This offense sucks, plain and simple

[mkAz]

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[jonnyganas]

MN scored 40 points at Illinois. This is the most MN has ever scored at Illinois. That's how bad the offense sucked on Saturday.

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[short ornery norwegian]

If the Gophers went out and scored 60+ points in a game, had over 600yds offense - somebody would still come on this board and find something to complain about. They would find one bad pass, or one missed block, and rant about that. Somewhere, sometime, a team may have played a perfect game on offense - but I've never seen one.

Yes - the Gophers do not have a great offense. But, it's a combination of factors - talent level, coaching, play-calling, execution, injuries - and, a factor that people seem to forget: THE GAME IS PLAYED BY FREAKIN' HUMAN BEINGS - NOT ROBOTS!!!

 

[MaxyJR1]

TC will be here for as long as he wishes. I agree that some folks have worried that he would win too many games this season and would receive the nice contract extension and raise that he is about to receive. Got to be extremely bullish on TC & the STAFFRS near-term and mid-term future at Minnesota. Beat the Boilers, GOPHER!

My one concern is big. Can Claeys sustain or improve the program? Based on being ranked 13 of 14 in recruiting right now, the concern is real.


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[GopherWeatherGuy]

MN scored 40 points at Illinois. This is the most MN has ever scored at Illinois. That's how bad the offense sucked on Saturday.

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Let's at least be realistic. The Gophers scoring drives were 5 yards, 9 yards, 10 yards, 20 yards, 49 yards, and 70 yards yesterday thanks to the defense.

 

[Pompous Elitist]

If the Gophers went out and scored 60+ points in a game, had over 600yds offense - somebody would still come on this board and find something to complain about. They would find one bad pass, or one missed block, and rant about that. Somewhere, sometime, a team may have played a perfect game on offense - but I've never seen one.

Yes - the Gophers do not have a great offense. But, it's a combination of factors - talent level, coaching, play-calling, execution, injuries - and, a factor that people seem to forget: THE GAME IS PLAYED BY FREAKIN' HUMAN BEINGS - NOT ROBOTS!!!

So all that, and you end up agreeing. I dunno. Lots of frustration on this board. Let's go win out.

 

[Sparlimb]

Yes - the Gophers do not have a great offense. But, it's a combination of factors - talent level, coaching, play-calling, execution, injuries - and, a factor that people seem to forget: THE GAME IS PLAYED BY FREAKIN' HUMAN BEINGS - NOT ROBOTS!!!

Very true. I think most of the frustration has to do with the lack of improvement, especially in the passing game. There just has been no significant improvement in the past 3 years. I'm resigned to knowing it won't be this year either, but next year is a total toss up.

 

[mkAz]

My one concern is big. Can Claeys sustain or improve the program? Based on being ranked 13 of 14 in recruiting right now, the concern is real.

He's largely unknown, coaching on a short contract, in a year where Minnesota high school talent isn't real deep. I'll give him a pass this year. Winning can change things quickly in recruiting.

 

[Governor Sibley]

For the record, I think our offense is not very good.

I'll never complain about a conference road win by 23 points.

Defense was great yesterday after the adjustments we made after their first scoring drive.

Let's win two more!

 

[MaxyJR1]

He's largely unknown, coaching on a short contract, in a year where Minnesota high school talent isn't real deep. I'll give him a pass this year. Winning can change things quickly in recruiting.

Kill had a personality and style. I haven't seen any of that out of Claeys. He has to beat Wisconsin or Nebraska to move needle on recruiting and interest.


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[jonnyganas]

Kill had a personality and style. I haven't seen any of that out of Claeys. He has to beat Wisconsin or Nebraska to move needle on recruiting and interest.


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Paul Chryst lacks personality and style as well. That doesn't matter if you win games. MN and WI have the same record currently.

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[Carlson 79]

It's good to have sewn that one up yesterday, but we've all got to admit that IL was just frightfully bad, particularly after losing their talented #1 WR to injury on the "targeting" call (one I disagree with, FWIW). IL had nothing, and made several huge mistakes to all but hand us the win.

What I see week after week is an offense that gets about as much out of itself as it can. And therein lies the problem: we simply don't have the athletes that 10 or so of the Big Ten teams do. Our WR's don't get separation, nor do our TE's. Our OL is not athletic enough to adjust to stunts or blitz packages. Our QB is big, but slow and throws a terrible, wobbly ball that has no chance in windy conditions. He often gets it out too late and allows the DB's to make plays on the ball. I love our RB's and the OL does create some space, so there's that. But bottom line is it appears to be a plodding offense--one that would not be appealing to the HS kids watching it on TV. So the cycle repeats ad infinitum. We're stuck as long as Claeys and Co. are here. I'd like to see us start over. Remember--this year's 9-4 team (high water mark, IMO) is equivalent to last year's 6-7 team, given the schedule comparison. NOT. GOOD. ENOUGH.

 

[PMWinSTP]

To be fair, we amassed 283 yards today on 10/19 passing and 3.6 YPC vs a pretty average to bad defense. The turnovers and short fields were huge. Without the turnovers hard to believe we still march down and score 38.

We capitalized and that's the sign of a competent team. It doesn't mean we're a high flying offense but we did a good job today taking care of business. We need to get better if we want to get to the championship game. The defense is starting to play championship level football time for the offense to match it.

Agree, short field = less yards...I'm not going to complain. Look at the WI-NEB game. As they say, defense wins championships. Gophs moved up to 21st in total defense. Dropped in total offense, but WI is below us and NW is just above us. I actually feel the NEB game will most likely be our toughest here on out.

 

[PMWinSTP]

Let's at least be realistic. The Gophers scoring drives were 5 yards, 9 yards, 10 yards, 20 yards, 49 yards, and 70 yards yesterday thanks to the defense.

I just don't get it...it's the defense's fault that the offense only had short fields to score? I'll take that any day.

 

[Iceland12]

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Obviously Mr.Mandel doesn't read Gopher Message boards.

 

[GopherWeatherGuy]

I just don't get it...it's the defense's fault that the offense only had short fields to score? I'll take that any day.

You don't get it if you think I'm blaming the defense for anything.

People were making the point that our offense was good because we scored 40. All I pointed out is the reality that 24 of the 40 (26 including the safety) were scored by gaining 44 yards.

 

[Pompous Elitist]

Yeah, again...we had extra possessions and short fields because of the 3 fumbles and we had the benefit of a short field on the fourth down conversion fail by IL. We still had what, 9 or 10 other possessions and mostly didn't roll down the field on sustained drives. This is one of those games where the score doesn't necessarily reflect reality. To me it's a concern when we go up against Neb, NW, WI. Those are the big fish on this schedule.

It's a nice W no doubt but Ws and Ls aren't all the same.

 

[Pompous Elitist]

It will be interesting if Claeys decides to make any further changes on the coaching staff. He has made comments at times that make me think he's frustrated with the offense. Jay also needs to decide if he wants to hitch his wagon to the guys he inherited from Limegrover. Most coaches, after a prolonged period of poor or even mediocre performance will make a player or coach change if there are other options. Much easier to change position coaches than payers sometimes. Can anyone isolate a position group of prolonged poor to mediocre performance? The O line gets a pass as the coach is new and he is limited by the personnel he inherited.

 

[PMWinSTP]

You don't get it if you think I'm blaming the defense for anything.

People were making the point that our offense was good because we scored 40. All I pointed out is the reality that 24 of the 40 (26 including the safety) were scored by gaining 44 yards.

People were making the point that the offense did what it needed to given the circumstances.

 

[PMWinSTP]

Yeah, again...we had extra possessions and short fields because of the 3 fumbles and we had the benefit of a short field on the fourth down conversion fail by IL. We still had what, 9 or 10 other possessions and mostly didn't roll down the field on sustained drives. This is one of those games where the score doesn't necessarily reflect reality. To me it's a concern when we go up against Neb, NW, WI. Those are the big fish on this schedule.

It's a nice W no doubt but Ws and Ls aren't all the same.

Won TOP comfortably, so I think they did fine with the other possessions, considering they scored 33 of their points in basically 5 minutes.

 

[hungan1]

My one concern is big. Can Claeys sustain or improve the program? Based on being ranked 13 of 14 in recruiting right now, the concern is real.


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Yeah, I got nailed in GH about merely mentioning that they were 14th in recruiting a few weeks back.

Definitely, recruiting will be helped by winning more games than not now. It may not impact 2017 as much as 2018 and beyond. We hear Coyle in his remarks that recruiting is a top priority.

We are not too far from the next tier in the B1G. We just need a few lucky breaks our way. We are so close to beating PSU and Iowa. Recruiting attention may be greater with an 8-0 record versus 6-2.

We are almost there. Claeys is putting his stamp on this team. We have lots to be optimistic about.

 

[Some Day...Is Coming!]

I'll admit that my expectations for this offense and this team are fairly high. Our most talented team in 6 years with far and away our most advantageous schedule. Yes, I believe the Gophers can and should be able to make a Big Ten title game. Although this team is 6-2, I don't see them near good enough to compete with NE and WI, and maybe not NW, we'll find out soon enough. It would be great to be wrong, but just as many argue that you have to practice well to play in games, you have to see something through 8 games to realistically believe you have a chance to win the Big Ten West. Oregon State (at the time we played them), Indiana State, Colorado State, Rutgers, and Illinois, all suck. Moreover we played Maryland and Illinois with their 3rd string QB's.

Against the Mighty Illini, the MN offense started drives at the following field positons:

MN 46 yard line
50 yard line
IL 44 yard line
IL 42 yard line
IL 12 yard line

And came away with 3 points. 2 of these opportunities, the Illinois 44 and 42 provide the opportunity to go up 3 scores and put the game away. However the offense couldn't do it.

Moreover, the scoring drives were from 10 yards, 9 yards, 20 yards, 49 yards, and 70 yards, with a field goal coming from starting on the Illinois 12 yard line.

Now, am I a Gopher football fan? Yes. But when you look at our offense's performance this year (against very poor defensive teams) I don't see how one can expect to be able to beat NW, NE, and WI. I hope like hell the O catches fire and things click between now and then, but I just think there is an extremely small chance of that happening. Hopefully I'm wrong. But if I'm not, the question becomes, What do you expect going forward? With more difficult schedules and weaker recruiting classes.

It's just frustrating, and I know being a Gopher fan is frustrating. But I just think there is a great opportunity hear to build on what Coach Kill accomplished after the Brewster debacle. I just hope Mark Coyle is up to the task, because I'm 99.5% Tracy Claeys is not. Nice guy, and I strongly supported him getting the position when Kill stepped down, but these 8 games have shown me that he's not the guy. But I also still hope he beats NE, NW, and WI and proves that he IS the guy. But I think it will take a shocking turn around for this offense, or an unbelievable performance by this defense combined with some luck. If anyone else thinks MN can win these 3 games, or even 2 of the last 3, how do you see them doing it?

 

[Pompous Elitist]

Won TOP comfortably, so I think they did fine with the other possessions, considering they scored 33 of their points in basically 5 minutes.

Ok let me try this. If we exclude the drives we had because of turnovers we had 239 yards of offense. We had 10 "typical drives" and 4 drives on a short field and 1 victory formation drive at the end. Looking just at the 10 typical drives we had 23.9 yards per drive and scored 14 points. If we extrapolate that to a typical game under Claeys of 12.7 drives we have a total offensive output of 303.3 yards. That's ok but not stellar. We converted in the red zone and we should be very happy about that, but we had some trouble making sustained drives vs IL.

 

[MaxyJR1]

It's great to raise expectations, but be realistic. My buddies love to say how we've beat no one and are terrible.

New OC
New OL coach
RT out
Best TE out
Three first year JC players starting on OL
Still was out
Brooks was out

Won every game in which we were favored and lost two toss up games. One missing Defensive players and one having a QB admittedly hiding a concussion from the staff. Add a win with a former walk-on QB.





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[stocker08]

You don't get it if you think I'm blaming the defense for anything.

People were making the point that our offense was good because we scored 40. All I pointed out is the reality that 24 of the 40 (26 including the safety) were scored by gaining 44 yards.

Shouldn't discount the fact that the offense scored on the very next play after the turnovers.

With a few dropped passes.....and the fact that the wind was a major player in the game......I think the doom and gloom is overstated. This offense is incredibly inconsistent, there's no getting around that. The passing game (QB play, WR play, pass protection) is a question mark every single week.

 

[Pompous Elitist]

It's great to raise expectations, but be realistic. My buddies love to say how we've beat no one and are terrible.

New OC
New OL coach
RT out
Best TE out
Three first year JC players starting on OL
Still was out
Brooks was out

Won every game in which we were favored and lost two toss up games. One missing Defensive players and one having a QB admittedly hiding a concussion from the staff. Add a win with a former walk-on QB.





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We are not terrible and most of us are not saying that. Out defense is rounding into shape and we have two playmakers at RB. We have a pretty good field goal kicker. The defense is playing well enough for us to contend for a Big Ten title. The offense as a whole is not, at this time, but can and should get better. There are at least 5 games to go. Let's see what the coaches can do with these players.

If the defense were elite level, points per game 15 or less we could get by, maybe, with our passing woes, but that shouldn't be our expectation.

 

[GophersInIowa]

I know there are many variables that go into this (opponents, ST, defense) but the Gophers scored 28+ points just three times all of last season. They've done it 6 out of 8 games this season.

 

[50PoundHead]

It will be interesting if Claeys decides to make any further changes on the coaching staff. He has made comments at times that make me think he's frustrated with the offense. Jay also needs to decide if he wants to hitch his wagon to the guys he inherited from Limegrover. Most coaches, after a prolonged period of poor or even mediocre performance will make a player or coach change if there are other options. Much easier to change position coaches than payers sometimes. Can anyone isolate a position group of prolonged poor to mediocre performance? The O line gets a pass as the coach is new and he is limited by the personnel he inherited.

Good points. We just can't seem to get WRs to the next level. Is that a misjudgment of the talent of the guys we recruit, the overall design of the offense, or the inability to coach guys up. Given everything Kill and company said when they took the helm is that they could find those hidden gems no one else wanted and turn them into All-B1G players. I'm not seeing that on the offensive side of the ball. Defensively has been a different story.

 

[Spoofin]

Yeah, I got nailed in GH

Congrats, but wrong web-site dude.


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[jonnyganas]

Remember back in the early-mid Kill era when the measuring stick for offense was something like 24+ pts and 300 yds? Kill said it in press conferences, I think.

This offense has a ways to go, but it has been measurably improved and getting better.

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