Oct 1 | at Purdue

[LWeis15]

I'd like to see a more vertical passing game. How many pass attempts have we had over 30 yards? When you have the talent that we have at WR, TE, RB...there should be something open bc we have so many decoys. I'm tired of hearing about how Kelly has a "vanilla" playbook for Rees and others. Tommy has enough experience, it's time to let him loose or try someone else.

 

[GBdomer]

I'd like to see a more vertical passing game. How many pass attempts have we had over 30 yards? When you have the talent that we have at WR, TE, RB...there should be something open bc we have so many decoys. I'm tired of hearing about how Kelly has a "vanilla" playbook for Rees and others. Tommy has enough experience, it's time to let him loose or try someone else.

Post of the day.

 

[FightingIrishLover7]

If there was ever a time to open up the 201 level play book...

Purdue is it.

 

[BurningRiver]

If there was ever a time to open up the 201 level play book...

Purdue is it.

If there is ever a point this season where we are going to use a change of pace set with Golson or Hendrix, this is the game.

 

[LWeis15]

If there is ever a point this season where we are going to use a change of pace set with Golson or Hendrix, this is the game.

I think if there is chance, you need to put Crist back in. By skipping over him it just shows no confidence in him...and God forbid is something were to happen to Tommy what happens then? He has hardly zero game experience this year and lacks the confidence to go out there and compete. Red shirt Golson and make Hendrix your #3.

 

[Old Man Mike]

Kelly doesn't care a lot about either style points or who gets to do what with the ball as long as ND wins. He has recently been saying that Tommy has been having trouble when he's been given too many "new looks". I thought that he was talking about the looks that the defenses were giving him, but the closer I listened to Coach it sounded like he was talking about play-calling "new" or relatively new [to Tommy] plays.

Kelly said that he had to back off that in the second half at Pitt and call more plays with which Tommy is really familiar [this is more complex than we give our QBs credit for, as the playcall also involves assessing all the possible defenses and the proper check-offs associated with that down-and-distance]. For this reason, I doubt that we'll be seeing an explosively "new" playbook at Purdue.

But I don't believe that it has to matter vis-a-vis whether we go vertical. Kelly and Tommy have some go-vertical plays that are comfort zone plays [at least I've seen Tommy throw some last year and this] and by keeping the check-offs simpler, Tommy should be able to do them. We could even become a little more predictable, but paradoxically more efficient. That's my hope anyway. WHOOPS---never say "Hope" when you're going to play Purdue.

 

[Jozodog1201]

I couldn't agree more. I would love to see Hendrix in there even Golson (although I would like to save him as a red shirt). I feel the only way your going to establish depth is through experience. Lets give these other kids some pt. Hopefully Rees can manage the game and get up on Purdue so this can happen. I hate to be a downer, I haver my doubts

 

[Buster Bluth]

Purdue isn't really the game you'd see the other QB sets. It's a night game on the road against an opponent who has had a bye week to prepare. The game I would suspect you'd definitely see the backups in is Wake Forest or Boston College.

Not saying that I don't think the Irish blow Purdue out, I think they should and will. But I just don't think Kelly is necessarily planning to use his depth here. He simply wants to get to the bye week at 4-2.

 

[OlympiaIrishFan]

I would love to see some Andrew H. in the game. And redshirt Everett. I am scared for Tommy to throw the deep ball, I can see some real floaters up there because of his lack of arm strength. And even more pics than he already throws. Vanilla playbook for a guy with 2 fall balls-2 spring balls-2 summers-extra bowl practice-bowl game-and 9 games with extensive playing is a little concerning for me. Can't he figure things out fast enough? Oh well, we will see.

Go Irish!

 

[IrishLax]

In my mind Hendrix's value comes in a red zone package. Down there his ability to run the ball becomes a huge value and he would only have to run a couple plays proficiently.

As for Purdue, this game could go a lot of ways. This team is a hell of a lot better with Marve than TerBush. I don't care what coach speak they put out there... if TerBush were to play the whole game I'd say we win comfortably in just about every scenario. If somehow they effectively use Marve and TerBush together and score 14+ all bets are off.

But on paper they shouldn't score multiple offensive TDs in any scenario and their defense shouldn't be good enough to stop us from getting to 20+. Just protect the damn ball.

 

[Buster Bluth]

You guys act like he has the arm of a 6th-grade girl. When he steps into his throws he has plenty of arm strength. It's not like people have ever drawn up 70-yard bombs for pass plays. He can make the throws.

