Gophers ranked 98th in country by Sporting News

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A Perspective

Don't want to get in the way of a good rant, but looking at the 2009 predictions by SN for the Gophers, we were picked 50th.

Most of the computer rankings, etc had us between 53 and the mid sixties at the end of last year.

Like investing, past performance is not indicative of future returns, but SN had us pretty well pegged last season. We win the bowl game, we probably would have been squarely in the 50s with perhaps a few in the upper 40s.

I think the biggest thing the "real fans" are overlooking is that at best we're replacing 9 starters on defense. It might be 10, maybe 11.

This is not the typical recipe for success for a team in our position. A bad break early on can put the team on the wrong track and really, Brewster hasn't demonstrated the ability to be able to react to and adjust to that -- see 2008 and 2009 offense as exhibit "A" and "B".

Preseason rankings don't mean much, but the overwhelming trend is that outside of the "Gopher Nation" there aren't too many people holding their breath that Brewster -- even with "better" players -- will display coaching acumen that goes completely against the current trend of his performance.

It may happen, but it will be a surprise if it does. Hope springs eternal...
 

caliGopher said:
Don't want to get in the way of a good rant, but looking at the 2009 predictions by SN for the Gophers, we were picked 50th.

Most of the computer rankings, etc had us between 53 and the mid sixties at the end of last year.

Like investing, past performance is not indicative of future returns, but SN had us pretty well pegged last season. We win the bowl game, we probably would have been squarely in the 50s with perhaps a few in the upper 40s.

I think the biggest thing the "real fans" are overlooking is that at best we're replacing 9 starters on defense. It might be 10, maybe 11.

This is not the typical recipe for success for a team in our position. A bad break early on can put the team on the wrong track and really, Brewster hasn't demonstrated the ability to be able to react to and adjust to that -- see 2008 and 2009 offense as exhibit "A" and "B".

Preseason rankings don't mean much, but the overwhelming trend is that outside of the "Gopher Nation" there aren't too many people holding their breath that Brewster -- even with "better" players -- will display coaching acumen that goes completely against the current trend of his performance.

It may happen, but it will be a surprise if it does. Hope springs eternal...
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Well I guess (surprize) that is why the word is in the dictionary. Sometimes almost everything points one way and for some good reason it just goes in the completely oposite direction. All of the season prognosticators are so enamored with the fact that the Gophers are replacing 9 to 11 defensive starters this year; well guess what brilliant ones, that may be a very good thing. The D in '09 ranked 63rd in the FBS with 9 seniors; And those same players did not tear the league up the year prior either. Place your bets with the uninformed ones if you wish, but this D will be better with the athleticism upgrades in '10. Keep this in mind, an experienced starter that was exposed by top competition in '09 will expose you even more in '10 because they have the goods on him.

Coach Brewster, like most FBS coaches, with better players will become a much better coach. Your room on the bandwagon is on reserve.
 


Stargenes said:
Your room on the bandwagon is on reserve.
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I've been a gopher fan for a very long time before Tim Brewster and will be one long, long, long after he is gone. Save the room on your bandwagon for the many out there who think Gopher Football began in 2007.

Even if Brewster had been wildly successful on the field the last three years, this would be a difficult season. Any time any team replaces 9 starters on one side of the ball you're going to have problems as things come together.

Doesn't mean, as you point out the defense might ultimately be better, but at first things will need some time to gel. A bad break, bad turn or just plain bad luck can set the team on the wrong path for the season. Doesn't mean they won't be faster, smarter, more athletic. Doesn't mean they will be statistically better either.
 

grunkiejr said:
The author likes Turner Gill?
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I'd assume there's more than one "author" involved in this list. I'd guess there's a panel that puts this together, there's probably a lot of bickering for the first 25 or so spots, once they get to the end, I doubt they care much where the teams end up.
 


Stargenes said:
Well I guess (surprize) that is why the word is in the dictionary. Sometimes almost everything points one way and for some good reason it just goes in the completely oposite direction. All of the season prognosticators are so enamored with the fact that the Gophers are replacing 9 to 11 defensive starters this year; well guess what brilliant ones, that may be a very good thing. The D in '09 ranked 63rd in the FBS with 9 seniors; And those same players did not tear the league up the year prior either. Place your bets with the uninformed ones if you wish, but this D will be better with the athleticism upgrades in '10. Keep this in mind, an experienced starter that was exposed by top competition in '09 will expose you even more in '10 because they have the goods on him.

Coach Brewster, like most FBS coaches, with better players will become a much better coach. Your room on the bandwagon is on reserve.
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:clap:
ding ding, we have a winner. Honorable mention goes to dpodoll for some clear headed and insightful posts on this thread.

I don't know which squad the naysayers watched this spring, but when I attended both the open scrimmage and the spring game I saw a very different picture.

In my lifetime as a Gopher fan, I have never seen a squad with anywhere near this level of size, explosiveness, or pure athleticism. These guys can flat out play. Barring a ton of key injuries or Maresh-like ineligibility this will be unequivocally the best Gopher defense I have seen in my lifetime as a Gopher fan (I will concede that I am younger than many of the posters on this board, and can only comment on teams going back to the middle Wacker years).

This Defense will be the 4th best squad in a conference featuring what should be 3 of the top ten Defenses in the country.

As for the offense the O-line is has made a ton of improvement. Statistically, experienced O-linemen improve their play significantly more during their careers than any other position. I had a link for this but I can't find it right now. Regardless, what I saw this spring encouraged me. Horton's stripped down attack has allowed them to play at game speed, something that was sorely lacking from a confused unit in 2009.

As for Adam Weber, he will return to the form he exhibited in 2008. He will still sometimes lock onto one WR and throw a handful of terrible Stanzi style picks, but he will get the job done more often than not. His issues last year were the result of terrible blocking, a truly horrendous offensive coordinator, and the fact that he will always be a bit inconsistent. Those inconsistencies were magnified by the fact that Weber can be susceptible to 'shell-shock', when he is hit constantly and his WRs drop balls he is just not the same player that he is otherwise.
Let's not forget that Weber, despite his faults has often been clutch and engineered some memorable 4th quarter drives in his career when the Gophers absolutely needed them.

I would also like to take this opportunity to agree with the posters who pointed out how severely overvalued Purdue, Northwestern, and likely MSU have been during this off season.

Purdue--had 20 players including 10 starters miss all or large parts of spring ball due to injury. The cornerstone of last year's offense tore his ACL and will likely miss the upcoming season. Even if Robert Marve is as good as advertised they will struggle. If he isn't they will be flat out awful.

Northwestern--lost an incredible QB in Kafka, and 3 players in the secondary who earned all Big Ten or honorable mention style Big Ten honors during their careers. We all know Northwestern is limited athletically, their strength comes from their intelligence, experience, and impressive HC. However, not even Pat Fitzgerald is going to be able to hide what should be the worst secondary in the Big Ten. Also, I just don't think Persa is going to be the kind of juggernaut that Kafka was. And as usual, NW won't be able to run the ball against anyone with a pulse.

MSU--This is a bit tricky, as there is potential for a break out season. The Offense should be very good, and the LBs led by Greg Jones will be impressive. That said, there is no indication the pass rush will be anything but anemic. On top of that MSU has had one of the worst secondaries for several years now. Why does everyone think that is suddenly going to change?
no pass rush+terrible secondary=disaster, no matter what the LBs do.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. The Gophers win 7-8 games this year, including at least one Trophy game win.
 

I was rifling through the rags at Wal Mart earlier today, both Athlon and Lindy's have the Gophers 11th in the conference. And I thought Rodney Dangerfield got no respect.
 

Breakin' The Plane said:
I was rifling through the rags at Wal Mart earlier today, both Athlon and Lindy's have the Gophers 11th in the conference. And I thought Rodney Dangerfield got no respect.
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Great material for Coach Brewster and his Staff! That is why we play the game. Go Gophers!
 

caliGopher said:
I've been a gopher fan for a very long time before Tim Brewster and will be one long, long, long after he is gone. Save the room on your bandwagon for the many out there who think Gopher Football began in 2007.

Even if Brewster had been wildly successful on the field the last three years, this would be a difficult season. Any time any team replaces 9 starters on one side of the ball you're going to have problems as things come together.

Doesn't mean, as you point out the defense might ultimately be better, but at first things will need some time to gel. A bad break, bad turn or just plain bad luck can set the team on the wrong path for the season. Doesn't mean they won't be faster, smarter, more athletic. Doesn't mean they will be statistically better either.
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Much of what you say is true. However, losing a bunch of starters on offense is far more concerning than on Defense. The gelling began in the Spring you know and they looked quite good on D. Frankly, besides Royston, who we definitely need to get back if possible, we need to stick with those young guys and we will do a heckuva lot better in the long and short run. I hope the competition is sleeping on these boys like the news outlets. That young secondary is going to give some folks nightmares.
 




The defense will need time to jell, but baring an early blowout, I think they will be better at yrs. end than last yrs. I don't agree with most people on this board in that I don't think Royston is as impt. as most think. He is good on the run, but not good on pass coverage, and the 2 we had in the spring game are better than Royston and Thret!! with any pass rush the secondary will suprise in a good way.
 

Carter and Watkins ar SPECIAL!

ConferenceChamp said:
Stargenes-

Are you suggesting the Gopher secondary will be giving nightmares to opposing teams? or to Gopher fans?:eek:
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IT DEPENDS ON WHO YOU ARE PULLING FOR. SOME SO CALLED GOPHER FANS SEEM TO BE HOPING FOR DOOM. Where are U on the issue and I can then better respond.
 

Carter and Watkins are SPECIAL!

littlebigboy said:
The defense will need time to jell, but baring an early blowout, I think they will be better at yrs. end than last yrs. I don't agree with most people on this board in that I don't think Royston is as impt. as most think. He is good on the run, but not good on pass coverage, and the 2 we had in the spring game are better than Theret!! With any pass rush the secondary will suprise in a good way.
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You are partially right IMHO. The reason you feel that way about Royston is because he had to play with Theret last year. He actually looked very nice in the initial open scrimmage playing with Watkins at the other Safety spot. Coach Lee was salivating I think about his options that were developing before the injury. His Nickel package was Watkins in the middle, Lewis at the other Safety and Royston rolling down over the slot, because of his quality coverage skills. Actually, coverage ability-wise, the entire secondary is an upgrade but Watkins and Lewis probably cover more ground as well. Royston is also important because of his experience and leadership. In a nutshell, we will definitely be better with the return of a healthy Royston.
 



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