Couple of Surprises

L

longtimer

Well-Known Member
Not really surprised by offense I expected passing game to look better against a far inferior team and it did. But not great. Receivers had some drops and QB play was good at start but not real consistent. Defense not a surprise as they usually play well and did

Surprised at the special team. Missed extra point and field goal and blocked punt that wasn’t blocked at all
Of course had some bright points in return game

After 3 games with being against far inferior teams defense has 0 turnovers. Hard to win big games if you are losing the turnover battle
 


Best thing about UMass was that lots of guys got to play, gained experience that down the road should really pay off.

Too bad Hecklinksi didn't get some snaps. Although it does appear Brown is ready to step in and go.
 


I can't remember the last time Iowa had a punt blocked at Kinnick -- feels like it's been along time. Actually, that block was a total blessing in disguise. Rutgers specializes in blocking punts -- 2 blocked in their game yesterday -- and getting our punt blocked last night means the Hawks will be spending extra time the next 3 days working on their punt protection...couldn't have asked for a better wake up call heading to New Jersey!
Wetjen was electric last night every time he touched the ball! Reminded of Tim Dwight.
It was good to see Gronowski spot some open WRs, and Brown looked sharp.
One thing that may not have been obvious on TV, but was obvious in-person: UMass had WRs running open all night long, especially across the middle of the field. Missed assignments, DBs having to confer after plays on who missed their read, etc. Their QBs couldn't seem to spot their open WRs, and took sacks instead. I like our Defensive backfield talent overall, but last night's results were a little deceptive in that area.
 


longtimer said:
Not really surprised by offense I expected passing game to look better against a far inferior team and it did. But not great. Receivers had some drops and QB play was good at start but not real consistent. Defense not a surprise as they usually play well and did

Surprised at the special team. Missed extra point and field goal and blocked punt that wasn’t blocked at all
Of course had some bright points in return game

After 3 games with being against far inferior teams defense has 0 turnovers. Hard to win big games if you are losing the turnover battle
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What do you mean the punt wasn't blocked at all??

What surprises me the most is that Iowa has not forced one turnover. Weird.
 


What I noticed was it appeared Lester opened up a more expansive playbook. Lot more misdirection and seemed to call different plays. It could have been the competition. And I still say some passing plays where we had guys with not enough spacing in the same area.

What I did like was Gronowski seemed like he played looser and was letting it rip. He had a few misses, but also saw some drops too. I liked our continued rotation of backs. Hoping Williams is ok. Had his arm in a sling after the game. Moulton could potentially be back too. Patterson still running hard.

I also would be curious how many different targets Gronowski completed to. Seemed like we really spread the ball around.

Defensively, I think we are continuing to mature and grow. I think this will be a process all season. Friday will be a test for us. I think every game will be a challenge. I don't see this team as a surefire favorite in any game.

But, if we continue to grow and show progress, I think we can still have a pretty decent season. We shall soon see. The Big Ten season is upon us.
 




longtimer said:
I mean the punter had no chance as no one played a hand on the guy running right up the middle for the block
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Yea, it wasn't on him. But, he does do this weird flip of the ball which looks like going back to rugby that could cost him in other games as takes a bit of extra time. But, that wasn't the case last game.
 


HawkPowerlifter said:
What I noticed was it appeared Lester opened up a more expansive playbook. Lot more misdirection and seemed to call different plays. It could have been the competition. And I still say some passing plays where we had guys with not enough spacing in the same area.

What I did like was Gronowski seemed like he played looser and was letting it rip. He had a few misses, but also saw some drops too. I liked our continued rotation of backs. Hoping Williams is ok. Had his arm in a sling after the game. Moulton could potentially be back too. Patterson still running hard.

I also would be curious how many different targets Gronowski completed to. Seemed like we really spread the ball around.

Defensively, I think we are continuing to mature and grow. I think this will be a process all season. Friday will be a test for us. I think every game will be a challenge. I don't see this team as a surefire favorite in any game.

