Decade of Average Part 3: Playmakers

Damn it, just makes me more angry. Jon, gotta say this is your best of the series and it's pretty glaring. 3 players sent to the NFL at skilled positions under Kirk? My gawd. Great work and can't wait to see the next disaster that Kirk has brought on!
 
John this X - ray into a glaring weakness of the Kirk Ferentz era, may be the best article you have written on the subject. It is both illuminating, and saddening. As a life long Hawk fan, there is always the hope for the next breakout year...but these statistics surely temper those dreams.
 
"'People dig fullbacks in the NFL. People in the NFL will really appreciate what he does.' That’s a quote from Kirk Ferentz in October of 2014, just a few weeks ago."

This statement from KF is factually inaccurate. Nearly every analysis of the fullback position is that it's a dying position in the NFL. At the start of the 2013 season, there were only 22 fullbacks in the entire NFL. That's fewer than 1 per team. Among those players that do play fullback, almost all of them have better pass-catching skills than does Weisman. Many of them actually played TE in college.
 
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I have come to the following conclusion: KF has an NFL mindset, and this mindset permeates all of his decisions from offensive scheme to personnel utilization, some for good and some, arguably, to Iowa's detriment.

The mistake vs. "big play" calculus is not the same in the NFL and college. Mistakes mean much more in the NFL than in college and "big plays" seem to occur less frequently in the NFL (anecdotally and without research).

As a result of his NFL mindset, KF may be overplaying the importance of mistakes and underplaying the value of "big plays".

Maybe I have misread this, but that is my reading.
 
When we DO see freshmen it is only because of injuries. And often we get addition through subtraction. That lasts until they fumble. Then a wounded vet returns to the lineup.

Parker looks promising but he's not part of the offensive scheme. He trots out there for 1 reason. And that is to run the Jet Sweep. They don't run that motion any other time. Another example of disjointed offensive scheme.

Why not Wadley? oh he fumbled.
 
Our use of Tavaun Smith this year (or lack there of) has been a downright travesty. Refusal to find ways to get him the ball and use him on goal line is absurd. We all saw what he did Friday when we finally just got him the ball!
 
bogeyman said:
Our use of Tavaun Smith this year (or lack there of) has been a downright travesty. Refusal to find ways to get him the ball and use him on goal line is absurd. We all saw what he did Friday when we finally just got him the ball!
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He's open more than any receiver I can remember over the last decade. Some people in my section at Kinnick call him 24/7.
 
INTIMIDATORHawk said:
He's open more than any receiver I can remember over the last decade. Some people in my section at Kinnick call him 24/7.
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I was begging for him to get the freakin ball Friday. He finally gets it, scores a TD on his own and people around me are looking at me like "finally". And I found myself angry after an Iowa Touchdown! I was angry after a touchdown, this isn't good for my health. But I was angry because it took us like 3 quarters to get our best playmaker the ball! It is like not letting Michael Jordan shoot the ball for a half. Just unbelievable.
 
bogeyman said:
I was begging for him to get the freakin ball Friday. He finally gets it, scores a TD on his own and people around me are looking at me like "finally". And I found myself angry after an Iowa Touchdown! I was angry after a touchdown, this isn't good for my health. But I was angry because it took us like 3 quarters to get our best playmaker the ball! It is like not letting Michael Jordan shoot the ball for a half. Just unbelievable.
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this whole thing sounds exactly like what i was saying during the wisconsin game
 
bogeyman said:
Our use of Tavaun Smith this year (or lack there of) has been a downright travesty. Refusal to find ways to get him the ball and use him on goal line is absurd. We all saw what he did Friday when we finally just got him the ball!
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I know how to get him the ball.

5421ce838bc82.image.jpg
 
LG210 said:
I have come to the following conclusion: KF has an NFL mindset, and this mindset permeates all of his decisions from offensive scheme to personnel utilization, some for good and some, arguably, to Iowa's detriment.

The mistake vs. "big play" calculus is not the same in the NFL and college. Mistakes mean much more in the NFL than in college and "big plays" seem to occur less frequently in the NFL (anecdotally and without research).

As a result of his NFL mindset, KF may be overplaying the importance of mistakes and underplaying the value of "big plays".

Maybe I have misread this, but that is my reading.
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The answer to this apparent conundrum is really pretty simple:

Speed.

Everyone in the NFL is almost without fail BIG and fast, fast fast (aside from kickers, punters, and pocket QBs, and some smaller skill guys who are nevertheless abnormally fast.) Speed is a prerequisite, a barrier to entry. You rarely see the speed and size mismatches in the NFL, so you see far fewer huge plays. Every once in a long while you get some freakish confluence of talent (like the Greatest Show On Turf) where risk is rendered almost null but it's a rarity.

In college, you find those mismatches quite often, which compels you to take risks to enable scoring. Unless you're Iowa.
 
You ask in the article if philosophy drives recruiting or vice versa. My belief is that the Ferentz philosophy drives recruiting when it comes to RBs. The center of the Ferentz universe is the OL. His roots and successes are founded there. I wish I could find the interview he had years ago when I'm certain he inferred something to the effect that good RBs are plentiful and easy to find. I believe that his top priority each year is in the OL. He normally recruits them early and often. When it does come to RBs his preference is big and strong.......pick up at least 4 yds, control the ball, and control the game along with good D. When we do land a RB that is something other than big and strong it is usually because that prospect is not highly recruited by the majors or is an in-state talent.

Canzeri - not highly recruited.....Rival **
Wadley - not highly recruited.....Rival **
Hilliard - most offers were MAC level.....Rival *** (destined for DB?)
Bullock - not highly recruited.....Rival **
Parker - most offers were MAC level......Rival **
Daniels - most offers were MAC level......Rival ***
Wegher - instate exception.......Rivals ****
Robinson - not highly recruited......Rivals **
Malloy - not highly recruited.....Rivals ***
Garmon - heavily recruited......Rivals **** (didn't fit in the system?)
Coker - good offer list.......Rivals ****
Hampton - MAC level offers......Rivals **

You can go back further and find similar results with a few exceptions but not many. Seems oftentimes those that we do get that are clearly above average have some character flaws that lead to short careers as Hawks. Of the Top 10 running backs (total rushing yardage) in Hawkeye history only 2 (Russell & Greene) were recruited by Ferentz the remaining 8 by Hayden Fry & Co.
 
whammer33024 said:
this whole thing sounds exactly like what i was saying during the wisconsin game
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Ha, or all year!
So does KF not get playmakers or just not know how to use them? It may be a little of both, however I think if we used them properly we would have a better chance of getting them. Feel bad for Smith this year.
 
3 excellent articles in this series. Pretty eye-opening numbers. Its too bad Jon isn't in charge of the football program.

Its pretty amazing that a guy in the energy business who runs a Hawkeye website can break these numbers down and realize things are not going well. But the guys who are actually getting paid to coach football either aren't aware of these numbers (I highly doubt this option) or they believe these numbers are acceptable for the Iowa football program.
 
hawkphan00 said:
Damn it, just makes me more angry. Jon, gotta say this is your best of the series and it's pretty glaring. 3 players sent to the NFL at skilled positions under Kirk? My gawd. Great work and can't wait to see the next disaster that Kirk has brought on!
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0 successful at the NFL level
 
ThunderHawk said:
The answer to this apparent conundrum is really pretty simple:

Speed.

Everyone in the NFL is almost without fail BIG and fast, fast fast (aside from kickers, punters, and pocket QBs, and some smaller skill guys who are nevertheless abnormally fast.) Speed is a prerequisite, a barrier to entry. You rarely see the speed and size mismatches in the NFL, so you see far fewer huge plays. Every once in a long while you get some freakish confluence of talent (like the Greatest Show On Turf) where risk is rendered almost null but it's a rarity.

In college, you find those mismatches quite often, which compels you to take risks to enable scoring. Unless you're Iowa.
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Thank you, WhiteIsaacBruce.

You are 100% correct that the disparity of competition talent largely drives the differing number of big plays in college relative to that of the NFL. I'd also add inconsistency due to youth, preparedness due to differences in coaching talent, and amount of pocket time for pass plays.

The program could improve if it recognized that mistakes don't kill you in college to the same degree they do in the NFL. Heck, we had 4 TOs Saturday and still should have won.
 
I really think KF plays favorites. I was curious what Hillyer's numbers were for the season, and he had 10 catches. 10!!! And he was out there for a majority of the snaps all year. I actually feel bad for him because he was almost NEVER targeted. So the joke about Iowa WR running wind sprints....that's what he did.

For someone like Smith to only catch 41 passes this year, it's baffling. KMM caught about the number I would expect for a slot guy....but for our big play ability guys, Smith, Hillyer, Powell....a combined 69 passes caught for them.
 
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