Notre Dame's future

CharlieWeis was finally fired today. Even though every Irish fan saw it coming, it is still sad to see a man who was so passionate about Notre Dame football be let go as Head Coach. Notre Dame had no choice to remove Weis. A 6 and 6 record this year with all the home games and relatively weak schedule was not acceptable by anyone including Weis's standards. This season and Weis's tenure at Notre Dame reminded me of some thoroughbred horses I use to bet on at the track. They would start out fast, at the midway point look like they were making a push for the lead and at the final turn fade out into the back of the pack.
As for the future, Weis will have no problem becoming an offensive coordinator in the NFL but the future for Notre Dame football is less certain. It will be crucial for A.D. Jack Swarbrick to hire the Head Coach who is a good fit with Notre Dame. It is not enough just to hire a coach with a good offensive or defensive mindset. Notre Dame's new Head Coach must be ready to have his team play top caliber football every week and be able to sell the idea of playing at Notre Dame to high school recruits.
Cincinnati's Brian Kelley and Oklahoma's Bob Stoops are reported to be the top candidates now and both would be solid choices but Irish fans need to be patient with the new Head Coach whoever he may be. In all likelihood Quarterback Jimmy Claussen and Wide Receiver Golden Tate will decide to enter the NFL draft and that along with the graduation of most of Notre Dame's offensive linemean will make next year's team very young and inexperienced in key positions. It will be difficult for the Irish to have a winning season next year but that may not be a bad thing in the long run. Charile Weis looked to be the savior his first two seasons with 9 win and 2 loss records and Tyrone Willingham had Irish fans excited after his first year which was 9 and 2 as well. We all know what ended up happening to both Coaches so here's hoping if Notre Dame's new Head Coach does not have a winning record his first season, Irish fans will be patient and excited for better things to come. Just remember, Lou Holtz was 5 and 6 his first season before turning Notre Dame around. Let's hope Notre Dame selects wisely who their next Head Coach will be and if they do Irish fans must give their new Head Coach the support they need and with patience there will be better days on the horizon for Notre Dame football.

This week in the NFL

What stood out in this week's games. Some obvious and some under the radar trends are starting to develop.
It is obvious now that the Houston Texans are a team that can't close the deal. In the first half they dominated and in the second half got dominated by the Indianapolis Colts. Only playing 30 minutes of solid football will never beat the Colts and if this trend continues for the rest of the year, look for Head Coach Gary Kubiak to become a coaching casualty.
As expected, the Chicago Bears and Jake Cutler continue to struggle. While it is easy to pick on Jake Cutler, the Bears need to look into getting the much maligned Quarterback more offensive weapons to work with.
The Colts and Vikings are generating headlines with their impressive season's to this point but flying under the radar is the San Diego Chargers. The Chargers dominated Kansas City today and are a team that in the past has had the Colts number in the playoffs. This is a team that shoud continue to improve and don't be surprised if finally make it to the superbowl this year.
The Philadelphia Eagles are another team that is getting somewhat overlooked. While they only beat the Redskins by 3 today, this is a team that has traditionally finished strong in December. It would not be a shock it they overtake the Dallas Cowboys to win the NFC East.
While the season is not over yet, my pick for rookie of the year at this point would be Houston Linebacker Brian Cushing in the AFC and Minnesota Wide Receiver Percy Harvin in the NFC.

More NFL Picks

So far I'm 2 of 3. Picked the Cowboys to beat the Raiders 20 to 7 and the score ended up being 24 to 7. Almost perfect on that pick. This rest of the games this week are tough ones and I see a few upsets coming.
Atlanta 24 Tampa Bay 14
Miami 30 Buffalo 10
Bengals 27 Browns 13 (Brady Quinn can't have two good games in a row)
Seahawks 18 Lambs 12
Carolina 21 Jets 17 (Sanchez and Delhome could set a record for most combined interceptions thrown in a game)
Eagles 17 Redskins 13
Houston 23 Colts 20 (Upset special. Kris Brown won't let us down this game)
Chargers 28 Chiefs 10 (The Chargers are quietly making their move to become one of the elite team in the NFL).
49ers 17 Jaguars 13 (Tough game to pick. I'm taking the home team)
Vikings 35 Bears 14 (The dark days for Jake Cutler continue)
Titans 21 Cardinals 20 (Warner will be playing injured. That will be the difference in the game)
Ravens 24 Steelers 20 (Steelers should reconsider starting Rothlisberger. Playing a quarterback a week after he sustained a concussion is very dangerous)
Patriots 31 Saints 27 (The Patriots should have beat Indianapolis if it weren't for Belechick's bad decision late in the game. He won't make the same mistake in this game.

