A sports blog by and for Midwest Sports Fans
Quick background: I am a sports junkie, an Internet nerd, and I spend most of day alternating between productively and pathetically staring at a computer.
Thus, the tweet from Jimmy Clausen captured below (hat tip to @TheSportsHernia) made me ROTFALMAO!*
Apparently the Carolina Panthers made their rookies dress up in stupid outfits for Halloween.
How do I know this? Because the blog Cat Scratch Fever has a picture of former Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen dressed up as the purple Teletubby. And on Clausen’s Twitter account, it says, “no just I dressed up along with all the other rookies lol.”
LOL indeed Clausen. LOL indeed.
Immediately, I thought of another Notre Dame “legend” who looks good in purple. The question is, who looks better?
It’s Thursday, so you know what that means: time for another episode of Fantasy Football Talk.
MSF senior fantasy writer Kurt Fraschetti joined me yesterday as he always does and we tackled a smorgasbord of fantasy topics.
And if you listened to last week’s episode, you can probably guess what led off this week’s show. Here’s a hint: it involves the Philadelphia Eagles and some major gloating by Kurt.
When we all woke up today, a lot of people thought that the Cleveland Browns would trade up to the first pick of the 2nd round and select Texas QB Colt McCoy.
As it happened, the St. Louis Rams kept the 33rd overall pick and selected Roger Saffold out of Indiana to shore up its offensive line and protect its investment in #1 pick Sam Bradford.
Then the Browns took a safety…and then they took a running back…and finally, with the 85th pick in the draft – some 50 picks after many people thought he’d be selected – Colt McCoy was the choice of the Cleveland Browns.
And it was the best pick in terms of value in the first three rounds of the 2010 NFL Draft.
What’s that? You want some reasons? Fine, here we go:
What, you thought we were only talking about college basketball this month?
Luckily, I was fortunate enough to get one of the most experienced and respected voices in the NFL – Gil Brandt, the father of modern NFL scouting and the Combine – to join me recently for a podcast that will provide an insightful respite from our wall-to-wall March Madness coverage.
Mr. Brandt and I spoke for nearly a half hour about a wide range of topics. If you’re an NFL fan, this is a podcast that you will not want to miss.
Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate have officially announced that they will be heading into the NFL draft, a decision that I agree is both the smart and best choice.
Both players had a tremendous year, and they were often in the Heisman talk, but Notre Dame’s record of 6-6 killed those chances. Still Clausen and Tate made it clear that they were ready for the next step.
With the season winding down for the Fighting Irish there is a question that’s just as big as whether Charlie Weis will return.
What will the future be for Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate?
Can we start calling Notre Dame “Sucker Punch U” now? At least for this week?
The sucker punching started this past Saturday, when Mike Brey, Tyler Harangody, and the Fighting Irish lost to Jim Calhoun and the UCONN Husk–wait a minute, crap…got that mixed up.
Let’s start over.
The sucker punching started this past Saturday when Charlie Weis, Jimmy Pickles, and the Fighting Irish lost to Randy Edsall and the Connecticut Huskies in South Bend.
It continued early on Sunday morning when Jimmy Clausen was sucker punched at a bar in the wee hours of the morning.
And then this morning there was more sucker punching with the reports that Clausen’s family has sold their home in South Bend.
But does this latest sucker punch really amount to much, or is it much ado about nothing?
I’m an Indiana basketball fan, so you might think I’d have a little bit of empathy for what the Notre Dame football program is going through.
Nope.
Literally adding injury to insult, Notre Dame starting quarterback Jimmy Clausen was reportedly involved in a fight outside a South Bend bar at 2:30 am on Sunday morning. Clausen apparently sustained at least one black eye as a result of the scuffle.
We have received unconfirmed tips to Midwest Sports Fans that Clausen was threatening to give another bar patron a “golden tate” and the subject of the threat did not take too kindly.
I’m kidding…I think.
