When will the excuses stop?

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diefirma

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When will the excuses stop. I don’t mean for the Gophers - I mean for the other team.

If your worldview is that the Gophers are the same old sucky team then, when the Gophers are 10+ underdogs and still win the game, you look for something wrong with the other team to explain the Gopher win.

The win over Northwestern - Mark and Coulter were out.

When Nelson scored the last touchdown last weekend I wondered how long it would be before the excuses began. As it turned out, the excuses had started at halftime. DiNardo thought that maybe the Huskers had worked to hard during the bye week and they had tired legs. After the game it was revealed that Martinez injury was much worse than turf toe (even though Martinez said he felt good running around during the game and he did have a 40 run) and wasn’t fully healed. On Sunday morning Barreiro said it was obvious that Martinez was not himself.

I am not saying these guys are anti-Gopher but just that their worldview about the Gophers hasn’t caught up with reality. The reality is that this is not the same old Gophers. This is a very good defense and the offense has had its moments. The Gophers are clearly on their way up.

This weekend will tell the story I think. As Schnauzer pointed out, winning 3 games in a row being 10+ dogs is pretty rare. If we beat IU I have to think the light will come on for some people. Even a person or two in the Twin Cities media!!
 

Well you can bet if we beat Indiana Dinardo will have some phony ass excuse. Being a former coach there he has a huge man crush on Indiana. If he does makes excuses I hope Mason rips him a new a-hole.
 

ruppertflywheel said:
Well you can bet if we beat Indiana Dinardo will have some phony ass excuse. Being a former coach there he has a huge man crush on Indiana. If he does makes excuses I hope Mason rips him a new a-hole.
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He does not need a new one. As a retired proctologist, I know a real one when I see it. :)
 

diefirma said:
When will the excuses stop. I don’t mean for the Gophers - I mean for the other team.

If your worldview is that the Gophers are the same old sucky team then, when the Gophers are 10+ underdogs and still win the game, you look for something wrong with the other team to explain the Gopher win.

The win over Northwestern - Mark and Coulter were out.

When Nelson scored the last touchdown last weekend I wondered how long it would be before the excuses began. As it turned out, the excuses had started at halftime. DiNardo thought that maybe the Huskers had worked to hard during the bye week and they had tired legs. After the game it was revealed that Martinez injury was much worse than turf toe (even though Martinez said he felt good running around during the game and he did have a 40 run) and wasn’t fully healed. On Sunday morning Barreiro said it was obvious that Martinez was not himself.

I am not saying these guys are anti-Gopher but just that their worldview about the Gophers hasn’t caught up with reality. The reality is that this is not the same old Gophers. This is a very good defense and the offense has had its moments. The Gophers are clearly on their way up.

This weekend will tell the story I think. As Schnauzer pointed out, winning 3 games in a row being 10+ dogs is pretty rare. If we beat IU I have to think the light will come on for some people. Even a person or two in the Twin Cities media!!
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Dude, we're going to have to keep this up for a few years before folks are going to start giving us credit for turning the corner and putting a program together that is not thought of the way we currently are. Did you see the Michigan players when the hoisted the Little Brown Jug? They had this look on their face like "yeah, great now let's get out of here who really cares about this we've had it for the better part of 40 years". The "rivalry" with Wisconsin is getting close to that, too. We've been down as a program to one extent or another for so long that we're going to have to put together a sustained period of competence before anyone is really going to take us seriously. Two wins in a row in the B1G is the tip of the iceberg on our quest for long-term relevance. We'll know when we're getting close to that when losing to Minnesota doesn't put the other team's coach on the hot seat.
 

diefirma said:
When will the excuses stop. I don’t mean for the Gophers - I mean for the other team.

If your worldview is that the Gophers are the same old sucky team then, when the Gophers are 10+ underdogs and still win the game, you look for something wrong with the other team to explain the Gopher win.

The win over Northwestern - Mark and Coulter were out.

When Nelson scored the last touchdown last weekend I wondered how long it would be before the excuses began. As it turned out, the excuses had started at halftime. DiNardo thought that maybe the Huskers had worked to hard during the bye week and they had tired legs. After the game it was revealed that Martinez injury was much worse than turf toe (even though Martinez said he felt good running around during the game and he did have a 40 run) and wasn’t fully healed. On Sunday morning Barreiro said it was obvious that Martinez was not himself.

I am not saying these guys are anti-Gopher but just that their worldview about the Gophers hasn’t caught up with reality. The reality is that this is not the same old Gophers. This is a very good defense and the offense has had its moments. The Gophers are clearly on their way up.

This weekend will tell the story I think. As Schnauzer pointed out, winning 3 games in a row being 10+ dogs is pretty rare. If we beat IU I have to think the light will come on for some people. Even a person or two in the Twin Cities media!!
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The thing is there are excuses and reasons that take the wins from being great program changing wins and moves them more into the context of good positive wins. The Northwestern team we faced was not the same one that faced Ohio State and has not been the same since that game. Doesn't stop it from being a quality conference win but it is clear that Northwestern is not the Big Ten title contender most thought they were heading into the season.

As for Nebraska, I didn't hear the DiNardo comment which is just a stupid thing to say, but it is clear from watching them that this is not a typically dominant Nebraska squad. Again doesn't change the fact that it was a quality conference win but beating the Nebraska team we beat last week is not the same as beating one of the great versions of Nebraska from years passed.

Not really sure what you expect to see from the National media. Look at it from their point of view. 4 non conference wins against average to below average competition. 2 conference losses where we were beaten pretty soundly, and 2 solid conference wins against teams that have some obvious issues (again not implying they are not quality wins by any stretch of the imagination because they great wins for the program in the context of this season).

Most of the coverage I have seen has been positive and pointed to a program moving in the right direction but there is not enough there yet to really get the talking heads excited. If the Gophers win these next 2 there will be a massive shift in perception, until that point our fan base needs to be happy with the wins and stop looking for signs of disrespect from the media.
 


diefirma said:
This weekend will tell the story I think. As Schnauzer pointed out, winning 3 games in a row being 10+ dogs is pretty rare. If we beat IU I have to think the light will come on for some people. Even a person or two in the Twin Cities media!!
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I disagree. I think a win in Bloomington will be immediately viewed as "beat a 3-4 team. Big deal." This program is on the rise, but as others have stated, a couple of wins as underdogs isn't going to change the world view. Kill's epilepsy battle has garnered the Gophers some national attention and with his track record, a season-ending win streak will change a lot of the perspective of the program.
 

Good question diefirma. I think they will probably stop at about the same time the majority of experts quit predicting the gophers to go 0-8 in the B1G. I was thinking about that on my lunch break today and was wondering if winning 2 games in the B1G with a chance for more this season would change the expert prognosticators opinion for next year. Does winning 2 or more games this year mean they would predict more than 0 wins next year?
 

When your team is improving, it takes a while for people to really notice. People tend to expect things to continue to be more or less like they are now. When a team unexpectedly wins a couple games, you tend to get "You lost to Minnesota?!" more often than "Maybe Minnesota is better than we thought." It will take a while to build up national expectations, but that's just fine, it means you get to exceed expectations.
 




Beat the contenders and win the bowl games, and only THEN accept compliments. The program might be recovering from the Strange Brew years, but is still far from nationally respectable.

Nebraska is a listless program right now. Don't hang your hat on that one. Northwestern is on a slide. Indiana?? You should be shooting FAR higher than that. Bragging about winning these games only makes people snicker. Beat Wisconsin (if they don't fall flat) and people will have Minnesota on their watch list next year.

It would also help greatly to improve the non-conference schedule. This year's non-con roster was embarrassing. Take the show on the road and earn peoples' respect.
 

i actually do believe that Martinez was not 100% and their receivers's did have some drops, not to discredit our victory though
 

Is it just me or does DiNardo take every opportunity to rip on MN by always saying we are 12th in the conference when it comes to facilities. I really don't think DiNardo is trying to compliment MN by suggesting we are doing well despite facilities. I think his motive is to cast a negative shadow over MN by saying our facilities suck.
 

What's wrong with looking at the facts?

Northwestern had just lost its top two offensive threats. Nebraska's QB had not played in six weeks. Nebraska had just lost its top OL Spencer Long and Brewster-recruit Hageman is simply a stud that dominated (which he's capable of doing against the best OL guys, and even more so against replacements just getting their feet wet).

The wins were with a different head coach and the plays on the field even looked different. I'm not sure that Kill will take the field again this year because there is too much risk for him (i.e., seizure on the field this season again could mean that's it for him - and he'll feel that pressure and stress, only increasing the probability of an episode).... but how do they navigate the changing involvement of Kill with the team? And who is coaching/leading this team? Who is/are the QB(s)?

There are still a lot of questions. Big, big game for Minnesota at Indiana (and the rest of the season).

Great wins the last two weeks, but there are more questions than answers and smart money says Indiana wins. I hope the Gophers kick butt in Bloomington! Looking forward to the Penn St. game. If someone wants to bet on brat at that game based on IU vs. MN, I'm in (I'll take I4 to win outright, you take MN for the win).
 




Gopher Warrior said:
What's wrong with looking at the facts?

Northwestern had just lost its top two offensive threats. Nebraska's QB had not played in six weeks. Nebraska had just lost its top OL Spencer Long and Brewster-recruit Hageman is simply a stud that dominated (which he's capable of doing against the best OL guys, and even more so against replacements just getting their feet wet)..
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Awesome. Another quality contribution.

"This just in!!!! Halfway thru the season, team plays without one or two injured players!" Shocking revelation.

NU has been playing with two QBs for the better part of the last two seasons. It's not like playing without Colter was completely foreign to them. They'd played a number of games, parts of this season without Mark at RB as well. Unfortunate, sure, but not like a FR with zero starts filling in for a senior with 40+ starts at QB or anything.

Nebraska? In case you missed it, it was well documented going into the game that Nebraska had been rotating 7-8 offensive linemen all season. Losing Long was less than ideal but the backups were hardly "just getting their feet wet". Good grief.

Martinez is a senior who either owns or will own almost every statistical record for a Nebraska QB that there is. Was he at his best? Nope. But it's not like he hadn't played since last season or anything, and the pressure up front just MIGHT have had something to do with his struggles.

But thanks for weighing in!! Good stuff!!
 

Sorry, but in my opinion beating an 0-4 team in the conference and than an OK Nebraska team does not lift he cloud of the last 50 years of Gopher football. The media is simply following a logical story line of Gopher history. Why would you now go out on a limb and proclaim that this era is any different? And I saythat as someone who has been on Cloud 9 since the Huskers game and can't wait til Saturday. I think we are on the rise. But we've been here before and just because I - and others - think we are on the rise doesn't mean this regime is "different." They gotta prove it.
 

die hard gopher said:
i actually do believe that Martinez was not 100% and their receivers's did have some drops, not to discredit our victory though
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Maybe my old eyes failed me but I believe the Gophs had a few drops, too. SO big deal!!!!
 

Gopher Warrior said:
What's wrong with looking at the facts?

Northwestern had just lost its top two offensive threats. Nebraska's QB had not played in six weeks. Nebraska had just lost its top OL Spencer Long and Brewster-recruit Hageman is simply a stud that dominated (which he's capable of doing against the best OL guys, and even more so against replacements just getting their feet wet).

The wins were with a different head coach and the plays on the field even looked different. I'm not sure that Kill will take the field again this year because there is too much risk for him (i.e., seizure on the field this season again could mean that's it for him - and he'll feel that pressure and stress, only increasing the probability of an episode).... but how do they navigate the changing involvement of Kill with the team? And who is coaching/leading this team? Who is/are the QB(s)?

There are still a lot of questions. Big, big game for Minnesota at Indiana (and the rest of the season).

Great wins the last two weeks, but there are more questions than answers and smart money says Indiana wins. I hope the Gophers kick butt in Bloomington! Looking forward to the Penn St. game. If someone wants to bet on brat at that game based on IU vs. MN, I'm in (I'll take I4 to win outright, you take MN for the win).
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Excuses gw. Nothing but excuses.

You play the team that is on the field. No other choice. Right?

I am sure you rationalize when MN has a lot of injuries?
 

Let's be clear, Dinardo's man crush is on Michigan and Ohio State, not Indiana.

And I say that as someone who likes him as an analyst.
 


The Gophers are getting some respect for "getting better". Heck, they even got a few votes "at the Polls" this week.:D

BUT,

- they are on 2-2 not 4-0 in the B1G, a league that didn't exactly dominate in it's Non-Conference Season.
- they "laid their eggs" on National/Regional TV. They played a lousy game against Iowa and looked almost as bad for a Half against Michigan.
- they still look a "little" shaky throwing the ball.

None of that adds up to earning a lot of respect nationally, where people only can see highlights of games or watch the National Broadcasts. Besides, from where they started the season, MUCH closer to 120th than to 1st, to 33-35, that IS getting some respect.

1. Beat Indiana and look good doing it? That will move them up and get a little more good press.
2. Beat a 5-3(?) Penn State team at TCF? That could/should get them ranked.
3. Beat the damn Badgers at TCF? That moves them into the the Top 20 and gets as much if not more press than the Nebraska win.
4. Beat MSU, at Lansing, finishing the season on a 6-game winning streak, beating 2-ranked teams and ending-up at 10-2? That makes them one of the top stories in the country. Jerry's health battles, Claeys run as "Acting Head Coach", ending streaks against NE and WI? Heck, it would be the biggest story outside of who plays for the BCS Championship.

Notice the word "Beat"? That's what they got to do, and it won't be easy.
 

Iceland12 said:
The Gophers are getting some respect for "getting better". Heck, they even got a few votes "at the Polls" this week.:D

BUT,

- they are on 2-2 not 4-0 in the B1G, a league that didn't exactly dominate in it's Non-Conference Season.
- they "laid their eggs" on National/Regional TV. They played a lousy game against Iowa and looked almost as bad for a Half against Michigan.
- they still look a "little" shaky throwing the ball.

None of that adds up to earning a lot of respect nationally, where people only can see highlights of games or watch the National Broadcasts. Besides, from where they started the season, MUCH closer to 120th than to 1st, to 33-35, that IS getting some respect.

1. Beat Indiana and look good doing it? That will move them up and get a little more good press.
2. Beat a 5-3(?) Penn State team at TCF? That could/should get them ranked.
3. Beat the damn Badgers at TCF? That moves them into the the Top 20 and gets as much if not more press than the Nebraska win.
4. Beat MSU, at Lansing, finishing the season on a 6-game winning streak, beating 2-ranked teams and ending-up at 10-2? That makes them one of the top stories in the country. Jerry's health battles, Claeys run as "Acting Head Coach", ending streaks against NE and WI? Heck, it would be the biggest story outside of who plays for the BCS Championship.

Notice the word "Beat"? That's what they got to do, and it won't be easy.
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Think you nailed it - Great Post
 

Gopher Warrior said:
What's wrong with looking at the facts?
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Okay, sure, go on.

Gopher Warrior said:
I'm not sure that Kill will take the field again this year because there is too much risk for him (i.e., seizure on the field this season again could mean that's it for him - and he'll feel that pressure and stress, only increasing the probability of an episode)
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I'm glad you talked to Kill's doctors before posting this to make sure that it's true that "pressure and stress, only increas(es) the probability of an episode". Just the facts right?


Gopher Warrior said:
The wins were with a different head coach
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That's demonstrably false

Gopher Warrior said:
I hope the Gophers kick butt in Bloomington!
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Theoretically this could be true; however, we do have 3,082 posts that strongly suggest otherwise


Is it bball season yet so you can run home to the MU board?
 

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