PJ Fleck Interview new - Sunday 9-1-19

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Gopher Football Coach PJ Fleck was on the Sports Huddle on WCCO Radio. (phone interview - Huddle was live at the State Fair).

(note - Fleck was not on at usual time. they got him on the phone at about 10:45 for a short interview. Huddle ended early due to Twins game.)

Sid: scouting report on Fresno state.
PJ: lot of people got to watch them last night. they were a top 25 team last year. one of top teams in Mountain West. finished 12-2. they played us all the way to the end. We won on the Winfield play in the end zone. they are very good. well-coached. had a chance to beat USC last night. one of the better teams we'll play all year. very tough. we've got to go out to their place. they have a good QB who's been waiting his turn, very savvy. they have good RB's. their defense is stifling. we've got a whole year of data on them. That's why I was late today - we were in the process of game-planning with a film session.

Sid: Were your players over-confident against SDSU?
PJ: I don't think so. what SDSU did, that's a compliment to them. we need to play better. we need to fix a lot of things. you look around country at some of the 1st week games ISU, WVA - playing that 1st game with FCS schools. week one is always strange. did we play our best football, no. did we win the game, yes. we've got to get a lot better. team came in to practice after the game with the mentality to get better

Max: offensive and defensive line play?
PJ: at times it was good, at times it was bad. we need to be more consistent. have to iron that out.

Mona: Bateman.
PJ: he's very talented. we went through this last year at times. People know Tyler is really good. Bateman was really good as a true FR. maybe you don't trust him as much as a true FR. now we have two weapons on the outside. we have some other guys to go along with the running attack. they wanted to take Tyler out of the game. that was their game plan - stop the run and take Tyler out of the game. It's like I said with week one - you're preparing for ghosts - don't know what they're going to do. They did things we didn't plan for, and we were adjusting to on the sideline. have to find out how your opponents are going to play you.

Sid: who played well?
PJ: as a team, we all have to play better. we're not going to be stat people. we need to be better on 3rd down. we were close to 50%, but want to be above that. On 4th downs we were 1 for 1. We scored both times in the red zone. We only ran around 60 plays - that's not a lot. we need to have more plays. need to get the ball back for our offense. had 3 penalties - we were pretty disciplined. we just never got into a rhythm.

Max: RPO. how do you defend that
PJ: it's difficult. We hadn't seen their QB play. RPO adds another element. have to be able to read offenses -read the pad level - RPO different than a regular run. Teams run variations - run inside-outside RPO's. very difficult to stop. every team is using it. it's an easy way to get play-action. the ball can get out of QB's hands quicker. on defense, your eyes have to be in the right place. we had too many people trying to make someone else's plays. we have to trust every one around us. it was a case of some guys being on the field for the first time in a while, or the first time ever.

Max: problems with guys cramping?
PJ: we had one or two guys. we usually do a good job with that. sometimes you think you're hydrated, doing all the right things. we've got to do a better job as we go out to the West Coast where it's going to be 95 degrees. may have to change our hydration a little bit. I don't like it when the team cramps up. I take that personally.

Sid: don't give up on Gophers. they'll be all right. Murray's.
PJ: RTB, Ski-U-Mah, Go Gophers.
 

Was it just me, or did PJ sound less "salesy" today.

Seemed to be speaking slower. More monotone. Matter-of-a-fact conversation.

It seems like PJ might be evolving into a middle-aged coach.
 

I believe Fleck was disappointed in his team Thursday night and was embarrass. As always Fleck takes responsibility for his team's actions. He'll be tougher on them as to words this week stressing the fundamentals as to what makes a team great. I'm hoping (like we all are) that the Gophers will be much better this Saturday.

Thanks for the report Son! As always very much appreciated!
 

Thanks SON.

I’m confident PJ and staff will get a much better performance out of the team Saturday.


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Thanks SON. Curious on the stifling defense comment by Fleck. Fresno allowed over 100 yards more than their average in 2018.
 


Thanks SON.

I’m confident PJ and staff will get a much better performance out of the team Saturday.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

But are you $80,000 confident like that dude who dropped some big coin on Illinois?
 



Thanks,S.O.N., and Happy Birthday tomorrow.
 



But are you $80,000 confident like that dude who dropped some big coin on Illinois?

I’m currently married. I’d like to stay that way.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

It makes me nervous PJ keeps saying they did so many things we didn’t anticipate. 1. I’d like to think you have a plan for most any scheme and have practiced against it...at least introduced it. And 2. The guy has been there 33 years or something? He just tossed all his stuff out and he’s starting over? 3. You knew who their QB was going to be and what his abilities were. Why the surprises to you as coach?
Just say we didn’t play well. I have confidence you’ll fix that. If you tell me Fresno St did some stuff we hadn’t seen before and sorry....I’m going to be watching those Vegas first Coach to go odds closer because that says you are in over your head.
 

Sid????

What about the red shirt freshmen who might play?

How am I going to know!!???!
 

Thanks SON! Happy birthday.
And if I won the lottery and had lots and lots of money I’m still not sure I’d put $80k on the Gophers.
Hats off to that guy but curious what his winnings balance sheet looks like come Christmas time.
 



they wanted to take Tyler out of the game. that was their game plan - stop the run and take Tyler out of the game.

