Charlie Weis: Stalking USC

As we’ve mentioned before, it is very important to know thy enemy. This is a primary theme in all the great war manuals, including Sun Tzu’s classic The Art of War. I don’t know if Pete Carroll’s magic tennis book encourages knowledge about an opponent, because I haven’t read it yet, but we can be pretty sure it does.

Now, we know that the leader of our enemy, Domer coach Charlie Weis, seems to have taken this principal to its reciprocal extreme. We saw evidence of this in a creepy, obsessed kind of display at his regular “Sunday wrap up” with the media yesterday.

Weis spewed nearly 2,600 words worth of disturbing detail about USC’s football team, including names, stats, injuries, etc. Seems like he could have told us what size jock each of the Trojans wear, but he refrained. Make no mistake about it, Weis wants USC, badly.

It’s true that he goes through a similar recital for every opponent. But given that Weis was looking ahead to USC even as his team practiced to play Army last week, you know this diatribe was longer and more detailed than usual.

When you think about it, Weis has had plenty of opportunity to prepare for USC over the last six weeks, as the Wizard of Odds pointed out earlier today. Since defeating Purdue (which is now 8-4) on the last Saturday of September, the Domers have played scrimmage games against teams with a combined record of 24-41: Stanford (1-10), ugla (6-5), Navy (8-3), North Carolina (2-9), Air Force (4-6), and Army (3-8).

No wonder the “Irish” leader has the time to break down every single play USC has run this year, while memorizing the Trojans names, numbers, family histories, etc. Weis wants USC, badly.

Really, his obsession is kind of weird. Here’s a sample of the depths to which Weis has gone:

This [USC] team is probably as complete a team as we go against on offense and defense. They're giving up 14 points a game, three yards per rush, 92 yards rushing a game, 196 and a half passing per game for a total of 288.6. They have 23 sacks. They're 39 percent on 3rd down. The teams getting in the red zone only score a touchdown 50 percent of the time, and I think that's pretty good statistically when teams can hold them to scoring touchdowns 50 percent of the time. […]

Brian Cushing, he actually is playing like a standup end for them. They call it 3-4 but he's really playing like an end. He's a Will or end for them and their 3-4 personnel grouping. He's played and started in all ten games this year, and he is a lot like Shaw from Penn State. When we went against Penn State, they used him virtually almost identically in what they do with him because he can drop and cover or he can rush. He gives them the versatility to go in and out of packages, and he's the guy that gives them a lot of flexibility in their defense.

Now, when they want to take Brian out they'll either put in Kyle Moore, or last night I saw Alex Morrow a little bit. They'll put in a bigger body if they want to just put in a true defensive end and go to a 4-3 defense, they have the capability of doing that with either Kyle Moore or Alex Morrow, and the other thing, you'll also see Tofi inside as a backup tackle.

Other linebackers, I'd say this is - just like I talked about their wide receivers before, I'd say their linebackers really make this team go. They are fast and they are athletic and they are aggressive, okay, and I'll work my way from strong side to middle to weak side.

Let's start with Sartz. In this season he's played and started in ten games, he's fourth on the team in tackles, 50 tackles, five and a half for loss, four sacks, forced fumble, two fumble recoveries, three pass breakups. This is a guy in 2005, again the season starting the first two games but dislocated his shoulder missed the rest of the season. He's playing very well. Last night he had four tackles and a pass breakup.

Maualuga in the middle, he's played ten games this year and started nine. He's their second leading tackler on the team with 66 tackles, four for loss, a sack, a pick and a forced fumble. He's a good player, he runs well, he's physical and he flies around to the ball. Last night he had four tackles and a half a tackle for a loss.

And then you've got Keith Rivers, their Will. He's played and started in all ten games this season. He's their leading tackler, 67 tackles, five and a half for loss, two sacks, two pass breakups, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery. He's another guy who runs well, he makes some plays, athletic.

I'll tell you what, when you watch these guys blitz, you better be ready because whether it's Rivers or Maualuga coming inside or whether it's Sartz or Cushing or those guys coming outside, you'd better be ready because they bring it when they bring it. I'll bring up the safeties here in a second because they bring it, too.

Now, that’s only 578 of the nearly 2,600 words he had for us yesterday. Weis’s verbiage is incredible because it leaves no doubt that he is a freakin’ Trojan stalker.

On the surface he seems like a nice family guy, but open that trap door in his house (the one under the carpet in his living room), and I bet you find, pasted up all over the walls, hundreds of photos and news clippings and maybe a few things he stole from USC’s locker room last year … everything and anything to feed his obsession with USC Football. He wants USC, badly.

But like all obsessed stalkers, Weis wants you to believe he knows more about USC than he actually does. It’s all part of that “genius” crap “Irish” fans are so desperate to believe. Sure, he can recite stats, but he isn’t telling us anything we don’t already know. Maybe he’s come up with a solid plan that he’s holding close the vest (or the Belichick sweatshirt he wears), but all this surface detail isn’t fooling anyone, except the members of the collective Domer Mind.

Still, just because he’s obsessed, that doesn’t mean that Weis isn’t smart, at least relative to the idiots who gave him a 10-year contract extension midway through his first season last year. He knows that if he doesn’t beat USC, the “Irish” fathers who run ND may fall off the “genius” bandwagon. Weis wants to beat USC, badly.

Certainly, he has a shot. Like all the supposed experts say after a bye week, which is essentially what ND got playing Army: “Give Charlie Weis two weeks to prepare, and the ‘Irish’ will have an advantage.” (Remember, ND had two weeks to let the grass grow in South Bend last year before the Trojans came to town, and the “Irish” almost pulled off a win.)

But, give an obsessed Weis six weeks … six weeks … to prepare for USC, and …

Well, we’ll see what happens Saturday. I’m thinking a restraining order will be in place by then.

Fight On! Beat the “Irish”!
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