HawkleberryFinn
Well-Known Member
Will he be under-utilized? Will Kirk union-card Hesse in more than the talent disparity warrants? Then A.J. maybe has one more year, then NFL.
Epenesa
- Thread starter HawkleberryFinn
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pythagoras
Well-Known Member
SpiderRico
Well-Known Member
There hasn't been union cards for awhile now....one of the reasons we went 12-0 in 2015. AJ may not start the year as a starter (it's not like Hesse is dog crap), but I imagine he will supplant Hesse by the time conference season rolls around....similar to how Anthony Nelson eventually supplanted Matt Nelson....
ArvadaHawk
Well-Known Member
AJE was a disruptive force as a TR FR when he was in. He made mistakes also, but he clearly is one of the top 2 DE's we have. AN is a NFL'er, AJE is (likely) a NFL'er. Is PH a NFL'er? I don't think PH is. He's a competent no mistakes kind of player. But our DE's MUST be disruptive for our D to flourish. Starters should be AN/AJE. Day one.
People mistake the union card for when older players play over younger ones. The union card is when a starter stays a starter until he graduates no matter what. There are a couple examples of when they changed starters. But for the most part, once a starter, always a starter.
SpiderRico
Well-Known Member
I can name several examples off the top of my head without looking:
Anthony Nelson over Matt Nelson
CJB over JR
Cole Fisher over Bo Bower
Desmond King over Jordan Lomax
Anthony Gair over Miles Taylor
Was it that way before? Yep. But since Jan 2015, this hasn't been the case....
The last 2 happened because of injuries.
earlkoppelman
Well-Known Member
NO NO NO.... He and 40 play same time.Great problem. Need D-Line to be All Big Ten. He wasted Mr.Akrum but D-lline so key.And Nixon ?? A great line ?,
A part of me likes the idea of limiting his reps still. If he's in there primarily on passing downs wrecking havoc and he's running at 100% energy wise that's just a great thing for us. I remember back when they played the crap out of Clayborn and Ballard. They were dog tired in the 2nd halves of games. Teams run more plays now then back then so it's even a bigger factor. If he's playing around 20-25 snaps a game plus. Maybe for a series or two each quarter I'd be totally ok with that he'll have the most impact in doing so. And that goes for the rest of the line too for that matter
Do we want starters in there playing 85% of the snaps and then playing 20% of those snaps later in the games at like 60% of their max or less? Or play them closer to 60% of the snaps and each of them closer to being 100% for each one of them? I think more teams that have depth like we do would prefer that..
Do we want starters in there playing 85% of the snaps and then playing 20% of those snaps later in the games at like 60% of their max or less? Or play them closer to 60% of the snaps and each of them closer to being 100% for each one of them? I think more teams that have depth like we do would prefer that..
I agree that Hesse may not have NFL-measurables, but boy does that guy make important plays at important times. I think there are at least 4 really good DEs (I am including Gholston), and maybe more depending on how Simon and others have come along.
Parker talked during bowl prep about how they want to be at least 8 deep on DL. So they will find reps for all of these guys, and hopefully this will create a relentless, dominant unit. I am not sure if AJE will start, but I am positive he will play a ton and be a huge contributor. Remember, the conference defensive player of the year (Nick Bosa) was part of a 4-DE rotation that limited his reps. But when he was in, he was fresh and disruptive.
And heck, if he is only getting 40 snaps on defense, use him as a jumbo TE during goal-line packages. I am not sure how big he will be next fall, but I am thinking about 6' 5", 290 lbs. Imagine that, but with agility and hands? Think JJ Watt as a goal-line tight-end in Houston.
Parker talked during bowl prep about how they want to be at least 8 deep on DL. So they will find reps for all of these guys, and hopefully this will create a relentless, dominant unit. I am not sure if AJE will start, but I am positive he will play a ton and be a huge contributor. Remember, the conference defensive player of the year (Nick Bosa) was part of a 4-DE rotation that limited his reps. But when he was in, he was fresh and disruptive.
And heck, if he is only getting 40 snaps on defense, use him as a jumbo TE during goal-line packages. I am not sure how big he will be next fall, but I am thinking about 6' 5", 290 lbs. Imagine that, but with agility and hands? Think JJ Watt as a goal-line tight-end in Houston.
hawkdrummer1
Well-Known Member
homes
Well-Known Member
On the spectrum of problems, playing time for the DEs is a good one for Iowa this fall. How good the LBs will be is the most pressing matter. It concerns me that none of the returning LBs were good enough in the eyes of the coaches to play any meaningful minutes at all last year, and that generally the learning curve for new LBs at Iowa is at least a year of playing time. However, trends and history are made to be broken.
In Taylors case he never had a chance at getting his job back. Injury or no injury it'd have been interesting because Taylor wasn't playing very good
WinOneThisCentury
Well-Known Member
Fisher one good game...Wisconsin disagrees with you. He was pretty solid his senior year. He impressed me...anyway.
WinOneThisCentury
Well-Known Member
I honestly think best man plays these days at Iowa. I think that is bearing out. It's not like they are giving anyone the starting nods on teh OL. It's truly open.
AJ is going to be hard to keep off the field IMO. If he is better, he gets the majority of the reps...but he has to stop the run and maintain the rushing lanes and leverage in the Iowa system. Hesse is pretty damn good and he makes plays.. (touchdown at Nebraska, interception at ISU, etc.).
AJ is going to be hard to keep off the field IMO. If he is better, he gets the majority of the reps...but he has to stop the run and maintain the rushing lanes and leverage in the Iowa system. Hesse is pretty damn good and he makes plays.. (touchdown at Nebraska, interception at ISU, etc.).
ArvadaHawk
Well-Known Member
boy....i'd love to believe you. i guess it depends on the definition of best. does best = most athletic? does best = no mistakes? at Iowa, i believe best = no mistakes. which is fine, but it can prevent young (more athletic) talent from seeing the field. it's 6 of one and half a dozen of the other. Do you want athletes on the field who might make more mistakes; but also have more ability to recover from one; or, few mistakes but less athletic; so if a mistake is made, you're doomed on that given play. Me? I'll take the athletes.
WinOneThisCentury
Well-Known Member
Well...based on us playing 10 or so freshman each of the last two years...I'm thinking is best equals the person giving you the best chance to win...great plays and warts wrapped up in to one. Trust me...the old mentality would have had ISM sitting after he dropped a sure TD against Minny...but not only dropped it...he dropped it for an interception. In the old days...he would have never been seen again...since it was turnover number two or three at that point. I think things have changed...and I think it's BF on offense that has said...I need guys that can make plays. Fant has improved his blocking, but he's not as good as the other two TEs...yet he's seeing all the reps he can handle.
