Expectations

I've been reading all week about Clausen by the big boys and how they think that he has so much potential, but this environment might seem to be too much for such a young, inexperienced signal caller. Mark May on ESPN says that Weis is doing the wrong thing for this team by naming him starter and asks the stupid question as to why he didn't start Clausen last weekend if he's capable of running the offense.

I can tell you what I think of Mark May, but my stomach starts to hurt just picturing his comments in my head. Listening to him is like listening to a Miss Teen USA contestant answer questions about maps and Geography. They both don't know the answer and look really dumb trying to compensate for their stupidity.

There is only one thing that needs to happen come 6 PM on Saturday night in Happy Valley, execution. When Weis announced the starter for this game, the first thing that went through every one's head was, Clausen is a true drop back quarterback, highly recruited, national player of the year, our savior, the next Quinn. He is all of this, but not today, not this Saturday. We need to tone down our expectations of Jimmy Clausen. He is going to be the leader of this team, but he doesn't need to put up Quinn numbers, not yet.

Going to Penn St. brings a lot of national spot light for Clausen. But he's already use to it. He had two brothers that played in front of bigger crowds at home than Beaver Stadium at Tennessee. He's been under the microscope since his Junior year of high school. Why not throw him out there and let the kid play?

My expectations for Clausen are simple, run the offense. If Penn State comes out and tries to mimic Georgia Tech, they are in for a long night. Think of Notre Dame coming out and trying to mimic West Virginia, you get the point. Penn State, defensively, is a physical team that baits teams into making mistakes in the passing game while being very physical and in-your-face with the passing game. Clausen doesn't need to throw for 350 yds and 4 TDs for Notre Dame to pull out a win. All he needs to do is run the offense, control the tempo and flow of the game from an offensive standpoint, and don't make stupid mistakes by forcing passes or fleeing the pocket. I guarantee you that the 5-6 yard dump to the TE (Carlson, Yeatman, Ragone) will be there all night long which will then set up the quick slant to the WR (West, Grimes, Parris) and ultimately leave openings to run the ball and throw deep. I don't believe ND has to come out and establish the run. They need to come out and establish the short, precise pass that will then set up the run.

I'm sorry, Penn State is not going to respect Clausen and will look to everything they can to rattle him early. That's why they build his confidence by getting a string of short completions together, drive the ball down the field, and keep the defense guessing. This will not only build Clausen's confidence, but the rest of the offense can concentrate on their assignments more and the defensive can take more chances and play more aggressive knowing that their offense can move the ball.

Just remember, freshman QBs are 6 -1 when starting for the Irish. And we don't need a huge day from Clausen, just a consistent one. I believe that he has all the tools (physically and mentally) and the right offense to do it in. I respect him, I respect what they are going to do, does Penn State?

Expectations.