P.J. Fleck on struggling offense: 'This isn't backyard football'

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short ornery norwegian said:
If you read the article, it basically comes down to PJ suggesting that the coaches had the right game plan, but the OL didn't do its job.

when PJ and the coaches get criticized, he always seems to defend the coaches and point the finger at the players.

who recruited those players? who coaches those players? do they have any responsibility?

how about maybe suggesting that the coaches could have helped the players be better prepared?
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Huh? How many times have people in here complained about him saying "it's all on me"? He rarely throws the players under the bus.

I sometimes wonder what a coach could say that would actually satisfy fans. Someone will always find a way to take issue with it, it is a no win situation for the coaches when they give interviews as someone will hate their answer, it is a guarantee.

It is never all on the players or all on the coaches, even though some fans try and pretend like it is. The players and coaches get that fact.....some fans struggle to grasp it.
 

MNVCGUY said:
I feel like he is responding to the outside noise more than he has in the past. He is clearly hearing what is being said about the offense....whether or not that leads to change remains to be seen.

I mean he is not wrong in that it is way more complicated than fans and writers make it out to be sometimes. But at the same time you look around the country at teams running much more explosive offenses with similar or less talent while we continue to struggle to make an impact throwing the ball.

Previous Gopher coaches have been a mixed bag in terms of passing. Wacker threw it around a lot, Mason's team were run first but could throw when needed (especially deep to loosen the defense), Brewster's passing game was ok. It wasn't till Kill where the forward pass suddenly became a complete mystery that the coaches couldn't solve. With Fleck it has been a mixed bag through the air but the passing game certainly hasn't been a weapon outside of 2019 when we were really dangerous.
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That bold part is the key. If you want to be a run heavy team, that's fine. You can succeed that way. But other coaches are going to know you are run heavy and stack the box (and good teams will be able to stop the run by doing that). You need to be able to take advantage and punish them with the pass, if for no reason other than to give yourself more room to run when you show that the defense has to respect the pass.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Huh? How many times have people in here complained about him saying "it's all on me"? He rarely throws the players under the bus.

I sometimes wonder what a coach could say that would actually satisfy fans. Someone will always find a way to take issue with it, it is a no win situation for the coaches when they give interviews as someone will hate their answer, it is a guarantee.

It is never all on the players or all on the coaches, even though some fans try and pretend like it is. The players and coaches get that fact.....some fans struggle to grasp it.
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My issue with "it's all on me" is that he says that as a general statement, but then any specific analysis of what went wrong always seems to be exclusively player issues, without any reflection on what he could have done differently with his plan. It feels like he is trying to superficially appear to be taking responsibility, but then only pointing out what others did wrong without acknowledging any actual errors of his own.
 

The article correctly blames the OL play as the biggest reason for offensive struggles against UNC

Minnesota has one NFL OL draft pick and one NFL OL start since 2007. This is really bad for a program that supposedly plays power football.

What if Minnesota did play more "backyard football"? Sometimes those plays take less time to develop. Johnny Football won a Heisman with a playbook that could fit on an index card, and Mason had terrifying rushing offenses with a rumored 4 plays, Tecmo Super Bowl-style.
 

bleedsmaroonandgold said:
My issue with "it's all on me" is that he says that as a general statement, but then any specific analysis of what went wrong always seems to be exclusively player issues, without any reflection on what he could have done differently with his plan. It feels like he is trying to superficially appear to be taking responsibility, but then only pointing out what others did wrong without acknowledging any actual errors of his own.
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In the end it all comes down to how the players execute. Turnovers, penalties, dropped passes, mental errors, protection breakdowns, missed kicks..... Those will be the things that are obvious in the post game and will be asked about and discussed.

D1 college football coaches are workaholics who devote countless hours to game-planning and film study of themselves and opponents. They are constantly self scouting and making adjustments. But that isn't the kind of thing that is going to come out in an interview.

When the team plays poorly everything gets looked at. I read comments on here and sometimes I wonder what people think is going on behind the scenes in these programs. It is never all on the coaches or all on the players when the team struggles, everyone is held accountable.

I have zero doubt when the team watches the game film there are lots of times the coaches wish they would have made a different call and there are just as many times when the players see ways they could have executed the call that was made better. Nobody is more invested in the success of the program than the players and coaches.
 


bleedsmaroonandgold said:
My issue with "it's all on me" is that he says that as a general statement, but then any specific analysis of what went wrong always seems to be exclusively player issues, without any reflection on what he could have done differently with his plan. It feels like he is trying to superficially appear to be taking responsibility, but then only pointing out what others did wrong without acknowledging any actual errors of his own.
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100%. this is exactly what I was trying to say - only you said it more succinctly.
 


short ornery norwegian said:
If you read the article, it basically comes down to PJ suggesting that the coaches had the right game plan, but the OL didn't do its job.
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Isn't part of the game plan being flexible and changing stuff on the fly because injuries happen all the time? If you plan on your OL to do the job and they don't, shouldn't the OC use a different game plan?
 

Flecknation said:
Isn't part of the game plan being flexible and changing stuff on the fly because injuries happen all the time? If you plan on your OL to do the job and they don't, shouldn't the OC use a different game plan?
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A game plan where the o-line doesn't block would be pretty revolutionary.
 




Gophergrandpa said:
It’s not just about downfield throws. It’s about 3rd and goal from around the 10 yard line and having best WR on the sideline. Playing for a FG instead a TD. Coach knows best, but a lot of other coaches, good coaches, would have tried one more throw to the endzone. Backbreaker if completed.
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Yep - that play call is where he really fuckin lost me.
 


There's a lot in between backyard football and the offense we've seen the past few years. No one's suggesting they throw bombs every play. Or even that they shouldn't be a largely run first team.

If we had the talent of a Michigan or Oregon, we could just line up and beat the other team no matter what. Ok, the OL struggled and the original game plan was good. Even if that's true, you still have to make adjustments if the OL is struggling.
 
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There are, maybe, worse things than sending Billy deep, Ricky, Bobby, and Timmy on crossers, slants and just chucking it up for grabs

Good times
 

caliGopher said:
I love when PJ starts talking to the press like the fans are idiots and can't possibly understand the intricacies of football. Calling your fans idiots is not a very good look and only plays into the arrogance PJ has always had about his approach. I mean, I know he invented football at Minnesota and everything - but we just couldn't possibly understand how football works. I wonder if he pulled out his progress chart again.

All of the things he said in this article as to why it's so hard to pass downfield are things that a competent football coaching staff would, I don't know, teach the team to do? And if they couldn't do it, come up with a different approach?

Or do you continue to tell everyone the play calling was perfect, the players didn't do their jobs and the fans just don't understand. PJ here's a bit of friendly advice that Mark Coyle won't give you or has given you but you just couldn't understand mushmouth: Shut up and DO YOUR JOB.

It's not like we were playing Georgia Thursday night. We were playing a struggling NC team that had a good D line. NC may turn out to be a force in the ACC this year, but that would be shocking. We did nothing to exploit weaknesses we uncovered. I heard a lot about how great our offensive line was from the inane talking points provided to the announcers, but the did not play well. That is on them, but it's also on you. The team as a whole is inconsistent in execution. Has been your entire tenure. What is the common thread? It's you.

One other bit if advice PJ, pay attention to what Mike Norvell said on Monday. That was actually taking responsibility.
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1000000586.jpg
 

fmlizard said:
The article correctly blames the OL play as the biggest reason for offensive struggles against UNC

Minnesota has one NFL OL draft pick and one NFL OL start since 2007. This is really bad for a program that supposedly plays power football.

What if Minnesota did play more "backyard football"? Sometimes those plays take less time to develop. Johnny Football won a Heisman with a playbook that could fit on an index card, and Mason had terrifying rushing offenses with a rumored 4 plays, Tecmo Super Bowl-style.
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You’re forgetting John Michael Schmitz, plus Ersery will be drafted.
 


Spaulding!No! said:
It is a myth that Brosmer didn’t have time. Maybe everyone was covered but the qb had time.
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Stats? To me it seemed a little of both lack of time and holding it too long.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Huh? How many times have people in here complained about him saying "it's all on me"? He rarely throws the players under the bus.

I sometimes wonder what a coach could say that would actually satisfy fans. Someone will always find a way to take issue with it, it is a no win situation for the coaches when they give interviews as someone will hate their answer, it is a guarantee.

It is never all on the players or all on the coaches, even though some fans try and pretend like it is. The players and coaches get that fact.....some fans struggle to grasp it.
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I think the point is that he's said that in the past either before or after talking about player performance miscues during the game.
 

Gopherbro47 said:
PJ keeps talking about how much time you need to be able to throw deep, yet the only “deep” pass they attempted all game was a quick shot down the sideline where the ball was released less than 2.5 seconds after the snap and resulted in a PI. If you are complaining that you can’t throw down field because you aren’t able to hold up for 2 seconds, that is incredibly embarrassing. There are a lot of quick routes that can result in long passing plays, not every shot has to be a long developing cross country route. We’re not asking for four verticals every play, but at least try more than 1-2 per game.

When the opposing team is stacking the box and pressuring to the point you don’t have much time, that is exactly when you should be trying to throw over it because they have less help on the backside. Those are the times to make the defense pay for their risks rather than just keeping it vanilla and close to the vest.
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It should be 1 to 2 times per half if not quarter. 1 to 2 per game is not enough to really threaten a defense to back off stacking the box.
Move the pocket with roll outs, max protect with some vertical and crossing routes. Do something to exploit what the defense is doing and giving you. Since he has been the coach, we run the same plays regardless of what the defense is doing. That will work against inferior opponents most of the time, but will not work very often against equal or better talent.
 



KoolAid said:
I wasn't able to pay that close attention to the game (we were having a baby and in the hospital!) - but are we only running inside zone (run scheme)?

It's not about throwing the ball deep, it's about dressing up your core schemes. Watch Georgia Tech...they shift and motion and do all this stuff to run GT Counter, GH Counter, QB Counter etc...

F*ck, look at all the stuff Penn St did...Outside Zone, Counter, Jet, some Triple Option...motions, shifts, empty looks

I feel like all we do is lineup and run Inside Zone with some pre-snap RPO's. I could be wrong...again I wasn't watching that closely. That doesn't work right now. You have to come up with new ideas - you have to be multiple
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Excuses excuses…Jk

Congrats on the new baby! We’re expecting as well.
 


BleedGopher said:
Per Tony:

"This isn't backyard football, you're just like throw the bomb," Fleck explained. "You got to be able to hold protection, you got to be able to have it in the right call, have the right defenses. [North Carolina] did a really good job in a lot of different areas, too. We did throw the ball down the field a few times."

www.si.com

P.J. Fleck on struggling offense: 'This isn't backyard football'

Since the Gophers' magical 11-2 season in 2019, they've struggled to find the same explosive offense. And 2024 is off to an ugly start...
www.si.com www.si.com

Go Gophers!!
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I just don’t know enough about football to understand this explanation. But at the same time I understand results and it doesn’t look good.
 

Sadly after watching that game I didn’t come away with the impression that UNC has a great team. Now Johnson is out for the year and it will be used as an excuse if they go 5-8, but they looked pretty inept before his injury.
 

caliGopher said:
It's not like we were playing Georgia Thursday night. We were playing a struggling NC team that had a good D line. NC may turn out to be a force in the ACC this year, but that would be shocking. We did nothing to exploit weaknesses we uncovered. I heard a lot about how great our offensive line was from the inane talking points provided to the announcers, but the did not play well. That is on them, but it's also on you. The team as a whole is inconsistent in execution. Has been your entire tenure. What is the common thread? It's you.
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Check out their schedule. If their QB turns out to be any good, then they very well could make the playoffs.
 

You know what? I'm going to change my tune on this. Y'all are right.

The Gophers averaged 21 points per game last year. It was statistically their worst season since 2011 when they won three games. It doesn't matter that they had a soggy potato for a QB. KC put together a more competent offense with Connor Rhoda.

That's inexcusable in modern college football and Harbaugh should have been fired immediately after the season. If he's still the coordinator at the end of this year, and the offense hasn't improved to be at least B1G average, then Fleck should be fired. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, and I won't get fooled again.

I'm not going to have any patience for watching this play out a second time. We lived through it once with Sanford already. Harbaugh needs to go. Not at the end of the season. Right now.

SP+ lists Minnesota as the 99th-ranked offense in the country behind Old Dominion, Toledo, and Louisiana Tech. An algorithm that "watches" every play thinks Minnesota's offense is worse than Old Dominion. That should be unacceptable for a Big Ten program.

Minnesota has no chance against against much of their schedule with the offense they are putting on the field. It's not like they have to play a solid defensive game, they cannot win against Michigan, USC, or Penn State without scoring at least 28 points.

Fleck talks about championships, but he isn't even putting a team on the field that's capable of competing much less winning consistently.
 
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PMWinSTP said:
I think the point is that he's said that in the past either before or after talking about player performance miscues during the game.
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So realistically what is a coach supposed to say? If he takes the blame people say he is being disingenuous and doesn't mean it. If he points out mistakes by the players he is making excuses and passing the blame off to someone else....

Said before, it is never all on the coaches or all on the players but some fans want to put all the blame on the coaches when things don't go right.
 


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