'10 OH QB Andrew Hendrix (Notre Dame Signee)

[NYMIKE6]

No, I mean 4. Tommy, Gunner, Andrew and Everett.

After last year, I'm thinking Tommy is to Coach Kelly as Romo is to Jerry Jones or Sanchez is to Rex Ryan.....so we can't rule him out.

If true and Tommy is considered a starter, i'm dusting off the old high school football helmet. I caused way too much brain damage last year from banging my head off the wall.

IMO You red-shirt Gunner, and let Golson and Hendrix battle it out. This spring is all about reps and lets face it theres not enough for four qb's i believe that was our down fall last year. We should have picked a starter sooner.

Hind sight is 50/50 so we will see......

 

[Rhode Irish]

If true and Tommy is considered a starter, i'm dusting off the old high school football helmet. I caused way too much brain damage last year from banging my head off the wall.

IMO You red-shirt Gunner, and let Golson and Hendrix battle it out. This spring is all about reps and lets face it theres not enough for four qb's i believe that was our down fall last year. We should have picked a starter sooner.

Hind sight is 50/50 so we will see......

That's a new one....haha.

 

[Rhode Irish]

No, I mean 4. Tommy, Gunner, Andrew and Everett.

After last year, I'm thinking Tommy is to Coach Kelly as Romo is to Jerry Jones or Sanchez is to Rex Ryan.....so we can't rule him out.

Jerry Jones and me. I think Romo is a championship caliber QB. He gets a bad wrap because most football fans (especially Cowboy fans) are super-simple. He isn't the Cowboys' problem, IMO.

 

[NYMIKE6]

That's a new one....haha.

Yeah 50% chance your going to look like a genius or 50% chance your going to look like a jackass......

When you don't have a clear cut #1 at a position thats how it goes sometimes when naming a starter.....

 

[BobD]

Jerry Jones and me. I think Romo is a championship caliber QB. He gets a bad wrap because most football fans (especially Cowboy fans) are super-simple. He isn't the Cowboys' problem, IMO.

I think he's a championship caliber QB too, but he's in danger of becoming the next Jim Kelly. Somehow, someway, he needs to step up and to make something happen for the Cowboys.

 

[gkIrish]

I think he's a championship caliber QB too, but he's in danger of becoming the next Jim Kelly. Somehow, someway, he needs to step up and to make something happen for the Cowboys.

That's an insult to Jim Kelly. He went to 4 Super Bowls. Romo hasn't even sniffed one

 

[BurningRiver]

If Rees starts next year and hasn't shown miraculous improvement in arm strength and awareness I will not watch a single snap....




Actually, that's a lie. We all know I'll still watch every second of every game. But I won't like it.

 

[BobD]

That's an insult to Jim Kelly. He went to 4 Super Bowls. Romo hasn't even sniffed one

Thats true. Just trying to make a point. I'm sorry Jim Kelly, where ever you are. I guess I should have said Dan Marino? No, he made it to ONE and lost big.

 

[BleedBlue&Gold]

Jerry Jones and me. I think Romo is a championship caliber QB. He gets a bad wrap because most football fans (especially Cowboy fans) are super-simple. He isn't the Cowboys' problem, IMO.

No, Romo is not to blame for all the problems but, him and him alone was responsible for two losses, Detroit and Jets. Murray could possibly be the answer in late game situations. Romo needs a running game. I got your simple Cowboy fan man.

 

[Zbi]

If Rees starts next year and hasn't shown miraculous improvement in arm strength and awareness I will not watch a single snap....




Actually, that's a lie. We all know I'll still watch every second of every game. But I won't like it.

Same here buddy.

 

[stlnd01]

Jim Kelly > Tony Romo > Tommy Rees

But we're fooling ourselves if we don't think Rees will get a fair shot at the job - as he should, the guy's won a bunch of games. I sure hope Hendrix or Golson beats him out, but that's on them.

 

[BobD]

I think they all should and will get a fair shot at it.

I can almost guarantee that I won't be breathing and my heart might come to a complete stop as Coach Kelly announces the starter for this year.

 

[Irish Fam]

If Rees starts, then we need to go atleast 9-3 and win our bowl game. If not, Kelly will be on the hot seat.

If Hendrix or Golson starts, any realistic fan will look at the fact that we have a first year starter and growing pains will occur. 8-4 will then be acceptable.

 

[Rhode Irish]

No, Romo is not to blame for all the problems but, him and him alone was responsible for two losses, Detroit and Jets. Murray could possibly be the answer in late game situations. Romo needs a running game. I got your simple Cowboy fan man.

Hey now, I said "most".

I think Romo gets blamed unfairly because he is asked to do a lot to cover up for a team with a lot of holes. Specifically, holes that make his job harder. That second half against Detroit was obviously brutal, but I didn't say he was above making some bad throws or having a bad game. Even in that case, why were they chucking it around the yard up four scores?

[note: I'm not a Cowboys fan in the least. Not sure if that makes me uninformed or objective.]

