I thought the Gophers just continued their poor play that started with Northwestern and lasted through the end of the regular season.
The staff went with the new "power" run formations way too often. We were not playing a great defense in Kansas, and giving the ball to Eskridge (probably are 5th best option on offense) over and over again was just dumb football. DeLeon averaged under 2 yards a carry and chipped in a fumble too. Weber should have been in the shotgun far more often on first down. I didn't see any improvement from the Oline, which still can't pass block or run block effectively. I didn't see another receiver make a play down the field, and I didn't see a running back make an impressive run. There was nothing new on offense that we can look to as a positive going in to '09.
What the hell happened to our defense? They got shredded all day, allowing 14 straight completions through the air at one point. I wish we'd have 4 Dlineman on the field at all times. Giving up those 3rd and forevers was vintage Gopher defense from the past decade. Willie V was probably the only standout...and he's played his last game in the Maroon and Gold. It's hard to be excited about a defense that has regressed this much going in to next season.
Special Teams? Lets see, a kick out of bounds to start the game, muffed our first chance at a kick return giving us terrible field position and to top it off we allowed a blocked punt.
So we failed badly in all 3 phases, and that's not even to mention the horrendous penalties. The late hit out of bounds (really? again?), the sideline penalty after the sack, and Eric Small's roughing the passer. Then you had our typical 2 false starts after big plays.
We need a great offseason of strength and conditioning and some great last month additions to this recruiting class. The staff better find a way to win that stadium opener against Air Force, atleast they don't have to worry about their pass defense in that one.
The staff went with the new "power" run formations way too often. We were not playing a great defense in Kansas, and giving the ball to Eskridge (probably are 5th best option on offense) over and over again was just dumb football. DeLeon averaged under 2 yards a carry and chipped in a fumble too. Weber should have been in the shotgun far more often on first down. I didn't see any improvement from the Oline, which still can't pass block or run block effectively. I didn't see another receiver make a play down the field, and I didn't see a running back make an impressive run. There was nothing new on offense that we can look to as a positive going in to '09.
What the hell happened to our defense? They got shredded all day, allowing 14 straight completions through the air at one point. I wish we'd have 4 Dlineman on the field at all times. Giving up those 3rd and forevers was vintage Gopher defense from the past decade. Willie V was probably the only standout...and he's played his last game in the Maroon and Gold. It's hard to be excited about a defense that has regressed this much going in to next season.
Special Teams? Lets see, a kick out of bounds to start the game, muffed our first chance at a kick return giving us terrible field position and to top it off we allowed a blocked punt.
So we failed badly in all 3 phases, and that's not even to mention the horrendous penalties. The late hit out of bounds (really? again?), the sideline penalty after the sack, and Eric Small's roughing the passer. Then you had our typical 2 false starts after big plays.
We need a great offseason of strength and conditioning and some great last month additions to this recruiting class. The staff better find a way to win that stadium opener against Air Force, atleast they don't have to worry about their pass defense in that one.
