Sandell: Bye came at a good time for Leidner, who seems more confident

[BleedGopher]

per Sandell:

Leidner's easygoing, sheepish smile, returned this week, after it hadn't been flashed publicly much since fall camp. It seems he is starting to become more at ease with the full scope of responsibilities and pressures that come with being a starting quarterback.

"He's a more relaxed, confident person," head coach Jerry Kill said. "I think before the (Michigan) game he went in saying, 'I'm just going to go play.' We got off to a good start. You complete a few balls and then you get going. When you have success you gain confidence, but you have to have success before you do."

Leidner still has a ways to go to convince the masses he can be the long-term quarterback for this offense. Maybe the Michigan victory was the springboard he needed. Maybe it wasn't. It's easy to forget he is still only a redshirt sophomore. Growing pains should have always been expected. How he responds in the next couple weeks after his best start since his collegiate debut against San Jose State a year ago will better determine his future with Minnesota.

The bye week came at a good time, as it gives his knee and toe an extra week to further heal. Leidner said both injuries haven't been bothering him much in the past few days, but he plans to keep a brace on his knee for the rest of the season as a precaution.

For the Gophers to take full advantage of their 4-1 start and an upcoming three-game stretch featuring Northwestern, Purdue and Illinois, Leidner needs to prove he can improve. That goes for the rest of the offense, too.

"We're not where we want to be," Cobb said. "But I think we're taking the correct strides as far as up front and the skill positions, seeing the plays we run in practice actually work in a game. That's always a confidence boost for our quarterbacks."

http://www.1500espn.com/sportswire/...me_for_Leidner_who_seems_more_confident100514

Go Gophers!!

 

[BarnBoy]

Marinating for two weeks in a win over Michigan should do wonders for the young man's confidence.

Also, he can elevate his knee/toe on the Little Brown Jug.

 

[Governor Sibley]

His body language at TCU was not encouraging.

We need him with swagger.

Don't turn it over Mitch!

 

[gopherdudepart2]

Convinced since the bowl game against Syracuse that Mitch Leidner can lead Gophers

Leidner should watch that throw he had at the end of the game against Syracuse, that ball was about as well thrown and well placed as he could have made it to Drew Wolitarski, the only thing Drew did wrong was not catch it because he let the ball get to far into his body. If he would have elevated and caught the ball with his hands that would have been a game winning touchdown because Leidner could not have thrown that football any better and with the pressure he was under.

The only thing Mitch has to fear is a lack of confidence and not being decisive, when he is confident and decisve he can make plays with anyone. The guy has plenty of arm, plenty of talent and enough skill and guile to be a starting Big 10 quarterback and he is only a Sophomore. The guy is a young dude playing QB.
When he is decisive and putting the ball on his guys before they are coming out of their breaks he can make some really good plays, almost fantastic plays. The receivers and Mitch need to develop a trust, one that if Mitch gambles that they will go make a play that the receiver is going to go fight for it and beat his man to the football and the line has to give him enough time for things to develop. That, and Mitch need to be on time with his throws, young guy's like to throw to late or make a late decision when deciding to throw. Be decisive and make a decision and stick with it. That and when you choose to run the ball Mitch protect the football like you own it.
Gophers are good at the run, why appologize? Run the ball to set up the pass and open things up on play action, they execute that and they can have a relatively successful passing game and a good offense. We do not have to light anyone up with the pass but we need to be able to throw enough to clear the box and make first downs.

 

[Spoofin]

Leidner should watch that throw he had at the end of the game against Syracuse, that ball was about as well thrown and well placed as he could have made it to Drew Wolitarski, the only thing Drew did wrong was not catch it because he let the ball get to far into his body. If he would have elevated and caught the ball with his hands that would have been a game winning touchdown because Leidner could not have thrown that football any better and with the pressure he was under.

The only thing Mitch has to fear is a lack of confidence and not being decisive, when he is confident and decisve he can make plays with anyone. The guy has plenty of arm, plenty of talent and enough skill and guile to be a starting Big 10 quarterback and he is only a Sophomore. The guy is a young dude playing QB.
When he is decisive and putting the ball on his guys before they are coming out of their breaks he can make some really good plays, almost fantastic plays. The receivers and Mitch need to develop a trust, one that if Mitch gambles that they will go make a play that the receiver is going to go fight for it and beat his man to the football and the line has to give him enough time for things to develop. That, and Mitch need to be on time with his throws, young guy's like to throw to late or make a late decision when deciding to throw. Be decisive and make a decision and stick with it. That and when you choose to run the ball Mitch protect the football like you own it.
Gophers are good at the run, why appologize? Run the ball to set up the pass and open things up on play action, they execute that and they can have a relatively successful passing game and a good offense. We do not have to light anyone up with the pass but we need to be able to throw enough to clear the box and make first downs.

I'd like a still photo to prove your theory.

 

[GophersInIowa]

The bye came a at a perfect time for everyone. We needed to get healthy and it enabled the team to enjoy the win at the big house while having plenty of time to get their head back into the next opponent.

 

[gopherdudepart2]

Re-watch the game it must be available and the last play

I'd like a still photo to prove your theory.

Freeze frame the before, and when the throw leaves Mitch's hand in the pocket and the amount of time the ball traveled, to where the point in time the ball falls through his arms to end the Syracuse game? Wolitarski had a good shot at it if he would have reacted sooner, reacted to the ball when it was at it's highest point and where that football lands illustrates that point in how close to his body it was when the ball traveled through his arms. It was a fairly accurate and damn good throw, under pressure no less in my opinion. Wolitarsky is a hands catcher and good one at that, that play was about as close as it comes to ending in the Gophers favor if he could have picked up the ball a split sooner. A lot of the people I was with watching the game could only grumble about the ending. I was in awe of how really close that was to being a great comback win and play by those two players. That play was really close to being a Gophers win.

Wolitarsky did as good, to an excellent job of not giving away where the ball was on this posession, face or body wise, to the defensive backs and where it was located, the ball delivered was a good target, it's probably experience and the fact that he wasn't expecting the ball to arrive that quickly, and where it hit him for that play to finish as an incompletion.
They both, Leidner and Wolitarsky dang near pulled a rabbit out of a hat. IF I had a still photo of it I would post it, but did not get this game on tape or DVR.

 

[60's Guy]

These Quotes...

per Sandell:

Leidner's easygoing, sheepish smile, returned this week, after it hadn't been flashed publicly much since fall camp. It seems he is starting to become more at ease with the full scope of responsibilities and pressures that come with being a starting quarterback.

"He's a more relaxed, confident person," head coach Jerry Kill said. "I think before the (Michigan) game he went in saying, 'I'm just going to go play.' We got off to a good start. You complete a few balls and then you get going. When you have success you gain confidence, but you have to have success before you do."

Leidner still has a ways to go to convince the masses he can be the long-term quarterback for this offense. Maybe the Michigan victory was the springboard he needed. Maybe it wasn't. It's easy to forget he is still only a redshirt sophomore. Growing pains should have always been expected. How he responds in the next couple weeks after his best start since his collegiate debut against San Jose State a year ago will better determine his future with Minnesota.

The bye week came at a good time, as it gives his knee and toe an extra week to further heal. Leidner said both injuries haven't been bothering him much in the past few days, but he plans to keep a brace on his knee for the rest of the season as a precaution.

For the Gophers to take full advantage of their 4-1 start and an upcoming three-game stretch featuring Northwestern, Purdue and Illinois, Leidner needs to prove he can improve. That goes for the rest of the offense, too.

"We're not where we want to be," Cobb said. "But I think we're taking the correct strides as far as up front and the skill positions, seeing the plays we run in practice actually work in a game. That's always a confidence boost for our quarterbacks."

http://www.1500espn.com/sportswire/...me_for_Leidner_who_seems_more_confident100514

Go Gophers!!

These quotes express what I have been saying during the preseason. Start the game with passes that are easy to complete...behind the line of scrimmage, dump to a back, quick slant etc We did not do that until Michigan. Now, Jerry is saying he saw the results ("you complete a few passes" etc) but did he see why the results were different? We'll find out Saturday.

Lots of talk about Mitch's attitude returning versus Michigan as well. Something several people scoffed at.

"seeing the plays we run in practice actually work in a game. That's always a confidence boost for our quarterbacks." Many of you said we were saving our best plays...I was sayin you need to actually show your team they work in a game. That's why you schedule lesser teams...to demonstrate to your team your stuff works. To refine your execution. To become confident. My philosophy is I know what defense you are in, we are running this, you can't stop it...unless we don't execute it. If that's not true then you shouldn't be running that play versus that defense.
We didn't run our "stuff" in preseason. Cobb seems to echo it was nice to do some different things we do practice versus Michigan and get some positive mental feedback. We seem to have the idea we will surprise people by not running these plays in preseason games. I'd rather run the same play from a different set to surprise someone. Lots of ways to be successful. We are 4 and 1.

 

[dbaldrich1]

Start the game with passes that are easy to complete...behind the line of scrimmage, dump to a back, quick slant etc We did not do that until Michigan.

Without trying to nitpick, I recall a pass early this season (first game, maybe even first pass) that Mitch threw to Berkley that was essentially a WR screen, and Edwards just dropped the ball. The pass wasn't poorly thrown, the young RB just dropped it. As inconsistent as Mitch has been, having receivers drop passes that are well thrown can't help the confidence of a young QB.

That being said, Mitch has to learn to shake off missed plays (his own, or those of his receivers) and hit the "reset" button in his mind, thinking and feeling like he'd just completed six in a row. Confidence is a state of mind, and in this case it's OK if he puts the cart before the horse. Be confident that you will make plays, and over time that will translate into making plays. It seems like, prior to Michigan, Mitch was hesitant. Others on this board want him to show some swagger... to me that equates to him showing (through body language, and execution) that he truly believes he can and will make plays.

Here's hoping that the Michigan win (along with 2 weeks to prepare for NW) is a catalyst for Mitch to turn the corner, and truly believe in himself.

 

[tikited]

The throw that Mitch made to Williams against Mich. was a thing of beauty (the one handed catch). Mitch can do it if he is healthy and a threat to run.

 

[Unregistered User]

Start the game with passes that are easy to complete...behind the line of scrimmage, dump to a back, quick slant etc We did not do that until Michigan.

Without trying to nitpick, I recall a pass early this season (first game, maybe even first pass) that Mitch threw to Berkley that was essentially a WR screen, and Edwards just dropped the ball. The pass wasn't poorly thrown, the young RB just dropped it. As inconsistent as Mitch has been, having receivers drop passes that are well thrown can't help the confidence of a young QB.

That being said, Mitch has to learn to shake off missed plays (his own, or those of his receivers) and hit the "reset" button in his mind, thinking and feeling like he'd just completed six in a row. Confidence is a state of mind, and in this case it's OK if he puts the cart before the horse. Be confident that you will make plays, and over time that will translate into making plays. It seems like, prior to Michigan, Mitch was hesitant. Others on this board want him to show some swagger... to me that equates to him showing (through body language, and execution) that he truly believes he can and will make plays.

Here's hoping that the Michigan win (along with 2 weeks to prepare for NW) is a catalyst for Mitch to turn the corner, and truly believe in himself.

Nope, on the throw you're talking about, Berk moved while ML was in his throwing motion. That was all on Berk.