The offense down the stretch

[GophersInIowa]

It's very clear that the strength of this team is the offense. To win games, they're going to have to score a lot of points. One of the things I have not liked about about the Fleck era is how conservative we get when having a lead. Last night may have been the worst example of this. After kicking the FG to get to 38 points, here is how it went the rest of regulation:

Drive 1
- Mo run for 3 yds
- Mo run for 3 yds
- Bubble screen to Bateman for 0 yds
- punt

Drive 2
- Mo run for 5 yds
- Mo run for -1 yds
- Morgan sacked for -9 yds
- punt

Drive 3
- Mo run for 2 yds
- Morgan to Bateman for 12 yds, 1st down
- Mo run for 7 yds
- Mo run for 2 yds
- Mo run for no gain (9 men in the box)
- punt

So that was 11 plays for a total of 24 yards.
Mo: 8 carries for 21 yards
Morgan: 3 pass attempts, one resulted in a sack, and only one actual throw past the line of scrimmage.

We have one of the best QB/WR duos in program history, and another very good WR. Yes Mo was great to that point but Maryland clearly made adjustments bringing 8-9 guys into the box. There were multiple examples in the 4th quarter where Bateman and CRAB were 1 on 1 with a CB. I get why we were so run heavy in the first 3 quarters because Maryland was playing with 2 deep safeties a lot. Many examples of just 5 or 6 guys in the box on defense. And Mo having 41 carries is inexcusable. Potts looks too good to not have gotten him 10 carries last night. And then another game without a reception by a TE or RB.

The defense is very frustrating and pathetic but unfortunately they are what they are at this point. I think they'll get better with experience (it's hard to get much worse) but the offense is going to have to dominate for 4 quarters to get some wins.

 

[MGGopher]

Well said. After "Drive 1" above, everyone knew Maryland would score to pull within10. At that point, PJ needs to tell the offensive staff to open up the throttle and do whatever it takes to get a TD. The strategy they went with was the exact opposite. Unfortunately, we've seen that many times in PJ's tenure. He'd rather slow it down and sit on the ball late in the game. Came back to bite him last night.

PS: I agree 100% on Potts. Funny you wrote that as I just typed in another thread that he should've had 10 carries last night. It was baffling. The staff must not trust him in some aspect and will only run him out there in very specific situations with a specific play called.

 

[gopher7]

It's very clear that the strength of this team is the offense. To win games, they're going to have to score a lot of points. One of the things I have not liked about about the Fleck era is how conservative we get when having a lead. Last night may have been the worst example of this. After kicking the FG to get to 38 points, here is how it went the rest of regulation:

Drive 1
- Mo run for 3 yds
- Mo run for 3 yds
- Bubble screen to Bateman for 0 yds
- punt

Drive 2
- Mo run for 5 yds
- Mo run for -1 yds
- Morgan sacked for -9 yds
- punt

Drive 3
- Mo run for 2 yds
- Morgan to Bateman for 12 yds, 1st down
- Mo run for 7 yds
- Mo run for 2 yds
- Mo run for no gain (9 men in the box)
- punt

So that was 11 plays for a total of 24 yards.
Mo: 8 carries for 21 yards
Morgan: 3 pass attempts, one resulted in a sack, and only one actual throw past the line of scrimmage.

We have one of the best QB/WR duos in program history, and another very good WR. Yes Mo was great to that point but Maryland clearly made adjustments bringing 8-9 guys into the box. There were multiple examples in the 4th quarter where Bateman and CRAB were 1 on 1 with a CB. I get why we were so run heavy in the first 3 quarters because Maryland was playing with 2 deep safeties a lot. Many examples of just 5 or 6 guys in the box on defense. And Mo having 41 carries is inexcusable. Potts looks too good to not have gotten him 10 carries last night. And then another game without a reception by a TE or RB.

The defense is very frustrating and pathetic but unfortunately they are what they are at this point. I think they'll get better with experience (it's hard to get much worse) but the offense is going to have to dominate for 4 quarters to get some wins.

