Fire Rob Wenger

Donate To GopherHole
WAGopher said:
Just like they were probably coached to swipe the ball out of the center’s hands and use confusing fair catch signals. I think Captain Kirk gets a thrill from getting away with bush league junk like this.
Click to expand...
Of course they were. Another good example. That smirk Ferentz had on after the punt return said it all.
 

Dakota2 said:
Nothing bush league about trying to put the coverage team to sleep then running a punt back to win the game. Ferentz is there to win. Nothing else.
Click to expand...
That's one way to look at it. Then you also can't complain at all when you get caught and the rule is enforced correctly.
 

RememberMurray said:
The point is: it's possible to enjoy a big win without finding something negative to squawk about. Try it. It's fun.

By the way, the refs made the correct call. Football has rules, and consequences are handed down when rules are broken. This was not a gift. Sorry.
Click to expand...

Give it a rest. It is possible to be excited about some things in a loss and disappointed about some things in a win. It's called higher thinking ability. If that isn't your thing than just start a thread titled, "We won and everything went perfect!" Then you don't have to read about people talking about the ups and the downs.
 

WoodburyTim said:
Give it a rest. It is possible to be excited about some things in a loss and disappointed about some things in a win. It's called higher thinking ability. If that isn't your thing than just start a thread titled, "We won and everything went perfect!" Then you don't have to read about people talking about the ups and the downs.
Click to expand...
I agree, but calling for someone to be fired is excessive in this case.
 

DoubleDeckerDons said:
I agree, but calling for someone to be fired is excessive in this case.
Click to expand...

Wenger has been just plain awful for his entire tenure with the Gophers. Like galactically bad, it's embarrassing.

Wenger's title is ST Coach/Rush Ends. I assume he's doing a good job with the Rush Ends, but this reminds me of what used to happen (still does happen?) in a lot of small, rural schools in outstate Minnesota; we'll give you the job for teaching HS Geometry and Algebra, but you also have to coach the girls track team. Take it or leave it.

Perhaps Wenger got the job for his prowess with coaching Rush Ends and Fleckster told him he's gotta also take the ST gig. It's really hard to explain it very many other ways at this point.
 


Before jumping to fire someone. I’m curious about the amount of preparation Fleck allows for special teams and what Fleck wants out of them.

Wenger isn’t making the call to kick it into the end zone on every play. Fleck is also dictating fair catch on punt return. Fleck is also putting starters like Nubin on special teams.
 

MaxyJR1 said:
Wenger isn’t making the call to kick it into the end zone on every play. Fleck is also dictating fair catch on punt return. Fleck is also putting starters like Nubin on special teams.
Click to expand...

I have absolutely zero issue with any of these decisions you have listed here. On a weekly basis it seems, they are often just plain not prepared.
 

DoubleDeckerDons said:
I agree, but calling for someone to be fired is excessive in this case.
Click to expand...
Not when it is the same performance week in/week out. Win or lose, our special teams have not only been one of the worst in the Big10, but some of the worst in the country. And it has been that way for 5 plus years now. I am of course speaking about kick and punt return specifically and not Kesich or the snappers and holders. We give away about half a football field of territory week in and week out with our punt and kick return performance.
 

U2Gopher said:
Not when it is the same performance week in/week out. Win or lose, our special teams have not only been one of the worst in the Big10, but some of the worst in the country. And it has been that way for 5 plus years now. I am of course speaking about kick and punt return specifically and not Kesich or the snappers and holders. We give away about half a football field of territory week in and week out with our punt and kick return performance.
Click to expand...
Kick and punt return has been bad recently, I agree. However, I think its more of a talent problem than a schematic one. It'd be nice to have a guy like cooper on our team.
 



WilliamsArenaGuy said:
Exactly. I watched it again tonight. A terrible call, and it identifies Dejean as a cheater. He knows exactly what he is doing. That play should make the rounds on social media next.
Click to expand...
Cheating? If someone is too close it would be prudent to put your hand out and touch them to prove that they were too close. DeJean is a smart player, just too bad he couldn't man up in the presser and admit he waved his hand. But I'd hope and gopher returner would do the same thing.
 

Dakota2 said:
Nubin was called for being too close to DeJean when he caught it. The only contact between the two was just before the ball arrived DeJean shoved Nubin in the chest with his right hand.
Click to expand...
The call would be for interfering with the fair catch. Clearly, DeJean easily caught the ball and was able to push Nubin. However, Nubin gave DeJean enough room to cleanly catch the ball, so he did not interfere. The only reason the ref threw the flag was because DeJean made it look like there was interference.
 


The Rush Ends thing was actually only very recently. I believe 2020 or 2021 they invented that position and made Wegner coach of it.

He played linebacker in college and does have some previous experience coaching DL/DE.

Wenger was just ST coordinator for Fleck at Western, since 2013. He had worked at .. where else, Rutgers for a couple years. Assuming this is where Fleck knows him from.
 



My question is this (and this could really go for any ST coordinator) …… what would ya say .. ya DO here????

I’m assuming he does not actually coach/teach the kickers on kicking, the punters on punting, the snappers on snapping, the returners on catching the ball or how to be good at returning. Does any program have coaches that actually do those??

So then …. what??
 

Ogee Ogilthorpe said:
There is almost certainly one (maybe two?) person on staff who is actively working with the Kickers and Punters on mechanics, footwork and timing
Click to expand...
Believe it or not, this is typically not the case. ST coaches do a lot of ST scheme stuff, but very few kickers/punters/place kickers get detailed coaching from staff. The players do a lot of standing around and kick only enough to so as to not overdo it. Their work on "mechanics, footwork and timing" is done largely off campus with specialist trainers in the off season.
 

Gopherchase said:
I’m with you and although I think it’s probably PJ and his wife who really like 81 that kid likely couldn’t start at any position for a D3 squad so the fact that he can’t talk PJ out of that just by itself means he is an idiot. On top of that generally are special teams are no threat and are below average.
Click to expand...
Careful - I almost got ran off the board for making a comment on 81 a few weeks back!
 

Nebraska for years was known for having in-state walk-on kids who played their hearts out on special teams. Was an honor to do it. They knew they weren’t good enough to play O or D, but it was their thing and proud to represent their state.
 

DrunkDons said:
Y'all want to fire somebody new every week, it's actually comical😂. Can we just relax and enjoy our moment in the sun without sending someone up to the chopping block?
Click to expand...
Have you ever read the story The Ant and the Grasshopper ?
 

noamfromm said:
Cheating? If someone is too close it would be prudent to put your hand out and touch them to prove that they were too close. DeJean is a smart player, just too bad he couldn't man up in the presser and admit he waved his hand. But I'd hope and gopher returner would do the same thing.
Click to expand...
If you want to use a different word than cheating, that is fine. My point is there is evidence that this kid (probably with the staff's encouragement) skirts the rules to gain an advantage. Call it cheating or poor sportsmanship or whatever you wish.
 

WoodburyTim said:
Give it a rest. It is possible to be excited about some things in a loss and disappointed about some things in a win. It's called higher thinking ability. If that isn't your thing than just start a thread titled, "We won and everything went perfect!" Then you don't have to read about people talking about the ups and the downs.
Click to expand...

"Higher" thinking? Ooooooookay, dude.
 

GopherPoke said:
Believe it or not, this is typically not the case. ST coaches do a lot of ST scheme stuff, but very few kickers/punters/place kickers get detailed coaching from staff. The players do a lot of standing around and kick only enough to so as to not overdo it. Their work on "mechanics, footwork and timing" is done largely off campus with specialist trainers in the off season.
Click to expand...
That's not been my experience, but I'll leave it at that. Your comments for the most part agree with my overall general comment that Wenger has next to nothing to do with Kesich's ability to make FG's.
 

DrunkDons said:
Kick and punt return has been bad recently, I agree. However, I think its more of a talent problem than a schematic one. It'd be nice to have a guy like cooper on our team.
Click to expand...
While I won’t disagree that you can always improve the talent pool, that’s not the reason for the Gophers being the worst in the Big10 and one of the worst in the country. There are 50 or more teams who recruit worse than the Gophers, who are better at special teams. The main issue for the Gophers is coaching of this aspect, not the talent.
 

DrunkDons said:
I think its more of a talent problem than a schematic one.
Click to expand...
Disagree. We apparently had an NFL kick returner on the roster the last 5 years. The Lions plugged Mo in to return kicks yesterday. Do you think he have literally had the worst returner talent in the B1G the last few years? It is 100% an issue of coaching, scheme, and execution.
 

matt said:
Disagree. We apparently had an NFL kick returner on the roster the last 5 years. The Lions plugged Mo in to return kicks yesterday. Do you think he have literally had the worst returner talent in the B1G the last few years? It is 100% an issue of coaching, scheme, and execution.
Click to expand...
Ok fair enough. What is your desired outcome for special teams then?

It seems like people always find something to complain about. It makes it annoying to log on here sometimes, especially after a very memorable and historic game, and seeing people calling to fire somebody when special teams were one of the highlights of the game.
Yeah, the return game has been bad, but we have bigger issues to worry about.

This thread just seems like clickbait if you ask me. Glass half-empty mentality.
 

RememberMurray said:
We finally beat Iowa, get Floyd and we're celebrating by immediately calling for the firing of a member of the coaching staff.

We are soooooooo Minne-sooootan, doncha know!
Click to expand...
We damn near lost because we can't simply kick the ball away and don't allow any chance fo a return. Just the latest in poor special teams execution.
 

WHB Brewer said:
We damn near lost because we can't simply kick the ball away and don't allow any chance fo a return. Just the latest in poor special teams execution.
Click to expand...
How do you simply "kick the ball away" from (roughly) your 5 yard line? He kicked it to midfield within about 2 yards of the sideline, which would be "away" from where most any returner would set up. I think he did about as good as one could expect given field position. If he tries to boot it and angle out of bounds, he is very likely to lose a lot of length on a kick which would improve Iowa field position even more. Coverage not being considered, our punter executed in that situation, imo.
 

Ogee Ogilthorpe said:
Wenger has been just plain awful for his entire tenure with the Gophers. Like galactically bad, it's embarrassing.

Wenger's title is ST Coach/Rush Ends. I assume he's doing a good job with the Rush Ends, but this reminds me of what used to happen (still does happen?) in a lot of small, rural schools in outstate Minnesota; we'll give you the job for teaching HS Geometry and Algebra, but you also have to coach the girls track team. Take it or leave it.

Perhaps Wenger got the job for his prowess with coaching Rush Ends and Fleckster told him he's gotta also take the ST gig. It's really hard to explain it very many other ways at this point.
Click to expand...
Our pass rush is not good either
 

DrunkDons said:
Kick and punt return has been bad recently, I agree. However, I think its more of a talent problem than a schematic one. It'd be nice to have a guy like cooper on our team.
Click to expand...
You really think we don’t have a whole room full of really fast guys that could return kicks and punts? The fact that PJ runs out a kid who likely wouldn’t start for a D3 team is all on him.
 

matt said:
Disagree. We apparently had an NFL kick returner on the roster the last 5 years. The Lions plugged Mo in to return kicks yesterday. Do you think he have literally had the worst returner talent in the B1G the last few years? It is 100% an issue of coaching, scheme, and execution.
Click to expand...
Mo was one of the up guys on the kick return.
 


You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom