Darius Taylor

[NotAFanOfBecky]

He's the shit.... problem is other schools WILL be trying to poach him... and I don't blame him if he takes a payday... better than being stuck in the f'n mud

Why are you even here? JC it’s one game! Why be fan if you expect to win every game by a blowout? I got news for you, you might want to find a new team to root for if you expect BiG titles and Natty consideration this year. I’ve lived the all those years of shit teams and it sucks. We are not that. We are not where anyone wants to be, including the coaches…but we are a developmental program and we are going to have quite a ride to get to the top. We need guys like Taylor to stay! We don’t need to run him off over a loss to a good team. Geez, do you still have the scars on your wrists after the Bowling Green debacle?

 

[Gopherchase]

Agreed. Amazing that a true freshman is out playing everyone else.

My concern is we don't have a pair nor a spare at this point.

Tyler is good in space, but he is not the guy to run it when it's 3rd and 2 against a stacked D.

I just can't imagine why Evans can't even get a single touch.

Are we going to run Taylor 35-40 times a game?

I know I’m a broken record but Evans clearly has FAMILY problems, unfortunately. I’m not a fan of Tyler.

 

[Jack jones]

He's the shit.... problem is other schools WILL be trying to poach him... and I don't blame him if he takes a payday... better than being stuck in the f'n mud

Can you say Prime? He is what’s wrong with present day college football. Sad day for college football. Hopefully USC and Oregon can stick one in his ear hole. (Or his son’s)

 

[Dakota2]

Taylor is sitting at a local establishment eating lunch, and a guy he has never seen before calmly walks up, slides a folded piece of paper over to him, and walks away.

Opens it up, it says “$250k” and has a phone number (to a burner cell).


Convince me that’s not how it works. Maybe I watch too much TV

Not the way it works. Someone calls a member of the family or maybe his high school coach. “We are just wondering if he would be interested in hearing our offer for transferring.

“Maybe you could talk to him privately and see if there’s interest. “

 

[Dakota2]

Agreed. Amazing that a true freshman is out playing everyone else.

My concern is we don't have a pair nor a spare at this point.

Tyler is good in space, but he is not the guy to run it when it's 3rd and 2 against a stacked D.

I just can't imagine why Evans can't even get a single touch.

Are we going to run Taylor 35-40 times a game?

If Evans doesn’t show up in practice soon we might see Marquis Williams, another true freshman.

 

[Dakota2]

We really need another RB to emerge and become a dependable fixture in the offense. Taylor averaged 6.3 yards per carry against NC; Tyler averaged 0.7 yards per carry. With the game on the line, 3rd and 2, we bring Tyler in for Taylor. WTF? I'm sure there was a reason for it (pass play to Tyler planned?), but why abandon the only efficient and dependable facet of the offense yesterday on a play for all the marbles? And when you need two yards, why bring a guy who is averaging less than a yard? Have we no one else who can contribute?

Taylor and Tyler are the only RBs who got touches yesterday. To keep Taylor fresh in a long season (esp. if Athan can't accurately deliver long and crossing route passes), we truly need Mason's "pair and a spare" at RB. At this point, and with the way we are game planning our running game, Tyler's limitations running in heavy traffic have me thinking he's the spare; a change of pace back. We need to fill out the "pair." Where is Evans?

DT was down with a cramp on the 3rd and 2 you mentioned. There are some heads rolling on the training staff this week.

 

[Off-GridTNgopher]

Why are you even here? JC it’s one game! Why be fan if you expect to win every game by a blowout? I got news for you, you might want to find a new team to root for if you expect BiG titles and Natty consideration this year. I’ve lived the all those years of shit teams and it sucks. We are not that. We are not where anyone wants to be, including the coaches…but we are a developmental program and we are going to have quite a ride to get to the top. We need guys like Taylor to stay! We don’t need to run him off over a loss to a good team. Geez, do you still have the scars on your wrists after the Bowling Green debacle?

Remember bucky... yeah....

 

[btowngopher]

If Evans doesn’t show up in practice soon we might see Marquis Williams, another true freshman.

He’s kind of the forgotten man on here. I’m pretty excited to see what he looks like too though, had a very nice offer list.

 

[Governor Sibley]

Should we be worried about NIL?

Nobody in P5 can give him more carries than us.

 

[gopherbadgerman]

Now the question.... Because we've been burned by this before... Will be able to convince him to stay?

Although everyone here says 100% it was money that Bucky left - I think Mo had something to do with it. But I'll agree that money talks. He probably wouldn't be here if Bucky was though...

 

[btowngopher]

Although everyone here says 100% it was money that Bucky left - I think Mo had something to do with it. But I'll agree that money talks. He probably wouldn't be here if Bucky was though...

Bucky really does fit the Oregon offense better. Not saying he wasn’t good here or that we couldn’t use him, but Oregon utilizes him more as a wr which will make him look more appealing as a nfl prospect.

 

[Replacement Gopher]

If this is our offense, and how the OC calls the game when everything is in the line, we have 7 wins tops. Maybe fewer.

I had the exact same feeling against WI in 2019 and just about every time we’ve played Iowa. It’s not the OC…

 

[RememberMurray]

Although everyone here says 100% it was money that Bucky left - I think Mo had something to do with it. But I'll agree that money talks. He probably wouldn't be here if Bucky was though...

Spot on.

Bucky might still be here if Mo had left earlier. Bucky wanted to get the ball, he wanted to play, but, yeah, the money part was important too. I can't blame him for any of that. He was never going to be the top running back while Mo was here. Heck, he was behind Mo and Potts, and was splitting time with Ky Thomas.

Taylor had offers from the likes of Michigan, and yet he chose to come to Minnesota instead. He came here specifically because wanted to play, to be the bell cow, and Fleck and Co. are giving him exactly that.

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

Although everyone here says 100% it was money that Bucky left - I think Mo had something to do with it. But I'll agree that money talks. He probably wouldn't be here if Bucky was though...

Even if the coaching staff didn't adjust anything, we had 178 carries by non-Mo running backs last year. Bucky had 155 carries at Oregon last year.

If he left because he didn't think there were enough touches here, he was wrong.

It was about money and that's okay.

 

[RememberMurray]

If you're a person who second-guesses play-calling, you get to be right 100% of the time. Hindsight is 20-20.

'Call the plays that work. Don't call the plays that don't work.'

The problem is, no play works 100% of the time. Sometimes it is because it the play was called at the wrong time, but more often it's because of poor execution. Human beings aren't robots; we make mistakes.

 

[watertown 1987 guy n]

Taylor is real deal. Tyler is interesting. Can’t believe we took Taylor out on 3rd and 2, when a first down keeps us on a drive to close in on NC, and a fail pretty much means we concede a loss. I just don’t get it. Play calling and personnel packages are linked. What was working today; what wasn’t? Why with the game on the line, needing only a short gain to continue, do we go away from the one thing that was working?

I don’t get it either. It’s like the offensive coaches think using similar versions of plays that work can’t work and they convince themselves that being tricky by doing some else will really throw the defense off.

The coaches can’t seem to accept that sometimes the reason plays work is because there is some small advantage between players or those that execute the play - not a surprise of not using again a play that works.

 

[Spaulding!No!]

DT2 shifts and dips his shoulders. It works!

 

[fan of Ray Williams]

DT2 shifts and dips his shoulders. It works!

Darius is #1
You are referring to Taylor, correct?
(Take off from Star Wars?)

 

[Panthadad2]

Can you say Prime? He is what’s wrong with present day college football. Sad day for college football. Hopefully USC and Oregon can stick one in his ear hole. (Or his son’s)

I think physical teams like Utah and Washington will destroy the Primers. Not so sure about Oregon's 21 point spread.

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

If you're a person who second-guesses play-calling, you get to be right 100% of the time. Hindsight is 20-20.

'Call the plays that work. Don't call the plays that don't work.'

The problem is, no play works 100% of the time. Sometimes it is because it the play was called at the wrong time, but more often it's because of poor execution. Human beings aren't robots; we make mistakes.

This isn't true. I second guess play-calling and I'm wrong all the time.

I hate the bubble screen and complained about it all the time prior to CAB housing that TD against Penn State.

 

[Dakota2]

If you're a person who second-guesses play-calling, you get to be right 100% of the time. Hindsight is 20-20.

'Call the plays that work. Don't call the plays that don't work.'

The problem is, no play works 100% of the time. Sometimes it is because it the play was called at the wrong time, but more often it's because of poor execution. Human beings aren't robots; we make mistakes.

Every play is designed to work. If your guys execute flawlessly and the other guys don’t make a lucky guess, every play would work.

What we often forget is the other guys are working their tails off to win too. With great athletes everywhere you get interesting competition. Which means, whatever the play call, sometimes your guys prevail and sometimes not.

 

[RememberMurray]

Every play is designed to work. If your guys execute flawlessly and the other guys don’t make a lucky guess, every play would work.

What we often forget is the other guys are working their tails off to win too. With great athletes everywhere you get interesting competition. Which means, whatever the play call, sometimes your guys prevail and sometimes not.

You nailed it. Well done.

 

[Dakota2]

I don’t get it either. It’s like the offensive coaches think using similar versions of plays that work can’t work and they convince themselves that being tricky by doing some else will really throw the defense off.

The coaches can’t seem to accept that sometimes the reason plays work is because there is some small advantage between players or those that execute the play - not a surprise of not using again a play that works.

He had a cramp. Which back would you send out for a big play, the one with a cramp or the one who didn’t?

 

[Dakota2]

DT2 shifts and dips his shoulders. It works!

Floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee.

 

[RememberMurray]

Floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee.

His vision and ability to see holes and patterns are a huge part of his ability.

This part of his game reminds me of Emmitt Smith.

 

[Spaulding!No!]

DT2 shifts and dips his shoulders. It works!

It was nice hearing Burns on Gopher gridiron steal my line here. So satisfying.

 

[Mr. 131]

Beating a dead horse, but PJ has got to give the full OC job to Simon.
Harbaugh ain't it and we keep missing on offense when there's so much potential...

For sure, and I don't think this is the full story. PJ's conservative philosophy is seeping into playcalling. Northwestern's 4th quarter playcalling absolultely felt like PJ's fingerprints.