I could use a boost

[Bayfieldgopher]

There hasn't been much to get excited about lately with our Gophers. Of course having Coach Kill on a leave is a huge downer. Add in starting off 0-2 in the BIG and very quiet on the recruiting front.

I have watched a few BIG games the past two weekends and noticed that the Gophers seems to lack the players capable of making big plays. The Michigan receivers were a good example. Same with the Wisky D which seems to be loaded with guys who can make plays. It seemed as if NU offense has tons of players capable of moving the sticks. PSU made several huge plays to get into the OT. Nebraska D seems to have improved and MSU all of sudden has a better offense.

Lets hope that the guys show a lot of spark and step with an impressive performance Saturday. We need to start impressing recruits and show them that the staff is capable of doing good things with Jerry in the shadows instead of leading the charge and that the roster has players who can play make plays and are capable of getting the Gophers into the middle of the BIG pack..

 

[short ornery norwegian]

Back to the same old chicken-or-the-egg debate:

Do you have to win in order to attract elite players - OR - do you have to attract elite players in order to win?

Certainly, Mason showed you can field competitive teams without having a roster full of 4* and 5* players - but he played a very specific offensive system, and was able to recruit players to fit. (defense - another story.......)
It seems like Kill wants to follow the Mason blueprint, but with a different offensive philosophy. The jury is still out on whether Kill can recruit kids who A. fit the system, and B. are good enough to produce at the B1G level.

 

[mnsportsgeek]

Colter and Mark didn't practice today. There's your boost.

 

[Ole]

There hasn't been much to get excited about lately with our Gophers. Of course having Coach Kill on a leave is a huge downer. Add in starting off 0-2 in the BIG and very quiet on the recruiting front.

I have watched a few BIG games the past two weekends and noticed that the Gophers seems to lack the players capable of making big plays. The Michigan receivers were a good example. Same with the Wisky D which seems to be loaded with guys who can make plays. It seemed as if NU offense has tons of players capable of moving the sticks. PSU made several huge plays to get into the OT. Nebraska D seems to have improved and MSU all of sudden has a better offense.

Lets hope that the guys show a lot of spark and step with an impressive performance Saturday. We need to start impressing recruits and show them that the staff is capable of doing good things with Jerry in the shadows instead of leading the charge and that the roster has players who can play make plays and are capable of getting the Gophers into the middle of the BIG pack..

I hear ya,
The cynics and haters are bathing in the negativity right now.
I think we unfortunately miss AJ Barker(selfishness), DCT(track), and Gray(NFL) on O. Known commodities who at least had B1G experience/veteran savvy.
As the freshmen WR develop that will get better. Maxx Williams appears to be a legit B1G playmaker too.
Leidner/Nelson need to have an "it" game like Gray at MSU in 2011 or Nelson against Purdue last year.
All bets are off if Kill cannot return in full capacity, but if that happens our lack of playmakers on O will be the least of our concerns.

Most of our playmakers are freshmen or sophomores, including our QBs.
Most of our linemen are back at least for another year, and the depth on D is better than at any point in my recent memory. There are at least functional tacklers in the 2 deeps at most positions, something rare in gopher football going back decades.

Better days will come. This isn't even top 5 lowest points in the past 3 years for me, much less 7,
The season is still half open and will play out in unpredictable ways regardless of the vegas lines/sagarin rankings/other BS. We will play the spoiler for at least one team this year, hopefully starting with NW this weekend.
Crazy things often happen in B1G league play.

 

[Mulligan]

Better days will come. This isn't even top 5 lowest points in the past 3 years for me, much less 7,
The season is still half open and will play out in unpredictable ways regardless of the vegas lines/sagarin rankings/other BS. We will play the spoiler for at least one team this year, hopefully starting with NW this weekend.
Crazy things often happen in B1G league play.

God, I hope you're right. I fully expect us to give Northwestern a battle this week and have a good chance to beat them. Bye week to get healthy and prepare (and we saw how that helped our Vikings). They've had two tough, deflating games.

