Looking for Improvement
By Joe

After three straight atrocious weeks of football, I just wanted to see Notre Dame show some -- any -- improvement against Michigan State Saturday.

The Irish certainly improved. Just not near enough.

They scored offensive touchdowns for the first time this season. They ran the ball much more effectively than in the previous three games. They kept the game close through the entire first half and actually had a chance to win when the third quarter began.

And they still lost by two and a half touchdowns at home. That's how bad this football team is.

What do you say after watching Notre Dame the first four weeks of the season? I have the same complaints from the first three weeks that I do after week 4. I could take my last post and just change the picture and opponent name and it'd still be valid.

It's obvious that Notre Dame has little chance of winning any of the next four games. We have a young football team. We have a bad football team. We are poorly coached so far. For the rest of the season, the new barometer for this team is whether they show improvement from week-to-week. The improvement might be small, as it was in the Michigan State game, but as long as we continue to get better I'll be at peace with the ghastly record.

So this week I was pleased to see James Aldridge carry the ball and do so effectively. I'm still puzzled that it took Charlie Weis three weeks to give Aldridge the bulk of carries. As much as I like Armando Allen, we don't have good enough run blocking to send a 5-foot-10, 18o-lb skimpy back straight up the gut. Aldridge can break tackles and is a nightmare for any defensive back if he gets into the secondary. Against Michigan State, he mustered extra yards despite getting hit in the backfield on numerous occasions and finished the game with 18 carries for 104 yards.

I also liked how freshman Robert Hughes ran. He spelled Aldridge and showed an ability to find the small holes the offensive line opened. I fully expect the Aldridge-Hughes duo to receive most of the carries the rest of the season.

Overall, the offensive line's run blocking was much better than the first three weeks, but not yet even close to where it needs to be. The backs were still hit in the backfield too much, but at least there were some holes to run through. I'm trying to be optimistic here.

The Irish defense really struggled to stop Michigan State's running attack and they were extremely vulnerable to the play-action pass. Quarterback Brian Hoyer only went 11-of-24 passing, but four of his completions went for touchdowns. The Spartans game plan was simple. Run the ball, run the ball, run the ball, throw a deep pass. They executed that plan to perfection, thanks to a hapless Irish defense.

Notre Dame's pass offense was, once again, absolutely horrible. We might as well concede the passing game for the next few weeks. Jimmy Clausen is holding the ball much too long and the offense line literally cannot go two straight plays without allowing a sack or a quarterback pressure. Why Weis hasn't gone to quick slants more often is beyond me. As it stands now, the Irish are a one-dimensional offense that doesn't execute that one thing very well.

More than anything, I just wish Notre Dame played with passion and fire. We never get ticked. We never show emotion. We never play with an aggressive attitude.

A telltale sign that this team lacks passion is the consistent manner in which they lose short yardage confrontations on both sides of the line. We never win a fourth and short conversion on offense or stop a fourth and short on defensive because we play like a bunch of patsies. Blocking is attitude and our lines don't have that "we're-going-to-kick-your-ass" mentality. That's why we get beat all day on both sides of the ball and that's the major reason we are so offensively inept.

The Irish have a chance to win next week against Purdue, but the odds are certainly stacked against us. The Boilermakers can score bunches of points and our defense has allowed more than 30 points in six straight games. That means we'll probably need the offense to score at least four touchdowns to win.

There's probably a better chance of Hell freezing over.