Spring game thoughts
Posted on April 25th, 2008 – 8:47 PMBy Chip Scoggins
To say the Gophers have a lot of work to do between now and the Aug. 30 opener is a major understatement.
I know the team was without a handful of key players tonight, but their performance was less than stellar, to put it kindly.
The offense was not good at all. Not having Eric Decker, Jack Simmons and Jay Thomas obviously hurts. But the players were clearly not happy with their performance.
Tim Brewster praised his defense, but it’s hard to get any kind of accurate gauge at this point. I still think six recruits who are not yet on campus will end up starting.
– I think Marcus Sherels will play in the secondary and can be a valuable special teams player as a gunner and kick returner.
– Kicker Joel Monroe missed three field-goal attempts (38, 38, 52 yards), but Brewster said the line had some breakdowns in protection.
– Here was the first-team offensive line from left to right (Dom Alford, Ned Tavale, Jeff Tow-Arnett, Ryan Wynn and Jason Meinke.) Brewster said the line remains in a work in progress and could change by the opener.
– QB Clint Brewster did some nice things with his feet late in the game, but Tim Brewster said the competition for No. 2 spot is ongoing.
– I focused my game story tomorrow on Adam Weber, who has become more of a vocal leader, according to coaches and teammates. Weber completed 10 of 14 passes for 65 yards and accounted for both TDs.
– Incoming recruits at the game: Simoni Lawrence, Sam Maresh, MarQueis Gray, John Nance, Shady Salamon.
– DT Eric Small played fullback in goal-line situation.
That’s it for now.
259 Responses to "Spring game thoughts"
I thought the spring game didn’t show much of anything. Pretty sloppy, not very exciting. I think everybody had a good time, though. It seemed like the kids there had lots of fun.
Hey Jimbo, thanks for the update. How many people do you think were there?
I would have to say there was between 8000-10000 people there. It was a decent crowd and more than last year for sure!
I agree very sloppy on both sides and doesn’t mean a whole lot, as many of the recruits coming in will be fighting for starting spots.
Sherels was impressive and the defense did look stronger and bigger.
I watched the webcast and if they want it to take off more they should wear game uniforms. The huge sloppy practice uniforms make it look like an inmate game.
Weber looked good, but there were a couple times the DE would have killed him and just ran by and he completed a pass.
Defense should be better, but I still think a consistent offense that can stay on the field and score will help the defense the most.
I’d say there was 9-10k there.
It was the spring game, so my opinion of guy is not going to change too much.
Sherrels was the MVP of the game. Nice kick returns, nice job on the coverage team. 2 FR’s.
Weber looked solid, but all they did was throw 5 yard outs. The coaches clearly kept just about everything back. Brewster had his moments, Mort still looks overmatched. I see no reason for him to ever see the field again for the Gophers.
Bennett ran hard, but he put the ball on the ground. Buckner could play some this year, but I didn’t see anything too exciting.
The LB’s look bigger and faster than I’ve seen them in Maroon and Gold for awhile now. Sharpe looks good, Tate is a very interesting prospect. The kid is ripped.
I thought Brock looked excellent at safety. He also ran by everyone on the coverage team. Sherrels could play some DB this year although it would be in nickel situations I would think. Collado looks alot bigger and tackled well. We do have to temper things as they were playing against some WO’s and didn’t see Decker, Pittman or Simmons at all.
The Dline got some pressure, DO looked solid. We’ll see if they are that much improved or if our Oline is struggling.
Kucek was mediore on the punts. I’m not worried about him though. Monroe was terrible on fg’s. Missed 2 38 yarders and his 52 yarders landed about 3 yards into the end zone. Atleast he makes XP’s and I think he’ll be alright inside the 40 during the year.
1) Official gate attendance was 7,204.
2) Minnesota will announce later today that Mike Sherels has signed with the Vikings, Wheelwright with the Ravens and Valentine with the Jets.
Also, Tony Mortensen did that majority of the long-snapping. Interesting development…
Thanks for the reports, guys, especially Derek who had some detail. Jumbo, I assume you are saving up some insights to ration out to me.
From the Strib, I would have only known Weber played and five guys on the O line. Sherels was the only guy who suited up on defense, according to the Strib. And if Clint was moving at all it could have been in the popcorn line as far as one could learn from the paper.
Wow. It’s good to have the board back. I was going on football withdrawal.
Derek, BigGuy, and gopherguy06, thanks for the rundown. Jimbo, we know you saw more than sloppy football and kids having fun. That kind of describes our Thanksgiving Day at our house. Perhaps you were trying to get away from the 250lb. daughter of LakesBison. She is one seriously scary gal.
I saw some film on the game and it looked like our defense was much faster this year. I liked the way they got off the ball quickly. It looks like we still have some holes in the secondary, but the reaction time is much better. I also saw that the defense is tackling with their heads up and following through.
I liked the play of Weber….especially on the touchdown to Spry. He looked to the left and through right. It was a well designed and well executed play.
The offensive line did not get the push on the defense that I was hoping to see. I sure hope they bulk up a bit over the summer.
I liked a few things I saw, but they still have a ways to go. It’s spring football, so a lot can happen between now and then.
It sounds a little like having Decker and Pittman out and a shortage of available running backs made the offense look pretty weak.
That should all change by fall when Decker is back, Pittman is healthy, and several great freshman wide receivers arrive along with a couple of freshman running backs who might not be bad.
This is from Gopherfan blog:
“For me, on the field, the highlight of the night came at toward the end of the second quarter. Clint Brewster was under center, took the snap, dropped back to pass, got flushed out of the pocket to his left. It looked like he had nothing so he began running and it looked like he was taking off down-field. Then, running full speed strait ahead, he cocked his arm and fired an absolute bullet to an open man about 10 yards dead in front of him. It was a very difficult and absolutely impressive throw and showed exactly why Clint was so highly rated coming out of high school. I don’t recall ever seeing a Gopher quarterback make that type of throw.”
_____________
Did anyone actually see that play? Did Clint actually play? Is it true he can move his feet and throw the ball?
I have been waiting a year and a half for the Strib to mention anything like that.
OK, OK … I know Weber has been officially annointed the 4-year starter and we are fighting all over the country for bigtime quarterbacks like Grey and Alipate and Clint because they look good standing with clipboards but ……. It’s going to look pretty funny in a couple of years when the hottest competition on the team is for long snapper.
Thanks for the update everyone.
From all that I have heard and read the Spring Game sounded just like it is supposed to be, a glorified practice.
By the way; Derek wins the Fan of the Month award for his excellent game synopsis. Good reading regarding Weber, LBs, and the lines.
You also get extra points for giving us a Brock update. Kudos!!
The crowd estimates here are two to three times as large as I have been reading other places. Why is that?
Eyebawls … Because over in St. Paul you are reading crowd estimates provided by Louie Neeteck and yourself. All BS.
Kool Aid, the drink of imaginary Rose Bowl fans.
I would like to post that all the hollow hype will stop once the ball is kicked off on Aug. 30th. However, that will not be true.
I can not believe that there was anyone at that game that thinks there was more the 3500 fans. If you take out the band and family members from the crowd you might have had 1700. I was at the game and the victory walk. Maybe 200 at the walk. As for the game lets start with the turnovers and go from there. Each RB had 1 fumble lost. We had a fumbled punt and the mighty Clint threw 1 int. and had the next pass go right threw the DB’s hands. Our short yardage offense stunk, we had the ball 3 times inside the 5 yard line first and goal. On the first drive we had to run a naked keep with Weber after gaining 3 yards on 3 carries. The second try we had throw a pass on third down and the third try was fumbled by the QB on fourth down after running the ball 3 times for 2 yards and attempting a QB sneak on fourth down. More to come DAC
For the haters who think they’re fans: This is what Matt Spaeth had to say regarding the Wrens and Loons of the world:
“When I was a player, I never read it, because one moment you could have somebody saying good things about you and your team, and the next moment you’ve got someone tearing you down. As a player, you don’t want that.”
In other words Loon & Wren, not only are you wasting our time, but you’re discouraging our players.
Sorry about the brevity, guys, but I’m on the road again this week. Couldn’t get into the site until today, but now I’m pretty strapped for time. I’ll try to get at it tomorrow.
Bud … It’s hilarious to think you could have watched any of the game while counting the fans in the stands.
It’s also a stitch to imagine you on the “victory walk”. For what? So you could bash the Gopher team afterwards?
Go to your Hogeye game, Bud. That’s where you belong.
Scooter says,
“In other words Loon & Wren, not only are you wasting our time, but you’re discouraging our players.”
___________
Discouraging the players, fans, and potential recruits is the whole reason Loon, Wren, and especially Bud are posting here. That is their reason for being.
They are all despicable people.
Jumbo … Don’t worry about it. Put the bread on the table. That is the highest calling.
But I am sure you will give us some honest insight to counter this canned negativity that Bud, Wrenbawls, and Lou Neetik had prepared long before the spring game even started.
Scooter … Was there ever any explanation as to why this site was unavailable for three days or so?
I have never heard Eye disparage any player. And I sure know that I am not one of the guys waiting with held breath for “the real players” to arrive in the fall. You can’t have it both ways “true fans”, either you respect the efforts of our players over the years or you do as you guys do every day with your “Brewster can’t win ANY games here given the garbage players he was left with.”
I thought we had the players last year to win games. What we didn’t have last year was a coach who could adjust his “dream formations” to the talent available, on either O or D. You know, what good coaches do in every sport.
If these coaches are so good, maybe they will consider winning a Big Ten game or even two this year or next. If they can’t win any this year (AGAIN(, maybe the fault won’t be entirely with the players.
DAC, you want Chip to print lies and spin the company line. He has to much respect for that line of journalisium . He did not write much about the game because there was not much to write. Weber threw most of his passes to a walk-on WR’s Kuznia. The offense could not move the ball with any consistancy. We all know how poorly our defense has been and we are waiting for the boat load of new players to arrive to save the day. If you wish to waste your time and watch the game it is posted on the Big Ten web site. That spring game crowd was the fewest fans sense pre-Whacker days. Chip was at the game and that is why he reported a projected crowd of about 5000. He knows just like anyone else at the game that the crowd was well below 5000. You call it negativity DAC, but what you really mean to say is stop telling the truth. I felt last year that we would not win a Big Ten game but I was hoping I was wrong. This years spring game gave me know hope for the upcoming season. We had better have some players in the incoming group that can play at the Big Ten level or we are in for another long year. The coaching has not improved much on offense hence the fumbles and penalties. The defensive players seemed to know where they should be in the defense called so they made some plays. That is what makes it so unbelievable, we know our defense is not up to Big Ten standards yet they shut the offense down in the game Friday night.
Re, Spaeth said he never read it. Why would you say that players are being riped apart here. There are a few of you guys who say nothing good about the Gopher players that Brewster inheritated and slam the ones that left the team for their own reasons. Yet you welcome the same players that left the state back with open arms when they leave whatever program they are coming from. You make know sense what so ever.
DAC, the reason why the site was down for 4 days is the bet was you could not last 4 days without posting. Well I guess you fooled them.
I spent decades totally supporting the coaches and players. I still support the players, but I will NOT support a coach who I believe is headed in totally the wrong direction with this program. He sure as heck gave me nothing to believe in him about during the 2007 season.
You people were the ones constantly r4unning everything down in years past. So, turn about is fair play! I will call it like I see it about the coach and his staff and the administration. I NEVER put any blame on the players the way you do d_a_c.
But, until brewster starts winning Big Ten games in good numbers, I will be telling it like I see it.
I believe this ad and this coach are headed in totally the wrong direction. I find nothing to believe in about the leadership.
Until the record improves drastically from the 1-11 and 0-8 Big Ten record of 2007, I see nothing to celebrate here. I have many concerns for the near term future of the Golden Gopher Football Program.
There have to be lots of Big Ten wins for this coach to prove anything. It is up to him to get the wins. It is up to me to tell it like I see it.
I’m not buying the company line of the booster club. Not when I see a zero for eight Big Ten season. That is NOT acceptable…
Bud … Are you an idiot?
Sorry, of course we know the answer.
Chip’s job is not to spin any line whether it be the Gopher’s coaching staff line or the moronic Reusse hate-America hate-the-Gophers line.
All I want from the Strib beat reporter is to know who played, who contributed, who made some tackles, who blocked, who ran, who passed, and who caught the ball. What I got was the expected “Weber is our hero on the pedestall and nobody else bothered to suit up”.
Bud … Either learn to spell at a minimum 4th grade level or STFU. Your stupidity is very boring.
Eyebawlbaby … I call it as I see it. You are a pathetic whining child who lost his football coach and you hate the new one so much you will do anything in your power to undermine the Gopher program and knife our players in the back.
You are joined by the other two pathetic cowards Lounietick and Budbaby.
All sniveling crybabies.
It will be interesting to see how things turn out this season. I do think this year we’ll turn out to be a lot better team. Brewster seems to have the ability to improve on things significantly.
Just look at the impovement Brewster made at recruiting. Wren made a great point that Brewster has had two recruiting classes. His first class was ranked 67th in the nation, his second was 17th. No coach in the history of college football has improved his recruiting classes so much. Brewster made history in improving his recruiting class and that gives me hope we will improve significantly in other aspects of his coaching.
Goldy … While I understand completely you are just ridiculing the idiotic eyebawlbaby by agreeing with him that this is Brewster’s second class, anybody past 5th grade knows this is actually Brewster’s first recruiting class as a head coach.
He had all of two weeks to fill out Mason’s class last year. He was able to bring in his son and Theret and a couple of other guys.
The truth is something that just drives the haters like Budthebaby, Eyebawlbaby, and Jim Crowe crazy and that is the fact Brewster probably recruited the best class of any coach in history in his first real recruiting season.
0-8 in the Big Ten in 2007. When will the first Big Ten win come?
Note to Chip: Do we have to put up with this abuse from david_allen_coe? What would you suggest? I really don’t want to see this site revert to what it had become a few days ago.
Please give some direction about this problem.
Thanks!
Eyebawlbaby … Nobody is being abused here other than backstabbers and liars like you, Lou Neetick, and Sniveling Bud.
Chip: This d_a_c character has no shame. Are you going to let someone do this to your site?
Certainly, I can ignor this, but it is just a matter of time until the other attackers and morally bankrupt dirty tricks people from gi/gh run your site into the ground. That is their goal, you do realize, don’t you?
Is this what the strib wants for this site? I can’t believe that it is.
What happened to that registration idea you talked about? Unfortunately, there are some people who can’t be civilized around here. What do you think Chip?
Hey guys—quit crying, running to chip like a spoiled brat, or spreading rumors/innuendos. Talk football or go elsewhere. My top concern at the moment is a very thin running back corps. That puts too much pressure on the QB who has an inexperienced OL at the moment. I wish we had one stud RB freshman coming in. I haven’t heard about one.
This dunbar easty/westy/dinky/dunky/spreadsy/coasty little offense doesn’t think it needs a power running attack of any kind. I suppose that is why the lack of emphasis on the running game. dunbar will have the qb rush for 20 plus times a game. At least that is what he did last year on his way to contributing to a 1-11 overall record and a 0-8 Big Ten record. He didn’t help the defenso out at all with his high risk, often times 3 and out offensive sets. Withers should have sued dunbar for non-support, even though withers was trying to blitz his way to prosperity, especially during the early games.
So, offensive line and running back have not been a priority for recruiting by this bunch of coaches. They are going to speed/finess/and fool the opposition by taking them into “space”…or, so they think.
So, now tex: do you come down in favor of the name-calling and vile trash-filled posts that d_a_c and that panther hawk subscribe to? Personally, if I have a concern, I state that concern. What do you think tex?
I just stated my concern. We were 4 deep at RB last year and this year looks extremely thin. Weber will not hold up physically to running the ball 15-20 per game. I am actually more concerned about the Offensive side of the ball. The FG kicker gives me heart palpitations everytime he lines up also. Wren, I agree that Dunbar needs to take more time off the clock.
That was my concern all of last season. I thought dunbar was going to get Weber hurt last season. I also felt that the offensive coordinator was putting the team into too many 3 and outs. The games were close enough so that had the offense controlled the ball a bit more, that team could have won about six games last season. I have always felt that dunbar is the biggest liability Brewster has on his staff.
IF dunbar runs Weber into the ground and he sustains a serious injury this year, the season will in essence be over.
The team still doesn’t have spread-coast players at all positions. In fact, I question whether this team is any closer to having the speed, quickness and ability to play a Texas-Tech or any other spread type of game on offense. I think that offensively, Weber is a great competetor, has lots of heart and will find some way to move the chains, especially against the weaker competition. However, last season, the coaches didn’t have the team ready to go in the first quarter all too often. They would make a run in part of the second and third quarters and get back in the game, but, just as with basketball, you expend so much in climbing back into a game that it is tough to seal the deal and/or hang on at the end of the game.
I question whether this coach will ever be able to recruit enough of the top spread players to Minnesota to run a truely effective spread-coast offense. I also question whether they will be able to put together a ball control offense to hang on to leads and to slow down the offenses of the other teams they play.
Minnesota high school ball just does not produce enough spread-coast style players to form a base for this offense.
Just remember what happened in Oregon and how tough it was when their hot-shot qb went down in the middle of the season last year.
It was so hard to watch the games last season when the schemes did not fit the players the team had. I fear that dynamic remains in place for the 2008 season. I fault the coaches…NOT…the players.
Put the players in a position so that they have a chance to compete and win in the Big Ten. The schedule in 2008 with iowa, Indidan and NU coming into the dome will not be as conducive to home Big Ten wins again for a very long time.
Give the kids a chance to win those games. Control the clock more. It is up to the coaches to come up with a running game that will help keep their qb healthy AND keep the other team’s offense off the field.
New day, same old boring/worn out arguments. Yawn!
And, unless there is a lot of change by the coaches it will be a new year with the same old 0-8 Big Ten record.
The problems remain the same. So, of course those same old problems must be addressed and discussed. Yawn!
A LOT of what ifs.
I would guess they are looking at top seven receiving options next year as Decker, Green, Jack Simmons (or Lair), Smith or Hill and Pittman.
Not ONE of them was on the field for the spring game. So, the good news is maybe the offense will look a lot better come August.
The bad news is who knows if Decker even comes back from baseball. Green, Lair, Smith and Hill might not even make it into school and who knows how good they will actually turn out to be. Simmons is hurt and Pittman is an unknown as a wr.
I was at the game and unfortunately I would have to agree that there couldn’t have been more than 5,000 fans (people who aren’t associated with the U).
As for the game itself it was pretty hard to watch. The defense looked good but that is in part because the offense was so inept. DAC you wonder why Chip didn’t write about other players, that is because there wasn’t much to write about. The Gophers didn’t run the ball much but I think there were a few reasons for that. One they didn’t want Weber running much because the defense wasn’t supposed to hit him. Two they have some injuries in the backfield already and they don’t want to get Bennett hurt.
At WR they looked a little slow and small. Ben Kuznia probably caught the most passes in the first half 4-5 but they none were over 5 yards. Jimmy Thompson had a few grabs as well. Nobody made any spectacular plays except for Sherels on his kickoff return. He was very impressive. I only stayed for a half since I had my 2 year old son with me so I can’t say how the second half went.
One more thing Brock looks like the real deal. Fast, strong, and good instincts. He should step in well for the departed Barber.
I would have been nice to see Pittman but he was hurt.
Wren,
You and a few others keep pointing out that Minnesota doesn’t produce the right kids for the spread offense. While that might be true can’t the same be said for states such as Kansas, Idaho, Hawaii? Last I checked teams in those states have faired pretty well over the last few years.
You point out what happened in Oregon to support your argument, before its QB went down Oregon was one of the top teams in the nation. I’m sorry but I am willing to take the risk of being ranked #3 even if it means your team will suck if your QB gets hurt. Most teams that are really good have a few top players, if those top players get hurt they struggle. It doesn’t matter what style of offense they play.
Does Minnesota have the talent base to field a spread team?
A 4 wr set of Decker, Gilbreath, Floyd and McNeal with the Hageman kid as a tight end is something that could have been on the field for 2009.
Kansas and Idaho are a lot closer to California than Minnesota is. The distance factor in recruiting is rather important. Minnesota doesn’t recruit California very often or very well. Minnesota is surrounded by North Dakota, South Dakota, Canada, iowa and wisky. Three of those players don’t turn out so many D-I football players who are spread-type players. iowa and wisky have home-state Big Ten programs…and they don’t turn out very many spread type players either.
Oregon is right there next to California.
Move Minnesota a LOT closer to California and things would be on the upswing as far as insuring enough spread type players within a 500 mile radius.
Personally, I like Minnesota and where it is located. But, I don’t htink a lot of spread type football players might agree with my love for the four seasons. In fact, I hear all kinds of native Minnesotan’s who can’t wait to escape to California, Florida, Texas or Arizona from the end of October until the month of May. Some people call them “snowbirds…” They wouldn’t have made very good spread type players either.
Brandon Robinson from Breck, who had over 1000 yards receiving and returning for a very good Boston College team, is another Minnesota high schooler who would look good in the spread.
You need more than one here and one there though. You need big-time numbers. You need depth. You need a sure 10 every year who are Big Ten capable players. They have to take the pounding of the Big Ten season so there have to be big numbers of reserves and back-ups who can come in and not miss a beat. One has to have the same speed and quickness that the guy ahead of him on the depth chart has.
Perhaps you can bring in enough for your 1 deeps…but your 2 and 3 deeps? For every one that gets away there are dozens who just aren’t built for the spread coast. Minnesota high school coaches just don’t turn out very many spread-coast players here in Minnesota, nor do high school coaches in North Dakota, Canada, South Dakota, iowa or wisky. They do in California, Florida, the Carolina area, in Texas and a couple of other higher population areas. It’s, in part, a numbers thing…and a distance thing…and, it would appear a climate thing. Some of the four season states who turn out a lot of football talent just plain have a numbers/population thing going. PA, Ohio, New Jersey the greater Chicago area. It’s just tough going for spread players here in Minnesota. It takes a whole lot of numbers.
Wren,
I see your point on location. I think you are probably right to a certain extent although Brewster has already proved that he has the ability to pull some kids in from Texas and Florida. Time will tell if these kids have the talent to make this team a top team. I personally am willing to give it a try for a few years. If you look at last year over half of the teams in the top 10 run some variation of the spread offense and many of those that don’t run a high powered pro style offense featuring big plays. Not many of the teams are a midwest grind it out style that many here in Minnesota want to run. Ohio State being the main exception althought that is about to change with its new QB recruit it got this year.
What incredible nonsense this little whiny Obama girl keeps putting up on this board.
The amount of football talent available in Minnesota is based on the state’s population. Period. The amount of speed and spread offense-type talent is likewise based on population.
The reason that we and all other midwest universities recruit from Texas, Ohio, Florida, Illinois and a few other big states is because they have the largest talent pools and are high school football hotbeds. National championships are routinely won by schools with no California kids on the roster.
Quit whining about the spread offense. That is what the coaches have committed themselves to running at Minnesota. In fact it is a much easier offense to execute successfully than a grind out running game that needs a superior O line and excellent, durable running backs.
No matter what our stats were with Barber and Maroney and the All-Americans in the line, the good teams in the Big Ten were still able to stack the box with defenders and beat us.
You can’t stack one area of the field against the spread as long as there is a QB who can pass accurately.
Isaac Anderson, who’s Dad Melvin was a Gopher, went to Blake. He has a good chance to start at Wisconsin next year with Gilreath.
The Carlson kid from Litchfield who Holmgren just drafted and the Swift kid from Hutchinson who has played well for Nebraska are two more examples of kids who would fill out that eight to ten deep.
Plus, if you don’t run a spread, there is no chance a kid like Gray ever skips by Indiana, Purdue, Notre Dame and Wisconsin to come here. Same with Green.
I think you hope for the best. I think there is more athletic talent here than you realize (Larry Fitzgerald, Utecht)
and an exciting offense that has some success will attract the occasional kid from Indy (Gray), Chicago (Green), St. Louis (Maroney) or points elsewhere.
Tex … Where do you get that we were four deep at running back last year? We had Pinnix, Thomas, and Bennett. Pinnix got hurt the second game with turf toe and got progressively worse as the season progressed. Jay tore out his knee early in the year and was lost. For more than half the season Bennett was the only healthy RB although Pinnix continued to hobble in and out once in awhile.
This year we start with Bennett, Thomas, Pittman, Buckner, and two freshmen, one of whom is recovering from a gunshot to the leg but is expected to be ready. While this is still iffy with Thomas and Whaley recovering, it is certainly no worse than last year and potentially a much stronger group.
And as I have said before, the smart thing to have done this spring would have been to experiment with Weber at running back behind Pittman or Clint. That would help the depth at RB and put another good football player on the field.
Whiny baby says,
“This dunbar easty/westy/dinky/dunky/spreadsy/coasty little offense doesn’t think it needs a power running attack of any kind.”
_________
What a pathetic joke. Do you remember the running backs Cal had when Dunbar was there? Does the name Marshawn Lynch ring any bells in the emptyness?
Jimmy says,
“DAC you wonder why Chip didn’t write about other players, that is because there wasn’t much to write about.”
_________
LOL … try telling that to a real editor at a real newspaper.
Weber is not a running back. Line him up behind the qb and he would look a lot like Daniels did. Weber can run when he is rolling out in the pocket, pulls the ball down and takes the lanes they give him during play action stuff.
Pittman already is questionable because he has hammy problems. Sometimes they can be troublesome. Recall how MBIII had hammy problems during his playing years at the U of M. Recall him going down on about the 3rd play of the game down at Iowa City a number of years ago and never making it back into the game, as Maroney fumbled crossing the goal line and couldn’t run through the defenders the way MBIII would have been able to do. Bennett takes a physical pounding too often…at least last season he did.
Weber is the offense. It would have been foolish to run him at running back in the spring this year. You people who always bashed Weber last seson as the reason for brewster losses were totally blaming the player for the coache’s faults. Weber is worth the price of the season ticket. You have got to admire what that youngster did last season. You have to wonder what the heck dunbar was doing letting him run so often. dunbar was the guy who could have put the kabosh on the 20 carry games in 2007 and he just kept sending Weber up the gut on the qb draw all too often. Weber is a warrior though!
d_a_c: Tedford didn’t see eye to eye with dunbar during the season dunbar was there. Cal had so much talent and dunbar did more to screw it up than anything…that is until the head coach there had it more his own way.
dunbar is pretty much a joke. The problem is that brewster wants to turn that end of the program over to him because brewster himself doesn’t believe that he can coach…or even wants to be the coach. He wants to be the general manager/recruiting freak.
DAC instead of insulting Chip and others that are posting maybe you should have gone to the game. Then you could formulate your own opinions about how the team performed and what Chip should or should not have reported on. I thought Chip did a good job reporting on the highlights.
Jimmy: DAC is recovering from surgery, so he couldn’t make it. I do agree that insulting Chip is not helping. Bringing politics into the discussion (using “Obama girl” as an insult) is beneath anyone reasonable.
my apologies to DAC, I hope the surgery and recovering are going well.
I still stand by my comment that not much happened that was worth reporting during the spring game.
DAC wanted a report on who was making tackles the problem with that is that one of the QBs would have had to complete some passes in order for there to be a WR to tackle. It was a very sloppy game on the offensive side of the ball. Hopefully in the fall with some healthy RBs and Decker, Simmons and Freshmen WRs in they will look much better.
Wyatt says:
April 28th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
1) Official gate attendance was 7,204.
2) Minnesota will announce later today that Mike Sherels has signed with the Vikings, Wheelwright with the Ravens and Valentine with the Jets.
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I guess I was alittle high on the attendence.
david_allen_coe says:
April 28th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
This is from Gopherfan blog:
“For me, on the field, the highlight of the night came at toward the end of the second quarter. Clint Brewster was under center, took the snap, dropped back to pass, got flushed out of the pocket to his left. It looked like he had nothing so he began running and it looked like he was taking off down-field. Then, running full speed strait ahead, he cocked his arm and fired an absolute bullet to an open man about 10 yards dead in front of him. It was a very difficult and absolutely impressive throw and showed exactly why Clint was so highly rated coming out of high school. I don’t recall ever seeing a Gopher quarterback make that type of throw.”
_____________
Did anyone actually see that play? Did Clint actually play? Is it true he can move his feet and throw the ball?
I have been waiting a year and a half for the Strib to mention anything like that.
OK, OK … I know Weber has been officially annointed the 4-year starter and we are fighting all over the country for bigtime quarterbacks like Grey and Alipate and Clint because they look good standing with clipboards but ……. It’s going to look pretty funny in a couple of years when the hottest competition on the team is for long snapper.
==============
Brewster didn’t look good in the pocket. He threw a pick and threw a couple others passes behind receivers. When he rolled out and was on the run, he looked like a different QB.
Rescooter says:
April 28th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
By the way; Derek wins the Fan of the Month award for his excellent game synopsis. Good reading regarding Weber, LBs, and the lines.
You also get extra points for giving us a Brock update. Kudos!!
=================
Gracias! I was afraid it was too much of a Renegade Rambler/Wrendahl, eyeinthesky post.
Texas Gopher says:
April 29th, 2008 at 8:12 am
I just stated my concern. We were 4 deep at RB last year and this year looks extremely thin. Weber will not hold up physically to running the ball 15-20 per game. I am actually more concerned about the Offensive side of the ball. The FG kicker gives me heart palpitations everytime he lines up also.
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I agree and I think the staff does as well. We’re in on some good power type backs this year.
Bud says:
April 28th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
I can not believe that there was anyone at that game that thinks there was more the 3500 fans. If you take out the band and family members from the crowd you might have had 1700. I was at the game and the victory walk. Maybe 200 at the walk. As for the game lets start with the turnovers and go from there. Each RB had 1 fumble lost. We had a fumbled punt and the mighty Clint threw 1 int. and had the next pass go right threw the DB’s hands. Our short yardage offense stunk, we had the ball 3 times inside the 5 yard line first and goal. On the first drive we had to run a naked keep with Weber after gaining 3 yards on 3 carries. The second try we had throw a pass on third down and the third try was fumbled by the QB on fourth down after running the ball 3 times for 2 yards and attempting a QB sneak on fourth down. More to come DAC
==================
Well I don’t disagree much with the game comments, but your comments on the crowd is far off and I certainly question your integrity. There wasn’t a full band there to begin with. The crowd was from goaline to goaline on the lower level not counting the band and say 100 more fans scattered. If one side of the lower level is full, thats about 1/3 of the toal lower level or 1/6th of the stadium. If the metrodome holds about 21,000 people at capacity you may be correct. We both know however, you are not.
“When he rolled out and was on the run, he looked like a different QB.”
I saw some game film of that - he had nice touch on the ball.
The problem with a drop back passer against a quick defense is the D can see his eyes and react. That’s why Weber needs to look off his receivers rather than lock in. It sounds like Brewster needs to get used to the “speed of the game”. That’s an experience issue.
david_allen_coe says:
April 28th, 2008 at 8:14 pm
Scooter … Was there ever any explanation as to why this site was unavailable for three days or so?
===============
I think they want to find a way to clean this blog up. It would be nice to talk football without racist remarks, lies of cheating, and lies about Brewster himself.
Jimmy says:
April 29th, 2008 at 9:13 am
I was at the game and unfortunately I would have to agree that there couldn’t have been more than 5,000 fans (people who aren’t associated with the U).
As for the game itself it was pretty hard to watch. The defense looked good but that is in part because the offense was so inept. DAC you wonder why Chip didn’t write about other players, that is because there wasn’t much to write about. The Gophers didn’t run the ball much but I think there were a few reasons for that. One they didn’t want Weber running much because the defense wasn’t supposed to hit him. Two they have some injuries in the backfield already and they don’t want to get Bennett hurt.
At WR they looked a little slow and small. Ben Kuznia probably caught the most passes in the first half 4-5 but they none were over 5 yards. Jimmy Thompson had a few grabs as well. Nobody made any spectacular plays except for Sherels on his kickoff return. He was very impressive. I only stayed for a half since I had my 2 year old son with me so I can’t say how the second half went.
One more thing Brock looks like the real deal. Fast, strong, and good instincts. He should step in well for the departed Barber.
I would have been nice to see Pittman but he was hurt.
================
I agree, it was hard to watch. I just haven’t decided if the Oline was that bad, or if the Dline is improving.
Jimmy … Your apology is accepted. I am five weeks out from brain surgery and in no condition to be walking around the Dome.
I was not insulting Chip. I was critiquing his performance as we all have a right to do. (Anybody unaware of how Sid is critiqued?) A puff piece on Weber’s leadership is just that, not a report on the spring game. And what responsible person would not insult the Strib? It is one of a handful of the worst newspapers in America as evidenced by a yearly drop in circulation of nearly 10%, right up there with the DNC Times and Wapost.
I can assure you there are many, many football towns in America where if there were no details reported on the university’s spring game there would be serious hell to pay.
People want the full and unvarnished story. If the offense did not look good, tell us why? Poor blocking, sloppy execution by the QB, RBs fumbling and not running hard? QB not on target? Tell us.
The D line was quick….real quick. We will average more than 1 or 2 sacks per game this year.
The flip side, we may get burned on a well executed screen.
DAC–there is no way we are in better or equal shape with our RB’s compared to last year. We started last year with Pinnix, Thomas, Valentine, and Bennett all healthy. It is ok to be skeptical/nervous/concerned about the Gophers. I won’t question your loyalty. BTW, Weber has no future at RB. Here is hoping the guys coming in will live up to the fanfare.
Derek says,
“Brewster didn’t look good in the pocket. He threw a pick and threw a couple others passes behind receivers. When he rolled out and was on the run, he looked like a different QB.”
_________
Thanks, Derek. That is the first substantive comment on Clint Brewster I have ever seen in the Star Tribune. That is valuable to know and I really appreciate it.
If Brewster is faster than Weber, as I have heard on other platforms, and throws well while on the roll, doesn’t that sound like a spread QB?
It would be nice to talk without all the name calling, filth, and other trash that the d_a_c, derek, nyc, pantherhawk element constant brought to this board. Also the trash aimed at family members…wives, children…you get the drift, don’t you derek. You people needed to be censured and you need to realize that your dirty tricks don’t cut it. The gh/gi elements around here did not succeed in shutting this site down though. That is a good thing!
The strib has the potential to run the best site around IF they will make people register, ban the use of certain themes and offensive language and tactics used against family members, children, coming from the chief offenders derek. They also need to outlaw the random use of individuals monikers by people faking posts from other people.
In other words: the rule of common sense.
I only saw Clint in the first half and he wasn’t very impressive. I heard he led a nice drive in the second half. In the first half he threw on pick that should never have been thrown and he had another pass bounce off a DB straight into the air, luckily it was caught by his WR and not a DB. That was actually the longest pass play I saw, I think the play gained about 15 yards. He has a very strong arm, much stronger than Weber’s but his accuracy seemed to be lacking. All the QBs would probably have looked better had Decker, Simmons and Co been playing. It didn’t look like the WRs were getting a lot of seperation.
Derek says to Bud:
“Well I don’t disagree much with the game comments, but your comments on the crowd is far off and I certainly question your integrity.”
_________
There has never been a serious question of his integrity. He has none, plain and simple. He will say anything to bash Gopher football and undermine our program whether it has any element of truth or not.
A perfect Obama girl.
Derek says,
“I agree, it was hard to watch. I just haven’t decided if the Oline was that bad, or if the Dline is improving.”
______________
And that is my point entirely. Would it be unreasonable to expect the Strib’s game report might have at least a comment on who played in the D line? Who put pressure on the QB? Any sacks? Who was the run stoppper? Did the two juco transfers stand out? Did Sharpe stand out at LB?
But all that information was left in a dark hole.
Knock it off with the Obama crap. Loser
Scooter says,
“The D line was quick….real quick. We will average more than 1 or 2 sacks per game this year.
The flip side, we may get burned on a well executed screen.”
_____________
You are helping me, friend, but keep it coming. Names, please. Who looked real quick in the Dline? How about the two jucos McGee and McKinley? Are they Big Ten players? How did Willie look? Back to normal?
Oh, and Scooter … I agree that a well executed screen called at the right time can certainly negate the rush and kill a defense.
Just go back to the Michigan game at home after Tapeh scored to give us a 21-point lead in the 4th. Michigan ran about ten straight screens and Mason could do nothing to react. Just stood there like a deer in headlights.
But the other side of that coin is the screen can be defended and defeated with well coached, great athletes. I like our chances there with Phil Roof, Simoni Lawrence, Tramaine Brock, Keanon Cooper, Deon Hightower, Rex Sharpe, and Sherrels.
Remember, football defense is a little like the Eastern martial arts. You use the other guys strength and momentum to leverage into your own advantage.
Michigan used the screen over and over to score four TDs in the 4th against us for two reasons. First, they had knowledge and insight that the Gopher coaching staff didn’t know how to stop it or didn’t have the personnel to stop it; and, second, it was working so they kept going with it until we proved we could stop it (still waiting on that).
Tex … Sorry I forgot Valentine. While used exclusively by Mason as a full back, he was a top running back coming out of Ohio. He could have been handed the ball last year to save Bennett.
But I respectfully disagree with your analysis. We looked good on paper entering last season. But the reality was totally different given the injuries suffered by Pinnix and Thomas. Of course, nobody can predict injuries then or this year but I will stand by my assertion that we are in better shape now.
Bennett is a proven Big Ten calibre back who should get nothing but better. Pittman may be an exciting RB if used properly. If Jay Thomas is himself — a big question mark — he could be a premier back. Let’s cross our fingers and wish him the best both for his personal sake and for the team.
R.J. Buckner had some reputation coming out of Texas. Maybe this is the year he will step up and provide some help. And both Eskridge and Whaley are valued recruits coming in. That makes us six deep on paper. I say that is better than last year given what we know happened last year and, admittedly, expecting less loss from injury this year.
Weber is not a RB? And you know that how, Tex? Oh, you say because Brewster has annointed him permanent QB? I can’t argue with that or with my head coach. He’s the boss.
I’m just saying that if I had two quicker QBs who can throw better than Weber, I would definitely look at a very tough kid of 6′2, 215 with average speed but quick feet as a possible running back.
D-Line quick off the ball:
Onwuichi and Brown and some Willie VDS doing his share. I watched a re-run of the game on the Big Ten network.
NYC … I see you still have plenty of your employer’s time and money to waste monitoring message boards to defend lying politicians. Good work.
I suppose that is why the lack of emphasis on the running game.
=============================
Minnesota rushed for more yards per game in 2007 than 2006 (161.8 to 154.4).
Jeff,
good stats. It is a complete misnomer that the spread offense automatically means you have no running game. Another interesting stat
2007 avg time of possession: 28:27
2006 avg time of possession: 28:53
So the argument that the spread offense leaves the defense on the field much more than a power running game is true…by 26 seconds!!
DAC–I hope your optimism pans out. For now, I will be worried about our backfield. I do not see Weber as a RB based on his carries last year. I like the kid’s toughness and competiveness, but I don’t remember him making one defenseman miss him. The guy took some unbelievable shots last year. I’ve said it before, but unless he learns to protect himself, he will not make it through the season in one piece.
slow day at work.
More stats, arguably the most important stats
2007 pts per game 26.3
2007 pts allowed per game 36.7
2006 pts per game 28.9
2006 pts allowed per game 26.0
sorry if this has already been discussed. I was just looking at stats and thought this was noteworthy. Hopefully the Gophers improve on that this year.
Jeff says,
“Minnesota rushed for more yards per game in 2007 than 2006 (161.8 to 154.4).”
___________
Facts can be so inconvenient, especially for the three stooges trying night and day to undermine our football team.
“So the argument that the spread offense leaves the defense on the field much more than a power running game is true…by 26 seconds!!”
_______________________
Yeah, and that’s a full two seconds plus per game. Wren stands by his argument.
Bud, the dacs, dereks, etc., are used to the GI, GH kind of web sites where it is ALL about money, shekels, coin. To keep the masses happy, they will vote off the island anyone who does not toe the line of the moment. Keep the paying customers happy. Just bitch about anyone who does not toe the party line and they will be thrown out.
Thus, here, it is endlessly frustrating to them that they can not just rant off anyone they disagree with. Thus far.
My guess is that Chip does not want to censor well reasoned debate.
PS dac, the population of the state is virtually irrelevant if all we are going to do is recruit “speed, speed, speed”. What is relevant to the triple speed debate is where are the speed genes located. Three a year from Minnesota will not build a Rose Bowl team without recruiting a lot more in the South were the gene pool is faster. Thus, our Foreign Legion.
An open
Tex … I am nothing if not an optimist. Even when I could could barely see and was in early recovery, I went through the stack and found my Gopher ticket renewal and signed up for the 31st consecutive year.
I don’t want to beat the Weber RB scenario to death. It is obvious I am the only one who holds the view that he would be another option worth looking at.
Here are my big ifs, and they are all ifs because I am not at practice and I don’t know who can do what. But, if Pittman and Clinton are faster and more elusive and if one or the other is more accurate, he should be given every chance to run the team from the QB spot.
If that were to happen, my next concern is what to do with Weber because he is a winner and a kid you want on the field. I want to find a combination where we get the best players on the field at the same time and still have a prepared backup at QB.
My opinion watching Weber is that he is not fast enough to be a true dual threat QB which you want in the spread. At RB he would not be a breakaway threat but he is strong, tough, and has quick feet and the spread offense when executed offers space for a running back.
Remember, the main idea of the spread is to run and pass for 4-6 yards at a time. That keeps the drive going and scores points.
The spread does not rely on a Henne to Manningham bomb once a quarter or on a Maroney sprint for 60 yards. If you get that once in awhile it is a bonus but the essense of the offense is really to peck the defense apart in space with relatively short gains.
Jimmy … Very telling stats. And to think, some backstabbers and liars here criticized Brewster for recruiting great defensive players. What morons.
