When do you bench Tanner?

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gopherdudepart2 said:
This one I can agree with, we don't see a lot of coming back to the QB for the football on pressure situations.
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I came in from deer hunting to grab lunch and saw a few plays at the local bar. It was the same shit we've seen all season when the offense goes sour. 2nd or 3rd and long. Pass play. Tanner gets pressure from the left so he rolls right. This makes the left side receiver meaningless. The receiver lined up far right runs a 10 yard route and fucking stops, turns around, then proceeds to stand there, thus easily covered. The 3rd receiver runs a right sideline route straight up the field which is a pass Tanner attempts 9 of 10 times but is successful 1 of 10 ten times. Same old shit. Went back to the woods.
 

Josh Allen looks terrible today, can't even get a touchdown against the Jaguars
Dak Prescott had perhaps the worst game of his career at home against Denver

Football is funny like that from week to week. Gopher offense might surprise us in the next 3.
 

Some guy said:
It depends on they way you’re reading it. Morgan right now is reading deep to shallow. Often times there isn’t a check down
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Thanks for clarifying the obvious. It's pretty clear in this case there is at the very least, one check-down and I'd argue two. The question to you is, what are you looking for to determine if you're going to throw deep or come back underneath if you are playing QB?
 

SonjayLarrick said:
Thanks for clarifying the obvious. It's pretty clear in this case there is at the very least, one check-down and I'd argue two. The question to you is, what are you looking for to determine if you're going to throw deep or come back underneath if you are playing QB?
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You’re looking for your read to show/declare itself. And often times our wideouts are late to their spots…slowing his reads.


he is late with the ball and is slow with his reads too. It isn’t just one issue. Yesterday, wideouts were not getting any separation and he was getting flushed before his 3rd read. I blame the wideouts for the first half but then the coaches for the second half. Morgan wasn’t good yesterday but he wasn’t that much worse than he is most weeks. The targets were less open
 

Some guy said:
It depends on they way you’re reading it. Morgan right now is reading deep to shallow. Often times there isn’t a check down
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Better question is if he is actually going through his reads.
 


PMWinSTP said:
Better question is if he is actually going through his reads.
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Hard to know without being in the film room. But naked eye I would say not very well. He rarely seems to hit his second or third “look” on time. when he does he is usually late

Without knowing what he is supposed to be reading though it is hard to say for certain.
Guys in the stands pointing at wideouts breaking open for a split second 3-5 seconds after the snap when that guy is likely the 3-5th read just isn’t going to get it done. He is “open” but he isn’t even being looked at. Easier to play QB from a blimp.

coaches needed to run more quick hitting stuff with more options. Not 3 man routes with play action that it takes 3 seconds for the first read to declare itself
 

Dakota2 said:
And the early tipped pick was going to be intercepted even if not slightly tipped. An Illinois guy was right in front of the receiver and easily reading Tanner all the way. Guy actually had to move a step to pick deflection. If not tipped would have been an easier pick.
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No it wasn’t. The Illini player was running to Morgan’s right, the MN receiver was crossing behind him to the left and would have been open. The defender’s momentum had already carried him out of the play which is why Morgan threw the pass. The defender was in the process of stopping and changing directions when the ball left Morgan’s hand. The tipped ball completely changed direction to the right.

I’m trying to be nice. It’s all on the tape which I have right in front of me as I write this.
 

PMWinSTP said:
Gophs currently have an veteran, experienced college QB who has not performed against several marginal defenses. He's averaging 150 yards passing with 6 TD and 7 INT, and has not thrown a TD pass in three games.
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Yep, the question is why. As I stated before part of the TD numbers is the tendency to go with ground and pound, Cole in the red zone. I don’t have any stats in front of me but I’d guess what, 80+% rushes in the red zone?
 

The 2021 TM holds on to the ball longer than the 2019 TM. He seems to stumble at times this season. Sometimes, he telegraphs where he is throwing the ball and gets intercepted. We want the old TM back.

Somewhere along the way between losing Ciarrocca, the Covid-19 season, and losing star players through graduation all factored in.

In 2020, they lost the opportunity to keep their RPO crisp with a shortened season. IMHO, the Mike Sanford Jr hire compounded the Gopher Offense's challenges. This season, they have become predictable.

It is not just Tanner Morgan. Key injuries are one of the factors. However, the biggest factor is the coaching staff's game-planning failure or the lack of it in both the BGSU and Illinois games. Why can't they make in-game adjustments or call a timeout at a critical moment? Why not utilize short passes, slants, create plays that are easier on the WRs? How is it that our coaching staff did not recognize Illinois' pressure by loading the left side of the OL and disrupting TM's rhythm?

I am rambling with my frustrations. Don't get me wrong. The Gophers are not a bad team. They are not as great as we think either. We need help from coaching and the injury fairy.

