Andy Greder: Gophers QB Tanner Morgan is a ‘game manager,’ and that’s a good thing

[PitinoFan]

The concept of a quarterback being labeled a “game manager” often is considered faint praise or even a slight. That means he leads the offense by staying in his lane, making the correct reads and throws while avoiding mistakes. It’s about wins, not his stats.

That was Gophers QB Tanner Morgan’s redshirt freshman season, when he made six starts — finishing with a 4-2 record — over the final half of the 2018 season.

“I thought he did that for us,” Gophers offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Kirk Ciarrocca said. “I don’t think there are a lot of freshmen in the country that aren’t game managers when they are playing the quarterback position.”

That characterization — which the Gophers see as the opposite of a pejorative — has continued from Morgan’s performance in last week’s season-opening 28-21 victory over South Dakota State and into Saturday’s game at Fresno State.

“We need Tanner to be able to manage the game, be the leader that he is, be him and only him, and get the ball in the hands of the playmakers,” coach P.J. Fleck said Monday. “That is what this year is going to look like. He is really good at that.”.....

Link to entire article:
https://www.twincities.com/2019/09/...gan-is-a-game-manager-and-thats-a-good-thing/



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[GoldenRodents]

The road to "Game Changer" goes through "Game Manager"

 

[Spoofin]

Whatever role he has, he will take their culture with him.


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[MNVCGUY]

Morgan isn't flashy so the game manager label is going to stick with him since the focus will rarely be on him the way it is say on a Martinez at Nebraska or a Fields (who thankfully escaped that oppressive racism he was facing on the bench at Georgia) at Ohio State.

The offense didn't perform great in week 1 but with the playmakers we have we shouldn't need Morgan to be flashy in order to be successful. Perfectly fine with a QB who makes the right decisions and doesn't kill you with stupid mistakes. Morgan has been very solid in his brief Gopher career and it will be fun to see how he grows and matures.

 

[A_Slab_of_Bacon]

Hopefully we can see him move on from that to better things.

 

[RememberMurray]

Weather Channel predicting 20 mph winds at game time in Fresno.

That will impact the passing game for both teams. We really need to run the ball well tomorrow night.

 

[Pompous Elitist]

Weather Channel predicting 20 mph winds at game time in Fresno.

That will impact the passing game for both teams. We really need to run the ball well tomorrow night.

Could be an ugly game and better defense wins. Gusts 20-30 mph will impact a lot of things. Our kickers don’t appear to have the strongest legs. The stadium axis is laid out due north and south - may want to ensure are driving south with the wind in the 4th quarter.




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[MNVCGUY]

Weather Channel predicting 20 mph winds at game time in Fresno.

That will impact the passing game for both teams. We really need to run the ball well tomorrow night.

This is the kind of thing where having a guy like Morgan is preferable to a guy like Fresno has in Reyna. Reyna will make the risky throws that in windy conditions could get really dicey, whereas Morgan seems more like the type that will make the safe/smart read with less chance for a disaster. Just my perception from watching Reyna in one game but I think high winds will really work in our favor for this game if that is indeed what ends up happening.

 

[bleedsmaroonandgold]

This is the kind of thing where having a guy like Morgan is preferable to a guy like Fresno has in Reyna. Reyna will make the risky throws that in windy conditions could get really dicey, whereas Morgan seems more like the type that will make the safe/smart read with less chance for a disaster. Just my perception from watching Reyna in one game but I think high winds will really work in our favor for this game if that is indeed what ends up happening.

Haven't watched Reyna, but I agree with you to the extent that I trust Tanner to make good decisions on light of all factors (weather, game situation, etc). He has a solid head on his shoulders out there (week one INT notwithstanding).

 

[A_Slab_of_Bacon]

This is the kind of thing where having a guy like Morgan is preferable to a guy like Fresno has in Reyna. Reyna will make the risky throws that in windy conditions could get really dicey, whereas Morgan seems more like the type that will make the safe/smart read with less chance for a disaster. Just my perception from watching Reyna in one game but I think high winds will really work in our favor for this game if that is indeed what ends up happening.

Reyna was runn'n and gunn'n a lot in that last game but I sort of wonder if he had the OK to go a bit wild on the road vs a P5 team with lots of family there.

Risky for sure but damn it was fun to watch

Sometimes I wonder if what seems like the risk averse tradition of keeping young QBs contained to specific decisions and etc might actually NOT help them develop as much as if you let them run wild... of course that introduces a lot of risk.

 

[PitinoFan]

Reyna was runn'n and gunn'n a lot in that last game but I sort of wonder if he had the OK to go a bit wild on the road vs a P5 team with lots of family there.

Risky for sure but damn it was fun to watch

Sometimes I wonder if what seems like the risk averse tradition of keeping young QBs contained to specific decisions and etc might actually NOT help them develop as much as if you let them run wild... of course that introduces a lot of risk.

That’s a good point. I’m sure Morgan could put up 300 yards per game, if they turned him loose, like they did in the 2nd half of the Nebraska game, or against Indiana, and then people wouldn’t call him a game manager, but I’m not sure that would give the team the best chance to win.


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[bleedsmaroonandgold]

[/b]

That’s a good point. I’m sure Morgan could put up 300 yards per game, if they turned him loose, like they did in the 2nd half of the Nebraska game, or against Indiana, and then people wouldn’t call him a game manager, but I’m not sure that would give the team the best chance to win.


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+1

If you were to tell me that Morgan would have both the highest completion percentage and yards per completion in the conference, I'd take that in a heartbeat regardless of how "explosive" he looks.

 

[MNGopher23]

This is the kind of thing where having a guy like Morgan is preferable to a guy like Fresno has in Reyna. Reyna will make the risky throws that in windy conditions could get really dicey, whereas Morgan seems more like the type that will make the safe/smart read with less chance for a disaster. Just my perception from watching Reyna in one game but I think high winds will really work in our favor for this game if that is indeed what ends up happening.

I actually believe that this is more in favor for Reyna than it is for Morgan. I hope I'm wrong. He is a very mobile quarterback so if he gets flushed out of the pocket and has the option to pass or run, I think that he will pull it more often than not and try to get yards on his feet (if the winds are truly 20-30 mph). We all know our struggles last year with mobile quarterbacks... Hopefully Rossi has some designed plays where CC45 drops back into coverage as a spy, or somehow utilize the speed of Martin to shadow him. After watching our LB core last week, I'm not all that confident any of those guys will be able to keep up with Reyna if he gets outside the pocket. It really is going to come down to our DL and how effective they are at containing and getting pressure on him.