Bench Tommy Rees petition created by Reddit user
Notre Dame Fighting Irish starting quarterback Tommy Rees put forth an absolutely horrendous game yesterday against the Oklahoma Sooners, and his back-to-back interceptions were real back-breakers that put Notre Dame in a 14-0 hole. Rees completed just 9 of his 24 attempts for a paltry 37.5% completion percentage, and he also averaged just 4.3 yards per attempt with 104 passing yards in total. Throwing three picks in a ball game is usually a sure way to put your team at a disadvantage, and he had just two touchdown passes compared to those three picks. Compare that to opposing signal-caller Blake Bell, who was 22-30 for an average of 7.7 yards per pass and two touchdowns with no picks.
The Notre Dame faithful are undoubtedly frustrated with Rees’s horrendous display in a huge game, as his poor passing undermined an excellent day on the ground for the Irish. One fan was so frustrated that he created a petition to the Obama Administration to bench Tommy Rees.
It gets better. Read the grounds on which he is asking the White House to have Rees benched, “Since 2010, Tommy Rees has been the downfall of Notre Dame football. This sub-par, should-be-backup quarterback has the pocket tactics of a 10 year-old. It should be considered a violation of Human Rights to force any person to witness the performance Mr. Rees endorses each week.”
I’m sure there are a ton of ridiculous petitions from incredibly frustrated fans, and this Reddit user stated that he was in a “drunken rage”, which drove him to create this petition. Do any of you guys want to sign it? There are three signatures on this, including the user, and I’m sure there are plenty of Notre Dame fans frustrated enough with Rees to sign it.
Through five games this season, Tommy Rees has completed just 55.3% of his passes, and he is averaging two touchdowns and one interception per game. Overall, Rees has averaged a solid 7.4 yards per attempt, since he is averaging a hefty 13.8 yards per completion. He does have an above-average ESPN TQBR at 69.5 so far this season, and that would be his highest single-season total if the season ended today. That said, Notre Dame fans are frustrated with his decision-making, and he had an awful game against Oklahoma yesterday; the argument can be made that his interceptions handed the Sooners the game. To me, it’s more about the interceptions; you can’t beat a top 15 team by completing less than 40% of your passes.