Those who are down on last night's performance, read this

[uagain]

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?columnist=maisel_ivan&id=5524265

From Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald:

"You have so much time to prepare. Don't overdo it," Fitzgerald said "The kids aren't ready. It's a game of execution. Give yourself a chance to win. If you try to do crazy stuff, you get what you deserve. You try to play as sound as you can. You don't try to do anything out of the ordinary. With the extra time, you come up with a lot more crazy ideas. The major thing is to keep it simple. You don't need to over-analyze. Your guys can't play fast."

And this:

In the first game of the 1978 season, Missouri upset No. 5 Notre Dame 3-0. In the first half, the Irish quarterback, a senior, completed 4 of 17 passes with two interceptions. He lost a fumble, too. It became clear that Joe Montana couldn't handle the big stage.

 

[GOFUR]

AMEN!!

 

[glovedgopher]

I don't understand how people can be down at all. We improved in so many areas over the 2009 season.
1. We were able to pound the rock finally.
2. Only got flagged 4 times the whole game. Zero personal fouls.
3. We had a gameplan and stuck with it all game.
4. We didn't have to burn a timeout because the Offense was confused.
5. We won.
I'll admit I was ticked off that we let MTSU back into the game (Thanks to the QB and Kicker) but looking at the whole game, I am very pleased. I think just about every win last year left me with huge questions about the direction of the program. (except maybe Northwestern)

 

[gopherphan]

Weber =/= Joe Montana, yes that bit of anecdotal history is nice and all, but in all seriousness don't kid yourself.

He's a known commodity, its not like hes a new starter, hes being starting for 4 years now. We've seen him excel when he had an outstanding receiver in Decker, and then seen the subsequent aftermath when decker got hurt in the last two seasons. and it wasnt pretty. o the point of the majority of TCF booing him off the field at the end of last season. This first game showed that he hasnt been that dedicated to improving his game. Granted he hasnt ever had much of a running game to help him and maybe that will change this year with a solid showing by our backs, but right now i just cant see it. The backs themselves arent exactly game breakers either like barber and maroney.

 

[maxwellsmart]

Correctly analyzing Weber's strengths and weaknesses does not equal being down on last night's team performance. There were many things that made me happy, too many to take time listing. But my disappointment with Weber continues. He is his own worst enemy. Just watch.

 

[caliGopher]

You don't have to draw a picture of it in the win column

We won't have any idea about where the team really is until the SC game.

While we the fans would love to have hung 50 on them, the outcome was good for us. We won. No one got hurt. We learned that we've improved in some areas. We saw a lot that needs to improve so the players shouldn't be too high on themselves at this point.

I am concerned the game was as close as it was and won't feel we've "arrived" until we dispatch marginal teams with ease regardless of the situation -- something we didn't do last night.

 

[glovedgopher]

Weber's biggest problem last night was his lack of faith in the backs to pick up the blitz. If he could just stand tall in the pocket, he would be a half decent QB. Only one more year of that, right?

 

[Goldteam]

I actually like the fact we had to drive the ball all the way in the 4th quarter and put a drive together.

That may serve us well down the road.

 

[highwayman]

From Murfreesboro Daily News Journal

"Minnesota junior running back Duane Bennett rushed for a career-high 187 yards, while senior quarterback Adam Weber was solid by completing 10-of-17 passes for 150 yards. The Golden Gophers didn’t commit a turnover and converted half of their 16 third-down attempts."

It's amazing how someone without a "Death to Weber" agenda sees something differently.

http://www.dnj.com/article/20100903...4/Gophers-offense-keeps-MTSU-defense-on-field

A very complementary article.

 

[glovedgopher]

We had 5 drives with 10+ plus play. Did we have 5 all of last year?

 

[Goldy247]

Drives

We had 5 drives with 10+ plus play. Did we have 5 all of last year?

Its not flashy or stylish but I absolutely love the style of football Horton wants to play. Pound the ball, grind it out, ball control offense with very long time consuming drives. 45 minutes of ball control is OUTSTANDING!

 

[glovedgopher]

So I looked at the box scores form last year and we had 12 drives over 10 plays for the whole season. And yes I'm including the Bowl game in which we had 2.

 

[The 12th Man]

Weber =/= Joe Montana, yes that bit of anecdotal history is nice and all, but in all seriousness don't kid yourself.

He's a known commodity, its not like hes a new starter, hes being starting for 4 years now. We've seen him excel when he had an outstanding receiver in Decker, and then seen the subsequent aftermath when decker got hurt in the last two seasons. and it wasnt pretty. o the point of the majority of TCF booing him off the field at the end of last season. This first game showed that he hasnt been that dedicated to improving his game. Granted he hasnt ever had much of a running game to help him and maybe that will change this year with a solid showing by our backs, but right now i just cant see it. The backs themselves arent exactly game breakers either like barber and maroney.

Do remember that Barber and Maroney played in a much different system. It was run-first, but most of the similarities end there.

 

[MBAGuy]

It's amazing how someone without a "Death to Weber" agenda sees something differently.

