Around the ND Universe, 9/5/07

Some things you know, some things you may have missed and "Inside Our Own Head:"

Some things you know:

• This Clausen guy...he's supposedly this big-time player. And oh yeah, he's now the starter at Notre Dame, earlier than any other Irish quarterback in the modern era. Earlier than Ron Powlus (thanks to an injury), earlier than Joe Theismann, earlier than Joe Montana, earlier -- by two games -- than Brady Quinn and Steve Beuerlein. At least one guy -- more on this in "Inside Our Own Head" -- thinks this is a bad idea.
• Penn State coach Joe Paterno thinks Notre Dame isn't that bad of a team.

Some things you may have missed:

• Darius Walker may have been cut last week by Houston -- but he's back as a practice squad player with the Texans. It is already his third stint in Houston since his career started.
• Jeff Samardzija is in the playoffs with Double A Tennessee, and appears to be the Game 3 starter in its playoff series.

"Inside Our Own Head:"

• So we referenced earlier that at least one guy doesn't think starting Jimmy Clausen so early is a good idea. Make it two. After listening and asking questions during Charlie Weis' weekly conference on Tuesday, it really appeared to us that once Clausen was healthy, he was the guy. This means that what happened against Georgia Tech was more of a stop gap -- albeit one planned for three weeks, included an entirely different offense and gave two talented quarterbacks less than a half each of a shot to play. So instead, Notre Dame will trot out Clausen, who has never played on the road in front of more than 12,000 people, against Penn State, which should have 108,000-plus. And then, barring the unforseen, against another 100,000-plus crowd at Michigan. And then again at Purdue. And at UCLA. Four of Clausen's first five starts will be on the road. Ouch. Why couldn't Weis have done this? Start Demetrius Jones again Saturday. Give him a traditional offense -- he's a pocket passer who likes to scramble, remember -- and see what he does. If he doesn't work, give Evan Sharpley the Michigan start. See what he can do. Work Clausen into both games by scripting a series or two for him -- much like Weis did for running back James Aldridge when he was returning from injury during certain games last season. It'd give Clausen the chance to become comfortable in a raucous surrounding without having the pressure as the starter. Then, if Jones and Sharpley don't meet expectations, start Clausen in fan-friendly Notre Dame Stadium against Michigan State. That way, you really gave all three quarterbacks a fair shake during a game in this "competition." Instead, this reeks of something planned way before the Georgia Tech game even took place. But then again, we don't get paid millions of dollars to do this.
  
  

-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette

Comments

[NDcivil03]

If you think that Saturday you saw an "entirely different offense" you should check out the analysis over at bluegraysky.blogspot.com. Those guys are the ones who should be paid to cover the Irish.

All these reporters still talk about the stretched Hummer incident and have no problems throwing him to the wolves in news print, but now they want to protect Clausen by not having him start?

[ND101]

Clausen is our best QB, so why not start him? Did Jones do something outstanding on Saturday that makes you think he'd do better? Or Sharpley, which though he had good effeciency being 10-13, he was sacked 7 times. Weis has said all along that the best players will play. If Clausen is the best, he should play. The QB competition needs to be over. What you suggest stretches the QB competition out over the first four games. Where does that at any point establish a solid team? The QB is the most important position and needs to be determined well before the season starts. Since ND was not able to do that, it definitely needs to be established now, not three games from now. What you are suggesting is simply playing "musical chairs" for the first 4 games of the season and in a sense just throwing this season out the window while trying to establish a QB through a "fair" competition. The competition already occurred. Weis has since made it clear that Clausen has been the guy since spring but the injury prevented substantial reps.

I think the best move is to play Clausen. There is an overwhelming response from the fans now that ND will turn things around. It's almost as if the GT game is truly behind us and there is a spark again. If we would've started Jones again, or even Sharpley, there would be very little spark going into Happy Valley. It think this is by far the best move. It establishes the team for the season and gives the fans some excitement going into a tough road game.

[Chuckie]

Hey guys,
what ever happened to Zbikowski? Oh, and the offensive line? They seemed outright offensive, apparently.

[Drew]

agreed that the offensive line look herendous ... so hopefully that gets turned around.

rothstein... clausen is the better quarterback - just from the few snaps he took, it was obvious... he threw to the first down marker on target, and he showed versatility in just a few minutes of play, really. he seemed very comfortable (and didn't appear to be too nervous). He looks like a true leader, but I guess we'll see.

I say... why wait? If Weis knows he is the man, why prolong it any further? Put the best man out there... No need to play musical quarterbacks...

When Saturday gets here, we will all see..... cross your fingers Irish fans - this one is going to be a tough one.

[Subway QB]

The future is now.

Weis did not have enough faith in Jones to let him throw more often. Do not think he would be a good choice vs. PState.

Sharpley was a sitting duck.

Jimmy won the job in the spring and the others did nothing to overcome that this summer.

Kudos to Weis if he sticks with JC through thick and thin.

Go Irish.

[Gabe]

I would say you might have a point if you had suggested starting Sharpley the next couple games. But suggesting that Jones start again makes me wonder if you saw him play last week. He might be described as a pocket passer who can scramble, but a pocket passer he is not. Clausen's the best QB on the team, might as well let him play.

[Michael Rothstein]

My argument with Jones is this -- we've never seen him pass. If Charlie has no faith in him, OK, so be it then. But then why do you play him in the first place. As far as Sharpley, he never really got a shot, either, because the line couldn't block me or you. I guess my point is this -- Weis is taking a large risk with what he's doing. If it works, I'll gladly come back and eat crow, squirrel and coyote. But before everyone says this is absolutely the right choice, let's see what happens at Penn State.
-Mike

[bob drake]

Michael,

I believe the key to ND's success on offense is the OL. This is where the coaching staff needs to prioritize its time, and this is an area I would like to see covered.

Fix the OL and all three of our QBs will perform better.

BTW, I believe in starting your best players. While rationale could be made for starting Sharpley, I believe Weis made the right choice.

[bob drake]

"My argument with Jones is this -- we've never seen him pass."

Michael,

Jones passed three times against GT and complete one for 4 net yards.

Jones made two fumbles both recovered by GT.