Saturday is a huge day for the Notre Dame football team as they go against the 6th ranked USC Trojans. The Trojans have beaten the Irish seven years straight, and since the “Bush Push” the Trojans have won easily every time.
Still the Irish players believe they can beat the Trojans.
A win against the Trojans would elevate not only the Notre Dame coaches and players, but all their fans as well. The Irish have a stellar offense, but they haven’t seen a defense as good as the Trojans.
It will be a tough challenge, but one that means a lot to both teams.
Will Notre Dame’s offense still be able to produce after losing Michael Floyd for the season?
What!? Purdue lost to Northern Illinois!? Are they really that bad?
These are some very good questions, questions that need to be answered and that will be answered — at least in part — this coming Saturday.
Notre Dame at Purdue
Notre Dame took a heavy blow after learning that their #1 receiver, Michael Floyd, will miss the rest of the season due to a broken left collarbone. Floyd was near the top in the nation, averaging 160 yards per game, before getting injured. This now means Golden Tate will get double covered every game for the rest of the season.
Jimmy Clausen, who might not even start on Saturday due to turf toe, will have to look for Duval Kamara, Robby Parris, or some other receiver to step it up and make some catches.
Otherwise the Irish’s offense is in for a long day.
As for the Irish’s defense, it has been terrible the last two weeks. If they play on Saturday like they have played the last two weeks, there will be trouble for Notre Dame and head coach Charlie Weis. The offense won’t be as productive because of the loss of Floyd, and because of Clausen’s injured toe. Clausen wants to play Saturday and Weis beleives he will, but even if Clausen does play, he will have to adjust his ball delivery. Clausen has stated that the toe hurts, and that he had to make an adjustment.
All that could mean bad news for the BCS hopeful Irish. They desperately need the defense to play a good game because the offense won’t be as good as in previous weeks.
One thing for the Irish to be positive about is that their opponent lost to Northern Illinois last weekend.
Surprising as it might seem, Purdue did lose to Northern Illinois 28-21. Purdue, a semi-mediocre team, looked like a D-II team last Saturday. Purdue isn’t a great team by any means, but no one expected them to lose that game either. Their passing game was non-existent, throwing for only 188 yards. They did rush for a little over 120 yards with 2 TDs, but that will hardly cover up the fact that Purdue just isn’t that good of a team this year.
Don’t expect a Purdue upset Saturday night. Even though the Irish are without Floyd, and Heisman hopeful Clausen is injured with turf toe, Notre Dame will be able to move the ball down the field and easily beat the Boilermakers on their home turf.
The good news for Notre Dame over the weekend is that they squeaked by Michigan State to run their record to 2-1 and keep their BCS “hopes” alive.
The bad news for Notre Dame over the weekend is that their two most productive offensive players — WR Michael Floyd and QB Jimmy Clausen — both left the Michigan State game hobbled.
The injury update news according to ESPN.com, is much better for Clausen than it is for Floyd.
Michael Floyd, who was averaging an insane 160 yards receiving per game entering Saturday’s contest with the Spartans, had surgery today to repair a broken collar bone. The most up-to-date injury update on Floyd is that he will most likely miss the season. He could possibly return for a bowl game.
Jimmy Clausen has a yet-to-be-defined injury to his foot that did not require Sunday X-Rays. It appears to be something like turf toe or a general arch injury and Clausen will undergo an MRI to determine what exactly is wrong.
Follow the links to StubHub for great deals on Notre Dame football tickets
and all college football tickets
.
I’ll update this post if/when I hear anything more on Clausen’s injury.
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* – Michael Floyd photo credit: Athlon Sports
It was the same scenario for the Irish, just a different but better outcome this time…all thanks to Michigan State.
Michigan State again gave their opponent a second chance, only for it to bite them back in the butt.
Late in the 4th quarter, Michigan Sate was down 30-33. Michigan State’s WR, Larry Caper, beat all of the Irish’s defense. He was wide open. All he had to do was catch the ball. Instead the ball was too high, and while Caper got his hands on the ball, he wasn’t able to catch it.
