PJ Fleck on Sports Huddle 11-5-17

Gopher FB Coach PJ Fleck appeared on the Sports Huddle with Sid, Dave and Max on Sunday, Nov 5th.

Sid: how do you figure out how game turned around (after Gophers had good drive in 1st qtr)?
PJF: defense didn't tackle well. That (Michigan) is a championship FB team. sometimes you have to get your butt kicked by a champion to figure out what a champion looks like. offensively we weren't consistent enough as far as executing.

Sid: tackling was worst of season, after played well against IA the week before.
PJF: Penn St was 7-0 a few weeks ago. things change. we didn't tackle well against a team with incredible speed. we haven't played a team with that kind of speed all year. 1 missed tackle leads to an 80-yd TD. play a team with less speed, you miss a tackle and can still rally. can't against a team with better speed.

Sid: Croft did some pretty good things
PJF: thought he played well. asking him to do as much as we can ask him to do. that's the best front 7 I've ever played against as a FB coach. we knew we were not going to be able to line up and run the ball straight ahead against them. had to find ways to get to perimeter. used option, motion. takes more than a QB playing well to get results. thought he took a step in the right direction.

Sid: Higdon. guys had shots at him (and didn't finish tackles).
PJF: we weren't moving feet on contact. failing and growth. play a championship FB team, if you don't tackle well, you're not going to win FB games. Jim Harbaugh is one of the best FB coaches in America. you've got to get whooped to understand what it's like to become a champion. got to establish a culture where people want to come here. we're getting there. guys in program are getting better. just not as fast as people want.

Max: what do you do - what's the message to team?
PJF: everyone wants to go to a bowl. it's a reward for a great season. we're far from a bowl team. have to re-establish where we are. what can we get better at? highlight strengths, eliminate weaknesses. message very simple - we got whooped. got to know what champions look like. we can grow from that. I wasn't brought here just to go to a bowl game every year. came here to win championships consistently. It's a process. got to execute at higher level.

Mona: Celestin - arm injury?
PJF: players are like your own sons. I watch them. how are they performing? Jon is the toughest guy on team. when you watch him miss tackles. - fighting through elbow injury, starting to affect missed tackles. got to help team by getting him out of there. Cashman played outstanding. I know Jon wants to be in there - risk vs. reward. don't want to get hurt further. he won't say anything. I felt he couldn't use his right arm. can't use one arm as a LB against a team like Michigan.

Sid: Cashman?
PJF: he will continue to play. he brings an urgency, passion for the game. got to find situations to get him into the game. that's how every player on the team must play. we're not playing at that level right now.

Max: passing game issues. are you getting separation with WR's?
PJF: Not at all. can only do so much. get man coverage, we use man coverage routes - if we don't create separation, it's not just on QB. have to be able to..(pause)...speed kills. we need to recruit really fast athletes, and we will. if we're not the fastest team, we have to use better techniques. Simon really good at teaching. we were 1-11 at our last stop in the 1st year. we've got a heck of a recruiting class. players are determined. got to find a way to get more wins. but we're not going to sacrifice doing things the right way for wins right now.

Mona: early signing period?
PJF: Dec 20th. we're a month away from signing day. everything's faster. want to sign all of our players in December. might have 1 or 2 where we wait till Feb. will be working on '19 class in January.

Max: effect early signing might have on coaches - AD's make decisions earlier in year.
PJF: changed forever. going to see AD's make quicker decisions. see coaches get released (sooner). AD's working behind scenes to bring in coaches. start to see people move faster. might see coaches leave programs toward end of season. nobody knows how it will affect the game. might lose a recruiting class (if coaches leave). lot of changes coming that maybe college FB hasn't seen. new rule - makes it exciting.

Sid: know you'll bounce back. Murray's. good luck.
PJF: RTB, Ski-U-Mah.

short ornery norwegian said:

Gopher FB Coach PJ Fleck appeared on the Sports Huddle with Sid, Dave and Max on Sunday, Nov 5th.

Sid: how do you figure out how game turned around (after Gophers had good drive in 1st qtr)?
PJF: defense didn't tackle well. That (Michigan) is a championship FB team. sometimes you have to get your butt kicked by a champion to figure out what a champion looks like. offensively we weren't consistent enough as far as executing.

Sid: tackling was worst of season, after played well against IA the week before.
PJF: Penn St was 7-0 a few weeks ago. things change. we didn't tackle well against a team with incredible speed. we haven't played a team with that kind of speed all year. 1 missed tackle leads to an 80-yd TD. play a team with less speed, you miss a tackle and can still rally. can't against a team with better speed.

Sid: Croft did some pretty good things
PJF: thought he played well. asking him to do as much as we can ask him to do. that's the best front 7 I've ever played against as a FB coach. we knew we were not going to be able to line up and run the ball straight ahead against them. had to find ways to get to perimeter. used option, motion. takes more than a QB playing well to get results. thought he took a step in the right direction.

Sid: Higdon. guys had shots at him (and didn't finish tackles).
PJF: we weren't moving feet on contact. failing and growth. play a championship FB team, if you don't tackle well, you're not going to win FB games. Jim Harbaugh is one of the best FB coaches in America. you've got to get whooped to understand what it's like to become a champion. got to establish a culture where people want to come here. we're getting there. guys in program are getting better. just not as fast as people want.

Max: what do you do - what's the message to team?
PJF: everyone wants to go to a bowl. it's a reward for a great season. we're far from a bowl team. have to re-establish where we are. what can we get better at? highlight strengths, eliminate weaknesses. message very simple - we got whooped. got to know what champions look like. we can grow from that. I wasn't brought here just to go to a bowl game every year. came here to win championships consistently. It's a process. got to execute at higher level.

Mona: Celestin - arm injury?
PJF: players are like your own sons. I watch them. how are they performing? Jon is the toughest guy on team. when you watch him miss tackles. - fighting through elbow injury, starting to affect missed tackles. got to help team by getting him out of there. Cashman played outstanding. I know Jon wants to be in there - risk vs. reward. don't want to get hurt further. he won't say anything. I felt he couldn't use his right arm. can't use one arm as a LB against a team like Michigan.

Sid: Cashman?
PJF: he will continue to play. he brings an urgency, passion for the game. got to find situations to get him into the game. that's how every player on the team must play. we're not playing at that level right now.

Max: passing game issues. are you getting separation with WR's?
PJF: Not at all. can only do so much. get man coverage, we use man coverage routes - if we don't create separation, it's not just on QB. have to be able to..(pause)...speed kills. we need to recruit really fast athletes, and we will. if we're not the fastest team, we have to use better techniques. Simon really good at teaching. we were 1-11 at our last stop in the 1st year. we've got a heck of a recruiting class. players are determined. got to find a way to get more wins. but we're not going to sacrifice doing things the right way for wins right now.

Mona: early signing period?
PJF: Dec 20th. we're a month away from signing day. everything's faster. want to sign all of our players in December. might have 1 or 2 where we wait till Feb. will be working on '19 class in January.

Max: effect early signing might have on coaches - AD's make decisions earlier in year.
PJF: changed forever. going to see AD's make quicker decisions. see coaches get released (sooner). AD's working behind scenes to bring in coaches. start to see people move faster. might see coaches leave programs toward end of season. nobody knows how it will affect the game. might lose a recruiting class (if coaches leave). lot of changes coming that maybe college FB hasn't seen. new rule - makes it exciting.

Sid: know you'll bounce back. Murray's. good luck.
PJF: RTB, Ski-U-Mah.

Click to expand...

Anyone else nervous about the bolder part? If his scheme is predicated on recruiting these types of athetes can he do it? I think his whole failure or success depends upon this. I personally don't think he's going to be able to do it...at least not right away. He's going to recruit better than the previous regime but not enough to outrecuit the big boys in the conference. I remember Brew tried this, couldn't do it, changes schemes...and we all know how that went. If this is his plan he's better stick to it, recruit a little better each year, build on the wins each season and turn it into what he wants or he and the program is doomed to repeat history.

Thanks SON.

I wasn't brought here just to go to a bowl game every year. came here to win championships consistently.

Cool, but just win a couple more this year.

Ohio State gets one the top recruiting classes in the nation year after year and look what Iowa did to them yesterday. Iowa recruits OK but not at the constant level of OSU. Fleck can do it, too, but he's got to hang on to his current commits and add a few more.

I didn’t realize that signing day is Dec 20 this year???

proudgopher said:

Ohio State gets one the top recruiting classes in the nation year after year and look what Iowa did to them yesterday. Iowa recruits OK but not at the constant level of OSU. Fleck can do it, too, but he's got to hang on to his current commits and add a few more.

Click to expand...

Except you just confirmed my argument. Iowa is not a speed based scheme, neither is Wisky, nor was the Kill/Claeys regime. Can PJF recruit well enough to run a speed based scheme (if that's what he's trying to do, but based upon his comments I would guess yes). Guess we will find out, that's all we can do.

NotAFanOfBecky said:

Except you just confirmed my argument. Iowa is not a speed based scheme, neither is Wisky, nor was the Kill/Claeys regime. Can PJF recruit well enough to run a speed based scheme (if that's what he's trying to do, but based upon his comments I would guess yes). Guess we will find out, that's all we can do.

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I think he can be successful and out recruit the teams in the west. That would be a big step in the right direction. It will be nearly impossible to out recruit Ohio St, Michigan, or Penn St.

For a lot of reasons this is a team with little speed or depth on either defense or offense. Running backs get open and very quickly get caught from behind. WR's cannot create separation. D backs get outrun. This is compounded by lack of depth, virtually everywhere. Finally, to have four years of a staff and no (Zero) options at QB is unimaginable.

ncgo4 said:

For a lot of reasons this is a team with little speed or depth on either defense or offense. Running backs get open and very quickly get caught from behind. WR's cannot create separation. D backs get outrun. This is compounded by lack of depth, virtually everywhere. Finally, to have four years of a staff and no (Zero) options at QB is unimaginable.

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Yes the current QB situation is shocking but so is WR, D-line, O-Line, it goes on and on. We have to be patient with this change; new coaches can win with the prior coaches players and take credit and other coaches can lose with previous coaches players and take the blame. Fleck has done this.

Really don't like his tone. Did he sound as defeated as this reads SON?

Pompous Elitist said:

Really don't like his tone. Did he sound as defeated as this reads SON?

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He sounded a bit down compared to other weeks.

Justin Gard on KFAN said post-game he was as down as he's seen him.

John Galt said:

I didn’t realize that signing day is Dec 20 this year???

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This is correct. I just looked it up. I honestly thought it was the first week in December. Thanks Son for the recap.

Thanks SON.


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fan of Ray Williams said:

Thanks SON.

I wasn't brought here just to go to a bowl game every year. came here to win championships consistently.

Cool, but just win a couple more this year.

Click to expand...

That's the question/answer that hit me, too.

PJF: everyone wants to go to a bowl. it's a reward for a great season. we're far from a bowl team. have to re-establish where we are. what can we get better at? highlight strengths, eliminate weaknesses. message very simple - we got whooped. got to know what champions look like. we can grow from that. I wasn't brought here just to go to a bowl game every year. came here to win championships consistently. It's a process. got to execute at higher level.

Click to expand...

This has been a disappointing year, and it's hard to dispute that we're probably 13th out of 14 in the Big Ten Power rankings, based on the season so far. But we only need two more wins to reach a bowl, and possibly only one. And we play teams we should be competitive with each of the next two weeks. He inherited a bowl team, and there's no reason we shouldn't be a bowl team this year. Maybe we won't reach a bowl, but to say we're far from it is pretty disappointing to hear from him.

Hates Monikers said:

That's the question/answer that hit me, too.



This has been a disappointing year, and it's hard to dispute that we're probably 13th out of 14 in the Big Ten Power rankings, based on the season so far. But we only need two more wins to reach a bowl, and possibly only one. And we play teams we should be competitive with each of the next two weeks. He inherited a bowl team, and there's no reason we shouldn't be a bowl team this year. Maybe we won't reach a bowl, but to say we're far from it is pretty disappointing to hear from him.

Click to expand...

Here's a painful reality...
Jerry Kill's offense at Rutgers is better than our offense.

Hates Monikers said:

That's the question/answer that hit me, too.



This has been a disappointing year, and it's hard to dispute that we're probably 13th out of 14 in the Big Ten Power rankings, based on the season so far. But we only need two more wins to reach a bowl, and possibly only one. And we play teams we should be competitive with each of the next two weeks. He inherited a bowl team, and there's no reason we shouldn't be a bowl team this year. Maybe we won't reach a bowl, but to say we're far from it is pretty disappointing to hear from him.

Click to expand...

I'd sooner he say "We are far from a bowl team" vs "Oh, we're so close, and getting to a bowl would be a great achievement".

I think he's spinning this the right way.

I don't think he really feels "Oh, we had no chance to win 6 games this year". He's essentially said the opposite.

I like the fact he's about winning Championships. That's why he was brought here.
If he were getting amped about going to the Detroit Bowl game, I'd be a little more worried.

Face The Facts said:

I'd sooner he say "We are far from a bowl team" vs "Oh, we're so close, and getting to a bowl would be a great achievement".

I think he's spinning this the right way.

I don't think he really feels "Oh, we had no chance to win 6 games this year". He's essentially said the opposite.

I like the fact he's about winning Championships. That's why he was brought here.
If he were getting amped about going to the Detroit Bowl game, I'd be a little more worried.

Click to expand...

Fleck was the one telling us how close we were to 6-0 a few weeks ago. Was he blowing smoke then or now?

He needs to beat a mediocre to bad Nebraska team and a mediocre Northwestern team. Get creative and find a way. We may be far away from a championship; we're not far away from a bowl game.

NotAFanOfBecky said:

Anyone else nervous about the bolder part? If his scheme is predicated on recruiting these types of athetes can he do it? I think his whole failure or success depends upon this. I personally don't think he's going to be able to do it...at least not right away. He's going to recruit better than the previous regime but not enough to outrecuit the big boys in the conference. I remember Brew tried this, couldn't do it, changes schemes...and we all know how that went. If this is his plan he's better stick to it, recruit a little better each year, build on the wins each season and turn it into what he wants or he and the program is doomed to repeat history.

Click to expand...

Out of what was bolded I was more concerned about him trying to throw Penn St under the bus. Let's stick to our team. I can live with praising the opponent, this goes beyond that.

" we were 1-11 at our last stop in the 1st year. "
I am still rowing but I am sure getting sick of that statement every week.

Hates Monikers said:

Fleck was the one telling us how close we were to 6-0 a few weeks ago. Was he blowing smoke then or now?

He needs to beat a mediocre to bad Nebraska team and a mediocre Northwestern team. Get creative and find a way. We may be far away from a championship; we're not far away from a bowl game.

Click to expand...

Let me know if you disagree, but I think a head coach will put different spin on what he says to the team depending on where they are at in a season.
Might speak softer or more optimistic early.
Might get harder on the kids when they had a bad performance.
Might speak more optimistically when faced with a long season of defeats to try and get the team off the mat.

If you choose to take everything literally, you'll be sure to find him a BS'er and that alone will be reason for you to not like him.

You can interpret what he says however you want knowing it's not all going to always jive with something he said previously.

Maybe he thought they were close to 6-0 before, but after losing again and again, he sees the team differently like... "Wow, now we can't even do A, B, and C, right against quality teams. I thought we could. We're really far off now. And it looking retrospectively, we're lucky to have the 4 wins we do, because we suck at executing, and the players I thought that would help actually aren't as good as they looked before."

Sure, he could come out and say that, but then old Gopherhole would melt down with him saying anything that specific.

1. Some would say he's wrong in his specific assessment.
2. Some would say he's blaming the kids and not taking 100% responsibility
3. Some would criticize him for saying outloud that the team sucks.
4. Others would say "He admits the team is going backwards under his leadership".

A coach will be in trouble with whatever he says or doesn't say.
(Leslie Frazier never said anything but "we'll have to check the tape" and that got annoying).

DP

icepirate13 said:

" we were 1-11 at our last stop in the 1st year. "
I am still rowing but I am sure getting sick of that statement every week.

Click to expand...

Yeh. It gets repetitive.
I'm like... "Yeh, heard that. This isn't there. Two different teams. Just like you told us last years team at Minn is different than this team. Two different dads. 7 coaches in 5 years... blah blah..."

Hates Monikers said:

Fleck was the one telling us how close we were to 6-0 a few weeks ago. Was he blowing smoke then or now?

He needs to beat a mediocre to bad Nebraska team and a mediocre Northwestern team. Get creative and find a way. We may be far away from a championship; we're not far away from a bowl game.

Click to expand...

Northwestern is far from being mediocre. They are beatable for sure but hardly mediocre.

Face The Facts said:

Let me know if you disagree, but I think a head coach will put different spin on what he says to the team depending on where they are at in a season.
Might speak softer or more optimistic early.
Might get harder on the kids when they had a bad performance.
Might speak more optimistically when faced with a long season of defeats to try and get the team off the mat.

If you choose to take everything literally, you'll be sure to find him a BS'er and that alone will be reason for you to not like him.

You can interpret what he says however you want knowing it's not all going to always jive with something he said previously.

Maybe he thought they were close to 6-0 before, but after losing again and again, he sees the team differently like... "Wow, now we can't even do A, B, and C, right against quality teams. I thought we could. We're really far off now. And it looking retrospectively, we're lucky to have the 4 wins we do, because we suck at executing, and the players I thought that would help actually aren't as good as they looked before."

Sure, he could come out and say that, but then old Gopherhole would melt down with him saying anything that specific.

1. Some would say he's wrong in his specific assessment.
2. Some would say he's blaming the kids and not taking 100% responsibility
3. Some would criticize him for saying outloud that the team sucks.
4. Others would say "He admits the team is going backwards under his leadership".

A coach will be in trouble with whatever he says or doesn't say.
(Leslie Frazier never said anything but "we'll have to check the tape" and that got annoying).

Click to expand...

How about this:

Max: what do you do - what's the message to team?
PFJ: We just got manhandled by a really good team. We have a way to go to get to where we want to be, so let's learn from that and take the next step in our development. We still have a chance to reach a bowl game, so we still have plenty to play for this year.

Hates Monikers said:

How about this:

Max: what do you do - what's the message to team?
PFJ: We just got manhandled by a really good team. We have a way to go to get to where we want to be, so let's learn from that and take the next step in our development. We still have a chance to reach a bowl game, so we still have plenty to play for this year.

Click to expand...

This is correct bad bowl or not its more time to work on the road map.


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Vegasgopher said:

This is correct bad bowl or not its more time to work on the road map.


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I don't think what PJ says publicly makes much difference on what he sets as goals for the team.

In a way I think we are splitting hairs and in the end, the only people who will get upset by it are the fans like us.

Hates Monikers said:

and it's hard to dispute that we're probably 13th out of 14 in the Big Ten Power rankings, based on the season so far

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It's not hard to dispute that at all. Both Illinois and Indiana are 0-6 in the conference.