0
0
By Jeff Sirko
By Jeff Sirko
Charlie Weis’ future not so unsure
After Notre Dame lost to USC 38-3 it seems all the commentators can talk about is the future of Notre Dame football head coach Charlie Weis.
The loss to USC left the Fighting Irish at 6-6 for the season and marked a second mediocre season for Weis, who is in his fourth year.
For all the “experts” the debate wages whether Weis’ tenure at Notre Dame is in jeopardy.
The Irish are a far less effective team than four years ago but to suggest Weis won’t be bleeding blue and gold next year is about as safe a bet as the Bengals winning the AFC North Division.
Notre Dame signed Weis to a 10 year contract for over $30 million. Yeah, what were they thinking?
He’s not going anywhere after a split season, even with the embarrassing loss to a 2-8 Syracuse team. To buy out Weis would cost the program to much to justify.
As unexpected as a 6-6 season is for a typical powerhouse program like Notre Dame, it is still an improvement over last year’s 3-9 debacle.
While he’s clearly no Pete Caroll, who has a .851 win percentage, he is keeping up with the recent performances of past Notre Dame coaches.
The Fighting Irish’s struggles won’t be solved by giving Weis the proverbial boot. Instead the program needs to reevaluate its offensive package.
Notre Dame is one of the few teams left who still run a primarily pro formation. That’s right all you Irish fans, your offense is stuck in the 90s.
With the exception of recruiting juggernaut USC, no team can effectively recruit enough high-caliber players to maintain a pro set. Notre Dame needs an athletic quarterback who can run the singleback formation and a much faster offense than can be run under the current leadership of quarterback Jimmy Clausen.
For now, Weis will keep earning his ridiculous salary. Another year without him making some large scale changes and I may just have to jump on the fire Charlie bandwagon.
Burress’ new uniform: an orange jumpsuit
A day after his arraignment in New York District Court for two counts of illegal weapons possession, New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress was suspended for four games.
The Giants are avoiding stronger action at this point to stay out of all the negative publicity, but the writing is on the wall – Burress is out.
Burress, who came into the trouble after accidentally shooting himself in thigh while partying at a Manhattan night club, needs to pack it up and get used to his new orange jumpsuit.
Hey Plaxico, that handgun you shot yourself with really boosted your “street cred.”
Burress was suspended as his actions violated the professional conduct clause of his contract with the Giants. The suspension included Burress being added to the non-football injured list which keeps him from being involved in the playoffs.
Further action may be taken against fellow Giants players Antonio Pierce and Ahmad Bradshaw who were with Burress.
As well as the mandatory three year sentence, Burress loses his substantial salary and will likely not be resigned to the Giants next season.
Although his game winning touchdown in Super Bowl XLII made his off-field antics bearable, he was a time-bomb waiting to go off. Who knew it’d be in his thigh.
So much for “professional” athlete.
