IrishNY1985 Posted October 12, 2006 Share Posted October 12, 2006 I read an article over on NBCsports today about how ND is going to be in for such hard-times next season with the graduation of all their seniors and starters this year. I have a problem with this. The Irish are indeed losing alot of talent, and key players such as Brady, Shark, Rhema, Abiamiri, and perhaps others such as Zibby or Carlson, among many others. OK, we get it. But to write a team off this soon is just stupid. Now I'm not saying the Irish are going to be an elite team or a top 10 team or anything like that, but my god, we've had a great 2006 recruiting class, we're in store for an even better one in 2007 (granted they will be true freshmen) and some of the lesser ranked recruits from the past are making strikes as well (Duncan, Herring, ect). Yes, I think it could be a tough year, mainly because of the tough road trips we'll have to make with such a young team. But to write off the young guys, who definitely have talent, is just not smart. I hate to say this but look at USC. Notre Dame will be young, but that doesn't mean they won't be talented or unable to compete and win games next season. I think these guys could easily do what the 2005 Irish did last season in regards to catching teams by surprise and going well beyong expectations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest shark83 Posted October 12, 2006 Share Posted October 12, 2006 I read an article over on NBCsports today about how ND is going to be in for such hard-times next season with the graduation of all their seniors and starters this year. I have a problem with this. The Irish are indeed losing alot of talent, and key players such as Brady, Shark, Rhema, Abiamiri, and perhaps others such as Zibby or Carlson, among many others. OK, we get it. But to write a team off this soon is just stupid. Now I'm not saying the Irish are going to be an elite team or a top 10 team or anything like that, but my god, we've had a great 2006 recruiting class, we're in store for an even better one in 2007 (granted they will be true freshmen) and some of the lesser ranked recruits from the past are making strikes as well (Duncan, Herring, ect). Yes, I think it could be a tough year, mainly because of the tough road trips we'll have to make with such a young team. But to write off the young guys, who definitely have talent, is just not smart. I hate to say this but look at USC. Notre Dame will be young, but that doesn't mean they won't be talented or unable to compete and win games next season. I think these guys could easily do what the 2005 Irish did last season in regards to catching teams by surprise and going well beyong expectations. I love ND just as much as the next guy, but you have to be realistic. When you lose four offensive lineman, heisman canidate quarterback, 2 of the top ten WR's in the nation, 3 quality D-Lineman, 2 LBs and your entire secondary, that's asking a lot from a team that only has 2 juniors that contribute (Walker and Crum). Combine that with how terrible the '04 class was and it's not hard to see ND not being any better than 8-4 next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfschellcrna Posted October 12, 2006 Share Posted October 12, 2006 sorry ny, but we are gonna be in for a long season next year. in two years we will be able to compare to usc with regard to "reloading". just not right away. unfortunately there's not enough experienced players to pick up the slack. i didnt say talented, just inexperienced. we come out of the chute next year with the same gnarly schedule. oh boy, hold on to your hat, it's gonna get ugly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest medvnd Posted October 12, 2006 Share Posted October 12, 2006 Embrace the hate, NY. But while we're venting, I'm sick to death of Ivan Maisel and the entire crew of goons (i.e., senior writers) on ESPN's website. Maisel is the most blantant anti-ND writer in the business (and with guys like Matt Hayes out there, that's really saying something). His "For Arguments' Sake" has been a non-stop tirade of ND-bashing this year. When we're ranked #14 in his power poll (#16 last week and leapfrogged by Tennesse, Cal, Arkansas and several other teams the past two weeks) and BQ appears nowhere on his Heisman poll (the guy is almost single-handedly keeping Adrian Peterson's Heisman campaign afloat), his bias looks obvious, but when he lists Michigan waxing ND in his top 5 biggest moments of college football this season, he simply goes too far (ND pulling off the biggest comeback of the season and bringing about the Nineveh-like downfall of an entire program is, of course, nowhere in sight). There, I'm done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfschellcrna Posted October 12, 