Concerns coming into the yr
- Thread starter Hawkfnntn
- Start date
Fryowa
Administrator
Pretty simple.
Statistically-confirmed worst punter in all of D1 football (not just FBS) who was a multi year starter at a top 20 P5 program, uncle is one of the richest and most influential people in Iowa who also happened to sit on the BOR, and was a multi-million dollar donor to football.
It was dumb, no doubt, but it's little league compared to other dirty stuff going on by other teams.
If you want to start an Iowa bashing thread about the program being dirty you are certainly more than welcome, but do not light that fire here.
HawkGold
Well-Known Member
Not bashing at all. The word dirty could mean multiple things. The whole thing stinks
Yeah the Miller kid was a weird situation that I'm not sure we know the half of. But yeah he was destroying kids at those camps in HS. That's how he climbed the rankings ladder like he did. Must not have developed all that much since then I can't say I've heard anything about him the last couple yrs other then he's at Neb as a walk on.
Fryowa
Administrator
@RobHowe actually wrote a really good article on Miller that explains everything. Very worth the read.
https://www.hawkeyenation.com/news/...cle_cd685d81-9872-53c3-aa2d-5e919bd8b821.html
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Yeah when it comes to returning kicks there's a fearless yet cool as a cucumber quality that those guys have to have. He has a heck of a knack for it. Lots of guys are quick and fast but it's being able to track the ball and catch it while knowing what first move to make.
I have hopes that Cooper DeJean can take that role and run with it. The guy seems like a playmaker to me and I wish that we'd find ways to get him the ball on O too but I'm sure that's a pipe dream
SCHawkeye2
Well-Known Member
I had the same impression watching some 'key play' replays of 2021 games.
He was a playmaker who frequently turned the momentum in our favor with a run or catch.
Sad, and troubling, that we could not keep him as a Hawkeye, as we desperately need playmakers on offense.
You think so? That'd actually be pretty tough to do. I think the running game will be tough sledding because we won't be getting some of the big plays Goodson got us. But if Oline can pass block a little better and if Petras has improved maybe that'll open things up.
That's the hope anyway I'm not predicting it. To me with a QB that's going into yr 3 as a starter I think he pretty much is who he is and I don't think he's going to go from 57% to 63% as a passer. If he proves me wrong I'll be tickled pink but I do know that throwing for under 200 yards and under 60% completion percentage won't cut it. Because here's the thing. You can throw for a lower % then most if you're hitting big plays more often. However, doing neither really makes it tough.
GesterHawk
Well-Known Member
I am going to disagree that it balances out. I think I read somewhere that TG lead the B10 in negative runs.
Now with how the offense, as a whole, was playing last year, 2nd and 13 would, more often than not, turn into 3rd and 13+. No offense is going to be able to routinely sustain drives playing that far off schedule
Now if they could have replaced 2nd and 13s with 2nd and 7s, I think you would have seen a dramatic improvement with the offensive efficiency.
That said, TG was our best offensive weapon last year.
okeefe4prez
Well-Known Member
Meh, the offensive efficiency doesn't matter in the grand scheme when you get as shit housed as bad as Iowa did in the games we lost, at least prior to the bowl game. I'd rather go 12-0 winning every game 2-0 with a totally horseshit offense than go 6-6 with higher offensive efficiency.
GesterHawk
Well-Known Member
Oh don't get me wrong, I just want the win. The 6-4 game is one of my all-time favorites on many levels.
I was just disputing that TGoods 20+ yard gains washed out his negative plays. As long as KF continues to use his offense as a 12th defender (aka for as long as he is HC) I would prefer 5.3 yards and a cloud of dust over 1 20 yard for every 13 negative plays (made up numbers). 5.3 yards and a cloud of dust will win us more 6-4 like games than it will lose us.
GesterHawk
Well-Known Member
Also offensive efficiency is probably the wrong term. Maybe offensive fluidity? The ability to play ball control offense without having to kick the 3rd most punts in D1 football?
Totally get what you mean. Even if you don't score if you can convert a 3rd down or 2 and flip field position that means the world to how we play too. Going 3 and out and punting from your own 22 yard line just makes Taylors job tougher. We had way way too many 3 and outs deep in our territory.
That's where getting 3 yards on 1st down and another 2 or 3 on 2nd down puts us in a 3rd and 5 situation and gives Petras a snowballs chance of converting it. But 3rd and 9s our O is just not built for converting those. We can't pass block or count on our QB to make the play. Something has to give and improving the running game seems to be the most fixable part
racerhawk
Well-Known Member
This is almost certainly going to be the best prediction ever!
To your point, we can see how well an offense protect a defense by looking at some efficiency metrics. In particular, Football Outsiders tracks how often a drive results in at least 1 first down (OFD), how often "busted drives" (those resulting in 0 or negative yards) occur (OBD), and how often your offense turns the ball over (OTO).
Iowa stunk by these metrics in 2017, Brian Ferentz's first year: 125th in OFD, 124th in OBD, and 73rd in OTO. He improved a lot in 2018 and 2019 (the table below is from some numbers I crunched a few years back; OED is explosive drive rate, in case you wondered).
That has gone done the crapper the last 2 seasons.
In 2020, OFD was 90th, OBD was 105th, and OTO was 25th.
In 2021, OFD was 111th, OBD was 88th, and OTO was 37th.
Hopefully we see some improvement this season, but the trend is not encouraging.
racerhawk
Well-Known Member
Iowa was very youthful last year, and honestly we could've gone 7-6. They return the most (tied with tOSU) production in the big ten this year. I'm not sure if that translates into another visit to Indy or not, but it was pretty amazing Iowa won some of the games it did last year.
Iowa's defense is going to be pretty solid, with better D line depth. I HOPE Iowa's offense has matured a bit and will be significantly better. It was clear that Iowa had a couple of lost recruiting years on that line.
Will ol' Spence be up to the task? That's a great question. I just hope we can get more than 2 yards on running plays, which will help the boy out a bunch.
