Tanner Morgan has never looked like this.

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touchdownvikings

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23 of 26 for 268 yds, and 3 TDs? He's had a top-line stat like that before. Several times, actually. That's not what I'm referring to.

Distributing the ball to TEN different receivers? 6 balls to Brown-Stevens; 3 to Wright; 3 to Jackson; 3 to Spann-Ford; and so on.

Today Tanner showed us something different. He read the field POST-SNAP. And oh did he!

Yeah, I get it, Spartans generated no pressure and their secondary is suspect, to say the least. But Tanner makes the PRE-SNAP reads required to "take what the defensive alignment is giving" - he's been doing that for years now; and today he made the POST-SNAP reads required adapt to player-on-player action.

The reality is, that if he keeps this up, just from a systematic point of view, this will be a very difficult offense to stop. Because it operates so as to take what the defense gives - and it gives something on every play.
 



Not sure I totally agree with the premise that Tanner has never looked like this but I get where you are coming from.

Fun exercise - put yourself in the opposing DC's shoes and come up with a defense to stop our offense right now. #1 priority has to be stopping our run game because if you can't do that we will never throw. But if you bring up extra players to stop the run our OC and QB are very good at reading that and exploiting the 1 on 1 matchups in the secondary.

Adding to your issues as a DC is that you have to contend with a WR corps without a true #1 guy but a whole bunch of very good receivers. There is nobody to key on. Oh and just for fun you also have a giant of a TE with great hands.

Maybe Iowa has the kind of defensive talent that could give us some fits, possibly Penn State as well but honestly I haven't seen anyone on our schedule that I think can stop our offense if we continue to execute at the current level.

In 2019 our offense was special, this group has a chance to be as good or possibly even better.

Combine that with what is looking more and more each week like a truly elite defense and look out.
 




BilldGopher said:
The biggest jump to me is the WRs caught what came to them...practically every time. Although Tanner was doing his part a niumber of those catches would have been drops in the past.

Not yesterday.

Bodes very well for the future if that holds.
Click to expand...

I agree. Tanner was throwing the ball really well, but some passes were slightly high, or behind the receiver, or both — yet our receivers made the play anyway. That is so, so crucial; pass catchers have to make big plays at key moments.
 





People forget how good Morgan was in 2019. He had real draft buzz around that time. Sure.....he had two NFL caliber receivers....but he was zipping the ball to them in similar fashion.

BilldGopher said:
The biggest jump to me is the WRs caught what came to them...practically every time. Although Tanner was doing his part a niumber of those catches would have been drops in the past.

Not yesterday.

Bodes very well for the future if that holds.
Click to expand...

Also this. Every wideout on the team stepped up in a big way yesterday. Whether the catches were routine or not....they were grabbing everything in their orbit. MBS stood out, as he could usually be counted on to drop a pass that he probably should have had. Not so much yesterday. He made a couple of really difficult catches that were surprising to see completed.
 

Great post! Agree, today his post snap reads were impressive. I remember in 2019 (he was great don’t get me wrong but I think it was more the WRs we had than anything) where he would just stare the guy down waiting for the play. I didn’t really see much of that today. If he continues to do that, boy it could be a special year. Also Daniel Jackson looked kind of shifty out there, I like that! As someone alluded to in another post there is enough receiving talent for this offense to be quite formidable.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Adding to your issues as a DC is that you have to contend with a WR corps without a true #1 guy but a whole bunch of very good receivers. There is nobody to key on. Oh and just for fun you also have a giant of a TE with great hands.
Click to expand...
I made this point to my son yesterday when he was confused how the passing game looked so good. I'll just add that having the O-line being solid at pass blocking is key so that Tanner can work through his progressions. Some one will more than likely be open.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
2009? Damn he's been around longer than I thought.
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I was thinking the same thing. I think he was only a sophomore that year.

As far as looking different, his hair is a little grayer than last year. Once it starts, it goes fast.
 







MNVCGUY said:
Not sure I totally agree with the premise that Tanner has never looked like this but I get where you are coming from.

Fun exercise - put yourself in the opposing DC's shoes and come up with a defense to stop our offense right now. #1 priority has to be stopping our run game because if you can't do that we will never throw. But if you bring up extra players to stop the run our OC and QB are very good at reading that and exploiting the 1 on 1 matchups in the secondary.

Adding to your issues as a DC is that you have to contend with a WR corps without a true #1 guy but a whole bunch of very good receivers. There is nobody to key on. Oh and just for fun you also have a giant of a TE with great hands.

Maybe Iowa has the kind of defensive talent that could give us some fits, possibly Penn State as well but honestly I haven't seen anyone on our schedule that I think can stop our offense if we continue to execute at the current level.

In 2019 our offense was special, this group has a chance to be as good or possibly even better.

Combine that with what is looking more and more each week like a truly elite defense and look out.
Click to expand...
I now know how Ohio St. fans feel. I truly expect to win every remaining game, and if we don't it was an upset! RTB! Ski-U-Mah, Go Gophers!!!
 

Regarding Tanner Morgan:

We have a thread that talks about Mo Ibrahim's chances to win the Heisman Trophy, and Mo certainly deserves strong consideration.

QBs are usually top contenders for the Heisman. What about a guy with Morgan's stats, who happens to be leading a 4-0 team? Isn't he worthy of some award buzz as well?
 

RememberMurray said:
Regarding Tanner Morgan:

We have a thread that talks about Mo Ibrahim's chances to win the Heisman Trophy, and Mo certainly deserves strong consideration.

QBs are usually top contenders for the Heisman. What about a guy with Morgan's stats, who happens to be leading a 4-0 team? Isn't he worthy of some award buzz as well?
Click to expand...
Good point. I think sanferd screwed him up so bad the last 2 years that most people forgot how good he can be with a qualified OC (myself included-I forgot). He handles pressure better than anyone and his efficiency is incredible. I think the selling point is his last name is not mertz.

I think we should start a poll. Who gets more heisman votes Tanner/Mo. Joking of course but they do deserve to be talked about. Equally. They both are the lifeblood of this offense.
 

Gopherchase said:
He played great. OL did too he had time to survey his options. KC had a rock solid game plan.
Click to expand...
The offensive line play was an effort of skill, strength, style, great coaching/planning and unity.

This game did showcase the offense, defense and every aspect of the special teams with the exception of the punt game…only because they did not punt. It was a tribute to their coach and the entire coaching staff.

THAT is the way football is meant to be played, executed and coached!!!

I was so fortunate to see my team play such a great game, on the road, in a hostile Big Ten stadium that has not been kind to my team over the decades even though I was not there in person. Cudos to the great Gopher road warrior fans who made the trip to witness this great Gopher effort from East lansing!
 
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He has better targets now.

PJ outright said that if we had our main WR go down a number of years ago it would have been very bad but this year less of an impact as the rest of the reviving team is good.
 

The misery of the Mike Sanford offense caused a lot of people to forget how good Tanner is. He had legitimate draft prospects after 2019 and was making some NFL-caliber throws. Sanford has left behind a trail of underachieving quarterbacks at every stop he’s made.
 

touchdownvikings said:
23 of 26 for 268 yds, and 3 TDs? He's had a top-line stat like that before. Several times, actually. That's not what I'm referring to.

Distributing the ball to TEN different receivers? 6 balls to Brown-Stevens; 3 to Wright; 3 to Jackson; 3 to Spann-Ford; and so on.

Today Tanner showed us something different. He read the field POST-SNAP. And oh did he!

Yeah, I get it, Spartans generated no pressure and their secondary is suspect, to say the least. But Tanner makes the PRE-SNAP reads required to "take what the defensive alignment is giving" - he's been doing that for years now; and today he made the POST-SNAP reads required adapt to player-on-player action.

The reality is, that if he keeps this up, just from a systematic point of view, this will be a very difficult offense to stop. Because it operates so as to take what the defense gives - and it gives something on every play.
Click to expand...

Although he had multiple great games in 2019, Tanner is a more complete player now. As you've you said, he's reading the defense better and targeting more receivers. You would expect that with additional experience and maturity. He's also doing more with his legs in key spots now. We may not have two NFL wideouts on the team now like we had in 2019 but we have more depth of capable targets and that might be even better.

As to the second bolded point, the Spartans didn't generate that much pressure on him but I don't think that's because they can't. MSU led the conference in sacks last year and was leading it this year after 3 games. I think this offensive line is better than the one we had at this point in 2019. That OL was big but relatively young at the time. This one is mature and perhaps a little quicker.
 


BTChamp said:
Good point. I think sanfeord screwed him up so bad the last 2 years that most people forgot how good he can be with a qualified OC (myself included-I forgot). He handles pressure better than anyone and his efficiency is incredible. I think the selling point is his last name is not mertz.

I think we should start a poll. Who gets more heisman votes Tanner/Mo. Joking of course but they do deserve to be talked about. Equally. They both are the lifeblood of this offense.
Click to expand...

Ya think?
 


cjbfbp said:
Although he had multiple great games in 2019, Tanner is a more complete player now. As you've you said, he's reading the defense better and targeting more receivers. You would expect that with additional experience and maturity. He's also doing more with his legs in key spots now. We may not have two NFL wideouts on the team now like we had in 2019 but we have more depth of capable targets and that might be even better.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't be so quick to assume this. Only the brightest football minds, such as Spoofin, were talking about Bateman and Johnson as NFL draft prospects four weeks into 2019.
 
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