Chill out people.

[dirtwrap]

Things are not as bad as you think. First of all we played against a really good running quarterback. We knew he couldn't throw. Our coaching staff wanted to make them put together long drives and the chances of them doing that were remote. Other than shadowing hills with a linebacker we stayed in our base sets. They scored one touchdown.

On offense Maryland stacked the box with deep safeties. That is an effective strategy when we are up 3 scores but not so much in a tight game.

No doubt we took our foot off the has in the second half. Survive and advance. But pray that MSU beats OSU because the running quarterback that can throw has always been the Achilles heel of our defense. We are a very good team, but like all of the rest of the teams we have flaws too.

 

[hawkinn3]

I can't, this isn't common for the Hawks. I can be objective about pro teams but not Iowa, I care too much. I am completely irrational at this point. I want this undefeated season so bad.

 

[VAHawkFan]

As the possibility of an undefeated regular season grows, people are getting more and more anxious. Suddenly every little thing looks like a major hurdle to overcome.

There was nothing surprising about today's second half except that the O-line lost a little focus. IA had a three TD lead, a defense that was pitching a shutout, and a gimpy QB. Seems likely that the plan was to take as much off of CJ as possible, smash the rock, and expect the D to keep it up. It was a strategy that may have some fretting about "Old Kirk", but it wasn't a senseless or inexplicable one. Especially given CJ's health.

 

[judzeehawk]

Just stop and think people. How many times have we complained about end of the half time management? What happened today? We scored a touchdown!!!!! How many times have we complained about never recovering onside kicks? What did we do today? I think we recovered 3 of those monsters!!!! No we weren't perfect but we sure didn't suck!!! Great job HAWKS and BEAT the hoosiers!!!!!

 

[Hawk10k]

It was a good win, all things considered. Hopefully CJ's health will continue to improve before next Saturday.

 

[Hawkeyes1982x]

I feel good about this game. This game kind of scared me with Hills. But we managed the game. I wish we would of kept our foot on the pedal with the run game, we were crushing them in the 1st half. CJB is limited, but he can lead like no other. Just win baby! 8-0. NOW, this next game kind of scares me. We win this game, we are undefeated.

 

[Mrke1]

It's great having the problems we do. Not worried out if we'll win, but by how much.

That being said, I'm aiming high now and want to see Iowa in the CFP. To do that, they need to win in a dominant form against lesser opponents.

 

[tksirius]

If we would've just ran the ball down their throat in the 1st half, instead of fancy pantsy passing, CJ could of sat out the 4th quarter.

 

[DrKnipe]

Just win. The rest will take care of itself.

 

[jjh4hawks01]

I would agree with your post, except for the, "Taking the foot off the gas pedal" comment.

Why the hell would or should we be doing that?

Were we up by 50 points? We aren't that good to be trying to do that.

 

[Crossfirehawk]

Just stop and think people. How many times have we complained about end of the half time management? What happened today? We scored a touchdown!!!!! How many times have we complained about never recovering onside kicks? What did we do today? I think we recovered 3 of those monsters!!!! No we weren't perfect but we sure didn't suck!!! Great job HAWKS and BEAT the hoosiers!!!!!

In total agreement. It seems like many fans are looking for reasons to equate this team with teams of the past. I don't know what fans want. Common complaints from past seasons: too predictable, running the ball too much, need to open it up on offense, need to try passing on first down, try going for it on 4th down, take a shot at points instead of taking a knee before going to locker room. It seems that all of those complaints are being addressed by the coaches and players this year. One would think that we would be pleased being that the results have given us an 8-0 start.
R-E-L-A-X and enjoy this thing. There will have to be tweaks in each of the remaining games and the coaches have proven that they can make these adjustments. they know the inner workings of the players and their abilities/capabilities and they surely are not going to set out to lose any game. Let's not let the players read negative comments from the fan base, they get enough of that from the so-called experts. Go Hawks ... We are with you.

 

[Seth53]

It's great having the problems we do. Not worried out if we'll win, but by how much.

That being said, I'm aiming high now and want to see Iowa in the CFP. To do that, they need to win in a dominant form against lesser opponents.

This. A hundred-times this.

Winning ugly when the perception already is we're playing a crappy last-five-game-schedule will not help us. Ever.

The B1G west has a perception problem. Iowa has a perception problem. Crushing lesser opponents eases the problem.

 

[Floridahawkeye1]

Lesser opponent?
Come on, you think crushing ... just win.
With CJ banged up, I don't see us crushing teams.
We are wearing #10 target on our back.
Expect their best. MD gave up too many turnovers. They were trying to win - good for them! But?
Next. Hoosiers. Their place.

 

[dirtwrap]

I will explain why we should and do take take our foot off the gas.

1. Who here wishes we didn't run that naked bootleg against Northwestern in 2009? Shouldn't we have just handed the ball off when we were leading? That should give you some perspective.

2. Offense is a risk vs. Reward business. I am speaking from a turnover standpoint as well as injury standpoint.

3. When we are up three scores it is going to be very difficult for someone to beat us. Our scoring defense is elite, especially when we are leading by three scores. The opposing offense has to play right into our zone teeth. We are going to make them earn every yard.

4. There is no reason to subject CJ to further injury. That is what will derail out season, not winning by 10 instead of 40. Our coaches know that, and they are protecting him. He doesn't need to be sacked, tackled, or anything that could get him hurt.

5. Our coaches give two craps about style points. And they are absolutely right for ignoring it. If we win everything takes care of itself.

6. I would say that an element here as well is that we play hungry, and great as the underdog. Well we aren't the underdog from here on out so our coaches have to motivate because complacency is every teams enemy. So to be doubted and laughed at and ridiculed is exactly what we need.

7. So the motto is: get up by three scores, take the air out of the ball, make them earn everything they get but force a ton of mistakes, don't get anyone hurt and get out of there. That's it. Get used to it.

 

[Hawk10k]

I will explain why we should and do take take our foot off the gas.

1. Who here wishes we didn't run that naked bootleg against Northwestern in 2009? Shouldn't we have just handed the ball off when we were leading? That should give you some perspective.

2. Offense is a risk vs. Reward business. I am speaking from a turnover standpoint as well as injury standpoint.

3. When we are up three scores it is going to be very difficult for someone to beat us. Our scoring defense is elite, especially when we are leading by three scores. The opposing offense has to play right into our zone teeth. We are going to make them earn every yard.

4. There is no reason to subject CJ to further injury. That is what will derail out season, not winning by 10 instead of 40. Our coaches know that, and they are protecting him. He doesn't need to be sacked, tackled, or anything that could get him hurt.

5. Our coaches give two craps about style points. And they are absolutely right for ignoring it. If we win everything takes care of itself.

6. I would say that an element here as well is that we play hungry, and great as the underdog. Well we aren't the underdog from here on out so our coaches have to motivate because complacency is every teams enemy. So to be doubted and laughed at and ridiculed is exactly what we need.

7. So the motto is: get up by three scores, take the air out of the ball, make them earn everything they get but force a ton of mistakes, don't get anyone hurt and get out of there. That's it. Get used to it.

That's what championship-caliber teams with a hobbled quarterback do. Substance over style, protect the most important player on the field, avoid injuries, force mistakes, WIN the game and look good another day.

 

[ArvadaHawk]

Many good points in this thread and we should all be ecstatic at being 8-0. You can't be 9-0 before first being 8-0, etc. But, there are reasons for concern when you put an analytical perspective on things:

1) The OL pass pro has been average at best, this season. CJ hasn't had the time he needs. At the beginning of the season CJ could scramble to find time to throw or take off an run. Now, he's limited. That makes him a sitting duck, at times, and teams going heavy blitz is now back on the table.
2) CJ's injury, appears to me, to be affecting his throwing motion. Having an inaccurate thrower allows teams to gamble a bit more and load the box. CJ did run a couple of times but he didn't look right when he did it.
3) Our defense is holding up, but Meier got dinged and if he goes down, I'm not sure we have an answer to replace him. With Ott, he was injured during non con and Hesse and Nelson got meaningful reps and were "more" ready than if Ott hadn't missed time in non con.

Again, these are reasons for concern but can just as easily be overcome or not materialize. But, yesterday's second half is concerning. CJ's injury is exactly why I felt Wiegers needed heavy game minutes against Ill St and UNT. If CJ goes down, we have a backup QB who hasn't run the full offense, or even 50% of it, in live game action. CJ's injury is our biggest concern, right now. It sure would be nice to have that experienced backup QB, right now.

 

[dirtwrap]

Many good points in this thread and we should all be ecstatic at being 8-0. You can't be 9-0 before first being 8-0, etc. But, there are reasons for concern when you put an analytical perspective on things:

1) The OL pass pro has been average at best, this season. CJ hasn't had the time he needs. At the beginning of the season CJ could scramble to find time to throw or take off an run. Now, he's limited. That makes him a sitting duck, at times, and teams going heavy blitz is now back on the table.
2) CJ's injury, appears to me, to be affecting his throwing motion. Having an inaccurate thrower allows teams to gamble a bit more and load the box. CJ did run a couple of times but he didn't look right when he did it.
3) Our defense is holding up, but Meier got dinged and if he goes down, I'm not sure we have an answer to replace him. With Ott, he was injured during non con and Hesse and Nelson got meaningful reps and were "more" ready than if Ott hadn't missed time in non con.

Again, these are reasons for concern but can just as easily be overcome or not materialize. But, yesterday's second half is concerning. CJ's injury is exactly why I felt Wiegers needed heavy game minutes against Ill St and UNT. If CJ goes down, we have a backup QB who hasn't run the full offense, or even 50% of it, in live game action. CJ's injury is our biggest concern, right now. It sure would be nice to have that experienced backup QB, right now.

I agree with you, there are areas of concern, but all of those areas have really been apparent all season. I am concerned about pass protection, and the coaches are too. We have had the luxury so far to throw the ball while we have been balanced. We haven't run nearly as much play action as I thought we would off of that, but when we pass we would have been just as apt to run. If we get into a ge where we have to throw will be interesting, because we haven't seen that yet. And I am concerned about pass protection.

On defense the biggest key to the success is the number of plays our defense is on the field. Specifically our defensive line. We expect so much from those guys that they only have so much in them, and depth is a concern. This is not new. If and when we face a team that dinks and dunks, has a running quarterback that can convert third down, we will be in trouble. That is why us controlling the clock, running the ball as much for clock management as for scoring is our goal.

So back to the original post. If we start running up the score this equals more possessions and more plays, on both sides. We can't win like that, I promise. So if you are both an iowa fan and an offensive fan, enjoy the first quarter or even half. If it's tied or we are losing, keep watching. But if we are up by 2 or 3 scores, turn it off and go do something else, there is nothing to see here. But us defensive guys will love it.