Kill on halftime: "If people don't agree with it, I'm not a very good coach, I guess"

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M&G BUSt said:
In that situation, I run out the clock every time. To move the ball into field goal range you generally need lots of quick strikes to WR's. Have we completed consecutive passes to WR's all season? Criticize the coaching staff for not preparing for situations like this earlier in the season all you want, but that was not the time to have Leidner slinging it all over. I've seen plenty of bad things happen trying to score in that situation.
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:50 seconds and 3 timeouts is an eternity in college football. That was the case when we got a first down at the 36 yard line. A few conservative dump offs or short throws can get you into their territory pretty quickly which would give you chance to get into field goal range.

Of course we can debate it all day long. There is no correct answer. Most think he should have at least tried, some are fine with what he did. But I think pretty much everyone can agree there were a lot of other things that impacted the loss. We even got the lead in the 2nd half so we had our chances. Just too many missed opportunities.
 

M&G BUSt said:
For those who want Oregon offense - the Gophers should run Oregon's offense for just 1 quarter sometime - that would be comedy hour.
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Certainly not at the level that Oregon does it, but I wouldn't mind seeing a little fast paced offense from time to time. Even if it is just running the ball most of the time. I think we had a drive like that against San Jose St. with Streveler, and I think it was all running plays. Just a wrinkle to throw in there when we are playing well.
 

M&G BUSt said:
In that situation, I run out the clock every time. To move the ball into field goal range you generally need lots of quick strikes to WR's. Have we completed consecutive passes to WR's all season? Criticize the coaching staff for not preparing for situations like this earlier in the season all you want, but that was not the time to have Leidner slinging it all over. I've seen plenty of bad things happen trying to score in that situation.
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We're talking about getting 30 yards in 1 minute with 3 TO's in hand to set up a potential FG. We're not asking Leidner to drive the team 60 yards in 20 seconds by throwing risky Hail Marys.
 

GophersInIowa said:
:50 seconds and 3 timeouts is an eternity in college football. That was the case when we got a first down at the 36 yard line. A few conservative dump offs or short throws can get you into their territory pretty quickly which would give you chance to get into field goal range.

Of course we can debate it all day long. There is no correct answer. Most think he should have at least tried, some are fine with what he did. But I think pretty much everyone can agree there were a lot of other things that impacted the loss. We even got the lead in the 2nd half so we had our chances. Just too many missed opportunities.
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+1
 

Iceland12 said:
The only amusing thing about it was the reaction of Mitch. He seemed very irritated and expressed himself verbally as, and after, the clock ran down on that 1st Half.
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Seriously, if our starting Qb wasn't pissed off that we laid down like that I would have some serious questions about him. The whole offense was not happy and I don't blame them. Our coach took the ball out of their hands. Kill is a good coach but needs to recognize when he and/or his staff messes up. IMHO, this was a decision that I personally think they messed up.
 


Coach Kill getting a bit cocky now? Sorry Coach Kill, I like you, but you're just too conservative, too stubborn. Missouri won because their Coach took some risks and it payed off for them. When your team is behind, you have to take risks also.
 

This was as bad of decision I have ever seen coach Kill make. It essentially cost him and the team two offensive possessions, this one and the one to start the second half. Coach was definitely out coached in this one.

I posted my predict the score in the predict the score thread on page 3 post #58 that one play that would be big for them was the jet sweep. If I remember correctly they ran it only once very early in the game a it picked up a nice chunk of yardage, after that it was put in the pocket never to see again.
 

Kill said they ran the out the clock because he did want to get a turnover and they were going to get the ball to start the second half anyway. Ironic that they did not get the ball to start the 3rd quarter because of onside kick recovery by Missouri. By electing to run out the clock with enough time to get in FG range, the Gophers gave up a scoring opportunity plain and simple. Leidner was throwing the ball very well and with that much time left and 2 timeouts getting a shot at a FG was a mistake. Shades of Denny Green and the kneel down in the NFC championship game vs Atlanta.
 

Blitzkrieg said:
We're talking about getting 30 yards in 1 minute with 3 TO's in hand to set up a potential FG. We're not asking Leidner to drive the team 60 yards in 20 seconds by throwing risky Hail Marys.
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Agreed. Anyone remember how much time it took Wisconsin with no timeouts at the end of the first half to get to field goal range against us?
 



gopherMD said:
Kill said they ran the out the clock because he did want to get a turnover and they were going to get the ball to start the second half anyway. Ironic that they did not get the ball to start the 3rd quarter because of onside kick recovery by Missouri. By electing to run out the clock with enough time to get in FG range, the Gophers gave up a scoring opportunity plain and simple. Leidner was throwing the ball very well and with that much time left and 2 timeouts getting a shot at a FG was a mistake. Shades of Denny Green and the kneel down in the NFC championship game vs Atlanta.
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Agreed, I almost posted that up in post 37 but decided against it.
 

rpgopherfan said:
This was as bad of decision I have ever seen coach Kill make. It essentially cost him and the team two offensive possessions, this one and the one to start the second half. Coach was definitely out coached in this one.
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How did his decision cost us the second half possession? If we score a TD at the end of the half, they very well could have done the exact same thing and recovered it.

I posted my predict the score in the predict the score thread on page 3 post #58 that one play that would be big for them was the jet sweep. If I remember correctly they ran it only once very early in the game a it picked up a nice chunk of yardage, after that it was put in the pocket never to see again.
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We ran it one other time and lost 3 yards. Not sure if the one where Maye hit Leidner and we nearly fumbled was supposed to be a jet sweep or not.
 

I bet the Missouri coach has a big smile right now feeling like he took candy from a little kid. That's what happened with the coaching today.

Missouri coach: Fake punt, they'll never suspect it. Done.
Missouri coach: Let's punt at the 40 and pin them inside the 5, and get field position. Done.
Missouri coach: Kill thinks they'll get the ball and never suspect it, onside kick. Done.
Missouri coach: Gopher's Corners are too good, so let's run the ball, they'll never suspect it. Run run run. Done.
Missouri coach: Gopher's have poor time management, so just let them run out the time on their own. Done.
 

It's all good till the corner sits on the out route at the sticks and takes it the other way - btdt. I guess I can agree it wouldn't have hurt to run a screen, or just run the normal offense and hope something springs, but right or wrong, at this point when we get away from our regular offense it usually ain't pretty. Definitely something to work on for next season.
 



M&G BUSt said:
It's all good till the corner sits on the out route at the sticks and takes it the other way - btdt.
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That's the sad part is with the timeouts their playbook was wide open and they didn't need to only run out routes. Unfortunately our coaching staff closed the playbook and called it a half. That had to piss off every member of the offense and if they weren't pissed you have to question their drive.
 


RolGnav said:
I bet the Missouri coach has a big smile right now feeling like he took candy from a little kid. That's what happened with the coaching today.

Missouri coach: Fake punt, they'll never suspect it. Done.
Missouri coach: Let's punt at the 40 and pin them inside the 5, and get field position. Done.
Missouri coach: Kill thinks they'll get the ball and never suspect it, onside kick. Done.
Missouri coach: Gopher's Corners are too good, so let's run the ball, they'll never suspect it. Run run run. Done.
Missouri coach: Gopher's have poor time management, so just let them run out the time on their own. Done.
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Are you saying that he should have been expecting an onside kick to open the second half? Would a better coach have seen an onside kick coming in that situation? Did you see it coming? Don't most coaches think they'll get the ball to start the half in that situation? I'd think it's a pretty safe assumption. I disagree that the onside kick was an example of Pinkel taking advantage of a major shortcoming of Jerry Kill as a coach. It was a ballsy play call that doesn't always work, but it did this time.

Plus it was just a very well executed onside kick. If the oblong ball bounces differently and we recover is it still "taking candy from a little kid?"
 

Cayman said:
Are you saying that he should have been expecting an onside kick to open the second half? Would a better coach have seen an onside kick coming in that situation? Did you see it coming? Don't most coaches think they'll get the ball to start the half in that situation? I'd think it's a pretty safe assumption. I disagree that the onside kick was an example of Pinkel taking advantage of a major shortcoming of Jerry Kill as a coach. It was a ballsy play call that doesn't always work, but it did this time.

Plus it was just a very well executed onside kick. If the oblong ball bounces differently and we recover is it still "taking candy from a little kid?"
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I would think every coach should always be weary of an onside kick. To leave a spot on the front line wide open like how it was, was just asking for it. And it was an easy call for Pinkel. How can that not be Pinkel taking advantage? Pinkel called a great play, and Kill and his players weren't ready for it. Onside kicks do happen you know? Most of the time, it's expected. But some of the time, it's unexpected. Shouldn't a coach have his team be ready for the unexpected as well as the expected? I mean unless it's you, or coach Kill, who assumes that the ref just hands you the ball at the start of the second half?
 

You know, when you make a million dollars a year providing entertainment for people at a price, it's ok if they criticize your performance. Make the ticket free, work for free, you unburden yourself. But these are your customers, Jerry, and you let them down, and then gave them a " how dare you". Well, there weren't a whole lot if d1 schools calling your phone, we took a flyer, don't make it seem like we owe you.
 


RolGnav said:
I would think every coach should always be weary of an onside kick. To leave a spot on the front line wide open like how it was, was just asking for it. And it was an easy call for Pinkel. How can that not be Pinkel taking advantage? Pinkel called a great play, and Kill and his players weren't ready for it. Onside kicks do happen you know? Most of the time, it's expected. But some of the time, it's unexpected. Shouldn't a coach have his team be ready for the unexpected as well as the expected? I mean unless it's you, or coach Kill, who assumes that the ref just hands you the ball at the start of the second half?
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My guess is we have lined up like that all year long and have never seen that happen. I don't think it was an easy call to make either. That was a perfect kick. If he kicks it just a tad softer or harder it probably doesn't work. It wasn't as easy of a play as you're making it out to be in my opinion.

They were offsides too by the way.
 

goldengophers said:
They should, Scott Frost played in the conservative Nebraska system and is now the coordinator of one of the most innovative offenses in college football.
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He was an integral part of one of the worst, jacked-up plays in Mizzou football history (almost legendary). That really has nothing to do with nothing. Just came to mind.

ZouFan08
 

GophersInIowa said:
My guess is we have lined up like that all year long and have never seen that happen. I don't think it was an easy call to make either. That was a perfect kick. If he kicks it just a tad softer or harder it probably doesn't work. It wasn't as easy of a play as you're making it out to be in my opinion.

They were offsides too by the way.
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Well, I said easy call to make, not an easy play to make. My whole point was that Pinkel out coached our coach. Especially with taking chances. They were losing, so they took risks. Then we were losing, and we just wanted the time to run out.
 

Congrats Jerry, with that passive-aggressive quote, you are officially one of us. A true Minnesotan.
 

Someone tell Coach Kill to learn from Urban Meyer. There was a chance Alabama could have gotten an interception but guess what? There was also a chance they could score. Ohio State just scored with less than a minute left and closes the gap to 1 point.
 

Every team should have a "two minute safe" offense and a "two minute must" offense. You run "two minute must" at the end of a game when you're behind or maybe at the end of a half if you're way behind and not getting the ball back. You run two minute safe before the half if you're getting the ball back or near the end of a tie game. You don't sit on it in either situation, IMO.
 

That sequence took the starch out of me, and it looked like it took the starch out of some of the players, too. Leidner looked very upset coming off the field. Players want to play, not piss around.
 

RolGnav said:
Well, I said easy call to make, not an easy play to make. My whole point was that Pinkel out coached our coach. Especially with taking chances. They were losing, so they took risks. Then we were losing, and we just wanted the time to run out.
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I agree with this at the end of the first half, but was there any other times we were being extremely conservative? We threw the ball a lot more than normal, mixed it up, blitzed on defense, and ran a few trick plays.

If we go for a TD or FG at the end of the half, are we singing the same tune even if we don't score there? Maybe I'm not remembering everything, but I don't recall many other times where I thought we were being way too conservative.
 


Coach Kill has given us reason for optimism and is usually never wrong, but today he was. On TV they made it a point to mention how he is usually winning by year 3. Nobody is debating that formula and it is year 4 now. That said, as much of a statement as he made about their ability to come back as half, trust your kids before half. Year 4 - they have earned that trust. If they turn it over, live and learn. The whole season has been about trusting ML's growth. He grew by leaps and bound today, but the 1 time he didn't seem to be trusted was glaring. Have to be willing to take some risks against teams that out-athlete you. If we had been 6-6 playing that missouri team, would he had been that conservative. I don't think so. Don't do it now either when your team has the chance to build upon an 8-4 season. Coach Kill is a great Coach: Today won't change that. It should serve as a self-check moment though.
 

GophersInIowa said:
I agree with this at the end of the first half, but was there any other times we were being extremely conservative? We threw the ball a lot more than normal, mixed it up, blitzed on defense, and ran a few trick plays.

If we go for a TD or FG at the end of the half, are we singing the same tune even if we don't score there? Maybe I'm not remembering everything, but I don't recall many other times where I thought we were being way too conservative.
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Well even the last drive at the end of the game. We had no sense of urgency. I think we took a good 3 or 4 minutes off the clock. I'm not talking conservative play calling. I'm talking laying down with a minute left and two/three time outs.

And you're right, it might not have made a difference in the end, but then again, maybe that might have given us some momentum. More so, I bet it had a deflating influence on the players. My whole point is... you're losing, you have nothing to lose. Why not try?
 

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