Weber tries to heal wounds, look ahead

Adam Weber struggled mightily but put a philosophical spin on the loss, while coach Tim Brewster refused to blame his QB, saying the team must do a better job protecting him.

By LA VELLE E. NEAL III, Star Tribune

Last update: November 23, 2008 - 12:32 AM

Print this story

More from Gophers

After a night of misadventures during a thorough thrashing by the Iowa Hawkeyes, Gophers quarterback Adam Weber made sure the wounds healed as quickly as possible.

"The thing is making sure guys don't go their separate ways after a game like this," Weber said Saturday night after Iowa's 55-0 victory at the Metrodome. "Very easily, you can get locker room critics and stuff like that. We have to realize it wasn't our day at all. Thankfully, we have another game."

It is easy to understand why Weber was concerned about harmony. His offense, as it has been for most of the past four games, was awful.

Two plays stood out.

One came on the Gophers' first offensive play, when the snap from center Trey Davis hit Weber in the hands and bounced away. Weber fell on the ball but the Gophers were pinned at their 1-yard line and punted after two more plays.

The other came midway through the third quarter when Weber smartly spun to his left to avoid being sacked, looked up and saw Jack Simmons running alone down the sideline. Weber, somehow, overthrew Simmons by nearly 10 yards.

There was more -- such as the errant passes, missed open receivers, and a second quarter interception by Iowa's Amari Spievey that was returned 57 yards for a touchdown -- but missing the first snap of the game and not hitting a receiver all by himself suggest it's not your night.

"We haven't found a rhythm," said Weber, who was 14-for-28 for 127 yards and two touchdowns. "I don 't personally feel like I'm out of rhythm. Someone has to be held accountable and, as the quarterback, as the leader, it falls on you to get drives going."

Weber has struggled for most of his past four games. A couple of exceptions are his play during the second half of last week's loss at Wisconsin and the first half of the Gophers' loss to Northwestern on Nov. 1.

Aside from that, the sophomore quarterback has been far from sharp. True, the Gophers offensive line needs upgrading and the offense has scored just three touchdowns since wide receiver Eric Decker turned his left ankle against Northwestern.

Decker returned to action Saturday -- at less than 100 percent -- but what was one of the nation's best pitch-and-catch combos earlier in the season still didn't click and the offense continued to sputter.

Weber didn't hook up with Decker on Saturday until a 25-yard gain with 4 minutes, 4 seconds left in the third and game already in hand for Iowa.

So Weber might need every one of the 15 practices the Gophers have before bowl season to find his game and rekindle his relationship with Decker and get the offense in sync.

"Adam needs help, and we have to do a better job of protecting him, giving him some time," Gophers coach Tim Brewster said. "I don't at all put this on his shoulders."

Recent Gophers stories

Anderson scores 22 points and Richmond uses second-half spurt to beat winless Longwood 65-52 - November 23, 2008

Anderson scores 22 points and Richmond uses second-half spurt to beat winless Longwood 65-52 - Kevin Anderson scored six of his 22 points during an 18-2 spurt late in the game as Richmond defeated Longwood 65-52 on Tuesday night. More