The clock is ticking...

Ogee Ogilthorpe

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With two nonconference games in the books and two more to go, Gray is running out of time to show that he's the man to lead this team. At the very least, he needs to show that he's physically capable of finishing an entire game.

As long as the Gophers fail to present even the threat of the forward pass in their offense with Gray at the helm, this offense is going to continue to be entirely too easy to defend.

As I'm sure Miami will come out loading 8-9 men in the box, it'll be interesting to see if the Gophers come out throwing the ball down the field to keep the defense off balance. Then again, if as an offenseive coordinator you don't have any confidence in the guy throwing the ball, that makes it tough.

Time for Gray and the offense to start building some momentum as they head into BT play!!! GO GOPHERS!!!!
 

Two career starts and he's running out of time. Sweet Jesus.

If Minnesota doesn't have even a threat of a forward pass, what does that say about Illinois, Purdue, Nebraska, Northwestern and Penn State who rank behind Minnesota?
 

Well... everyone had aspirations of a possible 7 win season, are you willing to forgo all of those possibilities of making a bowl game to let ONE player at the MOST IMPORTANT position get up to speed? Or roll with a kid who's been playing solid QB up to this point without pause? It's a crappy deal for gray, having gone 3-4 years without starting at the position and our WHOLE offense suffers, relegating our whole team to suffer. His NFL future is at WR, so if he wants to play QB in college, he needs to prove it, fast. So yes, time is running out. (unless you want to go 1-11 or 0-12?)
 

Their problems run much deeper than 1 player, to put everything on Gray is ridiculous. Give the kid a break. Don't you think Shortell might struggle too if teams start game planning towards stopping him?
 

Two career starts and he's running out of time. Sweet Jesus.

If Minnesota doesn't have even a threat of a forward pass, what does that say about Illinois, Purdue, Nebraska, Northwestern and Penn State who rank behind Minnesota?

Ummmmm, you DO know that the true freshman backup QB has accounted for a big chunk of those yards, right?

I'm just saying if the next 2-3 games play out the way the last two have, I don't think we should be shocked if changes are made.

Also, if Gray's play doesn't improve in the next couple of games, I can't wait to see how long some people want to hang on to the "but he hasn't played QB since the 5th grade" excuse. Will that last into next season?
 


Gray has to show that he can go to a second option with his reads ... He hasn't shown that he can even do that.
 

Gray passed for over 200 yards and ran for 110 last weekend. Shortell went 2-7 (with two huge drops which weren't his fault). They were also about even against USC. Shortell looks like he will develop into a better QB, and he looks more polished as of now, but we gotta go with Gray.
 

Two career starts and he's running out of time. Sweet Jesus.

Two career starts and he's running out of time as a starter, YES. Not saying he can't still get playing time and then become the starter again, but from what we've seen so far if he doesn't improve today he should be yanked and Shortell should be given more of an opportunity. There's not a lot of time to give him when you're losing games that you should be winning. The conference schedule is fast approaching and this offense needs to get much better. We need to see if Shortell can start and do better if Gray can't.
 

You sure that wasn't a time bomb that was ticking? Cuz Gray just blew up all over the field in the 1st.

With two nonconference games in the books and two more to go, Gray is running out of time to show that he's the man to lead this team. At the very least, he needs to show that he's physically capable of finishing an entire game.

As long as the Gophers fail to present even the threat of the forward pass in their offense with Gray at the helm, this offense is going to continue to be entirely too easy to defend.

As I'm sure Miami will come out loading 8-9 men in the box, it'll be interesting to see if the Gophers come out throwing the ball down the field to keep the defense off balance. Then again, if as an offenseive coordinator you don't have any confidence in the guy throwing the ball, that makes it tough.

Time for Gray and the offense to start building some momentum as they head into BT play!!! GO GOPHERS!!!!
 



6-7, 98 yards, 7 yards a carry...that's crap. Shortell would be 12 for 7.
 

You sure that wasn't a time bomb that was ticking? Cuz Gray just blew up all over the field in the 1st.

Excuse me sir. He was 6-for-7. He had an incomplete pass. Time to pull the plug.
 

OMG WE GOT A F#@#@$@#$@ SACK???!!!!!
 

6-7, 98 yards, 7 yards a carry...that's crap. Shortell would be 12 for 7.
Yeah but the one to Lair was a bit low and the quick screen to Bennett was a bit behind, Jesus Shortell would have put that on the numbers. This is insane, yet another thread on how the Gophers are 0-2 because of Gray. Literally cannot tell if people are joking or are serious! A true freshman has accounted for a large chunk of those yards? Really? What he have last week, like 27? If Shortell gets time again today and goes 2-7 again then is he still the guy?
 



Now this is what we've been waiting to see. Gray actually starting to look a little more calm and collected. He just looks more confident, unlike the panic and happy feet from the last two weeks.

The Gophers need Gray to play with confidence and poise if they are going to do anything this year (and next, for that matter).

Looks like the Gophers are starting to play with more confidence on both sides of the ball. It's going to be a learning process, we all knew that; hopefully it's starting to come together. Let's keep the momentum rolling through the second half and through NDSU next week!!!
 

^^^ Props to Ogee for coming back into this thread and admitting Gray is playing better now instead of being stubborn and disappearing or trying to find holes in Gray's good first half
 

^^^ Props to Ogee for coming back into this thread and admitting Gray is playing better now instead of being stubborn and disappearing or trying to find holes in Gray's good first half

He IS playing better, or at the very least more confidently. Nobody wants Gray to get it together more than I do. I don't WANT Shortell to be starting or getting significant playing time. He's not ready yet. I've said it several times, the Gophers need Gray to play well in order to be successful.

Look, I don't think any reasonable Gopher fan thinks that Gray will ever be a very accurate passer. It's not going to happen. The key is, working around that, and putting him in positions to be successful. He needs to play with confidence and after that, the rest will fall into place.
 

^^^ Props to Ogee for coming back into this thread and admitting Gray is playing better now instead of being stubborn and disappearing or trying to find holes in Gray's good first half
Agree that Gray had a good half, primarily due to his running. However, his inability to find open receivers and hit them when open is leaving way too many points on the field. Do I think Shortell would make those throws - probably, do I think that he would be able to make the runs Gray has - absoulutely not. Gray still needs to improve dramatically in the throwing game and I'm hoping he does!
 

334 total yards for Gray, I can live with that.
 

Shortell should get his minutes, but Gray gives us the best chance to win.
 

334 total yards for Gray, I can live with that.

No doubt. From where I was sitting, it looked like about half of Gray's runs were planned QB runs and the rest were him bailing out the offensive line with his feet. Miami got WAY too much penetration most of the game and Gray rarely had time to go through his progressions. I'm pretty sure that Shortell doesn't have the altheticism to make many of those plays. I will argue that with the way that the OL is pass blocking, Gray is the better option because he can escape and make something out a broken play. No question he missed some open receivers and needs to improve on that, but he more than made up for that with his running.
 




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