SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Notre Dame co-defensive coordinator Corwin Brown went Dennis Miller ("I don't mean to get off on a rant, but...") on Wednesday evening, and my question is simply this: Why don't we see this out of the Fighting Irish more often?If you have yet to see the video, Brown interrupted the first question he was asked during the typically informal gathering and instead called out Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo for nearly two minutes. Brown was most upset by two things:
1) That Niumatalolo would state that "he didn't want something to be misconstrued, then he said it regarding how we prepared and what we prepared to do."
Niumatalolo's actual comment, in response to a question as to what was the key to Navy's hot offensive start, was, "I think the one thing that helped us, and I really hope this doesn't come across wrong, but I think the thing that helped us this year was last year, because we knew that they'd line up the same way."
I remember standing about 10 yards from Niumatalolo when he said that and thinking, "Rancors aweigh!" Niumatalolo was likely being sincere, but he probably could have done without the "I really hope this doesn't come across wrong" clause. A simple, "They lined up exactly the way they did last year and this time we were ready for it" might have stung, but it would have been simple and honest.
For Brown, Niumatalolo's statemement came across the same way as if you were to say, "No disrespect, but --," the three words that are always followed by a disrespectful remark. As if saying that magic phrase absolves you.
2) Malicious downfield blocking. Navy wideout Nick Henderson was called for a personal foul on Irish cornerback Robert Blanton. In this video, you'll see Henderson take a shot at Blanton's knee after the play and far from the play. Brown called it "one of the most malicious plays I've ever seen since I've been playing."
It's one thing to blindside a player. It's another thing to go for the side of his knee when neither one of you are involved in the play. That could have been a career-ending injury.
Brown did more than simply call out Niumatalolo. He called him. The Irish assistant revealed that he placed a phone call earlier this week to Annapolis this week to tell Niumatalolo that he thought it was all "very poor."
Whether you agree with Brown or think he was being a sore loser, such overt emotion from the coaching staff is exactly what this Notre Dame team craves. It's no coincidence that with Charlie Weis upstairs and Brown on the sidelines at the Hawaii Bowl in December that the Irish put a whupping on Hawaii.
Here's the thing about facing Navy. Notre Dame can't win if it loses and it can't win if it wins. When the Irish lose, as they've done two of the past four years, the response -- and rightfully so -- is "How can you lose to Navy?" Yet three years ago, Notre Dame won in Baltimore and a local scribe actually chided Weis for keeping Brady Quinn in too long, indirectly accusing him of running up the score. The final that afternoon? 38-14.
Last season Weis pulled his starters midway through the fourth with a 27-7 lead. Then Navy almost came all the way back and, of course, we excoriated Weis for being so cavalier.
What Navy represents each year, as one Irish official put it last week, "is a pain in the ass."
So if you can't win for losing and you can't win for winning, well, you might as well win. And win big, if you can.
No matter how you feel about whether Weis should be fired, next year's Navy game would be so much more worth watching if he and Brown are still involved.
Making a Point
If you happened to be watching "SportsCenter" just before 7 p.m. on Wednesday evening, you saw them cut away to a routine at West Point performed by cadets that is known as the "accountability formation." I don't think this is exactly what Weis is referring to this week ... then again, it couldn't hurt.
On Tuesday Weis revealed that Jimmy Clausen, alias No. 7, was texting him Sunday at 1 .m.
"Most people after the game were feeling sorry for themselves," Weis said. "He was mad at himself because he felt that he had lost the game. And that's what really good players do. They don't look at any other reason than themselves. I mean the kid's texting me at 1:00 in the morning about fumbling on the 1-yard line. He had just thrown 450 yards, going up and down the field. That meant nothing to him."
