bartshan-83

While I'm sure that was tongue-in-cheek, Clausen is not a Cali QB ala RJ, JP or especially Trent. Have you ever been to Northern Indiana? Trust me when I say you'll never catch Clausen wearing sissy gloves or being afraid of snow. Sadly, you nailed it with your last line. Realistic in Bills sense is a sad, sad thing. I could see something like this being sold to us as the solution as well.

Without sounding too ND biased (I'm trying really), I think Weis would probably make a better NFL head coach than a college one. Just personal opinion, but I think he would be able to reach professional, adult men better than he did college students. That being said, no way would I want him as a HC here. Coordinator...yes. HC...NO. Along the coordinator lines though, I'd love to see Jimmy Clausen here and it wouldn't be so bad to have a familiar coach help with his transition to the league. Brady?? No, no, no...he's not in the same league as Clausen. Never was, probably never will be.

I'd agree that route could make a lot of sense. Additionally, Shanahan's asking price does seem pretty ridiculous. But there a few problems: 1). You want a "solid GM?" Where are all these guys? I've heard some names thrown out...Casserly? That's not solid, IMO...that's average. Former coaches? Schottenheimer? Does he even want to be a GM or coach? Holmgren? Does he want to be a GM and NOT coach? The last time we hired a "solid" GM, it blew up in our face because he kept hiring weak coaches who wouldn't potentially usurp his power. 2). Let's say Shanahan wants $10MM/year. While that is a LOT for one person, is it enough to split among a GM, HC and "top quality coordinators?" I'm not a salary expert but it doesn't seem like you are going to be able to make that money stretch the way you might like it and still get the talent you want. Along those lines, why are all these top coordinators going to want to leave their teams and come to Buffalo? Going to need to PAY them...probably a premium. 3). This is mainly an emotional response, but couldn't we just once go the expense route and see where it takes us? Even if it flies in the face of reason? Ralph has patch-worked this franchise for years. This is a team marked largely by failure and mediocrity with fleeting periods of brightly-burning success. Everyone is tired and worn down. If we are going to go down, couldn't we just once go down swinging instead of slapping?

This might end up as the most strangely-titled thread ever for PPP. And that's saying something...

I'd love Brian Kelly. He has been a winner at every level and his career has a very Urban Meyer-esque arc. He started low, only hangs around for a few years but obviously has higher success on his mind. The job he has done with Cincinnati is outstanding. Plus Cincinnati has an excellent graduation rate ranking which I'm sure ND will strongly consider. I'm unaware of his baggage... Stoops would obviously be incredible and while it's a long shot, it's definitely a better possibility than it was in '02 or '05. One thing I will always credit Weis for is that he restocked the team with talent. He left the team in a more attractive position than he came to it. It would take a huge force to get Stoops out of Norman, but not impossible. I don't really see it happening though. The coach I wanted in '05 is again being brought up...Butch Davis. He built the UM dynasty that Coker destroyed. He is a great recruiter and I think better coach than Weis. My only objections would be (a) he has had some strange losses at UNC and (b) he definitely had a hand in bringing in the type of "character" that caused the U to finally implode on itself. While that culture was already set in place, I can't believe that he didn't perpetuate it. Plus, he has the reputation for quitting on his team unceremoniously (UM and Cleveland). Although that is not really all that rare in college coaching... Harbaugh sees real legit and I see nothing wrong with him. I'd perhaps want a coach with a bit longer of a resume. But I wouldn't be upset, he seems like nothing but a fiery winner. Paul Johnson of G-Tech (formerly Navy). Always loved him at Navy and he has obviously taken G-Tech to the next level. Bring the option back to Notre Dame...suit up Tony Rice and Kevin McDougal! The TCU coach, Gary Patterson, has come up as well, I don't know anything about him except that he took the team that Franchione resurrected and turned it into a perennial winner. Finally, the white whale....Urban Meyer. I'll be honest and say that I harbored dislike for him after he spurned us in '05. Mostly based on jealousy but also on the fact that I thought he took the easy way out with UF. Obviously it was a great career move and his success has been practically uncharted. I think he hit a huge home run with Tebow and I'm not sure he'd have any rings without him. Yes he won the first one with Tebow as role-player but that was still a key role and the rest of the team was Zook's. Still doesn't really take away from what he has accomplished. He is probably the best coach in College Football. I'd probably be happy with all of these guys. It won't be Johnson...switching back to the option would be too dramatic. Urban seems like a long, long shot. Stoops seems pretty unlikely as well, though I wouldn't count it out. There is no real reason why the rest of them wouldn't jump at the right offer though. And like I said, one thing Weis left Notre Dame with is a far more attractive job to potential coaches. Big-time recruits are listening again, the cupboard is stocked with young and veteran talent and, if the right guy can make a good pitch to Clausen and Tate, there is the chance of returning the best offense in the country next year. We shall see....

