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I do believe that a lot of the lack of creativity and explosiveness on offense is PJ Fleck. He maintains that he wants to run a conservative style of football. What I don't understand is that he was a wide receiver and we do no favors to our wide outs or QBs. The routes we are running are never going to be open. What happened to all of the quick slants, quick hitters that got us YAC and got us in a rhythm. Every time we drop back now its like there are zero options and has to just throw a prayer or more likely take a sac or try to scramble.
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
Maybe with the current crop of pass-catchers, they don't trust this QB putting the ball in the air more than is absolutely possible. Don't we at least have to consider that as a possibility?
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Somewhat related, but I haven't seen anything remarkable about MBS that he is getting so much run. I saw enough out of Boyd in the spring game to know he has a higher ceiling and IMO should be getting some more plays.
 

Rickman55 said:
Morgan needs to be better. He overthrew 28 by 10 yards early in the game. This should have been a touchdown. That miss and others by Morgan absolutely took away any confidence the coaches had in giving Morgan the opportunity to throw more. Fleck even said it in his press conference…they went to conservative play calling because of Morgan.
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Morgan can play better, but he needs a longer leash, just cause you miss on one deep throw doesn’t mean you stop throwing. I mean how many runs got stuffed and they just keep trying?
 

btowngopher said:
Morgan can play better, but he needs a longer leash, just cause you miss on one deep throw doesn’t mean you stop throwing. I mean how many runs got stuffed and they just keep trying?
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Yeah, that was the second oddest part of a very odd press conference. The most odd was the wierd blurb on Dylan Wright. There is clearly something going on behind the scenes there. If you guys haven’t already watched it here you go. Essentially: focus of pass game was CAB and he went out, missed a few throws, going to run it and win it with walrus ball. That’s it. Didn’t work out. Fourth down call was an attempt to generate momentum for stagnant team (which doesn’t exist, of course.)

We have enough data on PJF now to understand he doesn’t like to pass much in non-con vs lesser opponents unless his back is against the wall. Its hard to figure, but that’s what he’s about. When the end was nigh he went back to the pass but it was too late (sub 2:30 left IIRC) and unfortunately no late game heroics developed like 2019.

 

Pompous Elitist said:
Yeah, that was the second oddest part of a very odd press conference. The most odd was the wierd blurb on Dylan Wright. There is clearly something going on behind the scenes there. If you guys haven’t already watched it here you go. Essentially: focus of pass game was CAB and he went out, missed a few throws, going to run it and win it with walrus ball. That’s it. Didn’t work out. Fourth down call was an attempt to generate momentum for stagnant team (which doesn’t exist, of course.)

We have enough data on PJF now to understand he doesn’t like to pass much in non-con vs lesser opponents unless his back is against the wall. Its hard to figure, but that’s what he’s about. When the end was nigh he went back to the pass but it was too late (sub 2:30 left IIRC) and unfortunately no late game heroics developed like 2019.

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Just a guess but could be a teaching moment with Wright, trying to get him to buy in to the culture. If his body language was wrong or was griping I’m guessing they sat him down. You don’t see players acting that way on Fleck’s teams so I’m thinking he doesn’t accept that at all. I’m just guessing off of rumors on here that he was seen arguing or yelling about something.
 


btowngopher said:
Just a guess but could be a teaching moment with Wright, trying to get him to buy in to the culture. If his body language was wrong or was griping I’m guessing they sat him down. You don’t see players acting that way on Fleck’s teams so I’m thinking he doesn’t accept that at all. I’m just guessing off of rumors on here that he was seen arguing or yelling about something.
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Yeah, I think you’re right. Another thing that stuck out during the press conference was PJF reiterating that failure is essential to success. Given what we’ve seen historically it could almost be construed he wants to try to win ugly early in the season to create difficult, stressful game situations. If they lose it’s a learning experience, if they win same. Doesn’t affect Big Ten record. I could be very wrong.
 

A B1G team has two choices when playing teams such as BG with supposedly less roster talent: (1) try to blow them out early with the full shock and awe offensive display "covering the whole field," breaking their confidence and making them wish the game would just end, or (2) play cute and conservative early, allowing the game to remain close, breathing confidence and bravado into a team that should by now be broken. On the day we lost to BG, Nebraska beat fellow MAC program Kent State 35-7; Nebraska used all its weapons. By going conservative and predictable against a team such as BG--which does, by the way, have some real talent on board--you disrespect an opponent (almost always a mistake) and needlessly create the risk of the situation we faced in the fourth quarter, where the game is very much at risk. Maybe that is what PJ is trying to do--keeping winnable games "at risk" to test the team's mettle--even though almost all rational teams pick option no. 1. Option no. 2 has much more downside than upside. You risk asking your team to sustain a confidence-crushing loss that never should have been. You also deprive the younger talent on your team of a chance to develop on the field, experiencing game conditions, in a "safe" situation where a loss is not a consideration. I just don't get why the approach in a game like BG isn't to score early and often, breaking the opponent early. There is nothing in the Gophers playbook that is so secret and special that we can't use it in an early game for fear of revealing it to future opponents. As much as I like PJ, for all the good he has done for our program--and it is a lot--I will never understand why a coach who will take an absurd risk such as going for it on fourth down on his OWN 25 yard line won't (in the same game!) call for a pass in the second half of a close game EXCEPT on 3rd down when an all-out blitz is a virtual certainty. It's weird.
 
