Bill Connelly’s 2018 Minnesota Preview

We'll see. After year one, I didn't see a team developing under the new coach. I saw no glimpses of how things will improve.

Man, if you didn't see glimpses of how things will improve, then I don't know how you could have been watching.
Bill touched on a few of them. With a second receiver it's going to be far easier to move the ball. We might even be able to complete a pass in the red zone this year.

We literally didn't have the people required to run our defense. We were using linebackers as defensive ends for much of the season.

We lost the heart of our defense against Maryland after already being down 5 players due to extenuating circumstances.

One of our QBs went 9-29 and we were still in the game against Iowa.

The Gophers are definitely going to improve this year, but so is our competition, so it's kind of hard to tell exactly what that will mean.
 

<5 wins and Fleck is gone. I'll be on the hockey board by that time this year but i'll be done posting here in Football if Fleck is retained with less than 5 wins. Coyle is not Maturi

100% unequivocally false. There is nothing on the field that will result in Fleck being fired this year. 0-12 won't result in a firing. And firing Fleck would be an absolute disaster in every way. It would be the worst possible decision anyone could make. This is at least a 4 year commitment, again barring something weird off field.
 

Man, if you didn't see glimpses of how things will improve, then I don't know how you could have been watching.
Bill touched on a few of them. With a second receiver it's going to be far easier to move the ball. We might even be able to complete a pass in the red zone this year.

We literally didn't have the people required to run our defense. We were using linebackers as defensive ends for much of the season.

We lost the heart of our defense against Maryland after already being down 5 players due to extenuating circumstances.

One of our QBs went 9-29 and we were still in the game against Iowa.

The Gophers are definitely going to improve this year, but so is our competition, so it's kind of hard to tell exactly what that will mean.

I’m with you Hello-world. I feel a little optimism for this season. If we somehow get average big ten QB play, I think this team will be pretty good. If QB play is as bad as last year I think it will be 4-6 wins.
 

100% unequivocally false. There is nothing on the field that will result in Fleck being fired this year. 0-12 won't result in a firing. And firing Fleck would be an absolute disaster in every way. It would be the worst possible decision anyone could make. This is at least a 4 year commitment, again barring something weird off field.

I think it could happen at 0-12. Just imagine for a moment what that season might look like. Even in the darkest moments of Brew and yr 1 Kill the team still got some wins. 0-12 probably would only happen if the team totally went into mutiny, major scandal, etc.

As long as there's at least 2 wins he's staying.
 

I think it could happen at 0-12. Just imagine for a moment what that season might look like. Even in the darkest moments of Brew and yr 1 Kill the team still got some wins. 0-12 probably would only happen if the team totally went into mutiny, major scandal, etc.

As long as there's at least 2 wins he's staying.

Yeah, it would have to be a scenario where the wheels come completely off en-route to 1-11 or 0-12, or there is a scandal on the team. Same for 2019. I just can't see either happening.
 


<5 wins and Fleck is gone. I'll be on the hockey board by that time this year but i'll be done posting here in Football if Fleck is retained with less than 5 wins. Coyle is not Maturi

Will you please just go to the hockey board now - and be done posting here in Football now?
 

Similar to the Kill early years we are awash in MAC stats of anyone that busted loose on a MAC schedule with a few P5 softies. Fleck gets ore time but Fleck ain't getting the 2nd year raise Kill got cuz people here have no more time for MAC effort. You can quote me on this- If Fleck fails to get more than 5 wins in 2018 he'll be fired.

You are clueless. I’ll quote you all day long on that.


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Fleck will not be gone after this year. We have one of the best young coaches in college football. He would have to have a terrible year for it to be even considered

The only way Fleck is gone after this year is if he’s hired away.


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Even if Fleck was a total failure this year as coach and we went winless, the only way Coyle fires him after two years (with egg on his face) is if Fleck has a major scandal going on while the program greatly under-achieves.



Although I'm not expecting much, I hope to see some upside potential from the team. I'm not sure what that is exactly.

For some it's a signature win someplace during the year.
For some it might be an up-tick of promising QB play toward the end of the season and an offense that can move the ball against tough defenses.
For some it might be defensive play that's shutting down good teams
or it could be a mix of all of these things.

The bigger issue for PJ will be if we still don't have a dedicated starting QB by year 2019 or 2020. This going into fall without a starter thing will get old if this keeps happening.
 



I fully admit many of you know more about the state of Gopher football but so far Fleck looks like it might be all powder and no shot. Not sure why some of you feel attacked by my opinion. Please do not take my opinion of the football team as a personal attack on you..the reader.
 

<5 wins and Fleck is gone. I'll be on the hockey board by that time this year but i'll be done posting here in Football if Fleck is retained with less than 5 wins. Coyle is not Maturi

Not much posting on the hockey board. Did you give up over there as well?
 

I fully admit many of you know more about the state of Gopher football but so far Fleck looks like it might be all powder and no shot. Not sure why some of you feel attacked by my opinion. Please do not take my opinion of the football team as a personal attack on you..the reader.

You also showed up a month ago and your first 100 posts were about how Kill ruined gopher football by not recruiting a QB. Now you're talking about Fleck getting fired after his second year. Stay hot troll.
 

Rob Smith's defense really bothered me too.

I don't think it was entirely an issue of having small DEs, I thought it was schematic, or at least partially schematic.

If you read Smith‘s history in Arkansas, when he did have edge people, his defense was somewhat effective. His last year, before being fired, even the big boy(Bielema) commented that they didn’t have edge defenders to win. Now the question is, do the Gophers? Time will tell.
 



The only way Fleck gets fired is if he does something really bad off the field. I can't believe I'm reading people who actually think he could get fired.
 

The only way Fleck gets fired is if he does something really bad off the field. I can't believe I'm reading people who actually think he could get fired.
This. And I don't see that happening.

These people are crazy deluded. It's like having a house built, moving in when its 10-20% complete, then complaining and firing the contractor because it isn't finished yet....

Nothing like being short sighted and stupid...but I guess it is Gopher fans we are talking about....?

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I fully admit many of you know more about the state of Gopher football but so far Fleck looks like it might be all powder and no shot. Not sure why some of you feel attacked by my opinion. Please do not take my opinion of the football team as a personal attack on you..the reader.

Trust me, we know that for sure.
 

You also showed up a month ago and your first 100 posts were about how Kill ruined gopher football by not recruiting a QB. Now you're talking about Fleck getting fired after his second year. Stay hot troll.

Well it’s off season and these are the hot topics over here . You guys are insecure and it appears fall for the same garbage yer in year out. In the rink and on the sheets we don’t roll like that.
 

Similar to the Kill early years we are awash in MAC stats of anyone that busted loose on a MAC schedule with a few P5 softies. Fleck gets ore time but Fleck ain't getting the 2nd year raise Kill got cuz people here have no more time for MAC effort. You can quote me on this- If Fleck fails to get more than 5 wins in 2018 he'll be fired.

He won't be fired period.


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My impression of the analyses was that of optimism. Most who follow college football and are not part of the Gopher Nation give Fleck fairly high marks. The assistant coaches he has seem in sync with each other and committed to the football program. Successful coaches have failed at the next level and Fleck could certainly follow that model. It won't be because he gave up however.
 

My impression of the analyses was that of optimism. Most who follow college football and are not part of the Gopher Nation give Fleck fairly high marks. The assistant coaches he has seem in sync with each other and committed to the football program. Successful coaches have failed at the next level and Fleck could certainly follow that model. It won't be because he gave up however.

Don't you mean the assistant coaches, other than the 33% that left after the season, seem in sync?
 

Man, if you didn't see glimpses of how things will improve, then I don't know how you could have been watching.
Bill touched on a few of them. With a second receiver it's going to be far easier to move the ball. We might even be able to complete a pass in the red zone this year.

We literally didn't have the people required to run our defense. We were using linebackers as defensive ends for much of the season.

We lost the heart of our defense against Maryland after already being down 5 players due to extenuating circumstances.

One of our QBs went 9-29 and we were still in the game against Iowa.

The Gophers are definitely going to improve this year, but so is our competition, so it's kind of hard to tell exactly what that will mean.

Completely agree with all of the things you said in this post. That's how we should be better this year.

What I did not see last season was player development. Even bad players can get better with proper coaching. We have a long history of players who are well coached, but can't get the job done. Under Gutey, Wacker, Mason, and Kill, there were times when the players were in position to make plays, but didn't have the ability to finish them. You could see it on the field and more than once I'd say to myself - with better players, we will be better. I did not see that last year, so with "better" players this year, should we be better? Yes. Will that change the coaching that was at best average, and at worst pathetic last year?

We'll see. As Bill said, PJ Fleck is totally fine with sacrificing wins early in his tenure - he's done it twice now - to prove his point and instill his "culture". Watching many teams that go through transitions, the coaches I've been impressed with are not the ones who say - come see me in four years, they're the ones that take the QB that isn't very good, and put him in a position to win. The play with the roster they have and work to build the roster their way as a transition to what's to come. You can do both. If you try.
 

Completely agree with all of the things you said in this post. That's how we should be better this year.

What I did not see last season was player development. Even bad players can get better with proper coaching. We have a long history of players who are well coached, but can't get the job done. Under Gutey, Wacker, Mason, and Kill, there were times when the players were in position to make plays, but didn't have the ability to finish them. You could see it on the field and more than once I'd say to myself - with better players, we will be better. I did not see that last year, so with "better" players this year, should we be better? Yes. Will that change the coaching that was at best average, and at worst pathetic last year?

We'll see. As Bill said, PJ Fleck is totally fine with sacrificing wins early in his tenure - he's done it twice now - to prove his point and instill his "culture". Watching many teams that go through transitions, the coaches I've been impressed with are not the ones who say - come see me in four years, they're the ones that take the QB that isn't very good, and put him in a position to win. The play with the roster they have and work to build the roster their way as a transition to what's to come. You can do both. If you try.

Really? I saw Tyler Johnson improve his receiving total by over 500 yards despite missing the last two games and worse QB play. I saw Coughlin, Barber, Martin, Moore all make significant improvements on defense. I saw a defense hold it's own in most games despite losing NFL talent, one of their best players in Winfield, and being depleted due to the scandal. I saw plenty of player development, just like there was at WMU.
 


Why in the heck are we talking about Fleck being fired. Yeah Fleck struggles year 1 with talent that doesn’t fit system...yeah we won 9 year prior but remember several kicked off team or graduated. Fleck has bad year 1 at WMU too. You can’t turn around program in 2 years yet alone one. He needs time and I see talent coming in recruiting, hear that players are getting better in offseason, are players are getting it done in the classroom, giving back tothe community, players just got baptized. Fleck is changing the culture. Wins will also come just be patient
 

Why in the heck are we talking about Fleck being fired. Yeah Fleck struggles year 1 with talent that doesn’t fit system...yeah we won 9 year prior but remember several kicked off team or graduated. Fleck has bad year 1 at WMU too. You can’t turn around program in 2 years yet alone one. He needs time and I see talent coming in recruiting, hear that players are getting better in offseason, are players are getting it done in the classroom, giving back tothe community, players just got baptized. Fleck is changing the culture. Wins will also come just be patient

Preach it. I think there are a couple of trolls and a couple of people that are hoping for Fleck to fail because they don’t like his personality.
 

In one sense, Fleck is responsible for higher expectations. Fleck came in to MN and made a lot of noise - too much noise for some. All that noise did bring more attention to the program, and people are paying attention. People will be watching to see if Fleck can back up the talk and produce a winner.

Nobody (I hope) is thinking or suggesting that Fleck has to be contending for a conference title by his 2nd or 3rd year.

But, I do think people want to see some tangible signs of improvement. Can the team run an offense where the players look like they know what they're doing? Same thing on defense - is there clear evidence that the players have a plan, and are following the plan?

In short, do they look like a well-coached team? If they can meet that hurdle, I think fans will remain optimistic, even if they lose a few close games. Now, if the team looks clueless on the field, and they're getting blown out by 20 or 30 points, then Fleck and Coyle will have the seat temperature turned up a notch.
 

In one sense, Fleck is responsible for higher expectations. Fleck came in to MN and made a lot of noise - too much noise for some. All that noise did bring more attention to the program, and people are paying attention. People will be watching to see if Fleck can back up the talk and produce a winner.

This is good stuff.

You have plenty of people on this board who think Fleck has lowered expectations.
 

This is good stuff.

You have plenty of people on this board who think Fleck has lowered expectations.

He's lowered expectations for the first 2-3 years. Then, to the moon. He even made a graph.
 

In one sense, Fleck is responsible for higher expectations. Fleck came in to MN and made a lot of noise - too much noise for some. All that noise did bring more attention to the program, and people are paying attention. People will be watching to see if Fleck can back up the talk and produce a winner.

Need to go bash my head against a wall for a minute. Brb.


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Really? I saw Tyler Johnson improve his receiving total by over 500 yards despite missing the last two games and worse QB play. I saw Coughlin, Barber, Martin, Moore all make significant improvements on defense. I saw a defense hold it's own in most games despite losing NFL talent, one of their best players in Winfield, and being depleted due to the scandal. I saw plenty of player development, just like there was at WMU.

Yeah, really.

I haven't made my opinion here clear, I don't think. I'm talking over the course of the season. From game 1 to game 12 I saw very little development in the players. I did not see them grow during the season.

  • Tyler Johnson looked much better vs. his limited playing time in 2016. He also continued to drop balls and make mistakes on routes regularly. That did not improve over the course of the year (and that he got hurt didn't give him as much time, maybe it would have come).
  • Coughlin played out of position most of the year. His efforts as a "rush end" did not improve over the course of the season. He looked as lost in game 10 as he did in game 1.
  • Barber played a lot more vs. the previous year. He was able to replace a lot of talent that left the year before, but I don't think he was better towards the end of the season than he was at the beginning.
  • Martin did not progress during the season. If anything I think he played more tentatively this year, but that appeared to be the scheme.
  • I have to admit, I don't remember much of Moore's play, so I'm not going to say he didn't improve over the course of the year, but I will not say he did either.

There are many factors behind last years performance. Roster Talent, Depth Issues, Injuries, Changes in playing time, Changes in scheme AND the coaching the players received. What I'm saying is I didn't see players develop, and improve over the course of the season. That's not to say that the players didn't play well, or do some great things, but from game 1 t0 game 12 (particularly games 11 and 12) I didn't see the players improve from week to week. There may be legitimate reasons why. Until it's proven otherwise, it's a question in my mind as to the ongoing coaching. PJ Fleck has said himself, multiple times, that he's not an X's and O'x guy. He's the CEO. You can question the abilities of PJ Fleck without hating him (I don't). Without hoping he fails (I don't). And it could easily be the staff he's assembled (Smith has a lot of work to do to prove he can coach a team up in statistical rankings, his trend in the past four years is definitely downward) which is uneven at best. Maybe the changes made this year were to fix that. I've heard the players from the previous coach all suck and PJ's Screwed royally until he can replace them all, but I haven't heard the man say he made some hires he'd like to have back. The guys that left were as Elite as the guys he hired to replace them, so I'm not sure that's it.

Hopefully this helps you understand what I'm saying, although you may still disagree, I'd like that we're at least disagreeing based on a common understanding of the point.
 




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