Where is the sanity?

[Rhode Irish]

Yes, tortured. Not to mention grasping at straws to find things to complain about. We didn't lose to every good team we played (Michigan State). And if every team that ever went 8-4 was set back by it as badly as you think ND was set back by this season, nobody would ever be any good. This team probably wasn't good enough to beat Stanford or USC this year, but we haven't peaked under this regime yet. We were good enough to beat USF and UM and we didn't, and that probably cost us a BCS bowl. And that sucks. No doubt about it. But I think you are really, really overstating the case about what that means for the trajectory of the program.

We weren't built to win a NC this year. If we are going to be built for that, it's probably another season away. And nothing that happened this year changed that. If you don't have the patience for that then maybe you should find another team to root for. You lighting your own hair on fire on a message board is not doing anything to accelerate the process.

 

[IrishAlum1997]

Where's the sanity? She took it all....

 

[Domer4ever]

Yes, tortured. Not to mention grasping at straws to find things to complain about. We didn't lose to every good team we played (Michigan State). And if every team that ever went 8-4 was set back by it as badly as you think ND was set back by this season, nobody would ever be any good. This team probably wasn't good enough to beat Stanford or USC this year, but we haven't peaked under this regime yet. We were good enough to beat USF and UM and we didn't, and that probably cost us a BCS bowl. And that sucks. No doubt about it. But I think you are really, really overstating the case about what that means for the trajectory of the program.

We weren't built to win a NC this year. If we are going to be built for that, it's probably another season away. And nothing that happened this year changed that. If you don't have the patience for that then maybe you should find another team to root for. You lighting your own hair on fire on a message board is not doing anything to accelerate the process.

I am not grasping at anything other than what played out before our very eyes. This program had a chance to take a big step forward this year and they didn't. You think it plays no part in the success of the program going forward and I say it does. It's about building a winning culture and right now and for the past 15 years the culture of this program has been losing meaningful games in spectacular fashion and this year was no different. At some point that has to change and they had the opportunity to do that this year and choked. Brian Kelly knew it and that was exactly why he was going psycho at the begining of the year in losses and why he yanked Christ halfway through the season opener. This year was an important building year for the program going forward. Everything was set up for them from a scheduling perspective, coming off a strong finish the previous season, landing a strong recruiting year landing 3 of the top 4 DE's in the country on top of Michael Floyd coming back, etc. This team had 10-2 written all over them at a minimum and they blew it. Blow it off all you want.

 

[Rhode Irish]

I'm not blowing it off. It sucks. If you thought Brian Kelly went psycho, you should have been in my living room. But at the end of the day, next year we show up in Ireland with a lot of talent and a 0-0 record. We also have some question marks, most notably at QB, WR and DB, but now we will have potential solutions that were recruited by this staff to play in this system. Nobody knows if this will be the group that will help this program finally turn the corner, but that would be the case whether we won the USF and UM games or not. 2011 is over. There is only one direction to move now.

 

[IrishAlum1997]

I'm not blowing it off. It sucks. If you thought Brian Kelly went psycho, you should have been in my living room. But at the end of the day, next year we show up in Ireland with a lot of talent and a 0-0 record. We also have some question marks, most notably at QB, WR and DB, but now we will have potential solutions that were recruited by this staff to play in this system. Nobody knows if this will be the group that will help this program finally turn the corner, but that would be the case whether we won the USF and UM games or not. 2011 is over. There is only one direction to move now.

OOOOOOO...OOOOO...OOOOOOOOOOOO!!! ME ME MEEEEE!!!

Laterally?

 

[Rhode Irish]

Yes, exactly. Laterally. You got it.

 

[IrishAlum1997]

YES!

What did I win?

 

[IrishInFl]

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[IrishAlum1997]

Awesome. The gift that keeps on giving....you're the best IrishinFL!!!

 

[kmoose]

You didn't address the point he made. You may place the blame on the players but it was Kelly who continued to go with those players. What was the reason Kelly stubbornly played those players who were underperforming? Pride? "Next man in" mantra depended on coach's decision and not how you played.

I don't think anyone is serious about firing Kelly at this stage, but the honeymoon is over. Even the most tipsy kool-aid drinkers have sobered up to the potential reality of Kelly not being the man. Why? Because of your question, where is the sanity? Kelly knew that our weakest link this year was the QB position. His handling of the position was outright insane and was the primary reason for the team's disappointing performance.

How many of us were led to believe that Hendrix was going to play the majority of the snaps in the bowl game? I certainly did after what we saw against Stanford. He barely played. Why? The hackneyed definition of insanity is apt to describe Kelly's decision to play Rees as much as he did. What was the purpose of playing Rees as much as Kelly did? Where is the sanity?

If you were led to believe that Hendrix would take most of the snaps in the bowl game, then you were only following your own blind distrust. Perhaps you were misled, but you were misled by yourself. I'm not sure how you figured that Hendrix would play most of the snaps, if he wasn't named the starter. So that's not a Kelly issue, that's a you issue.

 

[Domer4ever]

I'm not blowing it off. It sucks. If you thought Brian Kelly went psycho, you should have been in my living room. But at the end of the day, next year we show up in Ireland with a lot of talent and a 0-0 record. We also have some question marks, most notably at QB, WR and DB, but now we will have potential solutions that were recruited by this staff to play in this system. Nobody knows if this will be the group that will help this program finally turn the corner, but that would be the case whether we won the USF and UM games or not. 2011 is over. There is only one direction to move now.

I think the biggest thing that irk's me is, like I stated previously, its about creating a winning culture and recruits want to be part of a winning culture and having a chance to compete on the biggest stages with the chance at playing for a national championship. Right now, depsite all the talent, Notre Dame is still an underachieving culture that can not compete with the big boys in college football and it has been that way for a long time. I think a majority of recruits consider the state of the football program first with education coming in second. Why do you think in the end Gunner Kiel chose LSU over his home state Irish when it was widely rumored that he desired to play closer to home? It's entirely possible if Notre Dame wins a couple of those games they choked away, they would be playing in a BCS game and having a lot more pull with top recruits as a returning mega power on the rise. If you need proof look no further then what Michigan has done this year in recruiting on the heels of their season under Hoke. That program was dead in the water last year and now have a top 3 recruiting class. They capitalized on success while Notre Dame in typical fashion "fumbled" it away. I couldn't be more frustrated at the results of this season when it finally appeared that the stars were alligned to make a push back into the national spotlight. Now they enter next season with a more difficult schedule, a ton of question marks on the roster, and that underachieving stink still lingering over the program.

 

[Domer4ever]

If you were led to believe that Hendrix would take most of the snaps in the bowl game, then you were only following your own blind distrust. Perhaps you were misled, but you were misled by yourself. I'm not sure how you figured that Hendrix would play most of the snaps, if he wasn't named the starter. So that's not a Kelly issue, that's a you issue.

Who cares? It doesn't change the fact that Kelly mismanaged the QB situation from spring practice to final gun of the bowl game. That is a Kelly issue. Why would he continue to push Rees out on the field when he continued to turn the ball over all year long and even by his own admission he wanted a mobile QB with strong arm to run "his offense?" Why the reluctance to play Hendrix who by his own account was the better fit for what he wanted to do offensively? If Hendrix couldn't get a fair shake after Rees continued to turn the ball over what makes anyone think he will be in the picture for next year? None of it made any sense and now he has basically relegated himself and his offense to "Golson or bust" for next season.

 

[returnofthemack]

My personal plan is as follows: I will torture myself by watching scUM torch VT and will practice remaining calm and not reacting violently. That way, I will be prepared for disappointment next season. If Brian Kelly proves me wrong, great! But at worst, I'm right, and will have made sure ND football doesn't siphon off any more of my life expectancy, and at best, I'm pleasantly surprised.

Thus far, there has been nothing to show that Brian Kelly is as good of a coach as Brady Hoke. The argument that Hoke had more talent is laughable. Their defense was worse than our 2009 Tenuta defense last year. Other than Denard and a few linemen, they were nowhere near what Weis left. The terrible decisions re: the QB position, and the absolute offensive ineptitude against USC and FSU after extended practice time are proof that Kelly is not where he needs to be as a coach. I hope for his sake and for ND that he gets better, and fast.

 

[k1ssme1m1r1sh]

You do realize most players and recruits were too young or perhaps not even born when ND dominated college football, so this logic makes no sense, because if ND sucks as bad as you say they do, then that's all these recruits have to go by. They never saw Rocket play, they don't know Kevin mcDougal....

 

[NDFan4Life]

On the bright side, at least we're not Illinois.

 

[Rudy89]

What scares me is if Kelly isn't the man for the job what then? I mean seriously what then, who would want to coach here? if Kelly fails we might just have to accept the fact that we are a middle of the road program. If Kelly can make something happen here, id be happy but I see us doing no better next year than we did this year. Ill happily be wrong if the chips fall into place and we do better. One year ago I bought a batch of the brian kelly kool-aid to drink if we had a good year. This year I threw it out and unless I see us do something better I wont be drinking any of it but as I said if he can help us win a BCS game Ill go out and drink a gallon of it

 

[kmoose]

Kelly mismanaged the QB situation from spring practice to final gun of the bowl game. That is a Kelly issue. Why would he continue to push Rees out on the field when he continued to turn the ball over all year long and even by his own admission he wanted a mobile QB with strong arm to run "his offense?" Why the reluctance to play Hendrix who by his own account was the better fit for what he wanted to do offensively? If Hendrix couldn't get a fair shake after Rees continued to turn the ball over what makes anyone think he will be in the picture for next year? None of it made any sense and now he has basically relegated himself and his offense to "Golson or bust" for next season.

So now you're more qualified than Brian Kelly to determine who should be the starting QB for the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team? You weren't at every practice and meeting......Kelly was. So isn't possible that there is some kind of logical explanation for why Rees started in place of Hendrix and/or Golson? Nah, it can't be. You think that Rees shouldn't have started, so Kelly must have mismanaged the situation. Thanks for the input, Bear Bryant!!

 

[oddz313]

Brian Kelly has rode Dantonio's coat tails his whole career it seems. I really do not have any faith that Kelly will be the person that turns the program back into a powerhouse and the recruiting classes are dropping farther and farther down the charts. Hell even when they were getting top 10 classes many years in the last 15 they were not doing anything with them.

 

[IrishInFl]

Brian Kelly has rode Dantonio's coat tails his whole career it seems. I really do not have any faith that Kelly will be the person that turns the program back into a powerhouse and the recruiting classes are dropping farther and farther down the charts. Hell even when they were getting top 10 classes many years in the last 15 they were not doing anything with them.

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[oddz313]

Bob davie thinks kelly is a bad coach. Kelly makes Bob davie look like belichick

 

[IrishJayhawk]

Brian Kelly has rode Dantonio's coat tails his whole career it seems. I really do not have any faith that Kelly will be the person that turns the program back into a powerhouse and the recruiting classes are dropping farther and farther down the charts. Hell even when they were getting top 10 classes many years in the last 15 they were not doing anything with them.

Totally. That's why Michigan State beat Notre Dame this year.

 

[oddz313]

Big deal they are 2-3 vs Dantonio with much better recruits. they lost in 07,08,10 and won in 09 and 11.

 

[Old Man Mike]

I have a brother who played at Cincinnati. He says [and I agree] that both Dantonio and Kelly were great coaches, and that Kelly gave Cincinnati a significant boost upwards beyond Dantonio. It is also true that they don't even come close to employing the same football systemics, so comments like one simply parasiting on the other are pretty far-fetched.

 

[IrishJayhawk]

Big deal they are 2-3 vs Dantonio with much better recruits. they lost in 07,08,10 and won in 09 and 11.

And what is Kelly's record vs. Dantonio?

You didn't say ND, you said Kelly. You, sir, are a troll.

 

[oddz313]

Not a troll, a big ND fan but I almost expect the wheels to fall off in many games now and in the program it's 1 step forward and 2 steps back. Kelly is 1-1. They lose to USF turnovers= coaching, lose to the team I hate the most Michigan when with a good lead and have turnovers= coaching, In the bowl game they lose to another Team I despise FSU by turning the ball over. It is scary what happens in the third year of this program well it may not be pretty, the schedule is brutal and they have many issues.

 

[betecd]

So now you're more qualified than Brian Kelly to determine who should be the starting QB for the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team? You weren't at every practice and meeting......Kelly was. So isn't possible that there is some kind of logical explanation for why Rees started in place of Hendrix and/or Golson? Nah, it can't be. You think that Rees shouldn't have started, so Kelly must have mismanaged the situation. Thanks for the input, Bear Bryant!!

KMOOSE,
Although I am no Bear Bryant. I can assure you of one thing that I saw all season. On a 3rd and 1 at no time was Tommy a threat to run for the first down. I can also tell you that our O-line may have only been reponsible for 20 percent (at best) of the sacks that we gave up. I am a Notre Dame fan first and foremost but a college football fan second. I would say I watch more games than at least 60% of the posters on here so having seen what BK has done in the past compared to what he has done with Rees is insanity to me. In fact Kelly was quoted as saying something needs to change at QB. I beleived Kelly was the right fit for us when we hired him and I will still give him the benefit of doubt. However IMO we wasted an NFL caliber reciever, NFL caliber tight end, solid offensive line and a strong rushing attack by playing a game manager as opposed to a game changer. I don't know if Hendrix was an answer. I don't know if Gholson was the answer but last year I saw a growth in the defense and this year I saw nothing to make me feel great about our QB play.

 

[NDFan4Life]

Not a troll, a big ND fan but I almost expect the wheels to fall off in many games now and in the program it's 1 step forward and 2 steps back. Kelly is 1-1. They lose to USF turnovers= coaching, lose to the team I hate the most Michigan when with a good lead and have turnovers= coaching, In the bowl game they lose to another Team I despise FSU by turning the ball over. It is scary what happens in the third year of this program well it may not be pretty, the schedule is brutal and they have many issues.

Yep! Kelly threw into double and triple coverage. Kelly fumbled the ball on multiple occasions.

When are fans going to blame the players for the lack of execution? Kelly can only do so much. Do you expect him to go out and make the plays?

 

[DillonHall]

So now you're more qualified than Brian Kelly to determine who should be the starting QB for the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team? You weren't at every practice and meeting......Kelly was. So isn't possible that there is some kind of logical explanation for why Rees started in place of Hendrix and/or Golson? Nah, it can't be. You think that Rees shouldn't have started, so Kelly must have mismanaged the situation. Thanks for the input, Bear Bryant!!

No one on this board is more qualified than Kelly. So I guess no one here has the right to criticize any of his decisions. Time to shut down the website.

 

[DillonHall]

Yep! Kelly threw into double and triple coverage. Kelly fumbled the ball on multiple occasions.

When are fans going to blame the players for the lack of execution? Kelly can only do so much. Do you expect him to go out and make the plays?

A single turnover is on the player. However, when the team continues fumbling and the QB keeps throwing interceptions, why isn't the coaching staff to blame for not fixing these chronic issues in practice, etc.?

 

[kmoose]

KMOOSE,
Although I am no Bear Bryant. I can assure you of one thing that I saw all season. On a 3rd and 1 at no time was Tommy a threat to run for the first down. I can also tell you that our O-line may have only been reponsible for 20 percent (at best) of the sacks that we gave up. I am a Notre Dame fan first and foremost but a college football fan second. I would say I watch more games than at least 60% of the posters on here so having seen what BK has done in the past compared to what he has done with Rees is insanity to me. In fact Kelly was quoted as saying something needs to change at QB. I beleived Kelly was the right fit for us when we hired him and I will still give him the benefit of doubt. However IMO we wasted an NFL caliber reciever, NFL caliber tight end, solid offensive line and a strong rushing attack by playing a game manager as opposed to a game changer. I don't know if Hendrix was an answer. I don't know if Gholson was the answer but last year I saw a growth in the defense and this year I saw nothing to make me feel great about our QB play.

The debate isn't about how good Rees is. No one on here thinks Rees is a great QB. The debate is about whether or not Kelly bolloxed up the QB situation, by playing Rees in front of guys who were better than him, or would have been better at the end of the season. My point is simply this..... we all know Rees' limitations. What's unknown are the limitations of the other QBs. Some people have made the argument that we would have been better off, playing one of those other QBs and letting them learn as they go. If it's just a question of inexperience, then that's fine. But no one on this board knows better than Kelly just what was holding those guys back. If they were unable to even articulate the play in the huddle, let alone actually execute the play, then there is NO WAY you start them. If it's just a question of timing, then perhaps he did screw it up. But I'm tired of people talking as if the 3 hours of ND football that they watch, once a week, makes them smarter, or more qualified to make these decisions, than Brian Kelly! And listen to their reasoning for being so upset....... a good many of them are fed up with taking sh!t from their friends, neighbors, and co-workers, about the quality of play on the field. I'd be willing to bet that at least half of those people only take sh!t from the people around them, because they annoy the hell out of everyone, before the season, about how great the team is going to be. In other words, it's their own unrealistic view that gets them into trouble, not the coaching ability of one Brian Keith Kelly.