STrib: Gophers' defense baffles offense in Saturday scrimmage

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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per Joe:

It was football in the sunshine, but this wasn’t the Citrus Bowl, and this wasn’t the same offense the Gophers fielded Jan. 1, either.

The team moved Saturday morning’s scrimmage to TCF Bank Stadium and drew several hundred spectators, including many who stopped over from the nearby Minnesota Football Coaches Association clinic.

The fans saw a Gophers defense that could be even better than last year, but that has made things tough for the offense through eight spring practices. The Gophers are also experimenting with a no-huddle offense, adding to the growing pains.

For now, it looks like the Gophers have enough tailback depth to replace David Cobb, but they’re clearly going to miss tight end Maxx Williams.

And the offensive line has become another concern, as they try to replace departing seniors Zac Epping and Tommy Olson.

Leidner got sacked three times in five drives Saturday. In one sequence, defensive end Hank Ekpe sped around the right end to pressure Leidner into a short throw. Then, on fourth-and-3, Briean Boddy-Calhoun breezed around the left end for a sack on the cornerback blitz.

Leidner completed five of 10 passes for 36 yards, totals that would have looked better if KJ Maye and Drew Wolitarsky hadn’t each dropped a pass.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/gophers/297892351.html

Go Gophers!!
 

Diamonds are made under pressure.

We're cultivating diamonds.
 



Not surprised the D is ahead of the O at this point. The D is only fitting in a couple of new starters, and except for the players who sat out with injuries, the backups got a lot of playing time last year.

The O, on the other hand, is re-working the OL, bringing in new players at RB, TE, WR, and trying to incorporate some new hurry-up elements into the scheme.

AT this point, I will issue a plea: can everyone on this board try not to go postal every time Leidner throws a duck in practice? I don't expect Leidner to turn into a passing demon this fall, but I do expect a more consistent player with a better command of the offense - and by the fall, the FR WR's should be ready to make a bigger contribution. Having said that, good to hear about Streveler showing improvement with the pass. If he has to play, you don't want him to be one-dimensional.
 


short ornery norwegian - Nice try but rational posts don't play well here and they are also considered boring.
 

I am boring. If you want entertainment, you should have met me before I quit drinking.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Not surprised the D is ahead of the O at this point. The D is only fitting in a couple of new starters, and except for the players who sat out with injuries, the backups got a lot of playing time last year.

The O, on the other hand, is re-working the OL, bringing in new players at RB, TE, WR, and trying to incorporate some new hurry-up elements into the scheme.

AT this point, I will issue a plea: can everyone on this board try not to go postal every time Leidner throws a duck in practice? I don't expect Leidner to turn into a passing demon this fall, but I do expect a more consistent player with a better command of the offense - and by the fall, the FR WR's should be ready to make a bigger contribution. Having said that, good to hear about Streveler showing improvement with the pass. If he has to play, you don't want him to be one-dimensional.
Click to expand...

I agree. Gets old reading that drivel from so called experts on this board that "know football", or have been "scouting the QB's", especially when they start clamoring for Rhoda, Perra or Streveler to play instead of Leidner.
 

goldy93 said:
I agree. Gets old reading that drivel from so called experts on this board that "know football", or have been "scouting the QB's", especially when they start clamoring for Rhoda, Perra or Streveler to play instead of Leidner.
Click to expand...

Theres alot of QB experts on this board and even more defensive back coaches. I dont understand why they don't email Coach Kill so we can get them position groups straightened out. I'm sure Coach would be dying to here from them.
 



Possibly there should be an additional passing factor. Either the QB targeted and hit 7-10 receivers or he completed 5-10 with two dropped. Or stats should be kept for receivers. Balls thrown to, catches, and drops.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Not surprised the D is ahead of the O at this point. The D is only fitting in a couple of new starters, and except for the players who sat out with injuries, the backups got a lot of playing time last year.

