Charlie Weis is a is a big thinker, a self proclaimed genius. After 4 years of exercising his genius powers at what is now known as Northwest Indiana State, he has taken that program to heights last experienced under Gerry Faust.
And he only has 6 more years left on his contract. Charlie came into NWIS with a pure bred pedigree. By himself, he molded Tom Brady into the best quarterback in the NFL. He designed new and crazy offenses. He won a superbowl. He leaps 8 story buidlings in a single bound. He discovered that Pluto was not a planet.
When Charlie came to NWIS, he proclaimed that he would tower over all other NCAA programs because he had such an advantage coming from his unique pedigree. His success has been, well, not exactly resounding, despite his overwhelming superiority over any other merely mortal college coach. The Sun Times has captured how well this Weis superiority has turned out. Highlights:
This is his bailout package. Because the most-hyped coach in college football history has been one big failure. Never has so much hope and hype been built from hot air. But when you sell yourself on spec, as Weis did, sooner or later, the finished product comes in.
All of the schools in the aforementioned sampling faced similar or larger hurdles than did ND in the area of academic standards, coaching changes, lack of tradition and exposure or some combination thereof. And if recruiting rankings are anywhere near an accurate measure of actual talent, none of the schools on that list is in Notre Dame's stratosphere.
So the process of elimination brings you back to the X's and O's, which was supposed to be the one area Weis held an absolute edge.
"I think as you evolve into the college football world, there are many lessons you learn," Weis said when asked about his four-year-old boast of having a decided schematic advantage as a college head coach. "As the pieces of the puzzle come together, the picture gets clearer. When the pieces come together, I'll let you know."
Charlie is feeling picked on. He can't understand why Michigan would use his comments from this summer as chalkboard material.
He says any real Michigan fan would understand the significance to "To Hell with Michigan" as harkening back to the days of Bo. He is right about Bo's "To Hell with Notre Dame". But the Whale has again shown his extraordinary arrogance -- especially for a guy who has woefully underperformed, and may find himself coaching South Bend High next year.
It's not the "To Hell with Michigan", its the presumption that Michigan would come in whining about all of our inexperience, etc, and use it as an excuse for a loss at South Bend. No such luck you Arrogant Whale. In fairness Michigan should come in whining. But it's not. Stevie Brown:
When Charlie, Coach Weis, used to recruit me, he kind of had an arrogance about him, so I figured it’s just him being him. I didn’t think too much of it. We’re just going to go in there with no excuses, and we’re just going to play hard and try to win the game.”
Not So Fast, My Friend.
What nobody has really said in the press is that even more arrogant than predicting Michigan's excuses is his backhanded cut at Rod. Charlie's statement wasn't directed to remind Michigan fans about Bo. We already know. It was directed to remind us, and Rich Rodriguez that he Rodriguez didn't know. The Whale's purpose wasn't to remind us of Bo, it was to cut and make fun of Rod for using Bo's saying as Michigan bulletin board material.
O yee Ginamourous Blob o' jelly, thou shouldst think carefully before trespassing upon the Destroyer of the Stairmaster. Thou shalt suffer the wrath of the Wizard.
Brian noted that there was music playing during the game, and not played by the band. I agree that this is completely unacceptable. In fact, I think the pregame music is unacceptable. We don't need or want RAWK MUSIC played in the stadium on game day. I'm all for a little Limp Bizkuit or DMB in the stadium, but let's leave that to a Bill Martin fundraiser concert for Crisler Arena.
Arrogant Whale.
Whale Boy, was defending his poor season last year by saying they don't use excuses at Weis U. More or less, he said Michigan will come into South Bend the 2nd game of the season whining and complaining:
“Then we'll listen to Michigan have all their excuses as they come running in saying how they have a new coaching staff and there’s changes,” he said in a video widely viewed on YouTube. “The hell with Michigan."
Notre Dame's black transfers, and anyone who's ever listened to the Whale, already knew Charlie is an arrogant bitch. But, you've gotta give Stevie B credit for pointing it out:
When Charlie, Coach Weis, used to recruit me, he kind of had an arrogance about him, so I figured it’s just him being him. I didn’t think too much of it. We’re just going to go in there with no excuses, and we’re just going to play hard and try to win the game.”
And with Charlie on the brink of entering the no excuse zone, I have a suggestion for the South Bend P.A. announcer -- play the Wholesome Love Atari Mix.
Still a chance at Nick Perry?
I wrote at signing time, that Nick Perry have been a great addition to the Michigan Class. Perry is a Defensive End who is a freshman at USC, which he picked over Michigan. Perry is having issues qualifying.
Sometimes a win is a win. Sometimes a win is more than just a win.
A coach's first win, is more than just a win. Even if it's only over a MAC opponent. Coach Rodriguez has his first W wearing the Maize and Blue. Rod admitted it wasn't pretty. And, normally, I would have a lot of complaining to do only beating relatively poor Miami, Ohio but not today. This win is also more than just a win because:
--Rodriguez avoided losing Michigan's first game ever to a MAC team; --Michigan avoided going 0-2 for the second straight year; --Without this win, 32 straight bowl seasons was in serious jeopardy (could still be); --In the words of the greatest crime fighter of all time:
Austin: [the guard has just fallen in molten lava] What a... burn? [laughs] Austin: That sort of thing could get a man... fired? [laughs] Austin: I think he was... hot... for... you? [laughs] Felicity Shagwell: That's enough. Austin: Yeah.
--And more heat, Rodriguez needs not.
