***MICHIGAN STATE POST-GAME THOUGHTS THREAD***

Donate To GopherHole
Overall I'm very happy with the season, but this one stings. If we would have made 2 plays inside the 5 and Mitch doesn't lay it on the ground, we had a great chance to win.
 

Iceland12 said:
No matter if you took them on Monday or right before the kick-off, the Gophers covered.
Click to expand...

Iceland12,

This was not an insignificant accomplishment. I never cease to be amazed at how accurate the bookies are.
 

The only bad thing I can say about the coaching is that they tend to get extremely conservative while playing really good teams. Almost seems like a "lets keep the final score close" instead of a taking risks to win mentality. The end of half clock management demonstrates that pretty clearly I think. Hopefully that changes as our talent level improves. Other than that I am extremely happy. Our defense is fantastic and our offense seems to have a bright future. Bring on the bowl!
 

Scrap the STUPID Golden-I formation. Nothing good has come from it all year. It is not 1933.
 




Don't get me wrong - it feels great to play two super teams so close. These are top-10 teams in my estimation. But they were also very frustrating games; both winnable with a few made plays. Win one of them, and think where we'd be. I know where I'd be: still sitting on my couch weeping tears of joy. I'm not kidding.

MSU's defense lives up to the hype. They're not just good players, they play so smart and so soundly. They tackle like nobody's business. They play off blocks better than any team I've seen this year. They...

Three points from three trips into the shadow of the end zone is disappointing and maddening. Yes you're up against a great defense, but to drive down the field and stall three times is tough to take.

That drive just before halftime - the one where the object wasn't to score but instead to prevent the opponent from scoring again - that just sucked. It's one of several instances this year of not playing to win. Sorry to be negative, but that's how I see it.

Nelson needed to be better. He needs to be better next year. I have lingering doubts about him.

Not sure if Leidner has a future as a starter on this team, but the guy has a strong arm and a smooth delivery. I continue to wonder if he's the man for the job and just needs some more game time to get there.

Kudos to the defense for a marvelous year and an admirable last couple games.
 


John Galt said:
Overall I'm very happy with the season, but this one stings. If we would have made 2 plays inside the 5 and Mitch doesn't lay it on the ground, we had a great chance to win.
Click to expand...

Mitch was hit by two players at the same time. He didnt exactly lay the ball on the ground. If he doesnt fumble, it is 4th and 10 with less than 5 minutes left in the game. Was it really a key play?
 



gopherveteran said:
Mitch was hit by two players at the same time. He didnt exactly lay the ball on the ground. If he doesnt fumble, it is 4th and 10 with less than 5 minutes left in the game. Was it really a key play?
Click to expand...

Yes, it was a key play. There was a chance to put points on the board.
 

gopherveteran said:
Mitch was hit by two players at the same time. He didnt exactly lay the ball on the ground. If he doesnt fumble, it is 4th and 10 with less than 5 minutes left in the game. Was it really a key play?
Click to expand...

Well, make the case that we kick a FG there (not a given, but misses for Hawthorne have been rare this year), and we're 8 pts down. MSU hadn't scored on us except for 2 long drives. We had 2 TOs, enough to force a punt and have a chance to drive for a TD+2 to tie. It wasn't a fumble in a scenario to win, but it certainly sealed the game for the Spartans...
 

Have to agree with earlier post - our offense was terrible just before half - no urgency, running the ball and seemingly content with running the clock out when we had an opportunity to score. AND our play selections in goal to goal situations was overly cautious. When MSU lines up 8 at the line of scrimmage why do have t run 2 plays down the gut? Now we have 3rd and long and MSU knows we have to pass... his was a very winnable game but our play calling in the red zone was bad!
 

book said:
Have to agree with earlier post - our offense was terrible just before half - no urgency, running the ball and seemingly content with running the clock out when we had an opportunity to score. AND our play selections in goal to goal situations was overly cautious. When MSU lines up 8 at the line of scrimmage why do have t run 2 plays down the gut? Now we have 3rd and long and MSU knows we have to pass... his was a very winnable game but our play calling in the red zone was bad!
Click to expand...

Are you nuts? They played the end of the half perfectly in that situation. Against that defense in that situation, you go passive-aggressive. The drive ended in an int. Did you want MSU to have more time to try and score? You were probably the same clown who was booing behind me at how we handled the end of the half against PSU. How did that work out?
 



book said:
Have to agree with earlier post - our offense was terrible just before half - no urgency, running the ball and seemingly content with running the clock out when we had an opportunity to score. AND our play selections in goal to goal situations was overly cautious. When MSU lines up 8 at the line of scrimmage why do have t run 2 plays down the gut? Now we have 3rd and long and MSU knows we have to pass... his was a very winnable game but our play calling in the red zone was bad!
Click to expand...

