Brewster says Gophers quarterback job is open

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Ole said:
All you Weber haters need to chill and realize that Weber's ok, not great, not terrible. He's been serviceable for three seasons and has fought through really tough circumstances since his freshmen year.
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Generally, when someone uses the word "hater", chances are their post will be full of hyperbole. Yours is not the exception.

98/100 is "ok"? Really? Does that mean that only 99 and 100 are worthy of being called terrible?

Weber has pulled one good game out of thin air in the last 15 or so that he's started - MSU. Other than that, since entering the conference schedule in '08, he's been mediocre-to-terrible, week in and week out. How can one use the "change in systems, change in coordinators" excuse when he was equally terrible under both Dunbar and Fisch? People throw in the "2nd team all-conference" like it means something. Rather, what it means is that '08 was possibly the worst year in the history of Big Ten QBs, and Weber used a weak non-con schedule to post fantastic numbers and make his stats look better than they were. He was all-conference by default.

I don't recall one instance, ever, on this board of anyone saying that Weber is not a good person, not a class citizen. Hell, I've even said that he's the type of guy I'd want my daughter to marry. But he simply is not a good football player. Period. Nor has he ever been anything better than mediocre, with the exception of one brilliant game last Halloween.

"Serviceable." That's the benchmark for our QB play now? Amazing. And we wonder why Minnesota football has languished for 40+ years.

One of the biggest reasons I've supported Brewster is that he doesn't make excuses, and doesn't settle for mediocrity like his predecessors since Warmath. But if Weber is under center on September 2, he's lost all credibility with me. I simply can't stand behind a coach who willfully rides a below-average Big Ten QB to his demise, ESPECIALLY when he has his OWN recruit standing on the sidelines. It just baffles me and defies all logic.

You're probably saying, "No one cares if you back Brewster anymore." Well, my response to that is that I've been one of his biggest supporters since day 1. I was so excited that I authored the majority of his wikipedia page, most of which still survives on his bio to this day. I've defended him time and again to friends who say he's amateur and should've never been hired in the first place. If even I am off the Brewster bandwagon, that should tell you something about him starting Weber this fall.
 

dpodoll68 said:
But he simply is not a good football player. Period. Nor has he ever been anything better than mediocre, with the exception of one brilliant game last Halloween.
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The self proclaimed authority on hyperbole says that Weber is not a good football player, period. Nevermind that he is playing the game at a higher level than 99% of everyone who has ever put on football pads, was a 3* recruit out of HS, is a three year starter in the big ten, has QB'd his team to two bowls. He obviously is NOT a good football player period. You are a clown.
 

ruralgopher said:
The self proclaimed authority on hyperbole says that Weber is not a good football player, period. Nevermind that he is playing the game at a higher level than 99% of everyone who has ever put on football pads, was a 3* recruit out of HS, is a three year starter in the big ten, has QB'd his team to two bowls. He obviously is NOT a good football player period. You are a clown.
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If the benchmark for "good" is "better than you or me", then it truly is a sad state of affairs for Minnesota football.
 

Since someone is enjoying being pedantic, I'll set the benchmark for "good" as "better-than-average DI-A QB". Of course, you already knew what I meant, but I'll save you the trouble of ridiculing me for an argument I didn't make.
 

He's average, which is okay if you want to be average. He'll tell you himself he's gotta play better if the Gophers offense wants to get better. I'd like to think he could play better, but there's more evidence that he won't, then that he will. But I won't completely tune out if he's starter come Sept. 2nd, I'm definitely gonna give him a game or two to show he's taken his game up another step. That MTSU game is VERY important for a ton of reasons, and whoever starts at QB NEEDS to lead that team to a win there.
 


