Should Minnesota start shortell on saturday?

Should Minnesota start Max Shortell on Saturady against Michigan?

  • Yes

    Votes: 45 42.9%

  • No

    Votes: 60 57.1%
  • Total voters
    105
Donate To GopherHole
The Kessel, 19 November 1942 – 31 January 1943

Iceland12 said:
What scares me is it feels like 2007 all over again with a new Coach more interested in "establishing his system" and "teaching" then winning some damn games.
Click to expand...
Iceland12,
1. I think we end up playing both. At this juncture, it does not appear to matter who starts.
2. Issue is that neither has jumped out as the front runner. Number 3 QB is probably pretty far behind, not in contention, and not somebody we are ready to rely on if either Marqueis or Max goes down with an injury. What is the probability that we go through the next 8 Big Ten games without an injury to the QB? I am guessing the coaching staff is thinking about this more than they would like to. Are they hedging their bets?
3. I think the coaching staff sticks with alternating Marqueis and Max until one of them proves beyond doubt that they are the anointed one.
4. If Max should prove he is the anointed one, then coaches should ask Marqueis if he would be willing to go back to wide receiver.
5. Unfortunately, neither Marqueis nor Max have proven anything yet. Thus we remain in a quandary.
6. I pray Jerry Kill and his staff break us out of The Kessel entrapment which Joel Maturi led us into.
 

No, Shortell's thrown two game sealing interceptions already this year (something nobody talks about). Just let him keep developing at practice and if the coaches think he's ready to start, start him. But to this point the coaches have said Shortell has done nothing to prove he's actually better than Gray and I fully agree with that.
 

I think that Gray should start for Weber last year, Shortell should start for Gray this year, and Nelson should start for Shortell next year. :)
 

Here's a little of what MV has to say about the topic. http://fringebowlteamblog.com/?q=blog/am-coffee-links-928

I would say my stance on Gray is counter to the majority of the vocal Gopher fanbase and I'm pushing back with an intensity proportionally equal to that majority. I also base my arguments along statistical lines and when in doubt, I lean to the side of the coaching angle. There is both a reason why the staff continues to use Gray as the starting QB, while there's also a reason they continue to involve Shortell in the offense.

I try to pay attention to what the coaches say and look for inconsistencies. So far, they've consistently stated they like Gray's understanding of the offense and a lot of the things he does within that framework. Parsing even further, Limegrover explicitly stated Shortell wouldn't start until "he does a significant number of things better than Gray." That says, to me, Shortell isn't significantly better than Gray at this point (which all the stats point towards as well), so you can't bench the QB with the best knowledge of the playbook/offense for a younger QB playing at the same level. Furthermore, this staff has stated consistently that they reward playing time to players who are the most prepared and understand their assignments. The most prepared quarterback in the offense is Gray -- are they really going to tweak how they've operated for over a decade now?
 



Damn the Twins suck -- Oh sorry, we are talking about who should start at QB ... Gray should for about 2 series...no production, play Max and see what happens. I'm afraid that the score could be 14 zip at that point however.
 

Well, at least they came back tonight and didn't lose 100 games.
 

RoyalGopher said:
Here's a little of what MV has to say about the topic. http://fringebowlteamblog.com/?q=blog/am-coffee-links-928

I would say my stance on Gray is counter to the majority of the vocal Gopher fanbase and I'm pushing back with an intensity proportionally equal to that majority. I also base my arguments along statistical lines and when in doubt, I lean to the side of the coaching angle. There is both a reason why the staff continues to use Gray as the starting QB, while there's also a reason they continue to involve Shortell in the offense.

I try to pay attention to what the coaches say and look for inconsistencies. So far, they've consistently stated they like Gray's understanding of the offense and a lot of the things he does within that framework. Parsing even further, Limegrover explicitly stated Shortell wouldn't start until "he does a significant number of things better than Gray." That says, to me, Shortell isn't significantly better than Gray at this point (which all the stats point towards as well), so you can't bench the QB with the best knowledge of the playbook/offense for a younger QB playing at the same level. Furthermore, this staff has stated consistently that they reward playing time to players who are the most prepared and understand their assignments. The most prepared quarterback in the offense is Gray -- are they really going to tweak how they've operated for over a decade now?
Click to expand...

I have no problem with this explanation and it makes sense at this point. I have no doubt that Gray has a broader understanding of the playbook than Shortell right now.

Translation: Gray is starting because he was here in the spring and Shortell wasn't.

This is the correct approach by the staff and as each week goes by and Shortell's comfort level and understanding of the playbook increases, the playing time will be distributed accordingly. This also allows the staff to use both QB's with parts of the playbook that they are more comfortable with and more efficient with. I would imagine it also makes the Gophers a LITTLE more difficult to prepare for, which is not a bad thing either at this point.
 

They might have to start the kid on Saturday.
 



Iceland12 said:
They might have to start the kid on Saturday.
Click to expand...

I'll tell you this, it doesn't matter what happens, Shortell will be the starter at the end of the year. Gray takes a lot of punishment stretching for extra yards. It's great for the team, but not good for longivity.

The one good thing that others have said; the team clicks when Shortell is in. Nothing against Gray at all, but the offensive execution is a little easier for our entire offense to prepare for. Sometimes a basic offensive scheme works best, especially when you've got a young team.
 

At this point I don't think you can argue either QB is "better". BUT if you put Shortell at #1 QB, 2 positions get better:

1) WR (b/c Gray would than be a WR, arguably our best, and maybe put some leadership at that position b/c McKnight obviously is not)
2) RB due to the fact our offensive line wouldn't see 8-9 men in the box.
 

I should add our line wont see 8-9 men in the box as much**....And if they do it will be more on blitzes, which would allow us to get the ball to Gray and McKnight earlier and let them have open space.
 

captain.hindsight said:
At this point I don't think you can argue either QB is "better". BUT if you put Shortell at #1 QB, 2 positions get better:

1) WR (b/c Gray would than be a WR, arguably our best, and maybe put some leadership at that position b/c McKnight obviously is not)
2) RB due to the fact our offensive line wouldn't see 8-9 men in the box.
Click to expand...

+19

BTW I like your username. Represents most sports fans.:)
 





You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom