There was a nice article by Time regarding one of the underlying causes of the current economic recession (other than the subprime mortgage problem, the banking problem...the financial industry problem) and that is the world trade imbalance. In summary, too many countries adopted an economic strategy that was heavily reliant on exports. As a result, when the U.S. economy tanked, their economies tanked as well. See here for the article.
It’s evident that this recession is much more than a short term problem. It’s more than injecting liquidity into the financial markets. It’s much more than enacting tighter regulation of the financial industry. As the article points out, it also means re-jiggering much of the economic thinking of the past 30 or 40 years. The Chinese apparently have come to realize that reliance on exports to grow their economy is not a long term sustainable strategy and that they will have to pursue policies that encourage their own people to spend. Like wise the US will have to pursue policies that encourage more savings and less spending among the populace. It’s no secret that Americans have been terrible at saving their money. That has to change.
As the U.S. is waking up from the awful, wasteful, profligate spending spree of the past 25 years and start adopting policies (more savings, going green, higher fuel efficiency standards for cars, and less spending), the world is going to realize that they cannot depend on exports to the US to grow their own economy. I think that this transition is going to take decades.
I’m interested to see how this transition affects three areas:
(1) China: the conventional wisdom has been that the Chinese economy needs to grow at 8%. Anything below that means layoffs and unemployment. Millions have already been laid off from factories that make products for export to the U.S. and other countries. The increasing number of unemployed people is going to pose very difficult challenges to Hu Jintao and the Chinese Communist Party. Pretty ironic that just a few months ago, the world was marvelling at the show China put on during the Beijing Olympics. It seems such a distant memory.
(2) Oil from the Middle East: the past week has seen moves by the Obama administration that is unprecedented, unusual and necessary. I’m speaking of President Obama’s decision with regard to GM and Chrysler. In particular, what he was telling them “your proposed restructuring plans are not enough” and conditioned further government aid on revised restructuring plans from GM within the next 60 days and for Chrysler to complete merger talks with Fiat within the next 30 days. In a stunning and bold move, Obama proceeded to sack Rick Wagoner, the CEO of GM. The message is loud and clear: mediocre performance and failure are not options. GM had lost $80 billion under Wagoner. Abysmal performance indeed. Implicit in all of this is the administration’s desire for the Detroit manufacturers to produce more fuel efficient green vehicles.
This leads to the question of how that will affect the oil markets. Probably not much in the short term. However, if the auto industry can improve their mileage efficiency, say, 3 or 4% per year, the numbers will surely add up over the long term. That is bound to have some effect on the oil markets.
As Thomas Friedman of the NY Times and many others have pointed out, major oil producing countries such as Russia, Nigeria, Venezuela, Iran, and Middle Eastern countries are (a) corrupt; (b) authoritarian; (c) anti Western or some variation thereof. These countries are so awash in petro dollars that they don’t feel the need to impose taxes on their citizens. That means that they are not responsive to their citizens. Most often they funnel the money to state or internal security organizations.
What would be the long term effect of reducing the U.S. reliance on oil through the pursuit of green technologies ? That is going to be interesting to watch.
(3) Canada: The Canadian economy is heavily dependent on the U.S. economy and the effects of the recession in the U.S. is being felt up here, particularly in the auto industry here in Ontario. The ironic aspect of the global downturn is that Canada and the US may become more interdependent than ever. As has been noted, Canadian banks now occupy the list of the 15 largest banks in North America, due to the spectacular flameout of the financial industry in the U.S. Indeed, the Canadian banking industry has been rated as the soundest in the world by Time Magazine recently. PM Harper has been hailing the soundness of the Canadian financial industry in interviews with US news outlets (CNN and Fox). As a result, Canadian banks such as TD (Toronto Dominion) and RBC (Royal Bank of Canada) are poised to move into the U.S. and acquire or merge with U.S. banks.
At the same time, as noted above, the auto industry is hurting up here. A good example is the GM plant in Oshawa and its uncertain future in light of Obama’s recent moves. The Canadians are moving in the same direction as Obama as far as conditioning further government help on a sound restructuring plan. In any case, many GM plants manufacture vehicles for export to the U.S. and naturally, they have been hurt by falling demand in the US, starting last summer. I think that it’s safe to say that the manufacturing sector of Ontario is going to suffer a long term decline as it did in Michigan and in Ohio.
To be continued in next entry.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Border Security
One issue of concern to Canadians has to do with the security of the US/Canadian border. Increased regulations and requirements for crossing the border has come into play in recent years due to policies implemented by the Bush Administration. Due to bureaucratic momentum the Obama administration is likely to implement the Bush policies (such as the requirement to have passports in order to cross the border etc) but will find ways to alleviate the burdens imposed by those policies.
Naturally, the Bush administration implemented the border crossing policies in response to the events of 9/11. However, many Canadians point out that none of the 9/11 hijackers entered the US from Canada. Every 9/11 hijacker entered the U.S. through a port of entry in the U.S. This may well be an overreaction by the Bush administration in the wake of the 9/11 attacks as was the case with the decision to go into Iraq, which had nothing to do with 9/11.
It should be noted that this is an economic concern of Canadians as well as several news reports have indicated that the new regulations have had a significant impact on cross border trade and economic ties.
In any case, sufficient momentum has been created with respect to the implementation of new border crossing requirements that the Obama administration, as noted above, will likely let the policies go forth but will try to find ways to alleviate them, especially in the area of trade. It should be interesting to see what adjustments the Obama administration makes in this regard.
On a personal front, things are going well up here and I continue to work downtown for the Law Foundation of Ontario and my contract is on an indefinite basis. The hearing officer position with the City of Oshawa has been placed on hold due to shrinking resources. I will have to go with the flow. In the meantime, I’m forging ahead with the martial arts business, which is a tough tough business as it is entirely dependent on marketing and advertising to attract customers. It’s been made even more tough as folks have, according to news reports, drastically reduced their discretionary spending. It doesn’t help that Oshawa is a GM town and of course, there is a great deal of uncertainty with regard to GM.
Also, I had cataracts surgery on my right eye last week and I’ve gotten very good results from it. No surgery needed for the left eye as it’s perfectly normal.
Naturally, the Bush administration implemented the border crossing policies in response to the events of 9/11. However, many Canadians point out that none of the 9/11 hijackers entered the US from Canada. Every 9/11 hijacker entered the U.S. through a port of entry in the U.S. This may well be an overreaction by the Bush administration in the wake of the 9/11 attacks as was the case with the decision to go into Iraq, which had nothing to do with 9/11.
It should be noted that this is an economic concern of Canadians as well as several news reports have indicated that the new regulations have had a significant impact on cross border trade and economic ties.
In any case, sufficient momentum has been created with respect to the implementation of new border crossing requirements that the Obama administration, as noted above, will likely let the policies go forth but will try to find ways to alleviate them, especially in the area of trade. It should be interesting to see what adjustments the Obama administration makes in this regard.
On a personal front, things are going well up here and I continue to work downtown for the Law Foundation of Ontario and my contract is on an indefinite basis. The hearing officer position with the City of Oshawa has been placed on hold due to shrinking resources. I will have to go with the flow. In the meantime, I’m forging ahead with the martial arts business, which is a tough tough business as it is entirely dependent on marketing and advertising to attract customers. It’s been made even more tough as folks have, according to news reports, drastically reduced their discretionary spending. It doesn’t help that Oshawa is a GM town and of course, there is a great deal of uncertainty with regard to GM.
Also, I had cataracts surgery on my right eye last week and I’ve gotten very good results from it. No surgery needed for the left eye as it’s perfectly normal.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Fox News Controversy
In the past day or so, Canadians here have expressed outrage at comments made by a satirical show on Fox News that played up inaccurate stereotypes of Canadians. See here:
Toronto Star
While this show is supposedly satirical, I find myself sharing the opinions of Canadians with regard to the asinine “jokes” at the expense of the Canadians. One comic on that show confessed that he did not know that Canadians were fighting alongside American troops in Afghanistan. On a per capita basis, Canadians have lost more troops over there than the U.S. have (remember, Canada has a smaller population than the state of California).
The display of Canadian patriotism in honoring soldiers who gave their lives in Afghanistan is quite impressive. There is a “Highway of Heroes” procession that takes place every time a fallen soldier returns home. The procession proceeds on Highway 401 from Trenton to Toronto and is lined with multitudes of citizens paying tribute as the procession goes by. There are 50 bridges over the highway from Trenton to Toronto. Every single one of those bridges are packed with folks, firefighters, and policemen waving Canadian flags in tribute to those fallen soldiers. That kind of display should put those Fox News guys to shame.
I recently received an e-mail containing a 33 picture slideshow of this procession and it is VERY impressive. If you’d like to see it, just e-mail me and I’ll send it to you.
I’d like to take a moment to point out that there is much that binds Canada and the U.S. historically, linguistically, economically and geographically. There is far more similarities than differences between the two countries. Yes, there are some political and cultural differences The reality of life is that one country cannot do without the other. That is why, historically, the first foreign trip taken by a U.S. President has usually been to Canada as President Obama did last month.
Unfortunately, there is some degree of ignorance on both sides of the border and that contributes to misunderstandings or mistaken assumptions about the other country. To cite a couple of examples, I remember a co worker of mine in Columbus (and who has travelled to Canada frequently for summer vacations) telling me that a mutual friend of ours once asked her “do Canadians use the same money ?” Fer crying out loud !! What was amazing about that is that Columbus is just 3.5 hours from the US-Canada border (through Detroit). Another example is when a friend once asked me “do they ALL speak French up there ?” Uh, no !!!
The Fox News guys may have been operating from long held inaccuracies about Canada in general even if they were “joking.” On the other side of the coin, I have encountered some ignorance and some anti-Americanism up here. Fortunately, they are in a very small minority.
Toronto Star
While this show is supposedly satirical, I find myself sharing the opinions of Canadians with regard to the asinine “jokes” at the expense of the Canadians. One comic on that show confessed that he did not know that Canadians were fighting alongside American troops in Afghanistan. On a per capita basis, Canadians have lost more troops over there than the U.S. have (remember, Canada has a smaller population than the state of California).
The display of Canadian patriotism in honoring soldiers who gave their lives in Afghanistan is quite impressive. There is a “Highway of Heroes” procession that takes place every time a fallen soldier returns home. The procession proceeds on Highway 401 from Trenton to Toronto and is lined with multitudes of citizens paying tribute as the procession goes by. There are 50 bridges over the highway from Trenton to Toronto. Every single one of those bridges are packed with folks, firefighters, and policemen waving Canadian flags in tribute to those fallen soldiers. That kind of display should put those Fox News guys to shame.
I recently received an e-mail containing a 33 picture slideshow of this procession and it is VERY impressive. If you’d like to see it, just e-mail me and I’ll send it to you.
I’d like to take a moment to point out that there is much that binds Canada and the U.S. historically, linguistically, economically and geographically. There is far more similarities than differences between the two countries. Yes, there are some political and cultural differences The reality of life is that one country cannot do without the other. That is why, historically, the first foreign trip taken by a U.S. President has usually been to Canada as President Obama did last month.
Unfortunately, there is some degree of ignorance on both sides of the border and that contributes to misunderstandings or mistaken assumptions about the other country. To cite a couple of examples, I remember a co worker of mine in Columbus (and who has travelled to Canada frequently for summer vacations) telling me that a mutual friend of ours once asked her “do Canadians use the same money ?” Fer crying out loud !! What was amazing about that is that Columbus is just 3.5 hours from the US-Canada border (through Detroit). Another example is when a friend once asked me “do they ALL speak French up there ?” Uh, no !!!
The Fox News guys may have been operating from long held inaccuracies about Canada in general even if they were “joking.” On the other side of the coin, I have encountered some ignorance and some anti-Americanism up here. Fortunately, they are in a very small minority.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Update on Canadian Politics
It’s been awhile since I last posted due to a breakdown with my old laptop. The logic board on it died an untimely death and it was a while before I got around to getting a new laptop (a MacBook) and I’m happy with it so far. I’m still in the process of re-loading and installing some stuff onto the laptop. However, I’m well on the way.
To follow up on the political situation here in Canada, the crisis has passed as many had expected. In the period between the proroguing of Parliament and its resumption in late January, the Conservative government under PM Harper responded with a stimulus package that placated the Liberal party enough to stave off the threat of either a coalition government or new elections. It’s safe to say that all now recognize how serious the present economic situation is and it’s becoming more and more clear just how dire the situation is, compared to November and December. In addition to placating the Liberals, I suspect that the Harper government recognized that the political landscape in the US had changed as well and that they needed to foster a good relationship with the new Obama administration.
The fact that Obama decided to make Canada his first foreign trip as President was received quite warmly here in Canada, even if the trip lasted for a mere 24 hours or so. Let’s face it, the US and Canada need each other more than ever, especially during this global economic crisis. So it should be interesting to see how the relationship between the Harper government and the Obama administration develop over the next few years.
To follow up on the political situation here in Canada, the crisis has passed as many had expected. In the period between the proroguing of Parliament and its resumption in late January, the Conservative government under PM Harper responded with a stimulus package that placated the Liberal party enough to stave off the threat of either a coalition government or new elections. It’s safe to say that all now recognize how serious the present economic situation is and it’s becoming more and more clear just how dire the situation is, compared to November and December. In addition to placating the Liberals, I suspect that the Harper government recognized that the political landscape in the US had changed as well and that they needed to foster a good relationship with the new Obama administration.
The fact that Obama decided to make Canada his first foreign trip as President was received quite warmly here in Canada, even if the trip lasted for a mere 24 hours or so. Let’s face it, the US and Canada need each other more than ever, especially during this global economic crisis. So it should be interesting to see how the relationship between the Harper government and the Obama administration develop over the next few years.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
On Hold
In case you are wondering, I've been having computer problems lately and that has put my blogging activities on hold. Hopefully, things will be resolved soon. Stay tuned !
Friday, January 2, 2009
Happy New Year
Happy New Year to all those who read this blog ! I'll be making some changes to this blog in the spirit of renewal that greets us at the beginning of each new year.
Stayed tuned !
Stayed tuned !
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Charlie Weis and ND Football
Earlier I had posted a rant about Tyrone Willingham on the week of the ND/Washington game, a game in which the Irish thoroughly dominated and embarrassed the Huskies. The game was not necessarily an accurate barometer of how the Irish were progressing due to the sad state of the Huskie program. However, at that time, I thought that the young Irish team was making reasonably good progress. How wrong I was.
To back track briefly, I had thought, prior to the season, that the Irish would finish 7-5 on the season, with an outside shot at 8-4. My prediction was based on the fact that the Irish were coming off an historically bad season coupled with the extreme youth, especially on the offensive side of the ball. What I did not anticipate was that the Irish would regress after their 4-2 start. That’s the alarming part....instead of improving in the last 6 games of the season, they appeared to backtrack.
After a week of speculation, Notre Dame decided to bring Charlie Weis back for another year. On balance, it’s probably the right decision considering the need for stability in the program and considering how young the team was. In the past week or so, I’ve gone over the pros and cons of whether Weis should come back.
Here are the pros:
(1) He has done a fantastic job of recruiting. Under Weis, the Irish has enjoyed some of the best recruiting since the late 1980’s under Lou Holtz. The recruiting efforts by Bob Davie and Tyrone Willingham pale in comparison.
(2) The deck was stacked against Weis last year in terms of personnel, as noted in my earlier entry. This forced Weis to throw players into the fray before they were prepared. This year, the stars on the offense were either freshmen or sophomores. The QB, Jimmy Clausen, is a sophomore. Robert Hughes and Armando Allen, both RBs, are sophomores. The starting TE, Kyle Rudolph, is a freshman. Golden Tate, the speedy WR, is a sophomore and Michael Floyd, the other starting WR, is a freshmen. I don’t recall such a young outfit as this.
I think that it’s fair to see what Weis can do with this group and see if they can develop further. If this group had been all seniors and juniors, then I would be very disappointed.
(3) Weis is a great fit for ND. Being a graduate of the University (1978), he understands the values, culture and history of ND like very few coaches can. Despite a reputation for arrogance, he has represented the University quite well.
(4) HIs coaching ability was evident in the first two years at ND when he took the Irish to two consecutive BCS bowl games. I don’t think that he became a bad coach overnight. The appalling recruiting under Willingham greatly impacted the Irish and really showed up last year and to a lesser extent, this year. Remember, Brady Quinn did not blossom as a QB until his junior year, which was Weis’s first year. Clausen is only a sophomore and let’s see if he can explode next year as Quinn did in his junior year.
(5) More and more programs are discovering the virtue of stability and that includes ND. Starting with the fall of 2001, ND has gone through 4 head coaches (Davie, George O’Leary, Tyrone Willingham and Charlie Weis). That hardly augurs well for a program in terms of stability and especially in the area of recruiting. If ND were to fire Weis now, that would disrupt yet another promising recruiting class.
