15 extra practices: Does it matter?

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Mulligan said:
"But we're talking about practice man. What are we talking about? Practice? We're talking about practice, man. We're talking about practice. We're talking about practice. We aint talking about the game. We're talking about practice, man. When you come to the arena, and you see me play, you see me play don't you? You've seen me give everything I've got, right? But we're talking about practice right now."
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beat you to it with this reference. My personal favorite part of that whole rant was "How the h&!! am I supposed to make my teammates better by practicing?"
 

I think what the OP is getting at is a valid question that deserves serious debate. I don't think anyone would disagree with the statement that going to a bowl/having 15 extra practices is better than not going to a bowl/not having 15 more practices. That said, this program has been to a lot of bowls under 3 different coaches in the past 13 years. The claim has been made that going to these minor bowls is valuable to achieving better things in the following year. We haven't seen any evidence under the prior two coaches that going to these bowls helps the team either improve the next season or in recruiting. It's possible that these 15 practices are more important to Jerry Kill and his system or that he's simply a better coach.


The best thing about going to a "bowl" this season to me is that expectations will be higher next year.
 

EG#9 said:
We haven't seen any evidence under the prior two coaches that going to these bowls helps the team either improve the next season or in recruiting.
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How can you objectively measure this? If you finish 6th in the Big Ten and go to a bowl game and then finish 6th the next year are you saying that means the team didn't benefit from the extra bowl practice? What about the five teams ahead of you that also got 15 practices?
 

15 practices is the equivalent of an extra Spring practice period. Does Spring practice not help the team? Not taking sides, just lending perspective.
 

EG#9 said:
I think what the OP is getting at is a valid question that deserves serious debate. I don't think anyone would disagree with the statement that going to a bowl/having 15 extra practices is better than not going to a bowl/not having 15 more practices. That said, this program has been to a lot of bowls under 3 different coaches in the past 13 years. The claim has been made that going to these minor bowls is valuable to achieving better things in the following year. We haven't seen any evidence under the prior two coaches that going to these bowls helps the team either improve the next season or in recruiting. It's possible that these 15 practices are more important to Jerry Kill and his system or that he's simply a better coach.


The best thing about going to a "bowl" this season to me is that expectations will be higher next year.
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The issue is we've never gone to a bowl under your terms & retained the entire staff the next year until now. How about this....A young team with a consistent coaching staff/system, will benefit from 15 extra practices?
 


badgergopher said:
How can you objectively measure this? If you finish 6th in the Big Ten and go to a bowl game and then finish 6th the next year are you saying that means the team didn't benefit from the extra bowl practice? What about the five teams ahead of you that also got 15 practices?
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I am not sure you can objectively measure whether or not extra bowl practices help a team going forward. Logically, more practice=better results. That said, during Glen Mason's ten years at Minnesota only Minnesota and Indiana failed to finish in the top 3 of the conference and Minnesota never defeated a team that finished in the top 3 of the conference. The Gophers went to a lot of bowls during that time span, more than Illinois and Northwestern, yet failed to ever move up the ladder past middle of the pack. Likewise, Tim Brewster was on the hot seat after going to two bowls (and having better conference records in both seasons than Jerry Kill at 3-5) because he wasn't moving the program beyond that top of the bottom tier/lowest of the mid tier status that the Gophers had been stuck in. We've heard a lot about how this is an important step for the program (going to a minor bowl) and the importance of these 15 practices. I think it's fair, given the programs history, to wonder whether this is really a step or just a return to a little below where the program has been for the past 13 years or so (FWIW, I think this is the worst of our many mediocre bowl teams). Jerry Kill is a different coach and he deserves a chance to prove that this really is a step towards something better (health permitting, but that's another issue).
 

EG#9 said:
I am not sure you can objectively measure whether or not extra bowl practices help a team going forward. Logically, more practice=better results. That said, during Glen Mason's ten years at Minnesota only Minnesota and Indiana failed to finish in the top 3 of the conference and Minnesota never defeated a team that finished in the top 3 of the conference. The Gophers went to a lot of bowls during that time span, more than Illinois and Northwestern, yet failed to ever move up the ladder past middle of the pack. Likewise, Tim Brewster was on the hot seat after going to two bowls (and having better conference records in both seasons than Jerry Kill at 3-5) because he wasn't moving the program beyond that top of the bottom tier/lowest of the mid tier status that the Gophers had been stuck in. We've heard a lot about how this is an important step for the program (going to a minor bowl) and the importance of these 15 practices. I think it's fair, given the programs history, to wonder whether this is really a step or just a return to a little below where the program has been for the past 13 years or so (FWIW, I think this is the worst of our many mediocre bowl teams). Jerry Kill is a different coach and he deserves a chance to prove that this really is a step towards something better (health permitting, but that's another issue).
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Fair enough. I think most would agree with the statement that, while 15 practices will assist in the development of younger players and should contribute to their being better prepared next season, these practices are no guarantee that the program will experience a step change in results as measured by their standing within the conference.

If that is what the OP meant than we are all probably in violent agreement.
 

RedPoo said:
Jesus H. Christ, are you serious? I don't think there's ever been a single play where I saw it and knew that the team made it because they had an extra practice. I'm not saying I see it, I'm saying it's common sense that most people understand when they're 5 years old. The more you work at something, the better you get at it.
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Not if you've reached your maximum level of talent or expertise. I think the extra practices will help some, but I'm more concerned about the talent level on the team. This is a young team and that is a legitimate point in discussing performance and getting greater familiarity with the expectations of the coaching staff should help. But will that be significant or at the margins?
 




Biggest benefit from Bowl practices is that the coaches can work more heavily with the young guys and put more emphasis on fundamentals because you are not so pressed to use the entire practice to get ready for the next opponent. The practices themself won't have a direct effect on what happens next season but like others have pointed out it certainly can't hurt to have those extra sessions.
 

John Galt said:
Is there anything in life where more practice isn't helpful? Whether it translates into more wins is debatable since all the teams we lost to this year except Iowa will also get 15 more practices, but it can't hurt.
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If nothing else, at least you may find a player that was overlooked throughout the season. Obviously, the extra practices would be good. Each team needs that practice to line up a pistol and then run him off tackle which is what Gray ended up doing. Maybe we could disguise a formation so some of the other coaches in the Big Ten don't realize what is coming. Terrible play calling again. No wonder we can't gain yardage. Everybody on the defensive side knows what is coming.
 

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