BTN: Beat writers pick most indispensable players (MN: Mitch Leidner, QB)

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It's sad and funny at the same time when your most indispensable player is also arguably your weakest link.
 


His play will be key to the team's success - no doubt. And his loss would be very tough on this team. I agree.

I liked his arm during the bowl game and I hope it is more of the same as this season gets rolling.

One negative item that I think gets swept under the rug at times is his history of fumbling. Some good bounces and timely whistles saved the Nebraska game from Leidner's fumble-itis. He is a rugged runner but one that puts the ball on the ground too many times, imo.
 



Pretty easy pick since there is a ton of unknown at the backup spots behind him. Streveler has shown little as a passer in his limited time out there, Perra is popular around here but no one has any clue if he would be successful in an actual game, Rhoda strikes me as a depth guy and Croft is still really raw and will almost certainly need some time to develop. So if Mitch goes down this year the backup situation is dicey.
 

Jayeyem said:
What starter would you contend is "arguably the weakest link"? Genuinely curious.

Mitch would be my response (with some consideration given to the WRs).
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Until someone steps up/develops the WRs are the easy call for weakest link. Their success goes hand in hand with the QB but overall it has been a pretty underwhelming group for a while. Hopefully that starts to change with some of these young kids that have come in over the past few years.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Until someone steps up/develops the WRs are the easy call for weakest link. Their success goes hand in hand with the QB but overall it has been a pretty underwhelming group for a while. Hopefully that starts to change with some of these young kids that have come in over the past few years.
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Thank you for bringing this up. We could have brought Melvin in last year but the redshirt was Jerry's way of giving confidence to Cobb and Williams. This year they have a year under their belt and they are athletic as heck, not to mention Jeff Jones being there. I think our receiving core will be outstanding this year.
 

Jayeyem said:
What starter would you contend is "arguably the weakest link"? Genuinely curious.

Mitch would be my response (with some consideration given to the WRs).
Click to expand...

Mitch has been inconsistent but brings a lot of intangibles to fold and runs the read option, a big part of our offense, very well. Mitch has helped, not hindered nor been carried along for the ride of gophers regaining relevance in the B1G

He's more grit than style, but he's effective

He does need to gain consistency and accuracy as a passer especially if Gophers want to be better than 2-3 place B1G west team.

We have no weak links :)
 



Outside of KJ Maye, WR is a concern - until one of the younger players demonstrates that they can make a difference.
At RB - outside of Roderick Williams, no real proven performers - and even Williams has yet to prove he can be a #1 lead back when given a heavier work load.
At OL - new starters at several positions, plus durability concerns for Lauer.
TE - huge question mark until someone shows they can assume a larger role in the offense.

In short, there are questions (or concerns) at every position on offense. yes, there are questions and concerns about Leidner, too - but as of right now, I have more faith in Leidner than I do at several other positions.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Until someone steps up/develops the WRs are the easy call for weakest link. Their success goes hand in hand with the QB but overall it has been a pretty underwhelming group for a while. Hopefully that starts to change with some of these young kids that have come in over the past few years.
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'13Gopher said:
Thank you for bringing this up. We could have brought Melvin in last year but the redshirt was Jerry's way of giving confidence to Cobb and Williams. This year they have a year under their belt and they are athletic as heck, not to mention Jeff Jones being there. I think our receiving core will be outstanding this year.
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I agree with both posts. I think out WRs will be good, but it won't happen from game 1 and there will be bumps along the way. TCU will be the first game at this level and in nearly 2-years for many of the guys we are hoping will 'step up' at WR (save KJ). At least I know the fans on GH will be patient with that.
 

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