Irish Blogger Gathering: Swarbrick To The Thunderdome

irish blogger gathering

Welcome to this weeks Irish Blogger Gathering! The hosting duties were left up to We Never Graduate, and they came up with a solid set of questions. We better get started:

1. The Irish have posted back-to-back victories over teams that have given us fits the past decade to pull back to .500, but when you head to the message boards on ND Nation, Rivals, etc. all you see is unrelenting negativity. Some cry Kelly’s in over his head and doomed to fail, others bitch and moan about the run-to-pass ratio, and many more say that even though we’ve won the last two there’s no improvement over last year’s team. What’s your take on the negativity that’s swirling around the program on the internet? What message would you like to convey to ND Nation?

I don’t mind a little negativity- if’s its well deserved. We can’t sugarcoat every little thing that doesn’t look right, because than we would be a bunch of bullshit artists. However, we are witnessing the first year of both a new coaching staff and a new starting qusarterback. Things are going to look a bit out of sorts. To constantly throw mud at a situation that just needs cleaned up is moronic. That’s basically what 50-60% of the fanbase is for any team; moronic. So, a lot of this is to be expected.

As for any message to ND Nation, the faithful, and anyone else listening: Quit being a bitch and grow a sack. There are some definite problems with the team and the program. To deny that fact, is to be that superfan that everyone wants to knockout. Own up to the problems, but keep steadfast in the hope of the seasons to come. Kelly has done nothing but reinforce my faith in him as a head coach. The guy ain’t perfect, but if you think there is anyone else out there who can do a better job AND want the job… than you haven’t been paying attention for the past 15 years.

2. When Western Michigan and Tulsa were announced as 2010 opponents last fall there was a full-throttle meltdown among ND fans that was surpassed only by The F-Word Incident in April in terms of sheer outrage. Well, if the opinions expressed then are the same now the apocalypse has finally arrived and a MAC squad is about to forever sully our field by stepping foot on it. Have your thoughts on the Western Michigan/Tulsa games changed since they were announced? Would you rather ND Stadium sell out and continue the streak that extends back almost 40 years or see the streak broken so that the powers-that-be know just how disrespected you feel by the audacity they showed in scheduling such inferior opponents?

I was a little worried that we were heading down the wrong path when it came to the schedule, but that started way before Western Michigan and Tulsa were announced as opponents. It started with the 7-4-1 bullshit, and with Kevin White. (More on that in a minute).

The only ones that really care that ND is playing a school from the MAC are ND fans. A few cupcakes are needed, and why not take a taste out of a treat that our Big Integer neighbors have been feasting on for decades? We need a break. After the 6 games we just had, and coming out of those 6 games with a 3-3 record; who do you want to play? Florida State? Tennessee? Washington? Missouri? Seriously… who?

It’s not the opponents on the schedule; it’s where they are on the schedule. October is a big month for college football, with a lot of big games. However, the Irish play a slate that has Boston College, Pitt, WMU, Tulsa, and Navy. It’s just a bad stretch in a single month that would look a lot better if it were flipped with September which had Purdue, Michigan, Michigan State, and Stanford.

So, whatever.

I don’t give a shit about the streak. However, it’s not like we get cupcakes served to us all the time. Go to the damn game. “Audacity” my ass. Enjoy an ass-whooping, because we haven’t seen a good one for a while.

3. Most people painted AD Jack Swarbrick as the villain when the Western Michigan/Tulsa games were made public. Since then he’s made drastic moves in locking down opponents on future schedules, went through the process of firing Weis and hiring Kelly, and navigated ND through the murky waters of conference realignment. Has your personal opinion on Swarbrick been altered over the past year?

I always thought Jack Swarbrick was a dick. No. No I didn’t. I have always thought that he was a very smart and shrewed businessman in the world of athletics. Let’s not kid ourselves here- this is a business for the University. I think that it is more important for the athletic director to be an alumnus of the school than the Head Coach of the football team. This is where “they get it” is really implied.

Jack did not cave into pressure or hysteria when the Conference Wars of 2010 were being fought throughout the country. He did what he had to do to maintain Notre Dame’s football independence, but at the same time, he never said “never,” since there were absolutely events that could have happened that would have forced Notre Dame’s hand.

As far as the schedule is concerned, Jack was dealt with a bad hand from Kevin White with the 7-4-1 scheduling model. That model gave us Western Michigan. Jack has said publicly that a 6-5-1 model is what we will be heading to in the future, and it’s not hard to see the results of that with games against Oklahoma, Miami, and Wake Forest in the future.

I had a positive opinion of Jack when he was hired, and i think that he has done more than a good job to keep that opinion of mine very high.

4. We’re at the halfway point so it’s a perfect time to step back real quick and evaluate what’s happened thus far. What have been your two biggest surprises at this juncture of the season? Choose one positive and one negative.

(+) Carlo Calabrese. It’s not that I didn’t think he would do an “O.K.” job, it’s just that I was under the impression that McDonald was better. It turned out that Calabrese is doing an awesome job in the middle of the defense, and after seeing McDonald play, I scream for CARLOOOO to get his ass back in there.

(-) Seriously, the mums have got to go. I would have thought that Notre Dame would have jumped on my idea from last week to replace the mums with skulls. They didn’t, and that is a big NEGATORY. Maybe my opinion on Swarbrick has changed….

5. Which player that hasn’t contributed much to this point in the season do you see emerging as a contributor down the stretch?

I could definitely take the easy route and say either Ragone or Eifert, but I want to go out on a limb a little bit and throw this name down on the table; Duval Kamara. I say Kamara for the same reason someone would say for Ragone and Eifert- Kyle Rudolph. I’m not talking about moving Kamara to tight end, but he could be used like Rudolph was in the slot or split out. I’m not sure what happened to the kid, but I can smell something cooking, and it smells like redemption.

6. Scholarships are running thin and some tough decisions are going to have to be made this spring when it comes to offering 5th years to current seniors. If you’re Coach Kelly who do you offer and who is left out in the cold to make room for the incoming freshman class? Here’s a link to the 2011 scholarship chart for a list of potential 5th years.

This is a really tough question to ask in October, but I will do my best:

Staying fo sho

Nuss
Romine
H. Smith
Ragone
Dever
G. Gray

Gone fo sho

Paskorz
Nwankwo

Questionable

Ruffer (not on scholly, but a senior)
Wenger (will he get a 6th year?)

I’m a big believer in the importance of 5th year seniors. If they are involved in the two-deep, you try to bring them back.

7. *****BONUS***** You’ve been challenged to a Tailgate Olympiad by some chaunce from Southern Cal and you need to assemble a dream team of your fellow Irish fans to compete in the following events: Full Beer Flip Cup (four-man team), Beer Pong, Hamburger Eating Contest (two-man team), Cornhole/Bags/Whatever You Call It, Individual Case Race, and Thunderdome (one shotgun per minute until someone can’t answer the bell). Your captaincy role on this team is Ryder Cup style so you’ll be monitoring the proceedings rather than actually partaking. Throw some internet love out to your fellow tailgate All-Stars that have delivered through the years and let us know who you’d put in each slot to make sure Troy fell in the parking lot as well as on the field…and while you’re at it, tell us what three songs you’d be blasting as you rolled to victory.

Uh…

Flippy Cup Team