ESPN: Which teams were the biggest first-half disappointments (Austin Ward: Minn)

[BleedGopher]

per ESPN:

Austin Ward: Minnesota

With the division race wide open, a talented defense returning and optimism swirling around some changes on offense, the Gophers looked like a dark-horse contender in the West. But after just three games in league play, Minnesota is already on the outside looking in thanks to a shutout loss at Northwestern and a blowout defeat at the hands of Nebraska at home on Saturday. For the most part, injuries are a viable excuse for Jerry Kill’s club, which has seemingly lost an important contributor just about every week and hasn’t even had a chance to show what it could have been when operating at full capacity. But the upgrades in the offense also haven’t materialized this season, with quarterback Mitch Leidner in particular struggling far more than anticipated and facing questions about his job security after throwing six interceptions during the first half of the season. With a difficult schedule ahead, suddenly a program that was eyeing a potential trip to Indianapolis to compete for a conference title may have trouble just qualifying for a bowl game.

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post...s-were-the-biggest-first-half-disappointments

Go Gophers!!

 

[A_Slab_of_Bacon]

Well not wrong.

 

[cjbfbp]

Well not wrong.

Except for the proposition that there was "optimism swirling around some changes on offense." Who was very optimistic about changes to the offense going into this season? We lost the two most significant offensive weapons in Cobb and Williams and a couple of those offensive lineman who departed were obviously significant losses in hindsight. And who promised significant changes in offense anyway?
Almost all of the optimism was due to the veteran defense. People probably expected Leidner to be better and he has improved on the passing end although he's deteriorated a bit on the running end.

I agree that we have to be one of the biggest disappointments if not the biggest. Maryland has had a huge fall from last year but maybe not as much was expected of them.

 

[MNVCGUY]

Well not wrong.

Yep, pretty accurate take on where things stand at the moment.

 

[MNVCGUY]

Except for the proposition that there was "optimism swirling around some changes on offense." Who was very optimistic about changes to the offense going into this season? We lost the two most significant offensive weapons in Cobb and Williams and a couple of those offensive lineman who departed were obviously significant losses in hindsight. And who promised significant changes in offense anyway?
Almost all of the optimism was due to the veteran defense. People probably expected Leidner to be better and he has improved on the passing end although he's deteriorated a bit on the running end.

I agree that we have to be one of the biggest disappointments if not the biggest. Maryland has had a huge fall from last year but maybe not as much was expected of them.

The optimism was around all the young receivers who were supposed to provide an upgrade at that position. To this point that group has been a massive disappointment this year. Carter has played ok but Maye still looks like our only real player at the WR position week in and week out.

We were also supposed to have a fairly experienced offensive line with a number of guys that had seen significant playing time.

 

[cjbfbp]

The optimism was around all the young receivers who were supposed to provide an upgrade at that position. To this point that group has been a massive disappointment this year.

A couple of weeks ago I watched almost the entire Michigan State vs. Rutgers game and the contrast between State's receivers and ours was striking. Their receivers shook themselves loose from coverage and made difficult catches throughout the game. Mitch may not be Connor Cook, but he'd look better than he has if he had Michigan State's receivers.

 

[A_Slab_of_Bacon]

Except for the proposition that there was "optimism swirling around some changes on offense." Who was very optimistic about changes to the offense going into this season? We lost the two most significant offensive weapons in Cobb and Williams and a couple of those offensive lineman who departed were obviously significant losses in hindsight. And who promised significant changes in offense anyway?
Almost all of the optimism was due to the veteran defense. People probably expected Leidner to be better and he has improved on the passing end although he's deteriorated a bit on the running end.

I agree that we have to be one of the biggest disappointments if not the biggest. Maryland has had a huge fall from last year but maybe not as much was expected of them.

Kill and Co. were talking up their WRs during the bowl games. He is probably referencing that, but yeah a bit more experience and you'd know ... there was more curiosity than optimism.

 

[Great Plains Gopher]

There was some wild optimism, not only from fans but from TV and other media sources, that MN would win the West, have 8 to 10 wins, etc. I never shared that, predicting 4-6 wins, largely because of the huge losses of Cobb and Maax, plus the continuing problems at QB and with the offense in general, year to year (near the bottom of the conference). I am surprised, though, at the o-line and our inability to run against anyone but Purdue - and that mostly in the second half. Brutal games are ahead of us, beginning on Halloween. The best scenario for six wins seems to be home wins against Ill and the Badgers.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

As mentioned in another thread, there are two ways the Gophers could go the rest of the year. Stay conservative, and hope to win, or at least hope to lose close.

Or - say "bleep it," bust all the tendencies, and try anything in hopes of getting a spark for the remaining games.

With this coaching staff, I don't expect anything wacky the rest of the way - but it might be fun to watch. I would still like to see Croft get some extended playing time with the starters to see what he might be capable of. Don't expect to see that, either.

 

[Spoofin]

This thread cracks me up. Almost all of us rubes were optimistic entering the season, now we'll get a lot of "I never thought so" guys.

BTW - I knew we would struggle this year.