Minnesota’s defense will surprise in 2021

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mnvballdad said:
If the offense ends up being a bigger question mark than the defense I'm afraid this is going to be a horrible season.
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Assuming that we don't get hit with injuries or op-outs....I don't see how the offense is going to have many questions at all.
 

stocker08 said:
Assuming that we don't get hit with injuries or op-outs....I don't see how the offense is going to have many questions at all.
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Outside of CAB, our WR’s are the biggest question mark. If a couple don’t step up, teams will be able to stack the box and slow down our run game.
 

GFBfan said:
Outside of CAB, our WR’s are the biggest question mark. If a couple don’t step up, teams will be able to stack the box and slow down our run game.
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Really not concerned about WRs either. CAB catches everything that comes near him. Jackson looks ready to play extended time. We got the Texas A&M transfer, Wright. Then we have a number of other young guys like Adim-Madumere, Emilien and Mann that came out of HS with impressive offer lists.

Honestly.....any receiver on the roster could step up and put up good numbers. CAB had one offer out of HS (WMU). I'm guessing that most of the guys on the roster can play at a high level.
 

stocker08 said:
Really not concerned about WRs either. CAB catches everything that comes near him. Jackson looks ready to play extended time. We got the Texas A&M transfer, Wright. Then we have a number of other young guys like Adim-Madumere, Emilien and Mann that came out of HS with impressive offer lists.

Honestly.....any receiver on the roster could step up and put up good numbers. CAB had one offer out of HS (WMU). I'm guessing that most of the guys on the roster can play at a high level.
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Or heaven forbid we start using our TE as a pass catching option. WI has used their TE as a legit pass catching threat to move the chains for the past decade.
 



swingman said:
I want to see more of Potts as a pass catching back in the flats.
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I loved our offense with Rodney catching passes. Totally agree that we could use our RB's as pass catchers more.
 

stocker08 said:
Really not concerned about WRs either. CAB catches everything that comes near him. Jackson looks ready to play extended time. We got the Texas A&M transfer, Wright. Then we have a number of other young guys like Adim-Madumere, Emilien and Mann that came out of HS with impressive offer lists.

Honestly.....any receiver on the roster could step up and put up good numbers. CAB had one offer out of HS (WMU). I'm guessing that most of the guys on the roster can play at a high level.
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CAB really hasn't put up overly impressive numbers though. I think we have a lot of ok to good receivers and plenty of depth, but nobody as of now appears to be a really good #1 option. That's my concern.
 

Gophers1992 said:
CAB really hasn't put up overly impressive numbers though. I think we have a lot of ok to good receivers and plenty of depth, but nobody as of now appears to be a really good #1 option. That's my concern.
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I mean, even if the passes get shared more than the previous years, it just needs to be good enough to be a threat. If they have to question stacking the box at all, I think our receivers have done their job this year, and I expect them to do more than that.
 

mnvballdad said:
If the offense ends up being a bigger question mark than the defense I'm afraid this is going to be a horrible season.
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I think we know what we get with Joe Rossi. I don’t think we have much of an idea with Sanford. Tough to tell much from a limited off season and limited season. I’d say he needs to step up from the limited season last year.
 



Some Day...Maybe said:
I think we know what we get with Joe Rossi. I don’t think we have much of an idea with Sanford. Tough to tell much from a limited off season and limited season. I’d say he needs to step up from the limited season last year.
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Recent history has not been kind to him, either.

Really, really hope that Simon and Callahan are a strong influence in the game planning and play calling.
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
I agree with this.... for the most part. I think the FG/XP situation this year should be significantly improved with the transfers available. There should be good competition in that area, and also with punting.

Special Teams in general are still high on the concern list, I have ZERO faith in Wenger, hate to say it. I'd be curious to know the breakdown of practice time spent on ST versus the other areas. Practice time is tight, allocating time for everything is probably a helluva challenge; maybe it's not all on Wenger, maybe it's just not enough practice time allocated to an area of the game that has a HUGE impact on field position, among other things.

All that said, good grief, there can't be a scenario where Wenger survives another shitshow season with Gopher Special Teams. It just can't happen
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Good points.

There absolutely will be assts turnover if the lofty expectations don't materialize.

Someone will be made the scapegoat.
 

jonnyganas said:
Or heaven forbid we start using our TE as a pass catching option. WI has used their TE as a legit pass catching threat to move the chains for the past decade.
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Or, for an even more dramatic example, Iowa: Dallas Clark (originally a walk-on), George Kittle, T.J, Hockenson, Noah Fant, and more.
 

Gophers1992 said:
CAB really hasn't put up overly impressive numbers though. I think we have a lot of ok to good receivers and plenty of depth, but nobody as of now appears to be a really good #1 option. That's my concern.
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Well, he might not look so impressive compared to Johnson or Bateman but he had to play in their shadows earlier in his career. He pretty much catches most of what is thrown to him. I just hope other receivers pick up the slack (Daniel Jackson improved as the year went on last season). You don't want to have the situation similar to Leidner and Drew Wolitarsky in their last year where one receiver caught more passes than the rest combined.
 



Is Swingman correct that the Defensive line has had a different coach every year?

According to Gopher website, no.
This is what is listed on the website under coaches:

D-Line Coaches:
Chad Wilt 2020 & 2021
Jim Panagos 2018 & 2019
Bryce Paup 2017
Jeff Phelps 2016 (Claeys head coach)

So, that makes 4 different d-line coaches over 6 years. Quite a bit of turnover, but not a different coach every year. Unless I'm missing something. (It's 11:15 at night, so some of the brain cells may already have gone to sleep....)
 

