Game 1 takeaways

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btowngopher

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Pros
-Kesich looks like a weapon at kicker
-Crooms is super reliable
-The dline is improved
-The defense has not dropped off
-The linebackers stepped up without Lindenberg especially Baranowski.
-AK continues to grow
-Daniel Jackson is the alpha

Cons
-oline struggled to open holes, pass pro was good for the most part, but had some mistakes there.
-still too many dropped balls
-lack of big plays
-run game
-Kick coverage and roughing the punter, although I did like seeing us trying to make a play on special teams.
 

OL is not good
No separation by wrs

Defense is good
Nubin is a stud
Kicker might be a good one
 


Punter was disappointing - he’s gotta flip the field with more leg. 35 yard punts in a one possession game isn’t what we are looking for
 





Defense was really sharp, only TD they allowed was after special teams gave up a short field. Offense was able to come up with a clutch TD when they needed it most and the kicker was huge at the end.

Offense struggled. That gets masked a bit by winning it the way we did, but that's how team sports work. Maybe sometime later this year the defense will look look they cant stop anything, and the offense will score enough to make it not matter.
 




I see that AK release balls so fast out of his hands that multiple receivers are having trouble catching his throws?! Seemed like the ball just hits the receivers’ hands so hard that the ball just bounced / pop off of them.

At least on the TV. Did you guys feel or see that?

I also saw that our KO returner didn’t seem running as hard as last year, he’d run it out and then slows down before impact.
 


Not only was it a short field when the defense gave up a TD but it was on a gimmick play. Coach Fleck in his press conference did a good job explaining it that Walley had his back to the play and when he turns around he sees the ball on the ground (cause Sims dropped it) and thinks it's an incomplete pass. Still need to play to the whistle but if Sims doesn't drop that pass I'm not sure Nebraska even connects on that.
 




gopherbadgerman said:
OL is not good
No separation by wrs

Defense is good
Nubin is a stud
Kicker might be a good one
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If Greg Johnson is as good as they think, he needs to play on the Oline. Can't keep horses in the barn. To bulky on right side of line, need more speed. I understand why veterans played first game but Johnson is just too talented to keep on the sidelines. If we are going to play Tyler at tailback we need a lead blocker H-back fullback type that hits the hole like a missle. Then I think you would see Tyler's break away speed. He doesn't have the leg drive to break tackles like MO did. We need a two back set with Tyler and some misdirection where he or Athon get free off the edge on some counter action. First game as a line for 3 guys but they need to be whole lot quicker up front on the Oline. Not a lot of teams play a 3 3 5 and run blitz like Nebraska did.
 
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How about we’re now 1-15 when we allowed 150 rushing yards!

I saw that stat on TV towards the end of the game before our come back, we were 0-15 when we gave up 150 yards to our opponents.

😆👍
 

Athan had so many guys running open. Was late on nearly every ball. Including the TD to Jackson. I have no concerns with him.
 

DarrenTheGreek said:
Not only was it a short field when the defense gave up a TD but it was on a gimmick play. Coach Fleck in his press conference did a good job explaining it that Walley had his back to the play and when he turns around he sees the ball on the ground (cause Sims dropped it) and thinks it's an incomplete pass. Still need to play to the whistle but if Sims doesn't drop that pass I'm not sure Nebraska even connects on that.
Click to expand...
The people around me said Walley was beat before Sims fumbled. Don’t know how true that was because I was watching the qb like everyone else.
 

Gopher_Topher said:
Something I haven't seen mentioned is poor tackling. Lots of missed tackles at the LOS that resulted in bigger plays.
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There were a few plays where there should have been tackles for loss but it appeared guys were hitting more than tackling. Big thumps that the Gopher player lost that would have been better as boring leg wraps.
 

Odd not seeing a stud RB on the field...big difference. AK is going to be a good QB. O-Line is "new", 3 gone from last year. D was solid. Nebraska fans are more annoying than Badger fans...I know what I said.
 

Yah-E said:
I see that AK release balls so fast out of his hands that multiple receivers are having trouble catching his throws?! Seemed like the ball just hits the receivers’ hands so hard that the ball just bounced / pop off of them.

At least on the TV. Did you guys feel or see that?

I also saw that our KO returner didn’t seem running as hard as last year, he’d run it out and then slows down before impact.
Click to expand...

The receivers better be putting in some hours with the Jugs machine
 

mnsportsgeek said:
The people around me said Walley was beat before Sims fumbled. Don’t know how true that was because I was watching the qb like everyone else.
Click to expand...
I saw that too...BUT, on the drop he stopped. Completely. The WR kept going so it looked like he was beat. Just such a flukey play. The Nebraska fans near me thought is a genius play..
 

My main takeaway is how different the Gophers plan to be on offense this season. We've talked a lot about wisconsin and the Air Raid but the much less talked about strategy shift looks like it will be west of the Mississippi.

Frankly, the Gophers looked like how we've dreamed wisconsin might struggle to adjust this season. The story of the season is likely to be how quickly the Gophers can find a rhythm as a pass-first team. CrAB returning will help.
 

Gopher_Topher said:
Something I haven't seen mentioned is poor tackling. Lots of missed tackles at the LOS that resulted in bigger plays.
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Maverick whiffed on one that resulted in a 30 yd scamper. He made up for it later with hard tackling and a tipped pass. He'll get better, he's a freshman
 

btowngopher said:
Pros
-Kesich looks like a weapon at kicker
-Crooms is super reliable
-The dline is improved
-The defense has not dropped off
-The linebackers stepped up without Lindenberg especially Baranowski.
-AK continues to grow
-Daniel Jackson is the alpha

Cons
-oline struggled to open holes, pass pro was good for the most part, but had some mistakes there.
-still too many dropped balls
-lack of big plays
-run game
-Kick coverage and roughing the punter, although I did like seeing us trying to make a play on special teams.
Click to expand...
The cons that concern me going forward:
*Sloppy tackling on defense
*No edge discipline on defense
*No offensive line push leading to lack of a running game
*Special teams - multiple gunners just running right past the punt returner for no reason, not setting the edge on their long kick, and a complete disinterest in returning the ball.

We’ll have to see how much Athan can make up for a bad run game, or better, hopefully we can figure out a run game. Because I don’t think Athan is good enough to operate without one all season.
 

One play that hasn't been mentioned a lot is the totally blown pass interference call (Nebraska db literally grabbed receiver before ball arrived) at critical spot late in the game.

That play would have determined the outcome of the game if it had not been late game heroics especially Daniel Jackson catch. That is resiliency! To just move on from that blown call.
 

I'm happy Bryce Williams came back but if he's playing about 50% of the snaps the rest of the year I think we're in trouble. Got to let the more talented guys get the bulk of the carries.
 

GophersInIowa said:
I'm happy Bryce Williams came back but if he's playing about 50% of the snaps the rest of the year I think we're in trouble. Got to let the more talented guys get the bulk of the carries.
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Completely agree. Bryce is a good 3rd down back, but I hope we get to see more Darius Taylor and/or Zach Evans against EMU.
 

Nebraska always has talent. Iowa/Wisc levels of talent at a minimum, and sometimes higher.

They just haven't had competent coaching/playcalling for a while.

They do now.


It's fine to point some things we aren't happy with, sure. All good. But let's also give credit to Nebraska for playing their butts off. They have some guys. And they have coaches now. I think they'll win at least one surprise game. (At least, I hope so, to make us look better.)
 


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