Big Deal, Iowa is bad this year

[BQuastU]

Big deal, the team kind of stinks this year. Even the teams with top talent in every recruiting class have down years, albeit fewer of them. ND stinks every year with top talent.

The "fire Ferentz" and "i am sick of the 'we are just Iowa' talk" has a great French Revolution feel (for most of you, that is to say, unless you are demanding to burn the place down and start over, you are the enemy too). People that are able to keep their composure and stay cool when they are mad/sad/frustrated, don't go to the message boards during and immediately after the game, so the tenure of the posts are going to be overwhelmingly melt downish.

I am genuinely interested in whether folks agree or disagree with the following opinions, b/c I am no certainly no expert:

1. The d-line is bad and the talent is not good. Binns and Daniels could be decent with good players around them (e.g. last few years). The coaches will fix this, and yes, they are responsible for the current state of the d-line.

2. The linebackers are average. A bad d-line makes them worse.

3. The corners are good. A bad d-line and average linebackers make them average. Prater has had some bad plays this year, but three years of play shows that he can play at a very high level.

4. Ferentz is a very good coach. Yes, the Wisconsin fake punt and Minnesota onside were examples of bad coaching and his style can be frustrating, but 02 and 09 were very, very close to greatness. I think people fail to appreciate how difficult it is to be near the top the way Iowa was these two years. When is the last time FSU was challenging? How has Texas been doing the past 2 years?

5. McNutt is great.

6. Coker is very good (although probably not a pro).

7. Offensive line is average.

 

[KnightHawk9]

I agree with everything except Prater. I think he had been good in the past, but is really struggling this year. I'm guessing having a great safety would cover for him, but I don't blame Miller for learning on the job.

I think KF is a terrific coach who has some frustrating tendencies...just like every coach in America.

 

[ThunderHawk]

McNutt IS great. So get him the damn ball in crunch time.

 

[hawkeye12345]

Its not that the team is bad. Its that the coaching staff continues to make the same mistakes over and over and over again. Clock management has been an issue forever with this staff. Special teams has never been a shining component of the team.

The offense and defense are vanilla at best. The opposing staffs know exactly what we are going to do before we do it...thus the fake punts, onside kicks and clock management is simple for them to execute.

We all know that we are going to have tough years. No program goes without dry spells. The issue right now is there is nothing to indicate that the staff is learning from their mistakes and fixing the problems.

Jon wants to point out that the staff is doing more with less but fails to address that the staff has less because that is what they are recruiting.

Here is something for you to chew on: How many head coaches do you think Ferentz has helped develop?

 

[IATrainMaster101]

Agree but think o-line is maybe a little above average.

Also think that this staff is brilliant at building and maintaining a program but pretty average at game day coaching.

 

[eveningnewsteam]

I dont think people understand how pathetic of a loss that really was at Minnesota

 

[HawkForce]

I think coker might be a pro....but regardless he is a kid that will go pro in something...regardless...he aspires to work for nasa....

 

[IATrainMaster101]

I dont think people understand how pathetic of a loss that really was at Minnesota

It happens. MSU probably felt the same way when KF won his first b10 game.

 

[BQuastU]

No question the points made in the first para are true and mindboggling. However, Iowa used to be known for sterling special teams. Considine blocked about 50 kicks in his day, Kaeding was great, Baker and Donahue, Bob Sanders, DJK, .... etc. But they've been horrible lately, yes.

Also generally agree with the second paragraph. However, when you had a team like the 2009 team, it was fine to be vanilla b/c we were just better than the other teams and could beat them with talent - not too dissimilar from OSU over the past decade (note, I am not comparing our talent to OSU's over the decade).

Even a staff that can do more with less (as Ferentz has done), can't win regularly with walkons and the other inferior talent that the 2011 team is putting out there. I am sure the d-line top 8 or so are nice guys and work their tails off in practice and all that, but they aren't very good at football in the context of the Big Ten. Just more opinions, about which I could be wrong.

Its not that the team is bad. Its that the coaching staff continues to make the same mistakes over and over and over again. Clock management has been an issue forever with this staff. Special teams has never been a shining component of the team.

The offense and defense are vanilla at best. The opposing staffs know exactly what we are going to do before we do it...thus the fake punts, onside kicks and clock management is simple for them to execute.

We all know that we are going to have tough years. No program goes without dry spells. The issue right now is there is nothing to indicate that the staff is learning from their mistakes and fixing the problems.

Jon wants to point out that the staff is doing more with less but fails to address that the staff has less because that is what they are recruiting.

Here is something for you to chew on: How many head coaches do you think Ferentz has helped develop?

 

[SheagleHawk]

Its not that the team is bad. Its that the coaching staff continues to make the same mistakes over and over and over again. Clock management has been an issue forever with this staff. Special teams has never been a shining component of the team.

The offense and defense are vanilla at best. The opposing staffs know exactly what we are going to do before we do it...thus the fake punts, onside kicks and clock management is simple for them to execute.

We all know that we are going to have tough years. No program goes without dry spells. The issue right now is there is nothing to indicate that the staff is learning from their mistakes and fixing the problems.

Jon wants to point out that the staff is doing more with less but fails to address that the staff has less because that is what they are recruiting.

Here is something for you to chew on: How many head coaches do you think Ferentz has helped develop?

Don't kid yourself; this team is bad! Sure there are some great players, but overall we are plain bad. And that falls directly on the staff's shoulders for p*ss poor recruiting and retention. Game day coaching is just icing on the cake.

 

[Hawkfromnorwalk]

We are a bad team that still should have beat a bad ISU team and a bad Minny team.

 

[ThunderHawk]

I dont think people understand how pathetic of a loss that really was at Minnesota

I do.

The Rodents got trucked at TGIF stadium by some team from one of the Dakotas earlier this season.

 

[IATrainMaster101]

We are a bad team that still should have beat a bad ISU team and a bad Minny team.

Possibly PSU as well. This is an averave team that's a few plays/ decisions away from being undefeated or possibly having 4-5 losses. It is what it is.

 

[CAARHawk]

No question the points made in the first para are true and mindboggling. However, Iowa used to be known for sterling special teams. Considine blocked about 50 kicks in his day, Kaeding was great, Baker and Donahue, Bob Sanders, DJK, .... etc. But they've been horrible lately, yes.

Also generally agree with the second paragraph. However, when you had a team like the 2009 team, it was fine to be vanilla b/c we were just better than the other teams and could beat them with talent - not too dissimilar from OSU over the past decade (note, I am not comparing our talent to OSU's over the decade).

Even a staff that can do more with less (as Ferentz has done), can't win regularly with walkons and the other inferior talent that the 2011 team is putting out there. I am sure the d-line top 8 or so are nice guys and work their tails off in practice and all that, but they aren't very good at football in the context of the Big Ten. Just more opinions, about which I could be wrong.

Matt Melloy was a kick blocking machine too. The issue with Wisky last year and Minny this year is that our special team coach responsible for defense pulled double-duty covering for last year and recently has picked it up again, even though it is not being reported.

 

[mtnhwk]

I agree that the d line is not good. I expected that they would improve as the season progresses but alas, that hasn't happened. They are undersized (Nardo, Bigach, Forgi) and to be effective they have to play with a "high" motor and thus frequent substitutions.

Avgerage linebacker play is partly a result of the d line. Eddie P used the phrase "getting caught up in the wash" frequently when describing a defensive play. They didn't shed blocks effectively against MN.

KF is an excellent coach for IA. I'll take him as long as he wants to coach here.

McNutt is a beast. Wish JVB would have targeted him the last series......

Coker is a another beast, especially when he gets a head of steam. Look out DB's!

O Line: I'd say average......but really must improve on pass protection and blitzes. The RB's need to step it up there.

 

[BlackHawk]

Possibly PSU as well. This is an averave team that's a few plays/ decisions away from being undefeated or possibly having 4-5 losses. It is what it is.

Aside from 2002 and the JC years, this has largely true every year. When we get the bounces, we go BCS (2009), when we don't we go to a lesser bowl (2010).

This year's team talent is lower than usual (defense), so we needed a few more bounces to go our way to be slightly above average. It hasn't happened, so we are below average at this point. A lesser bowl would be welcomed this year given the team's talent level.

 

[BQuastU]

I think this is exactly right. What people are missing that say Ferentz teams are inherently limited to good but not great seasons, are (a) Ferentz has built a program that will give it a chance every 5 years to play in the BCS; (b) its very, very difficult to do (a), (c) bad and mediocre years are inevitable and (d) while the big boys (Bama, Florida, Texas, OSU, OK, etc.) have a shot most years, the great majority of programs have no realistic shot at what Iowa was almost able to acheive in 02 and 09.

This is very different than accepting the Outback bowl as the best we can expect and, as such, buying into the "poor us, we are just Iowa, let's just be happy with 9 wins every year" notion.

Aside from 2002 and the JC years, this has largely true every year. When we get the bounces, we go BCS (2009), when we don't we go to a lesser bowl (2010).

This year's team talent is lower than usual (defense), so we needed a few more bounces to go our way to be slightly above average. It hasn't happened, so we are below average at this point. A lesser bowl would be welcomed this year given the team's talent level.

 

[hawkfarmer]

These are some good points. I ask this.

Would you rather win 8 games every year (3-1; 5-3) occasionally (4-0; 4-4)

OR

Average 8 wins with a few 8 win seasons, 1- 6 win and 1- 10 win season

 

[imported_UHawk]

Yawn...you are like the other side of the bi polar equation. Man this cool aid tastes good in here.

 

[ssckelley]

Big deal, the team kind of stinks this year. Even the teams with top talent in every recruiting class have down years, albeit fewer of them. ND stinks every year with top talent.

The "fire Ferentz" and "i am sick of the 'we are just Iowa' talk" has a great French Revolution feel (for most of you, that is to say, unless you are demanding to burn the place down and start over, you are the enemy too). People that are able to keep their composure and stay cool when they are mad/sad/frustrated, don't go to the message boards during and immediately after the game, so the tenure of the posts are going to be overwhelmingly melt downish.

+1

Awesome post!

1. The d-line is bad and the talent is not good. Binns and Daniels could be decent with good players around them (e.g. last few years). The coaches will fix this, and yes, they are responsible for the current state of the d-line.

Agreed!

There is a reason why the defensive line looked so awful last year when Clayborn & Ballard needed a rest. Yeah a couple of these players are 5th year seniors but there is a reason why they have not been starting before this year. Having a good defensive line is important in any defensive scheme but even more so in Parkers since he refuses to blitz (and for good reason).

2. The linebackers are average. A bad d-line makes them worse.

Agreed, and the injuries have made things even worse.

3. The corners are good. A bad d-line and average linebackers make them average. Prater has had some bad plays this year, but three years of play shows that he can play at a very high level.

Agreed!

When the Quarterback has all day to throw you are going to make any secondary look bad.

4. Ferentz is a very good coach. Yes, the Wisconsin fake punt and Minnesota onside were examples of bad coaching and his style can be frustrating, but 02 and 09 were very, very close to greatness. I think people fail to appreciate how difficult it is to be near the top the way Iowa was these two years. When is the last time FSU was challenging? How has Texas been doing the past 2 years?

Agreed, and add the coaches calls in the Iowa State game as well.

But I think this staff can get Iowa back to challenging for the Big Ten title and BCS. I am confident in their ability to develop players to perform well in their system. Iowa could use another good recruiting class like last year. But each loss is going to make that more challenging.

5. McNutt is great.

Disagree, McNutt is AWESOME!

6. Coker is very good (although probably not a pro).

I don't know, Coker has been doing a much better job hanging on to the ball as of late. He is starting to remind me more and more of Ladell Betts. Keep in mind Coker is only a true sophomore. The next four games are going to tell us just how good Coker really is as the defenses start getting better here on out.

7. Offensive line is average.

The offensive line has not been to bad as they have been opening up some huge holes for Coker to run through. But again, it gets tougher from here on out.