After a day to reflect, I need to vent a few thoughts....

[ImInTheSouth]

1. Our defensive line is very good and extremely disciplined but we're having trouble getting consistent pressure on QB's and we seem to get fatigued often.

2. Our special teams can ALMOST solely be blamed for both of our losses this year. What has happened? We haven't always been great in the past but this year has been an utter disaster from a kicking and coverage perspective. What's adding to the frustration here is we're now seeing the same HUUUUUGGGEEE mistakes repeated (getting caught by fake punts, blocked PAT's, poor kickoff coverage)

3. Kirk is an OUTSTANDING college football coach from Sunday through Friday but there seems, imho, to be something missing during the game. Hear me out. Kirk plays the odds taking virtually no risks and because of the way his teams are typically prepared, this is a great way to sideline coach the vast majority of games. I have not problem with this philosophy. What I think he lacks is the ability to adjust, ad-lib or make an in game decision, not based on odds or probabilities, but instead based on how the game is unfolding. There are many examples of this situation but one that sticks with me is kicking the field goal to put us up by 6 on Saturday. I thought we should have gone for it on 4th down. To begin with, it seemed that we got a little conservative on that possession anyway. We had a great drive previously and kind of had Wisconsin reeling. The FG puts you up 6 but Wiscy was having LOTS of success against our defense. Plus, even with forethought that wiscy would score a TD their next possession, could Kirk really have had lots of confidence that we'd lineup and CONVERT a game winning FG? We could have essentially ended the game by converting a 4th down and punching it into the end zone. Any doubt that Beliema would have gone for that 4th down?

Another area where Kirk and staff struggle is clock management. It's been this way for years and if you disagree with this point, you haven't been paying attention. A couple examples include last Saturday's debacle and the end of the cap one game with LSU(although that turned out well for us). There are more, less notable, examples that I'm not recalling now, but you get the idea.

In general, I just don't believe Kirk is a top sideline coach. In fact, I'd argue that he's barely average in that regard. He usually does such an outstanding job preparing his teams that he rarely gets exposed for his inequities as a 'gameday' coach.

This is not meant to be a rip on KF or staff. Iowa has a very good head coach and I'm not arguing that point. I just wish we'd see him take a few more calculated risks during the game. Playing it safe is not always the right approach.

This is just my opinion. Take it for what its worth.

Venting complete.

 

[Imlivingthedream]

one of the reasons special teams may be hurting is that with Norm being gone, Darrell Wilson devotes less time to ST.

 

[roetbombaaa]

Good post, but you said nothing new that hasn't already been said so far.

A good coaching staff/team corrects it's mistakes. If the mistakes continue, we have rightful reason to be worried and to criticize . If the same decision at the end of the game was made and A-Rob made a great play to the endzone, would anyone be talking about this? No.

We can only hope we see a different team against MSU.

 

[homes]

In general, I just don't believe Kirk is a top sideline coach. In fact, I'd argue that he's barely average in that regard. He usually does such an outstanding job preparing his teams that he rarely gets exposed for his inequities as a 'gameday' coach.

This is not meant to be a rip on KF or staff. Iowa has a very good head coach and I'm not arguing that point. I just wish we'd see him take a few more calculated risks during the game. Playing it safe is not always the right approach.

Of course it's a rip on KF and his staff. Labeling him as "not a top sideline coach" and "barely average" can't be construed as a compliment. But it's okay to criticize him, no one should strip you of your Hawkeye fan badge if you do. It's a fair criticism - that last series was bungled.

 

[DuffMan]

Something to consider...

We typically remember only what happened yesterday, and things that reinforce that memory. Yes we have had some issues with clock managment at times. But we have also had some games in which it was phenominal.

We remember yesterday, and the Cap One bowl from years ago, but we don't remember the PSU game in which we drove down the lenght of the field masterfully taking up nearly the entire clock in the process. We also don't remember the last MSU game from just last year in which not only did we do a terrific job getting into position to win the game we also ran 4 plays in like what 16 seconds?

I'm not saying we haven't had instances in which clock managment hasn't been an issue, I'm saying it hasn't consistently been bad, which is what many people are saying after the Wisky game.