from a field goal. It looked like Crist had a concussion which would mean he would be out for the second half and at least another whole game. If the QB you have in is going to succeed long term, you need to put him in opportunities in which he can succeed. Kelly is two plays from being 3-0. This team has its weaknesses but it is improving each week. It looks tremendously different than last year's team and any team I have seen in a long time.

By: Calhoun

Calhoun — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 02:39:48 +0000

I read this artice after the one on the internet innuendo.
I now undersand the defensiveness as this is extremely critical and handwringing for an early season analysis. How could it be interpreted otherwise and especially so when considered by outsiders.
My response is that it is a 3 games into a season. He got beat by a one man wonder in Robinson who played a game for the ages and then he got beat by a call for the ages. He knows his jock strap was left on Spartan field that nite but again it happens. Keep the book open on this guy.
Also, I dont think your point is well taken by comparing BK to Weis. Weis was both subjectively and objectively abysmal on every level. Indeed, the defensive shortcomings in the secondary now are the result of starting players (#22 especially) who are second team and practice team players. This is what Weis left BK and the weakest link gets exploited as some point over the course of a game.
Weis never understood the full component of the game and all its facets.

By: michael martino

michael martino — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 01:39:48 +0000

Maybe Kelly went for 7 against MI b/c he didn’t know if he’d have Crist back for the 2nd half. Without Crist, 3 pts wasn’t going to cut it. Maybe he went for it on 4th down with 6 mins left against MI State because they were getting a certain look from MI State and it was a play that had great success in practice. Crist ran it in slow motion or he might have done better (Crist is doing great for his 3rd start). Maybe Kelly knows better than we do. He beat Pitt the last two years (’08, ’09), with way less talent that he has now, while ND lost to the same Pitt teams. I do believe many on this site want Kelly to fail, perhaps because it is easier to complain about losing than to really hope for success. Fortunately, Kelly and his players have more backbone than that. Keep watching. Go Irish!

By: JR irish

JR irish — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 23:07:51 +0000

While your full article is better than the front page lead you lost me when discussing that Dayne Crist is not accurate enough, etc, to handle a Kelly offense. Factoring in that he has essentially played 2.5 games of football, and did not have the benefit of starting against Samford State Technical University in game one I think a 60% completion percentage, over 840 yards and 7 TDs v. 2 ints might lend some credence to the fact that he is good enough to execute the Kelly offense. If Floyd does not fumble the ball in the Purdue game ND skates. If Crist plays the entire Michigan game we win. MSU, had its dissappointments, but for the first time in recent memory our D actually had some stops at the end of the game showing resiliency after stinking up the place.

3 Games…sheesh. And we could have/should have won the last two. 7 turnovers doesn’t help either.

Maybe we should wait until half the season is played????

By: The Piper

The Piper — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 20:26:24 +0000

In reply to mstrpln00.

I’ve read some ridiculous comments but this one is laughable. Weis went 15-21 in his last 3 reg seasons. Our talent was never developed and Bert Berry’s comments after the Blue-Gold game told you how bad of shape they were in. I defended him for 4yrs, but he was a bad coach. And to say kelly isn’t as good as we hoped? We’re THREE games in!

Its mindboggling that people are in panic mode.

By: PJ (Michigan)

PJ (Michigan) — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 20:22:33 +0000

In reply to Qu1ps.

Well, if two of today’s most successful coaches were hired from conferences other than the SEC, it would seem that talent can be found outside the SEC. So your argument that we should have hired only an SEC coach is invalid. So is your criticism of Kelly for being non-SEC.

Sometimes the best thing is to hire a man with obvious talent and ambition from a smaller program. Ara went from Miami of Ohio to Northwestern to ND. Miami of Ohio was not a monster program, and Ara’s record at Northwestern was 36-35-1. Was there anything in those two programs that portended Ara’s success at Notre Dame? Perhaps his record of 39-6-1 at Miami of Ohio. Sounds awfully similar to that of a man who coached at CMU, Grand Valley State, and Cincinnati.

The jury is still out regarding Kelly, and he will be judged by wins and losses. There is no alternative to giving him our full support and fighting like hell to win the rest of our games.

By: Qu1ps

Qu1ps — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 17:05:23 +0000

Um, does your question matter? What is the price of tea in China today? The SEC is the best conference in America while the Big East is arguably the worst BCS football conference. I hope you, like others, are excited with the Brian Kelly hire. His ridiculous post game comments are already showing what type of coach this Administration has brought to ND.