"Pound the Rock"

[The 12th Man]

I have a serious question:

Do people really think that just running the ball a ton rather than reacting to the situations presented by the game will help the team win, given the offensive system they run?

Caveat: "Because that's what good teams do," "That's what it takes to win in the Big Ten," and similar answers are not acceptable. I want actual football reasoning. Again, I would like to hear an answer that takes into account the offensive system we run.

I think I know what is trying to be accomplished in this offense- I have played it, coach it, and watch it every Sunday- but I am pretty interested in public perception.

 

[thailleagle]

Unfortunately we're Tim Brewster's 1st Team, he doesn't know what he wants to do as a Coach.......

We need to stop with the slogans and just play and see what happens.......

 

[jags1998]

I have a serious question:

Do people really think that just running the ball a ton rather than reacting to the situations presented by the game will help the team win, given the offensive system they run?

No I do not. We beat Syracuse because we threw the ball when we had to, IMO. Who cares what the percentages were at the end. I'm all for running the ball but win the game.

 

[gopherdudepart2]

I don't want them to pound the rock to be pig headed

Football reasoning about wanting a balanced attack is that the Gopher defense is at it's
best when they do not have to be on the field for long periods of time. When your a pass first
option team and the QB is struggling you have way to many 3 and out series in a row and next thing you know your defense has played the entire second quarter and most of the half. I think Syracuse had more than 5 minutes more possesion time on us. The gophers do that against Air Force or California and it is a sure loss unless we have a lot of explosive plays that lead to a lot of points. I'm a realist, Decker is one of the best offensive weapons we have gotta utilize him as much as possible, and Troy Stoudimire too for that matter. So a short and consistent passing game needs to be used, we need to get the ball in Decker's hands and get Stoudimire touches. I want to see them let Weber take off and run some and use some more mis-direction out of those spread sets as we do have the ability to seal block or crackback and get some yards. Staright trap plays, off tackle and dive play's not so much. Weber seems best out of shot-gun so let's use that unless the situation dictates going under center.
I don't want to see 19 for 42 attempts very often because this will be a bad season if that is the statistics line in most case's . We need to control the rock and if that means 30-35 rushing attempts for 180 to 200 yards and 30-35 passing attempts then so be it as long as we control the clock and win games. We do not look like we have 1 back that can get us 30-35 carries so I would like to see Weber and Hoese get 5 to 10 touches where they run or short dump off passes in Hoese's case. Why not let Jay Thomas get a few touches he is fast after all.

 

[thailleagle]

It looks like Fisch is trying to make the players work around the system instead of designing the system around the play-makers.......

 

[MNWolfman]

i just saw alot of poor execution. adam missing badly. poor oline execution.

 

[monk10]

It was obvious to me that we were trying to establish a quick passing game to open up the run. Nobody expected Weber to be as off as he was. That makes it tough for any coach to decide to abandon the game plan, or continue to hope that your best quarterback shakes the slump he was in. We were rewarded with staying with Weber as we were rewarded with a beautiful drive down the field.

I expected a NFL like short "running" game (short, high percentage passes)

 

[Gopher Nation]

i just saw alot of poor execution. adam missing badly. poor oline execution.

Me too. But let's not forget the confusion on the sidelines too. All three timeouts were gone with 11 minutes left in the first half. That's par for the course with Brewster.

And a combination of plays getting in slow from the sidelines and Weber screwing around patting guys on the back instead of getting them huddled up leads to about five penalties and/or wasted timeouts a game. Year 3 and it's not any better.

 

[Rickman55]

Watching the Missississippi/Memphis game yesterday one of the announcers made a good point. You have to be able to run the ball at the end of a close game if you are going to be a winning program. Most games are not going to be blowouts, so you have to keep posession and run down the clock at the end of the game. The best way to do this is by running the ball. It also keeps the defense off the field. You need a balanced attack.......

 

[GreasyGopher]

Here's how I look at "Pound the Rock": I take it to mean Brewster wants to be able to run the football whenever he wants to run the football, not when he has to run the football. Good teams run the football, and are successful more times than not, whenever they want to. I know there are gimmick teams that pass unbelievable amounts but to be a good, contending, well rounded you have to be able to "Pound the Rock" whenever you want to. Its about dictating the tempo of the game and not letting some outside force dictate the tempo for you.

Now with that being said, I dont think this team is to that point yet but hopefully we will see that sometime in the near future.

 

[MilitaryGopher]

It about keeping the defense guessing

The reason you need to run the ball is three fold. First off to have less yardage to gain on third down due an earlier run on first or second down. Its alot easier to get a first down on third and 5 then third and 8 or 10. Secondly, to be able to pick up short yardage first downs to keep the cahin moving. You should never have to throw to pick up to yards because your running game cant get two yards consistently. Lastly, and most importantly is to keep the defensive line and linebackers honest. If they have no fear of your running game they will just pin their ears back and go after Weber. You will have more time to pass if they at first have to read the RB before going after the QB.

 

[Bayfieldgopher]

12th Man: Do people really think that just running the ball a ton rather than reacting to the situations presented by the game will help the team win, given the offensive system they run?
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Coaches game plan according to their philsopohy, personnel, opponent, and situations. Running the ball is a part of that process. How often a team rums depends on situations but also on the coaches philosophy. Everyone knows there are situations where the run is the best call not just because its what the team does best. And if behind, most coaches will rely on the pass to maximize the clock and also to increase the chance of big gains just as many coaches will try and run the ball to use up time and maintain possession as long as possible.

That's the part that gets a bit fuzzy. Brewster says he wants to Pound the Rock thus has replaced most of the incumbent OL with bigger and larger players however less experienced. Does that mean to base offense on the run and have the ability to run the ball when necessary? He he also talked about the QB under center and using FB & TE's. But he has not chosen the Wishbone or Wing T as his offense rather has brought in a NFL geek who knows one thing: NFL. We know little about his expectations but I did read where he would like to balance the run and pass.

However, the NFL offense is about formations, motion, use of personnel in certain situations but does not necessarily dicatate a greater percentage of pass or run. The extremes last year were Baltimore running 58% and New Orleans passing 62% and the rest of the NFL in between. Where we will end up remains to be seen.

From what I saw against SU, as much as I would like to see the Gophers run 55-60% of the time, I don't expect that and we will likely rely on the pass with Weber to Decker when the chips are down. Lets hope the rest of the offense can develop and improve as the season progresses.