Don't know if I've ever felt more in limbo about the program. I'm with the group that sees improvement and still believes Kill can eventually do it. But with his leave and not knowing if he'll return, there's the potential for more bad losses. Then this could get ugly. Got to believe it's making the recruiting tough no matter what the spin.

 

[Ole]

God, I hope you're right. I fully expect us to give Northwestern a battle this week and have a good chance to beat them. Bye week to get healthy and prepare (and we saw how that helped our Vikings). They've had two tough, deflating games.

Don't know if I've ever felt more in limbo about the program. I'm with the group that sees improvement and still believes Kill can eventually do it. But with his leave and not knowing if he'll return, there's the potential for more bad losses. Then this could get ugly. Got to believe it's making the recruiting tough no matter what the spin.

The efficiency and special teams have been good thusfar, young playmakers have flashed. I'm not sure how you can watch that TD catch by Williams and not believe better days are ahead.

I see a lost opportunity in Iowa due mostly to an underrated Iowa front 7, and a young passing O.
I also saw a scrappy first half at the Big House, followed by a tough second half.
Did I expect us to waltz in and beat Michigan at home after a bye and 2 bad almost losses? No.
After that the season is still up for grabs. I expect a good performance this weekend, and hopefully a W.

Kill does need to come back, healthy and feisty. If he's going to be gone all season it'll be tough to spin no doubt. Pray he gets back and we don't have some godawful coaching turnover AGAIN.
It would not be a positive thing for the program regardless of what the mouth breathers and ignoramuses would have you think.

 

[GophersInIowa]

Here's your boost.

<img src="http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/pr/subs/swimsuit/images/13/13_kate-upton_14.jpg">

 

[Dr.Don]

Take one shot with ice, as needed, for a boost:

http://static.giantbomb.com/uploads/original/3/32206/941586-jack_daniels.jpg

 

[station19]

I've always wanted a couple of penguins.

 

[Flatfoot]

Bayfield Boots, by Allen Edmonds



Sorry, I'm not sure if these come with cleats or not?

We could all use a win, no doubt!

 

[Dr.Don]

I've always wanted a couple of penguins.

You are over the hill, station19. Those are NOT penguins!!!

 

[Ski U Master]

There hasn't been much to get excited about lately with our Gophers. Of course having Coach Kill on a leave is a huge downer. Add in starting off 0-2 in the BIG and very quiet on the recruiting front.

I have watched a few BIG games the past two weekends and noticed that the Gophers seems to lack the players capable of making big plays. The Michigan receivers were a good example. Same with the Wisky D which seems to be loaded with guys who can make plays. It seemed as if NU offense has tons of players capable of moving the sticks. PSU made several huge plays to get into the OT. Nebraska D seems to have improved and MSU all of sudden has a better offense.

Lets hope that the guys show a lot of spark and step with an impressive performance Saturday. We need to start impressing recruits and show them that the staff is capable of doing good things with Jerry in the shadows instead of leading the charge and that the roster has players who can play make plays and are capable of getting the Gophers into the middle of the BIG pack..

Here's a boost, it's hockey season and the Gopher men are ranked #3 and the women haven't lost in 53 games.

 

[BreakTheGopherCurse]

There hasn't been much to get excited about lately with our Gophers. Of course having Coach Kill on a leave is a huge downer. Add in starting off 0-2 in the BIG and very quiet on the recruiting front.

I have watched a few BIG games the past two weekends and noticed that the Gophers seems to lack the players capable of making big plays. The Michigan receivers were a good example. Same with the Wisky D which seems to be loaded with guys who can make plays. It seemed as if NU offense has tons of players capable of moving the sticks. PSU made several huge plays to get into the OT. Nebraska D seems to have improved and MSU all of sudden has a better offense.

Lets hope that the guys show a lot of spark and step with an impressive performance Saturday. We need to start impressing recruits and show them that the staff is capable of doing good things with Jerry in the shadows instead of leading the charge and that the roster has players who can play make plays and are capable of getting the Gophers into the middle of the BIG pack..

I too have been watching a ton of football lately including lots of B1G games. I'm really starting to question myself about whether I interpret Gopher football accurately or not. When I watched Penn St, Michigan, Michigan St., Wisconsin, Northwestern, Indiana, etc. the past couple weeks, it felt like I was watching more action packed, faster paced, more exciting football than I see when I watch the Gophers. Is it my imagination or hyper-critical lenses that are at work when I watch the Gophers? Remember that pre-school exercise called "which one is not like the other ones"? It just seems to me that the Gophers don't even resemble these other teams in the least. It looks like they're "driving with the brakes on". Mind you, I absolutely love Golden Gopher Football. I can't wait for Saturdays to get here so I can watch my beloved team. I cried tears of joy when Horton and the team won those two B1G games in 2010. I listen carefully to guys like GopherinPhilly and DieFirma and have adopted their viewpoints that things are looking better and the future looks bright. But I need to hear from some of the real optimists and positive guys out there: do you agree that as of yet we just don't look like a real football team?

 

[wait!what?]

I too have been watching a ton of football lately including lots of B1G games. I'm really starting to question myself about whether I interpret Gopher football accurately or not. When I watched Penn St, Michigan, Michigan St., Wisconsin, Northwestern, Indiana, etc. the past couple weeks, it felt like I was watching more action packed, faster paced, more exciting football than I see when I watch the Gophers. Is it my imagination or hyper-critical lenses that are at work when I watch the Gophers? Remember that pre-school exercise called "which one is not like the other ones"? It just seems to me that the Gophers don't even resemble these other teams in the least. It looks like they're "driving with the brakes on". Mind you, I absolutely love Golden Gopher Football. I can't wait for Saturdays to get here so I can watch my beloved team. I cried tears of joy when Horton and the team won those two B1G games in 2010. I listen carefully to guys like GopherinPhilly and DieFirma and have adopted their viewpoints that things are looking better and the future looks bright. But I need to hear from some of the real optimists and positive guys out there: do you agree that as of yet we just don't look like a real football team?

Brother, you aint seeing things. the one thing that really stands out is MN QBs loopy slow out passes that should/will be going back for Pick 6s. Other squads have QBs with rifle arms so they need 5 - 8 yds and they whip in in there. Against NU it could be bad....real bad. Now, I am predicting a 3 game win streak starting against NU.

 

[Dr.Don]

Brother, you aint seeing things. the one thing that really stands out is MN QBs loopy slow out passes that should/will be going back for Pick 6s. Other squads have QBs with rifle arms so they need 5 - 8 yds and they whip in in there. Against NU it could be bad....real bad. Now, I am predicting a 3 game win streak starting against NU.[/QUOTE]

OK. If I read you right, allow me to say wait!what? NU will whip it in there, it could be bad...real bad, and you predict the Gophers will begin a 3 game win streak? You talk about a confusing post? Ok, it is a confusing post. So allow me to summarize...it could be real bad but our Gophers will win. Got it.

 

[FanSinceTheFifties]

Here's a boost, it's hockey season and the Gopher men are ranked #3 and the women haven't lost in 53 games.

Yes, I'm sure that entices football recruits to become Gophers. Top football recruits want to go where football is at least number 1 if not the only one. We shouldn't be trying to recruit top stars. We should be finding kids who will stay with the program for five years, are coachable, dependable, disciplined, and developable. That's our niche at this point in our re-development. That could get us off the bottom of the conference in a couple of years. Then build from there.

 

[Great Plains Gopher]

I too have been watching a ton of football lately including lots of B1G games. I'm really starting to question myself about whether I interpret Gopher football accurately or not. When I watched Penn St, Michigan, Michigan St., Wisconsin, Northwestern, Indiana, etc. the past couple weeks, it felt like I was watching more action packed, faster paced, more exciting football than I see when I watch the Gophers. Is it my imagination or hyper-critical lenses that are at work when I watch the Gophers? Remember that pre-school exercise called "which one is not like the other ones"? It just seems to me that the Gophers don't even resemble these other teams in the least. It looks like they're "driving with the brakes on". Mind you, I absolutely love Golden Gopher Football. I can't wait for Saturdays to get here so I can watch my beloved team. I cried tears of joy when Horton and the team won those two B1G games in 2010. I listen carefully to guys like GopherinPhilly and DieFirma and have adopted their viewpoints that things are looking better and the future looks bright. But I need to hear from some of the real optimists and positive guys out there: do you agree that as of yet we just don't look like a real football team?

No, you're not seeing things. The Gophers have struggled, especially in the first half, even with cream puff opponents - no passing game until Michigan. It may be that recruiting is becoming a problem. Those teams you mention do look more talented and exciting, but there are six games to go - half a season. If we can win two (admittedly not easy), we'll be in a bowl, and that will help recruiting.

 

[Bayfieldgopher]

Here's a boost, it's hockey season and the Gopher men are ranked #3 and the women haven't lost in 53 games.

Hockey does nothing for me. Call it a buzzkill.

 

[hungan1]

We've got to win at NU. We've got to at least match last year's B1G wins or else we are in trouble with the recruiting game.

 

[Ski U Master]

Yes, I'm sure that entices football recruits to become Gophers. Top football recruits want to go where football is at least number 1 if not the only one. We shouldn't be trying to recruit top stars. We should be finding kids who will stay with the program for five years, are coachable, dependable, disciplined, and developable. That's our niche at this point in our re-development. That could get us off the bottom of the conference in a couple of years. Then build from there.

That was intended to be more of a personal boost, it has nothing to do with recruiting. Embrace Gopher hockey and embrace a team that can put a squad out that competes at a high level.

 

[scools12]

Yes, I'm sure that entices football recruits to become Gophers. Top football recruits want to go where football is at least number 1 if not the only one. We shouldn't be trying to recruit top stars. We should be finding kids who will stay with the program for five years, are coachable, dependable, disciplined, and developable. That's our niche at this point in our re-development. That could get us off the bottom of the conference in a couple of years. Then build from there.

When you continuously recruit what is considered the 12th ranked recruiting class and soon to be 14th ranked once Maryland and Rutgers join the conference it is going to be awful tough to get off the bottom regardless.

Doesn't matter when this current roster becomes Juniors and Seniors the other schools will also be playing Juniors and Seniors the difference being those other schools will still have more talented players.

 

[Bayfieldgopher]

I am not surprised where we are at as I picked us to go 2-6, at best, in the BIG. Most pundits picked the Gophers to finish at or near the bottom of the BIG and that could very likely hold true; in company with Purdue and the Illini.

The Gophers are still a young squad but one has to hold out some hope that the young guys can show ability to make big plays in the BIG. Where are the play-makers?? I hope they show me wrong and start showing up starting with NU ala Carter showed us against Purdue.

We all are excited about Maxx and rightly so. But he is behind the likes of Funchess and the TE's that Wisky put on the field. In time he may be better than Pederson. Same with Hagemann. IMO, he has under performed in the BIG compared to the NC games. I think Bottecelli has shown more in the BIG than #99.

I know its still early, but I see no Gophers worthy of BIG honors at seasons end. Maybe in 2014.

I still need a boost!!

 

[50PoundHead]

Back to the same old chicken-or-the-egg debate:

Do you have to win in order to attract elite players - OR - do you have to attract elite players in order to win?

Certainly, Mason showed you can field competitive teams without having a roster full of 4* and 5* players - but he played a very specific offensive system, and was able to recruit players to fit. (defense - another story.......)
It seems like Kill wants to follow the Mason blueprint, but with a different offensive philosophy. The jury is still out on whether Kill can recruit kids who A. fit the system, and B. are good enough to produce at the B1G level.

I agree at a level, but Kill's running offense looks a lot like the running offenses most everyone else runs. Mason ran a zone-blocking scheme with one-cut backs. Kill runs more of a straight power offense without a lot of flourishes. If you are going to run Kill's system, you need big, strong guys both on the line and in the backfield. It doesn't help that our passing game is such that defenses can key on the run with less risk.

But I agree with the basic premise that we need better athletes. I thought that showed up big-time in the Michigan game.

 

[Texas-Gopher]

Here's your boost.

<img src="http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/pr/subs/swimsuit/images/13/13_kate-upton_14.jpg">

Wow, she gets a close shave. She could be in Gillette ad.

 

[thailleagle]

We haven't looked like a good football team in a long time. Watching games with teams like Penn St, OSU, Michigan, etc, the Gophers perform like a mid-level MAC team but I'm hoping we get better...

 

[BreakTheGopherCurse]

We haven't looked like a good football team in a long time. Watching games with teams like Penn St, OSU, Michigan, etc, the Gophers perform like a mid-level MAC team but I'm hoping we get better...

in all honesty, the Mid Level MAC teams look more polished, but that's probably cause of the lesser competition. we look so constipated much of the time. i guess it's important (for me anyhow) to remember that we did win those non-con games by a large margin albeit after slow starts. how many teams are there total in FBS/FCS and how many could we beat in total assuming each team played their average game? i think we'd be in the bottom third, don't you?

 

[dpodoll68]

how many teams are there total in FBS/FCS and how many could we beat in total assuming each team played their average game? i think we'd be in the bottom third, don't you?

No. That's ridiculous.

 

[MNVCGUY]

in all honesty, the Mid Level MAC teams look more polished, but that's probably cause of the lesser competition. we look so constipated much of the time. i guess it's important (for me anyhow) to remember that we did win those non-con games by a large margin albeit after slow starts. how many teams are there total in FBS/FCS and how many could we beat in total assuming each team played their average game? i think we'd be in the bottom third, don't you?

For as much as we have struggled I think you are selling the team short here. First off you can toss out all of FCS outside of maybe the top 5-10 teams (NDSU and others like them). The rest we would beat easily. From an FBS standpoint we would do fine against the lower level teams as proven by the games against SJSU and UNLV, where it gets debatable is how many BCS teams we could beat right now. I think that number would be fairly low and would almost certainly be in the bottom third.

 

[Bad Gopher]

I too have been watching a ton of football lately including lots of B1G games. I'm really starting to question myself about whether I interpret Gopher football accurately or not. When I watched Penn St, Michigan, Michigan St., Wisconsin, Northwestern, Indiana, etc. the past couple weeks, it felt like I was watching more action packed, faster paced, more exciting football than I see when I watch the Gophers. Is it my imagination or hyper-critical lenses that are at work when I watch the Gophers? Remember that pre-school exercise called "which one is not like the other ones"? It just seems to me that the Gophers don't even resemble these other teams in the least. It looks like they're "driving with the brakes on". Mind you, I absolutely love Golden Gopher Football. I can't wait for Saturdays to get here so I can watch my beloved team. I cried tears of joy when Horton and the team won those two B1G games in 2010. I listen carefully to guys like GopherinPhilly and DieFirma and have adopted their viewpoints that things are looking better and the future looks bright. But I need to hear from some of the real optimists and positive guys out there: do you agree that as of yet we just don't look like a real football team?

The same thing occurred to me when I re-watched parts of the Michigan game from 2003 on YouTube a couple weeks ago. This is not intended as the latest entry in the Glen Mason debate, but that Gopher team had the look of a legitimate Big Ten team. Abdul-Khaliq was not God's gift to quarterbacking, but he did have a legitimate arm, and his passes looked more or less like you would expect them to at this level. Yes, I know it's not a major revelation that that team was much better than this one; just confirming the eye test thing and that it applies to past editions within this same program.

 

[Bad Gopher]

in all honesty, the Mid Level MAC teams look more polished, but that's probably cause of the lesser competition. we look so constipated much of the time. i guess it's important (for me anyhow) to remember that we did win those non-con games by a large margin albeit after slow starts. how many teams are there total in FBS/FCS and how many could we beat in total assuming each team played their average game? i think we'd be in the bottom third, don't you?

At this moment, the Gophs are 77 of 252 teams, with three FCS teams ranked ahead of us.