Sigh, offseason thoughts

Donate To GopherHole
O

Ole

Active member
Joined
Jun 5, 2009
Messages
2,554
Reaction score
0
Points
36
Well that was rough.
I'm pretty down about everything Gopher Football right now, though much improved from New Years Eve. I told myself I'd wait awhile before I posted anything.
I'm not mad, more depressed and sad at our lack of big time improvement between the end of the season and the bowl game. It looks like the offseason will be dominated by those obsessed with firing coaches and benching players, instead of talking about football and getting excited about next season. Oh well, I'm still a Gopher fan, and I'm still hoping to talk some football here, though maybe not as often until spring practice.
A few thoughts in that spirit:
-The defense is going to be as good if not better next year. For all the great things Campbell, Tripplett, Lawrence, Brown, Small, Moen, BPT, Sherels, and Mckinley did this year, a BIG thank you!

-There are going to be some big time defensive players around for the next 2-5 years, guys like Cooper, Tinsley, Wilhite, Edwards, Kirksey, Carter etc are going to elevate the defense, I'm more convinced of it now.

-The redshirt record of Brewster is pretty solid if short, he's waited for some guys and its paid off so far. If we can get a similar season to what we saw out of Cooper and Wilhite, out of Garin, Hageman, KGM, Kerry Lewis, Maresh, Jacques, Singleton and Watkins we'll be good to go. JUCO impact of Thorton and C. Lewis similar to Lawrence and BPT 08 would help too.

-Offensively we are not losing anyone, which is good, though I expect many new starters next season. The young guys will need to step out next year for success to occur(obvious)
Mcknight has developed nicely, we have a deep talent pool at receiver, now they need to become consistent and clutch.

-I think we all hope a runningback has a monster offseason and becomes a feature back. Here's to Whaley putting on 15 lbs and maturing a bit. However, the #1 offensive issue is Oline, and will continue to be until we are able to plow the road for once. If Olson and Michel are close to competing for jobs, I hope they get the start. It's time for the team to act like they are from the Big Ten, that means lining up and pounding to ball once in awhile and physically beating non-conference opponents.
I'd love an opening drive against MTSU consisting of 15 inside runs for a touchdown, that type of running game should be the goal.

-I truly hope the team has a sour taste and it drives them all offseason, including coaches and backups. You have to believe Gray will take out his fumble frustration in the weight room, that's easy. The true test for all these coaches and young players is whether they develop mentally and mature emotionally. That means penalties and mental mistakes become rare, and clockworklike routes/blocks/reads etc become commonplace.

-I'm looking for 2 more tickets to add to my 4 and have 4-8 people who hope to buy season tickets next year too. Anyone jumping ship now hopefully you won't, but if you must then jump. I can't express my personal disdain for fairweather fans. Right now it hurts like hell, but come september I hope everyone packs TCF and cheers on our team.
I'll be the one in 231 screaming my guts out.
Go Gophers.
 

Well said. I'd add that the "Murderer's Row" of Home games - USC, tOSU, Penn State and Iowa may really add to the huge discrepancy between the "fire or keep him" threads and the "let's talk a litle football" ones.

On the plus side maybe the Student Section will fill-up a little earlier for those games!;)
 

I feel like I am stuck in a terrible hangover, but not from a great night out on the town instead from a night that had potential but just didn't deliver.

Here's to promising recruits delivering on their potential.

Cheers to that!
 

Ole said:
Offensively we are not losing anyone, which is good, though I expect many new starters next season.
Click to expand...

I'm going to assume you meant not losing anyone off the roster that ended the season, rather than the one that began it, as I would count Eric Decker as a pretty big loss. Also, we are losing our starting TE.

I've learned not to give too much credence to the whole "returning players" statistic. It was much-discussed in the preseason that we were the most experienced team in the Big Ten, and look where that got us. I think it's also worth noting that we lost hardly anyone off of last year's offense, and again - little besides heartache and sorrow awaited us on that side of the ball this year.

You are correct in that, despite largely the same cast of characters, I too would expect massive turnover in our offensive starters. I've said it before, and I'll say it again - if Adam Weber is starting the game against MTSU, I am officially off the Brewster bandwagon. We will also have a new starting TE due to graduation, and I would not be surprised to see one or more of the newcomers grab starting spots at the WR/RB positions. Though our OL was largely disappointing this year, I think all of the starters need to come from somewhere on this year's roster. Having true freshman starting on the offensive line, for the most part, is a recipe for disaster.
 

Ole cheer up fellow GH football fan. I'm already trying to convince the family to drive down to Tennessee for the first game. Maybe bring the kids, maybe drop them off at my sister's place. The only problem is they are badger fans, and I don't know what mental disease they will give my kids by the time i get back :p.

Based on not DVRing the game, my bet is on Eskridge winning the starting job. He seems to have a more natural ability to find the whole and has some pretty decent balance, assuming he continues to get stronger, faster, better, bigger, and of course more Tremendous!
 


The biggest change that the team can make in the offseason is to not change their offensive coordinator and scheme once again! You can't expect players to play at their highest level if you are constantly changing offensive systems. Familiarity and understanding of what is going on out there for more than one year should help the offense to get back on track and perform better in the upcoming years.

As much as everyone harps on Fisch, I think it's too early to say that he is a poor choice for OC and should be let go. It was his first year as an OC, and I fully expect him to learn a great deal from what went on this year. If the offense does not perform again this next year, then I'll jump on the bandwagon of naysayers.
 

I am worried

I want to top my tailgate menu from last year and learn how my neighbor made those breakfast burritos on the grill.
 

I think I've said this before but...

6 losses has to look like something, and it wasn't going to be pretty. You show me a good looking loss and I'll show you an inferior team playing to the best of their ability.

The fact of the matter is that this team was destined for this record, all the experts outside of the metro said this. The losses had to look like some kind of ugly, and this is our version. I would love for us to be ahead of schedule, to have appeased the idiots to shut them up, but instead we're right on schedule and now we have to listen to their BS whining. It would be easy to give them an audience and commiserate, but we improved in all facets of the game. Even as pathetic as we were on offense our Big Ten stats were still up from last year. But for those who have a brain of their own left there is not a single facet of our offense that didn't improve over the course of the year. Our O line is clearly better even though they have a long way to go. Whaley was the third freshmen RB in YPG with any sizeable yards in the Big Ten. McKnight as I've been saying is destined to stardom and the WR though young go deeper than we've seen in a long time in these parts. Lurking at the QB spot is a crazy talented kid, and another highly though of commodity in Alipate behind him. So maybe we don't do monstrous things on Offense next year, how much better would they have had to be to win just a couple of more games this year? We should be at least better.

On defense, the young kids will finally be out of the barn and we can see what we've been waiting for. So maybe they've got a year to gain experience, who knows, but if that doesn't excite you then you are just not a Gopher fan. It's that simple.

For me 2010 is truly the start of the Brewster era. Does that mean I think we're going to have a great season? No I think we'll be lucky to win five next year. What that means is that we will finally be seeing a full team of Brewster type athletes, fast and athletic. It's the kind of football team we've been missing, and the kind that Brewster promised us. This will really be year one of his brand of football. That excites me. I plan on enjoying that journey and not being lost under a big wet blanket that so many so vehenemently want to toss on anybody who remotely looks like they can enjoy the ride. So *&^!#*&^!#*&^!#*&^!# the Doogies, and Ruesse's of the world, this is what I waited three years for and I'm going to enjoy the sport of it all.
 

From what I saw in the bowl game, for the most part there was improvement. EXCEPTION: Weber. I gave him the benefit of the doubt most of the yr, but when the O gets in position for 5-6 more scores and he just plain misfires, it is too bad for the rest of the team. On a whole the O was doing much better, just needed a trigger man. Defensively, I think we will be as good or better next yr. Total D-line better, Lb probably equal after the 1st few games as they get used to big time games. Sescondary is kind of a question make. Could suprise could be shaky. I'm not a real fan of either of our safetys, but maybe Royston will get better on pass coverage, Theret is what he is, shaky. But I think we will be a better FB team, record probably not much better, I think the big jump will be in 2011.
 



I think the issues are quite obvious:

1~ We need no coaching turnover, and Fisch 1) stinks so far, and 2) may leave if Shanahan gets hired somewhere. We have little control over this, but let's just hope he simplifies the playbook a little if he returns.

2~ We need a starting QB. You can talk all day long about the OL and the run game, but that has and will correct itself when the passing game is successful. Having seen Gray freeze the defense in the bowl game on his successful pass play, he could very well be that answer. Alipate deserves a shot as well. Regardless, QB is goal #1.

3~ 3rd down defense needs to improve. I'm on the bandwagon when it comes to optimism here, as our younger guys looked damn good this year - and our average guys are mostly seniors, which usually means a good year.
 

Schnoodler said:
I think I've said this before but...

6 losses has to look like something, and it wasn't going to be pretty. You show me a good looking loss and I'll show you an inferior team playing to the best of their ability.

The fact of the matter is that this team was destined for this record, all the experts outside of the metro said this. The losses had to look like some kind of ugly, and this is our version. I would love for us to be ahead of schedule, to have appeased the idiots to shut them up, but instead we're right on schedule and now we have to listen to their BS whining. It would be easy to give them an audience and commiserate, but we improved in all facets of the game. Even as pathetic as we were on offense our Big Ten stats were still up from last year. But for those who have a brain of their own left there is not a single facet of our offense that didn't improve over the course of the year. Our O line is clearly better even though they have a long way to go. Whaley was the third freshmen RB in YPG with any sizeable yards in the Big Ten. McKnight as I've been saying is destined to stardom and the WR though young go deeper than we've seen in a long time in these parts. Lurking at the QB spot is a crazy talented kid, and another highly though of commodity in Alipate behind him. So maybe we don't do monstrous things on Offense next year, how much better would they have had to be to win just a couple of more games this year? We should be at least better.

