Are the Gophers tooling up for the AK Era?

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I was surprised by all the late WR adds as well, but as was pointed out in another thread this just seems like a roster management issue. The Gophers only had 8 scholarship WRs last year after the mass exodus at the bottom of the depth chart. It's typical to have 12 - 15 WRs, so they're just trying to balance the roster. I doubt we'll see major changes to the offensive philosophy other than perhaps a few percentage points more towards pass -- some of that from AK either incorrectly reading RPO or just wanting to throw more out of it like he did on that TD to Brockington when Wisc was clearly giving them a look to run at.
 

MGGopher said:
I was surprised by all the late WR adds as well, but as was pointed out in another thread this just seems like a roster management issue. The Gophers only had 8 scholarship WRs last year after the mass exodus at the bottom of the depth chart. It's typical to have 12 - 15 WRs, so they're just trying to balance the roster. I doubt we'll see major changes to the offensive philosophy other than perhaps a few percentage points more towards pass -- some of that from AK either incorrectly reading RPO or just wanting to throw more out of it like he did on that TD to Brockington when Wisc was clearly giving them a look to run at.
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I feel like offensive philosophy also follows players making plays.

I always quote Kirk C when he said something along the lines of "Players make plays. If a player shows he can make a play, then I'll call that play."

We saw in Wisc the running game not making plays and the QB, OL (protection wise) and WRs making plays and they got called.
 

60's Guy said:
PJ 2019 is about as far we get, I think. I also think he's doing great in the portal. The .new additions clearly should make us better!
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Exactly. People seem to be forgetting that Bateman and Johnson put up great numbers in 2019. That offense wasn’t significantly different than what we’ve seen in recent years, just tweaked a bit. PJ has shown that he’s willing to capitalize on the talent available: recently it’s been Mo, before that it was the WR room, and I expect it to swing back to the WRs this coming year.
 

Panthadad2 said:
The Purdue game was a microcosm of those issues. Their shooting the gaps and blitzing on D (through an o-line that didn't seam ready for it) made the importance of quick outlet passes to the slot, TE and RB important. I distinctly remember several drops from all those positions in key moments. Some of those drops completely changed the game.

I wish I knew about a stats site that tracked receiver drops. It would be interesting to compare teams.
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I remember a pretty key drop from a WR, as well in that game ... :(
 


Looking at portal action to date and the OL and RBs we picked up verses WRs tells me a lot. Adding 2 All American HS commitments also tell me what PJ and KC are planning. They aren’t coming just to block for the WRs. Athan breaking vs Wisky set the table for our new look O.
 

Rockraven said:
Looking at portal action to date and the OL and RBs we picked up verses WRs tells me a lot. Adding 2 All American HS commitments also tell me what PJ and KC are planning. They aren’t coming just to block for the WRs. Athan breaking vs Wisky set the table for our new look O.
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Completely agree, this represents a change in philosophy imo
 





Panthadad2 said:
The Purdue game was a microcosm of those issues. Their shooting the gaps and blitzing on D (through an o-line that didn't seam ready for it) made the importance of quick outlet passes to the slot, TE and RB important. I distinctly remember several drops from all those positions in key moments. Some of those drops completely changed the game.

I wish I knew about a stats site that tracked receiver drops. It would be interesting to compare teams.
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For me, I think it was a problem in that we didn't threaten deep. If you don't threaten deep, teams will take way more chances against in blitz packages, stunts, etc.

The quick slip screens are great, but they don't impose fear in a defense like the long ball.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
For me, I think it was a problem in that we didn't threaten deep. If you don't threaten deep, teams will take way more chances against in blitz packages, stunts, etc.

The quick slip screens are great, but they don't impose fear in a defense like the long ball.
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Hard to throw the long ball with only a couple seconds to get the throw off. Plus, Tanner seemingly had no confidence in the WR corps to come down with the 50/50 ball. Wright probably would have been the best at that, but Tanner rarely targeted him.
 

Panthadad2 said:
Hard to throw the long ball with only a couple seconds to get the throw off. Plus, Tanner seemingly had no confidence in the WR corps to come down with the 50/50 ball. Wright probably would have been the best at that, but Tanner rarely targeted him.
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A QB doesn't have to hold the ball very long to throw a fade.
 

highwayman said:
Not likely.
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55% run vs 45% pass would be a big swing from last few years ... and it could be even more impressive if we decide to run a few more play total instead of strangling the clock for all four quarters.
 



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