Looking Ahead in the Rearview Mirror

Let’s get a couple of things out of the way before we start. I liked when Notre Dame hired Charley Weis, I really did. I enjoyed his bravado, his I’m smarter then you attitude, it was a refreshing change for a truly holier than thou place.

In the last couple of years, I defended Weis as Notre Dame slid to levels not seen before in South Bend, but it’s over, no more. It’s time for Weis to be on the clock towards heading back to the NFL, it’s not going to work.

Chances are numerous 10-year old children raised families and could have become grandparents between Navy victories over Notre Dame from 1963 to 2007, now it’s happened twice in three years at Notre Dame Stadium. Weis deserves the blame. The players he’s recruited can’t stop the run or the pass. He’s changed defensive coaches, he’s called the plays, he’s let somebody else call the plays and then decided he should call them again. Generally speaking, the feeling is the only constant is change and not for the better.

I heard ESPN radio’s Colin Cowherd say Charley Weis didn’t just become dumb. He’s a smart man; he helped build the New England Patriots dynasty if you will. He certainly knows more about football than the average fan. He went on to add that sometimes even the smartest people make bad decisions, but that doesn’t make them stupid.

But how smart is Weis to not to have players prepared for Navy? They lost to them just two years ago, who cares if they are a foot shorter and 70 pounds lighter, the Middies are going to bring it, especially against Notre Dame. But an unmotivated team after pounding up on Washington State was out-everythinged by Navy. Goodbye BCS. The Irish are underdogs at Pittsburgh this week and very likely will be underdogs at Stanford, so thoughts of 10-2 in August are realistically heading towards 7-5.

The Notre Dame brass was dumb enough to give Weis 10-year contract, I’m certain they are three phone calls away from somebody donating for buyout of his contract. Brian Kelly of Cincinnati by all appearances is the right guy; a self-made coach who has won at every level and shown even the Bearcats can win at very highest of levels. Is Notre Dame relevant to an 18-year old, probably not that much, but no reason for this! I admire what his family life has been like, but that is separate from football. Sorry Charley.

While mentioning Cincy, I wonder when was the last time a team had over 700 yards of offense and didn’t cover. That was the Bearcats who hung on to win over Connecticut 47-45 as 16-point home favorites.

Another team similar to Notre Dame, lacking overall talent is Iowa and it finally caught up to them in loss to Northwestern. Losing QB Ricky Stanzi was chaotic blow and they lacked enough other offensive weapons to survive yet again. Unbeaten teams that lose late in the year are good play against clubs and Ohio State was impressive on both sides of the ball in dominating Penn State on the road. The Buckeyes have won by 20 points per game in last five meetings.

Stanford was setup for perfect situation and delivered upset over Oregon 51-42 as a touchdown home underdog. Often when teams are flat it shows up on defense and penalties. The Ducks were torched for 505 yards against the Cardinal and had nine penalties to three for Stanford. Oregon should have no problem with Arizona State this week, however the trip to Tucson won’t be a picnic and Oregon State is starting to play very good football.

Kudos to Alabama for sucking it up at home against LSU, winning 24-15 as seven-point favorites. A 14-0 fourth quarter run showed championship ability. Granted, the Tigers didn’t have all their offensive weapons due to injury late in the game, but the Crimson Tide’s desire was wholly evident.

In the NFL, its official, the New York Giants are as Tom Petty once sang “free fallin”. Giants’ apologists are saying nobody knows his team better than coach Tom Coughlin, trying to explain away why the Giants never threw the ball twice when at the San Diego 14-yard line, before settling for field goal and 20-14 lead. Should New York have stopped the Chargers in game winning drive, of course, nonetheless having 10-point lead would have made it a whole lot easier. The Giants may have failed just the same, but you have to try and score a touchdown. The bye couldn’t have come at a better time for New York, who faces a very challenging last seven games.

Recent history has told us to never judge Dallas until December, yet the win at Philly showed a tougher Cowboys club and a smarter Tony Romo.

The New England at Indianapolis game this week should be ridiculously fun.

The Green Bay Packers are not well-coached (went over that last week) and have put together poor game plans on offense and defense the last few weeks. Rookie Bucs QB Josh Freeman looked like a 10-year against Green Bay, who had former DE Aaron Kampman guarding a back out of the backfield near the goal line in new defensive scheme. Touchdown Tampa Bay. Packers get Dallas at home, good luck.

Wonder if Jay Cutler has Denver nightmares? Did you know the New Orleans defense has as many touchdowns as Drew Brees has touchdown passes the last three weeks?(5) Are the Bengals really more physical than Baltimore? After beating them twice as underdogs and running the ball effectively both times the answer is yes. The loss of receiver Chris Henry will hurt however.

As talented as Anquan Boldin is, are the Arizona Cardinals better without him? Bolden was unhappy sideline viewer with injury against Chicago and really for the first time all year, the Cardinals made concerted effort to get the ball to Larry Fitzgerald and the offense looked like the one that went to the Super Bowl. The Bears defense was embarrassed at home.

Good for Vince Young, with Tennessee winning consecutive games. He’s sparked the entire team. He’ll never be a fantasy player pick, but if he keeps working at his craft and plays to his strengths, he could well become a solid winning NFL quarterback. The Titans are not going anywhere, but they will be a dangerous underdog the rest of the year if they keep playing hard.