Pat Ruff: Gophers leave fans feeling uneasy

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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per Ruff:

So, what was that?

Who are the Gophers in this brand-new and much-publicized P.J. Fleck era?

Man, let's hope it's not that troubled offensive group that showed up for the first 57 minutes of Thursday night's season debut against woeful Buffalo.

But to win consistently, Minnesota is going to need a lot more out of its offense. That's especially true of its running game, the very thing that made it respectable under the previous coaching regime.

Fleck was asking for patience when the contest was done, saying that it's going to take more than a few weeks to get this offense where he wants it to be.

Rhoda offered the same assessment, pointing particularly to the guys up front.

"Our offensive line will just keep working," he said. "And pretty soon those 5-yard (rushing) gains will turn into 25-yard gains."

If it happens, that Fleck preseason sizzle will return. And if it doesn't? Well, sizzle will be replaced by fizzle.

http://www.postbulletin.com/sports/...cle_cbca024f-b2b6-5027-b627-10a773a40fa5.html

Go Gophers!!
 


A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
Uneasy... so normal?
Click to expand...

Uneasy, but still very hopeful.... I hope I am right and they left a lot of offense in the playbook since it was not needed. The postgame presser SEEMED to infer this.
 

Uneasy? Sure. But not yet concerned. I think that Buffalo is not nearly as bad as advertised. They definitely had some playmakers. Rhoda and Croft will improve. They pretty much had no experience between the two. Our receiving options look solid too. The offensive line will have to improve. They were not doing a very good job of opening up holes. However, it sure looked like Buffalo gameplaned for the run game. If the passing game can improve marginally, I think our offense will be good. Other notes......pass rush. Almost non-existent. And we are dang lucky that Winfield Jr. chose to stay. If he gets injured we will have some major depth issues in the secondary. Not to mention that he is probably our best player.
 

BleedGopher said:
per Ruff:

So, what was that?

Who are the Gophers in this brand-new and much-publicized P.J. Fleck era?

Man, let's hope it's not that troubled offensive group that showed up for the first 57 minutes of Thursday night's season debut against woeful Buffalo.

But to win consistently, Minnesota is going to need a lot more out of its offense. That's especially true of its running game, the very thing that made it respectable under the previous coaching regime.

Fleck was asking for patience when the contest was done, saying that it's going to take more than a few weeks to get this offense where he wants it to be.

Rhoda offered the same assessment, pointing particularly to the guys up front.

"Our offensive line will just keep working," he said. "And pretty soon those 5-yard (rushing) gains will turn into 25-yard gains."

If it happens, that Fleck preseason sizzle will return. And if it doesn't? Well, sizzle will be replaced by fizzle.

http://www.postbulletin.com/sports/...cle_cbca024f-b2b6-5027-b627-10a773a40fa5.html

Go Gophers!!
Click to expand...

I have never heard of this Ruff guy, but what happened in the last 3 minutes that he liked so much from our offense? Truly an odd sentence. I'm also sure he has scouted Buffalo extensively and knows they are woeful. Methinks this gentleman is angling for a real job in the cities. A lot of loaded language.

Edit: I made the mistake of actually clicking on the link and it gets worse. He suggests we "ran wild" on every opponent last year. LOL. We actually had a pretty poor rushing efficiency in 2016 - we ran a lot so we did rack up yards, but our offense was pretty poor last year overall. Seriously, I find it ridiculous that Rochester has a newspaper. This guy can't be making more than about $17,000/year, right?
 


GopherHomer said:
I have never heard of this Ruff guy, but what happened in the last 3 minutes that he liked so much from our offense? Truly an odd sentence. I'm also sure he has scouted Buffalo extensively and knows they are woeful. Methinks this gentleman is angling for a real job in the cities. A lot of loaded language.

Edit: I made the mistake of actually clicking on the link and it gets worse. He suggests we "ran wild" on every opponent last year. LOL. We actually had a pretty poor rushing efficiency in 2016 - we ran a lot so we did rack up yards, but our offense was pretty poor last year overall. Seriously, I find it ridiculous that Rochester has a newspaper. This guy can't be making more than about $17,000/year, right?
Click to expand...

You find it "ridiculous" that a city of over 114,000 residents, one of the top medical facilities in the world, and a U of M campus would have a newspaper? I guess I'd say I'm shocked you're shocked. Ruff has been covering sports in south eastern Minnesota for over 20 years and likely isn't looking for "real job" which according to you, can only be found "in the cities." This type of mentality is why we have a lot of issues in the world today.

He simply stated that our offense last year relied on the running game and that if they're to be successful this year, the running game will have to improve. It's tough to take issue with that-whether from the great "cities" or not.
 

WarriorGopher said:
You find it "ridiculous" that a city of over 114,000 residents, one of the top medical facilities in the world, and a U of M campus would have a newspaper? I guess I'd say I'm shocked you're shocked. Ruff has been covering sports in south eastern Minnesota for over 20 years and likely isn't looking for "real job" which according to you, can only be found "in the cities." This type of mentality is why we have a lot of issues in the world today.

He simply stated that our offense last year relied on the running game and that if they're to be successful this year, the running game will have to improve. It's tough to take issue with that-whether from the great "cities" or not.
Click to expand...

Rule #1 on gopherhole - Do not criticize the gophers or you will be mocked and ridiculed.
 








One thought from the game:

1- This was Buffalo's Super Bowl....their biggest game of the year.

2- We had fans asking if PJ would put in subs once the score was out of reach. No one seemed to think Buffalo was any good.

3- Our OC has a philosophy that if an off tackle run does not work, that means keep calling that play until it does work. JESUS

4- There were two key drops by Woz and Howard that might have changed the complexion of the game. I noticed Wisconsin was struggling until two huge calls by the refs went against U State
 




A lot of what I've read is an overreaction to Flecks first game.

Was it great? No. Not at all.

PJ is going to win or lose by recruiting better players (or trying to). If this performance takes place in 2020, then I have some serious concerns. He is coaching guys he didn't recruit. He won at WMU by having better players. No one can dispute that. If he gets better players, they'll win more and easier.

All that said, I want to see much more when I'm in Corvallis. ROW THE BOAT
 

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