PiPress: QB Mitch Leidner takes 'huge step' in passing game

[BleedGopher]

per Powers:

On New Year's Day against tough Missouri, however, the world saw a different Mitch Leidner. Perhaps polished from all the extra practices before the bowl game, Leidner had an exceptional day throwing the ball. He completed 21 of 31 passes for 258 yards and a touchdown. He was not intercepted.

As important, when he threw the football it traveled straight and true and directly toward the intended target. It was an eye-opening performance as the Gophers now look to the 2015 season.

"This is the way I know I can play," Leidner said.

"I keep telling people, you've just got to be patient," coach Jerry Kill noted. "Not everybody comes in as a freshman and wins the Heisman or something like that. Some people you've got to develop. I think Mitch took a huge step today and gave us an opportunity to win.

"So our future's good, and it's great to see Mitch take a step forward in the throwing game. And I think that everybody that covers us (in the media) that's been a big question. So I'm pleased with it."

http://www.twincities.com/gophers/ci_27242586/gophers-football-qb-mitch-leidner-takes-huge-step

Go Gophers!!

 

[RolGnav]

More like... They just put those short passes into the offensive playbook 3 weeks ago.

I've always been pretty hard on Leidner, but more and more I'm realizing that it's Coach Kill / Limegrover and their inability to make it easier for Mitch. We probably haven't seen more than 1 screen play all year. I don't think we've seen wr crossing patterns all year. Heck, if they had called these plays for Mitch all year, he definitely wouldn't be looking at a lowly 49% completion rate. Most QB's with high completion rates get it because of these short passes.

If the run game can hold it's own next year, and Mitch is allowed these kinds of plays, it will be fun to watch.

 

[GophersInIowa]

More like... They just put those short passes into the offensive playbook 3 weeks ago.

I've always been pretty hard on Leidner, but more and more I'm realizing that it's Coach Kill / Limegrover and their inability to make it easier for Mitch. We probably haven't seen more than 1 screen play all year. I don't think we've seen wr crossing patterns all year. Heck, if they had called these plays for Mitch all year, he definitely wouldn't be looking at a lowly 49% completion rate. Most QB's with high completion rates get it because of these short passes.

If the run game can hold it's own next year, and Mitch is allowed these kinds of plays, it will be fun to watch.

We don't run a lot of screens but we have run more than just one. We ran one today I think, just didn't work. They just aren't the traditional type of screens you normally see, they're usually middle screens to Cobb or Williams.

It's hard to tell on TV but I didn't think the routes were that much different than we've seen most of the year. We run a ton of short play action passes to Williams and the full back all the time.

I felt like Leidner was just making better and more consistent throws today. He was very accurate for the most part and made good decisions. He also showed some very good pocket presence on a few of the completions to Maye. He did hold onto the ball too long on the one sack though.

 

[Great Plains Gopher]

More like... They just put those short passes into the offensive playbook 3 weeks ago.

I've always been pretty hard on Leidner, but more and more I'm realizing that it's Coach Kill / Limegrover and their inability to make it easier for Mitch. We probably haven't seen more than 1 screen play all year. I don't think we've seen wr crossing patterns all year. Heck, if they had called these plays for Mitch all year, he definitely wouldn't be looking at a lowly 49% completion rate. Most QB's with high completion rates get it because of these short passes.

If the run game can hold it's own next year, and Mitch is allowed these kinds of plays, it will be fun to watch.

Ditto all of that.

 

[RolGnav]

It's hard to tell on TV but I didn't think the routes were that much different than we've seen most of the year. We run a ton of short play action passes to Williams and the full back all the time.

The announcers even said that Coach Kill said that the short passing plays were their biggest weakness, and so they were practicing it the past few weeks. Hopefully this opens the Coaches' eyes that this is the most basic part of a passing game.