There is definitely a need for change with Notre Dame quarterback Drew Pyne, but not the kind you might be thinking about. I'm not ready to call for Pyne to lose his job, but everyone should know that Pyne needs to play a lot better than he has the last three games.
Pyne completed 74.1-percent of his throws, averaged 233.7 passing yards per game and averaged 8.2 yards per attempt in his first three games. The Notre Dame offense averaged 456.3 yards and 6.2 yards per play in those games.
In the last three, however, Pyne has struggled in a major way. The Irish junior has completed just 48.6-percent of his passes, averaged just 6.4 yards per attempt and thrown for just 157.3 yards per game.
Notre Dame will have a very, very hard time running the table with Pyne continuing to play anywhere close to that level of football. It is certainly time for a change, and it's up to a combination of Pyne and offensive coordinator Tommy Rees making changes to get him on track.
For one, just look at Pyne's body language since the Stanford game. He's pressing, everything is going too fast for him, he knows he's struggling and he's just not seeing things clearly. No one knows he is struggling more than he does, and with every incompletion, missed read or drive killing mistake that frustration only grows, and his play deteriorates.
We saw another video clip of Rees screaming at Pyne during the Syracuse game, but at this point the "Do your f-ing job" screams are not working. It's time for Rees to show some maturity as a coach and realize that what he's been doing over the last month as a coach isn't registering, and it isn't working. Are Pyne's struggles all on Rees? No, of course not, Pyne has to make more plays, but Rees' job as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach are to push the buttons needed to get Pyne back on track.
The screaming, the rants, the curse-filled tirades that source after source tell me happen consistently in practice need to be put on the back burner. Rees has to read the room and realize that those types of reactions and that type of coaching isn't working with Pyne right now. It's not that Pyne can't take hard coaching, I believe he can, but mentally he's a struggling quarterback, and they need to try something different.
A mature coach, a good coach, especially a good quarterback coach, needs to have the ability and willingness to adapt his coaching style and method to meet the needs of his quarterback. Everything is moving too fast for Pyne; he's pressing, he's stressing himself, he's rushing through his reads .... the tirades aren't going to slow the game down for him, they are only going to pile on. Yes, it worked in his first start against California, but Pyne isn't that player anymore from a mental standpoint.
It's time for Rees to take a step back, be stern but calm, and figure out ways to get Pyne to relax, stop putting pressure on himself and figure out ways to get him more comfortable processing and getting the ball out. Right now every single throw from Pyne us filled with incredible pressure, and now he is missing the simple stuff.
It's not a time for panic, not a time for rants, it's a time to calm down, get back to basics, work on Pyne getting his feet right and tell him look, you're our guy, calm down, trust yourself, trust your teammates, trust the offense and get the ball where it needs to go.
If Rees can show some humility, change the script a bit, have some fun this week and make adjustments schematically to get Pyne more comfortable and also protect the run game, the Irish offense will have a chance to become far more balanced. Pyne is better than the player we saw the last three games, and it's Rees' job to get that player to show up and be present in the final month of the season.
It is certainly needed if the Irish are going to beat the undefeated and 5th-ranked Clemson. It will also show growth from Rees as a coach and Pyne as a quarterback.
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