Pioneer Press: Gophers’ pass rusher Tai’yon Devers held out by coach P.J. Fleck

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per Greder:

It was Gophers’ coach P.J. Fleck’s decision to hold defensive end Tai’yon Devers out of last Thursday’s 17-7 season-opening victory over Buffalo at TCF Bank Stadium, the coach said Monday.

Devers, who made a splash with a pair of strip sacks in last year’s opener, did not suit up to play versus the Bulls but was on the sideline.

“I just held him out,” Fleck said Monday. “He’s not ready yet. He’s got some things that I feel like — we are going to wait another week and bring him back after that.”

Fleck said that decision “possibly” carries forward to Saturday night’s game at Oregon State. “Just depends how the week goes,” he said. “But I could see that being one more week.”

Fleck did not clarify if the impetus for his decision was tied to on- or off-the-field reasons. Devers was not on the two-deep depth chart released Tuesday.

http://www.twincities.com/2017/09/0...aiyon-devers-held-out-by-coach-p-j-fleck/amp/

Go Gophers!!
 

It was weird he didn't even have pads on. We noticed that on the sideline (because we sit on the home side :cool02:) and were wondering if he was injured. Isn't it weird to not even let him put the pads on whether you are going to bench him or not?
 

From the Strib Story

Interesting where the emphasis was placed in each story.

Devers might sit again

Fleck said he chose to sit defensive end Tai’yon Devers for Thursday’s opener because of undisclosed reasons and that the sophomore“possibly” will miss Saturday’s game at Oregon State.

“He’s not ready yet,” the coach said. “He’s got some things that I feel like we’re going to wait another week and bring him back after that. … Just depends on how the week goes. But I could see that being one more week.”

Devers had two sacks that forced fumbles in the Gophers’ 30-23 victory over Oregon State in last year’s season opener.
 

It's still early in the season, but there are a few younger players that could be at a pivotal point in their Gopher careers. I had high hopes for Devers. I was hoping that Rashad Stills would develop further. Also, it seems like the Huff brothers may have switched roles as far as which one gets significant playing time.
A new coaching staff provides opportunties for some, and for a few, they'll never mesh. It will all work out, but can be a painful process for a few.
 



bottlebass said:
It was weird he didn't even have pads on. We noticed that on the sideline (because we sit on the home side :cool02:) and were wondering if he was injured. Isn't it weird to not even let him put the pads on whether you are going to bench him or not?
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It's not weird if you've already decided you're benching him for the whole game.
 



Pompous Elitist said:
How much was Cashman on the field last week?
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It didn't bother me at all that we went with a vanilla approach on defense, but I think the vanilla scheme really hinders a guy like Cashman. His strength is in flying around, coming from everywhere. He played and didn't do a ton. As the season moves forward, I would expect to see a lot more from Cashman and Coughlin.
 



Situations like Devers seem to continue down hill as often as they correct. Not predicting, just saying.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
It didn't bother me at all that we went with a vanilla approach on defense, but I think the vanilla scheme really hinders a guy like Cashman. His strength is in flying around, coming from everywhere. He played and didn't do a ton. As the season moves forward, I would expect to see a lot more from Cashman and Coughlin.
Click to expand...

I think that mostly vanilla schemes aren't to hide all the great game winning plays as much as a result of not being ready to make great game winning plays. Once games start the gains come slower. Spring, captains, and fall practice have to be more productive.
 

diehard said:
I think that mostly vanilla schemes aren't to hide all the great game winning plays as much as a result of not being ready to make great game winning plays. Once games start the gains come slower. Spring, captains, and fall practice have to be more productive.
Click to expand...

Yeah I agree. I think this is more a question of where this team is at.

I doubt we kept Buffalo close for that long just to protect schemes.

We've had this conversation about offense and defense early season performance before and I really doubt we've ever seen the team just open the playbook and do all that much better because we didn't run those plays before....
 

I know speculating on a fanboard is frowned upon by some around here, and I didn't wait for second source to confirm (or first for that matter), but I have to think it's something like "not buying into being elite" in his 4 things, or not "buying into the culture" more than not being physically/mentally ready to play (he was our best pass rusher from the DE spot off the street at like 180 lbs last year - all you need to do is turn him loose on 3rd down).

The way PJ runs things surely doesn't appeal to a certain number of players. I mean, it could be something as silly as sitting in the second row of class in a T-shirt, and PJ was tipped off by a mole. It could be something serious, but I find that kind of hard to believe. The way things leak from the Board of Regents/Athletic Department like a sieve, KSTP would've been made aware of any negligible infraction, and faux public outrage would have come and gone already.
 



Pompous Elitist said:
How much was Cashman on the field last week?
Click to expand...

I know we fell in love with Cashman last year because of the splashy sacks, etc, and some extrapolate that across all aspects of the game. But, I'm not one who's convinced he's an every down player. I think he fits the blitz/pass rush specialist role very nicely, but I wouldn't be throwing him out there as an every down player in clear running situations. He's also a huge asset on special teams, and think he should continue in that role.
 

One consideration when you change coaches - some of the returning players may fare better in a new scheme with new coaches, but some players may not be as well-suited for the new system. And - different coaches see things differently. Player A may "click" with one coaching staff, but not with the other coaching staff, due to personalities, and what the coaches are looking for in their players.

So, I don't think anyone should be surprised that certain players who did well under Kill and Claeys may not do as well under Fleck - and vice versa.

I would also not be surprised to see more player movement after this season. Some players may conclude that they are not a good fit for Fleck's system, and vice versa. This is still a shakedown cruise, and there may be more rough waters and icebergs ahead. (Now, if we had Kate Winslet topless, that would make the voyage more enjoyable......)
 

I hated everything about Fleck's first game.
I hated his schemes.
I hated his coordinators' play calling.
I hated his personnel groupings, especially sitting Devers.

It was like watching a drunk person play Madden, run near left, run near right, deep throw, run up middle, deep throw.
Kick from 50 yards for first kick of year, kick from 30+ yards into windy side of field for second kick of year.

There were a lot of great individual performances by Gophers players, but we were out-coached from a game-day perspective.
Then I tuned into Jeff Brohm's first game and watched him call an awesome game against Louisville which rubbed the salt in the wound.

It's too early to judge Fleck, but god that sucked to watch.
 

hello-world said:
I hated everything about Fleck's first game.
I hated his schemes.
I hated his coordinators' play calling.
I hated his personnel groupings, especially sitting Devers.

It was like watching a drunk person play Madden, run near left, run near right, deep throw, run up middle, deep throw.
Kick from 50 yards for first kick of year, kick from 30+ yards into windy side of field for second kick of year.

There were a lot of great individual performances by Gophers players, but we were out-coached from a game-day perspective.
Then I tuned into Jeff Brohm's first game and watched him call an awesome game against Louisville which rubbed the salt in the wound.

It's too early to judge Fleck, but god that sucked to watch.
Click to expand...

You didn't like the Gophers schemes on Defense but you think that Brohm did a great job giving-up 35 points and 628 yards of offense to Louisville?

Even if they go 13-1 this year there's gonna be some disappointed people...
 

hello-world said:
I hated everything about Fleck's first game.
I hated his schemes.
I hated his coordinators' play calling.
I hated his personnel groupings, especially sitting Devers.

It was like watching a drunk person play Madden, run near left, run near right, deep throw, run up middle, deep throw.
Kick from 50 yards for first kick of year, kick from 30+ yards into windy side of field for second kick of year.

There were a lot of great individual performances by Gophers players, but we were out-coached from a game-day perspective.
Then I tuned into Jeff Brohm's first game and watched him call an awesome game against Louisville which rubbed the salt in the wound.

It's too early to judge Fleck, but god that sucked to watch.
Click to expand...

Have you considered decaf?
 

Iceland12 said:
You didn't like the Gophers schemes on Defense but you think that Brohm did a great job giving-up 35 points and 628 yards of offense to Louisville?

Even if they go 13-1 this year there's gonna be some disappointed people...
Click to expand...

Jeff Brohm was working with a far less talented team than Minnesota against one of the most dynamic offenses in the country.
 

Heracles said:
I know we fell in love with Cashman last year because of the splashy sacks, etc, and some extrapolate that across all aspects of the game. But, I'm not one who's convinced he's an every down player. I think he fits the blitz/pass rush specialist role very nicely, but I wouldn't be throwing him out there as an every down player in clear running situations. He's also a huge asset on special teams, and think he should continue in that role.
Click to expand...

Totally disagree. he's an every down player. I think a slow start is more a function of coming back from a pretty significant injury, and also because we have awesome depth at linebacker.
 

Section2 said:
Totally disagree. he's an every down player. I think a slow start is more a function of coming back from a pretty significant injury, and also because we have awesome depth at linebacker.
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I'm with you. I think Cashman gets that wrap because he's such a dynamic pass rusher, but he was very strong against the run last year too.
 

Heracles said:
I know speculating on a fanboard is frowned upon by some around here, and I didn't wait for second source to confirm (or first for that matter), but I have to think it's something like "not buying into being elite" in his 4 things, or not "buying into the culture" more than not being physically/mentally ready to play (he was our best pass rusher from the DE spot off the street at like 180 lbs last year - all you need to do is turn him loose on 3rd down).

The way PJ runs things surely doesn't appeal to a certain number of players. I mean, it could be something as silly as sitting in the second row of class in a T-shirt, and PJ was tipped off by a mole. It could be something serious, but I find that kind of hard to believe. The way things leak from the Board of Regents/Athletic Department like a sieve, KSTP would've been made aware of any negligible infraction, and faux public outrage would have come and gone already.
Click to expand...

From what I've gathered, this is not the case at all. He's bought in. And this is also not related to physical or mental readiness. It's gotta be some type of off field issue that's not severe, but warrants some punishment, and he's protecting the player by not disclosing why. He will be a player for us this year.
 

hello-world said:
Jeff Brohm was working with a far less talented team than Minnesota against one of the most dynamic offenses in the country.
Click to expand...

The Cardinals are hought to be a good offensive team. They still got multiple touchdowns and scored 35. Buffalo was not. They scored one TD and just got those 7 points.

So according to your "it's all about the Offense" theory, Louisville should have scored what 70 or more and Buffalo -10? :confused:
 

Section2 said:
From what I've gathered, this is not the case at all. He's bought in. And this is also not related to physical or mental readiness. It's gotta be some type of off field issue that's not severe, but warrants some punishment, and he's protecting the player by not disclosing why. He will be a player for us this year.
Click to expand...

My source says two-game suspension. Not going to repeat the infraction that I was told. Nothing unusual in the grand scheme of things.
 

BarnBoy said:
My source says two-game suspension. Not going to repeat the infraction that I was told. Nothing unusual in the grand scheme of things.
Click to expand...

So does this mean Fleck is a bit stricter, or is this a "They got caught by the coach this time" type of thing?
 

hello-world said:
I hated everything about Fleck's first game.
I hated his schemes.
I hated his coordinators' play calling.
I hated his personnel groupings, especially sitting Devers.

It was like watching a drunk person play Madden, run near left, run near right, deep throw, run up middle, deep throw.
Kick from 50 yards for first kick of year, kick from 30+ yards into windy side of field for second kick of year.

There were a lot of great individual performances by Gophers players, but we were out-coached from a game-day perspective.
Then I tuned into Jeff Brohm's first game and watched him call an awesome game against Louisville which rubbed the salt in the wound.

It's too early to judge Fleck, but god that sucked to watch.
Click to expand...

Every post I've remembered you writing the past few months has been nothing but bashing Fleck and company. Maybe you should stop watching Gopher games if he makes you that upset. You hated everything about Fleck, and it sucked to watch? Then don't watch. Simple.
 

Gopherocious said:
Every post I've remembered you writing the past few months has been nothing but bashing Fleck and company. Maybe you should stop watching Gopher games if he makes you that upset. You hated everything about Fleck, and it sucked to watch? Then don't watch. Simple.
Click to expand...

Oh I'm sorry, did I hurt the $3.5 million man's feelings?
Until he coaches like an elite coach, I'm not going to talk about him like an elite coach.
He's still an unproven commodity.
His single greatest victory in college football to date was beating Northwestern by 1 point.

I would have been in here dumping on Claeys if he called a game like that (not that he ever did).
 

hello-world said:
Oh I'm sorry, did I hurt the $3.5 million man's feelings?
Until he coaches like an elite coach, I'm not going to talk about him like an elite coach.
He's still an unproven commodity.
His single greatest victory in college football to date was beating Northwestern by 1 point.

I would have been in here dumping on Claeys if he called a game like that (not that he ever did).
Click to expand...

I get the feeling Tracy Claeys created a GopherHole account...
 



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