Tuesday, October 27, 2009

What now?

A week ago I re-watched the Gophers loss to Penn State specifically to pick apart Adam Weber.  In a game where he completed 10 of 22 passes for 101 yards, no TD's and 1 INT, it wasn't hard to pick apart.  Even of Weber's 10 completions, over half of them were poor throws.  Over throws, under throws, throwing to the wrong shoulder... Weber had it all.

One of the only shining moments of that game was a 42 yard reception over the middle to Weber's favorite target: Eric Decker.  That reception seemed to energize Weber and he proceeded to have 3 more very good throws on that drive.  But Decker was held without a catch for the rest of the game, and outside of that series Adam Weber looked completely lost for the entire football game.

And so, Gopher fans, I pose to you the question of the day... WHAT NOW?

Eric Decker was the only thing that was keeping Adam Weber afloat in this offense.  A safety-valve in a sea of stunt blitzes, poor pass blocking and unimaginative play calling.  Decker shone like a beacon of light in an offense of darkness for Adam Weber... now that light is gone. 

After the Purdue game, Jeffrick called for Weber to be benched.  I waited a week, but eventually came around to his way of thinking.  I wanted to hang onto Weber as the man who weathered the storm of a 1-11 season.  But the proof, as they say, was in the pudding... and the pudding, my friends, was runny, vanilla, and it seemed to spill out of the bowl only to end up in the paws of the dog far too often.

Then we played Ohio State.  Weber hung another stinker on the board and in the process his favorite, and sometimes it seemed only, target went down.  We were worried, but this was Eric FREAKING Decker.  The man is a beast.  He can take a pounding and bounce right back. 

When the news came across my email today from Jeffrick with the subject line "Decker done for the year," a link to the story and an ominous "Oh s@#$!!!," my immediate reply was "Which pretty much means Weber should be too." 

As I've thought about this situation since I sent that email I can't see a way out of this for Adam Weber.  Decker was just about all he had the last two years.  When Decker went down with a bum ankle last year, Weber struggled.  When Decker was held in check by defenses this year, Weber struggled.  So what now?

What now?

No comments: