Postgame thoughts...

[Triple D]

I was pretty impressed with our tackling. For the vast majority of the game they tackled well, which was skewed by them being out of position on a few plays. One minor complaint, don't have Nelson running the ball when we are up 2 scores late please, it's a long season and a dumb injury could derail a good year a la Marquis banging up his ankle early last year.

 

[CurveballJesus]

one name that I haven't seen on this thread that I was really impressed with last night was Eric Murray. I think he had two or three PBU's and a couple more where his tight cough**pass interference**cough (whatever, no flag, I love it) coverage caused a few more incompletions. I think the secondary will be really strong with Wells back and Murray on the other side, with Boddy-Calhoun coming in nickel packages.

 

[GopherJack]

This may have been mentioned in another thread, but what was up with the scoreboard (or the person running it tonight)? The down and yardage were constantly wrong all game.

 

[MadtownGopher]

My 7 year old son and 9 year old daughter both asked "Why would people want to leave early?" Exactly. I told my brother it baffles me why people would want to leave early. How often are we ever up 28 points? Enjoy it people!

You guys gotta remember it's a week night game. Most people have to work in the morning.

 

[GopherVictory]

I was pretty impressed with our tackling. For the vast majority of the game they tackled well, which was skewed by them being out of position on a few plays. One minor complaint, don't have Nelson running the ball when we are up 2 scores late please, it's a long season and a dumb injury could derail a good year a la Marquis banging up his ankle early last year.

I completely agree with both points you made. While it was annoying that the UNLV receivers seemed to be wide open on every play, for the most part, they were wrapped up quickly. That has definitely not always been the case in the past.
And I'm right with you on all the QB runs near the end. Sure, that's a part of our offence, but why take the chance?

 

[Replacement Gopher]

#1 was stupidest thing ever. If we don't convert the 3rd down pass for a td, we kick a fg with 25 seconds left and a timeout in our pocket after spiking the ball on first down. No excuse for that.

 

[kellyleeks]

#1 concern like it was last year is offensive production. Nelson was shaky at best in the pocket and his WRs are very average. I pray Harbison is a stud and Andre can work his way back. The top B10 DLs will handle our OL in the running game and we will be forced to pass. I am really worried about our ability to create explosive plays in the passing game, which will lead to easier TD drives.

San Jose State can really put up points and I can guarantee we will not score 3 SpT/Def TDs a game.

I'm guessing we make it three games into the B10 season before folks start calling for Leidner.

 

[drakegopher]

#1 concern like it was last year is offensive production. Nelson was shaky at best in the pocket and his WRs are very average. I pray Harbison is a stud and Andre can work his way back. The top B10 DLs will handle our OL in the running game and we will be forced to pass. I am really worried about our ability to create explosive plays in the passing game, which will lead to easier TD drives.

San Jose State can really put up points and I can guarantee we will not score 3 SpT/Def TDs a game.

I have to agree, the offense was totally pathetic. The running backs never had any room and the receivers never created separation. It was great to see some athletes step up at corner and special teams, but it's going to be another very mediocre year with this offense. The play calling was vanilla and the offensive line failed to do much damage. Happy we won but I come away much less optimistic than I was before watching. Nelson can't seem to hit a big play downfield either.

That said, I hope Jerry and his staff can make the proper adjustments and show some drastic improvement next week.

 

[WaterBoy]

One of the things that stood out for me was poor 3rd & 4th down defense. The gophers really struggled to send UNLV's offense to the sidelines. Very frustrating.

 

[Wouldn't You like to Know]

Please keep in mind that we were all very worried last year after the 1st game and they certainly progressed.

Because of all of the BIG plays the D was on the field a ton in the 2nd half and we didn't see much of the Offense. Limegrover was calling a vanilla game because he could and to not give much.

Really the 2 things that concern me the most are the OL and WR. We just don't have any quickness at WR they can't separate and Engel looks weak. So we really need some Freshman to step up or hopefully Harbison can do something. As far as the OL it seemed like they got blown up on several plays I thought Marek (LT) got worked.

 

[GopherinPhilly]

O Line & D Line have to play better. If they don't improve dramatically before SJSU, we will lose that game and many others after.

If, and a big IF, the lines can gel and start play like a cohesive unit with the depth we expected and our defensive ends can start to realize that they can hit the qbs now, we could see a good season.

I think our best WRs were playing in the last 4 minutes and not dressed for the game. Engel was atrocious and looked like the walk on that he was, Fruechte had a couple of drops and got no separation. KJ Maye looked good, but needs outside help to have room to move inside.

We may need to become a team that uses the pass to set up our running game...which could be a problem. Please Oline, do your job!

 

[CentralGopher]

Defense had a rough start to the game with all the quick slants and bubble screens. That's hard to defend but it's possible UNLV was trying to get us to bite and sell out on defending that allowing the long explosive play that would kill us. That didn't happen and our defense at least kept the plays in front of them. I also think the LB's were pretty much invisible in the first half. The db's needed to play closer but the LB's needed to do a better job of pass coverage to take the quick slant away until UNLV changes what they are tying to do. The LB's did come alive later in the game and start making plays though.

Offensively both the line and receivers need to get better and I think Nelson will look better. The line needs to hold their man for just a couple of second longer to give Nelson a little more time to find an open receiver but the receivers also need to do a better job of getting open. I think maye was the only one getting separation last night. Jones and Woli need to be better that what we had last night or we are going to be pretty one dimensional all year.

We are loaded at TE though. I was impressed with all of them last night. They do well in the running game and can be a force in the passing game too. We need to involve them in the passing game more.

 

[MaxyJR1]

I felt the Gophers received several "homer" calls from the refs over the course of the game, but none more blatant than the obvious false start on the TD play just before half.

Just think we got all these homer calls from at MT. West crew.

 

[MaxyJR1]

I'm guessing we make it three games into the B10 season before folks start calling for Leidner.

Who's to say he doesn't get playing time here and there without folks calling for it?

 

[50PoundHead]

1. I thought it was stupid to spike the ball late in the first half. We had just gotten a first down with about 30 seconds left. It was first and goal and we had one TO left I believe. We should have had plenty of time to get up to the line and run a play. The clock had stopped. By spiking the ball, we had only two shots at the end zone instead of three.
2. On the Maxx Williams TD, the play totally should have been blown dead. The snap came way late and half the line had move well before the ball was snapped.
3. I didn't understand why our corners weren't playing tight on the line of scrimmage. It was just way too easy for them to nickel and dime us down the field. They showed no ability to throw down field.
4. I don't remember who the CB was on the 2nd UNLV TD (Shabazz?), but he totally gave up on the play and didn't even see the ball until it was almost in the endzone. If he wouldn't have given up and saw the ball right away, it would have been an easy pick.
5. Maxx Williams is good.
6. For awhile there, I thought the refs forgot their flags at home. Then they called a weird illegal man down field on Christenson. The only guy down field was Bak and he got shoved 5 yards down field by a defender. Unless I missed something, it was a bizarre call.
7. I was surprised Roderick Williams didn't play until late.
8. I'm stating the obvious, but the OL/run game was easily the most disappointing to me. The pass game was terrible as well but most expected that we would struggle there. I thought we would be able to run all over UNLV.
9. The Juco LB's looked very promising to me. They may have been out of position a few times but both will be very good contributors.
10. There is no doubt we have a lot more athletes than we have had in some time. Athletes don't automatically get you wins, but they can make big plays and that certainly was the case tonight.
11. Leidner is faster than I imagined. I know it was against 2nd teamers but still.
12. It was good to get a lot of guys playing time. Let them all get their feet wet so the "butterflies" aren't there when they have to step in for an injury.
13. Hawthorne did not look good. Even some of the XP he made looked pretty shaky.
14. Vereen could have an all-conference type year.

That's it for now. Good win but a lot of things to work on. Good thing the Big Ten isn't stupid like the SEC and schedule conference games in week 1. On to New Mexico St!

(3) Agree, but it must be something in Claeys' defensive sets. He does all kinds of things with the S's and there are times as the play is being run and I'll look in the defensive backfield and wonder "where the heck are the safeties." I don't think there's a lot of coverage behind the CBs in some situations, which could lead to soft coverage. I agree with your point though.

(4) Terrible play by Shabazz.

(5) Maxx looks like he has it. Looked like our best TE last night.

(7) Mason provided me with a couple of good laughs last night with his commentary. Couldn't figure out why he was barking about Hagemann a couple of times. But I almost fell out of my chair when he said Kill should be thinking about taking Williams out of the game. Gee Glen. You never went below the 2nd string when you were playing cupcakes and having your RBs rack up big yards. Why should Kill take out Williams? Agree that I thought Williams should have been in there earlier.

(8) O-line didn't seem to get much push and Kirkwood isn't exactly Baryshnikov in the agility department. The RBs are going to need wider lanes if the running game is going to succeed consistently.

(9) Agree on Campbell and Wilson. Especially Campbell. I don't know all that much about football, but it looks like one of the base concepts in Claeys' scheme is to have the D-line play aggressively and simply "fire" and have the LBs "sweep" behind the chaos the line hopefully creates. That takes speed and Campbell looks like a big, speedy kid.

(14) Vereen is a really good safety. He was miscast as a CB. Some guys play better with the game in front of them and Vereen looks like one of those guys. He is a really good football player that is in a position where he can succeed big-time.

 

[killme]

You and I view Mason's comments quite differently. He is obviously jealous of the support for Kill and seems to think his dismissal was unjustified.

 

[50PoundHead]

I didn't sense any sour grapes from Mase. Hard to have sour grapes when his announcing partner was providing a verbal hummer all night long.

I always thought, success on the field aside, that there were two coaches in Minnesota sports history who would have owned the town if they just would have tried a bit harder in the personality department: Glen Mason and Denny Green. Both are really solid football guys who just seem to have a missing piece when it comes to dealing with Joe Average.

 

[MaxyJR1]

This was a game they should have put up 50 and they did. Not conventional, but they put up 50. Every special teams play or defensive play keeps your offense off the field. Nelson and the offense really never could get any flow going.

Also take into consideration on defense that it was 90 degrees and they were running guys on and off the field. I think we played nearly 10 d-back. Hageman was not on the field for UNLV's first TD. Our best DB experience-wise did not play. Claeys continues to make adjustments at halftime that prove how good of a coordinator he is.

This team is 8-0 when leading at the half and 0-16 when trailing under Kill. Just have to cut down on early game jitters and missed opportunities. Game could have gone good a lot earlier if Nelson doesn't drop the ball on the goal line.

 

[50PoundHead]

This was a game they should have put up 50 and they did. Not conventional, but they put up 50. Every special teams play or defensive play keeps your offense off the field. Nelson and the offense really never could get any flow going.

Also take into consideration on defense that it was 90 degrees and they were running guys on and off the field. I think we played nearly 10 d-back. Hageman was not on the field for UNLV's first TD. Our best DB experience-wise did not play. Claeys continues to make adjustments at halftime that prove how good of a coordinator he is.

This team is 8-0 when leading at the half and 0-16 when trailing under Kill. Just have to cut down on early game jitters and missed opportunities. Game could have gone good a lot earlier if Nelson doesn't drop the ball on the goal line.

Agree. I like what Claeys is trying to do. He gets the right athletes and I think our defense is going to be very good.

 

[mnsportsgeek]

Why is Shabazz getting all the blame on that TD pass? I saw a safety sitting 15 yards closer to the line than he should have been. The safety sat and watched the play as the receiver tucked in behind him. No safety help, easy touchdown.

 

[jaymil]

Why is Shabazz getting all the blame on that TD pass? I saw a safety sitting 15 yards closer to the line than he should have been. The safety sat and watched the play as the receiver tucked in behind him. No safety help, easy touchdown.

I thought Thompson should've been playing farther back as well, but Shabazz still completely botched that play. He was trailing the WR lazily and wasn't even looking at the ball, he didn't see it in the air until it was on its way down into the WR's arms. Terrible and lazy play by him.

 

[MinnesotaNice]

Negatives:

I didn't think the WR's were getting any seperation
Nelson doesn't have a good deep ball
Some miscues on defense lead to big plays (I think Shabazz thought the safety had that deep half which is why he stopped on the TD pass). The safety was way to shallow and let the WR behind him.
The O line was Ok both in run blocking and pass protection
Very little qb pressure and contain.

Positives:
It was the first game! Lots of time to work out the kinks.
Wells, Haribson, and Olson did not play. We need Haribson to be a playmaker and maybe McDonald (but who is counting on that?).
Eric Murray impressed me.
Marcus Jones! 2 ACL surgeries. Speaking from experience, that rehab process is difficult and frustrating. You have to pull for that kid.
LB play started shaky, but overall was solid. Damien Wilson does not allow yards after contact, and Campbell can get to a gap.

Our next 2 games should be scrimmages for us. We can use these to get guys back on the field, tighten up some things, and gain confidence.

 

[Spoofin]

I'm late to the comment party. Here are my thoughts (prior to reading the previous posts which I suspect will say much of the same)...

QB – Nelson needs to be more accurate. Period.
OL – Was disappointing yesterday – especially in run blocking vs UNLV.
WR – I am as concerned as ever. Saw virtually no separation. DE and IF are not the answer as main / stretch the field guys. Need Harbison to play, need Jones to come along quickly, need to play Wolitarsky more, need to get the ball to KJ more. IMO, we need to throw DJ and DW ‘to the wolves’ next week and see what they can do. We may need them to be ‘seasoned’ by B1G play.
RB – I like Cobb and Nugget – but if Kirkwood or Edwards don’t come back quick – that could be an issue.
TE – A strong point for this team. Maxx is a stud.
Offense Summary: They played very vanilla. I am sure that was intentional. I hope that was intentional. I think if we can open it up, we will look (much) better. I hate to beat a dead-horse, but we need a WR to emerge. UNLV is terrible on pass D and we threw for 99-yards. I think we need to run more quick slants to the slot guy as are best play makers at WR are currently slot guys. Man – we need someone who can stretch the field (please Jones, please!).

DL – So Solid. Optimus is an NFL 1st rounder.
CB – So Solid. Even when Wells comes back, Eric Murray may be the best cover corner we have. He was brilliant. With BBC in the mix we are so tough here.
S – So Solid. Vareen, Thompson, and Johnson all played awesome.
LB – I think the two JCs were the best LBs yesterday. Wilson > Lynn, not even close. Manuel did OK, but Campbell is a play maker!
Defensive Summary: Better than last year. We do need to figure out how to stop the big plays and defensive lapses, however. I am confident we can.

ST – What is there to say. Awesome.

This team will start 5-0, but how well we can do in the B1G this year will depend on figuring out a way to establish something that resembles a passing game, IMO.

 

[MaxyJR1]

Negatives:

I didn't think the WR's were getting any seperation
Nelson doesn't have a good deep ball
Some miscues on defense lead to big plays (I think Shabazz thought the safety had that deep half which is why he stopped on the TD pass). The safety was way to shallow and let the WR behind him.
The O line was Ok both in run blocking and pass protection
Very little qb pressure and contain.

Positives:
It was the first game! Lots of time to work out the kinks.
Wells, Haribson, and Olson did not play. We need Haribson to be a playmaker and maybe McDonald (but who is counting on that?).
Eric Murray impressed me.
Marcus Jones! 2 ACL surgeries. Speaking from experience, that rehab process is difficult and frustrating. You have to pull for that kid.
LB play started shaky, but overall was solid. Damien Wilson does not allow yards after contact, and Campbell can get to a gap.

Our next 2 games should be scrimmages for us. We can use these to get guys back on the field, tighten up some things, and gain confidence.

Olson played, but both Olsons got beat out and do not start. Lenkiewicz started, got hurt and came out for two plays and came right back in for Olson.

 

[Fuzzy Rumpton]

I noticed Lynn a lot more than Wilson during the game. What are peoples' thoughts on the MLB situation?

 

[jaymil]

I noticed Lynn a lot more than Wilson during the game. What are peoples' thoughts on the MLB situation?

I thought Wilson played well for the most part. Seems to be a sure tackler. I didn't notice Lynn until later in the game, thought he looked decent but a little small for a big ten MLB.

 

[Spoofin]

I noticed Lynn a lot more than Wilson during the game. What are peoples' thoughts on the MLB situation?

IMO Wilson played much more and better. He is bigger and he plays bigger- if that makes sense. Lynn is young and will contribute, but I think Wilson separated himself yesterday. You don't get JC defensive player of the year easily- Wilson is legit. The coaches should be recognized for what they did with the JC players to help a position of need (LB) this year.

Sent from my MZ617 using Tapatalk 4

 

[jaymil]

I'm just now watching the replay of the game on BTN2Go. One thing I just noticed is that Ra'Shede took a snap at RDE on third and long. I wonder if we'll see more of that. If any of you follow the NFL, the Lions have experimented playing Fairly and Suh at the defensive end spots in passing downs to create mismatches. I have to think a player of Hageman's size, speed, and power would do some damage getting after the QB. Something to keep an eye out for.

 

[cncmin]

Just think we got all these homer calls from at MT. West crew.

So they're more favorable to the Gophers at TCF than your typical B1G crew. Go figure.

 

[Dr.Don]

Just think we got all these homer calls from at MT. West crew.

It wasn't homer calls. It was so hot and humid the refs said "Let's call nothing, get the hell out of here, cool off so we can drink some good cold beer."