How about striking first and striking back?
In the losses to Georgia Tech and Penn State, the Irish offense did not score a touchdown. In fact, on only two of the drives were points produced. A Charlie-Weis designed offense having a higher number of quarters played (eight) than points scored (six, two field goals) marks as urgent the need to quickly get on the scoreboard against Michigan, so as to shake any thoughts that could be creeping into the minds of Clausen and company over whether they have blanks in their big guns while the other guys have bullets.

Anyone can see the Irish on offense have lowered the bar to where it's just about resting on the ground. But how many realize that besides offense there are other crucial elements to winning football games that have yet to surface with Notre Dame.

Take collective team toughness for example. I've noticed it's not there and so have others who have recently brought that point up to me. At a golf tournament on Monday, former major league outfielder Darryl Strawberry asked me, "What's wrong with the Irish? They just don't look like the tough guys I remember."

Next it was Rodney Hampton, a running back who played at the University of Georgia and then with the Giants for most of the 1990s. Said Hampton to me, "We always expected Notre Dame to be a lot tougher than this."

And Blair Thomas, another former NFL running back, commented to me, "Notre Dame always had at least one guy who was a dominant, tough player. What's going on?"

That's what a lot of Irish fans would like to know.

Creating confidence, calling on pride
The Irish must play better, but it's not just bringing out talent and ability that is needed. It's work on executing plays mistake-free, blocking and tackling better, reducing penalties, and producing a more technically sound game. From that comes confidence, and don't underestimate the boost that can give Notre Dame.

This Irish team has to play with something else besides confidence. It has to play with pride. When these players put on the Notre Dame uniform it would be crazy to believe they don't realize the great football tradition which exists at the school that they represent. But realizing it is one thing, and showing it on the field is another.

That tradition and pride can't be expected to win them games outright, but it should certainly help drive and motivate them to performances considerably above what what was seen against Georgia Tech and Penn State.

It's early in the season, but it's not too early to call out the seniors, especially the senior leaders. They know this team is staring at some key challenges ahead in what is a schedule frontloaded with heavyweights. Opponents see blood in the Blue-and-Gold waters. They'll be coming hard. The seniors have to lead by example. They must get their teammates to come off the heels of what's happened to them early on and realize they still have a lot to play for this season.

Seniors demonstrate responsibility by their demeanor, by their actions, and by their play. They are counted on to not diminish the hopes and dreams of the younger players on the team -- no matter how bad things may be going.

Instead, the charge for these seniors is to set clear examples of athletes who embody the spirit of Notre Dame football. After just two games any senior giving off the attitude that the season is over should clean out his locker and skip the trip to Ann Arbor.

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