Loon …. Here’s a fact for you. I have never posted even one time at GH, GI, St. Paul, or any other site concerning Gopher football. Not once. In fact, I do not go to those sites and do not read them.
The population of the state is all that is relevant. We have the same pool of speed athletes in our high schools as anywhere else, just in smaller numbers.
Nobody sane has ever suggested we could field a competitive Big Ten football team with only Minnesota players no matter what system of offense and defense is being run. Mason couldn’t do that and the coaches before him in the last four decades couldn’t do it either.
There are only a handful of Division 1 schools that get most of their scholarship athletes from in-state. Even Michigan, with a large population and tremendous high school football, gets plenty of players from outside the state.
Top Concerns (in order from greatest to least):
1) running backs
2) placekicker
3) D-line (getting pressure on QB)
If 1,2 and 3 can perform to an average/satisfactory level, we have a shot at a bowl game. I just bought a new 40inch TV and looking forward to the first “U” win I watch on it.
Personally I could give a hoot about where the players come from as long as they finally reach the Rose Bowl.
Tex … Based on all recent history and comparable stats from 2006 to 2007, I think your order of concerns is topsy turvy.
You cannot watch Gopher football without putting the order of concern as,
1) Defense;
2) Defense;
3) Defense.
Now you can read that as defensive line, linebacking, and secondary or in any other order of concern. But there is no way our running back situation matches any aspect of the defense in terms of the need for improvement.
Can you get the Big Ten network via satellite down there? Hope so. I believe we are going to be very competitive in most games this year.
Tex … But I do agree that finding a field goal kicker is an urgent requirement and the difference maker in winning big games.
The 2006 Gopher Football team did not control the ball as well as did the teams for the previous five seasons. Also, when Maroney and Barber were carving up the opposition’s defense with outlandish stats, all too often they scored too quickly. Still, I am sure you would find the time of possession for the previous five years to be a bit more one sided than the 2006 record was.
I’ll stand by what I have observed over the past decade in Gopher Football.
Here is a question for you Wren. Do you think the Brew Crew will actually accept any responsibility for any loss until the last Mason recruit has been gone from the U for more than two seasons? I do not.
They say “wait until next year”, but that is not this year and it will not be next year when we get to next year or the year after that. Between “bad luck”, “new coaches”, “Mason’s lack of recruiting”, Dunbar’s dismisal in 2009, the Legion being “too young this year” the new AD in 2010, etc. This is going to be another three years plus.
Well then did Mason put less emphasis on the running game in 2006? Rushing yards went from 273 per game to 154 per game. Time of possession went from 31 plus in 2005 to 28 plus in 2006.
Maybe, just maybe….it had something to do with talent? How we go from Maroney and Russell to Pinnix and Alex Daniels might have had a bit of an impact? Do you think Maroney would’ve been able to rush for a few yards in 2007?
DAC–I forecast a much improved linebacker and DB unit this year. That is why they did not make my top 3 (of course in year’s past that was a different story).
Loon–you are wrong on Brewster making excuses. He has taken the “high road” and not blamed others e.g. Mason, bad luck, etc. Your quotation marks I doubt could be supported by actual statements Brewster made. Give the guy a break—-he and his staff are busting their butts trying to put a winning football team on the field.
Everyone, I have an admission to make. I am personally responsible for the Gophers record last year, I think I have heard it was 1-11 but I could be wrong on that. I support the coaches and team that are in place and believe they have a plan that will take the Gophs to new heights. I believe the coaches and players made mistakes last season and have some growing to do but should be allowed the chance to set the plan in motion. Please forgive me for supporting a horrible coaching regime that talks about glory instead of how hard it is to coach at the U.
Again, I take full responsibility for supporting this coach, the previous coach, the coach that will follow the current coach and the coach to follow him. My bad.
ROTFLMAO … More from the football “expert”,
“Also, when Maroney and Barber were carving up the opposition’s defense with outlandish stats, all too often they scored too quickly.”
__________
Oh my goodness, the bane of all football teams .. scoring too quickly and too often. Boy, Wren, if you could figure out a way to stop that from happening you could write a book and make millions.
Wait, Mason did figure it out — quit recruiting. But let’s keep that a secret and see if you and Loonietik can become consultants to bigtime coaches and school them into ways to quit scoring. Brilliant.
“Give the guy a break—-he and his staff are busting their butts trying to put a winning football team on the field.”
__________
Tex, you are missing the point. The three stooges have one goal and one goal only and that is to tear this program down.
Until Brewster is gone and they are allowed to appoint a moron who thinks like they do, they will stab this team in the back at every opportunity.
Remember how smart these clowns are, Tex. Wren just told us the biggest problem the Gophers have ever had is scoring too quickly and too often. ROTFLMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Memo from the Stooge to all college football coaches:
“The thing you must guard against most is scoring too quickly. And guard equally vigilantly against scoring too often. Better yet, teach your team never to score.”
Brilliant, just brilliant. The three stooges sure know their football.
DAC: Have the day off.
As to defending a lying politician…that would pertain to all 3, don’t you think? I apologize for stating you are a loser, not my style. This is a football blog, there’s no place for politics.
Please can anyone forgive me?
NYC …. OK, then help us out here. Tex thinks we are weaker at RB this year than last and I think the opposite. Where do you come down?
Gopher1 … You might possibly be temporarily forgiven so long as you remember the Stooges’ Golden Rule — do not score too quickly or too often, or, preferably even at all.
Given that I don’t know that much about football, I would say we’re about the same as last year. Pinnix was hurt most of the year, and they didn’t seem to utilize Valentine.
Bennett seems promising. I only get my information from the StarTribune and this blog. I believe only 2 games were on ESPN last year, so I don’t get to see much. As a back up to Bennett, not sure what Thomas’ injury is and how that will hamper him and Chip mentioned Damola Ogundipe, R.J. Buckner and Tyler Johnson, none of whom I’ve heard of. I was hoping that maybe on some “trick” play they might utilize David Pittman in the backfield.
NYC … If Pittman is as good, fast, nifty, and elusive as advertised the trick play ought to be “get the ball in his hands as many times a game as possible from as many positions”.
Play him at running back. Play him at receiver. Throw him RB or wide receiver screens. Throw him slants. Hand him the ball on reverses. Let him play QB and throw. Let him play QB and run options or draws. Just use him.
Oh, and NYC … Bennett is a lot more than promising. As an 18-year-old he proved in the crunch he is a Big Ten running back. My guess is he will get better and better.
The nice thing is he has a lot of speed but is very compact. He is the type of back who normally is pretty durable. Of course this does not mean he will not get hurt but just looking at him and seeing him be the workhorse last year indicates a lot of durability.
Sorry about all the travel I do; I need to keep Mrs. Jimbo clad in jewels and furs.
OK, so my impression of the spring game was not a lot different than previous posters. I think there were 4-5 thousand people there, max.
Sherrels was a one-man show. Weber looked mediocre. Brewster looked better, in my opinion. The kicking game (i.e. field goals) scares the bejeezus out of me. I think Eric Ellestad deserves a hard look. I was disappointed that Pittman couldn’t play. Mortenson looked OK as long snapper. All in all, I’d have to say is the game didn’t tell me much of anything, other than the fact they need Decker and all the guys that weren’t there, and a LOT more practice. Somebody got it right when they said it was nothing more than a glorified practice. It was great to see the boys back on the field, if nothing else.
d_a(sp)_c, you’re letting the three stooges get to you. They are inconsequential and idiotic. They are not true fans, and we can only hope that they get angry enough to just go away.
So what’s wrong with Jay Thomas? Who else is back up to Bennett?
Poppa, what happened to taking it one game at a time? Why don’t you and Mister Loon like the spread?
Jay Thomas is coming off his 2nd ACL surgery (one on each knee.) We’re all hoping he can play, play well, and play all year. We certainly need to have other options, though. Hopefully, Buckner (and others) will rise to the occasion if need be.
If the O line is not better than it has seemed thus far, we will have a weak O, running or passing.
Brewster was not be quoted by me, the Brew Crew types on this site were being quoted by me. I have no doubt whatsoever that they will continue to make excuses for every loss, no matter what. They get so juiced over recruiting service “stars”, that the fall season is of only secondary importance to them.
I think and fear we are looking at two more “throw away” seasons at the minimum.
I agree with Loon that the OL is suspect and will probably be the weak link this Fall. As the OL goes, so goes the offense. Plus I am not sold on Dunbar’s schemes and the liklihood that his offense can demonstrate a reasonable of amount of ball control and time of possession. In spite of it all, I believe the O will show up in 09 as will the D.
However, I refuse to believe this team would be any better with Masonball still around nor would they have won more than 4 games in 07. The talent pool was very thin and we had a rookie QB, which is problematic for most BT teams, and a highly suspect D to boot.
Plus I highly doubt whether Mason would have been able to entice Brewsters type “stars” to come to Minny and we would have a typical Mason class of two and three star MAC type players coming in.
So what are we throwing away Loon?
Chip: When will the people you are working with start to make this a safe place? Once again some sad, sick sucker tries to use a child with my last nave as some sort of sad sick threat or penalty for me because I say what I think.
Will you start protecting people from the ssad sick suckers Chip? Is this what you want to have happen around here?
Get the sad, sick suckers registered and control them before someone does something really sad and sick to some innocent people.
Where are you at with that registration system Chip? This is going to get out of hand if you don’t do something right now! At least take those posts off the board and track down derek, d_a_C or who ever is doing it.
I guess I had better arrange for some extra security…
Loon: I think that no matter how hard the brew crew tries to blame everything that has gone wrong on the players and on Mason, there is still no way that they can get away from that 0-8 Big Ten record that the overmatched brewster achieved in 2007. No matter what they try…they have all of that 0-8 egg all over their collective faces.
I have never seen anything wuite so pathetic…
Yes, Loon: it may be another three years of throw away seasons followed by the whimper of brewster packing his bags and heading out the door…after having achieved the lowest total of Big Ten victories for a comprable period in the history of Golden Gopher Football.
Bloomington, IN used to be the hopeless football program. Then brewster came along as maturi’s second football coach hire.
Poppa, do you want the Gophers to fail because you love mason and hate maturi??
Bayfield: those high school players won’t be ready for the 2009 season either. Every recruiting class consists of projects…long-term projects.
The schedule in 2009 will be tougher than the schedules in 2007 and 2008. The recruiting class of February. 2008 might start contributing to things significantly in 2011 and especially in 2012. That will most likely be entirely too late for brewster and his excuse makers to survive. Seventy five percent of the jucos won’t amount to too much. brewster screwd up by not coming up with a system that would have better fit the players that he did have in 2007 and 2008. Throw away seasons really have a way of haunting the coach who threw those seasons away.
How many wins will brewster get in 2008 Bayfield? How many ooc wins? (ooc wins don’t count for anything any more though.) How many Big Ten wins in 2008?
Poppa, stop being a jerk. You are a disgrace…you are not a Gopher fan. I wish momma woulda smacked those wiskers off your face like she said she should have!
Bayfield says,
“I agree with Loon that the OL is suspect and will probably be the weak link this Fall.”
________________
Let me offer a contrary idea for your consideration, Bayfield. I think the case can be made that a team needs a much stronger offensive line for a power running game such as Mason employed than is required for the spread.
The power running game depends on power up front … blocking in close quarters and actually moving a defensive man to one side or another. It requires pulling guards and even a pulling center (Greg E.) to actually flatten guys on the edge.
The spread, on the other hand, is designed to make the defense occupy and defend more space. In that environment a successful block might just mean interfering with a guy’s path to the ball rather than winning a pit battle in full engagement.
Another key is a wide receiver corp that is tough and can block for each other. There are a lot of slants run by the receivers and other guys can almost set picks like basketball (not legal, of course, but done in a fashion routinely) and create the quick opening for the receiver.
What I am saying is that it is a different type of blocking that relies more on smarts and quickness than power and strength. I’m guessing if you draw ten offensive linemen out of a hat, more will adapt to spread blocking than the power running game blocking.
Wren … Do not EVER use my name in association with the posts you are talking about, you sick mental patient.
I post under one name, Mister. Period.
Geez Wren, I go on vacation for 10 days and you change your logo again? Kinda like your position on Gopher football. Being an old fart is one thing but being like a fart in the wind is another!!
You wrote the book on the “one game at a time” approach when Masonball was around, stay the course, support the coach no matter who he is, mediocrity is OK, bleed maroon & gold, etc.
I know you would have been perfectly content watching the Gophers go 2-10, 3-9 or even 4-8 if Masonball was around in 2007 and would have continued to spew the above rehetoric in defense of Mase and the program.
I try to be optimistic and supportive and even hung with Mason for 7 years. I will remain the same with Brewster as he is the coach and go with the one game at a time and one season at a time. I have even kept my logo intact and remain supportive, unlike others.
Who are you anyway? And don’t trust farts at your age.
Good to see all is back to “normal” here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for the lesson dac. I don’t really need the info as much as others as I have a pretty good knowledge of the game.
My opinion remains that the OL will be the weak link on this team. And the team is one season away from being a decent squad.
Do you agree?
thewrenagain says:
April 28th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
The crowd estimates here are two to three times as large as I have been reading other places. Why is that?
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Its call [HIS] or HomerIdioStupidity……kinda like saying the offense sucked with Pittman! DAC? Based on what????
Crowd was 3 to 4 thousand.
d_a_c: Why the heck should I believe anything you try to say????? You are right there with all of those sad, sick suckers.
You creeps and jerks try to crucify me because I stick to the ONLY facts that we currently know. brewster led the program to a 1-11 record in 2007. He was ZERO for eight in Big Ten play. He was a zero for coaching as far as I am concerned. IF and WHEN he EVER starts winning Big Ten games in quantity and quality, I will give him credit. One or two Big Ten wins in a season will only show how inept he really is. In 2008 he needs 3 Big Ten wins to get back to “zero” on the meter of being a respectable coach. In other years it will take four or five Big Ten wins just for him to become less than zero on the respectability meter
Until he does something, I will give him credit for nothing. That is the REAL world. He doesn’t get my respect for losing.
I think he is headed in completely the wrong direction. Maybe I am wrong…but…maybe I am right. In the mean while, I will stick strictly to the documented facts that only his won/loss record can provide.
Recruits are NOTHING except young kids until they PROVE themselves by winning Big Ten Football Games for the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers. Right now the ones who are not on campus are merely over-hyped high school kids.
They are going to need ALL the coaching they can get. Even with that, many other factors may come into play. So don’t try to impress anyone with some imaginary ranking of some high school kids from who cares where. It is Big Ten wins alone that will save the hide of the totally inexperienced head coach of the University of Minnesota Football Program.
He can peddle his hype and his sales talk to you people…but…I’m not buying until he starts winning a LOT of Big Ten Football Games. Nothing else matters for a Big Ten Program. It is the Big Ten WINS, stupid….
nyc gopher fan says:
April 29th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
Knock it off with the Obama crap. Loser
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F=U man, obamo is a liar and a loser just like you!
Why isn’t anyone talking about punky’s EXLAX move of telling Rock to sign now or hit the bricks? Of all the bone-headed moves!!!!! This guy has a screw loose, there is no doubt of that!!!
So, Bayfield: one ooc win in 2007 was better than what? 0-8 in the Big Ten was a great confidence builder for you?
I got bashed by the baStards SO long, that they showed me the light of day. I will NEVER give a coach a blank check. If the coach is losing, I will use the reality of the situation to point out just exactly what is happening: that the coach is losing. I will advocate for change. My expectation is that either the coach starts winning Big Ten Football Games, or he needs to be run out of town on a rail. To hell with it. I can see right through the hype and will cut to the chase. If the coach is zero for eight in Big Ten play…I will bitch about it and call for drastic change. I will call it like I see it. I will tell it the way it really is. The only thing we know for certain is what has actually happened. The administrations at the U of M have run out of time with what they have provided for the football program and I am going to call them on it. If the administration is making horribkle fiscal blunders and wasting millions and millions of dollars, I will put the blame where it bolongs: directly on the administration.
So, Bayfield, I have had it mobbed and bashed out of me. I will tell it the way it is. I will not live on hype and hope watiing for the football program todo something. Either the football program will do it…or it will not do it. Either brewster wins lots of Big Ten games…or he does not win lots of Big Ten games.
I am dealing in the here and now. I am dealing with the reality of the situation. Where the hell are you, Bayfield?
NYC asks: “So what’s wrong with Jay Thomas? Who else is back up to Bennett?”
NYC, if Thomas plays and contributes again on the playing field, it will be a medical miracle. I don’t think people realize the severity of his injuries. Unfortunately, he can not be counted upon. I hope I am wrong.
Bayfield … I know you understand the game. You are one of the most knowledgeable guys here.
I don’t disagree that the offensive line will be young, in development, and not dominant this year. It might even turn out to be the weakest unit on our team as you suggest.
But the point I was making is that a somewhat weaker O line can get by in the spread whereas it would be killed if we were operating the old power running game where our guys up front are overmatched by Big Ten defenses.
Wins and losses in the Big Ten games are the ONLY measure of success or failure. You can NOT “…get by…” in the Big Ten with a weak offensive line no matter what fly-by-night offense you are trying to pretend that you are playing. You will have the “…cheap substitute…” margerine or generic spread of what ever kind and that is all you will have by trying to “…get by…”
It’s all about the total number of Big Ten wins…
Wren … I post under one name. If I want to say something to you or about you I do it under this name. I think I have demonstrated that by now.
I have no interest in your family. I have no personal interest in you either because you are unworthy of a passing thought.
You are far too ignorant to understand that every football team in America that won games in 2007 did it with kids recruited in earlier years.
The recruiting rankings are not mythical and they are not over-hyped. Their rankings are based upon in-depth reviews, scouting, film, and coaching assessments.
No coach can win a football game. Not Brewster, not Pete Carroll, and not Tony Dungy. You win with players. When you have substandard talent as we have had at the University of Minnesota, you either upgrade the talent as Brewster is doing or you continue to lose forever.
Gopher football is on the right track. You are on the wrong track.
Either the football program will do it…or it will not do it.
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So it’s about Big Ten wins? Thanks wren…I wish you would’ve just cut to the chase…oh about five months ago.
If it comes down to doing it or not doing it, why waste paragraph after paragraph after paragraph after paragraph after paragraph saying the same thing.
Tune in August 30 and see if they do it or not do it.
Where are you at with that registration system Chip? This is going to get out of hand if you don’t do something right now!
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Spoken by someone banned from two different Gopher message boards. Oh the irony.
goofers to allow dirty little rapist back on FB team:
http://www.startribune.com/sports/gophers/18385209.html
pitifull!
goofer FB players at it again:
Pantherhogeyepigboy, where in that article does it say he’ll be let back on the team? Obviously, you don’know how to read. It’s that great Iowa education, apparently.
Wren. Were you ready and willing to dismiss Mason after one Big Ten win and going 2-2 against very weak NC teams with a combined .25 winning percentage in 1997?
Remember this weak OL that we both mention is basically made of Mason recruits/walk-ons. Evidence that the talent level is not there nor was it there in 2007.
dac. At this point, it appears that the OL is not ready to be a formidable unit running the spread or the traditional I, etc.
Jimmy, the only stats that matter are scoring offense and scoring defense. You pointed both of those out from 2006 to 2007. The only other stat that determines winning or losing a game is the turnover ratio. If you want to look that stat up between 2006 and 2007 you will see that it is a huge difference. I will say that our leading rusher last year was our QB. Thats not going to cut it in the future. Also a good deal of those yards came because the other teams were just playing soft defense due to their lead in the game. The games when we had to get it done, we did not get it done.
Good point pantherhawk, if I can get a second chance after being convicted. He should get one for never being charged.
Jumbo … A better question is, where in the article does it say he raped her or participated later in the actions that lead to criminal charges?
DAC, you go off half cocked and start saying things but after several post here what I stated on Monday ends up being fact. The crowd size, the performance by the offense, and a general lack of enthusiasm by the football team and the fans.
strut with your fellow club members hosea! Yeah, I got kicked off gh/gi because I wouldn’t fall in line and kow tow to the company line. I consider that to be a tribute to my spirit of contrasting the bashers and mobbers of those sites.
It is the loss of those sites…not a loss for me.
They only want to allow people who will kiss the booster club’s behinds…and help push the agenda of the the booster club.
They liked me until they didn’t like me any longer. Once again, their loss!
Well, I still contrast. But, I’m not obnoxious and chicken sh.t the way those gh/gi people who come here and make comments about kids & wives, use my last name, and try to intimidate me in that way. To hell with them.
At least I stand up and say what I think.
I tell the truth about brewster’s record. He is 0-8 in Big Ten play. IF he ever starts winning lots of Big Ten games, I will give him credit. However he HAS to start winning Big Ten games before I will give him diddly squat.
You’re right, d_a(sp)_c. Unfortunately, it seems this kid is being wrongfully punished. But considering the situation, I don’t think there’s any chance of him playing here again.
Bayfield says,
“At this point, it appears that the OL is not ready to be a formidable unit running the spread or the traditional I, etc.”
_____________
I see no clear evidence of that. I agree the O line will be young and developing this fall. It will likely not be considered a formidable unit. It will certainly be better the following year with Carufel.
What is clear to me is that the spread offense is better suited to a less-than-formidable line than would be the power running game.
My bottom line is that all things considered this line has a chance to be serviceable and good enough to win some football games. The big, big IF is defense. You cannot win football games with the worst defense in Division 1. That was proved last year even at times when the offense performed fairly well.
As has been pointed out here by several guys who deal in facts, the difference in offensive output (points, TOP etc) from 2006 to 2007 was very slight. We lost 11 games primarily because of defense, not the offensive line.
Any chance to dramatically improve this year rests primarily on the defensive side of the ball.
Bud … I agree turnover ratio is normally a very good indicator of a team’s success. Yet how do we explain the excellent TO ratio in 2006 by the 106th worst defense in Division 1?
I think it is safe to say the defense we put on the field this fall, with a lot of better athletes than the recent past, will show a big improvement in turnover ratio from last year.
It is the loss of those sites…not a loss for me.
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I don’t know how those sites have survived.
Bayfield: the only evidence that is present is the fact that brewster went 0-8 in the big Ten in 2007. There is enough misuse of players and talent to suggest that he decided he was going to run an offense that his kids were not suited to play. brewster has been in charge for 15 stinking months and he has failed to develope talent that he has been in charge of. In 15 months time, the old staff always used to put together decent offensive lines.
brewster is responsible for developing talent each and every month he is in charge fo this football program. He sucks at doing that, obviously He didn’t even freaking offer scholarships to offensive linemen during the past 12 month recruiting period. He obviously thought he was “set” at the offensive line positions. He and his people screwd up. That’s pretty much the way it is Bayfield The guy is NOT an experienced head coach. He has pretty much sucked so far.
Bayfield, so you believe as does DAC that you just have to go out and get a bunch of 4 stars and throw them out on the field and they will win for us? When does coaching ever enter into the equation? Now you are justifying the poor o-line because they are Masons recruits? We are in a lot of trouble then because we did not take one o-line recruit in this class.
Wayne, I find it funny now that you and Loon are now the “bitchers and the bashers” of Coach Brewster and the football team. You are doing damage to the program, either get on the train or buzz off! Go GOphers!!
I, too, am more concerned about the defense than I am about the offense. I think if they find an effective way to use Pittman, and Bennett stays healthy, etc., they’ll put points on the board. The defense CAN’T be worse than last year, though. That would be impossible.
DAC, the difference was not in the take aways it was in the give aways. You can not blame that on the deffense.
And Bayfield: I have told you, I no longer give a blank check to any coach. You bashers and mobbers won. You have got your new god in place now, so continue to kow-tow, genuflect and bow down to the mighty brewboy, wonder inexperienced coach. Have faith in those bogus fantasy recruiting rankings and just wait for another 7 years to see what happens.
I’m living in today and we know only what we know today. So far, brewster is 0-8 in Big Ten games he has coached in. That is the only thing that is real.
Bud says,
“DAC, you go off half cocked and start saying things but after several post here what I stated on Monday ends up being fact. The crowd size, the performance by the offense, and a general lack of enthusiasm by the football team and the fans.”
__________
Nothing you have posted ended up being fact. Fact is truth, not what you believe or want to sell in your efforts to stab the team in the back.
The official crowd count was over 7,200. Note the word ‘official’ which is not the same as ‘the lies Bud wants to sell’. Totally different.
I never disputed anyone’s description of the offense as being poor or sloppy. That probably indicates Weber is no better this year than last and that will be an enormous problem.
Crowd and team enthusiasm is unknown to me. I wasn’t there. I feel totally safe in assuming your take on it is a calculated lie to undermine the program.
There is a big difference in the enthusiasm of a genuine Gopher fan and a petty detractor whose entire life is centered around getting a football coach fired.
Jimbo, I do not think that we will ever know all the details of that night. I place my trust in the University to do the right thing. I do not believe that EJ is being dealt with unfairly. There must be more to it than his side and I place my trust in the individuals that know the whole story.
Jumbo … I agree there is no chance he will play here again.
But if the facts are as presented in Chip’s piece today, and I certainly have no reason to believe otherwise, he was unfairly dismissed by the team and my respect for both Brewster and Maturi is lessened because of it.
Also a good deal of those yards came be