They take it one game at a time. They need to be crisp at stopping the Hawkeye Offense. More importantly, they need to neutralize the Hawkeye Defense. The Iowa game is within reach. Sanford Jr and Rossi need to do their best game planning if they want a shot at the B1G west title.
 



hungan1 said:
The 2021 TM holds on to the ball longer than the 2019 TM. He seems to stumble at times this season. Sometimes, he telegraphs where he is throwing the ball and gets intercepted. We want the old TM back.

Somewhere along the way between losing Ciarrocca, the Covid-19 season, and losing star players through graduation all factored in.

In 2020, they lost the opportunity to keep their RPO crisp with a shortened season. IMHO, the Mike Sanford Jr hire compounded the Gopher Offense's challenges. This season, they have become predictable.

It is not just Tanner Morgan. Key injuries are one of the factors. However, the biggest factor is the coaching staff's game-planning failure or the lack of it in both the BGSU and Illinois games. Why can't they make in-game adjustments or call a timeout at a critical moment? Why not utilize short passes, slants, create plays that are easier on the WRs? How is it that our coaching staff did not recognize Illinois' pressure by loading the left side of the OL and disrupting TM's rhythm?

I am rambling with my frustrations. Don't get me wrong. The Gophers are not a bad team. They are not as great as we think either. We need help from coaching and the injury fairy.

They take it one game at a time. They need to be crisp at stopping the Hawkeye Offense. More importantly, they need to neutralize the Hawkeye Defense. The Iowa game is within reach. Sanford Jr and Rossi need to do their best game planning if they want a shot at the B1G west title.
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They didn’t even load the left side on the first interception. The pressure got home at the moment of delivery and the rest is history. Maybe if TM were 6 foot 6 it would have made a difference, sure.
 

Going through the game right now and it’s absolutely astonishing. For one example go to the 12:42 mark of fourth quarter and tell me what’s going on there. What was the design of that play? What was Morgan supposed to do with the ball (other than throw it away).

On the next play they bring 6 and with instant pressure in his face he has nowhere to go and throws it away.

Help me out.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
Going through the game right now and it’s absolutely astonishing. For one example go to the 12:42 mark of fourth quarter and tell me what’s going on there. What was the design of that play? What was Morgan supposed to do with the ball (other than throw it away).

On the next play they bring 6 and with instant pressure in his face he has nowhere to go and throws it away.

Help me out.
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Do you mean Sanford Jr?
 

hungan1 said:
Do you mean Sanford Jr?
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I‘m genuinely interested to know what they expected to happen on those plays. Nobody open, no chance of anyone being open. I must be missing something?

Genuine question as I’m not a college football coach.
 



MplsGopher said:
I said he throws behind the receiver.

Which happened yesterday.


I would have to see the cut up of every attempt, back-to-back.

Maybe the throws behind were sticking out in my mind, unfairly.
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Of course they stick in your mind because good quarterbacks generally put the ball on the receiver. Morgan has just had a bad season and it doesn't look like it is just going to cure itself. For one thing, running the play clock down to nothing seems to make him nervous. Most guys would be trying to change the play twice, or at least pretending to, and worrying about coach needing to burn a TO.
 

Question: As good as our line is when blocking for the run, is it possible they are poor when pass protecting?
Is Tanner not receiving the protection needed?
 

Pompous Elitist said:
I‘m genuinely interested to know what they expected to happen on those plays. Nobody open, no chance of anyone being open. I must be missing something?

Genuine question as I’m not a college football coach.
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A bigger question is, has Sanford Jr ruined Tanner Morgan? He is the QB coach.
 

Dakota2 said:
Of course they stick in your mind because good quarterbacks generally put the ball on the receiver. Morgan has just had a bad season and it doesn't look like it is just going to cure itself. For one thing, running the play clock down to nothing seems to make him nervous. Most guys would be trying to change the play twice, or at least pretending to, and worrying about coach needing to burn a TO.
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He had two underthrows, an over throw, a couple contested drops, a couple throw aways. He was getting hit and under pressure all day. No shi* he’s “seeing ghosts” when he has three seconds or less to find an open receiver and his left tackle is a swinging gate.
 

hungan1 said:
A bigger question is, has Sanford Jr ruined Tanner Morgan? He is the QB coach.
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Personally I think Morgan IS a little rattled but the overall offense is so clunky right now he’s down the list of problems. Maybe if we had Michael Vick or Justin Fields it would help…in seriousness though it’s hard to understand what they’re trying to do. I’m looking forward to some breakdown tonight with Burnsie and Burns on the Sunday podcast.
 