Agree with all of this. Especially for Drive 3... Time was running out and we just kept running. It's like we'd already decided that we were playing for OT at that point. How do you do that when you have the Big Ten's best WR and 2nd best QB from last year??? Especially when your defense has shown nothing in 7.5 quarters. Completely inexcusable, this loss is 100% on the coaching.

 

[Halsey Hall]

It's very clear that the strength of this team is the offense. To win games, they're going to have to score a lot of points. One of the things I have not liked about about the Fleck era is how conservative we get when having a lead. Last night may have been the worst example of this. After kicking the FG to get to 38 points, here is how it went the rest of regulation:

Drive 1
- Mo run for 3 yds
- Mo run for 3 yds
- Bubble screen to Bateman for 0 yds
- punt

Drive 2
- Mo run for 5 yds
- Mo run for -1 yds
- Morgan sacked for -9 yds
- punt

Drive 3
- Mo run for 2 yds
- Morgan to Bateman for 12 yds, 1st down
- Mo run for 7 yds
- Mo run for 2 yds
- Mo run for no gain (9 men in the box)
- punt

So that was 11 plays for a total of 24 yards.
Mo: 8 carries for 21 yards
Morgan: 3 pass attempts, one resulted in a sack, and only one actual throw past the line of scrimmage.

We have one of the best QB/WR duos in program history, and another very good WR. Yes Mo was great to that point but Maryland clearly made adjustments bringing 8-9 guys into the box. There were multiple examples in the 4th quarter where Bateman and CRAB were 1 on 1 with a CB. I get why we were so run heavy in the first 3 quarters because Maryland was playing with 2 deep safeties a lot. Many examples of just 5 or 6 guys in the box on defense. And Mo having 41 carries is inexcusable. Potts looks too good to not have gotten him 10 carries last night. And then another game without a reception by a TE or RB.

The defense is very frustrating and pathetic but unfortunately they are what they are at this point. I think they'll get better with experience (it's hard to get much worse) but the offense is going to have to dominate for 4 quarters to get some wins.

BRILLIANT

 

[upnorthkid]

didn't you know tanner morgan is a highly inefficient passer who makes terrible decisions consistently and shouldn't be trusted to win you the game?

absolutely unacceptable to not let your QB who was an absolute stud last year have the opportunity to go for the kill shot

 

[tikited]

Foot on the throat did not happen at all last night. Fleck's worst game here by far.

 

[Calgoph]

It's very clear that the strength of this team is the offense. To win games, they're going to have to score a lot of points. One of the things I have not liked about about the Fleck era is how conservative we get when having a lead. Last night may have been the worst example of this. After kicking the FG to get to 38 points, here is how it went the rest of regulation:

Drive 1
- Mo run for 3 yds
- Mo run for 3 yds
- Bubble screen to Bateman for 0 yds
- punt

Drive 2
- Mo run for 5 yds
- Mo run for -1 yds
- Morgan sacked for -9 yds
- punt

Drive 3
- Mo run for 2 yds
- Morgan to Bateman for 12 yds, 1st down
- Mo run for 7 yds
- Mo run for 2 yds
- Mo run for no gain (9 men in the box)
- punt

So that was 11 plays for a total of 24 yards.
Mo: 8 carries for 21 yards
Morgan: 3 pass attempts, one resulted in a sack, and only one actual throw past the line of scrimmage.

We have one of the best QB/WR duos in program history, and another very good WR. Yes Mo was great to that point but Maryland clearly made adjustments bringing 8-9 guys into the box. There were multiple examples in the 4th quarter where Bateman and CRAB were 1 on 1 with a CB. I get why we were so run heavy in the first 3 quarters because Maryland was playing with 2 deep safeties a lot. Many examples of just 5 or 6 guys in the box on defense. And Mo having 41 carries is inexcusable. Potts looks too good to not have gotten him 10 carries last night. And then another game without a reception by a TE or RB.

The defense is very frustrating and pathetic but unfortunately they are what they are at this point. I think they'll get better with experience (it's hard to get much worse) but the offense is going to have to dominate for 4 quarters to get some wins.

I just made pretty much this same point in another thread. Sanford burned up Ibrahim and it cost us a winnable game. If he did it at the behest of PJ, the fault lies with him.

 

[The prez sez]

As much as I am in Morgan's corner, I have to wonder about his limitations and how we are being defended. Specifically he's not a threat to run the ball. If he could occasionally tuck the ball and run or if we had that threat at QB, it would make us so much tougher to defend. Getting a few yards from the Q B makes to easier on Ibrahim and our receivers.

 

[forever a gopher]

As much as I am in Morgan's corner, I have to wonder about his limitations and how we are being defended. Specifically he's not a threat to run the ball. If he could occasionally tuck the ball and run or if we had that threat at QB, it would make us so much tougher to defend. Getting a few yards from the Q B makes to easier on Ibrahim and our receivers.

While not a prolific runner, Morgan has shown he can run enough to keep a defense honest. I was of the opinion last year they should have let Morgan keep the ball while running the RPO at least 3 times a game. Even if he’s only getting you 2-3 yards a crack, it’s worth it. The designed QB run has been absent, as the only time he’s running is when under pressure.

I was complaining after the MI game as well- where are the designed bootlegs out of the pocket? He was successful with that look last year, and haven’t seen any of that in 2020.

 

[noamfromm]

As much as I am in Morgan's corner, I have to wonder about his limitations and how we are being defended. Specifically he's not a threat to run the ball. If he could occasionally tuck the ball and run or if we had that threat at QB, it would make us so much tougher to defend. Getting a few yards from the Q B makes to easier on Ibrahim and our receivers.

The announcers let me know he was an accomplished runner

 

[Great Plains Gopher]

Open up the passing game, drop the two tight end formation and let our great receivers get out in space - throw on first down, throw on any down, mixed with Mo running. Balanced offense, please. If Sanford can't do it, fire him during the season.

 

[BarnBurner]

It's very clear that the strength of this team is the offense. To win games, they're going to have to score a lot of points. One of the things I have not liked about about the Fleck era is how conservative we get when having a lead. Last night may have been the worst example of this. After kicking the FG to get to 38 points, here is how it went the rest of regulation:

Drive 1
- Mo run for 3 yds
- Mo run for 3 yds
- Bubble screen to Bateman for 0 yds
- punt

Drive 2
- Mo run for 5 yds
- Mo run for -1 yds
- Morgan sacked for -9 yds
- punt

Drive 3
- Mo run for 2 yds
- Morgan to Bateman for 12 yds, 1st down
- Mo run for 7 yds
- Mo run for 2 yds
- Mo run for no gain (9 men in the box)
- punt

So that was 11 plays for a total of 24 yards.
Mo: 8 carries for 21 yards
Morgan: 3 pass attempts, one resulted in a sack, and only one actual throw past the line of scrimmage.

We have one of the best QB/WR duos in program history, and another very good WR. Yes Mo was great to that point but Maryland clearly made adjustments bringing 8-9 guys into the box. There were multiple examples in the 4th quarter where Bateman and CRAB were 1 on 1 with a CB. I get why we were so run heavy in the first 3 quarters because Maryland was playing with 2 deep safeties a lot. Many examples of just 5 or 6 guys in the box on defense. And Mo having 41 carries is inexcusable. Potts looks too good to not have gotten him 10 carries last night. And then another game without a reception by a TE or RB.

The defense is very frustrating and pathetic but unfortunately they are what they are at this point. I think they'll get better with experience (it's hard to get much worse) but the offense is going to have to dominate for 4 quarters to get some wins.

I would add Jackson look very good. Go 3 wide.

 

[GrampaGopher]

Fleck has shown a propensity that when they get to the 4th quarter and have a lead they get ultra conservative and run clock. We hung on last year and were able to finish games not this year with this defense.

 

[PMWinSTP]

Foot on the throat did not happen at all last night. Fleck's worst game here by far.

Worse than the back to back shutout losses to end 2017? Those two teams scored less points than Mich and MD.

 

[Replacement Gopher]

Foot on the throat did not happen at all last night. Fleck's worst game here by far.

