Back from a pleasant afternoon with the family. And thank you for you birthday wishes to my wife.
Now to today's Sports Huddle Summary:
1) Sid said he was amazed by the Gophers turnaround in the second half: Coach Kill responded by talking about the 1st half difficulties initially. He said they're a young team and mistakes by the young inexperienced players was apparent. Only eight seniors made the traveling squad to Iowa City. He then cited the long throw in the first quarter, after Iowa scored on a field goal, that was caught by a Gopher receiver and then stripped by an Iowa defensive back for an interception. If completed he felt the Gophers would have had momentum and would have been in a good position to score. He went on to say the Hawkeyes got momentum and "we couldn't get the bleeding to stop." Kill cited: "dropped balls . . . (poor) execution . . . defense on the field too long . . . disappointed in (team) effort in the first half," as negative factors in their first half play.
2) Sid asked about Shortell being the team's leading rusher yesterday: "Didn't plan on that . . . didn't run effectively." Kill then focused on turnovers that played pivotal role in yesterday's defeat: "You don't win by turning the ball over." The Gophers had four turnovers to zero for the Hawkeyes. He also said there were too many dropped balls by the receivers.
He then turned his attention to the upcoming bye week: It's coming at the right time - "We need to get healed and get back to fundamentals." The Gophers sustained some injuries in the game. He mentioned Devon Wright, but I didn't hear the nature of his injury, if he said. Cameron Botticelli suffered a dislocated elbow; however, it was reset and he returned to more action on the field. (Kill was impressed with Botticelli's toughness.) He also said a special teams player was hurt, but, again, I didn't catch the name given.
Kill ended the question by saying the Gophers "Got out toughed (by the Hawkeyes)."
3) Sid asked if Marqueis Gray would be ready in two weeks: He was uncertain and said, "It's questionable." They played without Tommy Olson yesterday and that redshirt freshman Jon Christenson got the start. He said it's hard to get continuity because of the injuries. On the plus side, however, the young players have been gaining experience through playing time.
Regarding the turnaround in the second half: They were back in the game, however, the pick six by Kirksey of Iowa was a back breaker: "You can't win giving ball over to the other team."
4) Dave Mona asked about the intimidation factor of the Iowa crowd: The Gopher coaching staff tried to replicate crowd noise last Thursday night at TCF Bank Stadium, but you never really create the environment that you enter in on game day: "Young team not used to the environment . . . players a little tight (especially at the start of the game) . . . could not get the momentum to swing . . . part of being on the road . . . didn't handle it well in the first half."
5) Weisman: "He did a good job, no doubt about it." "We didn't do a good job of tackling . . . they out executed us . . . 'I told Ferentz, the Hawks kicked our butts.'" Dave Mona in asking about Weisman compared him to Mike Alstott of Purdue in the 1990s.
6) Sid asked about Iowa's line blocking (big holes for Weisman): Kill said they have a great scheme (blocking). He also said the team did a poor job of tackling. "The Hawks hit two or three big plays . . . The defense was on the field too much . . . We didn't play good team football . . . Group effort of not doing good things . . . We didn't play very well as a team."
In a later question about which players had good games: Kill cited Jon Christenson in stepping in for Tommy Olson, Ra'Shede Hageman and "Beal did some good things." But again, he stressed it doesn't help if a few are doing good things but there is poor execution on the part of others. It matters what the team does as a whole and not individually.
7) Northwestern: "We'll move to Northwestern this week . . . (but first) evaluate our game film to see what needs to be improved . . . Need to heal up, work on fundamentals and spend time on recruiting."
8) KJ Maye: "He's got ability, talent . . . (Maye) Turned the ball over . . . Needs to play more . . . The more they (young inexperienced players) play the better they'll get . . . I challenged them after the game."
9) Second half improvement: "I talked to them as the head coach (I took it that normally most of the half time talking is made by the coordinators and assistant coaches) . . . (I told them) Get your compsure . . . Get back to the fundamentals . . . Just do your job . . . We did a better job in the second half."
10) Brock Vereen: "Brock Vereen went down Tuesday with a knee injury (MRI taken, which turned out to be okay)." Vereen missed some practice time and played some nickel in yesterday's game. "We needed Brock," but he was limited because of the injury and the lack of practice time. As to injuries: "It's part of the game . . . Iowa has had their fair share of injuries . . . you have to play through them." The team's lack of depth is problematic, especially when there are injuries. Kill did not make any excuses because of the injuries, but he did say the team does not have a great margin for error.
Understandbly, coach Kill sounded disappointed, more subdued today and was matter-of-fact in his respnses.
Go Gophers!!
Now to today's Sports Huddle Summary:
1) Sid said he was amazed by the Gophers turnaround in the second half: Coach Kill responded by talking about the 1st half difficulties initially. He said they're a young team and mistakes by the young inexperienced players was apparent. Only eight seniors made the traveling squad to Iowa City. He then cited the long throw in the first quarter, after Iowa scored on a field goal, that was caught by a Gopher receiver and then stripped by an Iowa defensive back for an interception. If completed he felt the Gophers would have had momentum and would have been in a good position to score. He went on to say the Hawkeyes got momentum and "we couldn't get the bleeding to stop." Kill cited: "dropped balls . . . (poor) execution . . . defense on the field too long . . . disappointed in (team) effort in the first half," as negative factors in their first half play.
2) Sid asked about Shortell being the team's leading rusher yesterday: "Didn't plan on that . . . didn't run effectively." Kill then focused on turnovers that played pivotal role in yesterday's defeat: "You don't win by turning the ball over." The Gophers had four turnovers to zero for the Hawkeyes. He also said there were too many dropped balls by the receivers.
He then turned his attention to the upcoming bye week: It's coming at the right time - "We need to get healed and get back to fundamentals." The Gophers sustained some injuries in the game. He mentioned Devon Wright, but I didn't hear the nature of his injury, if he said. Cameron Botticelli suffered a dislocated elbow; however, it was reset and he returned to more action on the field. (Kill was impressed with Botticelli's toughness.) He also said a special teams player was hurt, but, again, I didn't catch the name given.
Kill ended the question by saying the Gophers "Got out toughed (by the Hawkeyes)."
3) Sid asked if Marqueis Gray would be ready in two weeks: He was uncertain and said, "It's questionable." They played without Tommy Olson yesterday and that redshirt freshman Jon Christenson got the start. He said it's hard to get continuity because of the injuries. On the plus side, however, the young players have been gaining experience through playing time.
Regarding the turnaround in the second half: They were back in the game, however, the pick six by Kirksey of Iowa was a back breaker: "You can't win giving ball over to the other team."
4) Dave Mona asked about the intimidation factor of the Iowa crowd: The Gopher coaching staff tried to replicate crowd noise last Thursday night at TCF Bank Stadium, but you never really create the environment that you enter in on game day: "Young team not used to the environment . . . players a little tight (especially at the start of the game) . . . could not get the momentum to swing . . . part of being on the road . . . didn't handle it well in the first half."
5) Weisman: "He did a good job, no doubt about it." "We didn't do a good job of tackling . . . they out executed us . . . 'I told Ferentz, the Hawks kicked our butts.'" Dave Mona in asking about Weisman compared him to Mike Alstott of Purdue in the 1990s.
6) Sid asked about Iowa's line blocking (big holes for Weisman): Kill said they have a great scheme (blocking). He also said the team did a poor job of tackling. "The Hawks hit two or three big plays . . . The defense was on the field too much . . . We didn't play good team football . . . Group effort of not doing good things . . . We didn't play very well as a team."
In a later question about which players had good games: Kill cited Jon Christenson in stepping in for Tommy Olson, Ra'Shede Hageman and "Beal did some good things." But again, he stressed it doesn't help if a few are doing good things but there is poor execution on the part of others. It matters what the team does as a whole and not individually.
7) Northwestern: "We'll move to Northwestern this week . . . (but first) evaluate our game film to see what needs to be improved . . . Need to heal up, work on fundamentals and spend time on recruiting."
8) KJ Maye: "He's got ability, talent . . . (Maye) Turned the ball over . . . Needs to play more . . . The more they (young inexperienced players) play the better they'll get . . . I challenged them after the game."
9) Second half improvement: "I talked to them as the head coach (I took it that normally most of the half time talking is made by the coordinators and assistant coaches) . . . (I told them) Get your compsure . . . Get back to the fundamentals . . . Just do your job . . . We did a better job in the second half."
10) Brock Vereen: "Brock Vereen went down Tuesday with a knee injury (MRI taken, which turned out to be okay)." Vereen missed some practice time and played some nickel in yesterday's game. "We needed Brock," but he was limited because of the injury and the lack of practice time. As to injuries: "It's part of the game . . . Iowa has had their fair share of injuries . . . you have to play through them." The team's lack of depth is problematic, especially when there are injuries. Kill did not make any excuses because of the injuries, but he did say the team does not have a great margin for error.
Understandbly, coach Kill sounded disappointed, more subdued today and was matter-of-fact in his respnses.
Go Gophers!!
