I don't think anyone is suggesting throw it 50 times or anything. But did we have a single pass go past 10 yards in the air on Saturday? They were giving us a lot of man coverage with little or no help over the top, but didn't ever try to take advantage of it.
I wonder if this is just Kirk's saying where he says he doesn't call a play if he doesn't think they can make that play (show it in practice).
Yep....like a lot of teams we are built to play from the front and struggle to come from behind.
Yes, we started with a normal offense and threw for several first downs.
Same thing if we're losing.
It was an ugly game to watch, just like the first 3 wins of the season. In the end, Fleck and the Gophers absolutely had to have this game - if they don't beat Rutgers their season is done. The most important thing to Fleck was to get ahead then slam the door shut and get the W.
I think it is the second one way more than the first one. The farther the throw the more risk that something will go wrong. Protection has to hold up longer, throw has to travel a longer distance on target, the potential for bad outcomes goes up by a lot.
Ummm, by running back depth I was referring to players who could come in for a bit so Mo doesn't have to take 30+ carries against an inferior opponent.
A lot? Lol. Most teams have these modern offenses that can get chunk plays. We are one of a FEW teams, not one of a LOT.
Are most teams built like that?
Id like to see us try to be built for both.
I totally agree with this. I think most people here are frustrated by the team's inability to pass effectively -- especially down the field for explosive plays. I guess the difference in opinion is what (if anything) should be done about it. I personally think it's a lack of talent at WR, so it's on the coaches to get creative AS NEEDED to get people open in space and manufacture those plays. I don't think throwing unnecessarily in must-win B1G games is the time for that. I also don't think changing QBs will help. Others disagree on one or both of those points. Doesn't make anyone stupid or less of a fan. We're all frustrated over here.
Were they good against the run though? 4.8 YPC isn't very good. And was there defense good? They gave up 31 points. Just because they were good against the run in other games doesn't mean the strategy was wrong. The final score was 31-0.
Didn’t need to be Mo.
I wonder if Illinois fans stress as much about Chase Brown's carries as ours do about Mo's? Brown has gone over 30 carries 3 times and 40 carries once.....the horror.
What good WR is going to sign here when he looks at the stats and sees we run the ball so often.
Our plan against Illinois and Purdue was awful. It didn't work against those teams, and we couldn't figure it out. If we can run a weak team like Rutgers to death, I'm all for it. You need to consider your opponent for your gameplan. We had a good plan to beat Rutgers. The fact that that same plan would not have worked against other teams doesn't make me regret using it against Rutgers.
Purdue game had far more to do with execution than it did the plan itself. That game was there for the taking but we just kept shooting ourselves in the foot over and over again with unforced errors.
Completely agree with the effective game plan. However, he should have gone for 2 at the end. LOL
You're happy with 2-3?
Is Brown coming off an Achilles injury? Is his health and ability to play the sole possibility for Illinois to win games?
Per Randy:
The scoreboard read Gophers 31, Rutgers 0. The time of possession favored Minnesota by a 2-1 margin, 40:02 to 19:58. And the Gophers ran 84 offensive plays to the Scarlet Knights' 45.
Yet late Saturday afternoon, some fans and Gophers observers were left less-than-completely fulfilled with the second shutout victory of the season. Their concern: Where was the passing game?
Indeed, the Gophers ran the ball 53 times and passed it only 21, with quarterback Tanner Morgan completing 14 of those throws for 122 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. Their longest gain through the air was 21 yards to tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford.
On Monday, coach P.J. Fleck explained his team's strategy against Rutgers. To paraphrase singer Billy Idol, "In the 1:30 p.m. hour, they cried Mo, Mo, Mo.''
"We talked to Mohamed [Ibrahim] and that he might have to be ready to carry the ball 35-40 times, and he did exactly that within a few numbers,'' Fleck said of his star running back, who ran 36 times for 159 yards and three touchdowns. "We knew it would be that type of game.''
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Go Gophers!!
I hear ya; my counter would be "we don't have the passing game because we don't have a receiver like YOU here. One that can get off the ball & make plays. You can be our next Bateman/Johnson."
People are very glad we stomped Rutgers. And they recognize that PJ is one hell of a coach, a coach who creates good players and good citizens. (By the way, I believe Bret Bielema uses the passing game in a complimentary fashion to his run game—for all four quarters. He isn’t just smash mouth. Re-watch our most recent game with Illinois.)
No and probably as Brown is a massive part of that offense, very similar to Mo.
I hear what you're saying, but I think it's a lot easier said than done. I remember once when Mason was asked why he doesn't throw more screen passes, his reply was to the effect "we don't run it well in practice; if we can't run it in practice, we're not going to try it in a game."