Foot on the throat has not happened in any game with Fleck. He punted from the opponents 37. He didn’t learn form it.

 

[Spaulding!No!]

As much as I am in Morgan's corner, I have to wonder about his limitations and how we are being defended. Specifically he's not a threat to run the ball. If he could occasionally tuck the ball and run or if we had that threat at QB, it would make us so much tougher to defend. Getting a few yards from the Q B makes to easier on Ibrahim and our receivers.

You think he is like leidner?

 

[Some Day...Maybe]

It's very clear that the strength of this team is the offense. To win games, they're going to have to score a lot of points. One of the things I have not liked about about the Fleck era is how conservative we get when having a lead. Last night may have been the worst example of this. After kicking the FG to get to 38 points, here is how it went the rest of regulation:

Drive 1
- Mo run for 3 yds
- Mo run for 3 yds
- Bubble screen to Bateman for 0 yds
- punt

Drive 2
- Mo run for 5 yds
- Mo run for -1 yds
- Morgan sacked for -9 yds
- punt

Drive 3
- Mo run for 2 yds
- Morgan to Bateman for 12 yds, 1st down
- Mo run for 7 yds
- Mo run for 2 yds
- Mo run for no gain (9 men in the box)
- punt

So that was 11 plays for a total of 24 yards.
Mo: 8 carries for 21 yards
Morgan: 3 pass attempts, one resulted in a sack, and only one actual throw past the line of scrimmage.

We have one of the best QB/WR duos in program history, and another very good WR. Yes Mo was great to that point but Maryland clearly made adjustments bringing 8-9 guys into the box. There were multiple examples in the 4th quarter where Bateman and CRAB were 1 on 1 with a CB. I get why we were so run heavy in the first 3 quarters because Maryland was playing with 2 deep safeties a lot. Many examples of just 5 or 6 guys in the box on defense. And Mo having 41 carries is inexcusable. Potts looks too good to not have gotten him 10 carries last night. And then another game without a reception by a TE or RB.

The defense is very frustrating and pathetic but unfortunately they are what they are at this point. I think they'll get better with experience (it's hard to get much worse) but the offense is going to have to dominate for 4 quarters to get some wins.

Great post. Sanford has been very weak sauce so far. Give me Simon!!!! Morgan and Bateman seem frustrated by the play calling. Hopefully they work the kinks out as the season goes on. If not, move on from Sanford. Give the play calling and OC authority fully to Simon.

 

[tikited]

Worse than the back to back shutout losses to end 2017? Those two teams scored less points than Mich and MD.

That team didn't have the same expectations but I hear ya.

 

[Mulligan]

Foot on the throat did not happen at all last night. Fleck's worst game here by far.

Ya, for the first time the PJ Kool-Aid was sort of sour. We were shakey the first 3 games last year but I really felt like they would get it going. This year just feels off. Expected the defense would take a step back, although not this big a step. But I thought the offense would be great from the get-go.

 

[EG#9]

Of all the plays in the game, nothing angered me more than that 3rd and ~2 run to Mo on the Gophers final possession of regulation. I went back and watched it multiple time and I don't understand how they didn't check out of that play. Even watching live, it was obvious that we couldn't run out of that formation against Maryland the way they had lined up. If it was obvious to me, it had to have been obvious to Fleck, Sanford, and Morgan as well. The Gophers were way too conservative in the 4th quarter in general, but that last play call was really the worst of the worst.

Someone made a great point in another thread comparing the Gophers in this 4th quarter to last year's game against Penn State. If you remember, the Gophers almost choked that game away by going in to a complete shell on their couple of drives where just one first down would have made all the difference in the world. I think PJ is really a conservative coach by nature, we just tend to not think of him that way because of his age and personality. If he (or Sanford or whoever) learned a lesson about sitting on leads, then at least we will take something positive out of this game.

