BTN's Tom Dienhart: Minnesota's win wasn't impressive; offense went in fits and start

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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per Dienhart (I bolded the most important part of his analysis):

A win is a win is a win, right? Right? Right. History will show Minnesota topped UNLV, 51-23. But it wasn’t impressive. The offense went in fits and starts. QB Philip Nelson was spotty as a passer, hitting just 10 for 22 passes for 99 yards with a touchdown and pick. He did run for 83 yards and two touchdowns.

Still, Minnesota needs more from an offense that scored 17 or fewer points in eight games last season. Specifically, Nelson needs to pass better, which made it tough to get a read on a receiving corps that’s on the spot. And the defense doesn’t get off the hook, allowing 418 yards. But, it’s just the first game of the year. There’s plenty of time.

The Minnesota offense and defense needs to send a “Thank You” note to the special teams. The Gophers scored on a 98-yard kickoff return (Watch!) and a blocked field goal (Watch!). Without that, this game would have been very scary.

http://btn.com/2013/08/29/dienhart-instant-reaction-to-opening-night-wins/?cmp=user+shared+twitter

Go Gophers!!
 


Did you also read the part where the smart analyst says "a win is a win" and "there is plenty of time".

Hmmm
 

BleedGopher said:
per Dienhart (I bolded the most important part of his analysis):

A win is a win is a win, right? Right? Right. History will show Minnesota topped UNLV, 51-23. But it wasn’t impressive. The offense went in fits and starts. QB Philip Nelson was spotty as a passer, hitting just 10 for 22 passes for 99 yards with a touchdown and pick. He did run for 83 yards and two touchdowns.

Still, Minnesota needs more from an offense that scored 17 or fewer points in eight games last season. Specifically, Nelson needs to pass better, which made it tough to get a read on a receiving corps that’s on the spot. And the defense doesn’t get off the hook, allowing 418 yards. But, it’s just the first game of the year. There’s plenty of time.

The Minnesota offense and defense needs to send a “Thank You” note to the special teams. The Gophers scored on a 98-yard kickoff return (Watch!) and a blocked field goal (Watch!). Without that, this game would have been very scary.

http://btn.com/2013/08/29/dienhart-instant-reaction-to-opening-night-wins/?cmp=user+shared+twitter

Go Gophers!!
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Why does special teams need a "thank you" note, it's part of the game. Frank Beamer is credited with being a special teams genius which has allowed Virginia Tech to be a top team, I've never heard anyone criticize him for it...
 

He says the offense and defense needs to send a "thank you to the ST..." why does he ignore that ST is part of the game?
 


skauma said:
He says the offense and defense needs to send a "thank you to the ST..." why does he ignore that ST is part of the game?
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Because he, like most rational football fans, realizes that scores on special teams aren't a given and luck usually plays a big factor.
 

cncmin said:
Because he, like most rational football fans, realizes that scores on special teams aren't a given and luck usually plays a big factor.
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Because he, like most rational fans, doesn't realize that special team plays result from hard work, good coaching, and planning.
 

Unregistered User said:
Because he, like most rational fans, doesn't realize that special team plays result from hard work, good coaching, and planning.
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I see someone thinks Tom Dienhart is a know-nothing moron.

So, if a knowledgeable analyst says something negative compared to your perception, just ignore him. :) Sounds like a plan.
 

Pretty much agree with Diehart's analysis except that I am not sure it is as simple as "Nelson needs to pass better" as the run game was awful. If Nelson can't pass more accurately when the team is putting him in favorable situations (ex 2nd and short or 1st down pass after a number of successful runs), then he will deserve more criticism. I was concerned with the lack of separation by our receivers when we did decide to pass tonight. Even the early 3rd down completion to Maye had to be right on the money.

I feel like the Gophers got a lot of breaks tonight (dropped 1st down over the middle early, possible dropped TD by Rice Jr in the second half...though couldn't tell for sure, missed FG, missed XP, etc, etc) and the score was not indicative of the game played on the field.

