Pump the brakes boys: We transformed our entire offensive identity while adding new coaching and turning over our roster. Hiccups are bound to happen.

[GopherEnEspaña]

This entire forum needs to go on a collective meditation retreat and seems to have amnesia over what has transpired over the last offseason with regards to roster overhaul, new coaching, and implementing a new offensive philosophy.

Until we square away our OC situation and recruit better athletes at WR, this will take some time. I'm still convinced we have enough guys to make some plays and put up points on the board.

Now, if this trend continues for the next 2-3 years (PJ refusing to make difficult decisions with his staff) then I'd start to worry too. But we aren't tOSU or Michigan, we don't have a pantry full of 4 stars to pull from at the skill positions and high caliber OC's lining up to run our offense

 

[A_Slab_of_Bacon]

I don’t think it has anything to do with coordinators, planning.

Missing a WR, drop a pass…. that’s on the player.

 

[MNfootballfan]

This entire forum needs to go on a collective meditation retreat and seems to have amnesia over what has transpired over the last offseason with regards to roster overhaul, new coaching, and implementing a new offensive philosophy.

Until we square away our OC situation and recruit better athletes at WR, this will take some time. I'm still convinced we have enough guys to make some plays and put up points on the board.

Now, if this trend continues for the next 2-3 years (PJ refusing to make difficult decisions with his staff) then I'd start to worry too. But we aren't tOSU or Michigan, we don't have a pantry full of 4 stars to pull from at the skill positions and high caliber OC's lining up to run our offense

I disagree to a certain extent. Outside of giving the ball to Mohamed Ibrahim we haven't had a successful offense since 2019. There have maybe been a handful of games where we could truly effectively pass the ball.

Yes, there will be growing pains this year but we are currently in a 2-3 year trend of poor offensive play.

 

[Gopher 461]

This entire forum needs to go on a collective meditation retreat and seems to have amnesia over what has transpired over the last offseason with regards to roster overhaul, new coaching, and implementing a new offensive philosophy.

Until we square away our OC situation and recruit better athletes at WR, this will take some time. I'm still convinced we have enough guys to make some plays and put up points on the board.

Now, if this trend continues for the next 2-3 years (PJ refusing to make difficult decisions with his staff) then I'd start to worry too. But we aren't tOSU or Michigan, we don't have a pantry full of 4 stars to pull from at the skill positions and high caliber OC's lining up to run our offense

I agree. We're searching for our 2023 identity with new coaches, new players, some of whom are Portal transfers, and the need for the team to go through some bumps before they settle in. We're three games in. Lets have the hard ball conversations after Northwestern the Rajun Cajuns and Michigan before Michigan State, Illinois, Iowa, Purdue, OSU, and Wisconsin

 

[GopherEnEspaña]

I don’t think it has anything to do with coordinators, planning.

Missing a WR, drop a pass…. that’s on the player.

The players aren't the ones that drew up a Cole Kramer deep ball while we had all of the offensive momentum.

It has everything to do with coordination and planning. It's like football 101, elementary knowledge that you establish the run on the road to control tempo and TOP. We fed Taylor 30+ carries last week and refuses to establish him early in one of the bigger non-conf road games in recent memory. We have zero evidence that our WR's are getting proper separation downfield yet we are drawing up long routes. We aren't even targeting BSF.

 

[GopherEnEspaña]

I disagree to a certain extent. Outside of giving the ball to Mohamed Ibrahim we haven't had a successful offense since 2019. There have maybe been a handful of games where we could truly effectively pass the ball.

Yes, there will be growing pains this year but we are currently in a 2-3 year trend of poor offensive play.

We had 2 NFL WR's that were big-brothering secondaries all over the country. After that, having a guy like Dylan Wright was a huge safety net for us. Look, I'll never discount the role that Mo played for this program, but we also had weapons on the outside that could, and did, bail us out when we needed it. We don't have those guys at WR this year

 

[btowngopher]

The players aren't the ones that drew up a Cole Kramer deep ball while we had all of the offensive momentum.

It has everything to do with coordination and planning. It's like football 101, elementary knowledge that you establish the run on the road to control tempo and TOP. We fed Taylor 30+ carries last week and refuses to establish him early in one of the bigger non-conf road games in recent memory. We have zero evidence that our WR's are getting proper separation downfield yet we are drawing up long routes. We aren't even targeting BSF.

The Kramer play was wide open. Make a throw. There’s no momentum when your qb goes out injured. People assume we could have just ran it over and over and scored a td on that drive, like they wouldn’t expect us to run it with the back up qb. The wrs got separation down field multiple times and we couldn’t hit them once.

 

[jonnyganas]

The Kramer play was wide open. Make a throw. There’s no momentum when your qb goes out injured. People assume we could have just ran it over and over and scored a td on that drive, like they wouldn’t expect us to run it with the back up qb. The wrs got separation down field multiple times and we couldn’t hit them once.

The play call was fine there, take a deep shot and make an explosive play. Cole has proven he can make that throw in practice, so they dialed it up.

It seems like execution needs to tighten up in multiple areas on offense. Improve in some of those areas, let Rossi's defense give the offense chances, and we can see better results on Saturdays.

 

[Breakin' The Plane]

QB accuracy that looks like Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn before he put on the Buddy Holly glasses isn't a hiccup.

 

[GopherWeatherGuy]

We had 2 NFL WR's that were big-brothering secondaries all over the country. After that, having a guy like Dylan Wright was a huge safety net for us. Look, I'll never discount the role that Mo played for this program, but we also had weapons on the outside that could, and did, bail us out when we needed it. We don't have those guys at WR this year

We have the same WRs as last year minus Wright, but plus Crooms who is a better WR than Wright.

We also didn't change our offensive identity. It's the same offense, but trying to be more balanced with the pass.

Is some patience still needed with AK? Yes. But at the end of the day, WRs are open and our QB isn't hitting them. At some point AK is who he is, and right now his overall numbers state that he's a bottom of the B1G QB. It hasn't been just one bad game, or a few bad passes, it has been 3 bad games in a row.

 

[MNfootballfan]

We had 2 NFL WR's that were big-brothering secondaries all over the country. After that, having a guy like Dylan Wright was a huge safety net for us. Look, I'll never discount the role that Mo played for this program, but we also had weapons on the outside that could, and did, bail us out when we needed it. We don't have those guys at WR this year

Dylan Wright would be the 3rd or 4th receiver on this team and only had 17 catches in 12 games. That is hardly a safety net.

I'll take Crooms, Jackson, and Brockington over him and if we ever see CrAB return to form.

 

[MplsGopher]

Passing game needs to a huge point of emphasis the next two weeks, as the run game was vs EMU.

It will be. Bet your bottom dollar.

Let’s see what happens.

 

[Dakota2]

The players aren't the ones that drew up a Cole Kramer deep ball while we had all of the offensive momentum.

It has everything to do with coordination and planning. It's like football 101, elementary knowledge that you establish the run on the road to control tempo and TOP. We fed Taylor 30+ carries last week and refuses to establish him early in one of the bigger non-conf road games in recent memory. We have zero evidence that our WR's are getting proper separation downfield yet we are drawing up long routes. We aren't even targeting BSF.

You would run a guy 35 times when he was fighting cramps? To establish TOP? Brilliant. No separation by WRs? Jackson beat his guy by 10 yards on the Kramer pass. Kramer had an unblocked blitzer in his face which caused him to turn his body slightly, altering the throw.

Watch the film and discuss what really happened. The play call was great, the receiver was open. Someone missed a blocking assignment.

 

[btowngopher]

We have the same WRs as last year minus Wright, but plus Crooms who is a better WR than Wright.

We also didn't change our offensive identity. It's the same offense, but trying to be more balanced with the pass.

Is some patience still needed with AK? Yes. But at the end of the day, WRs are open and our QB isn't hitting them. At some point AK is who he is, and right now his overall numbers state that he's a bottom of the B1G QB. It hasn't been just one bad game, or a few bad passes, it has been 3 bad games in a row.

I didn’t think AK was that bad against Nebraska, and he wasn’t bad against EMU.

 

[GopherWeatherGuy]

I didn’t think AK was that bad against Nebraska, and he wasn’t bad against EMU.

Maybe you're right against EMU, but he also wasn't asked to do much.

24-44 for 196 yds, a 54.5% completion percentage, 1 TD and 1 INT, 3 sacks and only 13 points is not good against Nebraska. His TD to Jackson was also not a good throw, and Jackson made a hell of a play. He was wide open, and with a good throw he doesn't have to make that play.

 

[TwistingMyMelon]

I agree. We're searching for our 2023 identity with new coaches, new players, some of whom are Portal transfers, and the need for the team to go through some bumps before they settle in.

Good thing that most of our division seems to be experiencing similar circumstances. Glad our issues are happening this season instead of next year. Although we play OSU, Michigan, and UNC this year, most of the rest of our opponents appear to be a bit worse than usual at this point of the season.

 

[btowngopher]

Maybe you're right against EMU, but he also wasn't asked to do much.

24-44 for 196 yds, a 54.5% completion percentage, 1 TD and 1 INT, 3 sacks and only 13 points is not good against Nebraska. His TD to Jackson was also not a good throw, and Jackson made a hell of a play. He was wide open, and with a good throw he doesn't have to make that play.

Wasn’t great vs Nebraska, but with zero run game, he pulled out the win. Completed a bunch of third and longs and came up clutch when he had to.

 

[TwistingMyMelon]

Maybe you're right against EMU, but he also wasn't asked to do much.

24-44 for 196 yds, a 54.5% completion percentage, 1 TD and 1 INT, 3 sacks and only 13 points is not good against Nebraska.

He didn't say that he was "good" against Nebraska. He said that AK "wasn't that bad" against Nebraska and I guess I would agree with that. He got the job done at the end in a pressure situation so that's worth something. He was a mess against UNC and I hope that doesn't linger.

 

[GopherWeatherGuy]

He didn't say that he was "good" against Nebraska. He said that AK "wasn't that bad" against Nebraska and I guess I would agree with that. He got the job done at the end in a pressure situation so that's worth something. He was a mess against UNC and I hope that doesn't linger.

Under 55% completion, and 3 points through 57 minutes against a below average pass defense is not good no matter how you slice it.

 

[TwistingMyMelon]

Under 55% completion, and 3 points through 57 minutes against a below average pass defense is not good no matter how you slice it.

You seem to insist on arguing against points no one is making. What part of "he didn't say he was 'good" are you having problems comprehending? Is discerning qualitative differences a lifelong handicap of yours?

 

[PMWinSTP]

This entire forum needs to go on a collective meditation retreat and seems to have amnesia over what has transpired over the last offseason with regards to roster overhaul, new coaching, and implementing a new offensive philosophy.

Until we square away our OC situation and recruit better athletes at WR, this will take some time. I'm still convinced we have enough guys to make some plays and put up points on the board.

Now, if this trend continues for the next 2-3 years (PJ refusing to make difficult decisions with his staff) then I'd start to worry too. But we aren't tOSU or Michigan, we don't have a pantry full of 4 stars to pull from at the skill positions and high caliber OC's lining up to run our offense

We are seven years in with Fleck, he should have it figured out. Staffs change pretty frequently all accross college football.

 

[TwistingMyMelon]

Dylan Wright would be the 3rd or 4th receiver on this team and only had 17 catches in 12 games. That is hardly a safety net.

I'll take Crooms, Jackson, and Brockington over him and if we ever see CrAB return to form.

Yes, it's tough to cry much over the departure of Wright. I will say that he was a bit more of a deep threat than the receivers we now have appear to be but his frequent disappearing acts lowered his overall value. I guess I'm most disappointed that we haven't seen more from Spencer. I thought he would show more than we've seen so far. Crooms has been as good or better than expected. I wish Brockington was targeted more.

 

[GopherWeatherGuy]

You seem to insist on arguing against points no one is making. What part of "he didn't say he was 'good" are you having problems comprehending? Is discerning qualitative differences a lifelong handicap of yours?

Which reincarnated banned poster are you is the real question. AK has been bad this season, including against Nebraska.

 

[Taji34]

The play call was fine there, take a deep shot and make an explosive play. Cole has proven he can make that throw in practice, so they dialed it up.

It seems like execution needs to tighten up in multiple areas on offense. Improve in some of those areas, let Rossi's defense give the offense chances, and we can see better results on Saturdays.

IMO, it looked like either Kramer threw to the wrong space, OR the intended receiver ran the route wrong. I still disagree with the call, but it was a player execution error that lead to the interception.

 

[FanSinceTheFifties]

I'm reminded of the line in "Money Ball" when Pete tells Billy "You shouldn't be trying to buy players, you should be trying to buy wins. And to get wins, you need runs."

The Gophers don't need an identity, they need wins and to get wins you need scores and to get scores, you need to get yards. Forget this "we need to find our identity." That sounds like some overpaid business consultant or an angst-ridden 13 year-old girl. We need to gain yards in whatever way we can versus every opponent. Whether we do that by running or cunning we shouldn't care.

I sense that this mania for excessive passing, especially long throws, is borne
of fans' desire for entertainment more than strategic pragmatism.

 

[gopherbadgerman]

I'm reminded of the line in "Money Ball" when Pete tells Billy "You shouldn't be trying to buy players, you should be trying to buy wins. And to get wins, you need runs."

The Gophers don't need an identity, they need wins and to get wins you need scores and to get scores, you need to get yards. Forget this "we need to find our identity." That sounds like some overpaid business consultant or an angst-ridden 13 year-old girl. We need to gain yards in whatever way we can versus every opponent. Whether we do that by running or cunning we shouldn't care.

I sense that this mania for excessive passing, especially long throws, is borne
of fans' desire for entertainment more than strategic pragmatism.

Well most of the people on this board know how to run the team better than Fleck or the OC, at least according to them.

 

[TwistingMyMelon]

I'm reminded of the line in "Money Ball" when Pete tells Billy "You shouldn't be trying to buy players, you should be trying to buy wins. And to get wins, you need runs."

The Gophers don't need an identity, they need wins and to get wins you need scores and to get scores, you need to get yards. Forget this "we need to find our identity." That sounds like some overpaid business consultant or an angst-ridden 13 year-old girl. We need to gain yards in whatever way we can versus every opponent. Whether we do that by running or cunning we shouldn't care.

I sense that this mania for excessive passing, especially long throws, is borne
of fans' desire for entertainment more than strategic pragmatism.

Good post. As for the last sentence, though, I think fans just are looking for more big plays to make scoring opportunities a little easier to achieve. That's understandable.

 

[Jack jones]

All of us are hungry for big plays. But with this offense it seems to be very difficult to achieve. It’s as if PJ would prefer 4 10 yd. plays versus 1 40 yd. play. “Helps win the TOP.” As if we get extra credit .

 

[akgo4]

Agree with the initial comment completely. I do believe that AK has to be held to a higher standard than when ML was here though. Time to quit babying him and allow him to make plays and mistakes. It would be nice if we gave him something quick or a high percetage throw once in awhile.

 

[GopherWeatherGuy]

I'm reminded of the line in "Money Ball" when Pete tells Billy "You shouldn't be trying to buy players, you should be trying to buy wins. And to get wins, you need runs."

The Gophers don't need an identity, they need wins and to get wins you need scores and to get scores, you need to get yards. Forget this "we need to find our identity." That sounds like some overpaid business consultant or an angst-ridden 13 year-old girl. We need to gain yards in whatever way we can versus every opponent. Whether we do that by running or cunning we shouldn't care.

I sense that this mania for excessive passing, especially long throws, is borne
of fans' desire for entertainment more than strategic pragmatism.

The Gophers need to be able to pass to win the west. That's the desire.

We've proven we can run the ball to 8 or 9 wins and falling short of a west title for a decade. If we can't pass, we won't win the west. Again.