homerHAWKeye777
Well-Known Member
Current word out of the 'Clone camp is that the O won the "first round" against their D in their last scrimmage.
Many of the standard excuses apply insofar that a number of their top guys on D weren't in action. However, the Hawks can make the same claims concerning our D lacking some of its top guys.
What I found interesting about this early word out of the Cyclone camp is that the D was supposed to be the team strength, whereas the O was supposed to be a work in progress. Logic dictates that this early word points to the Cyclones lack of depth on D. A team strength ought to have a marked advantage against a transitioning O ... and this should arguably even hold, even if a few important guys are out.
On first pass, Iowa fans could maybe consider it troubling that the O seemed to win the day against the D at the Kid's Day scrimmage. However, considering that we all knew that the O was going to be a strength ... it really should not come as a surprise. The match-ups suggested that such an outcome would be likely.
Another word on the 'Clones is that they're not as deep at DT than they originally had been hoping. A JUCO transfer who they were counting on still hasn't made it to camp because he's dealing with "academic issues." Also, their prize DT recruit, Pompey, had some medical work done on him and he's slated to miss ALL of camp. The immediate repercussion there is that Pompey will most likely redshirt this season ... if he doesn't then he's going to be having to show Coker-esque sort of smarts.
The immediate implication there is that they're now quite obviously thin at a pretty important spot.
On the flip side, current word also suggest that they're sitting pretty well when it comes to defensive ends. They have some guys who could actually be a threat when it comes to rushing the passer.
Now returning to the original claim that the O won the day at their past scrimmage. It's also important to note that the O seems to be passing a good bit and they're having luck moving the chains. That seems to confirm my suspicion that they're probably going to be somewhat exploitable at safety ... particularly considering that they lost 3 of their top safeties from last years squad. I admit that such a claim requires a little bit of a jump in logic ... however, were the 'Clone secondary as formidable as their fan base likes to claim ... then the opposing O wouldn't have had so much luck in the passing game.
Anyhow, given that the 'Clone game will be at Jack Trice, I'm of the opinion that pretty much anything can happen at the game ... potentially even a Cyclone victory. When you further add to the mix that we all know that the Iowa D will be a "work in progress" at the beginning of the season ... it's reassuring to know that match-ups in the Iowa vs ISU game still are favoring the Hawks at this juncture (knock on wood). As we've all learned from the '09 season ... sometimes you really do need a little bit of luck to go your way. With a little luck, Iowa still appears to have a chance to go unscathed into the Pitt game. From that point, we'll have a better vantage from which to evaluate our beloved Hawks.
Many of the standard excuses apply insofar that a number of their top guys on D weren't in action. However, the Hawks can make the same claims concerning our D lacking some of its top guys.
What I found interesting about this early word out of the Cyclone camp is that the D was supposed to be the team strength, whereas the O was supposed to be a work in progress. Logic dictates that this early word points to the Cyclones lack of depth on D. A team strength ought to have a marked advantage against a transitioning O ... and this should arguably even hold, even if a few important guys are out.
On first pass, Iowa fans could maybe consider it troubling that the O seemed to win the day against the D at the Kid's Day scrimmage. However, considering that we all knew that the O was going to be a strength ... it really should not come as a surprise. The match-ups suggested that such an outcome would be likely.
Another word on the 'Clones is that they're not as deep at DT than they originally had been hoping. A JUCO transfer who they were counting on still hasn't made it to camp because he's dealing with "academic issues." Also, their prize DT recruit, Pompey, had some medical work done on him and he's slated to miss ALL of camp. The immediate repercussion there is that Pompey will most likely redshirt this season ... if he doesn't then he's going to be having to show Coker-esque sort of smarts.
The immediate implication there is that they're now quite obviously thin at a pretty important spot.
On the flip side, current word also suggest that they're sitting pretty well when it comes to defensive ends. They have some guys who could actually be a threat when it comes to rushing the passer.
Now returning to the original claim that the O won the day at their past scrimmage. It's also important to note that the O seems to be passing a good bit and they're having luck moving the chains. That seems to confirm my suspicion that they're probably going to be somewhat exploitable at safety ... particularly considering that they lost 3 of their top safeties from last years squad. I admit that such a claim requires a little bit of a jump in logic ... however, were the 'Clone secondary as formidable as their fan base likes to claim ... then the opposing O wouldn't have had so much luck in the passing game.
Anyhow, given that the 'Clone game will be at Jack Trice, I'm of the opinion that pretty much anything can happen at the game ... potentially even a Cyclone victory. When you further add to the mix that we all know that the Iowa D will be a "work in progress" at the beginning of the season ... it's reassuring to know that match-ups in the Iowa vs ISU game still are favoring the Hawks at this juncture (knock on wood). As we've all learned from the '09 season ... sometimes you really do need a little bit of luck to go your way. With a little luck, Iowa still appears to have a chance to go unscathed into the Pitt game. From that point, we'll have a better vantage from which to evaluate our beloved Hawks.
