Gold Rush
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 20, 2008
- Messages
- 1,857
- Reaction score
- 1,193
- Points
- 113
Actually probably several but one thing I would like to see is the ability to make in game adjustments, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Obviously the DC had a hard time with that and he is gone and Rossi didn't give up ANY big plays and they did an excellent job.
Even good teams can and will give up a long play on occasion but they don't give up huge gains after huge gains on play after play. When you can't stop the same play you have to really question the ability of the coaches on the sideline. They need to make corrections immediately because there is a good chance you will see it again. When I see the Gopher DB's playing 10 yards off and they go with a quick pass 7-8 times in a row for several yards you wonder what is going on on the sidelines. Or like during the Illinois game they get gaffed for a huge gain - then nothing is done to correct it. The Illinois game was probably the most disheartening game for Gopher fans in some time because it looked like a big time regression.
Obviously Smith lost his job because of the debacle and there was immediate improvement. The question becomes are we indeed as good as we looked vs. Purdue or was that a one game aberration? The answer probably lies somewhere in between the Purdue and Illinois game and we are hoping Rossi has made adjustments that will permanently help us and turn us into a decent, if not very good defense.
We WILL give up a big play in the future, that is a given. But I would like to see the ability to stop it if we see the same play again. That tells us that we did something a little different to take it away. It just might be one of the keys for defensive improvement going forward and it will give us confidence that our coaches know what they are doing out there.
My question I will pose is this: If the Gophers defense shuts down Northwestern and Wisconsin and plays at a high level as they did vs. Purdue, do you give the DC job to Rossi at the end of the year??
Even good teams can and will give up a long play on occasion but they don't give up huge gains after huge gains on play after play. When you can't stop the same play you have to really question the ability of the coaches on the sideline. They need to make corrections immediately because there is a good chance you will see it again. When I see the Gopher DB's playing 10 yards off and they go with a quick pass 7-8 times in a row for several yards you wonder what is going on on the sidelines. Or like during the Illinois game they get gaffed for a huge gain - then nothing is done to correct it. The Illinois game was probably the most disheartening game for Gopher fans in some time because it looked like a big time regression.
Obviously Smith lost his job because of the debacle and there was immediate improvement. The question becomes are we indeed as good as we looked vs. Purdue or was that a one game aberration? The answer probably lies somewhere in between the Purdue and Illinois game and we are hoping Rossi has made adjustments that will permanently help us and turn us into a decent, if not very good defense.
We WILL give up a big play in the future, that is a given. But I would like to see the ability to stop it if we see the same play again. That tells us that we did something a little different to take it away. It just might be one of the keys for defensive improvement going forward and it will give us confidence that our coaches know what they are doing out there.
My question I will pose is this: If the Gophers defense shuts down Northwestern and Wisconsin and plays at a high level as they did vs. Purdue, do you give the DC job to Rossi at the end of the year??