Courage and Fight - Episode 002: Robert Who?

I knew this was coming sooner or later, and I think I need to enlighten you guys about Jimmy Clausen and the loud F-bomb I shouted when I saw the Panthers draft him.
I am going to be a senior at Notre Dame this year. I have watched every down of college football that Jimmy has played, and we should be worried.
He has an attitude. He showed that when he committed, and no one is defending him. He definitely learned his lesson in the 2007 season when he was pounded to the turf. He hasn’t had a chip on his shoulder since the first game of that season. When he was at Notre Dame, he never acted like a primma donna. Rather, he was almost a model player for that team. He was elected a team captain, and was a leader on the field. I know there were “character concerns” before the draft, but those stemmed from mysterious charges of "pointing at an opposing coach" (which I’ve never seen video of). He wasn’t having kids out of wedlock or dealing drugs. His "character concerns" stemmed from him playing football.
But let’s get to his actual play. Jimmy played for arguably the worst three years in Notre Dame history. However, he played behind a terrible offensive line, had no running game, and had awful defenses. Jimmy Clausen was the offense of that team. He put up great numbers as well, ranking in the top 5 of all college QBs in QB rating, yards/game, and completion percentage last season. He ranked in the top 10 of all college QBs in yards/attempt and passing TDs last season. He played in a pro-style system that is very similar to what Carolina uses, and his go to receiver at Notre Dame was about as close in playing style as you’re gonna get to Steve Smith. Those great numbers didn’t translate to wins and losses, but Jimmy Clausen was just about the only reason those Notre Dame teams got to .500 the past two years. While the rest of Charlie Weis’s teams failed to get close to their expectations coming out of college, Jimmy and his receivers put up big numbers and played very well.
Everyone forgives Matt Ryan for his play last year. We say the running game wasn’t what it was in 2008. He had issues with turf toe. Etc. Jimmy had those same problems, and still put up great numbers. I’m not comparing Matt Ryan to Jimmy Clausen. Matty played real NFL defenses while Jimmy played so-so college teams. My point is that Jimmy Clausen never made a big deal about his toe. He played through the pain every chance he could, and even came in a game he was supposed to be sitting out of to lead the game winning drive. He showed a lot of physical and mental toughness last year.
Jimmy projects to be a very good pro-quarterback. He improved every year at Notre Dame, and fits well into Carolina’s style. Lets hope for all of our sakes, John Fox doesn’t renew his contract and the new regime trades Jimmy to the AFC.

Hey guys, just want to say again how much I appreciate the chance to talk Falcons Football with you superb gentlemen. An excellent idea and venue for Bird fans to be able to listen to “meat and potatoes” Falcon Football without all the garbage you get on talk radio.

Kudos again Gents!

Interesting that at some point in the bonus section, you talk about people’s origin of supporting their team. Do we support our team because of the way we are raised, on our own, or some mysterious reason?
Atlanta doesn’t seem to have that many loyal fans. Phillips Arena and Turner Field can’t sell out like other stadiums even though we currently have winning teams. Apparently people don’t care. We see teams losing for years and their fanbase is still strong, so what is it?
The Falcons have already been to the superbowl 10 years ago. Yes that might have increased the fanbase, but we still struggle to sell out with out Arthur Blank’s miracle marketing. Before Matt Ryan and TD/MS, it was Mike Vick. That’s why our “fanbase” was so high. The Eagles Falcons matchup of 09 further exposed that these were Vick fans, not falcons fans. Just like when Stephen Strasburg of the Washington Nationals pitched in Turner Field for a last place team (still somewhat unproven), Turner Field Sold out.
The point maybe, the Falcons may win a superbowl or two even this year. But it won’t guarentee that we will get that fanbase equivilent to the Packers, Cowboys, Redskins, Saints, Steelers, Raiders, Niners, etcera. It has to be something that gets people attention a certain way. What that way is I don’t know. But here in Atlanta, the cultural formula seems to be “Star” attraction, not Team. It’s unfortunate and it’s BS, and one of the many reasons I don’t like my hometown anymore. Maybe it’s also because of the fact that Atlanta is now 80% non-native Atlantians, so no one gives a crap about a team that makes up this forgotten city. Just as no one cares about Marta, as long as it runs subsistently, but once they run out of money and go belly up in 2013 then people might start to care, or we might just buy 10,000 vehicles and make rush hour become 24/7 and become the new Los Angeles of Traffic.