Mitch Leidner and the challenge of conservative offense

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The Moneyball video is appropriate and raises some questions:

- is there a correlation between Mitch's girlfriend's hotness level and his confidence on the field?
- can Minnesota win playing a "traditional" offense, ie beat Iowa or Wisconsin at their own game, or do we need to replicate 90s Northwestern or Late 90s/early 80s Purdue and confuse opposing defenses with concepts they are not ready for (are there any left?). What can our current players do well?
- Boyd linked to some other articles suggesting MN could have good success running a power spread, comparing Mitch to Collin Klein or Cam Newton (big body that can run inside).
- seemed to me we ran a more constraint-based system last year after Kill retired? Perception or reality? Tell me I'm wrong. The Kent State game colored everything I saw last year. Difficult to shake those images.
 



Thanks for posting. I think the Kill/Limegrover offensive strategy was all about limiting downside. Leidner (and Nelson before him) seem to fit the bill as dual threat guys who could hit the underneath stuff consistently. Curious to see what changes Johnson makes. I have been frustrated by the inability to hit big plays downfield and I've always wondered if that has been the scheme or the players. A.J. Barker was the last consistent deep threat we had and Max Shortell was throwing to him.
 


50PoundHead said:
Thanks for posting. I think the Kill/Limegrover offensive strategy was all about limiting downside. Leidner (and Nelson before him) seem to fit the bill as dual threat guys who could hit the underneath stuff consistently. Curious to see what changes Johnson makes. I have been frustrated by the inability to hit big plays downfield and I've always wondered if that has been the scheme or the players. A.J. Barker was the last consistent deep threat we had and Max Shortell was throwing to him.
Click to expand...

After a deep drill-down on the Michigan game, a frustrated Claeys ordered Johnson to come up with some goal line creativity. Johnson has taken it a step further and created his own brand of offense, the "no-look" offense. Look for him to go down in history with modern-day pioneer names like Leach, Briles, Holgerson, Tiller.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7W0zACoIbMk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 

Pompous Elitist said:
After a deep drill-down on the Michigan game, a frustrated Claeys ordered Johnson to come up with some goal line creativity. Johnson has taken it a step further and created his own brand of offense, the "no-look" offense. Look for him to go down in history with modern-day pioneer names like Leach, Briles, Holgerson, Tiller.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7W0zACoIbMk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Click to expand...

That was fun but man all the other team has to do is pay attention and it is an INT.
 

From what I gather offense was simplified after Kill retired. They focused on strengths and stopped changing game plan every week. Sounds like they want to continue that this year. Build an identity.


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MaxyJR1 said:
From what I gather offense was simplified after Kill retired. They focused on strengths and stopped changing game plan every week. Sounds like they want to continue that this year. Build an identity.


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Click to expand...

Well, one can base out of power and/or zone but in 2015, especially the latter games, seemed like they were willing to call screens or other constraint plays more often when defenses played the run and vice versa. I suspect we will (and Leidner seemed to confirm) run the same basic offense with an emphasis on better execution by the players and the coaches. If they're cheating run can you consistently stretch the defense horizontally or vertically, etc. We won't be a wide open 4 wide spread. It will be interesting to see how many tight ends and how often a fullback is in the game, how much Leidner is asked to read and carry; will defenses respect him, etc. Can Leidner and the receivers hit the play action consistently. Can we get guys open. Can the receivers handle the easy throws (looking at you Holland Jr) How will our running backs be utilized as receivers, are we utilizing package plays etc etc etc.
 



Absolutely worth the read and agree with most of what the author had to say. To me the key to the offense this year is whether Lingen can make the next step along with the emergence of either 2-3 reliable receivers or one stud receiver.


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The offense the coaches dial up is contingent on the quality of their players vs the quality of the opposition's players.
If the opponents are better be conservative and hope for a break.
Get better players and the offense can open up a bit.
The coaches watch their players every day and film of the opponent every day.
Their jobs depend on the results.
 

Basically, the words are endless

What might we do? What should we do? I think we need to wait and see what they come up with to have any idea. Tracy emphasizes we are playing to our strengths. We looked very good in the bowl
game. As he also says, If Leidner and the O-line remain healthy, we'll be just fine! I agree!!
 

A. Carter needs to be a KJ clone....
B. A healthy Gentry.....Holland sees the ball into his hands.....
C Still takes another step forward...
D. Contribution from RS Hunter Register...
E. The OL needs to give Mitch time to stretch the field.....not just on play action...
Summary....We know our strongest receiver is Lingren If we get support from the above mentioned , I see us winning 10 games and losing the Becky curse.
 



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