Poll. Weakest Link: Sanford or Morgan

[hungan1]

The Iowa game was one exception where it really felt like they diagnosed something in the Iowa defense and found a way to exploit it. But outside of that I totally agree that there is no rhythm with the constant sideline checks and the running around like crazy right up until the last second of the play clock.

The sideline checks are very common but I just don't see teams running that system look as frantic as we do while making checks right up to the very last second. The hard part is knowing how much of that is on Morgan and how much is on Sanford.

I won't be shocked to see Sanford pursue another opportunity in the off season. But if he is back I really hope they get it figured out to the point where we can get back to snapping the ball with some time on the play clock the way we did before Sanford got here.

If we are going to run the no huddle, sideline check system, we need to get to a point where the play is called, the check is made and then we go. This is how a lot of teams do it, not sure why we aren't able to.

I know Fleck wants to control TOP but I don't think he is dictating this style of burn the entire play clock offense we are running. Watching some video from 2019 it looked like we were snapping the ball with time on the clock and not rushing to get the play off at the end of the clock the way we so often do now.

It all has to start with Sanford Jr. But, Tanner Morgan is somewhat culpable too. He should be more vociferous or even angry at the schemes not working. The sideline checks give defenses time to breathe and get organized.

My feeling is Tanner Morgan lost his self-confidence. Having to check off plays with the sideline diminished his effectiveness. Why can't the Gophers institute a hurry-up offense to throw off the defense's rhythm?

It is so painful watching the Gophers Offense this season. You don't know which version will show up. They are relying too much on the run game unimaginatively. They are not hard to figure out if you are Iowa, Illinois, or Wisconsin.

 

[Some guy]

I would put play calling #1
Coaching of the QB #2
Inconsistent WR play and Tanner being late at 3a and 3b.

We run way to many passing plays where Tanner has one read and one read only. Teams have figured it out and are taking it away more often than before.
Tanner was incrementally improving from year to year while KC was the OC. Since Sanford has been his AB coach he has not improved. Coincidence...I think not.
Don't agree that if Sanford isn't back they should look outside for an OC. Find a guy who can be the AB coach and let Simon call plays as he's been with PJ for a long time and knows the type of offense that he wants to run, but as the Auburn game showed, he is willing to make some gutsy play calls.

Simon is already helping call the plays. And game plan, and coach the team.
If the offense has problems, Simon is part of the problem.

If Simon is part of the good

As a “good” college coach, you adjust to your players strenghts.

Sanford is running these weird route trees that take so long to develop. Hes putting his receivers and QB in bad positions.

he doesn’t run a route tree

we run almost exclusively max protect or play action


this was the case under KC.
We need to develop a 5 step passing game for games like Iowa, Illinois, Bowling green, Miami of Ohio

 

[PhiloVance]

Morgan is who we thought he was. Over rated in his early years, as he was constant saved by talented receivers, to today where less than talented receivers are not able to pull his arres out of the fire.

 

[btowngopher]

This really is the correct answer.

- Fleck and his nepotism hired Sanford in the first place, over a more qualified candidate.
- Fleck and his loyalty won't fire Sanford until it's way too late.
- Fleck and his nature towards players won't bench Tanner until it's way too late.


Fleck did this. He did all of it.

Not sure I understand the nepotism part.

 

[matt]

In this regard, the offense is simply malformed. No matter what you do this season, it will be malformed.

Is Sanford responsible for its malformation? No.

Scenario: You are PJ Fleck, and it is February 1, 2022. Morgan and Sanford separately walk into your office and ask “do you want me to come back next year?”

What is your decision? Do you think PJ should tell them to go fish or do you believe either of them bring more value to the team than the available alternatives?

 

[MplsGopher]

Not sure I understand the nepotism part.

They were friends back when Sanford was at ND and Fleck at WMU. Not sure if their wives were friends or what the connection was.

Fleck wanted to hire his buddy, and he did so, regardless if that was the best choice for he Gophers.

 

[btowngopher]

They were friends back when Sanford was at ND and Fleck at WMU. Not sure if their wives were friends or what the connection was.

Fleck wanted to hire his buddy, and he did so, regardless if that was the best choice for he Gophers.

I dunno if I’d call that nepotism. I assume it’s pretty common to hire assistants that you had some kind of relationship with.

 

[MNVCGUY]

Scenario: You are PJ Fleck, and it is February 1, 2022. Morgan and Sanford separately walk into your office and ask “do you want me to come back next year?”

What is your decision? Do you think PJ should tell them to go fish or do you believe either of them bring more value to the team than the available alternatives?

Interesting question.

