What grade do you give Joe Rossi after the Northwestern game?

[BulldogGopher]

With Joe Rossi in the midst of his audition for the DC job, I am curious how folks think he did against Northwestern, and what his chances of landing the permanent job are at this point.

Rossi has done well and has really turned the defense around the past couple of weeks. After an A performance against Purdue, I'd say today was a solid B to B+. We held NW to 325 yards, below their average of 341 in B1G play, with 68 of those coming on the blown coverage by Howden. Their scoring drives were 45, 55, 92, and 6 yards, so 3 of the 4 came on relatively short fields.

Run defense was very stout in holding their RB to under 3 yards a carry. Pass defense was not as great, allowing Thorson to complete a high percentage of passes, but most of the time our coverage was tight enough to not allow a ton of yards after catch. We only surrendered 3 plays over 20 yards. We were able to generate pressure at times and came away with a couple sacks.

Our offense did the D no favors today. In a game like this, had our D been able to force a couple turnovers it might have changed the outcome but we were not able to do that. Northwestern's offense was not prolific, but took care of the football and was efficient enough to come away with the win.

Today was good in that we went toe to toe with the B1G West champs and showed the D performance against Purdue was not a fluke. At this point, I think Rossi is still in the mix to be the next DC but it's far from a slam dunk. I say the chances are 40%. We need to see what happens against Wisconsin. Even if that goes well, I think Fleck should and will consider all of his external options. He may choose to meet with potential candidates at the coaching convention in early January. Definitely no need to rush the decision.

What does everyone else think?

 

[God]

With Joe Rossi in the midst of his audition for the DC job, I am curious how folks think he did against Northwestern, and what his chances of landing the permanent job are at this point.

Rossi has done well and has really turned the defense around the past couple of weeks. After an A performance against Purdue, I'd say today was a solid B to B+. We held NW to 325 yards, below their average of 341 in B1G play, with 68 of those coming on the blown coverage by Howden. Their scoring drives were 45, 55, 92, and 6 yards, so 3 of the 4 came on relatively short fields.

Run defense was very stout in holding their RB to under 3 yards a carry. Pass defense was not as great, allowing Thorson to complete a high percentage of passes, but most of the time our coverage was tight enough to not allow a ton of yards after catch. We only surrendered 3 plays over 20 yards. We were able to generate pressure at times and came away with a couple sacks.

Our offense did the D no favors today. In a game like this, had our D been able to force a couple turnovers it might have changed the outcome but we were not able to do that. Northwestern's offense was not prolific, but took care of the football and was efficient enough to come away with the win.

Today was good in that we went toe to toe with the B1G West champs and showed the D performance against Purdue was not a fluke. At this point, I think Rossi is still in the mix to be the next DC but it's far from a slam dunk. I say the chances are 40%. We need to see what happens against Wisconsin. Even if that goes well, I think Fleck should and will consider all of his external options. He may choose to meet with potential candidates at the coaching convention in early January. Definitely no need to rush the decision.

What does everyone else think?

Rossi should not get the job. Fleck needs to do what Leach did and hire a proven and experienced DC and let him run the D autonomously.

 

[MNVCGUY]

Agree for the most part with your assessment. Have now had back to back solid efforts from the defense which is no small thing when you consider just how bad they were prior to the change.

Will be interesting to see if they can come up with a scheme to slow down Taylor. He went off against Purdue today. If you can slow him down you can keep Wisconsin in check because their passing game is not good. Of course slowing Taylor down is easier said then done.

With the drastic turnaround the D has made these past two weeks I think Rossi has at the very least gotten himself into the conversation as an option to be the full time DC. May still be a longshot but probably not as long of a shot as people would have thought he was when Smith was fired.

 

[Deckergopher]

If we win at Wisconsin because of defensive efforts Joe definitely has a shot at the full time gig.

 

[GoGophersUMN]

Defense played well but not spectacularly. Would have liked to see them force at least 1 turnover. That one big pass play was bad but it seemed like that was more on Howden than coaching/the scheme.

Forcing turnovers has been a problem at times for the defense. 1 turnover each against Nebraska and Purdue and 0 against Ohio State, Maryland, and Northwestern. But we also had 3 games with 3 each. With how inexperienced our offense is and how likely they are to turn it over and with the whole 78% thing, the defense needs to force at least 1, preferably 2+ turnover(s) per game to give us a good chance of winning.

Rossi has done way better than expected so far but I'd like to get someone who has an established track record as a DC.

 

[fmlizard]

There has been meaningful improvement over the last 2 games. Purdue was obviously amazing and today was more than enough to win. Lost today because of offensive mistakes, squandered opportunities, and failure to make explosive plays on offense.

I think a strong showing against Wisconsin ought to get him serious consideration as the permanent guy.

 

[Pompous Elitist]

Despite his impressive bio, I’m inclined to go with someone with a better pedigree and/or track record of recruiting and developing defenses. The difference makers out there are mostly Kill/Claeys players. Is there an up and comer coordinator out there?

 

[GFBfan]

Vs Purdue, he had the element of surprise as we showed all kinds of new things that Purdue wasn’t able to prepare for. On top of that he was working with a defensive group that got embarrassed the week before.
This week vs NW, both of those advantages were gone. NW was ready for all the new wrinkles. They’re not a great offense either.
Saying our D was better then with Smith isn’t saying much as we were historically bad
I believe PJ needs to bring in someone from outside of current staff, but they’re going to have to buy into what PJ is wanting
Can’t see PJ letting a Buddy Ryan Mike Ditka type situation happen.


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[bfast]

Joe Rossi for head coach.

 

[60's Guy]

I don't know...PJ said a few weeks we didn't have the personnel to be effective defensively in defense of Smith. Then Rossi takes over and with little time to put his stamp on the defense he transforms those same inadequate players into a smothering suffocating nightmare for Purdue and their high powered offense. Yesterday, I'd say the defense was a solid B. It was sabotaged by the offense and forced to defend short fields and be on the field too often.

I don't think we appreciate how difficult what Rossi has done is to accomplish. There is too much I don't know and we need to see week 3 against Wisconsin but he's gotta be applauded for what he has done the first two weeks.

The X factor for me is Cashman won't be there next year....Rossi let him use his strengths and has had 29 tackles plus, plus big play after big play. Same for Jacob Huff to a lesser degree. Next up are Durr and Moore, Coughlin and Williamson....all these guys contributing are older players...many trained under Tracy....is that why they are the biggest contributors? Barber, Martin and Winston D are again experienced guys who didn't flash much yesterday but are mainstays. Julian Huff contributed versus Purdue. Howden is the only young guy making plays (that comes to mind)...more good than bad but..

So, biggest question: If Smith is that incompetent, why does it take 9 games into year two for the head coach to identify it? And if he hired Smith do we really want to take our chances on letting him pick another guy versus the bird in the hand?

But again, it's tough to evaluate other than Rossi is smarter than Smith how good he is because all the guys on defense (for the most part) had good coaching defensively in their early years. But they are mostly going to be gone.

 

[MNVCGUY]

But again, it's tough to evaluate other than Rossi is smarter than Smith how good he is because all the guys on defense (for the most part) had good coaching defensively in their early years. But they are mostly going to be gone.

We lose Cashman, Moore and the Huff brothers next year. The defense will still be mostly in tact.

 

[Pompous Elitist]

I don't know...PJ said a few weeks we didn't have the personnel to be effective defensively in defense of Smith. Then Rossi takes over and with little time to put his stamp on the defense he transforms those same inadequate players into a smothering suffocating nightmare for Purdue and their high powered offense. Yesterday, I'd say the defense was a solid B. It was sabotaged by the offense and forced to defend short fields and be on the field too often.

I don't think we appreciate how difficult what Rossi has done is to accomplish. There is too much I don't know and we need to see week 3 against Wisconsin but he's gotta be applauded for what he has done the first two weeks.

The X factor for me is Cashman won't be there next year....Rossi let him use his strengths and has had 29 tackles plus, plus big play after big play. Same for Jacob Huff to a lesser degree. Next up are Durr and Moore, Coughlin and Williamson....all these guys contributing are older players...many trained under Tracy....is that why they are the biggest contributors? Barber, Martin and Winston D are again experienced guys who didn't flash much yesterday but are mainstays. Julian Huff contributed versus Purdue. Howden is the only young guy making plays (that comes to mind)...more good than bad but..

So, biggest question: If Smith is that incompetent, why does it take 9 games into year two for the head coach to identify it? And if he hired Smith do we really want to take our chances on letting him pick another guy versus the bird in the hand?

But again, it's tough to evaluate other than Rossi is smarter than Smith how good he is because all the guys on defense (for the most part) had good coaching defensively in their early years. But they are mostly going to be gone.

You summarized the conundrum very well. If they play well again next week (and hopefully in December) I won’t be too upset either way as at least Rossi identified some problems Smith was unable to or too proud to change.

 

[rockford]

Can't give a grade at this point, but I certainly believe there has been tremendous improvement the last two weeks.

Barring something really embarrassing happening in Wisconsin, I believe Rossi should be considered for the permanent position.

And I hope like hell we have some defensive talent coming on board next year.

If I were to give a grade for yesterday, it would likely be in the low C range. We didn't get the job done. Our offense did us no favors, but our defense couldn't bar the door when we needed it to.

JTG

 

[bleedsmaroonandgold]

I was pretty satisfied with performance yesterday, except for the end of the first half. How did the defense look that lost for those three plays? I feel like they scored on three plays without having to make a good play.

 

[HoustonTXGopher]

Can't give a grade at this point, but I certainly believe there has been tremendous improvement the last two weeks.

Barring something really embarrassing happening in Wisconsin, I believe Rossi should be considered for the permanent position.

And I hope like hell we have some defensive talent coming on board next year.

If I were to give a grade for yesterday, it would likely be in the low C range. We didn't get the job done. Our offense did us no favors, but our defense couldn't bar the door when we needed it to.

JTG

Other than the late touchdown in the first half, I thought the defense played outstanding. The offense not only crapped the bit, they put our defense in a terrible position after that fumble by Morgan in the second half. Missed opportunities and mistakes by the offense are the only reason the Gophers lost this game. The defense gets at worst a B+ in my eyes.

 

[Bring back the Axe]

He should certainly be considered for the permanent gig, but I'd be wary of a little of the Jeff Horton effect here. Virtually anyone could have stepped in for Smith and looked good by comparison.