PJ Fleck on Sports Huddle 11-18-18

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Gopher FB Coach PJ Fleck appeared on the Sports Huddle on WCCO Radio.

Sid: I thought Gophers played pretty good except for turnovers.
PJ: Big part of the game. the ball is the program. if you win the turnover battle you win the game; we lost it. there were some big plays in the game. 2 INT, sack/fumble. kid tries to make a play on a cover-2 zone. the KO return before half. NW is champions for a reason. they've won 7 games in conference. won those games by an average of just over one score each. they know how to win. they have an experienced group, experienced QB. don't beat themselves. we beat ourselves at times.

Sid: will Cashman be an NFL player?
PJ: He's going to be a great player in NFL. Can play special teams. he'll always be able to make a roster. versatile. has his own non-profit organization. selfless. has a bright future. made 20 tackles in the game. exceptional player. But it's not just about 1 guy. we need everyone to play up to that level. some are capable, some aren't capable of playing at that level yet. Cashman is a great leader, great teammate.

Sid: you matched NW in stats
PJ: you have to learn how to win. we're still very young, inexperienced. as a team, have to learn how to win. you learn by failure. you fail, you grow. we had a chance to do that. we got beat by some champions. we will learn how to become champions some day. get to a point where we can play in a game like that. errors led to the final score. 5 plays made a difference. kids fought through some difficult things. we have 1 game left to become bowl-eligible. get to play in one of the greatest rivalries in college football.

Sid: OL has improved.
PJ: I thought it was one of our poorer performances of the year. NW did some things that got to us. my expectations continue to rise. maybe it would have been good enough in week #1. we've got to continue to get better.

Max: is playing in a bowl game important?
PJ: if we're ready, we'll go. if we're not, we won't. need to continue to learn from our failing. I'd love to go to one if we're ready. everyone wants to do it. wanting it and doing it are two different things. need to go out and find a way to get it done.

Mona: does Morgan have ability to keep ball on options? NW Linemen looked like they were assuming he was going to hand off.
PJ: I don't think they were ignoring him. different plays have different reads. I thought he made good decisions. their (NW) scheme can force you into things.

Sid: going to lose some good Seniors
PJ: we have a lot of guys returning. we'll lose some important guys. they've been through a lot. some of them have had 3 head coaches - very difficult. proud of their resolve, resiliency. you learn how to hand adversity in life. we have a lot of work left to do. told team they have 6 days to accomplish an enormous amount.

Max: Emmit Carpenter.
PJ: tremendous young man, leader. had ability to respond to different things. nobody's perfect. watched him continue to get better. made huge kicks for us. every kicker misses a few. you can watch and learn from him. that's what leadership is all about

Mona: red-shirt situation. kids play against WI?
PJ: we'll play some kids with one game left. others, with 1 game remaining, I won't play them to break red-shirt. does not matter what our injury situation is, I will not play them.

Sid: team has improved
PJ: we've gotten better. young, inconsistency. can't just look at record. we're still in position to go to a bowl game. that's a credit to this football team. we have an opportunity to do something special. seen improvement by areas - Ty Johnson having special year. Blake Cashman having the best year of his career. had an influx of freshman talent. I see this long term -where we're going, not just where we are.

Sid: hope you can upset Wisconsin. Murray's
PJ: RTB, Ski-U-Mah, Go Gophers
 

Thanks Son. Sounded like he was kicking into his canned phrases quite a bit.
 

Pretty candid comment re: the o-line play yesterday.
 


Pretty candid comment re: the o-line play yesterday.

He left out the part were he kept a guy who couldn't move in at tackle. That might have had something to do with it. Greene couldn't play and should have been taken out. It' all on Fleck, except when it's all on him, I guess. I can come up with reasons to leave Greene in, but you can't have the line play a man down then call it a poor performance on their part. Technically it was, but it had a lot to do with the coaching staff setting them up for failure. Putting Schluetter in at tackle may not have been different, but at least we would have had a chance and could have added a TE to help on that side.
 


He left out the part were he kept a guy who couldn't move in at tackle. That might have had something to do with it. Greene couldn't play and should have been taken out. It' all on Fleck, except when it's all on him, I guess. I can come up with reasons to leave Greene in, but you can't have the line play a man down then call it a poor performance on their part. Technically it was, but it had a lot to do with the coaching staff setting them up for failure. Putting Schluetter in at tackle may not have been different, but at least we would have had a chance and could have added a TE to help on that side.

Maybe because it was Senior day and Green wanted to play? He was far from the only problem yesterday.

Schlueter played a blocking TE role yesterday. Many plays had him or another TE helping Green out. But once again I'm not surprised you didn't actually watch the game and come on here just to make stuff up to rip the coaching staff.
 

Mona: does Morgan have ability to keep ball on options? NW Linemen looked like they were assuming he was going to hand off.
PJ: I don't think they were ignoring him. different plays have different reads. I thought he made good decisions. their (NW) scheme can force you into things.
I think this was a good question, one of the advantages that Morgan seemed to bring over Annexstad was that he was a better runner. If they're not going to run him, even a bit, why not just go back to Annexstad now that he's healthy?
 

I think this was a good question, one of the advantages that Morgan seemed to bring over Annexstad was that he was a better runner. If they're not going to run him, even a bit, why not just go back to Annexstad now that he's healthy?

I agree with you - with the following proviso: we don't know what the coaches are telling the QB's. If they are telling the QB's "do not run," then that changes the whole equation. On the other hand, if the coaches are telling the QB "look for opportunities to run," and the QB's are not doing it, then that is a different matter.
 

Maybe because it was Senior day and Green wanted to play? He was far from the only problem yesterday.

Schlueter played a blocking TE role yesterday. Many plays had him or another TE helping Green out. But once again I'm not surprised you didn't actually watch the game and come on here just to make stuff up to rip the coaching staff.

You are right. I didn't watch most of the game, only a little bit. Listened to the rest of it off the radio because of family commitments I had. One constant drum beat of Grim and DT was Greene's lack of mobility, particularly in the second half. it was, according to what I heard, getting worse as the game went on.

And, yeah, i get it was Sr. day and he wanted to play and that's why he played.

That said, playing into the 4th quarter when he can't move goes beyond "wanting to play". At some point Fleck has to make a coaching decision to protect the health of the kid and give the team a chance to be successful. I know Schlueter played blocking tight end. Wore #48 so he wouldn't have to check in as eligible. Maybe slide him to tackle and put another TE right next to him to try to stop NW's attack? Maybe Morgan would have had a split second more time? Maybe Ibrahim would have had another inch in the crease to break the play? We'll never know.

I sincerely apologize for suggesting the head coach of a P5 football team should be more concerned with the health of his player and the chance to win vs. maybe making said injured player feel better and thus injuring your tender sensibilities
 



He left out the part were he kept a guy who couldn't move in at tackle. That might have had something to do with it. Greene couldn't play and should have been taken out. It' all on Fleck, except when it's all on him, I guess. I can come up with reasons to leave Greene in, but you can't have the line play a man down then call it a poor performance on their part. Technically it was, but it had a lot to do with the coaching staff setting them up for failure. Putting Schluetter in at tackle may not have been different, but at least we would have had a chance and could have added a TE to help on that side.

Big Dan is one of my favorite Gophers, but I thought he was our biggest issue yesterday. Granted, I didn't study any film or anything, just watched the game.
 

You are right. I didn't watch most of the game, only a little bit. Listened to the rest of it off the radio because of family commitments I had. One constant drum beat of Grim and DT was Greene's lack of mobility, particularly in the second half. it was, according to what I heard, getting worse as the game went on.

And, yeah, i get it was Sr. day and he wanted to play and that's why he played.

That said, playing into the 4th quarter when he can't move goes beyond "wanting to play". At some point Fleck has to make a coaching decision to protect the health of the kid and give the team a chance to be successful. I know Schlueter played blocking tight end. Wore #48 so he wouldn't have to check in as eligible. Maybe slide him to tackle and put another TE right next to him to try to stop NW's attack? Maybe Morgan would have had a split second more time? Maybe Ibrahim would have had another inch in the crease to break the play? We'll never know.

I sincerely apologize for suggesting the head coach of a P5 football team should be more concerned with the health of his player and the chance to win vs. maybe making said injured player feel better and thus injuring your tender sensibilities


Moronic post- especially since you admit to not watching the game. Why don’t you get your a$$ up here to a game?
 

Moronic post- especially since you admit to not watching the game. Why don’t you get your a$$ up here to a game?

Thanks for your opinion John Galt. I've said this before, I'll say it again, your moniker really needs to change. You're no John Galt. I'm glad you believe that a coach should leave injured players in the game when they're getting beaten like a red headed step-child, I don't.

Why don't I come up? For two primary reasons:

I had season tickets for several years and dropped them because a) I could only get to the twin cities for one or two games a year without problems and b) I could not sell, nor give away my tickets for the games I couldn't go to. My last year of season tickets I made it to 5 of the 7 home games. And was at 3 of the 5 by myself - my son who I came with now has too many conflicts and I couldn't find anyone that wanted to go to the games, even for free.

I do my best to watch every game, but was somewhere I couldn't and my phone wasn't supporting video playback, so only could listen. I'll try to be a better fan to please you in the future.
 

I think this was a good question, one of the advantages that Morgan seemed to bring over Annexstad was that he was a better runner. If they're not going to run him, even a bit, why not just go back to Annexstad now that he's healthy?
Good point.
It is clear that Annexstad has the stronger arm. If our QB isn't going to run, then why go with the guy who has a weaker arm?
(Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about Morgan.)
 



Thanks for your opinion John Galt. I've said this before, I'll say it again, your moniker really needs to change. You're no John Galt. I'm glad you believe that a coach should leave injured players in the game when they're getting beaten like a red headed step-child, I don't.

Why don't I come up? For two primary reasons:

I had season tickets for several years and dropped them because a) I could only get to the twin cities for one or two games a year without problems and b) I could not sell, nor give away my tickets for the games I couldn't go to. My last year of season tickets I made it to 5 of the 7 home games. And was at 3 of the 5 by myself - my son who I came with now has too many conflicts and I couldn't find anyone that wanted to go to the games, even for free.

I do my best to watch every game, but was somewhere I couldn't and my phone wasn't supporting video playback, so only could listen. I'll try to be a better fan to please you in the future.

If one of the local announcers, Grim in particular, is questioning a Coaching decision and not an Officials decision on the air, then it has to be a real problem.
 

Interesting - I watched on TV and don’t recall the commentators saying anything about Greene’s mobility. That helps explain some of the OL struggles yesterday, as Greene is typically one of our best linemen. I think Northwestern has a really good DL and that was a big part of it too.

Leaving an injured player in like that is one thing this staff does that I don’t agree with. It is akin to when they kept playing Annexstad on that bad ankle, when he had absolutely zero ability to escape pressure. It hurt the team, certainly didn’t help the player, and likely delayed the healing process. I’m all for a guy playing through pain - but only if the team’s performance, and the player’s long term health, don’t suffer as a result.
 

I think PJ needs to stop with “the ball is the program” unless he means it. We are -9 in the TO ratio this year and I have seen no consequences for a player that turns it over.

Last year he told us all he benched DC11 because he didn’t jump on a fumble. “The Ball is the program”, “Can’t have that”, “not gonna play if you turn it over”.

I am not suggesting he bench kids for turning it over and I get that it might be hard to keep up with all the slogans — but I have to assume most have tuned that one out by now - especially since he preaches accountability all the time.


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Good point.
It is clear that Annexstad has the stronger arm. If our QB isn't going to run, then why go with the guy who has a weaker arm?
(Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about Morgan.)

I’m not sure there’s much of a difference there. All I know is they’re both young, making mistakes, and when the pass protection isn’t getting it done it’s hard on any QB. Maybe ZA will look a lot better on a healthy leg but outside of that Fresno game he hasn’t had any really “wow” plays.

Wisconsin specializes in creative pressure schemes and despite being down this year will surely make our guys look silly unless they have some things figured out on blocking and getting rid of the ball in timely ways.

I think ride TM the rest of the year and open it up again next year, unless he really struggles early vs Wisconsin (and he might based on yesterday’s protection).
 

I’m not sure there’s much of a difference there. All I know is they’re both young, making mistakes, and when the pass protection isn’t getting it done it’s hard on any QB. Maybe ZA will look a lot better on a healthy leg but outside of that Fresno game he hasn’t had any really “wow” plays.

Wisconsin specializes in creative pressure schemes and despite being down this year will surely make our guys look silly unless they have some things figured out on blocking and getting rid of the ball in timely ways.

I think ride TM the rest of the year and open it up again next year, unless he really struggles early vs Wisconsin (and he might based on yesterday’s protection).
Agreed. I wasn't calling for Annexstad over Morgan next weekend. They should both be in a battle for who starts next season.
 

Will the lineman be okay to play next week or will he be done for the year?
 

I agree with you - with the following proviso: we don't know what the coaches are telling the QB's. If they are telling the QB's "do not run," then that changes the whole equation. On the other hand, if the coaches are telling the QB "look for opportunities to run," and the QB's are not doing it, then that is a different matter.

Very few designed QB runs in Fleck's RPO. I think they are very cautious about it. Morgan is much more prone to take off compared to Annexstad, given the opportunity. I do think Morgan looked a lot more like he did in Fall practice on Saturday. Locked on receivers, did not move through progressions, double clutching.
 


He has a year of eligibility remaining.

For real?

I also recall hearing he would have 2 years when he transferred, but he has been listed as a rsSR on the official roster all year.


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Thanks.

I agree with your last statement. I did hear he practiced some last week, so maybe......


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Great to hear. Smith was probably our best d-tackle since Hageman. The kind of run stuffing DT we needed desperately the 2nd half of the season.
 

Good point.
It is clear that Annexstad has the stronger arm. If our QB isn't going to run, then why go with the guy who has a weaker arm?
(Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about Morgan.)

Annexstad does not have the stronger arm. Morgan’s arm isn’t great but it’s better than Annexstad.
 

Annexstad does not have the stronger arm. Morgan’s arm isn’t great but it’s better than Annexstad.

I think ZA5 has a stronger arm. I also think his accuracy on longer passes is notably worse.


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I think ZA5 has a stronger arm. I also think his accuracy on longer passes is notably worse.


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I agree with you about accuracy. He also throws the ball 30 yards up in the air like he’s playing 500 in the backyard.
 

Did anyone else notice Schlueter lining up as the blocking tight end a lot and not much Beebe or Paulson? Wonder why that was.
 




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