Clausen Drops Back, He's Looking Deep...

A difference maker; Notre Dame has been looking for one for the past two years. After we lost the Brady to Jeff combination we have been lacking the “spark” that can change the outcome of the game. Many of us have hoped that it would be Armando Allen, or Golden Tate. Both showed signs of being the play maker they were brought in to be, but it never really happened (maybe 2008?).

Considering what we all saw in the Army All-American Game, Notre Dame might have another difference maker in the waiting. Michael Floyd put on quite the performance in the Army All-American game. He had two TD catches (one from classmate Danye Crist) and was a constant deep threat. He had a very impressive senior campaign too. He had 43 rushes for 497 yards (12 ypc) and 3 touchdowns, 59 catches for 1,247 yards (21 ypc) and 17 touchdowns, and let’s not forget 16 returns for 373 yards and 4 touchdowns. If you are counting that is over 20 touchdowns for a receiver. I will take it!



Coach Weiss has been very high on Floyd, and has mentions numerous times that he does NOT look like a freshmen. After announcing the depth chart on Monday we found out that Floyd is in the 2 deep along with Golden Tate. That alone is a match up nightmare; I cannot wait to see a four wide set with Grimes, Kamara, Tate, and Floyd out there. For good measure we can even put Armando Allen in the backfield. I get goose bumps just thinking about it.

What really impresses me is Floyd’s work ethic. It has been mentioned how he has stayed after practice to work on route running and how he has worked very hard in the weight room. For a freshman, this kid has come to play. Just looking at him you have to be impressed. He is all of 6’3” 215 pounds; he was only 195 pounds while in high school. For someone to gain 20 pounds in such a short time he had to work hard and put the time in. In Floyd’s case he put the time in before he even got to Notre Dame.



Just ten more days until we find out though, and I cannot wait. I really want to see at least three plays over 30 yards. If it happens to go to Floyd don’t say I didn’t tell you so. Keep your fingers crossed and your mugs filled.

T-Minus Two Weeks! That 14 Days to you UofM Grads...

Notre Dame Football is almost upon us. I will say it again; Notre Dame Football is almost upon us. I have been an emotional wreck since the end of last season. Sometimes I lay awake at night and wonder just what happened. Other times I catch myself thinking about the up and coming season, hoping for a return to greatness.

I know that I should not expect the greatest ofthings or jump to conclusions, and that I should realize that it is going to take time….BUT WOW, things were really bad last year. Here is some of the numbers that are just flat out unacceptable.

1. 75.2 rushing yards per game. Are you kidding me? Really? That comes out to about 2 yards per carry. That is not going to get it down. Hughes, Aldridge, and Allen are better than that. Not that is it just their fault. The O-line defiantly gets some of the blame. I feel that we have to have a productive ground game to have a productive passing game. We need to be able to pound te ball at the goal line, and not get tackle in the back field. 3.5 yards a carry = a decent ground game. How on Earth do I come up with that, well, 3 rushes times 3.5 yards a carry = a first down.

2. 9.2 yards per reception. Huh, so what you are saying is that we only average 3 more yards a reception than Beanie Wells (OSU) averages a rush (6.1 yards per carry)…..huh. Yes, Clausen was hurt. Yes, Clausen got sacked, hit, slammed, nailed, crucified, lynched, etc etc A LOT, but this is no excuse. There were times when Martinez and I were screaming at the TV asking, begging Jimmy to throw the ball. The receivers have to be held accountable to some degree also. Three of them averaged over ten yards a reception. Kamara with 11.2, Parris with 12.4, and Tate had 21.8 yards per catch. Where are West and Grimes at? Tate had a nice average, but come on, he only caught 6 balls. USC had five guys that had 20 or more catches and 6 guys that average 10 or more yards per catch.

3. Speaking of passing and receiving…..58 sacks. I believe that this has been discussed enough. Or has it? Who is our left tackle? Turk? Duncan? Yeatman (yes there have be rumors)?

4. 102 to 52! We were outscored by 50 points during the second quarter. 31 to 80! We were outscored by 50 points in the first quarter. All in all we were outscored in every quarter. We need to put some points on the board. We only averaged 16.4 points a game. I believe this has a lot to do with every part of our offense. This year should be different.

5. The lack of a game changer. Every team needs one, and we have yet to find ours. Whether it is Tate or Floyd at receiver, or Allen at running, we need a spark to the light the fire. This can also be done on special teams. I would love to have a return game. That along could turn the offense around. The field is a lot short when you start at the fifty.