But, if we continue to grow and show progress, I think we can still have a pretty decent season. We shall soon see. The Big Ten season is upon us.
Click to expand...

But it was UMass which really did nothing for the development on the field except for maybe a confidence boost. It will be interesting to see if they can keep it up against Rutgers. If they have success similar to last Saturday I will feel much better.
 


MY biggest disappoint was the fact that we couldn't take a step forward in all three phases of the game. Thought our offense improved given a much weaker opponent, our defense looked good, but our special teams (primarily the kicking/punting game) took a step back. Not a complaint by any means just would have liked to have seen mistake free football in all three area.
 


HawkPowerlifter said:
I also would be curious how many different targets Gronowski completed to. Seemed like we really spread the ball around.
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I got you...

Gronowski threw to 11 different guys...

All of below are in chronological order of their first target.

Phillips - 4 targets, 3 complete
Anderson - 5 targets, 3 complete
Williams - 2 targets, 1 complete
Washington, 1 target, 1 complete
Parker - 2 targets, 0 complete
Patterson - 2 targets, 2 complete
Ortwerth - 1 target, 1 complete
Vonnahme - 1 target, 0 complete
Gill - 2 targets, 0 complete
Howard - 2 targets, 2 complete
Large - 1 target, 1 complete

Hank Brown...

Parker - 2 targets, 0 complete
Williams - 1 target, 1 complete
Vonnahme - 1 target, 1 complete
Parker - 2 targets, 2 complete
McNeil - 1 target, 1 complete

This had a LOT to do with the opponent. We got 2s, 3s, and 4s in the game and KF kept his foot on the gas all the way to the buzzer, and by the 4th quarter UMass was down to their 2s as well for a combination of injuries and getting them some PT. UMass was indisputably the worst team Iowa has ever played in the Fry/Ferentz era by a mile and a half. Like I mentioned in the game thread, there are NAIA teams that would smack the hell outta them.

There's a reason the game stopped every other play for a UMass injury, I honestly don't think it was safe for those players to be on a Big Ten field.
 


I was really hoping Parker would have made a couple of catches that he should have caught. Been hearing some very positive things about him. However, maybe those drops are the reason he hasn't broke through. But I did like guys getting playing time. Watching Hank Brown not just hand the ball off, I think with him and Hecklinski, the quarterback room should be in good hands the next few years.
 


Fryowa said:
I got you...

Gronowski threw to 11 different guys...

All of below are in chronological order of their first target.

Phillips - 4 targets, 3 complete
Anderson - 5 targets, 3 complete
Williams - 2 targets, 1 complete
Washington, 1 target, 1 complete
Parker - 2 targets, 0 complete
Patterson - 2 targets, 2 complete
Ortwerth - 1 target, 1 complete
Vonnahme - 1 target, 0 complete
Gill - 2 targets, 0 complete
Howard - 2 targets, 2 complete
Large - 1 target, 1 complete

Hank Brown...

Parker - 2 targets, 0 complete
Williams - 1 target, 1 complete
Vonnahme - 1 target, 1 complete
Parker - 2 targets, 2 complete
McNeil - 1 target, 1 complete

This had a LOT to do with the opponent. We got 2s, 3s, and 4s in the game and KF kept his foot on the gas all the way to the buzzer, and by the 4th quarter UMass was down to their 2s as well for a combination of injuries and getting them some PT. UMass was indisputably the worst team Iowa has ever played in the Fry/Ferentz era by a mile and a half. Like I mentioned in the game thread, there are NAIA teams that would smack the hell outta them.

There's a reason the game stopped every other play for a UMass injury, I honestly don't think it was safe for those players to be on a Big Ten field.
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I didn't even realize until after the game that UMass is in the MAC. There are some really bad teams at the bottom of that conference and they are probably the worst of all. The MAC seems like it has taken a hit probably more than any other conference in the NIL era. There are some decent teams at the top. But for all of those teams, if you're a player and any good at all, you can go get paid in a bigger league and there is no reason to stay. Lots of MAC transfers scattered around the P4 conference teams.
 


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