Wadley

[blubberhawk]

Was referred to in the Omaha World Herald as the 2*, no name back from New Jersey. The Herald did give him credit for being the best athlete on the field. Do not feel bad, Little Red fans, he was the best athlete on the field against Michigan and every team we played. We are still scratching our heads here in Iowa as to why he goes long stretches without playing.

 

[guffus]

Wadley's talent is obvious.

But I thought it was obvious why he was not playing more.

Fumbled a lot and could not get his weight up early in his career. he just did not have the physical body that could cary the ball 20 times a game, and was not strong enough to avoid fumbles.

Lousy blocker on pass protection. this disadvantage was turned into an advantage by turning him into a reciever out of the backfield that pretended to block and went out for a pass instead.

Liked to showboat on TD runs. high stepping yards from the endzone. he did not just do this once, but kept doing things that seemed immature.

Players of better character in front of him on the depth chart. Canzeri and Daniels both acted like leaders that set the right example.

In other words, Fetentz has been waiting for Wadley to grow up and mature, both emotionally and physically.

 

[HawkGold]

Reggie Bush wouldn't play much either. Too much risk.

 

[uihawk82]

I was wondering in the stands why wadley only had two touches since his early long td run against nebby and then bam Daniels rips off a 56 yard run and finishes it off with the TD sweep.

Whether Wadley's high stepping and fumbling (he didnt fumble much last year and this year) are a reason that Daniels gets more rushes sometimes is almost a moot point because Wadley gets his yards and plenty of receptions.

He will be the starter next year and he can have a big bowl game.

 

[PCHawk]

Kirk is just doing what he always does. Playing the player who he feels gives us the best chance to win.

 

[cincyhawk]

It was senior day.

 

[GesterHawk]

Can anyone really argue with how well Daniels ran on Friday? If there was anything, it was to send out Daniels on a really high note. He has been a great Hawkeye his entire career. He was finally healthy this year and he hit 1000 yards while splitting carries with Wadley - who will most likely hit 1000 yards in the bowl game if healthy. On top of that, he hit 1000 yards with zero passing threat. Wadley is fantastic, but so is Daniels.

 

[NCHawker]

It was senior day.

This

 

[FirstDownHawkeyes]

Seriously? Wadley gets as many touches as he can handle. When the Hawks really needed him vs MI, he got 27 touches. He's not built to do that every week for 11 games. Samuel for OSU is used the same way. Maybe, hopefully, next season he will be built to absorb more touches. I hope he is but if he is not, I'd happily take another season like this one out of Wadley. Either a healthy Mitchell or one of the underclassmen can take over the tough inside running niche.

 

[PCHawk]

Can anyone really argue with how well Daniels ran on Friday? If there was anything, it was to send out Daniels on a really high note. He has been a great Hawkeye his entire career. He was finally healthy this year and he hit 1000 yards while splitting carries with Wadley - who will most likely hit 1000 yards in the bowl game if healthy. On top of that, he hit 1000 yards with zero passing threat. Wadley is fantastic, but so is Daniels.

Daniels was great Saturday. But even if someone is a 9 on a 1-10 scale, you don't play him over a 10. If you play a bunch of guys that are slightly worse than are not her option, it makes a big difference in the quality of the product on the field. Just playing Daniels over Wadley isn't a huge deal. When you play Taylor over Gair, Maybe over Regumba, and Bazaga over Faith (and who knows who else) it becomes a huge deal.

 

[PCHawk]

It was senior day.

And when the guy played great and we won by 30, it doesn't matter and I can be glad he got his day. It's when you lose a close game and end up wondering where all the playmakers were that really bothers me. It wasn't senior day against Illinois.

 

[PCHawk]

Seriously? Wadley gets as many touches as he can handle. When the Hawks really needed him vs MI, he got 27 touches. He's not built to do that every week for 11 games. Samuel for OSU is used the same way. Maybe, hopefully, next season he will be built to absorb more touches. I hope he is but if he is not, I'd happily take another season like this one out of Wadley. Either a healthy Mitchell or one of the underclassmen can take over the tough inside running niche.

So you're saying he wasn't ready to go for the 2 weeks after Michigan because he got so many carries in that game? Guys like Wadley rarely get hit square so they can probably last better than guys like Daniels anyway.

 

[homes]

I think they could have been a much more dynamic offense if both had been on the field at the same time throughout the season. Missed opportunities, getting Wadley matched up on LBs on pass plays, such as the ISU game; the jet sweep potential influencing the LBs, such as the Illinois game. Their two best offensive players needed more time on the field together in my opinion. A pair of 1000 yard rushers is still pretty darn good, though.

 

[GesterHawk]

Daniels was great Saturday. But even if someone is a 9 on a 1-10 scale, you don't play him over a 10. If you play a bunch of guys that are slightly worse than are not her option, it makes a big difference in the quality of the product on the field. Just playing Daniels over Wadley isn't a huge deal. When you play Taylor over Gair, Maybe over Regumba, and Bazaga over Faith (and who knows who else) it becomes a huge deal.

But what if the coaches think they are both an 8; each with certain skills that the other doesn't have and each lacking in areas the other doesn't?

