Athan Kaliakmanis struggles?

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Dakota2 said:
Wasn't able to see the game but it's quite apparent AK put in a mere Morganesqe performance.

What to do against Iowa with two guys throwing like Morgan? Probably best to go with the one who can move away from pressure, extend plays, and rush for 30 or 40 yards and not take negative yards in sacks.
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I think if given time to throw (which the QB had yesterday), Morgan is a much more accurate passer. I think a healthy Morgan would have done well yesterday.

That said, will our O-line be able to pass protect against Iowa?
 

Texan Gopher said:
AK made some throws that were 2 yards off and it either cost the WR a chance to catch it or it killed their ability to get yards after catch.

That said, 2 of the incompletions were massive drops. I think the one drop would have been a 60 yard TD but DW dropped a perfect pass across the middle with no one within 15 yards of him.

Stats easily could have been 9-13 125 yards and 1 TD
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Well said. AK is going to have his struggles, he is a redshirt freshman getting his first taste of real playing time. But his stat line would have looked significantly better if Wright catches the crossing route that hit him in the hands and would have been an almost certain long TD.

The one thing I have liked is that he isn't making the huge freshman mistakes that young QBs can be prone to. His future is very bright but there are going to be bumps along the way.

If Morgan is healthy against Iowa I would like to see him get the start because I think his poise and experience could be huge against a defense like Iowa's. But if we have to roll with the youngster I think we will be fine as long as he continues to avoid the dangerous throws that tend to end in an INT.
 



cjbfbp said:
I got the joke. I just replied with another one. Of course, I know where Crete is. I'm a big WWII enthusiast. I'm a little offended that you thought I was a bumpkin.
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I didn’t realize you had a sense of humor, my bad.

Surprised you didn’t wax poetic regarding the Hellenistic Period- you do know what that is, right? 😉
 


MNVCGUY said:
Well said. AK is going to have his struggles, he is a redshirt freshman getting his first taste of real playing time. But his stat line would have looked significantly better if Wright catches the crossing route that hit him in the hands and would have been an almost certain long TD.

The one thing I have liked is that he isn't making the huge freshman mistakes that young QBs can be prone to. His future is very bright but there are going to be bumps along the way.

If Morgan is healthy against Iowa I would like to see him get the start because I think his poise and experience could be huge against a defense like Iowa's. But if we have to roll with the youngster I think we will be fine as long as he continues to avoid the dangerous throws that tend to end in an INT.
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The other thing he did is force the defense to make the right read. Even when he gave the ball to mow, he keeps carrying out as if he still has the ball. When he does keep the ball, he is looking downfield to see where his best gap on the field is in order to turn the run into the most yards and not get killed.

He is young. He made some inconsistent throws yesterday. That said, you can see where his potential plateau is much higher than any of the QBs we've had in the last decade.
 



Dakota2 said:
Mo's good numbers against Illinois and Penn St were not good enough.
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You're right, but that doesn't change my point. The mere fact that teams can (and do) stack the box, knowing we're going to pound them with our running attack, doesn't mean they'll beat us. ALL teams have stacked the box against us, and yet we're still 7-3, and still in contention for the West.

Fleck's run-first approach is not perfect, but it has produced a pretty decent record, on average.

The other part of the equation is the idea of playing to your own strengths. Our passing game is not the strength of this offense. And now, with an inexperienced QB at the helm going forward, and with our margin for error near zero, and coming up against a tough, opportunistic defense in a rivalry/trophy game, I would be shocked to see the Gophers suddenly dial up the passing attempts.

I expect it to look the same as it has.
 




MNVCGUY said:
Well said. AK is going to have his struggles, he is a redshirt freshman getting his first taste of real playing time. But his stat line would have looked significantly better if Wright catches the crossing route that hit him in the hands and would have been an almost certain long TD.

The one thing I have liked is that he isn't making the huge freshman mistakes that young QBs can be prone to. His future is very bright but there are going to be bumps along the way.

If Morgan is healthy against Iowa I would like to see him get the start because I think his poise and experience could be huge against a defense like Iowa's. But if we have to roll with the youngster I think we will be fine as long as he continues to avoid the dangerous throws that tend to end in an INT.
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Those dropped passes have been occurring all season. One HUGE drop may have cost us the Purdue game.

The staff needs to get on that; it is a real problem.
 

RememberMurray said:
Those dropped passes have been occurring all season. One HUGE drop may have cost us the Purdue game.

The staff needs to get on that; it is a real problem.
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I might have to reconsider my opinion of Tyler's tenure on dropped passes.

Loved him but I've always saw that as a weakness in his game.

Compared to this season, probably was holding him to too high a bar. It would be great to see the WRs step up these last two season games if whoever is throwing to them gets the ball within reach.
 

