Friday night was the second Spring Game under the Tim Brewster Regime. This fan saw some definite potential in the squad to top the stunning one win season from last year.
The good:
Adam Weber. Weber showed more poise in the pocket, looking unhurried as he went through is progressions. He frequently checked down from his primary receiver targets (generally Tray Herndon or Ralph Spry), and instead would hit guys like Mike Kuznia (I have no idea who that is, a walk on of some sort). He also completed a high percentage of his passes without the aid of Spiderman-like Eric Decker who is lighting it up for the Gopher baseball team.
Containment. The defense played a more laid back style under new DC Roof than that of the previous years' unit. They allowed the under passes, swarming to the ball and generally were successful in gang tackling. Probably the best mark in my book goes to the linebackers who showed much improved speed in containing the outside sweeps and bootlegs.
Marcus Sherels: My defensive/special teams MVP. He logged time with the Junkyard Dogs as a corner back, breaking up a pass and generally harassing the second string wide outs. T-Mort and Clint Brewster were constantly frustrated by the outside corners, forcing them to go up the middle and enabling Kevin Mannion to make a solid interception, and barely drop another. Sherels may have solidified his spot as the go-to return man this fall, ripping off a 60 yard kick off return and gobbling up another 20 on a punt return. Finally, as a gunner playing opposite Trumaine Brock, he was able to help force a fumble on Harold Howell, is main competitor at the returner position.
The Bad:
Ball Control: Last year, the Gopher offense was notorious for setting its defense up to fail. Whether it was newbies like Weber lobbing the ball in the air when hurried, or grizzled veterans like Amir Pinnix coughing up the ball on the goal line, three or four games which had potential to swing towards the Gophers slipped away on the backs of turnovers. The spring game did not do much for this fan's optimism. Although Weber held onto the ball, Harold Howell brought back the memories from last year's home finale, putting the pig skin on the ground upon his first opportunity to handle a punt. Duane Bennett, the would-be starting running back was also lackadaisical with the ball, allowing another turnover. Considering this was a performance against a defense which ranked near the bottom in turnover margin last year, things need to improve markedly if the Gophers are to seek out a Big 10 victory this year.
Special Teams: Always the Achilles Heel of Mason teams, Tim Brewster talked up his NFL special teams credentials to anyone that would listen coming into the Minnesota job. As Brewster innovated with names, renaming them his "special forces", Joel Monroe continued a long tradition held by place kickers who should be riding the short bus not kicking in D1 football. Missing three kicks, two from inside the 35, Monroe needs to regain his form from last season when he hit a 50+ yarder to crush the Kinnick crowd at halftime. Coverage on kick returns coverage looked loose as well, letting a former walk on bust a 60 yard return is unacceptable.
Overall, I came away from the night with mixed feelings. The "Gopher Nation" looked sparse, but there were plenty of recruits sprinkled among the faithful. Hopefully the top 20 recruiting class can inject some talent and enthusiasm to the program when they step on campus this summer.
No comments:
Post a Comment