The O, on the other hand, is re-working the OL, bringing in new players at RB, TE, WR, and trying to incorporate some new hurry-up elements into the scheme.

AT this point, I will issue a plea: can everyone on this board try not to go postal every time Leidner throws a duck in practice? I don't expect Leidner to turn into a passing demon this fall, but I do expect a more consistent player with a better command of the offense - and by the fall, the FR WR's should be ready to make a bigger contribution. Having said that, good to hear about Streveler showing improvement with the pass. If he has to play, you don't want him to be one-dimensional.
Click to expand...

Agreed with all of that. Truth be told I don't put much stock in how accurate Leidner is in practice right now. He's never going to be a 70% completion type of guy but he's still working on his game. A big part of his game and many QBs is being confident and comfortable and right now the ONLY receiver he's throwing to that he spent much time throwing to last year is KJ Maye. Woli was hurt all year and I doubt he got many reps with the RS WRs and our litany of TEs who were backups last year. He's getting used to new tempo, a re-worked line and new guys running routes. I would expect some discomfort and thus some poor balls. In addition coaches WANT to put pressure on the O and put them in new situations that cause that discomfort and he's also doing it against maybe the best secondary in the conference
 

I'm not ready to pull the red handle on the offense quite yet. As posted, they're changing a lot of things with a lot of new personnel. They're now worlds ahead from where they started, and will be much better by fall ball. Truly, this offense might not really click until the third non-con game, but I think it will..
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Not surprised the D is ahead of the O at this point. The D is only fitting in a couple of new starters, and except for the players who sat out with injuries, the backups got a lot of playing time last year.

The O, on the other hand, is re-working the OL, bringing in new players at RB, TE, WR, and trying to incorporate some new hurry-up elements into the scheme.

AT this point, I will issue a plea: can everyone on this board try not to go postal every time Leidner throws a duck in practice? I don't expect Leidner to turn into a passing demon this fall, but I do expect a more consistent player with a better command of the offense - and by the fall, the FR WR's should be ready to make a bigger contribution. Having said that, good to hear about Streveler showing improvement with the pass. If he has to play, you don't want him to be one-dimensional.
Click to expand...

I must be missing all the threads about people freaking out about Leidner. If anything it is much quieter on that front at the moment as there don't seem to be countless threads demanding that Perra and or Streveler get a chance to run the offense.

People would be insane to expect the offense to look good right now considering all the pieces that have to be replaced at key positions along with all the new faces at the WR position. If we are still hearing about offensive struggles as game one approaches then it will be time to get a little nervous.
 



MNVCGUY said:
I must be missing all the threads about people freaking out about Leidner. If anything it is much quieter on that front at the moment as there don't seem to be countless threads demanding that Perra and or Streveler get a chance to run the offense.

People would be insane to expect the offense to look good right now considering all the pieces that have to be replaced at key positions along with all the new faces at the WR position. If we are still hearing about offensive struggles as game one approaches then it will be time to get a little nervous.
Click to expand...

I generally like to operate from a default position of trusting our coaches, so I usually won't start to get upset about a problem until it costs us a game. Hopefully the offense doesn't ever become a concern for me this year.
 

MNVCGUY said:
I must be missing all the threads about people freaking out about Leidner. If anything it is much quieter on that front at the moment as there don't seem to be countless threads demanding that Perra and or Streveler get a chance to run the offense.

People would be insane to expect the offense to look good right now considering all the pieces that have to be replaced at key positions along with all the new faces at the WR position. If we are still hearing about offensive struggles as game one approaches then it will be time to get a little nervous.
Click to expand...

Does the name Sonny Garcia ring a bell?:rolleyes:
 

Leidner and the entire offense have a lot to do on their own between Spring and Fall Practices.

Hopefully, there is a method to the madness in the new quirks with the offense the Limey & Kill are throwing at the Offense

I am looking forward to seeing the upgraded WRs put their stamp this coming season.
 

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