Ugh...

So Notre Dame lost again this weekend to another team with a decent record and, predictably, out come the "fans" begging for the head of Charlie Weis on a platter. The argument seems to consist of...

• The team is regressing.
• Charlie can't develop the talent he has on the roster.
• Charlie couldn't coach himself out of a shoe box.

While I admit the team appears to have taken a step backwards the last few weeks, it's hardly time to hit the panic button. This is still a ridiculously young team, with a majority of the starters underclassmen. The inconsistency week-in, week-out and their inability to finish off games is a manifestation of that youth.

On the development front, just think back to how bad this team was last year. If you can tell me with a straight face that ND is not improved by leaps and bounds across the board, you have zero football intelligence. I know it's frustrating, but anyone who thought a 3-9 team would turn things around to 9-3 in one year is foolish, borderline insane. A record of 7-5 is what I believed the ceiling to be at the start of the season, and that's looking about right these days. A humorous argument I saw in the interwebs was that the only reason Weis won in his first two seasons was because he had Willingham's recruits. I find this humorous because it contradicts the very argument used in the defense of Weis those first two seasons - that he had developed players that had contributed nothing under Willingham (the likes of Quinn, Stovall, and Szaaamklasdfja) and turned them into NFL-quality players. Short attention span I guess.

As for coaching decisions, you can hardly blame Weis and co. for 4 interceptions and a botched punt this week. Fact is, turnovers have absolutely killed Notre Dame in every loss this season. North Carolina - Clausen's INT to open the second half. Michigan St. - Floyd's fumble while driving in the 2nd quarter. Again, this is a young team and these types of mistakes will happen, it's a testament to the coaching staff that even with these major gaffes the games have still been competitive. At the end of the day, the game is played on the field and players need to make plays. The job of the coaching staff is to prepare the team and put them in a position to win every game, and in that respect they have succeeded. Now it's time for the players to step up, eliminate the stupid, costly mistakes, and start winning some games.

Now, all that said in Weis' defense he still needs to prove himself. I couldn't care less about so-called "signature wins", but Weis needs to take a hard look at some obvious weaknesses. If the offensive line keeps letting a 3-man d-line pressure Clausen, bench them to show them you mean business. If it continues, fire Latina. If the three-headed tandem of Allen-Aldridge-Hughes can't pick up yards on the ground, bench them and give Jonas Gray a try, or try putting Golden Tate back there. And the highest profile, if Clausen continues to cost them games with poor decisions and worse passes, bench him and let Sharpley have a go. Weis needs to send a message that no one on this team is untouchable. Job security leads to complacency, which leads to poor performance. There is enough talent on that roster that everyone should be pushed for playing time.

All-in-all, I'm still optimistic about the future of this team. I think if things continue to progress at this rate, you're looking at BCS contention (just a bowl, not a NC shot) next year and possibly NC challenges in 2010. If you look at any successful sports program in any sport at any level, the one constant key to success is stability. To jump the gun and make any crazy decisions regarding the direction of this team would set it back another five years. We all knew what we were getting into at the start of the season and we all knew the realistic timelines. So take a deep breath and appreciate the fact that you can enjoy Thanksgiving because you already know how that Southern Cal game will turn out.