Notre Dame students are smart kids, right? So surely it wouldn’t be unreasonable to think that we should all be able to look at a set of facts or realities, and come to the same accurate, correct conclusions? Well, with the Notre Dame quarterback situation that doesn’t seem to be the case. Amongst the student body, there truly is no single candidate that has been rallied around. 2012 is unique in that not only do you have 4 different quarterbacks with different styles, but they all have different levels of experience, and furthermore they are all staggered exactly one year apart eligibility-wise, which can admittedly make it tough to create a long-term solution for the position.
Thankfully, I am here to give you the student perspective that simply makes sense. Alright, here it goes: what we need this upcoming season is Rees, Rees, and more Rees. My argument is a long one, but it hinges on two fundamental ideas:
1. That Tommy is the best QB for the Irish right now, and
2. that by having Rees as the starting QB, you avoid, or, at the very least, minimize, catastrophic effects to the football program as a whole that could emerge by starting one of the other candidates.
The Tommy as Best Current QB Argument:
Say what you want, but Tommy is the only quarterback on the team with legitimate game experience. Sure, Hendrix has had a few appearances here and there, which is certainly helpful for him — but it isn’t the same as running the show full time. Tommy Rees has start 16 games, and has a 12-4 record in those games. He has also played in a handful of other games that he did not start. So roughly 20 games of experience, which were performed as a TRUE freshman and sophomore. He was thrown into the fire, and came out a winner. Now this isn’t just about wins/losses, as there is obviously much more that decides that than just quarterback play.
He has shown that he is an excellent game manager, in the sense that he is a very good pre-snap quarterback. Last year, he handled all of the reads at the line, and often audibled to quick plays, more often than not to running plays. And he was very effective at this, as evidenced by the fact that we actually converted a lot of runs on 3rd and 5 or more. He was able to take what the defense was giving him on the ground. For comparison’s sake, take the Andrew Hendrix versus Stanford performance that is generally used as an argument for why he should play: the running game absolutely stalled, because once he was set in a play call, he just simply isn’t ready to change it at the line of scrimmage. He can definitely learn that, but it is something we already know that Tommy is very, very good at and capable of.
Tommy has also shown that he has a bit of a clutch factor in his genes. While you can argue that he needs to do better at the start/in the middle of games, there is no denying that he has brought the team back from deficits for go-ahead scores numerous times. The team vouched for Tommy against Dayne Crist because of his “gamer” ability, and having the support of your teammates is always a good thing.
Tommy also has shown an improved ability to read the field. When you watch ANY young QB, they often look to one guy, and that is it. Certainly, Tommy looked an inordinate amount to Michael Floyd, but much of that was just because of Floyd’s sheer dominance. Tommy does though scan the field and survey his options, as he has great rapport with Tyler Eifert and has always had good chemistry with TJ Jones and Robby Toma (which makes sense, they were all roommates). This is a huge part of the development of QBs, to be able to look at 3,4,5 options on a single play, and it takes time to learn regardless of how talented you are. Rees is the ONLY QB on the roster that currently has that ability.
In fact, here’s a good time to shoot down one of the biggest myths about Tommy Rees: that he has hit a plateau, that he isn’t getting any better. First, a purely physical evaluation, he has gotten bigger and stronger in each of the year’s since he has been here. As a 2010 commitment, Tommy was listed at 192 lbs. During his freshman campaign at Notre Dame, he was listed at 200 lbs. As a sophomore, he was listed at 210 lbs. Not to mention Rees has gotten some press in spring camp for looking significantly bigger, yet showing improved mobility. Check out the end of this Chicago Tribune article by Brian Hamilton for some spring practice observations on Rees:
So it is apparent that he is continually working hard in the weight room to get bigger and stronger. Now that doesn’t necessarily give you any more natural arm strength, but it does help, particularly at staying upright in the pocket as you can shrug off defenders. But more importantly than size, he has made improvements as a quarterback. I have already noted two abilities of his that I consider crucial to the QB position: The ability to read through all the options on the same play, and the ability to audible, call for changes among the offensive line in order for better pocket protection, or seizing the opportunity to pick up easy yards on the ground if the opportunity presents itself. The knock on Tommy is that he still turns it over way too much. I completely agree with this statement, but I would argue that ANY true freshman or sophomore is going to have that problem, it is part of the growing pains. But contrary to popular belief, Tommy is turning it over less now than he had previously. In 2010, he threw 8 interceptions in 164 attempts, or a pick for every 20.5 throws. In 2011, he had 14 interceptions in 411 attempts, or a pick for every 29.4 throws. That is a very significant improvement in interceptions per pass attempt. Furthermore, his completion % improved from 61.0 to 65.5 from his freshman to sophomore campaign. Even his yards per completion went up, and though he still absolutely needs to work on his deep throws, he showed he was at least capable with his long throw of 56 yards in 2011 (in 2010 his longest was 36 yards). All statistics point to significant improvement in Tommy Rees’ game. If that’s not enough, just the sheer knowledge of the playbook is a huge advantage for Tommy Rees over the rest of the candidates. Kelly admitted as much in his opening Spring Presser.
Now, it is once again important for me to stress that Tommy was just a sophomore! The biggest leap in improvement for almost all college QBs comes from their sophomore to junior year. Whether you want to look at Andrew Luck, Kellen Moore, Brady Quinn, Jimmy Clausen, whoever…major college starting QBs have to learn the ropes. Because ND fans are naturally more familiar with Quinn and Clausen, go take a look at the serious jumps they made between their sophomore and junior years:
http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/jimmy-clausen-1.html
http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/brady-quinn-1.html
Bottom line — quarterbacks have to learn to play the position, and the sophomore to junior jump is consistently the biggest one for college Quarterbacks. Tommy has already shown great capabilities, and if you use history as a predictor, the best is yet to come. The myth that Tommy has reached a plateau is just that, a myth. It is more important to look at the facts of what actually happened (i.e. statistics) rather than emotional perceptions and judgments that we all make during games. Numbers don’t lie.
The Over-Arching Program Effects
Now that we’ve finished that, it is important to look at the overall program effects of starting the other options. Let me first say that I am a big, big believer in continuity, whether it is among the administration, the coaching staff, or yes, the quarterback position. Throughout college football, you see the big bowls filled with veteran, generally junior and senior QBs. In fact, go back and look at the 2011-12 BCS Bowls. All 10 quarterbacks were in at least their 3rd year of college football (including redshirt years). There is something to be said, a big something, about having an experienced quarterback.
As much as it pains me to make this comparison, let’s look back at one of the last “dynasties” in college football: the USC Trojans. Throughout the 2000’s, they had an absolutely extraordinary amount of success. At that time, they had an experienced (at least third year in CFB) QB at the helm every time. The position passed from Carson Palmer to Matt Leinart to John David Booty, to Mark Sanchez from 2001-2008. They had an 88-15 record over this span, and that includes the initial 6-6 campaign from Palmer. In 2009, it marked the first time in 7 years that USC had more than 2 losses (9-4).Why? Because Mark Sanchez left early for the NFL, and left a stacked USC team with Freshman Matt Barkley at the helm. And it wasn’t that Matt Barkley isn’t an extremely talented QB, for he is a former 5-star recruit, and a future top 5 pick (Until ND crushes his draft stock this year!). Rather, it is just extremely difficult to win big with an inexperienced signal-caller.
The point of all this is that if Tommy Rees is named the starter this year, it allows the program to establish some continuity. Backups can still learn the position in practice, and Rees starting gives them even more time to work on their game and develop. We can establish a tradition of graduating a QB and then handing it to the next very experienced guy for a year or two. Because the assumption is that when you have a trend of senior QBs, you can get up in games early and let the backups learn with legitimate playing time as well.
Finally, the effects of starting another QB:
– More growing pains. If all of the numbers I have presented have shown one thing, it is this: that learning the quarterback position takes time. So regardless of elite athleticism, arm strength, size — whatever — a young, inexperienced guy will make mistakes. Andrew Hendrix was viewed as a godsend sitting on the bench halfway through last season, but as soon as he threw a couple ridiculous interceptions (that aren’t ridiculous in the sense that he’s a freshman, but just seemingly inexplicable reads), he was passed off in the public eye in favor of Everett Golson. It doesn’t make sense to throw in new guys if they are going to have a ridiculously short leash. And while I hope that if any other QB gets thrown onto the field, they go out and play mistake-free football, that is probably wishful thinking. The one thing about any quarterback without legitimate game experience is that they will always have some bonehead plays that leave you scratching your head. It just happens.
– The inevitable transfer. If Tommy Rees doesn’t win the starting job this year, he will almost inevitably transfer. Despite what his detractors would argue, he would be an extremely hot commodity on the “free agent” market. He would be a quarterback that has won 75% of his games, on the biggest stage in college football, as a true freshman/sophomore, has 20 games experience, with a year to sit out and improve, as well as having 2 years of eligibility left. Wow. And what happens if he decides to transfer, and Hendrix/Golson/Kiel starts off poorly? Say, a 3-4 start? Then we have ostracized our only quarterback who has been through an entire season before, and played, at the very least, reasonably well, and we are left with 3 guys that are still using training wheels in the offense. We know we have a brutal 2012 schedule, so that isn’t impossible to envision if we have poor QB play. We can’t continually replace young “toys” with even newer, shinier ones every time they lose a game or two. And seeing how quickly Notre Dame fans have seemingly cast off Hendrix for Golson and Kiel, I don’t know that they would have the patience to stick with one of the young guns if they did not have immediate success. To let impatience rule and suffer a program setback just to see a fresh face at the position would not be a good thing. Change just for the sake of change never solves anything.
All in all, Coach Kelly has a very big decision to make regarding next year’s starting QB, as it could change the path of the Irish football program for years. But while it is a big decision, I would argue that it isn’t exactly a tough one. And if he makes the correct choice by picking Tommy Rees again, the students will once again be on the same page, because we all love winning.
If you aren’t a Tommy fan, I hope this has changed your mind a bit. But if you still aren’t swayed, tune in tomorrow, as Bayou Irish will attempt to tell me I’m wrong.
- The Shirt 2016: A ND Student’s Perspective - April 21, 2016
- Thank you, DJ - April 4, 2016
- The Stages of Watching a Notre Dame Basketball Game - March 25, 2016
Brian
I have been a supporter of Tommy since he first replaced Dayne. His moxie is unmistakable and he’s shown nerves of steel. However, I think we’ve seen the last of him as a starter. Tommy’s a tremendous game manager but what we need is a game changer. Tommy epitomizes the solid back-up QB for an elite program (even an “aspiring to be elite again” program).
I don’t think it makes much sense to start a true frosh, even if that player is our greatest long-term option. The inevitable step backwards is too much of a threat to this most important year three of the Kelly regime.
I also don’t think Hendrix is a good fit. Sure he has a ton of physical prowess but I don’t think he has the right mind-set to run BK’s play-book. He seems to lock-in too early and lacks the ability make decisions at game speed.
I see Golson as the logical starter this season. Sure he’s unproven. Sure I know less about his mental make-up than I do of what Fr. Sorin wears under his cassock. …but his explosiveness is unquestionable. The few glimpses of him at spring practice indicate a very powerful arm and foot-work that is unmatched by the other QB alternatives.
I will concede that Golson being tapped the starter will likely result in the transfer of either Hendrix of Rees. I for one hope Tommy sticks it out and flourishes in the role of solid back-up. A quarterback like Golson has a high probability of getting injured and Tommy would be positioned to maintain whatever momentum has that far been built.
All that being said, I have absolutely no idea how this is going to shake out.
Father Sorin
As I’ve said, under the cassock, when it’s cold I wear a hairshirt to keep me humble, a union suit to keep me warm, breeches to keep me decent, and boots. When it’s hot, I wear boots.
As for a lad’s mental make-up, he’s got to be pretty tough if he’s willing to stand still and get hit ass-over-tea-kettle by some of the biggest thugs in the land. But decision-making is another matter. On that count, I gave up picking good generals after the rogues’ gallery that took the field in the Civil War — though if this Golson fellow is a heavy drinker who wins just slightly more battles than he loses, he’ll do as well as the best of those commanders.
EFS CSC
starkruzr
WHY ARE YOU SO GOOD AT THIS.
NDtex
I must say, Grantland, you are a brave soul. I do fear though that ND football has abused you so much during your time under the Dome though that you have snapped into believing that Tommy is the best option.
Now, I know Bayou Irish is about to eviscerate you, but I am going to throw in my two cents as well.
Firstly, in regards to your arguments that Tommy is good at pre-snap reads and not locking into receivers: this post from my pre-HLS days is all I have to say on that matter.
Spoiler Alert: he isn’t very good at either skill.
Rees isn’t the comeback king you make him out to be either. In fact, the victory against Southern Cal a couple of years ago is a fantastic example of him damn near throwing the game away. The Tulsa INT is a perfect example as well–and blame Kelly all you want for that one, but, when throwing into the corner of the endzone there are only two acceptable outcomes for a QB worth their salt: a TD or an incomplete pass in the second row of fans. I also can’t even count the number of red zone TOs Tommy had this season on top of all that.
Speaking of…just 9 more passes without an INT–that’s major improvement? Oh my sir, ND football has abused you. Let’s go ahead and round his number up to 30 passes/INT. You realize this team throws 40+ times/game right? Assuming he “improves” some more, we are still looking at an INT every game. 12 INTs this season, YAY!
Tommy’s experience is no match for the pure talent that is behind him. I know it may scare you to have another young kid at the helm, but it’s needed. I don’t believe Tommy can’t get better, but his ceiling is so much lower than all of the QBs behind him. It might be a bumpy ride either way, but he is no Quinn or Clausen, and you don’t want to take that ride with an upperclassmen (see: Carlyle Holiday.)
I could go on and on, but I’d rather not make this single comment turn into an entire post.
Grantland-X
Now to address some of the counterpoints that were given:
1. That throwing 9 more passes per interception isn’t a major improvement from Year 1 to Year 2, as it still results in roughly 1 INT per game, or 12 in an entire season: First off, you are once again assuming that he won’t continue to improve on this front. Say he takes another half-step forward to 1 INT per 35 passes, as opposed to 30. (And again, I believe that jump can be even higher, because the game tends to slow down for junior QBs and they make their most significant jump, but you know that now already, right?) Well, ND will likely be throwing the ball less this year than they did last, as a dominant running game should be a strength, particularly because we will be using a lot of two-TE sets. Also, the loss of Floyd will almost certainly make us throw the ball a little less. So he would be at the very most averaging 1 INT a game…just like a certain Andrew Luck fellow this year. He was an example of an amazing college quarterback who also threw a bunch of interceptions. It is going to happen with quarterbacks who are risk-takers Brett Favre style, but those guys also end up making the huge plays when necessary too.
For the record, Tex, did you really use the Tulsa game as your example for why he isn’t capable? That was literally his first legitimate game-time experience, as he had previously thrown a combined 9 passes beforehand in mop-up duty.
2. That BK should know that Tommy is a “practice” player, and therefore shouldn’t start him even if he outperforms them every day in practice: At this, I just invite everybody to honestly look at and ask yourself “Does this really make sense?” Kelly has to hand one guy the keys to this operation, and by all accounts, Tommy is the best day in and day out. I know we are “just talkin’ bout practice”, but believe it or not, working hard in practice tends to lead to success. Tommy Rees thrives on competition and has never had any job security to begin with, so you have to believe that he is more comfortable in the competition than any of the other guys. If he’s the best guy, he’s the best guy, and you can’t just hand it to one of the young guns for the sake of change. They still have to earn it.
3. That any of the other guys are ready to take the reigns: From what I hear on campus from other players on the team, only #11 and #12 even look like they are ready to play, no matter how badly fans may want EG or GK. Tommy has a scholarship, and that certainly isn’t going anywhere. But how many times do we hear ridiculous statements like “Tommy Rees and ND QB don’t belong in the same statement”. Hate to break it to you, but if he wasn’t capable of being #1 or running the show, or if somebody was good enough to take over, it would have happened. So instead of berating Rees nonsensically, for he is the leader now, give me a good reason for any of the other 3 QBs. Tell me what their strengths and weaknesses are, and how they are going to not make ridiculous mistakes like all experienced QBs do. If they are so talented as to overcome Tommy, shouldn’t that be apparent?
4. The “Why Can Freshman QB’s at Other Schools Step Right In and Succeed?” question: This purely depends on your view of “success”. Take last year’s #1 QB recruit in the country. Braxton Miller at OSU. Rocket Arm, Super-Athletic, every tool you could possible need at the position. He played in 12 games last year, on a team with a good defense and they went 5-7 in those games (he sat out vs Akron in a game they won). But you would think by his numbers and his highlight plays and the way fans talk about him that he had a fantastic season. That’s because they are more understanding of the development process than ND fans are — we won’t accept a 5-7 season without throwing the guy under the bus. The only reason JC got a second year was because of his 5 star rating.
I already mentioned Matt Barkley as an example of a good QB that mightily struggled as a freshman and came out successful. Even Denard Robinson is in that same boat. Remember how we laughed over and over again at UM because Denard Robinson couldn’t throw a football? We may still even make fun of him for that, but UM saw the process through and now is winning big games because of it. You are letting perceptions, that you don’t “think” Tommy is good, get in the way of what individual statistics, and history of CFB shows to be a truth, that this kid is poised for a breakout.
Milf
Let’s not overstate Rees’ statistical improvement.
For instance, lets remove his stats from the 4 games against Purdue, Air Force, Navy, and Maryland, the 4 weakest defenses that ND faced (and in the case of all but Purdue, some of the weakest defenses in the country http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/ncaadef2011). Over those 4 games he threw for 1048 yds, 10 tds, 1 int, with a completion pct. around 70%. His longest throw of the season, 56 yds as you mentioned, came against Navy (and to be fair Floyd covered the last 20 yds after the catch).
That means that over the other 9 games of the season (including the bowl) Rees threw for 1800 yds, 10 tds, 13 ints, and a completion percentage of 63%. His longest throw over the course of those games was 38 yds. His interception rate fell to 1 in every 21.5 throws. Not to mention several back breaking fumbles as well.
In short, his statistical improvement vanishes.
Quarterbacks don’t just magically improve between their sophomore and junior seasons. When it does occur it’s typically because they’ve gained enough experience between practice and actual game time such that the game starts to slow down for them. In short, the mental part of their game starts to catch up to their physical abilities. Well guess what, Tommy Rees has already seen significant playing time in 18 games, and his play in the last 3 games of the season was some of his worst. That does not indicate an upward trajectory in his growth.
Look, I want to be objective about this. I’m not going to sit here and say that Rees doesn’t do some things well, or that he hasn’t made some big plays, because he does (quick release, accuracy on short/intermediate routes) and he has. However, his lack of arm strength, his tendency to force throws into coverage, and his turnover struggles have been a limiting factor not only for him but for the entire offense as well.
If ND wants to get back to winning major bowl games, or *gasp* a National Championship, then the team is going to need better QB play against top competition than it got out of Rees last season. Whoever earns the job will have to prove that they’re the most capable of doing so.
Also, you can’t make personnel decisions based on the fear that guy who’s made the backup will decide to transfer.
NDtex
I approve everything about this post, Milf. Saves me from having to type a bunch out.
Believe me, I can write and cite more examples for why I don’t think we will see Tommy under center and this comes from someone who wanted to be patient with both Quinn and Clausen.
Matt Q. (DMQ)
Um, you threw out the top “outliers” in this analysis, but left in the bottom outliers? Is that still analysis?
Your conclusions may be right, but your path to getting there is massively flawed.
Milf
Eh, I was trying to make the point that Rees’ statistical improvement was greatly bolstered by those 4 blow outs. You’re right, I shouldn’t have said that his improvement was non-existent.
Btw, in 3 of those blow outs we rushed for over 200 yds, and the other game was something like 180 yds. Yes, yes, if you take out Cierre Wood’s 55 yd TD and Hendrix’s 80 yd dash then the average running yds per game probably falls back to ~170/180 yds. Still, that’s a tremendous advantage for any QB, and it made some of those “bombs” to Floyd off of play action really easy.
As for bottom outliers, I guess that I could remove Stanford and FSU. Then you’d be looking at 1600 yds, 9 tds, 9 ints, 64.5 comp pct., and 1 int in every 26.5 throws. Better , but not great.
Also, in fairness, losing both Cave and Jonas really did hurt the offense the last 3 games. We were less physical in the run game, and pass protection suffered as the O-Line had to compensate for Golic.
I realize that this is subjective, but all in all I think that a greater weight should be placed on how Rees performed against decent to great competition. Don’t get me wrong, I was ecstatic that we blew out the weakest teams on our schedule. But if we want to be a BCS contender then we need to start pushing around the Pitt’s, Wake Forest’s, Boston College’s, and South Florida’s on our schedule. Oh, and to be able to keep within 10 pts of the USC and Stanford. Rees didn’t do enough in that regard, in my opinion.
