What if Roles Were Reversed

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HoustonTXGopher

HoustonTXGopher

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I am curious as to what Gopher Nation would be saying if the outcome of our last two games had gone a little differently? Consider had we beaten Colorado State by a score of 35-32 and we beat Kent State 49-40? I think fans are more comfortable winning high scoring games than winning low scoring games! Would fans be less concerned right now if the offense was putting up big numbers, the defense was giving big numbers but we were still winning?
 

HoustonTXGopher said:
I am curious as to what Gopher Nation would be saying if the outcome of our last two games had gone a little differently? Consider had we beaten Colorado State by a score of 35-32 and we beat Kent State 49-40? I think fans are more comfortable winning high scoring games than winning low scoring games! Would fans be less concerned right now if the offense was putting up big numbers, the defense was giving big numbers but we were still winning?
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Interesting question. I personally wouldn't mind seeing the defense give up some points if that meant the offense gets fixed (next week).
 

I'd be bemoaning the fact Claeys is an over paid oaf.

Granted he's not and he's the best D Coordinator we've had in my 45 years of life.
 

No. If Kent State scored 40 points on us I would have zero hope for this season.
 

HoustonTXGopher said:
I am curious as to what Gopher Nation would be saying if the outcome of our last two games had gone a little differently? Consider had we beaten Colorado State by a score of 35-32 and we beat Kent State 49-40? I think fans are more comfortable winning high scoring games than winning low scoring games! Would fans be less concerned right now if the offense was putting up big numbers, the defense was giving big numbers but we were still winning?
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Definitely an interesting question and I think in theory you are probably correct that people might be a little less concerned overall. It still comes back to the issue not being that we didn't blow Kent State out, the issue is that we just barely beat them and much of the time on offense we looked lost and unable to move the ball.

If we win the game on Saturday 30-10 most on here would have very little to complain about. When you squeek out a 3 point victory against a really bad team that is a different story.
 


MNVCGUY said:
Definitely an interesting question and I think in theory you are probably correct that people might be a little less concerned overall. It still comes back to the issue not being that we didn't blow Kent State out, the issue is that we just barely beat them and much of the time on offense we looked lost and unable to move the ball.

If we win the game on Saturday 30-10 most on here would have very little to complain about. When you squeek out a 3 point victory against a really bad team that is a different story.
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I guess the good news is that it usually takes offenses longer to figure things out, so there's still hope that things will get better there. I think I can safely say this is the best Gopher defense I've ever witnessed in my lifetime.
 

HoustonTXGopher said:
I am curious as to what Gopher Nation would be saying if the outcome of our last two games had gone a little differently? Consider had we beaten Colorado State by a score of 35-32 and we beat Kent State 49-40? I think fans are more comfortable winning high scoring games than winning low scoring games! Would fans be less concerned right now if the offense was putting up big numbers, the defense was giving big numbers but we were still winning?
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For those of us who were around during the Wacker years, no. The shoot outs had some appeal but the colander bowl defensive schemes grew old quickly.
 

Word said:
I guess the good news is that it usually takes offenses longer to figure things out, so there's still hope that things will get better there. I think I can safely say this is the best Gopher defense I've ever witnessed in my lifetime.
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TCU has scored 70 and 56 points in their two games since playing us. Granted the teams they have played are both pretty weak (Stephen F Austin, SMU) but you still have to be impressed with the way our defense was able to contain what we know is a great offense.

I just hope we don't end up looking back on a season where we wasted an unbelievable secondary and great overall defense by running out a below average offense week after week.
 

MNVCGUY said:
TCU has scored 70 and 56 points in their two games since playing us. Granted the teams they have played are both pretty weak (Stephen F Austin, SMU) but you still have to be impressed with the way our defense was able to contain what we know is a great offense.

I just hope we don't end up looking back on a season where we wasted an unbelievable secondary and great overall defense by running out a below average offense week after week.
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Shades of the 2012 Michigan St. team. Great defense but the offense only got them to 6 wins.
 



What if the Gophers continue to win low scoring affairs the rest of the season and finish 9-3?

Will there still be an uproar calling for coaches heads?

What say you then if the Board Of Regents delay the construction by a year and Jerry Kill and company bolt for Kansas State?

That will be a perfect storm of negativity.
 

hungan1 said:
What if the Gophers continue to win low scoring affairs the rest of the season and finish 9-3?

Will there still be an uproar calling for coaches heads?

What say you then if the Board Of Regents delays the construction by a year and Jerry Kill and company bolts to Kansas State?

That will be a perfect storm of negativity.
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Who are the two loses to?
 

What if Roles Were Reversed

I would be okay with Kate Upton stalking me instead of it being the other way around.
 

HoustonTXGopher said:
Would fans be less concerned right now if the offense was putting up big numbers, the defense was giving big numbers but we were still winning?
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I doubt it. Most fans are pretty proud of the team's defense but concerned that the offense so far this year is much worse than anticipated. I think fans would be less grumpy if Still doesn't fumble after that catch, the Gophers score on that drive, and the team wins 17-0. The fact that the coaches appeared to intentionally ground the offense late in the game in order to avoid any possible game changing mistakes didn't help the post-game feelings.
 





MNGoldenGophers1 said:
Who are the two loses to?
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Likely two of the following: Ohio State, Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, Northwestern, Michigan

So, if we lost only two to that group we would beat the remaining four. Same as last year sans the loss to Illinois. I'd definitely be happy with that finish even with low scores.
 

I guess the main concern for me now is the overall smell test - the defense looks really good but the offense looks lost against what should be inferior defenses. As good as our defense has played, they aren't going to stop every team from scoring all year, so at some point the offense has to be able to score some points. The other concern is with the offense as ineffective as it's been, the Gophers will start losing the time of possession battle and the defense will eventually get tired and less effective.

That doesn't even consider the handful of plays in all three games where receivers were wide open for big gains and/or touchdowns and the QB's flat out missed them. They didn't cost the Gophers anything so you could argue no harm, no foul, but do you see any tOSU QB missing those throws? Kent State's QB was having trouble hitting anything, but if you look at the tape I think you'll see plenty of opportunities they missed. Now they may or may not have lead to points (seems like the Gophers are playing a "bend but don't break" defense), but Kent State was realistically only a few completions away from winning that game.

So it all comes down to this - when the defense gives up a big play (it'll almost certainly happen) can the offense score enough to overcome it?

So if the defense looked "decent" but gave up 25-30 points and the offense looked "good", I suppose I'd be fine with a small margin of victory. But if the defense looked like the offense looks now? I'd be terrified they wouldn't win another game. As it is, I think they are more likely to win with a great defense and a mediocre at best offense than the other way around. So I'm concerned, but not ready to fire/bench anyone.
 

cjbfbp said:
Likely two of the following: Ohio State, Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, Northwestern, Michigan

So, if we lost only two to that group we would beat the remaining four. Same as last year sans the loss to Illinois. I'd definitely be happy with that finish even with low scores.
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I would say Ohio State and Wiscy. They are the least winnable of the group.
 

Think we got the answer to the OP's question to a certain degree.

Back to back 3 point wins over MAC schools. In the first the defense/Special teams played great and the offense looked terrible. In the second the offense played very good and the defense/special teams struggled.

People were very up in arms after the first game where the offense looked brutal. In general people seem far more relaxed about this past game where the offense played well while the defense got worked to a certain degree.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Think we got the answer to the OP's question to a certain degree.

Back to back 3 point wins over MAC schools. In the first the defense/Special teams played great and the offense looked terrible. In the second the offense played very good and the defense/special teams struggled.

People were very up in arms after the first game where the offense looked brutal. In general people seem far more relaxed about this past game where the offense played well while the defense got worked to a certain degree.
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If you discount the fumbled punt that led directly to the short touchdown, the defense only gave up 3 points in the 2nd half. The first half we had a blown coverage. Definitely need to fix that. it also seemed that their quarterback was unbelievable in the first half (VERY accurate) but in the 2nd half he was much less accurate (possibly due to better pressure). Moral of the story is I am not too concerned about our defense, aside from injuries.
 

I think for many years our offenses have been ahead of our defenses and I know that for as long as I have been a Golden Gopher fan I have NEVER believed we could win games by completely shutting down our opponents. It is certainly paradigm shift for me, which is really exciting for the future of Minnesota football. Can you imagine if our defense continues to improve and our offense starts to catch up and regularly puts 30+ points on the board, wow Gopher football has a very bright future and I for one am not going to let a hiccup in our offense deter me of what a great future this team has. We are really going to be special in the upcoming years, SPECIAL!
GO GOPHERS
 

It's infinitely preferable to have a great defense than a great offense.
 

Studwell55 said:
It's infinitely preferable to have a great defense than a great offense.
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Is the defense "great" though? It's a relative strength, sure, but it's 8th in the Big Ten in yards per game, 4th in passing yards per game, 12th in rushing yards per game and 7th in points per game.
 


GhostofBronko said:
Is the defense "great" though? It's a relative strength, sure, but it's 8th in the Big Ten in yards per game, 4th in passing yards per game, 12th in rushing yards per game and 7th in points per game.
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Those rankings are pretty meaningless at this point since not everyone played the same quality of opponents. Rutgers and Illinois defense are rated higher than Michigan St in several categories and I don't think most believe they are better than Michigan St.

When healthy, I believe we have a very good defense. Great? Not sure.
 

If I had to pick good defense/bad offense vs. bad defense/good offense, I'd choose the former. We had a run of about 15 years with Wacker and Mason of good offenses and bad defenses, so I've had my fill of that. Plus when you have a low scoring game, God willing, the time of the game can be held to around 3 1/2 hours. I love football but the length of games today is ridiculous.
 

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