QB Change

Donate To GopherHole
Croft back up to QB2 on this week's depth chart.
 






I have no idea if Croft is better than Rhoda. I know many media members and others observing Fall practices thought so. What I do know is that PJ is hell bent on using Croft to send a message to the players. He hasn't been shy about hinting at his (lack of) leadership style, he benched him for nearly a half for the "ball is the program" defiance that apparently trumps all others, he suspended him and preached "do the right thing" publicly for 2 weeks, and he refused to play him last week despite the game CR15 turned in. I don't think it is crazy to consider the idea that he could be better than Rhoda (not saying he is great) but won't be played until he is all in. Wouldn't be unlike Cobb riding the bench with obvious talent until he got pass blocking down. I mean, could he be worse than Rhoda has been?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Spoofin said:
I mean, could he be worse than Rhoda has been?
Click to expand...

Man that scared me all off season... the idea that Rhoda would beat out Croft if only because it means a lot regarding how well Croft or our other QBs are doing... sadly my fears have come true.

Granted I'm not trying to knock Rhoda, he was a walk on backup QB so I feel like we can only expect so much.
 

It would be odd for us to be recruiting QB's with the old regime who are not better than a walk-on.

Talk about wasted scholarships... at least giving one to a backup kicker got us a lot of media attention. Burning one or two on QB's who aren't better than Mitch or Rhoda... that's damming.
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
Man that scared me all off season... the idea that Rhoda would beat out Croft if only because it means a lot regarding how well Croft or our other QBs are doing... sadly my fears have come true.

Granted I'm not trying to knock Rhoda, he was a walk on backup QB so I feel like we can only expect so much.
Click to expand...

Would liked to have seen Croft play most of one of the cupcake games to see how good or not he really is; also, you'd think PJ would have gone after a JC QB (maybe 2) if Rhoda was the best we have.
 



highwayman said:
Fleck today: Fleck reiterated that Connor Rhoda will remain the starting quarterback.

“If there was a better answer today, I would have somebody else in there. That’s not the better answer,’’ Fleck said. “He’s the better answer for our football team. He’s proven that he can run this offense very efficiently. But he’s also make mistakes. What I want to be able to say is, ‘Watch him grow from those mistakes.’ ’’
Click to expand...

MSU will be a real test for this outlook. If the Gophers lose by a couple of TDs or worse, we could have a 1-8 conference record. I don't think "this offense" is working out very well - hope I'm wrong.
 

Great Plains Gopher said:
Would liked to have seen Croft play most of one of the cupcake games to see how good or not he really is; also, you'd think PJ would have gone after a JC QB (maybe 2) if Rhoda was the best we have.
Click to expand...

Well PJ didn't have much time... he did discard a JC QB.... awkwardly even.
 

Is Seth Green a late bloomer?

To be fair, David Cobb did not bloom until his Junior Year. Part of it was attitude adjustment if I remember the discussions correctly.

It's not time to give up on him yet. He'll be serviceable even as an emergency backup before his career is over, or he may end up at TE or other positions. Just as long as he stays a Gopher, I'll be happy.
 

Spoofin said:
I have no idea if Croft is better than Rhoda. I know many media members and others observing Fall practices thought so. What I do know is that PJ is hell bent on using Croft to send a message to the players. He hasn't been shy about hinting at his (lack of) leadership style, he benched him for nearly a half for the "ball is the program" defiance that apparently trumps all others, he suspended him and preached "do the right thing" publicly for 2 weeks, and he refused to play him last week despite the game CR15 turned in. I don't think it is crazy to consider the idea that he could be better than Rhoda (not saying he is great) but won't be played until he is all in. Wouldn't be unlike Cobb riding the bench with obvious talent until he got pass blocking down. I mean, could he be worse than Rhoda has been?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

With all due respect, Croft could be much worse than Rhoda. Rhoda has made some excellent throws and found some wide open receivers at times. Not great, but not horrible either. His picks, while ugly, are no worse or more untimely than some made by more seasoned QB's like Rosen or Falk. After all, Rhoda is a rookie for all intents and purposes.

