Chip: It's time for Gophers to contend under Fleck; Expectations deserve to be higher

BleedGopher

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per Chip:

P.J. Fleck opened his address at the recent Big Ten Media Days by noting that the Gophers went from being the youngest team in college football last season to the second-youngest team this season.

Please, not more of that.

The 2019 season isn’t about “racing to maturity” or measuring growth in slow drips. The Gophers can’t be labeled a veteran team just yet, but they are also not a bunch of unproven newbies.

Year 3 of Fleck’s tenure shifts to a new focus — becoming a legitimate contender in the Big Ten West. There’s no reason why the Gophers can’t reach that mile marker.

Coaches often preach about process, but results represent tangible signs of progress. The Gophers made strides that could be measured last season. The final month felt like a light bulb flicking on. Winning the Axe wasn’t a fluke.

“You start to show people where we’re headed because everybody wants proof,” Fleck said.

The Gophers remain in a prove-it phase, which makes their follow-up act particularly important. If you haven’t heard, attendance is a problem, not just here but across all of college football. Winning creates buzz, which spurs interest, which drives attendance. The Gophers need to provide more proof, as Fleck describes it.

Last season was a youth movement. This season is about moving up. Expectations deserve to be higher.

http://www.startribune.com/it-s-time-for-gophers-to-contend-under-p-j-fleck/513294182/

Go Gophers!!
 

Please, not more of that.

I say more of that.

Don't matter if "It's time" stuff is the way it is either way.

It wasn't time for the gophers to suck for decades either... but it happened.
 

Nice article. I agree we have a lot of momentum right now and this is the year to capitalize on it. No more waiting.


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Nice article. I agree we have a lot of momentum right now and this is the year to capitalize on it. No more waiting.


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Yes.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure that coaches are hired and fired all the time, and the reason this happens is obvious: coaches are hired to win. Period.

They are given a reasonable amount of time to accomplish this, and if they succeed they almost always get a big raise and lots of other great stuff. If they fail, they are almost always shown the door.

I'm pretty sure that every coach in America who has reached Year Three of his program-building project is expected to have made some solid headway toward that goal.

I believe in Fleck as a coach and a program-builder. Since I believe in what he's doing, I fully expect him to succeed.

And success is measured in wins.
 

I think Chip hit the nail right on the head.

If you are not a Fleck die-hard, the act can get old in a hurry. It all comes down to winning.

If the Gopher win, then as far as most media and casual fans are concerned, Fleck is "a colorful character."

If the Gophers lose, then Fleck is just annoying with the catch phrases and the repetition.

Right or wrong, fair or not - a less colorful coach in Fleck's position might get a longer leash. But Fleck - by his own behavior - draws more attention to himself. You can't paint a target on yourself and then complain when people aim at it.

Bottom line - if Fleck wins, all the other stuff goes away, or fades into the background.
 


There you go, he agrees with me.

Eight wins. That's seven regular season, plus a nice bowl win over a Texas A&M type opponent. Solid season. Solid step forward. Recruits will take notice of the big win over SEC team, forward momentum, they'll research and see the new facilities, hopefully two wins in a row over Wisconsin as our last two, nationally televised games (Wisc win plus bowl win). Getting ready for a BIG year in 2020!
 


Do we believe in momentum now?

When you are coming off winning four of your last five, you ride that momentum as far as it will take you.

To the main article, I agree next year should be a big step forward. I think last year could have been much more impressive if we hadn't wasted our games against some weak opponents with the self-inflicted wound at defensive coordinator. The team we saw after the firing is the talent we had available all year long. A full year of that should result in several more wins.
 






I've never heard Fleck complain about getting too much criticism. I like that he puts the attention on himself and not the players, makes it easier for them to perform.


I hate to say it but 8 wins would be a disappointment. The Mason-Dixon line for this season is 9 wins.
 

I've never heard Fleck complain about getting too much criticism. I like that he puts the attention on himself and not the players, makes it easier for them to perform.

I hate to say it but 8 wins would be a disappointment. The Mason-Dixon line for this season is 9 wins.

You nailed it.
 






Strange comment. Link to this?

That’s the funny thing. PJ doesn’t complain about it. His biggest supporters on the other-hand....


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I think they’re talking about the “year zero” type comments. Which to me are meh.
 

That’s the funny thing. PJ doesn’t complain about it. His biggest supporters on the other-hand....


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That's what I was referring to. worded it poorly. my bad. Fleck does paint a target on himself by his words and action - but his supporters complain about it when anyone questions him. just look at this board. Mason, Brewster, Kill, Claeys - all fair targets for criticism, including things that have nothing to do with football - but if anyone says anything remotely negative about Fleck, the defenders leap into action to protect the Coach's honor.
 

That's what I was referring to. worded it poorly. my bad. Fleck does paint a target on himself by his words and action - but his supporters complain about it when anyone questions him. just look at this board. Mason, Brewster, Kill, Claeys - all fair targets for criticism, including things that have nothing to do with football - but if anyone says anything remotely negative about Fleck, the defenders leap into action to protect the Coach's honor.

Well, let's paint a very clear picture here:

When anyone says anything negative about Mason, his defenders leap into action to protect the coach's honor.
When anyone says anything negative about Kill, his defenders leap into action to protect the coach's honor.
When anyone says anything negative about Claeys, his defenders leap into action to protect the coach's honor.
When anyone says anything negative about Brewster, his...well, there are some voices, but mostly crickets.

We've seen this give-and-take with everybody. This is nothing out of the ordinary.
 

Well, let's paint a very clear picture here:

When anyone says anything negative about Mason, his defenders leap into action to protect the coach's honor.
When anyone says anything negative about Kill, his defenders leap into action to protect the coach's honor.
When anyone says anything negative about Claeys, his defenders leap into action to protect the coach's honor.
When anyone says anything negative about Brewster, his...well, there are some voices, but mostly crickets.

We've seen this give-and-take with everybody. This is nothing out of the ordinary.

Exactly....the people who liked Kill would come to his defense everytime anyone bothered to question what he was doing or wasn't all in on his down home country boy schtick.

I am all for going after a coach when it is warranted. I get annoyed in here when some of the anti-Fleck crowd keep trotting out references to year zero even though we are multiple years removed from that. Also get annoyed by the ones who interpret the young comments as some sort of excuse for not being able to compete (which is exactly how Jerry used it and completely opposite of the way Fleck uses it).

Getting back to the article, expectations should definitely be raised for this season. I am not willing to say 9 wins is the minimum we should accept but it certainly seems doable with the schedule and the talent we have returning. I am always hesitant to put a win total expectation out before the season though because so much can happen during the year that can drastically shift the final number (injuries, fluke plays).

This is the most excited I have been for a season in a long time, hopefully the team can rise to the challenge and be in contention for a division title when it is all said and done.
 

That's what I was referring to. worded it poorly. my bad. Fleck does paint a target on himself by his words and action - but his supporters complain about it when anyone questions him. just look at this board. Mason, Brewster, Kill, Claeys - all fair targets for criticism, including things that have nothing to do with football - but if anyone says anything remotely negative about Fleck, the defenders leap into action to protect the Coach's honor.

Oh, what a bunch of B.S., you poor martyr. What draws out the defenders is the incessant bitching about the same trivial things he says. You could set your watch by how long it takes for the same people to be offended over and over about some of the dumb ass stuff P.J. says. The word "youngest" is like waving a red flag. From that, a few fools then can't resist going into P.J. is totally dishonest, nothing but a con man, and he certainly violates the noble standards that I have set for myself bit. You've got the right to bitch and complain about him but quit acting like you're rationale and his defenders are the only goofy ones.
 

Oh, what a bunch of B.S., you poor martyr. What draws out the defenders is the incessant bitching about the same trivial things he says. You could set your watch by how long it takes for the same people to be offended over and over about some of the dumb ass stuff P.J. says. The word "youngest" is like waving a red flag. From that, a few fools then can't resist going into P.J. is totally dishonest, nothing but a con man, and he certainly violates the noble standards that I have set for myself bit. You've got the right to bitch and complain about him but quit acting like you're rationale and his defenders are the only goofy ones.

Appreciate you for confirming SON's observation.
 

The only expectation I can remember from Kill was that we were going to play hard until the whistle blew. And that players who didn’t fit his culture got to wear the brown loapher jerseys.

The same folks that loved these expectations are now demanding that PJ needs to have the most regular season wins in 50 years. He must be a damn good coach if he pulls it off...
 


The only expectation I can remember from Kill was that we were going to play hard until the whistle blew. And that players who didn’t fit his culture got to wear the brown loapher jerseys.

The same folks that loved these expectations are now demanding that PJ needs to have the most regular season wins in 50 years. He must be a damn good coach if he pulls it off...

Personally, I liked Kill. And Claeys. And Fleck.

All I'm asking for short-term is that P.J. Fleck win as many games in a season as Claeys did the year before Fleck was hired — by my way of thinking he really ought to do that pretty soon. And since Fleck is supposedly far superior to Claeys as a recruiter and a coach, the 9-win season should absolutely not be the final goal.

These are definitely not unreasonable expectations! In fact, I highly doubt that P.J. Fleck would call them unreasonable.

Fleck was hired to eclipse the Kill/Claeys legacy, as measured in wins and losses. And P.J. Fleck has made his goals for the program very clear.

I am choosing to support his quest to reach those goals.
 
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Appreciate you for confirming SON's observation.

That is what you took from that post?

Shouldn’t really be a surprise considering your basically wrong every time you post.


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That's what I was referring to. worded it poorly. my bad. Fleck does paint a target on himself by his words and action - but his supporters complain about it when anyone questions him. just look at this board. Mason, Brewster, Kill, Claeys - all fair targets for criticism, including things that have nothing to do with football - but if anyone says anything remotely negative about Fleck, the defenders leap into action to protect the Coach's honor.

You should just stop now. Trying to infer Fleck’s supporters are the only ones that come to his defense isn’t even remotely accurate.

Every single one of these coaches mentioned have their supporters who continuously defend their honor. It’s not some strange occurrence that is only Fleck related.


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