Brian Ferentz's playcalling ability
- Thread starter guffus
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HawkeyeDenis
Well-Known Member
Iowa has a lot to work on this week. Not as much as Nebraska. Nebraska wins a squeaker, 43-36. So much for their black shirt defense.
vork22
Well-Known Member
Nebraska's offense is tough but their secondary is suspect. Their new qb had 19 completions for 238 and 2 TDs in his first start. He never looked out of his element. They wont be an easy matchup for Iowa.
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hawkdrummer1
Well-Known Member
Nate showed he can throw a really nice ball. No doubt about that. A few of the crazy batshit plays were a major "WTF"...and there were some moments when part of the offense clearly didn't know what the other half was trying to do. Could it be ANY MORE CLEAR..that those end around, reverse sweep..plays DO NOT WORK within this offense where plays as soooooo slow to manifest.
More importantly...where the hell was the dominant running game that was supposed to the key to our offense? AW went over 100 yards...quietly (if you will). But aside from his spectacular run for the first down on 3rd and 22...the power game we expected to see against a weak defense from the mountain west...just wasn't there.
Good news...the defense really turned in great day. Mr NFL wasn't able to get his team into the end zone all day. Great scheme and execution from the Hawk defenders. We are loaded and deep on D...and they play well as a unit. AJ Ep...looks freaking HUGE out there. This kid is going to be fun to watch.
More importantly...where the hell was the dominant running game that was supposed to the key to our offense? AW went over 100 yards...quietly (if you will). But aside from his spectacular run for the first down on 3rd and 22...the power game we expected to see against a weak defense from the mountain west...just wasn't there.
Good news...the defense really turned in great day. Mr NFL wasn't able to get his team into the end zone all day. Great scheme and execution from the Hawk defenders. We are loaded and deep on D...and they play well as a unit. AJ Ep...looks freaking HUGE out there. This kid is going to be fun to watch.
hawkfan2679
Well-Known Member
I think those jet sweep plays can work within this offense...but they can't exist in a vacuum. There needs to be a series of plays in this package upon which we can we can use. I think we ran jet motion twice and twice we handed it off against stacked boxes. Easy to defend constraint plays if you have enough guys up front to not only provide for good inside run fits, but also outside fits.
Butler and Wadley in the game at the same time isn't a bad plan...but if you ran Wadley in jet motion, there needs to be a minimum of 4-5 looks we can do to a defense. For example:
1) Give to Wadley on the sweep
2) Fake to Wadley, give to Butler to same side as jet motion is going to (pullers...perhaps G-type play - preferred against a 3 tech where jet motion going to)
3) Fake to Wadley, give to Butler to opposite side as jet motion is going to (counter action with or without pullers - good against 1 tech where jet motion going to)
4) Fake to Wadley and take a shot over the top (with or without additional fake to Butler)
5) Fake to Wadley with boot action away from jet motion
None of this is difficult. We already have the blocking schemes in place; the RB's can line up on either side of the QB to accomplish the same ends (unless you want Butler to truly lead on the sweep, which is the only reason he'd have to be opposite Wadley).
After seeing those 2 jet plays to Wadley and ISM, I was convinced at some point we'd see a situation where we faked that and took a shot, or at least threw the ball because of the stacked box, but unfortunately I didn't.
Butler and Wadley in the game at the same time isn't a bad plan...but if you ran Wadley in jet motion, there needs to be a minimum of 4-5 looks we can do to a defense. For example:
1) Give to Wadley on the sweep
2) Fake to Wadley, give to Butler to same side as jet motion is going to (pullers...perhaps G-type play - preferred against a 3 tech where jet motion going to)
3) Fake to Wadley, give to Butler to opposite side as jet motion is going to (counter action with or without pullers - good against 1 tech where jet motion going to)
4) Fake to Wadley and take a shot over the top (with or without additional fake to Butler)
5) Fake to Wadley with boot action away from jet motion
None of this is difficult. We already have the blocking schemes in place; the RB's can line up on either side of the QB to accomplish the same ends (unless you want Butler to truly lead on the sweep, which is the only reason he'd have to be opposite Wadley).
After seeing those 2 jet plays to Wadley and ISM, I was convinced at some point we'd see a situation where we faked that and took a shot, or at least threw the ball because of the stacked box, but unfortunately I didn't.
Good points, but Iowa did not have that many total snaps. It was probably somewhere on the script, they just never got to it. Hopefully next week.
I kind of got the feeling they were just throwing stuff against the wall this week. I don't think the game-plan or the play-calling were very good. However, I was impressed by the players, and that leaves me hopeful. I think there is a much better chance that the offensive coaching can dramatically improve throughout the season than their is that the players could suddenly become more talented. I am definitely in wait-and-see mode with the offense, but my optimism has not been completed smothered.
Yeah but the OP once watched a game in person.
HawkGold
Well-Known Member
My take.
Never understand why so many KF offenses struggle so much early. What do they do in preseason practice?
Back up should have had some snaps.
The offense was down right ugly at times.
It wasn't as ugly as other Iowa early games such as NDSU last year.
The offense didn't do what past offenses have done...continue to make the same mistakes and not attack weak points. Iowa DID at times attack the weak points and when past teams in a certain set would run right, they instead passed left.
Some reason for optimism.
About the D, It is hard to tell where they are at and is will be hard to know for some time. Wyoming did lose a lot from a year ago.
Never understand why so many KF offenses struggle so much early. What do they do in preseason practice?
Back up should have had some snaps.
The offense was down right ugly at times.
It wasn't as ugly as other Iowa early games such as NDSU last year.
The offense didn't do what past offenses have done...continue to make the same mistakes and not attack weak points. Iowa DID at times attack the weak points and when past teams in a certain set would run right, they instead passed left.
Some reason for optimism.
About the D, It is hard to tell where they are at and is will be hard to know for some time. Wyoming did lose a lot from a year ago.
WinOneThisCentury
Well-Known Member
It was clear, Stanley, was way too hyped up to start that game. It was all moving way too fast for him...and he wasn't seeing the field early at all. A couple of those throws were seriously "WTF" is he seeing throws...and should have never been made. That concerns me. If a quick drop pass isn't there, you have to pull it down, and get what you can...you can't stand there and get the ball swatted...that pissed me off. The other play where he went the wrong way, wow...compounding a mistake with a fumble should never happen. The good thing...easy to clean both of those up.
I think Brian wants to have a little different offense than ground and pound and he was trying to get his offense to run it. We have always said, I wish we were less predictable and tried a few different things...well, he did...it just didn't look very good.
With all that said, Stanley can throw the deep ball with some touch and accuracy...we just saw why he's starting. The pass to Fant beating the linebacker, the throw to Easley (nice catch too)...were PERFECT throws. That's the most encouraging thing. He just needs to protect the ball and start settling down. Even though we are on the road next week...I think he's going to do better with a start under his belt.
hawkfan2679
Well-Known Member
It's possible, but that also tells me they don't really (or haven't really yet) wanted to commit to it as a run game facet yet. And that's fine, so long as somewhere down the road, if we commit to running that package throughout the season, we see some of those complimentary plays.
WinOneThisCentury
Well-Known Member
Iowa's offense is going to see a lot of 7 guys on the LOS rushing the passer until they consistently beat it. We need Quarrels and speed because they only way you beat that is with guys beating someone off the ball and getting behind them and Stanley throwing where they are going to be immediately. I just couldn't understand where the backs were yesterday in the passing game...Wyoming rushed 7 several times, the middle was wide open for a back to slip around the end and up to the middle against no one...what the hell. I was waiting for that all day.
hawkeyebob62
Well-Known Member
One of the fumbles REALLY concerned me. We had three TOs to burn, yet Stanley seemed to panic in order to get the play off, then tried to force a ball rather than just take the sack and use a TO. The Wyoming punter bailed him out, and to Stanley's credit, he shrugged it off closing out the half with the beautiful TD throw to Fant.
It should also be noted that, Stanley had plenty of time to throw on the TD pass to Easley. The result? As you said, a perfectly thrown ball on which the Wyoming DB had ZERO chance to disrupt without getting a PI called.
Also loved the first TD. Going for it on 4th, I called, "missed block by FB, ballcarrier stuffed!" Pleasantly surprised, as Wyoming played for exactly that. Fant was wide open for the catch.
Adam
Well-Known Member
Biggest takeaways for me....Defense is stout. The DL was in the pocket all game. If you can't get 4 seconds in the pocket, it is hard to throw vertical routes.
Offense is capable. This Iowa offense is capable of Iowa offenses of the past. Tough running and crisp play action. I doubt we are good enough to be elite on offense, but we really don't need to be elite. We have another chance for an elite defense this year. As every hawk fan knows, elite defense and mediocre offense can still mean great seasons. Right now I think the offense could be a hair better than mediocre. I think we might end up with a fringe top 50 offense. If we get that, and have a top 20 defense like I am sure that we already have, we will be a top 25 team yet again this year and will be January bowling again.
All in all I see 8-4 likely with 9-3 upside. I can swallow that.
Offense is capable. This Iowa offense is capable of Iowa offenses of the past. Tough running and crisp play action. I doubt we are good enough to be elite on offense, but we really don't need to be elite. We have another chance for an elite defense this year. As every hawk fan knows, elite defense and mediocre offense can still mean great seasons. Right now I think the offense could be a hair better than mediocre. I think we might end up with a fringe top 50 offense. If we get that, and have a top 20 defense like I am sure that we already have, we will be a top 25 team yet again this year and will be January bowling again.
All in all I see 8-4 likely with 9-3 upside. I can swallow that.
You want to compare a Junior QB with 2 seasons to a sophomore starting his first game? LOL
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I wondered if the 'atypical' play calls were a combination of "this seems like a good team to try this against' and 'hey clowns, just something for you to think about this week and waste some prep time on.' I wonder if those same plays get called if you were playing an Akron next week or if it would have been kept even more vanilla.
D
DDThompson
Guest
You can't fool me.
I KNOW you are happy the Hawks won.
Convincingly. The win, not how happy you are.
MoseSchrute
Well-Known Member
I think he was comparing system/style, not the QB's.
seepig
Well-Known Member
I'm worried about better Defenses. Everyone is going to load up 8 in the box and walk the 9th down until we show a little gunslinger mentality into the offense. You won't be able to beat OSU and State Penn passing 15 times especially with going 1 for 9 on 3rd down conversion into the 4th quarter. I think we are going to have games where we look really bad this year and hopefully over the next 3 seasons BF improves.
HawkGold
Well-Known Member
Must not have read my other posts. Im pretty happy overall. Reasons for optimism.