That worries me in the sense that a lot of the game there were match-ups (1 on 1 in all alone ...) and we for the most part just ran right into their defense, sometimes threw right into it.

SDSU committed to their defensive plan and really we didn't make them pay for it nearly often enough.... or we couldn't...
 

It makes me nervous PJ keeps saying they did so many things we didn’t anticipate. 1. I’d like to think you have a plan for most any scheme and have practiced against it...at least introduced it. And 2. The guy has been there 33 years or something? He just tossed all his stuff out and he’s starting over? 3. You knew who their QB was going to be and what his abilities were. Why the surprises to you as coach?
Just say we didn’t play well. I have confidence you’ll fix that. If you tell me Fresno St did some stuff we hadn’t seen before and sorry....I’m going to be watching those Vegas first Coach to go odds closer because that says you are in over your head.
I'n not a big PJ guy but in his defense SDSU had new Offensive and Defensive Coordinators.
 

I'n not a big PJ guy but in his defense SDSU had new Offensive and Defensive Coordinators.

Apparently the TD pass to the RB out of the back field that got called back and the TD pass to the TE were both new looks they never ran last year.

It actually gives me more reassurance in our D considering we'll have a full games worth of tape on Fresno this time.
 

Let’s just hope no team the rest of the year throws a new look at us then. What a joke.


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This was the first Fleck coach Gopher team that struggled with kick off coverage that I can remember. Maybe the kicker can put a little more on the kickoffs to take away return opportunities.
 

Let’s just hope no team the rest of the year throws a new look at us then.

This is where your ignorance of college football really shines.

SDSU had all fall camp to prepare, focus on us, and install their new plays, having film of Rossi's defense from four games last season and knowing he'd be using the same scheme for this game.


Much more difficult to achieve that, week after week, in only a single week.


If it were that easy to do, every team would install brand new schemes for every new team they play, every week. But none of them do that, because it's too hard.
 

This is where your ignorance of college football really shines.

SDSU had all fall camp to prepare, focus on us, and install their new plays, having film of Rossi's defense from four games last season and knowing he'd be using the same scheme for this game.


Much more difficult to achieve that, week after week, in only a single week.


If it were that easy to do, every team would install brand new schemes for every new team they play, every week. But none of them do that, because it's too hard.

Since I’m so ignorant, maybe you could explain why we didn’t change anything up then? We would have had all offseason to prepare it and without SDSU knowing it was coming it is just too difficult to stop.

I have to be honest, you calling me ignorant when it comes to college football puts a smile on my face. Hollywood couldn’t write anything quite so rich.


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why we didn’t change anything up then? We would have had all offseason to prepare it

Easy: you only do that when you're trying to "pull out all the stops" to win. This was their super bowl. Coaches didn't think we'd need to do that. If we were playing Alabama the first game, we absolutely would've done that.

Really would not be surprised if players and coaches just didn't think we needed to do much more than simple stuff to win. Thought we'd roll right over them with our superior talent.
 

This is where your ignorance of college football really shines.

SDSU had all fall camp to prepare, focus on us, and install their new plays, having film of Rossi's defense from four games last season and knowing he'd be using the same scheme for this game.


Much more difficult to achieve that, week after week, in only a single week.


If it were that easy to do, every team would install brand new schemes for every new team they play, every week. But none of them do that, because it's too hard.

If this is what they did, then I now understand why they've never won a natty.
 

If this is what they did, then I now understand why they've never won a natty.

Yep good point. I'm sure it has nothing to do with being in the same conference as the team that has won 7 out of the last 8.
 

It makes me nervous PJ keeps saying they did so many things we didn’t anticipate. 1. I’d like to think you have a plan for most any scheme and have practiced against it...at least introduced it. And 2. The guy has been there 33 years or something? He just tossed all his stuff out and he’s starting over? 3. You knew who their QB was going to be and what his abilities were. Why the surprises to you as coach?
Just say we didn’t play well. I have confidence you’ll fix that. If you tell me Fresno St did some stuff we hadn’t seen before and sorry....I’m going to be watching those Vegas first Coach to go odds closer because that says you are in over your head.

Ok, relax typical Scandinavian Minnesotan.

Coachspeak. Not atypical.
 


curious - how does everyone know it's my birthday? Is that info posted somewhere?

(you're making me more paranoid than usual......)
 



Let’s just hope no team the rest of the year throws a new look at us then. What a joke.


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Well Spoofin, fortunately for us, we will have competitive game tape on all 11 remaining opponents.

Also in the future, we will be playing a senior LB who has played in 37 career games instead of two sophomore/RS freshman LB's playing in their very first non special team snaps of their college career that the opponent specifically tried to exploit. I don't know if I would even expect Oliver and Sori-Marin to pick up guys in coverage on misdirection plays that they never once simulated in practice and had never once seen on film from that opponent.

Since I’m so ignorant, maybe you could explain why we didn’t change anything up then?

They only ran those two plays once each so we would have never had an opportunity to show we did change it up.
 
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