Grades

RumpleForeskin · Post by **RumpleForeskin** » Wed Jan 02, 2008 6:07 pm

Texans

Quarterback(s) - B+

After acquiring Matt Schaub during the offseason, he was going to either make or break the Texans’ and Gary Kubiak’s future. While he was healthy, he played exceptionally well. Schaub made a couple of mistakes in some critical points of a couple of games, but other than that, he played great. While Schaub was injured, Rosenfels played very well too making a case for himself as a starter in Minnesota, Miami, or KC next year. The 4 games Schaub and Andre Johnson were the tandem; they matched talents with the likes of Brady/Moss and Romo/Owens. These two are going to be fun to watch for the next few years.

Runningbacks – C-

I was one of the naïve myopic faithful idiots who actually believed Ahman Green was going to make a huge difference for the running game this year. He did make a difference in a couple of games, but that was it. Plagued by injuries all year long, the Texans had to once again rely on the services of Ron Dayne. Dayne did a decent job, but he is not pass catching threat out of the backfield and will never get you more than 20 yards on one carry. Darius Walker did a good job in filling in for the banged up Dayne towards the end of the season, but Walker also lacks the speed and burst to bust out a big gainer. Texans need to address the depth at running back heavily in the offseason, Hopefully, Chris Taylor will be healthy next year to help the lack of depth in this department. Kubiak’s coaching style is somewhat limited in the offensive game planning without a dual threat in the backfield. I guess we’ll see what happens.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends – A

What can I say; the receivers did a remarkable job all year long. Jerome Mathis and Jacoby Jones getting hurt early after Johnson went down spelled disaster for the receiving core. Then, Walter stepped up his game and Andre Davis was signed from the practice squad and did a hell of a job filling in for the injured Johnson. When Andre was on the field, he was only second to Moss and Owens as far as production goes. Its unfortunate we did not get to see what “could’ve” happened if Johnson was on the field the entire year. The Texans were 5-3 with him and 3-5 without him. The Atlanta, Indy (Home) and Tennessee (Home) games could have had different results had Johnson been healthy. He changes the way defenses play. Owen Daniels is going to be great once he learns how to take care of the ball better. He had some costly fumbles in a couple of games that cost the Texans some scoring opportunities, but other than that, he is athletic and knows how to get open. Schaub loved using Daniels as a safety valve when nothing was available downfield. Daniels was good for the most part at catching the ball and immediately turning up field for a couple more yards. I hope the Texans can keep this unit intact for a few more years.

Offensive Line – B

I guess the o-line wasn’t as bad as everybody first thought. It turns out Carr was more the reason for the sack totals in years prior than the offensive line. Injuries piled up throughout the season, but they were still able to keep a decent unit out there. Salaam had a couple of games where he was just overmatched by the opposition (Abraham – Atlanta and San Diego). Other than that, I thought they did what they had to do to keep the offense moving. Pitts and Winston were as solid as could be and the false starts and holding calls were kept at a minimum for the most part. I think a healthy Charles Spencer will add some depth to the line next year. We’ll see how the injuries play out.

Defensive Line – B

Mario Williams’ 14 sacks this season gave Houston fans more than enough reason to think he was a better pick than VY and Reggie. He definitely silenced the critics with his performance this year. It’s still got to play out, but Mario won round two convincingly over VY and Reggie. As for the rest of the line; inconsistency was still a problem. The 19 year old Okoye was second on the team in sacks, but he played like a rookie plays. He disappeared at times and so did his run stopping abilities. They have depth at the d-line which is good, but they need to do a better job of adding pressure up the middle and Mario needs to do a better job of speed rushing on the back side to force strips while QB’s are in the pocket. That being said, playing in a division where the QBs are VY, David Gerrard, and Peyton Manning, its makes it real tough to force those kind of plays on those QBs. We’ll see.

Linebackers – B-

Morlon Greenwood, Charlie Anderson, and Danny Clark had ok seasons, but did not play zone coverage well at all and did not get enough upfront pressure on run blitzes and never really did provide a pass rush on blitz packages. They need to do a better job of applying pressure to free up the d-line a little more or vice versa. The entire unit also did not force enough turnovers. Good linebacking cores have a nose for the ball and can usually get more strips or ints when needed. Texans were nearly last in the league in the takeaway/giveaway department. As for DaMeco Ryans, he had an outstanding sophomore season. Dude will be a probowler for years, but he needs to step up to that great status by forcing turnovers.

Secondary – D

The secondary was absolutely riddled with injuries throughout the year and the starting unit on the field the last 3 games of the season were mostly 2nd and 3rd stringers. Its really no excuse for how poorly this unit played and that they were hardly capable of forcing turnovers. They also did a poor job of covering and cost the Texans victories against Atlanta, Tennesee, and Cleveland. They need to address the safety positions more than anything in the offseason. Daunte Robinson was pretty much the only shining light when he did play the first 10 games of the season and Fred Bennett did provide a little spark towards the end of the season. However, this team needs to overhaul most of the secondary if they want to compete in the AFC south.

Special Teams – A

Jerome Mathis and Jacoby Jones lived up to the billing as return specialists for the first 3 weeks of the season and then they got hit with the injury bug. Mathis was hit with a stress fracture and Jones separated his shoulder. Jones came back but was never the same. The punt return unit never did do a decent job of giving the Texans good field position after week 3. As for the kick return unit, A++++++. Fucking Jerome Mathis and Andre Davis were unbelievable. They did everything they could to give the Texans quick 6 or decent field position. Kris Brown had a superb season except for a chip shot he missed in the Atlanta game and a 44 yarder he missed in the Cleveland game. Other than that, he had a pro bowl season. Matt Turk was above average as a punter and gave the defense room to breathe for the most part.

Coaching – B-

Kubiak did a great job of play calling on the offensive side of the ball, but he was somewhat tentative towards the end of halfs when the Texans had the ball with less than two minutes to play. He also threw the red flag when he shouldn’t have and it cost the Texans a few timeouts when they were needed. Rick Smith, I thought did not blitz enough with the linebackers and did not play enough blanket coverage (Tampa 2 or Cover 2) when the secondary was riddled with injuries. Other than that, I thought the coaching was good.

Overall – B

The team gets a B because they led the league in players on IR and still turned in a good season in the league’s toughest division. This is 4 out of 6 years they have led this dubious statistic. I don’t know how that is possible, but maybe there should be some finger pointing to the strength and conditioning coach of the organization. Good teams have depth and overcome injuries. Super Bowl caliber teams do get lucky sometimes by avoiding any serious injuries. The offense was without Andre Johnson for 8 games and the defense was without Daunte Robinson for 6 games. They also had no true dual threat out of the backfield for 9 games with Ahman Green being sidelined for more than half the season. The offensive line and secondary both were hit with a multitude of injuries, yet this team still achieved a goal they have never reached before. They finished .500 for the first time in franchise history. With all of the injuries this year and playing in the AFC south, I think the Texans’ future is looking really bright. Good Yob.

Felix · Post by **Felix** » Wed Jan 02, 2008 6:11 pm

Denver/F-

they sucked

Shoalzie · Post by **Shoalzie** » Wed Jan 02, 2008 9:04 pm

Rump--I owe you and the other TexanFans here for lowballing them with 3 wins before the season. You guys are in better shape than my garbage team...you actually have a QB and your coach and front office aren't completely inept.

Cam · Post by **Cam** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 2:13 am

Bucs>Texans

btw hi rumps

War Wagon · Post by **War Wagon** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 2:49 am

Cam?

First new blood I've seen here for awhile, other than shit trolls.

You're not a shit troll, are you Cam?

If not, welcome. Now, say something either witty, profound, or both.

And nice wordy take by Rumps. Wrote that all by yourself, did you? Not that I read it or anything, just wondering.

RumpleForeskin · Post by **RumpleForeskin** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 3:03 am

War Wagon wrote:You're not a shit troll, are you Cam?

Cam is good people. He is not the sharpest tool knife in the drawer and is a bit myopic with his team spirit, but he will never overstep his boundaries.

RevLimiter · Post by **RevLimiter** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 3:14 am

Chiefs

F

KC Scott · Post by **KC Scott** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 4:18 am

Welcome aboard Cam

Rump - you didn't used to be a 49er fan did you?
Ever go the to U of Maryland?

Just curious.

War Wagon · Post by **War Wagon** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 4:22 am

^^^

Hadn't though of Nye for quite some time, but yeah.

BSmack · Post by **BSmack** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 2:55 pm

I guess the grades are still out on the Steelers since, unlike the rest of the shit teams meantioned in this thread, the Steelers are still in the playoffs.

If only for a few more days :x

Neely8 · Post by **Neely8** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 7:53 pm

BSmack wrote:I guess the grades are still out on the Steelers since, unlike the rest of the shit teams meantioned in this thread, the Steelers are still in the playoffs.

If only for a few more days :x

I think you will survive another week Bri. Just enough time to come back for a visit to lovely Gillette Stadium.....

DallasFanatic · Post by **DallasFanatic** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 8:51 pm

Boys get a B+.

Great 13 weeks and lousy, uninspired play the last 4 weeks. I wish I was bleeding with confidence about the playoffs, but I aint. Bring on the Foreskins baby!!!!

Goober McTuber · Post by **Goober McTuber** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 8:54 pm

DallasFanatic wrote:Boys get a B+.

Great 13 weeks and lousy, uninspired play the last 4 weeks. I wish I was bleeding with confidence about the playoffs, but I aint. Bring on the Foreskins baby!!!!

I just hope you all can stumble your way to the Titletown Payback Game.

Cam · Post by **Cam** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 10:50 pm

RumpleForeskin wrote:
War Wagon wrote:You're not a shit troll, are you Cam?
Cam is good people. He is not the sharpest tool knife in the drawer and is a bit myopic with his team spirit, but he will never overstep his boundaries.

myopic?? remind me who is the texans fan, and who is a fan of a playoff team

DallasFanatic · Post by **DallasFanatic** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 1:25 am

Goober McTuber wrote:
DallasFanatic wrote:Boys get a B+.

Great 13 weeks and lousy, uninspired play the last 4 weeks. I wish I was bleeding with confidence about the playoffs, but I aint. Bring on the Foreskins baby!!!!
I just hope you all can stumble your way to the Titletown Payback Game.

If we play GB in the Championship game, I guarantee an ass whooping on Favre. Lets cross our fingers and hope they can limp in.

RevLimiter · Post by **RevLimiter** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 3:26 am

DallasFanatic wrote:If we play GB in the Championship game, I guarantee an ass whooping on Favre. Lets cross our fingers and hope they can limp in.

You won't even make it that far- Romo has been sucking hind tit for about 3 weeks now, and it's going to bite the Cowgirls in their asses.

Headhunter · Post by **Headhunter** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 7:20 pm

Romo will be just fine.

T.O. Will be back. Glenn will be back. As will Newman, Gurode, Watkins, and Ratliff. You can expect to see a very dangerous offensive unit, and the D will be just fine.

Romo had a shit game against Philly. That'll happen. He dinged his thumb and lost his number one against Carolina, and sat for a half in a meaningless game in Washington (still sans his #1 receiver).

Go ahead and bet against him. Maybe DF needs another 10 of your dollars.

jiminphilly · Post by **jiminphilly** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 9:21 pm

Iggles:

Coaching: D Reid started the year without a legitmate punt returner and it cost him the first game of the year. He did nothing to help Winston Justice when the Giants were treating him like a turnstyle earlier in the year. With McNabb coming back with a bad wheel to start the year it didn't stop him from calling 40 passes a game.

QB: C+ Coming back from the injury made him painful to watch for 2/3 of the season- once he reached the 1 year mark from the injury, he looked like the #5 of old and left some hope for next year. Banner said he expects McNabb to be back though his exact wording left him an out.

RB: A+ Westbrook once again had a phenomenal year, breaking some team records in the process. Easily one of the top 3 RB in football.

WR: C Overrated Kevin Curtis had 1 phenomenal game a few decent game followed by mediocrity. Reggie Brown took a step backwards. This just isn't a very strong unit and several defenses shut them down with press coverage. Their red zone production was terrible.

TE: D No real production from this unit- hurt by the injury to LJ smith and Schobel and Celek were ok at best.

O line: B either played really well or just shit the bed but Shaun Andrews is one of the best Guards in football (easily top 3). Runyan has a suprisingly good year considering his age. Could stand to upgrade Heremans at Guard. Max Gean Giles is a beast and could really solidy that middle.