more NFL picks

Thanksgiving day picks

Three games this thanksgiving and these days can be tricky. Some of the most bizarre plays have happened on Thanksgiving. Does the name Leon Lett ring a bell to Cowboy fans on that snowy Thanksgiving day game against the Dolphins. Here are my picks
Dallas 20 Raiders 7 ( Leon Lett is retired and Dallas's defense will bail out the offense again)
Green Bay 30 Lions 7 (Without Stafford and Johnson the Lions don't have a chance)
Giants 34 Broncos 27 (Giants will finally show who the real football team in New York is)

Update on my picks

I was 11 and 5 with my picks. Some were right on like the Patriots destroying the Jets but I have a feeling everyone saw that one coming. My apologies to all the fans of the Detroit Lions for me believing that the Lions game against Cleveland would be so boring that everyone who paid to see it would fall asleep. In reality they were the only football fans that got to see some exciting football with plenty of touchdowns while most of the rest of the country got to see a pathetic Dallas Cowboy offense play an even more pathetic Washington Redskin defense.
The Cowboys did prevail 7 to 6 but watching that game was like watching a boring 3 hour Hollywood epic movie on T.V. You find yourself dozing off half way into it and when you wake back up you have lost all interest in how it ends. If the Cowboys offense keeps playing this way, then I have one piece of advice for all sports writers who have to report on Dallas's upcoming games. Drink plenty of coffee!

End of the line

Even the most passionate Charlie Weis supporter cannot defend him now. With another season ending home loss to an inferior team Notre Dame is now forced to bite the bullet and remove Coach Weis from his position as Head Coach. Looking back maybe the worst decision ever made by a Notre Dame Athletic Director was former A.D. Kevin White's decision to extend Weis's contract to 10 years early into Weis's first year. It was too soon to extend a contract at that time and now Notre Dame will have to take a big hit financially when they have to buy out the rest of Weis's contract. On top of that if Notre Dame wants to replace Weis with an established successful Head Coach, they will need to offer a big contract along the lines of Urban Meyer's $3 million a year contract when he signed on with the University of Florida.
The Head Coaches being talked about to become Notre Dame's new Head Coach are Brian Kelly, Bob Stoops, Urban Meyer, and Jim Harbough. Stoops and Meyer are already fixtures with their respective teams and it is hard to imagine them taking the Notre Dame Head Coaching job. Brian Kelly looks to be the best choice. He has been successful everywhere he has been starting with the job he did coaching Grand Valley State University to two Division II national championships in 2002 and 2003. After going on to Central Michigan, Kelly took the Head Coaching job at the University of Cincinnati in December of 2006 and has put that program on the map. This year's Bearcat team is currently undefeated and has a great chance to make it to a BCS bowl game this year. Jim Harbough is definitely an intriguing choice as well particularly with the success he has had at Stanford but a former Michigan Quarterback as the Head Coach of Notre Dame seems pretty awkward. Since Harbough has been able to outcoach USC's Pete Carroll two of three years now, Notre Dame fans should be willing to overlook where Harbough went to college.
Whoever the new Head Coach is, they will have a difficult task ahead of them especially since there is a strong possibility that Quarterback Jimmy Claussen and Wide Receiver Golden Tate will opt to enter the 2010 NFL draft. The good news is that if Notre Dame can make the right choice as Head Coach, they can go a long way in getting the football team back on the right track. USC was barely an average team before they hired Pete Carroll and OU was not even average before they hired Bob Stoops. Both those Head Coaches turned their respective teams around and so can the next Head Coach of Notre Dame. Let's hope Notre Dame's current Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick makes the right choice.

picks for this week

Already off to a slow start. While I did not publish it I verbally told Mr. Slag yesterday that Carolina would be Miami 20 to 13. Why did I put any faith in Jake Delhome. Here are my picks for the rest of the games this weekend in the NFL
Dallas 21 Washington 10
SF 20 GB 14 (upset pick)
Steelers 27 Chiefs 10
Cleveland Detroit
Vikings 31 Seahawks 14
Giants 24 Falcons 14 (here is where the Giants turn their season around)
Saints 27 Buccaneers 14
Jaguars 14 Bills 10
Colts 20 Ravens 17
Arizona 30 Lambs 10
Chargers 27 Broncos 7 (broncos downward spiral continues)
Cincinnati 24 Raiders 7
New England 35 Jets 10 (J E T S will get K I L L E D)
Eagles 20 Bears 10
Houston 24 Titans 21 (tough one to pick)

No I did not forget to put a score down for the Cleveland vs Detroit game. I just thought about the game for a second and fell asleep.
Detroit 6 Cleveland 0

End of the Line

It's sad to see the direction Notre Dame's season has taken these last two weeks. With the loss to Pittsburgh it is difficult to see how Charlie Weiss can remain as Head Coach when the season is over. There is no doubt that Weiss is more passionate about Notre Dame than most of the prior coaches Notre Dame has had but another season of just barely above average football is not going to cut it. We all heard how Notre Dame was finishing in the top ten for their recruiting classes the last few years and the results of that have not shown on the football field. That all falls on the shoulders of Charlie Weiss. He does have the mind of an offensive coordinator but a Head Coach needs to have his entire team play consistently at a high level. Under Weiss's reign the defense have consistently given up big plays and the special teams have at times been nothing short of a disaster. The last few years there were kickers that struggled to make extra points and this year, they have a punter who doesn't look like he can punt a ball more than 20 yards. Weiss's inablity to put together a solid team will probably lead to his dismissal at the end of the year.
If the players want Weiss to return next season then tomorrow, at the final game in South Bend this season, they must play better than they ever have and soundly defeat UConn. Let's hope that happens so every Notre Dame senior can go out on top at their last game in South Bend.
Go Irish!!!!!!!!!

Cowboys troubles

Ouch. Glad I didn't go to Las Vegas to make bets on these games. A very disappointing record of 7 and 7 this last time out and I was done in bad decisions by Bill Belichick and just overall bad play by the Dallas Cowboys. With Marco Columbo out for the season it will be interesting to see if Romo can scramble his way out of sacks since the Cowboys are so thin at offensive line. Another point of concern is Felix Jones who looked to be a game breaker for the Cowboys last year until he got hurt. So far he has hardly factored into any game this year and there is concern that he is having trouble recovering from injuries. The Cowboys should still be the Redskins this weekend but this is in no way a sure thing like Cowboy fans might have thought it was a week ago.
Stay tuned

football picks

I am 1 for 1 so far and plan on finishing strong. Here are my picks for the rest of the NFL games this week
New Orleans 42 Lamb chops 10 (gross mismatch)
Miami 21 Buccanneers 14
Vikings 31 Lions 14
Jets 20 Jaguars 10 (Mark Sanchez will get his confidence back)
Titans 21 Bills 7 (Would love to take another shot at TO but it's just too easy now)
Steelers 24 Bengals 20
Broncos 27 Redskins 17
Atlanta 20 Panthers 17
Raiders 16 Chiefs 10 (a once great rivarly is now a who cares game. Sad)
Cardinals 24 Seahawks 17
Dallas 35 Packers 10
Chargers 21 Eagles 18 (toughest game to pick)
Patriots 31 Colts 24
Ravens 20 Browns 14 (Outside of Brady Quinn & Derk Anderson, can anyone name 3 players on Cleveland's offense).

Cowboys vs Packers

Aaron Rodgers is the perfect quarterback to have on your fantasy football team if you hate the Packers. His passing statistics are great and his pocket presence is deplorable. Many of the sacks Green Bay has allowed this year are because of Rodgers inability to feel his pass protection breaking down. All great quarterbacks have that clock in their head to tell them when they need to get rid of the ball and the clock in Rodgers head's timing is off as bad as Jay Leno's comedic timing (Cheap shot, even though his ratings are way down, Leno's comedic timing isn't that bad). This will play right into the hands of Dallas's intense pass rushing defense and there should be plenty of Green Bay turnovers for the Cowboys this Sunday.
I've heard various Packer players say this is a must win which only shows desperation. Sorry Packer fans but Brett Favre is long gone and so is any chance of the Packers making the playoffs after the debacle that will occur this Sunday.
Cowboys 35 Packers 13

Charlie's Last Stand

Notre Dame's loss to Navy was nothing short of devastating. I'm not sure if it will finish Coach Weiss's coaching career at Notre Dame but what was once a pretty good season just took a very wrong turn. While Navy does have a good team that will fight their opponent to the end, it is inexcusable that the Irish with more talented players and playing at home should lose to them. Notre Dame's three turnovers cost them dearly and their defense looked overmatched. You know your defensive line is bad when outside of South Bend there may only be 5 people in the entire United States that can name just one of them. It is simply asking too much of linebackers like Brian Smith and freshman Manti Teo to create turnovers consistently when the defensive line creates little if any penetration.
Now the Irish need to go on the road to play Pittsburgh and there are some very disturbing signs. If Notre Dame's defense gave up 100 rushing yards to Navy fullback Vince Murray just think of what Pittsburgh's freshman sensation running back Dion Lewis can do to the Irish. Pittsburgh is ranked 8 by the AP and have a wave of momentum on their side. The Irish under Coach Weiss have yet to beat a ranked opponent and for the Irish to have any chance there can be no turnovers. If the players believe in Coach Weiss as they say, now is the time to show it and put out their best effort of the season especially on defense. A victory over Pittsburgh can go a long way in changing people's minds about Weiss's future at Notre Dame but a loss will have every Irish fan trying to find out who the next Notre Dame coach should be. Let's hope for the best.
Go Irish!!

new week

I was 8 and 5 for last week. Still deciding for this week but for tonight's game it will be
49ers 20 over DA Bears 13.

NFL Predictions

This is a tough week for predictions but at least we won't have to see St. Louis, Cleveland or Buffalo play this week.

Atlanta 27 Deadskins 14
Chicago 24 Cardinals 20 (Warner will throw more interceptions)
Bengals 23 Ravens 14
Texans 21 Colts 17 (upset of the week)
Patriots 27 Dolphins 10
Green Bay 31 Tampa Bay 14 (This years Bucaneers remind of the Bucaneers expansion year team)
Jaguars 14 Chiefs 10 (The total of these teams scores will probably be the same amount of fans who will attend the game. Boring!)
Saints 35 Carolina 10
Seahawks 17 Lions 14
49ers 24 Titans 13 (Vince Young can't win two in a row)
Chargers 31 Giants 17 (Giants downward spiral continues)
Cowboys 28 Eagles 21
Broncos 24 Steelers 17

ND's upcoming challenges

Finally Irish fans got to see a Notre Dame victory without needing to take high blood pressure medication after the game. Golden Tate is a player that Irish fans are becoming in awe of and he will be remembered long after his playing days at Notre Dame are over.
The remainder of the season has some significant challenges for the Irish to overcome especially having to play Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, but the Irish cannot take their eye off this weeks game against Navy. I was glad to hear Wide Receiver Michael Floyd has been cleared to play but Coach Weiss would be well advised to keep him out another week or use him very sparingly. Even though the doctors have cleared him to play, the true test on if a broken collar bone is healed will be when he is tackled. Sam Bradford reinjured his shoulder against Texas on a hit that wasn't very severe and it would be ashame to see the same thing happen to Floyd.
If the Irish keep playing like they have, even without Micheal Floyd they should be able to defeat the Midshipmen somewhat handily.
Go Irish!!!!!!!!!!!

Cowboys season

At this point of the Cowboys are playing their best football and Tony Romo is playing with confidence both in himself and the wide receivers especially Miles Austin. The defense led by Demarcus Ware is creating enough pressure to make even good Quarterbacks like Matt Ryan and Matt Hasselback look below average. Right now outside of the New Orleans Saints, the Cowboys look to be the best team in the NFC.
Cowboy fans though need to take a line from the title of a popular HBO series and "Curb your Enthusiasm". The history of a Wade Phillips coached team is to be strong in the regular season and to start declining at the end of the season and into the playoffs. Just two years ago, the Cowboys looked to be the team to contend with New England in the superbowl for most of the season but lackluster play against Detroit and Philadelphia at the end of the season indicated the Cowboys were vulnerable and this came to fruition with an early playoff loss to the Giants. Last year the Cowboys season ended sooner against Philadelphia but that was more due to Terrell Owens disruptive behavior. One of the criticisms against Wade Phillips is that his teams are undisciplined and poorly conditioned and this will be validated if the Cowboys play at this point in the season does not sustain itself at the end of the season. Time will tell if the Cowboys outstanding play at this point is a sign of things to come or a mirage that will faid into oblivion.
Stay tuned.