The good news is that I think we have the answer to a lot of these problems. The O-line is looking very good; particularly the right side with G Stewart and T Young. The running backs are competing, and the competition looks fierce. That can only be a good thing. We actually know who are starting quarterback is this year, always good.

The offensive line is where it all begins this year. If they can give Jimmy sometime, and open up some holes for our platoon of running backs things should be good. I like what I am hearing about Trever Robinson at guard. He sounds and looks like a beast. The fact that Stewart has lost weight and is moving better is a good thing too. The combination of Young and Stewart should be our bull dozer in the fourth quarter. The left side still has questions, but it has the players to fill spots. Robinson could very well see time there. Left tackle is so important, especially with a younger Quarterback. The fact that Turkovich and Duncan are competing hard for the job is good, but I really like to have a name penciled in there.

I think I can say confidently that Robert Hughes is going to be our featured back. Aldridge is going to get his chances, you can believe that, but Hughes is the man. Allen has yet to show me what he can do. I think Allen is our hardest runner, but I there is more to him still and I cannot wait to see it. When Allen’s game comes to full circle things should be exciting. The X factor is all of this is Jonas Gray. At first I wanted him to take a red shirt, but from what I have seen I do not think we can keep this kid off the field. He is a man-child at tailback, and should be fun to watch.

Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy. Martinez and I have had our arguments about Clausen this year. Well, let me tell you how it is going to be. Expect this to be a breakout season. He will have over 20 touchdowns, and a couple 300 yard games. We have the line to protect and the backs to run, if Clausen gets the passing game going we will be dangerous. He does have targets this year too. He may not have the preseason All-Americans, but he has a pool of talent to throw to. I am looking forward to seeing Floyd and Walker, but I think Robby Parris could have a big year too. And I hate to admit it, but I really want to see Golden Tate catch a slant route in the first game and take it the distance.

I have not brought up the defense. I am really happy with what I have read and seen about it. I think we are going to run that hybrid 4-3. I think Bruton will be a player, along with Crum. I am not concerned with either of those players; I am not even surprised or really excited about them. What I am excited about are all those NEW players. Robert Blanton is going to be our next Bobby Taylor. Brian Smith is something special and should be watched. Brandon Newman is HUGE. Ethan Johnson should love the 4-3 how we run it. The list just goes on and one with these younger guys. Tenuta knows what he is doing, and the Defense should be really fun to watch this year.



Notre Dame should do great things this year. Do not be surprised if they pull out 8 or 10 wins. I will go out and say that I am expecting 9 wins, but you cannot rule out the possibility of a one loss season. Keep your fingers crossed and your mugs filled.

Irish Preview - ESPN

AP Poll released

The 2008 Associated Press released their poll today, and as expected, Georgia leads the way getting 22 first place votes to top 2nd ranked Ohio State who received 21 first place votes.

The only team that was in the AP preseason poll that is currently on the ND schedule (other than USC ranked 3rd) was Pittsburgh who came in at the 25th ranked position. Of course, these are just the preseason rankings. We all know that when the season is over, 8 of the teams that the Irish have on their schedule could be ranked. Michigan, Michigan St., Purdue, Washington, Pittsburgh, Boston College, USC, and Navy/North Carolina.

Notre Dame Football 2008

I like what I saw

Those you of you who haven't seen the videos of Notre Dame's first padded practice, let me run a few observations by you. I will say, through all and all, I liked what I saw.

• Eric Olsen (JR/#55/LG) is now my favorite ND player. Have you seen this guy? I will tell you what, he reminds me of a former ND mauler, Jeff Faine. His arms tattooed and a nasty attitude that he shows everytime he blocks someone. During one of his one-on-one drills against Kuntz, he earned himself a pancake block. He absolutely humiliated Kuntz causing a roar of cheers from his fellow lineman.

• Chris Stewart (JR/#59/RG) is looking like he could be that missing link the line needed last year. He's BIG, nasty, and moves incredible well. Not to mention, mixed with Sam Young (6'8" 330lbs) you could see a lot of those run plays right up his hind-end. This kid was showing emotion on every play. That's what I was looking for. And teamed up with Olsen in the middle, I look for a lot of those crafty draws they use to run with Walker to break for some solid yardage this year. The kind of plays we were waiting to see Allen actually get in and make.

