Teddy Greenstein skewers Weis

hmmm, the SEC wants Notre Dame?

 

This is the nut graph from a Chicago Trib article last week on Weis:

Weis is 27-19 at Notre Dame—one game worse than Bob Davie at the same point. The Irish are 1-15 in their last 16 games against winning teams. At No. 53 in the current Sagarin rankings, they sit behind such luminaries as South Florida, Tulsa, Ball State and James Madison.

If this is what Notre Dame wants for their program, fine. I just don't understand why they think they need to pay so much. Why not dump Weis and hire Brady Hoke, he'll do what Weis is doing for half the salary.

 

I ask again - why should Notre Dame be obligated to join a conference? Twenty years ago, there were a bunch of independent powers. Miami. Penn State. Florida State. Boston College. South Carolina. West Virginia.

If Notre Dame can negotiate its own television and BCS deals, and keep afloat financially, why should they be compelled to join a conference? Why is this arrogance? It's a business decision, and a good one.

Again, anyone else who wants to strike it out on their own is more than welcome.

 

And again, I answer: If it's only about money, fine. They've got their TV deal. They can sit here and go 7-5 forever and have Teddy Greenstein's children write stories about why their coach stinks.
Twenty years ago, there were a bunch of independent powers?"
Sure.
Now there are none. None. Notre Dame is an independent, but not a power. Not with records like these. Notre Dame is a joke.
In the 1970s, there were lots of independent basketball powers: DePaul, St. John's, Marquette and, indeed, Notre Dame.
By the mid-90s, all the others had moved on to join conferences and had periods or moments of spectacular success. ND went through an NCAA tournament drought that lasted from 1990-2000.
Notre Dame has no identity with young players.

 

How does joining a conference solve any of those problems? Do you think that if ND decides to join the big ten, it will suddenly have a great identity with young players?

Potential recruit: "Well, when they were playing all their home games on national television, I wasn't particularly interested. Now that Pam Ward is calling their game against Indiana at noon on ESPN2 - Hot DAMN! I can't wait to go to South Bend."

Notre Dame's problems are an offensive line that can't block a basic four-man rush, a defense that is young and still learning, and a coach who has no idea how to develop fundamentals in college players. Please explain to me how joining a conference does anything to fix those problems.

 

Which would be a problem if they weren't bringing in young players. But they are. They've had three top 10 recruiting classes in a row and are working on another one.

Recruiting is not the issue. They are getting the kids they go after. Evaluation and development are the problems.

How is playing in a conference going to help that?

I know it chaps people's hides that Notre Dame isn't in a conference, but they don't owe anything to anybody as far as that's concerned.

They aren't running a charity.

 

No one else should be expected to run a charity for precious
ND's benefit.

BC should tell 'em to shove it, unless the series is readjusted to be a pure home-and-home.

 

They shouldn't have to.

On the other hand, I shouldn't have to watch them get crushed in every bowl game they play either. Enough special treatment.

 

I missed that news story where Notre Dame held a gun to Boston College's head and made them sign that contract. BC is free to tell Notre Dame to shove it and Notre Dame can't do anything about it...

But BC would never do that because the Notre Dame game is worth far too much money for Boston College. I don't know if this is the case this year, but in past years, I know that BC, Pitt and West Virginia have sold the Notre Dame game as a packet of tickets only. So if you want a ticket to ND at BC, you have to buy two other BC games as well. Usually these other two packaged games were the absolute worst on the schedule.

Notre Dame can't force anyone to play them. Don't like the terms of the contract with Notre Dame? Don't sign it.

 

Notre Dame could join the Big East, keep their TV contract and still play the most important rivals: SC, Michigan, Purdue. And if they'd take over the league and dominate, they'd be in the BCS every year. And they'd be playing for national championships.
Notre Dame's problem is not "evaluation and development." That's absurd. Nobody could consistently screw up as many players as ND supposedly does because recruiting analysts overrated their classes.
An independent in modern college athletics is a dinosaur.

 

So rather than Notre Dame churning out overrated teams based on wins against inferior competition that get crushed in the BCS, keeping all their revenues and having the potential to recruit nationwide, you propose that Notre Dame should churn out wins against inferior East Coast only competition that get crushed in the BC, share those revenues with the inferior competition and limit their recruiting exposure to the East Coast. Sounds like a great plan. Same results on the field, less money and less of a chance to play in front of recruits in the Southeast, Texas and only one trip to California every two years. How does any of that make sense for Notre Dame?

If you are pissed off that Notre Dame gets to keep all the money it earns, that's your problem. It's not Notre Dame's problem. Up until two years ago, Notre Dame never got a dime of bowl revenue unless it actually went to a bowl. Now they get $1 million every year from the BCS and $5 million if they actually make a bowl. That's something to bitch about. A far more fair system was when Notre Dame got to the BCS, they got the full $11 million share. When they didn't, they got nothing.

This $1 million even when you are too crappy to make the game is garbage. That's for conference schools who want welfare when they can't earn a bowl bid.

 

Who said anything about sharing?
You think ND couldn't call the shots on that?
Who said anything about "limiting exposure to the East"?
I believe if you had any reading comprehension skills, you would have seen where I said they could continue to play SC (West Coast), Michigan (Midwest) and any other opponents they covet (when's the last time they played a Tennessee or a Florida?)
I don't care if ND keeps all its money. If it's happy cashing the checks of mediocrity, what do I care? I'm just providing the recipe for a return to greatness.
When Miami was a member of the Big East, it was a power. ND could fill that position. Instead, it'll keep playing Navy on TV and turning in 7-5 seasons. I'm cool with that.