Man, I don't know what some of you are watching.
The OLine will be an average B10 line at best. Scherf appears overrated at this point. The running stats look good but the teams they were playing and the DLines they were blocking are nothing to write home about, to say the least. If that line is so good why couldn't we convert on third and shorts last week and why did we throw on that third and one the first week?
Weisman going for a buck-80 (280, season-to-date) not good enough for you? Thru 2 games, 500 yards rushing -- like twice as good as last year's average per game -- not good enough for you?
Sure, there were 7 rushing attempts of zero or negative yards and 2 sacks against FCS Mo-State but when you run the ball 57 of 80 plays (that's 71%, geniuses!!) you're bound to have a few setbacks just due to the law of averages (nobody's perfect!!). The few, untimely motion and holding calls that killed drives / moved the Hawks out of scoring position are just par for the course this early in the season -- while the kinks get worked out.
KF will have the OL and RB's gelling by late October / November, like he has every year for a decade and a half (if you've ever followed, the Hawks actually improve over the course of the season; as reliable as the sun rising in the east!) In the meantime, the Hawks typically play down to the competition during the non-con, so, before you go predicting how bad these trends will be against the BCS / B1G competition, just forget it! They'll keep improving and also play up to the competition as the season goes on and the opponents get tougher! Of course, most of you are incapable of mustering up some patience for a young and developing team to improve.
Since you've already written-off this team, you should not get the pleasure of celebrating the reward when they correct these small issues. Of course, the band wagon will be full, AGAIN!
The DLine has upside, but to say they were trying to contain seems idiotic to me. If you CAN sack or pressure a QB you don't choose not to do it because you are playing to contain. That seems like a very wishful thinking type comment to me. The interior appears to have the upside but the DEs, I just don't see it. When we have been really good on the line we have had really quick ends like Clairborne (sp)/Ballard and Roth/Howard Hodges, etc. We have NOTHING close to that now or in the pipeline.
Maybe you should submit your resume to replace Reese Morgan. He's getting the young and inexperienced DL to quickly improve and be prepared for all the mobile QB's they face, more and more each year. Containment and gap assignment is the name of the game, these days. Not to mention, you really think Phil Parker, especially after learning under Norm's wing all these years, is going to show all the DL gimmicks and stunts he has up his sleeve against the non-con?
Our DBs MIGHT be better than they were after Sanders left, MAYBE. That is not a compliment.
Again, yeah, the young newbies have made a couple rookie mistakes -- biting on the stop and go and getting burned for TD's in each game so far -- but nothing that won't be corrected through experience. With such experience, leadership and solid play by the safeties, this unit is only a couple games away from really coming together. They'll be ready for any route / move any B1G WR will throw at them.
As for your crack about "not being a compliment". Yeah, you're not gonna trick me with your sarcasm. (Isn't sarcasm supposed to be a bit witty / funny? It wasn't!)
I've just come to expect few, if any compliments from any of you negative Nancies!
Our LBS are strong, but might be over-rated by most here.
Don't know how you can say this?! James Morris is a 4-year starter who's earned the respect of everyone in / covering the B1G, especially his head coach! Hitchens' play was described as "the best he's played" by his head coach -- a guy who definitely knows the talent, abilities and potential of his players better than any fan because he sees them every day in practice!! That hit, forced fumble, scoop and dash for a TD by Kirksey against NIU was reminiscent of Clayborn's punt block for a TD against Penn St. You'll see that play on B1G highlight reels throughout the season, just like Clayborn's!
I like our QB and TEs, and I like the WRs more than most seem to. FINALLY! A compliment! It only took you 5 paragraphs to finally give a little credit where credit is due!!
I believe they can be slightly below average to average B10 WRs. Our RBs are pretty good. But they will not break long runs and one reason is because the OLine is not that good. When Ladell Betts was at Iowa he had the worst OLines of the Fry Era his first two and maybe three years. He couldn't break a long run because he couldn't get to the second level without getting tripped up because the OLine wasn't doing as good a job for him as they did for guys like Shaw. It isn't just that Wiseman is slow.
While these are just my opinions, I ran them by a former Iowa letterman under Hayden and he seemed to agree with me on each count.
In regards to the whole D, I just don't see it. Whenever we have had bigtime playmakers on D you could see them as freshmen and sophs and they looked like Sanders, Babineaux, Clayborne (sp), Ballard, Greenway or Hodge. I don't see anyone out there now that makes me think of that type of player or that has the potential to be that type of player. I don’t see it anywhere on the D. We have some good upside on the DTs and we have above average to pretty good LBs. We have one pretty good DB as near as I can tell but our ends are VERY average at best and I don't see upside.
It isn’t my intent to degrade these players.Coulda fooled me!!
I believe they are trying hard. Ya think?! They want to win more than you want them to win and are busting their butts everyday for nothing more than you -- the "fans'" -- complete satisfaction and approval. Outside of attending class, their entire existence and psyche is dedicated to winning for the "fans" of the Iowa Hawkeyes. Stop insinuating they are mailing it in!
But the talent level really seems lacking and I don’t see the potential on the team now, as a whole, to get us above 7-5 next year. I certainly don’t see that on defense.
