Tim Brewster Press Conference Notes, 11-10-09

[alltimetwinsfan]

Not much other than the basics today. It was a short, rather quiet conference today...

-He made note of how proud he was of his team to come back after they fell behind 28-7 at halftime, and that despite the comeback, "it is what it is."

-He said that SDSU will be ready to play on Saturday, because he believes it's a very big deal for them to play here, because they don't often get to play in a place like TCF Bank Stadium

-Brewster talked again about how he questions how much playing SDSU and NDSU help a football team, and how it doesn't help recruiting all that much, though he did mention they do recruit North and South Dakota players

-He commented that the senior class has done a lot while at the "U", and that they have been very good leaders...he pointed out specifically Lee Campbell, Garret Brown and Eric Small

-SDSU has a very good football team, and that they were in the Top 10 in FCS (former 1-AA) until their loss last week to Southern Illinois

-Talked about how senior day is a very special day, and that it would be great to see the seniors win their final game at TCF Bank Stadium and become bowl eligible at the same time

-He talked about how they didn't start the game well on Saturday

-He did make a point of mentioning they played better in the second half, and that they won the second half 25-7

-He thought they were a better team on 3rd downs this week than they were against Michigan State

-There was not as good at protecting the quarterback on Saturday, and that had a lot to do with Weber not playing as well. He also said that Weber would be the first to say that he would like to have had a few of his throws back

-On South Dakota State, he said that they are a fundamentally sound football team, and that they would try to run the football. Defensively, they "get after it." They run to the football well, and that they're well-coached.

 

[NewEngland_Gold]

Not much other than the basics today. It was a short, rather quiet conference today...

-He made note of how proud he was of his team to come back after they fell behind 28-7 at halftime, and that despite the comeback, "it is what it is."

-He said that SDSU will be ready to play on Saturday, because he believes it's a very big deal for them to play here, because they don't often get to play in a place like TCF Bank Stadium

-Brewster talked again about how he questions how much playing SDSU and NDSU help a football team, and how it doesn't help recruiting all that much, though he did mention they do recruit North and South Dakota players

-He commented that the senior class has done a lot while at the "U", and that they have been very good leaders...he pointed out specifically Lee Campbell, Garret Brown and Eric Small

-SDSU has a very good football team, and that they were in the Top 10 in FCS (former 1-AA) until their loss last week to Southern Illinois

-Talked about how senior day is a very special day, and that it would be great to see the seniors win their final game at TCF Bank Stadium and become bowl eligible at the same time

-He talked about how they didn't start the game well on Saturday

-He did make a point of mentioning they played better in the second half, and that they won the second half 25-7

-He thought they were a better team on 3rd downs this week than they were against Michigan State

-There was not as good at protecting the quarterback on Saturday, and that had a lot to do with Weber not playing as well. He also said that Weber would be the first to say that he would like to have had a few of his throws back

-On South Dakota State, he said that they are a fundamentally sound football team, and that they would try to run the football. Defensively, they "get after it." They run to the football well, and that they're well-coached.

Did he talk about why they weren't prepared to win the 1H?

I wonder if he has figured that out and determined how to fix the problem.

 

[gopher_alum_2005]

They won the 2nd half 25-7.

What a complete f'n joke of a comment.

 

[Ole]

They won the 2nd half 25-7.

What a complete f'n joke of a comment.

You might want to actually read the press conference transcript before commenting:

"Going back and recapping the Illinois game, obviously disappointment with the loss. It was an tale of two halves as far as the game was concerned. Obviously we put ourselves in a significant hole in the first half going down 28 to 7. We came back in the second half and won 25 to 7 and came up three points short in the game to win the football game

As I said after the game on Saturday night, I was extremely proud of our football team to come back like they did in the second half and give themselves a chance to win the football game. We just had an opportunity to make a stop there at the end that we didn't make and didn't get the job done. Certain disappointment with that.

But, again, it is what it is. We move on. We prepare for Senior Day this week against South Dakota State, and are really looking forward to it. "

 

[NewEngland_Gold]

They won the 2nd half 25-7.

What a complete f'n joke of a comment.

A comment like that makes one wonder if Brew has a grip on the total picture from the perspective of 60-min execution.

Understandable that a coach would be encouraged to see improvement based on halftime adjustments, but to talk about "winning" a half is really meaningless...no HC should be pleased about winning a half, except in the context of overall satisfaction in winning the game imho.

Maybe the presser report posted here took his comments out of context...if not, it seems unusual that a HC would be pleased about winning any half if the game...especially a close game...was ultimately lost. During Mase's regime, many times the Gs won the 1H...then let it slip away...and that's one of the main reasons he was fired.

 

[gopher_alum_2005]

You might want to actually read the press conference transcript before commenting:

"Going back and recapping the Illinois game, obviously disappointment with the loss. It was an tale of two halves as far as the game was concerned. Obviously we put ourselves in a significant hole in the first half going down 28 to 7. We came back in the second half and won 25 to 7 and came up three points short in the game to win the football game

As I said after the game on Saturday night, I was extremely proud of our football team to come back like they did in the second half and give themselves a chance to win the football game. We just had an opportunity to make a stop there at the end that we didn't make and didn't get the job done. Certain disappointment with that.

But, again, it is what it is. We move on. We prepare for Senior Day this week against South Dakota State, and are really looking forward to it. "

Were you also happy with the fact that we lost 10-7 in the 4th quarter against Ohio State?

Get a clue... it's a 60 minute game. You don't split it in halves and talk about each. Why didn't Brew talk about why we didn't execute in the first 30 minutes?

 

[NewEngland_Gold]

You might want to actually read the press conference transcript before commenting:

"Going back and recapping the Illinois game, obviously disappointment with the loss. It was an tale of two halves as far as the game was concerned. Obviously we put ourselves in a significant hole in the first half going down 28 to 7. We came back in the second half and won 25 to 7 and came up three points short in the game to win the football game

As I said after the game on Saturday night, I was extremely proud of our football team to come back like they did in the second half and give themselves a chance to win the football game. We just had an opportunity to make a stop there at the end that we didn't make and didn't get the job done. Certain disappointment with that.

But, again, it is what it is. We move on. We prepare for Senior Day this week against South Dakota State, and are really looking forward to it. "

Am I missing something? Isn't he saying the Gs won the 2H and then lost the game by 3 pts?

That said, I do have to give him credit for putting a very clever positive spin on a disappointing outcome.

Also, agree: "We move on."

 

[monk10]

Actually as a football coach, I talked about winning the second half as a point to start with on things that we did well. Sometimes I coached in games where the first half was a compelte disaster and the second half got even worse. When you have been in those situations you actually applaud the kids for turning things around and climbing the uphill battle of trying to come back to win.

It doesn't change things on the W/L column if you don't come back, but it is something to point to when you are coaching kids up on how to do things the right way.


If you continue to read on the quote our Coach acknowledges a) it wasn't enough and b) he was disappointed.

 

[ButchNashGuy]

Were you also happy with the fact that we lost 10-7 in the 4th quarter against Ohio State?

Get a clue... it's a 60 minute game. You don't split it in halves and talk about each. Why didn't Brew talk about why we didn't execute in the first 30 minutes?

He talked about that in the article I saw on Sunday (iirc) and to some degree in the Tuesday press meeting. Move on.

 

[GophersInIowa]

Actually as a football coach, I talked about winning the second half as a point to start with on things that we did well. Sometimes I coached in games where the first half was a compelte disaster and the second half got even worse. When you have been in those situations you actually applaud the kids for turning things around and climbing the uphill battle of trying to come back to win.

It doesn't change things on the W/L column if you don't come back, but it is something to point to when you are coaching kids up on how to do things the right way.


If you continue to read on the quote our Coach acknowledges a) it wasn't enough and b) he was disappointed.

Yep, I've heard the same thing many times back in my playing and coaching days. The positive of the game is we pretty much dominated the 2nd half. Use that as something positive as you move on into the next week. I see no problem in this.

 

[NewEngland_Gold]

Actually as a football coach, I talked about winning the second half as a point to start with on things that we did well. Sometimes I coached in games where the first half was a compelte disaster and the second half got even worse. When you have been in those situations you actually applaud the kids for turning things around and climbing the uphill battle of trying to come back to win.

It doesn't change things on the W/L column if you don't come back, but it is something to point to when you are coaching kids up on how to do things the right way.

If you continue to read on the quote our Coach acknowledges a) it wasn't enough and b) he was disappointed.

Agree that in player team meetings...as a motivational tool...talk of 1H or 2H wins might make sense...although I doubt Mase did much of this in his tenure. In fact, with respect to Mase, I can't ever recall him talking in pressers about how satisfied he was about winning a 1H against MI etc.

However, for Brewster to talk to the press/media of a 2H win in a disappointing overall loss ...especially a press that is very skeptical of TB's HCing ability and bubbly persona...just adds unneeded fuel to their Brew bashing cynicism imho.

We move on.

 

[monk10]

I guess I don't get your perspective. The whole context of the quote is something like:

We lost the first half, we won the second half (instead of folding up like a bunch of tents on camp closing day), and we lost the game. I'm disappointed we lost. I'm glad we showed some resilience.

I really don't get the angst against that.

 

[NewEngland_Gold]

I guess I don't get your perspective. The whole context of the quote is something like:

We lost the first half, we won the second half (instead of folding up like a bunch of tents on camp closing day), and we lost the game. I'm disappointed we lost. I'm glad we showed some resilience.

I really don't get the angst against that.

My perspective is that fb is a 60-minute plus game from a win/loss point of view.

When it comes to evaluating Brew's W/L record here or anywhere else, no one's going to care if the Gs won some quarter or half vs team X or Y. There's going to be no special credit for flashes of superiority here and there. Everyone wants consistency in one area...W's...and in fact, many would be happy if the W's came even with 17 penalties/gm.

Basically meaningless, crediting wins for a particular quarter, quarters or halves may make everyone feel a little less depressed about a disappointing outcome and thus does put a more palatable spin on the loss. That's OK. When an unexpected bad loss comes along, damage control is expected.

For those with a sales background: when you don't have the steak, you sell the sizzle. From my days of following G fb, Lou Holtz was an absolute master of sizzle, but Brew isn't far behind. The great ones are so good at selling the sizzle, buyers forget about the steak. Lou never stuck around long enough to translate his sizzle into much steak, maybe Brew will...although many here believe he has only two more years to produce Minny steak.

Right now Brew is selling lots of sizzle: stonger recruiting, talent in the pipeline, improving depth, more team speed, winning at an expected pace and in losses, winning some quarters/halves...all great...the real, promised steak of more consistent W's, real title contention and better bowl bids has yet to be grilled and served.

My sense is that GHers/GN have enough patience in the tank to survive on sizzle for at least another year...maybe two...after that, I think it gets very dicey for Brew no matter how many halves he wins if the 60-minute result for too many key tilts is an L. At some point, the sizzle gets very old and worn out.