Morgan - I think it comes down to how he feels about the other QBs on the roster and if he feels like he has one ready to take the reigns in 2022. If he doesn't then he would want Morgan back for his experience but if say Athan or one of the other is ready to be the guy then I think it would be time for Morgan to move on.

Sanford - If Sanford is asking that question then the writing is already on the wall and it is time for him to find something else. If a change is going to be made in the coaching staff it will happen long before Feb of 2022, it will happen shortly after the season ends.

 

[laazrakit]

Yeah, he and Bateman were special. They made some crazy difficult catches look easy.

It's easy, with the super talents of Johnson and Bateman around, to overlook some of the others who made some truly great catches in 2019. CrAB's gamesaver against Fresno St. for one... and Bryce Witham's probably game-saving catch against Auburn in the Outback Bowl.

 

[MGGopher]

It's primarily scheme IMO, so that falls on Sanford and the offensive staff (Simon included). It's been revealed the past couple years that Morgan is a limited QB. He can do some things very well, but the staff isn't asking him to do those things often enough -- instead asking him to do things he CAN'T do well consistently. Combine it with inconsistent WR play and occasionally inconsistent OL play (leading Morgan to feel uncomfortable) and you've got the inept passing game we see today.

Minnesota CAN beat Wisconsin, but it'll take a huge adjustment in game plan and some things in the passing game game specifically we've not seen or not seen enough of. They need to make it simple enough for Tanner to make the right reads but varied enough that Wisconsin hasn't spent all week practicing those sets. We'll see how creative they coaches can get....

 

[hungan1]

Scenario: You are PJ Fleck, and it is February 1, 2022. Morgan and Sanford separately walk into your office and ask “do you want me to come back next year?”

What is your decision? Do you think PJ should tell them to go fish or do you believe either of them bring more value to the team than the available alternatives?

It depends if he puts the global interest of the U first or loyalty to certain individuals.

If Morgan stays, will he have to deal with QBs entering the Transfer Portal.
Will it affect recruiting? Will 2023 recr4-Star recruit Anthony Brown decommit? Wide Receivers might have pause going to a program that preaches a prolific balanced game only to see the disaster of a run-heavy offense that is Sanford Jr’s cup of tea.

That’s what it seems like to the ruination of QBs and WR corpses.

 

[MplsGopher]

I dunno if I’d call that nepotism. I assume it’s pretty common to hire assistants that you had some kind of relationship with.

Had relationship with is not "close, personal friends with", and yes that is the definition of nepotism.

 

[Fleckoff]

Chicken or egg question. Is Morgan salvageable? I don’t know. I’m hopeful. This poll is an attempt to get a pulse of the fanbase.

Sanford is to Morgan what Robb Smith was to Kamal Martin, Thomas Barber and the rest of that defense

 

[MplsGopher]

Sanford is to Morgan what Robb Smith was to Kamal Martin, Thomas Barber and the rest of that defense

Making it too complicated?

I actually wonder if it's the opposite? We all know Morgan seems to lock onto a single read, far too often ....

 

[btowngopher]

Had relationship with is not "close, personal friends with", and yes that is the definition of nepotism.

New Minnesota OC Mike Sanford Jr. talks relationship with P.J. Fleck

Sanford talked about why he's excited to join the Minnesota staff.

www.google.com

Doesn’t sound like they were super close friends for years and years to me. I guess you can call it nepotism by definition, but it’s not like Ferentz, seems like a pretty standard hiring to me. You could call the majority of hirings nepotism probably if you’re using it like you are.

 

[MplsGopher]

New Minnesota OC Mike Sanford Jr. talks relationship with P.J. Fleck

Sanford talked about why he's excited to join the Minnesota staff.

www.google.com

Doesn’t sound like they were super close friends for years and years to me.

It doesn't have to be "years and years". There was a picture floating around on here showing Fleck and Sanford hugging at a party at his (PJ's) house, back when Sanford was at Notre Dame and PJ was at WMU. They were friends. PJ wanted to hire his buddy.

seems like a pretty standard hiring to me.

Disagree

 

[Golden_Sloth]

Morgan was extremely successful without Sanford.

Sanford has tanked other QBs in the same way and can't hold a job for more than a couple years. Sanford is the common denominator

 

[btowngopher]

It doesn't have to be "years and years". There was a picture floating around on here showing Fleck and Sanford hugging at a party at his (PJ's) house, back when Sanford was at Notre Dame and PJ was at WMU. They were friends. PJ wanted to hire his buddy.


Disagree

Ok so you think guys normally just hire strangers to be their high level assistants? I bet Fleck and Ciarrocca were friends before KC was hired.

 

[MplsGopher]

Ok so you think guys normally just hire strangers to be their high level assistants?

Are you really trying to say there's zero difference between a close friend and someone you have a limited professional relationship with?

The world is not binary.

 

[upnorthkid]

Making it too complicated?

I actually wonder if it's the opposite? We all know Morgan seems to lock onto a single read, far too often ....

he had an NFL QB at WKU and went 6-7 (89th out of 130 teams in PPG) and then got worse the next year going 3-9 (118th out of 130 teams in PPG). Kizer, who he had a ND, got no better under him. He's relied on having better athletes than other teams to make things go and that, to me, is far more why we can't move the ball than Tanner "locking on"

 

[MplsGopher]

he had an NFL QB at WKU and went 6-7 (89th out of 130 teams in PPG) and then got worse the next year going 3-9 (118th out of 130 teams in PPG). Kizer, who he had a ND, got no better under him. He's relied on having better athletes than other teams to make things go and that, to me, is far more why we can't move the ball than Tanner "locking on"

Jordan Love at Utah State, as well.

Fleck knew all this. And ignored it, because Sanford was his buddy.

 

[btowngopher]

Are you really trying to say there's zero difference between a close friend and someone you have a limited professional relationship with?

The world is not binary.

There is a difference. There is also a difference between Kirk hiring his son and Fleck hiring a OC who happens to be a friend and has also coached the same position at multiple programs including a more prestigious one, and held an even higher position. You act like he threw his friend a bone, like Sanford wouldn’t have had a job somewhere. It’s ok to hire a friend you worked with for a season, but not an experienced friend that you haven’t coached with?

 

[MplsGopher]

There is also a difference between Kirk hiring his son and Fleck hiring a OC who happens to be a friend and has also coached the same position at multiple programs including a more prestigious one, and held an even higher position.

Agree those two scenarios are different.

Disagree that the bar for nepotism is set at Ferentz.

nep·o·tism /ˈnepəˌtizəm/
noun
the practice among those with power or influence of favoring relatives or friends, especially by giving them jobs.

It’s ok to hire a friend you worked with for a season, but not an experienced friend that you haven’t coached with?

I didn't say anything about "OK". I said it was nepotism. It was. See definition above.


If you think that word should only be used for scenarios where it was a family member, then at least I understand your logic -- simply, the dictionary doesn't agree.

 

[Some Day...Maybe]

Morgan is who we thought he was. Over rated in his early years, as he was constant saved by talented receivers, to today where less than talented receivers are not able to pull his arres out of the fire.

This is an extremely uninformed comment.

 

[btowngopher]

Agree those two scenarios are different.

Disagree that the bar for nepotism is set at Ferentz.

nep·o·tism /ˈnepəˌtizəm/
noun
the practice among those with power or influence of favoring relatives or friends, especially by giving them jobs.


I didn't say anything about "OK". I said it was nepotism. It was. See definition above.


If you think that word should only be used for scenarios where it was a family member, then at least I understand your logic -- simply, the dictionary doesn't agree.

And I said I guess it’s fine if you want to use that word that typically has a negative connotation, but I am arguing that it is a fairly standard move.

 

[MplsGopher]

And I said I guess it’s fine if you want to use that word that typically has a negative connotation, but I am arguing that it is a fairly standard move.

I'll continue to say what I said, and only what I said: it was nepotism.

Now we can move on

 

[Some Day...Maybe]

It's easy, with the super talents of Johnson and Bateman around, to overlook some of the others who made some truly great catches in 2019. CrAB's gamesaver against Fresno St. for one... and Bryce Witham's probably game-saving catch against Auburn in the Outback Bowl.

That was a great pass to CRAB.

 

[Some Day...Maybe]

It's primarily scheme IMO, so that falls on Sanford and the offensive staff (Simon included). It's been revealed the past couple years that Morgan is a limited QB. He can do some things very well, but the staff isn't asking him to do those things often enough -- instead asking him to do things he CAN'T do well consistently. Combine it with inconsistent WR play and occasionally inconsistent OL play (leading Morgan to feel uncomfortable) and you've got the inept passing game we see today.

Minnesota CAN beat Wisconsin, but it'll take a huge adjustment in game plan and some things in the passing game game specifically we've not seen or not seen enough of. They need to make it simple enough for Tanner to make the right reads but varied enough that Wisconsin hasn't spent all week practicing those sets. We'll see how creative they coaches can get....

What do you put the chances of Minnesota beating Wisconsin at? 10% or less?

 

[btowngopher]

I'll continue to say what I said, and only what I said: it was nepotism.

Now we can move on

That type of nepotism is completely normal in hires. Now we can move on.

 

[MplsGopher]

That type of nepotism is completely normal in hires.

There's no "type of nepotism". Nepotism is nepotism. Fleck is guilty of it, as much as Ferentz is.