Rockne's Roundtable

i would like to see more beef up front myself, but footwork and moving in space is more in kelly's eye within the spread. saying that, it's still bk's call on how much we will run, and heistand's ability to teach the right technique to execute it. i'll believe it when i see it. but smash-mouth football is gone as long as the spread is here.....and that's sad.

tomporazz,

The one thing all of has to recognize is no one has more invested into the program that the staff. It's their livelihood, and it's about WIN — What's Important Now. You can't indulge in "maybe this guy will be better."
You might be right about Golic, but maybe with Nichols he also doesn't execute his assignments against Navy, which might help lead to an upset.

Kelly didn't play it safe when he inserted Hendrix against FSU deep in his territory with ND precariously hanging on to a 14-9 lead. He threw a pick and seconds later the 'Noles took the lead for good. Had Hendrix led a TD drive instead, Kelly would have been ripped for "not playing him sooner." That's the life of a coach.

I remember during one of Lou Holtz's radio shows in the 1980s, one call-in guy was telling him how he needed to go with Kent Graham over Tony Rice. Another was absolutely adamant that yet another Graham — Pete Graham, the holder on field goals and PATs who was the No. 4 QB — possessed the best leadership and overall knowledge to be his QB.

Holtz started to get a little frustrated and told the host, "You know, that's the great thing about being a fan. It's like being able to go to the high stakes gambling table in Vegas and say, 'I want to bet on this sure thing, this sure thing, and that sure thing — but not with my money."

I still find myself laughing at that one with the irritated yet calm tone of voice he used.

Just checking my signature

As long as Wood stays healthy and hungry, I agree

We Are ND76,

I understand and don't necessarily disagree, but the unfortunate aspect for the last 18 years is we are living off "what could be" or "the makings of" and "potential." We need consistent on-field evidence, especially in marquee situations.

The running back corps is good and could become (there's another good phrase) the best on the team but we have different definitions of "embarrassment of riches."

My definition is 1990, when it included Ricky Watters, Jerome Bettis, Rodney Culver (leading rusher that year), Tony Brooks (still in top-10 all-time rushing), with Rocket, the Walter Camp Award winner that year, as the closer with more than 500 yards rushing and 7.7 yards per carry.

It was so embarrassing with riches that Reggie Brooks (5th in the 1992 Heisman as a running back) and 2nd-team USA Today All-American running back Jeff Burris were moved to defense, and future Pro Bowl player Dorsey Levens, transferred to Georgia Tech to see some playing time.

I can't classify ND's running back corps at this point to be at the "embarrassing" level, especially given how the running game faltered last year after injuries to Jonas Gray and Braxston Cave.

What I'm really excited about is the continued emphasis on athleticism and intelligence with current and future offensive linemen. Lest we forget the example of All-American Center Tim Ruddy, who maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA as a junior and senior, and graduated Summa Cum Laude with a degree in Mechanical Engineering (how many FBS schools can say that?). If memory serves, the entire O-Line in '92 and '93 had an average GPA of 3.5. Smart, capable big men can dominate both sides of the ball and win championships.

Coach Kelly's spread needs a mobile quarterback; and that requires moving the pocket ... often. Additionally, with Coach Alford taking over the hybrid slot/RB positions, we're going to see a lot of new schemes and plays.

Coach Kelly's offense can't be run with big, slow, dim-witted linemen. The size and strength are great; but I want seamless movement, excellent decision making and crushing domination when controlling the ball. That being said, we can't ignore the obvious: a combination of 5 OL plus 2 TE makes an even 2,000 lbs. of front seven blocking for our as-yet-unproven "embarassment of riches" at slot and RB.

This year's offense is going to be great fun to watch!

"Coach" Clancy you do realize that 16 of the Top 25 teams in the nation run a variation of the spread offense??

If anything, Kelly was often castigated his first year for not playing the percentages and being too reckless, from having Nate Montana throw into the end zone on the final first half play against Michigan instead of kicking a chip-shot field goal, to doing the same in the closing minute against Tulsa with Tommy Rees.

I think Kelly would get a kick out of being called a "play-it-safe" coach.