Two years into the PJ Fleck era, the Gophers program is...?

Two years into the PJ Fleck era, the Gophers program is...?

  • Fleck has the program further along than I expected

    Votes: 38 25.9%
  • Fleck has the program exactly where I expected

    Votes: 95 64.6%
  • Fleck has the program not as far along as I expected

    Votes: 14 9.5%

  • Total voters
    147

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Two years into the PJ Fleck era, the Gophers program is...?
 

No “Prefer not to answer” option?


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I went with not as far along as I expected, but I think it is also worth noting that it is trending in the right direction.
 

That's tough. I didn't know what to expect. I hoped Fleck could somehow come in to kick @ss and take names. I'm a fan, how do I not hope for that. Last year was difficult but saw signs of hope for the future. This year saw even more signs of improvement from both offense and defense. I'm not disappointed in where the Gophers are and I continue to have confidence they'll continue improving and be a quality B1G team.

I have no idea what option that is.
 

Given what the QB situation was and the key injuries sustained, it's tough to have expected much more. The recruiting has been as good as I had hoped.
 


Voted "where I expected" but that's not a perfect description. I had hoped for a better record in year 2 so that's below expecations (Illinois, Nebraska/Maryland killed that). However, the level of play shown in the latter part of the season coming from so many young players, both talentwise and mentally, has shown me more potential than I've seen since the early 2000s and will hopefully far surpass those teams actual performance. So the team's promise at this point exceeded my expecations.

I understand that the team's academic performance has been pretty impressive so there's that too.
 

On the rise. Our QB situation is clearly improved. We have a much improved receiver corps. TE included. Our offensive line is good with a very young group. They are going to get a lot better. Our running back stable is full, with “a pair and a spare.” Running the ball is going to be what we do. We recruited well in D line group, with a good group of red shirt DE’s. We have two good LB’s returning. Our secondary will be much better with the return of Winfield and Sapp. I expect to see the physical team next year for 12 games that we saw in the bowl win.
The most promising thing about this team is their growth during the season. This is the result of good coaching.
We may not win the west next year, but whoever does, will have to take it from us. That’s where we realistically should be in year three. We will be in a better bowl game next year too.
 
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All things considered -- especially the heaping helping of injuries to key players this year -- we're on track. We're in a good place, headed somewhere even better.

JTG
 

He's recruited better than I thought he would. I knew he was known as a recruited, but we had a ton of freshman contribute mightily this year in meaningful minutes. Our offensive line looks like it belongs in the Big Ten for the first time since Mason. Our defensive line has depth and talent. We have a reasonable good QB and we have receivers that are better than than any MAC team, which was also not true for like 10 years. So we're further along than I expected.
 



Pj Flecks program is skyrocketing. Should have been one of the options.
 

All things considered -- especially the heaping helping of injuries to key players this year -- we're on track. We're in a good place, headed somewhere even better.

JTG

Where I'm at. He was playing the "Lowering Expectations" card, but if you look at what he was actually saying, the Gophers seem to be pretty much on his schedule.
 

I couldn’t be happier with how we ended the season. Still, 5-7, 7-5 is below what my expectations were going in. I’m damn excited for the future tho.


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Exactly where PJ Fleck thought it would be. Building depth and bringing in a lot more talent than this program has ever seen. What we just saw the last 4 games was this program “coming out of the turn” as Coach Fleck likes to say. The corner appears to have been turned!


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On the one hand, PJ didn't take over a broken down wreck of a program, so I expected more success early than we've enjoyed. Om the other hand, the Gophers definitely were on the upswing for the last four games.

I expect absolutely no fewer than eight wins in 2019, and I think our team could surprise everyone with a breakthrough season.
 

On the one hand, PJ didn't take over a broken down wreck of a program, so I expected more success early than we've enjoyed. Om the other hand, the Gophers definitely were on the upswing for the last four games.

I expect absolutely no fewer than eight wins in 2019, and I think our team could surprise everyone with a breakthrough season.

The most important position, QB, was pretty much a wreck.
 

The most important position, QB, was pretty much a wreck.

Green always gets dismissed. Not the full time QB for the offense that Fleck runs, but don't think he is pretty much a wreck. Think the position could have used a little more of him last year. They neglected him even the time they did run the wildcat.
But that being said, I like where the team is at right now. Really seems on the upswing with players coming back and players coming in. Defense did the 180 after the Illinois game, the victory over Wisconsin, the dominating bowl win. Excited for next year. Impossible not to be.
 

I went with ahead of expected. The end of the season run may have tipped the scale a bit more to the plus.

I have to think that without the DC switch, the Purdue and Wisconsin games aren't W's. That would likely have me evaluating the condition as trending behind what I would have expected.

Things are looking up.
 

I couldn’t be happier with how we ended the season. Still, 5-7, 7-5 is below what my expectations were going in. I’m damn excited for the future tho.


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This is spot on! Felt like we should have won 6 games last year and 7 this year. I fully expect a minimum of 8 regular season games next year as an absolute minimum. This is going to be one hell of a long off season, filled with great optimism.
 

I put as expected.
I thought last year might be a bit better than it was at the end of the year, but seeing how young PJ went I reset my expectations.
This year's finish is above expectations, but overall, I'll go with as expected. The third year expectations are now higher which is in align with what I was hoping for when he signed on.
Win 8 next year.
Maybe win 10 or more if things go really well. High ceiling for this team.
 

Because the question was worded "where I expected"...my response is "further along."

I don't care whether 'Sconnie's down or not but getting The Axe back is significant. I had zero realistic expectation this would happen within two meetings with that team.

Then the bowl game performance that was not that far off from what happened against Washington State 3 years ago...Gophers came ready to play with a good game plan executed to a T...except punting of course (I'm sure they thought Herbers would have to kick it once).

Finally, there is such a thing as program "momentum" and the Gophers have that right now. Whether that's sustained of course remains to be seen but after Illinois I'd have laughed if told we'd have a strong November, get The Axe, have a good recruiting class, and get to and soundly win the bowl game. Only a negative nellie can't see the program "mo" at this moment. Glad I'm not a Boiler fan...

Coach told us the risks in what he needed to do...and I certainly didn't like some of it...but all things considered I'm pleased with the progress at the end of 2018. Yep, "further along" for me. Nice poll.
 

My feeling is that the slow, steady build is the most sustainable.

When Fleck was hired, I underestimated just how much of a course correction it was going to be.

Looking at 2018, there were games when the Gophers looked really good, and there were games when they looked flat-out terrible. For long-term success, I think there needs to be consistency. I'm not saying you should expect to win every game, but at least look competitive in the losses. That is the next step for the program. I'm not going to put a number of wins on it, but I just want to see a team that goes out every week, looks like a team, and has a good chance to win. If you do that, the wins and losses generally take care of themselves.

Having said that - if this is a journey, the Gophers are not at their destination yet. there is a ways to go. there may be bumps in the road, even the occasional flat tire. But, if you have a plan, and stick to the plan, you can reach that destination. if you do encounter difficulties, avoid the temptation to try a detour. that can lead you further away from your ultimate destination.
 

Probably where it should be given the circumstances. I do expect 8 or 9 wins and the last two games of the year still in contention for the west.
 

This question is a little more complicated than at first glance. The 2017 season was what I expected. Kill/Claeys recruits had 3 options: buy into PJ's program, transfer, or stay around even if they didn't believe in what was happening. By 2018, I hope that most remaining bought in. The offense, in particular, needed more talent, and Robb Smith was about what I expected.
For the 2018 season, the offense wound up being about what I hoped for, despite the RB losses. I wasn't expecting the defense to be as improved as it was after Robb Smith left; so that was definitely better than expected. I give some of that credit to dominance by the o-line.
I really think that the full story of the 2nd season isn't written yet. What impact will the dominance over Wisconsin and Georgie Tech have by demonstrating that the Gophers are a team on the rise? While I'm hoping that Darwin Barlow or Kristian Williams will sign, I'm really talking about the 2020 class. I would expect the Gophers would look more interesting to elie OL's, DL's and LB's, hopefully starting with Kaden Johnson.
 

Fleck should be a handful of games above .500 overall, so below where I expected. No reason he couldn't be 16-10 or 17-9 right now.
 

Pretty far ahead of what i thought it would be. He has done the most important thing, build a culture, build relationships and scout recruits to the hilt.
 

I voted further along than I expected. The culture change was a bigger task than I expected. He has taught the kids the difference between happiness and joy quicker than I anticipated, he has also created a Nekton Mentality quicker than I expected, that usually takes a long time.

Oh and less importantly, he also did something that Brewster, Kill, Claeys did not do and that is beat wisconsin.
 

Further along. Crushed Sconnie on the road. Enough said.


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Doing alright, about what it’s been for the last 20 years on average.


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We’ve done far better than could be expected. We hadn’t beat Wisky since 2003. Hadn’t beat a top 25 team since 1999. PJ comes in and does both in year 2. We’ve been inconsistent because we’re young. 2019 is the year we become more consistent and the bad losses begin to go away.

This was a team that had nothing at QB, nothing at WR, a makeshift OL and DL, and a secondary that was ravaged by the expulsions. The improvement in talent and depth after 2 years is pretty amazing.
 

I see a lot of comments about how they are disappointed in the number of wins in 2017. Not only is the question about where the team is NOW, but why in the world are so many concerned NOW about what our record was in 2017? This site is truly depressing. We have the youngest team in the country and we just won a game we hadn't won since 1994 and 71% of voters in this thread don't think we are further along than expected?????? I don't get it.
 




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