Would You Prefer The Gophers Become A DEFENSIVE POWER or OFFENSIVE POWER?

What Identity Would You Prefer This Time Around?

  • -High Powered Offense-

    Votes: 16 19.3%

  • -Shut'Em Down Defense-

    Votes: 67 80.7%
  • Total voters
    83
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thailleagle

thailleagle

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If you had to pick...

Personally I'm torn but I have a feeling whoever comes in next is going to be known for one or the other. I enjoyed watching Mason's Offense move the ball nearly at will when it was clicking. The shootouts between teams were very exciting & it was fun seeing us steamroll Big Ten opponents like Indiana 62-0 & Michigan State 41-18 with the same Defense that blew that epic bowl game & the days of blasting NC Opponents like Colorado State 56-24 may be behind us.

Though knowing how fun a high powered Offense can be to watch it's equally frustrating to see team after team march up & down the field no matter how statistically average their Offense may have been on paper. It was gut wrenching knowing we might have to score 35+ points just to win a game. Week in & week out...making every opposing QB look like Joe Montana no matter how poorly they may be statistically...was horrible. Seeing QB's put up record numbers against us was sickening...it seemed like everybody had career highs when they played us.

"Freshman QB is 0-6 on the road." Then he looks like a 5th year senior in a victory over us.

"QB has not passed for more then 200 yards all season." Then puts up 400 against us.

"(INSERT ANY TEAM) only averages 23.9 ppg." Then puts up 42 against us.

Disgusting...

However, during the Brewster Era (at least 2008 & 2009) we have seen what a solid Defense can look like even if we still had some key pieces missing. It actually felt good knowing we had a Defense on the field that could keep the team from getting blown out (outside of a few games but that's ANY team) or at least having our Offense have to compete in a shootout.

Despite that it was just equally frustrating to see our Defense hold teams like Iowa & Penn State to 12 & 20 points in games that could've been victories if we just fielded even an average Offense. Seeing our Offense not be able to move the ball at all at times is something that can be very annoying especially when it wouldn't have taken much win some of these games that our Defense did their part in.

So...if you *HAD* to choose which type of minded coach would come in here which would you choose?
 

I'm going to answer with next year in mind. We have no chance at all at becoming a good defensive team next year let alone a powerhouse team. We do have some pieces on offense that "could" gell. So...I choose offense.
 

I would prefer Defense. Having a good defenisve team on the field week in and week out IMO is something you know what you are getting where relying on the offense to win games is much harder to do.

Oregon as most say is the best team in the country but they would probably be an underdog to say Alabama in the NC game based on the question marks surrounding their defense just because it is ranked in the middle of the pack nationally.
 

I would like a little of each in a perfect world. However this thread is based on choosing one, and in that case I choose defense. I would love to watch a punishing defense knock the Iowa and Wisconsin offense on their butts, especially on the road.

Ugh but at the same time watching an Oregon-like offense would be stunning.

I should not have commented I cannot decide. Anything is better than what we have now.
 

When the offense fails, you just don't score any more points. But when the defense fails, you give up a TON of points. A good defense can carry an offense, and make a mediocre offense look good by giving them short fields to work with and removing the pressure to score all the time. With the previous offenses we had, the offense had to carry the defense, and that only works so long.
 


Give me an O! even mediocre to bad defenses can get enough stops to win games if your O is good enough, but it is unlikely that a mediocre to bad O can score enough even if your D is outstanding, plus a bad O will have your D on the field too much (2009).
 

Wacker: lots of offense, no defense; Warmath: great defense, minimal offense. I'll take Warmath. Ideally, you'd have both: Bierman.
 


Defense. Just once I'd like to remain standing and applaud a stellar defensive effort after a 3rd down stop rather than disgusted returningbro my seat to wallow in disappointment.
 




Breakin' The Plane said:
Defense. Just once I'd like to remain standing and applaud a stellar defensive effort after a 3rd down stop rather than disgusted returning by backside to my cold metal bleacher on disappointment.
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How many 3rd & Forevers have us Gopher Fans seen in our lifetimes be converted?
 


How bout a "Winning" Power

In the spirit of the question I'll say defense but I could really care less what the style is as long as it's successful.
 



thailleagle said:
How many 3rd & Forevers have us Gopher Fans seen in our lifetimes be converted?
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There has been times when even to set up a 3rd down and anything seemed like a miracle. But then there is the times when we stop them on 1st down and 2nd down, but on third and long it's "stop doing what's been working, and everyone get way, way back!" No offense can, week in, week out, overcome an awful defense.

I would much rather be cheering a win that wasn't flashy than going home after a loss where there was a lot of offensive fireworks.
 

RodentRampage said:
There has been times when even to set up a 3rd down and anything seemed like a miracle. But then there is the times when we stop them on 1st down and 2nd down, but on third and long it's "stop doing what's been working, and everyone get way, way back!" No offense can, week in, week out, overcome an awful defense.

I would much rather be cheering a win that wasn't flashy than going home after a loss where there was a lot of offensive fireworks.
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I was agreeing with the Defense thing...

It's been times where I'da rather seen a 3rd & 4 then a 3rd & 14 because...

It's like it'd be loss on a run on 1st down, we either sack the QB off a blitz or storm the run on 2nd setting up a 3rd & long & for some reason we just switch to what felt like Dime Prevent Defense, smh...
 

I went with defense.

We're not going to be able to recruit the talent on offense to try to win every game in the last minute with a score of 42-42. That is what failed at Notre Dame under Charlie Weis, and what is failing at Michigan with Rich Rodriguez. I agree with what another poster previously mentioned regarding the cold weather in Big 10 country having an effect. As the season progresses you start to see teams having to rely on their defense and a strong running game.


But it wouldn't hurt to have both.
 

thailleagle said:
I was agreeing with the Defense thing...

It's been times where I'da rather seen a 3rd & 4 then a 3rd & 14 because...

It's like it'd be loss on a run on 1st down, we either sack the QB off a blitz or storm the run on 2nd setting up a 3rd & long & for some reason we just switch to what felt like Dime Prevent Defense, smh...
Click to expand...

Yes, I know, and I was agreeing with you. It happens. :D
 


Terrible poll

Why not both!

Attorney to defendent on the witness stand, "how often do you beat your wife."

Leaves no doubt in the jury's mind.
 

I'd rather not become either.
Offensive Power = Glen Mason
Defensive Power = Spurrier at South Carolina (except for this year).

I'd rather be a Big Ten power, by winning a couple of championships in a 10 year span.
 

I love watching a dominant defense, much more so than an overpowering offense. When you face a truly dominant defense, it's just so disheartening for the other team, and I believe having a killer defense makes your odds of winning much, much better. I think back on all those Glen Mason teams with the video-game offenses and the defenses that couldn't stop a good high school team, and the recurrent theme there was that we never won as much as we should have given the power of that offense, and it wasn't even close.

When is the last time Minnesota had a truly and consistently great defense? I really can't remember one other than in brief glimpses before the inevitable next collapse, and I've been following the Gophs since about 1978. So I would pretty much do anything to see a great defense in the maroon and gold.

I look at Iowa's defense and am so envious. I could watch that kind of play all day and not get tired of it.
 

Definitely defense. With defense you can be in almost any game. You keep the opponent's score low and then even if you have a terrible offense, you might catch a break with a fumble or interception, setting up a TD. Pardon the NFL analogy, but there's a reason the Baltimore Ravens won a Super Bowl and the Moss/Carter Vikings didn't. The best defense in that time and a terrible offense won it. The best offense maybe in history and a terrible defense couldn't win it. I know people will point out the Rams, but they also had some players on D, they just got outshined by the O.

Or another way I can put it is this: if you are relying on defense, you only need them to make one stop on 3rd down to end the opponent's drive. If you are relying on offense, you will have to convert multiple 3rd downs to continue yours. (Ok, Oregon might not face many third downs now, but they will when they play a defense in the NC game.) It's much easier to rely on having to make one stop that it is to rely on multiple converts.
 

BeLikeWisconsin said:
Pardon the NFL analogy, but there's a reason the Baltimore Ravens won a Super Bowl and the Moss/Carter Vikings didn't. The best defense in that time and a terrible offense won it. The best offense maybe in history and a terrible defense couldn't win it. I know people will point out the Rams, but they also had some players on D, they just got outshined by the O.
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True, or look at the Raiders-Bucs Super Bowl. That to me was pretty much the perfect example, because you had the #1 offense (by far) going up against the #1 defense (by far) to see which side had ultimate supremacy, and it was an utter blowout in the defense's favor, to the tune of 48-21. Case closed, and that's all there is to it.
 

Rosemountian said:
I'd rather not become either.
Offensive Power = Glen Mason
Defensive Power = Spurrier at South Carolina (except for this year).

I'd rather be a Big Ten power, by winning a couple of championships in a 10 year span.
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I thought I was the only one who found it hard to watch South Carolina. There Defenses are so good under Spurrier but until this year their Offense was not fun to watch at all. Garcia was the only QB I would've ever compared to being as difficult to watch as "Bad" Weber is...
 

#1 There is a saying that came out many years ago and I feel it still holds true today. "Offense sells tickets, defense wins championships." When you review the top teams of today and yesteryear, look at how many points they give up. It is so much easier to win games when you only have to score 20 points rather than having to rely on your good offense matched up in a points footrace. A strong defense can shut down a strong offense, but a team with only a strong offense must try to outlast the other team's run up of points.
#2 Look at the championship pro teams. Steel Curtain. No-name Defense. Purple People Eaters. Fearsome Foursome. Fudge Packers(oops, scratch that)
 

Tully55 said:
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#2 Look at the championship pro teams. Steel Curtain. No-name Defense. Purple People Eaters. Fearsome Foursome.
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The Doomsday Defense. The Pacific Sack Exchange. The Orange Crush!
 

Statistically, you need balance to win championships. The 2000 Ravens were an anomaly.

Right now, entertainment is the key. Offense is more entertaining.

High powered offense, with a good enough defense.
 

My brother in law and I have this argument frequently so I finally did a little bit of research into this. I took the top 25 teams for both Scoring Offense and Scoring Defense and looked at their winning percentages over the last 10 years ('00-'09). Over the last 10 years the winning percentages are identical. Teams with a top 25 defense won 74% of their games and teams with a top 25 offense won 74% of their games.

This seems to indicate that a good defense does not increase your chances of winning games any more than a good offense does.
 

I want a defense that keeps us in the game and a chance to win in the fourth quarter. And an offense that can get it done when it counts.
 

Neither.

All I want is a punter who can boot it more than 23 yards and a place-kicker who can make a 35 yard field goal.
 

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