They certainly can't play like they did in the first quarter again against anyone of the schedule not named Western Illinois.
 



Nelson has a strong arm, it seems. I don't know why he can't lead receivers on long passes. The wide outs always have to turn around and basically wait for the ball. That's where tips/interceptions happen.
 

cncmin said:
Because he, like most rational football fans, realizes that scores on special teams aren't a given and luck usually plays a big factor.
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So you agree with him? Throw out Special teams! They mean nothing! Jones KR TD was not just luck, nor was Hageman's FG block. Luck had as much to do with those two TDs as it did with Sherry's 2 passing TDs
 

Coach Kill on the blocked FG TD..."We teach that all the time, you don't want to fall on a blocked FG, somebody pushed that ball out of there, I don't know who did it, but thats a great football play, and we work on those things..."

Hageman on the blocked FG TD..."I don't even know what I did, I just...threw the ball away and Shabazz picked it up, its really just about making plays"


yet, so many here want to call it luck on that TD instead of good coaching and skill.
 

BarnBoy said:
Did you also read the part where the smart analyst says "a win is a win" and "there is plenty of time".

Hmmm
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I was moreso hmming at the "thank you note" part because ST is PART of the game...
 



Hard to tell how good the offense is based on that game, they did not play well in the first half, but at the end of the half I tought they started looking better and moving the ball, the breaks in the second half negated the ability to evaluate their prograss, the defense adjusted and started playing well halfway through the second quarter. Game by game improvement and they will be ready for conference play.
 

Our football team scored 51 points and dominated the second half. Leaning on your special teams occasionally is nothing to be ashamed of. I agree we should all hope that last night's performance will not be our best of the year, but when is the last time we were able to bitch like this after hanging 50+ on someone. Good teams find ways to score when the offense isn't clicking. The guys playing on special teams, making plays are a lot of the same guys playing offense and defense...they not some random third party, rodeo clown our there for our entertainment. If we were on the opposite end of this game, I guarantee we would not feel encouraged this morning after giving up 51. But, most of the guys bitching probably don't care because they just want something to bitch about, or aren't Gopher fans anyway.
 

There is always work to do. Always work for improvement. Because Dienhart is not a fan of our team, his job is to be cool on things that need improvement. As a fan, all I can do is celebrate a decisive victory. At the team meeting, I am sure there will be a run down on the good and the bad. First, let everybody acknowledge a solid win. The end of the first half and the remaining game showed a gritty, battling team determined to make a difference. Let that carry over to all the games.
 

jovs said:
Hard to tell how good the offense is based on that game, they did not play well in the first half, but at the end of the half I tought they started looking better and moving the ball, the breaks in the second half negated the ability to evaluate their prograss, the defense adjusted and started playing well halfway through the second quarter. Game by game improvement and they will be ready for conference play.
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+1. Last year we looked very shaky against UNLV and a few weeks later ended up beating a solid 8 win Syracuse team with our backup QB. There's still no reason to think we won't be able to compete every week in the B1G.
 

Correct, a win is a win. A lot of teams would love to be 1-0 right now. "Special Forces" led the way.

"Special Forces" however won't always get you 14 points/game and you can't always count on a pick 6. Plenty of time for improvement but from what I saw last night the MN Gophers could struggle mightily against B1G opponents. UNLV is one of the worst 5-10 teams in D-I football.

I would be concerned about RB depth with the injury to Kirkwood and WR play. At some point a WR will need to step up.
 

In the 2nd half we punted once and didn't turn it over. You can't run for 400 yards if your defense and special teams take away your possessions.
 

I've seen the *&^!#*&^!#*&^!#*&^!#ty Chicago Bears go all the way to a superbowl pretty much using the Gophers' gameplan from last night.
 

skauma said:
Coach Kill on the blocked FG TD..."We teach that all the time, you don't want to fall on a blocked FG, somebody pushed that ball out of there, I don't know who did it, but thats a great football play, and we work on those things..."

Hageman on the blocked FG TD..."I don't even know what I did, I just...threw the ball away and Shabazz picked it up, its really just about making plays"


yet, so many here want to call it luck on that TD instead of good coaching and skill.
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I do not think that is the point and I agree with Dienhart, it was not an impressive victory (other than the score) and you know Kill and company will be pointing that out to the team when they look at film. Yes, special teams are important, but more important than that is offensive consistency. I would trade a top rated offense any day of the week for a top rated kick return game. So, next game, if we get 0 blocked fg's, 0 kicks returned for a TD and 0 int's returned for a TD, but perform the same way on offense, we could be in trouble.

This was a very bad UNLV team that in my view was very evenly matched with us, other than special teams, which is very disconcerting. Nelson had 99 yards passing. 99 yards! Against UNLV! Look at the stats, we got outplayed. Yes, we got the win, but we need to get much, much better and fast.

Team Totals LV MINN
FIRST DOWNS 21 17
Rushing 8 9
Passing 13 7
Penalty 0 1
NET YARDS RUSHING 193 221
Rushing Attempts 34 38
Average Per Rush 5.7 5.8
Rushing Touchdowns 1 3
Yards Gained Rushing 213 235
Yards Lost Rushing 20 14
NET YARDS PASSING 226 99
Completions-Attempts-Int 36-51-2 10-23-1
Average Per Attempt 4.4 4.3
Average Per Completion 6.3 9.9
Passing Touchdowns 2 1
TOTAL OFFENSE YARDS 419 320
Total offense plays 85 61
Average Gain Per Play 4.9 5.2
Fumbles: Number-Lost 0-0 1-0
Penalties: Number-Yards 1-15 1-5
PUNTS-YARDS 4-173 3-115
Average Yards Per Punt 43.2 38.3
Net Yards Per Punt 39.5 36.7
Inside 20 2 1
50+ Yards 1 0
Touchbacks 0 0
Fair catch 0 1
KICKOFFS-YARDS 5-278 9-582
Average Yards Per Kickoff 55.6 64.7
Net Yards Per Kickoff 26.0 42.1
Touchbacks 0 3
Punt returns: Number-Yards-TD 1-5-0 1-15-0
Average Per Return 5.0 15.0
Kickoff returns: Number-Yds-TD 6-128-0 4-148-1
Average Per Return 21.3 37.0
Interceptions: Number-Yds-TD 1-0-0 2-89-1
Fumble Returns: Number-Yds-TD 0-0-0 0-0-1
Miscellaneous Yards 0 80
Possession Time 31:56 28:04
1st Quarter 9:00 6:00
2nd Quarter 6:46 8:14
3rd Quarter 8:43 6:17
4th Quarter 7:27 7:33
Third-Down Conversions 6 of 18 8 of 14
Fourth-Down Conversions 4 of 4 1 of 1
Red-Zone Scores-Chances 2-4 4-4
Touchdowns 1-4 3-4
Field goals 1-4 1-4
Sacks By: Number-Yards 0-0 1-11
PAT Kicks 2-3 6-7
Field Goals 1-3 1-2


LV MINN
FIRST DOWNS................... 21 17
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............ 34-193 38-221
PASSING YDS (NET)............. 226 99
Passes Att-Comp-Int........... 51-36-2 23-10-1
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS..... 85-419 61-320
Fumble Returns-Yards.......... 0-0 0-0
Punt Returns-Yards............ 1-5 1-15
Kickoff Returns-Yards......... 6-128 4-148
Interception Returns-Yards.... 1-0 2-89
Punts (Number-Avg)............ 4-43.2 3-38.3
Fumbles-Lost.................. 0-0 1-0
Penalties-Yards............... 1-15 1-5
Possession Time............... 31:56 28:04
Third-Down Conversions........ 6 of 18 8 of 14
Fourth-Down Conversions....... 4 of 4 1 of 1
Red-Zone Scores-Chances....... 2-4 4-4
Sacks By: Number-Yards........ 0-0 1-11
 

goldy93 said:
I do not think that is the point and I agree with Dienhart, it was not an impressive victory (other than the score) and you know Kill and company will be pointing that out to the team when they look at film. Yes, special teams are important, but more important than that is offensive consistency. I would trade a top rated offense any day of the week for a top rated kick return game. So, next game, if we get 0 blocked fg's, 0 kicks returned for a TD and 0 int's returned for a TD, but perform the same way on offense, we could be in trouble.

This was a very bad UNLV team that in my view was very evenly matched with us, other than special teams, which is very disconcerting. Nelson had 99 yards passing. 99 yards! Against UNLV! Look at the stats, we got outplayed. Yes, we got the win, but we need to get much, much better and fast.
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No, we didn't. At all. Only on GH can your team win by 28 and a group of posters say we got outplayed. One thing about all those defensive and special teams touchdowns is that they also keep our offense off the field. On a per play basis, we outgained UNLV by almost half a yard. We outplayed them. Not as much as we should have, and not as much as most fans would have liked. But we did. To say we got outplayed is utter hyperbole, and it's a ridiculous take on the game.
 


Gopherprof said:
It does? I'm really impressed by Nelson's tools as a runner. Considerably less so as a passer.
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I think he has a decent arm. His accuracy still needs some work. It's hard to judge him considering we have zero playmakers at WR right now. An example is his first interception, a better WR than Engel would fight for that ball more and if not catch it, at least knock it away from the defender.
 

Unregistered User said:
Because he, like most rational fans, doesn't realize that special team plays result from hard work, good coaching, and planning.
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Totally. I'm sure Kill's new game plan will involve scoring 21 points on defense and ST each week.
 

Unregistered User said:
Because he, like most rational fans, doesn't realize that special team plays result from hard work, good coaching, and planning.
Click to expand...

Exactly. I have attended many practices over the years that are not open to the public. Last year I was at the Vikings practice leading up to the Lions game. They were practicing kick returns. From film, they knew if they could block two guys, Harvin had a great chance to take it to the house. They made the blocks on Sunday and what did Harvin do? He took it to the house.

Kill mentioned in post game that Hageman made the easy play on the Blocked FG, but the player that pushed the ball forward made the play to get Shabazz the scoop and score. He said they discuss and practice those type of plays.

I don't say it is luck, but all it takes is 1 off 22 players on the field to make a play or miss a play for the "special" play to happen.
 

jaymil said:
I think he has a decent arm. His accuracy still needs some work. It's hard to judge him considering we have zero playmakers at WR right now. An example is his first interception, a better WR than Engel would fight for that ball more and if not catch it, at least knock it away from the defender.
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That interception was severely underthrown, in part because Nelson doesn't appear to have a very big arm.
 

Gopherprof said:
That interception was severely underthrown, in part because Nelson doesn't appear to have a very big arm.
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Agreed it wasn't a very good throw. That's the problem though, we don't have anyone who can make a play on a ball that isn't thrown perfectly.
 

MaxyJR1 said:
Kill mentioned in post game that Hageman made the easy play on the Blocked FG, but the player that pushed the ball forward made the play to get Shabazz the scoop and score. He said they discuss and practice those type of plays.
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Hopefully they weren't practicing intentionally pushing the ball forward as that could result in a penalty giving the other team the ball back, 15 yards, and a first down.
 

AO54 said:
Hopefully they weren't practicing intentionally pushing the ball forward as that could result in a penalty giving the other team the ball back, 15 yards, and a first down.
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Which is exactly what Shede did. We got a break on that no call along with the Williams TD no call.
 

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