My feeling is that once we had the lead and were still able to run at will, the coaches were happy to turn the offense into the 12th defender. This is where a back with Daniels skill set excels.

 

[thetrza]

Its not like opposing coaches and defensive players can't tell whether we are running or passing based on personnel in the game or formation or anything.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

Was referred to in the Omaha World Herald as the 2*, no name back from New Jersey. The Herald did give him credit for being the best athlete on the field. Do not feel bad, Little Red fans, he was the best athlete on the field against Michigan and every team we played. We are still scratching our heads here in Iowa as to why he goes long stretches without playing.

Well, all I could see on Friday were NE players chasing Iowa players and not catching them. Wadley ran away from the CB chasing him and McCarron ran away from the defender chasing him. If I were NE media or coaches, I'd be questioning why the lack of speed at said superior school. Seriously, if you have so much better talent, why couldn't they run down the 2-3* Wadley's and McCarrons?

 

[HawkPrdatr40]

Seriously? Wadley gets as many touches as he can handle. When the Hawks really needed him vs MI, he got 27 touches. He's not built to do that every week for 11 games. Samuel for OSU is used the same way. Maybe, hopefully, next season he will be built to absorb more touches. I hope he is but if he is not, I'd happily take another season like this one out of Wadley. Either a healthy Mitchell or one of the underclassmen can take over the tough inside running niche.

I think comments like this are ridiculous.. Wadley gets as many touches as he can handle!? maybd next season he will be built to absorb more touches? Lmao. For real. Listen Akrum Wadley can/Could if given the rock be the starting back if KF choose him or needed him to be. And as for next season No damn way a healthy Wadley is sitting on the sidelines behind anyone..

 

[HuckFinn]

Come on guys. Do you ever pay attention to what other D 1 teams do with running backs these days? One guy simply cannot take the pounding week after week. You would be seriously placing them at risk of injury, or at least a downturn in effectiveness as the game goes along. Harbaugh (who I cannot stand, btw) uses 4 running backs regularly, just as one of many examples.

Akrum is a great running back, no doubt. But the argument that he does not get hit hard very often due to his skill set is just plain false. Watch a couple of games on your DVR and you will see the truth of the matter. The change up that teams we play have to face is a real strength for our run game. And, news flash, LeShun is one very fine running back. His speed is under rated (see long gains this year). I also noticed from re-watching Michigan vs Iowa and Nebr vs Iowa that later in the game, the defenses did not want anything to do with LeShun.

Full disclosure on my part: I do not believe that there are ulterior motives on the part of KF when it comes to determining who plays and how much. First, I have been around enough coaching staffs to know that position coaches make 99% of the decisions as to playing time. Second, yes, the head coach has veto power, but no head coach can watch each individual position on the depth chart and decide who should be playing. Finally, and this is indisputable: A head coach will make certain that the best players are on the field at all times, since as in business, the bottom line is profit, in football, the bottom line is winning.

We had better hope that next year, we have a back who can go along with Akrum at the same level we enjoyed with LeShun, or we are asking for trouble.

 

[PCHawk]

But what if the coaches think they are both an 8; each with certain skills that the other doesn't have and each lacking in areas the other doesn't?

My feeling is that once we had the lead and were still able to run at will, the coaches were happy to turn the offense into the 12th defender. This is where a back with Daniels skill set excels.

I have no doubt Kirk thinks Daniels is at least as good (but more than likely better) than Wadley.

 

[PCHawk]

Come on guys. Do you ever pay attention to what other D 1 teams do with running backs these days? One guy simply cannot take the pounding week after week. You would be seriously placing them at risk of injury, or at least a downturn in effectiveness as the game goes along. Harbaugh (who I cannot stand, btw) uses 4 running backs regularly, just as one of many examples.

Akrum is a great running back, no doubt. But the argument that he does not get hit hard very often due to his skill set is just plain false. Watch a couple of games on your DVR and you will see the truth of the matter. The change up that teams we play have to face is a real strength for our run game. And, news flash, LeShun is one very fine running back. His speed is under rated (see long gains this year). I also noticed from re-watching Michigan vs Iowa and Nebr vs Iowa that later in the game, the defenses did not want anything to do with LeShun.

Full disclosure on my part: I do not believe that there are ulterior motives on the part of KF when it comes to determining who plays and how much. First, I have been around enough coaching staffs to know that position coaches make 99% of the decisions as to playing time. Second, yes, the head coach has veto power, but no head coach can watch each individual position on the depth chart and decide who should be playing. Finally, and this is indisputable: A head coach will make certain that the best players are on the field at all times, since as in business, the bottom line is profit, in football, the bottom line is winning.

We had better hope that next year, we have a back who can go along with Akrum at the same level we enjoyed with LeShun, or we are asking for trouble.

There's that argument again. "Coaches always play the best players". That's assuming everyone has the same opinion on who the best player is. I bet if you let 10 different coaching staffs decide Iowa's lineup, you would get at least 5 different ones. I would also bet if you let 100 different staffs choose, zero would have the same exact one as kirk has. His opinion of what makes a player better is flawed. Having a backup running back average 1.5 yards per carry more (that's a huge difference) is one of 100 examples of that over the years.