Amazing What These Kids Did When Coached

[spermophilus]

- No indecision or confusion on play calls or execution.
- Tackling and coverage improvement.
- Blocking and execution improvement.
- Even our special teams went from embarrassing to mediocre.

Appeared they responded to the watchwords - "fundamentals" and "lets have some FUN, boys".

All that said, if our new coach is Hoke, Mullen, or whomever - they must be able to recruit, yes; but they also must be able to coach. The contrast within this year, on this same team, was striking.

 

[BradDad]

Largely agree.

I think the kids benefited from the distraction Brewster had become being lifted.

 

[Breakin' The Plane]

You can't underestimate what this win can do from the program. Like it or not, how you finish the season matters. The defense should have some confidence in itself to start next season.

 

[ncgo4]

Plus it will encourage our commits to stick.

 

[50PoundHead]

Largely agree.

I think the kids benefited from the distraction Brewster had become being lifted.

It probably boils down to a lot of things, but there's no question they were playing tight prior to Brewster's filing. Brewster knew he was coaching for his job and he may have reminded his players of that (probably not directly, but the players aren't blind) more often than he should have.

 

[Sparlimb]

It probably boils down to a lot of things, but there's no question they were playing tight prior to Brewster's filing. Brewster knew he was coaching for his job and he may have reminded his players of that (probably not directly, but the players aren't blind) more often than he should have.

I think they were playing awful under Brewster because they had no identity and no leadership. I think a coach who goes from the spread to power running after just one year is a coach who has no idea what he's doing. Pick your thing and stick with it. How many people laughed at Chris Ault and his pistol formation. Everyone does it now and his team just won the WAC...

Simple solid coaching made a big difference. Let's not forget, however, that Iowa looked extremely disinterested today as well. They didn't appear to want to play the game and it showed all game. Not our problem though. I'm happy as hell we won...

 

[Shielder]

I think they were playing awful under Brewster because they had no identity and no leadership. I think a coach who goes from the spread to power running after just one year is a coach who has no idea what he's doing. Pick your thing and stick with it. How many people laughed at Chris Ault and his pistol formation. Everyone does it now and his team just won the WAC...

Simple solid coaching made a big difference. Let's not forget, however, that Iowa looked extremely disinterested today as well. They didn't appear to want to play the game and it showed all game. Not our problem though. I'm happy as hell we won...

If Iowa was disinterested, they need a coach who can make them interested.

 

[station19]

- No indecision or confusion on play calls or execution.
- Tackling and coverage improvement.
- Blocking and execution improvement.
- Even our special teams went from embarrassing to mediocre.

Appeared they responded to the watchwords - "fundamentals" and "lets have some FUN, boys".

All that said, if our new coach is Hoke, Mullen, or whomever - they must be able to recruit, yes; but they also must be able to coach. The contrast within this year, on this same team, was striking.

Very much so.

 

[MGGopher]

It's definitely hard for one to put their finger on exactly what the change was near the end of the year. Clearly the team played with more of a "spark." I'd also point to some GREAT offensive game-planning and play calling by Thomas Hammock. I really believe that Brewster was directly responsible for hamstringing Horton all year by telling him to "grind it out, kill clock, etc."

Anyway, it really was a remarkable turn-around to end the year. It's strange to think that 95% of our coaching staff (the position guys who actually instruct the players on a daily basis) are the exact same guys who were coaching them the entire offseason and in the weeks leading up to debacles like USD, NIU, and Purdue. Clearly something "clicked" with the guys after Brewster left, though...

 

[alphagopher]

iowa is a vastly superior team, obviously, but one that is fading-fast-we caught them at the right time, and damn it felt good!

 

[Wahoo McDaniel]

No question Brewster had this team "screwed up" (above the necks) of the players and probably his coaching staff.

Was he "Hamstringing" his coordinators and assistants so that they couldn't do their jobs effectively?

You know it, Brother!

 

[Mulligan]

It's definitely hard for one to put their finger on exactly what the change was near the end of the year. Clearly the team played with more of a "spark." I'd also point to some GREAT offensive game-planning and play calling by Thomas Hammock. I really believe that Brewster was directly responsible for hamstringing Horton all year by telling him to "grind it out, kill clock, etc."

Anyway, it really was a remarkable turn-around to end the year. It's strange to think that 95% of our coaching staff (the position guys who actually instruct the players on a daily basis) are the exact same guys who were coaching them the entire offseason and in the weeks leading up to debacles like USD, NIU, and Purdue. Clearly something "clicked" with the guys after Brewster left, though...

Been thinking about this too. As a fan, I really wanted to believe Brewster was the right guy. I'll never admit to being a Kool-Aid drinker, but I liked his enthusiasm and believed the hype of him being a great recruiter. Gradually, doubts about him began to seep in. What I was being told, didn't jive with what I was seeing. After that first shocking loss to South Dakota, I wasn't a believer anymore.

IMO the same thing happened with the players. You can only be BS'ed so many times before you don't believe the person anymore. You stop believing and you stop listening and you stop caring. The players stopped really playing for him because he had lost them and it wasn't fun anymore.

The "spark" was simply the desire to play again. That's the real key to what Horton did. He told people that was his plan and it worked. They also gained a lot of confidence over the way they won the Illinois game. I honestly don't think the basic coaching was that different yesterday. What was different was the way we came off the ball; how hard our backs ran; and how aggressive we were in tackling. People had bitched all year long about our fundamentals. There was maybe more emphasis on that after Horton took over, but those players just didn't pick it up all of a sudden. It's the type of thing players start learning when they're in junior high. It's the type of thing a guy like Brewster knows better than any of us. The players just wanted to do it again because Horton became credible to them.

The onside kick was great and I liked the way we attacked the edges, but the game plan wasn't that brilliant yesterday. The crucial third down call with Gray was the type of call that had people going nuts earlier in the year. It was the same thing we had been doing over and over out of that formation. It succeeded because the players, especially Gray, made it work.

Don't know if this is valid but it's a hell of a lot more fun to analyze a win instead of a loss.

 

[WilliamsArenaGuy]

I'd also point to some GREAT offensive game-planning and play calling by Thomas Hammock. I really believe that Brewster was directly responsible for hamstringing Horton all year by telling him to "grind it out, kill clock, etc."

Totally agree. A lot of people on here were thrilled with the gameplan against USC because we had a lead at one point in the second half (never mind that we lost going away. I would say Iowa and Illinois this year were pretty comparable to USC, and maybe both were better.

In these two games, we actually had a game plan that wasn't playing scared. We actually put points on the board in the first half, built a lead, and lo and behold, WON two games. We used Gray extremely effectively WITHOUT benching Weber, playing to both their strengths. This is what the team was capable of. Brewster was so lost this year, it was shameful.

 

[cncmin]

Anyone else ever notice that teams that say "we're going to grind it out" or "we're going to get the ball to ___ " or "we're this" or "we're not that" end up hamstringing themselves into losing situations? Never EVER say that you are limiting or forcing your gameplan. You can't win often that way. Perhaps Tim Brewster, perhaps Brad Childress have learned that, now. (But probably not.)

You need to plan your gameplan for your opponent, and you need to adjust as necessary. Keeping on keeping on, like the Gophers did against USC by smashing for 0, 1, or 2 yards up the middle, was obviously NOT going to win that game. Playing a mediocre Weber at QB every snap all season was obviously NOT going to win many games. You need to adjust, and make things work. That's what happened the past two games.