Iowa could be "bad" by Iowa's standard IF we get hit pretty bad by the injury bug.
However, provided that the squad remains healthy AND Norm remains healthy ... we're looking at a pretty solid season. I wouldn't be necessarily looking for a "special" season this year ... however, I think that the Hawks will be fun to watch and should be competitive with EVERYBODY they play. I don't think that we can ask for too much more than that.
Other bits of good news for the 2011 squad are the following:
1. We don't have a group right now that is filled with NFL superstars. Thus, we're going to have a squad composed of guys who are much more interested in trying to emerge as a positive story-line rather than having a guy trying to simply trying to hold onto their projected NFL draft position. In other words ... I think that the 2011 squad is going to be a bit "hungrier."
2. We don't have elements on the squad who polarize and/or distract the team from their collective goal. Such guys can really make a negative impact on the team in the locker room ... and that can end up manifesting at game-time too.
3. As another poster indicated, we're looking at upgrades at a bunch of spots. For instance, every returning starter will be better. Furthermore, our #2 RB will likely be entering the fray receiving more reps than Coker got out of 2-a-days last year ... thus, our depth at RB very well could prove to be "more ready" in 2011. As another poster indicated, now that Fiedorowicz has some game reps under his belt and a lot of practice reps with the ones and twos ... the duo of Herman and CJ Fed arguably provides an upgrade to Reisner and Herman. Having Kirksey/Hitchens manning the WILL spot suggests that we could end up seeing an upgrade in coverage .... Hunter was strong against the run, however, he was exploitable against the pass. Furthermore, provided that the LBs can remain healthy, that in itself will help provide us with an upgrade at LB.
4. This kinda goes along with point 3 ... but it's worth noting that Vandenberg arguably has a higher ceiling than Stanzi. Thus, given Vandenberg's skill set, we could potentially hold some advantages at QB. As an example ... many folks probably felt that Chuck Long would have been an awful tough guy to follow ... and yet Chuck Hartlieb did just that. Similarly, Stanzi was definitely a tough act to follow ... and yet Vandenberg could emerge in many respects like the next Hartlieb.