i am more worried that the 2010 Hawks will become the 2005 Hawks. Big expectations, and deliver medicority. This team got the breaks in many games it needed to pull out wins. The Cardiac Hawks. What if this big breaks don't come the hawkeye's way this year? Could add up to a near .500 record. Iowa so close to that year, when you look back. (UNI, MICH, PSU, MSU, and IND, are the games that jump at me, that could have easly gone the other way.)
Sorry but fans were complete idiots concerning their expectations in 2005. Whenever an Iowa fan relies upon the argument ... "We'll just reload at ALL of those spots" ... and the implication is that we need to reload at A LOT of key spots, you better worry.
In '05, the Iowa squad had new guys on D manning ALL FOUR DL spots and we needed to replace a key starter at safety. It should be emphasized that all FOUR replacements on the DL were underclassmen (two of whom were undersized RS FR defensive tackles). Also, our depth was poor at CB, we had no experienced depth on the DL, and our LB depth was rather unproven. On O, between off-season injuries and graduation, we lost both starting OTs. Also, we had very poor depth at WR. Heck, quite frankly, we were pretty unproven at RB too! Lastly, while I loved Tate ... his fiery nature wasn't the best attribute when it came to helping along the development of his OL or young WRs.
Now take a gander at how things look for the 2010 season:
On D:
- We return all 4 starters on the DL and each of our top 6 guys are upperclassmen!
- We need to replace 2 starters at LB, however, we're replacing them with experienced upperclassmen.
- Our depth at safety is poor.
- We need to replace 1 starter at CB, however, our proven depth at CB is terrific. We have 3 CBs on the roster who have seen starts and the two guys who don't own starts are considered the top candidates to fill the open spot.
Summary: Depth at safety is arguably the biggest "weakness" of the 2010 D. An argument could be made that the 2010 Iowa D has AT LEAST one experienced elite talent at each position unit. In contrast, the only experienced elite talents on the '05 D were Hodge, Greenway, and Paschal. I think that it's safe to say that the 2010 D is both more talented and a good bit deeper than the 2005 Iowa D.
On O:
- We need to replace 3 starters on the OL. We return a solid contributer at OG in Vandervelde and an elite talent in Reiff. Nearly all the top guys competing for the remaining open spots are upperclassmen who have prior game experience.
- At TE, we return an experienced SR in Reisner, a promising experienced backup in Herman, and we'll try to work a TR FR, Fiedorowicz, into the fold.
- At FB, we return an experienced SR starter in Morse. We have good depth at the position with Leppert, Reisen, and Rogers waiting in the wings.
- At RB, we return 3 guys who each have more than 90 career carries under their belt. Furthermore, 2 of them own starting experience. Most impressively, the two with starting experience fumbled very infrequently.
- At QB, we return a veteran SR who will be in his 3rd year starting. Furthermore, the QB epitomizes leadership and he works hard to help along the development of all the guys around him.
- At WR, we're as deep as we've ever been under Ferentz. Our top 5 guys each have seen substantial game action. Two of our top guys, McNutt and Keenan Davis, aren't even SRs and are still capable of making substantial strides in their development.
Summary: Iowa's biggest "weaknesses" on O are the lack of starting experience on the OL and the overall experienced depth at TE. It's interesting to note that our situation at TE, experience and talent-wise, is nearly identical to what it was in '05. Furthermore, the depth on the OL is arguably a good bit better in '10 than it was in '05 and the '10 group arguably features more guys with elite potential. Additionally, the WR situation is significantly better in '10 than it was in '05. Hinkel may have been "money in the bank" ... however, when Ed broke his arm, Grigsby and Brodell were unable to pick up the slack. In contrast, if either McNutt or DJK get injured, I'm very confident in the ability of Sandeman and Keenan Davis to fill the void. Heck, I'd take a SR Paul Chaney over a SO Grigsby or RS FR Brodell ANY DAY of the week. Most importantly, the 2010 O will arguably benefit from much better leadership. I'm confident that Stanzi, McNutt, Reisner, Morse, and Vandervelde will work hard to keep the O focussed ... and I think that our trio of SO RBs will surprise folks with the spark and leadership that they'll collectively bring to the table.
