Spring Game

[Mr_Tibbs]

First half is over with. A few thoughts:

1) Walding and Gibbs both look capable, but Gibbs seems to have the better arm. Who knows on decision making/poise/etc. But my gut tells me that Gibbs is going to be starting in Minneapolis.

2) I think this D line has huge potential. We seem to have built better depth there the last 2 seasons. Hope it translates to more pressure and better rush D.

3) Our RB group is so deep, if we can get consistent O-line play, we can win a lot of games on the ground. And a run first O is bound to help our D too.

4) No swing passes...yet.

[Nidaros]

Re: Spring Game

First half is over with. A few thoughts:

1) Walding and Gibbs both look capable, but Gibbs seems to have the better arm. Who knows on decision making/poise/etc. But my gut tells me that Gibbs is going to be starting in Minneapolis.

2) I think this D line has huge potential. We seem to have built better depth there the last 2 seasons. Hope it translates to more pressure and better rush D.

3) Our RB group is so deep, if we can get consistent O-line play, we can win a lot of games on the ground. And a run first O is bound to help our D too.

4) No swing passes...yet.

Thank You for your report.

[jackdaniel]

Re: Spring Game

First half is over with. A few thoughts:

1) Walding and Gibbs both look capable, but Gibbs seems to have the better arm. Who knows on decision making/poise/etc. But my gut tells me that Gibbs is going to be starting in Minneapolis.

2) I think this D line has huge potential. We seem to have built better depth there the last 2 seasons. Hope it translates to more pressure and better rush D.

3) Our RB group is so deep, if we can get consistent O-line play, we can win a lot of games on the ground. And a run first O is bound to help our D too.

4) No swing passes...yet.

They might actually work better if we get away from using them every 4 down series...ok, exaggerating just a bit

[Mr_Tibbs]

Re: Spring Game

Stig just went on record saying we'll see more blitzing this fall. He "was too harsh with Brown on allowing blitzes, but he wants to open it up more for the new D Coordinators". If true, that's the best news of the day.

[Kemo]

Re: Spring Game

Stig just went on record saying we'll see more blitzing this fall. He "was too harsh with Brown on allowing blitzes, but he wants to open it up more for the new D Coordinators". If true, that's the best news of the day.

My ears perked up as well when I heard this. Hope this leads to a less predictable defense for the upcoming season.

[RabbitObsessed]

Re: Spring Game

How'd the second half go? Any other qb information?

[CappinHard]

Re: Spring Game

No swing passes...yet.

Stig just went on record saying we'll see more blitzing this fall. He "was too harsh with Brown on allowing blitzes, but he wants to open it up more for the new D Coordinators". If true, that's the best news of the day.

Somebody pinch me... this has to be a dream...

[UWMandSDSU]

Re: Spring Game

How'd the second half go? Any other qb information?

Connors and Gibbs stood out. IMO it will be a 3 horse race. Connors improved his stock.

[Mr_Tibbs]

Re: Spring Game

Can confirm: 1 Swing pass in the second half.

Also agree that Connors had a good day along with Gibbs. I'd love to see Gibbs run, because I think that's an x factor that he brings more so than the other QBs. Not that they aren't capable, but Gibbs is a large young man and appears to move pretty quick.

[Kemo]

Re: Spring Game

How'd the second half go? Any other qb information?

I got home from work in time to see most of the 2nd half. My take away from the QB situation was that Gibbs is a "grown man." There is just such a noticeable difference in size and mass when he's out there compared to Walding and especially Connors (didn't see Nelson at all in the 2nd half... not sure if he played in the 1st or not). That said, I really like what Connors did out there. Really poised and threw some nice balls, but he needs to dedicate himself to the weight room and the training table, as his frame is still too slight.

If I had to put money on it, I'd say Gibbs will likely be the starter out of fall camp since he appears to be catching up with the mental part of the game and he's such a physical specimen.

[Mr_Tibbs]

Re: Spring Game

I got home from work in time to see most of the 2nd half. My take away from the QB situation was that Gibbs is a "grown man." There is just such a noticeable difference in size and mass when he's out there compared to Walding and especially Connors (didn't see Nelson at all in the 2nd half... not sure if he played in the 1st or not). That said, I really like what Connors did out there. Really poised and threw some nice balls, but he needs to dedicate himself to the weight room and the training table, as his frame is still too slight.

If I had to put money on it, I'd say Gibbs will likely be the starter out of fall camp since he appears to be catching up with the mental part of the game and he's such a physical specimen.

Agreed. One way or the other, I believe Gibbs will be our QB of the future. Whether that starts in August of 2019 or not, who knows. But he made some good decisions today, and that bodes well for him this fall.

It's too early to really evaluate one way or the other, but given our schedule, I think we've got the tools in place to make an 8th straight playoff appearance, despite the leadership we lost to graduation. As I see it (Way too early predictions, but it's April and I don't care):

@UM - Winnable game, but a Thursday night game in a Big 10 stadium isn't the ideal place for a new QB to start. Being conservative, I'll call this an L

LIU - Good former D2, but should be a W

@Drake - Should be a W

SUU - Birds had a bad season last year, but I'm not sure what they return. Being at home, this should be a W

SIU - At home, I think we can grind this one out. W

@YSU - My gut tells me L

@ISUB - Not sure what they return, but their QB is gone (I think). Should have been a playoff team last year. I think we pull out a W

NDSU - NDSU lost a LOT of seniors off that team, and while they probably will reload, it wouldn't shock me if they're not a top 5 team next season. Top 15 for sure, but I could see them losing 2+ games in the regular season. Since it's April and there's no reason for pessimism right now, let's say a W.

@MSU - Bears don't play well late in the year. W

ISUR - Tough team to predict. They've fallen apart late in the year the last few years, but they always play us tough. They were a young team last year, and I could see a L here.

UNI - This feels like a revenge game to me and I think we'll take it.

@USD - I'm not going to predict a USD victory here, but this is probably the best shot they've had yet in the D1 era to take us down. New QB playing in the Dome and they always play us close down there. With that being said, they'll be short a few thousand fans for this one compared to normal and they just weren't very good last year. Not sure how much they return on the O line and on D, but those were pretty weak units for them last year, and I doubt they've fixed all the issues. W

I think 9-3 is real doable, and 8-4 is definitely attainable. Toughest road games are @UM, @YSU, and @USD

NDSU, ISUR, and UNI at home. It's a favorable schedule for a team with a new QB and coordinators.

[Jacked_Up]

Re: Spring Game

I guess I saw the QB competition at the spring game differently. Matt Connors, the redshirt freshmen, was impressive, perhaps because I didn't know much about him or what to expect. Kurt Walding started for the offensive, generally played well and, I'm guessing, is most likely to start the first game next fall. J'Bore Gibbs is the most physically impressive and could be great eventually. But he and Kanin Nelson each missed some mid-range passes badly. Walding is poised, throws a pretty good ball and seems least likely to turn the ball over in pressure situations. Nelson took a hard hit in the upper leg area in the first half, and I don't recall him playing again after that. I hope he didn't get injured.

[Jacked_Up]

Re: Spring Game

A few other random observations from the spring game:
- The offense won 47-37 (or something like that).
- Lots of first stringers were nursing injuries and didn't play. That might have hurt the defense more than the offense.
- The RBs looked strong. There's probably going to be a lot of competition at receiver.
- Good crowd (but quiet). The bleachers were about full.

[jackdaniel]

Re: Spring Game

My ears perked up as well when I heard this. Hope this leads to a less predictable defense for the upcoming season.

Blitzing ,less face it, is anti-conservative,there's a risk associated with it, Stig used to be very consevative with the play calling, the trouble with that is teams can more easily figure out schemes to use against a defense that doesn't vary all that much. I guess " predictable" is a good word to describe how it becomes , as noted. Even though allowing more blitzes would seem more risky, it's my belief that it's about 50/50 in success rate, as long as the negative 50% doesn't end up being a lot of crazy long gains or quick TD's, the overall objective of being less predictable is a net gain for me. I'm sure they can come up with some sort of compromise that allows more risk, for the bigger objective of becoming less predictable, maybe lessening that risk to an acceptable level both sides can live with. It would make the game more interesting for sure, hopefully in a positive way,from our perspective.

[jackdaniel]

Re: Spring Game

I got home from work in time to see most of the 2nd half. My take away from the QB situation was that Gibbs is a "grown man." There is just such a noticeable difference in size and mass when he's out there compared to Walding and especially Connors (didn't see Nelson at all in the 2nd half... not sure if he played in the 1st or not). That said, I really like what Connors did out there. Really poised and threw some nice balls, but he needs to dedicate himself to the weight room and the training table, as his frame is still too slight.

If I had to put money on it, I'd say Gibbs will likely be the starter out of fall camp since he appears to be catching up with the mental part of the game and he's such a physical specimen.

I thought Connors (the guy from Tenn) really threw the ball pretty well in the clip of the QB's throwing in practice a while back.I didn't want to mention it then until someone else mentioned him.He seems like a good passer, nice looking ball he throws, seems to throw accurately.Gibbs seems to be the consensus front runner however, for starting.