September 6th, 2011 at 1:33 PM ^
...Reese's Peanut Butter Cups take on a whole new unsavory meaning.
September 6th, 2011 at 12:32 PM ^
September 6th, 2011 at 12:40 PM ^
Rees would win the job. Told ya so
He'll make mistakes and we'll have to capitalize on those. But when he's not making mistakes he's going to be throwing bullets - the kid has gumption (I think that's still a word and I just turned into my father) and doesn't seem to get fazed.
Maybe in the Big House for a night game w/ GMAT blitzes, he'll make those mistakes early, and we can see how he looks when he gets frazzled.
September 6th, 2011 at 12:43 PM ^
I don't follow Notre Dame very closely, but isn't Rees the 14-year-old kid that we pulverized last year after he came in when Crist suffered a concussion? He lasted about two series and was so awful that they had to put in the legacy Montana kid. He must have improved exponentially since then if people here are afraid of him.
September 6th, 2011 at 12:49 PM ^
I think people are more afraid of the weapons that he has around him, mainly Michael Floyd.
That being said, as a passer/decision maker I think Carder is better than Rees. But Jordan White, although good, is no Michael Floyd and I think Floyd will probably have a big game.
I do expect Mattison to bring the pressure and make Rees beat us with good throws while under pressure.
September 6th, 2011 at 12:51 PM ^
I seriously can't see what people see in Carder. He's a kid that folded like a house of cards the first time he got hit, vocally got upset with his teammates, and sat out of offensive huddles on the sidelines because he was mad at his offensive line (per ABC's sideline reporter).
September 6th, 2011 at 12:54 PM ^
So he doesn't have high character. Doesn't mean he's not a very accurate passer. And in his defense, he was getting killed out there.
September 6th, 2011 at 12:59 PM ^
Immaturity and anger issues aside, he was throwing crisp passes, especially on timing routes that rely on being used to your wide recievers.
September 6th, 2011 at 12:50 PM ^
Yes.
He's also the kid that led them to wins in their final 4 games last year, beating Utah, USC, and Miami.
September 6th, 2011 at 12:58 PM ^
And the kid who threw three pics in the loss to Tulsa.
Like I said above, I think he benefits from happening to be the QB during their win streak. That win streak has both Rees and ND as a whole overrated. Utah got drubbed by the only elite teams they played last year, losing 47-7 to TCU and 26-3 to Boise State. Miami just had their coach fired and didn't show up, and USC was an absolutely dropped ball on what would have been the game winning TD from beating ND despite not being any good last year (Rees threw 3 pics in that game as well).
Rees is certainly not the deer in the headlights he was for a couple drives against us last year, but he isn't exactly Joe Montana either.
September 6th, 2011 at 1:01 PM ^
Utah: 13-20, 129 yards
USC: 20-32, 149 yards, 3 INT
Miami: 15-29, 201 yards
Army: 13-20, 214 yards, 1 INT
He's a nice good luck charm apparently, but acting like he's responsible for those wins (which didn't exactly come against Murderer's Row) is a bit of an overstatement.
September 6th, 2011 at 1:52 PM ^
How is stating a fact: "He started their final four victories", crediting him with responsibility? I didn't say he was good - I didn't state an opinion. The guy I responded to didn't seem to be aware that Rees played after the Michigan game.
September 6th, 2011 at 2:01 PM ^
You wrote that he "led them" to four straight wins. I guess to me that implied that he did something to actually cause his team to win those games, or had gotten dramatically better than what we saw briefly against Michigan. That's the only reason I pointed out that he in fact did very little of note in any of those games.
September 6th, 2011 at 4:40 PM ^
I'd argue that's an appreciable upgrade from the guy we saw play against Michigan.
September 6th, 2011 at 5:48 PM ^
He only played one series against us and threw a pick. Here are some numbers from last year:
261.8 yards per game, 21 TD, 12 INT
259.5 yards per game, 30 TD, 15 INT
The first one is Michigan's pass defense. The second one is USC's. After four drives in that game he had one interception and one first down. Basically the only difference in his performance is that in one game he got benched and in the other he didn't.
September 6th, 2011 at 12:54 PM ^
but he's grown up a bit. Much more accurate than Crist. One of his INTs was a near-perfect pass that bounced off of the WR's head, accounting for a Kelly head asplosion.
September 6th, 2011 at 1:20 PM ^
The guy was running a crossing route and the ball hit him in the head. Even if he's looking back the throw is high and behind him. The receiver is to blame for the pick, but from basically a few yards away that is far from a perfect throw.
And the second pick was right at the defensive back.
Rees racked up a ton of yards throwing every down against a team playing prevent defense.
September 6th, 2011 at 1:31 PM ^
that's not a bad pass. If, as a WR, you turn your head, your shoulders naturally turn as well. I won't argue with anything else you've stated.
September 6th, 2011 at 1:00 PM ^
That would be the one. And I agree. Crist is taller/bigger, has a stronger arm and can throw better downfield and back across his body. He also has more experience and played better under pressure last year against us in South Bend. Brian Kelly seems to like Rees better than Crist for whatever reason and screams at Crist all the time. I believe this has undermined Crist's confidence to the point he has regressed. He is more afraid of making a mistake than he is thinking about what the right thing to do on each play.
ND's decision to start Rees has much more to do with Crist doing poorly than Rees doing well. Both threw picks on Saturday and both threw picks against us last year. And Rees' stats on Saturday include that final 90 yard drive when South Florida was playing in a prevent package. We should not be afraid of Rees. He is not as good as Clausen was and probably not much better than he was when we saw him last year. He also is unlikely to be any more effective against us than Carder (WMU) was on Saturday. The key will be to take away Floyd (at least, keep him somewhat contained) and shut down the run. If we do that, we win. Tommy Rees is not some special player who is going to beat us.
September 6th, 2011 at 12:57 PM ^
I think he was actually in for 1 play, then Montana came on.
I don't even think Mouton's interception on that play was his fault, it was Kelly's. If you bring in a true freshman and call a flea-flicker, the kid's going to throw the ball whether the receiver is covered or not. Mouton read it and made a great play.
Shred the memory of that game and performance, I'm sure Rees has.
September 6th, 2011 at 12:59 PM ^
Rees threw two picks against South Florida on Saturday. One arguably was not his fault, but he is not some special QB weapon we need to fear. He is also not materially better or worse than Crist.
September 6th, 2011 at 2:03 PM ^
And anyone who saw the game Saturday would say Rees was materially better than Crist
September 6th, 2011 at 2:18 PM ^
Yeah that stat line was impressive -- 294 yards in one half against a team that was something like 17th in the nation in pass efficiency D last year. He was doing something right.
September 6th, 2011 at 12:52 PM ^
I actually think I prefer this. He's younger, and although the O hummed better with him last game, a sophomore (I believe he is one) will get rattled easier if we bring heat.
September 6th, 2011 at 12:54 PM ^
Which is the more effective method for getting player's in line.
September 6th, 2011 at 12:58 PM ^
I'd tell him straight to his face to F off. That's the kid I was at that age. Actually, I'd still react the same way. Yelling is one thing, but being a total dick, losing your composure like that, GTFO. It's counter-productive.
September 6th, 2011 at 1:11 PM ^
LSU Freek or someone needs to make a gif of Kelly's head spinning around and green puke flying out of his mouth.
Special bonus from EDSBS and LSU Freek.
September 6th, 2011 at 1:19 PM ^
Something tells me the "Brian Kelly Losing His Shit" image will be deployed a copious amount this season.
September 6th, 2011 at 12:54 PM ^
Im relieved to have Rees starting rather than Crist. If for no other reason than last years results from the UM-ND game.
September 6th, 2011 at 1:04 PM ^
so what happens if we blitz the hell out of reese and he is a rattled mess by half? do we see crist? Love these QB controversies :D
September 6th, 2011 at 1:13 PM ^
It's a short-sighted, panic-laden move by Kelly. So, Kelly watched Crist all Spring and all Summer and in Fall camp and decided he was the better of the two at this point in his development, but after one not-so-good half of football in the season opener he changed his mind? Great. Kelly better hope he doesn't need to go back to him anytime soon, because that is going to make him look like he really has no clue what he is doing.
September 6th, 2011 at 1:33 PM ^
and that they're switched in and out multiple times.
September 6th, 2011 at 1:34 PM ^
The noise from the crowd needs to be echoing in Rees' head a week later. We can certainly help him make a few mistakes.
September 6th, 2011 at 1:08 PM ^
Crist scares me more, if only because of how he performed during last year's M game (prior to his head injury). He was scary. Then again, turned out most QBs were scary against M. So what do I know?
September 6th, 2011 at 1:17 PM ^
Our blitz on him will result in him throwing many terrible balls. even worse for him he will have to go to a sideline and get screamed at by Brian Kelly.
September 6th, 2011 at 1:25 PM ^
Not suprisingly, I guess, Kelly has shown really bad form re the QB flip-flop. Guy has one bad quarter, in bad weather, and you publicly berate him, then say "I wish we had more players like Rees." What a dick.
Also, remember, Crist did lead one great drive -- until his RB fumbled. Minus that play, the halftime score would have been 9-7. Crist threw one terrible INT, and Rees certainly looked better on Saturday. But jeez. That was mostly after ND had time to adjust after the delay. ND came out more motivated and had to play for its life. Crist's confidence must be shot.
I'd rather take my chances against Rees. He seems solid but less lethal. If M can contain (if only somewhat) his pitch-and-catch with Floyd...
September 6th, 2011 at 6:27 PM ^
The weather was sunny and about 90 degrees during the first half. Only started raining during halftime.
September 6th, 2011 at 1:29 PM ^
I know I shouldn't enjoy reading the Buckeye produced Michigan Monday so much, but it is normally an excellent read.
best line from this week's michigan monday:
Despite that bit of good news, however, very little about the Wolverine defense jumped out at me. There was very little pass rush from the front four, and Michigan had to go to the blitz to pressure Western Michigan quarterback Alex Carder. However, when they did blitz, it was extremely effective.
It looked like the Broncos' coaching staff wasn't even aware blitzing was legal. Maybe they were thinking that they were playing in a high school all-star game. However, since there were never any stoppages of play for verbal commitments, you would've thought they'd have figured it out eventually.
September 6th, 2011 at 1:42 PM ^
Our defense last year was abysmal and yet, with the help of Denard, we beat those pricks for the 2nd time in 3 RR tries. Let's not discount what we bring to this game.
September 6th, 2011 at 2:08 PM ^
We also missed two field goals in that game. And the guy who supposedly totally would have won if only he hadn't been knocked cross-eyed by Kovacs just got benched as a senior.
We have a bunch of young guys who are substantially improved and/or now available to play (Ryan, Gordon, Avery, Robinson, etc.) and three running backs who are now 100% healthy. Notre Dame looks like the exact same team from a year ago, with the same purple-faced lunatic prowling the sidelines.
September 6th, 2011 at 1:56 PM ^
christ is the better qb so ill take it
September 6th, 2011 at 2:09 PM ^
I wonder if Vegas moves this after the news?
September 6th, 2011 at 2:28 PM ^
It was UM +4.5 on Sunday, I believe. So, apparently the QB switch is worth a point for us.
Just curious: How does Vegas have us as underdogs in this one? We return our entire team, they lose a few players, and we beat them last year. Also, the overwhelming sentiment is that the nw coaching staff (let's exclude RR from the discussion - just the staff) is going to do a much better job on D and special teams than the old staff. So, how are we underdogs?
September 6th, 2011 at 3:38 PM ^
There are just so many ND homers out there they have to give UM points to even the bets. Same reason ND was ranked in the top 25.