Being a Chicagoan I have lived with the ups and downs of the Chicago Bears fandom. Every little thing is scrutinized, and most of the takes are irrational and ridiculous. Just listen to sports radio on the Monday or Tuesday after a Bears game. For the record start Justin Fields the rest of the year please! Notre Dame fans are created from the same mold. Overreact to everything , criticize everything , rarely are satisfied with much . It’s just the nature of the beast , comes with the territory as the saying goes. I am as passionate about Notre Dame as anyone you will find. But Notre Dame fans like the aforementioned Bears fans really annoy me, plain and simple.
In two games this season , ND fans have gone from one reality to some alternate reality in lightning quick precision. Marcus Freeman 15 days ago was considered the savior of ND football especially with his recruiting prowess . Now fans are comparing him to BVG, who is the worst coordinator to ever represent Notre Dame , and it’s not really close. A two game sample and a majority of the fanbase is jumping ship already .It is a laughable premise! Schematically he is not Clark Lea , but Freeman was a coordinator that every Power Five program would of hired in a second . He just happened to land at Notre Dame . Marcus needs time to understand his personal a little better in a game environment , once he does , he will have plenty of success . The rest of the defensive staff is still in place from last year . He just needs time to find its way.
The narrative that Coach Quinn is this awful coach just will never die! First it was he can’t recruit like Harry Heistand , that’s been proven false , he is the better recruiter. I would say the run game has been the best it’s been under his tenure since probably Holtz. Pass pro probably the edge to Harry . This season the line has been atrocious, but replacing 4 starters will cause some growing pains. Losing Blake Fisher was massive. Now saying we did not recruit well the last 3 to 4 years on the line is just hot garbage. Tosh Baker, Blake Fisher , Quinn Caroll, , Michael Carmody , Caleb Johnson, Zeke Correll , Andrew Kristofic, Rocco Spindler all are four star recruits or better. Joe Alt could be another McGlinchey . The line is young , and again needs game action to improve . And they will , history has proven that. But I am sure Quinn will be the scapegoat no matter the scenario.
Tommy Rees I believe is one the smartest football minds around. His age and lack of experience are a detriment for most fans.If he was 45 and was a OC for ten years , his perception would be different. But the two years as OC , he has more then held his own. He out coached Venables last season in the Win , and more importantly Brian Kelly trusts him , which is not a easy thing for Kelly to do. One day Rees will be considered a elite in his profession. Tommy just seems to utilize his personal properly , and use the strengths to his advantage , not run a system that does not match his players skill set. His system is very versatile. RPO, Proset , pistol concepts , west coast principles etc etc. Last year the running game was the strength , this year he will adapt to the O-line weakness . Buchner is a band-aid for that. Time will tell but I think perception versus reality are two vastly different things. Most ND fans think the sky is falling after every snap , but reality is somewhere in the middle . Atrocious line play , and ND has scored 73 points in two games , 7 passing touchdowns. Take 4 chunk plays away from the defensive stats , and there is not much to look at. This could be a rebuild year , and new QB, O-line , DC, and injuries are a recipe for that type of season. In the old days of Weis , Davie and Ty Will. , Notre Dame loses the last two games . Brian Kelly finds was to win those ugly games most of the time. I still think 10 wins is possible. .
In two games this season , ND fans have gone from one reality to some alternate reality in lightning quick precision. Marcus Freeman 15 days ago was considered the savior of ND football especially with his recruiting prowess . Now fans are comparing him to BVG, who is the worst coordinator to ever represent Notre Dame , and it’s not really close. A two game sample and a majority of the fanbase is jumping ship already .It is a laughable premise! Schematically he is not Clark Lea , but Freeman was a coordinator that every Power Five program would of hired in a second . He just happened to land at Notre Dame . Marcus needs time to understand his personal a little better in a game environment , once he does , he will have plenty of success . The rest of the defensive staff is still in place from last year . He just needs time to find its way.
The narrative that Coach Quinn is this awful coach just will never die! First it was he can’t recruit like Harry Heistand , that’s been proven false , he is the better recruiter. I would say the run game has been the best it’s been under his tenure since probably Holtz. Pass pro probably the edge to Harry . This season the line has been atrocious, but replacing 4 starters will cause some growing pains. Losing Blake Fisher was massive. Now saying we did not recruit well the last 3 to 4 years on the line is just hot garbage. Tosh Baker, Blake Fisher , Quinn Caroll, , Michael Carmody , Caleb Johnson, Zeke Correll , Andrew Kristofic, Rocco Spindler all are four star recruits or better. Joe Alt could be another McGlinchey . The line is young , and again needs game action to improve . And they will , history has proven that. But I am sure Quinn will be the scapegoat no matter the scenario.
Tommy Rees I believe is one the smartest football minds around. His age and lack of experience are a detriment for most fans.If he was 45 and was a OC for ten years , his perception would be different. But the two years as OC , he has more then held his own. He out coached Venables last season in the Win , and more importantly Brian Kelly trusts him , which is not a easy thing for Kelly to do. One day Rees will be considered a elite in his profession. Tommy just seems to utilize his personal properly , and use the strengths to his advantage , not run a system that does not match his players skill set. His system is very versatile. RPO, Proset , pistol concepts , west coast principles etc etc. Last year the running game was the strength , this year he will adapt to the O-line weakness . Buchner is a band-aid for that. Time will tell but I think perception versus reality are two vastly different things. Most ND fans think the sky is falling after every snap , but reality is somewhere in the middle . Atrocious line play , and ND has scored 73 points in two games , 7 passing touchdowns. Take 4 chunk plays away from the defensive stats , and there is not much to look at. This could be a rebuild year , and new QB, O-line , DC, and injuries are a recipe for that type of season. In the old days of Weis , Davie and Ty Will. , Notre Dame loses the last two games . Brian Kelly finds was to win those ugly games most of the time. I still think 10 wins is possible. .
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