2006 Share Posted October 12, 2006 8-4 may be optimistic shark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest shark83 Posted October 12, 2006 Share Posted October 12, 2006 8-4 may be optimistic shark. Yea, I sorta thought the same thing after I posted it too lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IrishNY1985 Posted October 12, 2006 Author Share Posted October 12, 2006 fair enough fellas, I know we're going to be super young and inexperienced, but you have to think guys that are freshmen and sophmores now are going to get better over the next year and be able to contribute. I'm much more worried about the defense than the offense at this point even though we are basicly losing our entire OL. As for losing all of our defensive secondary? I'm not so sure that is going to be the case. Richardson and Ndukwe are definitely gone, but I could really see Zibby and Wooden coming back for 5th years, especially Wooden. DL and LB could be problems tho, I'll give you that much. Again, I think we will be in for a 'down' year based on what we've been able to do in Charlie's first 2 seasons, but we'll still be talented and you don't always have to be experienced to field a good team. Look at WVU. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfschellcrna Posted October 12, 2006 Share Posted October 12, 2006 yeah, but i would like to play wvus schedule ny!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangeruss Posted October 12, 2006 Share Posted October 12, 2006 When you lose four offensive lineman, heisman canidate quarterback, 2 of the top ten WR's in the nation, 3 quality D-Lineman, 2 LBs and your entire secondary, that's asking a lot from a team that only has 2 juniors that contribute (Walker and Crum). Combine that with how terrible the '04 class was and it's not hard to see ND not being any better than 8-4 next year. i agree with shark on this. ND will be talented next year but most of that talent will be in the freshmen and sophmore classes, not to mention they'll be pretty green. CW is a great coach but ND does not have the depth or the talent to just be able to reload, or at least not next year. ND will take their lumps next season but by '08 and '09 they'll be back for good. it's going to take a couple more recruiting classes for ND to be able to reload every year. i see ND going maybe 8-4 also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JerseyDomer Posted October 12, 2006 Share Posted October 12, 2006 S 01 GEORGIA TECH---Ball and Calvin gone S 08 @ Penn State--- above average S 15 @ Michigan--- excellent S 22 MICHIGAN ST.--- Stanton gone S 29 @ Purdue--- above average O 06 @ UCLA--- above average O 13 Boston College---above average O 20 SOUTHERN CAL--- they're USC-excellent N 03 NAVY--- nothing special N 10 AIR FORCE---always tricky N 17 DUKE--- this isn't basketball N 24 @ Stanford--- average yes, we will lose o-lineman but replenish them. Young will be a force and I expect Wenger to step up. Ryan Miller will be this yr's Sam Young. It's not like a young QB has never come in and been a solid performer(JC, DJ, ZF). Walker/Aldridge/Prince- I like that backfield- WR/TE's will be young--I expect Carlson back D will be young, but we will just need to step up. If we get the guys on D we think we will land, we will at least have guys available who can make plays. Seriously, like Shark said, even though he might have come back on it, but 8-4 isn't that far of a stretch guys. I think that's the number. I will say USC and MIchigan will be a given L ( GOD that hurts to say ). The season will be tough, but it will sure be a stepping stone and something they will ALL learn from. Plus it will be one exciting season and one worth watching and dealing with what we have in store for the future. But I'll worry bout that after this season, cause this one is FAR from over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest IndyIrish Posted October 12, 2006 Share Posted October 12, 2006 Maisel and Hayes are hacks, and most people who follow college football closely know it. Unfortunately, the average fan doesn't follow college football that closely and fall for that crap. They are idiots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketsurgery Posted October 12, 2006 Share Posted October 12, 2006 I agree we will be young but we will also have the most talented team we have fielded since the early 90s In general, these young/talented teams can get up and play over their heads with emotion conversely, they are more prone to overlook someone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest medvnd Posted October 12, 2006 Share Posted October 12, 2006 Dare I suggest that our D will be significantly better next year? Hear me out. Our secondary will be better. Even though we lose our best corner in Richardson, Wooden will be back and healthy, and Lambert, Walls, Herring, and Ferrine will have a solid year under their belts. I really think Zibby will be back and hungry after a disappointing year; besides, I think he wants to fight in MSG again, and an NFL contract would end that dream. McNeill, Brown, Gray, and Williams should be ready to contribute as well. All of our linebackers have at least one more year of eligibility. Crum and TT will have the off-season to add bulk, and Toryan Smith will be able to master the schemes. Adding the best linebacker class in the nation this year cannot hurt; freshmen linebackers have occasionally be known to contribute heavily at an early stage in their careers (see Andy Katzenmoyer and AJ Hawk for examples). Frome, Talley, and Laws will be back on the d-line; Leitko and Kuntz will have more experience, and Hand will be healthy. If we bring in Barksdale and Blackwell, our interior line will not miss Landri as much as one might think. It's obvious from the players we're recruiting that Minter envisions the pass rush being generated from the edge. While Abiamiri has all the tools, he has never been able to put up truly stellar numbers. We'll miss him, no question (probably more than any other player on D), but his absence might be mitigated by the emergence of John Ryan, Kallen Wade, Kerry Neal, Justin Trattou, and (all I want for Christmas is) Everson Griffen (or Ben Martin). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mpstunner11 Posted October 12, 2006 Share Posted October 12, 2006 I've talked to a lot of the football players and they are pretty sure that Zibby is coming back. The team will be young, but talented. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irish_WIN Posted October 12, 2006 Share Posted October 12, 2006 Our offensive line should not be as bad as everyone is making it sound to be. At OT we will have both Young (Starting) and Duncan which are playing this year during meaningful time. Young will be moved over to Left Tackle and Duncan will remain at Right Tackle and this should be the strength of our offensive line. Weis stated that he could tell Wenger was from the same school as Young and should be seeing him next year (this year he has a cast on his arm). Matt Carufel (1 game), Eric Olsen (3 game), and Michael Turkovich (4 games) have all seen time as back ups this year and are under classmen. We will be young, but very talented. Our secondary will not be as green as it sounds on could be our strength next year on defense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SirJohn Posted October 12, 2006 Share Posted October 12, 2006 Nice Win I have worries and Imroc knows I follow line very very closely Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JerseyDomer Posted October 12, 2006 Share Posted October 12, 2006 I've talked to a lot of the football players and they are pretty sure that Zibby is coming back. The team will be young, but talented. seriously? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest RT Posted October 12, 2006 Share Posted October 12, 2006 Remember now, I believe JC is a 5th-year high-school senior; hence the display of his maturity when compared to other QBs. With him enrolling at ND in January, he will really have the life maturity/experience of a "sophmore". Just some optimism..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kramer116 Posted October 12, 2006 Share Posted October 12, 2006 I think next year will be very exciting because losses won't crush us becasue we know that we are young and on the rise to stay for a while. I also think we have on eupset in us becasue of the talent level as well as one let down. I think 8-4 and a Cotton Bowl appearance would be a lot of fun and then the following year we will be a pre-season top-10 team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Grease Posted October 12, 2006 Share Posted October 12, 2006 I think that we could see Sharpley start next year (my bold prediction). I don't see why that wouldn't be the case until Clausen is ready. I think that Charlie will wait to start Clausen (not bruising his ego with a shitty team), letting Sharpley take the majority of the burden. Also, why start DJ or Frazier because it then sets a precedence for the next three years for them to start. Then, once Sharpleyis gone, it is JC's team to run with a fantastic Junior, Sophomore, and Freshman class leading the charge. Charlie knows that he will win more games with JC at the helm than with DJ or ZF. Sacrifice one year for the betterment of many more to come. Plus, Sharpley has gotten the only other playing time this season at QB and is taking second team reps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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