This team is different.

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Gotta agree with a lot of the sentiment here, especially GopherFB's summary.

The one thing that I think Kill (&/or his staff) does better than Mason is adjust at halftime. Mason seemed to have brilliant game plans to start the game - how many times did we get way ahead? - but then the other team would tweak their plan and we couldn't respond. I like how we seem to get more confident and stronger as the game goes on.
 

You have leaders on this team. They may not be the Captains. I have a sense that Campion may be the leader on the offensive line. The go to guy with experience, and attitude. I really like the whatever it takes attitude of Mitch Leidner. On defense Mr. Hageman may be the strong silent type of leader. Kill raves about Aaron Hill, and it seems Vereen and Thompson provide the sense we've got you back. The Special teams are special. Its more than Marcus Jones. Its the blocking scheme and a commitment to precision.

But any talk beyond Saturday is idle chatter.

Beat Iowa!
 

Hmmm...that Fales kid sure seemed to be a nice passer...

I'm not sure we'll see a better QB in the B1G season than we saw against SJSU. In the end, it still comes down to controlling the line of scrimmage. Will our D-Line stop the run and also put pressure on the QB in passing situations? Will our O-Line run down hill and protect the pocket?

I really liked what I saw against SJSU, however, the kids we now face will be bigger, faster and stronger. I was watching that Michigan game on Saturday night and that UM O-Line looked massive. Hard to tell if the line was that big or the skilled players were that small, but the fact is we'll be up against some big kids starting on Saturday. That being said, these first four games have shown me a Gophers team that is more disciplined and team focused than I've seen in years. I can hardly wait for Saturday.

stocker08 said:
Hard to say. We haven't really seen a passing game so far. We will need one to be a competitor this year. Otherwise, the team has looked very good. A few blown coverages and big plays against the defense could be the difference between a win and a loss.
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The most positive thing for me so far is that at halftime the games are close, or at least feel close. Some you could argue that we were outplayed. In the second half I think the gophers have been dominant. The halftime adjustments by the coaches have really stood out, as well as the players being able to execute them.
 

Maverick said:
Well New Wrenny. I think Mason was a far worse Coach than Lou Hoax. He did the same thing as Louie, only he was rejected by his "dream job" and nobody else wanted him either... At least Hoax's teams could play defense...

I think JK is the real deal and even if he is offered another job, I believe he will retire from MN with nothing but success and LOYALTY as his legend.

OH conference wins...Match Mason.... 5 wins...ooo la la.... I get it.... I want and fully expect JK to get there, exceed even and then STAY there, and stay HERE! Not sell out like Mason did!! JK has integrity that Mason can't even sniff....
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Well put Maverick. The only Mason team you could tout defensively was the '99 team when David Gibbs was his DC. After Gibbs left in 2000 to coach for the Denver Broncos, Mason's defenses ranged from barely decent to absolutely terrible. The fact that JK has a staff he can depend on to be there for many years to come gives him an edge.

Also, considering how our conference schedule shapes up, should we be that shocked to see 6 or 7 wins? A lot of vulnerable to bad teams the rest of the way.
 


Maybe we should start a new thread that is only there to move other threads to - when they become a Mason vs whoever thread. That way we can avoid that conversation in every other thread.
 

Just some perspective.....One game at a time, people. Its all about that.

Looking back, I believe that Mason took the team as far as the program back then could: lousy home field, extremely small budget, little support; In
that circumstance he did about as well as one can. I'm just being honest, here.

Also, as it pertains to 1999's defense, its interesting to note that Gordie Shaw was the D-Line coach early on, when they had strong D-lines and
decent defenses. Once they moved him to the O-Line, the D-line and defense fell off and suddenly they were churning out All-Americans on the O-Line.
I know some might not like him very much, but that records speaks for itself. I think he had a lot to do with that.
 

Spoofin said:
Maybe we should start a new thread that is only there to move other threads to - when they become a Mason vs whoever thread. That way we can avoid that conversation in every other thread.
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We can move Gordie Shaw posts there too.
 

metrolax said:
Just some perspective.....One game at a time, people. Its all about that.

Looking back, I believe that Mason took the team as far as the program back then could: lousy home field, extremely small budget, little support; In
that circumstance he did about as well as one can. I'm just being honest, here.

Also, as it pertains to 1999's defense, its interesting to note that Gordie Shaw was the D-Line coach early on, when they had strong D-lines and
decent defenses. Once they moved him to the O-Line, the D-line and defense fell off and suddenly they were churning out All-Americans on the O-Line.
I know some might not like him very much, but that records speaks for itself. I think he had a lot to do with that.
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You are right on the money on all points! Not retaining Gordy Shaw when Mason was bought out was a huge mistake. Mason had kept Shaw on from the Wacker Staff. THAT was a great move at that point in time.
 



Spoofin said:
Maybe we should start a new thread that is only there to move other threads to - when they become a Mason vs whoever thread. That way we can avoid that conversation in every other thread.
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Your good buddy maverick wanted to talk about Coach Mason and introduced a biased and lacking in balance point of view. I'm sure that you did notice that, didn't you?
 

Team looks better. Hopefully that will translate to a better W/L record. As others have said, we'll know more in a month. Big 10 is down at the top and mushier in the middle. That means if anyone in the conference plays well on a given day, it's not that big of an upset if the "dog" wins. Lack of passing game is troublesome, but maybe they can incorporate a few wrinkles along the way to keep defenses honest.
 

