ESPN's Bennett: Fleck's biggest challenge will be uniting the team; 6 wins realistic

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per Bennett's Q&A:

@karljehresmann: @AWardESPN @BennettESPN realistic Gopher expectations next season?

Brian Bennett: That's a good question.

P.J. Fleck's biggest challenge will be uniting the team. Many of the players are really ticked off at the administration and did not want to see Tracy Claeys get fired. Luckily, one of Fleck's greatest skills is getting players to buy in and, uh, row the boat with him. I think he'll get most guys back onto the ship.

Minnesota's roster could be heavily impacted by the potential loss of several players involved in the scandal that started the whole boycott. That's particularly true on defense. The Golden Gophers also have to replace longtime starting quarterback Mitch Leidner, and while some fans always were calling for Leidner to be benched, the truth is we haven't seen anything from his backups. Fleck was a wide receiver who coached that position earlier in his career, and his work at Western Michigan suggests he'll help improve a passing game which has been subpar for years.

The 2017 schedule, once again, is pretty manageable. I think it's realistic to expect six wins and a bowl. But this could be a transition year in many ways in Minneapolis.

http://www.espn.com/blog/bigten/pos...g-day-impact-for-b1g-minnesotas-goals-in-2017

Go Gophers!!
 

I assume a Fleck will get the vast majority of the existing team on board...but not 100%. Those that don't sign in could be a real issue. It will be fun to see how Fleck deals with these because if allowed to fester it could tear the team apart. Kill, Claeys, Sawvel, etc were beloved by the team.
 

6 wins? The coach's first job is to unite the team. If PJF can't do that it doesn't bode well for the hire. I call BS on Bennett. PJF will win a minimum of 9 games. He is coming off a 13-1 season. You can not do that with a team in disarray. Garbage article. Fleck is our coach and we should be loving it. Back him with expectations. Buy those tickets, fill that stadium, and Let's Go Crazy!

Another Minnesota Great!
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BR8OcfS6vcQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 

diehard said:
6 wins? The coach's first job is to unite the team. If PJF can't do that it doesn't bode well for the hire. I call BS on Bennett. PJF will win a minimum of 9 games. He is coming off a 13-1 season. You can not do that with a team in disarray. Garbage article. Fleck is our coach and we should be loving it. Back him with expectations. Buy those tickets, fill that stadium, and Let's Go Crazy!

Another Minnesota Great!
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BR8OcfS6vcQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Click to expand...

Now that is some ELITE guitar playing.
 

diehard said:
6 wins? The coach's first job is to unite the team. If PJF can't do that it doesn't bode well for the hire. I call BS on Bennett. PJF will win a minimum of 9 games. He is coming off a 13-1 season. You can not do that with a team in disarray. Garbage article. Fleck is our coach and we should be loving it. Back him with expectations. Buy those tickets, fill that stadium, and Let's Go Crazy!

Another Minnesota Great!
Click to expand...
Are you coming up from NC with a posse for every home game? [emoji41]

It will be interesting to see how Fleck approaches the loss of trust directed at the AD and President. Since those two fired Claeys and hired Fleck, trust will need to be created. Add to that the number of new kids who seem like Fleck's "elite" b!tches and you can have a broken locker room in a hurry. It will be interesting to observe.
 


6 wins seems reasonable as a baseline.

There are just so many question marks going into this season. If any of the issues craps out entirely like QB, DBs... it could be rough.
 

MennoSota said:
Are you coming up from NC with a posse for every home game? [emoji41]

It will be interesting to see how Fleck approaches the loss of trust directed at the AD and President. Since those two fired Claeys and hired Fleck, trust will need to be created. Add to that the number of new kids who seem like Fleck's "elite" b!tches and you can have a broken locker room in a hurry. It will be interesting to observe.
Click to expand...
Once the dust settles on the suspensions I don't think the players will spend a lot of time worrying about Kaler and Coyle. They will make their decisions about staying or going. If they stay I am not worried that the team will be unified.

Sent from my Commodore 64 using Tapatalk.
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
6 wins seems reasonable as a baseline.

There are just so many question marks going into this season. If any of the issues craps out entirely like QB, DBs... it could be rough.
Click to expand...

For the first half of the season yes, that is a reasonable baseline.
 

MennoSota said:
Are you coming up from NC with a posse for every home game? [emoji41]

It will be interesting to see how Fleck approaches the loss of trust directed at the AD and President. Since those two fired Claeys and hired Fleck, trust will need to be created. Add to that the number of new kids who seem like Fleck's "elite" b!tches and you can have a broken locker room in a hurry. It will be interesting to observe.
Click to expand...

