Coaching?

Too many mistakes period.... pass catching, special teams, defense giving up big pass plays, sacks, no running game.

The o-line was exposed tonight. Doesn't mean than they cannot improve but this was a real test against a real opponent. Coming into the season this was the number one question for most.

You are special, not being able to pick up constant blitzes is alllll the Olines fault.....
 
I'm not gonna fully blame the coaches because anyone who watched the game saw that the players executed horribly. HOWEVER, i thought when it was 2nd and 3, kicking Robinson to the slot and leaving an empty backfield with stanzi behind center wasn't the best play call of the night... I also thought we should've ran more screens and pitches to throw off the blitz and inside commitment. I also don't have a problem with Robinson, he has a lot of heart, but I can't help but to notice his lack of explosiveness.

Not tryin' to point the finger, just callin' them as I see 'em...


I agree. I made a post during the game begging for a screen to be called. They were relentless and blitzing us. On that 2nd and 3 play I jumped up screaming when the back went in motion. We couldn't pick up the blitz all night with our line so we go ahead and clear out the only extra blocker we had to give Stanzi some time? Still scratching my head on that one. Otherwise we just got in too big of a hole early and had to abandon the run pretty much so they just blitzed. Not sure why KOK wouldn't call a screen or two to take advantage of them sending the house at us...
 
As bad as a coaching job tonight as I remember

- UA attacks the run...we don't adjust
- UA blitzed on multiple occasions...we don't adjust
- UA delivers the ball in less than 3 seconds...we don't adjust
- UA blitzes with 8...we don't take advantage
- UA goes all out on special teams...we want to be neutral

This one is on you Coach.

No, not really. To say that a coach lost any game is actually quite hilarious. Take away a deflected pass and missed blocks/tackles on ST and Iowa wins convincingly.
 
you are not going to be able to block eight men every time..its a numbers game.

And yet, we apparently made NO adjustment on that final series and they were able to sack us 3 or 4 times in a row.

We didn't do ANYTHING to get the ball of out of Stanzi's hands quickly. If that doesn't fall on the coaches, then who?
 
This loss is on special teams for sure. I didnt see a problem with the coaching. I think if norm was there they could have made better adjustments on D but you cant blame anyone for that. Our O-line was just dominated.

Well said, SD. It seemed like we didn't make any defensive adjustments at half. Time and time again, the middle was open for Foles. With no pressure he just picked us apart. LBs were unable to cover. They definitely need some work. As for the O-line, they better get it together if Iowa is still looking to have a great season.
 
No, not really. To say that a coach lost any game is actually quite hilarious. Take away a deflected pass and missed blocks/tackles on ST and Iowa wins convincingly.

Take the black and gold blinders off for a minute. Don't forget that AZ gifted us 14pts on turnovers. Factor that in and it's a pretty close game.
 
And yet, we apparently made NO adjustment on that final series and they were able to sack us 3 or 4 times in a row.

We didn't do ANYTHING to get the ball of out of Stanzi's hands quickly. If that doesn't fall on the coaches, then who?

I have to admit that I've never seen anything like that before. Especially from a program like Iowa where the team is built around the lines.
 
Huh. I just watch the Bears beat a Cowboys blitz.

They knew it was coming, and Cutler, even with his own terrible offensive line, recognized it and hit Olsen with a quick slant for 40-yard or so TD.
 
Iowa ran enough into 8 man fronts to keep play action a part of their plan and it worked. It worked to get DJK wide open twice and he caught one TD and dropped another. AZ was blitzing like crazy, Stanzi saw one on one coverage with McNutt and audibled to it, and it was a TD.

When teams are that aggressive, and that was one of the most aggressive blitz kreigs I have seen in a long line of teams blitzing Iowa, you take shots at them. Iowa did a lot of that.

you are not going to be able to block eight men every time..its a numbers game.


Iowa lost this game because they took themselves out of it early with self inflicted wounds. If you want to blame coaches for the players not being sharp, go ahead. But Iowa did what it should have done on offense. SOmetimes, you just dont execute 100 out of 100 times. Go figure.

You are the expert Jon, but I couldn't disagree with you more. Instead of self-inflicted wounds why don't we give Arizona credit for outplaying and outcoaching us?

1. Is inferior special teams play self-inflicted or just bad football? (Preparation and execution). While Donahue is a really good punter he takes a long time to get the kick away. Arizona knew that and this is the 3rd blocked punt of his career? And our kick coverage has been poor all year.

2. Our defense did not adjust to our exposed middle of the field and Foles and their coaches exploited it all night long.

3. And no we are not going to block 8 men every time but there were absolutely no adjustments made on that last series. And why wasn't Stanzi in the shot gun on every play of that series? He was in the gun on 4th down but he was behind center on 3rd down. Don't recall previous downs. I feel you are making excuses.
Was Stanzi still taking 5 step drops with the blitz kreig? Why not 2 step drops with a quick hit to the tight end for example? It looked to me like the receivers were still running 10-15 yard routes? Please correct me if I am wrong.
How many screen passes did we attempt during the game to slow down their rush? In my humble opinion KOK lacks the ability to adapt or show any creativity at all. Our offense is very vanilla, as is our defense, but it has been more sound than our offense with that type of scheme historically. Has Norm done a better job with preparation and in-game adjustments? Our schemes our fine if you are physically superior to your opponent, but when your opponent is just as physical and much quicker than you I believe you better mix it up a little. I believe we have an easy offense to prepare for and Arizona was prepared.
For the sake of argument, let's say the pick 6's cancel each other out, should Arizona then argue take away their own "self-inflicted" penalties the game would not have been close.

4.Yes, we were out of the game early but we tied the game late and should have been ahead by 1. We didn't get it done when it mattered. We had every opportunity.

I know these coaches and players are working their tails off. The fatigue on KF, KOK and Phil Parker's faces was very evident. Not having Norm available I'm sure is taking it's toll. And I hope Norm gets healthy whether he coaches again or not.
I realize losing is much more frustrating for the players and coaches compared to us fans. A little dose of perspective is always good. I just don't agree with your anaylsis.
 
Iowa ran enough into 8 man fronts to keep play action a part of their plan and it worked. It worked to get DJK wide open twice and he caught one TD and dropped another. AZ was blitzing like crazy, Stanzi saw one on one coverage with McNutt and audibled to it, and it was a TD.

When teams are that aggressive, and that was one of the most aggressive blitz kreigs I have seen in a long line of teams blitzing Iowa, you take shots at them. Iowa did a lot of that.

you are not going to be able to block eight men every time..its a numbers game.

Iowa lost this game because they took themselves out of it early with self inflicted wounds. If you want to blame coaches for the players not being sharp, go ahead. But Iowa did what it should have done on offense. SOmetimes, you just dont execute 100 out of 100 times. Go figure.

Where were the hot routes then Jon??? I love our coaches...But I mean it was either Stanzi or O'Keefe and when someone calls out stanzi they get strung up...so it must have been O'Keefe...I mean I could see the blitz coming from my living room....and I've never played a down under center...Stanzi has to know on a three step drop you have to deliver not be indecisive! He looked like he was sooo worried about a pick he would rather take a sack.
 
As bad as a coaching job tonight as I remember

- UA attacks the run...we don't adjust
- UA blitzed on multiple occasions...we don't adjust
- UA delivers the ball in less than 3 seconds...we don't adjust
- UA blitzes with 8...we don't take advantage
- UA goes all out on special teams...we want to be neutral

This one is on you Coach.


Sooo you must be one of those fair weather fans I am assuming, you know, the same guy that was praising Ferentz last year and when we win? This was not on the coaches one bit! Stop overreacting. You can't stop every blitz, there aren't enough linemen, since you are such a great coach you already knew that I am assuming though. Get off of their case, we have one of the best, most consistent and most respected coaching staffs in the nation. Not the state, the NATION! The Germans didn't give up when the Japs bombed Pearl Harbor did they?
 
Where were the hot routes then Jon??? I love our coaches...But I mean it was either Stanzi or O'Keefe and when someone calls out stanzi they get strung up...so it must have been O'Keefe...I mean I could see the blitz coming from my living room....and I've never played a down under center...Stanzi has to know on a three step drop you have to deliver not be indecisive! He looked like he was sooo worried about a pick he would rather take a sack.

You do realize that Iowa, forced to play Arizona's game which is a Pac 10 passing attack, was more productive in that game than Arizona was?
 
I'm not gonna fully blame the coaches because anyone who watched the game saw that the players executed horribly. HOWEVER, i thought when it was 2nd and 3, kicking Robinson to the slot and leaving an empty backfield with stanzi behind center wasn't the best play call of the night... I also thought we should've ran more screens and pitches to throw off the blitz and inside commitment. I also don't have a problem with Robinson, he has a lot of heart, but I can't help but to notice his lack of explosiveness.

Not tryin' to point the finger, just callin' them as I see 'em...
AR was essentially worthless in the run game last night and I thought maybe they were trying to draw an LB or S out thenI thought maybe that was to open room for a WR in the middle for something quick but no such luck.
 
You do realize that Iowa, forced to play Arizona's game which is a Pac 10 passing attack, was more productive in that game than Arizona was?

You do realize you didn't answer his question?

Several have asked about or brought up the play calling on that final drive where Stanzi took the sacks. And for all your crapping all of our *opinions* of how we apparently don't know football like you do, you don't seem to have any more answers than the rest of us on why that series was called the way it was.

Why - when the entire planet knew they would blitz again and again - we had NO ANSWER for it. 8 men rushing? SOMEBODY is going to be in a one on one or open so that at least Stanzi could get the ball out of his hands.

Don't have an answer? By all means, at least feel free to admit it.
 
You do realize you didn't answer his question?

Several have asked about or brought up the play calling on that final drive where Stanzi took the sacks. And for all your crapping all of our *opinions* of how we apparently don't know football like you do, you don't seem to have any more answers than the rest of us on why that series was called the way it was.

Why - when the entire planet knew they would blitz again and again - we had NO ANSWER for it. 8 men rushing? SOMEBODY is going to be in a one on one or open so that at least Stanzi could get the ball out of his hands.

Don't have an answer? By all means, at least feel free to admit it.
If you watch the post game question and answer session with Kirk, he says that Arizona showed a new blitz look on that last drive. Kirk thought they had adjustments handled on the sideline, but that those adjustments did not work. It was a great ploy by Arizona and hot handled well by Iowa. Kudos to Arizona and work to be done by Iowa.
 
You do realize that Iowa, forced to play Arizona's game which is a Pac 10 passing attack, was more productive in that game than Arizona was?
With all due respect Jon there is a counter measure for everything your opponent does and we just didn't seem to attempt alot of them. For whatever reason it wasn't happening.
Iowa isn't built to be a Pac-10 passing attack but they are a BCS team and there is no reason they aren't capable.
I don't place blame in any one place. They played poor and the coaches didn't seem to change up a whole lot to solve the problems and AU played well.
When Iowa gets into these high level matchups and gets taken out of our gameplan at best we struggle. Most often we lose and look stupid doing it.
Its fine that we can function 80% of the time doing things our way and imposing Iowa's game on the opponent but it takes more than that to be the best or consistently play the best. Iowa simply flat out doesn't do that.
IMO this is the only flaw in KF's coaching. He has to know you have to be able to play effectively outside of your comfort zone in order to win that other 20%.
 
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With all due respect Jon there is a counter measure for everything your opponent does and we just didn't seem to attempt alot of them. For whatever reason it wasn't happening.
Iowa isn't built to be a Pac-10 passing attack but they are a BCS team and there is no reason they aren't capable.
I don't place blame in any one place. They played poor and the coaches didn't seem to change up a whole lot to solve the problems and AU played well.
When Iowa gets into these high level matchups and gets taken out of our gameplan at best we struggle. Most often we lose and look stupid doing it.
Its fine that we can function 80% of the time doing things our way and imposing Iowa's game on the opponent but it takes more than that to be the best or consistently play the best. Iowa simply flat out doesn't do that.
IMO this is the only flaw in KF's coaching. He has to know you have to be able to play effectively outside of your comfort zone in order to win that other 20%.

You get right to the heart of the matter. One of better, most honest assessments I have read recently.
 
I never question the captain at this point, he knows more then any of us and trying to understand why he does what he does is like trying to understand why Eric Clapton chooses to play a song the way he does.

And for the love of god we did go to the air and tied it up in the 4th doing it, how is that not adjusting? And we blitzed like freaking craz(which we never do) and shut the AZ O down for the majority of the game.
 

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