Are We Witnessing the Birth of a Championship Offense?

[fmlizard]

Weber was a good QB. He had a couple weapons as well.

Morgan/Annexstad/Clark (hopefully) are not as good as Weber right now, but could be, and have more weapons to work with than he did. I'll take Johnson, Bateman, Douglas and CAB...plus the newcomers, plus BSF, plus our backs, over the skill position players Weber had. Decker was amazing but he was one guy.

Tanner Morgan may well be better right now than Weber was as a senior.

Morgan's passer rating was 147.6 last year as a freshman playing almost all snaps in Big Ten/bowl games only. No stat padding creampuff games included. With way more freshmen surrounding him than Weber ever had. He is currently the highest rated QB in school history.

Weber's career rating was 123.1, and his best mark as a senior was 129. He has large volume stats because he started and stayed mostly healthy for 4 years in a pass-heavy offense by Gopher standards. He had a NFL WR to work with in Eric Decker.

 

[60's Guy]

I'm very comfortable with our offense going forward. The exciting thing is PJ tells those 8 freshman starters he's going to recruit somebody to take their job away. Add a couple special guys who actually fulfill that promise and we are elite.
The OC and the WMU coaches staying was crucial to this whole thing, I think. They are good coaches and believe in the process of PJ to hoist trophies. Beating Wisconsin and GT...if we can just sustain that on a consistent level we are not going to lose very often.

 

[swingman]

Nice original post...we will know more after Spring when we know more about new guys, and guys who redshirted or haven’t played much and will be asked to play bigger roles...learn more about the health of Smith and Brooks...

I added two units to op breakdown; coaching and kicking.

Coaching...it appears Kirk C returns for year three...good to have that continuity at OC and QB coach, and the continuity with Callahan, Burns, Simon...and Fleck as an offensive coach by trade...Patterson returns for year two...they know the league well now...PSU, GSU, SDSU, RU only unfamiliar opponents for staff...Maryland will have a new staff...

Kicking...Carpenter was a good offensive weapon...not sure what we have to replace? Snapper was solid as well. Needs to be replaced.

QB...Morgan, Annexstad, Clark, Kramer all recruited to this system...all here for Spring...Seth in year two of wildcat adds another nice element...better oline would mean better QB

Oline....

Weyler will be missed...Olson might have to move to center, that is an unknown, but he is smart, tough, strong and battle tested...they seem to like Schmitz...maybe he is center

Greene is gone...Andries filled in admirably vs GaTech...is Dickson ready to go and as good as talked about? If Dickson is good at rt, that is huge...leave Faalele at rt, leave Andries at guard...if Schlueter can be that sixth blocker and a backup tackle, that is good...

Dunlap looked good in limited sample size...if we have that six of Dickson, Andries, Olson, Dunlap, Faalele and Schlueter all ready, we then need someone to step up on interior line and at tackle to push that group, be ready to fill in...Sassack, York, Guedet? Beier, Schmitz, Boe? Davis or Richter? Also, used Beebe as effective blocker a lot in short yardage and power run game effectively...Do we replace that?

RB...Mo, Williams should be better...Rodney and Shannon are huge wild cards...I am interested to see what they get out of Potts...A little different element that Ciarrocca wanted? Williamson a wild card. Edmonds? Wiley a big back they don’t have right now?

WR...Fleck talks a lot about Manns...if he or MBS are similar or better to CAB/DD we are in luck...the big Texan, Nnamdi, may add something they don’t have...or Seth? Or BSF?

TE...we all can see BSF and hear the hype from Fleck...Paulson has gotten some good run...ready to take a big step forward? I think Witham and Kieft could add some physicality...both big, mature experienced...

 

[BroncoRedux]

We certainly had competent offenses in 2016 and even 2014.

This one is way more exciting and has a considerably higher ceiling, but to talk about the 2016 offense as being "incompetent" is a bit hyperbolic.

You are the persistent one, I'll give you that.

 

[John Galt]

We certainly had competent offenses in 2016 and even 2014.

This one is way more exciting and has a considerably higher ceiling, but to talk about the 2016 offense as being "incompetent" is a bit hyperbolic.

I guess they were adequate due to the running attacks. The passing game and overall balance left a lot to be desired for a “good” football team.

 

[Oregon Gopher]

Just think he did that with four, or was it five OC's while he was playing.

And a lot of practice throwing a tennis ball. How the F did Jedd Fisch become a QB coach aside from an OC?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Halsey Hall]

Tanner Morgan may well be better right now than Weber was as a senior.

Morgan's passer rating was 147.6 last year as a freshman playing almost all snaps in Big Ten/bowl games only. No stat padding creampuff games included. With way more freshmen surrounding him than Weber ever had. He is currently the highest rated QB in school history.

Weber's career rating was 123.1, and his best mark as a senior was 129. He has large volume stats because he started and stayed mostly healthy for 4 years in a pass-heavy offense by Gopher standards. He had a NFL WR to work with in Eric Decker.

I totally agree. Weber was way too inconsistent and would bounce flair passes on the ground. Morgan is only going to get better. And he runs better than Weber.

 

[diehard]

It is all about the OL. The running game, the passing game all hinge on the OL. We are developing a strong OL and Callahan is the best OL coach I can recall based on his limited time here. All of you are going to scream, but what about Gordy Shaw? His OLs always collapsed in the 4th quarter against the good DLs. We couldn't sustain drives late in the games. We were different this year after Faalele started. Replacing Weyler is the only question and we have good options. I think we will have depth next year. OL was lucky with injuries this year. Won't happen often.

QBs need to improve downfield passing. Many of our completions were because of outstanding adjustments made by our receivers, not because of pinpoint throws. Regardless, we are the strongest here I can remember.

WRs. Looking great. Better routes and huge improvement in adjustments. We will start producer NFL WRs regularing with Fleck here. He know WRs better than anyone in college football.

RBs? Need the OL to open holes. That is happening and we are getting good downfield blocking. Team players rowing the boat. Brooks and Smith can have monster seasons this year. Hard to keep Mo and Brice off the field. We are looking good there. No need to play dinged RBs. Let them heal.

Zack had a similar QB rating to Thorsen and Morgan much better. There is no doubt that this O is good enough to win the West.

 

[Word]

Morgan is only going to get better. And he runs better than Weber.

Agree with the first part. Not sure I agree with the 2nd part and I'm a big fan of Morgan and have been wishing they would let him run more. They are both decent, but not great, runners. Gray, Leidner, and even Nelson were probably better than both Morgan and Weber.

 

[WinLoseOrTy]

Agree with the first part. Not sure I agree with the 2nd part and I'm a big fan of Morgan and have been wishing they would let him run more. They are both decent, but not great, runners. Gray, Leidner, and even Nelson were probably better than both Morgan and Weber.

Weber had a great spin move though. Would use it at least once a game to avoid a sack.

 

[Gophers_4life]

One interesting thing to me is if they will continue to have a package of plays using a 6th OL at the TE position. I'd like to mainly use it for running plays or play action passes. Seattle Seahawks had some extended success with the 6OL this season, using it more than just for short yardage, I believe. Schlueter was that guy for us, but I think it tailed off or wasn't used vs Wisconsin and GT.

Would love to eventually get to a point where we have a (couple) badass TEs who can block but also go out on routes and catch the ball for serious yardage, and that Ciarrocca lets them! Having a weapon like Fant was for Iowa, would be a nice addition to our RBs and WRs.

 

[Gophers_4life]

Side note: did Adam Weber have a coaching gig this past season (2018) anywhere? I saw an article where he said he was staying in LA after not being retained by Chip Kelly's staff, waiting for his next opportunity.

EDIT: looks like he took a sales job in Chicago. Wild guess/wondering, maybe he talked to coaches and decided that life wasn't for him? To get back up to the DI level he might've needed to build up a resume at high school/lower level colleges? Who knows

 

[A_Slab_of_Bacon]

Weber had a great spin move though. Would use it at least once a game to avoid a sack.

All the best QBs have it!