A few thoughts on this statement:
1) The Irish might be better off if Weis did a better job of spreading the love, at least publicly, for his players. We knew that Clausen was extraordinarily talented, and on Saturday we were reminded just how tough he is. The young man has the mobility of your great uncle Elmer and his goal-line moxie won't remind anyone of Tebow, but other than that he is pretty flawless. Still, would it hurt to Weis to shower Golden Tate with praise more often for bailing the Irish out on a weekly basis? Or to note that Eric Olsen, in his first season playing center, has yet to allow a sack?
2) Weis' cellphone should have been blowing up with text messages from a lot of players on Saturday night. There's no excuse for how flat the Irish were in the first half, and that's on the coaching staff. On the other hand, it's true, the players have to be accountable for not making plays. A short list of players besides Clausen who might have texted Weis on Saturday evening:
--Nick Tausch, for missing two field goals.
--Michael Floyd, for failing to pick up Clausen's "double cadence", which led to the interception.
-- Robby Parris, for failing to secure the ball and fumbling on the game's third play from scrimmage.
-- Robert Blanton, for failing to cover a slot receiver he thought had lined up on the line of scrimmage.
Regardless of whether Blanton was correct, what team would send only two players wide on the same side of the field and place them both on the line, therefore rendering the inside man ineligible? Why would a DB ever assume that? And Blanton needs to understand how poor it looks for a player to be pleading with a referee as the play is still ongoing.
--Brian Smith, for being mostly responsible for making Vince Murray a household name.. Smith may have led the Irish in tackles on Saturday with ten, but the middle linebacker should have had more. Watch the first play of the fourth quarter. That's the play in which fullback Vince Murray takes a handoff at his own 1 and goes up the gut untouched for 39 yards. Were the Irish "out-schemed" on that play or did Smith simply blow it?
--Harrison Smith, for being in a season-long funk. Watch Murray's 25-yard touchdown run that opens the second quarter(the Mids were accommodating enough to place two of their more remarkable "explosives" in the first play of both the second and fourth quarter; it will save you a lot of time). Brian Smith can be forgiven for that, as Navy's right guard burst out untouched and takes on B. Smith. Why, though, is Harrison Smith drifting toward the right flat?
Yes, there are schematic questions. Why didn't the Irish line someone up on Navy's center? Why, by playing both Sergio Brown and H. Smith simultaneously, did they play a nickel package, in terms of personnel? Is it because they have that little faith in their down linemen?
It's funny. You watch the game again and you see that outside the red zone Clausen completed a ridiculous 82.5 percent of his throws (33 of 40). Inside the red zone, though, he was just 4 of 11 (36.4 percent). Inside the red zone, the Irish rushing attack was not up to the challenge of getting the tough yards, and often could not get out of its own way. Literally.
On consecutive plays in the second quarter, inside the 5-yard line, the Notre Dame rusher ran into tight end Mike Ragone. On second-and-2 from the Navy 4, Theo Riddick, who otherwise had a fantastic game, ran right up into the back of Ragone where he might have scored if he'd cut outside. On the following play Robert Hughes took a toss sweep and, in striving to turn the corner, ran into Ragone. He should have cut up, inside the block.
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
There is no greater evidence of ESPN's Eastern Bias then displayed on their bottom screen streaming of scores Satudays. Even late in the day here in the West ESPN insists on showing scores of Elon, Slippery Rock, Wagner, Albany, etc etc. all the while ignoring more important games in the Midwest and West. Oh well, that's ESPN and their all important EASTERN BIAS on display.
who cares about notre dame get the faulty irish and their schedule and the boing buckeyes and awful wolverines off the tube
go ducks
good article however on toby
greatgame by he and good luk (sic)
After reading the Walters article, and after listening to all the pundits who cite all the things that they consider were done wrong by Notre Dame players and coaches, it would seem that all Navy had to do to have a higher score than Notre Dame was to go out onto the field and then let Notre Dame make all those mistakes. Come on, people, how about giving some credit to the Navy players and coaches??? Admit it, Navy won by playing a good game. Their red zone defense was outstanding, and their attack on the line on offense was the reason Navy made some long running gains. The game was not "lost" by Notre Dame, it was won by Navy.