MennoSota said:
Question: As good as our line is when blocking for the run, is it possible they are poor when pass protecting?
Is Tanner not receiving the protection needed?
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If you can rewatch the game. I’m just a schlub but too many pressures, coverage sacks, inability to handle even 4. Negative plays, penalties, and slow tempo doomed them. If there were a fifth quarter…may have had an opportunity. There is a way to generate an extra possession or two or three.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
No it wasn’t. The Illini player was running to Morgan’s right, the MN receiver was crossing behind him to the left and would have been open. The defender’s momentum had already carried him out of the play which is why Morgan threw the pass. The defender was in the process of stopping and changing directions when the ball left Morgan’s hand. The tipped ball completely changedon direction to the right.

I’m trying to be nice. It’s all on the tape which I have right in front of me as I write this.
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Don't need to be nice. We're just avid Gopher fans sharing our thoughts. I don't get offended if you don't agree.

You may be correct on the analysis if you have the tape in front of you. I don't, just going from what I thought I saw which was an Illinois defender between Morgan and the intended receiver.

On another note entirely, do you remember a QB getting as many throws knocked down at the LOS as Tanner? I know he is no where near his listed 6'2 but he seems to try to throw the ball through rushers quite a bit.
 

Dakota2 said:
Don't need to be nice. We're just avid Gopher fans sharing our thoughts. I don't get offended if you don't agree.

You may be correct on the analysis if you have the tape in front of you. I don't, just going from what I thought I saw which was an Illinois defender between Morgan and the intended receiver.

On another note entirely, do you remember a QB getting as many throws knocked down at the LOS as Tanner? I know he is no where near his listed 6'2 but he seems to try to throw the ball through rushers quite a bit.
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That’s partly height, yeah. Part of it is long developing routes and a collapsing pocket. The one yesterday was partly from the guard getting to the stunting lineman a little late and not able to get leverage on him.

I don’t know if he has significantly more tipped passes than other QBs, though. That would be an interesting stat to see. Passing is higher risk higher reward by nature.
 


Pompous Elitist said:
Yep, the question is why. As I stated before part of the TD numbers is the tendency to go with ground and pound, Cole in the red zone. I don’t have any stats in front of me but I’d guess what, 80+% rushes in the red zone?
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Or as others have said, he benefited from having NFL players at WR in the past. It's a lot easier when your first option is almost always open. The O-line has played well most games so I'm starting to think it is something with Morgan. He's had a lot of life-changing events in the last year. Great young man but at some point you have to make the move.
 


In short, to answer the thread title, no, Tanner shouldn't be benched this week. Starting a rookie QB at Kinnick would be like throwing raw meat to wolves.
 

He's had balls batted down in a bunch of different scenarios, seve
Pompous Elitist said:
That’s partly height, yeah. Part of it is long developing routes and a collapsing pocket. The one yesterday was partly from the guard getting to the stunting lineman a little late and not able to get leverage on him.

I don’t know if he has significantly more tipped passes than other QBs, though. That would be an interesting stat to see. Passing is higher risk higher reward by nature.
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He's had them batted down is a variety of scenarios, including several quick passes. Having a tall O-line and Morgan being under 6 feet has a lot to do with it.
 

Sanford is a round peg in a square hole coach, until he learns to adapt he's going to continue his way down the career ladder.
 

PMWinSTP said:
Or as others have said, he benefited from having NFL players at WR in the past. It's a lot easier when your first option is almost always open. The O-line has played well most games so I'm starting to think it is something with Morgan. He's had a lot of life-changing events in the last year. Great young man but at some point you have to make the move.
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Of course not having great WRs is part of it, but a small part of what we saw yesterday. I’ve said this several times already, but it’s like we’re watching different games. No QB would have been successful with the scheme and execution yesterday. It doesn’t absolve Morgan of a few bad decisions.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
Going through the game right now and it’s absolutely astonishing. For one example go to the 12:42 mark of fourth quarter and tell me what’s going on there. What was the design of that play? What was Morgan supposed to do with the ball (other than throw it away).

On the next play they bring 6 and with instant pressure in his face he has nowhere to go and throws it away.

Help me out.
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It does seem like the pass patterns take a long time to develop, but I really just don't know at this point. It is probably a confluence of things, and in my opinion that falls squarely on the OC. The offense for whatever reason has periods of clunkiness and guys just don't seem to be on the same page. Maybe the schemes are overly complex or perhaps the coaches are overthinking things to the point of being ineffective.

One thing I would like to see them do is mix tempos throughout the game. Play up-tempo at times, grind it out for others. Anything to throw the defense off and to keep them a bit more honest. Illinois was consistently stacking 7 to sometimes 8 in the box. That is going to leave vulnerabilities other places, but we could not for whatever reason exploit them.
 

FormerFatOL said:
In short, to answer the thread title, no, Tanner shouldn't be benched this week. Starting a rookie QB at Kinnick would be like throwing raw meat to wolves.
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The Iowa staff may actually be laughing when they watch this game.
 

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