| 09 September 2010
Ahh, the Irish Blogger Gathering. It's not that I forgot about posting it earlier this week- it's just that I am wrapped in a warm blanket of hate, and I can barely breathe without letting a, "Fuck Michigan!" or "Ann Arbor is a whore!" fly out of my mouth. ven though it's kind of cool, it can be embarrassing when you are standing in line at the bank.
This weeks IBG is brought to us by Her Loyal Sons. They have provided the questions to the membership, and in turn they will give us the light off of their lips sometime tomorrow. As for all 4,967 Irish Football blogs go... we all agree. HLS probably hates those Skunkbears more.
Marching onward to victory...
1) You've now seen Notre Dame Football: The Kelly Edition, Volume 1, Episode 1. Was it everything you thought it would be? Were characters missing from this episode that you were expecting to see featured? Did it strike you as a carbon-copy of Kelly's Cincinnati teams, or is there something discernible between the 2 programs beyond the colors of the uniforms?
It was... meh. I was happy and excited, but it didn't have me screaming for the BCS title game as most opening wins do. I got what I pretty much expected. I thought the offense would do "OK" and they did, and I thought the defense would look much more improved from the 2009 team. I refuse to compare 2009 Cincy and 2010 ND. Things are just, different.
2) Pick one positive play, offense or defense, by the Irish from last Saturday that you feel serves as a bit of metaphorical foreshadowing for the 2010 Irish. Extra points if you can stretch the metaphor to fit Kelly's entire tenure at Notre Dame.
During the third offensive series for Notre Dame, on the very first play, Cierre Wood carried the ball for 16 yards. That's not the play, that was the setup. On the very next play, Cierre Wood carried the ball for 15 yards. Although it is hard to argue against the offensive success that Charlie Weis had during his time in South Bend, the running game looked shaky 90% of the time. Here we are in the 3rd series with the game still tied at 0, and with ND not having much success moving the ball, and Kelly calls two runs in a row with our 2nd string RB in the game.That's called,"Improvement." It's not a metaphor- it's a fact.
3) Pick another play, offense or defense, by the Irish from last Saturday again, but this time, make it a negative play. Tell us how that play serves as a bit of metaphorical foreshadowing for the 2010 Irish. And again, bonus points for stretching it over Kelly's tenure.
I'll ride with a pretty obvious answer here... The Marve TD run. Brian Smith got sucked inside and disregarded all memory of a "contain." I think we all might be able to agree that Notre Dame's defensive talent is a bit underrated by others. However, it is plays like that, that continue to plague the Irish. Maybe it's like a virus or a really bad cold.Brian Kelly can cure cancer (losing tradition), but he may never fix the common cold (poor situational defense).
4) You know us, we're stat geeks. Give us a stat that we should be watching this season that will A) Tell us something enlightening about the 2009 Irish and/or B) Tell us something enlightening about the average Top-5 teams at the end of the 2009 season.
A) TD scoring percentage inside the redzone. Not just FG's, but actual touchdowns. Notre Dame must punch the rock into the endzone. If they are able to do that, than we will see a lot of wins this season. If the Irish struggle to score 6 once inside the 20, than they will in turn... wait for it... struggle this season.B) Rushing defense. Good teams are able to stop the run. If you look at the top 5 teams, they will all have low numbers when it comes to rushing yards allowed. This isn't just because of what they do defensively, but because they get ahead of teams and force them to be one-dimensional, the rushing yards allowed stays quiet.
5) Notre Dame is currently a 4 point favorite in the coming Michigan game. You get 3 points for being at home. The AP poll actually ranks Michigan higher than ND. ND is 1-4-1 in the last 6 games with Michigan in which the Irish were favored and 9 and 6 in the last 15 games in which Michigan was favored. Does any of this worry you? Why or why not?
No. It doesn't, and usually it does. Is that weird? I just have a lot of faith in Kelly and his ability to prepare a team. I know that's a short answer, but seriously it doesn't have an effect on me... this year.6) Last week, Frank at UHND put the Gathering on the spot with our predictions for the season. After week 1, are there any of those predictions that you'd like to alter? Any upon which you'd double down?
I would like to change my Heisman prediction. Ricky Dobbs was more of a "hope" in my heart. Change that prediction to Kellen Moore, because they want to give it to him already.I would like to Double Down on the Alabama for BCS champ, prediction. They will probably play Boise- and turn them into Blue Powder.
7) Describe in no fewer than 30 words why you hate Michigan.
I'm not sure "why" exactly that I hate Michigan, but the hate is strong. That is probably due to the "Hate Michigan" and "Fuck Michigan" DNA that flows in my blood. If you are looking for a more tangible reason, than the answer is simply history and geography. These are two of the most storied programs in college football history, and they are a short drive away from one another. It's a border war, pissing contest, etc., etc. I just hate them. The piss stains on their helmets, their large toilet stadium, every player that has ever played there- and on and on. Unsurpassed HATE.
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