Despite being 3-7, the Bills have actually either held the lead or been tied going into the 4th quarter EIGHT times out of ten games. Corollaries: - The Bills have won the 4th quarter/OT exactly 3 times....all wins. - The Bills are 2-3 when leading after 3 quarters. - The Bills haven't scored a 4th quarter point since Lindell's FG against Carolina one month ago. Since then they have been outscored 54-0. Happy Thanksgiving.

What he said isn't accurate. I'm not the biggest champion of recruiting rankings, but ND has more or less stacked up with Florida in terms of incoming talent for the past several years. Florida definitely has an edge but it's not so severe and the idea that "blue chippers" are walking on at UF is just not true. ND is not getting 1 or 2 five star players and then a bunch of ****. Quite the opposite. Like I said, recruiting rankings aren't crystal balls, but I don't know another way to compare so let's take Scout.com: 2010 (incomplete): ND: 11th - 18 total, 5-star (1), 4-star (8), 3-star (9) UF: 7th - 18 total, 5-star (2), 4-star (11), 3-star (5) 2009: ND: 23rd - 18 total, 5-star (2), 4-star (7), 3-star (8) UF: 21st - 16 total, 5-star (4), 4-star (5), 3-star (7) 2008: ND: 2nd - 23 total, 5-star (4), 4-star (14), 3-star (5) UF: 12th - 22 total, 5-star (4), 4-star (8), 3-star (9) 2007: ND: 11th - 18 total, 5-star (1), 4-star (11), 3-star (6) UF: 1st - 27 total, 5-star (10), 4-star (13), 3-star (4) Yeah, ND is not in the top 5 every year...that would be great. And really being in the top 10 consistently should be the absolute bottom line. But the idea that Notre Dame is not even in the same league as other teams in terms of talent since Weis started recruiting is simply untrue. Now you might say that ND is recruiting the wrong positions, and I might agree. But that is a different point... I respect your opinions and the thought you've put into them, but I respectfully disagree on several points. First of all, as I pointed out above, ND's typical recruiting class under Weis is not as you've painted it. First, to say that USC has only recruited one player (Te'o) in the past 9 years that eventually signed with ND is ludicrous. Off the top of my head I know they recruited Clausen and Crist very hard. You think Pete Carroll didn't want the No.1 overall prospect QB who happened to grow up in his backyard? Second, the idea that other teams are "filling out their scholarships" with 5-star players is also way off. Maybe you and I have different ideas of what 5-star players are but there aren't very many of them. It is rare that any team in the country gets more than a handful of them in any given year. USC, UF, Ohio St, etc. might snag 9-10 in a super year, but for the most part they are pulling 3-5. Finally, I completely agree that student-athletes in moneymaking programs are brought in to make a profit for the school. I think they should be compensated better than they are but that is a different discussion. Notre Dame did make a philosophical change a while back that football would not drive the university like it once did and that academics would be brought back to the forefront with no exceptions. But that had not prevented top-tier players from getting in. We might not have UT talent, but a good/great coach could most certainly win a BCS game with the talent currently on the squad.

The academic standards thing is big, but it's not nearly the insurmountable obstacle people here are making it out to be. Sure, it puts ND at a disadvantage right out the gate, and that disadvantage might be all that other schools need to stay on top. But the bottom line is that the right guy CAN get talent to Notre Dame. Charlie Weis was/is that guy. He recruited EXCEPTIONAL classes the past few years, snagging several players that the USCs, UTs, UFs, etc of the world all would have loved to have. It's hard as !@#$ to convince an 18 year old from Georgia to travel 1000 miles north to a frozen wasteland where he has to actually go to class and not spend his days soaking in sunshine and beautiful co-eds. But it's not impossible. It just takes a great recruiter to do it. Charlie's problem began and ended with his inability to take the talent and do something useful with it. He's just not a very good coach. Period.

Wasn't trying to be holier-than-thou...sorry if it came off that way. I just have the opinion that hate 'em or love 'em ND has/had a Yankees-type aura. Championships will garner much more media attention and in turn build legends higher. I would say the same thing if I hated Notre Dame. JMO...

No it aint. South Bend is mainly a dump and the girls aren't exactly of the SEC variety. Plus it's ass cold and gray for 6 straight months... The academic standards thing is dead on true, but it is not an absolute talent-strainer. ND has gotten some top tier talent the last few years. Yes, I'm sure we missed out on dozens of blue-chippers that had to be crossed off the list from the start, but the talent gap is closing. Jimmy Clausen was the #1 overall recruit in '07...Floyd, Tate, Te'o, etc...all guys that every program in the country wanted. The problem with this team is coaching...mainly defense, but it starts at the top. I mainly agree, but I'll qualify. Meyer took the Florida job because it was much EASIER. Florida does pretty much outrank ND these days in every desirable football category. But Notre Dame still has something that Florida can never offer Meyer, the chance to be a legend. If he can swing another Nat'l title this year, Meyer will go down as a great, great coach. But if he did that at ND, he'd be a god in the college football world. JMO... Plus, yeah Indiana isn't much to write home about, but let's not pretend Gainesville is South Beach.

Interesting that you brought it up and that you liked it. I heard about The Knot a little while back and it was described kind of the way you did...being much sweeter and sugary. The way I heard it described was akin to a SoCo or Jager. That sounded odd to me so I did some research and found out it's not really whiskey. It's a whiskey-based liqueur. Anyway, I've not heard good things about it until now. But if you liked it, power to ya!

If I ever do decide to hire a financial planner, that will undoubtedly be my first question. Don't have to sell me on it. I'm currently working on my annual Turduckel for Thursday's feast.

Nice...I'll check back for the verdict. I added the book to my wish list in the meantime. Smokehouse idea sounds legit. Hopefully you've been working with a decent financial planner to make that happen...

No, on Weis. Big !@#$ing YES, on Clausen. People that don't like Jimmy Clausen's game have not seen him play much. Pretty simple.

Homemade sopressata? That sounds awesome. You got a good recipe? I've thought about doing that before but I didn't want to just try some random recipe I found online. It would suck to see the sopressata hanging there tempting me for 2 months only to disappoint when I finally ate it. Note: As I type this, I realize that I am, in fact, asking for a "random recipe I found online" thereby rendering my enitre point moot. What can I say...

Definitely something to take pride in. While I watched several football players skate by pretty easily at ND, it always made me wonder how much worse it must be at other football factory schools. Overall, I think Notre Dame does a great job keeping the emphasis on the STUDENT portion of "Student-Athlete." There is/was a great mandatory freshman academic advisor program that forced the athletes to stay in line during their early days on campus. There were mandatory meetings, missed classes were reported to coaches, etc. And it was for all freshmen athletes...not just a catering program to the rainmakers of football and basketball. FWIW, Easterbrook was using last year's numbers...the 2009 NCAA stats came out last week and ND was ranked 1st among all I-A football programs with a 96% graduation rate (tied with Duke). Assuming Charlie is out, while I hope whatever coach replaces him can bring us some greater success on the field, I also equally hope that he continues this trend of strong academic emphasis which Ty Willingham championed and Weis succeeded.

Seconded. What scum...

That bar is a big athlete hangout...I'm surprised whoever hit him didn't get his ass beat. Some of those clowns are usually just itching for a fight. I was there for the home opener and some meathead offensive lineman tried to start dancing with me as I went to take a leak. I told him thanks but no thanks and he screamed "Thats what I thought B word, get out of here!" WTF??

Weis should be gone. I hate it because I like the guy and I have defended him numerous times. He is a great recruiter but just an average coach (if that). I wouldn't say that Clausen and Tate are locks to leave if he is fired though. It will all depend on who the next coach is. While both players are having great seasons, the team's record has kept both from being on national awards lists (Clausen especially). If this is a 10-2 team, Clausen still has a shot at the Heisman. It will all depend on where Jimmy is projected in the draft, but every skill player on offense is set to come back next year and put up USC-numbers. If the team as a whole could be better, his stock will skyrocket. Rodriguez should be given another year. Michigan crumbled down the stretch, but if they hadn't started out so hot, the season wouldn't look as bad. Meaning if their 4 wins were more spread out. He is still in process of changing an offense from a style that couldn't be more opposite than what he wants to run. If they can't compete in the ugly Big Ten next year, then revisit the question.

I'm 26 and I've had a Wii for a few years. I thought of that as more of a casual gaming thing though. Playing the sports games and the Wii Fit with the occasional game that Wii's controls enhanced (like golf or carnival games). But I just recently bought a PS3. I'll be honest, I was a bit underwhelmed when I was only playing sports games. But then I downloaded that redone version of Turtles in Time from the old arcade and it was a blast. I realized that I should probably try out other types like RPG and FPS, etc. But it's been a long time since I've been into that. I'm thinking of trying out Gamefly. Anyone else use that?

Imagine if someone had told you, on that blistery February afternoon, that the highest moment the Bills would achieve over the next decade would be losing to Pittsburgh's backups in a playoff-clinching home game. I'm betting you wouldn't have left the bar that night....

Even at the time that list was terrible...obviously hindsight is 20/20 but: - Russell was a joke from the start. He shot up draft boards after the Sugar Bowl when he torched an ND defense that stood no chance against LSU's speed...it was like watching Culpepper just throw it up to Moss in Minny. From the start of his career to the end he was an inaccurate passer. Plus people were enamored with his size, but he was never a Vick athlete. He battled weight problems almost immediately in the NFL. - Quinn, I loved obviously coming from ND, but I never thought he'd be a super star. His ceiling was low and his weaknesses at ND were covered by some ridiculous WRs and TEs we had. Of course, I never thought he'd be this bad. I definitely saw him as having a chance to carve out a nice solid career ala Chad Pennington or maybe as high as Hasselbeck. - Stanton was a guy I thought had a shot to succeed. I watched a lot of him at MSU and I never thought he was used properly. I was shocked that he was never able to crack that putrid Detroit lineup. - Judgment is reseved on Kolb. He was up and down in his relief work of McNabb this year but showed some flashes. - Beck is an especially bright memory for Bills fans. The first half of that Miami game may be one of the most pleasurable stretches of the past decade. And that's sad... - Trent looked like he might have it for a minute there. I don't know if it was the concussion(s) or if defenses just figured him out, but his ship sunk even faster than Losman's. I'd have to believe that he may be shot out for good... - The rest were athletes and long shots. Agreed that it really was a putrid year though...even more so looking at it now.

Unfortunately, this is probably the best result. While it's curious that no mention of restitution was made, dragging out a trial would only waste more resources and give this clown more air time. The public will decide his ultimate fate. If in 6 months he discovers a way to profit off of this circus (reality show, book, etc.), I'd hope people would exercise good enough judgment and prevent him from completing his ultimate goal.

That's a name that doesn't get brought up nearly enough as it should. Not only is she a dime, she was probably in the top 15 or 20 actors in Soul Plane.

The guy he gouged thinks the suspension is too harsh. Doesn't think he should be suspended at all...interesting.