Bowl Performance Makes ESPN's TMQ

[Ski U Master]

"Stop Me Before I Blitz Again!
The eight-man blitz rarely is seen because it's like handing the opposition a card that says, "Please score a touchdown." Minnesota leading Syracuse 17-14 with 1:21 remaining in the Texas Bowl -- which should be Texas Presents the Texas Bowl Sponsored by Texas -- the Orange faced third-and-8 on the Gophers' 12. The best outcome for Minnesota is to hold on this down, force a field goal and then use the remaining minute, plus the team's two timeouts, to try for a field goal to win.

Instead Minnesota brought the rare eight-man blitz, with double overloads on both sides. That left no one defending the middle: Syracuse quarterback Terrell Hunt went up the middle to the end zone untouched, putting the Orange ahead by four, and of course you know who won. Even if the blitz had created a loss of yardage, Syracuse still would have been in good field goal position -- thus Minnesota wagered losing the game, against a gain of little. Ye gods."

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/page/tmq131231/nfl-switches-seeded-bracket-style-tournament

 

[jaymil]

Two bowl games in a row have gone down to crucial 3rd down plays on defense and both times Claeys has dialed up an all out blitz only to see it backfire. Both calls have baffled me.

 

[GreasyGopher]

Two bowl games in a row have gone down to crucial 3rd down plays on defense and both times Claeys has dialed up an all out blitz only to see it backfire. Both calls have baffled me.

Hindsight is 20/20. We're all amazing coaches 4 days after the game is played.

 

[MNVCGUY]

Hindsight is 20/20. We're all amazing coaches 4 days after the game is played.

You are correct that it is easy to second guess the next day but like it is pointed out in the story there was little to gain with a blitz like that and a lot to lose.

 

[Spoofin]

I blame Limegrover.

I also noted that SU moved the ball at will through the air when we didn't blitz.

 

[MaxyJR1]

You are correct that it is easy to second guess the next day but like it is pointed out in the story there was little to gain with a blitz like that and a lot to lose.

Could have gained a fumble from a hit. Could have sacked him by staying on the ground and not jumping for pump fake. Could have forced a longer FG for a guy that had already missed one. Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda.

 

[GreasyGopher]

You are correct that it is easy to second guess the next day but like it is pointed out in the story there was little to gain with a blitz like that and a lot to lose.

Sitting back in coverage wasnt working either. Hunt practically walked into the endzone earlier in the game when the Gophers only rushed 4. The Gophers started stopping Syracuse once they started bringing pressure.

 

[GophersInIowa]

I blame Limegrover.

I also noted that SU moved the ball at will through the air when we didn't blitz.

Exactly. We blitzed because it seemed like the only way we could stop them. It was working, why stop in the most critical time?

 

[MNVCGUY]

Exactly. We blitzed because it seemed like the only way we could stop them. It was working, why stop in the most critical time?

I don't think the issue is that we blitzed on the play it was the type of blitz we used.

 

[josh087]

"Stop Me Before I Blitz Again!
The eight-man blitz rarely is seen because it's like handing the opposition a card that says, "Please score a touchdown." http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/page/tmq131231/nfl-switches-seeded-bracket-style-tournament

What a stupid comment. To illustrate how dumb this is, check out the last four plays in Michigan State's 1998 upset of #1 Ohio State. Go to the 14-min mark. Nick Saban blitzed eight not once, not twice, but FOUR times in a row to end the game. That Nick Saban must be an idiot.

 

[dpodoll68]

Greggggggg Easterbrook is a very smart man and is far more knowledgeable than most about several topics...but football is not one of them. He gets to write a long-form column for ESPN because he writes well and is entertaining to read. In terms of football knowledge, I'd put the average GH poster up against him anytime.

 

[ncgo4]

We needed to blitz because we seemed to have a very ineffective front four. I know there has been much talk about Hageman being a first round pick, but I was surprised at how much of the game he spent on the sidelines. I know he was double teamed the entire game. Musta been the heat.

 

[CrocShots]

Greggggggg Easterbrook is a very smart man and is far more knowledgeable than most about several topics...but football is not one of them. He gets to write a long-form column for ESPN because he writes well and is entertaining to read. In terms of football knowledge, I'd put the average GH poster up against him anytime.

I was just gonna post about GREGGGGGGGGGGG. The Gophers definitely don't have a bunch of GLORY BOYS, even though we're not D3.

 

[station19]

We needed to blitz because we seemed to have a very ineffective front four. I know there has been much talk about Hageman being a first round pick, but I was surprised at how much of the game he spent on the sidelines. I know he was double teamed the entire game. Musta been the heat.

Has anyone ever posted(are these available) stats on how many snaps these guys are in on?

 

[jaymil]

We needed to blitz because we seemed to have a very ineffective front four. I know there has been much talk about Hageman being a first round pick, but I was surprised at how much of the game he spent on the sidelines. I know he was double teamed the entire game. Musta been the heat.

Our coaching staff likes to rotate defensive lineman. It has nothing to do with him being out of shape, tired, or ineffective.

 

[MZBKA]

Jeeze. The blitz was the right call. Two linebackers jumped into the air to block a pass that wasn't there, and then fell down behind the QB. If those two had simply sacked the QB, Syracuse never would've scored.

Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk

 

[btowngopher]

We didn't lose because of the defense. The defense played really well, Hunt made some great plays though. We lost because we were 13/30 throwing the ball. And somehow racked up more penalty yards than Syracuse who was suppose to be one of the most penalized teams in the country while we were among the least. The team was sloppy.

 

[Monty519]

Jeeze. The blitz was the right call. Two linebackers jumped into the air to block a pass that wasn't there, and then fell down behind the QB. If those two had simply sacked the QB, Syracuse never would've scored.

Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk

Yeah, I think it was Johnson coming from the safety spot, he might have had the sack but Hunt's pump fake got him in the air and they were done at that point. Gotta give some credit to Hunt, he made a great play, staying poised under fire, but they don't leave their feet and we have a sack, and who knows, maybe even a turnover, there was a lotta heat in there.

 

[btowngopher]

Also Cobb has gone over 100 yards any time he gets 20 carries. He was averaging over 5 a carry and we gave up on the run.

 

[50PoundHead]

Two bowl games in a row have gone down to crucial 3rd down plays on defense and both times Claeys has dialed up an all out blitz only to see it backfire. Both calls have baffled me.

Yep. Thought that right after it happened.

 

[MZBKA]

Also Cobb has gone over 100 yards any time he gets 20 carries. He was averaging over 5 a carry and we gave up on the run.

Down by 2 scores in the 4th quarter. Giving up on the run was necessary.