What I don't get about the ND boards.

[tankjeep]

Why does Hendriz 'deserve' a shot? What did he do? He got badly beaten out by both Rees and Crist, despite getting equal reps this spring. He doesn't deserve anything. He has to earn it. And so far, he hasn't. As Shark said above, he won't see time unless ND starts to lose. Until then, you don't play musical chairs with your QBs and play a redshirt freshman who has never seen any live action after a 2 game winning streak. You just don't. Espceially when the season hangs in the balance. That would be insane.

you are making too much sense ndinla. apparently that way of thinking is frowned upon in this establishment

 

[Irish Fam]

I didn't say he could throw a Vick-esque long ball. I said he doesn't have a weak arm. He has split defenders multiple times with his throws up the middle to Eifert and Riddick.

 

[sharksamardzija8345]

agree with you, NDinL.A... let's ride the hot hand (I say that loosely) in Rees and his 6-1 record, although it sometimes feels like we win in spite of him as opposed to because of him.. however, winning is winning, and as long as our goals are still achievable (BCS is achievable with 2 losses) Rees has got to start.. I think this debate is pretty one-sided, run with Rees until we lose, if we lose, after that BK reevaluates his QB position by giving some young guys some PT and look to the future.. as long as this season isn't a loss, and it isn't, I see no logical reason to fix what isn't (too) broke.. makes no sense to look to the future when the present is somewhat promising.. very well said, NDinL.A., I just wanted to expand a little bit

 

[koonja]

Some people are already asking for Rees to be removed because of his turnovers, but the supporters stay strong, and always fall back on the impressive 6-1 record, even though Rees has played awful in some of those wins (see, USC game, Pitt game - Pitt ranked last in pass defense going into the game, thanks in part to Buffalo and Maine).

It's going to suck if we lose two in a row and it's because Tommy turned it over 2-3 times again.

Then will come the "I told you so's".

Hopefully it doesn't happen and the defense can continue to give us a chance to win.

 

[irishff1014]

Crist might not be the better guy but still should get his chance like Tommy is. Tommy keeps fing up and get rewarded. Crist has a not so good half and has pretty much played his last min here.

 

[sharksamardzija8345]

Some people are already asking for Rees to be removed because of his turnovers, but the supporters stay strong, and always fall back on the impressive 6-1 record, even though Rees has played awful in some of those wins (see, USC game, Pitt game - Pitt ranked last in pass defense going into the game, thanks in part to Buffalo and Maine).

It's going to suck if we lose two in a row and it's because Tommy turned it over 2-3 times again.

Then will come the "I told you so's".

Hopefully it doesn't happen and the defense can continue to give us a chance to win.

I understand your point, I really do. I just think Kelly has a harder time justifying taking out a QB who is winning games more so than he can justify leaving him in. I guess I should edit my previous post about it being "one-sided"; however, I do believe leaving him in is what's best for the present (and believe me, I'm not a Rees supporter, I want to see Hendrix/Golson, too) but I'm more of a ND supporter than a Rees detractor. I agree with you that his 6-1 record is inflated, and he is not responsible for a handful of those wins; however, they are wins and I personally love wins. Rees is not the future of our QB situation, but he is the present, at least until we lose a few more games. I've accepted that.

 

[NDinL.A.]

Crist might not be the better guy but still should get his chance like Tommy is. Tommy keeps fing up and get rewarded. Crist has a not so good half and has pretty much played his last min here.

And you would do it after we beat the #15 team in the nation and a road win over a team that has had our number? So you'd switch QBs right now after a 2 game winning streak?

Ok...agree to disagree. No way in hell would I do that. If Rees continues to truggle and we lose or are getting blown out, then I see your point, but right now? Hell to the no.

 

[irishff1014]

And you would do it after we beat the #15 team in the nation and a road win over a team that has had our number? So you'd switch QBs right now after a 2 game winning streak?

Ok...agree to disagree. No way in hell would I do that. If Rees continues to truggle and we lose or are getting blown out, then I see your point, but right now? Hell to the no.

He hasn't improved he turns the ball over atleast twice a game. He is the only one that can fix that and after watch 3 1/2 games he is still doing it.

 

[NDinL.A.]

He hasn't improved he turns the ball over atleast twice a game. He is the only one that can fix that and after watch 3 1/2 games he is still doing it.

You didn't answer my question. So you'd make the switch?

(and btw, Crist still hasn't improved either, as far as playing when the chips are down. He's regressed in that area. And with these ND teams, the chips are almost always down. But it's OK for crist not improve but horrible for Tommy.)

 

[irishff1014]

You didn't answer my question. So you'd make the switch?

(and btw, Crist still hasn't improved either, as far as playing when the chips are down. He's regressed in that area. And with these ND teams, the chips are almost always down. But it's OK for crist not improve but horrible for Tommy.)

Yes i would have made the switch against Pitt. You don't know what Crist can do other the talk to Rees when he comes off the Field.

 

[koonja]

Yes i would have made the switch against Pitt. You don't know what Crist can do other the talk to Rees when he comes off the Field.

I wouldn't have made the switch at halftime, that's just setting up Crist to fail.

I would start him this week.

 

[NDinL.A.]

I wouldn't have made the switch at halftime, that's just setting up Crist to fail.

I would start him this week.

After a 2 game winning streak which included a 4th quarter comeback and beating the 15th ranked team in the nation? Ain't gonna happen.

Rees needs to improve, no doubt. But he's starting until we lose, guaranteed.

 

[koonja]

After a 2 game winning streak which included a 4th quarter comeback and beating the 15th ranked team in the nation? Ain't gonna happen.

Rees needs to improve, no doubt. But he's starting until we lose, guaranteed.

I know, but there's no reason that you should need a come back against a team that was gashed for 350 yards through the air by Maine, and ranked #119 in passing defense going into this game.

I realize I'm not the coach, but if we're going to be a team (with great talent, btw) that is going to live on the edge, knowing our QB is going to turn it over and just hope our defense plays well enough to give us a chance, I'd take my chances with the QB that has the arm strength to stretch the field (rather than box it in, which Pitt did and I bet teams will start to do), and also can run (if you don't think Dayne is fast, see him chase down USF fumble recovery-guy).

On a side note, it would get Theo more involved because he'd run bubble screens like he did last year. Tommy's not tall enough to make that throw over the lineman. Crist has at least 2 inches on him and a very high release.

Don't tell me I'm not as smart or know as much as the coach, I know this. I just think that Pitt provided a blue print to stopping a QB who can't run/throw well down field. And if the worst passing defense could do that to Rees, I don't want to wait to see what a good defense will do. I've seen Tommy turn it over consistently, it's not a fluke at this point.

I make the move now.

 

[pkt77242]

I wouldn't have made the switch at halftime, that's just setting up Crist to fail.

I would start him this week.

Again tell me when a team has benched a QB on a 2 game win streak. That is how coaches get fired.

 

[koonja]

Again tell me when a team has benched a QB on a 2 game win streak. That is how coaches get fired.

A team that saw pure regression against the worst passing defense in the country who has a QB on the bench like Crist.

 

[kmoose]

I know, but there's no reason that you should need a come back against a team that was gashed for 350 yards through the air by Maine, and ranked #119 in passing defense going into this game.

This is a well known logical fallacy. A lesser team doing more against a common opponent is no basis for evaluating your own team's performance. It's kind of like saying Team A beat Team B. Team C beat Team A, therefore, Team C should beat Team B. It just doesn't work. There are too many variables at play.

 

[NDinL.A.]

A team that saw pure regression against the worst passing defense in the country who has a QB on the bench like Crist.

The QB who couldn't pass against Navy??? That Crist?

Oh, and it wasn't pure regression. He went 8-8 on the game winning drive. That's not regression. And you didn't answer the question anyway. Name a successful coach that changed QBs after a 2 game winning streak.

 

[koonja]

The QB who couldn't pass against Navy??? That Crist?

Oh, and it wasn't pure regression. He went 8-8 on the game winning drive. That's not regression. And you didn't answer the question anyway. Name a successful coach that changed QBs after a 2 game winning streak.

I don't know one off of the top of my head, but can't I just be like any delusional Irish fan that has high expectations? I know what we're going to get with Tommy. He's going to have a lot of yards but also a lot of TOs. We're going to have a lot of close games (this week won't be one so don't tell me Tommy's awesome if he plays well) and our defense is going to have to play savior.

I'd rather see what we have in Crist, who has loads of potential so I can sink back into the role of the delusional irish fan and get my hopes up that he's going to play like the star we thought he would be.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

I don't know one off of the top of my head, but can't I just be like any delusional Irish fan that has high expectations? I know what we're going to get with Tommy. He's going to have a lot of yards but also a lot of TOs. We're going to have a lot of close games (this week won't be one so don't tell me Tommy's awesome if he plays well) and our defense is going to have to play savior.

We don't need huge strides from Tommy to beat every team on our schedule. He simply needs to (1) improve his ball security, and (2) improve his ability to find the 1-on-1 matchups.

I'd rather see what we have in Crist, who has loads of potential so I can sink back into the role of the delusional irish fan and get my hopes up that he's going to play like the star we thought he would be.

I'm with NDinLA on this one. Crist has repeatedly folded under adversity, while Rees has done exactly the opposite. All the athletic ability in the world is meaningless if you don't have the mental toughness necessary to play under pressure.

 

[Rhode Irish]

This is a well known logical fallacy. A lesser team doing more against a common opponent is no basis for evaluating your own team's performance. It's kind of like saying Team A beat Team B. Team C beat Team A, therefore, Team C should beat Team B. It just doesn't work. There are too many variables at play.

I started seeing this "2nd worst pass defense in the country!!" nonsense in the game thread and it has been driving me nuts every time I've seen it since. Un-weighted statistical data is basically meaningless in college football because of the discrepancies in quality-of-competition, and that is only exacerbated by the fact that statistical data compiled through 2 or 3 weeks of games is based on such a small sample size that it is almost completely meaningless.

I'm not saying Pitt's pass defense is exceptional, because you can probably rule that out based on even the most rudimentary statistics. Still, we really won't know where Pitt (or any other team) ranks as a pass defense until we are far enough into the season that all teams have played a representative sample of opponents and that data is then weighted to factor in quality of opponents (which also cannot be known for several more weeks).

Its the same thing as when some obscure basketball team is #1 in RPI two weeks into the season. Totally and utterly meaningless.

 

[kmoose]

I don't know one off of the top of my head, but can't I just be like any delusional Irish fan that has high expectations? I know what we're going to get with Tommy. He's going to have a lot of yards but also a lot of TOs. We're going to have a lot of close games (this week won't be one so don't tell me Tommy's awesome if he plays well) and our defense is going to have to play savior.

I'd rather see what we have in Crist, who has loads of potential so I can sink back into the role of the delusional irish fan and get my hopes up that he's going to play like the star we thought he would be.

You mean the same defense that gave up an 80 yard TD drive against USF, in the 4th quarter? The same defense that gave up the :28 TD drive to Michigan, at the end of the game? If you're going to play "would haves"(like, we would have won the Michigan game if Rees hadn't fumbled in the red zone, or we would have won the USF game if Rees hadn't thrown the INT in the red zone), then let's play fairly. We would have won both Michigan and USF, if the defense would not have given up long, easy TD drives in the 4th quarter of those games. This is not an indictment of the defense; they have played very well. But quit pretending like Rees has been playing behind the Steel Curtain or the Monsters of the Midway or the Purple People Eaters. The defense could play better, too.

 

[GoldenIsThyFame]

I find myself wanting Crist to get another shot because I feel for what the kid has gone through. Battling back from knee surgery yet again to win the starting job coming out of camp, only to have his playing career basically yanked from him after one half of football. It feels like he didn't get a fair shake. He did play poorly in that first half but it was obvious that it wasn't all on him. If Kelly can be so quick to pull Crist after one bad half why can he not pull Tommy if he is performing badly? He had no problem switching back and forth between Pike and Collaros at Cincy. Is there something else to Dayne and BK's relationship that the public cannot see?

It's obviously at this point that Kelly trusts Tommy more than he trusts Crist, but why then was Dayne made the starter coming out of camp? Did one half of football seriously tell BK all he needed to know? If that is the case, and there was that much doubt, Crist never should have been made the starter.

I totally get the Tommy is 6-1 arguement and that Dayne crumbles under pressure, in fact I am not so sure who I want to be the starter anymore. I am a big BK fan and usually trust his decision making but this one just doesn't seem right. If Tommy is your guy then he should have been your guy from the beginning. I am sure he will get a lot of questions on this topic this week and frankly it is only because he brought it on himself.