FSN: Most difficult player for Gophers to replace: David Cobb

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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per FSN:

The Minnesota Golden Gophers had multiple players to choose from when selecting their most difficult player to replace which is absolutely a testament to the program that Jerry Kill has built.

Maxx Williams would have been a fine selection here after the Baltimore Ravens made him a second round selection, however the steady production of David Cobb will be very difficult to replace. The bowling ball running back finished 2014 with a school single-season record with 1,626 rushing yards, including two 200-plus yard games.

The team is now potentially looking at a running back by committee approach at least to start the season as they try to fill his shoes. The offense will look a little different as it will be centered around quarterback Mitch Leidner and feature up-tempo, no huddle action.

http://www.foxsports.com/college-fo...ayer-for-gophers-to-replace-david-cobb-051515

Go Gophers!!
 

It's a tough one. Cobb certainly amazing but I feel losing the most competent receiver on your roster might be tougher to replace. Certainly Cobb was game in game out the star of the show, but I feel like Jeff Jones is a star in waiting where as I'm less optimistic about any of our receivers filling the void.
 

My thoughts

gophmeister said:
It's a tough one. Cobb certainly amazing but I feel losing the most competent receiver on your roster might be tougher to replace. Certainly Cobb was game in game out the star of the show, but I feel like Jeff Jones is a star in waiting where as I'm less optimistic about any of our receivers filling the void.
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Maxx was great but I think his production will be easier to replace if we are able to run the ball. Cobb gained a lot of yards where there wasn't much running room. Will we find a guy or guys to move the chains on the ground allowing
Mitch to pass versus defenses set to stop the run? Without a running game our passing game will struggle mightily, I fear. Jones, I believe will see a lot his time at receiver.

As for the article's idea we are going to become an up tempo no huddle offense...that isn't happening. I still think we are/were practicing for TCU and ya, working on getting better at 2 minute offense and coming from behind with maybe a surprise no huddle versus teams when the time is right. But our intended identity will still be methodically running the ball and keeping the other team's offense off the field as much as possible.
 

Our no huddle will be out guys standing at the line for 25 seconds, then hiking it with 5 seconds left on clock...just not huddling. Not up tempo, but designed to keep defense from subbing.
 



If Cobb is the hardest to replace then I believe we are in great shape. I think Williams will have a big year and Berk Smith and Jones having big contributions as well.

RB is my least worried position.

LB is my most as unproven guys need to step up. Guys we have heard about but until they show us on the field its just talk.

Maxx i believe will be missed but if Mitch improves to the point where he uses all his receivers then his loss wont be felt much.
 

All I can say is, NEXT MAN UP!

If the Kill systems works, there be a few who'll wear their big boy pants in a hurry.
 

I am a huge Cobb fan and consider him among the smartest runners I have ever seen in M&G. However, while the article may be right there is just as good a chance that Maxx will be the hardest person to replace. He may have lined up at TE, but in reality he was our possession WR, and he was a great one. There were a lot of games where the critical receptions were made by Maxx. I am not saying no one else can be the possession WR at crunch time, but we have the same problem as at RB, i.e. no one in line at either WR on TE has done it consistently.
 

Running game production is key for this offense. Someone out of the WR corps will step up. How is our retooled offensive line going to perform? I dunno. It's the hardest thing to predict. Our back's individual skills are promising but they can't do it on their own. I think Williams Jr needs to prove it on the field. I will be pleasantly surprised if he can come close simulate Cobb's excellence. I'm more stoked to see what Rodney Smith, Jones athleticism cab bring. I think it will be a good battle at RB1 when the rubber hits the road this fall.
 



I don't want to take anything away from Cobb, he was a great talent, but this team caters to the RB on offense. Gophers again will have good production there, whether they have a feature back, or if the production is split between two or three guys.

I think the hardest guy to replace will be Maxx Williams, as he was basically the only play maker in the passing game.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
Running game production is key for this offense. Someone out of the WR corps will step up. How is our retooled offensive line going to perform? I dunno. It's the hardest thing to predict. Our back's individual skills are promising but they can't do it on their own. I think Williams Jr needs to prove it on the field. I will be pleasantly surprised if he can come close simulate Cobb's excellence. I'm more stoked to see what Rodney Smith, Jones athleticism cab bring. I think it will be a good battle at RB1 when the rubber hits the road this fall.
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Don't know how you figure an O-line that returns 82 collective starts will be harder to predict than 3-4 WRs that have never played a collegiate down. Not to mention Roderick who has averaged over 5.0 YPC on 150 carries needs to "prove it" while the other two RBs have never played a down either.
 

Most unbiased observers didn't think much of our o-line last year. We lost some starters from that line and we don't really know how Christenson will fair when the going gets tough. We have a cadre of talented young guys so theoretically we should be better every year.

Rodrick hasn't played much against better defenses. He has a respectable but pedestrian 4.375 ypa vs Big Ten teams with a relatively small sample size. David Cobb had 5.17 ypa against same over last two years. 4.375 is similar to a healthy Donnell Kirkwood in 2012. A significant percentage of Rodrick's carries were against non-con patsies in 2013 and spot duty everywhere else. I don't think he's proven he's an every down back. He may prove me wrong and I'll be very happy about it. I don't know about his hands. Does have good hands? He has something like 4 receptions.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
Most unbiased observers didn't think much of our o-line last year. We lost some starters from that line and we don't really know how Christenson will fair when the going gets tough. We have a cadre of talented young guys so theoretically we should be better every year.

Rodrick hasn't played much against better defenses. He has a respectable but pedestrian 4.375 ypa vs Big Ten teams with a relatively small sample size. David Cobb had 5.17 ypa against same over last two years. 4.375 is similar to a healthy Donnell Kirkwood in 2012. A significant percentage of Rodrick's carries were against non-con patsies in 2013 and spot duty everywhere else. I don't think he's proven he's an every down back. He may prove me wrong and I'll be very happy about it. I don't know about his hands. Does have good hands? He has something like 4 receptions.
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My. Vote is Epping
 



Pompous Elitist said:
Most unbiased observers didn't think much of our o-line last year.
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Do you have the poll numbers for the unbiased observers that voted on what they thought of our o-line? I know a lot of folks that don't really watch the gophers break down our o-line play, I just haven't seen those poll results. I figure you must have them because you would never just say some random statement that can't be proved just to support your opinion on something. I know that can't be it. A link would be appreciated. Thanks PE.


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I'm not sure if Cobb will be the most difficult player to replace (he might be) but he is the most IMPORTANT player we need to replace. We all hope that Mitch and the passing game improves, but we will struggle in 2015 if we can't run the ball like we did last year.
 

Wilson hands down. You win by containing the run in the BIG. We need to move up to the top three in the BIG if we are going to make a run at a title.

We will see a pretty much a rookie @ MLB this Fall. We have experienced guys ready to take over for the departing Sr.s and hope others can make up for Maxx's production.
 

Spoofin said:
Do you have the poll numbers for the unbiased observers that voted on what they thought of our o-line? I know a lot of folks that don't really watch the gophers break down our o-line play, I just haven't seen those poll results. I figure you must have them because you would never just say some random statement that can't be proved just to support your opinion on something. I know that can't be it. A link would be appreciated. Thanks PE.


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Multiple draft related reviews by "experts", many of which state he did an extraordinary job with what he had to work with. I'm not going to take the time to post but you obviously have a lot of time on your hands so, google.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
Most unbiased observers didn't think much of our o-line last year. We lost some starters from that line and we don't really know how Christenson will fair when the going gets tough. We have a cadre of talented young guys so theoretically we should be better every year.

Rodrick hasn't played much against better defenses. He has a respectable but pedestrian 4.375 ypa vs Big Ten teams with a relatively small sample size. David Cobb had 5.17 ypa against same over last two years. 4.375 is similar to a healthy Donnell Kirkwood in 2012. A significant percentage of Rodrick's carries were against non-con patsies in 2013 and spot duty everywhere else. I don't think he's proven he's an every down back. He may prove me wrong and I'll be very happy about it. I don't know about his hands. Does have good hands? He has something like 4 receptions.
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Our O-line last year had a first team all big ten guy and two honorable mentions. That's better than pedestrian. Plus an unbiased observer, beached report, ranked us as the third best o-line in the conference and best in the west.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...er-ranking-the-offensive-lines-in-2015/page/9

Josh Campion and Joe Bjorklund are going to anchor one of the scariest returning offensive lines in the conference this season, and with the trajectory of the Minnesota program, don't be surprised if the hard-nosed offensive line plows over the competition towards a West Division title in 2015.

Joined by fellow returning starter Jonah Pirsig, the Gophers will have experience on both sides of center; and that will certainly benefit quarterback Mitch Leidner and senior fullback Miles Thomas this fall.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
Multiple draft related reviews by "experts", many of which state he did an extraordinary job with what he had to work with. I'm not going to take the time to post but you obviously have a lot of time on your hands so, google.
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Oh, unnamed sources we should google is what "most unbiased observers" was referring to. Pretty impressive. Almost as good as my buddies in the bar, but not quite.

And then there is this.....

die hard gopher said:
Our O-line last year had a first team all big ten guy and two honorable mentions. That's better than pedestrian. Plus an unbiased observer, beached report, ranked us as the third best o-line in the conference and best in the west.
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You guys really thought our line was dominant last year? Were they bad? No. Were they dominant or "elite". I don't think so. I expect them to work into that in the next few years with the guys coming up. The line was a MASH unit all season long in 2014. They weren't elite due to injury as anything else. I'm sorry.

Show me one David Cobb-related piece that mentions him playing behind a dominant line, or that his yardage is suspect because he played with a dominant line. You won't. In fact, 54% of his yards were after contact.

As far as the search try a simple Boolean: David Cobb and offensive line. You'll find all kinds of commentary from NFL coaches to network writers to amateur hour bleacher report/ SB nation (not putting them down- some of those guys are great).
 

Pompous Elitist said:
You guys really thought our line was dominant last year? Were they bad? No. Were they dominant or "elite". I don't think so. I expect them to work into that in the next few years with the guys coming up. The line was a MASH unit all season long in 2014. They weren't elite due to injury as anything else. I'm sorry.

Show me one David Cobb-related piece that mentions him playing behind a dominant line, or that his yardage is suspect because he played with a dominant line. You won't. In fact, 54% of his yards were after contact.

As far as the search try a simple Boolean: David Cobb and offensive line. You'll find all kinds of commentary from NFL coaches to network writers to amateur hour bleacher report/ SB nation (not putting them down- some of those guys are great).
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I didn't say one thing about whether or not they were dominant. I called you out on your "most unbiased observers" statement as that was and still is total BS. Backed by nothing - not even Boolean. You have confirmed as much with your own responses. If you would have simply said, "my opinion is" then I would have let it be. I have no issue with opinions or speculation (see signature below), but your typical approach of throwing in some line like that - as if it was fact/supported - is old and tiresome. Most unbiased posters here on GH agree with me about this.


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Spoofin said:
I didn't say one thing about whether or not they were dominant. I called you out on your "most unbiased observers" statement as that was and still is total BS. Backed by nothing - not even Boolean. You have confirmed as much with your own responses. If you would have simply said, "my opinion is" then I would have let it be. I have no issue with opinions or speculation (see signature below), but your typical approach of throwing in some line like that - as if it was fact/supported - is old and tiresome. Most unbiased posters here on GH agree with me about this.


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I think you're overlooking his signature/disclaimer.
 

I'm not sure what your hangup is. The first link quotes an AFC coach on Cobb playing with a bad offensive line. I disagree they were bad. Others state in essence the line did him few favors. Again, I'm not sure I'd go that far but it's all out there on the net.

The people that looked at a lot of Cobb tape are the ones saying it. Who do you trust, the beat writer/Dienhart that, maybe, looks at the highlights, the number of starts/upperclassmen, Cobb's stats, etc and assumes a powerful offensive line or someone with a vested interest in if Cobb is really any good and really studies the tape? I know who I'll listen to.
 

Old Goph said:
I think you're overlooking his signature/disclaimer.
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There are certain posters here that really have trouble assimilating any perceived negativity into their worldview. It's odd, since Jerry Kill would be the first to say the team has a lot to work on in a lot of areas.

I understand your thinking in a way, you don't see what I see and vice versa. I'm not sure i understand the hostility.

It's "ok" to bring some small amount of reality into the discussions at times. Some of you don't want to acknowledge any negatives.

Some posters talk the most and say the least and I think we have a couple on this string.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
There are certain posters here that really have trouble assimilating any perceived negativity into their worldview. It's odd, since Jerry Kill would be the first to say the team has a lot to work on in a lot of areas.

I understand your thinking in a way, you don't see what I see and vice versa. I'm not sure i understand the hostility.

It's "ok" to bring some small amount of reality into the discussions at times. Some of you don't want to acknowledge any negatives.

Some posters talk the most and say the least and I think we have a couple on this string.
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Whoa down there. I just thought it amusing that Spoofin referenced his own sig/disclaimer and ignored yours. I actually like yours in that it seems to say you don't take yourself too seriously, as in this is just a forum. Don't make a liar out of yourself.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
There are certain posters here that really have trouble assimilating any perceived negativity into their worldview. It's odd, since Jerry Kill would be the first to say the team has a lot to work on in a lot of areas.

I understand your thinking in a way, you don't see what I see and vice versa. I'm not sure i understand the hostility.

It's "ok" to bring some small amount of reality into the discussions at times. Some of you don't want to acknowledge any negatives.

Some posters talk the most and say the least and I think we have a couple on this string.
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The fundamental disconnect is that you take your perception of things, call it "reality", and attempt to bolster it with fallacious appeals to authority.
 

If your default is the team has no flaws that is not reality. Not sure why you're taking this position doll. Do you really want to make that argument?
 

dpodoll68 said:
The fundamental disconnect is that you take your perception of things, call it "reality", and attempt to bolster it with fallacious appeals to authority.
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Explain why he is wrong. What would prompt the coach to say this. Have you considered it is your reality that is fallacious?

SOURCES TELL US "I'm hoping we get him. He can step right in and play because he runs tough and he knows how to pass protect. His offensive line was bad too. He's a way shiftier runner than he gets credit for." - AFC running back coach.

http://www.nfl.com/draft/2015/profiles/david-cobb?id=2552376
 

Pompous Elitist said:
If your default is the team has no flaws that is not reality. Not sure why you're taking this position doll. Do you really want to make that argument?
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Where and when did I make that argument? I'd love to see a link to it.
 

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