Chip: Poor game management hurt Gophers vs. Iowa

BleedGopher

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per Chip:

Gophers coach P.J. Fleck had two decisions put under a microscope. The first came after a stand by his defense inside the Gophers’ own 10-yard line.

Leading 14-7, the Hawkeyes had the ball first-and-goal from the 6. The Gophers held them to 2 yards, setting up a fourth down.

The Hawkeyes sent out their kicker, holder and long snapper, but the formation indicated trick play.

Seven players shifted to the right, leaving long snapper Jackson Subbert by himself in the middle of the line. Fleck didn’t call a timeout in a situation that screamed for one.

Subbert tossed the snap right to T.J. Hockenson, the nearest player to him on the outside. Hockensen followed his blocking 4 yards for a touchdown on the old swinging gate play.

Fleck said he didn’t call a timeout because his team works on “muddle” alignments on field goals every week.

“If our guys [had looked confused] I would have immediately called a timeout,” Fleck said. “But there was no panic in our team. They knew exactly where to go. They knew exactly what to do. Just didn’t execute it.”

Fleck tried his own trickery late in the second quarter and it backfired.

The Gophers trailed 21-10 with a little more than two minutes left until halftime. They faced a fourth-and-5 from their own 49.

The safe play would be to punt, pin the Hawkeyes deep and go into halftime in reasonable shape.

Fleck gambled.

He called a fake punt and asked punter Jacob Herbers to throw a deep pass down the sideline to Chris Autman-Bell, which fell incomplete.

“I loved the decision,” Fleck said.

I didn’t. Why give Iowa a short field with an 11-point lead and enough time to score, knowing the Hawkeyes were getting the ball to open the second half? Especially since the Gophers defense looked incapable of producing a meaningful stop.

There’s a difference between being aggressive and reckless, and Fleck’s decision fell on the wrong side on that one.

Predictably, Iowa drove 49 yards for a touchdown and 28-10 lead.

“Worrying about the short field is why you fake it there,” Fleck said. “They don’t think you’re going to fake it. We just threw the ball out of bounds. We hadn’t thrown the ball out of bounds in the last two weeks of practice on it.”

http://www.startribune.com/poor-game-management-hurt-gophers-vs-iowa/495372721/

Go Gophers!!
 

“I loved the decision,” Fleck said.

To me, that makes it sound like it wasn't his decision. If you're backing up your own decision, you'd say something like "I thought it was the right call at the time." But "I loved the decision" is something you say when someone else made the decision.

So, I wonder if Kirk C made the call.
 

This is the 2nd time I have seen PJ say it was a good call - just a bad pass (also said so in post-game interview). I wouldn’t say the problem with that play was a bad pass or even doing a fake punt, I think the problem was asking your punter (!) to throw a bomb.


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“I loved the decision,” Fleck said.

To me, that makes it sound like it wasn't his decision. If you're backing up your own decision, you'd say something like "I thought it was the right call at the time." But "I loved the decision" is something you say when someone else made the decision.

So, I wonder if Kirk C made the call.

A critical call like that and you as HC don't make yhe decision? If your comment is indeed true, it reflects even more negatively on Fleck.
 

We took chances, and it didn't work out.

We also could have RUTM and gotten all conservative all game and everyone would have complained.

In a game down by two scores a lot of the game to a team that should beat you I have no problem taking chances.
 


Those two plays were pretty much the difference in the game. If Iowa scored 3 instead of 7 it's a 7 point game going into the onside kick and the onside kick doesn't need to happen. If they ran the trick play and were stopped it's a 4 point game there. Then if we didn't try the fake punt or tried and completed a shorter pass, Iowa might not have scored and it could have been a tie game or the Gophers going into the lead when the onside kick happened. And then there wouldn't have been pressure to throw deep and the offensive playcalling could have been more balanced and conservative.

Fleck claims that the team was prepared for Iowa's trick play but it didn't look like it. There was absolutely no pressure on the outside. It looked like they were prepared for the pass or a run to the left. If our preparations for goal line defense include hoping they don't run to the outside that's not very good.

The lack of adjustments hurt us on defense too. That one Iowa TE who scored the running TD caught 3 passes and from my memory was wide open on all 3. It took way too long to put Faalele in. 3 of the interceptions were on deep passes yet they continued to call deep passes when they weren't working. Some of the defensive halftime adjustments were solid but overall it seems like they made a gameplan and refused to change it when it didn't work. There were times when talent was an issue but if the coaches keep trying the same thing that the team isn't talented enough to pull off, that becomes a coaching issue too.
 

We took chances, and it didn't work out.

We also could have RUTM and gotten all conservative all game and everyone would have complained.

In a game down by two scores a lot of the game to a team that should beat you I have no problem taking chances.

It's a circular argument. There were other in game decisions or lack there of, that kept Gophs down by two scores, and got them down by more than two scores.
 


This is the 2nd time I have seen PJ say it was a good call - just a bad pass (also said so in post-game interview). I wouldn’t say the problem with that play was a bad pass or even doing a fake punt, I think the problem was asking your punter (!) to throw a bomb.


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Yep. I don't care for the fake punt there but wouldn't have been as upset if they wouldn't have thrown it 40 yards downfield when they only need 5. It's a lot to ask of the punter.
 




Rewatched it and strange to say but Herbers may throw the nicest deep ball on the team. It didn’t go out of bounds he was just a little off target. Low percentage throw even for a QB...If only it had worked we’d be saying how awesome it was. Not my favorite fake punt play for sure.
 

Yep. I don't care for the fake punt there but wouldn't have been as upset if they wouldn't have thrown it 40 yards downfield when they only need 5. It's a lot to ask of the punter.

EXACTLY what I said to my seat mates at the game.
 

As stated in another thread, those two loss of downs gave them 7 and cost us 3. The game would have been 34-34 late in the 4th. That certainly cost us an opportunity (despite our 4 turnovers) to win the game, and it's on the coaches.
 



Rewatched it and strange to say but Herbers may throw the nicest deep ball on the team. It didn’t go out of bounds he was just a little off target. Low percentage throw even for a QB...If only it had worked we’d be saying how awesome it was. Not my favorite fake punt play for sure.

Yep. You drag a TE and give him a much higher percentage throw. He barely stepped into it and zipped it pretty well.
 

I gave it a 9.5 spiral rating.

As, Greg Coleman, one of my least favorite football players of all time used so say during Viking broadcasts.... "a punter is an ath-a-lete, a good ath-a-lete"....
 

As, Greg Coleman, one of my least favorite football players of all time used so say during Viking broadcasts.... "a punter is an ath-a-lete, a good ath-a-lete"....

Herbers is on the baseball team too.
 

Game day coaching has not been Fleck's strong suit. He is now 2-9 in the B14, with the two victories being over two of the three worst B14 teams last year: Illinois and Nebraska.This year it may be over no B14 team, as Indiana, Purdue, Illinois and Nebraska are all improved, and we don't play Rutgers. Since we don't seem capable of upsetting favored teams, that doesn't leave much, maybe the Friday night game with Indiana?
 

Game day coaching has not been Fleck's strong suit. He is now 2-9 in the B14, with the two victories being over two of the three worst B14 teams last year: Illinois and Nebraska.This year it may be over no B14 team, as Indiana, Purdue, Illinois and Nebraska are all improved, and we don't play Rutgers. Since we don't seem capable of upsetting favored teams, that doesn't leave much, maybe the Friday night game with Indiana?

2-9 is what Kill started in the B1G. Tracy Claeys started 1-7 in the B1G. Nebraska is improved? They are 0-5. Purdue, Illinois, Nebraska, and Indiana are all very beatable.
 
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Team should only get better. With the change on offense via Faalele and glimmers of improvement on defense we have a solid chance vs many of these teams. Losing Winfield was a huge blow and certainly can’t afford any more injuries back there...but if the new guys are athletic enough they should be ok. AW Jr was a true freshman when he impressed. Hasn’t been healthy since...
 

On the fake punt, one thing that is not being mentioned is the trajectory of the throw was poor. Herbers threw the ball like Autman-Bell was wide open, but that play is designed to either be a catch or draw a DPI from an unsuspecting jammer. If the ball was more of a back shoulder throw or fade and Autman-Bell had to come back to the football there's a great chance to draw the DPI. It's definitely a lot to ask of your punter, but they clearly knew he could throw the ball. I didn't like the call due to time/score, but don't think it's an awful play to have at your disposal. What is an extra kick in the nuts is that if Annexstad and Green threw their deep balls like Herbers did, the Gophers would have had a couple more big plays. There were at least two INT's on deep balls where the Gopher receiver had a step or two and the ball was thrown to the only place the DB could make a play on it.
 

Is Autmann-Bell typically on the outside on punt plays? Just wondering if Iowa sniffed the fake punt before the ball was snapped because Autmann-Bell was pretty well covered for a fake punt.
 

Is Autmann-Bell typically on the outside on punt plays? Just wondering if Iowa sniffed the fake punt before the ball was snapped because Autmann-Bell was pretty well covered for a fake punt.

I wonder if they weren't on notice after false starting on a punt earlier in the game. I feel like you don't false start on a punt play unless something is up, so maybe they figured we had something we wanted to try.
 

A critical call like that and you as HC don't make yhe decision? If your comment is indeed true, it reflects even more negatively on Fleck.

I speculate that your speculation about his speculation is merely speculation
 

Game day coaching has not been Fleck's strong suit. He is now 2-9 in the B14, with the two victories being over two of the three worst B14 teams last year: Illinois and Nebraska.This year it may be over no B14 team, as Indiana, Purdue, Illinois and Nebraska are all improved, and we don't play Rutgers. Since we don't seem capable of upsetting favored teams, that doesn't leave much, maybe the Friday night game with Indiana?
Worst start for huskers since the 40s

So I supposed they are improved if you compare them to the 40s
 


This is the 2nd time I have seen PJ say it was a good call - just a bad pass (also said so in post-game interview). I wouldn’t say the problem with that play was a bad pass or even doing a fake punt, I think the problem was asking your punter (!) to throw a bomb.

Exactly. Too a guy that's going to have a player draped all over him. It wasn't a fake that took advantage of space left open because of punt formation. You're asking a punter to thread a needle from 30 yards. That play will work once out of never times. It's so stupid it hurts. Mind boggling.
 

On the fake punt, one thing that is not being mentioned is the trajectory of the throw was poor. Herbers threw the ball like Autman-Bell was wide open, but that play is designed to either be a catch or draw a DPI from an unsuspecting jammer. If the ball was more of a back shoulder throw or fade and Autman-Bell had to come back to the football there's a great chance to draw the DPI. It's definitely a lot to ask of your punter, but they clearly knew he could throw the ball. I didn't like the call due to time/score, but don't think it's an awful play to have at your disposal. What is an extra kick in the nuts is that if Annexstad and Green threw their deep balls like Herbers did, the Gophers would have had a couple more big plays. There were at least two INT's on deep balls where the Gopher receiver had a step or two and the ball was thrown to the only place the DB could make a play on it.
Exactly.
 


The other aspect about the fake punt is one could assume there would be a small chance of it getting picked off, which if it happened would be similar to punting pinning Iowa deep.
That didn't happen, but probably a decent likelihood of happening if you want to math-equation the play.
 

The other aspect about the fake punt is one could assume there would be a small chance of it getting picked off, which if it happened would be similar to punting pinning Iowa deep.
That didn't happen, but probably a decent likelihood of happening if you want to math-equation the play.

I'd assume the back would know to knock it down in that situation.
 




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