Minnesota Golden Gophers going through '180-degree turn' under P.J. Fleck

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BleedGopher

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per OregonLive.com:

2. Many Oregon State fans were probably surprised to see Las Vegas establish Oregon State as a slight early favorite. What were some things that went wrong for the Golden Gophers against Buffalo that may give oddsmakers some pause?
AP Photo/Stacy Bengs

The fact that the Gophers scored only 17 points against a Buffalo team that was 2-10 last year likely got the oddsmakers’ attention. Minnesota’s offensive line remains a work in progress, and it didn’t provide much push against Buffalo. If that line doesn’t improve, that will continue to be a huge problem for the offense. Also, the interception in the end zone and two missed field goals by Emmit Carpenter, who went 22-for-24 last year, showed just how thin the Gophers’ margin for error is on offense.

4. What are some of the biggest changes P.J. Fleck has brought to Minnesota after the Jerry Kill-Tracy Claeys eras?
Going from the Kill/Claeys regime is a 180-degree turn. Fleck is all energy, and he is rebuilding the program from the ground up with his system. It might not fit the talent the team has this year, but his emphasis on recruiting should pay off down the road. The Gophers are running a no-huddle spread offense this year, which is a big change from the pistol formation they had under Claeys. There will be growing pains, as we saw in the tight opener against Buffalo.

http://www.oregonlive.com/beavers/index.ssf/2017/09/beat_writer_qa_minnesota_golde.html

Go Gophers!!
 

Carpenter was not setup to succeed in that game so I'm not that worried about the missed FGs. Rhoda's was a bad read which happens to everyone. The o-line and bland play calling were the real problems that Fleck needs to address before Saturday.
 

How different would these conversations be had the Gophers converted both FGs and the INT was a TD? 30-7 and a dominant 2nd half defense would change things.

not saying that is a fair way to assess this, but just thinking about those errors.
 

UpAndUnder43 said:
How different would these conversations be had the Gophers converted both FGs and the INT was a TD? 30-7 and a dominant 2nd half defense would change things.

not saying that is a fair way to assess this, but just thinking about those errors.
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True, but every football game has missed opportunities and mistakes. Buffalo failed to convert 2 field goal attempts as well + threw an ill-advised interception. The game was what it was and was a reflection of the play of the two teams - both good and bad. None of this changes the fact that we couldn't run the ball. This team really reminds me of Kill's team in year 2.
 

GopherHomer said:
True, but every football game has missed opportunities and mistakes. Buffalo failed to convert 2 field goal attempts as well + threw an ill-advised interception. The game was what it was and was a reflection of the play of the two teams - both good and bad. None of this changes the fact that we couldn't run the ball. This team really reminds me of Kill's team in year 2.
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I wouldn't say this team reminds me of anyone after 1 game. I like to think Carpenter is still a good kicker. Our QB situation is still an issue (and has been for a decade).

If the Gophers can't run the ball effectively, this year might really suck
 


UpAndUnder43 said:
I wouldn't say this team reminds me of anyone after 1 game. I like to think Carpenter is still a good kicker. Our QB situation is still an issue (and has been for a decade).

If the Gophers can't run the ball effectively, this year might really suck
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Gophs rushing in game last week slightly under last year's game average, with four kneel-downs to end the game. Passed for 66 yards more than last year's game average, a 38% increase. Completely lopsided TOP, 6 minutes more than last year's game average.
 

PMWinSTP said:
Gophs rushing in game last week slightly under last year's game average, with four kneel-downs to end the game. Passed for 66 yards more than last year's game average, a 38% increase. Completely lopsided TOP, 6 minutes more than last year's game average.
Click to expand...

But none of this matters because we play in the B1G and Buffalo is a MAC bottom feeder.
 

hello-world said:
But none of this mattersto me because we play in the B1G and Buffalo is a MAC bottom feeder.
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FIFY. Shows that even with a very conservative game plan on offense, Gophs still controlled the game. That certainly mattered to me.
 

UpAndUnder43 said:
How different would these conversations be had the Gophers converted both FGs and the INT was a TD? 30-7 and a dominant 2nd half defense would change things.

not saying that is a fair way to assess this, but just thinking about those errors.
Click to expand...

Probably as different had they not and just sort of eked by... compared to 30 to 7.
 



hello-world said:
Carpenter was not setup to succeed in that game so I'm not that worried about the missed FGs. Rhoda's was a bad read which happens to everyone. The o-line and bland play calling were the real problems that Fleck needs to address before Saturday.
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What does this even mean?
 

Urbandale said:
What does this even mean?
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It means his first kick of the season was a 50 yarder and then he had to kick straight into the Blair Walsh side from 35 after that.
It's not like he was getting setup for chip shots.
 

hello-world said:
It means his first kick of the season was a 50 yarder and then he had to kick straight into the Blair Walsh side from 35 after that.
It's not like he was getting setup for chip shots.
Click to expand...

So we should only ask kickers to attempt field goals from 34 yards or closer, especially if they're going toward a jinxed end of the field? This is getting more odd all the time. You're just having a little fun here, right?
 

Urbandale said:
What does this even mean?
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I think he means that instead of kicking a longer FG, we could have punted or attempted to convert. But Fleck himself has stated "the circumstances will not dictate our behavior"...
 



hello-world said:
It means his first kick of the season was a 50 yarder and then he had to kick straight into the Blair Walsh side from 35 after that.
It's not like he was getting setup for chip shots.
Click to expand...

Most coaches don't even think about trying to "set up" their kicker unless it is a last second field goal and the kicker prefers a particular angle. It's up to the kicker to deal with whatever situation he is dealt the other 95% of the time. And "the Blair Walsh side"? What does that have to do with anything? It's 35 yards.
 

I pretty much disagree with everything Oregon Live stated about Fleck. If he goes 180 degrees opposite of Kill and Claeys then we have another Brewster on our hands.
Last weeks outing indicates that Fleck is just choosing a different path up the same mountain Kill and Claeys were climbing. Our vanilla offense was reminiscent of Limegrover and our defense was very basic. I expect we'll see a much different team on Saturday night. I think we will dominate this game on both sides of the ball and win handily.
 

Oh for the love of pete this isn't even controversial.
Asking a college kicker to nail a 50-yarder for his first kick of the year ends well almost never.
And it's not a cursed side of the field, the air was pretty stale on Thursday, but he was still kicking into the wind.
We don't have an issue with field goal kicking based on that game alone.
Jeebus.

Also yes coaches try to set their kickers up for success, always.
Fleck could have run a play on 4th and 4 from the 40.
That was Emmit's 3rd _ever_ attempt from 50+.
It's not like he can be expected to nail those every time.
And I don't think Fleck made a bad call there, I'm just saying that missing a FG like that is not the end of the world.

Emmit has hit 23/27 field goals for the Gophers.
Only 6 (!) of those have been inside 30 yards.

Missing a 50 and 37 yarder in the same game is not the end of the world.

Do y'all even watch the damn games?
 

hello-world said:
Oh for the love of pete this isn't even controversial.
Asking a college kicker to nail a 50-yarder for his first kick of the year ends well almost never.
And it's not a cursed side of the field, the air was pretty stale on Thursday, but he was still kicking into the wind.
We don't have an issue with field goal kicking based on that game alone.
Jeebus.

Also yes coaches try to set their kickers up for success, always.
Fleck could have run a play on 4th and 4 from the 40.
That was Emmit's 3rd _ever_ attempt from 50+.
It's not like he can be expected to nail those every time.
And I don't think Fleck made a bad call there, I'm just saying that missing a FG like that is not the end of the world.

Do y'all even watch the damn games?
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Do you watch the games? You said Smith didn't know what to do with outside linebackers in his system but Cashman and Coughlin both played significant minutes Thursday. Keep trolling
 

Johnnyboy18 said:
Do you watch the games? You said Smith didn't know what to do with outside linebackers in his system but Cashman and Coughlin both played significant minutes Thursday. Keep trolling
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No he was watching Arkansas
 

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