Okay here are the cons against retaining Weis:
(1) Offensive line: despite the youth of the skill position players, the offensive line are composed of veterans. One senior and 4 juniors make up the starting unit. By the end of the season, they should have played like a veteran unit and dominating opposing defenses. Yet, it has not worked out that way. ND has not had a great offensive line since 1993. It all starts with the offensive line. In terms of the running game, the offensive line has been lackluster under Weis and this has led to increasing the burden on the youthful skill position players and a certain amount of predictability to Weis’s offensive scheme.
While the hiring of John Latina, 4 years ago, was initially hailed by ND fans, it has become clear that he has not done the job. It was thought that, since he was a protege of one of the great offensive line coaches ( Joe Moore) in college football history, he might restore the reputation of ND offensive lines. When Joe Moore coached the offensive line during the Holtz years, every single offensive lineman, under his tutelage, went on to play in the NFL and that’s over a span of 8 years. That’s an incredible track record. Some coaches have the touch and others don’t. Joe Moore clearly did. It was hoped that some of the Joe Moore magic would rub off on John Latina and, judging from the track performance, it appears that has not happened.
Since ND has made the decision to retain Weis, he should replace Latina.
(2) Over reliance on clever.complex offensive schemes: That might work well in the NFL where the talent is pretty much evenly spread out and you can devote unlimited time for practices, meetings and film work. In contrast, NCAA rules dicate that players can only spend 20 hours per week in practice. This should be taken into account in deciding how complex an offensive scheme should be. More emphasis should be placed on fundamentals and developing toughness in players.
One of the shocking confessions by Weis last year was that his practices were not physical. He was taking the NFL approach (which encompasses a preseason, a 16 game regular season, plus the playoffs) in conserving his players’ energy and reducing the possibility of injuries. He needed to change his approach in light of the fact that he has more players (85 vs the 50 players on a typical pro squad) and the fact that the college season is shorter than the pro season. To be honest, I couldn’t believe it when I heard Weis’s confession that the Irish needed to be more physical in practices. When one hears stories about legendary ND coaches such as Leahy, Parseghian or Holtz, almost always you will hear about how “brutal” practices were.
I say more physicality and less reliance on complex offensive schemes, especially with regard to the offensive line.
(3) Player Development:
Some have questioned whether Charlie is doing well enough in this department. This area goes hand in hand with the offensive line situation. On the one hand, several Willingham recruits blossomed under Weis when he first arrived at ND....Quinn, Stovall and Samardzija. They had been underperformers under Willingham and then really blossomed with Charlie’s arrival.
On the other hand, there is some concern due to the fact that the Irish appeared to have regressed in the last half of this season instead of progressing. Is this indicative of whether Charlie is weak in the area of player development ? There is a fair amount of debate on the internet regarding this issue. To be honest, I’m not sure how I see this issue but think that we will have a better idea next year.
In summary, I think that bringing him back for another year is probably the best decision. There will be considerable pressure on Weis to produce next year for two basic reasons: (1) There will be no more Willingham players on the team; and (2) the 2009 team will be, on paper, the most talented team fielded since 1993. It’s fair to say that ND fans will expect a 10-2 season and a BCS bowl game win or it will be history for Weis.
To back track briefly, I had thought, prior to the season, that the Irish would finish 7-5 on the season, with an outside shot at 8-4. My prediction was based on the fact that the Irish were coming off an historically bad season coupled with the extreme youth, especially on the offensive side of the ball. What I did not anticipate was that the Irish would regress after their 4-2 start. That’s the alarming part....instead of improving in the last 6 games of the season, they appeared to backtrack.
After a week of speculation, Notre Dame decided to bring Charlie Weis back for another year. On balance, it’s probably the right decision considering the need for stability in the program and considering how young the team was. In the past week or so, I’ve gone over the pros and cons of whether Weis should come back.
Here are the pros:
(1) He has done a fantastic job of recruiting. Under Weis, the Irish has enjoyed some of the best recruiting since the late 1980’s under Lou Holtz. The recruiting efforts by Bob Davie and Tyrone Willingham pale in comparison.
(2) The deck was stacked against Weis last year in terms of personnel, as noted in my earlier entry. This forced Weis to throw players into the fray before they were prepared. This year, the stars on the offense were either freshmen or sophomores. The QB, Jimmy Clausen, is a sophomore. Robert Hughes and Armando Allen, both RBs, are sophomores. The starting TE, Kyle Rudolph, is a freshman. Golden Tate, the speedy WR, is a sophomore and Michael Floyd, the other starting WR, is a freshmen. I don’t recall such a young outfit as this.
I think that it’s fair to see what Weis can do with this group and see if they can develop further. If this group had been all seniors and juniors, then I would be very disappointed.
(3) Weis is a great fit for ND. Being a graduate of the University (1978), he understands the values, culture and history of ND like very few coaches can. Despite a reputation for arrogance, he has represented the University quite well.
(4) HIs coaching ability was evident in the first two years at ND when he took the Irish to two consecutive BCS bowl games. I don’t think that he became a bad coach overnight. The appalling recruiting under Willingham greatly impacted the Irish and really showed up last year and to a lesser extent, this year. Remember, Brady Quinn did not blossom as a QB until his junior year, which was Weis’s first year. Clausen is only a sophomore and let’s see if he can explode next year as Quinn did in his junior year.
(5) More and more programs are discovering the virtue of stability and that includes ND. Starting with the fall of 2001, ND has gone through 4 head coaches (Davie, George O’Leary, Tyrone Willingham and Charlie Weis). That hardly augurs well for a program in terms of stability and especially in the area of recruiting. If ND were to fire Weis now, that would disrupt yet another promising recruiting class.
Okay here are the cons against retaining Weis:
(1) Offensive line: despite the youth of the skill position players, the offensive line are composed of veterans. One senior and 4 juniors make up the starting unit. By the end of the season, they should have played like a veteran unit and dominating opposing defenses. Yet, it has not worked out that way. ND has not had a great offensive line since 1993. It all starts with the offensive line. In terms of the running game, the offensive line has been lackluster under Weis and this has led to increasing the burden on the youthful skill position players and a certain amount of predictability to Weis’s offensive scheme.
While the hiring of John Latina, 4 years ago, was initially hailed by ND fans, it has become clear that he has not done the job. It was thought that, since he was a protege of one of the great offensive line coaches ( Joe Moore) in college football history, he might restore the reputation of ND offensive lines. When Joe Moore coached the offensive line during the Holtz years, every single offensive lineman, under his tutelage, went on to play in the NFL and that’s over a span of 8 years. That’s an incredible track record. Some coaches have the touch and others don’t. Joe Moore clearly did. It was hoped that some of the Joe Moore magic would rub off on John Latina and, judging from the track performance, it appears that has not happened.
Since ND has made the decision to retain Weis, he should replace Latina.
(2) Over reliance on clever.complex offensive schemes: That might work well in the NFL where the talent is pretty much evenly spread out and you can devote unlimited time for practices, meetings and film work. In contrast, NCAA rules dicate that players can only spend 20 hours per week in practice. This should be taken into account in deciding how complex an offensive scheme should be. More emphasis should be placed on fundamentals and developing toughness in players.
One of the shocking confessions by Weis last year was that his practices were not physical. He was taking the NFL approach (which encompasses a preseason, a 16 game regular season, plus the playoffs) in conserving his players’ energy and reducing the possibility of injuries. He needed to change his approach in light of the fact that he has more players (85 vs the 50 players on a typical pro squad) and the fact that the college season is shorter than the pro season. To be honest, I couldn’t believe it when I heard Weis’s confession that the Irish needed to be more physical in practices. When one hears stories about legendary ND coaches such as Leahy, Parseghian or Holtz, almost always you will hear about how “brutal” practices were.
I say more physicality and less reliance on complex offensive schemes, especially with regard to the offensive line.
(3) Player Development:
Some have questioned whether Charlie is doing well enough in this department. This area goes hand in hand with the offensive line situation. On the one hand, several Willingham recruits blossomed under Weis when he first arrived at ND....Quinn, Stovall and Samardzija. They had been underperformers under Willingham and then really blossomed with Charlie’s arrival.
On the other hand, there is some concern due to the fact that the Irish appeared to have regressed in the last half of this season instead of progressing. Is this indicative of whether Charlie is weak in the area of player development ? There is a fair amount of debate on the internet regarding this issue. To be honest, I’m not sure how I see this issue but think that we will have a better idea next year.
In summary, I think that bringing him back for another year is probably the best decision. There will be considerable pressure on Weis to produce next year for two basic reasons: (1) There will be no more Willingham players on the team; and (2) the 2009 team will be, on paper, the most talented team fielded since 1993. It’s fair to say that ND fans will expect a 10-2 season and a BCS bowl game win or it will be history for Weis.
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