Must be a fantastic coach. I know people don't like him but they are obliterating Michigan State at Michigan State right now 14 nothing with Minnesota almost 200 yards of offense and Michigan State seven.
Fleck
- Thread starter jensberg
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Absolutely dominating. I think they may run away with the West.
There's no arguing that his teams are physical, tough and sound. They come ready to play.
And NU has almost a full point advantage in avg recruit score over the last 4 classes on 247. Looks like recruiting rankings suck and Fleck and staff can really coach. I'm sure Minny will lose some games and not look great at times but they sure look well coached and their effort is really good.
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Good QB play helps. They've got a 6 year starter at QB.
He is very FItz like in his football philosophy. They have done a better job in talent development the last several years and perhaps most importantly he has an experienced, talented senior QB. QB play has been the main differentiator in NU and Minny’s success over the last several seasons.
But I don't understand how good quarterback play generates fantastic defensive play. Seriously, are you watching the game? Michigan State into the second quarter has one yard of total offense.
That’s because you don’t understand football. The three phases are all interconnected in a variety of ways.
What is your problem! Can't you just admit that they have a much better coaching staff at the present time and their defense is excellent despite the fact that they also have a good quarterback. Is that so hard for you to admit.
You're focusing on that. I'm focusing on the fact all 3 of their drives have been over 5 minutes and ended in scores
I agree on the QB and how important that is but I would say that their development has been just as important and they just seem to be much better at it than NU is right now.
LOL. I didn’t respond to your post. You engaged me and then you don’t like my reply because I was blunt about it. I said in this thread that Minny has done a better job developing their talent than NU the last couple of years. I’ve also said multiple times that in my opinion Fleck is a very good coach even though he is a jerk. Is he a better coach than FItz? Not even close in my opinion. They have very similar football philosophies focused on playing complementary football across all three phases, which has served them well particularly in seasons when they have had good, veteran QB play. Having a good Qb that can help control time of possession, field position, playing with the lead, and overall contributing to positive momentum positively impacts the performance of a football team across all three phases. That’s a universal truth that I have observed watching football at every level over the last 40 years.
He is not at all Fitz like. He wants an offense that runs a lot, but he wants one that is explosive and can go score many points as an offensive juggarnaught. In the Western Illinois game, they intentionally threw down the field often early in the game in order to improve their downfield passing explosiveness, which was their top priority entering the season on either side of the ball even though they knew they could hand the ball off repeatedly and dominate Western with ease that way. Both Fleck and the OC discussed this publicly after the game. Fitz would never, ever, ever, ever, ever do that. I cannot stand Fleck, but he embraces a significantly more modern offensive mindset than Fitz ever has.
Mel Tucker falling prey to the massive contract extension gremlin.......
Their football philosophies are very similar in my opinion. It’s no accident that Fleck as a young NIU assistant sought out advice from FItz on how to become a head football coach. FItz doesn’t believe in running up the score or trying to embarrass another team when the outcome is no longer in doubt. This has nothing to do with football philosophy and everything to do with respecting your opponent and demonstrating good sportsmanship. You obviously find fault with that approach and I think that is fair game. I happen to find it refreshing at a time when so few coaches care about those type of things.
Peace. I respect your football acumen and enjoy reading your insights. Just frustrated to see so many in our division, including Illinois, get better while we regress.
Going full throttle all the time isn't just running up the score. The lack of a killer mindset from Fitz affects this team from the opening whistle in many games.
I don't care about running up the score, I care about explosive offense. I care less about this, but I also find using the FCS games to fine tune explosion plays within your offense to be a smart use of time that is clearly bearing dividends today. Fitz would prefer to **** around and be as vanilla as possible in non conference games, which has caused him to find out more often than he should.
I get your point, I just don’t agree with it. FItz doesn’t either and it has nothing to do with his offensive philosophy. Remember, this is a guy whose team passed the ball 72 times in a bowl game because FItz knew that was their best chance to win a game. FItz has a preference as to how his teams play but ultimately he has proven he will do what it takes to win a game. FItz wants NU to win as badly as any of us as long as he does it within the rules, without compromising the best interests of his players, and without disrespecting his opponent.
Plus it's boring football in what is supposed to be an entertainment business.
Winning football games is entertaining. I couldn’t care less how NU wins as long as they win. I would find a 2-0 win by NU very entertaining and satisfying.
Well the numbers are in and Fleck's teams often have good or great offenses while Fitz hasn't had anything but terrible offenses for over a decade, so it's time for Fitz to changed his definitively failed philosophy.
The only stat that matters is wins. I want NU to win. I couldn’t care less how they go about doing it.
Well they ain’t doing that either and it’s a lot easier to win when you score a lot of points.
I am not happy about the current results either but I just don’t see how you can be fixated on the lack of scoring points as the main reason. You win by scoring more points than the opposition regardless of how many points you score. In my opinion that can be accomplished just as easily winning a game 10-7 as winning a game 41-38. How you go about it is largely dictated by the capabilities of your football team much more so than coaching philosophy.
I've always thought 2 things about Fleck: 1) he's more interested in growing his own brand than anything else and is even more of a salesman/self-promoter than most coaches, and 2) he's a great football coach.
I think he's better than most of the coaches in the Big Ten.
I think he's better than most of the coaches in the Big Ten.
Let's see if he can actually win anything. Let's see what he does next year when he loses his 30 year old QB and RB.
He’s not a great game day, Xs and Os, clock management coach at all. He’s a motivator who recruits the right kids and his success is largely due to picking good OC and DC. It looks like Ciarroca is Fleck’s Hankwitz. When he left to PSU the Gophers O was bad and when he came back, instantly good again.
He has also had massive success from the portal, getting multiple 4* starters from ND, Michigan, Clemson, A&M.
That in addition to getting most of his key guys to stay for a 6th year.
They sure timed it right. No one in the West has much of a chance aside from an average looking Wisconsin team.
It is nearly impossible to win a game scoring 10 points, it is objectively NOT as easy to do so.
Not true. It all depends on what team you have and how you play the game. We’ll have to agree to disagree on this.
Since 2000, there have been 1184 times in which an FBS team has scored exactly 10 points in a game. They've won 68 times for a 68-1116 record, a .067 winning percentage. Northwestern has not won scoring less than 13 points in 38 such games in that 22 year stretch.
They are getting better athletes at key positions than NU. Just a more talented roster top to bottom. And Fleck has done an excellent job of coaching them up.
As much as many of us like to dislike Fleck, his teams look well coached and win a lot of games.
GOUNUII
Sure seems like prioritizing an offense that can score some points is important...