To contradict some of this, what if...there isn't much confidence in Tanner Morgan? In the 3rd quarter drive that ended in a FG, he might have missed Bateman for a TD on a crosser (was tough to tell) then had Spann-Ford open for the TD on 3rd down and air mailed him. Then in the 4th quarter, Morgan felt a rush that wasn't there, escaped to his right inviting pressure...and fell down on a critical 3rd down. Even on the TD pass to Autman-Bell earlier in the game he stared Chris down the whole way allowing the safety to come from the middle of the field. If the safety simply took a better angle, he has a pick or a pass deflection...Tanner was fortunate that ended up a TD. Maybe the unwillingness to throw the football last night was attributable solely to 2 things: believing that Maryland couldn't stop it and wanting to keep the defense off the field. It also could be a lack of confidenced in the quarterback which would be surprising, but they didn't exactly put the ball in Tanner's hands against Michigan either. It's a different game, but if anyone remember's the '98 Vikings transition to '99 the Gophers lost their OC (Billick) to the Ravens in the offseason and their QB coach (Meyers) was set to take over as OC but died suddenly in the offseason. The Vikings had to bring in a new OC from outside the organization and Cunningham who had a fantastic '98 played terrible in '99 and put the team in a hole before being benched. Tanner has lost his OC and QB coach (same guy in this case) and is playing for a new OC this year that was brought in from outside the organization. To be clear, I don't necessarily think that's what is happening here just kind of throwing out an idea for why an offense we expected to be explosive has looked kind of anemic in the passing game.

 

[Halsey Hall]

Of all the plays in the game, nothing angered me more than that 3rd and ~2 run to Mo on the Gophers final possession of regulation. I went back and watched it multiple time and I don't understand how they didn't check out of that play. Even watching live, it was obvious that we couldn't run out of that formation against Maryland the way they had lined up. If it was obvious to me, it had to have been obvious to Fleck, Sanford, and Morgan as well. The Gophers were way too conservative in the 4th quarter in general, but that last play call was really the worst of the worst.

Someone made a great point in another thread comparing the Gophers in this 4th quarter to last year's game against Penn State. If you remember, the Gophers almost choked that game away by going in to a complete shell on their couple of drives where just one first down would have made all the difference in the world. I think PJ is really a conservative coach by nature, we just tend to not think of him that way because of his age and personality. If he (or Sanford or whoever) learned a lesson about sitting on leads, then at least we will take something positive out of this game.

To contradict some of this, what if...there isn't much confidence in Tanner Morgan? In the 3rd quarter drive that ended in a FG, he might have missed Bateman for a TD on a crosser (was tough to tell) then had Spann-Ford open for the TD on 3rd down and air mailed him. Then in the 4th quarter, Morgan felt a rush that wasn't there, escaped to his right inviting pressure...and fell down on a critical 3rd down. Even on the TD pass to Autman-Bell earlier in the game he stared Chris down the whole way allowing the safety to come from the middle of the field. If the safety simply took a better angle, he has a pick or a pass deflection...Tanner was fortunate that ended up a TD. Maybe the unwillingness to throw the football last night was attributable solely to 2 things: believing that Maryland couldn't stop it and wanting to keep the defense off the field. It also could be a lack of confidenced in the quarterback which would be surprising, but they didn't exactly put the ball in Tanner's hands against Michigan either. It's a different game, but if anyone remember's the '98 Vikings transition to '99 the Gophers lost their OC (Billick) to the Ravens in the offseason and their QB coach (Meyers) was set to take over as OC but died suddenly in the offseason. The Vikings had to bring in a new OC from outside the organization and Cunningham who had a fantastic '98 played terrible in '99 and put the team in a hole before being benched. Tanner has lost his OC and QB coach (same guy in this case) and is playing for a new OC this year that was brought in from outside the organization. To be clear, I don't necessarily think that's what is happening here just kind of throwing out an idea for why an offense we expected to be explosive has looked kind of anemic in the passing game.

THE WORST THING ABOUT PJ IS HE SAID HE NEVER CONSIDERED GOING FOR 2. REALLY?????

 

[upnorthkid]

Of all the plays in the game, nothing angered me more than that 3rd and ~2 run to Mo on the Gophers final possession of regulation. I went back and watched it multiple time and I don't understand how they didn't check out of that play. Even watching live, it was obvious that we couldn't run out of that formation against Maryland the way they had lined up. If it was obvious to me, it had to have been obvious to Fleck, Sanford, and Morgan as well. The Gophers were way too conservative in the 4th quarter in general, but that last play call was really the worst of the worst.

