Welcome to The Irish Blogger Gathering. Once again, this poorly named band of self-important Irish bloggers is coming together to discuss the invading enemy of Washington.
Well, sort of… As the founder and administrator of this group, I diligently passed out orders assignments to the members of the group- but forgot to continue that past the Purdue game. Whoops. As I realized this, late yesterday afternoon, I figured I would send out some questions in a hurry and this is what I came up with. Please note, that I came up with these on the fly in a matter of 4 minutes with a fussy baby (now mobile and quicker than expected) close by and wanting something- anything.
So here we go. I will link all responses to the Gathering as they come in, on the bottom of the post…
1. Describe your worst nightmare coming true on Saturday. Can that nightmare become a reality?
Jake Locker is my worst nightmare- and him playing in this game is already a reality. Locker will be the best we have seen at quarterback this year- and the best we will see for the remainder of the year. That’s bad news for a defense that has made 3 first year starting QB’s (including a true frosh) look like the second coming of some awesome QB somewhere. Get the point? So my worst nightmare is Jake Locker running and passing all over the place while the defense looks around in a haze sucking wind. It becomes reality in a hurry, if ND can’t contain Locker in the pocket.
Here’s a look at Locker from 2007:
2. Can we all agree that Jake Locker will be the best quarterback that we have/will face all season?
Can you tell that I’m a little worried about Jake Locker? The answer is, you bet your sweet ass he is. I remember all of the talk about Kapernick before the Nevada game and many, many people thinking he would be the best. I disagreed and thought perhaps Aaron Corps would be if he played over Barkley. HA! Then Jake Locker happened and Corps sucked balls. Somebody hold me now.
3. Replace two starters on both sides of the football for the Washington game. Who are they, who are they replacing, and why?
OFFENSE: Matt Romine replaces Paul Duncan at Left Tackle & Steve Paskorz replaces James Aldridge / Robert Hughes at fullback.
- Although Paul Duncan has played fairly well, most of the pressure applied to Clausen has been on his blind side. Even if this is just a one game switch, I really want to see Romine in a full game and help work him towards brilliance for the 2010 campaign.
- All of this fullback switching isn’t panning out the way I thought. Just put Paskorz in there and let him destroy something.
DEFENSE: Te’o in for T. Smith as B. Smith moves inside & Dan McCarthy replaces Harrison Smith.
- The move for Te’o to go to the WILL and Brian Smith to move back to the MIKE is being shouted by a lot of Irish fans and media- including myself. The tackle production has been very low from those two spots- change for the better.
- I like when brothers get the chance to play next to each other. Harrison Smith has been a tackle machine- but a penalty machine too. I’d like to see how Danny plays back there.
4. Ty Willingham enters the stadium in the second quarter. What happens?
The entire crowd, Husky fans included, yell- FORE!!!! What a disaster that man was for both schools. However, both fanbases are classy enough to not peg him with those golf balls he loves so much.
Remember when Ty won with Davies defense and Tony Roberts brought life to the Irish on the radio? Life is weird:
5. Are you impressed with the improvement in the run game in 2009, or is it a figment of our imagination?
I am impressed. We don’t need this team to rush for 190 yards a game to score a lot of points. Weis proved in 2005 and 2006, that a steady run game that complimented the pass was a route to score a lot of points. If Allen is getting around 100 yards and the rest of the stable is chipping in, and we average around 130-160 yards on the ground, the offense will flourish. Yep, I’m impressed and look forward to that feeling to grow as the season moves forward. Verducci was the key as he has put together the right combination across the line and helped the running backs with their decision making. Good for us.
6. Who’s hotter, Wendi Nix or Erin Andrews? Why. It your hottie a defensive or offensive player?
I know all of you bastards are going to take Erin, except for my wildcard Sarah, at Bad Trade. ( Sorry this wasn’t a Tom Hammond VS. Pat Hayden question Sarah). I keep arguing with friends and family on this one: Wendi Nix is smoking hot. Did you see those glasses she wore last week. Jaw-dropping hot. She is most certainly an offensive player. Did you see the way she attacked the Brett Favre story… just like a fullback.
7. Predictions please…
I know the sexy pick for this week is for Washington to upset a two touchdown favored Irish team. Why? Because they beat U$C. That was an aberration. The condoms were like 0-13 on third down, or something like that, plus they turned the ball over. The Washington defense is coughing up ungodly amounts of yards on the ground and look a step slow in the secondary. Hello points! Jake Locker can’t do everything. Hopefully the Irish learned enough by playing Kapernick and Tate to keep him in check. Big win heading into the bye:
IRISH 45-20
The Gathering Responds:
Domer Law gives me some shit.
One Foot Down is ready for an entire conference.
The Brawling Hibernian has gone grunge.
Charlie’s Nasties know the Crane.
OC Domer hides from his wife.
