Brian gets too much blame

[NCHawker]

I've come to believe that BF has some culpability for the miserable state of the offense however there are limits to this.

1) The offensive line - The talent pool of the OL was a smoking crater. They were not ready for B1G play. This was the lynchpin and all that went wrong cascaded as a result of this. Dochterman and others documented the injuries and the attrition ...and some recruiting busts too

2) Quarterback - SP was the exact wrong QB to have for this sieve of an offensive line. He posessed zero escapability. We all knew it was a sack as soon as a lineman came free. Who knows what plays were called but we never saw develop because he was sacked.

3) Wide Receiver - I think the timing of losing Jones and Tracie could not have been worse. I think they saw both opportunity at Purdue and the risky cocktail of #1 an #2 above. Injuries to others didn't help. And who could blame Johnson and Bruce for leaving. I wonder if they would have reconsidered if they knew help was on the way.

Brian and Kirk and others failed to shore up of the OLine in the portal after the 2021 season. But even if they did, injuries happed in the summer, too late to shore up the o-line.

I don't know about you but that was the worst offense I've ever seen watching college football. It was obvious after 2 possessions against SDSU.

But Brian has shown to be adequate at least when he had reasonable talent. I think Kirk saw that too.

 

[99topdawg]

Phil and LeVar are also to "blame". Phil's defense allowed less than 14 points 10 times. Don't let the shitty things you listed lose the game when we have the #2 defense and #12 special teams in the nation.

 

[hawkdrummer1]

You're right. KFz deserves just as much of the blame.

 

[Will C]

The offensive ranking alone merits a lot of criticism. Someone has to fix it. Blame the AD and the Head Coach.

 

[oldhawk12]

All you need to know about Ferentz x2….this little diddy from David Eicholdt…

“Iowa has hit more batters (10) tonight than they had passing touchdowns all last football season (7).”

 

[Hawkfnntn]

Here's a pretty interesting breakdown of the numbers of BFs offenses. https://hawkeyeswire.usatoday.com/l...he-iowa-hawkeyes-offense-under-brian-ferentz/

To me yeah the Oline last yr lead to the epic shit show that the O became. However BF recruited and is partially responsible for the development of said Olineman.

He's also responsible for the recruitment and development of the QB position and Petras was pathetic. He never got any better from his soph yr yet he got 3 yrs to start. Why would such a bad Qb get to start 3 yrs you ask well because he didn't recruit or develop anyone else behind him that was any better either. He coulda looked in the portal either of the prior two off seasons to look for an upgrade but didn't. To me that whole thing is a huge swing and miss by BF. That's a yrs long mistake

Speaking of a years long thing. That brings us to the WR group which has been subpar for quite awhile obviously but again if not the OC who's that on?

This yr will be interesting. He's gotten the QB position upgraded significantly along with another TE and stud WR. Solid RB that might have star potential as well. The Oline is mostly all back with a couple possible transfers getting in there if they can. The excuses BF has are gone now. Whatever low ceiling this O has now is due to him and his playcalling/handling of the O. Should be a fascinating season

 

[HuckFinn]

Yup

Here's a pretty interesting breakdown of the numbers of BFs offenses. https://hawkeyeswire.usatoday.com/l...he-iowa-hawkeyes-offense-under-brian-ferentz/

To me yeah the Oline last yr lead to the epic shit show that the O became. However BF recruited and is partially responsible for the development of said Olineman.

He's also responsible for the recruitment and development of the QB position and Petras was pathetic. He never got any better from his soph yr yet he got 3 yrs to start. Why would such a bad Qb get to start 3 yrs you ask well because he didn't recruit or develop anyone else behind him that was any better either. He coulda looked in the portal either of the prior two off seasons to look for an upgrade but didn't. To me that whole thing is a huge swing and miss by BF. That's a yrs long mistake

Speaking of a years long thing. That brings us to the WR group which has been subpar for quite awhile obviously but again if not the OC who's that on?

This yr will be interesting. He's gotten the QB position upgraded significantly along with another TE and stud WR. Solid RB that might have star potential as well. The Oline is mostly all back with a couple possible transfers getting in there if they can. The excuses BF has are gone now. Whatever low ceiling this O has now is due to him and his playcalling/handling of the O. Should be a fascinating season

 

[Gander Hawk]

A lot of OC's had personnel issues, etc. without having the second worst offense in the country.

 

[NorthKCHawk]

Wowza. This was a ballsy post given how convenient and mindless it is just to make BF a villain and hate him in every thread even if the thread is about the DL rotation. Way to try to start a nuanced and intelligent discussion. Doubt it will stay that way.

There is plenty of blame to go around for the last two season, and BF is towards the top of that list, but when BF had Stanley he was an average OC running an average (ish) offense. He has put together some amazing game plans here and there. But mainly, he runs his Dad's pedestrian offense and his success depends on QB play. He has no excuses for this coming season. The truth will reveal itself as to his abilities. Personally, I think Iowa's offense will rebound and be almost average again. 25 big ones a game!

 

[Hawkfnntn]

Wowza. This was a ballsy post given how convenient and mindless it is just to make BF a villain and hate him in every thread even if the thread is about the DL rotation. Way to try to start a nuanced and intelligent discussion. Doubt it will stay that way.

There is plenty of blame to go around for the last two season, and BF is towards the top of that list, but when BF had Stanley he was an average OC running an average (ish) offense. He has put together some amazing game plans here and there. But mainly, he runs his Dad's pedestrian offense and his success depends on QB play. He has no excuses for this coming season. The truth will reveal itself as to his abilities. Personally, I think Iowa's offense will rebound and be almost average again. 25 big ones a game!

I'd seen a podcast Chuck Long was on where he'd said that all the talk of KF micromanaging the offense is nonsense. He thinks BF has all the autonomy to run things how he wants and situationally call plays how he wants. On 3rd and 6 KF isn't telling BF to run it. Or call for a pass play of 3 yards. Totally agree with you on that BF has no excuses now. He's got some Jimmys and Joes to run the Xs and Os

 

[NCHawker]

Here's a pretty interesting breakdown of the numbers of BFs offenses. https://hawkeyeswire.usatoday.com/l...he-iowa-hawkeyes-offense-under-brian-ferentz/

This quantifies the frustration that I've had with the O for a long long time. Yet somehow Iowa wins 8 or more games most years. I'd be curious to see how many losses were by 1 score or less. We always say, what if they had an average offense! What would it have looked like in the W/L columns? I'm too lazy to go figure it out. Let me know when you've got that

 

[NorthKCHawk]

I'd seen a podcast Chuck Long was on where he'd said that all the talk of KF micromanaging the offense is nonsense. He thinks BF has all the autonomy to run things how he wants and situationally call plays how he wants. On 3rd and 6 KF isn't telling BF to run it. Or call for a pass play of 3 yards. Totally agree with you on that BF has no excuses now. He's got some Jimmys and Joes to run the Xs and Os

I think this is right. KF certainly let Davis make appreciable structural changes to the offense. The system, formations, blocking scheme and terms were all tinkered with our outright changed under Davis. Things reverted back to the KF/KOK scheme with some tweaks under BF. I agree that KF is not overturning calls BF is making in the games and that he allows BF and his staff to develop a game plan. That said, I do believe that KF has a heavier finger on the offense than defense. I do believe that KF presses BF to call conservative plays when Iowa is ahead. And, I am certain KF reprograms QBs when they get on campus to value ball possession and security above scoring and big plays.

BF has Jimmys and Joes at every position this season. Time to put up or shut up.

 

[JoeyLabasForPresident]

I think this is right. KF certainly let Davis make appreciable structural changes to the offense. The system, formations, blocking scheme and terms were all tinkered with our outright changed under Davis. Things reverted back to the KF/KOK scheme with some tweaks under BF. I agree that KF is not overturning calls BF is making in the games and that he allows BF and his staff to develop a game plan. That said, I do believe that KF has a heavier finger on the offense than defense. I do believe that KF presses BF to call conservative plays when Iowa is ahead. And, I am certain KF reprograms QBs when they get on campus to value ball possession and security above scoring and big plays.

BF has Jimmys and Joes at every position this season. Time to put up or shut up.

I’ve spent an unhealthy amount of time thinking about this since the men predictably shit the bed in the dance. I lean much more into talent issues than playcalling. Pick your OC, anyone you want. I don’t think a single OC can pull last year’s squad over the finish line, regardless of the heavy-handedness of Kirk, other than maybe the Iowa State game. OP hit the nail on the head here. Too many players who weren’t ready to play collegiate ball. That’s on the entire offensive staff. Probably the S&C staff, too. Inexcusable that we’re rolling it back with Brian, again, but we certainly have more talent. Not sure they’ve done enough to address the line, though.

 

[Hawkfnntn]

This quantifies the frustration that I've had with the O for a long long time. Yet somehow Iowa wins 8 or more games most years. I'd be curious to see how many losses were by 1 score or less. We always say, what if they had an average offense! What would it have looked like in the W/L columns? I'm too lazy to go figure it out. Let me know when you've got that

That's what's empowered them to not want to make any significant changes. To them nothing is broke. 8-9 wins is great to them and unlike at most schools that won't get anyone fired here. Hell most of our Ls are by one possession. OSU and Michigan have smoked us recently but beyond that it's always 7 pts or less pretty much.

They blame those losses on 'execution' and TOs if they factored. It's never if we had just been more aggressive and tried to go downfield more. Or get more creative with the playcalling. Because to them those hadn't been options even though they had guys like Brandon Smith, ISM, Fant and others to go deep with. They'd just do it occasionally. There's teams out there that go deep pretty much every possession just about at least once. You have to be able to get chunk plays. It's too difficult to play in a phone booth and expect to get 6 first downs and march down the field every possession. But then once you're behind in the 4th q just flip the script and go into some 2 min offensive mode. We aren't built for it and it's got us more then a few times

 

[MelroseHawkins]

I've come to believe that BF has some culpability for the miserable state of the offense however there are limits to this.