As that series began, I said to the TV, four passes into the end zone and let the chips fall where they may. If we lose, we go down in a blaze of gunfire. Running up the middle against that alignment on first down was a wasted play.
 

I have never booed the Gophers! We had a chance to go ahead before the half... I loved the fake punt... I can't wait till we can be more creative on offense
 

Bad Gopher said:
As that series began, I said to the TV, four passes into the end zone and let the chips fall where they may. If we lose, we go down in a blaze of gunfire. Running up the middle against that alignment on first down was a wasted play.
Click to expand...

Agree
 

GO4INLALALAND said:
Overall the season was a success. The offense definitely needs some work, in particular the passing game. It is very hard to run with consistency, especially in the red zone, when you have a one dimensional offense. They need to work on the passing game more during the non-conference part of the schedule. I think the intense focus on the running game during non-con part of the schedule hurt us later on. But I am not complaining with the season - I never thought we would have finished the season 8-4.
Click to expand...

Ditto; 8-4 is far better than anything I expected - and the Gophers were very competitive in their last two games, also.
 

I've found myself comparing this to the end of last year. Nothing on offense against Neb. until garbage time. Nothing offensive against MSU at home. MSU is much better than they were last year and Wiscy and last year's Neb. team are similar. Last year, prior to the bowl, I was pretty much fed up with all aspects of the team. This year, going into the bowl, I'm only concerned about the offense. The D and special teams have made some pretty big strides. Losing Hageman is going to hurt, but if the guys on offense do some growing up and the line stays healthy, I can see how this team can be in the conversation to represent the West in Indy next December.
 

Stan The Caddy said:
Your fault, you were listening to WCCO.
Click to expand...

espn1500 had on some volleyball game....or some damn thing. At least the good neighbor was talking Gopher football.

I have no interest in trying to find kfan.

Take that!:cool02:
 

Along with many of you I have real concerns with the play of Philip Nelson. His accuracy is poor. Without relatively spectacular catches by engel et al his 53% completions would be even worse. Yes there were a few bad drops notably in the neb and wi games but they are dwarfed by the number of poor throws and uncatchable(!) balls. I don't understand the call for more playmakers. Our backs and wrs are plenty good. We will be even better in this respect next year. WRT recruiting, what playmaker wants to play for a team that throws 30% of the time? We are not going to attract big time wr recruits unless that ratio shifts. Sorry.

Nelson has improved from last year, but he was putting up Jamarcus Russell (nfl) numbers last year. He strikes me as someone who is far too much "in his own head" and clearly gets too excitable and perhaps self-conscious.

I think the position should be up for grabs. Can streveler be a playmaker? Mckinzy? Perra in a few years? If we keep making excuses that Nelson is young chances are high we will be sitting here in 2 yrs with a sub or circa 55% passer. I hope he can prove me wrong, but the great ones I've seen over the years didn't need 3 yrs to start hitting 60+percent.


CAREER STATS
SEASON CMP ATT YDS CMP% YPA LNG TD INT SACK RAT RAW QBR ADJ QBR
2013 86 161 1211 53.4 7.52 50 9 4 13 130.1 62.9 67.5
2012 75 152 873 49.3 5.74 63 8 8 7 104.4 39.8 48.0
 

Kill will allow for competition at all positions. I still believe that the OL needs work in pass blocking, the WR's need work in getting separation, and QB's need to work on accuracy.

No aspect of our passing game is acceptable. I think it will be tough to win with a Minnesotan at QB, our HS football is not good enough to develop them.
 

MaxyJR1 said:
Kill will allow for competition at all positions. I still believe that the OL needs work in pass blocking, the WR's need work in getting separation, and QB's need to work on accuracy.

No aspect of our passing game is acceptable. I think it will be tough to win with a Minnesotan at QB, our HS football is not good enough to develop them.
Click to expand...
The TE knows how to get open, but other than that, you're right. Maxx is too good not to be a secondary option after running with Cobb. I hate that Nelson has misfired so often on his throws, because I think he has everything else you need in a QB. He's smart and he's tough and he sure looks like a leader. Can you coach holding the ball too long and airmailing it out of him? I don't know. I do know that a good running game and a reliable TE are a QB's best friends, so there are advantages there.

As I've been mulling things over today, I'm wondering what becomes of Kirkwoodland next year. Other than one nice run today, he just looked too slow. Can he move to FB and take over for Henry? From what I've seen, he blocks really well in pass protection and on punts. It stinks that he lost his job to an injury, but Cobb makes mountains out of molehills better than he did last year.
 

Markous15 said:
The only bad thing I can say about the coaching is that they tend to get extremely conservative while playing really good teams. Almost seems like a "lets keep the final score close" instead of a taking risks to win mentality. The end of half clock management demonstrates that pretty clearly I think. Hopefully that changes as our talent level improves. Other than that I am extremely happy. Our defense is fantastic and our offense seems to have a bright future. Bring on the bowl!
Click to expand...

That is done to keep us in the game.

Our QBs are pretty scatter-shot at times and our receivers drop a ton of passes yet in three of our four losses all we had to do was make one fourth-quarter offensive play and the outcome could have been different. Alas, we never made one of those plays.

Coaching isn't our problem on offense. Execution is the problem.
 

JerryKillFan said:
That is done to keep us in the game.

Our QBs are pretty scatter-shot at times and our receivers drop a ton of passes yet in three of our four losses all we had to do was make one fourth-quarter offensive play and the outcome could have been different. Alas, we never made one of those plays.

Coaching isn't our problem on offense. Execution is the problem.
Click to expand...

^
 

It has been a really good season up to this point. A few plays here and there today and we could have "stole one". Nelson's blocked pass to Goodger and the missed FG...

I was impressed that the young receivers played a bit better today than last week.

The defense has been playing really well (top 5 in the conference good). How will they replace RoJo, Hageman, Hill, Vereen, and Manuel? I hope the younger guys can be as good.

Here were a couple of small plays that stood out. Cobb almost catching that inside screen pass (he had lots of room to run). Nelson missing M. Williams on that wide open route across the middle.

Here's hoping for Gator Bowl!
 

JerryKillFan said:
That is done to keep us in the game.

Our QBs are pretty scatter-shot at times and our receivers drop a ton of passes yet in three of our four losses all we had to do was make one fourth-quarter offensive play and the outcome could have been different. Alas, we never made one of those plays.

Coaching isn't our problem on offense. Execution is the problem.
Click to expand...

I understand that, its the keep it close mentality. I am simply of the opinion that underdogs need to take advantage of every opportunity they get. I agree that the coaches are not problem we have on offense, this is just one area where I disagree with what they do. Just my opinion.
 

SonOfTheVarsity said:
Defense was great the last two weeks. Definitely short on polished receivers, but I've been encouraged by Jones, Wolitarski, and Williams. I disappointed with our "happy to be close" approach today. Never seemed to have the urgency to go win the game. Also think Limegrover could have put the guys in better spots to succeed today. Our receivers struggle to get separation, but it's tough to get open when you have 2 or 3 guys out running patterns against 5 defenders, and Limegrover fell in love with the 2- and 3-man routes these last two games. We also ran a lot of those plays against Iowa and Michigan, with similar results. Hopefully once the skill players get more experience, Limegrover will be more comfortable with opening up the playbook a bit.
Click to expand...

This. Also, they REALLY missed Derek Engel the past two weeks. It was obvious that Nelson had a comfort level with Engel that he didn't have with any other receivers.

I am suspecting that Jones and Maxx will be the prime "go-to" receivers going forward, but Nelson and they did not form the comfortable relationship needed to be able to make the clutch plays needed against Wisc and MSU. That was most obvious on the miss to a wide open Maxx late in the Wisc game.

The play calling against Wisconsin was particularly suspect. The 4th Q calls were pretty much a disaster, with deep ball throw after deep ball throw and the plays weren't particularly innovative. Looked desperate when perhaps they shouldn't have been. Was disappointed that they didn't roll out Nelson more the past two games, as roll-outs to the right side seem to be the Gophers' best plays in the clutch, with the option to run or to hit a dragging TE if the WRs aren't open.

Less disappointed in the offense today than last week, mostly because MSU made a lot of plays; even though the Gophers blew almost as many great opportunities in both weeks. Gophers seemed to beat themselves, offensively, the week prior. Wisconsin made lots of stops based on bad refereeing (typical for Wisky), primarily the blatant arm grabbing by the DBs that the refs refused to call; that coming on the setup of the Skunks' first TD by a very questionable interference call on a ball that was impossible to catch, which made the bad calls occurring during the same part of the game the other way all the worse to accept.
 

cncmin said:
This. Also, they REALLY missed Derek Engel the past two weeks. It was obvious that Nelson had a comfort level with Engel that he didn't have with any other receivers.

I am suspecting that Jones and Maxx will be the prime "go-to" receivers going forward, but Nelson and they did not form the comfortable relationship needed to be able to make the clutch plays needed against Wisc and MSU. That was most obvious on the miss to a wide open Maxx late in the Wisc game.

The play calling against Wisconsin was particularly suspect. The 4th Q calls were pretty much a disaster, with deep ball throw after deep ball throw and the plays weren't particularly innovative. Looked desperate when perhaps they shouldn't have been. Was disappointed that they didn't roll out Nelson more the past two games, as roll-outs to the right side seem to be the Gophers' best plays in the clutch, with the option to run or to hit a dragging TE if the WRs aren't open.

Less disappointed in the offense today than last week, mostly because MSU made a lot of plays; even though the Gophers blew almost as many great opportunities in both weeks. Gophers seemed to beat themselves, offensively, the week prior. Wisconsin made lots of stops based on bad refereeing (typical for Wisky), primarily the blatant arm grabbing by the DBs that the refs refused to call; that coming on the setup of the Skunks' first TD by a very questionable interference call on a ball that was impossible to catch, which made the bad calls occurring during the same part of the game the other way all the worse to accept.
Click to expand...

I don't mean this in a glib way, but did you go to the WI game? I only ask because from my vantage point, in the stands, it seemed pretty obvious to me that we had to throw deep. They were stacking the box and pressing our WRs. They were gambling that we couldn't beat them deep and they were right. However, I have almost no faith that we could have worked ourselves down the field in any other manner. At that point in the game, with that kind of defense, we had to challenge their CBs, our WRs just couldn't make enough plays.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
Along with many of you I have real concerns with the play of Philip Nelson. His accuracy is poor. Without relatively spectacular catches by engel et al his 53% completions would be even worse. Yes there were a few bad drops notably in the neb and wi games but they are dwarfed by the number of poor throws and uncatchable(!) balls. I don't understand the call for more playmakers. Our backs and wrs are plenty good. We will be even better in this respect next year. WRT recruiting, what playmaker wants to play for a team that throws 30% of the time? We are not going to attract big time wr recruits unless that ratio shifts. Sorry.

Nelson has improved from last year, but he was putting up Jamarcus Russell (nfl) numbers last year. He strikes me as someone who is far too much "in his own head" and clearly gets too excitable and perhaps self-conscious.

I think the position should be up for grabs. Can streveler be a playmaker? Mckinzy? Perra in a few years? If we keep making excuses that Nelson is young chances are high we will be sitting here in 2 yrs with a sub or circa 55% passer. I hope he can prove me wrong, but the great ones I've seen over the years didn't need 3 yrs to start hitting 60+percent.
Click to expand...

#1: Our WRs are NOT plenty good. They played hard and I'm encouraged about their future, but our WRs were not good. To even hint that they bailed out Nelson a lot (making his numbers better than he actually is) is absolutely asinine. Engel was solid and Jones flashed playmaking ability, but our WRs really hurt Nelson's production.

#2: The position is up for grabs. Leidner started for a couple of weeks in the middle of year. He was burdened with the same lack of playmaking and struggled throwing the ball as well.

I want the Gophers to play the best player and everyone can see that Nelson has struggled at moments. However, he really did not have any playmakers around him in the passing game. They certainly did not bail him out very often and they rarely made anything but the easy plays (Engel aside, he had a couple "plays"). I'm not ripping on them, I'm encouraged they will get better, but I can't fathom how anyone can watch this team and not see the glaring hole at WR.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
#1: Our WRs are NOT plenty good. They played hard and I'm encouraged about their future, but our WRs were not good. To even hint that they bailed out Nelson a lot (making his numbers better than he actually is) is absolutely asinine. Engel was solid and Jones flashed playmaking ability, but our WRs really hurt Nelson's production.

#2: The position is up for grabs. Leidner started for a couple of weeks in the middle of year. He was burdened with the same lack of playmaking and struggled throwing the ball as well.

I want the Gophers to play the best player and everyone can see that Nelson has struggled at moments. However, he really did not have any playmakers around him in the passing game. They certainly did not bail him out very often and they rarely made anything but the easy plays (Engel aside, he had a couple "plays"). I'm not ripping on them, I'm encouraged they will get better, but I can't fathom how anyone can watch this team and not see the glaring hole at WR.
Click to expand...

True or how they can look at the QB play and see nothing but wonderful players betrayed by their lousy receivers.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom