The passing game!

Donate To GopherHole

WorkingMyTailOff said:
There have been two things that as a fan I have seen from Wright in games that has probably put him in “the dog house”. After a big catch he started jawing and Autman-Bell ran up to him to try to correct that. Another game he got a personal foul for being chippy. I think he is going to have to adapt to the standards here before he is rewarded with a bigger role.
Click to expand...
Or could say he needs to adjust something before team allowed to benefit from his impressive skills.
 

btowngopher said:
Yeah that’s annoying. The only plays I remember this team making on special teams are the return against Wisconsin the year we beat them and the block against Michigan in the COVID year. There’s no reason we shouldn’t have at least a couple big plays from the special teams each year.
Click to expand...
I remember an Antoine Winfield punt return for a TD. Those things break the other team’s spirit. A team’s never even attempting a KO or punt return does something for the opponent—but it ain’t breaking their spirit.
 




jonnyganas said:
One thing that occurred to me listening to Fleck after the game: While folks on the outside question Morgan's passing or perceive a regression in his play, Fleck always puts it on the WRs. He has said after multiple games that drops and lack of separation by the wideouts, lack of execution are to blame. He mentioned that if a ball is in the catch-radius, our guys need to come down with it. While I think it's a "both and" situation, Fleck's background as a WR is possibly why he holds a higher standard for WRs than the QB. Thinking back to 2019, Bateman and Johnson ran better routes and almost always caught the ball in that catch-radius, making Morgan look better than his ability.

It's not an excuse, just a way to understand what the coach is thinking and his philosophy.

If the WRs can't haul in balls thrown high or behind, it stands to reason that we would benefit from a more talented QB. Hopefully we have one on our roster, but we likely won't find out until next season.
Click to expand...
Another shot in the dark guess from me is that if he blames a group, he's not pointing the finger at any single person. If he blames the QB everyone knows who he's talking about. Sort of a way to protect them as individuals. Same with saying "coaches". Not a single coach, but coaching in general (except when he blames himself). Just a guess, not saying its right or wrong or even if I'm right or wrong.
 

Replacement Gopher said:
Got it. You post on here because you enjoy it.

Everyone else does so with the false hope PJ is reading this for our advice.
Click to expand...
I didn't say that. But you're outwardly upset that people don't think the gophers are too conservative. Just relax a little.
 


What has happen to Fleck sprinting up and down the sidelines? Looks like he has put on a few pounds.
 



The best defensive strategy is to make an offense one dimensional. We aid the defense by doing it ourselves. In the red zone the running game should have developed a number play action possibilities, boots, reverses and passes off them. Oh well.....
 

Desertbobcat said:
The best defensive strategy is to make an offense one dimensional. We aid the defense by doing it ourselves. In the red zone the running game should have developed a number play action possibilities, boots, reverses and passes off them. Oh well.....
Click to expand...
They did and they were open. We just didn't throw the ball in time.
 

Some Day...Maybe said:
Chip hits the nail on the head.
Click to expand...
I actually don't mind that call. We had been getting 4-5 yards per run, if we make that a 3rd and 3 or 3rd and 2, it's suddenly two down territory.

That one didn't work out, but it didn't bother me at all.
 

kg21 said:
That pre-snap bullshit has to go. I can't remember but were we doing that in 2019?
Click to expand...
Yes. It's actually somewhat common in college football.

It looks like a lack of organization when things don't work out well, but I think we don't notice when things work out well.
 




Bob_Loblaw said:
Yes. It's actually somewhat common in college football.

It looks like a lack of organization when things don't work out well, but I think we don't notice when things work out well.
Click to expand...
Instead of the qb looking ahead and at the defense, he is looking to the sideline, leaving his more or less thinking about what's going on at the sideline.

Does Iowa do it? Does Wisconsin?
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
Yes. It's actually somewhat common in college football.

It looks like a lack of organization when things don't work out well, but I think we don't notice when things work out well.
Click to expand...
The no huddle, look to the sideline offense is common and what we were doing in 2019 as well.

The frantic, last second adjustments, is what is getting tiresome. Snap the ball with 10+ seconds on the play clock as opposed to waiting till the last second to get the play off.

We just look disjointed on offense with the way it is run right now. Plus, waiting till the last second makes it much easier for the defensive players to get a jump on the snap as well because they know it is coming.

Think we would all like to see the offense run with a bit more tempo. Can still milk the clock and control TOP without bleeding the clock every single play and running around frantically making last second adjustments.

I don't watch a ton of other games but I don't recall seeing a lot of teams looking as frantic as we do at the snap on nearly every play.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
Yes. It's actually somewhat common in college football.

It looks like a lack of organization when things don't work out well, but I think we don't notice when things work out well.
Click to expand...

Like everything else opposing teams have developed counters to the check with me offense; changing their calls, feints, lures. Some might say offenses need to mix up tempo and tendencies more, but perhaps this is too much for college teams. This is an older article from Smart Football.


“You have no doubt noticed them, those teams that seem to look to the sideline after almost every play, as the coaches seek the perfect playcall every time. And in response, good defenses have learned to “check when the offense checks”: when the offense freezes and looks back to the sideline, then most good defenses will also change their calls — and as a result change their fronts, coverage, move in and out of a blitz, etc. — to hopefully negate some of the information advantage gained by offenses. And that tit-for-tat is where things largely stand, with the good no huddle teams shifting tempos from series to series and even from play to play, while the great defenses continue to innovate not only in their schemes but also in their own communication and tactics to stay right there.

But there’s one more tool, and it’s one we’ve already seen: the “Peek” concept, which Arizona used for a touchdown and Ohio State should have also scored on. By now the reader appreciates why this is a clever trick, as not only does a defense naturally relax if the offense is looking to the sideline, but most defenses have been trained to look for their own new defensive call (sometimes even based on the offense’s signals!). So this tactic not only “freaks” out the defense as Kingsbury alluded to, but it has the potentially to catch defenses doubly unawares and therefore it actively discourages the common defensive practice of changing the defensive playcall when the offense looks to the sideline. Indeed, Michigan’s defense is known for changing playcalls when offenses use the freeze tactic, so when Ohio State coach Ryan Day called Peek he wasn’t just taking a shot, he was taking direct aim at a tactic Michigan defensive coordinator Don Brown is well known for.”

 



From the Parkinglot said:
What flashes? He had 1 catch that stood out in the very first game of the year. He’s caught 14 passes in 10 games this season. Granted they have only competed 104 passes in those 10 games. I am just very leery about expecting too much out of a transfer especially if they are leaving a better program. Of course the defensive transfers have been pretty good this year. The offensive and special teams transfers not so much.
Click to expand...
We're averaging 10 completed passes a game? No wonder we are 119th of 130 teams in passing after Saturday. Only Army, Navy and Air Force run more than we do.
 

kg21 said:
Instead of the qb looking ahead and at the defense, he is looking to the sideline, leaving his more or less thinking about what's going on at the sideline.

Does Iowa do it? Does Wisconsin?
Click to expand...
Oh yeah, I'm pretty neutral on the practice. I am just saying we did it in 2019 and you see it quite a bit in college football.

No, those are two teams who do not do it. I believe Ohio State does (or used to with Urban).
 

MNVCGUY said:
The no huddle, look to the sideline offense is common and what we were doing in 2019 as well.

The frantic, last second adjustments, is what is getting tiresome. Snap the ball with 10+ seconds on the play clock as opposed to waiting till the last second to get the play off.

We just look disjointed on offense with the way it is run right now. Plus, waiting till the last second makes it much easier for the defensive players to get a jump on the snap as well because they know it is coming.

Think we would all like to see the offense run with a bit more tempo. Can still milk the clock and control TOP without bleeding the clock every single play and running around frantically making last second adjustments.

I don't watch a ton of other games but I don't recall seeing a lot of teams looking as frantic as we do at the snap on nearly every play.
Click to expand...
For us, I think it's also because we try to burn so much clock. So we want to do the peek offense but we start it late because TOP is so important to us.

You're right, other teams (from the top of my head), don't appear as frantic as we do at times.
 

Face The Facts said:
Why do people keep asking about Wright?

Can people not do their own math on this?
He either isn't practicing well, or he's not able to run the plays, or he's not able to learn the play....

OR

The staff simply can't recognize his incredible talent that all of the Gopher fans can see who keep asking this question (despite the fact the Gophers staff saw enough talent to bring him here).

Read between the lines people.


You're essentially asking "Is the guy too stupid or not dedicated enough" Or did the coaching staff forget he has talent.

Many of you seem to believe the coaching staff forgot.
Click to expand...

When asked about Wright today, Fleck said:

"Playing time is earned. Period"
 

Face The Facts said:
When asked about Wright today, Fleck said:

"Playing time is earned. Period"
Click to expand...
Yeah. He is probably top 2 wideout athletically

He clearly is showing himself to not be trustworthy on the field. There is a reason he wasn’t playing at Texas A&M and the reason wasn’t because he was a great player
 

I'm about to say something SUPER unpopular that hadn't occured to me until this morning, but what if Matt Simon has more control over the passing game than we know in his role as "passing game coordinator"? Not worth arguing about since none of us know what's going on in the building, but it's interesting we give Simon a total pass when the worst part of our offense is literally in his job title. On the flip side, the running game has been phenomenal this season. TON of creative sets, new wrinkles every week like the "toss zone" against Iowa, and typically a plan for every opponent. The passing game clearly stinks. Not only is Morgan playing horribly, the plan for throwing the ball each week is rarely a good one -- and isn't adjusted during the game.

Clearly SOMETHING has to change. We can only hope Fleck changes his best and identifies the real problem whether it's Morgan's play, Sanford's playcalling, Simon's contributions to the weekly plan, or the generally conservative approach on O.
 


MGGopher said:
I'm about to say something SUPER unpopular that hadn't occured to me until this morning, but what if Matt Simon has more control over the passing game than we know in his role as "passing game coordinator"? Not worth arguing about since none of us know what's going on in the building, but it's interesting we give Simon a total pass when the worst part of our offense is literally in his job title. On the flip side, the running game has been phenomenal this season. TON of creative sets, new wrinkles every week like the "toss zone" against Iowa, and typically a plan for every opponent. The passing game clearly stinks. Not only is Morgan playing horribly, the plan for throwing the ball each week is rarely a good one -- and isn't adjusted during the game.

Clearly SOMETHING has to change. We can only hope Fleck changes his best and identifies the real problem whether it's Morgan's play, Sanford's playcalling, Simon's contributions to the weekly plan, or the generally conservative approach on O.
Click to expand...
Fleck did mention Simon's name for the first time during the game this week, alluding to Simon perhaps having more say in the offense this week.
 

Some guy said:
He clearly is showing himself to not be trustworthy on the field.
Click to expand...
How so, and especially relative to the other receivers?
Some guy said:
There is a reason he wasn’t playing at Texas A&M and the reason wasn’t because he was a great player
Click to expand...
There could be several, one of which might be that A&M had even better receivers and it might have taken Wright more than 2 years to crack the lineup. Which doesn't mean Wright isn't one of the better receivers in Dinkytown, or even that Wright may be having personal issues off the field that are part of the issue.
 

The title of this thread made me immediately think of Jim Mora's legendary "Playoffs?..." rant!

"Passing?...Don't talk about passing! You kidding me? Passing? I just hope we can win a game!"
 

On KO and punt returns, we play not to lose, plain and simple. Mistakes on KO and punt returns can be very costly; conversely, a great KO or punt return can swing the game in your favor, reverse bad field position, give your offense a short field, even destroy your opponent’s confidence. Probably the greatest evidence to me of PJ’s unusual conservatism is his total abandonment of the KO and punt return game. Probably thinks that the risks don’t justify the occasional rewards. I think his extreme conservatism in this particular aspect makes him an outlier among coaches who believe they have a winning team.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom