Leonard , Greathouse and Freeman are done.

[theskibro]

Everyone makes mistakes. And forgiveness is usually generous.

What Leonard did however, is not forgettable. It may be forgivable, but only imo if he is benched. Otherwise his ass is toast as far as I am concerned.

Wildly over rated. Who in their right mind said he is a top nfl prospect ? Kid only has legs. What he did with that under thrown ball is criminal. It is hard to believe. Any qb knows you overthrow in that situation. You protect the lead you never under throw He cannot come back from this as a ND player. It’s that bad

Greathouse same. That drop will define his ND career. He is done. Transfer portal. Bye

Freeman has run out of runway and should be run out of town. Losing and embarrassing the school to inferior opponents has made him dead to me. All my good feelings toward him are evaporated. Get the —- out of town. You are done

And one last guy is an eyelash from being on this list of banished losers - Denbrock He is culpable in this loss. Wtf was he thinking? If Leonard runs on that last series we win. If Leonard runs on the series before that and the series before that - we win

But we all know - No one will be benched no one will lose their job. It pays to screw up .

 

[hvillebill]

Everyone makes mistakes. And forgiveness is usually generous.

What Leonard did however, is not forgettable. It may be forgivable, but only imo if he is benched. Otherwise his ass is toast as far as I am concerned.

Wildly over rated. Who in their right mind said he is a top nfl prospect ? Kid only has legs. What he did with that under thrown ball is criminal. It is hard to believe. Any qb knows you overthrow in that situation. You protect the lead you never under throw He cannot come back from this as a ND player. It’s that bad

Greathouse same. That drop will define his ND career. He is done. Transfer portal. Bye

Freeman has run out of runway and should be run out of town. Losing and embarrassing the school to inferior opponents has made him dead to me. All my good feelings toward him are evaporated. Get the —- out of town. You are done

And one last guy is an eyelash from being on this list of banished losers - Denbrock He is culpable in this loss. Wtf was he thinking? If Leonard runs on that last series we win. If Leonard runs on the series before that and the series before that - we win

But we all know - No one will be benched no one will lose their job. It pays to screw up .

You've already stated all of this in other threads you started.

 

[scubastevefl]

They should play all 3 QB’s this season for 25 but they won’t, they’ll play Leonard all season and be back in the same boat in 25, inexperienced QB room or back in the portal.

 

[BGI User 1596]

They should play all 3 QB’s this season for 25 but they won’t, they’ll play Leonard all season and be back in the same boat in 25, inexperienced QB room or back in the portal.

It’s become lay up nil money for bad portal QBs.

 

[theskibro]

You've already stated all of this in other threads you started.

No. I said Freeman should go. There is new Deb lightening information here regarding other screw ups. Just go with it, Bill. It’s therapy

 

[hvillebill]

No. I said Freeman should go. There is new Deb lightening information here regarding other screw ups. Just go with it, Bill. It’s therapy

I was a little concerned about you, Ski. You're going to blow a gasket.

Chill. Let's see if the problems (which are many) get fixed.

 

[scubastevefl]

I was a little concerned about you, Ski. You're going to blow a gasket.

Chill. Let's see if the problems (which are many) get fixed.

second game is the year and ND is eliminated from the playoffs. That’s not a fixable problem.

 

[wnynd]

I just think back to 1977. Like him or not, DEVINE was an extremely experienced head coach with both college and professional knowledge, yet even after coaching MONTANA for two full seasons And start of #3 he still had him at #3 on depth chart. And the ONLY REASON he got in at PURDUE was injuries to #1,2. So I would SAY 90% of Fan base KNEW MONTANA was better. Yet the coaches did not. WHY? I have NO F’ING CLUE !!!!! But this is bordering on that. I actually believe MINCHEY might be the guy. Give Angeli one half and depending on game circumstances MINCHEY 2nd half.
See what they can do. But REMEMBER EVEN at Clemson a seasoned winner was replaced in game three? With a Freshman And went on to win NC.
Sometimes coaching assessments are wrong. The good coach has a confidence to accept his ERRORS and try to make POSITIVE ADJUSTMENTS. Certainly without adjustments this team is 8-4 and that might be optimistic.
One or two players can change the WHOLE TRAJECTORY of the SEASON.
As bad as we played at QB, O line, play calling, defense miscues, turnovers, etc. put Brandon AUBREY on this team and we are 2-0.
One player addition can make the difference.
Very disappointed in current team play.
So let’s see what adjustments, if any, are made.

 

[tkirish]

How about this for an observation. Maybe these players aren’t that good. Ask yourself this. What players would make it on an SEC team or Ohio state or Penn st , Texas ? And if they did , would they play ? From my observation, maybe one or two could play on an elite team. ND does not have one great player. None. Yet you still should beat NIU. Unless you really aren’t that good. Which I think is the actual truth. If ND has great players then they should beat Purdue. I think ND loses. Purdue can score points. ND cannot. ND defense got exposed. Purdue will follow the blueprint. Unless Joe Montana is sitting on the bench waiting to get a chance to play, there is nothing in the first two games that says the Irish are good team.

 

[sjb75]

How about this for an observation. Maybe these players aren’t that good. Ask yourself this. What players would make it on an SEC team or Ohio state or Penn st , Texas ? And if they did , would they play ? From my observation, maybe one or two could play on an elite team. ND does not have one great player. None. Yet you still should beat NIU. Unless you really aren’t that good. Which I think is the actual truth. If ND has great players then they should beat Purdue. I think ND loses. Purdue can score points. ND cannot. ND defense got exposed. Purdue will follow the blueprint. Unless Joe Montana is sitting on the bench waiting to get a chance to play, there is nothing in the first two games that says the Irish are good team.

Tell that to Mike Elko, who plays in the SEC.

 

[tkirish]

Tell that to Mike Elko, who plays in the SEC.

A&M have their own QB issues. ND played tough and got the W. However , it doesn’t take away the fact the offense is not that good. You need to score. They are having a tough time through 2 games scoring. Fact. You need to put points up if you want to win. Pretty simple

 

[HDK]

I just think back to 1977. Like him or not, DEVINE was an extremely experienced head coach with both college and professional knowledge, yet even after coaching MONTANA for two full seasons And start of #3 he still had him at #3 on depth chart. And the ONLY REASON he got in at PURDUE was injuries to #1,2. So I would SAY 90% of Fan base KNEW MONTANA was better. Yet the coaches did not. WHY? I have NO F’ING CLUE !!!!! But this is bordering on that. I actually believe MINCHEY might be the guy. Give Angeli one half and depending on game circumstances MINCHEY 2nd half.
See what they can do. But REMEMBER EVEN at Clemson a seasoned winner was replaced in game three? With a Freshman And went on to win NC.
Sometimes coaching assessments are wrong. The good coach has a confidence to accept his ERRORS and try to make POSITIVE ADJUSTMENTS. Certainly without adjustments this team is 8-4 and that might be optimistic.
One or two players can change the WHOLE TRAJECTORY of the SEASON.
As bad as we played at QB, O line, play calling, defense miscues, turnovers, etc. put Brandon AUBREY on this team and we are 2-0.
One player addition can make the difference.
Very disappointed in current team play.
So let’s see what adjustments, if any, are made.

Devine's refusal to start Montana was two-fold: Montana suffered a dislocated shoulder that cost him the 1976 season in pre-season camp after being named the starter. Montana did not do well in spring practice in 1977, yet he played in the bookstore basketball tournament over Devine's objections and Devine pretty much blew a gasket over it and refused to play Montana until he absolutely had to.

That said, I agree that someone else needs to be given a shot to lead this team.

 

[Get Nasty]

Freeman should be let go can not be said enough… it should be stated in every thread, every angle possible

 

[FightingIrish44]

Freeman should be let go can not be said enough… it should be stated in every thread, every angle possible

That’s premature. Why not wait until they’ve actually lost a few games?

 

[Get Nasty]

That’s premature. Why not wait until they’ve actually lost a few games?

He inherited a top program… lost 4 first year, 3 last year, expectation was a run at a tittle and we lost to niu… that’s enough … his crap dc performance in 21 should have been enough

 

[FightingIrish44]

He inherited a top program… lost 4 first year, 3 last year, expectation was a run at a tittle and we lost to niu… that’s enough … his crap dc performance in 21 should have been enough

Did you want him fired prior to this season, after the 2023 season had concluded?

 

[Get Nasty]

Did you want him fired prior to this season, after the 2023 season had concluded?

Oh yes, everyone on here knows that. How terribly unprepared we were for Louisville AND clemson with awesome environments was enough. Now, i gave him credit for landing denbrock and bringing in what I thought was some good WR portal players and possibly a good QB. Not close to good enough, the problem is freeman is still here.

I wanted freeman gone after FSU 2021 because the defense was so unprepared for that game, and freeman had no clue how to adjust, freeman had to step in and tell him what to do (stop dropping foskey into pass coverage). The defense is typically way ahead of the offense game 1, our D in 2021 was so far behind. Kelly stepped in and had him change the D he developed and coached for 9 months because it was moronic.

 

[echowaker]

Freeman should be let go can not be said enough… it should be stated in every thread, every angle possible

That's irrational. It's not going to happen and you know that. Quite silly actually. It's not how the business works. An absolute gut wrenching loss for sure but no one is getting fired after week two based on game results .

 

[echowaker]

Oh yes, everyone on here knows that. How terribly unprepared we were for Louisville AND clemson with awesome environments was enough. Now, i gave him credit for landing denbrock and bringing in what I thought was some good WR portal players and possibly a good QB. Not close to good enough, the problem is freeman is still here.

I wanted freeman gone after FSU 2021 because the defense was so unprepared for that game, and freeman had no clue how to adjust, freeman had to step in and tell him what to do (stop dropping foskey into pass coverage). The defense is typically way ahead of the offense game 1, our D in 2021 was so far behind. Kelly stepped in and had him change the D he developed and coached for 9 months because it was moronic.

Pretty sure Marcus Freeman's discarded toe nail clippings know significantly more about defensive football then you'll ever hope to. Your trades are just that. Yes they lost and we all hate it. Ten more games to go. Players and coaches don't have the luxury of pissing and moaning all week after a loss. Time to get back to work. In 1989 at MSU we lost 4 of our first 6 games by a total of 21 points. Three of the losses were to top 5 teams. We didn't whine but kept working and ended the season winning 6 in a row. Two choices.

 

[Get Nasty]

That's irrational. It's not going to happen and you know that. Quite silly actually. It's not how the business works. An absolute gut wrenching loss for sure but no one is getting fired after week two based on game results .

I know it's not going to happen, but fans and the media should be calling for it (until or unless he gives everyone a reason not to). That's how you get someone to be let go at season end. It's how ND was able to get rid of willingham and Weis. Everyone was calling for it most of their last year and especially at the end when the folded. Freeman folded game 2.

 

[Get Nasty]

Pretty sure Marcus Freeman's discarded toe nail clippings know significantly more about defensive football then you'll ever hope to. Your trades are just that. Yes they lost and we all hate it. Ten more games to go. Players and coaches don't have the luxury of pissing and moaning all week after a loss. Time to get back to work. In 1989 at MSU we lost 4 of our first 6 games by a total of 21 points. Three of the losses were to top 5 teams. We didn't whine but kept working and ended the season winning 6 in a row. Two choices.

I call BS, and I don't think i'm some defensive genius at all. I think freeman is an absolute moron that lines up with his ACT score. He's a fraud that's gotten where he is due to the fact he is a very very unique personality that resonates extremely well with the players, ADs, community, etc. But he has absolutely no clue what he's doing, especially offensively, and even defensively. It was Luke's D at Cinci, and kelly had to step in and correct Freeman's attempt at his own D at ND. It was absolutely moronic until kelly stepped in, and kelly isn't a defensive guy.

Yes, Freeman needs to win 10 in a row now, he probably hangs on with 9-1 the rest of the year. More than 2 losses is a guaranteed firing.

 

[echowaker]

I call BS, and I don't think i'm some defensive genius at all. I think freeman is an absolute moron that lines up with his ACT score. He's a fraud that's gotten where he is due to the fact he is a very very unique personality that resonates extremely well with the players, ADs, community, etc. But he has absolutely no clue what he's doing, especially offensively, and even defensively.

Another irrational thought.

 

[echowaker]

I know it's not going to happen, but fans and the media should be calling for it (until or unless he gives everyone a reason not to). That's how you get someone to be let go at season end. It's how ND was able to get rid of willingham and Weis. Everyone was calling for it most of their last year and especially at the end when the folded. Freeman folded game 2.

Willingham and Weis got rid of themselves. If Freeman follows their path he will to. Again horrible loss. There's no debate about that but folded ? That's dumb.

 

[Get Nasty]

Willingham and Weis got rid of themselves. If Freeman follows their path he will to. Again horrible loss. There's no debate about that but folded ? That's dumb.

Less than 300 yds vs NIU, Love had 11 touches all game, NIU ran the same play over and over and over.

Ready for this one. ND only got in the red zone ONCE vs a frichan MAC team at home with perfect weather. This is a team supposed to compete for a title.

Yes he folded as a coach and had no clue what to do in game and it's why he had no clue in his PC after the game.

As a former player you know, their prep had to be an absolute disaster despite whatever freeman said. NIU ran exactly what they did the week before offensively and defensively. The team was not prepared well at all. It's almost like Freeman said "we're going to focus on being physical this week" vs actually watching film and having a game plan vs NIU. NIU had about 5 plays they ran the entire game. Defensively, same thing. Not once did we stop a jet sweep, or have a plan for them pulling, or their wildcat, or splitting the RB out. Simple stuff.

 

[Harpo Marxist]

I have seen multiple high profile bloggers reference the NIU loss as "inexcusable". Now, what exactly does that and should that mean? If it can't be excused....what should come next? The lack of preparation for, and adjustments in the NIU game are quite surprising. Its as if imposters were on the sidelines coaching this game. But then again....to some extent....maybe they were.

 

[echowaker]

Less than 300 yds vs NIU, Love had 11 touches all game, NIU ran the same play over and over and over.

Ready for this one. ND only got in the red zone ONCE vs a frichan MAC team at home with perfect weather. This is a team supposed to compete for a title.

Yes he folded as a coach and had no clue what to do in game and it's why he had no clue in his PC after the game.

As a former player you know, their prep had to be an absolute disaster despite whatever freeman said. NIU ran exactly what they did the week before offensively and defensively. The team was not prepared well at all. It's almost like Freeman said "we're going to focus on being physical this week" vs actually watching film and having a game plan vs NIU. NIU had about 5 plays they ran the entire game. Defensively, same thing. Not once did we stop a jet sweep, or have a plan for them pulling, or their wildcat, or splitting the RB out. Simple stuff.

Not prepared yet took the opening kickoff and marched right down the field. I never bought that silly argument. Again, bad game. All the hindsighting in the world won't change it.Put in the work and getting better is the only thing that can prevent it from happening again.

 

[Irish_inPSU]

This team was not prepared for NIU and NIU was 100% prepared for ND. Fact is, everyone lives for the chance to come into ND stadium and play like its their super bowl against the irish. ND gets everyones' best shot, regardless of how inferior that team might be. What all of us saw this weekend was an inferior team on paper out play us and a coaching staff out scheme us. The A&M game was a little deceiving. I for one knew that game was going to be a dog fight against a good opponent and any W was plenty good enough. I got lulled into thinking that the ineptness at QB was simply game one rust and then playing a very good A&M defense. We now know we have a terrible QB, and an Oline that can easily be confused with exotic looks pre snap. NIU did a very good job of disguising schemes and movement before the ball was snapped...

ND's defense is A-OK, in fact, they're probably one of the more elite defenses in the country. I don't care who we're playing, if we hold an opponent to 16pts, we should be winning that game.

Either way, i'm tired of the season being practically over in September. Barring major chaos in the polls and IF ND can get its shit together, the post season is pretty much out of the question.

 

[banmate6]

I have seen multiple high profile bloggers reference the NIU loss as "inexcusable". Now, what exactly does that and should that mean? If it can't be excused....what should come next? The lack of preparation for, and adjustments in the NIU game are quite surprising. Its as if imposters were on the sidelines coaching this game. But then again....to some extent....maybe they were.

It means nothing, aside from us fans debating it!



Sports is a business. Money is made by these bloggers. ND makes money from this. Rivals does too.

My take is simple: money talks the loudest. ND won't make serious changes until the money gets hit. Even then, the administrators might not care.

Not be negative, but I have long accepted ND won't and cannot compete on an even level for a NC. It will take extraordinary circumstances...ironically, I believed this season might be one of them.

I still love following the Irish. God knows how the rest of the season will be. And what the fate of Freeman will be, given so much variance still possible.

But I know as a fan I have no influence. Except I might cancel a planned trip to South Bend for the FSU game. But nobody will care, won't move the needle.

 

[Get Nasty]

Not prepared yet took the opening kickoff and marched right down the field. I never bought that silly argument. Again, bad game. All the hindsighting in the world won't change it.Put in the work and getting better is the only thing that can prevent it from happening again.

We marched down the field due to Riley running the ball. We didn't come close to scoring at all again first half when he didn't run much.

If we need to have the QB running like crazy to score vs NIU, we have the wrong QB and the coaches did a terrible job.

Defense had no clue their first drive how to defend the RB splitting out, 83 yd td. That's not being prepared, they split brown out a bunch early first game. KVA all game was in coverage on him, moronic. That's not being prepared.

 

[FightingIrish44]

Oh yes, everyone on here knows that. How terribly unprepared we were for Louisville AND clemson with awesome environments was enough. Now, i gave him credit for landing denbrock and bringing in what I thought was some good WR portal players and possibly a good QB. Not close to good enough, the problem is freeman is still here.

I wanted freeman gone after FSU 2021 because the defense was so unprepared for that game, and freeman had no clue how to adjust, freeman had to step in and tell him what to do (stop dropping foskey into pass coverage). The defense is typically way ahead of the offense game 1, our D in 2021 was so far behind. Kelly stepped in and had him change the D he developed and coached for 9 months because it was moronic.

Fair enough and I understand. I have similar viewpoints on the defense in 2021, and I know you didn’t like Freeman which is fine.

I just didn’t see you beating the drum this loudly after A&M and before the season and now it seems you’re ready to pounce after this bad loss. Kalen Deboer just had a battle with USF as did Saban the year prior.

Might as well wait a little to see how the team rebounds because he’s not getting fired after one loss. What if they go 11-1?

 

[echowaker]

We marched down the field due to Riley running the ball. We didn't come close to scoring at all again first half when he didn't run much.

If we need to have the QB running like crazy to score vs NIU, we have the wrong QB and the coaches did a terrible job.

Defense had no clue their first drive how to defend the RB splitting out, 83 yd td. That's not being prepared, they split brown out a bunch early first game. KVA all game was in coverage on him, moronic. That's not being prepared.

Ok coach. If you watch that play the result was kind of a fluke. KVA actually pushes the receiver into the path of the football. It's not like he was running free. Who do you suggest they have covering a running back ? Since the beginning of time linebackers have been responsible for running backs running routes.

 

[Get Nasty]

Fair enough and I understand. I have similar viewpoints on the defense in 2021, and I know you didn’t like Freeman which is fine.

I just didn’t see you beating the drum this loudly after A&M and before the season and now it seems you’re ready to pounce after this bad loss. Kalen Deboer just had a battle with USF as did Saban the year prior.

Might as well wait a little to see how the team rebounds because he’s not getting fired after one loss. What if they go 11-1?

If they go 11-1, i will be ecstatic and will without hesitation sing the praises of how well freeman made changes and coached this team to the CFP.

This isn't one loss, that was Marshall. This is a constant with freeman not being able to coach week in and week out.

Yes, alabama didn't play well and was in a tough one, then absolutely dominated the fourth quarter. Wish we had done the same and won 42-16 like Bama did.

 

[Get Nasty]

Ok coach. If you watch that play the result was kind of a fluke. KVA actually pushes the receiver into the path of the football. It's not like he was running free. Who do you suggest they have covering a running back ? Since the beginning of time linebackers have been responsible for running backs running routes.

Sneed who was right next to him not KVA. Sneed was the outside backer in that play. KVA had deep responsibility and Sneed had the flat, completely backwards from what it should have been. There was no safety help. You don't want your slower LB having deep coverage with no safety help. We had 3 lbs in on that play, sneed absolutely should have rolled out with Brown and KVA filled in Sneeds position on the line and flat.

It may have been a busted assignment. There's just no way you have a game plan where KVA is 1-1 with the RB and absolutely no help. Sneed, ausberry probably, maybe kiser too, NOT KVA Or Bowen. This was a play NIU ran the week before a few times, so not having a good plan or players confused says a lot about prep again.

 

[echowaker]

Sneed who was right next to him not KVA. Sneed was the outside backer in that play. KVA had deep responsibility and Sneed had the flat, completely backwards from what it should have been. There was no safety help. You don't want your slower LB having deep coverage with no safety help. We had 3 lbs in on that play, sneed absolutely should have rolled out with Brown and KVA filled in Sneeds position on the line and flat.

It may have been a busted assignment. There's just no way you have a game plan where KVA is 1-1 with the RB and absolutely no help. Sneed, ausberry probably, maybe kiser too, NOT KVA Or Bowen. This was a play NIU ran the week before a few times, so not having a good plan or players confused says a lot about prep again.

And you know all of this how ? What coverage was called ? Please tell us so we can all know. I swear you're making things up as you go along. Unless you know each players responsibility it's all speculation. I'm just going by what happened.

 

[echowaker]

Oh yes, everyone on here knows that. How terribly unprepared we were for Louisville AND clemson with awesome environments was enough. Now, i gave him credit for landing denbrock and bringing in what I thought was some good WR portal players and possibly a good QB. Not close to good enough, the problem is freeman is still here.

I wanted freeman gone after FSU 2021 because the defense was so unprepared for that game, and freeman had no clue how to adjust, freeman had to step in and tell him what to do (stop dropping foskey into pass coverage). The defense is typically way ahead of the offense game 1, our D in 2021 was so far behind. Kelly stepped in and had him change the D he developed and coached for 9 months because it was moronic.

That's all hindsight. The easiest thing in the world.

 

[Get Nasty]

And you know all of this how ? What coverage was called ? Please tell us so we can all know. I swear you're making things up as you go along. Unless you know each players responsibility it's all speculation. I'm just going by what happened.

I'm just going by the fact you don't have KVA or Bowen on the RB when split out in coverage EVER when 3 LBS on the field with no one in the backfield. It happened twice for 125 yds.

Either blown coverage or terrible scheme. For it to happen once let alone twice. Something bad happened both plays, coaching or bust, and bust involves coaching since it happened twice.

 

[echowaker]

I'm just going by the fact you don't have KVA or Bowen on the RB when split out in coverage EVER when 3 LBS on the field with no one in the backfield. It happened twice for 125 yds.

Either blown coverage or terrible scheme. For it to happen once let alone twice. Something bad happened both plays, coaching or bust, and bust involves coaching since it happened twice.

The second one was certainly a bust by Bowen. He clearly misread the play and lost his coverage. He stays with him an it's likely an incompletion.

 

[FightingIrish44]

I'm just going by the fact you don't have KVA or Bowen on the RB when split out in coverage EVER when 3 LBS on the field with no one in the backfield. It happened twice for 125 yds.

Either blown coverage or terrible scheme. For it to happen once let alone twice. Something bad happened both plays, coaching or bust, and bust involves coaching since it happened twice.

It didn’t look like a sound defense to me after the shift. That’s a big one that probably shouldn’t have happened.

 

[mbd11]

We marched down the field due to Riley running the ball. We didn't come close to scoring at all again first half when he didn't run much.

If we need to have the QB running like crazy to score vs NIU, we have the wrong QB and the coaches did a terrible job.

Defense had no clue their first drive how to defend the RB splitting out, 83 yd td. That's not being prepared, they split brown out a bunch early first game. KVA all game was in coverage on him, moronic. That's not being prepared.

I think NIU's better than people realized. They returned 18 starters. Nevertheless, we should've won. If we'd just run the ball more, we probably would've. This team's better at running the ball than passing, with Leonard at QB. So if he's the QB, just run the RPO most of the time. That's what he's good at. I'd like to see us run the ball 40+ times a game, personally.

If you want to pitch the ball around, then put Angeli or Carr in. They're better passers.

 

[Get Nasty]

I think NIU's better than people realized. They returned 18 starters. Nevertheless, we should've won. If we'd just run the ball more, we probably would've. This team's better at running the ball than passing, with Leonard at QB. So if he's the QB, just run the RPO most of the time. That's what he's good at. I'd like to see us run the ball 40+ times a game, personally.

If you want to pitch the ball around, then put Angeli or Carr in. They're better passers.

They don't trust leonard to throw and more importantly read slants and crossers. They're very easy passes but you have to read them right. Outs and hooks/stops are actually harder passes but much much easier reads. You're really only reading man vs zone with one defender, and kinda easy to tell pre snap.

I think our offense shows riley can't read defenses, but for some reason (maybe the rumor is true that it's in leonards contract) he's starting.