Ask Merckxe525 aka Dear Abby

[ColinKSU]

Can you imagine how much of a crapshow ANY program would be with Rees as a HC? Especially then. I truly cannot believe the guy thought he should be the HC of Notre Dame

I remember listening to Rees' podcast interview he did right after Kelly left and thinking like "Hey, does this guy kinda suck?"

 

[Cackalacky2.0]

Ah, Tee. As for him, during his very short stay, all he cared to do was hook up with random women, and get high.

Weed and women stopped me in HS.

 

[NDpendent]

Weed and women stopped me in HS.

Never got into weed but I've always loved women

 

[Kingbish01]

Weed and women stopped me in HS.

Ya'll live for bitches and blunts, we live for weed and money......

 

[BuaConstrictor]

My question is, from a mobility standpoint, how mobile is Carr? I believe Denbrock wants a QB that’s a mobile threat that the defense has to account for. Obviously, he didn’t recruit Carr to ND, so is he mobile enough to run the offense the way our OC wants? Maybe Ian Bookesque but can read defenses and doesn’t bail when the first read isn’t there?

Carr is nowhere near as mobile (or shifty) as Book. The best ND comp I have for Carr's mobility might be...somewhere on the Quinn/Crist(pre-knee injuries) spectrum

 

[IrishLion]

Carr is nowhere near as mobile (or shifty) as Book. The best ND comp I have for Carr's mobility might be...somewhere on the Quinn/Crist(pre-knee injuries) spectrum

Crist was actually a legit threat as a runner. He had a reallllllly good feel for how to pull it and find space.

The problem is that he had ZERO idea how to protect himself and take a hit once he took off. I have never seen such a lack of awareness as to how to absorb contact and/or avoid unnecessary contact. Dude was constantly standing straight up and presenting his entire head and chest to defenders to finish runs.

 

[BuaConstrictor]

Crist was actually a legit threat as a runner.

Crist was fine as a runner. Ran really straight up and had tin man hips. Straight line type guy. That's kind of how I view Carr. If you get him in a straight line or don't ask him to do much..he could maybe run/scramble a bit...but Book was just a different cat running wise.

My lumping in of Crist wasn't meant as a dig at him. Was just trying to think of a longer framed straight line runner from ND QB'ing lineage. That's why I did the hybrid with Quinn. I'm not sure Carr is as natural an athlete as Crist was...but he's not as stiff as Quinn was as a runner either.

 

[rtrn2glory]

I'm not familiar with you Bua

However so far I respect your game

Keep it up

 

[IrishLion]

Crist was fine as a runner. Ran really straight up and had tin man hips. Straight line type guy. That's kind of how I view Carr. If you get him in a straight line or don't ask him to do much..he could maybe run/scramble a bit...but Book was just a different cat running wise.

My lumping in of Crist wasn't meant as a dig at him. Was just trying to think of a longer framed straight line runner from ND QB'ing lineage. That's why I did the hybrid with Quinn. I'm not sure Carr is as natural an athlete as Crist was...but he's not as stiff as Quinn was as a runner either.

I def didn't take it as a dig. I meant to highlight that Crist was a decent athlete and had a good feel for seeing the zones as a runner, so I'd be happy if Carr was close to that... just want a QB that knows how to take on a defender lol.

I really liked how Crist was progressing in BK's offense that first year before he hurt his knee in general. I think we were on our way to seeing something pretty close to what Tony Pike was able to do at UC, especially with some of the flashes Crist showed of attacking the seams and the middle with Theo Riddick when Theo was operating as a full-time slot receiver. Floyd on the outside and an embarrassment of riches at TE had me dreaming big dreams for 2011 and beyond.

But then Navy happened, Tulsa happened, Crist ruptured a tendon, and the rest is a messy history of QB shenanigans and Tommy Rees saving the day, not quite being good enough, saving the day some more, and then Golson.

 

[IRISHDODGER]

Crist was fine as a runner. Ran really straight up and had tin man hips. Straight line type guy. That's kind of how I view Carr. If you get him in a straight line or don't ask him to do much..he could maybe run/scramble a bit...but Book was just a different cat running wise.

