Back from the game, my thoughts

BSpringsteen

BSpringsteen

Well-Known Member
You can't be a great team unless you have a great OL, great DL and a great QB.

This years incarnation of the Hawkeyes are average at QB and OL and seriously below average at DL.

We are soft, and not the bullies. Something has changed in our strength and conditioning program. I refuse to believe its the same program as it was 7 years ago.

We are simply not the better team on the field most games, and more troubling, we're not working harder than the other team, and we're certainly not playing with as much heart as the other team.

The team looked like they quit today. Have no idea why with everything on the line.
 
Crickets in here. Wouldn't expect that from a fellow "co". I don't get not being ready and just jacked up for this game. No excuse for it playing at home with everything to play for. Crappy game to go to but you just never know especially this year.
 
For as much criticism shed on the Defense - they actually played pretty well. They were in a hole all day mostly due to ineffective, inefficient Offense.

I'm pretty certain a strong case can be made that our Offense has been the reason for each of our losses. In the second half despite the large deficit we had a really good chance to win the game but our Offense just couldn't put a 'half' of football game together. The Defense did its job in the second half.
 
hwks1 said:
For as much criticism shed on the Defense - they actually played pretty well. They were in a hole all day mostly due to ineffective, inefficient Offense.

I'm pretty certain a strong case can be made that our Offense has been the reason for each of our losses. In the second half despite the large deficit we had a really good chance to win the game but our Offense just couldn't put a 'half' of football game together. The Defense did its job in the second half.
Click to expand...

This is what I have thought all season as well. You have to sustain drives and put points on the board. For one it keeps their O off the field and our D off the field. O was just sputtering in the first half. Decent in the 2nd but hell by then it was too much ground to make up. It isn't like this offense is not capable of it either which is the frustrating part.
 
Iowa Football not very good and very unemotional. No intensity. One thing for sure this year is Iowa has not showed up and played 60 minutes of football all year. They might have a quarter where they look good or a half, but then they go to sleep again. Look at last week, we play somewhat inspired football against michigan for 3 quarters and fall asleep in the fourth quarter and really should of lost that game. Had Michigan not got a bad call at the end of the game (debatable call) but my point being made is this team cannot or has not sustained enough intensity to play 4 solid quarters of solid football. Did same thing against Minnesota, Pittsburgh, Indiana, Northwestern and on and on. I just cannot believe that not only are the players not sustaining a level of good solid football for 4 quarters but the coaching staff does not seem to be able to do it as well. I think this may be the most uninspired Iowa team i have ever seen. NO INTENSITY to start the game when you have a chance to win out and go to the Big 10 championship game!!!!!!!!!!! Big Game, Big Stage, LAME DUCK FOOTBALL TEAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!PATHETIC!!!!!!!!!!VERY CONCERNING!!!!!!!!!INTENSITY CAN SOMETIMES OVERCOME SUPERIOR TALENT!
 
The best days of Iowa Football may be in the rear view.

Or, the best days may lie ahead. Only time will tell. What is for certain is that the teams of the last year and so far this year have underachieved.
 
BSpringsteen said:
You can't be a great team unless you have a great OL, great DL and a great QB.

This years incarnation of the Hawkeyes are average at QB and OL and seriously below average at DL.

We are soft, and not the bullies. Something has changed in our strength and conditioning program. I refuse to believe its the same program as it was 7 years ago.

We are simply not the better team on the field most games, and more troubling, we're not working harder than the other team, and we're certainly not playing with as much heart as the other team.

The team looked like they quit today. Have no idea why with everything on the line.
Click to expand...

I disagree, I don't think they quit, they just never got started until the second half. What bothers me the most are the number of mental mistakes being made in the 10th game of the year. I can easily put up with not being as big or as fast as the other guy, but we sure as hell shouldn't be losing the mental side of the game....that's completely on the coaches.
 
treychase said:
The program is stagnant at almost every turn.
Offense
Defense
Specials
Its just blah.
Click to expand...

This It's extremely outdated. If you are doing the same thing you did 13 years ago you are 10 years behind. How many people just wanted to scream when we watched a team spread us out and have an opponent catch a td over a linebacker.
 
Iowa 3 TOs MSU- 0

led to 14 points and the 3rd when we would have had a first and goal. We didn't play well enough to win. No TOs and its a different game.
 
This coaching staff has run out of gas. When compared to Northwestern or Wisconsin, there is a lack of enthusiasm that shows on the sidelines, in recruiting, in getting players ready for games, and in controlling players off the field. If we don't get some new coaching blood into this program, we are going to continue in a steep decline.
 
On defense the DL is a big problem. They are too small and inexperianced. On the offensive side the OL is one of the problems. Play calling, average OL, small by B10 standards etc. No run game, no passing. They didn't have to respect the play action without the run threat.
 
MSU has some very good d-linemen,especially Worthy. They are second in the nation in total defense,giving up and average of 254 yards/game. Iowa exceeded that by over 100 yards.
Iowa has famously stayed in every game,win or lose for the last 4 years,but we finally got caught on a day when we were not mentally sharp,and we got no breaks,and MSU had a lot of bounces. Throw in Witovet,and it is a bad day at the office.
The turnovers killed us. The ball went on the ground 6 times,and we got none of them,while MSU got all 6 of them. They made a great interception on a ill-advised downfield pass against the wind,and that all made all the difference in the game.
MSU was 4 of 16 on third downs....that was nothing special. But they made some big plays.
We destroyed this same team much worse a year ago,so I am not ready to say MSU is a dynasty or that we are doomed. As for energy,we would look like fools jumping around after getting down 14 pts early. We crawled back to within striking distance,and then the bad call on the 4th down QB sneak took our momentum away,and it was over.
The thing about college football is that every saturday is a new day,and next week a win is very possible,if we eliminate mistakes and get a break or two. Nobody is that great in this league.
 
JHHawk said:
MSU has some very good d-linemen,especially Worthy. They are second in the nation in total defense,giving up and average of 254 yards/game. Iowa exceeded that by over 100 yards. Iowa has famously stayed in every game,win or lose for the last 4 years,but we finally got caught on a day when we were not mentally sharp,and we got no breaks,and MSU had a lot of bounces. Throw in Witovet,and it is a bad day at the office.The turnovers killed us. The ball went on the ground 6 times,and we got none of them,while MSU got all 6 of them. They made a great interception on a ill-advised downfield pass against the wind,and that all made all the difference in the game.MSU was 4 of 16 on third downs....that was nothing special. But they made some big plays.We destroyed this same team much worse a year ago,so I am not ready to say MSU is a dynasty or that we are doomed. As for energy,we would look like fools jumping around after getting down 14 pts early. We crawled back to within striking distance,and then the bad call on the 4th down QB sneak took our momentum away,and it was over.The thing about college football is that every saturday is a new day,and next week a win is very possible,if we eliminate mistakes and get a break or two. Nobody is that great in this league.
Click to expand...
I agree with most of this but add last season to this season (minny and isu) it doesn't matter in most fans eyes. Changes are needed... wow cannot believe I actually said that.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Share this page

Top