Throwing a 10 yd. flair pass into the feet of an open receiver is not an acceptable throw. Wildly throwing a backwards pass out of bounds go a 9 TD. Loss is awful ( a roughing the passer negated that) he has a long way to go.
Notre Dame <t>I'm with Terry. I really want to like Wimbush. He looks really good for a couple a plays but then goes into the "deer in the headlights" mode and can't seem to do anything right passing the ball. Trouble is, there are no headlights! The O Line is giving him all the time he needs. Somebody has to be open some of the time right? This will only work if we play teams that have trouble stopping the run. If so we win by 3 touchdowns every game. The first time we play a team that has a descent run defense(Georgia) we will be hard pressed to win. We have a defense now that is good enough to win most games but we gotta score on the ground AND the in the air to help them. <br/> <br/> Is the problem with Wimbush a mental thing? We know he can pass. Is this fixable? <br/> <br/> We should be able to win at least 9 games but if he goes into that mode against some of the better teams on the remaining schedule, we may be lucky to come up with 8.</t>
I haven't seen it mentioned yet that last night's victory was the program's 900th football win. We're the 2nd team to reach that milestone. P.S. I'm with George. It's easy to blame the QB, but part of the problem is the receivers' failure to get separation. Not all of his passes have been off target. Some have been on the mark, but the receivers haven't gotten to where they should have been. The criticism of Wimbush is missing a vital aspect of his presence. He's a solid leader of the offense, something we didn't have last year. Pay attention, folks.
Notre Dame <t>Sid,<br/> <br/> I really hope you are right. I see Stepherson got into the game yesterday. I'm hoping his speed will help out when he he gets in more. As I said, I like Wimbush. I hope we can get the passing game going with him. He's just too good on every other aspect of the Qb game that you want.</t>
Pursuant to my earlier post, please read the article linked below. We can win with our QB regardless of his passing stats because he's a natural leader. If you don't want to believe me, let me tell you the story of Tony Rice. It's too early to say if BW is another TR, but he's off to a good start. Last year we had a QB who now is starting in the NFL, and we finished 4-8. This article tells me all I need to know and like about this team. I have no idea what our final record will be, but I sure like our chances. https://notredame.rivals.com/news/chemistry-on-and-off-field-highlight-recent-notre-dame-surge So those of you who need to worry about something, continue to worry about our QB, but please don't lose sight of the intangibles that are driving the team effort this season.
revolutionary idea here What if the Georgia Notre Dame game was a virtual playoff game 2 weeks into the season? I mean, I could be wrong, but I don't see a lot of teams that look anywhere near as good as Georgia and Notre Dame at this point. I mean, Alabama, Clemson, maybe Washington or Rape State... there aren't a lot of teams playing on that level right now.. I don't know if you guys noticed this, but Georgia is blowing people out in the SEC and it's going to keep happening.
I see your point Sid, and that was a great article about the team. I hope that they continue to improve as the schedule gets more difficult. My concern is that while in 1988 we were able to win with Tony Rice not being a great passer. But he was good enough given our outstanding defense and and terrific OL and RB's. But back then our offense was a lot different than what we run today, what we run today really demands that Brandon be a threat in the passing game. This is his 3rd year in the program, that he's not developed any more as a passer is a little surprising. I'll grant you, and Kelly has said as well, that his receivers maybe haven't helped him either. Some have started to wonder if Tom Rees is a very good QB coach given his lack of coaching experience. But it's not like Brandon has been under Tom for his whole career. Last year Mike Sanford a rising star was his QB coach. I really thought from what the Guru's wrote about Brandon in the Spring and Fall camps, which was all very good, that we would have a very good passing offense. Most of those guy continue to say the have seen Brandon do in practice, that he just needs to bring it to the game. I hope that is right. I like him a lot, seems like a kid who is smart, a leader and truly focused on being the QB that the Irish offense needs.
Oh yeah, that 1 point loss to Georgia if they continue to improve and win the SEC East, maybe even run the table into a match up with Alabama in the SECCG will be our signature loss. Boy I hate having to have a signature loss! But we have to continue to improve and run the table as well. It's possible, all the teams left on the schedule after UNC are pretty good teams. We will not only have to improve on both sides of the ball, but as it goes in football we'll need a lucky bounce along the way. USC, Stanford, Miami, NCState, and Navy are all teams that will be very tough to beat.
Also if we some how run the table and get to 11-1, we will need a couple of the Conf Champions to be 2 loss teams. If 4 of the 5 Power 5 conference Champions are either undefeated or 12-1 we will be on the outside looking in at 11-1.
There's a very good chance that Georgia is/was the best team on our schedule and it's not close. What other team do we play that has a ferocious defense like Georgia? Combine that defense with a solid Oline, 2 future NFL backs and a solid QB playing within the system... They just handed Tennessee their worst home loss in more than 100 years. I guess it will all come down to the cocktail party and the instate rivalry game for them. Otherwise, I see them on a collision course with the Tide (who looks a lot like they do).
Terry, all your points are well taken. I do want to clarify that I was in no way comparing this team to 1988. That was a monster team that this year's team can only hope to emulate but can never can equal. I was only comparing two players in terms of unimpressive passing stats (to date) vs. impressive running and solid leadership. Time will tell if my comparison is valid.
Brandon Wimbush reportedly in a boot, I don't think he was injured in the game. Naturally the speculation is rampant and ridiculous.
I meant to note that Chase Claypool is starting to develop. He's made some excellent catches recently. His TD pass catch in the corner of the endzone was awesome. He's a big WR and if his hands and route running are starting to match his athletic talent then he could really take off this season. Confirmed that Wimbush has a minor foot injury and is day to day, Kelly expects him to practice this week and be ready to go vs UNC.
Notre Dame <r><QUOTE><s> </e></QUOTE> Sounds good. He needs the playing time but I'm hopeful we can get up early on UNC and then let Book come in. Probably to much to ask for but heh, I can wish. <E>8)</E></r>
I was traveling the last few days so I didn't get to post a few things. I need Corey and JO'Co to jump in here and tell me that I"m off base. I think that there are some individuals who have really strong accurate long throwing ability. By that I mean that there are guys who play right field and can gun down runners trying to go from first to third with great regularity. You'd love to have these guys with these canons throwing from the mound but when they get 55 ft. from the plate they can't hit the strike zone. I think that the same is true with QBs. I recall a QB from Houston, Andre Ware who was drafted early in the first round by the Lions. He had great numbers, throwing time and again long for TDs. He plays for the Lions and he can't throw a flair pass 10 yds. to a back coming out of the backfield. He can't throw an accurate 10 yd curl. He's only a "go long" QB. I'm afraid I see a lot of Ware in Wimbush. I might be wrong, it might just be poor mechanics but there were some really distressing throws that I saw last Sat.
:idea: There's some truth to what you've observed, but I'm not too sure about the baseball comparison. What separates pitchers from rightfielders who can both throw 100mph is what's between the pitcher's ears. It takes courage and more than a little arrogance to be a pitcher. All eyes are on him and all the pressure too. You have to be like a magician: watch what I can do now! Unlike pitchers, QBs are following a script written by someone else. Their skill set has to fit the playbook and the plan or the coach needs to find another QB who does. It's not always a matter of talent.
I think it's a matter of touch with Wimbush. He either throws a laser or lofts the ball. He needs to learn that happy medium. Think of Gino Torretta who had no real arm at all, but he had great touch. He was great at letting players run into and underneath short to medium range balls. He was no threat to play on Sundays as NFL defenses will put 11 in the box and dare you to throw long, but in college, those guys (Tommy Rees) can cause a lot of damage.