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

And a lot of practice throwing a tennis ball. How the F did Jedd Fisch become a QB coach aside from an OC?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Jedd Fisch has had a pretty nice career as an offensive coach.

He was Russell Wilson's QB coach in Seattle when Wilson was a rookie (ROY).

It didn't work out here, but that wasn't Fisch's fault.

 

[Ewert86PC]

Let's all calm down. The numbers look like they can be massaged to be really good, but the players have to show up and execute the coaches game plan.The coaches need to make game plans that can exploit opponents' weaknesses.

Quit playing the game of accepting mediocrity because numbers look good. There is a difference between fantasy football and playing football on the field. Believing numbers gives you a misaligned set of expectations. Believing the Gophers will field a excellent team is the key.

I have raised hopes for this team, but they have to do the work of winning games. We are still eight months away from the season, which is when we will see the results of their offseason training.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

[MNVCGUY]

Let's all calm down. The numbers look like they can be massaged to be really good, but the players have to show up and execute the coaches game plan.The coaches need to make game plans that can exploit opponents' weaknesses.

Quit playing the game of accepting mediocrity because numbers look good. There is a difference between fantasy football and playing football on the field. Believing numbers gives you a misaligned set of expectations. Believing the Gophers will field a excellent team is the key.

I have raised hopes for this team, but they have to do the work of winning games. We are still eight months away from the season, which is when we will see the results of their offseason training.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

What are you replying to? This thread has been a rational discussion about what this offense could become. I don't think any of us feel like the offense has arrived which is really exciting because the current version already compares favorably with some of the better offenses we have had here in recent years, and it doesn't feel like they have peaked at all.

If they can continue on this current trajectory, in a few seasons when we have a unit loaded with Juniors and Seniors we could be in line for something really special.

And I also don't think it is crazy to think that next year this offense has a chance to be one of the better offenses in the conference. Not on the level of say an Ohio State but well in line with any team in the West and most of the East.

 

[Ewert86PC]

What are you replying to? This thread has been a rational discussion about what this offense could become. I don't think any of us feel like the offense has arrived which is really exciting because the current version already compares favorably with some of the better offenses we have had here in recent years, and it doesn't feel like they have peaked at all.

If they can continue on this current trajectory, in a few seasons when we have a unit loaded with Juniors and Seniors we could be in line for something really special.

And I also don't think it is crazy to think that next year this offense has a chance to be one of the better offenses in the conference. Not on the level of say an Ohio State but well in line with any team in the West and most of the East.

While I'm all for speculating about teams, and their chances, but I think this kind of thing is better done closer to the season. We are eight months out and Spring Practice hasn't happened yet. There is a lot of training to be done.

Last year, we were speculating about Vic Viramontes coming here and how that would change the program. Look at how the season ended and it is drastically different.

Speculation forms limits. Negative speculation sets the floor. Positive speculation sets a ceiling. This far out from the season is no time to set a ceiling on the offense or team.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

[everybody knows my name]

We certainly had competent offenses in 2016 and even 2014.

This one is way more exciting and has a considerably higher ceiling, but to talk about the 2016 offense as being "incompetent" is a bit hyperbolic.

THANK YOU. If you didn't say it I would have, we had some pretty effective offensive performances under the previous coaching staff.

 

[PhillyGopher]

What are you replying to? This thread has been a rational discussion about what this offense could become. I don't think any of us feel like the offense has arrived which is really exciting because the current version already compares favorably with some of the better offenses we have had here in recent years, and it doesn't feel like they have peaked at all.

If they can continue on this current trajectory, in a few seasons when we have a unit loaded with Juniors and Seniors we could be in line for something really special.

And I also don't think it is crazy to think that next year this offense has a chance to be one of the better offenses in the conference. Not on the level of say an Ohio State but well in line with any team in the West and most of the East.

It was just a reminder that he is smarter than us because he doesn't accept mediocrity.

 

[PurplePride]

We need to replace that LT position. That's not easy.

 

[John Galt]

THANK YOU. If you didn't say it I would have, we had some pretty effective offensive performances under the previous coaching staff.

