Charlie Weis | ESPN's Gene Wojciechowski Blames Ty For Weis Problems - My Letter of Protest

I read ESPN's Gene Wojciechowski column today on Charlie Weis and hit the ceiling because it blames Weis problems on Tyrone Willngham, which is really off base. So I wrote this to him, below.

Greetings,

Your column on Charlie Weis today was totally terrible. It is a stellar example of how many sports journalists covering football don't know how to evaluate a game even as it unfolds in front of them.

Futhermore, your assertion that Weis problems are due to Tyrone Willingham's recruits is not only baseless, it's wrong, and again shows no -- no understanding or knoweldge of the politics of football. If I were your editor, I'd fire you -- but for the fact that such writings as yours gain a response.

You don't know what you're writing about, frankly. Many of Ty's recruits were either demoted in favor of Weis' favorites -- like Jimmy Clausen -- or left the school. Also, you failed to mention that Weis won with a team entirely of Ty's recruits, like Brady Quinn.

But the more terrible problem I see is your desire to avoid the discussion of race. You know damn well that if Charlie were black, they'd have ran him out of town, yet you don't have the courage to write that. Look, think "out of your skin" -- just because you're not Black doens't mean you can't see, feel, or understand or recognize racism. If you can feel for an animal being mistreated, why can't you do that for another human being?

What's your problem?

And even beyond that, you fail 100 percent to see the real problem. The real deal is that Charlie does not know how to get more from less. He does not understand "scheme" enough to think out of a box of plays he's used to. For example, against USC I told a friend that if Charlie came out in a standard two-back set and used runs and play action, they were toast.

Well, that's what he did. Why is that wrong? Is this why.

Football is a study in time and motion: how much time it takes to get a movement done. If your guys are faster than my guys, the best approach is to make your guys have to go father to get my guys. A standard two-back set does not spread the defense and shortens the blitz lanes to the quarterback -- better to use five wide or four wide and throw short passes without a huddle. A great equalizer.

While Charlie could have done that, he didn't. Why? Ego. He can't deal with the idea that another team is faster or stronger than his own. He can't see that, so he stays in his box and when it doens't work, the box of approaches he's used to, he gets frustrated and gives up -- and looses.

That's not good for Notre Dame.

In closing, you should go to classes on football strategy and make your own playbook and use Playmaker to test plays. Understand football strategy. Learn the lingo. Study film and tape. Because right now, you're doing your readers a total disservice by your ignorance of the game.

Sincerely,

Zennie Abraham