Post Game Thoughts

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gopherdudepart2 said:
This game was really boring to watch in the second half. I never liked how the defensive alignment was the whole game.thought should have ditched 5 man front offset to much. Two backside linebackers to tight to the line of scrimmage to react to the counter, or cutbacks. Defensive tackles getting caught up in the wash slanting in to each other. Attacking the ball carrier wit flat feet and not squared up shoulders or doving,and strong safety and linebackers running out of there gaps. Been a long time since I saw a Gopher defense give up this many explosive plays. I thought the alignment from the first snap was a bad front to show against the power I look. This was geometry they hit the GOphers hard in spots where there were not enough people to support even 1 mistake. Offensive play calling to not adjust from all those late developing routes, and all of that downfield stuff. Seemed like receivers were in the same area far to much. Offensive play calling allowed Michigan to make 13 tackles for loss. That is fairly absurd number. MICHIGAN coaches had a much better game plan, it wasnt just talent, alrhough it was clear thwy gad the better pkayers up front.
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Five man front was a disaster and we did it all night, plus CBs committing early and safeties out of place or too slow. Also, Croft should be a dink & dunk passer.
 

I am surprised at the venom about this loss from some of the posters on this board who have been around a long time. This program has been a NON-FACTOR for my entire life and expecting that to change in year one under PJ Fleck is unfair. Michigan is currently 4-2 in conference play and I think we'd all agree that they are a good bet to finish the season with a winning conference record? Right? Right. Starting with the year 2000, the Gophers have exactly SEVEN wins over teams that finished the season above .500 in conference play.

Mason (3): Ohio State, Northwestern, Michigan
Brewster (1): Northwestern
Kill (2): Nebraska, Nebraska
Claeys(1): Northwestern

None of those teams finished better than 5-3 in conference play, none of those teams finished in the top 3 in the conference. It is truly amazing how consistent Gopher football is: If a team is really good, Minnesota ALWAYS loses, If a team is slightly above average in conference play, Minnesota almost ALWAYS loses.

I gave the Gophers no chance in this game, but I gave Iowa no chance against Ohio State and look what happened there. I guess my biggest criticism of the staff in this game is that knowing we were out-manned, they should have been more aggressive in certain spots. Example: 3rd and 2 at Michigan 47 to start the game...Give your OC 2 plays to make a first down instead of punting on 4th down. Another Example: Down 20-7 in the 2nd Quarter and facing 3rd and 18 you run the ball with Phillip Howard...Take a shot down the field and hope for a catch or a PI. If you were going to win the game, you were going to have to take some low % plays and make them work. Instead, I felt like the staff coached to try to keep the game respectable and not lose by 50.

Two other things Offensively I didn't like:

1. The continued use of the Wildcat with Rodney Smith: This didn't work, they weren't fooled...run almost anything else
2. The overuse of Rodney Smith on jet action: I believe it was in the 3rd Q where we had a series where Rodney ran jet action at full speed on like 3 straight plays. On one of those plays, he actually ran full speed from one slot to the other...then Demry motioned him back the other way full speed. I don't understand gassing the guy out like that as I believe he was actually handed the ball on 1 or 2 of those plays as well.

Someone else really nailed their post on the Gophers deficiencies talent wise:

The biggest issue overall on offense (and has been the biggest issue overall for over a decade) is that the line is not physical enough to move anyone which would allow sustained success between the tackles. We've tried to be a heavy run team for years now, and still haven't figured out a way to run the ball between the tackles against conference opposition. The RB's are solid, but they aren't special. When you point to your solid RB's as the best part of your offense, you are in trouble. The WR corp still has no one to threaten a defense vertically and make plays outside the hashes and it's certainly up to debate if we have had a QB who could actually complete a vertical pass. If you can't threaten a defense vertically, how do you soften the box to allow for a weaker Oline to hopefully generate some push? You can't...one of these issues has to be fixed.

The biggest issue overall on defense is that we are neither stout enough against the run or explosive enough against the pass in our front 4. Again this has been an issue more often than not for Minnesota. We can't get a consistent pass rush by rushing just four, which suggests that we have big, physical guys playing DL that should be a force against the run...but that's not the case. We usually have a relatively undersized front 4 that is simply not very good. The secondary is banged up and much like the WR position lacks long speed. The Michigan backs ran away from our DB's, Shannon Brooks gets caught from behind by Purdue DB's, Tyler Johnson by Iowa DB's, and Eric Carter couldn't out run a Purdue LB. Have to find a way to add speed on both sides of the ball.
 

Breakin' The Plane said:
Who's we?
Page 33 of the MN/MD thread, you said, "Keep in mind, this is a good Maryland team". What makes them good? Please elabrate and educate me.
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The majority of their players are bigger, faster, stronger than ours. They are more skilled at their positions i.e. pass, catch, tackle, block, etc.
They have an amazing amount of HS football talent within an hour of their campus. They will become a good team with the current staff if they can continue to recruit their local kids.
It’s difficult to watch an under-manned team get beat regularly. Our coach has a plan. . . . I think it’s a good one. Let’s support him and the boys.


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Michigan out-played the Gopher after they got their only TD.

They were able to quickly make the adjustments and taking advantage of the Gophers' weaknesses.

The Gophers were unable to re-adjust in this rain/lightning-delayed weather forsaken night game.

Michigan is simply far more speedy and talented.

It is like everything including the weather was going against the Gophers.

Game preparations is not the main problem. It is a combination of several factors.

The Gophers as a team, the players, and the coaches will all learned from this.
 

EG#9 said:
I am surprised at the venom about this loss from some of the posters on this board who have been around a long time. This program has been a NON-FACTOR for my entire life and expecting that to change in year one under PJ Fleck is unfair. Michigan is currently 4-2 in conference play and I think we'd all agree that they are a good bet to finish the season with a winning conference record? Right? Right. Starting with the year 2000, the Gophers have exactly SEVEN wins over teams that finished the season above .500 in conference play.

Mason (3): Ohio State, Northwestern, Michigan
Brewster (1): Northwestern
Kill (2): Nebraska, Nebraska
Claeys(1): Northwestern

None of those teams finished better than 5-3 in conference play, none of those teams finished in the top 3 in the conference. It is truly amazing how consistent Gopher football is: If a team is really good, Minnesota ALWAYS loses, If a team is slightly above average in conference play, Minnesota almost ALWAYS loses.

I gave the Gophers no chance in this game, but I gave Iowa no chance against Ohio State and look what happened there. I guess my biggest criticism of the staff in this game is that knowing we were out-manned, they should have been more aggressive in certain spots. Example: 3rd and 2 at Michigan 47 to start the game...Give your OC 2 plays to make a first down instead of punting on 4th down. Another Example: Down 20-7 in the 2nd Quarter and facing 3rd and 18 you run the ball with Phillip Howard...Take a shot down the field and hope for a catch or a PI. If you were going to win the game, you were going to have to take some low % plays and make them work. Instead, I felt like the staff coached to try to keep the game respectable and not lose by 50.

Two other things Offensively I didn't like:

1. The continued use of the Wildcat with Rodney Smith: This didn't work, they weren't fooled...run almost anything else
2. The overuse of Rodney Smith on jet action: I believe it was in the 3rd Q where we had a series where Rodney ran jet action at full speed on like 3 straight plays. On one of those plays, he actually ran full speed from one slot to the other...then Demry motioned him back the other way full speed. I don't understand gassing the guy out like that as I believe he was actually handed the ball on 1 or 2 of those plays as well.

Someone else really nailed their post on the Gophers deficiencies talent wise:

The biggest issue overall on offense (and has been the biggest issue overall for over a decade) is that the line is not physical enough to move anyone which would allow sustained success between the tackles. We've tried to be a heavy run team for years now, and still haven't figured out a way to run the ball between the tackles against conference opposition. The RB's are solid, but they aren't special. When you point to your solid RB's as the best part of your offense, you are in trouble. The WR corp still has no one to threaten a defense vertically and make plays outside the hashes and it's certainly up to debate if we have had a QB who could actually complete a vertical pass. If you can't threaten a defense vertically, how do you soften the box to allow for a weaker Oline to hopefully generate some push? You can't...one of these issues has to be fixed.

The biggest issue overall on defense is that we are neither stout enough against the run or explosive enough against the pass in our front 4. Again this has been an issue more often than not for Minnesota. We can't get a consistent pass rush by rushing just four, which suggests that we have big, physical guys playing DL that should be a force against the run...but that's not the case. We usually have a relatively undersized front 4 that is simply not very good. The secondary is banged up and much like the WR position lacks long speed. The Michigan backs ran away from our DB's, Shannon Brooks gets caught from behind by Purdue DB's, Tyler Johnson by Iowa DB's, and Eric Carter couldn't out run a Purdue LB. Have to find a way to add speed on both sides of the ball.
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7 wins over above .500 Big 10 teams in 17+ seasons. That's a telling stat, thanks for digging it up. Didn't realize that.

Depressing.
 


EG#9 said:
I am surprised at the venom about this loss from some of the posters on this board who have been around a long time. This program has been a NON-FACTOR for my entire life and expecting that to change in year one under PJ Fleck is unfair. Michigan is currently 4-2 in conference play and I think we'd all agree that they are a good bet to finish the season with a winning conference record? Right? Right. Starting with the year 2000, the Gophers have exactly SEVEN wins over teams that finished the season above .500 in conference play.

Mason (3): Ohio State, Northwestern, Michigan
Brewster (1): Northwestern
Kill (2): Nebraska, Nebraska
Claeys(1): Northwestern

None of those teams finished better than 5-3 in conference play, none of those teams finished in the top 3 in the conference. It is truly amazing how consistent Gopher football is: If a team is really good, Minnesota ALWAYS loses, If a team is slightly above average in conference play, Minnesota almost ALWAYS loses.

I gave the Gophers no chance in this game, but I gave Iowa no chance against Ohio State and look what happened there. I guess my biggest criticism of the staff in this game is that knowing we were out-manned, they should have been more aggressive in certain spots. Example: 3rd and 2 at Michigan 47 to start the game...Give your OC 2 plays to make a first down instead of punting on 4th down. Another Example: Down 20-7 in the 2nd Quarter and facing 3rd and 18 you run the ball with Phillip Howard...Take a shot down the field and hope for a catch or a PI. If you were going to win the game, you were going to have to take some low % plays and make them work. Instead, I felt like the staff coached to try to keep the game respectable and not lose by 50.

Two other things Offensively I didn't like:

1. The continued use of the Wildcat with Rodney Smith: This didn't work, they weren't fooled...run almost anything else
2. The overuse of Rodney Smith on jet action: I believe it was in the 3rd Q where we had a series where Rodney ran jet action at full speed on like 3 straight plays. On one of those plays, he actually ran full speed from one slot to the other...then Demry motioned him back the other way full speed. I don't understand gassing the guy out like that as I believe he was actually handed the ball on 1 or 2 of those plays as well.

Someone else really nailed their post on the Gophers deficiencies talent wise:

The biggest issue overall on offense (and has been the biggest issue overall for over a decade) is that the line is not physical enough to move anyone which would allow sustained success between the tackles. We've tried to be a heavy run team for years now, and still haven't figured out a way to run the ball between the tackles against conference opposition. The RB's are solid, but they aren't special. When you point to your solid RB's as the best part of your offense, you are in trouble. The WR corp still has no one to threaten a defense vertically and make plays outside the hashes and it's certainly up to debate if we have had a QB who could actually complete a vertical pass. If you can't threaten a defense vertically, how do you soften the box to allow for a weaker Oline to hopefully generate some push? You can't...one of these issues has to be fixed.

The biggest issue overall on defense is that we are neither stout enough against the run or explosive enough against the pass in our front 4. Again this has been an issue more often than not for Minnesota. We can't get a consistent pass rush by rushing just four, which suggests that we have big, physical guys playing DL that should be a force against the run...but that's not the case. We usually have a relatively undersized front 4 that is simply not very good. The secondary is banged up and much like the WR position lacks long speed. The Michigan backs ran away from our DB's, Shannon Brooks gets caught from behind by Purdue DB's, Tyler Johnson by Iowa DB's, and Eric Carter couldn't out run a Purdue LB. Have to find a way to add speed on both sides of the ball.
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Absolutely a great analysis of the current team and the history of the program. It will take more then one year to fix but we have to build a solid foundation which takes time. In my opinion if Kill or Claeys were coaching we would still be outmanned on the field.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

EG#9 said:
I am surprised at the venom about this loss from some of the posters on this board who have been around a long time. This program has been a NON-FACTOR for my entire life and expecting that to change in year one under PJ Fleck is unfair. Michigan is currently 4-2 in conference play and I think we'd all agree that they are a good bet to finish the season with a winning conference record? Right? Right. Starting with the year 2000, the Gophers have exactly SEVEN wins over teams that finished the season above .500 in conference play.

Mason (3): Ohio State, Northwestern, Michigan
Brewster (1): Northwestern
Kill (2): Nebraska, Nebraska
Claeys(1): Northwestern

None of those teams finished better than 5-3 in conference play, none of those teams finished in the top 3 in the conference. It is truly amazing how consistent Gopher football is: If a team is really good, Minnesota ALWAYS loses, If a team is slightly above average in conference play, Minnesota almost ALWAYS loses.

I gave the Gophers no chance in this game, but I gave Iowa no chance against Ohio State and look what happened there. I guess my biggest criticism of the staff in this game is that knowing we were out-manned, they should have been more aggressive in certain spots. Example: 3rd and 2 at Michigan 47 to start the game...Give your OC 2 plays to make a first down instead of punting on 4th down. Another Example: Down 20-7 in the 2nd Quarter and facing 3rd and 18 you run the ball with Phillip Howard...Take a shot down the field and hope for a catch or a PI. If you were going to win the game, you were going to have to take some low % plays and make them work. Instead, I felt like the staff coached to try to keep the game respectable and not lose by 50.

Two other things Offensively I didn't like:

1. The continued use of the Wildcat with Rodney Smith: This didn't work, they weren't fooled...run almost anything else
2. The overuse of Rodney Smith on jet action: I believe it was in the 3rd Q where we had a series where Rodney ran jet action at full speed on like 3 straight plays. On one of those plays, he actually ran full speed from one slot to the other...then Demry motioned him back the other way full speed. I don't understand gassing the guy out like that as I believe he was actually handed the ball on 1 or 2 of those plays as well.

Someone else really nailed their post on the Gophers deficiencies talent wise:

The biggest issue overall on offense (and has been the biggest issue overall for over a decade) is that the line is not physical enough to move anyone which would allow sustained success between the tackles. We've tried to be a heavy run team for years now, and still haven't figured out a way to run the ball between the tackles against conference opposition. The RB's are solid, but they aren't special. When you point to your solid RB's as the best part of your offense, you are in trouble. The WR corp still has no one to threaten a defense vertically and make plays outside the hashes and it's certainly up to debate if we have had a QB who could actually complete a vertical pass. If you can't threaten a defense vertically, how do you soften the box to allow for a weaker Oline to hopefully generate some push? You can't...one of these issues has to be fixed.

The biggest issue overall on defense is that we are neither stout enough against the run or explosive enough against the pass in our front 4. Again this has been an issue more often than not for Minnesota. We can't get a consistent pass rush by rushing just four, which suggests that we have big, physical guys playing DL that should be a force against the run...but that's not the case. We usually have a relatively undersized front 4 that is simply not very good. The secondary is banged up and much like the WR position lacks long speed. The Michigan backs ran away from our DB's, Shannon Brooks gets caught from behind by Purdue DB's, Tyler Johnson by Iowa DB's, and Eric Carter couldn't out run a Purdue LB. Have to find a way to add speed on both sides of the ball.
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This person gets it.
 

Face The Facts said:
This person gets it.
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Yep EG#9 does get it although the statistic about those 7 wins makes the situation even more depressing. Some pretty good analysis on the play calling also instead of the usual temper tantrums repeating the same things over and over even though they don't have a frick'n clue about what is actually going on.
 




Being critical of last night's game plan (or the game plan vs Maryland, etc.) does not mean a person doesn't think Fleck can succeed here. Hopefully it's a learning process for him and perhaps an adjustment process for his coordinators stepping up to the Big Ten. Even if we had a good game plan last night we may still have lost. It's the glaring errors in positioning and play calling that frustrate me. We can't control that Michigan has better athletes, but coaching should be able to counteract some of that by putting our players in the best positions to succeed. We did not do that last night. Hopefully it's a lesson learned for the coaching staff and they grow from their failure.
 

Word said:
Being critical of last night's game plan (or the game plan vs Maryland, etc.) does not mean a person doesn't think Fleck can succeed here. Hopefully it's a learning process for him and perhaps an adjustment process for his coordinators stepping up to the Big Ten. Even if we had a good game plan last night we may still have lost. It's the glaring errors in positioning and play calling that frustrate me. We can't control that Michigan has better athletes, but coaching should be able to counteract some of that by putting our players in the best positions to succeed. We did not do that last night. Hopefully it's a lesson learned for the coaching staff and they grow from their failure.
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My opinion is that it doesn't do much good to question play calling on a game like last night's.

I will say, I think PJ or the OC do get a bit stubborn in that they want to keep running their 4-5 plays repeatedly at times as if, you didn't execute it correctly, do it again. Keep repeating it until they get it.

I assume they do that to try to increase the rate of execution, but it was humbling to see our RB's be handed the ball and see #7 come in untouched to nail him for a loss.

Yeh, that play doesn't work anymore.
 

Couple of other thoughts:

Others have expressed frustration with the game far better than I can, so I won't.

I'm impressed that as many people waited out the rain delay as they did. On top of that, how many of them stayed to the end.

However, don't feed us the cow dung that was 111K and tell us it's roast beef. Not with the upper third of the student section empty all night.

Also, don't feed us the line "Greatest fans in college football." Great fans don't leave garbage scattered all over the place when they go home. I noticed this in 2014 on the golf course and wondered if it was because the fans were mad from their team getting whooped. Not so. I kind of get leaving dead beer cans on the ground, there were enough bums, neer-do-wells, and Cub Scouts sweeping the property for the can deposits to take care of that. But the rest of the trash, lots of it, was disgusting and it rankled me.
 

Word said:
Being critical of last night's game plan (or the game plan vs Maryland, etc.) does not mean a person doesn't think Fleck can succeed here. Hopefully it's a learning process for him and perhaps an adjustment process for his coordinators stepping up to the Big Ten. Even if we had a good game plan last night we may still have lost. It's the glaring errors in positioning and play calling that frustrate me. We can't control that Michigan has better athletes, but coaching should be able to counteract some of that by putting our players in the best positions to succeed. We did not do that last night. Hopefully it's a lesson learned for the coaching staff and they grow from their failure.
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You are correct in your first sentence.
I am going to disagree with you on the learning process aspect though. This was not game 1. Their learning process should have taken place in the non-conference. By this point in the season they should know what our players can and can't do and should be adjusting the game plans weekly to take advantage of the D with what we can do well.
I have not seen that happening outside of the Illinois game. That is not acceptable. It appears we go into a game with a few plays that we are going to run and we run those few plays over and over again whether we have success or not. When successful, I can see why you keep running them, kind of like Michigan did last night. But when you are not, that is where coaching comes in and we are not good at making in game offensive adjustments. Go back and watch any game from this season and the trend of continuing to run the same few plays over and over again has been there. That to me is a bad sign for future years. They haven't learned anything about how to call a game and make adjustments and after 9 games, that is unacceptable at any level of coaching.
 



GopherRock said:
Couple of other thoughts:

Others have expressed frustration with the game far better than I can, so I won't.

I'm impressed that as many people waited out the rain delay as they did. On top of that, how many of them stayed to the end.

However, don't feed us the cow dung that was 111K and tell us it's roast beef. Not with the upper third of the student section empty all night.

Also, don't feed us the line "Greatest fans in college football." Great fans don't leave garbage scattered all over the place when they go home. I noticed this in 2014 on the golf course and wondered if it was because the fans were mad from their team getting whooped. Not so. I kind of get leaving dead beer cans on the ground, there were enough bums, neer-do-wells, and Cub Scouts sweeping the property for the can deposits to take care of that. But the rest of the trash, lots of it, was disgusting and it rankled me.
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So, you were at the game I take it? What about their going for 2? Any Michigan fans have insight into the reason? Not that it makes any difference in the whole scheme of things. Just curious.
 

1997vacatedfinalfour said:
Maryland also lost to a 4-5 Rutgers team
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I wouldn't bad mouth Rutgers. Going into the season, they were the consensus worst Big Ten team but they are sitting at 3-3 in the conference and beat two teams (Maryland and Purdue) we couldn't beat. They also beat Illinois on the road by more than we beat them at home. Rutgers clearly has exceeded expectations while we clearly have underperformed the general consensus of expectations.
 

Did everyone see PJ's shoes for the game. Wow check out PJ sprinting down the sideline between quarters. Never saw such an enthusiastic coach, jumping on his players pumping his fists. Games more about PJ now so I guess we win.
 

Did PJ act like that the first few years at W Mich? Obviously those over the top, look at me antics go over better if the team is actually winning.

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Maybe he should try modesty first, and maybe we'd give him a bit more leeway.

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gopherdudepart2 said:
This game was really boring to watch in the second half. I never liked how the defensive alignment was the whole game.thought should have ditched 5 man front offset to much. Two backside linebackers to tight to the line of scrimmage to react to the counter, or cutbacks. Defensive tackles getting caught up in the wash slanting in to each other. Attacking the ball carrier wit flat feet and not squared up shoulders or doving,and strong safety and linebackers running out of there gaps. Been a long time since I saw a Gopher defense give up this many explosive plays. I thought the alignment from the first snap was a bad front to show against the power I look. This was geometry they hit the GOphers hard in spots where there were not enough people to support even 1 mistake. Offensive play calling to not adjust from all those late developing routes, and all of that downfield stuff. Seemed like receivers were in the same area far to much. Offensive play calling allowed Michigan to make 13 tackles for loss. That is fairly absurd number. MICHIGAN coaches had a much better game plan, it wasnt just talent, alrhough it was clear thwy gad the better pkayers up front.
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Good analysis. Some (e.g. Coach Mulligan) want to make this out to be purely about talent. Did we ever adjust to their run blitz with #7 coming off the edge? The tight end continually ran away from the blitzing player allowing unfettered access to the backfield. It was a numbers game that we refused to play with predictable results. 2 yards per carry.
 

1) Michigan is pretty much bigger, stronger and faster across the board.
2) Lamar Jackson, let alone Demry Croft, couldn't have made that Gophers offense work last night.
3) WR's were getting no separation.
4) OL got no push at all. Michigan was living in their backfield on almost every play.
5) Giving up 3 long touchdown runs is unacceptable.
6) Fleck is right, he was out coached last night.
7) Did anyone think to block Khaleke Hudson at all?
8) Drew Hmielewski doesn't look at all comfortable fielding punts.
9) TE's need to be utilized more in the passing game.
10) Still way too early to give up on PJ Fleck, I will withhold judgment until he has his own players out there.
 

1385md said:
Maybe he should try modesty first, and maybe we'd give him a bit more leeway.

Sent from my SM-G360V using Tapatalk
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Well, that might help but I suspect the contrast with the middle aged, drab, and low key Claeys is what the university was seeking. There's always a danger when you employ a more youthful and dynamic personality that you're going to get higher doses of ego and indiscretion. Perhaps we never saw this as much with Richard Pitino because he lived his life in the shadow of a famous and successful father and he lacked the personal accomplishments as a player in the sport he coached.
 

mkAz said:
1) Michigan is pretty much bigger, stronger and faster across the board.
2) Lamar Jackson, let alone Demry Croft, couldn't have made that Gophers offense work last night.
3) WR's were getting no separation.
4) OL got no push at all. Michigan was living in their backfield on almost every play.
5) Giving up 3 long touchdown runs is unacceptable.
6) Fleck is right, he was out coached last night.
7) Did anyone think to block Khaleke Hudson at all?
8) Drew Hmielewski doesn't look at all comfortable fielding punts.
9) TE's need to be utilized more in the passing game.
10) Still way too early to give up on PJ Fleck, I will withhold judgment until he has his own players out there.
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Good list! There are some things on your list that immediate adjustments might help: #8 and #9. As far as #4, that is clear agains superior competition but the OL hasn't been terrible at protecting the passer for short periods of time so maybe more potential targets and quicker release could help.

The running game may well fair better against Nebraska but probably not much better against Wisconsin or even Northwestern.
 

I know this was stated in the in game thread, but Celestin and McGhee really played a part in allowing those long first half Michigan runs. They both flowed to the same hole leaving the back with an easy decision and a clear path to the second level which was mostly vacant. These two guys are seniors and have been two of our best players on defense the past two years so I don't know why this happened, but that's just what I saw last night and again this morning when I watched those plays again.
 

The Michigan team we played last night isn’t ranked. While the offensive struggles were predictable, how the defense could be that porous against the run is surprising.
 

1385md said:
Maybe he should try modesty first, and maybe we'd give him a bit more leeway.

Sent from my SM-G360V using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Watching that being PJF show it's clear he is who is. He for sure rubs some people the wrong way but as long as the players all buy in it doesn't matter what the fans think. I personally am all in because in a homer and will hope for the best. I'm a skeptic (a Flecktic?) though as pointed out in a number of other threads that he can recruit well enough to do what he wants to do. Kind of a weird deal I support PJF and like his energy but I have my doubts.
 

mkAz said:
1) Michigan is pretty much bigger, stronger and faster across the board.
2) Lamar Jackson, let alone Demry Croft, couldn't have made that Gophers offense work last night.
3) WR's were getting no separation.
4) OL got no push at all. Michigan was living in their backfield on almost every play.
5) Giving up 3 long touchdown runs is unacceptable.
6) Fleck is right, he was out coached last night.
7) Did anyone think to block Khaleke Hudson at all?
8) Drew Hmielewski doesn't look at all comfortable fielding punts.
9) TE's need to be utilized more in the passing game.
10) Still way too early to give up on PJ Fleck, I will withhold judgment until he has his own players out there.
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So here's one thing: Hudson was given free reign by their DC to essentially "do whatever you want". That's a potentially very dangerous thing to do, but it worked extremely well last night. The Gophs O was completely unprepared on how to handle a player like that.

In other words, Hudson was allowed to: go wherever he wanted, blitz whenever he felt like it, follow any player he felt like. He had no assignment in the defense, other than "get the guy with the ball".


Of course, that doesn't excuse anything. You have to make a defense pay, when it does stuff like that. That's really no different than when defenses run all kinds of crazy blitzes. Until you make them pay, they won't stop.
 

OK, I do have two very specific gripes. Can someone please help me out, on these two??


1)

WHY is Duke McGhee still playing???


I understand that Winfield is hurt. I understand that we don't want to burn any more redshirts. Fine.

Duke is a Senior. That means he can't help the team after this year. And he sure as heck is not helping the team do anything this year. He is far more of a liability than anything else. All of the big touchdown runs by Michigan should have been tackled for a 20+ yard gain, but not a huge gain and a TD. Guess who missed those final tackles??

And on the one long TD pass, where the Michigan receiver simply side-stepped the first diving Gopher player ... guess who gave one of the most pathetic attempt to save the play that I've ever seen?? He went for a half hearted, sideways strip of the ball and haplessly fell off the Michigan receiver, rather than going for an actual tackle.

BENCH him.

What about Jacob Huff?? What about Calvin Swenson?? What about ANYONE else -- IS there anyone else??



2)

Why is Blake Cashman not playing more???


Is the guy just a horrible practice player or what?? Is it alumni/donor politics??

I don't get it. He was one of the few players out there who consistently made plays on defense. And he was the D MVP of the bowl game last year, right? How is this guy not starting???




I think I can solve both of these problems with one stone! Put Cashman as starting LB, and Celestin as Strong Safety. Who cares, now?? It has to be better than McGhee!
 

WorkingMyTailOff said:
I know this was stated in the in game thread, but Celestin and McGhee really played a part in allowing those long first half Michigan runs. They both flowed to the same hole leaving the back with an easy decision and a clear path to the second level which was mostly vacant. These two guys are seniors and have been two of our best players on defense the past two years so I don't know why this happened, but that's just what I saw last night and again this morning when I watched those plays again.
Click to expand...

There was something off with Celestin last night, he never does not wrap a player up with both arms, or get squared up in front of a guy. #13 he has been our best player on defense all season, he has a bad wheel or something wrong, an injury not disclosed before.
 

gopherdudepart2 said:
There was something off with Celestin last night, he never does not wrap a player up with both arms, or get squared up in front of a guy. #13 he has been our best player on defense all season, he has a bad wheel or something wrong, an injury not disclosed before.
Click to expand...

Someone in the game thread last night said he had a bad arm.

Cashman played really well last night, I thought.


Heck, put him at safety. Who cares?? He has to be better than McGhee ...
 

MnplsGopher said:
OK, I do have two very specific gripes. Can someone please help me out, on these two??


1)

WHY is Duke McGhee still playing???


I understand that Winfield is hurt. I understand that we don't want to burn any more redshirts. Fine.

Duke is a Senior. That means he can't help the team after this year. And he sure as heck is not helping the team do anything this year. He is far more of a liability than anything else. All of the big touchdown runs by Michigan should have been tackled for a 20+ yard gain, but not a huge gain and a TD. Guess who missed those final tackles??

And on the one long TD pass, where the Michigan receiver simply side-stepped the first diving Gopher player ... guess who gave one of the most pathetic attempt to save the play that I've ever seen?? He went for a half hearted, sideways strip of the ball and haplessly fell off the Michigan receiver, rather than going for an actual tackle.

BENCH him.

What about Jacob Huff?? What about Calvin Swenson?? What about ANYONE else -- IS there anyone else??



2)

Why is Blake Cashman not playing more???


Is the guy just a horrible practice player or what?? Is it alumni/donor politics??

I don't get it. He was one of the few players out there who consistently made plays on defense. And he was the D MVP of the bowl game last year, right? How is this guy not starting???
Click to expand...

1. Jacob Huff starts.
2. Blake is a victim of our LB depth. He is behind Celestine on the depth chart. JC13 was awesome earlier this year, but the injury is catching up with him. Blake did indeed make the most of his opportunity yesterday.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

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