Buck Bravo

Yesterday saw the departure of both offensive coordinator Mike Dunbar and defensive coordinator Ted Roof from the Gopher football program. The Golden Gopher Football blog and The Daily Gopher have posted insights regarding the circumstances and future options for replacements. Let’s look forward to what could be possible with new coordinators.

New Offensive Coordinator

Moving forward, Minnesota will have some very dangerous weapons on offense. Adam Weber, Marquies Gray, Moses Alipate and David Pittman are all very capable at passing the football. Gray and Pittman have wide receiver speed, and Weber and Alipate are by no means slow. Imagine a spread offense formation with Weber and Gray side-by-side in the shotgun and Pittman in motion…any one of the three could either pass or receive the ball. Defensive backs and linebackers watch the eyes of the quarterback. Even the most talented college defenses would be frustrated without one quarterback to focus upon.

One positive development from the Insight Bowl were the new power running formations for the Gopher offense. Returning to a 1920’s running game is unlikely, but having the option of a power running game would be beneficial for goal line and short yardage situations. Imagine a dynamic, innovative spread offense with multiple quarterbacks on the field that can also switch things up and ram the ball up the middle. Such an offense would be a nightmare for opposing defensive coordinators. Minnesota needs an offensive coordinator that will utilize talent appropriately, teach precision execution, and call plays that will continually surprise the opposing defense.

New Defensive Coordinator

Overall, Ted Roof was successful as the Gophers’ defensive coordinator. Auburn fans’ reaction to Roof can be viewed by clicking here, or follow this link for a more in-depth Auburn analysis. While Roof is a talented defensive coordinator, I wouldn’t expect him to stay at Auburn any longer than it takes him to receive another head coaching offer. After losing his head coaching job at Duke he accepted an assistant coaching job at Louisville, shortly thereafter jumped to be defensive coordinator at Minnesota, and now has jumped for a hefty pay increase at Auburn. Honestly, I don’t know of too many people who could turn down an opportunity to nearly double their salary. Based upon his track record, Roof is likely trying to return to the head coaching ranks.

Defense is not terribly difficult to coach. Defensive schemes are rather simple to teach and to learn. The challenge for a defensive coordinator is to respond to offensive formations and strategies with appropriate defensive formations and coverages. Defensive coordinators must be able to intuitively predict the opposing offensive coordinator’s intentions. Additionally, good defensive coordinators will be able to teach and inspire players to be aggressive and to play good fundamental football. Basically, the Gophers need another Ted Roof, but one that isn’t looking to make career moves towards a head coaching spot for a least two years.

Minnesota’s offense only mustered 105 yards passing and 83 yards rushing versus a Michigan defense that is statistically in the bottom three of the Big Ten for points allowed, total yards per game, and passing yards allowed.  What happened?  The spread offense relies on multiple offensive threats “spread” across the field in order to isolate and expose the weaknesses of the defense.  Injuries to Eric Decker and the offensive line exposed the Gophers’ greatest weaknesses: inexperience and a lack of depth.  Effectively, a few injuries spread out the Gopher offense too thin.

Eric Decker is the catalyst for the Minnesota offense.  Throughout the year, opposing defenses have had their best defensive back on him along with another defender in position for double team coverage.  Decker still put up huge numbers.  In doing so, he forced opposing defenses to assign less capable defenders to other Gopher receivers.  The result?  A potent passing attack.  With Decker injured, the game plan changed for opposing defenses. 

The Gophers do have talented receivers in addition to Eric Decker.  Tight end Jack Simmons is an NFL prospect.  However, as a tight end he doesn’t offer the blazing wide receiver speed that the spread offense requires.  Tight ends in the spread will usually benefit from having wide receivers that distract the defense and allow them to get open.  Brandon Green, Da’Jon McKnight, Xzavian Brandon, and Brodrick Smith (the freshmen four wide receivers)have the potential to develop into solid players.  All of them are true freshmen and will need time to learn the finesse aspects of Division I route running.  Inexperience does not mean lack of talent.  David Pittman has the potential to be a solid receiving option, but has been dealing with an injury most of the year.

The Minnesota offensive line has suffered several injuries throughout the year.  Against Michigan, the O-line had two freshmen and a sophomore up against an experienced defensive line.  Give these young linemen another year or two of maturity and weight training, and perhaps Adam Weber will have more time in the pocket while Deleon Eskridge has wider running lanes.

The bottom line is that an injury to Eric Decker and a few injuries to the offensive line exposed Minnesota’s inexperience and lack of depth.  Minnesota’s strong start to the season was dependent upon a starting lineup that in many places was one-deep.  Fortunately, there are several young players on the team who should develop into solid players and give the program depth in the coming years.  Next year the offensive line will have another year of experience and strength training, Eric Decker plans to return, the freshmen four wide receivers will be sophomores, David Pittman will still be here, and the team will be joined by both five star junior college receiver Hayo Carpenter and the talented Minneapolis tight end Ra’Shede Hageman. 

Despite a 7-3 record, a bowl-eligible season, a new stadium in 2009, and a coach of the year candidate, Minnesota still has plenty of room for talented recruits who are looking to contribute.

Saturday’s game versus Montana State could be the most important game of the year.  Why?

1. Losing to Montana State would be devastating.  The Gophers are not expected to win versus teams such as Ohio State or even Bowling Green.  Analysts and fans expect the Gophers to defeat Montana State.  If Montana State pulls off a win after losing to Kansas State by a score of 69-10, all of the momentum and excitement that the Gophers built up from the first two weeks of the season will be lost.  Do I think it likely that Montana State will win?  Absolutely not.  However, the Gophers need to make sure that they show up to play.
2. The Gophers have two games left to prepare for the Big Ten.  The Gophers will be facing a tough and determined opponent next week in Florida Atlantic.  Last year Florida Atlantic defeated the Gophers.  This week may be the best chance for the Gophers to fine tune the offense and defense.  Some of the younger players can hopefully gain enough experience to be Big Ten ready.  It is important that the Gophers build a big lead in this game early on.  If second and third string players can see some action in the second half, the Gophers’ depth chart will have game-day experience heading into Big Ten play.  An early lead would allow the starters to remain rested and healthy for Florida Atlantic.
3. The offensive line and running backs can be evaluated.  Last week’s injuries to Jeff Tow-Arnett, Ned Tavale, and Duane Bennett were the only downside of the Bowling Green game.  The Gophers should have an opportunity to test out some different players in order to solidify a young offensive line and evaluate their running backs.

I expect the Gophers to win, and win big.  In my opinion, this is the most important game of the year since it is the only remaining game that the Gophers absolutely MUST win.

On another note, I hope that David Pittman can finally see the field.  I’ve been looking forward to finding out how the Gophers will use him in the spread offense.  Just for kicks, here’s a formation that I’d be thrilled to see the Gophers use.  I left the receivers and running backs off of the diagram since they could be aligned any number of ways.  I call this the “side-by-side shotgun“:

Just to be clear, I have no delusions that the Gophers would ever take anything on this website seriously.  That being said, wouldn’t this be a fun formation to occasionally see them run?  Defenses key on the quarterback’s eyes and body language.  If there were two potential quarterbacks in the play, the level of defensive confusion would be monumental.  Both Weber and Pittman are gifted athletes able to pass, run, and receive the football.  Just imagine the possibilities…

The second long touchdown pass from Chandler Harnish to Nathan Palmer evoked nightmares of a year gone by for many in Gopher Nation.  But 1998 is not 1997, and Father Time and Fate granted a different outcome on the gridiron battleground.  The Gophers looked very good at times and shaky at others, but in the end pulled out a victory.

In my prior post, I predicted a 45-17 win for the Gophers.  I can speculate on what might have happened if Eric Decker’s touchdown hadn’t been taken away and Ryan Collado’s blown coverage hadn’t resulted in two touchdowns.  The bottom line is that the score of 31-27, while a win, was far different from what I expected.  Here’s my take on the offense:

Adam Weber appeared to be a more accurate passer than this time last year.  Besides Eric Decker, the options that Weber had as wide receiver targets were sparse.  Weber looked more mature and confident at quarterback, but he was telegraphing his passes.  Good linebackers and defensive backs key on the quarterback’s eyes, and Weber is giving them plenty of warning as to where he plans on throwing the ball.  While he had a great game versus Northern Illinois, teams with quicker defensive personnel could take advantage of this tendency.  If he can learn to avoid staring down his primary target, he could become an elite NCAA passer.  That’s a BIG IF, because if he continues to telegraph passes expect the interceptions to be numerous versus top tier opponents.  It’s important to remember that he’s only a sophomore and should continue to mature and develop throughout the season.

Jack Simmons looked every bit the part of an NFL tight end.  If he can avoid injury, expect him to be a first or second round draft pick this coming Spring.  Nick Tow-Arnett also had some big time catches, demonstrating that he’s more than just a blocking tight end.

Eric Decker had a great day with 89 yards receiving and a touchdown, but I expected to see a few of the new freshmen wide receivers see the field.  Ralph Spry and Ben Kuznia are servicable, but Weber will need the likes of Brandon Green and Brodrick Smith on the field in order to have multiple open targets throughout the season.

The offensive line has some new starters, and at times I thought that their youth and inexperience was apparent.  Defensive end Larry English of NIU looked like a man among boys out on the field.  It’s too bad he isn’t wearing maroon and gold this year.  Adam Weber didn’t have enough time in the pocket, and the O-line needs to gel as the season goes on and they gain experience.

Duane Bennett had a solid game with 92 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries.  Most importantly, he didn’t fumble and he gave us proof of breakaway speed with a 61 yard touchdown run.  I did notice that on a few occasions he carried the ball with the inside hand.  Ahman Green has had a long career in the NFL while holding the ball in just his left hand, so as long as there aren’t any fumbles that’s a moot point (unless Bennett prevents himself from being able to stiff-arm a defender).  Bennett looks to have become a quick, elusive, and speedy back with good hands.  He’s a great fit for the Gopher’s spread offense.

If Adam Weber continues to develop while avoiding telegraphed passes, a few freshmen wide receivers step up and play to expectations, and the young offensive line gels, we could be in for another record setting offense in 2008.  I’ll be back to analyze the defense and conclude my game 1 recap Monday evening.  Until then, enjoy the following video link sent to me by a reader.

One of the major changes that Tim Brewster and his staff have made since taking over the Golden Gopher football program is the implementation of the spread offense.  What exactly is the spread offense, and why the tactical change for Minnesota?  The most basic answer to the first part of that question is that “spread offense” is both a title and a definition.  The spread offense “spreads” offensive threats across the field, often with three, four, and five receiver sets, in order to exploit weaknesses and openings in the defense.  There are many variations of the spread offense, but the basic goal is usually to take advantage of offensive speed and athleticism in the open field. 

Mike Dunbar is the offensive coordinator for the Gophers, and the primary architect of the Gopher’s spread offense.  Dunbar had several successful years running Northwestern’s spread offense during the early part of this decade, and in 2005 coordinated the fourth most productive offense in the nation.  Dunbar’s version of the spread offense utlilizes running plays more so than other programs, but in a different way than Glen Mason’s Gophers.  Mason’s Gophers were primarily a straight-ahead running team.  Quite simply, Mason’s Gophers ran a smash-mouth offense that didn’t use fancy tricks and was intended to wear down the defense by physical contact.  I cannot remember Mason’s Gophers running a single passing screen play over ten seasons.  With Dunbar’s spread offense, running backs will occasionally run straight ahead but are also used for deceptive draw plays, screen passes, pass blocking, and even receiving routes.  Basically, the new Gopher offense is best serviced by all-purpose running backs in the mold of LaDainian Tomlinson opposed to a power running back with a running style similar to Jerome Bettis.

Fast, athletic wide receivers are essential to the spread offense.  Plays are designed to force the defense to cover multiple eligible receivers in order to create confusion for the defense, exploit weak links in the pass coverage, and draw linebackers into coverage to open up the middle of the field for running plays.  The Gophers encounted one of the most extreme pass intensive spread offenses in the 2006 Insight Bowl versus Texas Tech.  Texas Tech wore down the Gopher pass coverage by the second half and orchestrated the biggest comeback in Division I-A bowl history.

The best quarterbacks for the spread offense are usually in the all-purpose mold, too.  Rich Rodriguez is going to implement the spread offense at Michigan, and consequently talented freshman quarterback Ryan Mallett transfered to Arkansas.  Why?  Mallett is a pocket quarterback not suited for the spread offense.  Besides being proficient pocket passers, quarterbacks in the spread offense generally need to be able to run the ball effectively and make plays outside of the pocket.

One of the drawbacks of the spread offense is that it requires high levels of speed, skill, and playmaking abilities.  If the weakest links on the defense are on par with offensive talent, the defense will usually win.  The spread is also a more complicated offensive scheme, which can take time for college students to learn.  In 2007, the Gophers had an offensive team built for simple power football and were transitioning to an entirely new approach.  Although the Gopher offense was very productive, expect even better performance as players learn the system and new talent is brought in to meet the needs of the spread offense.

So, let’s address the second part of my question at the beginning of the article: Why the tactical change for Minnesota?  Based upon what I’ve read, heard, and seen, here are the reasons I believe are behind the change:

1. The spread offense requires fast, talented players.  Quarterbacks, receivers, and running backs should all see increases in end-of-year statistics.  Multiple receivers will usually be used in any given game.  Recruits that want to showcase their skills will be drawn to a program that does exactly that.
2. Many NFL teams run versions of the spread offense.  In this day and age, the spread offense best prepares players for the NFL.  Thus, more talented recruits should be interested in the program.
3. The spread offense is fun to watch.  The variety of running plays, pass plays, and occasional unexpected trick plays keep the members of the audience who aren’t die-hard football fans from becoming bored.  Once Minnesota starts winning, the spread offense could potentially bring more fans to games and expand the Gopher Nation.
4. The spread offense is difficult to defend.  Strategically, the offense can exploit weak links in the defense and create opportunities for big plays.  A deep rotation of receivers can wear out the opposing pass coverage, too.
5. In opening up the field, the spread offense gives coaches and players more weapons and plays by which to outsmart the defense.

The forward pass was not legal until 1906.  The spread offense has potential passing threats on almost every play and is the latest iteration in the evolution of offensive thinking.  Well, maybe not the newest anymore…if “A-11″ becomes a common term.  For now, the Gophers have made a step in the right direction with Mike Dunbar and his spread offense.