• Robert Hughes (SO/#33/HB) looks like he's gaining momentum as the feature back. I know I know, it's only the first week of practice, but on film, Hughes was getting the most work with the 1st team. I have always been a solid Aldridge fan (I still am) but watching him make some of the runs that he did, I'm becoming more and more of a Hughes fan. He's quick through the hole, he sees the openings well, he's hard to tackle (no one tackled him first try) and my god did he show some speed, outrunning McNeil to the endzone on a 21 yard TD scamper. My only gripe about him is when he gets into the line after he has the ball. For a guy that is 237 lbs., you would think that he would be looking to hit someone to create for himself, but his case is the opposite. Hughes takes the hand-off, finds the hole, and then looks to make cuts and slide steps. If he would hit the hole like Aldridge and Allen (who still runs the hardest of all of them) then he would gaurantee himself 3 yards, regardless of when he gets hit. Put a shoulder down first and you've got my overwhelming support Robert!

• Harrison Smith (rFR/#22/LB) made me smile on one play. Hughes ran off tackle to the right and Smith came up and laid a smack right on him. I mean, usually a defender is coming up and tackling the runner as he gains a few yards after the initial contact. With Smith being a lighter LB, he came right up and made the hit, taking Hughes down immediately. I have been praying for a player/LB like this for a long time. Someone who can fly all over the field and yet still lay a lick down on a player. This is going to be a guy to watch this year!

• Newman is BIG!
• Newman is REALLY BIG!

• Jonas Gray (FR/#25/HB) is looking like he has all the makings for a truely dominant RB in this offense. Imagine Darius Walker, only good (those who know me knows I wasn't a huge fan). Hughes, Aldridge, and Allen had better be careful, because this guy is going to make some noise if any of you slip up. (Don't you get the feel of a USC type stable of running backs with the verbal of Wood for 2009?)

• And it looks like at least one of my prayers has been answered, as it seems to appear that Turkovich (SR/#77/LT-LG) has moved ahead of Duncan (SR/#72/LT-LG) for the starting left tackle position. Duncan was working with the 2nd team offense at LG. I'm not going to get emotional here, but I wanted to put my hand in a frying pan everytime I watched Duncan "attempt" to block anybody last year. I'm a big "Turk" fan right now!

Irish still getting pieces

Newest piece for the Irish, EJ Banks, is another player that the Irish seem to be recruiting for in the secondary to set up a little bigger, faster group. And here is a total list of verbals for 2009 and where they are rated (out of 100 for their rating):

Cierre Wood - #3 Athlete, #23 Overall, 84 rating
Tyler Stockton - #2 DT, #32 Overall, 83 rating
Chris Watt - #5 OG, #5 #68 Overall, 82 rating
Zach Martin - #11 OG, 105 Overall, 81 rating
E.J. Banks - #16 Athlete, 131 Overall, 81 rating
Tyler Eifert - #13 TE, 79 rating
Theo Riddick - #48 Athlete, 78 rating
Carlo Calabrese - #12 ILB, 78 rating
Marlon Pollard - #21 CB, 78 rating
Jake Golic - #34 TE, 77 rating
Alex Bullard - #35 OG, 77 rating
Dan Fox - #61 OLB, 76 rating
Nick Tausch - #20 K, 74 rating
Ben Turk - unranked as of now

Latina's early thoughts on the O-Line

Next Year is Here

About This Site

Hey, we talk Notre Dame Football from every angle at any point throughout the week. We don't hold anything back and welcome any and all comments.

GAMES THAT MATTER: This is a section where Martinez and Johanathan pick out the current weeks best games and pick who they believe will win that game. There is a running talley to determine who's been the most accurate during the season.

BOLD PREDICTIONS: This is where we will tell you how we think the upcoming games is going to go and a few stat predictions for that game. This is also a spot where Martinez will give you his can't miss games, where he will tell you what teams will or will not cover the spread. 5 games a week and he will keep track of his record throughout the year.

Can you smell that?

That's right, less than 30 days until the start of the season and there are so many questions that are yet to be answered:

Who's gonna be the break-out player this year, Kamara, Tate, Clausen, Hughes, McCarthy, Lambert, Williams?

Is the line going to get the job done this year?

Is Tenuta going to make an impact immediately on the defense?

Why did Walls leave the team this year?

What Froshman will have an impact?

Who will be the starting Running Back?

Can Schwapp get a 4th and 1?

Is there room for Paris in the receiver rotation?

How much playing time will Harrison Smith get?

Who will replace Trevor Laws?

Do we even have a kicker? Or at least one that can kick further than 30 yards?

Will we finally have a kick-off return for a touchdown?

And most importantly, can this team manage to get a bowl bid? (if they do, can they win it?)

Get excited everybody, I'm ready for a great year and lots of blogging!