ARob = Blessing in disguise

[BSpringsteen]

ARob is done - no way does KF keep him on the team. That's for starters.... moving on.

I've been toying with an idea lately that I'm not sure I want to expound on...

But the idea is that our fanbase tends to really raise up marginal to above average players to folk hero status early in their career, which leads to our base thinking a player is much better than he actually is.

I'm not going to go into details about which players I think fit this bill, but that is the idea.

However, I will say ARob to me is one of those players.

Sure he is a tough runner, he is a patient runner and he is an excellent blocker in the backfield. But he doesn't see the field for Wisconsin, Penn State, Ohio State, and those are your three co champs.

We've seen time and time that an older player has to really cost us in order to get benched. KF even lost an entire game in an effort to give JC one last chance.

This opens the door for a player who looks to be the second coming of Shonn Greene.

You can teach how to pass block, you can't teach how to have breakaway speed. You can teach patience, you can't teach having enough force in your running to end the play with you on top of the defender and the defender on its back.

I'm sorry but the simple fact of the matter is what Coker did as a true freshman with the amount of time he missed is pretty damn special.

We will be a better offensive football team next year without KF giving ARob every opportunity to keep his job.

 

[DaBears]

Dont act like he wont be missed. Yeah cant forget about what Coker did... fumble the ball in the Minny game and lost it for us.

As this season is a prime example, you need atleast 3 runningbacks. We're really going to struggle in the running dept. next year, and for this bowl game.

 

[GravyJones]

Sure he is a tough runner, he is a patient runner and he is an excellent blocker in the backfield. But he doesn't see the field for Wisconsin, Penn State, Ohio State, and those are your three co champs.

I'm assuming you meant Michigan State rather than Penn State, but he played in all 3 of those games. He missed the Indiana and Minnesota games.

 

[tweeterhawk]

Good points. I sort of agree.

 

[BSpringsteen]

I'm assuming you meant Michigan State rather than Penn State, but he played in all 3 of those games. He missed the Indiana and Minnesota games.

I was referring to the fact that he wouldn't have played for either of those teams.

 

[silvanthalas]

Dont act like he wont be missed.

Of course he won't be missed!

After all, Iowa will now be under the radar again next year, which means they can exceed the limited and much lower expectations that the fans, players, and coaches will put upon the Iowa football program!

 

[tm3308]

Dont act like he wont be missed. Yeah cant forget about what Coker did... fumble the ball in the Minny game and lost it for us.

As this season is a prime example, you need atleast 3 runningbacks. We're really going to struggle in the running dept. next year, and for this bowl game.

Shonn Greene has had some issues with Fumble-itis lately, but I doubt that you would turn your nose up if it were possible for him to come back through that door and suit up for the Hawks. He ran pretty upright as a freshman, just like Coker does. Adrian Peterson always has, which had a little to do with his injuries in college, and also with his fumbling issues with the Vikes.

But Greene eventually lowered his center of gravity, and he was dominant. I'm not about to place that burden on Coker, but he might be a guy who could do the same thing.

And if you REALLY think that Coker "lost it for us" against Minnesota, you've lost some marbles. The whole team sucked it up that day, and we shouldn't have been in that position at the end of the game to begin with.

A-Rob will certainly be missed on the field, no doubt. But it won't be because Coker fumbled against Minnesota (which apparently makes him incapable of being better than A-Rob, even though Adam ended up having more fumbles this year. He just didn't lose them.).

 

[PPierce]

The denial stage is cute.

 

[Hawksel]

ARob will be missed. If there's a silver lining in this it's that ARob hopefully will quit football and not get another concussion. I was beginning fear for his head the same way I fear for Jewel's ACLs.

 

[JonDMiller]

Coker was trying to do the smart, instinctual thing by moving the ball to his outside hand as he saw a defender closing from the inside where the ball was. He was trying to make a play. I cannot fault him for that

 

[Hawksel]

Coker was trying to do the smart, instinctual thing by moving the ball to his outside hand as he saw a defender closing from the inside where the ball was. He was trying to make a play. I cannot fault him for that

And his foot gave out when he was in the middle of doing that because he tried to slow down on an ice covered field. As fumbles go, I thought that was of the forgivable variety, just at a terrible time in the game.

 

[CRHawk2002]

I think that Arob was very overrated at Iowa. And I think even if he was reinstated and allowed to play that he would have been Coker's backup next season. I honestly think the reason Arob got to play so much this year was out of necessity (injuries to hampton/coker, and whatever you want to call Weghergate). Yes, Coker fumbled against Minn, and it hurt a lot. But that was not the reason we lost that game. By that same token you could say the only reason we were in the OSU game was Coker. And if you remember correctly Arob was ineffective when he was put into the game vs the Buckeyes. Coker is a better RB. I also disagree that we will struggle in the running department next year. We will have one of the better lines in the BTen, and I would guess we will be near the top in rushing in the league with Nebraska, UW and MSU. Next year is the Coker show, with a nice little preview tonight.

 

[albertyoungisgood]

The denial stage is cute.

amen to that. the stupidity has been astounding with the denial regarding losing players and how much it hurts.

whether it's players leaving like Wegher and A-Rob.
recruits not coming like Gordon and French
or graduates like offensive lineman, and Moeaki, Edds, Angerer, Spivey.

people be all "Nothing to see here, move along now" like Officer Barbrady at the scene of a massive explosion.

 

[BSpringsteen]

I'm sorry but ARob is and was an average Big Ten running back. We have a RB who has THE POTENTIAL to be elite.

 

[DexterMorgan]

I thought Coker showed poor vision this year personally. Chalk it up to being a freshman but im not ready to crown him the next Shonne Green just yet.

 

[tm3308]

I thought Coker showed poor vision this year personally. Chalk it up to being a freshman but im not ready to crown him the next Shonne Green just yet.

The only reason I'm considering that notion is because 1. they have similar physical skill sets, and 2. they had/have similar issues in their game at this stage of their careers. It'll come down to whether or not Coker can make the changes that Greene did.

 

[ICHawk24]

Most "fans" on this board are ********.

 

[t25]

Good riddance arob. While i agree with both sides of this argument, the fact remains that he is a nuisance to the players and the program. He has consistently been given chances and he goes and does this the night before the bowl game. I don't want a player like that on our team. Soon, he will be forgotten.

 

[ICAlumni]

Let's see - Coker RB next year, backed up by total stud Rodney Coe and DeAndre Johnson and Jason White in the fold too. Not to mention other RBs that may commit. Sorry but we'll be fine. ARob was a good back but also a walk on that other schools didn't want and obviously has many off the field issues. Let's not act like this isn't better for the team.

ARob, Wegher and Jewell gone. Clean house of that generation and let's move on to the new guys.

 

[Hawksel]

I thought Coker showed poor vision this year personally. Chalk it up to being a freshman but im not ready to crown him the next Shonne Green just yet.

I thought Coker showed pretty good vision and patience for a freshman, especially a freshman who had missed a pretty significant amount of time preseason. If anything, I thought where Coker lacked was both as a blocker and receiver in the pass game -- that's where Robinson was great and will be missed.

Coker seems like a different back to me than Greene, though. Greene was a one cut and explode sort of runner, whereas Coker seems to just slowly (but still deceptively fast) gain momentum like something rolling down hill. My favorite part about Coker is that, like Greene, even when he gets stopped it's usually for a four yard gain.