Silva: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for NFC teams.
SportsTalk: Albert Pujols signs with the Angels and Prince Fielder joins the Tigers. Which team is better now?
Ryan Callahan scored for the fifth time in four days and defenseman Ryan McDonagh snapped a second-period tie to lift the New York Rangers to a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals on Sunday.
PBT: Jeremy Lin wasn't his hot self on Saturday, but he still led the Knicks to victory.
Arc's five up, five down: After No. 11 Michigan State's 58-48 upset of No. 3 Ohio State, you'd be a fool to discount the Spartans' national title chances now.
Miami coach Al Golden says the worst is behind him, but his headaches figure to continue now that former booster Nevin Shapiro, now in jail, says his involvement with the Hurricanes program will result in stiff penalties.
Golf's dream pairing - Woods and Mickelson - is on the course in the final round at Pebble Beach. Jason Sobel has hole-by-hole reports.
The United States completed a 5-0 rout of Switzerland in the Davis Cup on Sunday, with 19-year-old Ryan Harrison and John Isner winning closing singles matches.
Euro Roundup: First-place Manchester City won 1-0 at Aston Villa on Sunday on Joleon Lescott's goal in the 63rd minute, maintaining its two-point lead over Manchester United in the Premier League.
Tessa Worley of France fought off gusting winds to win a second consecutive World Cup giant slalom Sunday in the Andorran Pyrenees. Overall leader Lindsey Vonn was more than a second behind and finished eighth.
Robins: It’s the Year of the Dragon on the Lunar calendar, and this Chinese influence could extend to it also being the year of the Pekingese on the green carpet at the 136th Westminster Dog Show on Tuesday.
Getty Images filePlayer Development
The last three remnants off the Tyrone Willingham Era are off the roster and only a scant few fifth-year seniors remain from Weis’ hastily assembled first recruiting class. The pedigree among the rest of the team was top 10-ish -- at least on signing day.
Player development is a shared responsibility between coaches and the players themselves, and this is the year it has to show up across the board. Here are the five players/position groups to watch.
Jimmy Clausen, Quarterback
The junior-to-be moved up 23 spots to 43rd in the final national passing efficiency statistics with his mega-record-setting performance in the Hawaii Bowl (22-of-26 for 401 yards and five TDs with no interceptions). He is going to have to make the leap to a top 10 quarterback as a junior, as predecessor Brady Quinn did in his junior year, if the Irish are going to be in the BCS conversation.
Sam Young, Offensive Tackle
The 6-foot-8, 330-pound senior-to-be has played left tackle and right tackle. He started as a true freshman. He has played with injuries and played in a scheme that didn’t necessarily highlight his strengths. He needs to be put in a situation in 2009 where all the planets align.
This is a player, who was the jewel of ND’s 2006 recruiting class. He was the No. 10 player in the nation that year regardless of position, per recruiting analyst Tom Lemming, just two spots behind Alabama Outland Trophy winner Andre Smith.
Given Young’s relentless, sometimes extreme, work ethic, and given ND’s offensive line failings during the Weis Era overall, the onus of Young’s improvement falls to Weis and his new offensive coaches.
Brandon Walker, kicker
The junior-to-be nailed 14 of his last 18 field goal attempts this season after missing six of his first seven. And missed field goals figured into half of ND’s six losses.
What Walker has in 2009 that he didn’t have at least early last season is competition. Incoming freshman Nick Tausch will push Walker, if not provide a suitable replacement, if Walker’s “technical glitch” resurfaces.
Steve Filer, linebacker
Filer was breathtakingly athletic in practices, not to mention on the basketball court in the summertime but he didn’t grasp enough of the defensive schematics to become anything more than a special teams player on game days in 2008.
In 2009 the sophomore-to-be needs to be special. He’ll likely take over the spot vacated by Harrison Smith, who in turns slides to free safety. But it’s got to be more then Filer. Sophomore David Posluszny is another of the next wave of linebackers that could help give the ND defense a BCS-ish look in 2009. Ditto Hawaii prep star Manti Te’o if he ends up signing with the Irish.
Kapron Lewis-Moore, defensive lineman
Had the Irish not remained committed to redshirting the Texas freshman at the midpoint of last season, he might have been starting at the end of the year. Combine that with some promising flashes from classmates Ethan Johnson and Darius Fleming and the future of ND’s defensive line looks promising.
But what about its present? Weis needs more Lewis-Moores, and Hafis Williams appears headed in that direction. With holdovers Ian Williams and Kerry Neal, among others, the Irish are finally starting to get numbers on the D-line and difference-makers in bunches.
Recruiting
The class of 2009 started slow, gained enough momentum to be the No. 1 class nationally at points during the season, but will likely finish at the bottom of or out of the top 10.
It’s still an exceptional class, given ND’s last-season slide on the field and Weis’ shaky status late in the regular season.
The key is to holding onto the 18 commits the Irish have until the Feb. 4 signing day and perhaps adding one or two stars at the end (Te’o and fellow linebacker prospect Jelani Jenkins are top targets).
The 2010 cycle has already started and Weis has already secured a commitment for that class in offensive line standout Christian Lombard of Palatine, Ill. A quarterback and defensive line help top the wish list.
All eyes from potential recruits will be on Weis, to see if players develop, to see if the Irish get off to a fast start, to see if they’ve closed the gap at all with USC on the field, to see if he answers the biggest questions floating around the program – those having to do with himself.
It took a while for the light bulb to go on, but when it did, Jonas Gray finally showed the talent many had expected from the blue-chip prospect from Detroit. In a recent interview, Gray, who is rehabbing an ACL injury to get ready for the NFL Scouting Combine, expressed the confidence and support he has for head coach Brian Kelly.
 | Slideshow |
 | NBCSports.com |
 | Timeline |
 | Notre Dame 2011 schedule See when all the big matchups will take place with Notre Dame's 2011 schedule. NBCSports.com |
 | Slideshow |
 |
| Slideshow |
 |
| Slideshow |
 | NBCSports.com |
| Slideshow |
 |
The Week in Sports Pictures The Giants on top of the football world, getting ready for the London Olympics and more. more photos |
Wesseling: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for AFC teams.
NBC Sports TV and livestream listings
Silva: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for NFC teams.