How to get QUEIS more involved with the O?

[GOPHER.NATION.]

I know Queis is having trouble with his lateral mobility, but it seems like his straight line speed and power are much closer to full strength. And, as our biggest and most athletic player, we need to figure out how to get him in the right position on the field. Here are my thoughts:

1) throw him the quick pass with a blocker or two in front of him. Q will basically just need to barrel his way forward. I know he can shake off a pesky little CB or safety . . .

2) put him in the jet motion every now and again. Even if we don't plan on handing the ball of to him, the threat of his ability to run / pass will probably open up bigger holes inside . . .

3) put him in the backfield. Would you rather see Kirkwood/Williams carry the ball on 3 and 1 or 4 and 1 straight up the middle or have our 6'5" 250 pounder run it up the gut?

4) PUT HIM AT QB IN WHEN WE ARE ON THE GOALINE!!! nelly is not strong / fast enough yet to gain the extra couple feet for a TD. With Q in, you can move the pocket left or right and give Q the run pass options. On the goaline, in a roll-out scenario, the reads are much easier . . . either a guy is open b/c nobody is on him or he is covered since the pass will only be a total of less than 20 yards (as the crow flies) . . .

5) play him every offensive play . . .

and i would like to hear what you think since i am sick of him playing half the possessions on offense while either running stick routes the majority of the time or making some good blocks for his other WRs . . .

 

[Ole]

I know Queis is having trouble with his lateral mobility, but it seems like his straight line speed and power are much closer to full strength. And, as our biggest and most athletic player, we need to figure out how to get him in the right position on the field. Here are my thoughts:

1) throw him the quick pass with a blocker or two in front of him. Q will basically just need to barrel his way forward. I know he can shake off a pesky little CB or safety . . .

2) put him in the jet motion every now and again. Even if we don't plan on handing the ball of to him, the threat of his ability to run / pass will probably open up bigger holes inside . . .

3) put him in the backfield. Would you rather see Kirkwood/Williams carry the ball on 3 and 1 or 4 and 1 straight up the middle or have our 6'5" 250 pounder run it up the gut?

4) PUT HIM AT QB IN WHEN WE ARE ON THE GOALINE!!! nelly is not strong / fast enough yet to gain the extra couple feet for a TD. With Q in, you can move the pocket left or right and give Q the run pass options. On the goaline, in a roll-out scenario, the reads are much easier . . . either a guy is open b/c nobody is on him or he is covered since the pass will only be a total of less than 20 yards (as the crow flies) . . .

5) play him every offensive play . . .

and i would like to hear what you think since i am sick of him playing half the possessions on offense while either running stick routes the majority of the time or making some good blocks for his other WRs . . .

1)His lateral "quicks are not recovered, he likely wouldn't be able to shake a DB, and it would open him up to big hits possibly reaggravating his knee/ankle.
2)The fake would work, but only once or twice.
3)He can't take the punishment that goes with an up the gut hit, that's what got him hurt against NW.
4)Nelson needs to learn what to do in this scenario, gray would be taking snaps from nelson, combined with a mix of 1-3. He doesn't have the quicks to shake tacklers, and can't take the direct hits that a run up he middle would entail.
5)He'll play more as he heals, I'd bet the bowl game features him as a do it all athlete, it will be a surprise to whoever we play, hopefully score points, and boost his NFL stock.
He's not close to 100% yet, likely won't be until the bowl game.

 

[GophersInIowa]

I know Queis is having trouble with his lateral mobility, but it seems like his straight line speed and power are much closer to full strength. And, as our biggest and most athletic player, we need to figure out how to get him in the right position on the field. Here are my thoughts:

1) throw him the quick pass with a blocker or two in front of him. Q will basically just need to barrel his way forward. I know he can shake off a pesky little CB or safety . . .

2) put him in the jet motion every now and again. Even if we don't plan on handing the ball of to him, the threat of his ability to run / pass will probably open up bigger holes inside . . .

3) put him in the backfield. Would you rather see Kirkwood/Williams carry the ball on 3 and 1 or 4 and 1 straight up the middle or have our 6'5" 250 pounder run it up the gut?

4) PUT HIM AT QB IN WHEN WE ARE ON THE GOALINE!!! nelly is not strong / fast enough yet to gain the extra couple feet for a TD. With Q in, you can move the pocket left or right and give Q the run pass options. On the goaline, in a roll-out scenario, the reads are much easier . . . either a guy is open b/c nobody is on him or he is covered since the pass will only be a total of less than 20 yards (as the crow flies) . . .

5) play him every offensive play . . .

and i would like to hear what you think since i am sick of him playing half the possessions on offense while either running stick routes the majority of the time or making some good blocks for his other WRs . . .

You do realize he's still hurt, right?

I'd agree with everything you said if he was 100%.

 

[ruppertflywheel]

Good points, but don't think he is anymore than about 75 % healthy

 

[wait!what?]

If he woulda been at 80% against Mich I think they would have had him get the 3 yds we needed in that 1st q. He must hurting.

 

[GOPHER.NATION.]

Ole - 1) he can just run through a little CB 2) a fake working once or twice sounds nice to me 3) completely disagree . . . and now he has much more power on his ankle to plant forcefully 4) would you rather score a TD or try to kick a field goal from the 2 yard line this year and practice redzone in the offseason with nelly? 5) agree

i understand that Q is still not 100% and might not be completely 100% even by a bowl game . . . HOWEVER . . .

is he fast enough to run past DBs against purdue and catch a deep ball? (the answer is yes) Is he strong enough to block CBs on the outside? (the answer is yes) Can he run through a tackle? (the answer is yes) If he is strong enough to be out there at all, then we should use him somehow . . . even with his ankle he is bigger faster stronger than nelly and i would even say our RBs . . . but i might just be delusional . . .

The initial injury was about 59 days ago and i know he re-injured it. he has played in every game since iowa. he is a beast. he needs to be more involved - especially since the other WRs are not very good yet and with barker out . . .

 

[Breakin' The Plane]

I hear they need another center. Guaranteed to touch the ball on every play.

 

[WorkingMyTailOff]

In retrospect, if he could have sat out for 4 games in exchange for 95% healthy, would you guys have taken that? I think I would. From what I hear, he brings a lot of leadership and hard work to the team, but sometimes I wonder if having him at 70% is as good as another receiver that's currently sitting (Maybe McDonald, Crawford-Tufts, Jones).

 

[Ole]

Ole - 1) he can just run through a little CB 2) a fake working once or twice sounds nice to me 3) completely disagree . . . and now he has much more power on his ankle to plant forcefully 4) would you rather score a TD or try to kick a field goal from the 2 yard line this year and practice redzone in the offseason with nelly? 5) agree

i understand that Q is still not 100% and might not be completely 100% even by a bowl game . . . HOWEVER . . .

is he fast enough to run past DBs against purdue and catch a deep ball? (the answer is yes) Is he strong enough to block CBs on the outside? (the answer is yes) Can he run through a tackle? (the answer is yes) If he is strong enough to be out there at all, then we should use him somehow . . . even with his ankle he is bigger faster stronger than nelly and i would even say our RBs . . . but i might just be delusional . . .

The initial injury was about 59 days ago and i know he re-injured it. he has played in every game since iowa. he is a beast. he needs to be more involved - especially since the other WRs are not very good yet and with barker out . . .

1)yes in theory, but it also leaves him open to big hits, he is not close to healthy
2)A fake is fine, but why not run it with a faster, healthier WR like Jones who could actually take a handoff.
3)I don't think you get it, he is not healthy, he cannot push off the ankle forcefully, he also would leave himself open to big hits to the lower body which is how he hurt himself before. Our RB's just owned Illnois, Kirkwood and Williams have more than enough power and acceleration to play between the tackles. Running Gray like that is a risk Kill shouldn't take.
4)He's hurt, he can't take a redzone snap, AND it takes away from game experience for the young QB
5)agree

 

[kschoh]

I know Queis is having trouble with his lateral mobility, but it seems like his straight line speed and power are much closer to full strength. And, as our biggest and most athletic player, we need to figure out how to get him in the right position on the field. Here are my thoughts:

1) throw him the quick pass with a blocker or two in front of him. Q will basically just need to barrel his way forward. I know he can shake off a pesky little CB or safety . . .

2) put him in the jet motion every now and again. Even if we don't plan on handing the ball of to him, the threat of his ability to run / pass will probably open up bigger holes inside . . .

3) put him in the backfield. Would you rather see Kirkwood/Williams carry the ball on 3 and 1 or 4 and 1 straight up the middle or have our 6'5" 250 pounder run it up the gut?

4) PUT HIM AT QB IN WHEN WE ARE ON THE GOALINE!!! nelly is not strong / fast enough yet to gain the extra couple feet for a TD. With Q in, you can move the pocket left or right and give Q the run pass options. On the goaline, in a roll-out scenario, the reads are much easier . . . either a guy is open b/c nobody is on him or he is covered since the pass will only be a total of less than 20 yards (as the crow flies) . . .

5) play him every offensive play . . .

and i would like to hear what you think since i am sick of him playing half the possessions on offense while either running stick routes the majority of the time or making some good blocks for his other WRs . . .

We definately need the assistance on the goal line. There is no reason to sit in shotgun down there unless Gray is in at QB. This weekend we will see Gray utilized more as receiver, and looking for an option pitch to him and throw to Fruechte for a
50+ Yard TD. Mark that down in the books.

 

[Great Plains Gopher]

It was shame he touched the ball only once Saturday - but apparently he's not healed yet. As some point out, maybe he'll be back for the bowl. I'd love to see him at QB again, if only part of the time (as at Northwestern, with 2 QBs).

 

[Rosemountian]

If he could play 100%, he'd still be the qb.

 

[GOPHER.NATION.]

i guess i am just venting since i had so much of our success riding on Q. I think we would have won 4 big 10 games with him. And, call me crazy, but I thought he would basically win all the Big 10 awards . . . best QB, most improved player, MVP . . . i think there are only 3 QBs that are as good, possibly better than Q and they are: Martinez (but i think it is the talent around him and he isn't as good as Q), Miller (i underestimated his ability going into the season and think he is now a very solid QB), and Coulter (all around athlete and great QB) . . . and d robinson is not as good as Q since he doesn't do much in Big 10 play . . .

i really want to see him down on goaline situations being utilized . . .

i hope the Vikes can get him in the draft . . .

i'll stop venting after i get this out of my system . . . QUUUUUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!

on a side note: this one is for you Rosemountian . . . IRISH PRIDE!!!

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

Coach Kill has said numerous times that he wishes he was healthy enough to take some hits off of Nelson. That would be Gray's ideal playing situation right now, to come in on a few select plays at QB and run the read/option and then move back out to WR.

However, Kill doesn't think he's healthy enough for that (and we have been desperately thin at WR), so I don't think a lot of the suggestions are really feasible.

For now, unfortunatly, I think we are stuck with Gray being a really good blocker on the outside and him being a big target on fades and slants.

 

[HopherGole]

Pointless conversation....... the man is still not 100% healed. Next thread.

 

[station19]

I know Queis is having trouble with his lateral mobility, but it seems like his straight line speed and power are much closer to full strength. And, as our biggest and most athletic player, we need to figure out how to get him in the right position on the field. Here are my thoughts:

1) throw him the quick pass with a blocker or two in front of him. Q will basically just need to barrel his way forward. I know he can shake off a pesky little CB or safety . . .

2) put him in the jet motion every now and again. Even if we don't plan on handing the ball of to him, the threat of his ability to run / pass will probably open up bigger holes inside . . .

3) put him in the backfield. Would you rather see Kirkwood/Williams carry the ball on 3 and 1 or 4 and 1 straight up the middle or have our 6'5" 250 pounder run it up the gut?

4) PUT HIM AT QB IN WHEN WE ARE ON THE GOALINE!!! nelly is not strong / fast enough yet to gain the extra couple feet for a TD. With Q in, you can move the pocket left or right and give Q the run pass options. On the goaline, in a roll-out scenario, the reads are much easier . . . either a guy is open b/c nobody is on him or he is covered since the pass will only be a total of less than 20 yards (as the crow flies) . . .

5) play him every offensive play . . .

and i would like to hear what you think since i am sick of him playing half the possessions on offense while either running stick routes the majority of the time or making some good blocks for his other WRs . . .

Kirkwood/Williams