'Ferentz Never Goes for It'

JonDMiller said:
I am wondering if 2008 Michigan State wasn't going through his mind?

Kirk has an air tight memory...and he plays things out over and over and over.

Remember 2008?

Iowa at Michigan State...early 4th quarter down three, in field goal range, 4th and 2...Iowa goes for it, Ricky Stanzi's pass falls incomplete

Late 4th quarter, Iowa at the MSU 21 yard line down three...4th and 1...Iowa goes for it, fullback runs the wrong way, Shonn Greene is stopped for a loss, and that is the ballgame....

You can't say he doens't go for it in situations like that...you can always debate the should he or shouldnt he in hindsight, but I am guessing he remembered that game and it was running through his thoughts...now, he had a much better defense in 2008, and I wanted to see him go for it this weekend on 4th and 1 given the circumstances of this game that had played out.

But, he has gone for it before in tight spots.
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Yes, he should have left it to the defense. He should have suppressed memories of the following late defensive collapses:

2005
Michigan
Northwestern

2006-7 (defense was so bad we weren't even in games at the end other than ISU in 2007)

2008
Illinois

2009
OSU
Michigan State (bailed out by O'Keefe)

2010
Indiana (saved by a drop)
Wisconsin
Michigan (thank god the clock ran out and O'Keefe bailed out the defense)
Northwestern
Minnesota
Arizona

Face it, JD. Ferentz is content to let the D try to win the game, but he needs to play to the team's strength, which is offense. He needs to take O'Keefe off the leash and let the guy run the offense he wants to instead of trying to shorten the game and paper over the mediocre defense with the offense hogging the ball the whole game.
 
Can we get Tom Brands to be on the hawkeye sidelines?
ISU had emotion on their sideline and they used it. Lets be honest here... talent wise they are probably sub par. That why you see their sideline erupting all over the place. They gotta get that emotion out to help them get a win. I don't want Bo Pelini or Mike Stoops crap but how about a little fire?
 
okeefe4prez said:
Yes, he should have left it to the defense. He should have suppressed memories of the following late defensive collapses:

2005
Michigan
Northwestern

2006-7 (defense was so bad we weren't even in games at the end other than ISU in 2007)

2008
Illinois

2009
OSU
Michigan State (bailed out by O'Keefe)

2010
Indiana (saved by a drop)
Wisconsin
Michigan (thank god the clock ran out and O'Keefe bailed out the defense)
Northwestern
Minnesota
Arizona

Face it, JD. Ferentz is content to let the D try to win the game, but he needs to play to the team's strength, which is offense. He needs to take O'Keefe off the leash and let the guy run the offense he wants to instead of trying to shorten the game and paper over the mediocre defense with the offense hogging the ball the whole game.
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This.

And here is a rule of thumb for deciding whether or not to go for it: If you are lucky to be in the ballgame, take your chances to win in regulation.
 
smoot27 said:
I was more upset with his decision to kneel on it with 1:17 remaining and 2 timeouts. Also, we ran the ball continuously on 1st and 2nd down in the 2nd quarter against 8-9 in the box and single man coverage. The 2nd quarter did Iowa in.
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EXACTLY!!!
 
okeefe4prez said:
Face it, JD. Ferentz is content to let the D try to win the game, but he needs to play to the team's strength, which is offense. He needs to take O'Keefe off the leash and let the guy run the offense he wants to instead of trying to shorten the game and paper over the mediocre defense with the offense hogging the ball the whole game.
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i totally agree...i think they should have gone for it this week
 
1977Hawkeye said:
Agreed 100%. And even though it didn't work out, I STILL agree with KF's decision to go for it on 4th and short, down 3 on the road @MSU in 2008. Just because it didn't work doesn't mean it was a bad decision (the way I see it). I would want him to make the same call again.

You will never find a philosophy that GUARANTEES you success 100% of the time, and it almost sounds like KF is playing it even more conservatively NOW because it didn't work out @MSU in '08. What if, instead, you miss the FG? It gets blocked, or you kick the FG and you end up losing by a point or two, then later you wish you'd gone for the TD?

You can play what-if all day long, no matter which choice you make, if you make a call that doesn't work. There are so many different possible scenarios in a game that you just have to go with your gut.

In my mind, always playing it safe and playing not to lose will often get you beat in close games.
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Agree 100%.

Just because it didn't work once or twice doesn't mean you stop trying.
 
briankaldenberg said:
Marcus Coker gained 1 or more yards in 31 of his 35 attempts.

Furthermore - He gained 1 or more yards in his final 14 attempts.

He averaged 4 yards per carry. It was the 3rd overtime. ISU's defensive line was tired.

It doesn't matter what has happened in the past.... You go for it.

Maybe people need to change their statements to "Ferentz goes for it at the wrong times and doesn't go for it when he should."

You go for it in Ames in that situation.
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This, the ISU D was dead tired, Coker could have gotten a yard or even a QB sneak would have gotten that yard. Iowa hadn't stopped ISU for the last 5 minutes of the 4th quarter and the first 2 OT's so I'm not sure why KF thought they would or could stop them in the 3rd OT. That type of thinking by him is mind blowing.
 
I'm betting every team has a "play" for just about every critical situation.
Some are probably rarely practiced, like the lateral drill on kick returns for the last play miracle. They don't do this one much because it's hell on the trombone players and it's a pretty rare event.

However, 4th and 1 is not a rare event. In my mind, you're a mostly scholarshipped and well regarded Big 10 team. Yes, a lot of things can go wrong, but what's more empirical than one play for one yard? If the better offensive line/runningback/offensive play call can't gain that one yard....it's because the defensive line/linebackers/defensive play call was better...then you lose. If you're better, you have the chance to win.

It's better than placing the ball again on some arbitrary yard line and starting over.
 
smoot27 said:
Pardon me, I didn't realize we had individuals on here ignorant enough to require the exact play-by-play rather than the intent of the play calling.

He ran the ball on first down, concluding any idea that we were actually playing for the win or in the 2-minute offense. I suppose Coker could have broke one off for a 30-40 yard gain, so what was I thinking.
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Playing to win and playing not to lose are not always exclusive. Sometimes you do both.
 
DuffMan said:
Playing to win and playing not to lose are not always exclusive. Sometimes you do both.
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True, but I would imagine the odds of Iowa scoring (with the minimal risk of turning it over and them scoring) is better than taking it to OT on the road where both teams receive an equal opportunity. I saw little risk in going for it at the end rather than letting the clock expire.
 
BSpringsteen said:
I still think it was the right call.

Not getting points in OT is suicide.
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and, we had ISU fourth and goal the previous possession and they converted, on a play we should've stopped. that was likely factoring into Kirk's reasoning as to having faith in the defense.
 
And I don't remember Ferentz getting blasted for his decision in 2008 against MSU, it was the FB who went the wrong way. Most of us were proud of the decision and thought Shonn Greene would easily get the yard needed. Given the fact ISU made the mistake to take it from a 4th and 6 to 4th and 1, we should have made them pay for it.
 
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