What grade do you give PJ Fleck for coaching in the Maryland game?

[short ornery norwegian]

On the Autman-Bell "Catch" - it was not a catch - the replay showed it clearly. So people on here are arguing the Gophers should take advantage of a play that was called incorrectly on the field.

I have no problem with that play being overturned. it was the correct call.

If a play like that went in favor of the other team - when replays showed it was clearly the wrong call - people on this board would be having aneurysms. But if it helps "our" team, it's OK. good to know.

 

[bleedsmaroonandgold]

On the Autman-Bell "Catch" - it was not a catch - the replay showed it clearly. So people on here are arguing the Gophers should take advantage of a play that was called incorrectly on the field.

I have no problem with that play being overturned. it was the correct call.

If a play like that went in favor of the other team - when replays showed it was clearly the wrong call - people on this board would be having aneurysms. But if it helps "our" team, it's OK. good to know.

It's a pretty common tactic when the offense has a call go their way that they think might have been wrong to try to hurry up and get the next play off so it can't be reviewed. That has been a thing since the NFL first instituted the challenge system.

 

[GFBfan]

What was the horrible play calls?
Wild cat on 3rd and 11 and what else?

Any that didn't result in a first down, touchdown or a gain of +5.

The tunnel screens that went for nothing all game were not good. Guessing they saw something on film about Maryland that they thought they could exploit with those, but either didn't coach the WR very well in how to run the route or how to block the defenders OR the players didn't execute the plays as designed.

 

[stocker08]

What was the horrible play calls?
Wild cat on 3rd and 11 and what else?

1st and 2nd down run plays while we are trailing by multiple scores in the second half? Nothing like vanilla play calling and going three and out in those situations.

How about the wide receiver screens that worked so brilliantly? Of course I am being sarcastic. How many times did we run those and how many net yards did rack up there? I'd be surprised if the number was positive.

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[hello-world]

What was the horrible play calls?
Wild cat on 3rd and 11 and what else?

"Lets just keep calling this screen play over-and-over even though it has been blown up every time we've tried to run it and our receivers are incapable of blocking their corners."

Related note, our receivers need to hit the weight room. We couldn't complete a pass yesterday because they were unable to fight through coverage all day long. Every team in the B1G that sees that game film is going to do the exact same thing.

The refs missed some bad PI yesterday, but that's not an excuse to get knocked off every other route we try to run.

 

[bleedsmaroonandgold]

"Lets just keep calling this screen play over-and-over even though it has been blown up every time we've tried to run it and our receivers are incapable of blocking their corners."

Related note, our receivers need to hit the weight room. We couldn't complete a pass yesterday because they were unable to fight through coverage all day long. Every team in the B1G that sees that game film is going to do the exact same thing.

The refs missed some bad PI yesterday, but that's not an excuse to get knocked off every other route we try to run.

Its like last year when we went back to the same wildcat play over and over again against Michigan. I know Michigan had looked vulnerable to it the week before, but we weren't having any success with it, so we needed to move on and try something else, but for some reason we never did.

 

[GopherWeatherGuy]

"Lets just keep calling this screen play over-and-over even though it has been blown up every time we've tried to run it and our receivers are incapable of blocking their corners."

Related note, our receivers need to hit the weight room. We couldn't complete a pass yesterday because they were unable to fight through coverage all day long. Every team in the B1G that sees that game film is going to do the exact same thing.

The refs missed some bad PI yesterday, but that's not an excuse to get knocked off every other route we try to run.

Our whole team needs to hit the weight room because we’re playing so many freshman. Most of Maryland’s starters are upperclassmen. You could see what the difference in age makes.

 

[Dano564]

"Lets just keep calling this screen play over-and-over even though it has been blown up every time we've tried to run it and our receivers are incapable of blocking their corners."

Related note, our receivers need to hit the weight room. We couldn't complete a pass yesterday because they were unable to fight through coverage all day long. Every team in the B1G that sees that game film is going to do the exact same thing.

The refs missed some bad PI yesterday, but that's not an excuse to get knocked off every other route we try to run.

Good point.
I saw enough of the WR screens to last me for 4-5 weeks.

 

[Otis]

1st and 2nd down run plays while we are trailing by multiple scores in the second half? Nothing like vanilla play calling and going three and out in those situations.

How about the wide receiver screens that worked so brilliantly? Of course I am being sarcastic. How many times did we run those and how many net yards did rack up there? I'd be surprised if the number was positive.

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I was at the game and the run from the shotgun was resulting in the hole closing before the RB could get to the hole. As for trying to pass, Zach was probably the least nimble quarterback in history at the game. He looked like a tackling dummy unable to avoid contact. Doesn't speak well for our backup QB since ZA was obviously hurt.

 

[hello-world]

I was at the game and the run from the shotgun was resulting in the hole closing before the RB could get to the hole. As for trying to pass, Zach was probably the least nimble quarterback in history at the game. He looked like a tackling dummy unable to avoid contact. Doesn't speak well for our backup QB since ZA was obviously hurt.

Hahaha, making fun of myself here.
"Hey, he really needs to stay in the pocket to protect himself."
Gets blasted when receivers can't get free.
"Okay, never-mind, Minnesota needs to move him around."

He definitely tried to stay in the pocket this week, and it did not work, I expect Fleck to get his launch-point moving around when Iowa comes to town.

 

[Otis]

The receivers couldn't get free because they were being mauled by Maryland's d-backs the entire game! I think they had more penalty yardage than we had offensive yardage. Many, many more penalties could have been called on the Terps.

 

[hello-world]

The receivers couldn't get free because they were being mauled by Maryland's d-backs the entire game! I think they had more penalty yardage than we had offensive yardage. Many, many more penalties could have been called on the Terps.

I agree, but the rest of the league is going to do the same thing now. They need to fight through it.

 

[GFBfan]

Hahaha, making fun of myself here.
"Hey, he really needs to stay in the pocket to protect himself."
Gets blasted when receivers can't get free.
"Okay, never-mind, Minnesota needs to move him around."

He definitely tried to stay in the pocket this week, and it did not work, I expect Fleck to get his launch-point moving around when Iowa comes to town.

Wasn't that he tried to stay in the pocket. He couldn't move and had no choice but to stay in the pocket. That limited the offense and what they could do. Had Tanner been put in the game, they could have rolled him out and adjusted the launch-point. That may have helped the offense, but it wouldn't have solved the defensive problems vs. Maryland.
If his injury isn't improved by Iowa we will see the same thing. Two weeks should allow Zack to be more mobile. We shall see then if he's made improvements both in his health and in his ability to stand in and deliver a pass or will continue the trend of backpedaling and throwing off his back foot.

 

[GoodasGold]

Whoever voted A needs to be slapped across the face with an oar..

A for awful

 

[harley_gopher]

Maybe fans should give PJ a break...he's trying to build right now from what was left of previous coaches who didn't leave anything in the cupboards. It will take time...

 

[rockford]

Late to the party, but went with an F (compared to A's or B's for earlier games). When you're in a "pick 'em" game and get blown out, it's gonna be hard to find a lot of positives.

Yes, it's true that we won't know how good Maryland is until we've seen more results. But while they may be a solid team, I think it's safe to say they're not a powerhouse. The failing grade is based more on an overall failure to compete rather than particular coaching decisions.

(That being said, I wonder if more could have been done with protection schemes to help out our apparently seriously overmatched offensive line. But the team's performance was so horrible, I'm not going to bother watching the game again to see.)

As I said elsewhere, this team doesn't have to win to make me happy. But they do have to be watchable. They weren't last Saturday.

JTG

 

[Pompous Elitist]

The former MN o-lineman on Burns podcast wasn’t kind to the prep and scheme on either side of the ball suggesting to me at least the current staff bears some level of responsibility for the outcome vs the narrative of blaming the prior staff. Some things mentioned included blocking scheme, ill-preparation and/or execution of the back 7 vs the Maryland offensive scheme, lack of physicality on both sides of the ball. Nothing that can’t be at least partially fixed with practice, adjustments, and study. How much of this can be attributed to Connelly's tragic passing is of course unknown.

 

[PMWinSTP]

The former MN o-lineman on Burns podcast wasn’t kind to the prep and scheme on either side of the ball suggesting to me at least the current staff bears some level of responsibility for the outcome vs the narrative of blaming the prior staff. Some things mentioned included blocking scheme, ill-preparation and/or execution of the back 7 vs the Maryland offensive scheme, lack of physicality on both sides of the ball. Nothing that can’t be at least partially fixed with practice, adjustments, and study. How much of this can be attributed to Connelly's tragic passing is of course unknown.

Agree. Staff will have a lot on film to analyze before Iowa. Said it earlier and a lot last year, but the staff's inability or desire not to make in game adjustments is puzzling. Hopefully Zack will be close to 100% by Iowa.

 

[#2Gopher]

Connelly's death has been talked about. Lets face it, it had to impacted the players at least a little bit. When that happens you're not as sharp as you should be, not focus as much as you should be as much as you try. By Iowa we will be in a better place to play football.

 

[hungan1]

Connelly's death has been talked about. Lets face it, it had to impacted the players at least a little bit. When that happens you're not as sharp as you should be, not focus as much as you should be as much as you try. By Iowa we will be in a better place to play football.

I am not giving them a grade for this reason. But, the onus are on the coaches for total failure to game plan effectively if at all. Maryland out executed the Gophers and took advantage of their vulnerabilities, and MD used their speed to their advantage. The Gophers did not make proper adjustments.

Zack Annexstad being sacked two plays in a row by the same guy is inexcusable. They only needed three guys to rush the QB the entire game.

The whole mood of the game was numbing, and you can tell after Winfield went down by everyone's body language that the Gophers' heads were not entirely in the game. It was a total breakdown. Three TDs over turnovers. It was hard to recover from that.

We shall see if they can recover quickly against Iowa.