Before halftime ....

[Frod0]

Was kidding about the bomb, but the point is the same. Have you watched the team the last few years? The odds of a turnover happening is too good to risk with a eleven point lead. Every coach would agree. I wouldn't mind trying a screen on first down to see what happens, but with our luck a pass anywhere else gets picked and MSU now has a chance to score. It happens to everyone but especially us.

and if you don't ever take any shots at that point there is no chance of changing the odds.

"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.", Wayne Gretzky.

 

[tikited]

How does it matter who the QB is? I'd rather see Stupito in at QB and try to score with 1:05 and 2 TO's than surrendering what could easily be 7 points the way we moved the ball in that first half/game.

Just wondering if all of your 100 or so posts have been negative?

 

[Frod0]

Just wondering if all of your 100 or so posts have been negative?

How the heck is thinking we can score negative? If anything you're the negative one.

 

[tikited]

and if you don't ever take any shots at that point there is no chance of changing the odds.

"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.", Wayne Gretzky.

You beat me to my question.. That was positive. Just noticing most of the posts from you have been one-sided in the negative light. Maybe it is just the Carter/Wills posts that gave me that impression. If I'm wrong-carry on.

 

[Frod0]

Maybe you have a different light bulb on than me. I think defending Carter (most of my posts) is far from negative. Those who call him a moron or idiot are the captain negativos IMO. I don't know what you want me to say to be considered "positive" but I ain't changing because you think its negative. As for being one-sided, what the heck is wrong with that? Seriously, shouldn't we all have our own opinions? That is a significant reason this country is struggling. We can't think for ourselves and bounce back and forth on our opinions instead of sticking with one and seeing it through. Don't say I'm a hypocrite for wanting Gray as our QB cause I have never thought Weber was the answer.

 

[tikited]

Maybe you have a different light bulb on than me. I think defending Carter (most of my posts) is far from negative. Those who call him a moron or idiot are the captain negativos IMO. I don't know what you want me to say to be considered "positive" but I ain't changing because you think its negative. As for being one-sided, what the heck is wrong with that? Seriously, shouldn't we all have our own opinions? That is a significant reason this country is struggling. We can't think for ourselves and bounce back and forth on our opinions instead of sticking with one and seeing it through. Don't say I'm a hypocrite for wanting Gray as our QB cause I have never thought Weber was the answer.

I edited my last post... Time for bed-out.

 

[g1976b]

Exactly. I too was jerked when a good number of fans in my section were booing. The chances of getting into position to score from that spot and time on the clock is low. If the fans have been watching, Brewster has a record of playing it very conservative in those situations which I agree with.

That's why they are fans, uniformed at best, rather than football coaches.

You're kidding, right? Chances of getting into position to score were LOW?! They had to go what, 30, 35, maybe 40 yards in about 1:10 with 2 timeouts and stoppages for first downs? Please. You have a chance to score AGAIN with the ball in very good field position against a decent opponent and your team has shown NO ability to put teams away all year. I don't see how you aren't at least a bit more aggressive than running the ball up the middle twice.

 

[Too Long in the Wasteland]

I agree. Ridiculous. Glad Tripplett was pissed. As he should be. The people booing obviously forget how easy it would be to have the lead go from 11 to 4 quickly. You are at home and had a great half so you run a play and if you get a long one then you maybe try and get a FG or TD.

I think some will just never be happy and love to be whining about something.

Ummm, perhaps you've mentally blocked out the opening kickoff for the 2nd half. The lead did go from 11 down to 4 rather quickly. No different than throwing a pick-6 (which would have been a very low probability). I still say there was a solid chance we could have driven down for a shot at a FG. At least then we still would have been up by a TD after that brilliant display of arm-tackling on MSU's kickoff return.

 

[hyaluronic]

Yeah, if we threw a pick six and then they returned the kickoff we would have been losing by three.

 

[Bayfieldgopher]

You're kidding, right? Chances of getting into position to score were LOW?! They had to go what, 30, 35, maybe 40 yards in about 1:10 with 2 timeouts and stoppages for first downs? Please. You have a chance to score AGAIN with the ball in very good field position against a decent opponent and your team has shown NO ability to put teams away all year. I don't see how you aren't at least a bit more aggressive than running the ball up the middle twice.

This is not fantasy football we are playing here. Our coach had just seen his offense average 3 yds per play the previous five possessions against, what you called, a quality opponent. 3 plays for 4 yards/punt; 6/6/punt; 9/29/INT; 6/9/punt; 7/49/TD. Hardly what I would call rolling up the yards by a team that had struggled mightly on offense the past two games.

To put the team into position to attempt a 47 yard FG, we needed to get to the MSU 30 which would have been a pick up of 47 yards. Or Obviously you think that would have been a piece of cake with no risk. I did not like our chances of that happening and, as a long retired coach, would have made the exact decision Coach Brewster made. Take your 11 point lead into the locker room and make plans to build on that.

 

[highwayman]

This is not fantasy football we are playing here. Our coach had just seen his offense average 3 yds per play the previous five possessions against, what you called, a quality opponent. 3 plays for 4 yards/punt; 6/6/punt; 9/29/INT; 6/9/punt; 7/49/TD. Hardly what I would call rolling up the yards by a team that had struggled mightly on offense the past two games.

To put the team into position to attempt a 47 yard FG, we needed to get to the MSU 30 which would have been a pick up of 47 yards. Or Obviously you think that would have been a piece of cake with no risk. I did not like our chances of that happening and, as a long retired coach, would have made the exact decision Coach Brewster made. Take your 11 point lead into the locker room and make plans to build on that.

You are correct sir! (Ed McMahon). If we had been 20 yards upfield, you think differently.

That aside--DON'T BOO THE HOME TEAM WHEN THEY ARE UP AT THE HALF!!!! Classless.

 

[g1976b]

This is not fantasy football we are playing here. Our coach had just seen his offense average 3 yds per play the previous five possessions against, what you called, a quality opponent. 3 plays for 4 yards/punt; 6/6/punt; 9/29/INT; 6/9/punt; 7/49/TD. Hardly what I would call rolling up the yards by a team that had struggled mightly on offense the past two games.

To put the team into position to attempt a 47 yard FG, we needed to get to the MSU 30 which would have been a pick up of 47 yards. Or Obviously you think that would have been a piece of cake with no risk. I did not like our chances of that happening and, as a long retired coach, would have made the exact decision Coach Brewster made. Take your 11 point lead into the locker room and make plans to build on that.

Look, I don't want to start a "thing" here, but let's at least talk about FACTS. The ball (after the penalty) was at our 33 yard line. By my Spud math, that actually requires us to pick up 37 yards for a field goal try.

Regardless, I think it's fair to at least say there are two schools of thought on this one. As much as I respect the fact that you coached, Bayfield, it certainly doesn't mean there aren't other ways of looking at the opportunity. Personally, I thought we were in control of the game and believe it made sense to at least try a few passing plays anyway...not necessarily the deep posts, hail marys or anything else like that, but just not what we saw.

Agree to disagree, I guess. I just haven't seen anything in Brewster's 3 years that shows the team is capable of holding a sizable lead...much less building on it, so I prefer to try and score points on a (relatively) short field when the opportunity is there.

 

[Khaliq]

Exactly. I too was jerked when a good number of fans in my section were booing. The chances of getting into position to score from that spot and time on the clock is low. If the fans have been watching, Brewster has a record of playing it very conservative in those situations which I agree with.

That's why they are fans, uniformed at best, rather than football coaches.

Or they chose other career paths.

 

[Bayfieldgopher]

Look, I don't want to start a "thing" here, but let's at least talk about FACTS. The ball (after the penalty) was at our 33 yard line. By my Spud math, that actually requires us to pick up 37 yards for a field goal try.

Regardless, I think it's fair to at least say there are two schools of thought on this one. As much as I respect the fact that you coached, Bayfield, it certainly doesn't mean there aren't other ways of looking at the opportunity. Personally, I thought we were in control of the game and believe it made sense to at least try a few passing plays anyway...not necessarily the deep posts, hail marys or anything else like that, but just not what we saw.

Agree to disagree, I guess. I just haven't seen anything in Brewster's 3 years that shows the team is capable of holding a sizable lead...much less building on it, so I prefer to try and score points on a (relatively) short field when the opportunity is there.

My error on the simple math. I was pleased with the 11 point lead and felt it would be best to keep it that way.

Our choice don't matter but it makes for good debate.

 

[SkiUMah]

I was also angry that fans chose to boo Coach's decision to take an 11-point lead into the half. Sure, there are arguments (with merit) both ways whether we should have tried to put more points on the board. Fine. But how about taking a step back and looking at the bigger picture. The guys had just played very, very hard for the first half and were about to take a nice lead into the locker room. They were coming off a couple of brutal losses in hostile environments where they hardly displayed any offense whatsoever. Now, they're supposedly back in a friendly environment, they're going into the half with a nice lead against a solid team, and their home crowd is booing?!?! Pathetic.

Question for some of you more seasoned Gophers football fans: were Gopher football crowds as quick to boo their own coaches (teams?) back in the day? I'm not saying it's a regular occurrence, but it is frustrating to hear the occasional boos, which seems more like something that would happen at a professional football game. It seems like this could be a more recent phenomenon, but it could be that I'm just looking to the past with rose-colored glasses. Thank you.

 

[dpodoll68]

I was also angry that fans chose to boo Coach's decision to take an 11-point lead into the half. Sure, there are arguments (with merit) both ways whether we should have tried to put more points on the board. Fine. But how about taking a step back and looking at the bigger picture. The guys had just played very, very hard for the first half and were about to take a nice lead into the locker room. They were coming off a couple of brutal losses in hostile environments where they hardly displayed any offense whatsoever. Now, they're supposedly back in a friendly environment, they're going into the half with a nice lead against a solid team, and their home crowd is booing?!?! Pathetic.

Question for some of you more seasoned Gophers football fans: were Gopher football crowds as quick to boo their own coaches (teams?) back in the day? I'm not saying it's a regular occurrence, but it is frustrating to hear the occasional boos, which seems more like something that would happen at a professional football game. It seems like this could be a more recent phenomenon, but it could be that I'm just looking to the past with rose-colored glasses. Thank you.

In this instance, I take the booing more as a sign of respect for the team than anything. If the fans thought there was no chance Minnesota would score, they would be pleased with sitting on the ball. Obviously, most thought there was a good chance to step on MSU's throats, so they were justifiably upset when the coaching staff potentially left points out on the field. I couldn't be at the game because of prior commitments, but if I were, I would've been booing as loudly as anybody at the end of the first half.

And this is not directed at you personally, but enough with the "booing the team" nonsense. It was obvious to even an idiot that the crowd was booing the coaches, and not the players. Booing our own players is (almost) never justified, but grown men making 6-7 figures to coach a kid's game are absolutely fair game for a little constructive criticism.

 

[Maximus]

When those boos came, you should have seen the face Tripplett made at the crowd, he was pissed.
Pretty sad that the team had to endure boos on the way to the tunnel, regardless of the ovation they got when they got there.

Oh no...his feelings were hurt.

The same coach that thinks it's a good idea to run a fake punt in a 7-0 game from his own 26 (at Illinois) should be booed for not trying to go down the field from his own 33 with two timeouts and time on the clock.

 

[Ole]

Oh no...his feelings were hurt.

The same coach that thinks it's a good idea to run a fake punt in a 7-0 game from his own 26 (at Illinois) should be booed for not trying to go down the field from his own 33 with two timeouts and time on the clock.

I really thought this thread had moved on, but I find it hard to let a shot at one of the most determined and hard fighting gopher defenders go unchallenged. Tripplett was visibly angry at the crowd behind the home benches.