 

[IrishLax]

You guys act like he has the arm of a 6th-grade girl. When he steps into his throws he has plenty of arm strength. It's not like people have ever drawn up 70-yard bombs for pass plays. He can make the throws.

Who, Tommy? Without going back to read the comments... no, he does not have the arm strength to make all of the throws. There are a lot of throws he simply has not demonstrated he can make. Doesn't mean he can't be an effective QB though.

 

[Buster Bluth]

Who, Tommy? Without going back to read the comments... no, he does not have the arm strength to make all of the throws. There are a lot of throws he simply has not demonstrated he can make. Doesn't mean he can't be an effective QB though.

Such as? I'm not saying he is Peyton Manning out there, but he has on several occasions delivered some throws on a rope to Eifert over the middle. I just want to see more consistency from Rees, that is far and away his biggest issue.

Some people on here speak as if he can't throw the ball twenty yards. Ironically, Crist is the QB with the cannon but he puts them into the dirt. I'd rather have a smaller cannon than a Big Bertha pointed into the ground.

 

[irishff1014]

We all know that Rees is going to be Kellys starter. However something i would like to see is Wood get a good amount of playing time in the secondary. This a good game for him to get a game experience and hopefully we can get a good enough lead that they have to throw alot and he gets a shot to show himself.

 

[IrishLax]

Such as? I'm not saying he is Peyton Manning out there, but he has on several occasions delivered some throws on a rope to Eifert over the middle. I just want to see more consistency from Rees, that is far and away his biggest issue.

Some people on here speak as if he can't throw the ball twenty yards. Ironically, Crist is the QB with the cannon but he puts them into the dirt. I'd rather have a smaller cannon than a Big Bertha pointed into the ground.

Seriously? How about a 15 yard out from the left has to the right sideline? Just one of many he has never made in a game and I really, really doubt he has the arm strength to make on time. That is hard throw not many QBs can make.

 

[ulukinatme]

Tommy can physically make the long passes. Whether they're always open or not, or if he's able to find a player on a deep route often, that's another question. I submit to you his 2010 highlights:

Tommy Rees 2010 Highlights - YouTube

Check out the Army and Utah games in particular (Obviously the USC game was pretty vanilla as we were fairly conservative much of the game). Theres a nice long pass to Kamara against Utah I believe. Theres also two nice long throws to Eifert against Army, one of which was a pass from the right hash to the left corner of the field while on the run.

Could Claussen hit deeper routes? Yeah, sure, but he also had Golden Tate burning defenses deep. We don't have that kind of speed, aside from maybe Riddick. We have good possession receivers.

 

[IrishLax]

Tommy can physically make the long passes. Whether they're always open or not, or if he's able to find a player on a deep route often, that's another question. I submit to you his 2010 highlights:

Tommy Rees 2010 Highlights - YouTube

Check out the Army and Utah games in particular (Obviously the USC game was pretty vanilla as we were fairly conservative much of the game). Theres a nice long pass to Kamara against Utah I believe. Theres also two nice long throws to Eifert against Army, one of which was a pass from the right hash to the left corner of the field while on the run.

Could Claussen hit deeper routes? Yeah, sure, but he also had Golden Tate burning defenses deep. We don't have that kind of speed, aside from maybe Riddick. We have good possession receivers.

No offense, but that highlight film doesn't have him pushing the ball more than ~30 yards on a single throw. And you even point out yourself that Clausen can/could hit deeper routes. So no, he cannot physically make all of the throws. Most QBs can't. I'm NOT a Tommy hater. I'm just being realistic.

The throw I pointed out earlier (15 yard out from far hash) is one example of a ~30 yard that has to be gunned out to the sideline on time or you're looking at a potential interception returned for a TD. There are quite a few pro QBs that can't make that throw reliably either. I'd wager that Tommy does not have the physical tools to make that throw right now. Just like how when he tried to push the ball downfield late to Eifert against Pitt he should have had a TD but instead couldn't get it there and had it picked.

Limitations like Tommy has are not the end of the world. But it does limit what you can do, and makes guys like George Atkinson's and Matthias Farley's ability to take the top off coverage basically useless.

 

[Old Man Mike]

And the title of this thread is?? ..... oh yeh, it doesn't matter....all IE threads are about nothing but debating a certain QB.

 

[Buster Bluth]

No offense, but that highlight film doesn't have him pushing the ball more than ~30 yards on a single throw. And you even point out yourself that Clausen can/could hit deeper routes. So no, he cannot physically make all of the throws. Most QBs can't. I'm NOT a Tommy hater. I'm just being realistic.

