How will Mitch Leidner do in his final season?

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hungan1

hungan1

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As much as Mitch was maligned (some due to his faults, some w/injured OLs, etc...), I am anxiously looking forward to his final season.

We come to find out he was hobbling with a foot injury all season long requiring post season surgery. I never heard him complain. He is as gutsy a competitor and a team leader we've ever had.

Coach Claeys saw the need to change the OC and O Line coaches to improve offensive production. I give him kudos for that.

We shall soon see how much Mitch will improve with a re-tooled and shored up offensive line. If they can open up running lanes and allow Mitch just a little extra time to throw the ball, the Gophers will have one of their best seasons IMHO.

On the other side of the QB story, I am excited that we have both Demry Croft and Seth Green competing for backup. Who knows, it may be an interesting Spring if these two QBs heat it up.

Competition at QB is good.
 

I looking forward, now that Leidner's foot is repaired, to seeing just how far he can put his foot up wait!what?'s ass.
 

I'd be happy if he duplicated last seasons yards and completion percentage with fewer interceptions.
 

Killjoy said:
I looking forward, now that Leidner's foot is repaired, to seeing just how far he can put his foot up wait!what?'s ass.
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As long as he steps into it.
 



upnorthkid said:
And fewer fumbles and sacks taken.
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When Hackenberg is getting sacked 38 times, I can't really fault Mitch for getting thrown down 16 times. Ya, 1 or 2 less fumbles lost would be nice too.
 

Gotta believe he will have his best year.
He will miss KJ Mayes though.
 

If he stays healthy he'll have a great year. Problem is Mitch staying healthy hasn't happened yet.
 

Against the weaker out of conference opponents, I would love it if Leidner could put up some huge statistical games. The last few years, he seems to have struggled out of conference, and the narrative is "if he struggles against weaker teams, how will he look against B1G". I'd rather a year where it is "wow, he looks sharp, hopefully he keeps it up in conference."
 



I can't help but think that the Gophers could have easily been 4-4 instead of 2-6 in B1G play if it wasn't for the amount and the timing of key injuries.

The Michigan game - they took it down to the Michigan end and lost 29-26 in the final minute. The 40-35 Iowa lost was a stinger they could have won when healthy.

We've got to have breaks go our way and for ML & and the OL to stay relatively healthy the whole season.
 

bleedsmaroonandgold said:
Against the weaker out of conference opponents, I would love it if Leidner could put up some huge statistical games. The last few years, he seems to have struggled out of conference, and the narrative is "if he struggles against weaker teams, how will he look against B1G". I'd rather a year where it is "wow, he looks sharp, hopefully he keeps it up in conference."
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I too would like for him to rip through the preseason. This will allow the backup QBs some playing time that will have huge dividend later in the season and 2017.
 

bleedsmaroonandgold said:
Against the weaker out of conference opponents, I would love it if Leidner could put up some huge statistical games.
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By "huge statistical games", it depends on whether you mean counting or efficiency stats. If things are going well, his counting stats should be minimal because we should be up big and spending most of the second half running the ball (probably even with a backup QB in the game). The problem is that a lot of low-cognition Gopher fans think that yards and TDs are the only things that matter, so they'll roast Leidner if he doesn't throw for 300 and 3 TDs, even if he goes 12-16 for 180 and no picks in a big win.
 

dpodoll68 said:
By "huge statistical games", it depends on whether you mean counting or efficiency stats. If things are going well, his counting stats should be minimal because we should be up big and spending most of the second half running the ball (probably even with a backup QB in the game). The problem is that a lot of low-cognition Gopher fans think that yards and TDs are the only things that matter, so they'll roast Leidner if he doesn't throw for 300 and 3 TDs, even if he goes 12-16 for 180 and no picks in a big win.
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Has there ever been a post-game reaction from "a lot" of fans that roasted Leidner for a 75% completion performance?
 



dpodoll68 said:
By "huge statistical games", it depends on whether you mean counting or efficiency stats. If things are going well, his counting stats should be minimal because we should be up big and spending most of the second half running the ball (probably even with a backup QB in the game). The problem is that a lot of low-cognition Gopher fans think that yards and TDs are the only things that matter, so they'll roast Leidner if he doesn't throw for 300 and 3 TDs, even if he goes 12-16 for 180 and no picks in a big win.
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12-16 for 180 with no picks and no fumbles would be perfect for me. Against bad teams, I want to see a high completion percentage and good yards per completion. If he doesn't throw it a whole lot because we are blowing out our opponents, that is fine by me.
 

Iceland12 said:
If he stays healthy he'll have a great year. Problem is Mitch staying healthy hasn't happened yet.
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As long as Mitch runs as much as he does - with his style of running - he will get hurt.
 

I think Bart Miller and the two Juco newcomers up front will pretty much decide what kind of season Mitch has.
 


hungan1 said:
As much as Mitch was maligned (some due to his faults, some w/injured OLs, etc...), I am anxiously looking forward to his final season.

We come to find out he was hobbling with a foot injury all season long requiring post season surgery. I never heard him complain. He is as gutsy a competitor and a team leader we've ever had.

Coach Claeys saw the need to change the OC and O Line coaches to improve offensive production. I give him kudos for that.

We shall soon see how much Mitch will improve with a re-tooled and shored up offensive line. If they can open up running lanes and allow Mitch just a little extra time to throw the ball, the Gophers will have one of their best seasons IMHO.

On the other side of the QB story, I am excited that we have both Demry Croft and Seth Green competing for backup. Who knows, it may be an interesting Spring if these two QBs heat it up.

Competition at QB is good.
Click to expand...

O-line can pretty much only be better in 2016. Thinking 62-65% completion, around 20 pass TDs & 6 rush TDs. 10 or fewer INTs.
 

PMWinSTP said:
O-line can pretty much only be better in 2016. Thinking 62-65% completion, around 20 pass TDs & 6 rush TDs. 10 or fewer INTs.
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Fumbles are important too. He needs to work on how he carries the ball while rushing, and how to protect it when he knows he's about to get sacked.
 

He'll be a top-6 Big Ten QB in total yards and completion percentage.
 


The opportunity for QB development was amiss between the end of the Brewster era and the start of the Jerry Kill era for various reasons.

I have to admire Mitch Leidner for sticking it in there after Max Shortell and Phillip Nelson bolted, and for absorbing all the criticism from all quarters including GH Land. He may not be as talented as most higher caliber D1 QBs, but he is a competitor who'd outworked any QB. He kept his mouth shut and let his hard work do the talking. He keeps getting better year after year. This will help in the development of the QBs behind him.

We don't have the luxury of the tOSUs of this world where they can pick and choose the litter of high caliber QBs. The Gophers have to put a premium on developing theirs. We have reasons to be optimistic with. With Seth Green and Demry Croft at least on paper, they appear to be an upgrade in talent level that we've seen in recent years.

If I have to criticize Jerry Kill, he was too loyal to his coaches. All the injuries plus the vanilla offense that Limegrover was running could have only added to his stress. Limegrover was complaining about having too much on his plate wearing two hats as OC & OL coach. He did not shift the responsibility for the OL coaching to somebody else, and he'd never fire any of his coaches.

Tracey Claeys saw the imbalance with the offensive struggles and knows it can't continue requiring a "tweak" in the offensive philosophy and coaching chemistry.

IMHO, I think he made the right call in firing Limegrover and Zebrowski. Claeys really likes and respects his players. Jay Johnson and Bart Miller will bring a fresh look. Time will tell how long it will be before the offense starts clicking on all cylinders.

Let's hope that Mitch has a B1G West championship season. This is the next big step for the Gophers. They have to start winning consistently in order to attract the next tier of recruits. We can't continue to lose recruits like Amir Watts or Tralund Webber. These are players they should have been able to sign if they had won two or three more B1G games.
 

Bold/preposterous statement - Mitch will have a good enough season to get invited to the NFL Combine (and no, not as a tight end).

**putting the bottle down now**
 

pharmacygopher said:
Bold/preposterous statement - Mitch will have a good enough season to get invited to the NFL Combine (and no, not as a tight end).

**putting the bottle down now**
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I'm kind of with you on this one. I mean Stave is at the combine...I don't think there's much difference between the two - talent wise.
 

Leidner was on with Sid and Dave on 'CCO this (Sunday) morning. He went into detail about his foot injuries. If I heard right, he had two or three dislocated toes, with some related ligament damage. Leidner said he's had this problem for two years, but tried to play through it to help the team. Leidner said the surgery went well - he's rehabbing and working out, and hopes to take part in the last half of spring practice.

So - I may not be a doctor, but if you're playing on two dislocated toes, that is going to impact your running, and could even impact how you plant for a pass attempt. It could also impact a lot of the off-season workouts.

If Leidner is 100% healthy this year, I could see him running more - not less. I suspect the play-calling was so "vanilla" in part because the coaches knew how badly Leidner was hurt, and they were trying to protect him.

Yes, Leidner is never going to be a "pretty" QB - but he's got guts, and I root for him as much or more than any other Gopher player.
 

Spoofin said:
Yes, unless they change the frequency in which he runs. His style of running is what it is.
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OK, guess I wasn't clear enough...that's what you think will happen to him, how do you think he'll perform. Two very different, but related things. Unless you are saying he won't be playing at all...
 

GopherHomer said:
I'm kind of with you on this one. I mean Stave is at the combine...I don't think there's much difference between the two - talent wise.
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Stave throws a tight spiral.

I know I sound like a broken record on this subject but it all comes down to the Oline play. When Mitch is given time he is one of the best QBs in the B1G. Hopefully this year our Oline can stay healthy (including TEs) and Mitch will have that extra half second he needs.
 



Mitcheroo will be benched in 2016 season. TC's BCS HC coaching career cannot afford to field mediocrity.
 

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