A goal line stand against a ranked opponent, to end the game...in OT...in a pouring rain...wowza! There can't possibly have been a bigger goal line stand in the history of the school... 1. This Irish defense appears to be the best one that I can remember. Stanford had four downs to get six yards and three downs to get one yard, with two downs to get one foot and they never got there.. 3. This was the best the Irish safeties have looked all year. Zeke Motta had the best game of his career and Matthias Farley plays so well, both covering and tackling, that the team hasn't really missed Jamouris Slaughter at all. 4. I was shocked by how poorly Troy Niklas played. He was put into several formations specifically to block, because he's a super blocker. He looked terrible in nearly every situation. He whiffed on several blocking attempts, exposing his small and confused QB to a murderous blitz by the best set of linebackers that we will see all year... 5. Golson isn't getting it done. Stanford blitzed all day, with everything they had and covered man-to-man all day. Golson was afraid to make a mistake and held onto the ball too long, just as Stanford thought he would. He never figured out that Eifert is 6'6" and Niklas is 6'7" and Stanford's Dbacks are only 5'9"-5'11". When Tommy came in to relieve him he didn't hesitate to throw at them and over them. I don't mean to keep harping on this, but it's obvious now that this team is just a good QB away from being very, very good. 6. I was also shocked at all the penalties and mistakes that Golic Jr. made. He's a good player, but he wasn't good today. 7. The Kid Monsters were scary again. Manti, Tuitt, KLM, Nix, and Danny Spond all smashed up that Stanford offense pretty good. The closer the line of scrimmage gets to their goal line, the more ferocious and reckless they become...
Likewise. Very disappointing. The Stanford LB had his way with Niklas all day. It was a Niklas missed block that enabled the LB to recover the fumble in the end zone. This has to change.
This defense is as good as anybody. And they bust people up. Stanford is by far the best team we have faced so far. I could not be happier for Tommy Rees.
Re: Niklas You guys do realize that's quite possibly the nation's premier OLB/Pass Rusher, right? To an extent, that's no excuse. If you want to play at the highest level, it's gotta be against the best. For all the hype and hyperbole, I'm betting 10 years from now, Thomas will be the guy they are all talking about.. Still, Niklas has to put on his big boy pants. QB: Rees is terrible. Golson has to have faith in his reads. He looks like he's afraid to make mistakes and he's got to play more natural. At the same time, Stanford is by far and away the best defense on our schedule (yes, much better than Oklahoma) and I'm quite sure those guys had some influence on the play.
Geez Rees hangs 10 pts. in 2 possessions against the "best defense on our schedule" and he's "terrible?" Rees is a QB with physical limitations. Golson is a runner/thrower who is a long way from being a QB.
Excuse me, Rees hung 10? Nooo 1st of all, he inherited a short field that the QB with a 'long way to go' had. All of Rees' passes were FEET off the mark. The difference between Golson and Rees is that Rees (to his credit) gets the ball off.. That doesn't mean his passes aren't horse ****.. The game winning TD catch was one of the better catches you'll see in your life. On a related note, any freshman level HS QB in a passing offense can throw a 15 yard quick slant in and hit the WR inside.... Rees threw that 4 feet behind the WR and ankle high (our WR caught it). Why not give credit to the center, Cave? He had more to do with that play working than Rees did.
Golson put all of 7 pts. on the board in over 50 min. of play. I don't count the FG that we had to settle for after an INT return to the 15 (that's 10 yds. shorter than the LOS in overtime.) Rees does more than get the passes off. He throws to the right receiver. I wish our starting QB could throw those 15 yd. slants that high school freshmen QBs can throw.
Corey, your anti-Rees rants have become white noise. You've put yourself on an island. Do you not know when to swallow your pride and admit you are wrong? No one is more familiar than I with Irish stubbornness, but you take it to a whole new level.
I too have been critical of Rees in the past and he still has those limitations. But he has been called in 3x now when Golson was either hurt, in meltdown or both. And he has excelled each time. We are probably 4-2 without him. Imagine standing in the rain an entire game and then finding yourself in his situation yesterday?
Corey... you would have been sad here then everyone in this house was hoping they would change quarterbacks. the kid just couldnt do it. Sorry just saying but even your dad and brother were yelling to make the change , wonder where you get your stubborness from.... just saying...No one said Golson didnt do his job but he is still learning this took a little more than he had to give. :wink: :wink:
I dunno, Don. After having spent a couple of years looking at some the Molatov cocktails that D has lobbed onto the political BB, I that that Corey's admirable tenacity was something he inherited from both Mom and Dad.
8) re: Tommy Rees 1. He has saved our bacon on numerous occasions. 2. He could have quit when he lost his job. 3. He could have quit when he was busted at the party. 4. He could have cried to the media. 5. He has a thousand excuses to fail, but I've never heard him make one. In a pouring rainstorm......with the team "up against it" as Rockne used to say......Tommy Rees came through. They only give style points in gymnastics and close only counts in horseshoes. The best definition of a "winner" is the guy who comes through in the clutch. When there is no possible way; he finds a path to victory...in spite of everything...even in spite of himself. He disregards all the odds and the opinions and he makes it happen. I saw what I saw: Tommy Rees is a winner. re: Chase Thomas I agree with Corey's opinion of Stanford LB Chase Thomas. He's one of the greatest college players that I've ever seen and I've watched three of his games this year. Watch for Thomas to go at the high end of the first round in the NFL draft along with Manti Teo. They're special players.
BTW- The LA Times this morning, along with the Associated Press, say that the refs blew the whistle before the Stanford running back extended the ball. It was hard to hear, because of the crowd, but you can see where they blew the whistle on the replay by watching the Irish players. According to the Times, the initial stop was made by ND LB "Carlos" Calabrese. As the defense piles in on top, you see Manti winding up to blast the running back, when suddenly he throws his arms in the air and runs away from the pile to celebrate...as do several other Irish tacklers who leap from the pile to celebrate. The pile was breaking up as he extended the ball, but his left elbow was on the ground any way...
The guys in the broadcast booth created this "controversy." Watch for the players leaving the pile, celebrating when they hear the whistle. Watch for the (12Pac) ref coming in to mark the spot (short of the goal line) with his hand in the air. The game is over. <iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/oPrRexFbFU0?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0"></iframe>
So once again I am right, except for where I am wrong? Rees does what he does well, but that isn't much. Do you really think he would have engineered any long drives? I certainly don't. He had 2 short fields to work with. Rees threw ONE good pass (of the 4, which is about right for him) to our TE.. the guy no one can cover and even when they do cover him (as Stanford did) he just goes up and gets the ball. That's his best pass. You guys are going to hang your hat on that? Please... There were two catches in that game that would be considered spectacular even at the NFL level. I believe the first of those two was made by Riddick with his mid-air adjustment to pull down a circus catch over the shoulder while keeping his feet in at the last minute. The other was the game winner in OT. There is the school of thought that would say 'he was just throwing to the open spot'... Yes, the oh so rarely used uncovered back left ankle of the weak side corner spot.. You guys are taking parts of what I am saying and extrapolating your own meaning to it. BOTH of our quarterbacks are not ready for prime time. One, is clearly not there mentally while the other clearly lacks the physical skill but does have a working mindset of how the offense is suppose to run. They both have their specific talents and gifts. They both have served this team in their specific roles fairly well. If you want to know what this game would have looked like with Rees playing all 4 quarters, just go ahead and watch last year's game against Stanford. He would have been knocked out by halftime. If you want to know who I would credit, it's the RB and WRs who made those catches. Those were not good balls thrown at all. Unless of course, you consider a good pass to a wide open WR with inside position on a slant-in to be one made three yards behind said receiver and almost taking off the top of a sprinkler cap. If that's the case, we'll just have to agree to disagree. My point, the credit is going to the wrong place. I do wish Golson would sack up and trust the reads.. If anything, it's more frustrating watching Rees go out there and do well. Not from any perceived 'anti-Tommy' vibe, that's just horse ****. We have the talent at the other 10 offensive positions (when Golic remembers the snap count), get them the damned ball anywhere near them and they'll do the rest. But to say without Golson's mobility greatly effecting that Stanford defense, you gotta be kidding me. He opens up a lot by being on the field.
Bottom line is that Golson is not emotionally ready nor is he far enough along in his reads to beat Stanford. The instant he fells pressure the play is broken.
Agreed, but Rees is not physically able to do this for 4 quarters... not against a top shelf defense. So here we are, doing the QB shuffle.. like it or not, it's the hand we're dealt. We sat through years of Rees gaining game time experience to learn those reads and calmness.. We sat through a great many losses and red-zone self-destruction that fell solely on Rees' shoulders. If Rees were to have played 4 quarters against Stanford, Thomas would have sent him to the hospital. Oklahoma will/would do the same. I like how we're using Rees. It's nothing personal against the kid, I'm sure he's a good enough guy, but he has severe physical limitations against top shelf talent. When the play breaks down, Golson can still make things happen. He adds another dimension to the offense. Keep in mind, I'm not a fan of running QBs myself, but even drop back passers have to possess some level of mobility unless they have a 70 yard rocket for an arm. Tommy holds neither. I'm ready to eat a healthy amount of crow about Kelly based upon this season's results even just to date, let alone based on how the entire season may play out. I'd do so gladly. You and I both agree on this. I strongly disagree with the notion that my pride is keeping me rooting against or giving credit to Rees. I'm rooting for the Irish, even if they had Bobby F*(king Bowden at Quarterback. I give Rees the credit he deserves. He stays relatively calm, makes good reads and gets rid of the ball quickly. That's all he brings to the table. Do you know what a good defense does against that? (I know you do), they rush 3 or 4 and then drop 7 or 8 into coverage. Checkmate. We're done. We've seen it for years now.. In a related/unrelated to ND note.. Did you see what Oregon State's backup QB did to a very good BYU defense? Man....