I can’t see a scenario that they send Morgan out there against the Iowa Defense those guys are killers and coming off two injuries both likely to his head I just don’t see it. Plus, I’m tired of watching him play anyway I’ll take the young kid take the leash off him and let him play football. He should have 10 to 12 carries against the Hawkeyes keep the D honest on Mo. This whole dropped ball thing that we’ve got going on this year to is confounding. These guys catch hundreds of balls every day at practice I can’t believe some of the easy jobs we’ve had in big situation’s.
 



T
RememberMurray said:
You're right, but that doesn't change my point. The mere fact that teams can (and do) stack the box, knowing we're going to pound them with our running attack, doesn't mean they'll beat us. ALL teams have stacked the box against us, and yet we're still 7-3, and still in contention for the West.

Fleck's run-first approach is not perfect, but it has produced a pretty decent record, on average.

The other part of the equation is the idea of playing to your own strengths. Our passing game is not the strength of this offense. And now, with an inexperienced QB at the helm going forward, and with our margin for error near zero, and coming up against a tough, opportunistic defense in a rivalry/trophy game, I would be shocked to see the Gophers suddenly dial up the passing attempts.

I expect it to look the same as it has.
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The 7-3 record does not include any wins over teams as good as Iowa. If we give them more of the same the result will be unlikely to be different than the past several games for the pig.
 

BilldGopher said:
I might have to reconsider my opinion of Tyler's tenure on dropped passes.

Loved him but I've always saw that as a weakness in his game.

Compared to this season, probably was holding him to too high a bar. It would be great to see the WRs step up these last two season games if whoever is throwing to them gets the ball within reach.
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Thing about TJ is that the good far outweighed the bad. Not really getting the good out of current guys that makes the drops not suck as bad.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
Success versus Iowa hinges on defense, not turning it over, and hoping the ball bounces the right way, ie the opposite of 2021. MN is not Ohio State in terms of playmakers. I don’t think Athan’s marginally better running ability versus Morgan offsets a hypothetically increased risk of turnovers if MN has to put the ball in the air.

Let me have it.
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Been posting it for weeks - I don't think either is the differencemaker at this point in whether Gophs win or lose these next two games. Having said that, stay with Athan as the experience will be invaluable for him.
 

PMWinSTP said:
Been posting it for weeks - I don't think either is the differencemaker at this point in whether Gophs win or lose these next two games. Having said that, stay with Athan as the experience will be invaluable for him.
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Fans should prepare for the strong possibility of Morgan starting if he’s healthy. Morgan has been running more this season, designed or not. We know he is pretty good at protecting the ball. He is usually extremely accurate. He is, however, not as athletic as Kaliakmanis. Even with that first half clunker versus Nebraska AK has not sufficiently differentiated himself from Morgan in my mind when considering what we saw yesterday. QBs run hot/cold. The same courtesies being extended to AK haven’t been extended to Morgan.

Huge game. Maybe last chance in a transitional era to go to Indy, really. What will PJ do? Who do the coaches trust?

None of this should be taken as a dig at AK. His skills are obvious.
 

Our O-line has not been able to protect our QB from any team with a decent defense. When Tanner is the QB in those situations, he does not play well. Iowa is going to abuse our O-line. I’d rather have the mobile QB with a decent arm to keep Iowa’s defense honest.
 




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MNVCGUY said:
Well said. AK is going to have his struggles, he is a redshirt freshman getting his first taste of real playing time. But his stat line would have looked significantly better if Wright catches the crossing route that hit him in the hands and would have been an almost certain long TD.

The one thing I have liked is that he isn't making the huge freshman mistakes that young QBs can be prone to. His future is very bright but there are going to be bumps along the way.

If Morgan is healthy against Iowa I would like to see him get the start because I think his poise and experience could be huge against a defense like Iowa's. But if we have to roll with the youngster I think we will be fine as long as he continues to avoid the dangerous throws that tend to end in an INT.
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It may be interesting if they play TM in the first half and AK in the second half or vice versa.
 



Also - Pretty sure Iowa is Senior Day so that might play into the decision. They're not going to start a Freshman over a healthy Morgan at home on Senior Day.
 

I'm hoping AK gets the nod. Even at the risk of making mistakes, he has the ability to extend plays with his athleticism which is huge for a tough D like Iowa. Morgan has been a sitting duck for the Hawkeyes in the past (0-3 record) and I simply don't see how that fact magically improves this year.

If AK starts the game and stinks it up terribly in the first half, then maybe go back to Morgan.

This argument assumes that Morgan can play. The guy had two concussions in a span of three weeks (I'm of course guessing that was the issue).
 

If Tanner would have moved on this year, this Iowa game could have possibly been Athan's 11th career start not his second.
 




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