Most Disappointing?

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Red zone efficiency.

One surprising stat is that we are ranked #3 in the big ten in time of possession.
 


I have been disappointed in the number of unforced penalties. Not pass interference, holding, illegal block -- those happen with aggressiveness and bad luck. But penalties due to lack of game management, straying attention, and lack of discipline can be minimized no matter what the talent. Here's my count of such penalties against UM this year: False Start 12; Personal Foul 7; Illegal Participation 3; Illegal Substitution 1; Illegal Formation 2; Illegal Motion 1; Delay 1. Twenty-seven total -- almost four per game. The situation has improved, however -- there were six of these in the UNLV game and only one against Wisconsin. With our difficulty in moving the ball, we cannot easily recover from these avoidable errors.
 

Most disappointing?

15-20 mishandled snaps.

That's the equivalent to an entire (slow) half of offense wasted!
 





MNVCGUY said:
Weber was a pretty good runner early in his Gopher career when he was asked to run a fair amount. He was also very durable so I agree he would have been a good fit for Kill's offense.
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Only if the offense calls for passes to be thrown into the turf five yards short
of the recieiver.
 




That's an easy one - our RB's and their lack of production vs. real opponents. Yes, the offensive line is banged up however Gillum looks like a recruiting miss and for some reason they took off the Rshirt on the Williams kid but have given him very few carries. Kirkwood has had a few moments but wouldn't see the field at OSU, MI, NE, MSU, or WI.

I realize the run D has been awful the last few weeks however I didn't expect that to be solid given the LB's getting caught up by 2nd level blocking and overcommitting to gaps.
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
No doubt. It would be cool to see what Gray could have done with 50 starts at WR. I think he could have been something special, and very likely a somewhat high draft pick. He catches the ball naturally and is a load to bring down. I hope he gets a chance in the league to play either WR or some kind of hybrid TE/WR. He's a special talent.
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Ogee- I am going to have to disagree on this. When Gray was a full time receiver he did not display solid hands, he did not run crisp routes and he is not fast for a WR. He won a few jump balls for TD's and had a few plays where he broke tackles and had nice RAC numbers.

I have always thought this fanbase has vastly overrated his potential as a WR. I have been solidly in his corner as the QB of this team in an offense that is designed to showcase what he does best. He is a load to tackle because of his size. However, it is that size that would prevent him from being a high NFL pick at WR. How many 250lbs receivers are there in the NFL? I just do not think he has the skill set to be a high pick in the NFL at WR no matter how many games he played at that position. McKnight was the go-to guy 2 years ago when Gray also played the position, Where is he playing now?
 

Games running together

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
???? Not sure if serious, considering Gray never took the field against Syracuse and was on his way to leading the Gophers to a loss when he got hurt against Western Michigan? At the time he left the WMU game, the Gophers had mustered 110 yards of offense on 5 drives, put together an 8-yard TD drive, and Gray had just fumbled inside the Gophers own 20 in just under two quarters of play. Gophers trailing 10-7. Afterwards, they managed to muster only 290 yards of offense and 3 TD's in just over 2 quarters.
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No your right the Syracuse game was the night game that Max played. Gray got rolled up from behind by the Western Michigan defensive player and when he tried to twist away he hurt his ankle and his knee some. I remember now it was sunny out not night sky and Gray hobbled off the field and had the brace on the sideline in the second half.

To me Gray getting hurt even though the offense was struggling that game set this whole offensive struggles and maybe even some of the line injury's in motion. It perpetuated changes in play calling and everything else.
You can tell Gray had the most practice time as the team played with more confidence when he was in there. You could really see it in the Northwestern game, there energy level and tempo picked up when Gray had to go in for Max when Max got hit in the head and the wrist and hand got dinged against Northwestern. Nelson never starts this year without Gray getting hurt and for the years to come this may hurt us down the road. Instead of having a seasoned Nelson in 2016 we will only have him until 2015. Would be nice to get the program to a stage where we are starting Junior quarterbacks every year instead of redshirt Freshman or Sophmores. Just thought the Gophers team played with more confidence with Gray in there.
 

Sad

Stan The Caddy said:
Ogee- I am going to have to disagree on this. When Gray was a full time receiver he did not display solid hands, he did not run crisp routes and he is not fast for a WR. He won a few jump balls for TD's and had a few plays where he broke tackles and had nice RAC numbers.

I have always thought this fanbase has vastly overrated his potential as a WR. I have been solidly in his corner as the QB of this team in an offense that is designed to showcase what he does best. He is a load to tackle because of his size. However, it is that size that would prevent him from being a high NFL pick at WR. How many 250lbs receivers are there in the NFL? I just do not think he has the skill set to be a high pick in the NFL at WR no matter how many games he played at that position. McKnight was the go-to guy 2 years ago when Gray also played the position, Where is he playing now?
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No idea whether or not Gray could have made it if he stayed healthy. Do know that the Coaching Staff, all teams that we've faced and "experts" like Rittenberg all thought that Gary playing QB was the best weapon the Gophers had. I'll go with you and them on this Stan.

Not directed at you but since you mentioned his name, McKnight got a very bad rap during his Senior Year. He played hurt throughout that year and rather than being applauded for it people kept whining "how come McKnight can't play?". People were told he was hurt and a week later "What happened to McKnight?". :banghead: I'd guess that carried over to the Pros.

Saddest thing about this thread? There's a LOT of things that are disappointing.

Me? The O-Line injuries have been brutal, but we've been saying that since the middle of Mason's last year haven't we? Unlike that year though, they haven't come back and gotten healthy later in the season.The abysmal record on snapping the ball. That's been almost beyond belief. They've looked like a bad High School team at times. The other was Max turning out to be a bad thrower. Don't remember at all how he looked last year but along with most people I was surprised this year at how bad he looked. Didn't pay attention to the complaints about his performance in the Spring or all the talk about Nelson rolling past him. Knew he couldn't run better than Gray but thought he'd make up for it with his arm. Very disappointing.
 



Iceland12 said:
No idea whether or not Gray could have made it if he stayed healthy. Do know that the Coaching Staff, all teams that we've faced and "experts" like Rittenberg all thought that Gary playing QB was the best weapon the Gophers had. I'll go with you and them on this Stan.

The other was Max turning out to be a bad thrower. Don't remember at all how he looked last year but along with most people I was surprised this year at how bad he looked. Didn't pay attention to the complaints about his performance in the Spring or all the talk about Nelson rolling past him. Knew he couldn't run better than Gray but thought he'd make up for it with his arm. Very disappointing.
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I love Nelson at QB and I think he's the future at the position, no doubt about it. But in no way would I feel comfortable writing off Shortell as a viable option. "Bad thrower"? Holy crap. He's played ONE really subpar game and that was in the rain, playing from way behind, after getting dinged in the head and having tingling in his throwing arm, to the point where he could not start the Wisky game. Under those conditions, I'm prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Was Iowa really that bad? 20-for-33 for almost 200 yards, 2 TD's and one INT that wasn't on the receiver, along with leading the team in rushing? Not to mention the Gophers spent virtually the entire game playing from multiple scores behind? If that's a dumpster fire game, I'm deeply concerned for how badly Nelson is going to get bashed for some games the remainder of this season.

Totally agree on the bad snaps though, G. I DID hear something about Epping's hand being injured, contributing to a bunch of those, but it's still a major area of concern.

I think Nelson is going to play even better than last week, maybe even much better, tomorrow against Purdue. The O-Line LOOKS to be getting somewhat healthy, receivers are getting healthy, he's playing at home, practicing the entire week knowing that he'll be the starter, I can't wait to see how they come out. Huge, huge, huge game...
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
I love Nelson at QB and I think he's the future at the position, no doubt about it. But in no way would I feel comfortable writing off Shortell as a viable option. "Bad thrower"? Holy crap. He's played ONE really subpar game and that was in the rain, playing from way behind, after getting dinged in the head and having tingling in his throwing arm, to the point where he could not start the Wisky game. Under those conditions, I'm prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Was Iowa really that bad? 20-for-33 for almost 200 yards, 2 TD's and one INT that wasn't on the receiver, along with leading the team in rushing? Not to mention the Gophers spent virtually the entire game playing from multiple scores behind? If that's a dumpster fire game, I'm deeply concerned for how badly Nelson is going to get bashed for some games the remainder of this season.

Totally agree on the bad snaps though, G. I DID hear something about Epping's hand being injured, contributing to a bunch of those, but it's still a major area of concern.

I think Nelson is going to play even better than last week, maybe even much better, tomorrow against Purdue. The O-Line LOOKS to be getting somewhat healthy, receivers are getting healthy, he's playing at home, practicing the entire week knowing that he'll be the starter, I can't wait to see how they come out. Huge, huge, huge game...
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We should be able to find someone to squeeze the football between his cheeks, break wind, and launch it into a quarterback's hands at a better success rate than it was snapped against NW (or, on a more serious note, do it with their off-hand).
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
I love Nelson at QB and I think he's the future at the position, no doubt about it. But in no way would I feel comfortable writing off Shortell as a viable option. "Bad thrower"? Holy crap. He's played ONE really subpar game and that was in the rain, playing from way behind, after getting dinged in the head and having tingling in his throwing arm, to the point where he could not start the Wisky game. Under those conditions, I'm prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Was Iowa really that bad? 20-for-33 for almost 200 yards, 2 TD's and one INT that wasn't on the receiver, along with leading the team in rushing? Not to mention the Gophers spent virtually the entire game playing from multiple scores behind? If that's a dumpster fire game, I'm deeply concerned for how badly Nelson is going to get bashed for some games the remainder of this season.

Totally agree on the bad snaps though, G. I DID hear something about Epping's hand being injured, contributing to a bunch of those, but it's still a major area of concern.

I think Nelson is going to play even better than last week, maybe even much better, tomorrow against Purdue. The O-Line LOOKS to be getting somewhat healthy, receivers are getting healthy, he's playing at home, practicing the entire week knowing that he'll be the starter, I can't wait to see how they come out. Huge, huge, huge game...
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Nice try on Max. If he kept playing we'd have no healthy receivers by the end of the year.
 

Max has been so-so but no sane person gives up on a sophomore qb who has had 5 starts. Next year many teams will pencil junior starters who have yet to start a game and many will struggle. Max may or may not be great but in no way has he been a bust or a write-off.
 

Winnipegopher said:
Max has been so-so but no sane person gives up on a sophomore qb who has had 5 starts. Next year many teams will pencil junior starters who have yet to start a game and many will struggle. Max may or may not be great but in no way has he been a bust or a write-off.
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If Nelson lives up to his hype what then? Max seems like a great kid but "so-so" is about right in describing his performance.
 

No way we should write off shortell or make nelson the next big ten player of the year. I think they both play a huge roll in the success of this team going forward. Next year they both are going to be very solid qb's in this conference i am very comfortable with either of these guys starting.
 

Iceland12 said:
If Nelson lives up to his hype what then? Max seems like a great kid but "so-so" is about right in describing his performance.
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That's the beauty of watching things play out on the field. Lots of things have happened already this season and plenty will happen between now and the final gun against MSU. I've said all along that these things always work themselves out, the cream rises to the top, the guys who should be playing usually end up playing and I stand by that. After the first 8-10 quarters this year, I didn't think Gray should be starting at QB and, low and behold, Gray is not starting at QB. These things work themselves out. They always do, and they aren't decided by us "gurus" on the message boards.
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
That's the beauty of watching things play out on the field. Lots of things have happened already this season and plenty will happen between now and the final gun against MSU. I've said all along that these things always work themselves out, the cream rises to the top, the guys who should be playing usually end up playing and I stand by that. After the first 8-10 quarters this year, I didn't think Gray should be starting at QB and, low and behold, Gray is not starting at QB. These things work themselves out. They always do, and they aren't decided by us "gurus" on the message boards.
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Which despite all the bluster will show that the staff doesn't trust Shortell more than any of the rest of us do. You seem far, far more concerned with denigrating Gray than looking at Shortell's performance. Just don't get the obsession.
 

I would also like to see the coaches starting playing more younger guys. Let start subbing more younger guys at the LB for rallis and cooper, playing the younger corners. We need to play for the future and with the change in QB shows they are playing for the future.
 

gopherhoopsguy said:
I would also like to see the coaches starting playing more younger guys. Let start subbing more younger guys at the LB for rallis and cooper, playing the younger corners. We need to play for the future and with the change in QB shows they are playing for the future.
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We need more youth on the field.
 

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