Post Game Observations........

[anarin]

My observations from the last row of Stanford Stadium:

-Good to see Hendrix finally get some real action. I have to question why Kelly doesn't get him any time in the last couple weeks, and then plays him against Stanford? He did a good job for the situation he was in though.

-Defense did a good job of containing Stanford when they brought pressure. I felt Diaco only rushed 3 far too much in the first half.

-I was yelling for us to go for it on 4th down prior to the missed fg, apparently they didn't hear me down on the field. That was obviously the closest we were going to get to 6 pts (or any points...) the way things were going early on.

-New helmets are much better looking in person than on TV.

-All those false starts in front of a fairly quiet crowd were embarrassing. Crowd was maybe 50% ND.

Hendrix was perfect against that defense, they load the box and leave their edges exposed. Ask Oregon

Watching it on TV it was easy to tell that there were a TON of Notre Dame fans there. Made me wonder what their other home games are like.

 

[koonja]

Mark May thinks that we have not improved from last year at all. Does this moron actually watch our games? I know we had some games where we straight up did not play well but cmon look at how limited our offense was the entire year...if this years team had a decent QB then we would have a much better record. How can people not see that we greatly improved from last year.

We're 1-3 this year against teams with a winning record, not including the academies.

Still banging the drum of my week 2 tune: Tommy Rees does not give ND the best chance to win.

 

[SoDakDomer]

I'm going to miss watching Mike Floyd play, off the field history aside he deserved better than an 8-4 regular season in his senior season. The kid plays hard and seems to never give up. A play to me that empitomizes Mike Floyd's career at Notre Dame is a Hendrix interception where the stanford corner takes off in the opposite direction and mike floyd weaves through traffic to catch him 30 yards later and lays the boom to him. I think alot of other kids with a possible 1st round draft selection and alot of $$$ sitting on the table in April not to mention the game pretty much out of reach at the time, could have just hoped someone else would make the tackle. But he didn't and thats why he is my favorite ND player and so glad ND didn't slam the door on him.

 

[NDinL.A.]

We're 1-3 this year against teams with a winning record, not including the academies.

Still banging the drum of my week 2 tune: Tommy Rees does not give ND the best chance to win.

Who did then?

Crist? Please, that ship sailed and he sh!t the bed when we needed him most.

Hendrix? How do you know? You saw him in week 12 against a defense that wasn't prepared at all for him, and he still threw a huge pick. Was he ready in week 2? Did he know the playbook? Could he get into the right protections, the right run fits, the right plays in the cirrect formations against certain defenses? In week 2? By all accounts, no. Every reporter who saw them in fall camp said he and Golson were WAY behind Rees and Crist. And you really think that Hendrix caught up to them and surpassed them in less than a month?

 

[koonja]

Who did then?

Crist? Please, that ship sailed and he sh!t the bed when we needed him most.

Hendrix? How do you know? You saw him in week 12 against a defense that wasn't prepared at all for him, and he still threw a huge pick. Was he ready in week 2? Did he know the playbook? Could he get into the right protections, the right run fits, the right plays in the cirrect formations against certain defenses? In week 2? By all accounts, no. Every reporter who saw them in fall camp said he and Golson were WAY behind Rees and Crist. And you really think that Hendrix caught up to them and surpassed them in less than a month?

No, Crist. Although he did throw an interception this year, I, unlike you, do not think he's a mental midget. We would have been more competitive if BK stuck with Crist, IMO.

 

[irishpat183]

1. We are an average team at best. We didn't improve much this year from last. We can't beat the good teams (MICH ST is looking more and more like they just had a bad week)
2. Tommy Rees is terrible. He's a poor mans Tony Romo that has horrible ball skills and is highly overrated as a "game manager" (you can tell from his poor clock management).
3. I think Hendrix is gonna be the real deal. Dude has some legs and can rifle the ball. Work on the accuracy and timing, and we may have the next great ND QB. Perfect for Kelly's offense.
4. Riddick was highly overrated this year. As was Harrison Smith.
5. Oline has gotten worse...dont know how or why, but they've been awful as of late.
6. Our front 7 on D is fantastic. Other than a few missed tackles, we have a very good core and some young guys that are gonna be stars
7. Lynch is a monster. He'll be playing on Sundays.
8. Blanton was god-awful. He made Gary Gray look good...and that's tough to do.
9. "Floyd will be missed" is an understatement. Just wait until next year.
10. WE HAVE TO WIN OUR BOWL GAME. For recruiting sake.

 

[anarin]

No, Crist. Although he did throw an interception this year, I, unlike you, do not think he's a mental midget. We would have been more competitive if BK stuck with Crist, IMO.

I can't disagree here. I thought Crist got the short stick. But going forward I believe Hendrix should start the bowl game and it should be an open competition next season with focus on hendrix and golson. I can't help but think of Tebow and Leake with these two.

 

[NDinL.A.]

No, Crist. Although he did throw an interception this year, I, unlike you, do not think he's a mental midget. We would have been more competitive if BK stuck with Crist, IMO.

A. I never said those words with Crist.

B. He was AWFUL after we were down vs. USF. Just awful in that second quarter. Rees came in and let that very same team up. I was there...everyone in the crowd wanted Crist out - you could feel the energy the team had under Tommy.

C. When Crist came in against USC, in the biggest moment of his career, he dropped the ball (pun intended). He had his shot, he had his moment to prove you right and Kelly wrong. But he crapped the bed, unfortunately. Kelly saw in him what most of us saw - a great kid who doesn't perform well when the lights are brightest and/or the chips are down. How you still think he gave us a better chance to win, when he has never been a consistent winner, is beyond me.

But oh well. This has been beaten to death.

 

[koonja]

A. I never said those words with Crist.

B. He was AWFUL after we were down vs. USF. Just awful in that second quarter. Rees came in and let that very same team up. I was there...everyone in the crowd wanted Crist out - you could feel the energy the team had under Tommy.

C. When Crist came in against USC, in the biggest moment of his career, he dropped the ball (pun intended). He had his shot, he had his moment to prove you right and Kelly wrong. But he crapped the bed, unfortunately. Kelly saw in him what most of us saw - a great kid who doesn't perform well when the lights are brightest and/or the chips are down. How you still think he gave us a better chance to win, when he has never been a consistent winner, is beyond me.

But oh well. This has been beaten to death.

Ok, so you didn't call him a mental midget but I know for fact that you've said he sh!ts the bed when he's playing. Synonymous.

Yes, he was bad against USF. I would be a little over-jazzed in my first game back from knee surgery as well, not to mention the first game of the season.

About USC. If he's such a deer-in the headlights kind of guy, how was he able to come in and make 4 great decisions, throwing 4 great passes, taking us down to the one yard line? I will guarantee you that if Crist was nervous at all while getting tossed into the USC game, it was when he threw the 4 passes, NOT when we got to the one-yard line taking a snap. Center-back up QB exchanges are never a given and that had nothing to do with being too nervous. It had everything to do with the center snapping to a new QB.

But I guess it's easier to label him a bed sh!tter, or headcase rather than think the coach might have possibly made one, single mistake by letting Tommy make the same mistakes over and over.... and over, rather than give the guy he named starter after the entire summer a 2nd chance.

But like you said, this is a dead horse and not worth trying to convince each other otherwise. Just my opinion.

 

[NDinL.A.]

Ok, so you didn't call him a mental midget but I know for fact that you've said he sh!ts the bed when he's playing. Synonymous.

Yes, he was bad against USF. I would be a little over-jazzed in my first game back from knee surgery as well, not to mention the first game of the season.

About USC. If he's such a deer-in the headlights kind of guy, how was he able to come in and make 4 great decisions, throwing 4 great passes, taking us down to the one yard line? I will guarantee you that if Crist was nervous at all while getting tossed into the USC game, it was when he threw the 4 passes, NOT when we got to the one-yard line taking a snap. Center-back up QB exchanges are never a given and that had nothing to do with being too nervous. It had everything to do with the center snapping to a new QB.

But I guess it's easier to label him a bed sh!tter, or headcase rather than think the coach might have possibly made one, single mistake by letting Tommy make the same mistakes over and over.... and over, rather than give the guy he named starter after the entire summer a 2nd chance.

But like you said, this is a dead horse and not worth trying to convince each other otherwise. Just my opinion.

A. Not synonymous. Completely different. How the hell do you consider mental midget and sh!tting the bed synonymous??????? Horrible analogy, but nice try.

B. About USC - he came in, marched them down, and on the biggest play of his life, he effed up. Never said he was nervous, never said anything of the sort. I said he sh!t the bed, which he did. Can't argue against that.

C. Dayne didn't make a single mistake. He made multiple mistakes. You're blinded by your love for him. I admit that Rees made mistakes and he limited the offense. Why can't you see Crist's limitations?

Whatever though...take the last word.

 

[irishtrain]

Lifelong Notre Dame here-I ask just this one question-Is this the Notre Dame football that we must now try to embrace? I for one have waited long enough for the regeneration of this football team. Stanford was better/more prepared to play/tougher. This just really stinks. This program needs to start being ashamed of what is happening to this once proud football presence. No matter how you talk it up the football team is not very good. I for one am not happy with a top 30 team. Good thing I'm not the one making decisions because I'd be cutting and slashing-really guys how much longer for excuses/if this then that bull#$%@/we need a QB/we need a speed guy/what Notre Dame needs is a good dose of reality. Notre Dame is a #30 ranked team in the country. Who would have ever thought that. And many people are ok with this? If it wernt for Teo/Lynch/Tuitt/Smith/Gray this team wouldnt be much better than Furman. What a waste of a pretty darn good O line this year-appalling

 

[yankeehater]

Observations in general on QB play: Can anyone please explain to me how at the end of both Rees and Hendrix second year in the system why they both seem to not really have a firm grasp? This is supposed to be a fast paced offense (ie Oregon) and it is not. I thought it was because the style of QB Rees was, but it did not change with Hendrix. They cannot even get the offense lined up much of the time. The Toma catch should have never had a chance to be reviewed because the next play should have been run (watch Oregon I have seen them do it on many occasions so to not have a play over turned). Yes, I know part of it was Riddick playing in a new position and not being familiar with it.

I do believe Hendrix is by far the better athlete and has way more upside in the offense. Everyone has mentioned the arm of Hendrix which is true, but he has yet to show any consistent accuracy. I also have yet to see any touch from him because all throws do not have to be a 95 mph fastball.

Just IMHO

 

[JoeyGetherall]

Lifelong Notre Dame here-I ask just this one question-Is this the Notre Dame football that we must now try to embrace? I for one have waited long enough for the regeneration of this football team. Stanford was better/more prepared to play/tougher. This just really stinks. This program needs to start being ashamed of what is happening to this once proud football presence. No matter how you talk it up the football team is not very good. I for one am not happy with a top 30 team. Good thing I'm not the one making decisions because I'd be cutting and slashing-really guys how much longer for excuses/if this then that bull#$%@/we need a QB/we need a speed guy/what Notre Dame needs is a good dose of reality. Notre Dame is a #30 ranked team in the country. Who would have ever thought that. And many people are ok with this? If it wernt for Teo/Lynch/Tuitt/Smith/Gray this team wouldnt be much better than Furman. What a waste of a pretty darn good O line this year-appalling

Uh me? I don't really get where all this expectation came from. Was it BK saying he wants to make a BCS game? Of course that's what he is going to see. It's called coach speak. When the year started I thought this was going to be a 9-3 team. You talk a "good dose of reality" I think what most fans need is a good dose of reality. Realize the talent and depth of talent are just not there. Will it ever be? I don't know maybe but it will take a long time and really great QB play for this team to be a BCS winner.

 

[Kak7304]

Uh me? I don't really get where all this expectation came from. Was it BK saying he wants to make a BCS game? Of course that's what he is going to see. It's called coach speak. When the year started I thought this was going to be a 9-3 team. You talk a "good dose of reality" I think what most fans need is a good dose of reality. Realize the talent and depth of talent are just not there. Will it ever be? I don't know maybe but it will take a long time and really great QB play for this team to be a BCS winner.

Good point. Weis went into 2007 with the "Tradition doesn't graduate" motto and talked about wanting to compete. Even if a team is bad and the coach knows it, it'd be awful coaching practice to admit defeat and set low expectations.