P.J. Fleck names Conor Rhoda starting quarterback

Watching the first two games, I'm pretty sure this offense calls for a mobile QB as well. Croft is in his third season and I think Fleck wants a running QB threat as well, but he is adapting to what is best for the team.

Croft is a running QB when he want's to be he has some of the fastest wheels on the team. He just has to stop being so damn nervous out there and afraid of making mistakes. Once he can put all of the past mistakes out of his memory and not worry about mistakes Croft will be OK as a QB. He just has to much pitter patter feet, and nervousness, an over active necessity to rush thing and be in a hurry. Croft has plenty of talent, he just has to calm down and realize mistakes happen to all QB's, those that can forget and minimize them are the one's that move on and get better. This is not a shot at Rhoda in any way, he just doesn't have the fast wheels for read option. They will play to his strengths which is passing, Kid can throw and be accurate. Rhoda, he can play the game of football, Rhoda has proved that for this year he is the one that should lead and play QB.
 

Would be nice if the team could get some large leads and play Croft even in mop up duty for game experience. That is one thing that never happened under Leidner(Not his fault, no blame laid). Getting the other Quarter back's games experience can really help with their confidence and ability to focus and take mental repititions.
If they do not feel it necessary then so be it, but I would like Croft or even Green get some late game snaps just so they get the feel of the shot gun snaps, and read option aspect of this current offense.
Those late game repetitions can become invaluable in building up a QB's confidence to take over in future seasons.

I agree. Getting the 2nd & 3rd string QBs in when opportunities arise like blowouts will be beneficial to the future. Not just the QBs, play backup guys in all positions.
 

Watching the first two games, I'm pretty sure this offense calls for a mobile QB as well. Croft is in his third season and I think Fleck wants a running QB threat as well, but he is adapting to what is best for the team.

Not necessarily disagreeing with the adapting part as I think most HCs have to do so. Terrell averaged under six carries and 15 net yards/game over his last two years as QB at WMU.
 

Agree. Headline could be: Rhoda names Conor Rhoda starting quarterback. Seemed obvious as game progressed Saturday that keeping Rhoda in was best for team. Personally, would rather have the younger QB (Croft) take control of the team moving forward...
 

Im not going to lie i was probably the biggest backer of wanting croft to be the starting qb, but after watching Rhoda I'm ok with it. For what he has been asked to do in the first two games he has came through. Jury is still out as to how he would respond if he was asked to throw a lot in a game, but for time time being he has earned it. Regardless i just want to see the wins keep stacking up whether its with rhoda or croft!

I think this is much more a reflection on Croft just not being good enough. Rhoda has played fine to this point and will be a good game manager as long as he is not asked to do too much. To me Croft was a long shot from the day he signed with the U, and the fact that he can't beat out Rhoda pretty much confirms that he isn't ready yet and very well may never be.
 


Correct decision

Agree. Headline could be: Rhoda names Conor Rhoda starting quarterback. Seemed obvious as game progressed Saturday that keeping Rhoda in was best for team. Personally, would rather have the younger QB (Croft) take control of the team moving forward...

Rhoda's main shortcoming was that he never ran in game one; easily correctable (see game 2). Croft's shortcomings are reading a defense and accuracy (not a quick/easy fix) (see 4 years of Mitch). Croft has upside, but I would rather have the accurate thrower/competent running QB to the very good runner/inaccurate throwing QB, especially with the RBs we have in the backfield.
 

Agree. Headline could be: Rhoda names Conor Rhoda starting quarterback. Seemed obvious as game progressed Saturday that keeping Rhoda in was best for team. Personally, would rather have the younger QB (Croft) take control of the team moving forward...

I wouldn't be shocked if Croft isn't the starter next year. Could be Morgan or Armstrong.
 

Croft is a running QB when he want's to be he has some of the fastest wheels on the team. He just has to stop being so damn nervous out there and afraid of making mistakes. Once he can put all of the past mistakes out of his memory and not worry about mistakes Croft will be OK as a QB. He just has to much pitter patter feet, and nervousness, an over active necessity to rush thing and be in a hurry. Croft has plenty of talent, he just has to calm down and realize mistakes happen to all QB's, those that can forget and minimize them are the one's that move on and get better. This is not a shot at Rhoda in any way, he just doesn't have the fast wheels for read option. They will play to his strengths which is passing, Kid can throw and be accurate. Rhoda, he can play the game of football, Rhoda has proved that for this year he is the one that should lead and play QB.

I agree, he's not a calm leader right now. Fleck did not commit to Rhoda taking every snap, he just named him starter and that he will be main QB. I think Croft might be better off seeing time in games at home in certain situations. Rhoda is now 2-0 in road games.
 

Package of 4-6 plays for Croft as a change of pace...

As long as its not as obvious as to what the plays will be like it was every time Gray came in for his 4-6 plays per game as a change of pace at the end of his career.

Go Gophers!!
 



As long as its not as obvious as to what the plays will be like it was every time Gray came in for his 4-6 plays per game as a change of pace at the end of his career.

Go Gophers!!

And as long as we don't do the play where Gray faked the handoff and then ran into the same hole that the RB ran into .... because we want to attract the defenders to that spot for some reason....
 

I'm guessing, now that Rhoda is the starter, we'll see an adjustment in the offence overall. We'll probably see less RPO, since everyone knows he's NO threat to pull it and run on the run/pass options. I didn't see any snaps from under center against Buffalo. But I saw way more tight end heavy, under center formations against Oregon State. This seems like a coaching staff that will adjust their offence to their players somewhat.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
 

I do think that after Rhoda's early performance, Croft felt extra pressure to make something happen and that contributed to the fumble AND contributed to his decision to try to save the play instead of falling on the ball. However, handling that pressure is part of the job. Out of respect for Demry's effort and to keep him engaged as a backup and potential starter in the future, coach waited until today to announce the obvious.

For this team to be successful with Rhoda we need the QB to gain 4-5 yards 3 to 5 times a game on a keeper to keep the defense honest and slide without getting nailed 80% of the time. For Demry to be successful with this team, he needs 5-8 yards per carry 10-12 times a game and to get that he will get tackled 80% of the time and we will have a dinged up QB starting most games.

I don't think this could have worked out any better for this year. Rhoda starts and if we get a lead and we turn off the passing game in the second half you can toss in Demry on several series without worrying about issues like timing with the WR's. For next year's sake it would have been nice to see Croft step up instead, but each year is brand new, I'm pretty happy with how this one looks right now.
 

I think this is much more a reflection on Croft just not being good enough. Rhoda has played fine to this point and will be a good game manager as long as he is not asked to do too much. To me Croft was a long shot from the day he signed with the U, and the fact that he can't beat out Rhoda pretty much confirms that he isn't ready yet and very well may never be.

Nope. Your next sentence, the part that is underlined, seems more fitting to me.
 



Nope. Your next sentence, the part that is underlined, seems more fitting to me.

Yeah, this seems more likely. It was clear Fleck was leaning Rhoda and he hadn't done enough to lose that advantage so this isn't surprising. Buying into the program and extroversion are really important to Fleck. I couldn't believe it when he said Richardson was nearly off the team because he isn't an extrovert and they didnt get along at first - what?(last week's presser-correct if I misheard).

Count me as pleasantly surprised he's looked as poised as he has. At this point we all have to rally behind him because if he struggles enough to justify replacement mid-season that's probably going to mean some losses. Let the defense and special teams win the games, and don't do anything stupid.

Good luck, we're all counting on you.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KSQyW_l8OgE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 

I am curious to if Seth Green is going to push Croft as a backup. We have Tanner Morgan and Brennan Armstrong in the line of sight.

Maybe, he is a candidate for a switch to other positions. Otherwise, maybe he transfers out if he wants to play quarterback.
 

After game 1, I was firmly in the Croft camp but I am okay with this decision. Rhoda has shown to be a much better passer than I thought he could be. The proclamation by Fleck is pretty meaningless and could change at any time. If Rhoda hangs onto the starting job for the entire season, it will probably mean some pretty good results for our Gophers so I hope he does. If he struggles, though, there is nothing stopping the staff from giving Croft another shot.
 

I'm guessing, now that Rhoda is the starter, we'll see an adjustment in the offence overall. We'll probably see less RPO, since everyone knows he's NO threat to pull it and run on the run/pass options. I didn't see any snaps from under center against Buffalo. But I saw way more tight end heavy, under center formations against Oregon State. This seems like a coaching staff that will adjust their offence to their players somewhat.

That's not what a RPO is. In RPO, you read a defender and decide whether to hand it off or throw it.
 


I do think that after Rhoda's early performance, Croft felt extra pressure to make something happen and that contributed to the fumble AND contributed to his decision to try to save the play instead of falling on the ball. However, handling that pressure is part of the job. Out of respect for Demry's effort and to keep him engaged as a backup and potential starter in the future, coach waited until today to announce the obvious.

For this team to be successful with Rhoda we need the QB to gain 4-5 yards 3 to 5 times a game on a keeper to keep the defense honest and slide without getting nailed 80% of the time. For Demry to be successful with this team, he needs 5-8 yards per carry 10-12 times a game and to get that he will get tackled 80% of the time and we will have a dinged up QB starting most games.

Well put.

I will say, in regards to the bolded, that's pretty much PRECISELY what Rhoda did Saturday;

- 3rd and 3; gained 6 yards and a first down
- 1st and 10; gained 5 yards
- 3rd and 6; gained 6 yards and a first down
- 2nd and 10; gained 6 yards

Dude definitely needs to be more aware of down and distance though; he'll learn that with time I think. A few times he could have hit the turf it seemed when he had made the line to gain for the 1st and avoided a hit but he didn't. I think that will come with more time

Like most, I wanted Croft to take control of the position back in August but it didn't happen. Rhoda is unquestionably the QB at this point moving forward and I expect his play to improve quite a bit as he gains more of the reps in practice and gets more comfortable in the games.
 

That's not what a RPO is. In RPO, you read a defender and decide whether to hand it off or throw it.

Rhoda looks mobile enough to do the read option part of the RPO system; the question is will he, or do the coaches want him running around. Seems like they are giving them the green light to run at least a good chunk of the time.
 

I think this is much more a reflection on Croft just not being good enough YET. Rhoda has played fine to this point and will be a good game manager as long as he is not asked to do too much. To me Croft was a long shot from the day he signed with the U, and the fact that he can't beat out Rhoda pretty much confirms that he isn't ready yet and very well may never be.

FIFY
 

Rhoda's main shortcoming was that he never ran in game one; easily correctable (see game 2). Croft's shortcomings are reading a defense and accuracy (not a quick/easy fix) (see 4 years of Mitch). Croft has upside, but I would rather have the accurate thrower/competent running QB to the very good runner/inaccurate throwing QB, especially with the RBs we have in the backfield.

We didn't see enough of Croft in a throwing capacity in a game to determine if he can read a defense and have good accuracy with his throws. In game 1 both of them had one bad overthrow. In game 2 Croft didn't even have an official attempt as the one pass he threw, OSU was called for pass interference. Rhoda took control of the offense at the start of the OSU game and won the position with his strong play and great improvement from the first game. Croft will be a very good back up and will be able to step in if needed. If he doesn't play anymore this year, because Rhoda is ML 2 as far as durableness is concerned, I believe Croft will be the one to start at the beginning of 2018. Armstrong and Morgan can develp longer in the system and then we can get to a point where we are playing a JR/SR at QB every year who has plenty of time in the system to learn all the intricacies of it.
 

I am curious to if Seth Green is going to push Croft as a backup. We have Tanner Morgan and Brennan Armstrong in the line of sight.

Maybe, he is a candidate for a switch to other positions. Otherwise, maybe he transfers out if he wants to play quarterback.

I hope not. Croft will be the only QB on the roster next year with any game experience. Just because he didn't win the starting job this year is no reason to write him off. He's only a RS Soph.
 

That's not what a RPO is. In RPO, you read a defender and decide whether to hand it off or throw it.

According to PJ the decision to run the read option or a PA pass is made by the coaches on the sideline before the ball is snapped (when they all are staring at the sideline before the snap, I would suspect). Maybe what you said is what RPO is, but I don't believe that is what the Gophers have been doing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

According to PJ the decision to run the read option or a PA pass is made by the coaches on the sideline before the ball is snapped (when they all are staring at the sideline before the snap, I would suspect). Maybe what you said is what RPO is, but I don't believe that is what the Gophers have been doing.

Something is being lost in the communication here. I know they look to the sidelines, and something is decided based on the defense. That's the read part of the zone read. I don't believe Rhoda has an option to run it himself on most of the plays, that's why I wouldn't call it a read-option offense. It's the same thing we saw the last four years from WMU. It's a handoff or a PA pass. Run or pass option. That's what the RPO (run-pass option) offense is and that's what they've been running.
 

Something is being lost in the communication here. I know they look to the sidelines, and something is decided based on the defense. That's the read part of the zone read. I don't believe Rhoda has an option to run it himself on most of the plays, that's why I wouldn't call it a read-option offense. It's the same thing we saw the last four years from WMU. It's a handoff or a PA pass. Run or pass option. That's what the RPO (run-pass option) offense is and that's what they've been running.

That is true, but I believe it is more than that as the QB is reading a certain defender based on what type of play is being called on those read option plays, when the coaches are calling for a read/pass option, then the QB is reading an outside defender probably a OLB or Safety and if they commit to the run, then QB pulls and makes a throw. In a run option play, the QB is reading a DL or maybe a LB and if they commit to the RB, then the QB pulls it and runs it himself.
 

That is true, but I believe it is more than that as the QB is reading a certain defender based on what type of play is being called on those read option plays, when the coaches are calling for a read/pass option, then the QB is reading an outside defender probably a OLB or Safety and if they commit to the run, then QB pulls and makes a throw. In a run option play, the QB is reading a DL or maybe a LB and if they commit to the RB, then the QB pulls it and runs it himself.
Couldn't you get burned with linemen blocking downfield on a pass play in this type of scenario?

Sent from my Commodore 64 using Tapatalk
 

Rhoda looks mobile enough to do the read option part of the RPO system; the question is will he, or do the coaches want him running around. Seems like they are giving them the green light to run at least a good chunk of the time.

I agree. He looked adequate as a runner, good enough to take yards when they are there. I was actually pleasantly surprised. I don't think they'll ask him to run too extensively though. People are concerned about the ability of the quarterback to run to keep the defense honest in this offense. It might be that having a quarterback that can hit receivers effectively on the fly could help our run game as well, something Rhoda has shown the ability to do well (albeit in a small sample size).
 

Something is being lost in the communication here. I know they look to the sidelines, and something is decided based on the defense. That's the read part of the zone read. I don't believe Rhoda has an option to run it himself on most of the plays, that's why I wouldn't call it a read-option offense. It's the same thing we saw the last four years from WMU. It's a handoff or a PA pass. Run or pass option. That's what the RPO (run-pass option) offense is and that's what they've been running.

I'm no expert, but it certainly appears to me that the QB has an option to hand off or run himself based on what the DE does on a number of plays. Read-Option. That is what we have seen Demry do a lot and Rhoda once last game, IIRC. What I have seen no evidence of is a play where after the snap the QB decides on run or pass. That is what the coaches are deciding pre snap - per PJ.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 





Top Bottom