Daniels Running Tentatively And Other Random Observations.

MelroseHawkins

MelroseHawkins

Well-Known Member
Does anyone have any insight as to whether Daniels is still a little dinged up or is just running a bit tentatively not trusting his ankle yet? He doesn't seem to be hitting the hole hard at this point. I suspect when he is totally healthy or his confidence is back he will. He just seems a bit timid at this point.

I still have some concern about the amount of involvement with our TE's at this point and going further, especially being short at RB and having T Smith out to stretch the field. I realize Kittle got the lone TD on Saturday, but he also got the only catch by a TE. I think they need to find a way to get them more involved with being suspect at WR. Did Wisky take the TE away with the 30 front D with the 4 LB's? It seems they can't take everything away as they also covered the WR so well downfield. Somethings got to give and Davis & Ferentz need to find a way to get other guys in space. We also didn't seem to have many throws to the RB's to alleviate some of the pressure. Maybe Wisky sent the pressure too fast. I don't want to nitpick after such a hard fought tough physical win, but these are just observations going forward. Iowa really needs to get the TE involved more to help with the balanced attack of the offense going forward. This will help with being another aspect of the game the opposing teams will have to scheme against. They have to come up with some kind of other passing outlet. That's the missing component at the moment.

Wisky was a tough D which will bode well for Iowa going forward. Hopefully, there will be openings and holes going forward more. I think the wind definitely played a part yesterday, and Iowa having a little more of a run game was crucial. The young line came through enough and Canzeri was solid.

This teams seems to have terrific chemistry which seems to be better in the previous years. Also, this team seems to have players step up to be leaders on both sides of the ball such as Beathard and Ott.

Nate Meier has really developed into a solid player and is the perfect compliment on the other side of Ott. Don't look past what Meier has brought to the D. This Iowa D is getting off the field on 3rd down much better than previous years. This D is becoming very fun to watch.

Desmond King Over/Under of 8.5: Desmond King currently has 5 INT's this young season. The current Iowa record is 8 in a season. Will King break the record this year? What do you say?
I can't say enough about what he has brought this year. He's had two returns one could say set up game winning drives. He's flipping the field with his returns.

Speaking of flipping the field, don't overlook Dillon Kidd and his punting game. The punting game has always been crucial to the past success of Ferentz's teams. It is a huge part of Ferentz coaching philosophy. Flip the field and win field position.

Sorry I got a little windy! Easy to do these days. Go Hawks.
 
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Yes- really tentative. I've sprained each of my ankles badly, playing basketball growing up. By three weeks I was feeling pretty good even on the bad ones. Is he just a tentative runner perhaps???
 
Daniels' ankle is still dinged up. He is still running pretty gingerly on it. I noticed him limping when he was trotting off the field after a play on Saturday. As far as the TE involvement on Saturday, I think that has to be more attributed to the the Badgers' defense. Wisky's passing D was pretty stingy and covered up most everything in the flat. So, I wouldn't be too worried about the lack of involvement on Saturday. Duzey is back, Kittle is showing some promise and HKK is doing well in the blocking game.
You're definitely right about this defense. It reminds me of Norm's defenses back in the early 2000's. Nate Meier and Drew Ott are tearing it up and keeping the edge in check and the interior linemen are definitely showing some promise, and the back seven are keeping big plays to a minimum. I think this will be one of Iowa's best defenses, statistically, by the end of the year.
You can't say enough about what King has brought to the table, not only on defense, but on the special teams. This year's offensive field position is better than I have seen it since 2004 and is paying dividends for the offense. Kidd has also shown what a value he is by keeping a long field for opposing offenses.
 
HawkeyeMHA said:
Yes- really tentative. I've sprained each of my ankles badly, playing basketball growing up. By three weeks I was feeling pretty good even on the bad ones. Is he just a tentative runner perhaps???
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When healthy, he was never a tentative runner. He'd explode thru the hole, even when a young player. I am just wondering if it is more in his head at this point as this is his 2nd ankle issue, or if he's still playing with a bit of pain or limited physical movement. I wonder which it is.

How high was his ankle sprain? The higher the worse, correct? The higher, the more recovery time, correct? I think that is what I have heard.
 
Another random observation ... our DBs are doing a much better job of turning their heads and looking for the ball and not just face guarding the WRs like they have the past 3-4 years. Nice to see.
 
Hawk1960 said:
Another random observation ... our DBs are doing a much better job of turning their heads and looking for the ball and not just face guarding the WRs like they have the past 3-4 years. Nice to see.
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I'll add another observation about King and how well of a ball hawk defender he is. I think he has two INT of going up in front of the WR and 2 of diving in front of the receiver. Can't remember what the 5th one was.
 
I think Mabin needs to do turn his head around more and look for the ball. King is always looking for the ball.
 
bucksnducks said:
I think Mabin needs to do turn his head around more and look for the ball. King is always looking for the ball.
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Was it Mabin who just barely got his hand up in time to knock the ball away from the WR near the sideline on Saturday? He was looking straight at the receiver on that play & kind of got lucky, timing-wise?
 
MelroseHawkins said:
Does anyone have any insight as to whether Daniels is still a little dinged up or is just running a bit tentatively not trusting his ankle yet? He doesn't seem to be hitting the hole hard at this point. I suspect when he is totally healthy or his confidence is back he will. He just seems a bit timid at this point.

I still have some concern about the amount of involvement with our TE's at this point and going further, especially being short at RB and having T Smith out to stretch the field. I realize Kittle got the lone TD on Saturday, but he also got the only catch by a TE. I think they need to find a way to get them more involved with being suspect at WR. Did Wisky take the TE away with the 30 front D with the 4 LB's? It seems they can't take everything away as they also covered the WR so well downfield. Somethings got to give and Davis & Ferentz need to find a way to get other guys in space. We also didn't seem to have many throws to the RB's to alleviate some of the pressure. Maybe Wisky sent the pressure too fast. I don't want to nitpick after such a hard fought tough physical win, but these are just observations going forward. Iowa really needs to get the TE involved more to help with the balanced attack of the offense going forward. This will help with being another aspect of the game the opposing teams will have to scheme against. They have to come up with some kind of other passing outlet. That's the missing component at the moment.

Wisky was a tough D which will bode well for Iowa going forward. Hopefully, there will be openings and holes going forward more. I think the wind definitely played a part yesterday, and Iowa having a little more of a run game was crucial. The young line came through enough and Canzeri was solid.

This teams seems to have terrific chemistry which seems to be better in the previous years. Also, this team seems to have players step up to be leaders on both sides of the ball such as Beathard and Ott.

Nate Meier has really developed into a solid player and is the perfect compliment on the other side of Ott. Don't look past what Meier has brought to the D. This Iowa D is getting off the field on 3rd down much better than previous years. This D is becoming very fun to watch.

Desmond King Over/Under of 8.5: Desmond King currently has 5 INT's this young season. The current Iowa record is 8 in a season. Will King break the record this year? What do you say?
I can't say enough about what he has brought this year. He's had two returns one could say set up game winning drives. He's flipping the field with his returns.

Speaking of flipping the field, don't overlook Dillon Kidd and his punting game. The punting game has always been crucial to the past success of Ferentz's teams. It is a huge part of Ferentz coaching philosophy. Flip the field and win field position.

Sorry I got a little windy! Easy to do these days. Go Hawks.
Click to expand...

Well said...you have pretty well summed up what we were saying Sat ourselves...I also think the play calling became a bit more conservative in the 2nd half, but we never really had much to go on either. Certainly missing Boone Myers affected CJ and the whole O to some degree.

I'm guessing Daniels still playing tentatively due to ankle....Our D is developing into being a very fun to watch aspect of the game...
 
The absence of the TE play is still a bit baffling to me as it seems to be related to an offensive philosophy more than that they just can't get them the ball. They have really become MIA since Davis got to Iowa compared to the previous Ferentz years. Long gone are the 6-8 catches the TE position gets a game.
 
Is Daniels current injury on the same right foot he had surgery on last season? If so, it would seem to make his recovery a bit more complex.
 
If you watch the way Daniels ran in week one compared to now definitely not the same runner. We need another guy to step up or something, hate for JC to have to carry such a big load.
 
NCHawker said:
Whar's the home run hitter on this offense?
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J Smith did get behind Wisconsin's D a few times Saturday. Maybe with some more practice reps, him and CJ can get on the same page. Would love to see them hit just one big gainer just so the threat is there.
 
MelroseHawkins said:
I think it was the opposite ankle.
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Doing a little more digging I see that Hawk Central reported on 9/12 that it was his right ankle that was injured in the ISU game..........so it is the same ankle if what they report is true.

Certainly he's not running the same as he's not pushing off much for much speed or change of direction. His value now is in giving Canzeri some brief rest.
 
NCHawker said:
Whar's the home run hitter on this offense?
Click to expand...

Something Iowa has lacked for quite some time unless you want to count T. Smith this year. I'm still waiting to see more on J. Smith as he didn't get much of a chance to show his worth Saturday. Beathard overthrew him on several occasions, one of which was downfield when he had some separation on his defender. He also overthrew him on an end zone play.

Not saying he is a home run threat but he's got speed at least and he's drawing attention as a true freshman. Let's see some more.
 
Yeah I think the coaches thought his ankle would get better faster then it has. Looks like he should have just shut it down for a week or two. He's not even close to what he was during the ISU game even. I asked this in another thread but has anyone seen him in warmups before the game and see how he looks then? I mean if he's running quick and not gingerly then is it all in his head once the game starts kinda thing? I dunno but it'd sure be nice if he could handle 10 touches or more a game to get Canzeri closer to the same. When he gets closer to 25 touches then 20 I get nervous.
In regards to TEs. I think they will use them more. I thought I saw one of them breaking free on that 3rd and 2 play that CJ threw to the flat on where we ended up just an inch short. The tv angle looked like Wisky had everybody up in the box expecting a run or short pass like that so when I saw the TE just take off up the seam it sure looked like he was going to be breaking free. Less then 10 yards down the field he should have had nobody between him and the endzone. Granted there was 70 some yards of space for him to be ran down possibly but I'd sure like to see the coaches tape of that play to see if I'm right. ESPN had it too zoomed in to tell for sure.
 
It's nice to read a thread on here that has good discussion. It would be nice if one of the back ups could be improving enough that our coaches would have the confidence to put them in so Canzeri could have a breather. That way they could rest Daniels until he is 100%. Go Hawks
 
We may just have to take the same approach with LD that we're taking with Tevaun and just shut him down until after the bye. As for Wadley, JC has put the ball on the carpet the last few games, so I'd say it's probably time to give him a shot as the backup for the next couple of weeks if DMX is also still injured.
 
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