QB

[MaxyJR1]

In a game where we ran the ball over 60 times, had no turnovers, and won, people still find a way to rip the QB. He completed 58% of his passes in a game where attempts were at a minimum. 5 of the 7 completions went for over 20 yards. As Mike Tice would say, "Enjoy the season." Weber is going to be QB unless hurt.

At least four passes were directed to Gray in the first half alone, so relax and "Enjoy the season."

 

[MrGopher]

And a couple of those passes should have been caught.

I'm more concerned about some of the sacks he takes. Part of that is the perpetual blitzes by a quick MTSU, part of that is the O-line, but part of it is also Weber not knowing what to do with the ball if he gets in a pinch. Having said that, sacks are generally better than interceptions... so I'll live. But I would prefer incomplete passes.

Just something to watch in the next few games.

 

[jerdogg1]

I thought this was really a tale of two QB's almost. Weber was shaky, unsure and inaccurate early. But he settled down nicely and managed the game well. He DOUBLED his production on the 97 yard drive to end the 3rd/start the 4th.

 

[dance4raiders]

At the game last night, I was impressed by everyone on Minnesota...but Weber. I'm sorry guys, but some of those passes he made were horrible. Way high, way left, I was just expecting more from him. No offense, but I think you guys need a new QB. Like other Minnesota fans have said, I think he will be the one to bring the team down. He played good 2nd half...but...he's not consistent.

 

[Bisker82]

I thought this was really a tale of two QB's almost. Weber was shaky, unsure and inaccurate early. But he settled down nicely and managed the game well. He DOUBLED his production on the 97 yard drive to end the 3rd/start the 4th.

Agreed, Weber was very shaky early on. However, most of the passes early on were of the short yardage type (to the flats or screens), where, for some reason, Adam seems to struggle. You could definitley tell he is much more comfortable throwing downfield. They did a nice job with the play action passes as the game went on. Of course, it helps considerably when you can establish the run game like they did.

Good job by the team & coaching staff, thanks for the win!!

 

[SMU GOPHS FAN]

He started out 0-5 and ended up 10-17. Do the math, that comes out to 10-12 coming down the stretch. No doubt he was shaky at first but he settled down as the game went along and made some nice completions when the team really needed him to.

 

[husker70]

Agreed, Weber was very shaky early on. However, most of the passes early on were of the short yardage type (to the flats or screens), where, for some reason, Adam seems to struggle. You could definitley tell he is much more comfortable throwing downfield. They did a nice job with the play action passes as the game went on. Of course, it helps considerably when you can establish the run game like they did.

Good job by the team & coaching staff, thanks for the win!!

The screens, flat passes should never have been in the game plan. This was a coaching error. Against a quick, rallying defense you do not want to run or pass the ball latterally to the line. You run directly at them, and throw it down field. I give Horton come credit. He abandoned the swing idea and never went back to it.

Weber's best throws were to Lair on a deep cross and McKinght along the sideline. The whole idea of play action is getting the linebackers up and one on one on the outside, and making a long strike. And the timing of the throw. It is turn fake with your left hand, hide the ball and throw on the 7th step. Weber's ball faking is fair to partly cloudy, and his timing as a 5th year senior is not where it should be.

Weber sacked himself twice. Once when he thought the proctection had broken down, and it had not.

 

[AhliBobwa]

He started out 0-5 and ended up 10-17. Do the math, that comes out to 10-12 coming down the stretch. No doubt he was shaky at first but he settled down as the game went along and made some nice completions when the team really needed him to.

Weber started out tight, and as another poster noted, the quick passes to the flats, screens, etc made no sense against a small, fast, blitz happy D. When Horton went back to using play action primarily to set up the passing game, Weber was, as you said 10-12.

It kinda sucks. I came to the board to rejoice after a big win and half the board acts like the sky is falling.

NEWSFLASH--last year the O couldn't score against SDSU. Last night the O ran for almost 300 yards against a good football team. Weber was bad early, but found his stride as the game went on. Our biggest D mistakes came down to having freshmen at safety (and we'll have our starters there back soon). If this result isn't cause for celebration then...I just don't know.

 

[Maximus]

Against a quick, rallying defense you do not want to run or pass the ball latterally to the line.

Wasn't that exactly the pass that Hoese took 22 yards on 3rd and 2 from their own 9?

 

[StartGrayPlz]

Weber could use more consistency.

 

[Goldy247]

Touch

The pass to Lair was outstanding. He put it over the defender and right in his hands as Lair was running toward the sideline. That doesn't happen by accident...

 

[GophersInIowa]

The pass to Lair was outstanding. He put it over the defender and right in his hands as Lair was running toward the sideline. That doesn't happen by accident...

It has to be by accident though because Weber is one of the worst college football players ever!

 

[Goldy247]

It has to be by accident though because Weber is one of the worst college football players ever!

He will hold alot of Minnesota passing records before he's done too...

 

[dpodoll68]

He will hold alot of Minnesota passing records before he's done too...

True, but I think that needs to be tempered with the fact that he'll be the only 4-year starter at QB in Minnesota history, and further at a school that has traditionally been 70/30 run/pass (or more). It's faint praise - sort of like calling someone the career passing leader for Army.

EDIT: I guess Foggie was a 4-year starter as well. Comparing him to Weber in any way is laughable, however.

EDIT #2: Damnit. Apparently Dungy was a 4-year starter also. Other points still stand.

 

[gophmeister]

All the whining is rooted in the past disappointments. If Weber goes out next week and has a solid game against USD and say goes 11-17 and gets sacked once, he'll get roasted for those 7 plays. If he goes out against USC and has the same stats as he does against USD, he might be forgiven IF we win. Once you get pigeon-holed like he has, it's hard to dig yourself out of it.

 

[MBAGuy]

Why the deuce does everyone react so viscerally to some criticism of Weber? No one is suggesting he eats babies or kills puppies. He's clearly a good dude and one of the leaders of this team. I just think more consistency (in accuracy, pocket presence, reading the field, etc.) would be expected from a 5th year senior.

I think it's perfectly legit to make some of those observations without people responding like you just shat on the 50-yard line of TCF Bank Stadium.

 

[ruralgopher]

True, but I think that needs to be tempered with the fact that he'll be the only 4-year starter at QB in Minnesota history, and further at a school that has traditionally been 70/30 run/pass (or more). It's faint praise - sort of like calling someone the career passing leader for Army.

EDIT: I guess Foggie was a 4-year starter as well. Comparing him to Weber in any way is laughable, however.

EDIT #2: Damnit. Apparently Dungy was a 4-year starter also. Other points still stand.

How many years until everybody starts wondering if Weber will take the coaching job??

 

[MBAGuy]

True, but I think that needs to be tempered with the fact that he'll be the only 4-year starter at QB in Minnesota history, and further at a school that has traditionally been 70/30 run/pass (or more). It's faint praise - sort of like calling someone the career passing leader for Army.

EDIT: I guess Foggie was a 4-year starter as well. Comparing him to Weber in any way is laughable, however.

EDIT #2: Damnit. Apparently Dungy was a 4-year starter also. Other points still stand.

Upset you fixed it so quickly. Was going to really give you a beatdown for posting factually incorrect information.

 

[ruralgopher]

Why the deuce does everyone react so viscerally to some criticism of Weber? No one is suggesting he eats babies or kills puppies. He's clearly a good dude and one of the leaders of this team. I just think more consistency (in accuracy, pocket presence, reading the field, etc.) would be expected from a 5th year senior.

I think it's perfectly legit to make some of those observations without people responding like you just shat on the 50-yard line of TCF Bank Stadium.

Being a critic is fair. Saying that he is the worst QB since the forward pass was allowed goes a bit far. And many jump directly to that conclusion.

 

[GophersInIowa]

Being a critic is fair. Saying that he is the worst QB since the forward pass was allowed goes a bit far. And many jump directly to that conclusion.

Exactly.

"Weber is the worst football player I've ever seen!!! Brewster should be fired right on the spot if he doesn't put in Gray who is a much better QB!!! Weber showed nothing last night!!!!"

That's the kind of things that have been posted. Ridiculous.

 

[gold04]

Part of the problem with Weber over the years is how much do you blame things on the O-line and how much do you blame Weber? The running game is a perfect example of this.

Two years ago when Eskridge had that great game against Illinios posters on Gopherhole, Rivals, and Star@Tribune thought we had AP in our backfield. I saw that Eskridge lacked power and speed the two things you need to be a good running back. I said the lack of a running game is not entirely the O-lines fault. Eskridge is a nice guy and I hope he proves me wrong but he's not a Big Ten running back. Posters were mad and upset at me because they thought Eskridge must as good as Peterson after that Illinios game. Now, I would be suprised if Exkridge sees a lot of playing time after the way Bennet and Kirkwood performed.

With Weber we have the same problem. How much is it the O-lines fault and how much is it Weber's fault? I still think that question will be answered after this year, but I see both sides of the argument. Has Weber struggled because he had a bad line, or has he struggled because he's not a good quarterback.

I'm on the fence about Weber. In the coming weeks we should find out how good or bad Weber really is. In the end I hope this season is his breakout year.

 

[Iceland12]

It has to be by accident though because Weber is one of the worst college football players ever!

That is completely untrue, he is NOT one of the worst college players ever. Handsome Pete, a college football expert, is very clear on the matter:

Originally Posted by Handsome Pete
"Adam Weber is not talented or bright enough to play any position in any sport at any University in any universe anywhere in the space time continuum. He is the worst football player I have ever seen."

I hope that clears things up.

 

[dpodoll68]

Two years ago when Eskridge had that great game against Illinios posters on Gopherhole, Rivals, and Star@Tribune thought we had AP in our backfield. I saw that Eskridge lacked power and speed the two things you need to be a good running back. I said the lack of a running game is not entirely the O-lines fault. Eskridge is a nice guy and I hope he proves me wrong but he's not a Big Ten running back. Posters were mad and upset at me because they thought Eskridge must as good as Peterson after that Illinios game. Now, I would be suprised if Exkridge sees a lot of playing time after the way Bennet and Kirkwood performed.

Where do you come up with these things? Is it in your own mind? It has to be, because it's certainly not grounded in reality.

You certainly do like to congratulate yourself for holding opinions that are generally in line with the mainstream, and act as though you're some sort of pioneer.

 

[Gopher in Dixie]

Was at the game and was also unimpressed with Weber to start. That fade in the endzone was brutal. However, I did see some improvement as the game went on. Was a nice catch by Gray over the middle. Do I want to rely on his arm to win a game? Hell no.

Also, there were times when the Raiders were only rushing 3 and still getting to him. That can't happen, if it's the O-Line's fault or not, you've got to make better decisions when pocket breaks down.

Willing to give him the benefit of the doubt as to "first game" jitters.

 

[Schnoodler]

Was at the game and was also unimpressed with Weber to start. That fade in the endzone was brutal. However, I did see some improvement as the game went on. Was a nice catch by Gray over the middle. Do I want to rely on his arm to win a game? Hell no.

Also, there were times when the Raiders were only rushing 3 and still getting to him. That can't happen, if it's the O-Line's fault or not, you've got to make better decisions when pocket breaks down.

Willing to give him the benefit of the doubt as to "first game" jitters.

The fade pass was on Gray. He couldn't get off the jam. The announcers made a big deal about how Gray is going to have to learn to get through that.

 

[FireDaveLee]

The fade pass was on Gray. He couldn't get off the jam. The announcers made a big deal about how Gray is going to have to learn to get through that.

That's what I thought. It looked like Gray did nothing to get off to give the play a chance. I think that play, in time, will work on the goal line, especially with Gray's athletic ability.

 

[GoAUpher]

The fade pass was on Gray. He couldn't get off the jam. The announcers made a big deal about how Gray is going to have to learn to get through that.

Would he have caught it even if he broke through the jam? It was pretty far out there as I recall...

 

[GO4INLALALAND]

It did appear that at first Weber's passes were very soft and tenative. However, in the second half I noticed that his passes had a lot more zip. I think the o-line break downs from last year are still haunting Weber, which leads to his happy feet. I think that the more confidence he gets in the o-line, the less happy his feet will become.

 

[GophersInIowa]

That is completely untrue, he is NOT one of the worst college players ever. Handsome Pete, a college football expert, is very clear on the matter:

Originally Posted by Handsome Pete
"Adam Weber is not talented or bright enough to play any position in any sport at any University in any universe anywhere in the space time continuum. He is the worst football player I have ever seen."

I hope that clears things up.

My bad! Thanks for correcting me.

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

The screens, flat passes should never have been in the game plan. This was a coaching error. Against a quick, rallying defense you do not want to run or pass the ball latterally to the line. You run directly at them, and throw it down field. I give Horton come credit. He abandoned the swing idea and never went back to it.

Weber's best throws were to Lair on a deep cross and McKinght along the sideline. The whole idea of play action is getting the linebackers up and one on one on the outside, and making a long strike. And the timing of the throw. It is turn fake with your left hand, hide the ball and throw on the 7th step. Weber's ball faking is fair to partly cloudy, and his timing as a 5th year senior is not where it should be.

Weber sacked himself twice. Once when he thought the proctection had broken down, and it had not.

It's actually extremely common to call screen passes against fast teams who blitz a lot. They are designed to hurt teams that overpursue and bring a ton of pressure. They didn't really work out too well, but in theory they were decent calls (blitzing defense with a lot of guys in the box).