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btowngopher said:
It’s Tressell ball. Fleck coached under him. I’m not even mad about the conservativeness. Don’t mistake conservative for predictable though. And if you’re going to go conservative, own it, don’t got for it on 4th down deep in your own end, and don’t go for long field goals, play the field position game. Also doesn’t mean you have to run you’re starting rb into the ground.
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Trey Potts, despite having "only" 10 carries in the OSU game, already has more carries than any other RB is the B1G (by a margin of 10 carries, a margin that will widen if we keep using Potts at 30 or more rushes per game). I get that a lot of people on GH think this rate of usage in a bruising conference such as the Big Ten is OK. But statistically such usage is a real outlier--and for good reason. If Potts holds up and remains productive under this level of usage, that is great. But it will speak volumes about the "balance" and the depth of our offense, and about our apparent reluctance to employ passing game weapons ... or it will speaks volumes about PJ's offensive philosophy. Stay tuned.
 
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I am ok with being a primarily run focused team but that should open you up to creativity in the passing game as you theoretically face more 8 man boxes and whatnot. If your running game is ticking, as ours is, an OC (who is also the QB coach) should have time to devote to the QB and passing game during the week and that just doesn't look to be the case or the game plan is truly that poor. It seems to me the Bob's might need to come in an help Fleck evaluate Sanford.
 
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Gophergrandpa said:
Trey Potts, despite having "only" 10 carries in the OSU game, already has more carries than any other RB is the B1G. We are using him at a near Ibrahim rate. If he holds up and remains productive under this level of usage, that is great. But it speaks volumes about the "balance" and depth of our offense, our apparent reluctance to employ passing game weapons ... or it speaks volumes about PJ's view of the role of an offense.
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I don’t question the depth of our offense as we have seen Mo get all the carries and goes down now Potts getting all the carries and being productive, I have little doubt that we have multiple rbs that could be productive, simply makes no sense to not rotate in fresh guys. If they can’t pass block and you want to throw, well have them run a route instead. Sick of having to wait for injuries to figure out if the back ups are any good.
 



Rickman55 said:
Morgan needs to be better. He overthrew 28 by 10 yards early in the game. This should have been a touchdown. That miss and others by Morgan absolutely took away any confidence the coaches had in giving Morgan the opportunity to throw more. Fleck even said it in his press conference…they went to conservative play calling because of Morgan.
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So again, how did Ohio State work so well?

What changed since then? Did Morgan get hurt? Does he have some kind of nagging shoulder injury or something (making that up), that flared up again after the Ohio State game?
 



Bob_Loblaw said:
I think you're probably right but (IMO) the solution is not to go into a shell. It's similar to a team that struggles running, you still need to hand it off to keep people honest. In the miami game and the bowling green game, the linebackers and safeties had their ears pinned back. But you're right, our lack of playmakers has impacted how we call plays, but I think we are letting it have way more of an impact than it should.
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Screens, bootleg throws to the TE, checkdown Charlie to the RB, quick slants.

There are other things that can be done, without really putting it in the air in the usual sense, other than handing the ball off and grinding the RB into dust.
 

Gophergrandpa said:
Trey Potts, despite having "only" 10 carries in the OSU game, already has more carries than any other RB is the B1G (by a margin of 10 carries, a margin that will widen if we keep using Potts at 30 or more rushes per game). I get that a lot of people on GH think this rate of usage in a bruising conference such as the Big Ten is OK. But statistically such usage is a real outlier--and for good reason. If Potts holds up and remains productive under this level of usage, that is great. But it will speak volumes about the "balance" and the depth of our offense, and about our apparent reluctance to employ passing game weapons ... or it will speaks volumes about PJ's offensive philosophy. Stay tuned.
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I don't trust Potts to hold up. Nothing against him, nothing against how hard he works in the weight room or how he takes care of himself, and nothing against our S&C or training staffs.

He's human.

RB is a brutal position in the Big Ten.
 

caught a bit of an interview on KFAN this morning. someone - don't know who - talking about Gopher FB. they were discussing the play-calling and passing game. The guest said the Gophers are last in the B1G in YAC by the WR's. That could be on the WR's, the QB or the design of the pass routes. either way, it's not good.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
caught a bit of an interview on KFAN this morning. someone - don't know who - talking about Gopher FB. they were discussing the play-calling and passing game. The guest said the Gophers are last in the B1G in YAC by the WR's. That could be on the WR's, the QB or the design of the pass routes. either way, it's not good.
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Probably a little of all 3.
 



goldengophers said:
I am ok with being a primarily run focused team but that should open you up to creativity in the passing game as you theoretically face more 8 man boxes and whatnot. If your running game is ticking, as ours is, an OC (who is also the QB coach) should have time to devote to the QB and passing game during the week and that just doesn't look to be the case or the game plan is truly that poor. It seems to me the Bob's might need to come in an help Fleck evaluate Sanford.
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When our running game is ticking at 150-175 yards a game but our passing game isn’t contributing at least an equal amount of yardage, our offense is scoring 14 maybe 21 points a game, max. Not going to win in the big ten with that unless your defense is very dominant, giving your offense really short fields (that magnify effect of your running yardage) or, better, scoring points on pick sixes, fumbles, etc.

Our 2019 team had a great running attack (2323 yards/178.7 game) but had an even more effective passing attack (3293 yards/ 253.3 game). Give up on the passing game as a 50%+ source of yardage= give up on a lot of wins. Maybe if our defense starts to score 10 points a game, it will help.
 
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Gophergrandpa said:
Trey Potts, despite having "only" 10 carries in the OSU game, already has more carries than any other RB is the B1G (by a margin of 10 carries, a margin that will widen if we keep using Potts at 30 or more rushes per game). I get that a lot of people on GH think this rate of usage in a bruising conference such as the Big Ten is OK. But statistically such usage is a real outlier--and for good reason. If Potts holds up and remains productive under this level of usage, that is great. But it will speak volumes about the "balance" and the depth of our offense, and about our apparent reluctance to employ passing game weapons ... or it will speaks volumes about PJ's offensive philosophy. Stay tuned.
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IMO slim to no chance his clearly hurting lower leg will improve over the season. He’ll have to eventually rest since the injury/sprain is already a multi-game thing and not a one-week bounce back. The question is whether Potts at 80% is better than the other guys at 100%.
 

MplsGopher said:
So again, how did Ohio State work so well?

What changed since then? Did Morgan get hurt? Does he have some kind of nagging shoulder injury or something (making that up), that flared up again after the Ohio State game?
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With a small sample size the bad throws get amplified. If he has 25 attempts maybe he tosses some beauties or a TD and we all forget about the overthrow.

We need to pass more.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
IMO slim to no chance his clearly hurting lower leg will improve over the season. He’ll have to eventually rest since the injury/sprain is already a multi-game thing and not a one-week bounce back. The question is whether Potts at 80% is better than the other guys at 100%.
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Problem is pass-pro. Williams clearly isn't better with the ball in his hands, but I suspect neither Ky nor Bucko are ready to be every-down backs with pass-pro assignments.
 

btowngopher said:
I don’t know if it’s Sanford or Fleck or probably a combo, but the offense is way too conservative and predictable and doesn’t utilize depth enough at RB and WR. There is no lack of talent, it’s just not being put in position to succeed.
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This ^^^^^^^👍🏼
 

MplsGopher said:
Problem is pass-pro. Williams clearly isn't better with the ball in his hands, but I suspect neither Ky nor Bucko are ready to be every-down backs with pass-pro assignments.
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I would think we could use some quick developing passes requiring minimal blocking from the RB in the few instances where we actually do opt to throw the ball.
 

btowngopher said:
Just a guess but could be a teaching moment with Wright, trying to get him to buy in to the culture. If his body language was wrong or was griping I’m guessing they sat him down. You don’t see players acting that way on Fleck’s teams so I’m thinking he doesn’t accept that at all. I’m just guessing off of rumors on here that he was seen arguing or yelling about something.
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This seems most likely to me.
 

Why the F#$$$ik is Sanford asking or encouraging TM to run more often. If your QB is as slow as TM or not made for this kind of play, it encourages only two things injury and lower confidence. Instead of fostering pocket awareness and make sure to throw the ball where it needed be. It is just creating a mess. I remember Sanford said in one of his interview this summer that he encouraged TM run more if he wants to. I wish I can find that interview again. That OC clown think his job is to fulfill whatever the QB wishes. His job is to tell like it is. TM is not not that type of QB. So make improvement on things he can do better. Not his fantasia wishes.
 

BoatRacer said:
Why the F#$$$ik is Sanford asking or encouraging TM to run more often. If your QB is as slow as TM or not made for this kind of play, it encourages only two things injury and lower confidence. Instead of fostering pocket awareness and make sure to throw the ball where it needed be. It is just creating a mess. I remember Sanford said in one of his interview this summer that he encouraged TM run more if he wants to. I wish I can find that interview again. That OC clown think his job is to fulfill whatever the QB wishes. His job is to tell like it is. TM is not not that type of QB. So make improvement on things he can do better. Not his fantasia wishes.
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I mean, to be fair, TM would have had like a 20 yard run if he hadn't fumbled....
 

Taji34 said:
I mean, to be fair, TM would have had like a 20 yard run if he hadn't fumbled....
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Do you really believe that he can consistently do against B1G Ds ? If that is the case I am all for it. may be pj regime is interest in running every major players into ground. Then act like they have no player left to play.
 

BoatRacer said:
Do you really believe that he can consistently do against B1G Ds ? If that is the case I am all for it. may be pj regime is interest in running every major players into ground. Then act like they have no player left to play.
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You never know if you don't have him try.
 

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