SB Nation User Blog: Chris Mottram

NFL Squashes Captain Morgan's Charitiable (And Brilliant) Marketing Campaign

Chris Mottram — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 21:56:44 -0000

That was Eagles TE Brent Celek’s celebration after scoring a touchdown last Sunday against the Cowboys. If you don’t recognize that pose, then congrats: You don’t pay attention to obnoxious alcohol commercials targeted at 18-35 year-old primates. But apparently it is the Captain Morgan pose. Which was part of a larger guerrilla marketing campaign by the booze manufacturer to both raise money for charity and earn advertising for their product via NFL player celebrations:

In hopes of raising brand awareness, Captain Morgan intended to offer lucrative charity contributions in exchange for each instance a player was caught on camera doing its pose during a game. The contributions were earmarked for the Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund – a non-profit which helps retired NFL players with various hardships after leaving the game. […]

The campaign was set to be unveiled next week and was fairly simple: For every time a player was caught on camera striking the "Captain Morgan" during a regular season game, $10,000 would be donated to Gridiron Greats. For each instance in the playoffs, the donation would elevate to $25,000. And for instances in the Super Bowl, the bounty was slated to hit $100,000 per pose.

Wait, so this could be fun AND help out ex-players at the same time? The NFL had to put a swift end to this, naturally:

the NFL caught wind of the plan this week, it promptly put the brakes on the promotion, notifying Gridiron Greats and Captain Morgan that it wouldn’t tolerate the pose during NFL games. And while Celek won’t be fined for doing it Sunday, a league source also told Yahoo! Sports that striking the pose in future games will result in a "significant" penalty.

Week 10 Matinee: Thursday Night Football Returns (Yay!) With Bears vs. Niners (Yay?)

Chris Mottram — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 21:29:01 -0000

by Charles Rex Arbogast - AP

4 days ago: Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler (6) fires a pass in the third quarter against the Arizona Cardinals during an NFL football game in Chicago, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2009. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

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(Sports Network) - The team that wins Thursday's primetime battle between the San Francisco 49ers and Chicago Bears at Candlestick Park will have the opportunity to kick off its weekend in a positive fashion. The loser, on the other hand, will have an extra few days to wallow in its misery before taking the field again in Week 11.

Both the 49ers and Bears are badly in need of a victory on Thursday in order to wash away the residue of poor stretches of football.

San Francisco has dropped four straight games since getting off to a promising 3-1 start, and last Sunday suffered the indignity of a 34-27 home setback to the one-win Tennessee Titans.

Four turnovers helped sink the 49ers, including an Alex Smith interception that was returned for a game-sealing touchdown by Titans cornerback Cortland Finnegan late in the fourth quarter. Three of Tennessee's five scoring drives went for fewer than 40 yards.

With the loss, Smith dropped to 0-2 since taking over the starting reins from the demoted Shaun Hill. Smith, the former No. 1 overall pick out of Utah, is completing a solid 63.6 percent of his passes and has six touchdowns versus five interceptions for a credible 83.3 passer rating, but has not translated his modest personal success into a team win.

Smith last won a game in which he was the starter on Sept. 16, 2007, a 17-16 victory at the St. Louis Rams.

If he ends that streak on Thursday, Smith will also have provided a special victory for his head coach, Mike Singletary, who was a Hall of Fame linebacker with the Bears from 1981 to 1992 and will be facing his former employer for the first time as a head man.

The Tennessee loss dropped San Francisco (3-5) dropped two full games back of the Cardinals (5-3) in the NFC West as Week 10 begins.

Things are nearly as dire in Chicago, where the Bears' listless 41-21 home loss to the Arizona Cardinals last Sunday was the team's third in its last four games following a 3-1 start, and dropped the team to 4-4.

Arizona scored on its first six possessions of the game, including touchdowns on its first four, and had already amassed 21 first-downs and 320 total yards by the time the first 30 minutes had ended with the Cardinals ahead, 31-7.

The Chicago defense had major trouble against Kurt Warner, who was a sizzling 17-of-22 for 189 yards and four touchdowns in the first half, as well as wideout Larry Fitzgerald, who burned them for seven catches, 88 yards, and two touchdowns over the first two quarters.

Meanwhile, Bears quarterback Jay Cutler couldn't keep up, with his erratic play serving as a continuation of the way he'd looked leading the offense in previous games against the Bengals (a 45-10 loss) and Browns (a 30-6 win). After leading a touchdown drive on the Bears' first possession, Chicago came up empty on its next six marches of the day.

The Bears enter Week 10 tied for second-place in the NFC North along with similarly-struggling Green Bay, and are three full games behind second-place Minnesota (7-1).

SERIES HISTORY

Chicago leads the all-time regular season series with the 49ers, 29-27-1, and has won three straight over San Francisco including a 41-10 rout when the teams last met, at Soldier Field in 2006. The Niners' last victory in the series also marks the last game played between the two in the Bay Area, a 49-7 result in 2003.

The 49ers have won all three postseason matchups between the clubs, defeating the Bears for the NFC Championship in both 1984 and 1988, and prevailing in a 1994 NFC Divisional Playoff. Of those contests, the 1988 matchup was the only one played in Chicago.

Including playoffs, the Bears are 0-6 in San Francisco since last winning there in the 1985 regular season. The home team has won 10 consecutive regular season installments of the series since Chicago's '85 win, though as mentioned, the Niners won a playoff game at Soldier Field in 1988.

Bears head coach Lovie Smith is 3-0 all-time against San Francisco. The 49ers' Mike Singletary, who as mentioned was a Hall of Fame linebacker for Chicago from 1981 to 1992, will be meeting his former employer for the first time as a head coach.

WHEN THE BEARS HAVE THE BALL

Though his numbers in his first year in Chicago have been passable, Cutler (2046 passing yards, 14 TD, 12 INT) has had an up-and-down 2009 season to date. The signal-caller leads an attack that is a disappointing 18th in NFL total offense (332.4), and has gone through occasional bouts of inaccuracy and poor decision-making. That said, Cutler's chemistry with a once-suspect receiving corps, including wideouts Devin Hester (41 receptions, 3 TD), Earl Bennett (32 receptions), and Johnny Knox (28 receptions, 3 TD) along with tight end Greg Olsen (27 receptions, 6 TD), seems to be developing. Hester has recorded 80-plus receiving yards in each of his last four games, Bennett posted a season-high 93 receiving yards last week, and Olsen caught all three Cutler touchdown passes in last week's loss to the Cardinals. The Chicago running game, meanwhile, has been miserable, with Matt Forte' (441 rushing yards, 3 TD, 30 receptions) getting little going behind a shaky offensive line. Forte' had a career-low five carries last week totaling 33 yards, as Chicago played from behind for most of the day. The Bears are just 28th in NFL rushing offense (90.5 yards per game), and have allowed 19 sacks on the year to date.

One week after playing bend-but-don't-break defense in a narrow loss at the Indianapolis Colts, the 49ers broke once too often in their loss to Tennessee. The root of the team's problem was an inability to stop running back Chris Johnson, who rambled for 135 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries in the contest. A run-stopping group that dropped to fourth in the NFL (93.2 yards per game) but is No. 1 in yards allowed per carry (3.4), will count heavily on sure-tackling inside linebacker Patrick Willis (77 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 2 INT) and nose tackle Aubrayo Franklin (21 tackles, 2 sacks), to help stop Forte'. Willis led the Niners with 10 tackles against Tennessee, while Franklin posted five stops to pace the team's linemen. San Francisco ranks just 24th in the league against the pass (241 yards per game) as Week 10 begins, and is still without top cornerback Nate Clements, who will likely miss another month with a broken arm. Corners Shawntae Spencer (27 tackles, 1 INT) and Tarell Brown (9 tackles) will likely have primarily responsibility against Hester and Bennett. An inconsistent 49ers pass rush has just 17 sacks on the year, including but one of Tennessee's Vince Young last Sunday. That sack went to outside linebacker Manny Lawson (38 tackles, 2.5 sacks), who will have to be active in pursuing Cutler this week.

WHEN THE 49ERS HAVE THE BALL

The 49ers come off a week in which they amassed a season-high 250 passing yards, also putting up their most total yards (358) since Week 2, but the club's season-high four turnovers helped cancel out that progress. Smith (690 passing yards), who will get his third straight crack at a win, showed his best chemistry with tight end Vernon Davis (42 receptions, 7 TD) and wide receiver Jason Hill (4 receptions, 2 TD). Davis, who continued an eye-opening third season as a pro, hauled in 10 balls for 102 yards in a losing effort, while Hill caught both touchdown passes from Smith. Rookie first-rounder Michael Crabtree (14 receptions) had his quietest day in three outings as a pro, managing just three catches for 30 yards in his home debut. Running back Frank Gore (447 rushing yards, 22 receptions, 6 TD) added value with 158 yards on 22 total touches, but failed to post his first 100-yard rushing effort since Week 2. Entering Thursday's game, the Niners are 22nd in the league in passing offense (184.2 yards per game), 21st in rushing (101.4 yards per game), and have allowed 26 sacks, tied for the fourth-most in the NFL.

Following their horrendous performance in last week's loss, the Bears are seeking a number of answers on the defensive side of the ball. One figures to be answered in the person of defensive tackle Tommie Harris (9 tackles, 1 INT), who was ejected a little more than a minute into last week's game for throwing a punch at Cardinals offensive lineman Deuce Lutui. Harris is the lynch pin of a stop unit that ranks just 21st in the league against the run (119.5 yards per game), and without him in the lineup the Bears surrendered a bloated 182 ground yards to Arizona last week. Linebackers Hunter Hillenmeyer (30 tackles) and Lance Briggs (59 tackles, 1 sack, 1 INT) combined for 19 tackles in the game, but have generally struggled to replace the presence of injured Pro Bowler Brian Urlacher. Chicago is 12th in the league against the pass (206.5), but had notable trouble against Warner and the Arizona passing game last week. Cornerbacks Charles Tillman (37 tackles, 2 INT) and Zackary Bowman (33 tackles, 2 INT) will have to bounce back against San Francisco's fleet of wideouts, with safeties Danieal Manning (61 tackles, 1 INT, 1 sack) and Kevin Payne (26 tackles) offering more support. Chicago has been an inconsistent pass rushing team, with Alex Brown (28 tackles, 4.5 sacks) notching the only sack of Warner last week. Brown and fellow DE Adewale Ogunleye (20 tackles, 4.5 sacks) are tied for the league lead in sacks, but Ogunleye has failed to record a sack in six of his last seven games.

FANTASY FOCUS

Cutler has thrown for 225 or more yards in seven of his eight appearances this season, including a season-best 369 last Sunday, but he's a risky fantasy play because he throws as many interceptions as touchdown passes about half the time. If you're on the fence, start him in the knowledge that the 49ers are relatively weak against the pass. Hester and Olsen have also been strong plays of late, but Forte' has not, and you'd be well-advised to bench the running back against a good San Francisco run defense. The Bears defense belongs on waiver wires at this stage.

The Niners don't have many slam-dunk fantasy options apart from the tight end Davis, who is having a monster year, and Gore, who hasn't been putting up a ton of yards but has scored in each of his last two. Smith is not a fantasy starter, and though Crabtree and Jason Hill have had their moments of late, both carry too mush risk at this stage.

