We Do Love Our Quarterback Controversy

A few weeks ago when Lovie Smith stood at a podium and announced that "Brian Griese is our quarterback" most people probably thought that it would mark the end of any quarterback controversy in the city of Chicago. They were wrong. This is Chicago, where the quarterback with the clipboard in his hand is always better than the one with the ball in his.

So while Brian Griese isn't going to be losing his job anytime soon, in the college ranks we have a couple of local controversies.

We'll start first with the one that's just an emotional reaction, should the Illini bench Juice Williams in favor of Eddie McGee? My answer here is no.

The only reason anybody's talking about change for the Illini is because they lost this weekend, and they looked bad doing it. That said, the loss wasn't Juice Williams' fault. Kirk Ferentz coached that Iowa defense all week preparing them for the option attack of Illinois, and they did a fantastic job of stopping an offense that had looked unstoppable before then.

Give the Hawkeyes credit, they came up with a game plan, and then they executed it flawlessly.

When you look at Juice's numbers on the season, they aren't particularly impressive. He's only completed 55.5% of his passes for 716 yards. That's 102.2 yards passing a game, but considering how often Illinois throws the ball, that's not really a bad number. Williams also has five touchdowns to match his five interceptions.

So, no, Juice Williams is not now, nor will he probably ever be, the type of quarterback who's going to win a game with his arm. That doesn't mean the Illini need to make a change.

Eddie McGee is basically just a Juice clone, except he's taller. His best asset is his legs, not his arm. Though when watching McGee play, I get the impression he has a more accurate arm, but the numbers don't back it up. Juice has completed 55.5% of his passes, but McGee's only completed 52.4% of his. He's also thrown three interceptions compared to just one touchdown pass.

In other words, McGee is a very good backup to have because if Juice gets hurt-which tends to happen with Juice-the team doesn't really lose anything when McGee comes in. At the same time, they don't get better either. So if the team doesn't get any better with McGee in the game, there's no need for Ron Zook (who just got an extension) to make a change.

No, where the change needs to be made is in South Bend. I've written about this at FanHouse already, but Evan Sharpley needs to be named the starter at Notre Dame. I have nothing against Jimmy Clausen. I don't think he sucks, I don't think he's going to be a huge recruiting bust for Charlie Weis, I just don't think he's ready to be the quarterback now.

The surgery he had in the offseason is obviously still affecting Clausen's arm. When Clausen is in the game Notre Dame's offense is limited to intermediate routes and passes out to the flat. In other words, nothing that could cause Clausen to hurt his arm.

Whenever Sharpley's come in, he's provided an immediate spark for the Irish offense. He nearly led the Irish to a comeback victory at Purdue, and the only offensive touchdown the Irish scored last Saturday against Boston College came when Sharpley replaced Clausen.

Charlie Weis said earlier this week that he would make his decision today, and as of the moment, he still hasn't announced his decision.

He's considering Sharpley, but he says he wants to see Sharpley perform better in practice before giving him the starting job.

"If he wants to move past Jimmy, which I know he does, it's got to be an every day thing, it can't just be a game day thing," he said.

I understand what Weis is saying here, it is important that Sharpley plays well in practice. Where I disagree is why it's necessary this late in the season. Yes, if this was still spring ball, and Sharpley was being outperformed by Clausen in practice, then naming Sharpley starter would be idiotic.

But the Irish are seven games into their season right now, and they're 1-6. In those seven games the team has played better when Sharpley was taking the snaps. Last I checked, it's the performances in games that players and teams get credit for, not practice.

I've spent a lot of time wondering how I really feel about Charlie Weis. I wanted to make sure that my feelings were based more on what I thought of him as a coach than how the team has been performing so far. This issue is making me question Charlie's ability to actually run a football team.

If Charlie Weis can't see that Sharpley is his teams only chance to beat USC this weekend, and it's an incredibly remote chance, then why should I ever believe he's going to lead this team back where it belongs?

What Weis needs to realize that benching Clausen isn't admitting failure, either as a coach or a recruiter. It just means that your freshman quarterback isn't ready yet, something that happens everywhere, and he would be better served on the sidelines letting his arm heal while learning the offense better.

Benching Clausen would do less to hurt his confidence than throwing him out there every week to be eaten alive ever will.

Let's just hope Charlie can see past his pride, and make the right decision.

UPDATE: Charlie made the right decision.

Demetrius Jones Doesn't Like Charlie Weis Either

When Demetrius Jones left Notre Dame for Northern Illinois over the weekend, it came as a surprise, but it wasn't exactly shocking either. After all, it's become rather obvious that Jimmy Clausen is Charlie Weis' quarterback.

When Jones struggled against Georgia Tech, he was pulled. When Evan Sharpley struggled against Georgia Tech, he was pulled. When Clausen struggled against Georgia Tech, he got the starting job and hasn't been pulled yet.

Weis even said as much after the game when he told the media that Clausen would have been his starter all along had he not undergone surgery on his elbow.

That's something Jones didn't appreciate hearing, and it was the final straw as it caused him to leave.

"When I heard Jimmy was No. 1 all the way through spring and that the only thing keeping him out of the lineup was his surgery, well, that's not what I was led to believe going into the summer," Jones said in a South Bend Tribune story published Monday. "I thought I was getting a chance because coach Weis believed in me. Then I didn't know what to believe anymore."

However it all came about, Jones going to Northern Illinois is the smart move for him. He wasn't going to play at Notre Dame again barring a rash of injuries, and at Northern he can probably grab the starting job next season.

Not to mention the Huskies offensive line can actually get in somebody's way once in a while.

Carlos Zambrano Is Relaxing

Carlos Zambrano's last start wasn't pretty - he lasted only six innings and walked five - but it was his first win since late July. It also was his first start since he was booed at Wrigley, which he complained about afterwards.

But over the weekend Carlos seemed a lot calmer on the mound. Maybe he was so tired after throwing so many pitches that he couldn't be as demonstrative after each pitch.

Or maybe, just maybe, Carlos has found the secret to mediocrity.

"I've been listening to Latin soft music, more relaxing music," he said. "It's a guy that is very well known, Marcos Witt. Plus, he's my friend."

Witt sings contemporary Christian music, and Zambrano credits the music for helping him throw six innings of two-hit ball against the Pirates.

Ah yes, Marcos Witt. He is very well known. Why I just learned about him 5 seconds ago!

Whether or not Witt's music is responsible for helping Zambrano get a win, I don't know, but it's obvious that it didn't hurt. So with that in mind, I've thought of some songs other Chicago athletes and coaches should listen to before a game.

• Ozzie Guillen - "Crazy Train" by Ozzy Osbourne
• Lance Briggs - "I Can't Drive 55" by Sammy Hagar
• Jimmy Clausen - "The Freshman" by Verve Pipe
• Mike Brown - "Big Girls Don't Cry" by Frankie Valli

Feel free to add your own in the comments!

Notre Dame Might Win On Saturday

For the second straight year, I won't be able to watch the Notre Dame/Michigan game. This is incredibly painful for me. Last year it was due to the wedding of my cousin Keith. This year it's because of the wedding of my twin sister, Megan.

I thought there was a special bond between us, being twins and all, that would have kept my sister from scheduling her wedding for this day. I even told her last year at Keith's wedding, "Don't fucking have yours on Notre Dame/Michigan, or I'm not going."

I mean, her husband is a huge Notre Dame fan as well, how could he let this happen!?

The worst part of all this? Notre Dame might actually win on Saturday. That's right, win. A football game. With that offensive line.

Why is that? Because when Jimmy Clausen takes the field for his second career start, he'll be the most experienced quarterback on the field. Chad Henne will not be playing for the Wolverines.

Injured Michigan quarterback Chad Henne will not play against Notre Dame.

Wolverines coach Lloyd Carr did not provide a timetable for Henne's return, listing him Monday as week-to-week. The senior was knocked out of the second half of Saturday's 39-7 loss to Oregon.

That means freshman Ryan Mallet will be starting for Michigan, the same guy who went 6-for-17 for 49 yards in the second half against Oregon.

Of course, Michigan will still have Mike Hart, and he's not lacking in confidence.

"We're going to win next week," Hart said. "There's no question in my mind. I guarantee we will win next week. I'm going to get this team ready. Guaranteed."

Keep in mind though, that Hart felt the exact same way about Appalachian State and Oregon.

The Jimmy Clausen Era Begins

You know what the best part about taking this last weekend off was?

I didn't have to write anything about Notre Dame's loss on Saturday.

I knew the Irish were going to struggle this season, but a 33-3 loss wasn't what I was expecting. Did I think Demetrius Jones would tear things up? No, that's why I thought Sharpley should have been the starter. Neither did well on Saturday, but Sharpley inspired more confidence than Demetrius.

Then Jimmy Clausen came in. He looked much better than either Sharpley or Jones, but didn't really put any points on the board either. Also, he was facing a Georgia Tech team that had taken it's starting defense out, and essentially had called off the dogs.

As I was watching, I thought to myself, "Shit. Now Clausen is going to start next week."

It's not that I don't think Clausen is good enough to become a good quarterback at Notre Dame. It's just I don't think he's ready yet. So having him start his first college game in Happy Valley against a Penn State team that played well in their opener could be asking for trouble.

Unfortunately, Charlie Weis doesn't care what I think.

Freshman Jimmy Clausen, who went into the season opener as Notre Dame’s No. 3 quarterback after offseason arm surgery, will start Saturday against Penn State.

Coach Charlie Weis opened his Tuesday news conference by announcing his decision but did not immediately elaborate on the reason for his choice.

So it appears the Clausen Era has begun in South Bend. Who knows, maybe I'm wrong and Clausen will come out and throw for 350 yards and four touchdowns.

It wouldn't really surprise me, I mean Clausen is talented. The problem is ND's offensive line. They looked like a Pop Warner team trying to block Georgia Tech's blitz schemes. You don't think the Nittany Lions are going to see what Tech did and work it into their gameplan this week?

This is going to be a long season.