It would have been a TD and given the Spartans the lead, and maybe even the game, but it only led to an Irish interception that would clinch the game for the Irish.
The hero tonight?
Kyle McCarthy is the big man on campus this weekend for Notre Dame. His interception at the 4 yard line, with 57 seconds left, sealed the win for the Irish. A win that they needed really badly. Last week, Notre Dame let Michigan come back and beat them. A loss that put even more doubt on the team, including head coach, Charlie Weis.
The Irish aren’t even close to showing that they are the real deal. They won the game, and while thats all that matters in the end, having another late night scare shows that this team doesn’t know how to finish a game. It was another scare for loyal Fighting Irish fans. A scar that not many fans want to endure 2 weeks in a row. A scare that kinda ticks you off.
One thing that will make fans happy is Jimmy Clausen continues to play extremely well. He threw for 300 yards with 2 TD passes and no interceptions. He is looking like a great leader for a team that needs one. He has played very well this year, and is a reason why the Irish should be hopeful this and next year.
A huge blow to the Irish is the loss of WR Michael Floyd. Floyd suffered a broken collarbone when he landed in the endzone. He leads the nation in receiving yards per game (160), and in yards per catch (29.1). Luckily, Golden Tate and Clausen were able to pick up the slack, something they might have to be doing for some weeks. It’s not yet known how long Floyd will be out.
Overall a win is a win. However I am beginning to doubt this defense that, in the first week, looked very strong. They have given up two straight 30+ point games. A team can’t expect to win when their defense gives up that many points in a game. Defense should be the main thing for the Irish to work on this week in practice.
The Irish’s season depends how the defense plays. Look for the defense to step it up next week.
[Editor's note: This is the second installment of Big MB's weekly post entitled I'll Tell You This, in which he tells us all what in the sports world -- to quote the great Peter Griffin -- is grinding his gears. Enjoy...and stay tuned for an upcoming appearance by Big MB on the soon-to-be resume MSF podcast.]
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1. Sam Bradford
This past Saturday, Oklahoma was upset in new the Dallas Cowboys stadium by BYU. What’s worse is that last year’s Heisman Trophy winning quarterback, Sam Bradford, injured his throwing shoulder on his way to the ground. Sooner Nation stopped breathing for a moment, however with recent reports it seems that the Sooner’s Slinger will only miss 2-4 weeks.
I’ll Tell You This: For all of you skeptics of Mark Sanchez and other athletes coming to pro sports early, and for all of you haters of high schoolers jumping to NBA, this is the case against you. Bradford decided to stick around one more year when he could have been the #1 pick last year. What if this was a career ending injury? Even though it’s not at this point, what if it severely affects Bradford’s play? Bradford would possibly never get to live his dream of playing pro football. And worse, what would be his future profession after dumping all of his time into becoming an A-level quarterback?
2. Saving Weis?
Charlie Weis and all of South Bend (and those who support the Irish) may breathe just a little easier after Notre Dame pitched a shutout against Nevada. Jimmy Clausen finally looked like the quarterback that he has been hyped to be, completing 15 of 18 passes for 315 yards and 4 touchdowns.
I’ll Tell You This: No coach in sports is under as much pressure as Charlie Weis is right now. Notre Dame MUST win, and look good in doing so. However, this was Nevada. It’s the first week of the season. The team that should have won did. Next week brings bitter rival the Big Blue of Michigan. Someone shoot Charlie a text and let him know his job is still on the line.
3. Al Davis Strikes Again
Once again, Bill Bellicheck is a genius and Al Davis is a fool. This past weekend the New England Patriots traded DE Richard Seymour to the Oakland Raiders for a first round pick in 2011. Seymour is getting older and has seemingly started to lose a step, but is still an upgrade to a porous Raiders D-Line. However, the question remains: is he worth a first round pick?
I’ll Tell You This: There is not a soul on the earth that can honestly tell me that Al Davis made a good move, or ever will. Seymour is a “right now†type of guy, and Oakland is FAR from a “right now†type of team. There is no doubt that the Patriots will likely be picking top 5 in the 2011 draft, and that is something that no one in the entire NFL (save for New England) wants to see (and it’s possible that Al Davis won’t even live long enough to see). Al Davis needs to let go of this historic NFL franchise or they will never succeed. It’s definitely the black hole….a place where NFL players and winning go to die.
4. The Rookies
NFL rookies take the cake this year as both Matthew Stafford of the Detroit Lions and Mark Sanchez of the New York Jets will both get the starting nod at quarterback for their respective teams this season.
I’ll Tell You This: Although I think both guys are talented and will be good quarterbacks in the NFL, both teams are making mistakes starting them. Yes, some quarterbacks do well when thrown right into the mix (see Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts). However, in many cases it hurls what may have been a talented superstar into the cursed pool of the draft day flops (See Ryan Leaf, Joey Harrington, and David Carr). And some never can turn it around afterwards. Both teams have respectable veteran starters in Daunte Culpepper (Detroit) and Kellen Clemens (NY). I can only hope for the sake of these two QB’s that they follow Peyton’s path to success and not Ryan Leaf’s path to America’s Funniest Home Videos.
5. The Knockout Heard Round the World
Everyone has seen it. Most of us saw it every hour for 48 straight hours on every sport program on television. And while for a fan of MMA like myself it was somewhat exciting to watch, America was once again taken aback by another sports thug when Oregon standout running back LeGarrette Blount sucker punched Boise State’s Byron Hout after Hout spouted a little trash talk to Blount. Blount made things worse by almost going Ron Artest-style on a couple fans on his way to the locker room. It took 4 or 5 police officers and building security to keep him from broaching the stands.
I’ll Tell You This: Although it is very sad to see a player throw away his career for lack of ability to keep his attitude in control, I do find it funny that the game started with both teams meeting at midfield for a handshake in light of “Good Sportmanship Week.†What I also find funny is that Blount ran his mouth ALL week before the game and then after getting held in check and to career lows, couldn’t take what he had been dishing out. The senior received a one year suspension, thus ending his college career. What will he do with his time off? Maybe he should give the Winnepeg Blue Bombers a call. He can hang out with Pacman Jones. They would make a cute couple. Canada can have him too.
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You can follow BigMB on Twitter by going to www.twitter.com/mylesb3269.
Charlie Weis and his team must feel really great right now after shutting out Nevada, 35-0. It was a right step on the road to recovery for the Notre Dame football team.
All areas of the team were spot on. The defense was fast and shut down both the running and the passing game. The offense was unstoppable. Notre Dame ran away with the game early, and once they had it they never looked back.
Jimmy Clausen had a Heisman-caliber game, throwing for 315 yards and 4 touchdowns. The ball came out out of his hand like a bullet and was always incredibly accurate as well.
Sure, it wasn’t a top 25 team they played in South Bend on Saturday, but a game like that should improve Clausen’s confidence in the pocket and the overall confidence of the offense. It was a great day for the junior QB and hopefully we will see more games like that from him.
It was just a blast to watch this game. Being a Notre Dame fan I had seen some bad football being played by the Irish over the past 2 years, and this game was basically a vacation from all that bad football. For once this team looked like the old Fighting Irish I knew and loved.
It was a big win against a small school, but it seemed like it was a huge win against a huge team. You could see the happiness on the players’, coaches’, and fans’ faces. This is a win the team needed. To start off a season like that, after playing so poorly the past couple of seasons, must be a big relief. Hopefully it is also a sign that this team can do big things this year.
Next week the Irish play against rival Michigan. It is another big game and comes against a team that is in the same position Notre Dame is, only worse. Both teams will want a W, so expect a hard fought football game. You can check out the game on September 12 at 2:30cst.
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* – Jimmy Clausen photo credit: AP via BoDog Beat
