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Notre Dame sticking with kicker

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Notre Dame's kicking dilemma is resolved, and coach Charlie Weis will address the hows and whys after practice Thursday. All that's known now is the who: Sophomore Brandon Walker will continue his field-goal kicking duties Saturday at No. 22 North Carolina despite his wayward performance thus far. A team spokesman said junior Ryan Burkhart took all the kicks in practice Tuesday and Walker all the kicks Wednesday, adding that Weis said it "wasn't close" in Walker's favor. It was the second time in the last month that Walker had won a kick-off against Burkhart, who still will handle kickoff duties. But for field goals, the Irish will continue to rely on a leg that is 1 of 7 to start 2008, with Walker's two missed kicks against Stanford on Saturday making him 7 of 19 in his Notre Dame career.

Chicago Tribune

Charlie Weis, AP Charlie Weis, AP

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October 9, 2008  07:30 AM ET
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GO TARHEELS!

October 9, 2008  08:30 AM ET
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What???? Didn't ND have the highest rated kicker last year? I mean he was the darling of their recruting class right? For the life of me, the TRUTH cannot figure out what is wrong in South Bend???????????????

October 9, 2008  08:52 AM ET
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QUOTE(#2):
Originally posted 08:30 AM ET  10.09 by The TRUTH

What???? Didn't ND have the highest rated kicker last year? I mean he was the darling of their recruting class right? For the life of me, the TRUTH cannot figure out what is wrong in South Bend???????????????

I'm not sure where you get your info from, but maybe you should worry about that sad group of college kids that meeeeeechigaaaan puts out on the field each week.

October 9, 2008  09:26 AM ET
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Sometimes good teams have bad kickers. Didn't Florida have a terrible kicker the year they won the National Championship?

October 9, 2008  09:27 AM ET
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QUOTE(#4):
Originally posted 09:26 AM ET  10.09 by J. HOVA: PRIMETIME

Sometimes good teams have bad kickers. Didn't Florida have a terrible kicker the year they won the National Championship?

Not saying ND is going to win the title. I'm just using the referrence.

October 9, 2008  09:37 AM ET
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passing on Forth and seven...here we come. Good luck to Walker though...I'm sure he'll get at least one chance to kick an FG against the Heels...

October 9, 2008  10:57 AM ET
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QUOTE(#6):
Originally posted 09:37 AM ET  10.09 by GoldenDoopBox

passing on Forth and seven...here we come. Good luck to Walker though...I'm sure he'll get at least one chance to kick an FG against the Heels...

The way Clausen has been playing, maybe passing on 4th and 7 would be a good thing.

October 9, 2008  11:33 AM ET
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Who cares? Cut him. He sucks.

October 9, 2008  11:58 AM ET
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QUOTE(#1):
Originally posted 07:30 AM ET  10.09 by EastCoastKeith

GO TARHEELS!

GO SUN DEVILS!

October 9, 2008  12:05 PM ET
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QUOTE(#3):
Originally posted 08:52 AM ET  10.09 by Sexton

I'm not sure where you get your info from, but maybe you should worry about that sad group of college kids that meeeeeechigaaaan puts out on the field each week.

It was a joke dude. As all we have heard since Weis has been there is they are drawing top recruiting classes, yet never improve.

October 9, 2008  12:24 PM ET
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I'm a Die hard Irish fan speaking.....WHAT THE HECK!!! come on Chuck, wake up.
God Bless America and our Troops

October 9, 2008  12:39 PM ET
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This story is a lot to do about nothing.

October 9, 2008  12:40 PM ET
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QUOTE(#10):
Originally posted 12:05 PM ET  10.09 by The TRUTH

It was a joke dude. As all we have heard since Weis has been there is they are drawing top recruiting classes, yet never improve.

So, ND has not improved this year? Sure the FG kicking sucks, but he's a SO. Plus this recruiting class (08) has the 2nd ranked FG kicker. So maybe new competition will make him work harder.

Again, I'd worry about your boys in AA.
Are they going to win this week???

October 9, 2008  01:18 PM ET
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QUOTE(#2):
Originally posted 08:30 AM ET  10.09 by The TRUTH

What???? Didn't ND have the highest rated kicker last year? I mean he was the darling of their recruting class right? For the life of me, the TRUTH cannot figure out what is wrong in South Bend???????????????

Not really sure about that, Walker is a sophomore. They didn't recruit any kickers last year. ND has recruited Nick Tausch who has committed for next year. He was also pursued by LSU and Oklahoma.

October 9, 2008  01:25 PM ET
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As far as this year goes, they are screwed. I would either punt, or go for it on 4th down, which isn't a bad strategy depending on field position. This would let the offense know they have 4 downs to work with. I would also switch to a no huddle offense for the 4 down offense and put the pressure on the defense, Clausen can handle the audible, he had two last week that resulted in TD's against Stanford.

October 9, 2008  02:19 PM ET
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If it was 4th down and anything that required a field goal, instead of kicking ,I would just turn around and punch Chuck right in his fat face

October 9, 2008  02:49 PM ET
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I bet the first time they are in the red zone, and ND stalls, they will attempt the FG. The outcome of that kick will determine Walker's use later in the game.

Then again...it depends on what that drive looks like. Go Irish!

October 9, 2008  03:13 PM ET
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Their are such things as practice heroes and gametime heroes. Walker is a practice hero. Give Burkhart a chance, who knows he might be a better gametime kicker than practice kicker. I've seen it first hand!

October 9, 2008  04:06 PM ET
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Walker is a tease. He can kick a 50 yarder when no one is watching, but can't kick a 30 yarder if his life depended on it. He wilts under any kind of pressure. Charlie should just suck it up and give the kicking duties to someone else, anyone else.

 
October 9, 2008  04:25 PM ET
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I AM SUPRISED THAT THEY DONT HAVE NOTRE DAME RANKED IN THE TOP 10 YET, DUE TO THEY WON A FEW GAMES.

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