While PJ is starting to annoy me a lot, and I believe at times he can be duplicitous and less than honest, I desperately want him to succeed for all of us and I do believe he has been straight-forward about the QB situation:

1. In game 2 (I think it was that game) it seemed to many that Rhoda took charge and appeared like more of a field leader than Croft. It looked like he moved a step ahead of Croft. The press agreed and so did PJ. So PJ makes him number one, and Croft number 2. Obviously Crofts fumble or failure to fall on the ball factored into it, but it was just one factor.

2. Then Croft obviously breaks some team rule and Fleck says "we're going to get him the help he needs". Sounds like a significant academic failing or chemical use issue to me. PJ also says Croft will be away from the team for a while. Presumably, Croft misses a week or two of reps and likely falls further behind, and he's required over the next several weeks to demonstrate he has resolved his "issue" and earn back PJ's trust as a team leader and high character teammate.

3. Rhoda continues to demonstrate leadership qualities on the field, but starts to make a costly mistake or 2 each game. In addition, it appears as if Rhoda has been ordered not to run if possible to avoid injury. PJ confirms that notion in one interview with the media. Rhoda's lack of running is causing everyone frustration for obvious reasons and making Rhoda look bad, when in fact Rhoda might have very little leeway to defy the coach's orders. Here, the blame seems to fall on the coaches and the scheme, not on Rhoda. Meanwhile, Croft is trying to earn back PJ's trust and seems to be making some progress towards that.

4. Today, PJ infers to the media Croft is back in the fold and now is "tied" with others as a back up. PJ says Croft could be the backup "OR" one of the other guys, a decision PJ has yet to make and is evaluating on a daily basis (his words).

So, to my sensibilities, PJ has been straight-forward on this particular matter and there doesn't seem to be anything sinister or misleading about it. What else could he have done? He's tried to protect Croft's privacy by being close lipped. Once Croft has completely earned back trust (which has nothing to do with trying to pick up and run with a fumbled ball), he will become the starting QB if, and only if, he outperforms Rhoda in practice or Rhoda gets hurt. In my opinion, I don't believe there is anything more to the story. Yes, Rhoda is turning the ball over and doing so at terrible times, but Croft was still working on resolving his "issue" the past 2 weeks so PJ had no other choice, cause Green wasn't a viable choice. If Rhoda keeps struggling, and once Croft has completely atoned for his sins (in PJ's mind), look for Croft to reappear.
 



Great Plains Gopher said:
MSU will be a real test for this outlook. If the Gophers lose by a couple of TDs or worse, we could have a 1-8 conference record. I don't think "this offense" is working out very well - hope I'm wrong.
Click to expand...

The margin by which we win or lose the Michigan St. game will have zero impact on the remaining 6 Big Ten games.
 

Face The Facts said:
It would be odd for us to be recruiting QB's with the old regime who are not better than a walk-on.

Talk about wasted scholarships... at least giving one to a backup kicker got us a lot of media attention. Burning one or two on QB's who aren't better than Mitch or Rhoda... that's damming.
Click to expand...

All FBS programs recruit at least 1 QB every year. Very few FBS programs have good QBs. The miss rate on FBS QBs is probably around 90%. At that rate there's a 65% chance that you won't have a quality FBS QB over a 4 year stretch.

Also consider the fact that 3 years after he was being recruited out of HS Todd McShay and others were predicting Mitch could go to the NFL.
 


John Galt said:
Always.

Our QB2 would have been an All-American for the last 10 years, maybe 20, if coach would have just given them a shot to play in the games.
Click to expand...

But that shot had to be while the QB1 was still on campus. When the original QB1 graduates and the original QB2 becomes the new QB1, now the new QB1 is no good, but the original QB3 (new QB2) is really good.
 

DoubleAlum said:
With all due respect, Croft could be much worse than Rhoda. Rhoda has made some excellent throws and found some wide open receivers at times. Not great, but not horrible either. His picks, while ugly, are no worse or more untimely than some made by more seasoned QB's like Rosen or Falk. After all, Rhoda is a rookie for all intents and purposes.

While PJ is starting to annoy me a lot, and I believe at times he can be duplicitous and less than honest, I desperately want him to succeed for all of us and I do believe he has been straight-forward about the QB situation:

1. In game 2 (I think it was that game) it seemed to many that Rhoda took charge and appeared like more of a field leader than Croft. It looked like he moved a step ahead of Croft. The press agreed and so did PJ. So PJ makes him number one, and Croft number 2. Obviously Crofts fumble or failure to fall on the ball factored into it, but it was just one factor.

2. Then Croft obviously breaks some team rule and Fleck says "we're going to get him the help he needs". Sounds like a significant academic failing or chemical use issue to me. PJ also says Croft will be away from the team for a while. Presumably, Croft misses a week or two of reps and likely falls further behind, and he's required over the next several weeks to demonstrate he has resolved his "issue" and earn back PJ's trust as a team leader and high character teammate.

3. Rhoda continues to demonstrate leadership qualities on the field, but starts to make a costly mistake or 2 each game. In addition, it appears as if Rhoda has been ordered not to run if possible to avoid injury. PJ confirms that notion in one interview with the media. Rhoda's lack of running is causing everyone frustration for obvious reasons and making Rhoda look bad, when in fact Rhoda might have very little leeway to defy the coach's orders. Here, the blame seems to fall on the coaches and the scheme, not on Rhoda. Meanwhile, Croft is trying to earn back PJ's trust and seems to be making some progress towards that.

4. Today, PJ infers to the media Croft is back in the fold and now is "tied" with others as a back up. PJ says Croft could be the backup "OR" one of the other guys, a decision PJ has yet to make and is evaluating on a daily basis (his words).

So, to my sensibilities, PJ has been straight-forward on this particular matter and there doesn't seem to be anything sinister or misleading about it. What else could he have done? He's tried to protect Croft's privacy by being close lipped. Once Croft has completely earned back trust (which has nothing to do with trying to pick up and run with a fumbled ball), he will become the starting QB if, and only if, he outperforms Rhoda in practice or Rhoda gets hurt. In my opinion, I don't believe there is anything more to the story. Yes, Rhoda is turning the ball over and doing so at terrible times, but Croft was still working on resolving his "issue" the past 2 weeks so PJ had no other choice, cause Green wasn't a viable choice. If Rhoda keeps struggling, and once Croft has completely atoned for his sins (in PJ's mind), look for Croft to reappear.
Click to expand...

Well, that settles it? I'm near certain PJ had his mind made up going into the season. Croft's off the field issues torpedoed any chance he had with Fleck.

It seems like there might be a psychological need to decide Croft and Green are terrible to justify Fleck's continued use of Rhoda despite the limitations it places on the run and pass game. He played scared vs a bad Purdue defense and that is...really scary. Sometimes coaches have their guys for reasons other than on the field skills and that's their choice and that's ok but they own the consequences.

In hindsight, sometimes QB2s aren't so horrible as posters like to think. Kill cast-off Streveler indeed can pass adequately and is lighting up a lower tier division 1 conference. If anyone wants a side team this is a pretty nice Cinderella story - South Dakota just knocked off Bo Pelini's #3 ranked Youngstown State. South Dakota went from a 4 win team and unranked to I believe #3 or 4 this week. Sets up a showdown with everyone's favorite NDSU in a few weeks.

Bottom line is the season is young and a lot can happen yet, but one of Flecks personality quirks (which has served him well) is a stubborn streak and a total belief in his system.
 

justthefacts said:
But that shot had to be while the QB1 was still on campus. When the original QB1 graduates and the original QB2 becomes the new QB1, now the new QB1 is no good, but the original QB3 (new QB2) is really good.
Click to expand...

Well right now it seems like the GH consensus is the #3 Fr QB is the one who is really good...and Fleck wants to red shirt.
 

John Galt said:
Always.

Our QB2 would have been an All-American for the last 10 years, maybe 20, if coach would have just given them a shot to play in the games.
Click to expand...

I was just thinking about this thread with the calls for Tanner Morgan to see action.

EDIT: Which I see PMWinSTP noted a couple of weeks ago. Well done!
 

Uncle Rico has 4 years of eligibility remaining.

 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom