Another Brilliant Performance by Offensive Visionary Matt Limegrower

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thailleagle said:
+1

Offense sells tickets... Defense wins games...
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I was at the game with my girlfriend who knows absolutely nothing about football. Like she could explain football about as well as I could explain cricket and she sure got a kick out of the long plays (INT, KO, and fumble recovery). To someone looking for something fun to do, last night's game was exciting. I couldn't explain it to her why I was so disappointed in our offense. A lot of young college students aren't much more educated about the game than her.

The game wouldn't have converted an average MN sports fan (non-Gopher), but nothing did. They weren't converted after we beat tOSU, Michigan, Iowa, WI years ago, so who cares?
 

Dean S said:
Genius at statistical inference, are ya! So far, you have yet to show me how a team kicking off so many times needed to generate more offensive and less defensive stats. Those stats are immaterial. Even a crappy team will produce more when given an opportunity. UNLV got 3 more drives because of our takeaways for TDs. Does that not change your perception of the game stats in any way?
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Yeah, actually I am. I gather, process, and analyze data for a good living. The data I saw (and I'm not talking box score here), was alarming to say the least. Thanks for the attempted mockery.
 

As simple as I can put it...we did not pass the eye test.

That's what is bothering me this morning. UNLV is a bad team and possibly the worst road time in D1. They won more plays than we won. We won the big plays by a wide margin which is great. Loved it. Lots of highlights. However, you can't bank on low line drive kicks on FG attempts and kick-offs to be the norm.

Man to man in the trenches. Game planning. Offensive and defensive execution. All were either a draw (again against an awful team playing on the road) or we lost that battle.

We need to take the win and forget most everything else.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
I was at the game with my girlfriend who knows absolutely nothing about football. Like she could explain football about as well as I could explain cricket and she sure got a kick out of the long plays (INT, KO, and fumble recovery). To someone looking for something fun to do, last night's game was exciting. I couldn't explain it to her why I was so disappointed in our offense. A lot of young college students aren't much more educated about the game than her.

The game wouldn't have converted an average MN sports fan (non-Gopher), but nothing did. They weren't converted after we beat tOSU, Michigan, Iowa, WI years ago, so who cares?
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MY wife, who isn't a Gopher fan, but DOES know football (Virginia Tech, PSU), sat down and watched a bunch of the game with me. Her opinion: "yuck, that's some ugly football". I informed her today that the Gopherhole was all giddy about the big win last night and she was dumbfounded: "Really?? What about? They were awful."
 


cncmin said:
MY wife, who isn't a Gopher fan, but DOES know football (Virginia Tech, PSU), sat down and watched a bunch of the game with me. Her opinion: "yuck, that's some ugly football". I informed her today that the Gopherhole was all giddy about the big win last night and she was dumbfounded: "Really?? What about? They were awful."
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Tell your wife that nobody who is anybody in Minnesota EVER gets giddy about winning a football game. But, my Gophers are working really hard to get some wins so that they can win an invitation to a bowl game. IF she says: "...yuck, that's some ugly football..." it makes me damn PROUD that my Gophers "uglied" UNLV by a 51-23 score. Tell you "lovely" wife that we will take ANY kind of win (ugly, lucky, hard-earned, stolen, blow-out-win...just any kind of win) as we go against all odds to win that invite to an end of the season bowl game. Winning UGLY is BEAUTIFUL to me. Tell your wife that my Gophers only need five more ugly wins out of the eleven games we have left to play to win an ugly bowl game invitation! IF my Gophers can win ugly or any other way more than a total of six times during the season, they might be rewarded with a little less ugly bowl game invitation.

And, if my Gophers are lucky enough to win all four ooc games, they will have to find a way to win ugly against at least two Conference teams that will probably be favored to beat them. And IF my Gophers can get that done, please tell your beautiful wife that my Gophers will have gained much in 2013 by winning UGLY! Winning an invitation to a bowl game...even an "UGLY" bowl game is the ONLY way for my Gophers to start to become one of the " beautiful" college teams...like her really beautiful PSU or even Virginia Tech...

Win UGLY, Gophers! I LOVE it!

; 0 )
 

GophersInIowa said:
There were big plays in all three phases: 5 plays of 48 yards or more. We scored 51 points. If that isn't exciting for an average fan, then they'll never get excited.
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This, so much.

