What is your single biggest concern for this season?

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UpAndUnder43

UpAndUnder43

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There are tons of options here. But what is it for you?

For me? Making sure I have a good spot on the national championship parade route.
 

Has the defense improved enough to make this a special season?

Lots of specific worries in there about D, but I'll let others expand on those.
 


It's still the defense for me. Tanner Morgan wasn't his 2019 self last season but I still think he can put together a good year, CAB should be a reliable target, Ibrahim is a great running back and we have experience on the line.

I definitely think the Gophers will be able to put up points. The concern is whether or not the defense can hold the other team. They improved toward the end of the season and hopefully that continues.
 




#1. Defense. Is the D line going to be able to get pressure on the QB? Will the LBs play downhill and hold opposing running backs to 3-4 yards per carry? Can another CB other than Durr step up and solidify the #2 spot? Is this the year Nubin transforms his game into an Elite safety?

#2. Tanner Morgan. Will we see 2019 or 2020 Tanner Morgan? If Tanner plays up to his abilities this offense could score 30+ points a game.
 

I'm concerned how many Gopher Holers can throw a ball 35 yards in the air.
I can not.
 

1. Safety Play - Struggled mightily at this position last year and have little depth behind it. Talent and depth at CB is also a concern.

2. Tanner Morgan - I think Tanner’s 2019 season was more a consequence of Johnson/Bateman/CAB than Tanner’s skill and I’m concerned Fleck is too loyal (or stubborn) to try ZA or another QB if Tanner struggles.

3. Emergence of young WRs — We recruit a LOT of WRs seemingly, so need to see some of these guys to become Big Ten level contributors fast.

4. Special Teams — need to see competency here.

5. Fleck — if we have a 2019-esque season, then I think big programs will come for Fleck and if he’s going to leave, this would be the time. Conversely, if we don’t win at least 8 games, I’ll have lost some confidence in Fleck and the argument that Fleck only won with the old regime’s defensive talent gains steam. Pivotal year for Minnesota football in a lot of ways.
 



Special teams. Punting, FG's, XP's, kick return, kick return coverage.

Gophers need major improvements in all areas to win close games against good teams.

If the O and D are busting their butts, it drives me crazy to see some guy shank a punt or miss a chip-shot FG, and all the work the rest of the team did during the game goes down the crapper.

like those memes, "you had 1 job....."
 

MNGopher23 said:
#1. Defense. Is the D line going to be able to get pressure on the QB? Will the LBs play downhill and hold opposing running backs to 3-4 yards per carry? Can another CB other than Durr step up and solidify the #2 spot? Is this the year Nubin transforms his game into an Elite safety?

#2. Tanner Morgan. Will we see 2019 or 2020 Tanner Morgan? If Tanner plays up to his abilities this offense could score 30+ points a game.
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Single. Biggest. Concern.
 

SPEGOPHER said:
1. Safety Play - Struggled mightily at this position last year and have little depth behind it. Talent and depth at CB is also a concern.

2. Tanner Morgan - I think Tanner’s 2019 season was more a consequence of Johnson/Bateman/CAB than Tanner’s skill and I’m concerned Fleck is too loyal (or stubborn) to try ZA or another QB if Tanner struggles.

3. Emergence of young WRs — We recruit a LOT of WRs seemingly, so need to see some of these guys to become Big Ten level contributors fast.

4. Special Teams — need to see competency here.

5. Fleck — if we have a 2019-esque season, then I think big programs will come for Fleck and if he’s going to leave, this would be the time. Conversely, if we don’t win at least 8 games, I’ll have lost some confidence in Fleck and the argument that Fleck only won with the old regime’s defensive talent gains steam. Pivotal year for Minnesota football in a lot of ways.
Click to expand...
Totally agree about Tanner. If Tanner has developed and learned to go through progressions that span the entire field, well, we'll be better than 2019. If not, we'll be somewhere between okay and good.

In general, I believe we'll be good enough on defense. There's some degree of blind faith on my part. But the things I'm largely taking on faith involve simply assuming that someone can do in 2021 what he's done previously (albeit in a couple of cases, somewhere else).
 




SPEGOPHER said:
1. Safety Play - Struggled mightily at this position last year and have little depth behind it. Talent and depth at CB is also a concern.

2. Tanner Morgan - I think Tanner’s 2019 season was more a consequence of Johnson/Bateman/CAB than Tanner’s skill and I’m concerned Fleck is too loyal (or stubborn) to try ZA or another QB if Tanner struggles.

3. Emergence of young WRs — We recruit a LOT of WRs seemingly, so need to see some of these guys to become Big Ten level contributors fast.

4. Special Teams — need to see competency here.

5. Fleck — if we have a 2019-esque season, then I think big programs will come for Fleck and if he’s going to leave, this would be the time. Conversely, if we don’t win at least 8 games, I’ll have lost some confidence in Fleck and the argument that Fleck only won with the old regime’s defensive talent gains steam. Pivotal year for Minnesota football in a lot of ways.
Click to expand...
Single. Biggest. Concern.
 




UpAndUnder43 said:
There are tons of options here. But what is it for you?

For me? Making sure I have a good spot on the national championship parade route.
Click to expand...

The passing game. Lots of confidence in our run game, but can we make the defense stay honest and have to defend the pass.
 




Biggest concern is that our locker room doesn't have a separate display case for the Crystal Football Trophy that is the Nat'l Champ -- definitely a design oversight...

... and COVID. Any team and any time could get hammered by COVID and per the rules it's a forfeit.
 


Safety play is really my only question mark, but expect with an improved front 7… This likely becomes either a smaller issue or a non-issue.
 




is dq all gone from stadium? even dilly bars?
 

My biggest concern is if Fleck has grown in terms of coaching wisdom. Last year, he made quite a few head scratching calls that showed his youth. Also, the OC just didn't seem to know how to use the offense, and maybe it was because he was new, but yeah... the Coaching is my concern.
 

*Special Teams

*Fleck's conservative nature, in game decision making, and timeout usage

*Running Mo into the ground/not spelling him frequently enough with Potts etc

*WR depth behind CRAB

*How much will the defense improve? Will our transfers be able to hit the ground running?
 

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