 

[arahop]

Whoever the QB is, I don't believe he will be announced until sometime in fall practice. If I had to bet money, my guess would be that Hendrix starts, while Golson comes in with some special packages. I just hope Hendrix can finally grasp the system. Kid has a cannon for an arm. This will be his 3rd year in the system, so if he doesn't grasp it by now, he never will IMO. I just hope for all of our sake, Hendrix and Golson get the majority of the reps with Gunner running the scout team.

 

[tko]

I think he's a championship caliber QB too, but he's in danger of becoming the next Jim Kelly. Somehow, someway, he needs to step up and to make something happen for the Cowboys.

that gif is so incredibly disturbing!

 

[Old Man Mike]

There are a lot of "check boxes" on Coach Kelly's quarterback sheet which determine who gets the keys to the Rolls Royce. Some of these boxes are pre-snap, some are post-snap, some are intangibles like confident "presence", some are practice work ethic, some are mental toughness, etc etc --- you can add in more. I believe that one of these "boxes" becomes a near absolute in Coach's mind: pre-snap understanding of the defense and how the offense should adjust to attack it.

Why? Well, this would be one area of Coach's "philosophy" that people could, for a change, have an honest disagreement with him, but he seems to have so much confidence in his systemic design that he feels if the quarterback can just get us into the correct attack mode then even a marginally good QB can move the ball and score 35-40 points. Pike and Collaros, even with their wildly different styles had this in common at Cincinnati. They both were REALLY smart about their offensive systemic powers and reading the defenses' games. As I say, we can debate Kelly about going with the better pre-snap offense manager rather than the poorer manager but greater athlete, but I'll bet that he is weighing the plusses and minuses of that sort of choice all the time.

Andrew Hendrix [or Everett Golson] needs to get to Tommy Rees' level of understanding the pre-snap game management. This is what I think that people really mean when they say "understanding the offense". These guys are football smart. Learning the playbook can't be what's holding them back. What Hendrix needs is every snap against "surprise" defense that he can get and then show that he has the calmness and the instincts to get us going in the right directions. If either Hendrix or Golson [or Kiel] can do that, then Kelly will shift down to the next set of boxes labelled things like "fast release", "escapability", "running ability", "accuracy", "distance throwing", in whatever priority ranking he has on those [I'd bet "fast release" and "accuracy" are ahead of "running ability" even there --- see Pike].

I'm hoping that all four of our QBs can get their heads around pre-snap offense management and we can get down to a more raw talent way of choosing the starter. If they can get there, we all know that Tommy will be back-up [maybe even the guy who gets the bulk of the "extra reps" during practice] while whoever does not win the Hendrix, Golson, Kiel sweepstakes gets only a special package offense at best. I see nothing stopping Andrew Hendrix from being that "winner" if he can "get it" on the field in the heat of the action. Kelly, afterall once said that Hendrix has the quickest release that he'd ever coached --- that's a big deal with the boss.

 

[Rhode Irish]

I'm not sold on Hendrix. I'm open to him having the potential to be a BCS-caliber QB, but I didn't see it in his limited time last season. Granted, that small sample may not have painted the complete picture, but I think the best-case scenario for the program is for Golson to emerge as the starter. I don't want to see him get the nod just because I like him; if he isn't the better option then he shouldn't start. I just think it would be good for us if Golson is better than Rees and Hendrix, since that would mean an improvement at QB from what we got last year.

 

[NYMIKE6]

Best case scenario 1a. Golson 1b. Hendrix, backup- Rees, redshirt Gunner.

And i respectfully disagree that we should expect stumbles in our record with a freshman qb or first year starter. Look at what Darren Thomas did his first year with Oregon.

We need to have an athletic qb to fit the system. Then we need to keep it simple and let his natural ability take over.

 

[Who'saWildManNow]

Best case scenario 1a. Golson 1b. Hendrix, backup- Rees, redshirt Gunner.

And i respectfully disagree that we should expect stumbles in our record with a freshman qb or first year starter. Look at what Darren Thomas did his first year with Oregon.

We need to have an athletic qb to fit the system. Then we need to keep it simple and let his natural ability take over.

This is a big part of the reason guys like Thomas at Oregon and Wilson at Wiscy were able to come in and succeed immediately. That speed and ability to extend plays makes a huge difference in your offensive potential. It may not be the prettiest but it can create havoc for a defense.

 

[NYMIKE6]

This is a big part of the reason guys like Thomas at Oregon and Wilson at Wiscy were able to come in and succeed immediately. That speed and ability to extend plays makes a huge difference in your offensive potential. It may not be the prettiest but it can create havoc for a defense.

Agreed 150%.... and we have been lacking that since Kelly has arrived....Now he has his style qb, so it's time to get things done.

 

[NDhoosier]

Best case scenario 1a. Golson 1b. Hendrix, backup- Rees, redshirt Gunner.

And i respectfully disagree that we should expect stumbles in our record with a freshman qb or first year starter. Look at what Darren Thomas did his first year with Oregon.

We need to have an athletic qb to fit the system. Then we need to keep it simple and let his natural ability take over.

I agree, with this... I think Gunner will be redshirted and I believe it should be a battle between Golson and Hendrix. As for the stumble early on, I think our schedule is pretty nice for this. The starter can make mistakes against Navy and Purdue without costing us the game (I just hope its not 10 turnovers in 2 games bad).

I'm not sold on Hendrix. I'm open to him having the potential to be a BCS-caliber QB, but I didn't see it in his limited time last season.

He also had a limited playbook. A limited playbook with limited playing time is not going to showcase a player's overall potential. I agree with some others, people are overlooking Hendrix a little too soon...

 

[NDdomer2]

OMM, great post, but let's not forget how Kelly has also said that when you have the kind of athlete like Golson on the field he can call a play and go with it. I believe he used the term "grip it and rip it" or something along those lines. A qb with Rees athletic ability MUST be able to have the greatest grasp of the offense AND the defense in order to succeed where a highly athletic kid like Golson doesn't need that grasp as he can create on the fly. Obviously the perfect scenario is Golson having that grasp. Hopefully, once Rees sees that his starting days are over he grabs these younger kids and spills his knowledge out for the program.

 

[Rhode Irish]

OMM, great post, but let's not forget how Kelly has also said that when you have the kind of athlete like Golson on the field he can call a play and go with it. I believe he used the term "grip it and rip it" or something along those lines. A qb with Rees athletic ability MUST be able to have the greatest grasp of the offense AND the defense in order to succeed where a highly athletic kid like Golson doesn't need that grasp as he can create on the fly. Obviously the perfect scenario is Golson having that grasp. Hopefully, once Rees sees that his starting days are over he grabs these younger kids and spills his knowledge out for the program.

Hopefully he would do that, anyways. I get that these guys are in competition with each other, but they're also teammates. My impression is that Dayne wouldn't have tried to hoard info/knowledge from Tommy in order to retain his starting job. I hope Tommy would approach things the same way.

 

[GBdomer]

Some of you guys are banking on watching youtube senior clips of Golson and the idea of it. Hendrix played big time against Stanford and played stellar against Air Force. Some of you wanted him starting the bowl game and if he would of won that bowl game it wouldn't even be a disucssion who the starter is moving forward. Everything i am hearing is the staff loves Golson and 100 percent of the fan base wants him to be the starter. Give me Hendrix or Golson. this spring will tell us a lot.

 

[NDdomer2]

Hopefully he would do that, anyways. I get that these guys are in competition with each other, but they're also teammates. My impression is that Dayne wouldn't have tried to hoard info/knowledge from Tommy in order to retain his starting job. I hope Tommy would approach things the same way.

I agree, but when you are still competing for a position you might not seek out those opportunities in practice, nor have the time to teach, as you would knowing that you are just the back up.

 

[Old Man Mike]

Tommy's a great guy and will mentor all he can, but some of this isn't mentorable. If it was they all would be there already, as Kelly is one of the best QB mentors around. What these guys are mainly missing is the "magic moment" when "the Light goes on" and everything in front of them is suddenly clear instead of semi-panicked guesswork. Tommy's "Light" has been "on" much brighter than these other guys so far, and there is little that he can do to pass that clear-seeing on. We need to hope [say a few prayers??] that at least one of the more athletic guys bursts into lumens. AND I see no reason why any or all of them can't do it by fall. They've all played a lot of ball. The foundation is there.

 

[ND NYC]

i have zero doubt kelly will be starting golson in dublin

his gut last year was tommy but he was to swayed by dayne and his all american practice sessions and i sense he wanted TR all along (what his heart said) but his head kept telling him different (dayne measurables, velocity the whole bit)

he wont make same mistake twice.
not in year 3.

i think his gut is with golson. and he will never admit but as long as golson doesnt do anything extremely stupid, horrible decisions, mistakes i think he goes weith his gut (unlke last year) out of the gate and commits to golson much earlier (start of fall practice) then we all realize.

 

[SoIll]

tommy rees <<<<<<<<<<<<anyone else

 

[stlnd01]

Like a lot of people, my first choice too is "what Everett Golson could be." Because he has the most athleticism and, after Kiel, probably the best resume.
But, let's face it, we have no idea if the guy at this point even checks Kelly's first box, which appears to be "ability to read a defense." That's why he stuck with Rees for so long. Despite his quite limited arm and pathetic mobility. Despite his sometimes-awful in-play decision-making. Rees can read a defense at the line and adjust appropriately. Well enough that he beat out a far more physically-talented older quarterback, and two more athletic younger ones, all the way through last season.
Now, maybe Year 3 will change Kelly's priorities, or not having Mike Floyd to lean on will change what he wants from a QB.
But I'd think either Hendrix or Golson needs to be at least in the same ballpark as Rees in the "head" department to win the starting job. He's not just going to give the keys to the Rolls-Royce (an optimistic metaphor, no?) to a cannon-armed speedster.
Should be an interesting spring.