Diagnose the D

O

olddude

Well-Known Member
What is the deal? When was the last time we were this bad? Is it lack of beef upfront? Is it youth and lack of technique? Lack of talent? What is it?
I think we are tough to throw against, nobody wants to throw against Prater, so they try Hyde and his numbers go up, so I think we are defending the pass well, most of the time. I know we have some injuries and youth at LB, but I swear Norm needs to start throwing wrenches at these kids for practice or something. I cringe almost every game when I see a DB or LB plant their feet and wait for the runner to get to them. I know you have to keep the play infront of you, but good god, #1 that is a good way to get plowed over #2 it is a good way to get juked with a studder step or hard cut and #3 it allows them 5-7 yards almost every time. I notice this on the edge more than anything. As for the DL I have no idea, whats your thoughts? How can a NP D be this ineffective? I hold out hope we will see some big time improvments, but time is becoming a concern and those improvments better be showing up in leaps and bounds here real qwick.
 
I think you kind of answered your own questions.

#1 Dl Has been puched around, and not put alot of pressure on opposing QB's

Norms d id predicated on first stopping the run thus making teams one dimensional allowing our dline to pin their ears back and rush the passer. Teams like NW and Indiana tend to give Iowa fitts because our d tends not to be able to make them one dimensional.

#2 Lb play, call it injuries or what have you. Iowa simply does not have the level of lb play we are used to. I attribute most of last season to that fact. Our d-line put 3 in the pros, but the lb's were not able to make enough plays. I am not sure if Morris's injury is causing him to play so poorly or he is just out of position, but he seems to miss quite a few TFL's. I like his overall athletic ability, but maybe better suited for OLB or rush DE even, TE think of Dallas Clark, even wears the number. Kirksey I believe is actually our best lb overall he reads run well and is verry athletic. He just has a long way to go in pass coverage. Often times he is with the receiver, but does not read the receiver to make a play on the ball. Rather the receiver is allowed to catch the ball and he makes the tackle. Ending up in alot of first downs on third and long. See PSU game.

Our secondary is the best unit game in and out. They give up a play here and there, but usually win there one on one match-ups when given the opportunity.

Just my opinion though.
 
If the overall performance of our lines over the pat couple seasons is any indication, I think Doyle needs to get a hold of Doyle.
 
I think you can look for a common denominator from last year as there were similar struggles.

The only common denominator seems to be the backers. Might be that the line is doing what they are supposed to be doing, but the backers are not filling as well as they need.

Who knows? Probably the coaches. Look for changes in personnel. That might provide an indication.
 
I love Norm and he is one hell of a coach, but it's time for a change. I don't think their is a lack of talent, it's just that this defense is boring and teams have figured Iowa out.
 
Pretty simple: not big or experienced up front..too many injuries at LB. Can't stop the run effectively and can't get pressure on QB with just four.

Makes for a rough season on that side.
 
Granted Neilsen and Nardo have been dinged, but an Iowa D with 6 seniors in the starting lineup I thought would be better than this. Maybe I was just drinking the kool-aid.
 
JonDMiller said:
Pretty simple: not big or experienced up front..t\
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And there in lies the problem... we have seniors and juniors on that line. How in the hell are they too small or not experienced enough? When you reload with seniors you're not suppose to be rebuilding.... it's when you are reloading with freshmen and sophomores that you tend to have the problem.

I know people are going to say that I am insane but the person who I a most concerned with in this program is Doyle. We haven't been the bullies for a long time now, ad I'm starting to think that had a lot more to do with Matt Roth being a psychopath than Doyle.
 
Not only are we undersized, but we are also slow. That's a bad recipe. We try too hard to make high school linebackers into big ten d line men. It just doesn't work. You can preach technique all day long but when the guy across the line is 50lbs heavier and as quick it's not going to work in our favor.
 
It's all about the defensive line. Our scheme needs DL that can stop the run, contain a QB, and get pressure in passing situations. We've had some success in the past, in large part, because we have recruited high-end athletes to the DL or we've grown them. This DL has two average Big 10 starters in Binns and Daniels, and then many below average players. It's not Doyle or technique, it's that these guys just aren't explosive enough. We need to improve the quality of athlete on our DL, the quicker the better.
 
BSpringsteen said:
And there in lies the problem... we have seniors and juniors on that line. How in the hell are they too small or not experienced enough? When you reload with seniors you're not suppose to be rebuilding.... it's when you are reloading with freshmen and sophomores that you tend to have the problem.

I know people are going to say that I am insane but the person who I a most concerned with in this program is Doyle. We haven't been the bullies for a long time now, ad I'm starting to think that had a lot more to do with Matt Roth being a psychopath than Doyle.
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Sanders was the one who gave Iowa that identity when Roth was still a freshman.
 
drew003 said:
It's all about the defensive line. Our scheme needs DL that can stop the run, contain a QB, and get pressure in passing situations. We've had some success in the past, in large part, because we have recruited high-end athletes to the DL or we've grown them. This DL has two average Big 10 starters in Binns and Daniels, and then many below average players. It's not Doyle or technique, it's that these guys just aren't explosive enough. We need to improve the quality of athlete on our DL, the quicker the better.
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Then I would say we need to start beating on juco doors.
 
drew003 said:
It's all about the defensive line. Our scheme needs DL that can stop the run, contain a QB, and get pressure in passing situations. We've had some success in the past, in large part, because we have recruited high-end athletes to the DL or we've grown them. This DL has two average Big 10 starters in Binns and Daniels, and then many below average players. It's not Doyle or technique, it's that these guys just aren't explosive enough. We need to improve the quality of athlete on our DL, the quicker the better.
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Yeah, its pretty simple really. Binns and Daniels are good complimentary players and the rest should really not be Bigten starters.

All the injuries at LB are hurting too.
 
I'm troubled by the fact that we aren't big or experienced enough up front when Binns, Daniels, and Daniel are 5th year seniors. The issue is talent! The players we have in the front seven aren't good enough. That's a recruiting issue.
 
Or a retention issue. There are lots of guys who would seem to fit the bill, but they have left the program - Johnson, Fergusen, Raymon. Beyond that Davis hasn't developed. Pretty much the same as Kanellis, Bain, McCracken, Hundertmark.

Think about if any other position whiffed across the board. For instance DBs. Oline, LBs,
 
CAARHawk said:
Or a retention issue. There are lots of guys who would seem to fit the bill, but they have left the program - Johnson, Fergusen, Raymon. Beyond that Davis hasn't developed. Pretty much the same as Kanellis, Bain, McCracken, Hundertmark.

Think about if any other position whiffed across the board. For instance DBs. Oline, LBs,
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Matt Hoch, JD Griggs, Hundertmark, Jason Semmens, are some more that would still be here.

Rodney Coe likely would have been on the D line too.

The Dline attrition has been brutal.

Then out of all of the under the radar type guys none have developed like a Klug, King or Kroul, other than Alvis to a certain degree.

The future is a bit scary, gonna need allot of young guys to step up sooner than usual.
 
JonDMiller said:
Pretty simple: not big or experienced up front..too many injuries at LB. Can't stop the run effectively and can't get pressure on QB with just four.

Makes for a rough season on that side.
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I think you hit the two problems; experience and size. All these spread, hurry up offenses are difficult to simulate in practice with Iowa having a different offensive philosophy. Overall I feel the defense has improved against the spread offense since the overtime lost to Iowa State. So experience is developing, but with injuries keeping players off the field it has been difficult to build cohesiveness.
 
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