Griffiths: Notre Dame’s decision to play Rees late was a mistake
By DOUG GRIFFITHS
ISL Correspondent
Even a couple days removed from the win over Purdue, it’s still hard for me to completely rationalize why Irish coach Brian Kelly turned to Tommy Rees late in the game.
I know, I know the move resulted in Rees leading Notre Dame down the field and in position to kick what turned out to be a short game-winning field goal. But don’t you wonder what if that drive didn’t end like it did?
The fans had every right to boo when Rees trotted onto the field.
It sent the wrong message to Kelly’s young quarterback – Everett Golson – who a few weeks prior he said was going to make mistakes and he, among others, was going to have to live with some of the errors.
Yet, when Golson made his lone turnover of the day – a fumble at the Irish 15 with 3:24 remaining in the game – he was yanked from the contest in favor of No. 11.
I didn’t like the move then, and I certainly don’t like it 48 hours later. Golson deserved the chance to lead the Irish to victory. He was why they built a 17-7 fourth-quarter lead as he threw for a score and ran for another.
After the game, Kelly claimed Golson was having difficulty gripping the ball. Maybe so, but he did admit Golson could’ve continued.
Why didn’t he?
In Kelly’s opinion, Rees was more capable of handling Notre Dame’s two-minute offense.
So does that mean Kelly’s confidence with regards to Golson late in the game is shaky at best? It does in my book.
Kelly claims there is no quarterback controversy. Golson will start Saturday night at Michigan State. He should’ve finished what he started a couple days ago and that was the Purdue game.
If the Boilermakers left town victorious, would Kelly still be starting Golson. I hope so, but you have to wonder.
One thing I can say with confidence when Golson makes his next blunder, he’ll be looking over his shoulder to see if he’s going to get the hook.
That kind of knee-jerk reaction by Kelly when it comes to handling his quarterbacks has drawn criticism from Irish greats like Joe Montana, who recently said the Notre Dame coach can’t figure out what he wants with the man behind center.
I’ll continue to think and believe that Kelly needed to stick with Golson against Purdue. If he leads the Irish to a win late in regulation or possibly in overtime, Golson’s confidence soars. Now the Irish may have a starting quarterback whose confidence is shaken.
Without question, that was the worst coaching decision Kelly made against the Boilermakers.
IndySportsLegends.com grades the Irish’s performance against Purdue.
QUARTERBACKS B+
For the second time in as many games, Golson was impressive. He continued to show very good poise for a sophomore quarterback and just has a sense about him that not a whole lot seems to rattle him on the football field.
His numbers were good – 21-of-31 for 289 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions.
To Tommy Rees’ credit, he delivered when called upon in the clutch. He was very fortunate on one of his three completions. He threw the ball under duress and it was under-thrown, but John Goodman made a very good play when the ball was in the air, coming back for it to convert a big third-down situation and keep the game-winning drive alive.
RUNNING BACKS D
This game was a far cry from the Navy game when the Irish o-line opened gaping holds for Theo Riddick and George Atkinson.
Riddick was the only Irish player to gain more than eight yards rushing on the day and he settled for 53 with a long of 11.
We had a feeling Notre Dame’s running attack would be greatly tested by what has to be the best defensive line the Irish will face all season long. Purdue’s defensive front is legit, and don’t be surprised if it leads the Boilermakers to a New Year’s Day bowl appearance.
RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS B
Tight end Tyler Eifert was again a thorn in his father’s alma mater’s side. He finished with a game-high 98 yards receiving on just four catches and a couple of those grabs showed why he’s going to have an impact on Sundays at the next level.
As Kelly predicted in the preseason, the Irish would rely on several receivers to carry the load and that was true against Purdue. Nine players caught passes, including four who had four. TJ Jones was the only one to the find the end zone, but the group did a good job limiting their drops and hanging onto the football once they hauled it in.
OFFENSIVE LINE D
It was a long day for the Irish line. They gave up five sacks and had a difficult time creating holes for the backs.
Kawann Short and Bruce Gaston’s 300-pound frames were tough to move or control inside.
Notre Dame knew it might have been facing the best defensive front it will see all season and after the game the Irish were saying just that.
Facing such a talented d-line proved to be difficult, but it should pay dividends for what lies ahead on the schedule.
DEFENSIVE LINE B
The Irish front was challenged by Purdue’s spread and responded well. They sacked Robert Marve four times, the last of which, may have ended his collegiate career with another torn ACL (you certainly hate to see that, especially since he’s endured a couple knee injuries already).
The Boilermakers were held to 3 yards a carry (30 for 90 on the day).
LINEBACKERS B
Three of Notre Dame’s top four tacklers were its backers, which is just the way it should be. Manti Te’o, Carlo Calabrese and Dan Fox combined for 22 tackles with Te’o’s 10 being a game high.
Purdue’s improved tight ends were pretty much blanketed on the day and were more or less non-factors in the passing game.
SECONDARY B
The Irish secondary held up very well against Purdue’s passing attack.
The visitors threw the ball 37 times and only completed 19. Perhaps even more impressive was the fact that Notre Dame DBs didn’t get burned deep. The Boilermakers’ longest pass play on the afternoon was 27 yards.
The fourth-down conversion in the fourth quarter wasn’t defended as well as it could’ve been, but credit Purdue for running a sophisticated pass pattern, which made it hard on Notre Dame to defend.
SPECIAL TEAMS A
Anytime you hit a game-winning field goal, that’s worthy of an A don’t you think? And anytime that kick comes from your back-up kicker it without question is A material.
Hats off to Kyle Brindza, who put that 27-yarder right down the middle. His 30-yarder in the third quarter proved to be big as well. It was impressive that he made his last two kicks after missing a 40-yarder in the first quarter.
It’s worth noting, too, that Ben Turk had a good 43.6-yard punting average.
The area to improve upon is on kickoff coverage where Raheem Mostert had 64 yards on a pair of runbacks. In Notre Dame’s defense, however, Mostert may be the Big Ten’s best return man.
COACHING B-
The move to replace Golson with Rees automatically lowers Kelly’s grade to a B. For the Navy game and 56 minutes-plus of the Purdue game, Golson showed why he has a promising career ahead of him. Kelly should have stuck with him when the game was on the line. Golson deserved that and the player who was just coming off a suspension, did not.
The Irish staff gets high marks for constantly rolling Golson out of the pocket to buy more protection. He definitely needed it as one has to wonder how many times he would’ve been sacked had he been a stationary target for Purdue’s stellar defensive line.
Kudos to Kelly and Co., too, for not relying so much on the running game, particularly early. They knew Purdue was going to overload the box and dare Golson to throw the ball. The Boilermakers did, holding the Irish to a mere 7 yards on seven carries in the first quarter as Notre Dame went to the air 10 times for 104 yards in the first 15 minutes.
OVERALL B
No question, Purdue played its best game in Notre Dame Stadium since 2004. The Boilermakers may have left with their second win there since 1974 had it not been for Danny Hope’s coaching blunder of putting starting quarterback Caleb TerBush, who did nothing in the first half, in to start the third quarter.
Credit Notre Dame for rallying after blowing a 10-point fourth-quarter lead. It found a way to win, something it couldn’t do last season.
The Irish will face better opponents, but when all is said and done, this Purdue team could be playing for the Big Ten championship in December in Indianapolis.
Not a bad way at all to start the home portion of the 2012 season.
We’ll see how fagile Golson is mentally if being pulled will affect his play this week against Michigna St.. Nice article.