RandBall: A new QB dilemma brewing: Tanner Morgan and the Gophers

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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per RandBall:

It was just one game, and then again it wasn't.

That's how I look at quarterback Tanner Morgan's stat line and performance from the Gophers' stunning 14-10 loss to Bowling Green on Saturday: 5 of 13 for 59 yards, two interceptions and a lost fumble — with those two picks coming on the last two drives of the day when Minnesota had a chance to rescue a victory.

It was a low point in the P.J. Fleck era, much of which has come with Morgan — now a fourth-year starter — as his QB.

But it also was the continuation of a trend of slippage and regression since Morgan's sterling 2019 season when he completed 66% of his passes, threw 30 touchdowns and just seven interceptions as the Gophers went 11-2.

Morgan's passer rating that year? 178.7 (remember, the college passer rating formula is different than the NFL's, leading to much higher numbers). Last year it was 128.1. This year it's 124.0.

It's enough to make you wonder if a quarterback change could be coming if this keeps up.

www.startribune.com

A new QB dilemma brewing: Tanner Morgan and the Gophers

The veteran Gophers quarterback struggled mightily in a loss to Bowling Green and Minnesota seems reluctant to throw the ball in general.
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com

Go Gophers!!
 

Until I see evidence to the contrary, I believe that Fleck will never pull a starter for performance issues. The only way Morgan leaves the field is on a stretcher or being carried off by trainers/teammates. I hope it doesn't come to that - but a few more shots from blind-side blitzes, and the decision might be taken out of Fleck's hands.
 


short ornery norwegian said:
Until I see evidence to the contrary, I believe that Fleck will never pull a starter for performance issues. The only way Morgan leaves the field is on a stretcher or being carried off by trainers/teammates. I hope it doesn't come to that - but a few more shots from blind-side blitzes, and the decision might be taken out of Fleck's hands.
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he pulled Schlueter for Faalele against Iowa in 2018.
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
I don't know how anyone watches that OL play and thinks the issue is the QB ...
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Morgan did miss badly with a couple of his throws....but yeah the line did him no favors in that game.

But the point Randball is making is valid and Morgan has definitely not been close to as effective as he was in 2019 when he looked like one of the best QBs in the country. And yes, he benefitted from having 2 great receivers that year but he also made the right decisions and accurate throws. He hasn't really looked the same since and there are a bunch of reasons for why that might be.

I expect Morgan to play much better against Purdue but if he were to really struggle again it would not shock me to see Fleck make a change. I know he has shown a reluctance to do that, especially at the QB position but Fleck also knows he needs to win this year. And after the BG debacle, he can't afford to let things spiral.
 


MNVCGUY said:
Morgan did miss badly with a couple of his throws....but yeah the line did him no favors in that game.

But the point Randball is making is valid and Morgan has definitely not been close to as effective as he was in 2019 when he looked like one of the best QBs in the country. And yes, he benefitted from having 2 great receivers that year but he also made the right decisions and accurate throws. He hasn't really looked the same since and there are a bunch of reasons for why that might be.

I expect Morgan to play much better against Purdue but if he were to really struggle again it would not shock me to see Fleck make a change. I know he has shown a reluctance to do that, especially at the QB position but Fleck also knows he needs to win this year. And after the BG debacle, he can't afford to let things spiral.
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No doubt on a few passes.

But I think sweating Morgan at this point is worrying that the steering wheel is a little wonky when the car won't start.
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
No doubt on a few passes.

But I think sweating Morgan at this point is worrying that the steering wheel is a little wonky when the car won't start.
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QB is the straw that stirs the drink on offense. I'd be extremely surprised if Morgan doesn't start Saturday, but another performance like BG and I'm not sure Fleck really has a choice.
 


I wish we had a cut-up of every throw from 2019, 2020, and 2021 so far.

All-22 and rear shot, for each play.
 



A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
No doubt on a few passes.

But I think sweating Morgan at this point is worrying that the steering wheel is a little wonky when the car won't start.
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Here’s something else to consider, Morgan has been saved by having WRs who can catch most anything not just within their catching radius but outside it.

let’s not pretend Morgan throws a pretty ball with consistency.

so many throws behind TJ and Bateman where they had to slow down and adjust, Morgan is a great kid, but he’s been saved as many times as his receivers have dropped good balls or balls that were “catchable”
 

I think Morgan hit his ceiling in 2019 which is a great ceiling, as a gopher fan I’ll take that all day, but Sanford has also hurt him.
 


The problem is .... is that it's a mixture of all these factors.

They're mixed and coupled.

You can't just tease out a single factor and point to it like "ah ha!". If it were that easy, they would've done that and fixed it by now.
 



A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
I have not seen that this year ... have seen drops.
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I think Wright had one catch that was pretty impressive against OSU? I’d have to check the highlights.

but yes, this year it’s been some bad throws and some drops.

I wonder what the percentages are for drops of catchable balls in Morgans tenure per year.
 


Sanford is more frightened of calling a pass on first down than Ben Simmons is of shooting playoff free throws.
 



MplsGopher said:
The problem is .... is that it's a mixture of all these factors.

They're mixed and coupled.

You can't just tease out a single factor and point to it like "ah ha!". If it were that easy, they would've done that and fixed it by now.
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This. Morgan was BAD for large parts of the game Saturday, but the OL play was also just atrocious...and from the little I saw, WRs were struggling to get open.

Prior to Saturday, I thought Morgan looked fine this season. He's made a lot of great throws, suffered some drops/slips by WRs, and made good decisions for the most part. IMO the problem really seems to be gameplan. Morgan is throwing mostly in obvious passing situations when DL can pin their ears back and DC's can get creative disguising coverages and blitzes. I'd like to see Morgan throwing 25+ times per game and 35 - 45% of the time on 1st and 2nd downs. They don't all have to be deep shots...let's work in some short throws, straight play action (not always RPO), screens, etc.
 

It’s time for the kill shot. Mods, I did not mention the name of a past gopher qb so this post may stand.
 

Urbandale said:
Sanford is more frightened of calling a pass on first down than Ben Simmons is of shooting playoff free throws.
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Yep, that is for sure... but why is he frightened? Is it because he's a terrible OC, as most in here believe... or is it because he's got no clue about where PJ's QB is going to chuck the ball?

I gotta feel that we'd have seen a much different passing game if the Gophers had been able to keep CrAB and Wright together on the field. Injuries and attitude (evidentally) have conspired to keep them off the field a lot... and Jackson and MBS (as much as I like 'em as players) just don't have the skill set to make a Morgan-led offense successful.
 

MGGopher said:
This. Morgan was BAD for large parts of the game Saturday, but the OL play was also just atrocious...and from the little I saw, WRs were struggling to get open.

Prior to Saturday, I thought Morgan looked fine this season. He's made a lot of great throws, suffered some drops/slips by WRs, and made good decisions for the most part. IMO the problem really seems to be gameplan. Morgan is throwing mostly in obvious passing situations when DL can pin their ears back and DC's can get creative disguising coverages and blitzes. I'd like to see Morgan throwing 25+ times per game and 35 - 45% of the time on 1st and 2nd downs. They don't all have to be deep shots...let's work in some short throws, straight play action (not always RPO), screens, etc.
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Game plan was atrocious. Play calling was atrocious. OL was (lazy) atrocious. And Tanner Morgan was gawd awful. Flat out.

Tanner had several shots at open receivers. In four cases he missed a mile. On a fifth, MBS could have made a spectacular catch but didn't. If Morgan throws an average decent ball its a nice gain. And the two interceptions, each of which killed a chance to win, were terrible, awful, and atrocious.

In my view wholesale changes are indicated. Change Sanford with Simon. Change Big Dan for another starter. Change Morgan for Zach or Kramer (I would go with Kramer to have the running threat).

If Morgan sits a game it doesn't mean he never gets the job back. But right now his head is not in a good place. He needs a break.
 

Morgan has fewer total attempts on the year than some QBs get in one game.

The sample size is too small. Air it out, open up the offense, fix the protection problems. Get CAB healthy, get Wright out of the doghouse. Fix 22‘s hands or find someone that doesn’t need it. See what happens.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Morgan did miss badly with a couple of his throws....but yeah the line did him no favors in that game.

But the point Randball is making is valid and Morgan has definitely not been close to as effective as he was in 2019 when he looked like one of the best QBs in the country. And yes, he benefitted from having 2 great receivers that year but he also made the right decisions and accurate throws. He hasn't really looked the same since and there are a bunch of reasons for why that might be.

I expect Morgan to play much better against Purdue but if he were to really struggle again it would not shock me to see Fleck make a change. I know he has shown a reluctance to do that, especially at the QB position but Fleck also knows he needs to win this year. And after the BG debacle, he can't afford to let things spiral.
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I am calling it the Debacle at De Bank.
 

We have a number of talented receivers. Morgan is a good RPO QB; not so good as a straight drop back passer, especially when a huge blitz is coming. If Morgan is to re-energized, we should probably pass more on "running" downs; and call quick hitting RPO passes instead of slow developing drop back passes (facing a huge blitz on 3rd down). Morgan might be a different QB. But, bottom line: if OC or HC have lost confidence in Morgan as a passer, and are shutting down the passing game except on 3rd and long (when a pass is expected, and a blitz will come), the season is over. If Morgan doesn't get back to capable, and if the OC is untouchable, then we have to try someone else at QB. There are only so many moving parts to be fiddled with ... maybe Morgan, the OL and the receivers will all be back to "normal" against Purdue and all will be forgotten.
 
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There is nothing the media loves as much as a QB 'controversy'... even if they have to pump it up and help it along themselves.

Well, maybe one thing they love more: The ever-popular "Is the coach's job in jeopardy?" storyline.
 


laazrakit said:
Yep, that is for sure... but why is he frightened? Is it because he's a terrible OC, as most in here believe... or is it because he's got no clue about where PJ's QB is going to chuck the ball?

I gotta feel that we'd have seen a much different passing game if the Gophers had been able to keep CrAB and Wright together on the field. Injuries and attitude (evidentally) have conspired to keep them off the field a lot... and Jackson and MBS (as much as I like 'em as players) just don't have the skill set to make a Morgan-led offense successful.
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Disagree on Jackson. He has been solid when thrown a decent ball.
 


Initially didn’t Fleck have Annexstad ahead of Morgan and then Annexstad got hurt and it’s been all Morgan since? Personally, I’d like to see either Annexstad or Kramer get a chance to kick-start the offense. Morgan is not all that accurate.
 

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