'10 IL QB Tommy Rees (Notre Dame Man)

[Seanthornton]

Tommy is a year older and a little more wiser. He has more confidence as the starter not looking to be yanked out like last year. In my eyes he will only get better. We have not seen the best from him yet. He started off well this week. I think he will turn heads and make believers out of the non believers. The line will have to step up to give him the chance. Even if your one of those non believers your going to have to send a little love his way. Confidence can fuel a player as negativity can be the demise. Have some faith and give the kid a chance this year.

 

[potownhero]

Has anything not douchey ever come out of yours?

Props. I actually laughed out loud...

 

[tko]

Now now lets play nice

thanks for joining the site. i can't wait for your insight.

 

[ulukinatme]

I felt like the coaches gave up on the play calling front at 21-6 tbh. From my vantage point it looked like temple had 10 guys on the LOS and a safety only 7-10 yards deep on lots of 2nd half 1st downs. I was dying for a deep pass but they clearly didn't care about the points. I doubt they'll be so forgiving if we get up that many on Michigan....

With that said, Tommy's passes looked so much better in terms of velocity, arc, and placement that I wondered who was really out there!

Thats how I felt watching from the stands. Tommy was pretty spot on in his throwing yesterday, I was impressed. Other than a few overthrows, he looked very good. Overthrow is better than under throwing it, that can lead to INTs. Some of the overthrows weren't anyone fault imo. Just before DD injured his groin, Tommy just overthrew him on a pass. I think the timing was actually very good, but DD got hung up with a defender while the ball was still in midair and it slowed him down it looked like. He beat his guy, but because of getting slowed down the timing was off and he couldn't get to the pass. He would have gone for 6 on that pass if he made it there in time.

 

[pkt77242]

Has anything not douchey ever come out of yours?

As usual you contribute nothing and manage to be an *******. What a surprise.

 

[NDhoosier]

my observation on tommy is that on the fade type ball, the ball toward the sideline that he just lobs up, he is very accurate and feels completely comfortable. where tommy cannot make a strong pass is in the middle of the field. the only good pass i saw from him in the middle was the touchdown to troy, but other than that he missed some guys open in the middle.

he did have that throw to a streaking TJ Jones up the middle. It was a bullet and needed to be a bullet. Not the longest throw because it was a 10 yard slant I believe, but he does have the strength when needed.

 

[BangbangNDLarry]

Has anything not douchey ever come out of yours?

thanks for joining the site. i can't wait for your insight.

Do I sense a tinny bit of sarcasm Mr. Awww bad day?

 

[NDWorld247]

my observation on tommy is that on the fade type ball, the ball toward the sideline that he just lobs up, he is very accurate and feels completely comfortable. where tommy cannot make a strong pass is in the middle of the field. the only good pass i saw from him in the middle was the touchdown to troy, but other than that he missed some guys open in the middle.

he did have that throw to a streaking TJ Jones up the middle. It was a bullet and needed to be a bullet. Not the longest throw because it was a 10 yard slant I believe, but he does have the strength when needed.

Wasn't the first TD pass to Daniels a deep pass over the middle? I do agree that's the throw he's going to struggle with the most unless he has man coverage without a high safety, but I'm okay with him not forcing throws into the middle unless he has to.

 

[IrishFaninTX]

I went back and looked at the stats of the 5 guys ahead of Tommy (higher rating) and only one of them completed more than 12 passes and that was Sudfield from Indiana. All the others were possibly backups or didn't throw the ball much as starters. One was 4 for 4 (Baylor's QB), Johnny Manziel was 6 for 8 but he did have 3 TD's.

Also, Tommy is listed as #3 for yards per pass attempt. His YPA is 15.0.

Just pointing out that those who were not impressed with Tommy's performance must have been watching a different game. Again, not saying he will do this against Michigan next week but Tommy did everything right yesterday and we are d*mn lucky to have him since Golson isn't eligible.

 

[DomerInHappyValley]

Tommy looked good a couple of real nice deep balls and some over the middle.
2 years ago he couldn't make those throws.
As long as he plays smart and doesn't force the ball I'll be as happy as I was with Golson last year who would throw the ball away instead of forcing the pass.
The thing I'm worried about is the defense not checking out of a blitz when the QB obviously checked out of the play or being so predictive in showing blitz.

 

[DillonHall]

I didn't think Tommy made any plays that he hasn't made in the past. However, he was still a completely different QB yesterday; he was poised and in complete control throughout the game. This game doesn't have much predictive value to me, but it definitely didn't do anything to shake my confidence in Tommy.

 

[IrishFaninTX]

I didn't think Tommy made any plays that he hasn't made in the past. However, he was still a completely different QB yesterday; he was poised and in complete control throughout the game. This game doesn't have much predictive value to me, but it definitely didn't do anything to shake my confidence in Tommy.

I don't remember him making throws like he did to Daniels on those 2 touchdowns but maybe he did and I just forgot in the midst of all his bad throws. And I felt he had a little more zip on the ball than he used to. His arm strength definitely seemed better. I am a little concerned about how he will handle blitzes. Will he get sacked and fumble, will he scramble and throw a bad pick, or will he manage to step into the pocket and find an open receiver quickly? I'm definitely hoping for the latter or at least for him to throw it away without taking an intentional grounding.

 

[loomis41973]

Great game for Tommy....will be moved down a spot after Teddy Footballs performance today.

 

[NDWorld247]

I don't remember him making throws like he did to Daniels on those 2 touchdowns but maybe he did and I just forgot in the midst of all his bad throws. And I felt he had a little more zip on the ball than he used to. His arm strength definitely seemed better. I am a little concerned about how he will handle blitzes. Will he get sacked and fumble, will he scramble and throw a bad pick, or will he manage to step into the pocket and find an open receiver quickly? I'm definitely hoping for the latter or at least for him to throw it away without taking an intentional grounding.

I'm less concerned with blitzes effecting Tommy than I am with OL getting beat. The only sack yesterday happened when Lombard got beat, badly. Tommy's smart enough to recognize a blitz pre-snap and adjust the protection accordingly and/or locate his "hot" receiver and get the ball off. Where things start to breakdown for Tommy (and any QB really) is when the unexpected happens (i.e. a DL applying pressure when Tommy thought that guy would be easily blocked).

 

[DillonHall]

I don't remember him making throws like he did to Daniels on those 2 touchdowns but maybe he did and I just forgot in the midst of all his bad throws. And I felt he had a little more zip on the ball than he used to. His arm strength definitely seemed better. I am a little concerned about how he will handle blitzes. Will he get sacked and fumble, will he scramble and throw a bad pick, or will he manage to step into the pocket and find an open receiver quickly? I'm definitely hoping for the latter or at least for him to throw it away without taking an intentional grounding.

I saw a YouTube video a couple weeks ago on Tommy's 2010 (freshman) highlights. There were some very impressive throws in that package.

 

[IrishFaninTX]

I saw a YouTube video a couple weeks ago on Tommy's 2010 (freshman) highlights. There were some very impressive throws in that package.

So maybe Tommy's issues in 2010 and 2011 were not so much that he couldn't make the throws but that he was just young and made dumb decisions at times and when trying to throw under pressure, he couldn't make the throws. I know he has been pretty badly criticized for not having a good arm and not being accurate but he didn't look that way at all yesterday and quite possibly that was never the issue at all. Not all freshman and sophomore QB's make great decisions and when they don't, their accuracy really suffers. But I am sure his accuracy has improved over 2 years and I do believe he has more zip on the ball than before.

 

[clashmore_mike]

 

[IrishJayhawk]

I didn't think Tommy made any plays that he hasn't made in the past. However, he was still a completely different QB yesterday; he was poised and in complete control throughout the game. This game doesn't have much predictive value to me, but it definitely didn't do anything to shake my confidence in Tommy.

I've said it before, but it's worth repeating.

I don't think Tommy looks much different throughout the course of any game. That goes back some to his Freshman year, but certainly his Sophomore year. When he makes a big play, people describe it as "calm" and "poised." When he makes a stupid throw, people describe him as looking "confused" or "wide eyed."

It seems to me that he's always been pretty poised. It's just a matter of making plays.

 

[DillonHall]

So maybe Tommy's issues in 2010 and 2011 were not so much that he couldn't make the throws but that he was just young and made dumb decisions at times and when trying to throw under pressure, he couldn't make the throws. I know he has been pretty badly criticized for not having a good arm and not being accurate but he didn't look that way at all yesterday and quite possibly that was never the issue at all. Not all freshman and sophomore QB's make great decisions and when they don't, their accuracy really suffers. But I am sure his accuracy has improved over 2 years and I do believe he has more zip on the ball than before.

I've always maintained that Tommy's greatest problem was his decision-making.

 

[DillonHall]

I've said it before, but it's worth repeating.

I don't think Tommy looks much different throughout the course of any game. That goes back some to his Freshman year, but certainly his Sophomore year. When he makes a big play, people describe it as "calm" and "poised." When he makes a stupid throw, people describe him as looking "confused" or "wide eyed."

It seems to me that he's always been pretty poised. It's just a matter of making plays.

The Stanford (2011) and FSU games absolutely had him flustered.

 

[NDTH91]

hahahaha yes.

This is awesome, thank you.

 

[Booslum31]

I've always maintained that Tommy's greatest problem was his decision-making.

I've always thought his problems were:

1. Third and Long...if we can minimize this good things happen.

2. Throwing off his back foot when pressured...The O-line picking up blitz packages is key

 

[Irish#1]

I've said it before, but it's worth repeating.

I don't think Tommy looks much different throughout the course of any game. That goes back some to his Freshman year, but certainly his Sophomore year. When he makes a big play, people describe it as "calm" and "poised." When he makes a stupid throw, people describe him as looking "confused" or "wide eyed."

It seems to me that he's always been pretty poised. It's just a matter of making plays.

Good post. Tommy wasn't earth shattering, but he had a pretty good game no matter how you break it down. I posted in the Fall Camp thread that I thought TR would have a good year. It's only one game but it's a good start.

 

[FearTheBeard]

IDK if this was ever posted here but i love it...came from TP's twitter a while back

 

[RECON Daddy]

2011....

2011....

I think he will do great things this year @ Michigan. In 2011 he was 27/39 for 315 yards.

 

[NDWorld247]

IDK if this was ever posted here but i love it...came from TP's twitter a while back

Let's hope he has a better week than the original Tommy Gunn. #RIP.

 

[ulukinatme]

hahahaha yes.

This is awesome, thank you.

Join the #Reesus movement

 

[BGIF]

Old Biases Die Hard

Old Biases Die Hard

Rees just set the passing record for ND's All Time performance in a season opener.

Rees is 4th in the Nation in QB Eff Rating.

Rees LEADs the Nation in Yds/Attempt with 15.


Yet fans are still grousing, "He missed a bunch of throw." "He can't throw over the middle." "He can't throw long." "He can't hit the fade." "He can't hit RB in the flat." "He can't hit any receiver in stride." "He locks on one receiver." "He can't ... " "He can't ..." "He can't ..."

And my favorite, "He's only a game manager."


Rees first two TD throws were as fine as any I've seen thrown by an ND QB.

He hit 7 receivers using all the field.

He read defenses and changed plays better than any QB in the Kelly Era.

Carlisle's 45 yd game opening rush. The 66 yd rumble by Niklas. The Game Manager (with caps) saw the field, called the right play and executed.

He lost a third TD (which would have had him leading the nation in QB Eff) due to the groin pull which prevented DaVaris from another TD. I saw another actual catch ruled out of bounds because the receiver made a great catch on a ball no defender could defend but he came down on the line with his outside foot. It was a good call by the ref. A more experienced receiver gets the other foot down for the score.

Although he was the season starter for only the first time in his career, the Game Manager took his record as a Starter to 17-4. That's over .800 Winning Percentage. About 70 points higher than ND's All-Time Winning Percentage and about 80 points better than Kelly's ND Winning Percentage. And that's only counting games he started, not those where he came off the bench to lead ND to victory.

Not too shabby for a 3 Star talentless guy with no arm and no wheels. If he continues to maximize his ability and nurture his teammates to do the same, it will be a great season and he will end up in the top 3 among ND QBs when he wasn't supposed to make #3 on the ND Depth Chart.

He won't get a Heisman nor an O'Brien nor play on Sundays but he's a winner.

 

[ndfi78]

So maybe Tommy's issues in 2010 and 2011 were not so much that he couldn't make the throws but that he was just young and made dumb decisions at times and when trying to throw under pressure, he couldn't make the throws. I know he has been pretty badly criticized for not having a good arm and not being accurate but he didn't look that way at all yesterday and quite possibly that was never the issue at all. Not all freshman and sophomore QB's make great decisions and when they don't, their accuracy really suffers. But I am sure his accuracy has improved over 2 years and I do believe he has more zip on the ball than before.

He is the most accurate QB in ND history.

 

[ndfi78]

Well said BGIF!