The throw I pointed out earlier (15 yard out from far hash) is one example of a ~30 yard that has to be gunned out to the sideline on time or you're looking at a potential interception returned for a TD. There are quite a few pro QBs that can't make that throw reliably either. I'd wager that Tommy does not have the physical tools to make that throw right now. Just like how when he tried to push the ball downfield late to Eifert against Pitt he should have had a TD but instead couldn't get it there and had it picked.

Limitations like Tommy has are not the end of the world. But it does limit what you can do, and makes guys like George Atkinson's and Matthias Farley's ability to take the top off coverage basically useless.

You can count the number of college QB's who can throw a good deep out consistently on your hands. I didn't mean he can literally make every throw. Simply saying that he has shown that when he steps into his throws he does have the ability to beam it in there.

I'm not buying into the thought that Rees can't stand there and throw the ball deep. In my opinion, it's a matter of consistency for Rees and Kelly isn't going to call stuff his guys cannot consistently do at a high level.

 

[SBjandy7]

Tommy Rees wins. It's that simple. The bickering on here in EVERY thread about the so called "qb battle" is ridiculous. Tommy is the guy, whether you love it or hate it, that's how it is. Now either you rally behind the kid, or as Rocket once said, "yo, get behind me, because i got places to see"

 

[IrishLax]

Tommy Rees wins. It's that simple. The bickering on here in EVERY thread about the so called "qb battle" is ridiculous. Tommy is the guy, whether you love it or hate it, that's how it is. Now either you rally behind the kid, or as Rocket once said, "yo, get behind me, because i got places to see"

Don't know if I missed it, but please point out the post in this thread where someone says Tommy shouldn't be starting. I seriously see nothing wrong with discussing a change of pace QB.... considering the coaches have talked about it dozens of times dating all the way back to last spring.... and Purdue might be the first game where we are comfortable enough to do it.

 

[Buster Bluth]

Tommy Rees wins. It's that simple.

I'm in the Rees camp, so is IrishLax. I think what is being discussed here is gettin a vertical attack going, since we've seen nearly none of it this season.

Also, judging a quarterback by his W/L record is asinine, in my opinion. He's not a pitcher.

 

[FightingIrishLover7]

I just want to blow Purdue out of the water.

Time for Hendrix to get some snaps.

 

[IrishCurse84]

I would like to establish and commit to the ground game sat night on the road. Wood with 18-20 carried Gray with 15-18 carries. They have done a nice job thus far, but not being able to convert short yardage through the running game (see Michigan loss) is a serious concern moving forward. anyone agree?

 

[irishff1014]

Tommy Rees wins. It's that simple. The bickering on here in EVERY thread about the so called "qb battle" is ridiculous. Tommy is the guy, whether you love it or hate it, that's how it is. Now either you rally behind the kid, or as Rocket once said, "yo, get behind me, because i got places to see"

The bears also won with Rex as their QB and he sucks. so your point is invalid

 

[clashmore_mike]

Don't know if this has been posted yet or not, but I can't stop laughing at the look on Manti's face at the 2:28 mark. It needs to be made into an animated gif.


<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/29741723" width="400" height="225" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen allowFullScreen></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/29741723">Smith, Te’o talk defense</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/irishillustrated">Irish Illustrated</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

 

[NDFANnSouthWest]

LMAO. CLassic...thanks Mike. That made my day.

 

[NDinFL]

And the title of this thread is?? ..... oh yeh, it doesn't matter....all IE threads are about nothing but debating a certain QB.

Glad someone said it....

 

[AdmiralBackhand]

Chat: Chat with Matt Fortuna - SportsNation - ESPN

Matt Fortuna is going to have a live web chat about ND at 2pm today, for those that are interested.

 

[mvanbv00]

I got a chance to talk to one of the Purdue football players today. I go to Purdue and have a class with one of the wide receivers. We didn't have much time to talk but according to what they are watching on film and talking about is how good Ciere Wood is. When he started talking about him he got excited and praised him like a god or something. This Purdue team thinks very highly of him. He also said that the #25 guy was good. I corrected him by saying it was Jonas Grey. That is when he got suspicious. They also think that Te'o and Lynch are also great. He said that in the film and meetings they see that Te'o is all over the field and is involved in almost every play.

After everyone found out I was a ND fan they were all mad. They all asked "How could you be a ND fan and go to Purdue? That doesn't even make sense?" Anyway, everyone around campus is pumped for this game. Everyone has been talking about this game all week long, and they think that they will beat us. When Purdue played Ohio State last year and when they play other big teams, no one really gets excited, but everyone is talking about THIS game.

Anyway, that is just some of the perspective that I have experienced around campus. GO IRISH!!