Tommy Rees named starter for Champs Sports Bowl

[IrishLax]

What's funny is people acting like there was a chance would name Hendrix the starter. #thinkaboutit #gameplan #competitiveadavantage #billbelichikgivesnoinjuryinformationforareason

 

[returnofthemack]

Is it really that much of a competitive advantage? Stopping Rees is fairly easy and they'll probably only devote a few days to that. They'll also have the film from the Stanford game to prepare for Hendrix. It seems like people are assuming Jimbo Fisher and his staff are utter morons. Don't you think if we can see through Kelly's ruse that they can as well?

 

[IrishLax]

Is it really that much of a competitive advantage? Stopping Rees is fairly easy and they'll probably only devote a few days to that. They'll also have the film from the Stanford game to prepare for Hendrix. It seems like people are assuming Jimbo Fisher and his staff are utter morons. Don't you think if we can see through Kelly's ruse that they can as well?

Cliche time! "Football is a game of inches."

Brian Kelly isn't going to reveal jack sh*t about his gameplan... and there is probably a 100% chance that anything he does say either:

1) Doesn't matter.
2) Isn't true.

So no... of course Jimbo and his staff aren't morons... but at the same time, announcing Hendrix as the starter could do literally nothing to help ND.

My point is simply that under no scenario would BK ever name Hendrix the starter. He was either going to not name a starter or name Tommy the starter. The former would make FSU practice two gameplans. The latter would squash the normal media QB controversy BS. Both of those have (small) advantages to them. Kelly went with the latter.

 

[returnofthemack]

That makes sense. Good points.

 

[GoldenDomer87]

I am in no way a Tommy fan, haven't been all year. But to say he has no strengths is asinine. The kid has poise and heart and I respect him for that. Limited? Yup. But, last year could have been a nightmare if Tommy doesn't fill in nicely. Nothing great, but it was a nice stop gap. I have nothing but respect for what he has done for ND.

Those of you that think we are 8-4 only because of Tommy simply haven't watched us play this year.

Well said NDinLA.

Tommy Rees had (I think) 16 of ND's 26 turnovers. That is 61% of turnovers. Obviously, he was not the only reason we were 8-4, but to deny he was a big part of it is insane.

 

[mgriff]

Our fanbase needs a good season...

 

[PatsandBostonfan1975]

Tommy Rees had (I think) 16 of ND's 26 turnovers. That is 61% of turnovers. Obviously, he was not the only reason we were 8-4, but to deny he was a big part of it is insane.

Ya cause we been 9 and 3 if he started every game.

 

[OlympiaIrishFan]

To the poster saying people are "Romaticizing the performance of Andrew H".

Really, you mean the same kid who led 2 TD Drives against Stanford? That performance.

Yes, his completion rate wasn't great and had a pic.

Do you think some faults he had was because he didn't play much at all this season, and still came in lead us to respectability in the Stanford game????????

How about this:

Tommy Rees has regressed against good teams, instead of the great game manager/completion/12-3 crap. Still 12-5 when he plays the most/even.

His last 3 games versus good/solid defenses:


USC Horrible game 23/37 190 0 TD 2 turnovers
BC Bad game against a even lesser opponent than USC 24/39 256 0 TD 1 Pick and 2 major blown TD's
Stanford HORRIFIC game 6/13 60 2 turnovers


FLAT OUT TOMMY HAS REGRESSED, and now he is leading us against FSU? I hope luck is on our side. We will need it. I will support no matter what, I just can't stand to see Tommy against a good defense. All he has done is 5 ints and 11 pics. It will lay at the feet of Eifert/Floyd catching everything at every angle, Wood running harder than he ever has, and the D being special.

Go Irish!

 

[OlympiaIrishFan]

Pats, maybe we would be 8-4 if Andrew started every game? Just like Tommy.

Heck, at least he had his hand in 2 TD's against a Top Ranked Team in 1/2. And Tommy had 4 against ranked or to be ranked opponents in 4 games.

 

[jason_h537]

Hendrix will play the majority of the game. Mark it!!!

 

[dre1919]

Gotta dance with the one that brought ya.

 

[tko]

Gotta dance with the one that brought ya.

then sneak off into the coatroom and fingerbang the hottie that has been checking you out.

 

[BobD]

Gotta dance with the one that brought ya.

then sneak off into the coatroom and fingerbang the hottie that has been checking you out.

It doesn't matter where you get your appetite, as long as you eat at home.

 

[jason_h537]

then sneak off into the coatroom and fingerbang the hottie that has been checking you out.

high school winter formal senior year was fun

 

[N_D_Fighting_Irish]

I was responding to Irish52, in post #143 in this thread. He wrote " But Kelly has forgiven Rees on numerous occasions of non-performance...only wish he had done the same for Crist." Did you miss my original post where I quoted it?

So, I posted about how Kelly had given Crist a chance (again) and what he did with that chance. I think that ended Dayne's career at ND. You just can't make that kind of a mistake as a senior QB in a rivalry game and survive it imo. I think Dayne, Kelly and the team understands that. I think that's the way it is in college football, even more so when you have a new regime and promising young talent like Rees and Hendrix and Golson. That being said, I wish Dayne would have risen to the moment. He didn't. He's gone. It's time to move on.

Also, if you would have read the entire post, and my other posts, you would have seen that I have posted numerous times that if Hendrix is better, he should play. And if Golson is better than Hendrix, he should play. So, I have no idea why you think I think Rees is invulnerable. I do however counter the posts that only point out Rees's faults with the positive things he has done,, and point out that there are other factors in winning and losing a football game than QB play. I think that's the fair approach

You are one of the more reasonable posters here so it perplexes me that you think Kelly gave Dayne a chance. It is amazing that so much patience and understanding is bestowed on Kelly and Tommy. Kelly needs more time. Tommy needs more reps and he is developing. Yet for Crist, he didn't rise to the moment. He was given a chance. He was given NINE games...not a season...but NINE games to prove himself. I guess you are right. He didn't make the most of the NINE games he played. If others were given the same standard, I doubt they would be able to prove themselves as well. He is gone now. So I agree we need to move on.

 

[N_D_Fighting_Irish]

Some coaches deserve to be second-guessed by fans -- such as Joe Kuharich. But BK knows the game and knows his players in ways we fans can't. ... Also, some posts make it sound like Hendrix changed water into wine, recharged the U.S. economy and brought us world peace. Well, yes, with the offensive line failing to protect the QB, a mobile Hendrix is and was the better choice against Stanford. But, if I remember right, Hendrix threw an interception and took some sacks when he could've and should've tossed it out of bounds. How well he reads defenses is a question I am unqualified to judge, but some say Rees does that well (the coaches can judge that better than we can). Hendrix might be the future (I don't know) but his performance against Stanford was not Touchdown Jesus come down from the building to run the offense. Also, the Irish have a pretty good record with Rees starting. The kid is not chopped liver. And unless you're a USC or a Michigan fan or some other N.D. hater posing as a Dame fan so you can drop vitriol on Rees, I don't understand the asinine remarks. For Crist's sake, try to show as much class as a fan as Crist did as a QB. Maybe I'm nuts, but I trust BK to handle an imperfect situation in the most advantageous way. Go Irish!

BK screwed up. If you want to know how to handle a QB situation...I can't believe I am writing this...look at the guy who coaches the semi-pro team in Louisiana. He knew the QB JLee that started the season had serious limitations. He stuck with him but he gradually played the backup Jefferson to the point the backup was able to take the reins. If he stubbornly clung to JLee, LSU would have lost by now.

 

[OCIrish]

And one can say that your post is the worst post one has ever ****in' seen. We all know that you've hated Kelly from the jump, especially obvious last year when you ridiculously and prematurely ripped his recruiting to shreds on every single recruits' thread (ooooops, turned out we did all right with Lynch, Tuitt, Niklas, etc, didn't we?). Saying Swarbrick should fire BK because he's going to start Rees (when it's obvious to anyone with a brain that Hendrix is going to get a ton of time) is more ridiculous than anything that other poster said.

Sure makes a lot of sense to fire a coach after 2 years. Yeah, that'll get us back on top!

First off LA....I didn't post a damned thing about recruiting this time last year. I gave Kelly the benefit of his first full recruiting class, and he proved to be a tireless recruiter as did his staff, I have no complaints on his recruiting ability. I did, however, question his ability to recruit nationally when he was first hired since NDs recruiting base is national. You didn't have any qualms about him being able to recruit on a national level for high profile kids?

I don't care much what you like about my post and what you don't like....I really don't. But if you think starting TO Tommy against another good defense and staying in mediocrity is fine, then that's your opinion and I won't argue with you on the finer points of stupidity. I'm not gonna lie....I don't think much of Tommy as a starter. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Tommy isn't a BCS calibur starting QB. I don't, for the life of me understand all the Tommy apologists, and their refusal to see that he's nothing more than a QB, who is really physically limited.

His physical tools aside, if you watch Tommy as the season has gone on, he's regressed. Teams have figured out how to defense against his strengths, and without what little strengths he does have, he's no good as a starting QB. As for the Swarbrick comment, if Kelly doesn't pull his head out of his *** with some of his playcalling and get his damned ego in check, maybe its time for next coach in.

 

[IrishinSyria]

I was responding to Irish52, in post #143 in this thread. He wrote " But Kelly has forgiven Rees on numerous occasions of non-performance...only wish he had done the same for Crist." Did you miss my original post where I quoted it?

So, I posted about how Kelly had given Crist a chance (again) and what he did with that chance. I think that ended Dayne's career at ND. You just can't make that kind of a mistake as a senior QB in a rivalry game and survive it imo. I think Dayne, Kelly and the team understands that. I think that's the way it is in college football, even more so when you have a new regime and promising young talent like Rees and Hendrix and Golson. That being said, I wish Dayne would have risen to the moment. He didn't. He's gone. It's time to move on.

Also, if you would have read the entire post, and my other posts, you would have seen that I have posted numerous times that if Hendrix is better, he should play. And if Golson is better than Hendrix, he should play. So, I have no idea why you think I think Rees is invulnerable. I do however counter the posts that only point out Rees's faults with the positive things he has done,, and point out that there are other factors in winning and losing a football game than QB play. I think that's the fair approach

Not going to get into this, but there's no way Dayne had a chance to win his job back against USC.

Also, the only reason Dayne was able to fumble the exchange on the 2 was because he went in stone cold into one of the toughest situations imaginable and drove the team down the field (when they hadn't been doing anything on O for a half). So its not like he buckled under the pressure. Just had a bad exchange. It just so happens that ND had played a pathetic first half, so the bad snap was a little more harmful than it should have been.

 

[military_irish]

Not going to get into this, but there's no way Dayne had a chance to win his job back against USC.

Also, the only reason Dayne was able to fumble the exchange on the 2 was because he went in stone cold into one of the toughest situations imaginable and drove the team down the field (when they hadn't been doing anything on O for a half). So its not like he buckled under the pressure. Just had a bad exchange. It just so happens that ND had played a pathetic first half, so the bad snap was a little more harmful than it should have been.

Not to get in the middle of anything but that drive started on the 9. Rees drove all the way down to USC's 39 yard line. Then Dayne took over. He should have been warmed up before the fumble, with the plays before.

Either way though the game is in the past, what happened, happened. Nothing can change it now.

 

[Patulski]

You are one of the more reasonable posters here so it perplexes me that you think Kelly gave Dayne a chance. It is amazing that so much patience and understanding is bestowed on Kelly and Tommy. Kelly needs more time. Tommy needs more reps and he is developing. Yet for Crist, he didn't rise to the moment. He was given a chance. He was given NINE games...not a season...but NINE games to prove himself. I guess you are right. He didn't make the most of the NINE games he played. If others were given the same standard, I doubt they would be able to prove themselves as well. He is gone now. So I agree we need to move on.

I think Kelly went with his gut at the half of the USF game. He had seen Rees win as a true freshman. Then, when he saw senior Dayne struggle against USF he saw sophomore Rees play better than Dayne, and then watched him play good enough to beat UM. I think he was particularly impressed with how Rees drove ND to what could have been a win on the road at UM if we could have stopped them from going 80 yards in 23 seconds. He then saw Rees win 7 out of eight games, including another clutch drive to beat Pitt. When he did give Dayne a chance, Dayne played well until the USC game, when he simply (and sadly) made a huge blunder. It was all over by then. So, I think the bottom line is what Kelly kept repeating: Rees won games as the starter.

Nevertheless, I think Kelly also went with his gut at the half against Stanford. He saw Rees getting beat up along with the offensive line, and playing poorly after struggling against BC. He knew he needed a spark if we were going to have a chance to win the game. Hendrix provided that spark, which gave Kelly increased confidence that he has a player that can contribute in an expanded role if necessary. I have no doubt that if he sees that Hendrix is consistently better than Rees that he will unseat him. I think Hendrix will play against FSU, and will have the chance to show his skills. Still, I don't think Kelly's going to forget the wins he's had with Rees, which is why he didn't make a snap judgement to start Hendrix after playing him for for two quarters. Hendrix is going to have to show he's better than Rees in practices and games for him to win the job imo. And part of that will be showing Kelly that he can win games when it matters. I would be surprised if Kelly doesn't give Hendrix the chance to win the game against FSU if it is close in the 4th quarter. That's the money quarter, and I hope we are in a position to see if Hendrix has what it takes to win the game with the game on the line by driving the team down the field and scoring.

 

[Patulski]

hope they do just that...how'd stanford look when Andrew took the field...they looked stunned..

I like Hendrix, and not to be a wisea$$, but Stanford's linebacker was so stunned by Hendrix that when Hendrix threw the ball right into his hands from 10 yards away on the 3rd play, he dropped it. They were less stunned later on when Hendrix overthrew Eifert and the guy intercepted it.

Just like Rees and Crist, its better to look at both the good and the bad. Hendrix played well in his first serious playing time, but hyperbolic exaggerations of his effectiveness do him no favors. He doesn't need it anyway. Like Rees, he's a sophomore. They make mistakes.

 

[irishfan]

Not surprised by the decision in the slightest. If he says he is starting Hendrix, that means no Rees. Rees is a not a change of pace QB, it would make little sense to start Hendrix with the mindset that a QB like Rees would have a special package. I think Hendrix will play a minimum of 50% of the snaps unless Tommy is tearing it up. I think it also would be unwise to name Hendrix the starter, because him struggling could kill his confidence, and the team's confidence, in him as a starter for next year. I like the call by Kelly assuming that Hendrix will indeed be playing at least half of the game.

 

[Al H.]

This thread is gonna get someone banned.


I feel it.

How do people get banned, exactly. I've been wondering? I know about the registration agreement, no profanity or insulting dialogue, no sexually explicit commentary. Who does the banning?

As far as Tommy, makes sense to me. He was pretty dinged up at the beginning of that Stanford game. Andrew should see some play time, he's got lots of `talents to bring to Florida'.

 

[NDinL.A.]

First off LA....I didn't post a damned thing about recruiting this time last year. I gave Kelly the benefit of his first full recruiting class, and he proved to be a tireless recruiter as did his staff, I have no complaints on his recruiting ability. I did, however, question his ability to recruit nationally when he was first hired since NDs recruiting base is national. You didn't have any qualms about him being able to recruit on a national level for high profile kids?

Never had any doubts at all, and you can go back and look that up. You on the other hand, had major doubts, which was fine, but instead of giving him a chance, you pissed all over numerous (countless really) recruits' threads, bitching about Kelly's recruiting. You gave him no such latitude, to the point that it was annoying as hell, not to mention extremely rude to the recruits (who read these sites and whose families do as well). Even when we asked you to stop, you wouldn't do it. And you were a really good poster before that. We had no idea what had gotten into you.

I don't care much what you like about my post and what you don't like....I really don't. But if you think starting TO Tommy against another good defense and staying in mediocrity is fine, then that's your opinion and I won't argue with you on the finer points of stupidity. I'm not gonna lie....I don't think much of Tommy as a starter. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Tommy isn't a BCS calibur starting QB. I don't, for the life of me understand all the Tommy apologists, and their refusal to see that he's nothing more than a QB, who is really physically limited.

Never even argued that. In fact, I give him and Kelly tons of credit for even getting 12 wins out of him, because he is obviously limited in what he can do. You and I are on the same page here (except for the fact that you always rip the kid and call him a derisive name - a kid that has done nothing but give his all to ND, work his *** off byy all accounts, lead us to 4 wins last year when we had NOBODY behind him, lead us to 8 more wins this year when our starter couldn't lead us and the backups weren't ready yet. Why bag on the kid so much and derisively call him TurnoverTommy. Why do that? He's a ND kid who has given his all to that team, despite his physical limitations. But that's just me.)

As for the Swarbrick comment, if Kelly doesn't pull his head out of his *** with some of his playcalling and get his damned ego in check, maybe its time for next coach in.

LOL. That's the comment that I called utterly ridiculous. But hey, if you think firing BK is the way to get this program back, then God bless you, cause there's nothing to say to a man who thinks that...

 

[Rudy89]

This thread is like Bizzaro World im pretty chill with something and everyone else is freaking out. It feels nice not to have the mods mad at me. I dont see why everyone is so upset right now.

 

[irishff1014]

This game is very important in the recruiting world. This is a game we HAVE to win. And i am not sure that is going to happen.

 

[kmoose]

His physical tools aside, if you watch Tommy as the season has gone on, he's regressed. Teams have figured out how to defense against his strengths, and without what little strengths he does have, he's no good as a starting QB.

Well, which is it? Did Tommy get worse? Or did defenses just figure out how to defend him?

 

[jfjkd01]

WOW this has a lot of people mad, it will be interesting to see how Tommy does, if he struggles I'm sure Hendrix will be in for most of the game. I just hope that both of them don't struggle.....

 

[IrishinSyria]

Not to get in the middle of anything but that drive started on the 9. Rees drove all the way down to USC's 39 yard line. Then Dayne took over. He should have been warmed up before the fumble, with the plays before.

Either way though the game is in the past, what happened, happened. Nothing can change it now.

Good points. But he did go 4/5 for 36 yards before the fumble. As for being warmed up, it's not that easy to get warmed up pre-game, stand around for about two and a half hours (presumably, you do some light stretching over halftime) and then be asked to go out and turn it up to 110% in 2 minutes. Also, it was his first time taking a snap under center. Tough situation all around. Still, water under the bridge.

I still don't think it mattered what Dayne did on that drive, he wasn't taking back the starting job.

 

[jmoodie]

His stats are VERY inflated with athe Navy, Wake, Maryland type teams. When he goes up against a D that can play, well just look at the stats.

Tommy great kid, not a good QB against good teams. ... So many ints were dropped by defenders and we don't count them.

This really nails it for me. I love the leadership and moxy Rees displays, but I think the book is out on him. If we don't have a solid running game, teams can sit back and wait - and he's to a point where I don't think he can physically make the throws. Our running kept us going with BC and Wake.

The dropped INTs don't show up in the stat book, but in the last half of the season, there have been a significant number - 1 or more per game! - that go as an incompletion, but could easily have been INTs or Pick Sixes.

I think the world of Rees, but it's getting to a point where maybe he is what he is - a fantastic QB to have on your roster b/c he's an incredibly capable #2. He'll beat most or all of the teams we should beat, but when faced with elite teams, I don't think he's quite up to that task.