Thoughts on the Gopher Opener

[Badger1bob]

I did manage to see the majority of your game this past Thursday.

1. Running game is improved about 100%. This allowed the Gophs to dominate time of possession, which is an underappreciated stat, and control the game.

2. Send Jeff Horton a thank you card. He put your guys in the best position to succeed. Given what you can recruit this offense best suits the talents of the Gophs roster.

3. Bennett was impressive, bouncing off defenders and running really hard.

4. Kirkwood has the potential to be special. Should have a nice rotation in there as the season progresses.

5. MTSU was not able to expose your weaknesses on either side of the ball. Other teams will. They were just so small up front that they had to devote all resources to stopping the run. Will the Gophs be able to move the ball when So. Cal and others stop the run? Your receivers were unimpressive. Decker's loss is significant.

6. Your Defense is a work in progress. Looked okay against this team, but these guys are going to get gashed against a power run team.

7. Overall, I would up my victory total guesstimate for the Gophers. Maybe five. Probably not enough to save Brew's job. I think he has the right scheme now, but it took him four years to figure it out and hire the right guys to implement it. Brew's comment on the Big Ten Network preview was very telling when speaking of the offense: "this fits exactly what I want to do when we have the ball" Well maybe you should have done it from the beginning, ya think?

If they stay healthly and the Gophers well be in a lot of games this year.

 

[jovs]

Anything could happen after a 5-1 (2-0 Big Ten) start.

 

[gold04]

I thought the opener was against USC. I thought MTSU and South Dakota were preseason games.

 

[gold04]

Even if the Gophers win only 5 games this year I think Maturi is determined to give Brewster one more year. If the Gophers win 4 or more games this year Brewster is a lock to come back. I'm still not sold on Brewster but I think Maturi is. He will give Brewster every oppurtunity to succeed.

 

[eker0016]

I think he has the right scheme now, but it took him four years to figure it out and hire the right guys to implement it. Brew's comment on the Big Ten Network preview was very telling when speaking of the offense: "this fits exactly what I want to do when we have the ball" Well maybe you should have done it from the beginning, ya think?

This is actually my biggest problem with Brewster -- I wish he had more of an identity coming from the coaching ranks. Some may say this is no surprise because he had never been a head coach, but I would have thought he could have observed enough offensive styles to know exactly what he wanted.

I know our run game is very different now than when Mason was in town (zone vs. power), but it is disappointing to see us go away from the run game for a few years with the spread and then the Fisch-disaster, only to come back to the run game. Seems we wasted a few years trying to find our identity.

I hope the transition doesn't come too little, too late. I think Brewster likely keeps his job unless he loses the team. Next year looks to be a more favorable schedule and I would like to see what he could do. I don't think Maturi give him the hook even with a 5 win season.

 

[metrolax]

When the new stadium was approved, myself and several others on this board stated that the
best system for the Gophers to run is exactly what they are doing now- finally. I was very
distressed when they went to the spread, and knew that it was limited at the U by material and climate. My concern is that it may be too late- that Brew will get the axe after finally
"getting it" after 4 years, and that the next guy will bring in some sort of fancy offense
that will not work here.

I've been watching Gopher football since 1970, and I can say one thing with almost perfect
certainty: It is imperative for the good of Gopher football that Brewster wins enough games
to keep his job this year. This will allow the current systems to stay in place.

 

[Schnoodler]

I think all the powers at be get it. The only thing between this program and another year is a terrible outcome or retirment of the bosses and a new hire with a differing agenda.

 

[ButchNashGuy]

When the new stadium was approved, myself and several others on this board stated that the
best system for the Gophers to run is exactly what they are doing now- finally. I was very
distressed when they went to the spread, and knew that it was limited at the U by material and climate. My concern is that it may be too late- that Brew will get the axe after finally
"getting it" after 4 years, and that the next guy will bring in some sort of fancy offense
that will not work here.

I've been watching Gopher football since 1970, and I can say one thing with almost perfect
certainty: It is imperative for the good of Gopher football that Brewster wins enough games
to keep his job this year. This will allow the current systems to stay in place.

Agreed ... while it is early in the season the staff, philosophy and recruits we are getting what I think is an approach that is getting us where we want to be going.

 

[chi-town gopher]

5. MTSU was not able to expose your weaknesses on either side of the ball. Other teams will. They were just so small up front that they had to devote all resources to stopping the run. Will the Gophs be able to move the ball when So. Cal and others stop the run? Your receivers were unimpressive. Decker's loss is significant.

I agree with most of your points. I think they'll win between 5 and 7 games but I'm not sure I agree on the receivers. While they may have looked unimpressive I think it had more to do with Weber's early struggles and the new scheme than anything else. I think Stoudemire is great and I wish they'd run more quick slant-type plays to give him the chance to make something happen in the open field. I also think McKnight has improved a ton in the last year and he will continue to get better. Gray and Green have shown enough flashes between them that I think either is just fine as the #3. None of these guys is Decker, but few teams in America have a Decker.

Decker bailed out Weber a lot, so Weber will have to play better with this group but I am hoping his second have performance will give him some confidence moving forward.

 

[Gopher Bandanna Guy]

I think all the powers at be get it. The only think between this program and another year is a terrible outcome or retirment of the bosses and a new hire with a differing agenda.

What it comes down to is weighing the value of continuity in the program under Brewster vs. the value of starting over again with somebody new. Definitely tough things to quantify. That said, I think a 5th year for Brew is a given, as long as the season isn't a disaster (only a couple wins, or Brewster loses the team).

 

[gopherbadgerman]

I thought they ran well, and they won a game that was loseable - which in some years the opposite happens. I dont think Iowa St was much better than MTSU, but they Gophs found a way to win this one...

 

[LaXGoph]

Just reviewed the game again. When I took a second look at the game I saw a much better webber than I remember. Beside a shakey start, he performed pretty well. Made some quality passes and threw a couple of ok passes that could have been caught but were dropped. On second viewing he looked a lot more poised than I thought. Not that big of a deal but maybe people were projecting visions of last years webber a bit and were seeing a worse performance than what was really on the field.

 

[Omega015]

Not that big of a deal but maybe people were projecting visions of last years webber a bit and were seeing a worse performance than what was really on the field.

This is exactly what people are doing. Every time he throws an incomplete pass, regardless of why the pass was incomplete, all the haters groan. It's to the point now where there is nothing he can do to change opinions.

 

[Unregistered User]

I did manage to see the majority of your game this past Saturday.

And last I checked, you still trail us in overall record, B10 Championships and National Championships. But thanks for you analysis. Really.

 

[Ogee Ogilthorpe]

Bingo

Just reviewed the game again. When I took a second look at the game I saw a much better webber than I remember. Beside a shakey start, he performed pretty well. Made some quality passes and threw a couple of ok passes that could have been caught but were dropped. On second viewing he looked a lot more poised than I thought. Not that big of a deal but maybe people were projecting visions of last years webber a bit and were seeing a worse performance than what was really on the field.

This is exactly what I thought. I re-watched the game the next day, in bits and pieces, and I thought Weber looked pretty decent after a rugged start. After starting out rusty, throwing behind a couple of guys (started 0-for-4), he completed 10 of his last 13, with six of those for first downs. He also ran for a first down.


This much I'm starting to understand with some certainty; Weber will never be a winner or even a solid Big Ten QB in the eyes of many Gophers fans, regardless of what he does on the field. That's unfortunate. Here's hoping he has a great senior year to finish things off.

 

[Great Plains Gopher]

Everything Maturi has said lately suggests at least another year for Brew and maybe more. Like some of you, I hated the spread - though it's a thing of beauty with the right athletes, but they are premium and we didn't have them. Defense, ball control and a strong running game make perfect sense for local talent and weather. My main complant is that Brew hasn't been able to land either a top notch QB or a dominating running back in three years (unless Gray is the QB, in which case, why isn't he playing?).

 

[gopherbadgerman]

And last I checked, you still trail us in overall record, B10 Championships and National Championships. But thanks for you analysis. Really.

For a Gophers fan to come on strong vs the Badgers - really? Not too many people remember (or care) that the Gophers were a power 50 years ago. Most remember they have not been a factor in the past 30+ years. But I guess if you want something to hang your hat on.

 

[Unregistered User]

For a Gophers fan to come on strong vs the Badgers - really? Not too many people remember (or care) that the Gophers were a power 50 years ago. Most remember they have not been a factor in the past 30+ years. But I guess if you want something to hang your hat on.

For a Gophers fan to come on strong on a Gophers fan board? Yes.

Did history somehow change from my last post on this thread? Have you somehow cosmically changed history and won a National Championship? You've had over 100 years to win 1...just win 1 and you can be in the conversation, otherwise, just STFU and go over to buckyville.

 

[grunkiejr]

This is actually my biggest problem with Brewster -- I wish he had more of an identity coming from the coaching ranks. Some may say this is no surprise because he had never been a head coach, but I would have thought he could have observed enough offensive styles to know exactly what he wanted.

In my opinion your problem should be more with the guy that hired him for not foreseeing that (although I think he did foresee it) than holding that against the guy that was hired.

I know our run game is very different now than when Mason was in town (zone vs. power), but it is disappointing to see us go away from the run game for a few years with the spread and then the Fisch-disaster, only to come back to the run game. Seems we wasted a few years trying to find our identity.

I'm confused by your zone vs. power comment. Which coaching staff didn't run zone blocking? If you're insinuating that we don't run zone blocking schemes right now I think you need to go to search on Google for articles about zone blocking. Inside & Outside zone is a staple of our running offense under Horton just as it was last year under Fisch and it was under Dunbar (one of the base plays of the spread is the zone read option--note the word "zone"--which is an outside zone with a QB option on the DE). The biggest difference between Mason's schemes and our current scheme is the amount of cut blocking and along with that the type (and size) of OL we recruit.

I hope the transition doesn't come too little, too late. I think Brewster likely keeps his job unless he loses the team. Next year looks to be a more favorable schedule and I would like to see what he could do. I don't think Maturi give him the hook even with a 5 win season.

Just my opinion but I think the theories about the hot seat are overblown. I think it is clear that things are heading in the right direction. Lets take note that the team APR was at an all-time high for this past year and we have more players over 3.0 GPA than I ever remember. Further, I think most people recognize that the overall talent on the team has improved--just look at the special teams and defense (the areas where athleticism sticks out the most because you are reacting rather than dictating). With that I think the coaching is getting better and this is by far the best staff (I'm talking about the assistants more than Brewster) we have had in a long time. I think we should be trying to keep them rather than firing them because of mistakes made in 2007.

If we're a 2-10 team (which we won't be) that is one thing but if we're in or near in a bowl game with the 5th toughest schedule in the country that is much more impressive than where we have been at any point since about 2004 or 05. To do that with a defense that this past week only had 1 senior in the 22 man 2-deep says a lot about where we are heading.

I personally still think this is a 5 to 7 win team as I did coming in to the season. Of course we'll have to continue to improve but a young team should see a lot of improvement with increased experience.

 

[grunkiejr]

Am I the only one that thinks it is funny that so many people think we can't get the athletes to run the spread here when Northwestern runs it so effectively? What they consistently have that we didn't have was a QB that can throw with pinpoint accuracy underneath. I'm not trying to rip on Weber but fans are lieing to themselves if they don't see that he is somehow a great QB when throwing 10-25 yard passes but is inconsistent on 0-10 yard passes. With the offense we were running a QB doesn't need the arm that Weber has but he needs to be accurate underneath (for reference Persa was 19 of 21 this past week).

I'm not saying that I like the spread more (because I don't) but if Northwestern can run the spread effectively I'm very confident we could get the athletes to run it here.

 

[chi-town gopher]

Am I the only one that thinks it is funny that so many people think we can't get the athletes to run the spread here when Northwestern runs it so effectively? What they consistently have that we didn't have was a QB that can throw with pinpoint accuracy underneath. I'm not trying to rip on Weber but fans are lieing to themselves if they don't see that he is somehow a great QB when throwing 10-25 yard passes but is inconsistent on 0-10 yard passes. With the offense we were running a QB doesn't need the arm that Weber has but he needs to be accurate underneath (for reference Persa was 19 of 21 this past week).

I'm not saying that I like the spread more (because I don't) but if Northwestern can run the spread effectively I'm very confident we could get the athletes to run it here.

Agreed, the spread is an equalizer not some complicated offense that needs the best athletes in the country. There is a lot more parit in college football now than there was 20 years ago, and teams like Northwestern, Kansas, Houston, Utah (especially under Meyer), and many others have had success. The Gophers could get the right players for that offense. I wasn't a big fan of Dunbar's spread, but there are plenty of schools that still have a decent running game that I enjoy watching.