Mike Nadel: Blame coach, not QBs, for ND drubbing

As everybody knows -- and if you don't know, he'll tell you -- Charlie Weis invented Tom Brady and Brady Quinn. Sources say, he's claiming Marcia Brady, too.

Well, in the third year of his program, he reinvented an offensive attack that hadn't been seen since 1974, when my freshman high school coach told our quarterback to run for his life on every play.

We were humiliated, hapless and hopeless, too.

Before this goes even one paragraph further, please understand the purpose here isn't to belittle Demetrius Jones, Evan Sharpley or Jimmy Clausen. Each of the young men could develop into a quality QB, and none was to blame for the most lopsided season-opening defeat in the 121-year history of Notre Dame football.

That's right: Neither Tyrone Willingham, Bob Davie nor even Gerry Faust authored anything remotely as rotten as Saturday's 33-3 loss to Georgia Tech -- a setback signaling a long, lousy season in South Bend.

This one's on Weis.

Weis fooled nobody with his refusal to name a starting QB until game time. As everybody -- including the Yellow Jackets -- expected, Jones got the call. Weis was so confident in his choice that he wouldn't let the athletic sophomore from the Chicago Public League throw the football.

When the "Run Demetrius Run!" plan failed, the coach turned to Sharpley, Quinn's backup last season. After the junior was sacked seven times and a blowout ensued, Weis finally gave super-hyped freshman Clausen a go during garbage time.

Thanks to the team Weis put around them and the game plan the genius concocted, the kids never had a chance.

Happy to accept credit for the program's renaissance in his first two seasons, Weis took the heat Saturday.

"When the team's not ready to go, which obviously we weren't, who else are you gonna blame? I'm the head coach," he said. "It's fair to be criticized after a performance like that. I did a crummy job."

The challenge now is to stop the crumminess from carrying over to Penn State next Saturday and Michigan the following week. Good luck with that, coach.

Weis repeatedly had said he didn't believe in the concept of rebuilding at Notre Dame. Asked again Saturday, though, he said he'd need a couple of days to think about such a "philosophical question."

Truth is, the Irish are in big-time rebuilding mode.

Most of Willingham's guys -- including Quinn -- are gone. Many Weis recruits figure to be very good, but Notre Dame is young across the board and the schedule will prove unkind to inexperienced players. National observers' predictions of a 1-7 start, which had seemed so over the top, look plausible now. Even Navy and Air Force won't be easy marks, and rumor has it Weis wants to replace them with the Coast Guard and Marines.

Folks love to focus on skill-position players, but Notre Dame has serious problems on both lines. The offensive front couldn't protect the QBs or open holes for the runners. The defense was shredded for 265 rushing yards -- including 196 by Tashard Choice, who often lined up alone in the backfield and took direct-snaps from center.

Yes, even when the Irish knew exactly what was coming, they couldn't compete. And while Georgia Tech has talent, the unranked Yellow Jackets probably aren't one of the five best teams ND will play.

"There's a whole litany of problems we have to fix," Weis said. "To show you how good a job I did, about every goal that I identified with the team ... happened just the opposite of what I said. You name it, I was prophetic."

So, great prophet, who will play QB against Penn State?

Weis promised to name a starter by Tuesday, thereby skipping the "I could tell you but I'd have to kill you" silliness of the last few weeks.

If Clausen's surgically repaired elbow passed this first test with no lingering soreness, why not go with the most talented player at the position? The cocky Californian fits the personality of the ultra-aggressive Weis, too.

Even if the team ends up being as bad as Game 1 suggests, Clausen is the future. As the realization of his daunting rebuilding project sets in, Weis might as well embrace the future right now.

Mike Nadel (mikenadel@sbcglobal.net) is the Chicago sports columnist for GateHouse News Service. Read his blog, The Baldest Truth, at www.thebaldesttruth.com <http://www.thebaldesttruth.com> .