Random thoughts, some admittedly naive: 2) I like both Claeys and Limegrover, although Limegrover's unit needs to step it up in the coming weeks. 2) I know that coaches spend hours looking at their next opponents on film etc., but I wonder is Claeys and Limegrover ever meet and ask one another, "what would you do against my guys?" 3) One thing that I like about how this year has gone is that we are 4-0 and have not played a great or even an especially good game yet. I've always thought that you can;t play great every game, but we need to win even when we don't. I think that our best games are ahead of us, even though the competition stiffens. Go Gophers!
 

50PoundHead said:
Team looks better. Hopefully that will translate to a better W/L record. As others have said, we'll know more in a month. Big 10 is down at the top and mushier in the middle. That means if anyone in the conference plays well on a given day, it's not that big of an upset if the "dog" wins. Lack of passing game is troublesome, but maybe they can incorporate a few wrinkles along the way to keep defenses honest.
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This is what I see. The chance to make a move is upon us. Enough talk about Glen Mason. We are looking forward. One of the best definitions I have heard regarding the term "luck" - luck is when preparation meets circumstance. This is going to be fun.
 



The team DOES look better. From the day he arrived, Kill instituted a system and attitude that, when followed through with, almost always gets positive results
eventually. He has done that. The DNA of the program bears no resemblance to what it was before he came.

In the past,m those teams we have beaten this year would have been teams that Brewster, or even the first two Kill teams, would have struggled with. Those
teams might very well have lost those two. First, you learn to win close (last year). Then, you start to get some separation, which is what they did this season so far.
Even when they weren't on the top of their game, the Gophers still found ways to create separation from those teams and win going away. That is more
significant than you think.

For the past few years, going into the Big 10 season, the Gophers were ill-suited to win more than a couple games in the conference. This season, however, I
expect us to be competitive with almost any league foe. Once we establish that each week we have a shot at winning almost any game, depending on how the
team shows and plays, we will have reached that level. At that point, we will have returned to about where we were under Mase.

THEN.....the next step is even higher. You go from expecting to be competitive to expecting to win. I think this is possible in the hopefully not too distant
future. Kill has the staff, the team DNA, the stadium, and support to do this now.

But again, its one game at a time. I think everyone is very eager to see how we do against Iowa on Saturday.
 

One other thing.....while I think the playbook has been very thin these past 4 games, I do like what I have seen from the O-line, finally. Cal Stoll
used to say that you had your line by week 3. It took about 4 weeks this time, but they are starting to work the type of offense that can work
and win big at Minnesota. In our climate and with our local talent base, we cannot run the same things that Alabama, LSU, or A&M run and be successful.
The formula here is one of mass, applied forcefully at the point of attack. Wisconsin figured this out years ago....and Brew tried to install the spread!

Minnesota Football should be about being big, being physical, and moving the pile like I saw last week. I think Kill is driving it in that direction, also.
 

sbanyai said:
The most positive thing for me so far is that at halftime the games are close, or at least feel close. Some you could argue that we were outplayed. In the second half I think the gophers have been dominant. The halftime adjustments by the coaches have really stood out, as well as the players being able to execute them.
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We've outscored our opponents 97-37 in the second half this year.
 

Brick by brick! I think we are witnessing the beginnings of something special in the making here.

Jerry Kill is building a disciplined football team based on integrity and sound fundamentals. What parent would not want their kid to play for him?

I feel a sense of quiet exuberance. Barring injuries, the Gophers are bound to surprise a few opponents this season. Watch out for next season!
 

The Iowa game is huge. Win and 8 wins seems possible. Lose and it's hard to see 6.
 

When you read the thread title, did anyone else think we were going to read about a "quiet confidence" in this group?
 

MGGopher said:
When you read the thread title, did anyone else think we were going to read about a "quiet confidence" in this group?
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Exactly! I thought about dredging that up but then I realized it would have come across as a little snarkey.

That was one of my favorite threads.
 

Well, just checking back in here.

Glad to see that my feeling from earlier in the year seems to be correct. Though, I must admit that Iowa game made me almost want to take it back.

Wish we could have that one back. I think we replay that game and the Gophes are 8-1 right now.


Go Gophers!
 

Better to get those losses out of the way and learn from the mistakes, and finish strong. Than to start strong and taper off at the end.

Cheers though.

I hope they keep it going and stay healthy!

I expect the next game to be another tough one. Wish I could be there!


Typing from phone sucks.

Go gophers!

Sent from my PLAYSTATION PHONE using tapatalk
 

Dilemina said:
Better to get those losses out of the way and learn from the mistakes, and finish strong. Than to start strong and taper off at the end.

Cheers though.

I hope they keep it going and stay healthy!

I expect the next game to be another tough one. Wish I could be there!


Typing from phone sucks.

Go gophers!

Sent from my PLAYSTATION PHONE using tapatalk
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Kind of like we experienced the previous 3 years in BB?
 

NIce expression of the gut feeling!

GopherFB said:
Well, just checking back in here.

Glad to see that my feeling from earlier in the year seems to be correct. Though, I must admit that Iowa game made me almost want to take it back.

Wish we could have that one back. I think we replay that game and the Gophes are 8-1 right now.


Go Gophers!
Click to expand...
 

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