I guess it depends on how you view pretty effective. Here are the stats: https://gophersports.com/sports/2018/5/21/sports-m-footbl-spec-rel-yearly-offense-totals-html.aspx

We averaged 28.9 points/game this year, which the previous staff only surpassed one time: in 2016 we averaged 29.3. Other than 2016, 2005 was the last time we averaged more points/game than this season.

We averaged 380 yards/game this season, the highest since 2007.

We threw 20 TD passes, the highest since 2010. We averaged 209 passing yards/game, the 2nd highest since 2010.

And we accomplished it with 2 freshman QBs, predominantly 2 freshman RBs, 3 freshman WRs, and 2 freshman o-linemen. Pretty impressive overall.

 

[MNVCGUY]

While I'm all for speculating about teams, and their chances, but I think this kind of thing is better done closer to the season. We are eight months out and Spring Practice hasn't happened yet. There is a lot of training to be done.

Last year, we were speculating about Vic Viramontes coming here and how that would change the program. Look at how the season ended and it is drastically different.

Speculation forms limits. Negative speculation sets the floor. Positive speculation sets a ceiling. This far out from the season is no time to set a ceiling on the offense or team.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

Fair point, but in this case we are not speculating on an unknown quantity like Viramontes. This discussion isn't about who is going to come in and save the day on offense, like it has been many times in the past. This is about what the players we have already seen in action at the college level can become with more experience and development.

Unless they get beat out by a new player, we already know who most of the starters on offense are going to be next year. That is the one beauty of playing so many freshmen, they all come back for the most part the next year.

 

[Gophers_4life]

We need to replace that LT position. That's not easy.

Here's hoping some combination of Dickson, Andries, and Schlueter gets it done in 2019!

Really like Dunlap and Faalele on the right side. Smash brothers. I think the other interior spots will be good too.

 

[Urbandale]

While I'm all for speculating about teams, and their chances, but I think this kind of thing is better done closer to the season. We are eight months out and Spring Practice hasn't happened yet. There is a lot of training to be done.

Last year, we were speculating about Vic Viramontes coming here and how that would change the program. Look at how the season ended and it is drastically different.

Speculation forms limits. Negative speculation sets the floor. Positive speculation sets a ceiling. This far out from the season is no time to set a ceiling on the offense or team.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

Are you suggesting that a message board be shut down during the off season?

Are you also suggesting that message board comments have a direct causal effect on team performance?

 

[Ewert86PC]

Are you suggesting that a message board be shut down during the off season?

Are you also suggesting that message board comments have a direct causal effect on team performance?

Nope, I'm saying that now is not the time for that kind of speculation. The increasingly fast pace of college athletics means timing is important.

Do players, recruits and prospects read message boards? Yes. They know what's up and how ridiculous it sounds when somebody is speculating this far out from the season.

At this point, every team could legitimately say "We could win the national championship", but players and recruits know who has the best chance at it.

All this does, this far out from the start of the season, is tell people who has the most delusional fan base. That doesn't help recruiting and sets up booster disillusionment during the season.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

[Clark W. Griswold]

Here's hoping some combination of Dickson, Andries, and Schlueter gets it done in 2019!

Yep, this is the difference, there are options compared to years past. I am very comfortable whoever wins the spot. In my mind 3/5ths of the oline is proven and young enough that you expect improvement. I like the options for replacing the other 2. There should be some good battles going on in camp to find the best combination. For the first time in a long time I am not worried about the oline. This should be a very solid/good unit.

 

[WinLoseOrTy]

Gopher football fan base just got scolded for being too optimistic. These certainly are interesting times we live in...

 

[MNVCGUY]

Nope, I'm saying that now is not the time for that kind of speculation. The increasingly fast pace of college athletics means timing is important.

Do players, recruits and prospects read message boards? Yes. They know what's up and how ridiculous it sounds when somebody is speculating this far out from the season.

At this point, every team could legitimately say "We could win the national championship", but players and recruits know who has the best chance at it.

All this does, this far out from the start of the season, is tell people who has the most delusional fan base. That doesn't help recruiting and sets up booster disillusionment during the season.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

Wow.....and you do realize that in this thread that has contained very little wild predictions or speculation YOU are the only person prior to me doing it right now who has posted the words "We could win the National Championship". I guess you are just going to have to find a way to forgive us delusional fans for wanting to have a grounded discussion about the team this far out from the season.....didn't realize my thread was going to cause "booster dissilusionment" and harm recruiting.

My bad everyone....will be more careful with my wild speculation in the future.

 

[Hopeful Pessimist]

The offensive stats from this season are not eye popping but I feel like we are on the cusp of something really special with this offense. I know as Minnesota fans we are always waiting for the other shoe to drop but the beauty of starting 8 freshman on offense is it means that the next year you bring back 8 sophomores, and the year after that 8 juniors.....

Looking at each unit:
QB - 2 returning Sophomores with game experience that both played well as freshmen. Plenty of room for growth but that should be part of their natural progression anyway. Add Seth Green to that mix as well and things lay out really well for next season and beyond. On top of that you have a highly touted kid in Clark coming in who could easily be the future.

RB - I would feel good about this position with Ibrahim being the go to guy next year based on how he played this year but just for fun we also potentially bring back 2 really high level backs in Smith and Brooks to add to the mix. Need to keep adding depth but things look good at RB for the near future for sure.

OL - Have to replace 2 good pieces but the bowl game showed that the loss of Greene might not be a massive deal. The young guys that saw a lot of playing time this year should only get better and there are some really promising options waiting in the wings to get their shot along the line. O-Line looks like it could be a strong unit for this team.

TE - Some unknown here and not a huge part of the passing game to this point but the staff is really high on Spann-Ford so will be interesting to see how he factors into things next year.

WR - Saved the best for last - With Johnson coming back this unit is stacked for next year. With and All-Big Ten option on one side of the field in TJ and an emerging star on the other side in Bateman things are looking up. And that doesn't even factor in Autman-Bell who looks like a very nice slot receiver and Douglas who has shown flashes of being a solid option also. With transfers like Grimes filling in down the line in addition to some good looking recruits at the position we have the pieces in place to force defenses to respect our passing game and keep them from crowding the line to stop the run game.

With all of this in place I could see this offense becoming one of the best in the conference as early as 2019. And given the youth we will still have across the board, the sky truly is the limit.

Long way to go until next August but it is fun to head into the off season excited about the offense as opposed to dreading it or looking at a massive list of questions that need to be answered about the unit.

So am I dreaming or do others think we may be seeing the birth of something really special around here?

Excellent post! When I think of where the Gophers have been for so long, the progress is impressive. At this point, it reminds me of the way Wisconsin became good. I'm especially impressed with the process of developing quality depth.
However, I think that he 2020 recruiting class needs to be the best one so far. Watch out for Nebraska in 2 years! In order for the Gophers to be true contenders for the West, I think that we need the following: 1. Jacob Clark to be ready to assume control, or a true 4-star QB for 2020. 2. Add 2 RB's
who are elusive and who can be threats as receivers out of the backfield, like Barlow. 3. The WR's can be outstanding, but we need another big, fast receiver like Grimes. 4. You can't be truly successful without a deep aggressive OL. I like Guedet, but we missed out on some OL's with great potential in 2019. Change that for 2020!!!!

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

I guess it depends on how you view pretty effective. Here are the stats: https://gophersports.com/sports/2018/5/21/sports-m-footbl-spec-rel-yearly-offense-totals-html.aspx

We averaged 28.9 points/game this year, which the previous staff only surpassed one time: in 2016 we averaged 29.3. Other than 2016, 2005 was the last time we averaged more points/game than this season.

We averaged 380 yards/game this season, the highest since 2007.

We threw 20 TD passes, the highest since 2010. We averaged 209 passing yards/game, the 2nd highest since 2010.

And we accomplished it with 2 freshman QBs, predominantly 2 freshman RBs, 3 freshman WRs, and 2 freshman o-linemen. Pretty impressive overall.

This really isn't the argument though. We are both admitting the 2018 offense was a ton of fun and a good offense and has tons of potential.

You called the 2016 offense incompetent, it wasn't.