PA's take on the Gopher football offense/Seth Green

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Gold Rush

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PA on the KFAN said something interesting on the FAN today. He loves how the offensive line is developing and improving as the season went on and that was one of the big keys on the season. He especially singled out OT Green for spectacular play vs. the Badgers. He is pretty much in line with everyone else coming back and how good the offense is going to be next year but one thing he would really like that would add another dimension and make this team even better is a TE that can stretch the defense. Not sure if we have that guy on the team but that should be something the team is looking for.

We might have that guy in Seth Green. If Green were to be utilized more as a pass catching TE he could REALLY confound defenses and be an elite weapon. The only problem with that is he is a tremendous short yardage QB. The only ones who could stop him vs. the Badgers were the referees and an inexplicably bad ball spot!! Going forward though, what are the chances Green is utilized in more passing plays downfield as a TE? It is probably where he will end up if he makes it into the pros and he could really do some damage there if they use him right.

One thing for sure - he had a very good year! But I hope we see a lot more of #17 in the future!
 

I think a lot of people expect (and hope) Brevyn Spann-Ford will be the pass catching TE that can stretch the defense. Fleck mentions him often and seems to love him. BSF was a high school WR and basketball player. Big, strong, great hands and moves very well for his size. If we add that element, the guy is on the team, Fleck just hasn't unleashed him yet.
 

I'd like to see him more at tight end as well to help his pro career. We'll see what happens.
 

Breyvn Spann-Ford (RS) was recruited for this slot. I think you will see him mixing in more regularly at TE next season.
 
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I don't see Green's role changing at all. He is really good at it and it helps the offense. Spann-Ford is the TE to stretch the field and red-shirted while playing some snaps in four games. I agree we could use more out of TE, but Fleck will want to be balanced and the TE needs to block. Right idea wrong guy.
 



He has 2 receptions on the year. Not exactly what I expected from him.
 

Since Seth's performance has come up, I have to admit I was not keen on the wildcat early in the season but have found it to be very effective as the season progressed. Yes, he gets bottled up at times but all-in-all it is a positive for the offense. Also, the QBs seem to work with it too...not sure every QB ego could handle this as well as Tanner and Zack.
 

Greene's importance to the team go way beyond his stats.

He shows what determination, commitment, and physical play can do with only 5-7 snaps per game.

A hugely imporant model for the team.
 



Another consideration is this:

When Green is in as a WR he can easily flip to the Wild Gopher and put either QB far outside in the WR role. That keeps one defender out there and they both watch the play. I won't speculate that they may or may not work a pass play to the QB in the future, but that is not the point.

This is necessary so there is no change in personnel on the field which would necessitate giving the defense time to make personnel adjustments. If he is in as a tight end, who fills that spot on the line to block when there is a 95% chance that it is a read option run? Move QB1 to the outside and have a WR move to the end of the line to block a DE?
 

Green has been invaluable as the wildcat QB, and I'd hate to risk his health by using him much as a TE, where you're banging heads on every play. Yeah, he's big and strong, but other guys can fill that role up front, while few others can bring what he does to the wildcat.

That being said, I'd still like to see a bit more production from the TE spot. One or two targets a game, just to keep everyone honest.

JTG
 

I'm skeptical of "let's move this guy to a way different role" and they kinda did... and didn't, and it worked.
 

He's been awesome as the wildcat QB. And I was surprised to see hom listed as a WR. I thought Green was listed on the depth chart as a TE. I think he could be pretty useful as a TE in this offense as well. Lots of teams in the NFL are utilizing those flexible type players. I think the Saint have a guy that they've put to good use this year

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stocker08 said:
He's been awesome as the wildcat QB. And I was surprised to see hom listed as a WR. I thought Green was listed on the depth chart as a TE. I think he could be pretty useful as a TE in this offense as well. Lots of teams in the NFL are utilizing those flexible type players. I think the Saint have a guy that they've put to good use this year

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He isn’t a very good blocker.
Really doesn’t matter if he is listed at TE or WR if he is doing the same thing anyways.
 

stocker08 said:
He's been awesome as the wildcat QB. And I was surprised to see hom listed as a WR. I thought Green was listed on the depth chart as a TE. I think he could be pretty useful as a TE in this offense as well. Lots of teams in the NFL are utilizing those flexible type players. I think the Saint have a guy that they've put to good use this year

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Problem with using a guy like Green at TE is that he would probably be pretty weak at blocking and therefore would really tip the defense to it being a pass play.

I like the role they have Green in and I am betting he likes it as well. Probably not worth the effort to get him up to speed as a blocker which is why they list him as a WR and not a TE.
 

Some guy said:
He isn’t a very good blocker.
Really doesn’t matter if he is listed at TE or WR if he is doing the same thing anyways.
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MNVCGUY said:
Problem with using a guy like Green at TE is that he would probably be pretty weak at blocking and therefore would really tip the defense to it being a pass play.

I like the role they have Green in and I am betting he likes it as well. Probably not worth the effort to get him up to speed as a blocker which is why they list him as a WR and not a TE.
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I suppose. He's a pretty big dude though.
 

I think Green will catch a lot more passes next year. He and BSF will be great weapons in the passing game.

It's really unbelievable how quickly WR went from a position of weakness to a position of strength under Fleck. We have an embarrassment of riches compared to anything I can remember.

I think the biggest need is a playmaker with elite speed who can break off a long play at any time. Hopefully Potts is that guy...
 

The TE in this offense is a glorified tackle. Fleck/Ciarocca have used the TE very little every single season they have been together. I don't foresee that changing anytime soon.
Moving Schlueter to TE for the Wisc game is another indication that they don't believe in using the TE in the passing game except for a few surprise times a season.
Nothing wrong with that as their philosophy has worked before. I just don't see the TE role expanding much next year because BSF might play there. With Johnson, Bell, Douglas and Bateman all back and well established, I don't want to see touches taken from them.
 

John Galt said:
I think Green will catch a lot more passes next year. He and BSF will be great weapons in the passing game.

It's really unbelievable how quickly WR went from a position of weakness to a position of strength under Fleck. We have an embarrassment of riches compared to anything I can remember.

I think the biggest need is a playmaker with elite speed who can break off a long play at any time. Hopefully Potts is that guy...
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Above all else the improvements in WR and QB recruiting have been great to see. WR has been a massive black hole around here for so long...all the way back into the Mason years it was rare for us to have multiple weapons at that position. We might have one good player a year but more than one was rare and having 3 really strong receivers at the same time with a 4th in Douglas who looks like he could be pretty good as well is unheard of around here.

And the best part of all is that all 4 of our receivers can be reasonably expected to keep getting better because 3 of them are freshmen and TJ is still pretty new to the position so has plenty of room to keep developing and improving. He made big strides already as the year went on in terms of cutting down on the drops. Sky is the limit for him next year, especially because defenses won't be able to totally key on him for fear of Bateman or Bell hurting them.
 

I forgot to ask, how put out did PA sound while he was talking about the Gophers?

The few times I listen and it isn't the Vikings PA sounds oh bored /bothered to talk about ... whatever it is.
 

When you have a good catching tight end who can also block perhaps will keep all the cornerbacks, line backers from going out to the cover the wide receivers. Also if the wide receivers are down field, quarterback gets in trouble, you should be able to dump the ball to him.
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
I forgot to ask, how put out did PA sound while he was talking about the Gophers?

The few times I listen and it isn't the Vikings PA sounds oh bored /bothered to talk about ... whatever it is.
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I heard PA interview Fleck the other day and he seemed into it. Fleck was in Vegas so PA tried to steer the conversation to gambling of course near the end but overall it was a decent interview (at least the part I heard).
 

Not related to P.A., but, I do not really listen to 1500 or 100.3 when it is not a game day anymore, but on my way home from work Monday, I was spinning the dial looking for any chatter about the Gophers...

The "Common Man" (who's show I detest) had Mark Rosen on, and I was actually taken by surprise that he (Common Man) is VERY high on the Gophers for next season... apparently he is full in on PJ and this team. He was talking about being 8-0 when Penn State comes to town next year, and a possible College Game Day in Dinkytown....
 

GFBfan said:
The TE in this offense is a glorified tackle. Fleck/Ciarocca have used the TE very little every single season they have been together. I don't foresee that changing anytime soon.
Moving Schlueter to TE for the Wisc game is another indication that they don't believe in using the TE in the passing game except for a few surprise times a season.
Nothing wrong with that as their philosophy has worked before. I just don't see the TE role expanding much next year because BSF might play there. With Johnson, Bell, Douglas and Bateman all back and well established, I don't want to see touches taken from them.
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Unless BSF is a better pass catcher and that allows them to redefine the roll of TE in the game plan.
 

Vandy said:
Not related to P.A., but, I do not really listen to 1500 or 100.3 when it is not a game day anymore, but on my way home from work Monday, I was spinning the dial looking for any chatter about the Gophers...

The "Common Man" (who's show I detest) had Mark Rosen on, and I was actually taken by surprise that he (Common Man) is VERY high on the Gophers for next season... apparently he is full in on PJ and this team. He was talking about being 8-0 when Penn State comes to town next year, and a possible College Game Day in Dinkytown....
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Sounds like he was being over the top.

I heard him yesterday and he was talking about how he was sure our fans thought things were turning around in 1986 or so when we beat Michigan.

Essentially nice win vs Wisconsin but we've been here before. Don't get excited.
 

Slow your role, he started how praising Donnell Green and from there everyone shifted gears to tight ends and Seth Green.
 

BilldGopher said:
Since Seth's performance has come up, I have to admit I was not keen on the wildcat early in the season but have found it to be very effective as the season progressed. Yes, he gets bottled up at times but all-in-all it is a positive for the offense. Also, the QBs seem to work with it too...not sure every QB ego could handle this as well as Tanner and Zack.
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The only time I saw Green get bottled up was when our line didn't account for an end or linebacker attacking on the backside of the play and wrapped up Green before he could pick his hole. If Green gets back to the line of scrimmage, his size and strength ends up getting him at least a full yard if not two.

I would love to see Green more involved as he is definitely a nice athlete. It's a nice problem to have for our coaching staff when they are trying to figure out how to spread the ball around to all of our playmakers, when healthy, we have a bunch of them.
 

Studwell55 said:
Greene's importance to the team go way beyond his stats.

He shows what determination, commitment, and physical play can do with only 5-7 snaps per game.

A hugely imporant model for the team.
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Green is clearly not the type of passer that PJ and KC want for their offense, but it had to open their eyes a bit to see what could happen when he Green was on the field this year.. Green does not have to be great passer to make an offense work, he just needs to run a read option and throw it once in a while keep the defense honest. He probably has a good enough arm to make the throws in a run first offense with a solid O line that does not get into 3rd and 9 all the time. . Not to make this about Claeys again, but he probably had something like this in mind with Green as his QB.

The role that Green could have, which was not played out enough on Saturday was to have Green running the read option (or an pass if needed)to run out the clock on every play later in games when ahead by a lot.

PJF had Tanner Morgan out there running a read option late when Wisconsin knew he was never going to keep it (or probably throw it) and with Green out there it would have been much tougher on W. I have never been much a fan of the so called Wilcat, but iit does seem to have a place at times. I sort of liked it when the late Tony Sparano ? ran it with Ricky Williams and the other RB in Miami in the NFL of all places. The Gopher version with Seth Green seem especially effective. The Gopher version is actually kind of intimidating due to Green's size, quickness and speed.
 
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oak_street1981 said:
Green is clearly not the type of passer that PJ and KC want for their offense, but it had to open their eyes a bit to see what could happen when he Green was on the field this year.. Green does not have to be great passer to make an offense work, he just needs to run a read option and throw it once in a while keep the defense honest. He probably has a good enough arm to make the throws in a run first offense with a solid O line that does not get into 3rd and 9 all the time. . Not to make this about Claeys again, but he probably had something like this in mind with Green as his QB.

The role that Green could have, which was not played out enough on Saturday was to have Green running the read option (or an pass if needed)to run out the clock on every play later in games when ahead by a lot.

PJF had Tanner Morgan out there running a read option late when Wisconsin knew he was never going to keep it (or probably throw it) and with Green out there it would have been much tougher on W. I have never been much a fan of the so called Wilcat, but iit does seem to have a place at times. I sort of liked it when the late Tony Sparano ? ran it with Ricky Williams and the other RB in Miami in the NFL of all places. The Gopher version with Seth Green seem especially effective. The Gopher version is actually kind of intimidating due to Green's size, quickness and speed.
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Of course Morgan wasn't going to keep it, because we don't run a read option.

Can we maybe get a thread stickied on the top of the football forum explaining what an RPO is so people stop complaining about Morgan not keeping the ball?
 

dpodoll68 said:
Of course Morgan wasn't going to keep it, because we don't run a read option.

Can we maybe get a thread stickied on the top of the football forum explaining what an RPO is so people stop complaining about Morgan not keeping the ball?
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This is a solid idea actually.
 

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