Now that Demry Croft can no longer redshirt, who should start at QB the rest of year?

[stocker08]

Leidner played very badly but I disagree with that. Thorson had plenty of time to throw today, not Leidner. The OL did not play well in the running or passing game in my opinion.

Agreed. It's easy to see how much more time Thorson had.......when compared with our offense.

 

[Pompous Elitist]

BTW, if we can agree our QB will be blitzed and/or pressured and it is unlikely he will have 6 seconds, what can be done from a scheme perspective? What different ways to combat that? Is this QB prepared?

 

[Spoofin]

BTW, if we can agree our QB will be blitzed and/or pressured and it is unlikely he will have 6 seconds, what can be done from a scheme perspective? What different ways to combat that? Is this QB prepared?

I agree with this. Croft will get blitzed like mad. We need some creative check downs - not just the screen pass.

 

[Some Day...Is Coming!]

I hope everyone can now realize that it's not all on Mitch Lender. IT'S OUR OFFENSIVE LINE that needs to show up yet this season. Mitch may never be a game changer but the guy is at a minimum capable of being a game manager when given adequate offensive line play.

What's the motivation for the O line when the QB adds no value, makes no plays, and misses easy throws? Oh, and fumbles.


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[Go4fan4ever]

I was a Mitch supporter up until this game. It was bad. At the same time, it's not all his fault. The o-line has struggled, receivers aren't getting open or blocking for screen passes, and the playcalling has been terrible. That being said, you can't pull the redshirt on a player like Croft and only play him for 10 minutes of a game that was already over. Have to stick with Croft now. Or at least share snaps.

 

[wait!what?]

some of us knew that #7 is a sub par BT qb. kudos to many of you for your patience with mediocrity! kudos to me for being correct re:mitcheroo. kudos for all!

 

[TrapperDoo]

The shirt has been burned. The answer to me is obvious.

 

[Ogee Ogilthorpe]

Mitch can't run anymore, apparently. This is key.

Yeah I have been wondering about this too. The one thing he was good at was keeping defenses honest with his legs and we don't even have that anymore.

Bingo.

One of my biggest issues with Mitchy is that, when it comes to passing the ball and running the ball, he doesn't do EITHER particularly well. Every now and then I think even Streveler could win games with this offense because at least he is (or seems to be) a very good runner and forces defenses to respect his ability to run the ball.

At the end of the day, nothing is happening with this offense until the O-Line either gets healthier or gets some things worked out.

 

[Ogee Ogilthorpe]

Mitch can't run anymore, apparently. This is key.

I like the idea of all these freshmen that are getting huge minutes at the skill position trying to take this offense over and changing the way we play.

Now disappointing have our offensive upper classmen been? Every single position other than KJ Maye just a huge letdown.

How dare you actually hold PLAYERS accountable. Haven't you heard, it's all on the coaches

 

[Pompous Elitist]

How dare you actually hold PLAYERS accountable. Haven't you heard, it's all on the coaches

Who is responsible for the players on the field? Who is responsible for O-line recruiting and development? Why did we have unbalanced offensive line classes? Why did Ben Laeur get thrown to the wolves vs TCU? These are critical mistakes.

It is always the leaders responsibility. Ultimately, this means Kill is responsible for the performance of his players. If his players aren't performing, the position coaches need to correct it or find someone who can. If that isn't happening, the coordinator needs to intervene. If that isn't working, then the head coach needs to step up. If that isn't happening...

 

[nasa35]

There's no creative play calling; just the same six plays. I went to a nice lunch with the gal at SMOKIE'S in Bethel. I knew what was coming. Why be mad on such a beautiful day.

 

[Ogee Ogilthorpe]

Mitch can't run anymore, apparently. This is key.

Who is responsible for the players on the field? Who is responsible for O-line recruiting and development? Why did we have unbalanced offensive line classes? Why did Ben Laeur get thrown to the wolves vs TCU? These are critical mistakes.

It is always the leaders responsibility. Ultimately, this means Kill is responsible for the performance of his players. If his players aren't performing, the position coaches need to correct it or find someone who can. If that isn't happening, the coordinator needs to intervene. If that isn't working, then the head coach needs to step up. If that isn't happening...

There's plenty of blame to go around, no doubt. The board just seems HEAVILY skewed to the staff, and disproportionately so.

It IS absolutely the leaders responsibility ultimately; it's the staff's responsibility for where they are with the QB situation and it's the staff's responsibility for the offensive line situation (outside of some untimely injuries). It is also the leaders/staff's responsibility to put people in a position to be successful, first and foremost.

But FB's missing blocks, the O-line getting abused for 4 weeks in a row, the QB (and PR) putting the ball on the turf and the QB throwing the ball to the other team is on those players. The blocking by the entire TE unit has been absolutely atrocious, the FB has missed more blocks in the last 3 weeks than I can ever remember in a season.

It's the staff's fault the defense hasn't forced a turnover for 3 games in a row? And that they are (I think) a whopping (-8) in that category since TCU?

Player's gotta play. Period. The staff would be the first to tell you they've made a thousand mistakes too but on Saturday, it's time to put your big boy pants on and play football and there are a LOT of guys right now who aren't getting it done, starting with Mitchy and that O-Line.

 

[denguegopher]

Would be dumb to burn Crofts redshirt and not play him the rest of the season

Indeed!

 

[John Galt]

Mitch can't run anymore, apparently. This is key.

Best post of the thread. Last year Mitch kept defenses somewhat honest with his ability to run. It completely disappeared this year.

 

[John Galt]

The offense is very obviously a dumpster fire. I was convinced that Kill & staff are so stubborn they would keep
Leidner in all game, even when it made no sense to. By the middle of the third quarter, Leidner's efforts were little
more than human suffering.

I was pleasantly surprised when I saw Croft. Is he fully ready? No. However, many times freshman qbs with
less skillset come in and do just fine. Also, Mitch seems to come back and play much better after he's been sent
to the bench for awhile.

The wildcard to all this is your O-line. What a mess. Injuries, whatever.

Do I have all the answers? No. Do I have any? I don't know. I'm not sure the coaching staff knows what its gonna do.

All I know is that right now, if we go 6-6 and get to a minor bowl I'll be ecstatic.....

Btw- the D is superb

This myth has to stop. The defense is okay, not even close to superb. Northwestern's offense is marginal and they made us look silly at times. TC completely whiffed on Thorson a few times in the second half, Campbell single-handedly gave up the 1st NW touchdown after the long punt return because he bit on the fake and lost contain, and we again got no pass rush and no turnovers.

 

[AsaadAhdoolKahlee]

The defense is somewhere between "okay" and "superb." The offense's horrendous inability to sustain any drives puts a ton of additional pressure on the defense, making them look statistically worse than they actually are. And it makes it difficult to create turnovers when we're constantly playing from behind and the opposing offense is running the ball to kill clock. The defense is tackling, covering, and limiting penalties. They're not elite, but they're better than average.

 

[John Galt]

The defense is somewhere between "okay" and "superb." The offense's horrendous inability to sustain any drives puts a ton of additional pressure on the defense, making them look statistically worse than they actually are. And it makes it difficult to create turnovers when we're constantly playing from behind and the opposing offense is running the ball to kill clock. The defense is tackling, covering, and limiting penalties. They're not elite, but they're better than average.

We haven't created a turnover in 3 games.

We've had maybe 2-3 sacks in the last 3 games.

We've played 2 MAC schools and the nerds. And the nerds didn't get to 20 points vs. Stanford or Duke.

We're average on defense.

 

[Spoofin]

There's no creative play calling; just the same six plays. I went to a nice lunch with the gal at SMOKIE'S in Bethel. I knew what was coming. Why be mad on such a beautiful day.

Why was the gal mad?

 

[AsaadAhdoolKahlee]

We haven't created a turnover in 3 games.

We've had maybe 2-3 sacks in the last 3 games.

We've played 2 MAC schools and the nerds. And the nerds didn't get to 20 points vs. Stanford or Duke.

We're average on defense.

Why did you leave out that we've played TCU?

The defense gave up 0 points to one of those MAC schools. That's better than average, even considering their weakness. You can't give up negative points.

The defense is above average.

 

[Some Day...Is Coming!]

We haven't created a turnover in 3 games.

We've had maybe 2-3 sacks in the last 3 games.

We've played 2 MAC schools and the nerds. And the nerds didn't get to 20 points vs. Stanford or Duke.

We're average on defense.

Hey John, the offense and special teams gave up 14 pts. The defense is better than average! If it had an average offense it would look even better. No, I don't count a 5 yd drive after a 3 and out. Time of possession was ridiculous cause our offense sucked.


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[Some Day...Is Coming!]

Gotta play Croft and hope he doesn't get hurt.

If he does, give someone else a shot. Perra. Streveler.


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[Some Day...Is Coming!]

The only concern going forward is that Croft looks incredibly lanky. I worry he could get broken in two due to our poor O-line.

He's smart though and has good presence. Knows how to absorb a hit.


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[metrolax]

Even the Purple People Eaters will lose when on the field 70% of the game (see Super Bowl IX). When a defense is tired,
they force less turnovers. Plus, they cannot take chances for fear their offense will not bail them out.

The defense is a superb unit, being gradually undone by a dumpster fire of an offense. If they don't get any help,
they will get ground down to mediocrity.

 

[Spoofin]

He's smart though and has good presence. <b>Knows how to absorb a hit. </b>


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Bolded without comment.

 

[GophersInIowa]

Even the Purple People Eaters will lose when on the field 70% of the game (see Super Bowl IX). When a defense is tired,
they force less turnovers.

I know it seems like it because our offense has been bad, but we had the ball longer against Kent St., Ohio, and in the first half of the game today.

Plus, they cannot take chances for fear their offense will not bail them out.

I would think it would be the opposite. If your offense is struggling, you'd start being more aggressive on defense to try and create a turnover.

 

[looseDeuse]

Mitch has lost his wheels and not the best passer. The (Quickie 4 ) offense we run is not working either with this bunch and they don't seem a good fit for any power game. Some new offensive sets to the rescue, Please.... Rosemount H.S. Coach Erdman & Orr run some impressive Offensive Sets. Anyway,need to change the O.

 

[metrolax]

On the D taking chances, given how THIS staff coaches, if they get burned they figure the O won't get the
points back. They showed that in the KSU game. So, they try to keep it close, hoping for a break.

 

[John Galt]

Why did you leave out that we've played TCU?

The defense gave up 0 points to one of those MAC schools. That's better than average, even considering their weakness. You can't give up negative points.

The defense is above average.

The defense played well against TCU. Given that we gave up fewer points to TCU than Ohio and NW, either the defense has regressed or they were the beneficiary of a lackluster TCU offense playing it's first game of the season.

The Kent St. QB made Mitch look like Aaron Rodgers. He literally couldn't throw a pass within 5 yards of receiver the entire game.

 

[John Galt]

Hey John, the offense and special teams gave up 14 pts. The defense is better than average! If it had an average offense it would look even better. No, I don't count a 5 yd drive after a 3 and out. Time of possession was ridiculous cause our offense sucked.


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NW has a good defense. We have a defense that played good the first 3 games and has become average the last 2. A good defense doesn't give up 27 points to that NW offense starting a freshman QB.

 

[John Galt]

On the D taking chances, given how THIS staff coaches, if they get burned they figure the O won't get the
points back. They showed that in the KSU game. So, they try to keep it close, hoping for a break.

There are no chances to take because our pass rush is a joke.