touchdownvikings
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The Gophers' victory over Purdue is a good sign for the team. PJ builds machines: before the game has ever been played, and before even a single thing could be known about it, the team is set up to operate a certain way. (This is not unlike Wisconsin - although our particular machine is not identical to their's.)
The way a machine is defeated is by forcing it to function outside of its operating parameters. In the case of the Gophers, if the passing game doesn't include 2 stud receivers, then Tanner must go through progressions - which he really can't do. Then the passing game struggles. No passing game, no running game - because the defense just loads the box. Now there's no offense. No offense, no domination of time of possession. No domination of time of possession, no defensive performance. So it's a great, big dependency chain, as all machines are. Not all football teams are constructed as machines with operating parameters, but the Gophers are.
Here's the thing. The operating parameters of our machine can be broadened two ways: (1) Tanner Morgan improves such that he can go through progressions - that hasn't happened, and probably never will; and (2) the defense improves such that it can function without a decisive TOP advantage - that's happened. That's great news and portends good things going forward.
Moreover, CrAB and Wright will both be back in the offense soon, and that will cover up Morgan's weakness. So that's not a case of expanding the Gophers' operating parameters, but it is a case of delivering what is needed to situate the team within those parameters. Again, good news.
Some of you (the less intelligent) will be upset about my (accurate) description of Morgan. Let me be clear: he's the best Minnesota QB in my lifetime. He has a generally accurate arm. He throws a catchable ball. He moves relatively well in the pocket. He can make pre-snap reads of the defense. And he can scramble *just enough*. But he cannot go through progressions (therefore needs to be able to determine where to send the ball prior to the snap), his arm is a little weak (can't reliably throw patterns requiring a flat trajectory with high velocity), and he is short (batted balls). The largest of these weaknesses is his inability to go through progressions, because it forces decision making to occur prior to the events that unfold on the field.
The point of all this is the following: the Gophers machine was forced to function outside of its operating parameters, and they won! They won because the defense has progressed to a state wherein it no longer requires decisive TOP advantage to function against many teams. That bodes well for the Gophers!
SKOL!
The way a machine is defeated is by forcing it to function outside of its operating parameters. In the case of the Gophers, if the passing game doesn't include 2 stud receivers, then Tanner must go through progressions - which he really can't do. Then the passing game struggles. No passing game, no running game - because the defense just loads the box. Now there's no offense. No offense, no domination of time of possession. No domination of time of possession, no defensive performance. So it's a great, big dependency chain, as all machines are. Not all football teams are constructed as machines with operating parameters, but the Gophers are.
Here's the thing. The operating parameters of our machine can be broadened two ways: (1) Tanner Morgan improves such that he can go through progressions - that hasn't happened, and probably never will; and (2) the defense improves such that it can function without a decisive TOP advantage - that's happened. That's great news and portends good things going forward.
Moreover, CrAB and Wright will both be back in the offense soon, and that will cover up Morgan's weakness. So that's not a case of expanding the Gophers' operating parameters, but it is a case of delivering what is needed to situate the team within those parameters. Again, good news.
Some of you (the less intelligent) will be upset about my (accurate) description of Morgan. Let me be clear: he's the best Minnesota QB in my lifetime. He has a generally accurate arm. He throws a catchable ball. He moves relatively well in the pocket. He can make pre-snap reads of the defense. And he can scramble *just enough*. But he cannot go through progressions (therefore needs to be able to determine where to send the ball prior to the snap), his arm is a little weak (can't reliably throw patterns requiring a flat trajectory with high velocity), and he is short (batted balls). The largest of these weaknesses is his inability to go through progressions, because it forces decision making to occur prior to the events that unfold on the field.
The point of all this is the following: the Gophers machine was forced to function outside of its operating parameters, and they won! They won because the defense has progressed to a state wherein it no longer requires decisive TOP advantage to function against many teams. That bodes well for the Gophers!
SKOL!
