Strangely quiet...

BilldGopher

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...Probably a good thing after a win.

Great game today. Need the bye though. Perfect timing.
 

I think it's quiet because the game was handled in business like fashion.

Defense dominated the game. Running game kept us in control.

After the Pick 6, the game never felt in doubt. Having seen how PJ coached the 2nd halves of his first two games, anyone could guess the rest of the game would be all about running the ball, playing tough defense, and killing the clock.

MTSU never really had a breath in the 2nd half.
 

...Probably a good thing after a win.

Great game today. Need the bye though. Perfect timing.

I mean, I think the issues are apparent, the achievements are apparent, and everyone is going to agree that we don't really know what to expect from here on out.
Not a whole lot to be said.
 

We've all read this book before metaphorically speaking. We get through the nc unblemished, Start strong in the first few BT games, then struggle to get 1 or 2 wins in the last 5 or 6. If we can win 4 games down the stretch, I'll be doing cartwheels for days.
 



I think it's quiet because today's game lost most of its excitement when MTSU wasn't able to play their QB and then their WR got hurt. Made for a fairly boring game and we didn't really learn any more about the team.


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I think it's quiet because today's game lost most of its excitement when MTSU wasn't able to play their QB and then their WR got hurt. Made for a fairly boring game and we didn't really learn any more about the team.


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I was hope their QB would play. Felt it would have been a great learning experience for our guys.
 

...Probably a good thing after a win.

Great game today. Need the bye though. Perfect timing.

Not really. Go back and look, unless the trolls, whiners and haters have something to complain about the board is oddly kind of quiet after a victory. Unless they can try and downgrade that victory.

Boy, but after a loss, just watch them go.

Sleep well tonight Bild. It was a pretty fine day.
 

Yes, the PJ haters don't have much to complain about.


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I mean, I think the issues are apparent, the achievements are apparent, and everyone is going to agree that we don't really know what to expect from here on out.
Not a whole lot to be said.

Did you find it weird that Devers played today?
 


No kidding. And the "they left him no talent" guys are pretty quite too.



I think the people who like PJ but weren't expecting much aren't having to go into defensive mode about "lack of experience, not PJ's fault, etc", and it's too early to sell him anymore than he's already been sold because the PJ fans have a low win expectation for this year.


I think the people who hate PJ, and loved Claeys aren't able to revel in PJ's failures yet, and there's nothing there yet for them to say they are only winning because of Claeys. The Claeys lovers were the one's saying it's a disappointment if PJ doesn't win 6,7,8,9,10 or 11, and with PJ 3-0, it's too early to call PJ out on him not meeting their expectations.

So both sides are quiet.

It's an interesting paradox.
 




No real controversy to be had (nice).

Two weeks until we start knowing anything....
 

All I know is that the BiG looks tough! Maryland looks legit and wow does Purdue look good (I actually had him as the best hire and PJF 2nd but that's just my opinion)!

It is going to be tougher than expected to get the W's I thought would be there for the pickin'!
 

It's not like there are factions of Gopher fans. I'm a PJ skeptic, but we're all in the same boat.
I'm happy with the second half of the Oregon State game, and all of today's game (even if we got a bit behind in the field position battle early).
The first drive today was the best I've seen our line play all season.

Regarding Devers, my point was that Fleck wasn't going to suspend a player for attitude problems unless that player was not useful to the team.
However, Fleck seems to be suspending everyone so clearly I was wrong about that.

My point about our defense having an over-abundance of outside linebackers that doesn't mesh well with Rob Smith's defense is as valid as it was a week ago.
It will be valid all season, and it is readily apparent to anyone that's paying even a small amount of attention.

I'll even go so far to say that I've been very impressed by PJ so far. He adjusts well, addresses issues as soon as they happen, and seems to be using progressively more complex game-plans.

I don't know what our ceiling is for this season, but I'm fairly certain that I've already seen our floor. As long as we don't revert to how we played against Buffalo, I will be more-or-less chill for the rest of the year.
 

The natives are resting and sharpening their machetes for the real season.
 



Echo what others have said. Even with the new schemes, coaches, culture, etc. it seems like the identity of this team will be similar to years past. Pound the rock, control the clock, and play tough D. We did that today. Where it will get interesting is when we can't run it and have to pass, or if we see progress in the run game playing in the B1G as compared to last year.


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I think Fleck wants to pass more but he's smart enough to realize what he has and work to the existing offense's strengths.

This isn't Brewster where we move to a full spread offense game 1 and go on to a 1-11 season.
 

The question is this: are they going with a run-heavy offense because of tactical reasons - OR are they going with a run-heavy offense because they think that's all the QB's can handle?

I was hoping to learn a little more about Fleck's offensive tendencies during the non-conference games.

The unanswered question - what is this offense capable of? is this the way the offense is going to look all year, or is there more to come? If the team falls behind, can they win a game with the pass as the primary offensive weapon, instead of the running game? Can Rhoda be the man if he has to throw the ball 25-30 times a game, as opposed to 10 times a game?

Look - I'm not predicting doom and gloom. I'm genuinely curious.

The Croft situation makes the outlook more muddy. If Rhoda cannot get it done as QB, then what?

I think the Maryland game is going to be very interesting. hopefully we get some more answers.
 

The question is this: are they going with a run-heavy offense because of tactical reasons - OR are they going with a run-heavy offense because they think that's all the QB's can handle?

I would guess both. We got away with it in the NC games - just as we did in recent years. Our offense is also limited by QB abilities - just as it has been in recent years. The more things change, the more they stay the same.


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I think first half of game one, PJ wanted to be heavier on the passing.
Then after the int, he wanted to just win the game.
Then came a long run of runs.

The against OSU, he wanted to establish the run.
Run got established with a little play action and that worked.
Suddenly the idea of being heavier on pass didn't seem to be needed and with the defense playing well, to win they don't need to pass much.

Now it's more of an "okay, we'll run first and use play action to keep the defense honest". That's who we are. Minimize mistakes and see how many games our defense can win.

I'd expect in most games we'll try to use play action to break a few bigger gainers, but largely go run to avoid mistakes to get us through this year until whoever is QB next year.


If Croft had won the job and stayed active, I'm guessing PJ would be trying to implement more of his passing offense, but with Rhoda we're just going to do enough to win.
 

I think first half of game one, PJ wanted to be heavier on the passing.
Then after the int, he wanted to just win the game.
Then came a long run of runs.

The against OSU, he wanted to establish the run.
Run got established with a little play action and that worked.
Suddenly the idea of being heavier on pass didn't seem to be needed and with the defense playing well, to win they don't need to pass much.

Now it's more of an "okay, we'll run first and use play action to keep the defense honest". That's who we are. Minimize mistakes and see how many games our defense can win.

I'd expect in most games we'll try to use play action to break a few bigger gainers, but largely go run to avoid mistakes to get us through this year until whoever is QB next year.


If Croft had won the job and stayed active, I'm guessing PJ would be trying to implement more of his passing offense, but with Rhoda we're just going to do enough to win.

Huh?
 


I think that if Croft was the QB, PJ would be taking a longer term vision of the spread offense with Croft running it.

This goes back to the comment from Doogie that PJ was giving Croft two offenses. One for this year early in the season and one more PJ's style for late in the year and next year.
 

The question is this: are they going with a run-heavy offense because of tactical reasons - OR are they going with a run-heavy offense because they think that's all the QB's can handle?

Fleck's offenses have been built around running the ball the last three years.

2016: 45 runs per game, 27 passes per game
2015: 40 runs, 31 passes
2014: 38 runs, 28 passes

I think most people mistake the high-octane attack they had and see they had a Top 5 draft pick at WR, and assume they were just throwing the ball all over the place.

Will Fleck's offense be similar to Claeys'/Kill's? The fact that they both revolve around running the ball, sure. But that's really where it ends for me, because I see a much more efficient passing game coming. The raw yards may be the same, but once we get a more dynamic QB that will shoot up.

2017: 173.0 passing yards per game on 19 attempts
2016: 173.6 yards on 25 attempts
2015: 214.8 yards on 33 attempts
2014: 141.8 yards on 19 attempts
2013: 148.1 yards on 20 attempts
2012: 169.5 yards on 25 attempts
2011: 150.3 yards on 23 attempts
 

I think that if Croft was the QB, PJ would be taking a longer term vision of the spread offense with Croft running it.

This goes back to the comment from Doogie that PJ was giving Croft two offenses. One for this year early in the season and one more PJ's style for late in the year and next year.

They are/were pretty even as passers, so not sure what that bolded comment was referring to? Croft is definitely a better runner.
 

Fleck's offenses have been built around running the ball the last three years.

2016: 45 runs per game, 27 passes per game
2015: 40 runs, 31 passes
2014: 38 runs, 28 passes

I think most people mistake the high-octane attack they had and see they had a Top 5 draft pick at WR, and assume they were just throwing the ball all over the place.

Will Fleck's offense be similar to Claeys'/Kill's? The fact that they both revolve around running the ball, sure. But that's really where it ends for me, because I see a much more efficient passing game coming. The raw yards may be the same, but once we get a more dynamic QB that will shoot up.

2017: 173.0 passing yards per game on 19 attempts
2016: 173.6 yards on 25 attempts
2015: 214.8 yards on 33 attempts
2014: 141.8 yards on 19 attempts
2013: 148.1 yards on 20 attempts
2012: 169.5 yards on 25 attempts
2011: 150.3 yards on 23 attempts

To some extent, it's already somewhat started. If Rhoda can continue to be a solid game manager (limit T/Os) and throw at a 60%+ completion rate, which I think is very possible, Fleck should be fine opening up the playbook, albeit with a more dominant focus on the run.
 

For instance last year, WMU had 2 games where they only threw the ball 13 times in each game. As much as he says he doesn't look at the final score or result, he gets that lead and if he can run on you, think that is what is going to happen.
 




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