Play Gray more, watch Gray fumble more

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Where are the genius Gray cheerleaders now?
 


Just stating facts: Aside from the fumble, Grey also forced the Gophers to call two timeouts in the second half because he was confused. Then, we can't stop the clock on the turnover.

I'm not saying. I'm just saying.
 

diefirma said:
or throw a pick
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ISU had 4 turnovers. Weber's QBing got us 13 points. And 7 of that was due primarily to a fake punt. So, essentially, Weber got us oh, about 10 points against a bad defense. Weber led us to very few points the whole year, except for the Michigan State game. Even if Gray fumbles, he should play instead of Weber.

All of that said, with Weber actually playing well on those last 3 drives and well within range of a go-ahead score, it made zero sense to put Gray in on that play. I just don't get it - they don't replace Weber when he sucks, but take him out when he does ok. Black is white and white is black in the world of Gopher football.
 


Disappointing loss. Now I know why Gophers are ridiculed so much

The Gophers football team finds more way's to snatch a loss from the jaws of victory more than any program I have ever known. Don't ask me why but I had an oh bleep moment before Gray even ran the play when I saw him running on the field, and Weber walking out to WR. I was yelling at the coaches and the TV NO, NO now is not the time to put Gray in and what happens? I knew that he had a great run on the drive but the offense was rolling and there was a certain rythem to the last couple of plays that said just leave well enough alone, and leave Weber in there and we will win this football game.

Sometimes you just have to leave it alone and not try to out-think the game of football, I don't know if it was Fisch that made the call to switch to Gray but he had to know as big a moment as this drive was that it was just not Gray's time to enter the game and get creative. We already missed a field goal but we were really moving the ball on them. It was just a bad moment and a bad time to go with the inexperienced Gray at that moment, even with his explosive play on that drive. Hat's off to the effort of the Gophers though they should have simpl won the football game. This one is going to linger a little more than TT at least for this fan. The players need to overcome but the coaches need to learn how to win too.
 

gopherdudepart2 said:
The Gophers football team finds more way's to snatch a loss from the jaws of victory more than any program I have ever known. Don't ask me why but I had an oh bleep moment before Gray even ran the play when I saw him running on the field, and Weber walking out to WR. I was yelling at the coaches and the TV NO, NO now is not the time to put Gray in and what happens? I knew that he had a great run on the drive but the offense was rolling and there was a certain rythem to the last couple of plays that said just leave well enough alone, and leave Weber in there and we will win this football game.

Sometimes you just have to leave it alone and not try to out-think the game of football, I don't know if it was Fisch that made the call to switch to Gray but he had to know as big a moment as this drive was that it was just not Gray's time to enter the game and get creative. We already missed a field goal but we were really moving the ball on them. It was just a bad moment and a bad time to go with the inexperienced Gray at that moment, even with his explosive play on that drive. Hat's off to the effort of the Gophers though they should have simpl won the football game. This one is going to linger a little more than TT at least for this fan. The players need to overcome but the coaches need to learn how to win too.
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Dude, I had the EXACT same thoughts. Me too... whoever made that call deserves severe reprimand.
 

Gopher Dude, you've got it right. I'm a Gray booster, but was shouting much the same thing: not now! The team had momentum with Weber that series and it made no sense to put Gray in and break the pattern. He lost the game for us, but I still maintain that if he had played more this year and started this game, we'd have won more, including this game.
 

When you only run the ball with Gray, it's obvious to anyone that the defense needs to clog the middle. When you do that, fumbles are more likely. That fumble was part his fault, part fluke (the ISU guy was falling backwards and swatting from behind). Either way, if you let Gray throw the ball too, the chances of a clogged middle are far less, and thus the fumbles will be reduced as well.

Consider he's a true Frosh, not a Junior, you have to give some inexperience benefit of the doubt as well.

Consider we were marching, you have to blame coaching/play calling as well.

There are sooo many factors here, you can't just say "oops, bad play -- he sucks". It's about consistency, and Gray is more consistent than Weber and has more time to correct his flaws -- plain and simple.

Gray has a better arm, he's at least just as consistent passing, yes he fumbles (mostly freshman mistakes, some just stupid) -- but he can scramble and make plays too. Weber falls over or forces a bad pass (usually resulting in an INT). Gray runs and often gains twice the expected yardage (with the occasional fumble).

Gray will learn to hold onto the ball more, but he shouldn't be running the ball that often. It should be primarily on broken plays only.
 



I told you my inside source said the guy can't hold onto the football.
 

magpie said:
When you only run the ball with Gray, it's obvious to anyone that the defense needs to clog the middle. When you do that, fumbles are more likely. That fumble was part his fault, part fluke (the ISU guy was falling backwards and swatting from behind). Either way, if you let Gray throw the ball too, the chances of a clogged middle are far less, and thus the fumbles will be reduced as well.

Consider he's a true Frosh, not a Junior, you have to give some inexperience benefit of the doubt as well.

Consider we were marching, you have to blame coaching/play calling as well.

There are sooo many factors here, you can't just say "oops, bad play -- he sucks". It's about consistency, and Gray is more consistent than Weber and has more time to correct his flaws -- plain and simple.

Gray has a better arm, he's at least just as consistent passing, yes he fumbles (mostly freshman mistakes, some just stupid) -- but he can scramble and make plays too. Weber falls over or forces a bad pass (usually resulting in an INT). Gray runs and often gains twice the expected yardage (with the occasional fumble).

Gray will learn to hold onto the ball more, but he shouldn't be running the ball that often. It should be primarily on broken plays only.
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Consider Gray isn't the Jesus you people claim him to be. He blew it when the game was on the line. Deal with it. Your Saviour failed you.
 

Gray put it on the ground in many pivotal situations this year. Great athlete, may not be in the best position....maybe a great defensive back or linebacker.
 

Look, you shuffle him in and out like that, plays wr, rb and QB...how do you expect him to get into the rhythm of the game? Sucks he fumbled, but bad time to use him as a QB who is not in rhythm with what is happening. I would like to see him play QB for an entire game. Thee one nice pass play he had, you saw the defense sit back and not rush him for the fear he might take off running. This bought him some time to find the open guy. I would love to see what he could do for an entire game.

Weber held onto the ball to long to allow for some coverage sacks...what happened to his running abilities?
 



Iowasucks said:
Look, you shuffle him in and out like that, plays wr, rb and QB...how do you expect him to get into the rhythm of the game? Sucks he fumbled, but bad time to use him as a QB who is not in rhythm with what is happening. I would like to see him play QB for an entire game. Thee one nice pass play he had, you saw the defense sit back and not rush him for the fear he might take off running. This bought him some time to find the open guy. I would love to see what he could do for an entire game.

Weber held onto the ball to long to allow for some coverage sacks...what happened to his running abilities?
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When the game is on the line you don't fumble, period. You can't do that in a situation like that. Protect the ball at all costs, even if it means a big loss. If the coaches aren't coaching that there is a big problem. If the players aren't doing that there is a big problem. It's that simple.
 

GoForGold said:
When the game is on the line you don't fumble, period. You can't do that in a situation like that. Protect the ball at all costs, even if it means a big loss. If the coaches aren't coaching that there is a big problem. If the players aren't doing that there is a big problem. It's that simple.
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Agreed, but the coaches put those players in that situation. Does Gray have a problem holding on to the ball? Maybe.....I would like to see him at his natural position and get into the flow of the game. Maybe he does better with that.........to me, bad call putting him in at that point and time. Gray should have never been put in that situation. One more thing, I am not defending Gray.......sucks, he should have held onto that, you are correct, but still...wrong time, wrong place to call that.
 

When will these guys learn that you have to cover the ball with two hands when you are about to be hit. Adrian Peterson does the same thing. You watch his fumbles. He never covers the ball with two hands.
 

GopherMike said:
When will these guys learn that you have to cover the ball with two hands when you are about to be hit. Adrian Peterson does the same thing. You watch his fumbles. He never covers the ball with two hands.
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I agree totally. This seems like a coaching thing about protecting the ball. If a player can't learn how to do that then he must go. Peterson is dead to me as a Vikings fan. Gray gets another another season since he is a rookie.
 

The kid is a freshman, he will get better. Also I remember 2 other QB's who could not hold onto the ball (Culpepper and Mcnabb) both turned out ok (Culpepper early in his career was damn good)
I think there are a lot of positives to take in this game. McKnight, Wilhite, Jacobs, all played very well. Don't get down on these kids, give them time.
 

His fumble and the missed FG wouldn't have beeen that important if Weber had not thrown short to McKnight on the first long one, thrown terrible to Gray on the swing route, overthrown McKnight on the goalline, missed a wide open Kusnia on the goalline, missed a open Stodameir on the goalline. Those ALL should have been TD'S. The interception when Stodamier fell was high and behind him, him falling had nothing to do with the interception. I don't know if Gray or Moses should be there next yr. but Weber cannot be.
 

Unless someone on here is a player or on the coaching staff I have to believe the coaches have a better idea of who should play. They see the players every day in practice and break down the tape.

However I would agree with this statement.

"Sometimes you just have to leave it alone and not try to out-think the game of football," ........Gopherdudepart2
 

Gray's fumbling

Gray's inability to hang onto the ball isn't entirely his fault in some of these situations.

Somewhat akin to "getting into a rhythm" by getting more snaps, when he only plays sporadically, he's not used to having the ball in his hands.

My college coach was a big believer in having the starting QB be the holder on XP's and FG's because he's used to having the ball in his hands the entire game, much less likely to hishandle the snap. He was dead on the money, don't ever remember the starting QB having a problem with a XP/FG snap. Conversely, in the conference championship game (ableit bitterly COLD), the backup QB came in to hold for a long FG try; snap goes through his hands, kicker picks up the ball (with ski gloves), tries to throw it and it gets picked off and ran back for a TD. Amazing.

Long story short; when Gray gets more consistent snaps, he'll be much more accustomed to having the ball in his hands and securing it. As painful as it is, some of the mistakes Gray has made during the year I really think are going to go a LONG LONG way towards making him a much better player in years to come.
 

bankonit said:
The kid is a freshman, he will get better. Also I remember 2 other QB's who could not hold onto the ball (Culpepper and Mcnabb) both turned out ok (Culpepper early in his career was damn good)
I think there are a lot of positives to take in this game. McKnight, Wilhite, Jacobs, all played very well. Don't get down on these kids, give them time.
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Why assume because he is a freshman, he gets better? Remember, Adam Weber. He's gotten a whole lot better since he was a freshman. LMAO
 

I wouldn't blame him too much on the fumble last night. Somehow the Iowa St. defensive player did hit the ball out of gray's hand. Like Ogee said, I rather have gray do stupid stuff now then later. He'll learn.
 

Goldmine said:
I wouldn't blame him too much on the fumble last night. Somehow the Iowa St. defensive player did hit the ball out of gray's hand. Like Ogee said, I rather have gray do stupid stuff now then later. He'll learn.
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I'm not ripping you or Ogee, but who's fault is it then? A fumble has to be someone's fault. Gray simply needs to learn how to play football. He isn't there yet.
 

Gray was the most talented player on the field last night, and it wasn't close. How many plays did he play? How many times did he touch the ball?
 

Studwell55 said:
Gray was the most talented player on the field last night, and it wasn't close. How many plays did he play? How many times did he touch the ball?
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I remember the play when he fumbled. The kid has all the talent in the world, but still doesn't know the playbook. Must be frustrating for the coaching staff, as much as the fans, because you know they want him in there but can't trust him.
 

tikited said:
I'm not ripping you or Ogee, but who's fault is it then? A fumble has to be someone's fault. Gray simply needs to learn how to play football. He isn't there yet.
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Yeah, he's not there yet. He's just a freshman right? Anyways, he's not the only reason why we lost the game. And I'm pretty sure you know that. Like Mike Mayock said, we just didn't execute plays.
 

station19 said:
Unless someone on here is a player or on the coaching staff I have to believe the coaches have a better idea of who should play. They see the players every day in practice and break down the tape.

However I would agree with this statement.

"Sometimes you just have to leave it alone and not try to out-think the game of football," ........Gopherdudepart2
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According to several posters on this board, the 2nd stringers right now are better than the starters. Brewster is just loyal to his upperclassman :D
 

Goldmine said:
Yeah, he's not there yet. He's just a freshman right? Anyways, he's not the only reason why we lost the game. And I'm pretty sure you know that. Like Mike Mayock said, we just didn't execute plays.
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I didn't have a problem with Gray getting the carry, even though I yelled at the tv for him to hang on to it for once. It was a fluke fumble, but he is a fumbler. I really hope it is a freshman thing with him and the playbook.

No need for Gray to even be in that situation if we had a kicker.
 

tikited said:
I didn't have a problem with Gray getting the carry, even though I yelled at the tv for him to hang on to it for once. It was a fluke fumble, but he is a fumbler. I really hope it is a freshman thing with him and the playbook.

No need for Gray to even be in that situation if we had a kicker.
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I agree, there was almost no point of using gray near the end zone. I wanted us to run the clock out by running with the RB and let Ellestad kick the FG.....I don't even trust Ellestad much.:(
 

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