D line: C- No significant pass rush. Trent Cole was good but inconsistant at times and that was due to a lack of help on the other side. As a whole, the Eagles defense was the only team in the NFL not to record a defensive TD. Considering Johnson's style of defense- that a big problem. Their ends are too undersized and get worn down.

LB: B Thought to be a weakness, they played well and didnt miss a beat with Trotter gone. They only allowed 1 rusher over 100 yards all season. Stewart looks like a player. Gocong needs to bulk up but adds a nice dimension of speed when Johnson played a 3-4 against the patriots.

Secondary: C+ Sheldon Brown was playing well but got burned late in the year. Lito was once again hurt and Dawkins missed time too. Will Peterson was a disappointment. Eagles will most likely address this position in the draft- 2nd round pick most likely.

ST: weak. Akers had a bad year.. missing some chip shots. lack of a return game cost them the 1st game-- Eagles had the worst starting position of any team in the NFL. They absolutely need to draft a return guy and maybe go for a return guy who might not be much of anything else.

KC Scott · Post by **KC Scott** » Sat Jan 05, 2008 5:08 am

mvscal wrote:
War Wagon wrote:^^^

Hadn't though of Nye for quite some time, but yeah.
I thought he was a fag, wasn't he?

No, but his fat wife smoked black calk

Shoalzie · Post by **Shoalzie** » Sat Jan 05, 2008 5:31 pm

DETROIT LIONS (7-9) (Overall Grade: D-)
The 6-2 start in the first half of the season was clearly fools' gold. They were a mediocre to bad team that fattened up their record early on with equal or inferior opposition. The second half showed that not only is this team not ready for the playoffs...I think they're further away from contention than even after last year. This had to be one of the worst 7-9 teams in NFL history. With the most inept front office in professional sports, I don't expect the right areas of concern to be addressed and it should be a lot of the same next year. There's very little hope with this team in the foreseeable future. The only reason they didn't get a failing grade was the fact the 7 wins were the most in the Millen era.

Offense (Overall Grade: D)
Thankfully, the Mike Martz experiment has ended after just two seasons. Kitna did throw for an impressive 8,276 yards in 2 seasons but for only 39 TD. He has thrown 42 interceptions, had lost 15 fumbles and was sacked 114 times. Considering, their "QB of the future" Drew Stanton, was put on IR during training camp and didn't see a single snap in preseason or the regular season...it's gonna be another year of Kitna but this time in a Jim Colletto offense. I don't know much about what Colletto will do with the offense but hopefully it'll involve more of the running game. The Lions rushed for the second fewest yards and had the fewest rushing attempts in the NFL this season. Turnovers, sacks and no running game...that's not going to get you a lot of wins in the NFL.

Defense (Overall Grade: F)
When you give up the most points, the most yards from scrimmage, have the second worst 3rd down percentage (the worst being the 1-15 Dolphins) and the third most penalty yards...there isn't a whole lot of good that can be said about this defense. They were the second worst team in time of possession and with the worst defense in the league...it's gonna result in a lot of points and yards given up. I don't know if the Patriots' offense could make up for how bad this defense was this year. This team lived off getting turnovers in the first half of the season and it got them a few wins along the way. Once they faced playoff teams that could hold onto the ball and controlled the clock, they were picked apart.

Special Teams (Overall Grade: C)
In the return game, they gave up a higher average per punt and kick return than they averaged themselves...hidden yards that a team with the worst defense and an inconsistent offense didn't need. The kicking game...Jason Hanson, a class act and a trooper throughout the horrible years he's had to endure as one of the league's most consistent kickers in his 16 years in the league. I think most fans will point towards the missed kick against the Cowboys, which cost them a .500 season and the Packers could've ended up with home field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs as well. The guy has made 80% of his field goals in his career and can still hit from 50+ yards at the age of 37...can't kill him for that missed kick when you consider what he offers the team at his position.

Coaching Staff (Overall Grade: D)
Marinelli was winning fans over with the 6-2 start and making them believe his repetitive style of coaching was finally getting them results. When things went south and they dropped 7 of their final 8 games...his message just became a broken record and he seemed lost and confused. Midway through the season, stressing fundamentals isn't going to pull a team out of a nose dive. Considering how bad this team looked in the second half and how bad they looked in road games...a lot of the blame falls on the coaching staff for not having this team prepared. Martz was shown the door as probably the token "sacrificial lamb" firing but honestly, the entire coaching staff didn't do its job and should all be on the unemployment line. The staff gets a 'D' only because of the 4 win improvement from last season.

Front Office (Overall Grade: F)
31-81 in 7 years of Matt Millen...what else needs to be said? He continues to waste high draft picks and gets very little long-term results out of any major signing or trade. The Dre Bly trade looked good initially because it looked like he found two guys at positions of need to help this team. Instead, Tatum Bell is pretty much rendered useless after 5 games and only 182 rushing yards and George Foster earned the nickname of "False Start" Foster...enough said. Out of the 2007 draft class...only two guys had significant contributions. Gerald Alexander was forced into the a starting role at safety because of the injury to Daniel Bullocks and of course, #2 overall pick Calvin Johnson was first in yards per catch, third in receiving yards and TD catches, and fourth on the team in receptions. It's not quite as good as Roy Williams rookie season but he's looking like he's not a total bust of a pick.

= = = = =

Offseason Needs:
What would be easier to do is list what they don't need. They should have more than enough in the wide receiver position but I've thought that the last few years and Millen still signs free agents and wastes first round picks at the position. Raiola is probably the best offensive lineman on the team...I think they're fine at center but the rest of the line needs tweaking. On the defensive side, Shaun Rogers is looking at being cut because of lack of commitment to staying in shape. Dwayne White looked good when he was healthy at one of the end positions but they'll need to find another rusher at the other end as well as find a tackle that can actually be in for key plays...unlike Mr. Rogers. Ernie Sims is a Pro Bowl caliber linebacker but they don't have much to compliment him. In the secondary, they have youth at safety and very little size, athleticism and talent at the corner positions. With Hanson and Harris, they're fine with the kicker positions. They could definitely use a reliable returnman along the lines of recent players like Mel Gray, Desmond Howard and Eddie Drummond.

They draft 15th overall in the first round. They have to look at either a defensive player or an offense tackle. I'd say 5 players I'm looking at: OT Ryan Clady (Boise State), DE Vernon Gholston (Ohio State), and CB Malcolm Jenkins (Ohio State), Mike Jenkins (South Florida) and Aqib Talib (Kansas). This team can't look at anything any than defensive players and depth on offensive line. They can't possibly waste any more early round picks on skilled position players...but just watch Millen blow this first round pick on a running back since Kevin Jones is recovering from knee surgery and Bell is likely to be cut.

DallasFanatic · Post by **DallasFanatic** » Sat Jan 05, 2008 7:49 pm

RevLimiter wrote:
DallasFanatic wrote:If we play GB in the Championship game, I guarantee an ass whooping on Favre. Lets cross our fingers and hope they can limp in.
You won't even make it that far- Romo has been sucking hind tit for about 3 weeks now, and it's going to bite the Cowgirls in their asses.

So what say you fatso? Another 10 dollars Boys make it to the NFC Championship game?

RevLimiter · Post by **RevLimiter** » Sat Jan 05, 2008 7:57 pm

Nope.

Headhunter · Post by **Headhunter** » Sat Jan 05, 2008 10:04 pm

Smart move.

Hopefully Seattle wins today and next week, and we Romo gets his revenge from last year.

Dog · Post by **Dog** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 5:51 pm

RumpleForeskin wrote: Cam is good people. He is not the sharpest tool knife in the drawer and is a bit myopic with his team spirit, but he will never overstep his boundaries.

Bwahahaaaaa. Holy shit, how did I miss this little gem from Texan fan.

Dog · Post by **Dog** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 5:57 pm

BTW

Miami Dolphins.

QB's - F- When your choice is John Beck or Cleo Lemmon, you should probably OD on Lunesta and hope to wake up sometime in August.

Offense - F- - See above

Defense - F- - This defense couldn't stop an optimist football team of flag football players, much less attempt a tackle on an NFL running back. And with Jayson Taylor on the verge of leaving, it ain't getting any better.

Coaching - F- - 1-15, nuff said

Front office - C - Hired Parcells. Let's see how that works.

Overall, the Dolphins receive a solid F.

Time to cheer on the Pack.

Terry in Crapchester · Wed Jan 09, 2008 1:47 am

For the 49ers, anything short of winning the Super Bowl is a disappointment. They were far, far short of that mark this year.

Grade: F--

Dinsdale · Post by **Dinsdale** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 1:49 am

Terry in Crapchester wrote:For the 49ers, anything short of winning the Super Bowl is a disappointment.

RACK!

Season -- F-

Patrick Willis -- A+

Having a Quacking coach -- A+

Performance of Quacking Coach -- D

BSmack · Post by **BSmack** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 3:56 am

Terry in Crapchester wrote:For the 49ers, anything short of winning the Super Bowl is a disappointment. They were far, far short of that mark this year.

Grade: F--

It's good to have high expectations. Even if they were laughably unrealistic.

Terry in Crapchester · Tue Jan 15, 2008 8:55 pm

BSmack wrote:
Terry in Crapchester wrote:For the 49ers, anything short of winning the Super Bowl is a disappointment. They were far, far short of that mark this year.

Grade: F--
It's good to have high expectations. Even if they were laughably unrealistic.

There are certain teams for whom anything short of a world championship is, and always will be, a disappointment. Regardless of the circumstances in a particular year. The 49ers, Yankees and Notre Dame football all belong in that category.

And yes, the more realistic fans realize that a championship every year just ain't gonna happen. But that doesn't mean that the goal should change.

BSmack · Post by **BSmack** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 9:13 pm

Terry in Crapchester wrote:There are certain teams for whom anything short of a world championship is, and always will be, a disappointment. Regardless of the circumstances in a particular year. The 49ers, Yankees and Notre Dame football all belong in that category.

Of those 3, only the Yankees and their 200 million dollar payroll belong in that category. Notre Dame football is a fucking joke and the 9ers will be lucky to finish over .500 for the foreseeable future.

And yes, the more realistic fans realize that a championship every year just ain't gonna happen. But that doesn't mean that the goal should change.

It is one thing to have a goal of winning a championship. Every team starts that season with the goal of winning a championship. It is quite another to call a season a "disappointment" if you do not reach the ultimate goal when your team does not have the necessary talent to fulfill said goal. For example, if Notre Dame were to make the Humanitarian Bowl next year, I would hardly call that a disappointment. At the rate they are going, they should be happy if they can beat Navy. And 9ers fans should be freakin ecstatic if they can make it to 8-8 next year.

Dinsdale · Post by **Dinsdale** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 9:20 pm

Hey BSmacked...

Did you happen to catch how many of the Rivals' Top 100 have given verbals to ND?

Of course you didn't, but the correct answer is "a boatload."

Maybe you should stick with things you know about, like...

Well, you haven't ever actually displayed any great knowledge about anything exceot the proper way to display rear-facing plungers, but there must be something.

BSmack · Post by **BSmack** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 9:26 pm

Dinsdale wrote:Did you happen to catch how many of the Rivals' Top 100 have given verbals to ND?

Of course you didn't, but the correct answer is "a boatload."

The correct answer is "every last one of them had better be an All American or else Navy will hang 46 on them again".

But yea, a bunch of freshmen will come in and save the day.

Dog · Post by **Dog** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 10:06 pm

BSmack wrote:
For example, if Notre Dame were to make the Humanitarian Bowl next year, I would hardly call that a disappointment. At the rate they are going, they should be happy if they can beat Navy. And 9ers fans should be freakin ecstatic if they can make it to 8-8 next year.

That will never happen unless Notre Dame joins the ACC and then is lucky enough to finish eighth.

Humanitarian Bowl - #1 or #2 team in WAC vs. #8 team in ACC.

Yeah, its a dandy.

This year it was the #3 team from the WAC only because Hawaii went to the BCS to get thumped and BSU decided to turn their collective asses to the fans and reward the team with an all expense paid vacation to the islands.

Nevertheless, Notre Dame still sucks.....and that's good for college football.

Dinsdale · Post by **Dinsdale** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 10:28 pm

Dog wrote:That will never happen unless Notre Dame joins the ACC and then is lucky enough to finish eighth.

Humanitarian Bowl - #1 or #2 team in WAC vs. #8 team in ACCl.

You didn't expect BSmack to actually know what he was talking about, did you?

I suppose his head might explode if we told him that traditionally, ND refuses all invites to "lower-tier" bowl games.

Dog · Post by **Dog** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 10:41 pm

Dinsdale wrote: You didn't expect BSmack to actually know what he was talking about, did you?

Probably my worst character flaw is that I always tend to give people the benefit of the doubt.

Terry in Crapchester · Tue Jan 15, 2008 10:51 pm

Dog wrote:
BSmack wrote:
For example, if Notre Dame were to make the Humanitarian Bowl next year, I would hardly call that a disappointment. At the rate they are going, they should be happy if they can beat Navy. And 9ers fans should be freakin ecstatic if they can make it to 8-8 next year.
That will never happen unless Notre Dame joins the ACC and then is lucky enough to finish eighth.

Humanitarian Bowl - #1 or #2 team in WAC vs. #8 team in ACC.

Yeah, its a dandy.

In fairness to BSmack, the bid becomes at-large if the ACC fails to produce a sufficient number of bowl-eligible teams (same for the WAC, for that matter, although that's far less likely to happen). That's why I cut BSmack the slack there.

That having been said, if ND is 6-6 and waiting on the Humanitarian Bowl for an invite, I think ND declines the bid. 1996 out front told me so (and ND was 8-3 that year).

BSmack wrote:But yea, a bunch of freshmen will come in and save the day.

This isn't the college football forum, of course, but . . .

Barring a mass defection in the next 2 1/2 -- 3 weeks, Notre Dame will have, next season, the #8, #8 and #1 recruiting classes in the country over the past three years. Only the senior class will be subpar, talent-wise.

I don't realistically expect a national championship next season (even though that remains the goal, sorry), but anyone who doesn't expect ND to be among the most improved teams in the country is probably in for a rude awakening.

Dog · Post by **Dog** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 12:17 am

Terry in Crapchester wrote: but anyone who doesn't expect ND to be among the most improved teams in the country is probably in for a rude awakening.

How many games did they win last year?

Yeah, it doesn't take much for them to be among the most improved teams. Two wins in 2008 and they've increased their win total by 100% Yippppeeeeeee.

Terry in Crapchester · Wed Jan 16, 2008 12:46 am

Dog wrote:
Terry in Crapchester wrote: but anyone who doesn't expect ND to be among the most improved teams in the country is probably in for a rude awakening.
How many games did they win last year?

Three.

Yeah, it doesn't take much for them to be among the most improved teams. Two wins in 2008 and they've increased their win total by 100% Yippppeeeeeee.

Math isn't your strong suit, I see.

ND will have one of the more talented teams in the country next year, and the schedule gets considerably easier. 8 or 9 wins is what I see next year.

War Wagon · Post by **War Wagon** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 1:08 am

Terry in Crapchester wrote: ND will have one of the more talented teams in the country next year, and the schedule gets considerably easier. 8 or 9 wins is what I see next year.

Huh?

You mean "more talented" in that that they might be better than half of the 119 teams in Division 1-A, or that they'll be better than half the teams they play?

Or that they'll be better because "the schedule gets considerably easier"?

Terry in Crapchester · Wed Jan 16, 2008 1:16 am

Next year we will have the #8, #8 and #1 recruiting classes, respectively, over the last three years. That means either that: (a) there's some serious talent on the team, at least in the younger 3/4 of classes; or (b) the recruiting rankings are FUBAR. Assuming it's the former, we'll have one of the better teams in Division 1-A on paper. Of course, we can only hope that the coaching staff develops the talent as it should.

As for the schedule, we drop Georgia Tech, Penn State, UCLA, Air Force and Duke, and add San Diego State, Washington, North Carolina, Pittsburgh and Syracuse. Also, Navy's coach, Paul Johnson, took the Georgia Tech job, and they're unlikely to catch lightning in a bottle twice. Not to mention that our schedule isn't frontloaded next season the way it was this year. The schedule alone is probably good for an extra two wins next year, even if the wheels fall off once again.