I'm not talking about those of you who are commenting fairly on Freeman's performance so far, or about what Pyne has already done. I'm talking about the "I knew we never should have hired Freeman," etc., crowd, and the "Pyne is too short, too inaccurate, too unathletic to be a legit D1 QB at an elite school" crowd.
Freeman may turn out to be a bust, as might Pyne. I have no illusions. But come on. Freeman's just getting started. And Pyne has shown flashes of being very good.
This, I believe, is reflective of a society that demands instant results, or if someone doesn't immediately succeed then they'll never succeed, or if something isn't 100% great it's 100% crap.
I'm willing to give Freeman and Pyne some time before I make a judgment about them. Rees, on the other hand, is in charge of one of the worst-performing offenses in college football. He's been at this for three years, so there's been enough time to have an adequate body of work to judge. I still think he can be great, but he definitely has to change.
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that I would qualify as showing "flashes of being very good."
I think Rees is comfortable with the Kelly offense. He ran it for many years as QB and then ran it as his OC. It is what he knows best and is comfortable with. I think the game has passed by that style of offense. Not that Tommy can't learn new stuff and styles, but it is not what is most natural to him. I'm also not sure he is a great QB developer. Again, not that he can't become one. But ND could sure use a proven OC with a track record of producing high powered college offenses with an attractive style and putting QB's into the NFL or at least developing them into great college QB's. ND could really use that starting next season.
Well, he definitely provided a spark last year against Wisconsin and Cincinnati. Found open receivers quickly and delivered the ball accurately. His high school tape bordered on spectacular.
He also had a passer rating last week of 157.4, which would place him 34th this year and 19th last year (a full season). Not great, but far from showing nothing or being inadequate. I'd like to see Rees let him air it out, because I think he can connect.
He can be a good QB. He can be a winning QB. But I’ve seen no flashes that indicate he can be one of the better QBs in college football. He is very limited physically. But he has enough athleticism to move around and keeps his eyes downfield which is always dangerous. A little like Book, better at playground football. Although physically more limited than Book. But, like Book, if the D starts to keep him in the pocket, which I’m guessing they will, his height and arm strength will be a problem.
Again, he can be a good QB and a winner. He loves ND. I hope he can get it done.
If not, he's not the answer.