On defense, the young kids will finally be out of the barn and we can see what we've been waiting for. So maybe they've got a year to gain experience, who knows, but if that doesn't excite you then you are just not a Gopher fan. It's that simple.

For me 2010 is truly the start of the Brewster era. Does that mean I think we're going to have a great season? No I think we'll be lucky to win five next year. What that means is that we will finally be seeing a full team of Brewster type athletes, fast and athletic. It's the kind of football team we've been missing, and the kind that Brewster promised us. This will really be year one of his brand of football. That excites me. I plan on enjoying that journey and not being lost under a big wet blanket that so many so vehenemently want to toss on anybody who remotely looks like they can enjoy the ride. So *&^!#*&^!#*&^!#*&^!# the Doogies, and Ruesse's of the world, this is what I waited three years for and I'm going to enjoy the sport of it all.
Click to expand...

+ 1 Take that, Doogie!
 

Schnoodler said:
I think I've said this before but...

6 losses has to look like something, and it wasn't going to be pretty. You show me a good looking loss and I'll show you an inferior team playing to the best of their ability.

The fact of the matter is that this team was destined for this record, all the experts outside of the metro said this. The losses had to look like some kind of ugly, and this is our version. I would love for us to be ahead of schedule, to have appeased the idiots to shut them up, but instead we're right on schedule and now we have to listen to their BS whining. It would be easy to give them an audience and commiserate, but we improved in all facets of the game. Even as pathetic as we were on offense our Big Ten stats were still up from last year. But for those who have a brain of their own left there is not a single facet of our offense that didn't improve over the course of the year. Our O line is clearly better even though they have a long way to go. Whaley was the third freshmen RB in YPG with any sizeable yards in the Big Ten. McKnight as I've been saying is destined to stardom and the WR though young go deeper than we've seen in a long time in these parts. Lurking at the QB spot is a crazy talented kid, and another highly though of commodity in Alipate behind him. So maybe we don't do monstrous things on Offense next year, how much better would they have had to be to win just a couple of more games this year? We should be at least better.

On defense, the young kids will finally be out of the barn and we can see what we've been waiting for. So maybe they've got a year to gain experience, who knows, but if that doesn't excite you then you are just not a Gopher fan. It's that simple.

For me 2010 is truly the start of the Brewster era. Does that mean I think we're going to have a great season? No I think we'll be lucky to win five next year. What that means is that we will finally be seeing a full team of Brewster type athletes, fast and athletic. It's the kind of football team we've been missing, and the kind that Brewster promised us. This will really be year one of his brand of football. That excites me. I plan on enjoying that journey and not being lost under a big wet blanket that so many so vehenemently want to toss on anybody who remotely looks like they can enjoy the ride. So *&^!#*&^!#*&^!#*&^!# the Doogies, and Ruesse's of the world, this is what I waited three years for and I'm going to enjoy the sport of it all.
Click to expand...

All of that may be true, but if he wins 5 next year, he will not be coaching all of his Brewster athletes im 2011. Why can't he win 10 next year? It is not illegal to over achieve.
 

GVBadger said:
All of that may be true, but if he wins 5 next year, he will not be coaching all of his Brewster athletes im 2011. Why can't he win 10 next year? It is not illegal to over achieve.
Click to expand...

I agree about the 5 wins part. Think of all the heat that Brewster is having now winning only 6 games. That heat will double if it is perceived that he is taking steps backwards.
 



If wishes were fishes.....

bottom line is which games do you think we'll be favored in? figure it out and count. That is the base line for reality.
 

Reality???

Schnoodler said:
If wishes were fishes.....

bottom line is which games do you think we'll be favored in? figure it out and count. That is the base line for reality.
Click to expand...

Schnoods...you summed it all up, though not in the manner you intended. The point of all this passing of time should be that we have improved realtive to the level of competition that we will play. At this point we should be favored in more games than not. You can use all your whimsical B.S. and musings that you pass off as wisdom; unfortunately it only exposes that you really have no clue at to what it takes to build a winning program. I hope that we win at least 7 games next year that gives us the games we should win and then we overachieve in 2-3. You can wear the blanket of blissful failure if you choose, but don't act as if you own the crown of knowledge with repsect to this program.
 

If we win 5 games next year and the losses are close and we see improvement, Brewster will be coach into the future. We have a brutal schedule next year. Brew needs to win the ones we are suppose to and stay close in the others.
 

bankonit said:
If we win 5 games next year and the losses are close and we see improvement, Brewster will be coach into the future. We have a brutal schedule next year. Brew needs to win the ones we are suppose to and stay close in the others.
Click to expand...

If they're good, they win the games they are supposed to, the games that could go either way, and one game they aren't supposed to. That would be progress.

Anything less, like it or not, and my opinion is the Brew will be gone for 2011 if for no other reason that the vigilantiism sprung forth by the media.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom