Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/49969
FAN FORUM IT'S ALL ACADEMIC In regards to Todd Burlage's col- umn on conference realignment and many other related articles, I believe one of the most important factors in Notre Dame selecting the Big East Conference is being completely over- looked: the academic affiliations. Specifically, the Catholic character of Our Lady's university could share research, resources and teaching with like-minded Big East members Georgetown, St. John's, Villanova, Providence and Seton Hall. Similarly, Notre Dame's high academic stan- dards match up well with many Big East schools. Conference college presidents meet each other on a regular basis; it is not only the coaches and the athletics di- rectors. Unlike many — or even most Division I athletic programs — Notre Dame's academic side makes all the big policy decisions for the univer- sity, not the other way around. Regarding Mr. Burlage's comment about the undesirability of Houston, SMU and Central Florida joining us as a detriment to Notre Dame, I would argue the opposite. Mr. Bur- lage claims to be speaking about the benefits of the other 20 sports programs. I would venture to say all the other programs would welcome more trips to Texas and Florida; think of how much benefit this would have for all our outdoor sports, such as baseball, track and field, soccer, ten- nis and so on. Besides having much nicer weather to play in, it would be a huge boost to our recruiting efforts in two of the most talent-rich states in the nation. Is Notre Dame football special? Yes. But above all, Notre Dame should stay true to its roots as an academically superior Catholic uni- versity, where athletics play second fiddle to academics. Chris Rigaux, '82 Bethesda, Md. BE HEARD! Send your letters to: Letters Blue & Gold Illustrated P. O. Box 1007 Notre Dame, IN 46556 or e-mail to: lsomogyi@blueandgold.com www.BLUEANDGOLD.com FROM THE WEBSITE Entering last weekend's Stanford game with a 12‑2 record as the starting quarterback, sophomore Tommy Rees was a popular topic among fans on how much credit he should receive. There remains strong admiration for Rees' poise and moxie while achieving so much his first two years, but questions often linger about whether his physical limitations in the spread make him the long‑term answer at quarterback. Here is a small sampling of several dozen responses. Brawlinghibernian: While starting record is not a totally irrelevant statistic, it's also not an entirely sufficient method of judging a QB. Has Rees done his job adequately enough to help the team be 12‑2? Sure, though I think it's fair to say there have been games Notre Dame has won in spite of him playing poorly — just like there are games Notre Dame has won in spite of the performance of plenty of other starters. Tommy Rees' tenure at QB has corre‑ sponded with the ascendance of both the defense and running game. Wins and losses are team accomplishments and failures, and no one player, not even QB, should be awarded those records. The other way it could be looked at is Rees is 0‑2 when coming off the bench. Both Tulsa last season and USF were win‑ nable games, and Rees' performance, for better or worse, did not garner a victory. Do I think those losses are on Rees? No, they're on the team — just like the wins. NDIrish4242: Let's say Brian Kelly went with anyone else at QB, just to shut up all the armchair coaches who think they know the team and players better. If he goes with an inexperienced Andrew Hendrix or Ever‑ ett Golson but we're sitting 5‑6, the same armchair coaches are screaming for BK to be fired immediately. Maybe it would have worked out dif‑ ferently, but I doubt it. One kid is a true freshman, the other only knows half the playbook. I'll go with the 8 or 9 wins. Vin4Irish: Kelly saw something in Dayne Crist that he thought was better than Rees. He yanked Crist after one half … That is what bothers me: He is quick to yank Crist but gives Rees every opportunity in the world. We could be 5‑6, we could be 10‑1. All I know is this team has much more skill than what has been produced on the field, even if we are 8‑3. 22_Ndhomer: Tommy is improving but his skill set appears to limit his ceiling. 2daniel6: All too often fans look at the physical style of the player. The mental side and the ability to distribute to the right guy is overlooked. Tommy is getting the job done. He can improve his techniques to be a better physical player just as easily as Golson, Hendrix or Crist can develop the mental side. Mbdlaw: He's a dang good sophomore. The great thing about him is he will be a junior next year and the rest of us will still be armchair quarterbacks. Georgekrebs: If Rees can beat Stanford, or at least keep us in position to win, then we will know he has the ability to go the distance. On the other hand, if he is ineffective and we lose handily, then there is no more doubt that he is capable of beating second‑tier teams but is not a top‑20 QB. Want to stay up-to-date with all the Irish news? Like Us On Facebook: www.facebook.com/blueandgoldillustrated Follow Us On Twitter: www.twitter.com/BGInews DECEMBER 2011 7 Sophomore Tommy Rees had produced a 12-2 record as a starting quarterback heading into the Stanford game, but some still question whether he is the long-term answer at the position. PHOTO BY AARON SUOZZI