OVERALL ANALYSIS

Neither of these teams is so far out of the playoff race that they should abandon their ambitions, but one seems better-equipped than the other to make a run. No, it's not the Bears, who are one very high-profile quarterback and not much else at this stage. It's the 49ers, who despite their four-game losing streak have been showing signs of progress in recent weeks and will be desperate to post a primetime win in front of the home fans. Look for San Francisco to move the football on a Bears group that has been very spotty defensively, and for Cutler to make a couple of his customary mistakes on the other side of the ball to help sink the visitors.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: 49ers 24, Bears 17

SB Nation's 2009 MLB MVPs, As Voted On By Our Bloggers

Chris Mottram — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:59:21 -0000

As expected, no surprises as far as the winners go, but we’ve included every player who receieved a top 10 vote from one of our bloggers so you can analyze all the players who were considered. Something tells me Ben Zobrist won’t come in second in the BBWAA results, released next week.

First, the American League voting:

Rk	Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	Pts
1	Joe Mauer	Minnesota Twins	24	3	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	371
2	Ben Zobrist	Tampa Bay Rays	-	10	6	2	2	1	-	1	-	-	172
3	Mark Teixeira	New York Yankees	2	3	2	4	3	2	7	1	-	-	158
4	Derek Jeter	New York Yankees	1	5	3	4	4	2	1	1	2	1	157
5	Evan Longoria	Tampa Bay Rays	-	2	4	1	2	3	2	3	2	1	106
6	Zack Greinke	Kansas City Royals	2	3	2	1	1	-	2	-	-	-	92
7	Miguel Cabrera	Detroit Tigers	-	-	3	1	2	4	-	2	-	5	74
8	Kevin Youkilis	Boston Red Sox	-	2	-	-	1	3	1	8	1	-	69
9	Chone Figgins	Los Angeles Angels	-	-	-	3	4	1	-	1	3	1	60
10	Jason Bay	Boston Red Sox	-	1	-	4	2	-	-	1	-	2	54
11	Kendry Morales	Los Angeles Angels	-	-	4	-	-	1	-	-	1	-	39
12	Ichiro Suzuki	Seattle Mariners	-	-	1	-	2	-	1	2	2	3	37
13	Franklin Gutierrez	Seattle Mariners	-	-	-	1	1	1	3	-	1	2	34
14	Justin Verlander	Detroit Tigers	-	-	-	2	1	1	1	-	1	1	32
15	Felix Hernandez	Seattle Mariners	-	-	-	2	-	-	1	3	2	-	31
16	Jason Bartlett	Tampa Bay Rays	-	-	1	1	1	-	-	-	-	1	22
17	Alex Rodriguez	New York Yankees	-	-	1	-	1	-	1	-	-	-	18
18	Roy Halladay	Toronto Blue Jays	-	-	-	1	-	1	1	-	-	-	16
19	Adam Lind	Toronto Blue Jays	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	-	1	4	16
20	Dustin Pedroia	Boston Red Sox	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	4	1	13
21	Bobby Abreu	Los Angeles Angels	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	1	1	-	12
22	Aaron Hill	Toronto Blue Jays	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	1	-	-	12
23	Mariano Rivera	New York Yankees	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	1	1	9
24	Torii Hunter	Los Angeles Angels	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	8
25	Brian Roberts	Baltimore Orioles	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	-	-	7
26	CC Sabathia	New York Yankees	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	1	-	6
27	Carl Crawford	Tampa Bay Rays	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	1	6
28	J.D. Drew	Boston Red Sox	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	5
29	Jon Lester	Boston Red Sox	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	5
30	Jonathan Papelbon	Boston Red Sox	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	5
31	Robinson Cano	New York Yankees	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	5
32	Victor Martinez	Boston Red Sox	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	5
33	Michael Cuddyer	Minnesota Twins	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	4
34	Shin-Soo Choo	Cleveland Indians	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	4
35	Michael Young	Texas Rangers	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	3
36	Jacoby Ellsbury	Boston Red Sox	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	2
37	Jason Kubel	Minnesota Twins	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	2
38	Alex Gonzalez	Boston Red Sox	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1
39	Nick Markakis	Baltimore Orioles	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1

And the National League:

Rk	Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	Pts
1	Albert Pujols	St. Louis Cardinals	31	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	434
2	Hanley Ramirez	Florida Marlins	-	6	8	11	2	1	2	-	-	-	220
3	Chase Utley	Philadelphia Phillies	-	7	11	2	3	1	-	1	-	1	192
4	Prince Fielder	Milwaukee Brewers	-	5	4	4	7	7	1	-	-	-	186
5	Troy Tulowitzki	Colorado Rockies	-	4	1	5	2	3	3	4	1	2	134
6	Tim Lincecum	San Francisco Giants	-	4	1	-	1	2	2	3	1	-	79
7	Ryan Howard	Philadelphia Phillies	-	4	-	1	4	1	-	-	3	1	79
8	Ryan Zimmerman	Washington Nationals	-	-	1	3	3	3	3	1	-	2	79
9	Adrian Gonzalez	San Diego Padres	-	-	1	-	3	3	2	4	3	4	71
10	Pablo Sandoval	San Francisco Giants	-	-	-	1	2	2	2	3	4	3	57
11	Matt Kemp	Los Angeles Dodgers	-	-	1	1	1	1	5	3	-	1	56
12	Ryan Braun	Milwaukee Brewers	-	-	2	-	-	2	2	1	1	-	39
13	Chris Carpenter	St. Louis Cardinals	-	-	-	-	2	1	1	-	1	2	25
14	Derrek Lee	Chicago Cubs	-	-	-	-	-	2	1	1	3	2	25
15	Andre Ethier	Los Angeles Dodgers	-	-	-	-	1	2	2	-	-	-	24
16	Adam Wainwright	St. Louis Cardinals	-	-	-	1	-	-	1	1	4	1	23
17	Javier Vazquez	Atlanta Braves	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	1	2	1	16
18	Matt Holliday	St. Louis Cardinals	-	-	1	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	12
19	Joey Votto	Cincinnati Reds	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	11
20	Mark Reynolds	Arizona Diamondbacks	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	1	2	10
21	Todd Helton	Colorado Rockies	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	7
22	Jayson Werth	Philadelphia Phillies	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	1	6
23	Adam Dunn	Washington Nationals	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	3	5
24	Juan Pierre	Los Angeles Dodgers	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	4
25	Justin Upton	Arizona Diamondbacks	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	1	4
26	Raul Ibanez	Philadelphia Phillies	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	1	4
27	Ubaldo Jimenez	Colorado Rockies	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	1	4
28	Brian McCann	Atlanta Braves	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	4
29	Dan Haren	Arizona Diamondbacks	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	4
30	Michael Bourn	Houston Astros	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	3
31	Yadier Molina	St. Louis Cardinals	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	3
32	Nyjer Morgan	Washington Nationals	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1
33	Yunel Escobar	Atlanta Braves	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1

USC's Down Year Explained: Blame Weak '06 Recruiting Class

Chris Mottram — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:22:14 -0000

by Elaine Thompson - AP

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Pittsburg State Gets McMORRIS'd By Kansas

Chris Mottram — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:14:12 -0000

From Tuesday night’s exhibition game between Kansas and Pittsburgh State, here is Marcus Morris posterizing a young man who someday can tell his gandchildren he was dunked on by the great McMorris in a meaningless 103-45 beatdown:

Video via SB Nation’s Rock Chalk Talk

Kentucky's Swag Is Phenomenal

Chris Mottram — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:24:09 -0000

The word of the week in Lexington is “swagger.” On Tuesday, coach John Calipari discussed bringing a certain swag back to Kentucky basketball:

“This Kentucky program always had a swagger,” Calipari said. “People saw it. The players knew it. It had a swagger about itself. The other team knew it, the officials knew it, everybody knew it. You walked in and there it was. We’ve just got to get that swagger back.”

Yesterday, in response to this quote, SB Nation’s Sea of Blue wrote about the importance of Kentucky swagger at length. In fact, they used the word “swagger” 25 times, setting some sort of swag world record:

When Coach Calipari talks about “swagger,” he is not talking about smack-talk, or braggadocio, naked hubris or narcissism. Those are all bad things, by my lights, and have no real place in college basketball or mature sports discussion except as a rare, momentary, guilty indulgence.

The swagger that Coach Cal and most of our fans want to see back is the confidence of a program that knows where it wants to go, knows it it is headed in the right direction, and knows that it will get there sooner rather than later. It is an embrace of past glory, learning from past failure, and a determination to apply both in the present.

So, essentially, Coach Cal has somehow totally altered the very definition of the word “swagger,” both in a literal and slang sense. At least, if that second graph above is to be believed.

*Headline reference for those new to the internet.

Tennessee Players' Getaway Car: A Prius

Chris Mottram — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:05:42 -0000

This is turning into a textbook case for how to fail miserably at armed robbery.

First, Robinson, Jackson and Edwards (allegedly) used a pellet gun for the stick up, a device which is capable of knocking squirrels of tree limbs and breaking human skin if fired from close enough range; Second, the victims in this case apparently had no money on them, which is shocking considering they were all under 20 years old and quite possibly college students; Third, their getaway car was a green machine:

The victims said they showed the two men their empty wallets and said they had no money. A third man then approached the car and told the other two men in hoodies, “We’ve got to go,” DeBusk said.

The three men got into a 2010 Toyota Prius driven by a woman and fled the area.

Officers stopped the car on Neyland Drive near Leinard Lane after it had been seen near Gibbs Halls.

“COME ON! WE GOT TO GO! PEEL OUT!”

[bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz]

Although I guess the advantage here is that the Prius makes a low buzzing whisper as it slowly creeps up to speed making it the perfect getaway vehicle had the victims not been within eyesight.

Bama, Florida Nearly Tied Atop SBN's SEC Power Poll

Chris Mottram — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:25:32 -0000

by Dave Martin - AP

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Incident Report Provides Details Of What Allegedly Happened

Chris Mottram — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:37:07 -0000

This is the incident report, coming via SB Nation’s Rocky Top Talk, which will continue to be all over this story today:

“The victims stated that a black male then approached, wearing a black hoodie, brandished a black semi-auto handgun, opened the drivers door and stated, ‘Give me everything you have.’ The victims stated that a black male then exited from the passenger side of the Prius, wearing a black hoodie, walked around to the front passenger door of their car, opened it, and stated, ‘Give us everything you’ve got.’

“The victims stated that they all presented their wallets to the suspects and showed them that they did not have money. The victims stated that a third black male then approached and told the other two black males, “We’ve got to go.” The victims then stated that the three got into the Prius and that it was last seen traveling southbound on Volunteer Blvd West.

" … The victims positively identified Edwards and Richardson as the two who approached their vehicle and demanded everything."

Notre Dame Had The Perfect Gameplan Against Navy, According To Coach

Chris Mottram — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:29:08 -0000

Are you ready for the most incredible coach-speak of the college football season? You sure? Alright. Cause I’m warning you: this is pretty amazing. Here’s what Notre Dame defensive assistant Corwin Brown said Wednesday in response to Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo essentially saying, “we knew we were gonna win”:

“I thought it was very disappointing, what the Navy coach said after the game,” Brown said Wednesday night. “He didn’t want something to be misconstrued, but then he said it, regarding how we prepared and what we prepared to do. I’m going to tell you this – we came out in the second half, minus one mess-up, they don’t get anything.”

It’s unclear which Irish mess-up Brown is referring to: the fumble, the INT or the safety.

He wasn’t finished:

“To say that we didn’t prepare well or we didn’t have a good game plan, that’s crazy. […] “Now, coach (Charlie) Weis, and (defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta) do a great job getting us prepare on offense and defense. And I don’t care what foxhole they’re in, I’m jumping in the foxhole with them every time. We had a damn good game plan. And that’s all I got to say.”

Yes, they had a good game plan. A lofty game plan. A losing game plan. Brown, if you wanna make it out of Notre Dame with all your limbs, you’ll dig your own foxhole about one click away from Charlie’s. [Insert joke here about the enormity of Weis’ foxhole.]