Another great podcast....but a question

[Playmaker]

Did KF put out the depth chart so most of the talk would center around CJ and Jake versus the real issue....the lack of talent at the other 21 positions and 2 deeps? Kind of a lesser of two evils. That is the real issue at hand folks. Lets be honest, the final result between the two QB's is probably the difference between a trip to the the Quick Lane Bowl and the Fosters Farm Bowl....no big whoop.

 

[hawkeyebob62]

Did KF put out the depth chart so most of the talk would center about CJ and Jake versus the real issue....the lack of talent at the other 21 positions and 2 deeps? That is the real issue at hand folks. Lets be honest, the final result between the two QB's is probably the difference between a trip to the the Quick Lane Bowl and the Fosters Farm Bowl....no big whoop.

Wow, unbelievable. I am in total agreement, rare for that to happen between you and me (regarding the deeper issue and the difference it might have made changing QBs).

To answer, I think it was to show that staff is aware of the issues, not just hiding behind a "We just have to execute better" mantra.

 

[Playmaker]

-----rare for that to happen between you and me

Absolutely no offense taken bob....that's what makes this site great. I realize that my constant glass half empty views on Iowa football can be a little taxing on some here....just look at all of my Thumbs Down. But other than Mason leaving, I cannot grasp even one positive sign of hope in regards to Iowa Football.

 

[hawkeyebob62]

-----rare for that to happen between you and me

Absolutely no offense taken bob....that's what makes this site great. I realize that my constant glass half empty views on Iowa football can be a little taxing on some here....just look at all of my Thumbs Down. But other than Mason leaving, I cannot grasp even one positive sign of hope in regards to Iowa Football.

I TRY and see the positives. I realize, right now. there aren't many. And I realize that the game may. indeed. have passed KF by in some respects. THAT, itself, is hard for me to see. I respect and admire what KF did in terms of not inheriting a program in the best of shape. He has continued some of the same types of things Hayden Fry brought to the program without copying to the letter.

I think I "knew" things were "off" during the first two games, but didn't want to admit it. Although I THINK KF can regain his earlier successes, looking around just B1G--not even going outside the West Division, really--it's hard to actually believe it will happen. And that's sad.

 

[deanvogs]

I TRY and see the positives. I realize, right now. there aren't many. And I realize that the game may. indeed. have passed KF by in some respects. THAT, itself, is hard for me to see. I respect and admire what KF did in terms of not inheriting a program in the best of shape. He has continued some of the same types of things Hayden Fry brought to the program without copying to the letter.

I think I "knew" things were "off" during the first two games, but didn't want to admit it. Although I THINK KF can regain his earlier successes, looking around just B1G--not even going outside the West Division, really--it's hard to actually believe it will happen. And that's sad.

It might be picking nits, but I don't think the game of football really passes coaches by. I think what happens is the game changes, and coaches are either unwilling or unable to adapt to those changes. In KF case he is unwilling to admit that his schematic philosophy has been left behind, and therefore he is unable to adapt.

 

[Hawkfnntn]

I think he may have been told to go out there by Barta. Barta has been flooded with emails from the fans. I think it was just to throw us and the media a bone even though there was no meat on it... When it started Ferentz was just running down his accomplishments and resume pretty much so I almost thought he was stepping down. Why else would one logically call a press conference in January just to do that? But when it ended up going the way it did it just made me think he was told to go out there to pacify those coming at them with pitchforks and try (badly) to sell hope and season tickets for next yr.

 

[gohawkz]

It might be picking nits, but I don't think the game of football really passes coaches by. I think what happens is the game changes, and coaches are either unwilling or unable to adapt to those changes. In KF case he is unwilling to admit that his schematic philosophy has been left behind, and therefore he is unable to adapt.

If the game changes and the coach isn't able to to adapt to the changes..wouldn't that be the definition of passing him by?

 

[deanvogs]

If the game changes and the coach isn't able to to adapt to the changes..wouldn't that be the definition of passing him by?

Like I said, it may be semantics. I just think that coaches don't forget how to coach, they just stop adapting. Or more aptly they don't learn to adapt quickly enough. If that is what you define as the game passing him by, then fine.

 

[lightning1]

The game is highly competetive and requires a ton of energy, enthusiam and even some fear of failure, to remain at the top of your game. I imagine it would be human nature to rest on your laurels (or your 10 yr guaranteed contract).
At what age and level of financial security is the tipping point of being an effective coach at this level. Its not every man that can look in the mirror and know that he is no longer willing to do what it takes and step away.
It makes me respect a guy like Barry Alvarez even more. He could have coached another 5 years, easy. He made the best choice for Wisconsin, at the time. IMO.

 

[NCHawker]

The pod casts give expert insight into other people's motives. What Ferentz and Barta say is never presumed to be what they mean.

 

[uihawk82]

I have no doubt that Kf could bring in pure west coast type OC who is a good QB coach and like the packers you are throwing on rhythm, 3 short steps, 3 longer steps, 5 steps, 3 steps and open up and throw to the flat, or KF could bring in a Pistol type offensive Coord.

But like DeanVogs said I think KF is just going to concentrate on his blocking schemes and play action and try to run a couple counter plays and a trick play per game. And he is going to try to have Phil Parker get the defense back to Top 10-20 like in 2013.

That is KFs formula. KF knows about all these offenses but they are fadish to him and he is fine trying to win 31-23 every week. He might win 8-9 games this way.

But it wont work against OSU.

 

[hawkeyebob62]

It might be picking nits, but I don't think the game of football really passes coaches by. I think what happens is the game changes, and coaches are either unwilling or unable to adapt to those changes. In KF case he is unwilling to admit that his schematic philosophy has been left behind, and therefore he is unable to adapt.

Not really picking nits. I know some point out zone-blocking, for one. But in terms of overall offense, I don't see Iowa as "antiquated" as much as I see talent drop-off. One would think a coach under contract until 2020 wouldn't have to work against "will he be around" when it comes to recruiting.

Oddly enough, even the 2002-2004 years seemed, to me, that offense wasn't under-productive, but I guess most of our scoring opportunities were set up by better defenses than we have lately.

It was weird to hear and read talking heads saying "Oregon way" wouldn't last. To me, their breakneck speed of getting off plays had me thinking O$U had no chance.

I can definitely see that talent is an issue for us, but our general offensive set-up? We're one of many that run what we run.

Weisman obviously isn't really a RB, but he was productive enough. Would a healthy Canzeri have made a difference? I personally think so. But it seems like we abandoned stuff at the dumbest times. Defensively, losing our LBs was an obvious issue. But I don't ever remember such poor tackling, and if our defensive mindset is "stay-in-your-lane/on-your-assignment", we sure didn't do it often enough.

I'm stumped. All I can figure is things better improve. And I, for the first time in a while, don't see it. I really think 4-8/5-7 is not only a distinct possibility next year, but possibly a ceiling. 2012 could be chalked up to injuries and a new offense. 2015? Take your pick. The question isn't, Where will we be worse?, it's "Where WON'T we be worse?" Position-by-position is about the only way I can look at it and see "hope". By position group or unit, it's a little scary.

But since I see positives:
--QB? Might be better. Not a knock on JR, but a new QB means fresh air. If JR stays, at least CJ only needs a red shirt over his jersey for practices, not bodyguards for each game
--LT? Next...
--LG? Hopeful improvement
--C? Maybe not "better", but probably not "worse"
--RG? Same as LG
--RT? Same as LT, but replacing Donnal easier than finding a "hidden Scherff" at LT
--TE? This is probably the one position where the only thing that could go wrong would be rampant injuries
--WR/SE? T Smith obviously locked in, but who on the other side? Lots of names, none that will draw double-coverage on 1st or 2nd down.
--FB? A rash of injuries just means someone doesn't play LB
--RB? Canzeri and Daniels better be healthy. Wadley must hold onto the ball. Parker might get 10 jet-sweeps a game if all else fails
--PK? Koehn seems to be solid

--DE? Should be no worse... and probably better
--DTs? On paper and for spring games, lights out. In reality? Let's hope they step u. Losing Davis and LTP hurts.
--LBs? It can't get worse. But if it does...
--DBs? If LBs don't improve, DBs get a pass. Probably a LOT of passes, actually...
--P? I have a guess: line them both up to trick the opponent?

--KR? Catching the kickoff on the fly will show marked improvement
--PR? Whoever looks best fair-catching is our second choice. The first? The guy who does the "wave-off" best is the guy.

Boy, that's not many positives for a glass-three-quarters-full fan.

 

[thetrza]

My take from the podcast was that the next University President, then the next AD and then the next Head Football Coach would all wear flannel shirts.

 

[homes]

Did KF put out the depth chart so most of the talk would center around CJ and Jake versus the real issue....the lack of talent at the other 21 positions and 2 deeps? Kind of a lesser of two evils. That is the real issue at hand folks. Lets be honest, the final result between the two QB's is probably the difference between a trip to the the Quick Lane Bowl and the Fosters Farm Bowl....no big whoop.

Agreed. The reason OSU's offense works? Good players. The reason Oregon's offense works? Good players. The reason Alabama's offense works? Good players. Each different, each successful. Schemes and styles are nice to discuss for those who enjoy the technical elements of football, but unless your team has the players, it's just nerdy-football strategy discussion. Iowa needs a serious infusion of better players, or they'll stuck playing for bowl championships (aka, Gary Barta season goal) that are in the "no big whoop" category.

 

[hawkeyebob62]

Agreed. The reason OSU's offense works? Good players. The reason Oregon's offense works? Good players. The reason Alabama's offense works? Good players. Each different, each successful. Schemes and styles are nice to discuss for those who enjoy the technical elements of football, but unless your team has the players, it's just nerdy-football strategy discussion. Iowa needs a serious infusion of better players, or they'll stuck playing for bowl championships (aka, Gary Barta season goal) that are in the "no big whoop" category.

In a real sense, we ARE back to the "best you can play for is conference title" days. With the playoff system, other than going undefeated and winning the B1G CG, the goal of making the playoff can be nebulous. Look at TCU and Baylor, for example. TCU was 3rd the second-to-last week, then dropped to 6th? And they won their last game big? And on what basis did F$U go from 4th to 3rd? The only thing they got right the last week was moving O$U into the top 4.

But it DOES boil down to talent. Even the years where the "hard work beats talent..." stuff, we still DID have talent. We just used 3 1/2-star to 4-star talent to beat 4 1/2-star to 5-star talent. Without that talent, we're looking at "make the B1G CG every 8 years". If that.

 

[STILLBUSTER]

Agreed. The reason OSU's offense works? Good players. The reason Oregon's offense works? Good players. The reason Alabama's offense works? Good players. Each different, each successful. Schemes and styles are nice to discuss for those who enjoy the technical elements of football, but unless your team has the players, it's just nerdy-football strategy discussion. Iowa needs a serious infusion of better players, or they'll stuck playing for bowl championships (aka, Gary Barta season goal) that are in the "no big whoop" category.

I get if you have big, fast, athletic, talented players the scheme / strategy matter far less to the success of the team. I also get that, on average, Iowa gets a fraction of those types of players compared to the perennial contenders, let alone the elite programs. This is why at programs such as Iowa, the scheme / strategy matter so much more because it has to fit the capabilities of your players -- it's the combination of player match to scheme / strategy that is crucial to maximizing opportunity to be competitive up to on a higher level.

This is why with derKirkFer on the sidelines, there is very little future hope for Iowa football success. He is a poor strategist, terrible personnel manager and his schemes inherently create obstacles to his teams' success. This has been the case since the mid-2000's. It's really obvious now (especially on defense) because the overall caliber of player has fallen off over the past 5 years and they are not able to overcome his strategical / schematic limitations.

However, there is still adequate talent to be far more successful than the records achieved. For Christ's sake, he had the frickin Outland Trophy winner anchoring his line. He had plenty of speed in the backfield and size on the outside. He had a QB that was far more suited to be successful in his current scheme. In typical derKirkFer fashion, he squandered it with his dogmatic devotion to stagnant strategy that was more difficult for the guys he chose to play to physically execute. He restrained his productivity due to his favoritism to seniority, experience and "feel good" over talent and possible risk.

Iowa's free-fall is 100% the fault of Kirk Ferentz.

 

[ArvadaHawk]

There is no real good reason why kfootball published the 2015 2 deeps in January. Put CJ as #1 makes no difference for the 2014 and it showed the entire world we have not depth and that our current class of kids (currently ranked in the 50's/60's) damn sure isn't going to help next season. Couple that with kfootball saying no coaching changes, but open to it if it happens and that he isn't going to change a damn thing.

kfootball had a presser because his boss told him to so he said a big eff you to his boss and the fans.

 

[Benddontbreak]

Agreed. The reason OSU's offense works? Good players. The reason Oregon's offense works? Good players. The reason Alabama's offense works? Good players. Each different, each successful. Schemes and styles are nice to discuss for those who enjoy the technical elements of football, but unless your team has the players, it's just nerdy-football strategy discussion. Iowa needs a serious infusion of better players, or they'll stuck playing for bowl championships (aka, Gary Barta season goal) that are in the "no big whoop" category.

Exhibit A: Georgia Tech

 

[HomerChampless]

Not really picking nits. I know some point out zone-blocking, for one. But in terms of overall offense, I don't see Iowa as "antiquated" as much as I see talent drop-off.

The Seattle SeaHawks is an example of a team using a system very similar to what KF wants to use at Iowa. Strong defense. OL play. Running game. Field position. Conservative football.

Iowa football hasn't been so successful, lately, because one (or more) of the tenets of conservative football aren't functional or haven't been allowed enough time to flourish AND the Iowa coaching staff is unable to 'game plan' a team when things go wrong... There is nothing wrong with conservative football. There are all kinds of wrong when the coaching staff is unable to find 'other' ways to win if conservative football isn't available.

Iowa's talent level has never been all that athletic in the KF era but the talent level has usually been fundamentally sound.. Iowa's ability to play conservative football has been great for the good portions of success in the KF era.

IMO, I also like a little bit of offense, every now and then.

 

[NCHawker]

Exhibit A: Georgia Tech

I get your point....but, they have pretty good players too. Don't kid yourself.