Gophers football preparing for “ghosts” in opener against Nebraska

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I am not supporting whatever the weird narrative is of sandbagging, ghosts, or whatever.

But the simple fact is that neither of the coordinators, nor the head coach, for Neb are “new”.

You very much know what you’re going to get with them. They’re not going to just start doing some brand new scheme they’ve never coached and called before, just to F with Fleck.

That’s not how that works. That’s not how you make it up that far to be a coordinator or head coach at that high of a level. You don’t just throw random s__ out on the field as a whole scheme, just to be unpredictable.

You do what you know, and what you’ve done that got you that far in the first place.

Neb’s defense will be the defense we saw in the bowl game against Syracuse.

Their offense will be similar to what the guy ran at SC and what Rhule has run before. (I believe he is an offensive guy.)
 
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The Bugeaters, Nebraska will come out and do what they did with the veterans they have. They will run the ball and use play action throws to the tight ends and WR over the middle. You can bet they will throw the quick outs and slant in routes and go no huddle like Baylor. Expect up tempo and no huddle for sure to try and disrupt our substitutions.
 

PMWinSTP said:
I mean, transparency, and having a little fun with that...did you read the post I responded to?
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Totally understand. My bad...I remember wanting to write more but got sidetracked with stupid work and must have hit the post button...and that was a migraine day. I think I was going to say something about gamblers.
 



The more I listen to PJ's interviews on KFAN, podcasts, Fox9, pressers, I start to understand where he is coming from and what could be inspiring his communication philosophy.

His degree is in education, so his schooling has taught him techniques to communicate ideas in many different ways to make sure they resonate and are understood by all different kinds of folks.

He likely approaches his role as HC as a teacher and employs those same techniques to communicate to his players/team but also to the media, fans and public.

So some of us are uncomfortable with what he says or how he gets his points across, but the reason he has slogans, phrases, acronyms, etc. is because he is trying to make sure his ideas about the program sink in with all of us.

I am not always a fan of all the corny phrases or the common "preparing for ghosts" responses, but I don't see those statements as excuses. It helps to know why he uses them and where he is coming from.
 

MplsGopher said:
You very much know what you’re going to get with them. They’re not going to just start doing some brand new scheme they’ve never coached and called before, just to F with Fleck.
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I don't think anyone has said or implied what you said there.

Obviously they are studying tendencies and film from all the coaches previous stops.....Fleck said exactly that in the quoted part of the story in fact.....but that doesn't change the fact that Thursday will be the first time that this head coach has had these coordinators and these players so there are bound to be some wrinkles and changes that we can't fully prepare for in the way we can when you have a team with an established coaching staff who has been there for a while.

Anyone getting bent out of shape about the Ghosts thing is looking way too deep into it. Fleck and his staff will have the team as prepared as possible heading into the game and will make adjustments to whatever wrinkles get thrown at them the way they have been doing for their entire careers.
 

60's Guy said:
If he is not "crying about anything" why does he bring it up each time it happens. I just don't believe in planting seeds of doubt into the heads of the players. It can be the situation without articulating it to the world. Why say it out loud???? Who does that benefit? Could it inspire Nebraska to say hey...never thought of that...we can beat these guys. Could it cause his team own team to panic if Nebraska stops early drives or scores quickly...the Gophers trust PJ and now they go ... oh,oh we are in trouble. It's just a dumb thing to articulate out loud beyond the coaches room.

Your reading comprehension is quite poor. I have lauded PJ on many occasions.
I have stated there are maybe one, two other college coaches I'd trade him for. Zero in the Big Ten.

We have new offensive coordinators too ... I haven't seen Nebraska in a panic about preparing for ghosts.
We disagree. A lot guys on here believe praise has to be one million per cent obedience to PJ. He never does anything wrong and if someone says he does they are an idiot.

A very big part of coaching preparation are the words, the presentation, the mindset, the emphasis, the seeds you put in your players heads. The things you say or sometimes don't say haunt you as a coach following the outcome. I speak from experience.

The only reason PJ talks about ghosts is to cover his butt if we lose. Why else say it out loud?
All that is left is so he can be praised for winning under such difficult conditions as an amazing coach.
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It is well known that all football games are decided by what a coach says in a couple of minutes in an interview a week before the game. These few words impact his players far more than the months of interaction since the last bowl game.

Team meetings, position meetings, spring practice, summer workouts, and fall camp all pale in importance when compared to a two-minute comment. Yes, we all know that.
 

MNVCGUY said:
You keep referencing panic....where is this panic you speak of? Again, have you actually watched the press conferences that these bits are being pulled from? There is no panic, he isn't planting seeds of doubt and he isn't making excuses ahead of time thinking that will somehow cover him if we lose.

He uses the term Ghosts to articulate the concept of preparing for a team when you don't really know what they are going to do because as I said before the first game film of this head coach with these coordinators and Nebraska's personnel won't exist until after the game on the 31st.

Your first paragraph above is just complete nonsense. If you really believe that you are putting WAY too much stock in what is said at a press conference....that again....I feel pretty confident in saying you haven't watched.
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Dakota2 said:
It is well known that all football games are decided by what a coach says in a couple of minutes in an interview a week before the game. These few words impact his players far more than the months of interaction since the last bowl game.

Team meetings, position meetings, spring practice, summer workouts, and fall camp all pale in importance when compared to a two-minute comment. Yes, we all know that.
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As frequently as PJ talks about ghosts it is a theme, not a throw away comment in one press conference. There are at least three different interviews to different interviewers with this content.

You applaud the tactic, I don't, that's all.

I'm not in the locker room, PJ is. Maybe we are way too confident with all of his over the top praise of how happy he is with his guys. So he is getting their attention like jonnyganas said...he's reaching different guys in different ways ...he's got 110 of them.

Words matter and from miles away I don't like this approach. It could have value or a purpose to a certain group of players. It could be followed up with one one conversations with team leaders what he is really saying and why and then for them to echo the message with a specific slant. On the surface it's odd to me.
 



MNVCGUY: You are excellent at leaping to conclusions regarding what I like or don't like.
What I have said or didn't say. What I meant or didn't mean. What I have done or didn't do. And usually wrong.

So I wanna try one. I'm guessing you have not coached a team that is older than 8th grade and practices 5 days a week for 15 to 18 weeks with games. Something in a conference or in the MSHSL or any college? Not a church team or AAU team that practices once a week. Not a grade school team. All commendable just a different experience. And preferably more than one season.

Am I right?
 

MplsGopher said:
I am not supporting whatever the weird narrative is of sandbagging, ghosts, or whatever.

But the simple fact is that neither of the coordinators, nor the head coach, for Neb are “new”.

You very much know what you’re going to get with them. They’re not going to just start doing some brand new scheme they’ve never coached and called before, just to F with Fleck.

That’s not how that works. That’s not how you make it up that far to be a coordinator or head coach at that high of a level. You don’t just throw random s__ out on the field as a whole scheme, just to be unpredictable.

You do what you know, and what you’ve done that got you that far in the first place.

Neb’s defense will be the defense we saw in the bowl game against Syracuse.

Their offense will be similar to what the guy ran at SC and what Rhule has run before. (I believe he is an offensive guy.)
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Are you as certain of this as you were that UW and Oregon were not going to be in the Big Ten and the PAC 12 would be fine?
 

60's Guy said:
As frequently as PJ talks about ghosts it is a theme, not a throw away comment in one press conference. There are at least three different interviews to different interviewers with this content.

You applaud the tactic, I don't, that's all.

I'm not in the locker room, PJ is. Maybe we are way too confident with all of his over the top praise of how happy he is with his guys. So he is getting their attention like jonnyganas said...he's reaching different guys in different ways ...he's got 110 of them.

Words matter and from miles away I don't like this approach. It could have value or a purpose to a certain group of players. It could be followed up with one one conversations with team leaders what he is really saying and why and then for them to echo the message with a specific slant. On the surface it's odd to me.
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It's quicker to just admit you never watched the PCs and are yelling at clouds...
 

I really think Rhule is gonna try some different, tricky stuff. Nothing to lose and everything to gain with some decent playmakers, especially week 1, is kinda scary. Preparing for ghosts means preparing for everything which is what we need to do. But I do expect us to run it down their throats and it won't even be close.
 



60's Guy said:
As frequently as PJ talks about ghosts it is a theme, not a throw away comment in one press conference. There are at least three different interviews to different interviewers with this content.

You applaud the tactic, I don't, that's all.

I'm not in the locker room, PJ is. Maybe we are way too confident with all of his over the top praise of how happy he is with his guys. So he is getting their attention like jonnyganas said...he's reaching different guys in different ways ...he's got 110 of them.

Words matter and from miles away I don't like this approach. It could have value or a purpose to a certain group of players. It could be followed up with one one conversations with team leaders what he is really saying and why and then for them to echo the message with a specific slant. On the surface it's odd to me.
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Press conferences, interviews, tv appearances aren't for the players......they are for the fans and media.

The players get their message directly from Fleck and the other coaches, away from the cameras. I would bet most don't even bother watching the press conferences and if they do they certainly aren't going to put much, if any stock in them. Fleck 1000% isn't using the press conferences as a way of getting messages to or reaching his players. That is done in person at the complex and during team meetings.
 



Dave H said:
People last year believed PJ was intentionally playing worse players out of spite or loyalty...are you surprised?

If PJ talks up players he should calm down and if he talks up the opponent he is sandbagging. Certain fans just dont like him so they latch on to whatever they can.
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True that. Morgan was a shell of his 2019 self last year and it took an injury to get 8 in the mix. It was shameful.
 


PJ wouldn’t pull ZA either, until his limbs were hanging on by a thread. Sad weakness of his.
 

He has to say something. Do you want him to say what he is thinking?

"Nebraska has been terrible now for quite some time and we have owned them. They aren't really competitive in this conference and we expect to beat them handily. In fact, if my boys don't win, then they will be running until they puke"
 

60's Guy said:
I was asking a question that nobody answered. And yes, do you see the contrast?
We are effing fabulous… one day. To crying about a debut coach having the advantage in the game because he’s new. PJ has coached some his guys for 6 and 7 years but the guy who has coached his team 6 or 7 weeks has the advantage according to PJ - BS assinine.
Coach your own team. Continue to hype them- not the opponent.
His players believe what he says, you know. Why create the doubt?
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So you actually think he he's telling the players the same thing he tells the press. I've got some land to sell you. Me thinks one doth protest too much.
 

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