Souhan: Gophers' P.J. Fleck is showing his coaching chops

per Souhan:

The Gophers’ victory over Nebraska shouldn’t have been a surprise, given Nebraska’s injuries and ongoing rebuild under Scott Frost, but the University of Minnesota should never take a victory over Nebraska for granted. Nebraska is one of those schools that has all of the advantages of a remote, land-grant football factory that the Gophers do not have. Blowing out the Cornhuskers under any circumstance is a sign of progress.

Fleck has maximized his team’s strengths (running back depth and wide receiver excellence) and hidden its flaws (lack of size, and secondary depth, on defense).

In two weeks, the Gophers should be 8-0 with an excellent Penn State team coming to town.

It will be possible, at that point, to compare Fleck’s 2019 team with Brewster’s 7-1 2008 team.

But you shouldn’t. Whether you like him or wear earplugs any time you’re within 5 miles of campus, you should be willing to admit that Fleck and his staff can coach.

http://www.startribune.com/gophers-p-j-fleck-is-showing-his-coaching-chops/563165082/

Go Gophers!!

Souhan needs a pulse check first time I’ve seen him positive about the gophers

Lack of size? What is he talking about? You could make the argument about the D line with Carter and Sam but that would be it, and given the way they are playing the positions I'm not sure you could even say that. Soupcan...LOL. How do these people get paid to write about sports when most of them don't even know much about said sport?

NotAFanOfBecky said:

Lack of size? What is he talking about? You could make the argument about the D line with Carter and Sam but that would be it, and given the way they are playing the positions I'm not sure you could even say that. Soupcan...LOL. How do these people get paid to write about sports when most of them don't even know much about said sport?

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Also, lack of secondary depth??

That's an absolute area of strength and depth.

Durr, Thomas, St. Juict, Smith, Williamson, Winfield, Howden and Harris have all played and started games. Depth includes Swenson, Howard, plus youth like Nubin, Sapp and that is a strength of this team. There is no hidden flaw there.



What a difference in Souhan headlines not even a year apart:

FROM NOVEMBER 2018 (after MN beat PUR, but lost to NW): P.J. Fleck and his Gophers look lost.

(In this column, Souhan literally calls PJ Fleck an embarrassment.)

FROM OCTOBER 2019: Gophers' P.J. Fleck is showing his coaching chops

In this column, Souhan literally says "you should be willing to admit that Fleck and his staff can coach."


This is exactly what happens when media people pay no attention to the Gophers. Only occasionally. They pretend to have a strong opinion, but can't really base it in fact because they don't know the facts because they don't care enough to pay attention.

Brandon said:

Souhan needs a pulse check first time I’ve seen him positive about the gophers

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It's a veiled dig if you ask me.

BleedGopher said:

per Souhan:
It will be possible, at that point, to compare Fleck’s 2019 team with Brewster’s 7-1 2008 team.

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Wrote the whole article to get this snarky line in to remind every one of what a ****ty coach Brewster was and how this season's record and wins is similar to that one.

Lack of size? Funny. The ironic part is that is something even someone like Souhan that doesn't know anything about the team could verify by simply looking at a roster or media guide.