Who Plays QB in the bowl game?

[PJWhitfield]

Without Gray, Notre Dame doesn't really have a power runner. Hendrix actually runs with more power and ability to take a hit than many running backs. I've been in Rees camp all year, but I think Hendrix has earned a chance. But this poorly executed game tells me Notre Dame has more work to do. That opening series with the back to back illegal procedures was pathetic.

 

[FightingIrishLover7]

Am I the only one furious for not giving this guy more reps throughout the season, the USC game and early in this game?

How about Maryland and Wake Forrest?????

I was furious that he didn't play the entire 4th quarter of both games.

No idea why Crist went in during those games...smh

 

[BeauBenken]

ive been waiting to break out this username

I think it would be better minus the Andrew portion of it. I think we would all still get the joke.

 

[Bubba]

Am I the only one furious for not giving this guy more reps throughout the season, the USC game and early in this game?

No. No you're not. Did I say you're not? Well, you're not.

 

[BobD]

I think it would be better minus the Andrew portion of it. I think we would all still get the joke.

^What he said.

 

[palinurus]

If Rees had been playing great and/or had been developing really well, and/or if he was the type of QB that really fits Kelly's system, and I had the sense that Rees's game was just an aberration, I'd say we'd stick with Rees. But, assuming Kelly thinks Hendrix can be consistent enough to avoid turnovers, Hendrix is definitely the guy who fits the system and has a little spark -- I'd go with Hendrix.

 

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

How is this even a question? Hendrix all the way. Rees's career as a starter is over.

 

[IrishBlood81]

How about Maryland and Wake Forrest?????

I was furious that he didn't play the entire 4th quarter of both games.

No idea why Crist went in during those games...smh

Exactly! I mean, was Rees really so amazing as to not TRY something different for a few plays and see what happened?
In the USC, when Crist went in and lost the game...took a touchdown away from us and gave it to them = 14 points....Why wasn't it Andrew?!

 

[DillonHall]

Is it strange to feel this excited after a loss?

 

[philipm31]

How is this even a question? Hendrix all the way. Rees's career as a starter is over.

Totall agree. I think his career at ND is over, period, because he never fit Kelly's system and Kelly is not going to stop recruiting his kind of guys just because Tommy is still eligible for another two years. If he ever sees the field again, I'd be very surprised.

 

[IrishandColts]

It should of been Hendrix all along

 

[IrishBlood81]

No. No you're not. Did I say you're not? Well, you're not.

Well, good, it helps to know I'm not the only one! Very nice to know...to bad it makes no frikin difference.

It should of been Hendrix all along

^ +100. Shoulda woulda coulda

Is it strange to feel this excited after a loss?

haha! I'm totally feeling the same way! its like a victory! The only thing is that he so shouldve been in there SOONER!... oh did I say that already?!

 

[choo choo]

hendrix!

 

[irish o'phile]

Is it strange to feel this excited after a loss?

I literally cheered when the QB transition occurred. I felt like I was being let out of a choke hold. Not that losing is fun, or that Hendrix is perfect, but geez was it a relief.

 

[TDHeysus]

This reminds of the revolving coaching door at ND; The new guy is always the best. The truth of the matter is, ND doesnt have that go-to guy at QB. Hendrix came in and did some good stuff, but was also irractic with his throws, overthrew open receivers, held onto the ball too long and took sacks...At best Hendrix is an unknown quantity. I'm not tryng to make a case for Tommy, but more so saying that ND doesnt have that QB they need to take the next step. Is Hendrix, Golson that guy? who knows...

 

[Buster Bluth]

Heggie?

 

[4irishnation]

HENDRIX without question

 

[BGIF]

This reminds of the revolving coaching door at ND; The new guy is always the best. The truth of the matter is, ND doesnt have that go-to guy at QB. Hendrix came in and did some good stuff, but was also irractic with his throws, overthrew open receivers, held onto the ball too long and took sacks...At best Hendrix is an unknown quantity. I'm not tryng to make a case for Tommy, but more so saying that ND doesnt have that QB they need to take the next step. Is Hendrix, Golson that guy? who knows...

Well put.

Hendrix had a Game QB Eff Rating of 116. Not good but better against the same team than the guy he replaced. Hendrix rushed for 53 yds but 33 back. He's a night and day better runner (he IS a runner probably the quickest ND QB since Rice) and has a stronger arm. Also makes similar mistakes as noted above. Reads, audibles, etc remain to be seen but like Rees he is young and developing. Crist had his Wally Pipp moment and didn't recover. Now Rees has had his. Rees is currently the ND All-Time Leader in Pass Completions at 64.8% and only a sophomore. 12-3 as a starter and he may have started his last game. As I noted last Spring, "whoever gives us the best chance to win". Time will tell.

 

[eNDzone]

I don't know what happened to the O line last night. I am going to put the majority of the sacks down to not having the proper shoes on that crap field.

I would tell them we are starting Rees And then play Hendrix.

 

[gspjeb]

Personally I have always worried about Rees' upside.....he has done a fair job but just can't make those vertical passes with any consistency.....the lack of mobility also makes it tough. You can be a pocket passer if you have a strong arm...otherwise you need to move the pocket....Tommy just doesnt have that ability.

I know Hendrix made some bad throws but what do you expect if the first game you really play in is a against the number 6 team in the nation. The most important thing is that I think his upside is head and shoulders above Rees'.

 

[UPMich_NDfan]

Yea I'd have to say Timmayyy Teb er' I mean Andrew Hendrix

 

[UPMich_NDfan]

This reminds of the revolving coaching door at ND; The new guy is always the best. The truth of the matter is, ND doesnt have that go-to guy at QB. Hendrix came in and did some good stuff, but was also irractic with his throws, overthrew open receivers, held onto the ball too long and took sacks...At best Hendrix is an unknown quantity. I'm not tryng to make a case for Tommy, but more so saying that ND doesnt have that QB they need to take the next step. Is Hendrix, Golson that guy? who knows...

Also liked this post, great points. Reps man!

 

[NYIrish14]

I have a feeling Kelly wants to put Rees in there again. However, I feel that he will have to start Hendrix. Teams are starting to develop great game plans for Tommy (not saying hes hard to plan for) so that they completely shut him down. They have been daring Rees to throw the ball down the field but he simply cannot do it. If you put Hendrix in all that changes as he can make all the throws. Also if our Oline plays crappy again against whoever we play then you have to play Hendrix. He gives us the only chance to win if the Oline takes a dump with his scrambling ability. I have always supported Tommy but we just cant achieve much with him in there.

 

[Long Time Irish]

I don't know what happened to the O line last night. I am going to put the majority of the sacks down to not having the proper shoes on that crap field.

I would tell them we are starting Rees And then play Hendrix.

I believe that part of the o line issue has to do with the fact that in Kelly's offense the QB is responsible for the line blocking calls. Kelly may have changed this when Hendrix came in, I am not sure. One of the comments that Kelly had made about Rees was that he was doing a good job getting the right people in the right places. (this was a few weeks ago) Also I think Stanford's D-line is that good, as well as the fact they used some blitzing schemes we have not seen before.
I would like to know what Golic was doing to get the illegal procedure calls ?? I did see him false snap the ball once, but I think he had 3 or four calls on him.
I will also say that after watching the whole game, I think that at this point Hendrix should start. He did provide the spark the offense needed. Tommy has played admirably this year. Tommy is accurate but not mobile, and this allows a defense to do 2 things- drop 9 or rush 6 or 7 and go man on coverage. With Hendrix's running ability, it forces the defense to stay on assignment.

 

[BobD]

First I have to say I have great respect and admiration for anyone who has played or coached for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish so I'm not trying to bash anyone. This is just MHO.

With a month of Hendrix led practice and a WTF counseling session with the O line, I think we'll pound the stuffing out of almost anyone they throw in the ring with us.

It might sound strange, but I'd rather lose playing the way we did with Hendrix in there last night, opposed to winning, playing the mediocre football we've had to play all year.

I feel better about our future after the loss last night than I did after any win this year.

Hendrix energized the entire team, the coaching staff, and me....they looked alive!

I'm so fired up for next year already!!

GO IRISH!!

 

[rtrn2glory]

absolutely has to be hendrix...we got a whole month to mold him and 15 practices to get him ready, watch film/study, and put in things he can do. a mobile QB doubles your playbook and your chances of moving the chains...kid needs the reps.

face it guys tommy rees at QB = a 8 maybe 9 win season at best due to his complete lack of athletic ability (he should have scored on that scramble in the 2nd quarter, but he was worried about getting hit) hendrix would have walked in.

imo there's no question hendrix needs to be under center in orlando, maybe some growing pains, but the offense is better with him out there.

 

[georgia irish]

Hendrix, we need to prepare for next year and you need a running qb.

 

[Patulski]

The new guy is always the best. The truth of the matter is, ND doesnt have that go-to guy at QB. Hendrix came in and did some good stuff, but was also irractic with his throws, overthrew open receivers, held onto the ball too long and took sacks...At best Hendrix is an unknown quantity. I'm not tryng to make a case for Tommy, but more so saying that ND doesnt have that QB they need to take the next step. Is Hendrix, Golson that guy? who knows...

I said this before and I'll say it again. I watched Ara go 7-2-1 with Bill Zloch, perhaps the worst starting QB in ND history. The worst loss that year was by 9 points to #1 ranked MSU. The tie was 0-0. We won all those games, and were competitive in the losses, because we had great line play and played disciplined football. With both those elements, all we had to do was bring in talented sophomores Hanratty and Seymour the next year and we won the National Championship. If Ara didn't have great line play and disciplined football, he could have had Jim Plunkett in 1966 (that era's equivalent of Andrew Luck) and it wouldn't have mattered.

Kelly came upon the scene inheriting the softest football program I'd ever seen at ND. He still has a ways to go, but the QB is the last piece of the puzzle. Kelly knows this, which is why he keeps talking about it. We need to take another step forward in toughness and discipline next year. That's what matters most.

 

[AKRowdy]

Kelly came upon the scene inheriting the softest football program I'd ever seen at ND. He still has a ways to go, but the QB is the last piece of the puzzle. Kelly knows this, which is why he keeps talking about it. We need to take another step forward in toughness and discipline next year. That's what matters most.

^^^^This may be the most true thing I have read on this thread. I personally find it night and day when you look at the players recruited by Weis (exception of a few who have gotten Kelly's style of play) and the players who Kelly has recruited. Watching Lynch and Tuitt out there they go hard every play and last night Lynch was in the back field a lot. Yes the other defensive players play hard, but Lynch, Tuitt, Nix, Teo, and Harrison all seem to play on another level than the rest.
Then the oline play from last night comes to mind in when talking about the softest football team. Last night I watched Golic get pancaked by a player who made the tackle in the backfield. Same with the whole line they seemed to let Stanford do whatever they wanted to do with them. After watching your QB get lit up first play of the game shouldn't you take offense to that? As a line man you should take pride in keeping your QBs jersey clean and last night it seemed like they just didn't care.

 

[Carlyle Javar Holiday]

Stanford dropped backers into coverage pretty much the whole second half. Once they needed to make a play, they blitzed and sacked Hendrix. Stanford's defensive game plan was for Rees and Kelly threw that wrinkle in the second half which I believe made Hendrix more productive. Hendrix got garbage numbers at the end and a freebie touchdown with that softass defensive Stanford was playing (no big play defensive). Only impressive throw Hendrix made was that one down the seem. Executed perfectly over the backers.

Not sure Hendrix's play is indicative of his production of Stanford's second half game plan to basically kill the clock. I mean you can put any QB in that will have a better arm than Rees. I think QB controversy should be between Crist and Hendrix. Hendrix gives you the running option but I have seen greatness with lack of consistency with Crist.