Lots of negativity on this board for a team that should be 3-1

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Otis

Otis

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I mean, how many of you want to run our coach who has delivered more 9+ win seasons than we have ever seen?

It’s just plain wrong.

PJ didn’t miss those field goals vs UNC. Why don’t you want to hang the B1G kicker? Talk about not living up to the hype.

Did they screw up against Iowa? Yeah, but it’s just one game, one half really. There is no reason to hang up the season for dropping a deuce on the field in one half.

The rest of the teams we play this year all have flaws. Give them a chance to exploit them.

Unfortunately, Michigan is a running team and after that last half, this game looks bleak. But, we can stack the box for this game and coach up how to tackle. It could happen.

Their are teams on the schedule we will beat and there is really only one team, PSU, I believe we have zero chance against.

So, support your f’ing team, for Christ’s sake!!

I’d say they have earned it!
 

Post loss threads and sports forums are unbearable, it's getting worse all the time.

I avoid this (and others) forum after a loss until the crybabies who are too emotional to have a clear thought leave.

The games in the future aren't decided yet, I'm in to see what happens / enjoy them.
 

Fair points, Otis.

I think the major issue is that the first loss was more of the same of PJ's conservativism costing the team the game. Yes, our stud kicker missed two makable field goals, but we really shouldn't have ever been in that situation. We should have beaten a poor North Carolina team by more than a touchdown.

To PJ's credit, it is the first time that I have seen him make any significant adjustments to his offensive philosophy in the following games. However, the second half let down was so severe in the Iowa game that it brought back all our PTSD memories of years past.

That leads many to believe that PJ is not the guy to have sustained success at the U that diehard fans have been waiting for literally their whole lives.
 




Otis said:
I mean, how many of you want to run our coach who has delivered more 9+ win seasons than we have ever seen?

It’s just plain wrong.

PJ didn’t miss those field goals vs UNC. Why don’t you want to hang the B1G kicker? Talk about not living up to the hype.

Did they screw up against Iowa? Yeah, but it’s just one game, one half really. There is no reason to hang up the season for dropping a deuce on the field in one half.

The rest of the teams we play this year all have flaws. Give them a chance to exploit them.

Unfortunately, Michigan is a running team and after that last half, this game looks bleak. But, we can stack the box for this game and coach up how to tackle. It could happen.

Their are teams on the schedule we will beat and there is really only one team, PSU, I believe we have zero chance against.

So, support your f’ing team, for Christ’s sake!!

I’d say they have earned it!
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A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
The classic example being the sports writers / folks in this town who came out to complain when the Timberwolves celebrated too much when they won a play in game.

God forbid folks have too much fun!
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The same sportswriters who felt the need to say the Twins would have never won the World Series without home field advantage in our sub-standard facility.

I’d love to see them say that to Jack Morris’ face.

Cowards behind print.

It is tough to be a Minnesota sports fan.

I’ve suffered from this affliction for 59 years and counting.

But I’ll be damned if I’m going to cheer for somebody else!
 



Well, I’m afraid it’s a sports talking board and you’re going to get a variety of opinions.

Saying we “should” be 3-1 is why folks are losing it. We should have beaten Illinois last year, we should have beaten NW, we should have thrown the ball on 3rd and 9 in the first quarter of the first game.

Whether you think his seat should be hot or not… he’s got two years probably. And if he’s the coach you think he is, then he’ll show growth in in-game adjustments. Right? Time is going to straighten all of this out one way or the other.
I personally am pessimistic about PJ being able to take the next step.

Two things can be true - he’s the winningest coaches we’ve had in decades, and he’s still just middle of the road in many key ways. It’s ok to think that things can get better either with, or without him.
 

Otis said:
Unfortunately, Michigan is a running team and after that last half, this game looks bleak. But, we can stack the box for this game and coach up how to tackle. It could happen.
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I wish they would have coached up how to tackle going into this season.
 

I'm in the boat of they should be 4-0, so am I disappointed with them being 2-2, yes I am. Nine wins is nice but there was lost opportunity in those seasons to do more than just beat the teams you should and actually win something one time. I'm at the prove it stage. Saying we can't do something on offense due to lack of ability is an indictment on either recruiting or coaching. We shouldn't have to settle just because historically we should be happy with nine wins and if you believe the team is good don't be afraid of playing the 24th ranked team, who should be on the same level or worse if you are a nine win team.
 

If this season doesn't turn around, last week will be seen as the inflection point upon PJ's and Coyle's eventual terminations, whether it's two or five years down the road. There was something absolutely fucked up and inexplicable about how Jekyl and Hyde those two halves were from an execution standpoint, and it's all coaching.
 




Sorry, but as a fan who sat through that 2nd half on Saturday all the way to Hail Minnesota surrounded by insufferable Hawks, some negativity is warranted.

That was not good. Period.

Coach knows. The team knows. We know.

Is it worthy of Chernobyl-scale meltdown negativity yet? No. But some negativity after the usual start of the season accolades is warranted.
 

It's 3-9 in the last 12 games against P4 opponents.

but, I think it goes beyond just wins and losses - it includes the way they are losing games.

here is the margin of victory or defeat in those 12 games

wins by 2 pts, 3pts and 15 pts

losses by 2pts - 17pts - 14pts - 34pts - 19pts - 1pt- 42pts- 3pts- 18pts

they are 2-3 in close games in this period, but 1-6 in games decided by more than a touchdown.

and in the second half of the 9 losses, the combined score is Gophers 38, opponents 176. that is an average score of 4.2 - 19.5 in the 2nd halves.
 

BilldGopher said:
Sorry, but as a fan who sat through that 2nd half on Saturday all the way to Hail Minnesota surrounded by insufferable Hawks, some negativity is warranted.

That was not good. Period.

Coach knows. The team knows. We know.

Is it worthy of Chernobyl-scale meltdown negativity yet? No. But some negativity after the usual start of the season accolades is warranted.
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Agreed. I have to rewatch to see the IA WR repeatedly clear out our corner.
 


short ornery norwegian said:
It's 3-9 in the last 12 games against P4 opponents.

but, I think it goes beyond just wins and losses - it includes the way they are losing games.

here is the margin of victory or defeat in those 12 games

wins by 2 pts, 3pts and 15 pts

losses by 2pts - 17pts - 14pts - 34pts - 19pts - 1pt- 42pts- 3pts- 18pts

they are 2-3 in close games in this period, but 1-6 in games decided by more than a touchdown.

and in the second half of the 9 losses, the combined score is Gophers 38, opponents 176. that is an average score of 4.2 - 19.5 in the 2nd halves.
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That second half scoring stat. is alarm bells for me. That indicates a bad adjustment problem, motivation, or conditioning. Aren’t they all pretty much coaching? There have been a few other comments about being a good coach, but he doesn’t have the players(From another thread).
Well the coach is the main recruiter, so it’s also on him.

It’s a big job, pays millions of dollars, I don’t think Fleck is a bad coach at all but sometime in the next year or so a decision will need to be made, unless there is an uptick in performance.
 

mngg11 said:
If this season doesn't turn around, last week will be seen as the inflection point upon PJ's and Coyle's eventual terminations, whether it's two or five years down the road. There was something absolutely fucked up and inexplicable about how Jekyl and Hyde those two halves were from an execution standpoint, and it's all coaching.
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NW game 2nd half implosion last year will be inflection point for me. Downhill since.
 

I think the negativity comes from we should be 4-0 - easily could have made two field goals against NC and if we match our first half we win vs. Iowa. But instead of that flashy 4-0 win with a trophy game included, we are 2-2 having lost to both our P5 opponents.
 

Otis said:
I mean, how many of you want to run our coach who has delivered more 9+ win seasons than we have ever seen?

It’s just plain wrong.

PJ didn’t miss those field goals vs UNC. Why don’t you want to hang the B1G kicker? Talk about not living up to the hype.

Did they screw up against Iowa? Yeah, but it’s just one game, one half really. There is no reason to hang up the season for dropping a deuce on the field in one half.

The rest of the teams we play this year all have flaws. Give them a chance to exploit them.

Unfortunately, Michigan is a running team and after that last half, this game looks bleak. But, we can stack the box for this game and coach up how to tackle. It could happen.

Their are teams on the schedule we will beat and there is really only one team, PSU, I believe we have zero chance against.

So, support your f’ing team, for Christ’s sake!!

I’d say they have earned it!
Click to expand...

Courtesy of Gophergrandpa. Best post of this board in quite a while. Cuts straight to the heart of the issue of this program in it's current state. Don't see it changing unless there's a change in OC. That's a pretty good sample size. That's an average of less than 6 points a half the last 12 games in the second half. Must be fun to play defense in the 2nd half if you're on this team.

Here are the 2ND HALF scoring stats in the Gophers' past 12 Power 5/4 contests--comprising the entire 2023 season and 2024 to date. It ain't pretty.

2024:
Loss to Iowa, 0-24
Loss to UNC, 3-12
2023:
Loss to Wisconsin, 0-14
Loss to Ohio State, 3-24
Loss to Purdue, 10-21
Loss to Illinois, 9-13
Win over Michigan State, 17-6
Win over Iowa, 9-0
Loss to Michigan, 0-28
Loss to Northwestern, 3-27 (worse than 2024 Iowa collapse, given opponent)
Loss to UNC, 3-10
Win over Nebraska, 10-10
 

mngg11 said:
If this season doesn't turn around, last week will be seen as the inflection point upon PJ's and Coyle's eventual terminations, whether it's two or five years down the road. There was something absolutely fucked up and inexplicable about how Jekyl and Hyde those two halves were from an execution standpoint, and it's all coaching.
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The players have been taught how to tackle and they were put in a position to make plays and didn't. There is tons of blame to go around and the coaches absolutely deserve their fair share of it but it isn't all coaching just like it isn't all the players.
 

I've been watching the team compete, so I can't help but be negative.

Unfortunately it is a continuation of last season, when I felt the squad hit a turning point... as in a turn to a dark place. They appear to still be headed toward that dark place.

I felt this way midway through 2018 too and I ended up being surprised to have a lot of fun with growing optimism during the second half of that season. It happened and I was happy to be along for the ride. It might happen again but it seems even more unlikely to me this time.
 


Three things that are true: the Gophers have a one-year QB at this stage in the program.
Losing PJ will probably be a disaster, with another cycle of coaches who can't make it - especially with NIL and endless player transfers.
It will be very difficult for the Gophers to have a winning season this year.
 

"Support this team that should be a, b and c, but is actually x, y and z" isn't exactly a morale booster.
 


Otis said:
I mean, how many of you want to run our coach who has delivered more 9+ win seasons than we have ever seen?

It’s just plain wrong.

PJ didn’t miss those field goals vs UNC. Why don’t you want to hang the B1G kicker? Talk about not living up to the hype.

Did they screw up against Iowa? Yeah, but it’s just one game, one half really. There is no reason to hang up the season for dropping a deuce on the field in one half.

The rest of the teams we play this year all have flaws. Give them a chance to exploit them.

Unfortunately, Michigan is a running team and after that last half, this game looks bleak. But, we can stack the box for this game and coach up how to tackle. It could happen.

Their are teams on the schedule we will beat and there is really only one team, PSU, I believe we have zero chance against.

So, support your f’ing team, for Christ’s sake!!

I’d say they have earned it!
Click to expand...
I felt this way for a few drcades but now see this thinking is flawed. We do not have a gimmy the rest of the way. Hope we dont lose again but.....
 

1983 said:
I felt this way for a few drcades but now see this thinking is flawed. We do not have a gimmy the rest of the way. Hope we dont lose again but.....
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i think the bigger problem would be if we did have a gimme tbh

2021 Bowling Green
2022 Purdue
2023 Northwestern, Illinois, Purdue again

All gimmes. All losses.
 

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