2005 vs. 2009

This is an interesting article I found a little while back that might make some of you doubters feel a little better:

An interesting talking point came up Monday during a discussion on our BlueandGold.com radio show, The Benchwarmers, that colleague John Haynsworth and I host. The premise was that in many respects, 2009 looks like the year when the Irish football program will come full circle in the four full seasons Charlie Weis has coached the Irish. The similarities in both the players and circumstances between 2005 and 2009 are remarkably similar. It’s hard to argue that 2005, the first season for Weis, was his highlight as Notre Dame coach. Weis took a program that had limped to an 11-13 record in the two previous seasons, overhauled the offense, and finished 9-3. In 2009, the Irish will be coming off a 10-15 record in the last two seasons, and the talent is firmly in place for the offense and team to make a similar renaissance as it did in 2005.
It appears the Irish program has come full circle under Weis, with striking similarities between the 2005 and 2009 squads.
Given the circumstances, we thought it would be interesting to compare this year’s team with the Irish team coming into the 2005 season, and try to determine which one was better, based on unit comparisons.The offensive breakdown is the first installment of this two-part analysis: QuarterbackOf course, one of the top stories during the 2005 college football season was the emergence of Brady Quinn under Weis. Quinn sort of muddled along his first two seasons before a breakout junior year that made him the frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy as a senior. Jimmy Clausen has had a similar ride in his first two seasons, showing some flashes of brilliance with some bonehead decisions. So if history is any indicator, perhaps Clausen’s third season will be his breakout year as Quinn’s was.When you compare the two players through their first two seasons, the statistics are remarkably similar. Both quarterbacks had attempted exactly 685 passes, with Quinn completing 51-percent for 4,417 yards with 26 touchdowns and 25 interceptions. Clausen has completed 59-percent of his passes for 4,426 yards with 32 touchdowns and 23 interceptions.Charlie Weis said during Clausen’s freshman year that by the time preparations for his junior season arrived, he would be well ahead of Quinn’s evolution pace. It’s hard to argue. Advantage: 2009 Running BacksThe running game has been a colossal disappointment in recent seasons for the Irish, even as the promise remains consistent that the talent is in place for this to be a solid running team. It isn’t completely unlike 2005 when plenty of uncertainty surrounded the Irish running game. With the graduation of Julius Jones, and injuries and ineffectiveness slowing senior Ryan Grant, freshman tailback Darius Walker emerged as a reliable back in 2004, rushing for 786 yards and seven touchdowns, while adding 10 receptions for 74 yards. With Grant gone after the 2004 season, Walker became the workhorse and an important part of that successful 2005 season. The 2009 running game needs to be looked at collectively more than individually. Walker was really the only option at tailback in 2005. This season, Notre Dame continues to have three options, all of which have shown flashes, none of which has been spectacular. James Aldridge, Robert Hughes and Armando Allen have combined for 2,514 rushing yards, 97 receptions, 612 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns in their careers. That’s more than three times the overall production that Walker brought with him when he became the feature back in 2005, so obviously the experience and promise is there for the 2009 running game to turn things around.Advantage: 2009Wide ReceiversLike Quinn at quarterback, turnaround stories such as Jeff Samardzija and Maurice Stovall were in the news all of 2005, and nobody had hardly heard of Samardzija, until an injury to Rhema McKnight forced the junior receiver into action. When you look at the top three receivers that emerged in 2005 – Samardzija, Stovall and Matt Shelton – there wasn’t a whole lot to get excited about, especially in the preseason. The trio had combined for 109 catches, 1,986 yards and 14 touchdowns, most of that production coming from Stovall. The diminutive Shelton’s 613 career receiving yards were almost twice as many as Samardzija had. In 2009, Notre Dame returns the most dynamic pair of wide receivers perhaps in its history, and definitely the most productive tandem. Golden Tate and Michael Floyd combined for 106 catches and 1,799 yards with 17 touchdowns last season, and Floyd even missed almost three full games with injury. Throw Duval Kamara into the mix as the No. 3 receiver and the Irish bring back three players that have combined for 164 catches, 2,493 yards and 23 touchdowns in their careers, about a 25-percent production increase from the to top three receivers that emerged in 2005.Advantage: 2009Tight EndsWith the one-two punch of Anthony Fasano and John Carlson, tight end was an opportunity for great things for the Irish in 2005, and Weis maximized every opportunity to use it, especially with Fasano as the front-line guy. But heading into the 2005 season, the numbers were solid, but not staggering. The senior Fasano, and the rarely used Carlson, had combined for 51 catches, 200 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Those numbers were posted before either fully emerged as valuable weapons in the offense. The 2009 season brings similar promise, with a bit of uncertainty also. Injuries and suspension made freshman Kyle Rudolph essentially the only tight end option for Notre Dame last season, and he responded with 29 catches for 340 yards and two touchdowns. Rudolph’s 369:56 minutes of playing time dwarfed any other player at the position. It is interesting that Rudolph’s minutes during his freshman season are only about one minute less than Fasano played total in his first three seasons (370:53). Mike Ragone and Joseph Fauria add some depth and talent to the position, but they bring no tangible production. Advantage: 2005Offensive LineThis unit and quarterback are the two areas where the comparisons to the 2005 team are uncanny. Led by NFL prospects Ryan Harris, Dan Stevenson and Mark LeVoir, the 2005 line was touted as one of the best returning units in the country, but the performance didn’t always match the hype. The line was solid, but not spectacular, especially given the experience level of the group. Rounded out by Bob Morton and Dan Santucci, this five-man unit combined for 125 appearances and 90 starts, heading into 2005. The average playing time per man was 510:08. Jump to 2009 and the experience numbers are almost identical. Led by Sam Young’s 38 starts in 38 career games, the projected unit of Young, Chris Stewart, Dan Wenger, Eric Olsen and Paul Duncan has combined for a 136 career appearances and 97 career starts, slightly more than the 2005 line.The starting 2009 linemen average 544:05 career minutes, about a half hour per man more than the 2005 group. The experience numbers are slightly higher, but with the struggles today’s unit has had the last two seasons, it’s hard to give it the edge.Advantage: 2005

In an article Tuesday on BlueandGold.com, we talked about how similar the 2009 preseason looks and feels when compared to what happened in 2005 during the first year of Charlie Weis. The premise of the story was that in many respects, 2009 looks like the year when the Irish football program will come full circle in the four full seasons Charlie Weis has coached the Irish. The similarities in both the players and circumstances between 2005 and 2009 are remarkably similar. It’s hard to argue that 2005, the first season for Weis, was his highlight as Notre Dame coach. Weis took a program that had limped to an 11-13 record in the two previous seasons, overhauled the offense, and finished 9-3.
Tenuta will take over calling the plays for the defense in 2009.
In 2009, the Irish will be coming off a 10-15 record in the last two seasons, and the talent is firmly in place for the offense and team to make a similar renaissance as it did in 2005. We continue our comparison between 2009 and 2005 today with a look at the defenses. Now, with less substitutions and clear yardage statistics to base comparisons off of, it was easier to match up the offenses between the two years. Comparing the defenses is trickier because there is still some unsettlement along the defensive line and at linebacker this spring that won’t be fully ironed out until fall camp, but we’ll give it a shot anyway.Defensive LineHeading into the 2005 season, most people figured that junior defensive end Victor Abiamiri was getting ready to hit his stride, and that Derek Landri was a solid up-and-coming player also. But nobody would have guessed that three future NFL players were lining up together on that line when you added relatively unknown defensive tackle Trevor Laws.Those three along with Chris Frome combined for some major minutes before 2005 but all were still a bit unproven. Abiamiri and Landri had 19 starts between them, but Laws and Frome had never started a game. The four averaged 28 career tackles per man, and 212 career minutes played, not too shabby, but there was still plenty of unknown with this group.The 2009 unit actually brings slightly more experience back than the 2005 group, but probably also more unknowns because of the youth. Using Ethan Johnson, Ian Williams, Kerry Neal and Morrice Richardson as the four anchors of this group, Notre Dame will return four players that have averaged three more starts and 13 more tackles per man in their careers than the four players that emerged as DLine regulars in 2005. Of course, untested linemen Kapron Lewis-Moore and Hafis Williams are getting their shots to secure major minutes also. It almost doesn’t seem possible, but the 2009 foursome (with Richardson included) averages 23 appearances a man going into 2009, compared to 17.5 for the 2005 group.Even with the slight edge in minutes played and production, the presence of Abiamiri and Landri is too much to give the edge to the younger guys.Advantage: 2005LinebackersLike the defensive line, the uncertainty at linebacker this spring makes it difficult to accurately compare this unit with the one in 2005 that started seniors Brandon Hoyte and Corey Mays. Hoyte was a mainstay at linebacker, logging 506:41 career minutes and 205 total tackles, coming into the 2005 season. The 2009 list of linebacker candidates has only slightly more minutes than Hoyte logged by himself. Mays came into 2005 with 35 appearances and only one start, but together with Hoyte, the pair made up a terrific tandem both in terms of production and leadership. Redshirt freshman Maurice Crum was the third linebacker on that 2005 unit. Brian Smith isn’t unlike Hoyte in his ability to lead by words and deeds. The junior to be easily leads the returning Irish linebackers with 395 minutes played and 79 total tackles. The other two linebacking Smiths, Scott and Toryan, have 52 appearances and 74 tackles between them. Brian Smith keeps the 2009 linebacker corps in the conversation when compared to 2005, but the stability and experience Hoyte brought to the group gives 2005 a slight edge. Advantage: 2005Defensive BacksEven though three future NFL players lined up in the 2005 Irish defensive backfield, the numbers aren’t even close to what the 2009 group brings back this season. In Tom Zbikowski, Chinedum Ndukwe and Michael Richardson, the Irish had three future NFL Draft picks, but probably didn’t even realize it at the time. Along with cornerback Ambrose Wooden, this unit featured four players that averaged an impressive 16.5 career appearances per man, and that was spread out fairly evenly, other than Wooden’s lack of experience. Zbikowski and Richardson were proven tacklers also, combining for 119 of the 131 tackles this group combined for, entering the 2005 season. That said, the 2009 DB unit not only seems more talented, but it is obviously much deeper. In safeties Kyle McCarthy and Harrison Smith, and cornerbacks Raeshon McNeil and Robert Blanton, the Irish return four players that have averaged an impressive 24.75 appearances, 10.5 starts, and 335 minutes per man for their careers. And that’s without mentioning Sergio Brown and Darrin Walls, who have logged almost 600 minutes between them. Consider that Leo Ferrine was the nickel back in 2005, and it becomes obvious how much depth and talent has been stockpiled in the backfield since 2005.Advantage: 2009 Injuries, schedules, and other factors have to be considered when trying to compare different teams from different eras. But when you look at the difference in top-tier talent, and all-around depth between 2009 and 2005, there is no doubt that this season should have a similar breakout feel, it better.