What are our options at QB?

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dbradford29 said:
They were all Freshmen who got thrown into the fire due to injury.
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With the exception of Selig, and not sure why they are playing him hurt, he doesn't look like he can run right now. Point taken on the Freshmen, still you have to get them ready to play instill some confidence. A lot of confusion and poor drops in coverage by this group right now.
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
Typically your slants go over the middle, right?

I’m not sure I trust our QB to throw into traffic over the middle. Vs anyone else maybe but Michigan….

First pass of the game was a simple short to the sidelines pass that should’ve been confidence building…. It didn’t work.

AK needs some confidence building passes for sure, unfortunately, I think he has been getting them already, just not building confidence with them.
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Actually a slant is completed when the corner is 6-8 off and the LB/S has inside responsibility. The reason slants are not successful is if the receiver /QB are not timed out. QB ready to throw but the receiver is not out of his fake. Biggest mistake I have noticed is the receiver coming on his route-actually running inside towards the LB. thus LB has less distance/area to cover. Good receivers cut their motor down after 2 steps inside and start working back outside.
 

MNVCGUY said:
It's kind of funny. There were people joking around last year about how long it would take fans to turn on Athan and start calling for the backup.... :)
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I think 5 games of the worst passing game in the country would make any fan base turn on any QB.
 

MplsGopher said:
Does Ciarrocca have a copyright on the RPO??

That was his thing, and now both times he has left we’ve ditched it to no avail.
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The most maddening thing to me is the complete lack of identity. It’s one thing to be an RPO offense and it worked with Minnesota’s personnel, but if you don’t want to do that then you have to have some other philosophy. Are you going to run West Coast timing routes? Then do that. Play action? Then do that. Right now it just looks like they are calling whatever is working at the moment. A little bit of zone running then whatever they drew on the white board that week. There’s no philosophy behind it that I can see.

Sanford’s offense didn’t work, but at least I got what he was trying to do. With Harbaugh I can’t tell.

It’s just not fun to watch. The reason I liked KC was that I knew what he was going to do and I knew it could work. It’s the same reason people like to watch Mike Leach or Chip Kelly or Matt Canada.

I feel like Fleck is just used to delegating control of the offense to a good coordinator and doesn’t realize that he needs to lean in when there is somebody new in the chair.
 
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Jack jones said:
Actually a slant is completed when the corner is 6-8 off and the LB/S has inside responsibility. The reason slants are not successful is if the receiver /QB are not timed out. QB ready to throw but the receiver is not out of his fake. Biggest mistake I have noticed is the receiver coming on his route-actually running inside towards the LB. thus LB has less distance/area to cover. Good receivers cut their motor down after 2 steps inside and start working back outside.
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Well our QB seems to have time challenges as it is anyhow.
 

LakevilleBro said:
Morgan was better than AK, MO was better than any RB we have now. Our TE production is poor.
Just because a player is a year older, does not mean that he will show improvement.
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Disagree with this as Darius is better than Mo at the same time in their careers and will only get better. Evans is also very good back - maybe not quite up to Mo right now, but in time will be.
 

GFBfan said:
Disagree with this as Darius is better than Mo at the same time in their careers and will only get better. Evans is also very good back - maybe not quite up to Mo right now, but in time will be.
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Our starting guard was the bottom lineman at ND
 

These last six games will tell us a lot. Through out the Michigan game. They were an excellent team last year that returned almost everyone and we are a slightly worse team this year especially at linebacker, db, offensive line and running back.
 



hello-world said:
The most maddening thing to me is the complete lack of identity. It’s one thing to be an RPO offense and it worked with Minnesota’s personnel, but if you don’t want to do that then you have to have some other philosophy. Are you going to run West Coast timing routes? Then do that. Play action? Then do that. Right now it just looks like they are calling whatever is working at the moment. A little bit of zone running then whatever they drew on the white board that week. There’s no philosophy behind it that I can see.

Sanford’s offense didn’t work, but at least I got what he was trying to do. With Harbaugh I can’t tell.

It’s just not fun to watch. The reason I liked KC was that I knew what he was going to do and I knew it could work. It’s the same reason people like to watch Mike Leach or Chip Kelly or Matt Canada.

I feel like Fleck is just used to delegating control of the offense to a good coordinator and doesn’t realize that he needs to lean in when there is somebody new in the chair.
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A good quarterback can do a lot for a team, like run a better offense.

We don't know why the offense is without an identity. Blame the coach. Blame the limited QB that increases your odds of losing if you give him the ball -- at this point, we don't know later.
 

hello-world said:
The most maddening thing to me is the complete lack of identity. It’s one thing to be an RPO offense and it worked with Minnesota’s personnel, but if you don’t want to do that then you have to have some other philosophy. Are you going to run West Coast timing routes? Then do that. Play action? Then do that. Right now it just looks like they are calling whatever is working at the moment. A little bit of zone running then whatever they drew on the white board that week. There’s no philosophy behind it that I can see.

Sanford’s offense didn’t work, but at least I got what he was trying to do. With Harbaugh I can’t tell.

It’s just not fun to watch. The reason I liked KC was that I knew what he was going to do and I knew it could work. It’s the same reason people like to watch Mike Leach or Chip Kelly or Matt Canada.

I feel like Fleck is just used to delegating control of the offense to a good coordinator and doesn’t realize that he needs to lean in when there is somebody new in the chair.
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This is the same exact issue as the Sanford era

Fleck brings in a guy to do X
After a very short time fleck loses trust and wants to go back to doing Y.
This offensive strategy post Nebraska is completely different than what they tried to do in the Nebraska game.


That’s on fleck for making the switch to a different system then not trusting it. Now we are going back to ground and pound on the fly and aren’t that good at it yet.
 


Some guy said:
This is the same exact issue as the Sanford era

Fleck brings in a guy to do X
After a very short time fleck loses trust and wants to go back to doing Y.
This offensive strategy post Nebraska is completely different than what they tried to do in the Nebraska game.


That’s on fleck for making the switch to a different system then not trusting it. Now we are going back to ground and pound on the fly and aren’t that good at it yet.
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The Nebraska game was one off because of their unique defense. We were never going to continue to throw 51 times a game.
 



MNVCGUY said:
Good lord man......we are 3-3 and a 4th quarter collapse from 4-2 with both loses coming against top 15 teams. There are definite issues with the team and this certainly has the looks of a season that is going to fall short of the past couple but some of you are acting like we are the worst team in the history of football.
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The 4th quarter loss to NU and the complete domination from Michigan just cant be overlooked. I agree that 4-2 would have changed the outlook of this team, but we are 3-3 and will struggle greatly to get another win or two.
 

Dakota2 said:
The Nebraska game was one off because of their unique defense. We were never going to continue to throw 51 times a game.
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I think official passing attempts in Nebraska game were 44 (doesn’t count sacks or QB taking off and running on a planned pass). Interesting note: After 6 games, the Gophers have 138 official passing attempts. This means that in the Nebraska opener we threw 32% of our passes for the season to date. One explanation is the emergence of Darius Taylor and Zach Evans. But the futility of our passing attack (not laying the blame at the feet of any one player or coach) is probably an equal factor.
 



kg21 said:
It's still rather stunning with Fleck being a receiver himself and having Tyler and Bateman........we weren't able to cash in on that in the slightest.

Just disappointing.
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I have to agree. Why the hell aren't more products coming through the system? I can't answer that question. I thought there would be something special in this year's group, but for whatever reason, nothing.
 

HoustonTXGopher said:
The 4th quarter loss to NU and the complete domination from Michigan just cant be overlooked. I agree that 4-2 would have changed the outlook of this team, but we are 3-3 and will struggle greatly to get another win or two.
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There are no slam dunk wins left on the schedule but 5 of the remaining 6 games are very winnable. Iowa, Purdue, Illinois, Michigan State and Wisconsin all have their issues just like us and none of them look great. We could lose all 5 and we could win all 5 just going to come down to which team shows up for us and our opponents. Iowa game is massive, don't beat ourselves and we absolutely can go beat them.

Michigan game was rough but that team is loaded and we started out in about the worst possible way we could have by going down 7 - 2 plays into the game against a team that just doesn't give up points.
 

BTChamp said:
I have to agree. Why the hell aren't more products coming through the system? I can't answer that question. I thought there would be something special in this year's group, but for whatever reason, nothing.
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I’m sure competing coaches point out that in 2020, 2021, 2022, and now in 2023, the Gophers have been very run oriented and have, relative to other teams, kind of neglected the passing game. I truly believe PJ wants a robust passing game, but the fact is that when the passing game flounders a bit, PJ switches over to run-oriented—as it gives up the better chance to win in PJ’s view (provided we haven’t fallen behind!). Top-tier WR recruits can read the stats, see PJ’s splits between run and pass, and make a judgment about their likely role in the offense: targeted receivers or downfield blockers? Opposing coaches probably criticize PJ’s pitch to WRs with “Who are you going to believe? PJ or your own eyes.”
 

So AK is floating passes now? I read here that his passes were thrown nearly 100 mph and would blow the hands of the receivers clean off! Maybe I read that wrong!
 

Gophers7NatTitlesBadgers0 said:
So AK is floating passes now? I read here that his passes were thrown nearly 100 mph and would blow the hands of the receivers clean off! Maybe I read that wrong!
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Haven't you heard, he throws too hard, too soft, bad footwork, sidearm, no touch, stares down receivers, and worst of all chews on his mouthpiece. :)

Playing QB at the D1 level is so easy.....anyone can do it.....not sure why a redshirt Sophomore who has started a total of 10 games in his college career is still making mistakes and not producing at an NFL level.....just doesn't make sense.

on a serious note....I truly don't know if Athan will be the guy but people need to cut the kid some slack and give him some time to develop and figure things out.
 

BTChamp said:
I have to agree. Why the hell aren't more products coming through the system? I can't answer that question. I thought there would be something special in this year's group, but for whatever reason, nothing.
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Really good high school receivers are not much interested in a program known for taking the air out of the ball as its guiding philosophy.
 

mkAz said:
Kramer did outplay AK in the spring game, that’s a real small sample size though. I keep thinking they will need to hit the portal this offseason as a stop gap until Drake Lindsey is ready, but what portal QB is going to want to play in this offense?
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One that's not playing at all for somebody else. But, how do you get assurances you'll get an opportunity on Saturdays here?
 

Sports media really wants me to click on Kirk Cousins trade rumors so why not the Gophers?

I'm curious how the Gophers would do with a solid NFL QB at the controls. Could they beat Purdue with Kirk? Iowa? I don't think prime Tom Brady could have beaten Michigan last week.
 

Gophers7NatTitlesBadgers0 said:
So AK is floating passes now? I read here that his passes were thrown nearly 100 mph and would blow the hands of the receivers clean off! Maybe I read that wrong!
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It would be nice if he was throwing bullets, acutely. But watch the game and it’s just not that.
 

hello-world said:
The most maddening thing to me is the complete lack of identity. It’s one thing to be an RPO offense and it worked with Minnesota’s personnel, but if you don’t want to do that then you have to have some other philosophy. Are you going to run West Coast timing routes? Then do that. Play action? Then do that. Right now it just looks like they are calling whatever is working at the moment. A little bit of zone running then whatever they drew on the white board that week. There’s no philosophy behind it that I can see.

Sanford’s offense didn’t work, but at least I got what he was trying to do. With Harbaugh I can’t tell.

It’s just not fun to watch. The reason I liked KC was that I knew what he was going to do and I knew it could work. It’s the same reason people like to watch Mike Leach or Chip Kelly or Matt Canada.

I feel like Fleck is just used to delegating control of the offense to a good coordinator and doesn’t realize that he needs to lean in when there is somebody new in the chair.
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It sounds simplistic like it shouldn't matter...but if it's not fun to watch there is no hope. You gotta be able to see some possibilities.
We have too much to fix. Absolutely, seems to me the first solution is how does it look with a different guy at QB. If it looks the same...our scheme needs an overhaul.

Regarding Fleck....I think it is much more likely the opposite problem. I know you are new....I want this and this. Okay no, let's do this. I doubt PJ is giving up control.
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
Typically your slants go over the middle, right?

I’m not sure I trust our QB to throw into traffic over the middle. Vs anyone else maybe but Michigan….
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Yes, but right now our most common pass plays are a 6 yard flat or curl that requires AK to throw the ball 15-20 yards through the air and provides very little chance of YAC. At least a slant keeps the receiver moving upfield and only requires the ball to fly 10 yards through the air. I don’t love AK throwing it over the middle, but the flats and curls are way too predictable and susceptible to pick 6s with competent defenders as it is.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Haven't you heard, he throws too hard, too soft, bad footwork, sidearm, no touch, stares down receivers, and worst of all chews on his mouthpiece. :)

Playing QB at the D1 level is so easy.....anyone can do it.....not sure why a redshirt Sophomore who has started a total of 10 games in his college career is still making mistakes and not producing at an NFL level.....just doesn't make sense.

on a serious note....I truly don't know if Athan will be the guy but people need to cut the kid some slack and give him some time to develop and figure things out.
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Our QB does do all those things...I haven't paid any attention to the mouthpiece complaint...I'll look for it.
There is a difference between time to figure it out and this may not be the guy. Certain players are never going to figure it out. There is that possibility. I don't know...I don't see him every day or talk to him every day. But I do know there would be benefit to him sitting. The replacement is going to take the job and never give it back. Or, Athan is going to be crushed and shrivel never to be heard from again. You got your answer about him. Or, he takes inventory and comes back with a new opportunity, new outlook, ready to show the world he can do this if the other guy falters. But just watching him struggle isn't going to change anything.
Just blindly believing in him and continuing to run him out there while other guys lose their jobs for performance when you are losing is going to erode and divide your team. Players saw the spring game, too.
 


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