PJ Fleck 7th Year / Likes and Things You Would Like To See

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Love PJ Fleck. He has brought credibility and stability back to the program. Some of things that I really enjoy is he finds positives where others haven't; such as, embracing the fact that Minnesota has 4 distinct seasons and doesn't hide the fact from potential recruits that Minnesota winters are cold and uses that as a strength by having a strong rushing offense. Building a sustainable culture understanding some recruits and fans might not like his style, but he is going to execute his plan. Branding, always marketing the team. Great players coach, no doubt in my mind that his #1 goal is to develop his players academically, athletically, socially and spiritually. Love his style of recruiting by locking kids in early. Just some minor things for improvement like getting plays in quicker and thus utilizing timeouts better. We know he doesn't believe in momentum but sometimes it seems like he should. There are a handful of times throughout the year where he makes head scratching decisions. Goes for it when the odds are greatly stacked against us and then at other times punts it when it seems like it's a no brainer to go for it. I wish he didn't always run the clock out before running a play. Change things up a bit from time to time and catch teams off guard. Similiar to Joe Mauer always taking the first pitch. Obviously Joe had no problem batting behind in the count but how many fastballs down the middle did he take. Again overall really like where the program is at and where it's going, but it's fun to play arm chair quarterback, what are your likes and areas for improvement on and off the field?
 

Likes - teams are disciplined and play hard. It always feels like we have a chance to compete, even as the underdogs. Has brought some of my favorite gopher football memories that will last forever. Never publicly trashes other coaches, players, officials, etc. He's very media savvy and keeps issues behind closed doors.

Dislikes - not a whole lot. Occasionally punts too much. I know people get mad when we go for it and don't convert, but it's easy to complain in hindsight. I'm happy with recruiting overall but would love to ramp that up a notch.
 


Good thoughts above. I agree with a lot of what you said.

I thought when he came here he'd be more creative and aggressive offensively, and it really feels like it's gone the other direction the more time he's here.

I agree on the time we take between snaps.

I'm all in on Fleck as most of us are. It doesn't mean he's perfect and doesn't mean he can't get better. Hopefully he changes his already "best" and makes it better.

Go Coach Fleck!!

P.S. Beat Iowa, it's time.
 

I like that he wins!

It’s a nice change from the darkness of the B1G cellar.

Maybe, we will get some hurry up this year! That would be kinda fun to see!
 


Liked him ever since he started to answer questions without first going through a litany of cliches and/or slogans. When he started to get more "real"and show his sense of humor. Liked how his Defenses have come along. Also like his winning streaks in Bowl Games and against WI and NE.

Dislike his losing streak against Iowa, his frustrating use of timeouts and how he still has trouble letting his guard down. Though the last one of very understandable around here. Also wish he wouldn't insist on giving all the QB play to one Quarterback, as if that QB will never get injured.
 

Just beat Nebraska, then we can think about all the good fleck AND staff have done for the gophers
 

Like: Development of defense and offensive lines. Those 2 units alone will ensure the program will have sustained success.

Dislike: Timeouts. Predictability of snap counts. Special teams doesn't seem like it's ever fired on all cylinders.

Love: Culture. I love "The ball is the program" mentality of handing it to the ref after every play. Shows respect for the game and the officials.
 

Likes: Defense overall, development of the OLine and running game, consistent culture, players seem to like playing for him and stick around, kids staying out of trouble, team discipline / lack of penalties, owning Nebraska, finally turning the tide against Wisconsin, awesome bowl win streak, willingness to embrace the portal, recruiting overall, probably more things I'm forgetting.

Dislikes: TO usage, overall conservatism offensively, passing game (2019 notwithstanding), special teams being a complete mess, snap count predictability, defensiveness in interviews, overall paranoia with practices and depth chart etc, not beating Iowa

That's a lot to dislike- and yet, I'm still all in on PJ like most of us are.
 



Likes? Most everything. Overall it's working, so I like it.

Dislikes? Losing to Iowa, and Not making it to the BigTen Championship.

I think the dislikes will be resolved in due time. Maybe I just need to be more patient.
 

BleedGopher said:
Good thoughts above. I agree with a lot of what you said.

I thought when he came here he'd be more creative and aggressive offensively, and it really feels like it's gone the other direction the more time he's here.

I agree on the time we take between snaps.

I'm all in on Fleck as most of us are. It doesn't mean he's perfect and doesn't mean he can't get better. Hopefully he changes his already "best" and makes it better.

Go Coach Fleck!!

P.S. Beat Iowa, it's time.
Click to expand...
Fleck is constantly changing his best.

Fired Smith and promoted Rossi.

Fired Sanford, although late.

Use of kick return as a weapon starting last year.

Change to balanced offense this season in recognition of personnel strengths.
 

I'm in agreement with all of the above. This is totally stupid, but I like that our players hand the ball to the officials.
I dislike that we have not beaten Iowa. Get it done!
 

Didn't they change the First down rule to only stop the clock with a first down in the final two minutes of the game? If so that to me means we need to be more judicious and more strategic on when and how we use our timeouts. I have liked everything about his tenure except timeout usage and not beating Iowa. We have beaten and been competitive against everyone else in our division. The program has credibility with instate recruits and coaches and with the Twin Cities media. This is a welcome change for me and should be for most.
 



gopherdudepart2 said:
Didn't they change the First down rule to only stop the clock with a first down in the final two minutes of the game? If so that to me means we need to be more judicious and more strategic on when and how we use our timeouts. I have liked everything about his tenure except timeout usage and not beating Iowa. We have beaten and been competitive against everyone else in our division.
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Yes, no stoppage on first downs except in the last two minutes of each half.
 

Things I like:

He seems to be able to adjust to the ever changing NCAA football landscape i.e. conference re-alignments and NIL. Doesn't complain, just tries to figure out how to best adapt to it.

Runs a clean program not a lot of players are ending up in the funny paper these days.


Changes I'd like to see:

Bring back the gold jerseys
get rid of the white collars
 

The amount of hand wringing that goes on here in regards to timeout usage is pretty funny.

As for likes and dislikes - Like that winning 9 games is starting to feel like a floor instead of a ceiling. Guys stay out of trouble and represent the program well. We are back to having a true rivalry with Wisconsin. Love that we have a coach that pisses other fanbases off without being a jackass or taking shots at them. Fleck has been a phenomenal hire for the football program and will hopefully be here for many years to come.

Dislikes - haven't been a huge fan of the offense the past few seasons and I think we will find out this year just how much of that was personnel related vs. scheme related. If we look a lot more like 2019 this year that will ease a lot of issues people have with the O, myself included. The only other gripe is not being able to get a W against Iowa even though there have been multiple great opportunities the past few seasons to do so (but this one isn't just on Fleck, players not making plays that were there to be made has played a big role in the losing streak).

Overall I love what Fleck has done for the Gopher football program during his time here. There is always the hope for more but the floor has been raised significantly since his arrival.
 

I like him more now then when he first came. Always considerate to other University groups and functions. Really like the way the program appears to be able to handle graduations or players leaving. Seems like the depth is so much better now.
 

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