Message from Fisch to Players: Ignore Me.

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Governor Sibley

Governor Sibley

Section 109 Row 21
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Two games into the season and the writing is on the wall: we will grudgingly return to being a spread offense.

This has the potential of being very damaging to Fisch. In effect, he'll have announced that everything he's taught, implemented and stressed is going by the wayside.

The irony is that we might have made a failed transition at precisely the point when we developed the receiving corps to run the spread. BG and TS are now legitimate weapons, and NTA has shown himself to be nimble up the seam.

At the end of the day, this may reflect even more poorly on Fisch's boss.
 

I guess there's a way to spin anything. But my view is that Fisch and Brew have a vision of where they want to be and are trying to develop the game plan and they recognize it's a process. I think it's a credit to Fisch that he is adjusting to what is working later in the game, which is of course what the guys are more comfy with; the spread.

Would you rather he sticks with what he wants and flounders until we can pull it off, or win?
 

????? Did something happen or are you just speaking outloud? Did we see somewhere that we are changing the offensive scheme for next week? Please elaborate.
 

I agree

Let's stop kidding ourselves that we can run the ball 50 times a game and ram it down the other teams throats. We do not have the running backs to do that. I'm sorry if I hurt some players feelings but that is the truth.

I do feel it's time to embrace the passing game. All our better athletes on offense are recievers or quarterbacks. I do not believe we need to go back to Dunbars Spread offense and be a pure spread team but put Weber in the shotgun more. He's much more comfortable in shot gun then under center.

In making the switch over in the offense it makes sense to do it when you have the running backs to do it. Unless Whaley is a diamond in the rough, we do not have the running backs to pound the rock.
 

Ya I agree with schnoodler. I see the point that we still resemble the offense of the last few years but I think the transition from that offense to what Fisch wants is not an overnight process. We had our players used to playing in the spread.

Personally, as long as we win I'm not really fussed about details like 'is it still the spread?'
 


C'mon ... please tell me I'm taking this too literally. A return to the spread offense two games into a season (of which we are 2-0)? Yes, we are passing the ball more but there is no conceivable situation where we return to the spread anytime soon unless Brewster wants to essentially fire himself. Again, am I missing something? (This happens from time to time:)
 

What you're missing is that in both games we have completely abandoned our new philosophy and just thrown the ball all over the field in the 4th quarter. I have no problem with it, but it does look bad for the coaching staff when the old offense looks better than the new one.
 

We all have been frustrated by our offense. The offense has performed badly until the fourth quarter. Maybe if we decide to do what we are more equipped to do, then the offense will flourish. Let's stop pretending in being something we are not.
 

Maybe I'm the only one but I saw progress between the first half of last week and the first half of this week. When we start executing ans sustaining drives you'll see a bit more of what Fisch is trying to do. Can't do Ruesse if you can't get first downs. Last week it was Weber missing his targets, this week it was penalties.
 



Unless we get a new offensive line next week, we aren't going to see sustained drives too often this year. They haven't progressed nearly as much as I'd hoped they would in the off-season.
 

Omega015 said:
What you're missing is that in both games we have completely abandoned our new philosophy and just thrown the ball all over the field in the 4th quarter. I have no problem with it, but it does look bad for the coaching staff when the old offense looks better than the new one.
Click to expand...

OK, but that is abandoning the "pound the rock" mentality - not reverting to the spread offense unless the spread offense now simply means throw it more. The offense they are running, according to Brewster, was implemented to allow them to power run - but fortunately it looks like we can still wing it if need be.
 

"Pound The Rock" needs to be abandoned. Everyone has grabbed onto it like it was a political slogan.
 

O-line

Everyone wants to pile on the running backs, but we do not have the offensive line to become a power run team. It's very simple.

They may get better as the year goes on, but right now our o-line is below average. You don't get to 'Pound the Rock' with a weak line.
 



I think the reason that we only do well in the 4th quarter is that it takes that long for Adam Weber to ignore Fisch. Let him play!
 

Studwell55 said:
Two games into the season and the writing is on the wall: we will grudgingly return to being a spread offense.

This has the potential of being very damaging to Fisch. In effect, he'll have announced that everything he's taught, implemented and stressed is going by the wayside.

The irony is that we might have made a failed transition at precisely the point when we developed the receiving corps to run the spread. BG and TS are now legitimate weapons, and NTA has shown himself to be nimble up the seam.

At the end of the day, this may reflect even more poorly on Fisch's boss.
Click to expand...

2 games in and you are already going with this nonsense? :confused: Yes after 2 games the Gophers are going to ditch an offense they spent the whole off season putting in which just happens to be a diiferent approach form the first 2 years under this head coach just because the offense has not performed to your standards so far.

Last I checked the record was 2-0. Seriously you are kidding with this right? Some of the players are on their 3rd OC in 4 years. I doubt the head coach is going to do another 180 and change the offense again after 2 games but you sure seem to believe it is a certainty.
 

Good coaches adjust their game plan and take what the defense gives them, and adjust to what is successful for the team. That's what we're doing. I don't think our offensive line is where they should be, or where they will be. We need to consistently try to run more each game, but we'll be a heavy passing team until our running games improves. We don't have a bruising full back that can get extra yards through a pile, but we've got good running backs that seemed to do a pretty good job to me.
 

The Fisch

This hire is going to make or break Brew in my opinion. Talk about a gamble on his part. Starting over on offense with a guy who has zero play calling experience while bringing in a new system doesn't reflect well on The Plan or lack there of.

My concern is the same one I had in running the spread in 07, do we have the guys to implement the offense? It doesn't appear so, which is why I'm completely ok with running parts of the spread. A good coordinator can adapt to the talent around him. So far I'm blaming our woes on the Oline. Once they start to gel I think we'll be able to judge Brew's call on Fisch. Until then thank God for a defense that has looked good...at least through two.
 

Studwell55 said:
Two games into the season and the writing is on the wall: we will grudgingly return to being a spread offense.

This has the potential of being very damaging to Fisch. In effect, he'll have announced that everything he's taught, implemented and stressed is going by the wayside.

The irony is that we might have made a failed transition at precisely the point when we developed the receiving corps to run the spread. BG and TS are now legitimate weapons, and NTA has shown himself to be nimble up the seam.

At the end of the day, this may reflect even more poorly on Fisch's boss.
Click to expand...

I think you are half right and half wrong. When we really need to run the ball, we won't be able to do it. When we have a magical 2 TD lead on a good team with over a quarter left in the game. We don't have a quality RB (unless Whaley shows up out of left field).

Most of our passing still isn't out of the spread, but when we need to move the ball. Weber is in the Gun.

Maybe this isssss the gopher offense?
 

I think most of this is just a reflection of the embarassment of some fans who were hoping for an offense that returns to the Barber/Maroney era. Someone please provide a link showing that the coaching staff ever intended to abandon the spread entirely. This thread suggest that was the plan. It wasn't.
 


There is a difference between lining up in the shotgun and going to the spread...it's different and if you can't see that, I am sorry.

Like others said, you have to adjust, and if that calls for more passing that's fine. Our line is still a work in progress and so are our backs. There will be bumps in the road but I am encouraged by what I see, we looked better in the second game than we did in the first.

The fact is we have a lot of nice options at receiver and tight end, Decker, Tow-Arnett, Green, Stoudamire and hopefully soon Hayo, McKnight, Pittman and Lair. I think its best we use them. If that means throwing it more, well, whatever moves the football.
 

I might be right, I might be wrong. So we'll see.

One correction: I doubt we run out of the shotgun as much as last year. But I see the same "pass to set up the run" mentality.

Let's be clear: the word from Bierman was not "We're going to learn the run ball better." It was "We're going to be a power running team." I'm calling that baloney.
 

What up Guy is right. Shot gun and spread are too different things. It is about formations and it is a work in progress. People act like we had the best offense in the national and now we suck. Tell me what the scores of the Purdue, Michigan, Northwestern and Iowa games were last year.

Now I agree that our offense needs to be more consistant so our defense can last the length of the season and not fade. This OL is completely new and needs to get and improve each week. I thought we ran the ball okay on Saturday, but penalties killed them.

We are 2-0 and have a shot at a big upset at home this week. Top half finish in the Big Ten is there for this team if it improves each week.
 

Studwell55 said:
Two games into the season and the writing is on the wall: we will grudgingly return to being a spread offense.

This has the potential of being very damaging to Fisch. In effect, he'll have announced that everything he's taught, implemented and stressed is going by the wayside.

The irony is that we might have made a failed transition at precisely the point when we developed the receiving corps to run the spread. BG and TS are now legitimate weapons, and NTA has shown himself to be nimble up the seam.

At the end of the day, this may reflect even more poorly on Fisch's boss.
Click to expand...

We tried the "run the ball every play" scheme for like 10 years with Mason. Didn't seem to get us very far, did it? Good to see us mixing it up.
 

my understanding is that the type of offense fisch has brought with him is a pro-style which uses elements of spread, power run, I formation, fullbacks, play action, under center, shotgun etc. What we had the last two years was a pure spread approach. Just because we use a spread formation for a few plays during a few series does not mean we are a spread team per se...the formations used are dictated by the down and distance and what the defense shows you...we are going to need to do all well next week to have a shot at a W
 

Studwell55 said:
I might be right, I might be wrong. So we'll see.

One correction: I doubt we run out of the shotgun as much as last year. But I see the same "pass to set up the run" mentality.

Let's be clear: the word from Bierman was not "We're going to learn the run ball better." It was "We're going to be a power running team." I'm calling that baloney.
Click to expand...

To me you are going with a bizarre take here. There was never any "we're going to be a power running team EXCLUSIVELY." In fact, it was quite the opposite. Jed Fisch on many occasions compared the offense he was implementing here to the Arizona Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers - the two teams in last year's Super Bowl. In case you hadn't noticed, they are teams that fling the ball around a little bit. They will spread the field and throw.

Anyone who thought we were going to line up 2 tight ends, a fullback, a tailback, and have the QB take the snap under center and hand it off 35 times a game was sorely mistaken.

The mantra of power running comes from Brewster's absolute disgust in short yardage situations. He wants to be able to convert on those (of course, they haven't been very good this year, either). Wanting to convert short yardage doesn't mean he is going with the tank formation every down.

Simply put, to win big games at the college level (even moreso than at the NFL), you need to stretch the field. That was Dunbar's biggest weakness. His offense failed to throw the ball downfield enough. Most of the plays he called involved 3-to-7 yard lateral routes/patterns or screen passes.

Now we are seeing Weber throw downfield a lot more, especially in the 2nd half of both WINS this year. Notice I said wins. They aren't going to abandon what they are doing.

You have simply misunderstood what they are trying to do. That's all.
 

We have average running backs plain and simple. They are not going to run away from anyone nor are they going to break tackles. Unless the line gives them clear holes they are not good enough yet to do this on their own.

So in saying that, I believe we are going to see some more Stoudirmire and Gray running the ball as the season progresses.

I believe the best running play in the world is bringing a guy in motion and snapping the ball right when he is at the QB....the QB then either hands off to him around the end or then gives it the running back up the gut. You can play action off of this as well. This freezes the LB's everytime.
 

I wish people would stop thinking and perpetrating the idea that a spread offense means passing offense. I believe a spread offense is designed to "spread" the defense over the field by increasing the number of receivers at the line of scrimmage. That does NOT mean that passing is the only goal. In fact it helps create rushing opportunities by moving linebackers out of the box, creating mis-matches for passing AND rushing etc..... A great spread team still has a balanced run/pass ratio... MN does not yet have that balanced ratio, thus a justified concern about over use of passing.... I didn't see any five receiver sets...were there any?
 

I cease and desist, still persuaded of the truth of my observation.

I hope Fisch turns out to be a huge hit. I hope we average 45 points a game.

But we just had six straight quarters without a touchdown, right?
 

Schlic Daddy said:
We tried the "run the ball every play" scheme for like 10 years with Mason. Didn't seem to get us very far, did it? Good to see us mixing it up.
Click to expand...

Please don't disrespect all the players who played at the U in the last 10 years by saying they didn't achieve anything, please.......
 

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