My lumping in of Crist wasn't meant as a dig at him. Was just trying to think of a longer framed straight line runner from ND QB'ing lineage. That's why I did the hybrid with Quinn. I'm not sure Carr is as natural an athlete as Crist was...but he's not as stiff as Quinn was as a runner either.

Agreed. My one memory of Quinn running is that long run he had at SC in 2006. IIRC, he dropped back and everything opened up so he took for for a 20+ yard gain. Sadly, I think it ended up being the longest run from scrimmage for ND that season.

 

[BuaConstrictor]

I def didn't take it as a dig. I meant to highlight that Crist was a decent athlete and had a good feel for seeing the zones as a runner, so I'd be happy if Carr was close to that... just want a QB that knows how to take on a defender lol.

I really liked how Crist was progressing in BK's offense that first year before he hurt his knee in general. I think we were on our way to seeing something pretty close to what Tony Pike was able to do at UC, especially with some of the flashes Crist showed of attacking the seams and the middle with Theo Riddick when Theo was operating as a full-time slot receiver. Floyd on the outside and an embarrassment of riches at TE had me dreaming big dreams for 2011 and beyond.

But then Navy happened, Tulsa happened, Crist ruptured a tendon, and the rest is a messy history of QB shenanigans and Tommy Rees saving the day, not quite being good enough, saving the day some more, and then Golson.

Crist's biggest issues were always going to be his accuracy(He had a cannon..but was never really good at shaping throws/touch) and his....IQ. Great person but night the brightest bulb and BK had a REALLY bad habit early in his ND career over overloading his QBs with too much "stuff"/"noise". Guys like Crist, Hendrix, Golson kind of wilted under BK early on because of how much he threw at them. Rees was able to takeoff because he was just a kid that could handle it all.

There are some practices out from like 2010/2011/2012 there where BK is up his QB's asses about how not to be too much on their toes when passing. Majoring in the minors type stuff when you're just trying to get them to understand the install of an offense...and obviously BK's personality didn't help with that message at times.

 

[BuaConstrictor]

I am Tee Shepard

 

[BuaConstrictor]

Sadly, I think it ended up being the longest run from scrimmage for ND that season.

I am not going to deal with Darius Walker slander today





(although you may be correct because that Quinn run was 59 yards!)

USC 44-24 Notre Dame (Nov 25, 2006) Play-by-Play - ESPN

Play-by-play action for the USC Trojans vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish NCAAF game from November 25, 2006 on ESPN.

www.espn.com

 

[IrishLion]

Crist's biggest issues were always going to be his accuracy(He had a cannon..but was never really good at shaping throws/touch) and his....IQ. Great person but night the brightest bulb and BK had a REALLY bad habit early in his ND career over overloading his QBs with too much "stuff"/"noise". Guys like Crist, Hendrix, Golson kind of wilted under BK early on because of how much he threw at them. Rees was able to takeoff because he was just a kid that could handle it all.

There are some practices out from like 2010/2011/2012 there where BK is up his QB's asses about how not to be too much on their toes when passing. Majoring in the minors type stuff when you're just trying to get them to understand the install of an offense...and obviously BK's personality didn't help with that message at times.

I think BK got spoiled with UC's QB's for different reasons. Mauk was really smart and was old enough to handle BK's personality in 2007. Pike was the type of dude that just didn't really give a shit about what you thought, so BK's stuff rolled off his back in 2008 and 2009 (plus Pike was a really strong mentally, so BK had less to be on him about). And Zach Collaros was just out there running around making shit happen, I don't think he would've known it if BK was mad at him or not.

BK got to ND thinking he could treat those QB's the same, like he could yell and scream and hold them to an almost impossible standard, and like military boot camp, eventually someone would be elite... and it just didn't work for the personalities at ND, with the exception of Rees.

 

[BuaConstrictor]

BK got to ND thinking he could treat those QB's the same, like he could yell and scream and hold them to an almost impossible standard, and like military boot camp, eventually someone would be elite... and it just didn't work for the personalities at ND, with the exception of Rees.

Seriously...2015 could have been even more special than it was if BK ever figured out how to work WITH Golson rather than what he tried to do with him. Granted BVG's defense still would have ruined everything at the end, but hey.....still would have been more fun!

 

[Veritate Duce Progredi]

Seriously...2015 could have been even more special than it was if BK ever figured out how to work WITH Golson rather than what he tried to do with him. Granted BVG's defense still would have ruined everything at the end, but hey.....still would have been more fun!

I have never been more sold on a QB recruit than I was with Golson. His high school highlights are phenomenal, touch pass after touch pass, always feeling pressure, sliding, juking and then watching the ball explode out of his hand when he found his 2nd or 3rd option (or his 1st option finally looked open 50 yds down field).

I was mesmerized by those highlights. I remember getting goosebumps and wondering how many titles he'd win at ND. I've still never seen a ball explode out of someone's hand the way it did Golson.

 

[BoredIrish]

I have never been more sold on a QB recruit than I was with Golson. His high school highlights are phenomenal, touch pass after touch pass, always feeling pressure, sliding, juking and then watching the ball explode out of his hand when he found his 2nd or 3rd option (or his 1st option finally looked open 50 yds down field).

I was mesmerized by those highlights. I remember getting goosebumps and wondering how many titles he'd win at ND. I've still never seen a ball explode out of someone's hand the way it did Golson.

I must have watched that highlight reel 50 times. I can still remember the music... some Irish folk type music.

Thats when i realized that I didnt know how to watch video, because to this day that was one of the most impressive highlight reels I have watched.

 

[NDPhilly]

I have never been more sold on a QB recruit than I was with Golson. His high school highlights are phenomenal, touch pass after touch pass, always feeling pressure, sliding, juking and then watching the ball explode out of his hand when he found his 2nd or 3rd option (or his 1st option finally looked open 50 yds down field).

I was mesmerized by those highlights. I remember getting goosebumps and wondering how many titles he'd win at ND. I've still never seen a ball explode out of someone's hand the way it did Golson.

Agree, he was never as good as an athlete as I expected, but I was sure he'd be a Dillon Gabriel-type college star.

 

[SoIll]

Agree, he was never as good as an athlete as I expected, but I was sure he'd be a Dillon Gabriel-type college star.

See now I disagree. I thought he was a pretty damn good athlete. Twitchy as shit. Did not have top end speed. That's for sure. Sounds like BK really fucked him up mentally. He made some nutty plays throughout his career. A shame it didn't live up to those high school highlights.

 

[Old Man Mike]

Everett Golson was an elite athlete --- just should have played basketball.

Coach Kelly had a rigid system of quarterbacking involving "four out" patterns which each broke at different times, and the QB was expected to be moving very precisely (in all senses of body, head,foot-position movement) as he went through the progressions in an exact quick order --- it was the ultimate locked-robot Attention-to-Detail. Pike was a tall, standstill, rock-and-fire QB who could read all that and make it work. Collaros was good for the first two reads, then he'd do something off-script but so damm good that Coach couldn't gripe about it. Until Kelly's choices here dwindled down to Tommy, he couldn't find a guy with the mind to "handle the details." And I think that he finally decided that he was lucky to have anyone at all who could run his thing. (Kelly later on, much later i.e. recently and after giving up calling plays, has actually laughed at himself for his OVER-coaching some of his QBs, because of his clockwork four-out-in-time-sequence offense --- which he still believes is uncover-able but perhaps unman-able in terms of someone to run it.)

 

[NDVirginia19]

I'll always remember in the Syracuse game (I think) he threw for like 25 consecutive completions. My dad and I were convinced he should have been in the Heisman consideration. Then November happened lol

 

[BuaConstrictor]

I'll always remember in the Syracuse game (I think) he threw for like 25 consecutive completions. My dad and I were convinced he should have been in the Heisman consideration. Then November happened lol

He was in the Top 5 of Heisman contenders up until the ASU game. He was really good vs FSU and against Navy I think he accounted for 6 total TDs.

Wheels fell off after that

 

[BuaConstrictor]

Everett Gilson was an elite athlete --- just should have played basketball.

Coach Kelly had a rigid system of quarterbacking involving "four out" patterns which each broke at different times, and the QB was expected to be moving very precisely (in all senses of body, head,foot-position movement) as he went through the progressions in an exact quick order --- it was the ultimate locked-robot Attention-to-Detail. Pike was a tall, standstill, rock-and-fire QB who could read all that and make it work. Collaros was good for the first two reads, then he'd do something off-script but so damm good that Coach couldn't gripe about it. Until Kelly's choices here dwindled down to Tommy, he couldn't find a guy with the mind to "handle the details." And I think that he finally decided that he was lucky to have anyone at all who could run his thing. (Kelly later on, much later i.e. recently and after giving up calling plays, has actually laughed at himself for his OVER-coaching some of his QBs, because of his clockwork four-out-in-time-sequence offense --- which he still believes is uncover-able but perhaps unman-able in terms of someone to run it.)

When BK was on his game playcalling wise I always enjoyed his ability to call plays involving vertical route combinations that forced DB's into near impossible decisions on when to gamble coming downhill to jump the mesh concepts under them or respect the vertical concepts up top.

It was his own mad scientist version of the smash concept and when he would overload sides of the field with it, few could stop it.

Aside from QB's that may not have been tailormade for it, ND also rarely had the raw material at WR to run it. Credit to BK for evolving by being willing to "devolve" his offense, but aside from flashes (14,15, &19) I don't really feel like we ever saw what BK really wanted the offense to look like

 

[KPENN]

The back half of 2014 was an absolute disaster. IIRC they blew a huge lead against navy.

 

[NDVirginia19]

The back half of 2014 was an absolute disaster. IIRC they blew a huge lead against navy.

I believe it was Northwestern

 

[KPENN]

I believe it was Northwestern

I think they blew a huge lead against navy too. I just looked, they were up 28-7 and Navy went up 31-28

 

[SeekNDestroy]

The 2014 season ended in Tallahassee. They never recovered from that bullshit pass interference call.

 

[GoIrish41]

I think they blew a huge lead against navy too. I just looked, they were up 28-7 and Navy went up 31-28

This was my son’s first ND game. He was so happy and then the wheels started falling off and it was raining like crazy. Literal waterfalls were cascading down the stairs between the seats and seemed to drown the team’s energy. We were just drenched and watching a pants shitting unfolding before our eyes. I didn’t want his first game to be a loss, let alone a comeback by Navy. But in the end they prevailed.

 

[ND87]

Golson played "Street ball", which made him great...twitchy, able to improvise (didnt he major in Jazz?) and Kelly totally F'd him up: a square-peg/round-hole switch.
Not sure why he even recruited him if he was going to remake him.

Like David Rivers on Bball team back in my day...tried to fit him to a system when improv was his jam.

 

[Old Man Mike]

In my opinion, Coach's worst problem is that he felt that he could coach anyone up, at least anyone who was willing to be coached. He still sort of thinks this --- I recall a sideline incident this year when a high-talent LSU receiver came off the field after screwing up, and Kelly was loudly (elbow-grabbing-and-turning) in his face yelling "Who do you think you are? You're uncoachable!!!"

In my opinion (again) he is not very good at judging character in many "kids", and for other players is not very good at judging that some even nice diligent fellows don't have what it takes upstairs to handle the way he wants to play football. This is why, again my opinion, we actually got better (more dangerous) once he decided to step away from on-the-sidelines play calling, nor too much "interference" with coordinators planning, nor, probably, some aspects of the recruiting.

I would like to sit and talk with him about the moment(s) when it dawned on him that his "old" style of football strategy and player management no longer ensured that he could win it all at the level he needed to, and he needed to retreat into the "grand system creator and administrator" that he could still do at highest levels. The must have been a big ego deflator or at least a feeling that his "days of pure football" were lost. I also wonder why he didn't decide to go to the NFL then, other than some of those guys are even less coachable than the "kids."

Most here just want to throw cheap shots at him rather than actually discuss him, so I realize that this is an unwelcome post.