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biggentleben

By biggentleben
in The Sports Bar

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biggentleben GCL Twins

biggentleben

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I really think it was a big turn in the game when the Gophers lost their left tackle.  Their vaunted right tackle rotation, which has allowed them to have a fresh outside guy on the prime running side each play, suddenly were both playing every snap, and it was obvious as Cobb didn't have quite the holes as he would normally to exploit.

 

The defensive communication cost the Gophers multiple times, and Leidner had a poor game, but I honestly think either team on the field today would steamroll the Buckeyes without Barrett.  Two very similar teams and the Badgers made less mistakes in the second half.

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USAFChief Cooperstown

USAFChief

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A lot of progress, but there can be no doubt they need a QB.

 

And yes, the officiating was part of the reason they lost.

 

- The hands to the face call, probably 21-3 without that.

 

- The play clock had expired on the long first half pass that set up Wisconsin's first TD.

 

- on one of the few passes Leidner completes, in a critical spot inside their own 20 down 4, Fruechte catches it in a slide at the 23' they mark it at the 21, short of a first down. Terrible, terrible call that can't be explained.

 

- Blatant holding all day by the UW line...they make a call with 2 minutes left so it doesn't look one sided.

 

But the bottom line is...they are a QB away from being pretty decent. The conservative coaching starting in the second qtr didnt help either.

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biggentleben GCL Twins

biggentleben

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A lot of progress, but there can be no doubt they need a QB.

 

And yes, the officiating was part of the reason they lost.

 

- The hands to the face call, probably 21-3 without that.

 

- The play clock had expired on the long first half pass that set up Wisconsin's first TD.

 

- on one of the few passes Leidner completes, in a critical spot inside their own 20 down 4, Fruechte catches it in a slide at the 23' they mark it at the 21, short of a first down. Terrible, terrible call that can't be explained.

 

- Blatant holding all day by the UW line...they make a call with 2 minutes left so it doesn't look one sided.

 

But the bottom line is...they are a QB away from being pretty decent. The conservative coaching starting in the second qtr didnt help either.

 

I think a lot of that coaching had to do with losing their LT, but a lot of people won't believe me on that because it doesn't feature a "skill" position guy.

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biggentleben GCL Twins

biggentleben

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It hurt, but you can't, imo, go all conservative. Gotta play to win, against a better opponent.

 

True, but in my experience, your left tackle is how the center sets up the pass blocking when he sets for the blitz coming before the snap.  The Gophers may key off another position to set up their blocking, but most teams start at the blindside tackle and go from there over to pick up a blitz.  Not being sure of the LT would make the job difficult for me as center because I wouldn't know how he responded to having to chip and slide, how he was with speed rush vs. power rush, etc. that would key how I set up the blocking from there over to ensure the QB was protected.  Though they didn't do it much all game, Leidner had significantly more time to pass before Campion went out.  It could factor into play calling if they weren't sure how much time they had to get receivers into the routes on longer plays.

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kab21 GCL Twins

kab21

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It's really tough to beat a quality opponent on the road, especially when the road team doesn't have as much talent. The Gophers need more talent in the passing game and maybe a pass rusher, but they have closed the gap.

 

The great thing about the season is that they played real competitive in their losses.  The biggest thing that makes me apprehensive about truly saying that the Gophers have turned the corner is that their only quality wins are against Iowa and Nebraska.  The rest of their wins were against pretty weak teams.

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TheLeviathan All-Star

TheLeviathan

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- Blatant holding all day by the UW line...they make a call with 2 minutes left so it doesn't look one sided.

 

 

I saw that too.  People have said the pass rush failed them yesterday and I thought the real failure was not making the Wisconsin lineman actually block by getting a few of the flags they earned in that game.  There were a lot of hands outside on shoulder pads tugging from what I could see.

 

At the same time, we had them 17-3 and needed to put our boot on their throat and couldn't do it. That was largely thanks to a badly blown coverage on the big pass play on 3rd and 8 among other things.  Avoiding those mistakes and stepping up will come with talent and just by being in big spots like this so a great step for the Gophers this season.

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twinsnorth49 St Paul Saints

twinsnorth49

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Poor officiating played a role in the loss, it's not the primary reason, Wisconsin was just better, but not by much and not for long.

 

I think a salient point related to officiating is that the Gophers earned some respect this year, it will help down the line with how the officials view them and treat them, it matters.

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Mike Sixel Cooperstown

Mike Sixel

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I think Nebraska messed up, but Michigan made the right decision. I think Kill is a very good coach, even if I disagree with his punting decisions late in games, and the pace the O moves in the 4th quarter when they are behind. An average QB, and a better pass rush would really help.

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biggentleben GCL Twins

biggentleben

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Players were very pissed at Bo's dismissal, former and current.  My understanding is that they're now in double-digit players who have rescinded a commitment to Nebraska, including two twin brothers (one a four-star, one a three-star, go figure) who said on Twitter that they're officially open for recruiting again - and had a swarm of Twitter freaks tell them to come to their school.  Twitter college fans that follow/tweet/DM high school kids should be arrested and locked up, but that's neither here nor there.  Pellini from all accounts was what Brewster was supposed to be in Minnesota, but he held the fort longer.  He's a great recruiter and player's guy.  Mack Brown survived for years and even won a national title in the same role.  It's all a matter of hiring great coordinators who can do the X's and O's of the game while you get the best talent into the program.

 

I'll say, I'd rather have the Kill model of team building anyday.

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Mike Sixel Cooperstown

Mike Sixel

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What is the delta between Pelini and Kill, that makes you say that? I'm not sure I understand that last sentence. 

 

As a long time Nebraska fan (I was born on campus, while my parents were in college), I was very, very disappointed in the firing. I think the school and state are stuck in the 90s, this isn't the 90s. Nebraska is not one of THE destinations for players at all anymore. I think it is pretty much MN, or maybe WI, level now in terms of what they should expect.

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biggentleben GCL Twins

biggentleben

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What is the delta between Pelini and Kill, that makes you say that? I'm not sure I understand that last sentence. 

 

As a long time Nebraska fan (I was born on campus, while my parents were in college), I was very, very disappointed in the firing. I think the school and state are stuck in the 90s, this isn't the 90s. Nebraska is not one of THE destinations for players at all anymore. I think it is pretty much MN, or maybe WI, level now in terms of what they should expect.

 

I much prefer a head coach who can be good in the living room, but moreso is an X's and O's guy.  Pellini is not that sort of a guy.  He's absolutely a living room and press conference head coach, and those guys need great assistants to have a successful program.  The problem with that model when you're building a program is that as your team success rises, the coordinators are sniped for jobs elsewhere often.  I like having a coach who can ease a new assistant into that role because he's knowledgeable in the system he wants run rather than more of a "face of the team" role.

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twinsnorth49 St Paul Saints

twinsnorth49

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He's essentiially worked with Claeys and Limegrover since their Div II days. I think the point though is that if either of those guys left Kill is enough of an X's and O's guy  to capably replace them with someone who's plan best fits the athletes he's recruited, he knows the game.

 

Incidentally there is a great two page spread on Kill in the latest SI.

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