Postgame video:
09-06-08: U-M vs. Miami of Ohio postgame press conference
Celebrate Young Man:
And deservedly so. Aside from a couple of potential big passes that were just missed by Miami, (only one of which was a blown coverage) the defense played pretty well and gave up only two field goals. The front looks pretty good, and TT, Brandon Graham, and Obi Ezah played well today. If they can keep up the pressure from the last 3 halves, and the secondary can turn it up small notch, they should really hold Weis U to less than 250 yards on offense. Barring an offensive meltdown (which is no gimme) we've got a reasonable shot to win next week against whale boy.
Quarterback Found.
Steven Threet was erratic at times. But, he had far better command of the offense than did Nick Sheridan. Sheridan was supposed to be the runner. After today, Not So Much. Whether Threet knows the offense better, fakes better, or what, its pretty clear we have a #1. We'll see if Rod sticks with him, or continues to juggle. Please, no more juggling, unless it's in the bag, or Threet completes more than 5 straight passes to Tacopants. At one point, Threet had a couple of long completions to Tacopants on the sideline. Despite that, it's hard to remove the better passer, when he's also the better runner, in command, and moving the offense. Running Backs.
Honestly, did anyone ever think that Steven Threet would outrush Brandon Minor in any game? Threet 5 for 26; Minor 1 for 15. Better question: Why did Brandon Minor carry only once?
I like the use of many backs. One thing about the 2nd half of Lloyd's tenure that bugged me was his propensity to lean on one back excessively (Anthony Thomas, Chris Perry, Mike Hart) when there were other backs very capable who could have contributed. But, Brandon Minor had the best run of the day, clearly. Shaw and McGuffie also looked good, but why not get the senior the ball more than once? I was also glad to see Grady get the short yardage carries, this makes mucho sense.
More Confirmation That Andre Ware Stinks:
Miami qb pitches left, the ball is fumbled, but the ref blows the whistle thinking it's a forward pass. Andre keeps rambles through the play and the referee discussion following a replay. Had he listened to the explanation by the ref, he and his partner would have known that "by rule, repeat 3rd down". Instead, Andre wonders aloud with his partner whether Miami would go for it on 4th down, and why isn't the Michigan staff yelling that the refs have missed changing the down markers.
Team Comparisons.
Weis U. barely beat San Diego State, who was blasted by Cal Poly; OSU had a similar game to Michigan's against a worse opponent Ohio U; Wisconsin struggled in the first half against MAC opponent Marshall. While there is a lot of work to do on offense, Michigan wasn't the only team to horribly struggle today -- and with the learning curve of a new offense, it could be worse.
SuperCrazy Stats of the Day:
Pat White:
20 rushes for 97 yards 4.9/carry 0 td 11/18 passing 72 yards 0 td 0 int
Steven Threet 5 rushes for 26 yards 5.2/carry 1 td 6/13 passing 63 yards 0 td 0 int
This is Scary.
Miami linebacker Clayton Mullins says we're pretty similar to CMU, and that after a few adjustments, they handled what Michigan was doing. I don't necessarily agree. I think there was more to Michigan's lackluster last 3 quarters than Miami's D, but still:
"They did a few things that we weren't expecting to start off with. With Butch Jones being on [Rich Rodriguez's] staff and now at Central Michigan, I'm pretty sure some of that stuff is exactly what Central Michigan is doing. We adjusted to it. I felt like we played pretty well after that first drive until the last drive. We felt like we could make it happen and that we would be able to stop them. We made the adjustments that we needed to make. After we did that, the defense came together, and we wanted to get back on the field. We just felt like we had everything starting to click, but then we had a few breakdowns at the end."
Couches Are Igniting In A World Of Shit.
in Morganstown (you thought I meant east lansing, and it's probably 50/50 they are after crushing the little emu; but I'm strictly talking mountaineers here. And rightfully so:
Why is it when you try to be honest about Gomer Pyle, I mean Bill Stewart, people say you're not a real fan. I''m 35 and have been rooting for them as long as I can remember. If 7-5 is good with you, waht kind of fan are you. RR created an expectation level of greatness. We didn't always reach it, but we cam close. Stewart is overmatched, and this will become more evident as the year goes on. Is it possible the Oklahoma win is the worst win in WVU history? There's a reason he wasn't a candidate before that game.
Oh, how true that is. Both as to unexpected expectations Rod brought, as well as the cluster**** the wva administration made of the whole mess and Gomer's hire. Nice guy, that Gomer. But, West Virgina Fans: You Are In a World of Shit:
We cannot pass up this opportunity to belittle (yeah, right!) Charlie the Big Tuna Weis. I recevied this youtube from a friend. It's pretty classic. When you have a worse record than a high school coach at ND, I think you deserve this:
The NCAA has changed the football rules (again) in its effort to control games and timing. With the exception of the reduction of timouts to 30 seconds (how would Gary Moeller have ever made a decision?) in a televised game (it'll still be over 2 minutes long by the time "Our Country" concludes) the changes seem to make some sense. The question is whether the new rules will allow Charlie time to order wings on the sideline come September 15.
1. Instead of starting the clock at referee ready following change of possession, the clock will now start on the snap after a change in possession (which was the case before that stupid rule change that went into effect last year. See Rule 3-2-5-e.
2. Last year, the clock started on when the kicker's foot hit the ball on kickoff's and kicks following a safety. That rule has also been changed to the former version, and the clock will start only when the ball is legally touched in the field of play.
3. Kickoffs will now be from the defensive 30 yard line, instead of the 35.
4. Following tv tiimouts the play clock will only be 15 instead of 25 seconds.
5. During televised games only, team timeouts will be reduced to 30 seconds (plus the additional 25 second play clock). I'm not sure how much difference this will actually make because the rule only applies where a conference or media agreements to the contrary does not apply.
The NCAA statement regarding the rule changes are here. The actual rulebook can be found here.
