It was business as usual for Brian Kelly, who prepares his team for a trip to Winston-Salem to face Jim Grobe‘s Demon Deacons of Wake Forest.
It’s a game with plenty of connections between schools. Former Notre Dame Provost Dr. Nathan Hatch is now Wake Forest’s president. Track & Field coach John Millar spent 19 seasons as the associate head of the track & field program before getting the top position at Wake Forest. Even athletic director Jack Swarbrick sent a son to Wake Forest.
Before we get down the road too far into the connectivity between the two universities, let’s hit on a couple interesting points Brian Kelly talked about as his team moves into November.
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More than a few people wondered why Andrew Hendrix didn’t see the field during the blow out of Navy. Kelly was asked about the decision to leave Hendrix on the bench and go with Dayne Crist, and if that was a sign that maybe Hendrix had taken a step backwards.
“I wouldn’t read into it too much. I think each game is a different game, and the flow of the game is such that we continue to rep him,” Kelly said of Hendrix. “We continue to put a package in there. You know, we like where he’s going, we like his development, but, you know, again, we’re still looking for the right opportunities to get him in.”
So far, we’ve only seen Hendrix run a limited set of plays, most of them coming on the ground, or with very limited throwing options. That said, Kelly is also being careful not to turn his other sophomore quarterback into a battering ram.
“I want to be careful not to pigeonhole Andrew Hendrix into an option quarterback,” Kelly said. “That’s not what he is. He adds a little dimension to that position with his ability to run. Quite frankly, we didn’t need another dimension to the (Navy) game. I thought we were just fine.”
I don’t think Kelly would ever say it, but I think he needed to make sure Crist had his head back on straight before worrying about Hendrix. As much as the future might not include Crist at Notre Dame, he’s still the next man in, and if anything were to happen to Tommy Rees down the stretch, Dayne needs to be ready, as he’s got the best grasp on the offense.
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Speaking of Rees, Kelly was asked about his sophomore quarterback in comparison to Wake Forest’s sophomore signal caller Tanner Price. Other than being a left-handed thrower, Kelly was asked to look for some similarities.
“They’re both learning. They’re both experiencing,” Kelly said. “They’re both young in the process, but they’re both the starting quarterbacks. Both teams are having some success. We want more; they want more. But I think that’s the nature of a quarterback that’s gaining experience. So I think there are some similarities there.”
A quick look at the numbers and the similarities are pretty incredible:
Tanner Price, Soph: 152 for 249, 61% for 1,967 yards. 14 TDs 6 INTs. 141.1 QB Rating
Tommy Rees, Soph: 179 for 270, 66% for 1,930 yards. 15 TDs 8 INTs. 138.7 QB Rating
Price had played really consistent football up until last weekend, when he put together a really ugly stat line that included no touchdown passes and three interceptions. Of course, Kelly also pointed out another obvious difference other than the throwing hand.
“He’s a lot taller,” Kelly said of Price.
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With Jamoris Slaughter stepping up and playing great football after being hampered much of last season with a foot and ankle injury, Kelly was asked about the incredible versatility Slaughter has shown, playing well in coverage and also down in the box against option teams like Navy and Air Force.
With Robert Blanton successfully transitioning from nickelback/jack-of-all-trades to field cornerback, and two starting positions at corner opening up after the season, Kelly was asked about the idea of sliding Slaughter to cornerback next season.
“I wouldn’t say no, but it hasn’t been something we’ve thrown around, Let’s look at Slaughter at corner next year,” Kelly said. We like Lo and Bennett, their development. You know, it should be that right now we think of him as a safety.”
I don’t have quite up-to-date stats, but neither Lo Wood nor Bennett Jackson have taken a lot of snaps at cornerback, so Kelly may very well be talking confidently about his options in the defensive backfield from a hypothetical standpoint. This spring the Irish are going to need to find some cornerbacks ready to see the field, as Blanton and Gary Gray have played approximately 93% of the total snaps the defense has played.
(Of course, Harrison Smith needs replacing too and he leads the defense is snaps played, so there’s going to be a big hole at safety too next year.)
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Lastly, I’ve written less about him this year than any other, but Kelly was asked about the season Michael Floyd has put together for the Irish. His response wasn’t that surprising.
“Spectacular. He’s a dominating football player,” Kelly said of . You throw a three-yard pass to him behind the line of scrimmage and he’s got a burst.”
Funny enough, in his glowing response about Floyd, Kelly also noticed that Theo Riddick got caught from behind by a Navy safety.
“I gave Theo a hard time about this, we threw a pass out I think second series to Theo and he went down the sideline,” Kelly said. “Michael was on the other side of the field, and he might have caught him. That kind of speed, that kind of flatline, run-out speed at 225 pounds, pretty spectacular.
Tough, physical, catches the ball over the middle, catches the short passes. He’s had an incredible year.”
Kelly credits the day when his senior star “decided that he wanted to change his life” as the turning point to Floyd’s excellence. With the senior class being called to the carpet for a lack of leaders, it’s interesting to think about what it’d be like with Floyd joining Harrison Smith as a full-time captain.
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- domer77blowsgoats - Nov 1, 2011 at 8:33 PM
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The real question at hand is whether Nudeman can keep November momentum going – the odds are stacked against, only time will tell:
Depth Chart
– he isn’t getting any younger
– the boys at the mill are getting agitated w/ his anti-union rhetoric
– the compounded the years of exposure to mill dust greatly exacerbating what those in the industry refer to as “acute mill dementia” – symptoms: 1. incoherent postings 2. incessant rambling 3. name calling 4. contradictory comments 5. increased use of improper languageThe Schedule
– the mill is gearing up for holiday fruit cake season – time for two-a-days and on 3 weeks off 1 – Saragin ranking #1The Trend
2008 – 5 thumbs up 120 thumbs down
2009 – 3 thumbs up 167 thumbs down
2010 – 1 thumb up 328 thumbs downThe trend speaks for itself – as popularity of this blog has grown over the years as has the discerning taste (or should i say distaste) for meaningful and substantive board posts is clearly seen in the exponential increase in the ever indicative “thumbs down” rating
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- Keith Arnold - Nov 1, 2011 at 10:02 PM
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Be nice…
Also — You put this under the wrong column.
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- NotreDan - Nov 2, 2011 at 7:44 AM
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LOL.
I thought I was the only thumb counter.
GO IRISH!!!
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- uawlocal1136 - Nov 2, 2011 at 12:25 PM
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Goat Man,
That effort is worthy of blog of the year. Couldn’t stop laughing at the uncanny parallels you have so accurately captured from the insidious verbal diarrhea that has spewed forth from the mouth (hand) of Nude the Pube over the past 4 months. Better yet, it does appear that you have driven “the Nudester” either (1) to another unfortunate site that will now endure his unique ability to fully, and oh so succinctly, capture the obvious and couple it with the inane (along with his notorious F-Bombs and Rees bashing) or, (2) has receded into the equivalent of football hibernation following his fall weight gain and can simply no longer reach the keyboard (add a belch, stomach rub and a little gas there, if you please), or (3) is indeed working doubles on the fruit cake line…which explains #2….whereupon he holds the coveted position of “Senior Holiday Taster.” Yumm.
As always to my fellow brothers and sisters of the labor movement. Buy UNION, Buy AMERICAN. Peace out!!
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- nudeman - Nov 2, 2011 at 12:50 PM
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Still here
Sorry boysPeace
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- domer77blowsgoats - Nov 2, 2011 at 1:42 PM
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thanks UAW, appreciate the acknowledgement!
Maybe I can add to your list – (4) due to the early onset of unseasonbly cold weather, the increased cost of heating oil has cut into the budget forcing him to cut his dial-up service which has then forces him to the nearest StarBucks for WiFi which is over 20 miles away. There he purchases a peppermint mocha to wash down that fruitcake, which coupled with the extra gas cost, ends up costing more than the dial-up service did to begin with! A vicious conclusion indeed for our dear friend….
Buy American! Go Irish!
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- uawlocal1136 - Nov 2, 2011 at 2:43 PM
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Gas??? You missed his earlier blogs….He has a Bus pass…unlimited ridership for one simple, monthly fee taken right out of his non interest bearing savings account. Rides a Bus made in America, I might add. Pubes, YOU are indeed a Patriot…and likely a democrat. Go Mocha, Tastee Cakes, and the boys
at the mill….It’s shower time…”Coming Mother…”
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- nudeman - Nov 2, 2011 at 4:15 PM
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LOFL
Peppermint mocha and the bus
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- 808raiderinparadise - Nov 1, 2011 at 8:41 PM
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The battle of the mediocre sophmore QB’s on mediocre teams LoL compelling. Just Win Irish!
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- NDfan1224 - Nov 1, 2011 at 9:53 PM
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Glad to See Micheal Floyd step up in the locker room, GO IRISH!
http://ndgdn.wordpress.com/
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- dickasman - Nov 2, 2011 at 12:00 AM
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LOLOLOL…I <3 domer blows and 808raider's typical dry sense of humor! Hey can we make sure to keep the same dj we had from the Navy game for Boston College game? Holy cow what a difference, that stadium DJ is with it, that DJ is Circa 2011 whereas the USC DJ was got dam Before Christ. They must have plucked one of the old timer geezer ushers from the crowd for the usc game dj. Totally reminded of that time Hendrix replaced Rees and ran 88 yards….
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- NotreDan - Nov 2, 2011 at 7:46 AM
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Does anyone have any 411 on whether or not that other *BC network will make this the default national game?
Being the frugal liberal I am, I only have basic cable, which doesn’t carry the deuce.
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- bernhtp - Nov 2, 2011 at 8:39 AM
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See the game in a sports bar. I don’t know where you live, but your local Notre Dame club might have a game watch event (usually at a bar) that you could join. I do this 3-4 times a year for some good fun.
On the other topic, why are “frugal liberals” only frugal when spending their own money, but terribly liberal when spending mine? May I suggest you splurge on full cable and indulge in watching it all election day.
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- andy44teg - Nov 2, 2011 at 2:53 PM
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@ NotreDan
Check out espn3.com. Should be on there..but don’t try it if you only have dial-up like nudeman…(I surprisingly felt the need to help someone out, being the frugal conservative that i am)
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- 9irish - Nov 2, 2011 at 4:33 PM
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Huh….kind of surprised, ESPN and ESPN 2 are normally hand in hand, even in hotels. I’m not sure how it is there. One option is to call and add ESPN2, if you don’t have it, and just keep it for a month…probably cost you 5 bucks.
I feel your pain…there was normally one game a year that I could not get in North Carolina…and I tried EVERYTHING. Regional coverage sucks.
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- jerseyshorendfan1 - Nov 2, 2011 at 12:03 PM
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Keith, the comparison between Rees and Price was telling. Rees threw the ball more and had significantly less yards and more interceptions. One could extrapolate from this data that he can’t really throw the long ball too well. He did connect with Floyd on a go route in the Navy game but the ball was well under-thrown. In fact, I thought I saw Floyd looking at his watch while waiting for the ball to arrive. Luckily, he had the Navy DBs thoroughly beaten. As we saw with USC, if you can take Floyd out of the game, you leave Rees to dink it down the field, keeping everything in front of your defense and sooner or later, he tries to force a throw in and we all know what happens then. I think its time to bring Crist back in and not only to improve his psyche. Someone that has the ability to really chuck the ball would open up a lot more of the playbook.
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- newyorknd - Nov 2, 2011 at 1:20 PM
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Anyone read the article in the Chicago Sun-Times about Kelly winning with his guys? Interesting. I think that guys like Floyd and Te’o are a bit discounted, but I think there is some merit to it. 8 games in, Kelly’s recruits in their first year have made a big impact on the team – Tuitt, Lynch, GAIII, Niklas. You could even include Loius Nix as he never played for Weis. It does say something about the ND upperclassmen that so many true freshman are either starting or are the ‘next man in’.
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- dmac4real - Nov 2, 2011 at 2:04 PM
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If louis Nix counts, then so do Rees and TJ Jones.
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- newyorknd - Nov 2, 2011 at 2:36 PM
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agreed.
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- fitz79 - Nov 2, 2011 at 2:11 PM
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Just to keep a little perspective I looked up Brady Quinn and Jimmy Clausen’s sophmore stats. In complete seasons Quinn threw 17 tds and 10 ints and 2,586 yards. Clausen threw 25 tds and 17 ints. for 3,172 yards. Both of their completion percentages were about right at 60%. Thus far in 8 games Rees has 15 tds and 8 ints for 1,930 yards and a perrcentage of 66%. I’m not saying Rees is the future of the ND program or will necessarily even start the next 2 years but his numbers for a starting sophmore QB really aren’t so bad. He needs to work on his mobility in the pocket and arm strength for the deep ball.
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- nudeman - Nov 2, 2011 at 4:21 PM
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Clausen and Quinn both had more natural talent than Rees.
Is that by itself a definitive predictor of what lies ahead for Rees? No.
But I like a guy who can move in the posket and throw the ball on a line more than 10 yards.
Maybe that’s just me.
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- domer77blowsgoats - Nov 2, 2011 at 5:00 PM
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Fitz – love the comparison and gives hope…
only flaw I see is that I seem to recall both Quinn and Clausen on their back for most of their first two seasons, our line blew!
Rees on the other hand hasn’t been sacked for what the last 3 games?
I’m still soldily in the Rees camp (insert Rees Family Reunion reference below Nude the Pube) as afterall, he is what, now 9-2 as the starter (I haven’t said it in a while for all you haters of that stat out there)…
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- bernhtp - Nov 2, 2011 at 5:17 PM
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It’s good to see facts to put things into perspective. Two guys can have completely different view of Tommy because he is a combination of some big strengths and a number of weaknesses. On the positive side Tommy has:
1. very good accuracy.
2. very quick release.
3. quick and generally good decision making
4. cool, collected and often at his best in pressure situationsOn the negative side, Rees has:
1. mediocre arm strength
2. poor speed and quickness
3. poor ability to make throws on the move, either on the roll or once flushed.
4. poor ability to throw the fade and otherwise land passes from above so his big playmakers (Floyd, Eifert) can go up and get it.Thus, if you look at the negative side of this ledger, you can miss his big strengths that tend to dominate (most of the time) as evidenced by his stats. Of course, we also hope that he can improve his weaknesses, especially #3 and #4 (he was mostly born with #1 and #2).
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- nudeman - Nov 2, 2011 at 8:28 PM
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bern
Uh oh
Even though your assessment of Rees was positive, you listed his negatives
Now you’re on “the list”
Get ready to know Goat and his caddy UAW really well.Goat is actually not that bad of a guy, but I don’t think he wipes after #2
Other than that, OK. Make sure you take any snaps from him from the shotgun
