sportstalent
Well-Known Member
And people freaked out when they weren't totally ready, LB's can cover mistakes, so can safeties and Iowa had their fair share of good ones lately.
D Line Next year..........at least decent???
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And people freaked out when they weren't totally ready, LB's can cover mistakes, so can safeties and Iowa had their fair share of good ones lately.
Mitch King and Matt Kroul were undersized and had no experience and were thrust into a starting role and played extremely well.
I think you are missing the point, the way Iowa is built is it starts in the trenches and goings from there, not the other way around.
Win the battle up front everyone wins, lose the battle up front and the LBs will pay for it, if the LBs are paying for that then the DBs have to step up.
I get your point if the LBs were better they could take some of the heat off some plays but not many.
Correct, not the speed and strength of Roth or Clayborn but he was also wounded I think much of this year so perhaps if the knee is strong and he adds more strength, pounds and gets his best speed he can be a solid 2013 contributor. I think he will be.
sportstalent
Well-Known Member
I am not missing your point, but I just don't buy the DL was as bad as perceived. Every team, let me repeat that, every team to succeed has be strong on each front and Iowa has proven they weren't as strong in the trenches as people thought when the played OSU and USC.
Where Iowa has been better on defense they had far better players at the Safety and LB position, just look at the NFL drafts. Clayborn was pretty darn good and was drafted where he deserved to be, but other than Babaneaux what other Iowa DL has sustained success?
Good for Iowa's scheme, but against teams that had comparable talent, they looked fairly average.
If people didn't think Iowa was going to dismantle GT, then they didn't watch ACC football.
I don't disagree with most of what you are saying, I just don't buy in that the DL was the unit of the defense that hurt Iowa the most this season. Teams like Nebraska and MSU who were by far and away run first teams didn't just run all over them and destroy them, with an awful DL those two games are blowouts.
Just curious, in relationship to %, what is the % of big plays given up in the passing game (10+ yds) compared to running plays (10+ yds). It would be % of pass attempts compared to % of rushing attempts and then a total of both categories, honestly, I don't know the answer, but I would bet that there were more big plays given up in the passing game vs. the rush game. Since Iowa really doesn't do a lot to get out of their base defense, it would be interesting to see those numbers.
Iowa's defense looked bad in space, which is the LB's and for the most part safeties.
Does Iowa lack "playmakers" on the DL, well yeah, but the players that are there, perception is not reality, they were not that bad.
Our LBers are good but they are not meeting rbs in the holes well enuf to hold plays to short gains. I see a lot of times they dont meet rbs until 3 yards downfield and then tackle at an angle and the rbs gain 3 more yards after contact.
Morris especially if he is going to play the middle has to pick a hole or gap and try to meet the rb for little gain.
Top 5 in tackles doesnt mean **** if the play goes for 5+ yards.
seepig
Well-Known Member
I think Johnson, Cooper, Ekakitie are the future but we are 2 years away from them being big and bad enough to make a difference. I believe we will see very little improvement next year. Lot of youngsters getting their AS SES whipped next year again.
Ding ding. Thats what I was refering to when I said DE's only have so many moves and when you have to do the inside swim all the time to help the DT's out, it hurts the DE's stats.
We will grow from the inside out and when we start demanding double teams in the middle, we will be back.
sportstalent
Well-Known Member
Wow, you have no clue, just because they have high tackling numbers they are great?
Are any of Iowa's LB's play makers? The answer is No.
How many yards did Iowa give up a game rushing and what was the opponents ypc?
Iowa had problems because the line had problems. These lbs are some of the most athletic we have had. Our dl struggled creating double teams and keeping ol off the lbs so the lbs could make plays. This made a weak run defense. To help the dl out the lbs were moved closer to the los. This made it harder for them to guard the pass and stop the outside run. This put more pressure on the dbs to stop outside runs and make more plays in the pass game.
My theory is we need to find situational des to get after the qb in passing downs. Put undersized guys with speed like a spears or mcminn in a wide 9 and let them pin their ears back in the 3rd and long and 2nd and long situations.
We also need to focus more on finding the right guys for the dt spots...they don't need great size they need to be disruptive (like kroul or daniels...not davis who just takes up space).
sportstalent
Well-Known Member
This is a really good idea and concept, the problem is Iowa just hasn't done this as they stay in their base defense so much of the time. They have some guys on the roster and coming in that fit this role, but don't try it, one day they may just be surprised.
Probably four years ago, I got into it with my brother saying Iowa needed an overhaul needing to change their defensive philosophy because Iowa isn't always going to be able to replace their best players. A theoretical change needed to happen, it hasn't and Iowa is less attractive for it now.
We will just have to disagree with our views on the LB's, it is funny you think this set is good when multiple people questioned if the starters should even be on the field. Maybe the LB's just aren't in the right spot and one of them could be that DE you want, just a thought.
Iowa has been a rollercoaster lately, will they start climbing the hill again next season, or go right back over again plunging to the bottom? College football is ever changing, but the philosophies at Iowa have stayed the same.
Tmoney12
Well-Known Member
Our LB's really aren't that athletic..
DP5555
Well-Known Member
I am sorry to be the one who has to say it, but I honestly think the only thing Davis does well is take up space. I think the coaches were intrigued by his size when they recruited him. However, I don't think he has developed as much as they had hoped. Whether that is because of injuries or work ethic I don't know. It could be a combination of the two. I would like to see Iowa utilize more explosive players, unless Davis has made bigger strides than I realize. If that's the case I won't complain.
I agree with everything you said. Am hoping we have 7-8 guys we can rotate in
hawkdoctor
Well-Known Member
I think our defensive line will be OK next year but it won't be long until they are top quality again. Not sure that will happen by next year though.