Why shouldn't he be upset, his team was up by 11, they had beaten down MSU all game, why not take it into the locker room, pumped up and cheered all the way, a raucous home crowd behind them. But no, the armchair QB's in the stands decided they have to go for more, damn the coach, who had just outmatched Dantonio the entire first half, he's worthless, let's boo.

I was more disturbed at the lack of positive enthusiasm in the "alumni association" section on the 50 yard line. They were very loud and vocal in their second guessing of the coaching, booing and hissing when things didn't go how they thought they should, but not even participating in the rouser, no clapping along, no MINNESOTA chanting, but when we didn't go for it at the half, they all were booing. I don't understand.

 

[WAGopher]

As Brew establishes his team as winning more often than losing, booing his decisions will diminish. The booing of taking a knee before half may be more from pent-up frustration and years of Mason doing the same thing, even when Mason needed the points. We're slowing becoming a better team, as the fans will slowly become better fans. I think the fans are getting it as, at times, the home field advantage can be felt on television.

 

[Ole]

As Brew establishes his team as winning more often than losing, booing his decisions will diminish. The booing of taking a knee before half may be more from pent-up frustration and years of Mason doing the same thing, even when Mason needed the points. We're slowing becoming a better team, as the fans will slowly become better fans. I think the fans are getting it as, at times, the home field advantage can be felt on television.

This is a really good thing!

 

[Schnauzer]

I felt that given the fact there was over a minute left in the half, with two timeouts, the Gophers with decent field position, and knowing they had moved the ball well up to that point, all pointed towards at least a couple semi-conservative pass plays to probe the possibility of getting into field goal range so to me it was the wrong move to run out the clock at that point. Not the worst coaching decision in the history of football, mind you. But, I do think it was a mistake to sit on it at that point.

There is no comparison to this situation and Northwestern last year, when the ball started deep in Gopher territory that time (in a game where the offense had sputtered in the second half). Although there isn't a comparison, I do believe the decisions to sit on it this year are due in part to that melt down (along with the Weber interceptions this season).

Anything you do sends a message to your team in that situation. By sitting on it, you risk sending a message you are VERY concerned with mistakes, are in "whoa's me" mode, and your glass is half empty.

Like I said, not the worst decision ever and probably not even worth the length of this debate.

The Gophers won. Yea!

 

[g1976b]

I really thought this thread had moved on, but I find it hard to let a shot at one of the most determined and hard fighting gopher defenders go unchallenged. Tripplett was visibly angry at the crowd behind the home benches.

Why shouldn't he be upset, his team was up by 11, they had beaten down MSU all game, why not take it into the locker room, pumped up and cheered all the way, a raucous home crowd behind them. But no, the armchair QB's in the stands decided they have to go for more, damn the coach, who had just outmatched Dantonio the entire first half, he's worthless, let's boo.

I was more disturbed at the lack of positive enthusiasm in the "alumni association" section on the 50 yard line. They were very loud and vocal in their second guessing of the coaching, booing and hissing when things didn't go how they thought they should, but not even participating in the rouser, no clapping along, no MINNESOTA chanting, but when we didn't go for it at the half, they all were booing. I don't understand.

Disagree. I was one of those in your so-called "alumni association" section on the 50 behind the Gopher bench. Not only will you find me standing and screaming my guts out on 3rd downs and big plays, I'm going my part to lead the charge.

That said, I did have a problem with Brewster's decision. Did I boo? No...not at that point. I didn't have a huge problem with the people who did though. In fact, I did boo Brewster a few times later in the game. I think he's a "tremendous" recruiter and motivator. I am excited about the energy he's brought to the team and I think he still has a chance to be a pretty good coach. I think as a game manager and actual strategist, he's got a long way to go.

For those who can't differentiate between those who may boo the coaching staff vs. the players, well, I'm not even going to waste my time.

Overall, I'm hopeful we can all agree that there are different strategies and different opinions and also that it's dangerous for people to throw out generalizations. We're all (well, most) pulling for the same team and have the same desire for long term success.