1) The offensive line - The talent pool of the OL was a smoking crater. They were not ready for B1G play. This was the lynchpin and all that went wrong cascaded as a result of this. Dochterman and others documented the injuries and the attrition ...and some recruiting busts too

2) Quarterback - SP was the exact wrong QB to have for this sieve of an offensive line. He posessed zero escapability. We all knew it was a sack as soon as a lineman came free. Who knows what plays were called but we never saw develop because he was sacked.

3) Wide Receiver - I think the timing of losing Jones and Tracie could not have been worse. I think they saw both opportunity at Purdue and the risky cocktail of #1 an #2 above. Injuries to others didn't help. And who could blame Johnson and Bruce for leaving. I wonder if they would have reconsidered if they knew help was on the way.

Brian and Kirk and others failed to shore up of the OLine in the portal after the 2021 season. But even if they did, injuries happed in the summer, too late to shore up the o-line.

I don't know about you but that was the worst offense I've ever seen watching college football. It was obvious after 2 possessions against SDSU.

But Brian has shown to be adequate at least when he had reasonable talent. I think Kirk saw that too.

Nice post.

Iowa has had some bad luck with some attrition with too many roster spots at some positions. Some of that is on the coaches but they have just been amiss at a couple spots. I think that was much of the downfall opposed to the offensive philosophy so much. Iowa hasn't had the continuity they usually do in the O-line and let's face it, it's been several years now with average QB play with QB's who were pretty non-mobile, even going back to Stanley. He was serviceable, a nice guy, but not that play maker or vocal leader you want to have in that position. I mean he did alright managing the offense. Again, he lacked some mobility to accent his game. Iowa has been missing that.

 

[NorthKCHawk]

I agree that we were running out guys who were not good enough or ready to play at this level, especially on the OL, last season. That is on the coaching staff, and BF is the head of the offense. That said, you could also look at the holes in the offense the other way. Some of those holes were caused because the coaches did such a good job with certain guys that they bolted early for successful NFL careers. Think of the guys that have left the last few years with eligibility left. Lindy, Hockensen, Wirfs, and I think even Alaric Jackson could have come back for another season. Last year would have been a different season if Lindy had stuck for another year. Its not an excuse as you have to have the next guy ready, but Iowa continues to shine when it comes to NFL talent, and that can hurt sometimes.

 

[HawkPowerlifter]

That's some great points. Obviously, with our recent body of work, prospective receivers and quarterbacks with mobility are knocking down our door. I think when we have recruited and sign the aforementioned type of position players, they don't last due to playing time.

Is it KF or BF? KF seems to have loyalty to whomever is already in place and change doesn't seem to happen often. What does he know that we don't? I also think KF doesn't seem to be as smitten by athleticism at the quarterback position as much as he wants a game manager.

Maybe that changes? Maybe he is slowly warming to the idea. I know Iowa has always been known for execution. It's no secret that Iowa is well known for their technique and execution of schemes, which makes sense when we struggle recruiting five star players.

Essentially, you work with what you get, and I think the risk to wholesale change schemes or philosophy is not going to happen when the staff sees success with what they have been doing.

Maybe with our positive results in recruiting at quarterback with McNamara, and getting a couple stud pass catchers, it does allow the offense to open up and execute which may in turn give us better results in recruiting more talented athletes.

A lot of "what if's" but overall I still have optimism going into the season. Hoping to turn the corner though because USC and UCLA are coming to play.

 

[SCHawkeye2]

How Wisconsin is changing under Luke Fickell: ‘We’re not here just to win 8 games’

The Badgers took a big swing by moving on from Paul Chryst and hiring Luke Fickell. Can Fickell raise Wisconsin football's ceiling?

theathletic.com

For those who can access, this is a good read. Despite mediocre success, they recognized the need for a culture change.

The way McIntosh saw it, there were two paths: 1) Be consumed by the fear of failure and therefore unwilling to disrupt the status quo, or 2) Embrace the opportunity and possibilities ahead for something greater. He chose option two.

As two historically similar programs and cultures, it will be interesting to observe how Iowa & WI will track from this inflection point going forward.

 

[Will C]

I don't see how anyone can excuse an O ranking that is so low. They must think they have it fixed but I am skeptical.

 

[Gander Hawk]

How Wisconsin is changing under Luke Fickell: ‘We’re not here just to win 8 games’

The Badgers took a big swing by moving on from Paul Chryst and hiring Luke Fickell. Can Fickell raise Wisconsin football's ceiling?

theathletic.com

For those who can access, this is a good read. Despite mediocre success, they recognized the need for a culture change.

The way McIntosh saw it, there were two paths: 1) Be consumed by the fear of failure and therefore unwilling to disrupt the status quo, or 2) Embrace the opportunity and possibilities ahead for something greater. He chose option two.

As two historically similar programs and cultures, it will be interesting to observe how Iowa & WI will track from this inflection point going forward.

Iowa needs to keep an eye on both Wisconsin and Nebraska to see what direction their new coaches are taking them. Bringing an Air Raid disciple to Wisconsin as OC is a bold move.