Don't Say We Didn't Warn You; Ok, Fine, We Didn't Warn You

Say you've got this team, right? And this team was beyond awful last year. I mean, it was so bad, that I wrote that I had to call Woods Hole and rent Alvin to go find their record. We're talking bottom of the Mariana Trench bad. The statistics at the bottom of said trench?





2007 Rankings of the Minnesota Golden Gophers:

Total Defense: 119th
Turnover Margin: 115th
Time of Possession: 102nd
Red Zone Conversion: 72nd
Scoring Offense: 67th
Overall Record: 1-11

Ok, so you're not going to win very many football games when your defense is ranked as the worst defense in the nation. And you're not going to win very many football games when you're losing the ball to turnovers more than any team in the nation save 4.

But, as bad as Minnesota was last year, there were some statistics that indicated a modicum of success. Namely:

Total Offense: 48th (ahead of IU, Ohio State, Michigan)
Sacks Allowed: 6th (just 1/game)
Third Down Conversions: 36th (42.6% success)
TFL's allowed: 19th (63 allowed)

Ok, so the offense - when it wasn't turning the ball over - was actually pretty decent. Excellent protection for the QB, and they managed to stay on the field. This suggests that the problem was with a defense that was a sieve, and an offense that couldn't hang onto the ball. To be a successful football team, Minnesota had to put those"Mariana Trench" category stats into the "modicum of success" category.

This year, through 7 games:

Total Defense: 84th
Turnover Margin: 2nd (!!!)
Time of Possession: 21st
Red Zone Conversion: 28th
Scoring offense: 42nd

Ok, so the defense still isn't great. But the offense, which was competent last year, is finally holding onto the ball. Heck, sometimes the defense is actually getting it for them which must be a novel thing:

Brewster: OFFENSE, LET'S GO! WIN FIGHT!

Offense: Wait a second there coach. I didn't see the other team score a Touchdown yet. We're not supposed to go in until that happens.

The offense is holding onto the ball and converting in the Red Zone. I don't need to go into the flawed stat that is "red zone conversion" but hey - it's flawed for everybody, and at least the Gophers are doing it. The result: a 6-1 record.

We didn't warn you that the Gophers could be a good football team this year, and they're still not world-beaters. But they went from grossly incompetent to bowl-eligible by dramatically improving in just a few areas. The framework for success was there, and Brewster should be credited for maintaining that framework while improving on the key areas that held the Gophers back last year.

Minnesota with Special Guest Gopher Nation!

A few notes:

1) I am in meetings literally all day, everyday for the rest of the week, and as such, posting will be light

2) Today's post comes from Gopher Nation, an excellent Minnesota blog who has agreed to help with Minnesota's preview. Please add them to your list of things involving Gophers.

B2

One thing the media will harp on that is ridiculously off base: - local media harps and harps on Brewster for comments he made at his iniitial press conference about wanting to win the Big Ten. I'm not sure what is wrong with stating that as your goal each and every season. Many took his comments as he thought he has the talent to win the Big Ten in 2007. Those were his words but the fact that his team bumbled to 1-11 has nothing to do with words he used on his first day on the job. Everything else that is harped on is valid. The defense was historically awful and is the storyline heading into season.

One thing the media will completely ignore that is integral to this team's success: - I am finding that the offense is being completely ignored. Weber had a pretty darn good season especially when you consider he was a freshman. When you compare his freshman numbers to the numbers of previous freshman starters in the Big Ten he ranks 1st in yds, 2nd in TDs (1 behind Chad Henne), 3rd in completion % and 1st in rushing yds. QBs I compared him to: Juice Williams, Kellan Lewis, Chad Henne, Jeff Smoker, Brett Basanez and Zach Mills. Nobody is talking about Weber and I think that is too bad.

Most important contributors on each side of the ball: - Weber for obvious reasons on the offensive side of the ball. If he is able to cut down on turnovers and make better decisions, both of which hopefully come with age/experience, the offense should be improved and capable of keeping us in most games.

Defensively you could make an argument for 15 guys as most important contributors. I have a few favorites who I am really excited to watch this year, but I'll go with one of my least favorite guys. Willie VanDeSteeg had a breakout sophomore season earning All Big Ten honorable mention with 10.5 sacks. Last year was a bust for WVDS as a broken hand limited him to very little productivity. But Willie is healthy and many are anticipating he'll return to his sophomore form (I'm not one of them). If he is able to wreak havoc in the backfield that will help our passing game tremendously.

Random factor that you think will come into play this season: - Home schedule. Winning a Big Ten game or two would be an encouraging step forward in year two of the Brewster plan. Getting Northwestern, Iowa and Indiana at home should give us a chance to get a win or two in conference. When your team is good, you want those as road games cause you'll win them anyway. When your team is coming off a 1-11 season you want any winable game in your own stadium.

Playmaker: Offense - WR-Eric Decker. Decker is a stud athlete. He is one of those guys you hate cause whatever he tries he is usually good at it. Decker is of course under the Big Ten radar because his team was terrible, but he will put up huge numbers and really have the athletic ability to be more than just a product of a system. He finished top 5 in receptions, receiving yards and receiving TDs in 2007. Look for those numbers to improve as he becomes the primary target of Weber.

Playmaker: Defense - Can I use our punter here? I'm going to go with two guys, both are incoming JUCO's who are expected to have an immediate impact. Traye Simmons (aka Big Play Traye) is expected to immediately move into a starting CB role and be an instant upgrade. Tramaine Brock is my other playmaker and he too is a defensive back coming in as a junior. Brock will start at free safety bringing a new level of speed and athleticism that was not in the defensive backfield a year ago. If these guys can earn their starting spots and are truly good enough to make a difference that will help this defense notch a 3-and-out or two.

Thanks once again to Gopher Nation for providing insight into Minnesota's season. I've got something half-cooked that should go up later this week once it's done marinating, which is perfect, because really the only way to serve Gopher is marinated.

Minnesoooooota: The Preview, eh?

Not Canadian? Who cares?!

The Minnesota Golden Gophers enter this season with "regression towards the mean" as a rather dubious goal. Last year? The Gophers were a mess. 1-11 overall, with an 0-8 conference record and a Big-Ten standing so low it would take Alvin to get there. What's Alvin? That, right there to the left, is Alvin. The Gophers were, without question, one of the worst football teams in America. However, that is not to say that there is not hope in Gopherland.

2007 Season in One Word: Atrocious. But then, there was Tim Brewster's claim that a few bounces one way or the other would have had his team at 5 wins, so really, that 1-11 record is rather misleading. Of course, this is akin to me saying "a few bounces one way or the other, and I could be the father of Jessica Alba's baby." and "a few bounces, and Michigan would be competing for their 32nd consecutive National Championship." There is no way to spin 1-11 so that it sounds good: it's still 1-11. At any rate, it hasn't stopped Brewster's enthusiasm for the program, as evident by his motivational Tourette's Syndrome. Under Glen Mason, Minnesota had only missed a bowl game three times, and only once since 1999. However, in looking at past seasons, Minnesota has fluctuated from "just good enough for a bowl game" to "awful." It could very well be that Brewster's first season coincided with a year that was destined to be "awful" from the get-go.

2008 Tangibles:

Schedule

8/30 Northern Illinois
9/06 @ Bowling Green
9/13 Montana State
9/20 Florida Atlantic
9/27 @ Ohio State
10/04 Indiana
10/11 @ Illinois
10/25 @ Purdue
11/01 Northwestern
11/08 Michigan
11/15 @ Wisconsin
11/22 Iowa

The schedule isn't too grinding; a fairly tame OOC slate, followed by your standard Big Ten fare. There is no brutal stretch of demoralizing games, and on the surface, many appear winnable.


Coach

Tim Brewster enters his second season as Head Coach of the Golden Gophers. He is pictured above, holding his balls.

Returning Playmakers

Adam Weber returns from a 2007 campaign that saw him leading the team in passing and rushing. He has solidified the starting spot, and has become a more vocal leader throughout the spring. The departure of quarterback Clint Brewster (Tim's son) makes the decision to start Weber easier for all involved. Of course, this could be complete BS: I have no idea if Clint was even on the radar to get playing time. I am, however, still bitter about losing playing time to the coaches son in Pee-Wee.

Defensively, the standout this spring has been a juco transfer safety named Tramaine Brock. The Gophers led the nation in suck last year defensively, so they're going to need all the help they can get.

Special Added Feature! Reason for Hope!

Tim Brewster has, by all rights, been an animal on the recruiting trail. Please witness this video for proof:


A few things:

1) Minnesota DEFINITELY leads the nation in recruits with creepy eyes.
2) What is with the music selection? It sounds like we're either in a Mario dungeon, or a lame jazz club. Either way, it's not the usual gangster rap, so that's a plus? Who knows. I'm going to make a highlight film featuring nothing but Robert Goulet, and see how that goes over.