Time to hand the reigns back to Tommy Rees

[kmoose]

Didn't Tommy Rees lead us right down to a FG and a TD in his only two drives?

That has the square root of f*ck-all to do with the point that was being made. No one slammed Tommy Rees there. It was just pointed out that someone else made an incredibly asinine statement about this team not being able to score on a good defense, with Golson at QB.

aaron......... you're wrong about Rees starting. I was the guy's biggest champion, here, last season (with the possible exception of HCTI and his daily updates about Rees' record as a starter). The system Kelly is running is working. And it's working well. There is no reason to even think about changing it.

 

[irishff1014]

I would say Golson. If he deosn't get hurt Tommy doesn't get in the game. The offense with Golson was moving the ball effectivley on that drive. Golson does need to know that when runs he cant keep taking some of these shots to his body. When he lost the ball in the 3rd qrt he had the first down plus get down our get out. It seems like to me that he makes the more difficult plays and not the given plays. As well he needs to tuck the damn ball in while running not that free arm crap.

But tommy has been given his time to sine and so far it has worked.

 

[irishff1014]

By that measure, Who was the QB who threw the winning TD? Let's remember that 2 of the games Golson started were won by Rees. (for the guy who insisits Golsen is 5-0, or 6-0 as they would have it.)

1 TD is your measure? C'mon..a Golson led offense has been the benefactor of a rash of turnovers by this D- almost all have led to ZERO points. That's ok for you? The fact that the Michigan game was that close after 6 turnovers was disgraceful. The truth is Golson has been average enough to not make enough mistakes that the defense was allowed to run the clock out. What are they going to do when Okolohma, BYU and USC do NOT turn the ball over, but instread, score half the time? I'll tell you- nothing. They will lose because they have a one dimensional offense and a tremendous defense. Sometimes the defense has a bad game you know...

Not all of it can go on golson sometimes Martin/Kelly go retarded with the play calling.

 

[GoIrish41]

By that measure, Who was the QB who threw the winning TD? Let's remember that 2 of the games Golson started were won by Rees. (for the guy who insisits Golsen is 5-0, or 6-0 as they would have it.)

1 TD is your measure? C'mon..a Golson led offense has been the benefactor of a rash of turnovers by this D- almost all have led to ZERO points. That's ok for you? The fact that the Michigan game was that close after 6 turnovers was disgraceful. The truth is Golson has been average enough to not make enough mistakes that the defense was allowed to run the clock out. What are they going to do when Okolohma, BYU and USC do NOT turn the ball over, but instread, score half the time? I'll tell you- nothing. They will lose because they have a one dimensional offense and a tremendous defense. Sometimes the defense has a bad game you know...

Kelly is going to make the decision. Seems pretty clear that if Golson is healthy, he will start. There seems like waaay too much urgency in your post talking about the QB of a team that is 6-0. Oh, and for the record, the Golson TD throw was a thing of beauty. The Rees TD throw was not that good and TJ made a great catch. We are a defensive team with a young QB. If we beat Okla, BYU and USC, it will because our Defense shut them down -- just like with Michigan, Michigan State, Miami and Stanford. That is clearly this team's identity and it will be no matter who the QB is.

 

[UmphreakDomer]

i like to think of myself as pretty levelheaded and as cool as cucumber. and while everyone is entitled to not only their opinions, but also, to be fans of whatever player they want. but this thread is ridiculous at this point in time.

we're 6-0 for the first time in a decade.

we have the best PA defense since '76. with a patchwork secondary by some peoples standards.

tommy has been extraordinary as a "closer". but, the team is more one dimensional and ultimately less effective with him at the helm. the d has done its job and kept us in games. the d won the michigan game.

rees gets credit for the win in the miami game and went three and out in his first series. he only came in the stanford game because of the injury--we were not going to see tommy in the same role as the purdue game had everett not been injured, IMHO.

this thread was started for the same reason most of you guys hate colin cowherd. it was to illicit a response for "ratings", for lack of a better word.

some people would think than unless nd and this offense is putting up 60 and holding the opponents to 6, we're not doing all we can. maybe thats the goal. i dont know.
but, i do know that whether its 41 or 37 or 3 or 1. a win is a win. so debating any issue with this team, at this point in time, is completely and utterly moot.

lets just ride this wave. and lets fix it if it breaks. until then--in diaco we trust to keep us in every game. and lets hope that kelly knows more than we do. he does.

 

[returnofthemack]

I feel like you are all overlooking how good Stanford's D is. Let me give you Matt Barkley's stats from their game: 10-21, 254 yards, 0 TDs, 2 INTs. Golson: 12-24, 141 Yards, 1 TD, 0 INTs. Yes, he had three fumbles but it was in the rain, against a ferocious defense, and it was his sixth game. I'm not even going to bother debating whether Rees should be the starter because we saw what happened last year when Rees played this D. Rees can get us in the right looks, but he can't deal with the pressure like Golson had to time and time again. Chill out and embrace our dynamic duo.

 

[irishog77]

I think the real debate shouldn't be EG vs. TR, no, it should be Kiel vs. Mauk.

 

[BGIF]

i like to think of myself as pretty levelheaded and as cool as cucumber. and while everyone is entitled to not only their opinions, but also, to be fans of whatever player they want. but this thread is ridiculous at this point in time.

we're 6-0 for the first time in a decade.

we have the best PA defense since '76. with a patchwork secondary by some peoples standards.

tommy has been extraordinary as a "closer". but, the team is more one dimensional and ultimately less effective with him at the helm. the d has done its job and kept us in games. the d won the michigan game.

rees gets credit for the win in the miami game and went three and out in his first series. he only came in the stanford game because of the injury--we were not going to see tommy in the same role as the purdue game had everett not been injured, IMHO.

this thread was started for the same reason most of you guys hate colin cowherd. it was to illicit a response for "ratings", for lack of a better word.

some people would think than unless nd and this offense is putting up 60 and holding the opponents to 6, we're not doing all we can. maybe thats the goal. i dont know.
but, i do know that whether its 41 or 37 or 3 or 1. a win is a win. so debating any issue with this team, at this point in time, is completely and utterly moot.

lets just ride this wave. and lets fix it if it breaks. until then--in diaco we trust to keep us in every game. and lets hope that kelly knows more than we do. he does.

I only wish I could rep you more than once.

 

[JoeyGetherall]

Uh no, no, no, no, no and no. You're wrong. It's not time for Tommy Rees. EG stays put until he's either carried off the field or throws 5 int's in a half. This is why BK gets paid what he does. No doubt in my mind they will work with EG this week and he will play better. Just like he did vs Miami after the UofM game. And so then the maturation of a young QB continues and we're all better for it.

 

[IrishBlood81]

I think you are expecting Oregon's offense or even Arizona's but ND is a power running football team right now. We played Stanford the way we had to play Stanford. Kelly's running a tough defense and a run oriented offense out on the field on purpose. We scored 50 on Miami because of the run, not because of a high flying aerial attack. ND wants to get the lead and run out the clock.. plain and simple.

Golson offers play and furthermore drive extensions which is vital to this team right now. The fact that he can scramble and pick up a first down or extend a play and hit someone on the run is huge.

I'm not in total disagreement about Hendrix but Kelly obviously sees something in Golson.

Problem is, we don't have a power running game! If we had Robert Hughes vs Stanford, totally different results IMHO. We NEED a power running game but all we have is small, really fast guys. We can't really run the ball against anyone with a defense either. So, its like we don't have an Offense period.

Yes, I agree, Kelly must see something we don't. Watching that NBC Road to Chicago and Kelly was talking to Golson in practice and Golson kept looking around, not paying attention, just no desire or interest in it. To be late for a meeting halfway through the season, to me, is a real tell tale sign of lazy and entitlement that hes better than that.

 

[Grimm]

i like to think of myself as pretty levelheaded and as cool as cucumber. and while everyone is entitled to not only their opinions, but also, to be fans of whatever player they want. but this thread is ridiculous at this point in time.

we're 6-0 for the first time in a decade.

we have the best PA defense since '76. with a patchwork secondary by some peoples standards.

tommy has been extraordinary as a "closer". but, the team is more one dimensional and ultimately less effective with him at the helm. the d has done its job and kept us in games. the d won the michigan game.

rees gets credit for the win in the miami game and went three and out in his first series. he only came in the stanford game because of the injury--we were not going to see tommy in the same role as the purdue game had everett not been injured, IMHO.

this thread was started for the same reason most of you guys hate colin cowherd. it was to illicit a response for "ratings", for lack of a better word.

some people would think than unless nd and this offense is putting up 60 and holding the opponents to 6, we're not doing all we can. maybe thats the goal. i dont know.
but, i do know that whether its 41 or 37 or 3 or 1. a win is a win. so debating any issue with this team, at this point in time, is completely and utterly moot.

lets just ride this wave. and lets fix it if it breaks. until then--in diaco we trust to keep us in every game. and lets hope that kelly knows more than we do. he does.

What do you mean by illicit ratings? Don't get it.

As far as discussing Golson, seems like an interesting discussion to me. I couldn't be happier with the season and see no contradiction in discussing how to best use the qb. In fact, the D is so amazing that competing for the NC doesn't seem outlandish. Just a little more help from the O ....

The whole BK knows more than us line I never understand. Of course he course knows better than us, of course we should be happy that its such a great season, and of course debating anything on a website is moot. So what.

 

[greyhammer90]

Is it worth risking a NC just to develop a kid who may or may not develop?

 

[phgreek]

I know that the kid routinely gets slammed on these boards. However the truth of the matter is that the offense just runs so much better when he is at the helm. It's just time to make a permanent change.

Bottom line is that you play to win the games. Maybe Golson will further develop and be a star at some point. Unfortunately that time hasn't arrived yet.

Tommy needs to be the man behind center right now. Especially if we have any hopes of BCS games.

...Tommy does a fine job when he is in the game...no question. Kid has been lights out...

...I just don't think if teams scheme for him, he can survive.

 

[TexasNDFan]

Brian Kelly is walking a fine line of trying to win now and build for the future. Rees is perfect in his role of back up QB and if Golson is cleared to play he should be the starter. That said I think Rees should been inserted earlier, as Golson was not making the right reads, getting happy feet and leaving the pocket early. It worked out that Golson was able to connect with Eifert for the score, but I think that it could have been to his benefit to watch how Rees handled the defense for a series or two.

 

[IrishBlood81]

I only wish I could rep you more than once.

I repped for ya'

Boom. I hope we can all agree that at least Kelly has earned our deference.

1000% Agree. Brian Kelly has won us these games. The game plan he has implemented against each opponent has been perfect. Unconventional maybe but it has worked, theres nothing you can say against that.

People are saying if its not broke don't fix it. Well, by the time we figure out its broke, it will be too late! OK is my biggest worry. I'm only looking ahead and afraid that Golson isn't ready to beat a big team like OK and thats my stance. Yes, it has worked perfectly these past 6 games, but if it is broke and BK's play calling and game plan doesn't work, than we're screwed.
When if it'd be fixed before it was broke, we'd be okay.

 

[anarin]

I think we bench tommy and golson for gunner. Sit riddick for hia poor hands, sit cierre for not being able to break tackles, sit troy for missing blocks, cut golic for his false starts, sit jackson for allowing some receptions, cut turk for not holding on to the high snap.

We need to throw in the towel and look towards next season, this just isnt cutting it guys!!!

 

[aaronb]

I repped for ya'



1000% Agree. Brian Kelly has won us these games. The game plan he has implemented against each opponent has been perfect. Unconventional maybe but it has worked, theres nothing you can say against that.

People are saying if its not broke don't fix it. Well, by the time we figure out its broke, it will be too late! OK is my biggest worry. I'm only looking ahead and afraid that Golson isn't ready to beat a big team like OK and thats my stance. Yes, it has worked perfectly these past 6 games, but if it is broke and BK's play calling and game plan doesn't work, than we're screwed.
When if it'd be fixed before it was broke, we'd be okay.

This is the root of my worry.

Thus far we've been able to endure 50 minutes of Terrible Golson play, because of Tommy's clutch relief work.

What happens when we get down 24 points and its too late for comeback heroics?

Failure to plan is planning to fail.

 

[greyhammer90]

Failure to plan is planning to fail.

F*cking yourself isn't having sex.

True story.

 

[Irishbounty28]

First and foremost, Golson is growing each and every game, but is still a young quarterback. Tommy Rees has been successful coming in late in games. Why is this?

All of us watched the end of the Stanford game, and saw that Tommy made the correct reads to keep us in the game. This is a fact that cannot be disputed. What also happened is that Golson made some great plays throughout the 3rd and 4th quarter before getting injured to get us in position to score. In these situations he turned the ball over a few times, and threw a strike to Eifert for a touchdown. There is something to the fact that Golson grew up in the second half and was continuing to see success with the offense.

Up until the 6 minute mark in the second quarter Notre Dame had gained a paltry 53 yards or so against Stanfords defense. From that point on, Golson lead us on drives of 61, 52 and 51 yards, two of which resulted in fumbles. The other was the touchdown to Eifert. Although the turnovers are concerning, it shows that Golson is still learning in the game, and is developing as it progresses. If he goes out of bounds before fumbling on one of the drives we probably receive another 3 points and maybe even 7.

Tommy came in a played very well to seal the deal, and give us the win. He should be commended for this, and can definitely help us win ballgames. At the end of the game though, Stanford was playing the run consistently because we couldn't seem to throw the football all day. This is when Tommy preceded to drive us to two scores.

Ultimately, we have a young quarterback that is taking his lumps and while settling into the game. As seen in his progression from a drive standpoint, he only got better throughout the game. Keep in mind this is the first time Golson has seen many of these reads, and having to make adjustments. Once he was able to understand what the defense was doing he began to make more plays. This progression will hopefully continue in him only getting better in the future. Until then, lets keep the ball rolling the way it is going because it is working.

 

[Walter White]

This is a fun thread.

 

[Irish52]

Kelly has got it right. It's Golson.

Kelly has got it right. It's Golson.

I know that the kid routinely gets slammed on these boards. However the truth of the matter is that the offense just runs so much better when he is at the helm. It's just time to make a permanent change.

Bottom line is that you play to win the games. Maybe Golson will further develop and be a star at some point. Unfortunately that time hasn't arrived yet.

Tommy needs to be the man behind center right now. Especially if we have any hopes of BCS games.

Golson made several mistakes during the game which are correctible and he will get better. I think he did a very good job considering he was playing against a very tough defense which was blitzing on 90% of the plays. Golson is our qtrbk. and we need to give him our full support to give him the confidence to play without fear of being pulled for any error, big or smaal, during the game. Go Irish and Manti for the Heisman.

 

[Junkhead]

I was begging for Tommy to come in, and he delivered. That said I still support Golson as the starter. He just needs to hold onto the ball!

 

[Bluto]

This thread is dumb. Go back and rewatch the Stanford game. If Golson eliminates a couple of rookie mistakes we win comfortably. The offense was able to move the ball fairly consistently against a really solid defense.

 

[BobD]

 

[TDHeysus]

this is response to anyone that thinks the offense has been doing fine, or good. i beg to differ. I believe the offense needs to be ranked at least 40th to even be a factor. 40th isnt much to ask, is it?

you cant fix that which has never been firing on all cylinders in the first place, the offense has been never fully been 'in place'. To say that ND's offense 'was/is working' with Golson is wishful thinking, they have just 'got by' so far this year. ND has got lucky circumstancially because we have not run up against an offense that can put some points on the board (thx Diaco, defense). But if ND goes up against a good offensive team, its possible that team will expose ND as not having a championship offense. The other team will get a lead, and ND wont be able to catch them.

Just because it hasnt happened yet, doesnt mean everything is all good. Unless you think ND can run the table on the strength of the defense, then you should feel uneasy, uncomfortable with the offense. Not taking anything away from the defense, but ND needs the offense to become a factor.

Take the michigan game, ND should have put up over 28 points, that game should not have even been close, but it was. ND got lucky that their defense is so great.

example, make 1 hypothetical change to this current team - put Clausen in his junior year at QB right now with this current team (all other factors being the same), and they are a bonafide NC contenders, if not favorites. They would be putting up big offense numbers, and still holding opponents to minimal scoring. they would be crushing opponents, instead of winning 13-6

What if OKLA does ND like they did Texas? will ND have the offense to catch up? i dunno...

ND has got lucky with their defense being soooo good. The QB position has been a bleeding wound, but its been covered up, hidden, and from the outside all appears OK. but all is not OK with the offense, and unless it turns around, then ND will lose a game they should win. you cant expect a defense to hold every team from scoring. sooner or later, the offense has to become a factor.

im not saying Rees should be in there, and Im not saying that Golson cant be the guy, but to say the offense has been ok I think is wrong. They've been lucky.

 

[JoeyGetherall]

What some are lacking to comprehend is that opposing D cords. would game plan differently for a TR than do for EG. It seems to me that Stanford watched tape on ND and recognized our oline's inability to pick up the pass rush and EG's inability to recognize the blitz and resulting coverages. So what did they do? They blitzed a young QB and tried to force him into making mistakes. EG was able to avoid the rush many times but also left the pocket to early other times which is a common symptom of a young QB. They feel consistent pressure and they want to flee. Now if Stanford was game planing for TR I think we would have seen a different approach. They would have rushed 3 or 4, because they know TR isn't running anywhere, and sat back and played coverage. Without one Michael Floyd that makes things pretty hard. I know we have Tyler but part of his huge success last yr was the double team Mike received. Now he's the man being doubled. Even with those two guys last yr we saw Tommy struggle over and over again. So soon we forget. Now ask yourselves friends, do you really want to go back to last yr? I know I don't. If TR were to start against OU I think we get our teeth kicked in. They undoubtedly have the talent to rush four and get to TR on a consistent basis. So I say let the coaches coach EG up this week. Get him to take care of the football, get out of bonds/slide, and recognize the blitz and where to go with the ball when he sees it. Oh and make Troy pass block a DE one on one all week.

 

[BobD]

What if OKLA does ND like they did Texas? will ND have the offense to catch up? i dunno...

Seriously? Have you seen our defense this year?

 

[TDHeysus]

Seriously? Have you seen our defense this year?

yes, i have, and they are great. but ND needs more than great defense.


arrogance breeds complacency

 

[greyhammer90]

yes, i have, and they are great. but ND needs more than great defense.


arrogance breeds complacency

 

[UmphreakDomer]

What do you mean by illicit ratings? Don't get it.

As far as discussing Golson, seems like an interesting discussion to me. I couldn't be happier with the season and see no contradiction in discussing how to best use the qb. In fact, the D is so amazing that competing for the NC doesn't seem outlandish. Just a little more help from the O ....

The whole BK knows more than us line I never understand. Of course he course knows better than us, of course we should be happy that its such a great season, and of course debating anything on a website is moot. So what.

i mean, it was said to get a response from people. and it has. it's like starting a thread saying that manti should be pulled because he whiffed on two hits in the backfield. ok--maybe that's a tad slippery, but you get the point.

this hasn't been "the way most teams do it", but it also shows we have quality depth at a very important position. there's a reason that kona isn't starting over nix, right? but, we see nothing wrong with kona giving nix a blow, including but not only in the case of injury. and however decent enough tommy has performed in these reief or closer duties, i get more scared of him back there than i do everett scrambling. i was at the tulsa game.

the real debate here isnt golson or tommy's production--the real question is: how well could previous teams had performed with a defense like we have now? clausen-tate-rudolph-floyd and a pretty decent offensive line and pretty decent backfield--had all sorts of offensive accomplishments--but we couldnt stop anybody. hence, mediocrity. now, we've been cleaning up the program and getting better across the board, and what? it's not good enough? it's BS.

i guess i'm more calm about all of this because i was at GVSU when kelly went and lost then ripped two NC D-2 championships and my brother was there for martin to rip off another 2 championships. i saw kelly take a jr QB (who ended up being nominated for the Harlon Hill award--D-2 equivalent of the heisman) to the semi-final game in the playoffs only to have his knee turned around willis mcghaee style and the back up was serviceable enough to keep us in the championship game. with one of the best wide receivers in d-2 history (who was also drafted by the lions--but he pretty much was awful in the nfl-lol), then come back the following year and won the award. so yes, kelly knows what it takes to build a championship qb.

it's moot because it's a bad debate.

and thanks for the reps guys. appreciated.