Fighting4Jesus
I would like to see an upperclassman start. Andrew Hendrix is that upperclassman he is going to be a junior. He has been in the system learning for two years he doesn’t have a ton game experience but neither did Sam Bradford 0 attempts, Tony Pike 20-30 attempts, Greg Mcelroy 20-30 attempts , A.J. Maccarron 50 attempts when they went to the BCS in the first year starting.
tlndma
I would say that as last season went along, opposing defenses found it easier to game plan against ND due to Rees’ limitations(lack of am strength and foot speed).
You cannot argue that Rees’ experience is not a big plus for him. You can state with certainty, that he is the least athletic of all the QB options. The question is, does their athletic ability overcome their lack of experience in the battle with Rees for the starter’s job? Does having escapability and the ability to extend plays, make up for a lack of game experience? How much does the run game improve, because the QB is a running threat also? Does this running ability along with the arm strength to beat a defense over the top, allow them to not have to force the ball in and not take negative plays? Does it also create more options as far as play calling?
A couple of points you make are also debatable. As far as Rees getting ND into the right plays, it has been maddening how many times ND has not been able to get a play off in time the last two years. Sometimes right after a timeout. As far as his moxie, that is questionable too. Some of his wins have been despite his failures at crunch time(USC 2010).
As far as transfers, that should not even come into the equation when the decision is made, no matter who is picked to start. The best option plays. Otherwise “he” may opt out and you run the risk of hurting team morale. The other players will know who the best guy is.
Picked Off
The one thing I want to see out of this QB decision – one of them to reach up and take the position! I don’t want to see BK have to make a choice. One of them should step up to the point where they are the only choice. I don’t care who it is. Hell it could be Kiel.
They all have a big opportunity here. One of them just needs to take it!
TheCzar
I agree — it all makes sense. Tommy should be the guy, to get most of the reps at least. However, as I posted in the forums, I think a tandem (everybody shudders, including myself) may just be the best option. Think Chris Leak-Tim Tebow-like tandem.
cjgunnz
Very persuasive argument made by Grantland. You can definitely argue that the other 3 QB’s have more talent, but talent alone doesnt win games, and neither does arm strength. You have to be smart and accurate, and although Rees has a great deal of improvement to make in that respect, we dont know anything about EG or GK, and VERY little about AH. I think if a decision needed to be made today, you have to go with Rees, and hope he’s made enough improvement since we’ve last seen him.
Pat
“Talent alone.” Point taken. But you certainly can win – a lot. Denard Robinson ain’t always pretty, but he sure is talented. If a guy among your most talented athletes touches the ball every offensive play, I think your chances greatly improve.
Twibby
I wasn’t happy when Tommy was named starter for Michigan instead of Dayne, but after watching him toss what should have been the game winning TD to Theo Riddick I thought, “well, at least this kid has ice in his veins.” Unfortunately, it seems that that ice in his veins also weakens his arm strength to the point where he struggles to get the ball down the field with any type of velocity. When you have to hold your breath on simple out routes hoping that the CB doesn’t jump the pass and take it to the house, it is not a good sign.
Many people refer to Rees as a good game manager, but I simply don’t see it. A good game manager makes smart decisions and takes care of the football – Tommy does neither (as Tex pointed out in his post after the Pitt game last year). Have you seen another quarterback fumble the ball when someone grabs his jersey and pulls him to the ground without making any contact with his arm? Sure enough, there were two of those last season. The FSU game was the perfect example of the inability to learn how to make smart decisions over the course of a season.
It’s also not fair to compare him to Jimmy Clausen’s first season because JC was stuck behind an absolutely embarrassing excuse for an offensive line (a ‘sieve’ would probably be the best way to describe it). T-Rees had an outstanding offensive line, a very good running game, one of the top receivers and one of the top tight ends in the country and STILL struggled to be consistent.
Anyone. But. Rees.
Pat
I cringed when you mentioned USC’s string of QBs – in an attempt to make an argument in favor of Tommy Rees. I know you were trying to make a point about continuity, but, man, talk about apples and oranges.
How about in Kelly’s third year on the job we actually run his offense: the spread option? Please?
The Subway Domer
This is ridiculous. The offense got worse as the season continued because defenses could both cheat on the run game and clog up passing lanes because Rees couldn’t throw a deep ball to two different All-American players (Floyd & Eifert).
With no Floyd, the situation may only get worse. I don’t want to bash any player, but Rees should only be holding play cards all season.
PAK
I cannot believe I just read a blog post praising Rees’s decision making. How many times did I see him throw endzone interceptions into triple or quadruple coverage last year? Way more than I care to count.
I know as a student you’re watching half the games from the stands and don’t get replays and such, but please go back and look at the film and see how badly and how often Rees tried force the ball, and how much it killed us last year.
If Rees is truly our best option to play QB this year we will lose 5 games.
kyndfan
Points scored vs BC-16, Stanford-14, FSU-14. This wasn’t due to a weak running game. When all you can say about a guy is he has experience and a good record as a starter, you’re grasping at straws. Our front 7 is gonna be nasty, our running game will be impressive, we need a talented qb that can stretch the field. If BK can do that, we’ll be a top 5 team.
trey
Red Zone efficiency. The only evidence you need that Rees need not apply.
Chuck
Bottom line … Rees does not have the physical attributes required to properly execute the offense Kelly needs to run.
Vairish84
I agree with Picked Off. I want one of them to step up and take it. I think the competition this spring is ‘rigged’ in favor of ‘Not Tommy’.
The stats are one thing. Rees improved, but his turnovers are particularly bad. They seem to come in the red zone too often. The last pass against FSU was ridiculous. A freshman makes that decision, why throw into double coverage to the back-up flanker on first down? That ball should have been in the stands. The TD pass to Floyd was only a TD pass because Floyd beat up the DB. Too bad he didn’t do that against Tulsa.
The only way Rees is the starter is if someone else does not emerge and the team does not support someone else. A tie goes to the other QB.
As for general red zone efficiency since we are not a pound them offense, it is critical in a short field that the QB must be accounted for, or have ungodly accuracy/arm strength. Tommy does not need to be accounted for and he does not have the accuracy/arm strength to compensate for that.
We also can not have a tandem QB situation. Generally, they do not work.
SDI
Good post. I think defending Rees as the best option is not an easy task and you’ve done about as well as possible. I would start Rees against Navy and Purdue but play both Hendrix and Golson a bunch in those games once ND is ahead. Losing to either of those teams, especially to Navy, would be disastrous for Kelly and Rees can win both of those games. I would then gradually move Rees aside for Hendrix or Golson depending upon which of the two makes the most of their playing time. But I would continue to play both because sooner or later one will get hurt running Kelly’s offense. His QB’s never last a full season. I think Rees probably will improve from last year, but not enough to hold off Golson and Hendrix for too much longer. But rather than put the pressure of starting off the season on one of those two, better for Kelly to take the heat for sticking with Rees early on.
denverirish
Bottom line from the Blind Oracle of Bristol: Rees lacks the speed to keep up with the other QBs…
Scott
Tommy doesn’t have the chest to run this program !!
starkruzr
Posts and discussion threads like the ones on this page are absolutely the reason I am proud to be a member of this community.
Rick
For someone who showed improvement and is the best oprtion for ND what where his states over the last half of the season? How many touchdowns were scored from the BC game?
Joeynice
Grantland, our statistical measures of a good quarterback are completely accurate and I agree with a lot of what your saying, but to reiterate what Brian March has perviously stated I take Golsen to be the best pick for the future of Notre Dame football. I don’t know what he can do under the center when it comes to reading the defense and calling audibles yet, but putting him in is the first step in seeing what he can do. What I do know is that his high school numbers are out the roof (far better than Rees’ numbers) and, contrary to belief, he is more of a throwing quarterback than a running one. His explosiveness and shere athletic ability is what we need in the back field with Cierre and George. Teams couldn’t handle their speed and with a throwing threat from Golsen, the possiblities are endless. Just IMAGINE the possibilities of our offense clicking with Golsen as the commander and chief (besides BK of course). I’ll be so brave to say that with Golsen’s four years of eligibility we’ll, in time, be able to compete and beat SEC teams that would make us look like a pee wee football team with Rees as our starter.