See, it's asinine statements like this that I don't get: the belief that any criticism of Weber is part of some nefarious agenda. There's no conspiracy here; I just believe we saw too much of Weber's pratfalls from last year. Did he make some clutch throws down the stretch? Sure. Did he overthrow receivers or throw behind them? Yep. It's his inconsistency that I have a problem with. That should not be an issue with a 5th-year senior.

As I've said numerous times, the proof will be in the pudding as the season progresses. Feel free to save this post and rip me later in the year if he has a great season and proves Justin Conzemius right by getting himself on an NFL roster next year. IMO, he's an adequate, game-managing QB. We could get away with that style of play yesterday by dominating the LOS and TOP. We're going to need more than that from him against USC and our Big Ten competitors this year.

 

[glovedgopher]

See, it's asinine statements like this that I don't get: the belief that any criticism of Weber is part of some nefarious agenda. There's no conspiracy here; I just believe we saw too much of Weber's pratfalls from last year. Did he make some clutch throws down the stretch? Sure. Did he overthrow receivers or throw behind them? Yep. It's his inconsistency that I have a problem with. That should not be an issue with a 5th-year senior.

As I've said numerous times, the proof will be in the pudding as the season progresses. Feel free to save this post and rip me later in the year if he has a great season and proves Justin Conzemius right by getting himself on an NFL roster next year. IMO, he's an adequate, game-managing QB. We could get away with that style of play yesterday by dominating the LOS and TOP. We're going to need more than that from him against USC and our Big Ten competitors this year.

Agree, I tried to support Adam but there are no excuses for his play last night. He had a running game and time to throw the ball but still managed to play poorly.

 

[Governor Sibley]

Silly post. After last night, I have two worries:

1) How will we score against good teams?

2) How will we keep good teams from scoring?

 

[glovedgopher]

Silly post. After last night, I have two worries:

1) How will we score against good teams?

2) How will we keep good teams from scoring?

Yeah, i think every fan and coach in the country worries about this. I'll be happy if we can continue to score against bad teams.

 

[Art Vandelay]

Silly post. After last night, I have two worries:

1) How will we score against good teams?

2) How will we keep good teams from scoring?

Amen. The difference in athletes between MTSU and any Big Ten team is ridiculous. MTSU would be a last place team in the Big Ten. I don't want to imagine what the speed and athleticism of USC will do. They can't expect to get bailed out on PI calls at the goal line all season. As someone said in a previous post, we learned nothing about this team last night and we won't know anything until the USC game.

 

[MGGopher]

Silly post. After last night, I have two worries:

1) How will we score against good teams?

2) How will we keep good teams from scoring?

I agree on both counts, although I'm much more worried about our offense. There's no WAY we run the ball that effectively against Iowa, Wisconsin, et al. And honestly, our passing game is fairly brutal, although I don't think it's Weber's fault...I tend to look at our lackluster receiving core as the cause of that issue. So yeah, I have the same worries about how we'll score.

I do think, however, that last night's game showed us this team has potential and is not the inept, talentless squad that some pundits made us out to be. We're probably a 5-6 win team, realistically. On another note, I also think last night showed the relative strength of our coaching staff. I know some here will deny it, but the gameplan was solid on both sides of the ball and was clearly executed from first snap to last.

 

[MNRideorDieChick]

I haven't seen much commentary on the defense, probably because they were only on the field for a few minutes. I thought the D-line looked "ok," but they didn't get in the backfield as much as they need to. Looked a step slow at times. Thought Garin and Wilhite played pretty well. KGM and Hageman were only in for a few plays each, and both looked like they need more time in their development (in switching from primarily offensive HS players), ie. deer in the headlights. I thought that Kirksey showed some good stuff. I expected the LBs to be a little better. Saw more missed tackles than expected. Young secondary did struggle, but also needed the DL to get a better push on the QB. The hurry-up caused them a lot of trouble, so I'm sure we'll see more of it in future games.

I spoke to Garin and KGM after the game and asked how their first college game felt. They both commented on "the speed of the game." I think they both understand that they won't get more "think time," so they have to get to the point that they can react instinctively.

Having said all that, the defense managed to get several key stops last night. I do not think they are very deep right now, but they should improve as Hageman and KGM figure out how to play their parts, the secondary adds in some experience, and the overall chemistry improves. They will need to be a lot better in order to avoid some serious pain on 9/18 against USC.

Happy to see them get a win. Go Gophers!

 

[highwayman]

See, it's asinine statements like this that I don't get: the belief that any criticism of Weber is part of some nefarious agenda. There's no conspiracy here; I just believe we saw too much of Weber's pratfalls from last year. Did he make some clutch throws down the stretch? Sure. Did he overthrow receivers or throw behind them? Yep. It's his inconsistency that I have a problem with. That should not be an issue with a 5th-year senior.

As I've said numerous times, the proof will be in the pudding as the season progresses. Feel free to save this post and rip me later in the year if he has a great season and proves Justin Conzemius right by getting himself on an NFL roster next year. IMO, he's an adequate, game-managing QB. We could get away with that style of play yesterday by dominating the LOS and TOP. We're going to need more than that from him against USC and our Big Ten competitors this year.

At least YOU are consistent. My point was that a football reporter that had no predetermined opinion of Weber thought he played solidly. Someone with predetermination thought he sucked. Who is right? I guess I don't know. I do know that 5th year Seniors throw incomplete passes and get sacked. I do know you can't spell asinine without an "A", like in MBA.

 

[glovedgopher]

If we would have won 45-0, we would still have these questions. Why are we blaming the Wideouts for Weber's unwillingness to stay in the pocket? The 3rd and 9 from the 21, Weber had TS breaking wide open in the middle of the field buy he got nervous a ran into pressure. After, the int 2nd and 6, Weber had 2 men wide open (same area of the field) but managed to over throw the FB. 1st and 10 @ MTSU 27, Weber trips himself at the sight of a rushing LB who gets picked up bu Duane and misses the chance to hit the uncovered TE. That play really killed us. We would have been set up nicely to run the clock down and score easy points. Coach staff did have a great game last nite. This thread was aimed at people who are down on the team after last night's game.

 

[EG#9]

I agree with Studwell in that I didn't see a reason to believe the Gophers will be successful offensively against good teams. It's not the difference between athletes at MTSU and the Big Ten (MTSU had a lot of good athletes on the field), it's the difference in the size of the athletes. The Gophers won't physically overmatch many teams in the Big Ten. When MTSU resorted to putting 9 guys in the box, their should have been a 50 yard TD pass at some point.

 

[glovedgopher]

I think everyone agrees that moving the ball against B10 teams will be a hard task for us. However, moving the ball against poor teams was a challenge last year. At least for one night we were able to line up against a FBS football team and run the ball down their throat. Now let's do it again next week and hit a few 50 yard passes.

 

[GoAUpher]

When MTSU resorted to putting 9 guys in the box, their should have been a 50 yard TD pass at some point.

Only if that play gets called. I get what you are saying and I won't disagree. I also don't know how they'll do against bigger teams, but I simply choose to be optimistic when unsure of what I think the answer will be (that's not intended as a slam on you btw).

That said, the game plan was clearly extra vanilla last night. So should there have been a 50 yard TD pass? Yea, I think so. But looking at the play calling it seems to me that we didn't see one b/c one didn't get called.

 

[GoAUpher]

I think everyone agrees that moving the ball against B10 teams will be a hard task for us. However, moving the ball against poor teams was a challenge last year. At least for one night we were able to line up against a FBS football team and run the ball down their throat. Now let's do it again next week and hit a few 50 yard passes.

I don't think we'll have trouble against all Big 10 teams. Certainly the better ones. But I have a good feeling that with basic improvements in play the offense will be plenty competitive against NW, IL, and Purdue (maybe MSU but I don't know how to read them).

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

If our biggest concerns after this game were how to score against good teams and how to stop good teams from scoring, well then we are in pretty good position. That is the dilemma for every single team in the country.

Furthermore, lets really break this down. MTSU is about as good as the bottom 1/3 of the Big 10. They beat Maryland last season, and i'd suspect they are about as good as the Indiana and Illinois. I don't think anyone, even the biggest homers would ever compare USC's talent to MTSU's. However, take the victory for what it is. We beat a good smaller school (equivelent to about a bad Big 10 school) on the road. I doubt there would be this much skeptism if we were to have beaten Illinois/Indiana the exact same way.

 

[ncgo4]

Our D held a very good offensive team to 17 points, 3 in the second half. Our offense controlled time of possession almost 3:1. The Qback completed 10 of 17 with no INT. Our kicker missed two makable FG's, or the game would have been out of reach a lot earlier. We beat the spread handily. We had 5, 10+ play drives.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot, we won the game. The first game under our new O coordinator and with 9 new starters on D. Two key D players suspended and 1 injured.

What do I read on our own board? Our Qback sucks and we were lucky! Geeze, get a life!

 

[GoAUpher]

Our D held a very good offensive team to 17 points, 3 in the second half. Our offense controlled time of possession almost 3:1. The Qback completed 10 of 17 with no INT. Our kicker missed two makable FG's, or the game would have been out of reach a lot earlier. We beat the spread handily. We had 5, 10+ play drives.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot, we won the game. The first game under our new O coordinator and with 9 new starters on D. Two key D players suspended and 1 injured.

What do I read on our own board? Our Qback sucks and we were lucky! Geeze, get a life!

11 new starters on D with Royston and Theret out.

 

[Formo]

See, it's asinine statements like this that I don't get: the belief that any criticism of Weber is part of some nefarious agenda. There's no conspiracy here; I just believe we saw too much of Weber's pratfalls from last year. Did he make some clutch throws down the stretch? Sure. Did he overthrow receivers or throw behind them? Yep. It's his inconsistency that I have a problem with. That should not be an issue with a 5th-year senior.

Did you read the article?

Joe Effin' Montana, in his senior season, looked like (essentially) Weber in the season opener.

I'm not sayin Weber will turn out to be Montana; I'm saying you can't judge him by the first game of the year.

I also love the guys that ripped on Weber that he's nothing without Decker.. Did you see the Holloween game last year? FYI, Decker didn't play that game.