P.J. Fleck on Gophers quarterbacks: 'we're going to play both

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Face The Facts said:
I think in most situations like this you have a more experienced guy who played at least some, then a young guy who the coach picked who he eventually wants to unseat the veteran.

Here you have two guys, both with no experience, neither of whom are guys PJ will want leading the team in year three.

Play them both in games and hope one of them doesn't suck rocks and get through year one and win 4-5 games.
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Great, here we go down this rabbit hole once more.
 

I still maintain that Croft will eventually beat him out and be the starter for the next 3 years.
 

If as PJ said, both QB's are excited to be platooning, then neither one of them is the leader the team needs. A true leader would be motivated to go out and win that job....
 

LakerFan said:
Which would lead me to believe that Rhoda has been playing better because if Croft were playing even slightly better or the same the decision would have been easy.
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I agree that would be the indication - but it is contrary to every report I have seen from folks that have been at practice and/or have sources on the team.


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Maverick said:
If as PJ said, both QB's are excited to be platooning, then neither one of them is the leader the team needs. A true leader would be motivated to go out and win that job....
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Naw. You can want the starting job all to yourself, but also publicly support the coach's decision.

**** this ****, I want to start all the time! is not gonna help in this situation.
 


LakerFan said:
Which would lead me to believe that Rhoda has been playing better because if Croft were playing even slightly better or the same the decision would have been easy.
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I understand this sentiment, but I kind of disagree with it.

If Rhoda is .0005% better than Croft, I hope we go with Rhoda. Everything in college football builds on itself. We lost that Michigan game a couple of years ago by the slimmest of margins, who knows if a win that week would have locked in another recruit who would have gone on to help us or built momentum on the season, etc.

I agree with the mindset if we are on a complete rebuild (think Kill's first season).

IMO, nothing helps the future of the program more than winning as many games as possible. If a Senior gives you even the slightest chance to win more games this year than a Sophomore, go with the Senior.
 


Spoofin said:
I agree that would be the indication - but it is contrary to every report I have seen from folks that have been at practice and/or have sources on the team.


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Does that include Fleck? There's been several posts saying they look even.
 

PMWinSTP said:
Does that include Fleck? There's been several posts saying they look even.
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You are right PJ has said that. The post I responded to was regarding if this could mean Rhoda has looked better. I said that would be contrary to any reports I have seen. I have not seen any reports (including from PJF) that Rhoda has looked better - I have seen a number (none from PJF) that Croft has looked better, and I have seen many (including PJF) that they have looked even.


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Spoofin said:
You are right PJ has said that. The post I responded to was regarding if this could mean Rhoda has looked better. I said that would be contrary to any reports I have seen. I have not seen any reports (including from PJF) that Rhoda has looked better - I have seen a number (none from PJF) that Croft has looked better, and I have seen many (including PJF) that they have looked even.


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Yep. Tongue in cheek on Fleck...his assessment definitely is not coach-speak. I really like his approach given the situation (prove it to me when it counts) with both improving nicely and countering what the other does performance wise.

Just answering based on LakerFan's premise that if Croft was even or better, the decision would be to make him the lone starter.
 

I see this as Fleck's version of a reality show: "Who will be the Gopher QB?"

Throw the candidates out there, and see what happens. One guy could clearly play better than the other and win the job. One of the candidates could p*ss the bed and clearly lose the job. Or, they really could prove to be dead-even. I suspect that neither QB is giving Fleck and the OC everything they want.

both have things they do well, and both have areas where they're not meeting expectations. Fleck has said they will be running the same offense - but you would have to be an idiot to call plays that you know the QB cannot execute. The play-calling had better play to the strengths of each QB, or things could get ugly.

My unanswered question - if Croft and Rhoda are the top two on the depth chart, how far behind are the other candidates?
 


I think it's dumb, but I also don't make 7 figures coaching football so I guess I'm just along for the ride.
 



Maverick said:
If as PJ said, both QB's are excited to be platooning, then neither one of them is the leader the team needs. A true leader would be motivated to go out and win that job....
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Maybe the true leader isn't a gifted QB? That's pretty much the story on Mitch. A strong leader who really wasn't that talented.
 

Here are my thoughts, briefly:

1) I do not think Croft is outplaying Rhoda on a consistent basis. If that were the case it would be an easy decision to start Croft.

2) I think the two quarterbacks must be relatively even. If the coaches favor QB "A" but QB "B" goes out and plays lights out against Buffalo it will be essentially impossible to move forward with QB "A" as the sole "starter".

3) I think this will resolve itself in the non-conference schedule and we will have one quarterback by the start of the Big Ten Schedule.

4) it will be interesting to see if they alternate drive-for-drive no matter what. Playing with the possibility of getting benched because of a poor throw looming overhead does not seem ideal for a Quarterback's psyche.


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I was worried that neither of these QB would be the leader that Mitch was.


On a separate note, if you are playing two QB's, what's the best way to alternate them

A) Swap each play. (run the play in from the sideline with the QB.

B) Alternating Series

C) Alternate Quarters

D) First half / second half

E) Alternating games

F) By gut feel. (Quarterback who starts gets to play more if he starts hot, but still making sure QB2 gets his chance at some point in the game with playing time not close to equal).
 

Face The Facts said:
I was worried that neither of these QB would be the leader that Mitch was.


On a separate note, if you are playing two QB's, what's the best way to alternate them

A) Swap each play. (run the play in from the sideline with the QB.

B) Alternating Series

C) Alternate Quarters

D) First half / second half

E) Alternating games

F) By gut feel. (Quarterback who starts gets to play more if he starts hot, but still making sure QB2 gets his chance at some point in the game with playing time not close to equal).
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A is the worst. Hope it isn't that way. My guess is F. Give one of them the first series or two, then go from there. My guess is this may have a few sets specifically for Croft due to his running ability.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
both have things they do well, and both have areas where they're not meeting expectations. Fleck has said they will be running the same offense - but you would have to be an idiot to call plays that you know the QB cannot execute. The play-calling had better play to the strengths of each QB, or things could get ugly.
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Ciarrocca said this will be the case. It's the same offense, but you still pick plays your QB feels more comfortable with.
 

Hollinsanity said:
4) it will be interesting to see if they alternate drive-for-drive no matter what. Playing with the possibility of getting benched because of a poor throw looming overhead does not seem ideal for a Quarterback's psyche.
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My understanding is that it may or may not be an even split. They'll have a plan going into the game, but what happens on the field won't sway the plan.

For example, if the plan is Rhoda for the first two drives and then go Croft, two TD drives wouldn't mean staying with Rhoda a third drive, and a first-play INT wouldn't mean cutting his shift short either.
 

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