BleedGopher
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 11, 2008
- Messages
- 60,716
- Reaction score
- 15,968
- Points
- 113
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Go Gophers!!
Go Gophers!!
Do they normally practice Thanksgiving Day? Serious question.
When there's a game two days away? Yes, of course.
They'll get their turkey meal after, but this isn't Pop Warner. They are 48 hours away from the biggest game in decades for the program.
Go Gophers!!
the fact that Kill is talking about this so much makes me think he's playing. Also its no revolutionary idea to not practice your bell horse RB on a Thursday
Pretty simple, he is a game time decision.
If Cobb isn't 100%, you save him for the Ohio State game the following week.
(see what I did there?!)
If Cobb isn't playing, there will be no Ohio State game the following week!
I but Roderick Williams and Edwards need to get a lot of carries in this game. I don't want to fixate on the so called jet sweep, just give them carries in the same sets Cobb would have had with a few tweaks. I would break tendencies and run #35 wide, and Edwards right up the middle at times.
Edwards can run the ball as a every down back if he is healthy and needs the carries. R. Williams is better than some think. He isn't any slower (not as shifty) than Cobb and can read a hole.
Win or lose this week, the Gophers are going to be playing in a decent bowl game. If Cobb goes out there this week at less than 100% and agravates the hammy, they could lose him for the bowl game,too. The coaches have to think about what's best long-term- not just this week. A big day for Cobb in the bowl game will not only help the Gophs, but it might move Cobb up on some draft boards. (Including the Vikes, I hope)
If Cobb doesn't play, we have good backs to fill in.
Maybe I'm in the minority on this one, but I would much rather beat the Badgers and have a chance at the B1G title than win whatever bowl game we end up in. If Cobb is able to play on Saturday even at less than 90%, I would rather roll the dice and see him out there even if it costs him the bowl game as a result.
I don't think playing him injured does us any favors. As good as Cobb is, I don't think he'd be any better than a healthy Williams or Kirkwood if he's at 80%.
True, but they aren't as good as Cobb.
I said this in the chatroom during the Neb game: losing your horse back there isn't ideal by any stretch, but...
very often, on a well coached team who won't panic, this will galvanize and re-focus the rest of the offense. Analogous to the pulled-goalie in hockey: motivated teams will respond positively.
The offense certainly wasn't playing poorly before Cobb went down, but you could sense that each of them, to a man, needed to pull more than their usual weight once he did: the end result was (don't throw me under the bus, now) possibly even better than it would have been had Cobb not been injured.
You might be right, but I just get the feeling that Cobb being out on the field means so much more to our offense than just his ability as a runner. If he's out of the lineup, I think our play-action loses a lot of its effectiveness. Wisconsin probably isn't nearly as worried about Williams or Kirkwood breaking off a big run. If Cobb isn't going to play, I at least hope Edwards is available to come in occasionally as a big-play threat.
I think the real question here is: which one of them runs the best flea flicker?