Passing stats vs Illinois

[btowngopher]

On first down Morgan and one pass from Kramer: 10/12 one sack 133 yards.

All other downs: 5/13 47 yards 2 ints 5 sacks.

One pass on any down when less than 6 yards were needed, that was a 3rd and 3 completion for 10 yards and a first down.

Only 5 pass attempts where 8 or less yards were needed for a first down or td.

So in a nut shell, the passing was efficient when it was not super predictable that a pass was coming.

 

[Gold Rush]

This is exactly what we have been complaining about. We are SO predictable on every down -- we just gift wrapped that game for Illinois (Bowling Green too!)

I think it is very concerning that A) The predictability and blandness of that offense and B) The coaching staff's inability to make changes and adjustments as the games goes on.

This is the offensive coaching equivalent of Robb Smith when he was our DC. If Fleck didn't fire him, I highly doubt he would still be coaching in the Big Ten right now because the fingers eventually start getting pointed to the HEAD coach if no changes are made.

 

[Some guy]

This is exactly what we have been complaining about. We are SO predictable on every down -- we just gift wrapped that game for Illinois (Bowling Green too!)

I think it is very concerning that A) The predictability and blandness of that offense and B) The coaching staff's inability to make changes and adjustments as the games goes on.

This is the offensive coaching equivalent of Robb Smith when he was our DC. If Fleck didn't fire him, I highly doubt he would still be coaching in the Big Ten right now because the fingers eventually start getting pointed to the HEAD coach if no changes are made.

We threw the ball on 13 first down plays just FYI

the problem wasn’t the predictability

The problem was the types of plays that were being run on second and third down.



this is nothing like Robb smith. That team was 1-5 in the conference this team is 4-2
Robb smith ran the defense with complete autonomy.
Sanford runs the offense with Fleck in his ear about time management and strategy

 

[Gold Rush]

We threw the ball on 13 first down plays just FYI

the problem wasn’t the predictability

The problem was the types of plays that were being run on second and third down.



this is nothing like Robb smith. That team was 1-5 in the conference this team is 4-2
Robb smith ran the defense with complete autonomy.
Sanford runs the offense with Fleck in his ear about time management and strategy

I guess the comparison to Robb Smith was in the absolute ineptitude against even the weakest of teams. Both got an F in their ability to run their units.

The Gopher offense must be one of the easiest teams in the country to prepare for. Just look at the tape of the Bowling Green and Illinois games -- there is your blueprint on how to stop them even with personnel not nearly as good.

 

[Some guy]

I guess the comparison to Robb Smith was in the absolute ineptitude against even the weakest of teams. Both got an F in their ability to run their units.

The Gopher offense must be one of the easiest teams in the country to prepare for. Just look at the tape of the Bowling Green and Illinois games -- there is your blueprint on how to stop them even with personnel not nearly as good.

Illinois is not even a bottom 3 team we have played.

they’re better than bowling green
Miami
Nebraska
And northwestern

 

[gophernut1]

Robb Smith did not have the talent that our offense has today. Sure there were talented players, but they were not as deep and as good as our offense is today. With the best QB in our time, the best OL in 2 decades and 4* WR's and RB's we have the proven leadership and athletic talent to shine. Something is not right with this team and I don't think it will get fixed until Fleck decides to make a change (QB, OC, etc.). Something is really broken with our offense.

 

[Gold Rush]

Robb Smith did not have the talent that our offense has today. Sure there were talented players, but they were not as deep and as good as our offense is today. With the best QB in our time, the best OL in 2 decades and 4* WR's and RB's we have the proven leadership and athletic talent to shine. Something is not right with this team and I don't think it will get fixed until Fleck decides to make a change (QB, OC, etc.). Something is really broken with our offense.

I completely agree with this post. If he hadn't fired DC Robb Smith when he did, Fleck never would have received that extension and in fact he may very well be fired by now because that defense was a disaster and you would not have won too many more games with those schemes in place.

Look at how easy and how fast the Gopher team turned it around after the wrong guy in the wrong place was fired. They immediately started playing a lot better - it was night and day. I think the same can be said for the Gopher offense this year -- it is night and day with the 2019 offense that performed much better than this one.

Here is the rub -- When Fleck fired Smith, his job was on the line and he was starting to get some heat about his defense. He HAD to make the change when he did. Now --- you JUST extended Fleck and gave him a raise. His job is pretty safe for now and he isn't getting much pressure if any at all. Because of this - he does not have to fire his OC and he can keep things status quo if he wants.

Again as usual - the Gopherholers are right on this. There IS something really broken with this offense and if nothing is done a year when the Gophers could have had a very good possibly 10 or 11 win season will be squandered with a 6-6 team that squeaks into a minor bowl game. We did have the personnel for a top 10 season but we blew it because in the end we were not smart enough to correctly identify the problems and make the changes we needed to make both on and off the field. End of story.

 

[Great Plains Gopher]

Gophers are going to Iowa City 122nd out of 130 teams in passing offense and will be running against the 8th best rush defense in the country. Not a good combination

 

[GopherinPhilly]

There was room to throw against the Illini. Bubble screens, hooks, RB in the flat...their soft corners and single high safety left room all over the field, just not 30 yards down field on deep crossing routes...which we ran over and over.

 

[MNVCGUY]

Robb Smith did not have the talent that our offense has today. Sure there were talented players, but they were not as deep and as good as our offense is today. With the best QB in our time, the best OL in 2 decades and 4* WR's and RB's we have the proven leadership and athletic talent to shine. Something is not right with this team and I don't think it will get fixed until Fleck decides to make a change (QB, OC, etc.). Something is really broken with our offense.

If our offense was fully healthy I would agree with your take. Like a lot of posters here I wouldn't mind seeing a change at OC in the off season, but Sanford has to get at least a little bit of a pass for the revolving door he had to deal with at the skill positions. Irving and Thomas are talented but they are also a true freshman and redshirt freshman. CRAB is very talented but he has been banged up for a good portion of the season. In spite of all the injuries the offense has managed to put up 30+ points 6 times this year, while also laying a few clunkers as well.

Again, I would have no issue with an OC change being made in the off season....but I do think a lot of people are just ignoring the injury issues to a lot of key players and acting like it should just be plug and play when an all-american talent like Mo goes down or key skill guys are missing.

 

[MGGopher]

If our offense was fully healthy I would agree with your take. Like a lot of posters here I wouldn't mind seeing a change at OC in the off season, but Sanford has to get at least a little bit of a pass for the revolving door he had to deal with at the skill positions. Irving and Thomas are talented but they are also a true freshman and redshirt freshman. CRAB is very talented but he has been banged up for a good portion of the season. In spite of all the injuries the offense has managed to put up 30+ points 6 times this year, while also laying a few clunkers as well.

Again, I would have no issue with an OC change being made in the off season....but I do think a lot of people are just ignoring the injury issues to a lot of key players and acting like it should just be plug and play when an all-american talent like Mo goes down or key skill guys are missing.

I appreciate the rational take and agree with most of it, but I still have a hard time understanding (and therefore excusing) performances like BG and Illinois. MAC teams are routinely putting up 40 on BG without All American players on O. Bottom line is they suck and any competent P5 offense should score 30 with little trouble. Illinois is better, but the week before playing MN they lost at home to the worst offense in the B1G in Rutgers.

Bottom line is the MN O looked completely unprepared in both those games...and after their apparently poorly conceived plan wasn't working, they looked completely incapable of adjusting. Regardless of what PJ says, that's on the offensive staff -- and namely the OC. I'm not calling for his head right now either, but I'd LOVE to hear actual answers from him.

 

[MNVCGUY]

I appreciate the rational take and agree with most of it, but I still have a hard time understanding (and therefore excusing) performances like BG and Illinois. MAC teams are routinely putting up 40 on BG without All American players on O. Bottom line is they suck and any competent P5 offense should score 30 with little trouble. Illinois is better, but the week before playing MN they lost at home to the worst offense in the B1G in Rutgers.

Bottom line is the MN O looked completely unprepared in both those games...and after their apparently poorly conceived plan wasn't working, they looked completely incapable of adjusting. Regardless of what PJ says, that's on the offensive staff -- and namely the OC. I'm not calling for his head right now either, but I'd LOVE to hear actual answers from him.

They get lumped together because the games were similar in how they played out but I look at BG and Illinois very differently.

I put the BG game way more on the coaches than I do the Illinois one. I absolutely think we went into that BG game overconfident and looking past them, thinking we could just out talent them on offense and win the game.

Illinois was a different story. They definitely out-schemed us in many ways but the players also failed to execute. Tipped INT, holding calls, dropped passes, poor protection, missed blitz pickups, bad reads.....Irving and Thomas have played very well, especially considering they are freshman, but against Illinois, they played like Freshmen.

Illinois has shown to have a competent defense and by digging an early hole we put ourselves in a position where we had to do things out of our comfort zone and they on the other hand could play to their strengths with the lead and take some chances that they couldn't have if we were playing from in front.

And all this is to say I don't necessarily think fans are wrong in their assessment of Sanford as the OC. But I do think people are way oversimplifying things and not taking the injuries into account as a possible explanation for why some things are the way they are.

It is very easy to watch the game on TV and say they should have done this or they should have done that. It is very different in real time when things are going a million miles an hour. If Sanford moves on the in the off-season (on his own or not) I won't be sad to see him go, but I don't agree this is a Robb Smith situation where he needs to be canned right now and that alone will be the magical solution that suddenly makes the offense start playing at a really high level again.

 

[RolGnav]

So in a nut shell, the passing was efficient when it was not super predictable that a pass was coming.

Exactly. Coaching is like playing chess. Sanford, unfortunately is playing checkers.

 

[Some guy]

Gophers are going to Iowa City 122nd out of 130 teams in passing offense and will be running against the 8th best rush defense in the country. Not a good combination

Iowa is coming in at 108th passing
Wisconsin at 121

Should be a barn burner of November

 

[Replacement Gopher]

Exactly. Coaching is like playing chess. Sanford, unfortunately is playing checkers.

Paraphrasing PJ after the BG game:
Once Crab went out, we had to really simplify the game really fast.

Why? We were still more talented at every position. Does PJ think a simplified game plan helped or hurt BG?

 

[MNVCGUY]

Iowa is coming in at 108th passing
Wisconsin at 121

Should be a barn burner of November

Iowa, MN, and WIS are very similar teams. Statistically, MN and Wisconsin are almost carbon copies of each other on offense in many categories.

All 3 teams want to run the ball, have mediocre to bad passing offenses and good defenses. Wisconsin's defense is a cut above the other 2 and in spite of our performance against Illinois I still believe our passing offense is the best of the 3.

Our fanbase is super negative right now but there is no reason why we can't be competitive in and win these last 3 games. Just can't lay an egg the way we did against Illinois on offense and we will be fine.

 

[Dakota2]

They get lumped together because the games were similar in how they played out but I look at BG and Illinois very differently.

I put the BG game way more on the coaches than I do the Illinois one. I absolutely think we went into that BG game overconfident and looking past them, thinking we could just out talent them on offense and win the game.

Illinois was a different story. They definitely out-schemed us in many ways but the players also failed to execute. Tipped INT, holding calls, dropped passes, poor protection, missed blitz pickups, bad reads.....Irving and Thomas have played very well, especially considering they are freshman, but against Illinois, they played like Freshmen.

Illinois has shown to have a competent defense and by digging an early hole we put ourselves in a position where we had to do things out of our comfort zone and they on the other hand could play to their strengths with the lead and take some chances that they couldn't have if we were playing from in front.

And all this is to say I don't necessarily think fans are wrong in their assessment of Sanford as the OC. But I do think people are way oversimplifying things and not taking the injuries into account as a possible explanation for why some things are the way they are.

It is very easy to watch the game on TV and say they should have done this or they should have done that. It is very different in real time when things are going a million miles an hour. If Sanford moves on the in the off-season (on his own or not) I won't be sad to see him go, but I don't agree this is a Robb Smith situation where he needs to be canned right now and that alone will be the magical solution that suddenly makes the offense start playing at a really high level again.

The game is moving the same speed for fans watching on TV. We can see it and none of us is a very highly paid professional football coach.

 

[MNVCGUY]

The game is moving the same speed for fans watching on TV. We can see it and none of us is a very highly paid professional football coach.

Please tell me that is a joke....that has to be a joke right?

I would love for a fan to get to put on a headset and call a game live, that would be some true comedy. Might find it is just a little bit harder then picking what play to run on Madden.

Would also love to toss a fan who loves to complain about the refs out there to make the calls during a game.

The oversimplification that gets put on things in here is just mind blowing.