Don't forget Marcus West in 2018. From Austin Peay. Left for Charlotte after one season.

Panagos one and done. Jumped to Rutgers during recruiting final weeks. Did not flip four star Jah Joyner.
 
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DBs went Linguist 17, Addae 18, Harasymiak and Chance 19, Harasymiak and Haynes 20. Hope stability helps our defense.
 


swingman said:
Don't forget Marcus West in 2018. From Austin Peay. Left for Charlotte after one season.

Panagos one and done. Jumped to Rutgers during recruiting final weeks. Did not flip four star Jah Joyner.
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D*mn. can't trust anything you read on the internet. Should we flag the Gopher website for disinformation?
 

swingman said:
I want to see more of Potts as a pass catching back in the flats.
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Wiley too, creates some good mismatches against defenses. In both cases, they need a legit number of carries to not telegraph.
 

Gophers1992 said:
CAB really hasn't put up overly impressive numbers though. I think we have a lot of ok to good receivers and plenty of depth, but nobody as of now appears to be a really good #1 option. That's my concern.
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He hasn't had to put up big numbers. But he catches everything thrown to him. He has the look of a legit #1 imo.
 

stocker08 said:
He hasn't had to put up big numbers. But he catches everything thrown to him. He has the look of a legit #1 imo.
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Agree 100%

Over his career, CAB has had about 1/2 the catches that were allotted to either Tyler Johnson or Rashod Bateman:

Catches per game/career:
Johnson: 4.95
Bateman: 4.74
CAB: 2.44

Yards/Catch:
Johnson: 15.52
Bateman: 16.29
CAB: 16.03

I think CAB absolutely lights it up this year.

 

Unregistered User said:
Agree 100%

Over his career, CAB has had about 1/2 the catches that were allotted to either Tyler Johnson or Rashod Bateman:

Catches per game/career:
Johnson: 4.95
Bateman: 4.74
CAB: 2.44

Yards/Catch:
Johnson: 15.52
Bateman: 16.29
CAB: 16.03

I think CAB absolutely lights it up this year.

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I hope he does and I really hope I'm wrong, but we thought he would light it up last year and while he was better, he didn't strike me as a #1. He makes a lot of amazing catches, but I think he struggles to get separation in the way that TJ and Bateman could. Again if he goes out and tears it up I will be more than happy to eat crow.
 

Unregistered User said:
Agree 100%

Over his career, CAB has had about 1/2 the catches that were allotted to either Tyler Johnson or Rashod Bateman:

Catches per game/career:
Johnson: 4.95
Bateman: 4.74
CAB: 2.44

Yards/Catch:
Johnson: 15.52
Bateman: 16.29
CAB: 16.03

I think CAB absolutely lights it up this year.

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CAB has real talent. Adjusts very well to balls that are off the mark; makes the QB look good. Great concentration and hands; he understands job one. Deceptively shifty in open field after catch; powerful runner with decent speed. Great season is a reasonable hope based on history (and coaches). Partly contingent on whether other WRs command respect, giving CAB more opportunities. If Mo has a great year, creating a real problem for safeties, this should also create more opportunities for CAB to shine.
 

Gophers1992 said:
I hope he does and I really hope I'm wrong, but we thought he would light it up last year and while he was better, he didn't strike me as a #1. He makes a lot of amazing catches, but I think he struggles to get separation in the way that TJ and Bateman could. Again if he goes out and tears it up I will be more than happy to eat crow.
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We also saw some tunnel vision between Morgan and Bateman last year, so that also likely factored into CAB "under preforming" compared to expectations.
 

Taji34 said:
We also saw some tunnel vision between Morgan and Bateman last year, so that also likely factored into CAB "under preforming" compared to expectations.
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Entirely possible, no doubt.
 

Taji34 said:
We also saw some tunnel vision between Morgan and Bateman last year, so that also likely factored into CAB "under preforming" compared to expectations.
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Yeah, the "Randy ratio" stuff doesn't work. Just run your offense.
 

MplsGopher_fan said:
Yeah, the "Randy ratio" stuff doesn't work. Just run your offense.
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It's a chicken or egg thing. Was Morgan too focused on Bateman because other guys aren't open enough or reliable enough, or were other guys not able to produce as much because Bateman got too many targets?
 

Gophers1992 said:
It's a chicken or egg thing. Was Morgan too focused on Bateman because other guys aren't open enough or reliable enough, or were other guys not able to produce as much because Bateman got too many targets?
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We'll find out this year, for better or for worse.
 

Gophergrandpa said:
CAB has real talent. Adjusts very well to balls that are off the mark; makes the QB look good. Great concentration and hands; he understands job one. Deceptively shifty in open field after catch; powerful runner with decent speed. Great season is a reasonable hope based on history (and coaches). Partly contingent on whether other WRs command respect, giving CAB more opportunities. If Mo has a great year, creating a real problem for safeties, this should also create more opportunities for CAB to shine.
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Well said. 100% agree.
 

Man, love all this defense talk! ;)

Anyway - CAB:

- we heard up and down, left, right, and center how Bateman's lack of production in 2020 was entirely due to the lack of having TJ to draw defenders away
- so obviously then, CAB didn't perform that task nearly as equal?
 

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