A running game that can consistently get 4 or 5 yards per play is a great thing to have, but I don't think it's the most exciting for casual fans. It was a night game, we got a kick return touchdown, a field goal block touchdown, a pick six, a long run from Nelson for another touchdown, and we put up 50 points for the first time in 7 years or something. Lots of fun and exciting plays, the kind of plays that energize a crowd. If that wasn't exciting for a casual fan, possibly going to their first ever college football game, then I don't know what is.
 






The win sure beats the triple ot game last year . Give unlv credit for stopping the run. Mn did not open up the play book by design and the offense will be much improved this year. We have a qb that will improve his accuracy as he gEts more experience. We have many more weapons then last year and a much more disciplined team.
 

How many games are played on opening night? ONE! Quit trying to extrapolate the performance for ONE game over the course of an entire season.
 

imthewalrus said:
Tell your wife that nobody who is anybody in Minnesota EVER gets giddy about winning a football game. But, my Gophers are working really hard to get some wins so that they can win an invitation to a bowl game. IF she says: "...yuck, that's some ugly football..." it makes me damn PROUD that my Gophers "uglied" UNLV by a 51-23 score. Tell you "lovely" wife that we will take ANY kind of win (ugly, lucky, hard-earned, stolen, blow-out-win...just any kind of win) as we go against all odds to win that invite to an end of the season bowl game. Winning UGLY is BEAUTIFUL to me. Tell your wife that my Gophers only need five more ugly wins out of the eleven games we have left to play to win an ugly bowl game invitation! IF my Gophers can win ugly or any other way more than a total of six times during the season, they might be rewarded with a little less ugly bowl game invitation.

And, if my Gophers are lucky enough to win all four ooc games, they will have to find a way to win ugly against at least two Conference teams that will probably be favored to beat them. And IF my Gophers can get that done, please tell your beautiful wife that my Gophers will have gained much in 2013 by winning UGLY! Winning an invitation to a bowl game...even an "UGLY" bowl game is the ONLY way for my Gophers to start to become one of the " beautiful" college teams...like her really beautiful PSU or even Virginia Tech...

Win UGLY, Gophers! I LOVE it!

; 0 )
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She IS beautiful, thanks Wren; and wears Gopher gear when they play and cheers them on just for me.

I will relay your kind message that we are thrilled with mediocrity and to be able to beat awful teams by over a whole TD at home..
 



cjcarter8 said:
How many games are played on opening night? ONE! Quit trying to extrapolate the performance for ONE game over the course of an entire season.
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The one thing I see happening is that from the get go, several people expected perfection in the first game, which in reality is next to impossible. MSU beating WMU was a disappointing poorly played win; NDSU beating K-State was a schock. And our fans complain and find every negative to over analyze instead of appreciating the 28 point win. :banghead:
 

Cayman said:
This, so much.

A running game that can consistently get 4 or 5 yards per play is a great thing to have, but I don't think it's the most exciting for casual fans. It was a night game, we got a kick return touchdown, a field goal block touchdown, a pick six, a long run from Nelson for another touchdown, and we put up 50 points for the first time in 7 years or something. Lots of fun and exciting plays, the kind of plays that energize a crowd. If that wasn't exciting for a casual fan, possibly going to their first ever college football game, then I don't know what is.
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BUT IT DIDN'T, that's the problem. Total rushing yards = 221 on 38 plays. QB rushes accounted for 108 of those yards on 12 rushes, and Cobb had a 60 yard run in garbage time accounting for a large portion of that remainder. On standard rushing plays, the Gophers were held to 53 yards on 25 attempts (2.1 avg.) (and 52 yd on 23 att (2.3 avg) if you remove Banham's GT runs). AGAINST UNLV AT HOME.

And the passing game was worse.

The OLine was a horrendous sieve that got knocked backward as often as got a forward push, and consistently let defenders right through the line on passing plays forcing scrambled throws. That Nelson achieved 99 yards was largely a result of his own athleticism, as most of those yards were gained on broken plays.

What is it about scoreboards and box scores that allows people to dismiss reality? There's more to numbers than just raw values.
 

A win is a Win ! I'm more concerned about Kirkwood ! Any reports today ?
 

Ever heard of the word "hyperbole"? You do an excellent job of using it in your posts. Sadly, you have chosen the "glass fully empty" approach to your hyperbole. You have missed multiple posts that recognize the building process that is underway at the U of MN.

Even good teams can struggle in the first game of the season. Did you watch how Western Michigan made MSU sweat last night? Did you see NDSU beat Kansas State? The first game of the season is often very ugly to watch as people get used to competing against someone other than their own teammates.

I have not read a lot of posts that claim the game was flawless and perfect. I have read posts that acknowledge it was a game of sputters and spurts. My final conclusion is that we won the game and that makes the Gophers 1-0 on the season. Next game please!

cncmin said:
She IS beautiful, thanks Wren; and wears Gopher gear when they play and cheers them on just for me.

I will relay your kind message that we are thrilled with mediocrity and to be able to beat awful teams by over a whole TD at home..
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cncmin said:
BUT IT DIDN'T, that's the problem. Total rushing yards = 221 on 38 plays. QB rushes accounted for 108 of those yards on 12 rushes, and Cobb had a 60 yard run in garbage time accounting for a large portion of that remainder. On standard rushing plays, the Gophers were held to 53 yards on 25 attempts (2.1 avg.) (and 52 yd on 23 att (2.3 avg) if you remove Banham's GT runs). AGAINST UNLV AT HOME.

And the passing game was worse.

The OLine was a horrendous sieve that got knocked backward as often as got a forward push, and consistently let defenders right through the line on passing plays forcing scrambled throws. That Nelson achieved 99 yards was largely a result of his own athleticism, as most of those yards were gained on broken plays.

What is it about scoreboards and box scores that allows people to dismiss reality? There's more to numbers than just raw values.
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Hey genius, is anyone here saying the Gophers played a perfect game? NO! They're saying SHUT UP AND ENJOY THE WIN!

Since you claim to be so into statistics, how reliable is one datapoint? Especially in a sequence where the outcomes are entirely affected by humans.
 


cjcarter8 said:
Hey genius, is anyone here saying the Gophers played a perfect game? NO! They're saying SHUT UP AND ENJOY THE WIN!

Since you claim to be so into statistics, how reliable is one datapoint? Especially in a sequence where the outcomes are entirely affected by humans.
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Gopher fans reaction to a 28 point win.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/5aaBmRXzz54" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 

cjcarter8 said:
Hey genius, is anyone here saying the Gophers played a perfect game? NO! They're saying SHUT UP AND ENJOY THE WIN!

Since you claim to be so into statistics, how reliable is one datapoint? Especially in a sequence where the outcomes are entirely affected by humans.
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We saw the same crappy offense last year in every game but the Purdue game (14 datapoints, not including Kill's first season). Most here are acting like the similarities between the offensive ineptness last year and this year don't matter. We'll all be very happy if this game was some blip on the way to actual improvement. Some of us are afraid that that improvement just isn't there. Last year's defense was solid, and carried the team to a decent season. I expect the defense to perform decently again, and that Thursday's performance on that side of the ball was the actual blip in the data. But, for improvement this season the team needs to be able to move the football.

A win is great. Let's hope for more going forward.
 

cncmin said:
We saw the same crappy offense last year in every game but the Purdue game (14 datapoints, not including Kill's first season). Most here are acting like the similarities between the offensive ineptness last year and this year don't matter. We'll all be very happy if this game was some blip on the way to actual improvement. Some of us are afraid that that improvement just isn't there. Last year's defense was solid, and carried the team to a decent season. I expect the defense to perform decently again, and that Thursday's performance on that side of the ball was the actual blip in the data. But, for improvement this season the team needs to be able to move the football.

A win is great. Let's hope for more going forward.
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Buddy last year has absolutely nothing to do with this year.

Finally, something I can agree with. I absolutely am hoping for better performances in the future. The only point I'm making is don't write off the rest of the season based on the performance in the season opener.
 

cncmin said:
BUT IT DIDN'T, that's the problem. Total rushing yards = 221 on 38 plays. QB rushes accounted for 108 of those yards on 12 rushes, and Cobb had a 60 yard run in garbage time accounting for a large portion of that remainder. On standard rushing plays, the Gophers were held to 53 yards on 25 attempts (2.1 avg.) (and 52 yd on 23 att (2.3 avg) if you remove Banham's GT runs). AGAINST UNLV AT HOME.

And the passing game was worse.

The OLine was a horrendous sieve that got knocked backward as often as got a forward push, and consistently let defenders right through the line on passing plays forcing scrambled throws. That Nelson achieved 99 yards was largely a result of his own athleticism, as most of those yards were gained on broken plays.

What is it about scoreboards and box scores that allows people to dismiss reality? There's more to numbers than just raw values.
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Maybe it was the way I worded my previous post, but I wasn't trying to say that we had a strong, consistent running game, just that that would be a good thing to have, better than relying on special teams and defense to score points.

You said that non-die hard fans would not have found Thursday's game exciting, which is what I was disagreeing with. Night game, lots of "big plays," a 50 point performance, to me that's exactly the type of game that a non-die hard would think is exciting and fun.

I was not trying to say that we gave a dominating all-around performance, simply that I think it was exactly the type of game that a casual fan would have had a lot of fun at.
 

Cayman said:
Maybe it was the way I worded my previous post, but I wasn't trying to say that we had a strong, consistent running game, just that that would be a good thing to have, better than relying on special teams and defense to score points.

You said that non-die hard fans would not have found Thursday's game exciting, which is what I was disagreeing with. Night game, lots of "big plays," a 50 point performance, to me that's exactly the type of game that a non-die hard would think is exciting and fun.

I was not trying to say that we gave a dominating all-around performance, simply that I think it was exactly the type of game that a casual fan would have had a lot of fun at.
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IMHO, it was exactly the type of game that every fan should have had a lot of fun at.

Die hard fans have high expectations constantly, and when those expectations are not reached, they are disappointed and find the negatives. I have high expectations of fan hood, and am constantly disappointed because they never reach my expectations.
 

I had a good time at the game. Sure, the offense was vanilla......but the team was still able to put over 50 points on the board. Haven't seen that in a while. For the next couple games a expect that we will see more of the same, but I also expect that the offense will look a little bit better now that they have gotten their first game out of the way. Wait until the SJSU game. I'm sure that we will see an expanded playbook.
 

the o-line problem

cncmin said:
We saw the same crappy offense last year in every game but the Purdue game (14 datapoints, not including Kill's first season). Most here are acting like the similarities between the offensive ineptness last year and this year don't matter. We'll all be very happy if this game was some blip on the way to actual improvement. Some of us are afraid that that improvement just isn't there. Last year's defense was solid, and carried the team to a decent season. I expect the defense to perform decently again, and that Thursday's performance on that side of the ball was the actual blip in the data. But, for improvement this season the team needs to be able to move the football.

A win is great. Let's hope for more going forward.
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I completely agree with your take. The offensive line was pathetic Thursday night. Hopefully it is not a talent issue, just a blocking scheme issue that can be corrected. If the O-line does not improve this year (as most of us expected), we'll be the same middling team we were last year.
 

Personally, I think the OL underperformed. They did well in pass protection, but I thought they played very poorly in run blocking against a very marginal DL for UNLV. I think they wanted to establish the run, because Matt knows we can't pass, but the OL was unable to open even the smallest of creases. Disappointing to say the least.
 

Sumtimegophs said:
Personally, I think the OL underperformed. They did well in pass protection, but I thought they played very poorly in run blocking against a very marginal DL for UNLV. I think they wanted to establish the run, because Matt knows we can't pass, but the OL was unable to open even the smallest of creases. Disappointing to say the least.
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Exactly.

When I am defending Limegrover's playcalling, I'm not saying that our offense looked good. I am saying that when you can't run the ball and you have poor wide receivers, you can't expect him to open it up. The idiots calling for him to "open it up" pointed at the Indiana vs Indiana State game, but they aren't intelligent enough to realize that Indiana ran the ball at will against Indiana State. . . .opening things up for their offense.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
Exactly.

When I am defending Limegrover's playcalling, I'm not saying that our offense looked good. I am saying that when you can't run the ball and you have poor wide receivers, you can't expect him to open it up. The idiots calling for him to "open it up" pointed at the Indiana vs Indiana State game, but they aren't intelligent enough to realize that Indiana ran the ball at will against Indiana State. . . .opening things up for their offense.
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But but but Limegrover is a dud. :banghead:
 

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