Enemy Recon: Iowa State
- Thread starter JonDMiller
- Start date
DP5555
Well-Known Member
I specifically said in the post you referenced that Iowa's QB will need to take advantage of opportunities that open up downfield. I'm very well aware the horizontal attack isn't going to get it done. The only difference between my outlook and yours is that I believe the coaches when they acknowledged the fact that changes needed to be made (one of which was getting the ball down the field). I'll take their word for it and expect them to make those changes. I certainly respect the wait and see approach though. Also, even if they do make the changes they will still need a QB who can effectively take advantage of opportunities when they present themselves. That remains to be seen as well.
My post was optimistic because that's what I think will happen if all things go according to plan. However, there is plenty of reason to believe things probably won't go according to plan. That's just the way it's been against ISU.
This comment keeps coming up and I don't get it. JVB was too scared to throw downfield? I understand it may appear to look that way but we (Anyone outside of the huddle or offensive coaching staff) don't know what was called or if the receivers ran the wrong route.
HawkeyeGameFilm said something when GD was first here at Iowa that stuck with me since then. He said that with GD's system 90% of the routes are eliminated by the QB based on what the defense showed at the LOS. Who knows if it was GD or JVB or the WRs but one thing is for sure, this too scared thing is all in fans heads.
donho24
Well-Known Member
That pretty much sums up what I was getting at - for the record, I hope you are right and I'm wrong.
It shouldn't matter what was called if the primary receiver is covered and another player is open. JVB either couldn't find the receiver or he perceived the throw as too risky. I don't believe that GD's system requires that you go to only one receiver, actually it's quite the opposite. QBs like Colt McCoy and Vince Young were great improvisors and they didn't exclude 90% of the targets, that's ridiculous. Sokol and Rudock to, both went to other than the primary receiver in the Spring game. Actually I think JVB may have been coached to be too risk averse. KF needs step aside and allow GD to coach the offense, especially the QB.
DP5555
Well-Known Member
I agree with hwk23. There was plenty of times JVB had options down the field. There were also a few times the receivers flat out dropped the ball. The whole idea that GD never called plays that had options down the field tho is a little overblown. Does he need to stretch the field more? Absolutely. However, the lack of success down the field last year wasn't all on him. JVB struggled mightily to get through his reads without panicking. He didn't look comfortable at all in the pocket which often resulted in short throws to the bailout routes.
Ok, so lets get this clear then, was he coached to do it, or was he too scared? So let's discuss him being "scared" and of what. Scared of getting pulled for not doing what he was told/coached to do? Throwing a bad pass and getting it intercepted?
I just don't get this obsession with people on this site and throwing JVB under the bus and saying he sucks and couldn't play. Throwing over 3K yards and 25 TDs the year before was all KOK's play calling and the receivers?
his junior year wasn't that great i you look at it closely. McNutt was a big part of his success in getting more yards and more TDs. There is a reason he wasn't picked to be on any of Phil steeled all big ten teams. On the road and against good teams he flat out looked uncomfortable and panicked a lot. He had a worse team around him last year and that didn't help but he really isn't that good of a QB.
I am not saying he is/was an all B1G QB but he wasn't as bad as many people on here seem to be acting. However, he is on a the Viking practice squad, that has to account for something. Not every senior QB gets asked to join a pro training camp, though. Not that I think he will make the team or anything but people are comparing him to JC6, no one deserves that.
I just get the feeling that everyone has their own scapegoat for last season and may are just saying it was JVB, obviously it wasn't that simple of an answer. With that said I do agree that McNutt was a excellent receiver who at times made JVB look better than he was but McNutt also had a knack for dropping great passes that hit him in stride and in the hands and catching the ones that seem to be uncatchable and turn them into huge gains or TDs.
deanvogs
Well-Known Member
I don't think if you look back through QB that KF has had, that there is any real proof that QB were coached to play everything "safe". Banks didn't play that way, Tate certainly didn't play that way, and Stanzi didn't play that way either. Those guys took the bulk of the snaps over the last 10 years of Iowa FB. Then you look at JC, and JVB. Both of those guys had issues. Both had happy feet in the pocket, and both were risk averse. Was it coaching? I don't know for sure, I wasn't there. What I do know is that most of the QB's over the last 10 years didn't have this issue.
I agree. He is a decent QB. He just didn't have much around him last year which exaggerated his weaknesses. Him the coaching staff and the receivers did not do a good job of getting the new offense installed and running smoothly.
We went from dead last in interceptions thrown per attempt in 2009 (most int's per attempt in B1G) to 1st, 2nd, and 2nd in 2010, 2011 and 2012 (least int's per attempt). Basically Stanzi went from worst to 1st in this category from 2009 to 2010. I think this might indicate we over-corrected in response to the 2009 season and have consciously become too risk averse and too quick just to throw it away or throw very conservative passes. I agree though if you look at Stanzi pre-2010 and Tate, for example, it definitely wasn't an issue when they played.
I am hoping with the new WRs coach and the new young players at WR the staff brought in they can make some strides this year. Not holding my breathe but here is to hoping!
greenrocket
Well-Known Member
So that brings two things to mind:
1) KF has, in the past, had good success with QB's who are talented and can improvise. Of course that was with a different OC, so that comes into play too. So it may have more to do with the talent level of the QB than the coach.
2) KF did not see fit to replace JVB - at all - last year with any of the newbies...not even to play garbage time minutes to get a few snaps. Does that really make you feel better as a fan going in to this season?
I would agree that coaching plays into this quite a bit. But give us a talented QB (Banks, Tate, Stanzi) and I doubt they'd have had as bad a year under GD and KF as JVB did. Point #2 makes me nervous as all heck going into this year.
Sorry for all the abbreviations...too lazy to type everyone's name out and it looks like that's how it's done on this site...;-)
This is going to be a very telling year for many things. We'll find out real fast whose fault last year was, JVB or our coaches. We'll find out if another year in the new system is better for our WR's and QB's, and we'll find out just how much KF is going to dictate with his conservative play-calling.
DP5555
Well-Known Member
I'm not sure it will be fair to pinpoint blame for last year on anyone regardless of what kind of results we see this year. It's the second year in the offensive system with different players running it. The players who return have more experience running it. If things run efficiently it will be because everyone is on the same page and we have a QB who fits the GD system much better than JVB did. Plus the players around the QB should have a better understanding of where they need to be and what their assignments are.
With that said, if it looks terrible again then we know it's on the coaches so I agree with you from that perspective. They can't expect Hawk fans to sit back and be okay with the same old "we need players that fit our system in order for it to work" mentality. That's BS. You don't put a square peg through a round hole. Make the system fit the players. That's your job.
HawkeyeMHA
Well-Known Member
The no huddle wears the sexy pants and will fix everything yes.