You continue to make the 'job security/brewster credibility is on the line' argument as your reason to start Grey over Weber. My response is we simply have no proof that Grey is better than weber. If you think for one second that having a bad year with Grey at the helm would somehow be better for Brew's job security than having Weber QB, you are delusional. Brewster has to start the QB that he thinks gives him the best chance at winning, regardless of what an overly obnoxious message board poster says. If Grey wins the QB comp, great. If Weber wins, fine. Start the best QB.
 

dpodoll68 said:
If the benchmark for "good" is "better than you or me", then it truly is a sad state of affairs for Minnesota football.
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I agree with you wholeheartedly, and for the record my use of the word "hater" and hyperbole was more in response the thread I was addressing than my personal writing style.
I do think there have been other games than MSU that he's been very good in, but they are all lost in the wash of a very up and down but usually slightly below average career. My point was more that he does receive an awful lot of criticism from goofy fans that maybe isn't a directly personal attack on his character but sure gets close. I was trying to point out was people need to understand that although Weber has had really bad games, the reason we were 7-6 and 6-7 the last 2 years isn't ONLY his fault. There are simply fans in this state that expect nothing short of perfection from their QB, and fail to pay attention to any other position on the field.
It's just too easy to rip on Weber and point him out as the sole reason we aren't winning.
 

IMO if we were to start Gray, and he faltered, then Weber could come in without the pressure of all the fans thinking his backup was better. It would be the best thing for Adam and maybe our team. Or, Gray comes in, plays great, and our offense is much better. That's not as good for Web, but better for the team and the fans. Brewster sold the fans that Marquies was taking us to the promise land. His only getting one series last year and driving for a TD against OSU (backups I know, but still) has not helped to slow the demand for Gray. We want Gray. Let us see him start a game. The only way starting Weber will work is if he comes in and leads us to a win over MTSU and USC, or at least convinces all the fans that the offense was not the reason we lost either of those games. If we have an anemic offense in those games, the groans will start, the tone of the season will go from hopeful to angry. etc etc. I just can't find any upside to starting Weber.
 

ruralgopher said:
My response is we simply have no proof that Grey is better than weber.
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We also have no proof that he isn't better than Weber. What we do have, however, is 38 starts' worth of proof that Adam Weber is not a good Big Ten QB. I, for one, would welcome the opportunity to have first-hand proof that "Grey" is not better than Weber. The only way that would be possible is for "Grey" to start and play an entire game, something I don't foresee happening until 2011 (assuming, of course, that "Grey" and/or Brewster are still here then.)

ruralgopher said:
If you think for one second that having a bad year with Grey at the helm would somehow be better for Brew's job security than having Weber QB, you are delusional.
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Of course it wouldn't. (If you couldn't tell, I think "Grey" would greatly diminish the chances of having a bad year.)

ruralgopher said:
Brewster has to start the QB that he thinks gives him the best chance at winning, regardless of what an overly obnoxious message board poster says. If Grey wins the QB comp, great. If Weber wins, fine. Start the best QB.
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This is my point exactly. Regardless of how "Grey" plays, it would be quite difficult for him to be worse than Weber. Of course, even if he is, we have the added bonus of watching him grow and develop for an additional 2 years. I find the premise that Weber is somehow going to improve and get better after having started more games than the great majority of college QBs in history to be tenuous at best.
 



How is:

dpodoll68 said:
Yeah, it's a competition between Weber and Sanity. Sanity is also very good friends with Brewster's Job Security.

It'll be interesting to see who wins out.
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The same point exactly as start whichever wins the competition? To borrow one of your favorite lines, 'thanks in advance'.
 

I find it impossible for Weber to be better than Gray, for a myriad of reasons stated ad nauseam on this board. Therefore, to suggest that Weber could somehow seriously beat Gray out in a fair, non-biased competition, is insane.

The entirety of your argument rests upon "Brewster has to start the QB that he thinks gives him the best chance at winning". Of course, the fatal flaw is that the QB he thinks gives him the best chance, and the one who really does give us the best chance are not necessarily the same thing. Does the name Wally Pipp mean anything to you? Coaches do stupid things and get fired all the time. Saying that Weber is the best man for the job just because Brewster and Horton say he is means nothing to me. We entrust the coach to make the decisions that will help the program win. If Brewster makes the decision to start Weber, I seriously doubt his judgment and I think someone else needs to be put in place who is not so wantonly Sisyphean.
 

If Brewster starts Weber, and weber is awful and we lose a bunch of games and Brew is fired, so be it. It is Brewster's job that is on the line and he has to start who he thinks gives him the best chance of winning. If we are bad, he gets fired. I hope that we have an equivelent to Lou Gehrig waiting in the wings, but excuse me for not holding my breath.
 

Folks are entitled their opinions on his play and development but they become boarder line stupid when they say that Brewster should play someone else because that person is better. How the hell would they know more than the whole coaching staff?

I firmly believe that who ever the staff believe give them the best chance to win will be the starter. All of the personal attacks against Weber is really sad and completely uncalled for.
 



Sportsfan24 said:
Folks are entitled their opinions on his play and development but they become boarder line stupid when they say that Brewster should play someone else because that person is better. How the hell would they know more than the whole coaching staff?
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For the 8 millionth time, that is not a valid argument! Coaching staffs are not infallible! If they were, no coach would ever lose, and no coach would ever get fired.

We trust the coaches to make the best decision, but they often don't. Again, if they always did, no coach would ever lose, and no coach would ever get fired.

It's easy to say, "Brewster is the coach, and it's his job on the line, and he'll be the one to get fired if he's wrong." That's all well and good, but he's taking our football program down in flames with him if he starts Weber.
 

dpodoll68 said:
For the 8 millionth time, that is not a valid argument! Coaching staffs are not infallible! If they were, no coach would ever lose, and no coach would ever get fired.

We trust the coaches to make the best decision, but they often don't. Again, if they always did, no coach would ever lose, and no coach would ever get fired.

It's easy to say, "Brewster is the coach, and it's his job on the line, and he'll be the one to get fired if he's wrong." That's all well and good, but he's taking our football program down in flames with him if he starts Weber.
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Talk about hyperbole!!!
 


dpodoll68 said:
Well, assuming Weber starts this fall, we'll see who's right come November.
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The results in Nov have no bearing on the fact that you specifically called out another poster for using hyperbole and than have gone on to use it yourself. By definition saying that Weber is not a good football player, period; and saying that starting Weber will bring the program down in flames are hyperbole. If you want to use that style of writing, fine, I have no problem with it, but to call out and try to discredit another poster because he used it as a writing technique and than using it yourself is laughable.
 

For the last time, I have no horse in the gray vs weber race other than being a fan and season ticket holder. I just don't think that if Weber starts next year it will be a crime against humanity, thats all.
 

dpodoll68 said:
For the 8 millionth time, that is not a valid argument! Coaching staffs are not infallible! If they were, no coach would ever lose, and no coach would ever get fired.

We trust the coaches to make the best decision, but they often don't. Again, if they always did, no coach would ever lose, and no coach would ever get fired.

It's easy to say, "Brewster is the coach, and it's his job on the line, and he'll be the one to get fired if he's wrong." That's all well and good, but he's taking our football program down in flames with him if he starts Weber.
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My man, I would wager that I know better than anyone on the board about what you suggest. But the fact is in cases where a coach is making a mistake about who the best player to play is, at least one other coach, and players (not to mention the player not playing) will disagree and voice their opinion. That is just not the case here. You might have a point in 2010 but in 2009 the player who gave us the best chance to win was Adam Weber.:cool02:
 

Jeffrick said:
This is the silver lining of the 2010 season: if we stink Brewster and Weber are gone, and we get Kevin Sumlin- I mean a new coach in here- Kevin Sumlin- who can actually- Kevin Sumlin- coach. If we have a great season then it means Brewster finally follows through on all the promises he's made...and probably leaves for a bigger job. Which means we still get Kevin Sumlin. And Weber is gone.

I like to call that a win-win!
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No offense, but I think Sumlin would be crazy to take the Minnesota job if it were offered to him next year. Not a good situation to step into at all. And he might have better options.
 

And I just want to reiterate something. The glaring stat that most Gopher fans need to be concerned with and the one that I think was most integral to the Gopher's mediocre season last year was 3rd down efficiency.

The Gophers ranked 100 out of 120 in 3rd down conversion, and last in the Big Ten if I'm not mistaken. This simply will not lead to a successful season, and like it or not a LOT of this stats falls on the shoulders of the QB play. Exhibit B would be Weber being ranked 98th in passing efficiency.

Now you may say the O-line was suspect, didn't get him great protection in some of these situations, and I'd agree with you. But what makes you think the O-line will improve enough to where that stat gets turned around in a monumental way? I hope it happens, but I'll believe it when I see it.

Which leads me to the point I'm trying to make. Brevity escapes me from time to time.

Marquis Gray's mobility would be a huge plus on 3rd down if the O-line does not improve in leaps and bounds. Where Weber would drop back and get sacked due to poor protection, Gray would be more likely to escape the pressure and run for a 1st down. That's just the type of player he is. No one can argue that Weber is more mobile. And for that reason, I'd love to see Gray get a shot to see what he can do.

And furthermore, Weber seems like the ultimate backup. He seems like the type of player that would check his ego at the door if he lost the QB battle and would be "serviceable" enough in a backup role. Heck, it might even make him a hungrier and better player for it.

Let's face another fact. Weber is not a NFL QB. So it's not like Brewster would be sacrificing this guy's shot in the NFL if he lost his job. He might however be sacrificing his own job if he ties his hopes of a successful season to Weber and Weber doesn't really step up next season.

But think about these stats again. Minnesota was ranked 100th in 3rd down conversion and Weber was ranked 98th in passing efficiency.

What does that tell you? That Weber is "serviceable"? Maybe for a completely mediocre team.
 

ruralgopher said:
Nevermind that he is playing the game at a higher level than 99% of everyone who has ever put on football pads...
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What the heck does that matter? I don't care that Weber can throw it further then my 4th grader in pop warner. I don't care that he can outrun a 6th grade rb for the local middle school. Those inferences your expousing are meaningless.

Can Weber succeed in the Big Ten? Well 3 years in he's proven to be below average at best. If Weber starts this year, he'll set a record for losing more Big Ten games then any other Gopher QB ever. He's already has 18 B10 losses in 3 years. Not sure what the Big Ten record is, but I bet 23 or 24 has to be right up there. Sorry to bring up relevant statistics, but he's been historically bad...
 

Sparlimb said:
What the heck does that matter? I don't care that Weber can throw it further then my 4th grader in pop warner. I don't care that he can outrun a 6th grade rb for the local middle school. Those inferences your expousing are meaningless.QUOTE]

You're cherry-picking the thread. dpodoll got on another poster's case for using hyperbole, and then when on to use a ton of hyperbole himself, in the instance that I was referring to for the portion you chose to quote me, he was saying that Adam Weber is a bad football player, period, when, by definition, he is actually an incredibly good football player to even be in the situation to be ripped on in forums such as this. Nowhere in this thread have I suggested that Webershould start, I just don't think that Earth would stop spinning if he ends up as the starter next year.
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dpodoll68 said:
Generally, when someone uses the word "hater", chances are their post will be full of hyperbole. Yours is not the exception.

98/100 is "ok"? Really? Does that mean that only 99 and 100 are worthy of being called terrible?

Weber has pulled one good game out of thin air in the last 15 or so that he's started - MSU. Other than that, since entering the conference schedule in '08, he's been mediocre-to-terrible, week in and week out. How can one use the "change in systems, change in coordinators" excuse when he was equally terrible under both Dunbar and Fisch? People throw in the "2nd team all-conference" like it means something. Rather, what it means is that '08 was possibly the worst year in the history of Big Ten QBs, and Weber used a weak non-con schedule to post fantastic numbers and make his stats look better than they were. He was all-conference by default.

I don't recall one instance, ever, on this board of anyone saying that Weber is not a good person, not a class citizen. Hell, I've even said that he's the type of guy I'd want my daughter to marry. But he simply is not a good football player. Period. Nor has he ever been anything better than mediocre, with the exception of one brilliant game last Halloween.

"Serviceable." That's the benchmark for our QB play now? Amazing. And we wonder why Minnesota football has languished for 40+ years.

One of the biggest reasons I've supported Brewster is that he doesn't make excuses, and doesn't settle for mediocrity like his predecessors since Warmath. But if Weber is under center on September 2, he's lost all credibility with me. I simply can't stand behind a coach who willfully rides a below-average Big Ten QB to his demise, ESPECIALLY when he has his OWN recruit standing on the sidelines. It just baffles me and defies all logic.

You're probably saying, "No one cares if you back Brewster anymore." Well, my response to that is that I've been one of his biggest supporters since day 1. I was so excited that I authored the majority of his wikipedia page, most of which still survives on his bio to this day. I've defended him time and again to friends who say he's amateur and should've never been hired in the first place. If even I am off the Brewster bandwagon, that should tell you something about him starting Weber this fall.
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I agree with this 100%, I am in the same boat constantly defending Brewster to casual fans who think he is in over his head. I Love Brewster for the same reasons you do, especially the optimism. I also can not defend him or stand behind him if he starts Weber yet another year. I will start "Fire Brewster" chants at the home opener
 

mkAz said:
I'm assuming that's a typo because the rest of your post is spot on, Weber more mobile than Gray?
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I think he means that Weber is not more mobile and no one could argue that he is
 

ruralgopher said:
Sparlimb said:
What the heck does that matter? I don't care that Weber can throw it further then my 4th grader in pop warner. I don't care that he can outrun a 6th grade rb for the local middle school. Those inferences your expousing are meaningless.
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You're cherry-picking the thread. dpodoll got on another poster's case for using hyperbole, and then when on to use a ton of hyperbole himself, in the instance that I was referring to for the portion you chose to quote me, he was saying that Adam Weber is a bad football player, period, when, by definition, he is actually an incredibly good football player to even be in the situation to be ripped on in forums such as this. Nowhere in this thread have I suggested that Webershould start, I just don't think that Earth would stop spinning if he ends up as the starter next year.
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Fair enough. I don't disagree with anything you said. Brewster is nearing the end of his rope, so he needs to put up and succeed or go away. So I completely agree that if Weber is the starting QB, it must be because the staff believes he's our best hope. Unfortunately for us, if that is the case we're in for a very long year. And in no way is Mr. Weber our only hole on the team. We sure need to find some magic...
 

As much as I dislike Weber, today is the day I am convinced he is the started. Gray will be a WR by the start of fall practice. Can't see Alipate overtaking Weber.
 

Rosemountian said:
As much as I dislike Weber, today is the day I am convinced he is the started. Gray will be a WR by the start of fall practice. Can't see Alipate overtaking Weber.
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This is hilarious! Gray is better than Terrelle Pryor and you want to make him a wide receiver. If Gray is not starting QB before the end of this season Brewster looses all credibility and his job. His job is built on the back of his cornerstone recruit, MarQueis Gray is the face of the Brewster Gophers and their success is wrapped up in Gray's success.
 

It's obvious to me, much as I've wanted to see Gray on the field for more than a snap or two, that there is a good reason it hasn't happened. Not for a single second have I believed the coaching staff would play a QB they believed would give them less chance to win than the guy sitting on the bench.

Now they have a 3-year starter. Unless Gray, or whomever, dominates in practice and makes their decision easy, the coaches will likely start the season with Weber. But as I've predicted before, he will be on a short leash this year and won't last long if his performance is poor.
 

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