Someone made a great point in another thread comparing the Gophers in this 4th quarter to last year's game against Penn State. If you remember, the Gophers almost choked that game away by going in to a complete shell on their couple of drives where just one first down would have made all the difference in the world. I think PJ is really a conservative coach by nature, we just tend to not think of him that way because of his age and personality. If he (or Sanford or whoever) learned a lesson about sitting on leads, then at least we will take something positive out of this game.

To contradict some of this, what if...there isn't much confidence in Tanner Morgan? In the 3rd quarter drive that ended in a FG, he might have missed Bateman for a TD on a crosser (was tough to tell) then had Spann-Ford open for the TD on 3rd down and air mailed him. Then in the 4th quarter, Morgan felt a rush that wasn't there, escaped to his right inviting pressure...and fell down on a critical 3rd down. Even on the TD pass to Autman-Bell earlier in the game he stared Chris down the whole way allowing the safety to come from the middle of the field. If the safety simply took a better angle, he has a pick or a pass deflection...Tanner was fortunate that ended up a TD. Maybe the unwillingness to throw the football last night was attributable solely to 2 things: believing that Maryland couldn't stop it and wanting to keep the defense off the field. It also could be a lack of confidenced in the quarterback which would be surprising, but they didn't exactly put the ball in Tanner's hands against Michigan either. It's a different game, but if anyone remember's the '98 Vikings transition to '99 the Gophers lost their OC (Billick) to the Ravens in the offseason and their QB coach (Meyers) was set to take over as OC but died suddenly in the offseason. The Vikings had to bring in a new OC from outside the organization and Cunningham who had a fantastic '98 played terrible in '99 and put the team in a hole before being benched. Tanner has lost his OC and QB coach (same guy in this case) and is playing for a new OC this year that was brought in from outside the organization. To be clear, I don't necessarily think that's what is happening here just kind of throwing out an idea for why an offense we expected to be explosive has looked kind of anemic in the passing game.

Then I hate Sanford even more if he decided the offense was more about what he knew how to do than adapting it to what his players do best. TM2 had one of the best seasons we’ve ever seen in maroon and gold and he is clearly a smart dude so I would highly doubt knowing the playbook would be an issue (you see this manifest in not knowing the check downs or where to look when there’s pressure). This offense needs to be pedal to the metal all year because you don’t have any studs on defense to shut things down. Tanner has to be trusted when there’s 8 in the box or he should not be the quarterback. Hopefully they learned their lessons this week.

 

[Gophergrandpa]

Fleck has shown a propensity that when they get to the 4th quarter and have a lead they get ultra conservative and run clock. We hung on last year and were able to finish games not this year with this defense.

Fleck talks a lot about what he learned from Jim Tressel. But Fleck has got to forget what he learned from Tressel about closing off a tight game in the 4th quarter—until he has a defense like one of Tressel’s at Ohio State. If your defense has been shredded all game, you must keep your foot on the offensive accelerator in the 4th quarter. Go with the full measure of your strength; don’t turn over the “closing” responsibility to a confused, demoralized, battered defense.

 

[MGGopher]

It's all been said, but essentially the offense was good and did not lose the game, but they also had the chance to proactively go WIN the game with 3 drives in the 4th quarter, but one or both of the HC and OC decided not to do that and instead sit on the ball to the greatest extent possible. Hopefully they see that's not a viable option moving forward until this defense improves.

 

[MplsGopher]

Well said. After "Drive 1" above, everyone knew Maryland would score to pull within10. At that point, PJ needs to tell the offensive staff to open up the throttle and do whatever it takes to get a TD. The strategy they went with was the exact opposite. Unfortunately, we've seen that many times in PJ's tenure. He'd rather slow it down and sit on the ball late in the game. Came back to bite him last night.

PS: I agree 100% on Potts. Funny you wrote that as I just typed in another thread that he should've had 10 carries last night. It was baffling. The staff must not trust him in some aspect and will only run him out there in very specific situations with a specific play called.

What would you say toa hypothetical PJ devil's advocate response of:

"We're up 17, and even 10, and our defense can't win the game for us? Unacceptable. Defense needs to step up. We need to be able to depend on our defense to make plays. Offense went out and got the work done to win the game. Defense needs to get it done."

 

[RememberMurray]

What would you say toa hypothetical PJ devil's advocate response of:

"We're up 17, and even 10, and our defense can't win the game for us? Unacceptable. Defense needs to step up. We need to be able to depend on our defense to make plays. Offense went out and got the work done to win the game. Defense needs to get it done."

I'd say he's clearly right.

Folks, if the defense gives up 675 yards and 45 points a game, and 10 yards plus per play, there is no chance — no chance — that changing our offensive philosophy on the fly, mid-game or in mid-season, will save us.

 

[RolGnav]

Yup... Who is calling the plays? My guess is Sanford, as that is the only difference on Offense.. the starters are relatively the same. Not impressed with the play calling this year.

 

[PMWinSTP]

Of all the plays in the game, nothing angered me more than that 3rd and ~2 run to Mo on the Gophers final possession of regulation. I went back and watched it multiple time and I don't understand how they didn't check out of that play. Even watching live, it was obvious that we couldn't run out of that formation against Maryland the way they had lined up. If it was obvious to me, it had to have been obvious to Fleck, Sanford, and Morgan as well. The Gophers were way too conservative in the 4th quarter in general, but that last play call was really the worst of the worst.

Someone made a great point in another thread comparing the Gophers in this 4th quarter to last year's game against Penn State. If you remember, the Gophers almost choked that game away by going in to a complete shell on their couple of drives where just one first down would have made all the difference in the world. I think PJ is really a conservative coach by nature, we just tend to not think of him that way because of his age and personality. If he (or Sanford or whoever) learned a lesson about sitting on leads, then at least we will take something positive out of this game.

To contradict some of this, what if...there isn't much confidence in Tanner Morgan? In the 3rd quarter drive that ended in a FG, he might have missed Bateman for a TD on a crosser (was tough to tell) then had Spann-Ford open for the TD on 3rd down and air mailed him. Then in the 4th quarter, Morgan felt a rush that wasn't there, escaped to his right inviting pressure...and fell down on a critical 3rd down. Even on the TD pass to Autman-Bell earlier in the game he stared Chris down the whole way allowing the safety to come from the middle of the field. If the safety simply took a better angle, he has a pick or a pass deflection...Tanner was fortunate that ended up a TD. Maybe the unwillingness to throw the football last night was attributable solely to 2 things: believing that Maryland couldn't stop it and wanting to keep the defense off the field. It also could be a lack of confidenced in the quarterback which would be surprising, but they didn't exactly put the ball in Tanner's hands against Michigan either. It's a different game, but if anyone remember's the '98 Vikings transition to '99 the Gophers lost their OC (Billick) to the Ravens in the offseason and their QB coach (Meyers) was set to take over as OC but died suddenly in the offseason. The Vikings had to bring in a new OC from outside the organization and Cunningham who had a fantastic '98 played terrible in '99 and put the team in a hole before being benched. Tanner has lost his OC and QB coach (same guy in this case) and is playing for a new OC this year that was brought in from outside the organization. To be clear, I don't necessarily think that's what is happening here just kind of throwing out an idea for why an offense we expected to be explosive has looked kind of anemic in the passing game.

Good grief. I'll take Friday's offense production all day long.

 

[GFBfan]

I'd say he's clearly right.

Folks, if the defense gives up 675 yards and 45 points a game, and 10 yards plus per play, there is no chance — no chance — that changing our offensive philosophy on the fly, mid-game or in mid-season, will save us.

But they did change their philosophy in the 4th quarter and lost because of it.

 

[PMWinSTP]

But they did change their philosophy in the 4th quarter and lost because of it.

I'm sorry but the mix of plays in the 4th qtr was the same as the first 3 qtrs.