Season thoughts

[John Galt]

Lot of really good rational takes in this thread. 2020 was a messed up year that very few teams are going to feel good about.

I am very optimistic about what 2021 could bring for this team. Unfortunate to start with OSU but at the same time I guess if you are going to play them week 1 is as good as any since they will have a new QB and will have lost a bunch of other guys to the NFL. They will still be loaded but week 1 games are usually kind of weird while teams get used to playing again.

Lots of teams will feel good about this season. Ohio St, Indiana, Northwestern, and Iowa just to name a few in the B1G.

 

[scools12]

What I will take out of this season is the improvement of the D as the season went along. I expect this unit with what is hopefully a normal offseason will be much improved.

Even with Ibrahim’s great year the offense appeared to regress from last season. If the players from the OLine return along with the continuing development of what looks like a good group of receivers then offense should also be decent next season.

 

[Mulligan]

Disappointed about this season. This was the year in which we could have won 2 of our 3 trophy games. The Michigan game had all those kicking problems and guys out, but still. Wisconsin was certainly beatable yesterday. But it was such a weird year, I can't get too emotional about it. Yes, every college team went through Covid, but not every team was at the center of the civil unrest this year. Proud of how the team responded and appeared to grow as people because of that.

Next year, we really do need to have it together when then season starts and not be figuring things out as we go along. Happy they showed improvement this year, but there were a lot of things to improve upon. Sort of like last year; as much fun as it was, we could easily lost a couple non-conference games last season.

 

[MZBKA1]

So many moral victories in this thread!
”The improved throughout the year”

Who cares? The team as a whole got a lot worse over the offseason and never got close to where they were last year. This team is a 2 win team. The season was a terrible disappointment.

But hey! 2 wins is more wins than Fleck has had over Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa combined! If they tilt their heads and squint their eyes, some posters can probably find another moral victory in there somewhere too!

 

[Replacement Gopher]

So many moral victories in this thread!
”The improved throughout the year”

Who cares? The team as a whole got a lot worse over the offseason and never got close to where they were last year. This team is a 2 win team. The season was a terrible disappointment.

But hey! 2 wins is more wins than Fleck has had over Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa combined! If they tilt their heads and squint their eyes, some posters can probably find another moral victory in there somewhere too!

Spot-on.
The thing that gets me most is, in my opinion, the biggest flaw is our game theory or lack thereof. Easily correctable, but continues to be horrible despite many learning opportunities.

We just refused to use the pass to set up the run after we tried and failed to run out the clock to end the first half. Just dumb.

 

[GraniteCityGopher]

OC was a disaster, didn't know the talents of the players, used a backwater technique to call plays and called a timid game. Got to grow or go.

 

[U2Gopher]

So many moral victories in this thread!
”The improved throughout the year”

Who cares? The team as a whole got a lot worse over the offseason and never got close to where they were last year. This team is a 2 win team. The season was a terrible disappointment.

But hey! 2 wins is more wins than Fleck has had over Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa combined! If they tilt their heads and squint their eyes, some posters can probably find another moral victory in there somewhere too!

So this season was a disappointment to you? I’m sure it was a disappointment to the staff and team as well. Just curious, what were your expectations for the season win/loss wise, given all the players we had to replace on defense with almost zero practice prior to about 3 weeks before the first game? Another 10 win season?

 

[short ornery norwegian]

my end-of season depressing thought -

with no bowl game, the final memory of the 2020 season is losing to Wisconsin on a missed FG in overtime. that is the memory that the program will carry into the off-season.

It's a free country. you have the right to disagree.

But remember how good everyone felt after the bowl game last year?
Now think about how you feel this year. and that is what will carry over into next season. yuk.

 

[GopherJake]

I think there are some good takes here and lots to like. Things I would like to see improved.

1. On offense, less dependence on the coaching staff pre-snap for instructions. They are constantly looking to the bench while the play clock winds toward zero. And, of course, this is coached. But we are often in a huge rush immediately before the snap is made. I realize it's common to push the play clock, but more often, it's the QB looking things over and he orders the adjustments. With the current approach, those eyes that could be on the defense are on the bench. I think as a QB that would be distracting and not help visualization of the play about to come.

2. Building on number one, it often took too long just to get the initial play call into the offense, especially on big plays and, in particular, 3rd and 4th down. More decisiveness would allow the offense to be more relaxed pre-snap as there is time to make those adjustments, rather than be in a huge rush because they broke huddle with 12 seconds on the play clock.

3. Use of timeouts. I often found myself disagreeing with PJ's use of timeouts. I honestly can't stand the timeouts to avoid a 5 yard penalty on 1st or even 2nd and 10. Don't care. I value the TO way more than those 5 yards. In particular, 2nd half TOs should be held onto like they are supplemental oxygen at 28,500 feet on Everest. Too many times we blew timeouts - some related to 1 & 2 above.

All this said, I FULLY buy into PJ Fleck, I think. I believe he is a terrific role model for one. I do tire of his mantras, but I also have seen them tempered some. There's a lot of substance there, in my opinion. He's a good guy, excellent role model and I bet he is willing to look inward as well. I think the future is bright with this guy- and lastly, I think he is perfectly happy with where he is.

 

[Some guy]

my end-of season depressing thought -

with no bowl game, the final memory of the 2020 season is losing to Wisconsin on a missed FG in overtime. that is the memory that the program will carry into the off-season.

It's a free country. you have the right to disagree.

But remember how good everyone felt after the bowl game last year?
Now think about how you feel this year. and that is what will carry over into next season. yuk.

I too am disappointed but to pretend like there is some carryover to next year is misguided by your own narrative.

Win bowl game last year and get your ass kicked game one this year?
Maybe the taste in the mouth doesn’t impact game one the next season? Or maybe it doesn’t the way you think.


this year sucked. Hopefully next year is better

 

[Bruno22]

I think there are some good takes here and lots to like. Things I would like to see improved.

1. On offense, less dependence on the coaching staff pre-snap for instructions. They are constantly looking to the bench while the play clock winds toward zero. And, of course, this is coached. But we are often in a huge rush immediately before the snap is made. I realize it's common to push the play clock, but more often, it's the QB looking things over and he orders the adjustments. With the current approach, those eyes that could be on the defense are on the bench. I think as a QB that would be distracting and not help visualization of the play about to come.

2. Building on number one, it often took too long just to get the initial play call into the offense, especially on big plays and, in particular, 3rd and 4th down. More decisiveness would allow the offense to be more relaxed pre-snap as there is time to make those adjustments, rather than be in a huge rush because they broke huddle with 12 seconds on the play clock.

3. Use of timeouts. I often found myself disagreeing with PJ's use of timeouts. I honestly can't stand the timeouts to avoid a 5 yard penalty on 1st or even 2nd and 10. Don't care. I value the TO way more than those 5 yards. In particular, 2nd half TOs should be held onto like they are supplemental oxygen at 28,500 feet on Everest. Too many times we blew timeouts - some related to 1 & 2 above.

All this said, I FULLY buy into PJ Fleck, I think. I believe he is a terrific role model for one. I do tire of his mantras, but I also have seen them tempered some. There's a lot of substance there, in my opinion. He's a good guy, excellent role model and I bet he is willing to look inward as well. I think the future is bright with this guy- and lastly, I think he is perfectly happy with where he is.

❤ the mount Everest line

Gold

 

[Pete smith]

I felt sorry for Mo asked to run between the tackles 82% of the time on first down and your linemen aren’t winning any of the individual battles. Kicking game was a joke all year. Fire the special teams coach.

 

[Johnob2]

Thought the OP spot on with the analysis. Only thing I would add is that I have faith PJ is 100% our guy moving forwards. We will always have our ups and downs in a tough conference but we are at the very least competitive most of the time.

 

[salzie]

I feel like some of you would fire coach every season if we don't sweep is/wi

I'm annoyed as anyone we again went o-2 vs them. We all want to do bett
er

Next season we'll need better ST play and better play from defense front 7, we get that I feel well be in good shape

 

[WriterGoph]

So many moral victories in this thread!
”The improved throughout the year”

Who cares? The team as a whole got a lot worse over the offseason and never got close to where they were last year. This team is a 2 win team. The season was a terrible disappointment.

But hey! 2 wins is more wins than Fleck has had over Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa combined! If they tilt their heads and squint their eyes, some posters can probably find another moral victory in there somewhere too!

If you're gonna run your mouth, at least have your facts straight. We beat Purdue, Illinois and Nebraska. That's not two wins.

 

[WriterGoph]

Spot-on.
The thing that gets me most is, in my opinion, the biggest flaw is our game theory or lack thereof. Easily correctable, but continues to be horrible despite many learning opportunities.

We just refused to use the pass to set up the run after we tried and failed to run out the clock to end the first half. Just dumb.

You're so busy crying all over this board you are saying "spot-on" to something that actually isn't even true. Go hit the showers. You've been spouting the same stuff for over 24 hours.

 

[Five Toes]

my end-of season depressing thought -

with no bowl game, the final memory of the 2020 season is losing to Wisconsin on a missed FG in overtime. that is the memory that the program will carry into the off-season.

It's a free country. you have the right to disagree.

But remember how good everyone felt after the bowl game last year?
Now think about how you feel this year. and that is what will carry over into next season. yuk.

Come on, we saw alot players step forward. Not being able to see games in person was tough on all of us and the players as well. Crazy how the end of last year made most of us to expect the same results going into this year, me included. We are moving in the right direction and I look forward to beating OSU on the 2021 opener.

 

[Clark W. Griswold]

So many moral victories in this thread!
”The improved throughout the year”

Who cares? The team as a whole got a lot worse over the offseason and never got close to where they were last year. This team is a 2 win team. The season was a terrible disappointment.

But hey! 2 wins is more wins than Fleck has had over Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa combined! If they tilt their heads and squint their eyes, some posters can probably find another moral victory in there somewhere too!

So you thought the program completely turned the corner after one good year? I made the "improved throughout the year" comment so I'll explain what that means to me.
Improvement throughout the year shows quality coaching and player buy-in. Struggles were almost guaranteed with a new oc and no off season. They improved significantly in 7 games so no one can say with any certainty what the record would have been playing the full 9 or 13 games of a regular year.
There are many reasons to be optimistic about the future but the sky is not falling. True depth takes years to build.
Recognize the special seasons when they happen and enjoy them. There will be years of struggles too. I am excited for next year.

 

[BilldGopher]

On September 3rd it was unknown whether the B1G would have FB or not. The Gophers did not open this season at TCF that night.

Given that's where we started...with everything else in the covid alternative timeline...actually feeling pretty good that we had anything at all on the field.

As an example, the Billds broke a 25 year tradition on how we do Thanksgiving this year to address covid potentials. That sucked.

Hungan's story is a gazillion times worse. Grateful he's alive.

Having football...which this year included some good and a lot of bad for our beloved Gophers...beats a lot of other things. Bottom line we didn't get to run the experiment of what a normal 2020 would have looked like.

Thankful for the Gophers. Thankful for the season. Thankful for Hungan. And looking forward to better football in a recognizably more normal situation next year.

Bring on 2021 and tOSU!

 

[btowngopher]

So many moral victories in this thread!
”The improved throughout the year”

Who cares? The team as a whole got a lot worse over the offseason and never got close to where they were last year. This team is a 2 win team. The season was a terrible disappointment.

But hey! 2 wins is more wins than Fleck has had over Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa combined! If they tilt their heads and squint their eyes, some posters can probably find another moral victory in there somewhere too!

Okay so what now? Sounds like you expect a terrible year next year?

 

[PMWinSTP]

So you thought the program completely turned the corner after one good year? I made the "improved throughout the year" comment so I'll explain what that means to me.
Improvement throughout the year shows quality coaching and player buy-in. Struggles were almost guaranteed with a new oc and no off season. They improved significantly in 7 games so no one can say with any certainty what the record would have been playing the full 9 or 13 games of a regular year.
There are many reasons to be optimistic about the future but the sky is not falling. True depth takes years to build.
Recognize the special seasons when they happen and enjoy them. There will be years of struggles too. I am excited for next year.

Program-changing win: P.J. Fleck believes Minnesota's victory over Wisconsin 'set the tone' for decades

The win over Wisconsin was huge for the future of Gopher football, according to P.J. Fleck.

saturdaytradition.com

 

[btowngopher]

my end-of season depressing thought -

with no bowl game, the final memory of the 2020 season is losing to Wisconsin on a missed FG in overtime. that is the memory that the program will carry into the off-season.

It's a free country. you have the right to disagree.

But remember how good everyone felt after the bowl game last year?
Now think about how you feel this year. and that is what will carry over into next season. yuk.

Well the win over Auburn didn’t seem to carry over much of anything, so not expecting the loss to.

 

[ecoperson]

I felt sorry for Mo asked to run between the tackles 82% of the time on first down and your linemen aren’t winning any of the individual battles. Kicking game was a joke all year. Fire the special teams coach.

Wasn't special teams the unit that got kicked by COVID?

 

[Replacement Gopher]

You're so busy crying all over this board you are saying "spot-on" to something that actually isn't even true. Go hit the showers. You've been spouting the same stuff for over 24 hours.

Good to know you are the arbiter of truth.
although if I am agreeing with someone, that makes at least two of us who share an opinion.

Make that 26 hours.

 

[Replacement Gopher]

You're so busy crying all over this board you are saying "spot-on" to something that actually isn't even true. Go hit the showers. You've been spouting the same stuff for over 24 hours.

Holy cow. In my post I literally said “in my opinion”.
Facts vs. opinions. Proof there is no age or education requirement to post on message boards.

 

[WriterGoph]

Holy cow. In my post I literally said “in my opinion”.
Facts vs. opinions. Proof there is no age or education requirement to post on message boards.

What don't you get? You are so busy trying to fill your negative bandwagon that you failed to even acknowledge our win total was off by 50% in the post you were jocking. SMH

 

[Replacement Gopher]

What don't you get? You are so busy trying to fill your negative bandwagon that you failed to even acknowledge our win total was off by 50% in the post you were jocking. SMH

Holy smokes Einstein.
“If they tilt their heads and squint their eyes, some posters can probably find another moral victory in there somewhere too!”

“Spot on. In my opinion....”

“You’re saying spot on to something that isn’t true...”

I don’t know what else to say. Guy stated an opinion. I said I though it was spot on, in my opinion. Then you demonstrate you have no idea what is a fact vs. opinion.

 

[WriterGoph]

Holy smokes Einstein.
“If they tilt their heads and squint their eyes, some posters can probably find another moral victory in there somewhere too!”

“Spot on. In my opinion....”

“You’re saying spot on to something that isn’t true...”

I don’t know what else to say. Guy stated an opinion. I said I though it was spot on, in my opinion. Then you demonstrate you have no idea what is a fact vs. opinion.

So someone posting that we won 2 games this year instead of 3 is an opinion now? Pretty sure results are facts.

 

[Replacement Gopher]

So someone posting that we won 2 games this year instead of 3 is an opinion now? Pretty sure results are facts.

Wasn’t saying spot on to that, was saying spot on to people looking for moral victories.

Good grief. That’s clearly implied. Reading comprehension much? You say spot on to opinions.

Here’s to getting hung up on semantics. Cheers. You are awesome.

 

[Clark W. Griswold]

Program-changing win: P.J. Fleck believes Minnesota's victory over Wisconsin 'set the tone' for decades

The win over Wisconsin was huge for the future of Gopher football, according to P.J. Fleck.

saturdaytradition.com

I read your article. No guarantees about wins or future dominance over a rival. What does "set the tone" mean to you?
Last year was great and raised my expectations. I thought we would have won more games this year, but I understand it is a process.
Maybe Nebraska fans aren't the most delusional in the conference?