The guys want to win. If they believe they will win with Fleck there is no problem. They will be elite, well at least very good to start. You are right that it is up to Fleck to handle it. At $3.5M I have the expectation that he can!
 



diehard said:
The guys want to win. If they believe they will win with Fleck there is no problem. They will be elite, well at least very good to start. You are right that it is up to Fleck to handle it. At $3.5M I have the expectation that he can!
Click to expand...
Did you know he is barely top half in salary?
 

I estimated 6 wins, but the reason has nothing to do with team unity. It may be an nice narrative for the media, but not sure we'll be discussing team unity as a reason why we lose games in the Fall.

Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk
 

jonnyganas said:
I estimated 6 wins, but the reason has nothing to do with team unity. It may be an nice narrative for the media, but not sure we'll be discussing team unity as a reason why we lose games in the Fall.

Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Agree with you
I expect 6-7 wins due to lack of talent on offense and lack of depth on defense
 

When the media almost uniformly expected the gophers to win 6-7 games last year all you Claeys haters held him to a ridiculous 9-10 win expectation. Funny how now you think the pundits are all of a sudden correct for PJ?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 



diehard said:
6 wins? The coach's first job is to unite the team. If PJF can't do that it doesn't bode well for the hire. I call BS on Bennett. PJF will win a minimum of 9 games. He is coming off a 13-1 season. You can not do that with a team in disarray. Garbage article. Fleck is our coach and we should be loving it. Back him with expectations. Buy those tickets, fill that stadium, and Let's Go Crazy!

Another Minnesota Great!
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BR8OcfS6vcQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Click to expand...

That would be an ELITE song to play between the 3rd and 4th qtr!!!!

Count me one of those who doesn't like the current song selection.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

6 wins would not be elite, it would be mediocre. You got to walk the walk, when you talk the talk.
 

Oregon Gopher said:
When the media almost uniformly expected the gophers to win 6-7 games last year all you Claeys haters held him to a ridiculous 9-10 win expectation. Funny how now you think the pundits are all of a sudden correct for PJ?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

would go with that's schedule in addition to breaking in a new QB, my friend
 

Oregon Gopher said:
When the media almost uniformly expected the gophers to win 6-7 games last year all you Claeys haters held him to a ridiculous 9-10 win expectation. Funny how now you think the pundits are all of a sudden correct for PJ?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

No one predicts bowl wins or losses preseason. So 8 wins isn't crushing pundit predictions.
 

Word said:
Once the dust settles on the suspensions I don't think the players will spend a lot of time worrying about Kaler and Coyle. They will make their decisions about staying or going. If they stay I am not worried that the team will be unified.

Sent from my Commodore 64 using Tapatalk.
Click to expand...

I'm not worried either, they seem to be pretty much already on board judging from the tweets after his hire, and the reaction from his team meeting. If anything, I think PJ will channel any chips into positive "cracks on their shoulders" as he puts it.
 

upnorthkid said:
would go with that's schedule in addition to breaking in a new QB, my friend
Click to expand...

Is the schedule really that much tougher ? Michigan is very good, but they replace B1G champion Penn State. Swap out 2-10 Rutgers with 3-9 MSU. Get Wisconsin and Nebraska at home. And drop bowl team CSU from the non-conference.
 

bigticket1 said:
Is the schedule really that much tougher ? Michigan is very good, but they replace B1G champion Penn State. Swap out 2-10 Rutgers with 3-9 MSU. Get Wisconsin and Nebraska at home. And drop bowl team CSU from the non-conference.
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I guess I wouldn't assume MSU will stay in the dungeon next season. But you make a legitimate point - the schedule isn't as scary as maybe it was at the beginning of last year. The other thing to think about is Michigan lost all 11 starters on defense. So that will hopefully make them at less unbelievably good.

That said, with Croft (who had supposedly been passed by Green and Williams) as the only option at QB as of now and no experience in the secondary (depending on the hearing and signing day, etc.) and a bunch of guys at receiver that can't catch a ball, I won't count any chickens until they hatch.
 

Some (not all) of the Fleck boosters seem to be actively trying to lower expectations.

Would that be accepting mediocrity? I sure hope not - that would not be good for an ELITE program.

Seriously - until the roster is finalized - with additions (transfers, recruits) and subtractions (transfers, expulsions & suspensions) - it's difficult to get a handle on what next year's team is going to look like. What QB's will be available? And, questions about schemes - what will the schemes look like for offense and defense - AND how will the returning players fit those schemes? How many (if any) of the recruits will be ready to play next season?

I honestly could not make an informed prediction at this point. And I question whether anyone can make an informed prediction until some of the above questions are answered.
 

bigticket1 said:
Is the schedule really that much tougher ? Michigan is very good, but they replace B1G champion Penn State. Swap out 2-10 Rutgers with 3-9 MSU. Get Wisconsin and Nebraska at home. And drop bowl team CSU from the non-conference.
Click to expand...

Not saying it is but when people are predicting (preseason), Michigan state looks vastly superior to Penn State. And that's when people were saying 10 wins was the goal, not after we lost to Iowa or Penn state or at any other time. That's what I'm saying. An considering that we will be 10 point dogs to neb and wi regardless, it won't matter home or away in making preseason predictions
 

Lakeville Goldy said:
I guess I wouldn't assume MSU will stay in the dungeon next season. But you make a legitimate point - the schedule isn't as scary as maybe it was at the beginning of last year. The other thing to think about is Michigan lost all 11 starters on defense. So that will hopefully make them at less unbelievably good.

That said, with Croft (who had supposedly been passed by Green and Williams) as the only option at QB as of now and no experience in the secondary (depending on the hearing and signing day, etc.) and a bunch of guys at receiver that can't catch a ball, I won't count any chickens until they hatch.
Click to expand...

Rhoda. Add to that Iowa has lost virtually every skilled starter on offense. Nebraska is fielding a transfer QB who is a 50% passer, can't run at all, and has thrown almost as many INTs as TDs.
 

Okay - in an effort to take the coaching change out of the equation (since that seems to be fueling everyone's opinions one way or another) next year will likely depend on two positions. QB and DB - both kind of an unknown at this point. Even the suddenly vocal Claeys regime backers can admit that QB recruiting under him/Kill was underwhelming. If our existing QBs are garbage (contrary to popular opinion there is a basement WAY below Leidner) we will struggle. Likewise, if our DBs are gutted because of suspensions it could be a long year. Basically there are some mitigating factors that give Fleck at least a year to get things on track. I'm sure many WMU fans were ready to jump off a boat after their 1-11 first year - worked out great for them.

Leidner, if you consider his running ability, was a very prolific QB for our program (maybe the best ever?). If we can duplicate his production and field a competent secondary, I agree that we should win more than 6 games next year. I am not, however, going to pin my decision on the hire based off of next year's record.

LOL at the person trying to compare losing Rutgers and replacing with MSU based on their record this past season...just stop. You obviously don't want this program to win. Seriously - quit talking about the President and AD. Who cares? Support the product that will be on the field. I don't care if we are sleazy. Most successful programs are. Wins are wins and losses are losses - talk to me in 2019.

Also - the negatives seem to be keen on commenting on the losses of our rival programs but claim that we should just reload. How long have they been fans of the Gophers? Fact is - hiring Fleck was the best, most dynamic move this University has made in the last 30 years and we should be excited. Everything else is just some misguided anger over University politics. Get over it.
 

GopherHomer said:
Okay - in an effort to take the coaching change out of the equation (since that seems to be fueling everyone's opinions one way or another) next year will likely depend on two positions. QB and DB - both kind of an unknown at this point. Even the suddenly vocal Claeys regime backers can admit that QB recruiting under him/Kill was underwhelming. If our existing QBs are garbage (contrary to popular opinion there is a basement WAY below Leidner) we will struggle. Likewise, if our DBs are gutted because of suspensions it could be a long year. Basically there are some mitigating factors that give Fleck at least a year to get things on track. I'm sure many WMU fans were ready to jump off a boat after their 1-11 first year - worked out great for them.

Leidner, if you consider his running ability, was a very prolific QB for our program (maybe the best ever?). If we can duplicate his production and field a competent secondary, I agree that we should win more than 6 games next year. I am not, however, going to pin my decision on the hire based off of next year's record.

LOL at the person trying to compare losing Rutgers and replacing with MSU based on their record this past season...just stop. You obviously don't want this program to win. Seriously - quit talking about the President and AD. Who cares? Support the product that will be on the field. I don't care if we are sleazy. Most successful programs are. Wins are wins and losses are losses - talk to me in 2019.

Also - the negatives seem to be keen on commenting on the losses of our rival programs but claim that we should just reload. How long have they been fans of the Gophers? Fact is - hiring Fleck was the best, most dynamic move this University has made in the last 30 years and we should be excited. Everything else is just some misguided anger over University politics. Get over it.
Click to expand...

Agreed on all points. Especially the frankly silly comparison between MSU and Rutgers. This will be a tougher schedule, with no experience at QB, and potentially a bare cupboard at DB. Neither Claeys nor Fleck were going to be winning eight games this year. But I'm still very very excited about the future under Fleck.
 

GopherHomer said:
Okay - in an effort to take the coaching change out of the equation (since that seems to be fueling everyone's opinions one way or another) next year will likely depend on two positions. QB and DB - both kind of an unknown at this point. Even the suddenly vocal Claeys regime backers can admit that QB recruiting under him/Kill was underwhelming. If our existing QBs are garbage (contrary to popular opinion there is a basement WAY below Leidner) we will struggle. Likewise, if our DBs are gutted because of suspensions it could be a long year. Basically there are some mitigating factors that give Fleck at least a year to get things on track. I'm sure many WMU fans were ready to jump off a boat after their 1-11 first year - worked out great for them.
Click to expand...

Ryan Burns pointed out on his latest podcast that Kill/Claeys recruited QBs that could double at another position if QB didn't work out for them. Fleck appears to recruit strict QBs, and lots of them, where the best see the field and the others transfer, accepting that as part of life in the FBS. Couple that with Fleck's success at the WR position (another Kill/Claeys weakness area) and MN could see a much different, well-balanced offensive identity. Defensive side of the ball is a whole other issue, but on offense, better QB recruiting potential could improve the look of Gopher football.
 

jmag21 said:
Agreed on all points. Especially the frankly silly comparison between MSU and Rutgers. This will be a tougher schedule, with no experience at QB, and potentially a bare cupboard at DB. Neither Claeys nor Fleck were going to be winning eight games this year. But I'm still very very excited about the future under Fleck.
Click to expand...

We are replacing a QB who was awful last year. This concern over Leidner's replacement seems silly to me. Senior or not, I don't think it should be looked at like a huge loss. If we played like we did in the Rutgers game (mostly run and sprinkle in the pass), that would probably be more production than we got from our QB position.

Defensive back is our biggest concern.

WR - - Yeah, we won't be very good. But we lost MORE in Maye (% of receiving yards) last year than we will lose in Wolitarsky this season. Plus we will be adding Lingen. It won't be good, but it should be equally as bad as last year (shouldn't be worse).

RB - Should be better. Our SO have become JRs.

OL- Should be better. This was a HUGE area of concern going into last year.

DL - Should be better. He graduated two players, but we still are returning 6+ guys who got a lot of PT/starters.

LB - Should be better. Our good players are a year older.

If Claeys was still the coach, I have a hard time believing people wouldn't have expected 7-8 regular season wins.
 


Bob_Loblaw said:
We are replacing a QB who was awful last year. This concern over Leidner's replacement seems silly to me. Senior or not, I don't think it should be looked at like a huge loss. If we played like we did in the Rutgers game (mostly run and sprinkle in the pass), that would probably be more production than we got from our QB position.

Defensive back is our biggest concern.

WR - - Yeah, we won't be very good. But we lost MORE in Maye (% of receiving yards) last year than we will lose in Wolitarsky this season. Plus we will be adding Lingen. It won't be good, but it should be equally as bad as last year (shouldn't be worse).

RB - Should be better. Our SO have become JRs.

OL- Should be better. This was a HUGE area of concern going into last year.

DL - Should be better. He graduated two players, but we still are returning 6+ guys who got a lot of PT/starters.

LB - Should be better. Our good players are a year older.

If Claeys was still the coach, I have a hard time believing people wouldn't have expected 7-8 regular season wins.
Click to expand...

I was as down on Mitch as anybody. But surely guys that can't even get a SNIFF of playing time over a quarterback who was as bad as Mitch last year can't inspire much confidence. I suspect that most people would have been expecting 6 wins next year for Claeys, and blaming the administration for the suspension of the players for the reason. But it doesn't really matter. What's done is done. And Fleck is now our coach. I hope he wins 10, but if he wins 6 or 7, and has a good recruiting year, I'll be satisfied.
 

jonnyganas said:
Ryan Burns pointed out on his latest podcast that Kill/Claeys recruited QBs that could double at another position if QB didn't work out for them. Fleck appears to recruit strict QBs, and lots of them, where the best see the field and the others transfer, accepting that as part of life in the FBS. Couple that with Fleck's success at the WR position (another Kill/Claeys weakness area) and MN could see a much different, well-balanced offensive identity. Defensive side of the ball is a whole other issue, but on offense, better QB recruiting potential could improve the look of Gopher football.
Click to expand...

Fleck was/is recruiting Estes. I think Estes is pretty similar to the Mark Williams of the world in style (hopefully a QB but athletic enough to play WR if that doesn't work out).

Who else did Kill/Claeys really recruit who wasn't a QB? Leidner?
 

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