Kill Likes?

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Now that Kill has seen his guys in workouts for a few days, he seems to be setting expectations quite low with his public comments re: poor depth/experience in many areas, problems with conditioning and strength, poor team speed, a need for upgraded work habits and various academic shortcomings.

Given that he is inheriting a large number of players that were responsible for defeating IL and Iowa last November, I'm surprised by his caution and reluctance to give the team more credit for momentum in a positive direction as they head into spring ball. He really is the Anti-Brew.

Besides MG's potential, Stod, McK, Tufts speed and some TE/RB depth, what do Holers think he actually likes and is enthused about regarding current personnel?
 

I think he wants every one to know that they have a ton of work ahead of them, a lot of catching up to do. You have to break 'em down before you can mold them into your image.

My guess is he will be more positive come fall, but for now there is a culture change at hand.
 

This was still a 3-9 team last year, are you sure its not the fans that have their expectations too high?
 


I suspect he is seeing a lot that he likes...but what is the benefit of talking about those things now...the best thing he can do is both lower our expectations on his team and also put every player on notice that they are behind and need to do more to make it on his team.

If you notice, his Asst Coaches haven't been negative and have praised many along the way. Easiest way to make himself look like the hard ass while his Asst coaches get to know thier players...and at the same time, allows the Asst coaches to push the players while maintianing a positive position. Its a worthwhile management tool when taking over a new organization and can lead to quality results if applied properly.

Plus, when the head coach doesn't give out praise easily (like Brew did) the praise he does hand out actually means something.
 


Kill may also have told his players that he would be emphasizing the teams needs versus its strengths going into spring practice and those before the season starts. By all accounts, players have loved Kill's approaches and its hard to imagine that would be true if he didn't treat them openly, honestly and fairly.
 

Not surprised at all. Demanding coaches never seem to be satisfied. Look at Tubby and other top notch coaches. They are typically just as critical after a win, whether they have a .500 team or a championship team.

I love that Kill is doing what I would call "challenging the players" (and us) to keep our expectations high while pointing out concerns that lower expectations. Accountability and harsh realism can motivate just as much as, if not more than duckies and bunnies.
 

I think it's not a bad thing. Yes, the season ending momentum was good, but as was said above - this is still a 3-9 team until the next season starts. While I liked Brew's positivity, it got to be tiresome. Considering the atmosphere that Kill is entering, I think he needs to remain grounded and avoid blowing smoke up anyone's ass in order to maintain his credibility. Some say that when you're satisfied, the striving ends. I think it's important to remind the players and everyone else that despite the fact that the last two games were - in a word - awesome, we've a long way to go before we're even back to the middle of the pack.
 

Under promise and over deliver, maybe he is a good salesman
 



Is it a foreign language?

ruralgopher said:
I think he wants every one to know that they have a ton of work ahead of them, a lot of catching up to do. You have to break 'em down before you can mold them into your image.

My guess is he will be more positive come fall, but for now there is a culture change at hand.
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Another person that understands Kill speak. It seems to be a foreign language to some on this board.
 

It probably means that the Gophers are small, slow, and weak.
 


Look at who he's following--- Brewster was all positivity and hyperbole.

If Kill didn't know, Maturi did.

The worst thing Kill could be doing right now is talking about "Gopher Nation" heading to Pasadena.

If he says this team is mediocre and they shock the world--- what has he lost?
 



Tubtastic said:
Not surprised at all. Demanding coaches never seem to be satisfied. Look at Tubby and other top notch coaches. They are typically just as critical after a win, whether they have a .500 team or a championship team.

I love that Kill is doing what I would call "challenging the players" (and us) to keep our expectations high while pointing out concerns that lower expectations. Accountability and harsh realism can motivate just as much as, if not more than duckies and bunnies.
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+1

I think it's a combination of truth and motivation tactics.
 

GopherinPhilly said:
I suspect he is seeing a lot that he likes...but what is the benefit of talking about those things now...the best thing he can do is both lower our expectations on his team and also put every player on notice that they are behind and need to do more to make it on his team.

If you notice, his Asst Coaches haven't been negative and have praised many along the way. Easiest way to make himself look like the hard ass while his Asst coaches get to know thier players...and at the same time, allows the Asst coaches to push the players while maintianing a positive position. Its a worthwhile management tool when taking over a new organization and can lead to quality results if applied properly.

Plus, when the head coach doesn't give out praise easily (like Brew did) the praise he does hand out actually means something.
Click to expand...

Tubtastic said:
Not surprised at all. Demanding coaches never seem to be satisfied. Look at Tubby and other top notch coaches. They are typically just as critical after a win, whether they have a .500 team or a championship team.

I love that Kill is doing what I would call "challenging the players" (and us) to keep our expectations high while pointing out concerns that lower expectations. Accountability and harsh realism can motivate just as much as, if not more than duckies and bunnies.
Click to expand...

I agree completely. He knows the cupboard is not bare. He knows he has some talent. He knows he can get these guys to do some things if they work hard and buy into his system. Jerry Kill is a man's man in coaching. I look forward to the Spring game.
 


It might have a little bit to do with Kill being the anti-Brewster, but I think his concerns are probably genuine. He is coming from a MAC program to a Big 10 program and very likely he is encountering a football team that is much slower and not as strong or deep as his previous team. I don't think it's all doom and gloom as our cupboard isn't completely bare, but I could see a MAC coach in Jerry Kill's situation being a bit surprised by our lack of development.
 

LonelyIowaGopher said:
Kill may also have told his players that he would be emphasizing the teams needs versus its strengths going into spring practice and those before the season starts. By all accounts, players have loved Kill's approaches and its hard to imagine that would be true if he didn't treat them openly, honestly and fairly.
Click to expand...

I agree completely with this.
 

I suspect that part of the negative assessment ,comes from Coach Kill having already moved the bar to where it needs to be, to be a factor in the B10. He's 3-3 against B10 teams so he knows what he needs. I believe that he's set the bar at where the team needs to be athletically to consistently win in the B10. Once the team is as physically ready as possible, he'll work on the X's and O's, so that they can beat other teams in spite of any shortcomings.
 

Maturi put it in his contract that he is not allowed to be positive for fear of being destroyed by the local media
 

Khaliq said:
What do you consider a reasonable set of expectations?
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I expect a Rose Bowl this year or I will never ever go to or watch another Gopher Football Game.
 

josh087 said:
I expect a Rose Bowl this year or I will never ever go to or watch another Gopher Football Game.
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Sounds like a win-win for the rest of us. :D
 

I would imagine the Gophers do look slow at the speed positions. Outside of McKnight, who is not a burner, we have Green coming off injury, Brandon coming off an entire year off, a couple of shot in the dark late signees in Hutton and the kid who was going to walk on at OU. The attrition of Brandon Smith and Bryant Allen and the failure of Marquise Hill to get in to school hurt the position quite a bit.

At CB, Stoudermire and Carter could be two guy who are on the academic "lockdown" Kill has talked about leaving us very thin at CB. If Kill is looking at a secondary with Kyle Henderson, Christyn Lewis, etc, I wouldn't be surprised if he sees us lacking speed.

It could all just be motivation too...

I won't jump on the S&C coaches as I follow the NFL draft process very closely. The Gophers had a bunch of kids put up impressive numbers in the combine style testing under this S&C group which did not happen previously.
 

EG#9 said:
I would imagine the Gophers do look slow at the speed positions. Outside of McKnight, who is not a burner, we have Green coming off injury, Brandon coming off an entire year off, a couple of shot in the dark late signees in Hutton and the kid who was going to walk on at OU. The attrition of Brandon Smith and Bryant Allen and the failure of Marquise Hill to get in to school hurt the position quite a bit.

At CB, Stoudermire and Carter could be two guy who are on the academic "lockdown" Kill has talked about leaving us very thin at CB. If Kill is looking at a secondary with Kyle Henderson, Christyn Lewis, etc, I wouldn't be surprised if he sees us lacking speed.

It could all just be motivation too...

I won't jump on the S&C coaches as I follow the NFL draft process very closely. The Gophers had a bunch of kids put up impressive numbers in the combine style testing under this S&C group which did not happen previously.
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I agree EG, I can't really think of many people on our squad who have plus speed for their position.
 

josh087 said:
I expect a Rose Bowl this year or I will never ever go to or watch another Gopher Football Game.
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You can be flippant about it but I think it's a fair question.
 

My expectations are for us to go 6-6 at least, but more importantly I want us to beat the teams we should beat, compete against everybody, and always be the more disciplined and better executing team. If we lose because the other team is better, I can live with that.

I am predicting (at this point) 7-5, which I would consider a good season for the circumstances. After this year though, 7-5 will never be considered good again.
 

ruralgopher said:
My expectations are for us to go 6-6 at least, but more importantly I want us to beat the teams we should beat, compete against everybody, and always be the more disciplined and better executing team. If we lose because the other team is better, I can live with that.

I am predicting (at this point) 7-5, which I would consider a good season for the circumstances. After this year though, 7-5 will never be considered good again.
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+1 I can live with that!
 

If we can cut our false start penalties in half I may call this season a success...
 

The fact is that we did not recruit any fast receivers for four years. Green has great hands but is not fast or strong, the guys from Florida are not fast. Bryant Allen was supposed to be fast, but was actually small and shifty. He was physically in danger out there; he was right to move to a lower level program. Stoudermire is quick, and is a good dback and not a reliable receiver(keeping it positive).
Marquise Hill was the only guy that probably was actually fast, and we do not even know that for sure.
DCT is the first genuinely fast WR we have recruited for a while. Once he is actually ready to play it should be fun.
 

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