Ferentz: Northwestern loss ‘most representative’
- Thread starter SheagleHawk
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hawkfan1319
Well-Known Member
Yeah ....I think Central Michigan was probably the one for me.
Yep, just like we were only 7 plays away from knocking off Michigan in the Big House. A win there and we all look at the season completely different.
We were just four plays away from a shutout at that point, and if we forced fumbles on those four plays and took them back for scores, we were only four plays away from being up 31-0 in the third. Make those plays and it's a completely different game.
DP5555
Well-Known Member
I'm not sure some of you understand what Kirk is getting at when he says "most representative".
He's saying when looking at both Iowa and Northwestern he saw two teams that were very evenly matched talent wise. One team won 10 games and the other won 4. His point being that the difference in win totals is in the execution. This is the way Kirk coaches. He will use Northwestern's team last year as an example for the Iowa team this year. For example... "Northwestern isn't any more talented than us, and they went out and won 10 games last year. Why? Because they did the little things it takes to win. They made big plays on offense when they had the chance. They got off the field on defense in key moments. They made big plays when they needed to."
In short, when given the chance Northwestern executed and Iowa laid an egg. Now obviously as fans we can all point out things aside from execution that are vastly different between the two teams. For starters, NW is running an explosive offense and they have the players to fit their schemes perfectly. NW also has a coach who is very willing to take chances. Iowa is trying to run a more explosive offense, but thus far it has resulted in short passes and almost zero big plays. Plus it doesn't seem like the Hawkeye players fit the system very well.
Those things jump out at me as big differences between the two teams aside from a simple lack of execution on the Hawkeyes part. Maybe the two teams are pretty close in terms of talent, but unfortunately talent isn't the only thing that matters. You have to find a way to apply it.
He's saying when looking at both Iowa and Northwestern he saw two teams that were very evenly matched talent wise. One team won 10 games and the other won 4. His point being that the difference in win totals is in the execution. This is the way Kirk coaches. He will use Northwestern's team last year as an example for the Iowa team this year. For example... "Northwestern isn't any more talented than us, and they went out and won 10 games last year. Why? Because they did the little things it takes to win. They made big plays on offense when they had the chance. They got off the field on defense in key moments. They made big plays when they needed to."
In short, when given the chance Northwestern executed and Iowa laid an egg. Now obviously as fans we can all point out things aside from execution that are vastly different between the two teams. For starters, NW is running an explosive offense and they have the players to fit their schemes perfectly. NW also has a coach who is very willing to take chances. Iowa is trying to run a more explosive offense, but thus far it has resulted in short passes and almost zero big plays. Plus it doesn't seem like the Hawkeye players fit the system very well.
Those things jump out at me as big differences between the two teams aside from a simple lack of execution on the Hawkeyes part. Maybe the two teams are pretty close in terms of talent, but unfortunately talent isn't the only thing that matters. You have to find a way to apply it.
hawkeyebob62
Well-Known Member
This.
FreedComanche
Banned
Hope you don't mind me inserting numbers to empahisize that they all three overshadow player execution, and are much more important to winning games. Please tell us you aren't buying the ferentz spin. Every time his team sucks he blames player execution instead of taking responsibility. I've always hated that about him.
FreedComanche.
DP5555
Well-Known Member
If the players don't execute it doesn't matter what system you are running, or what coaching decisions are made. I'm not sure how you come to the conclusion that player execution isn't as important to winning games. No, I'm not buying the spin he's putting on it. I pointed out the fact that there are other things that led to NW having a 10 win season. However, the Hawks aren't as far off as you act like they are. Every point that has been emphasized is something that can be improved upon.
FreedComanche
Banned
I don't think they are that far off from being good either. Granted, the talent level has gone down. But I think they could have had a winning season last year if schemes and coaching were different.
FreedComanche
That was my recollection as well. Iowa was fortunate to keep it relatively close. Iowa had no answer on defense to the NW QB that day. He didn't have to pass much at all. Just stayed one dimensional and beat Iowa.
homes
Well-Known Member
Ferentz's default response is always "execution". Either the Hawks didn't do it well enough or the other team did. Sometimes the other team simply has better players. Sometimes it's because the plays/formations are so predictable that the other team already knows what you're doing before you do it - it's hard to out-execute that. I'm not saying that poor execution of plays doesn't hurt the team, but it can't always be the only/primary reason. I thought Iowa lost to Northwestern last year because they were the better team - they had better players than Iowa, and Iowa had no answer for them most of the time.
DP5555
Well-Known Member
To be fair, failing to execute can also be applied to the coaches. So unless he's specifically pointing out execution on the players part it doesn't mean he's isn't shouldering some of the blame as well when he uses that as an excuse. If Greg Davis only calls one or two plays a game that present a deep threat to the defense then that's a lack of execution on his part. If the defensive front four isn't getting any pressure on the QB then Phil Parker needs to make adjustments that will. If he fails to do that then it's a lack of execution on his part. If Iowa gets the ball with two minutes to go in the first half, and Ferentz decides to run out the clock then that's a lack of execution on his part. You see where I'm going with this...
The coaches have acknowledged since last season that they understood they needed to make some changes. Especially so on offense. We'll see how serious they are about making those changes when the first game arrives. Let's not jump to conclusions until we see it in action.
The coaches have acknowledged since last season that they understood they needed to make some changes. Especially so on offense. We'll see how serious they are about making those changes when the first game arrives. Let's not jump to conclusions until we see it in action.
FreedComanche
Banned
I would definitely think that a coach who has been around for forty years (g. davis) would completely realize he's gotta make some good changes that the players can catch on to fast after one of the worst offensive showings in team history. But hey, you'd think he would have done something after the offense started going down hill last year. He did not make any changes that made a difference.
FreedComanche
I often wondered last season if the Greg Davis passing offense is so difficult to install that our pre-med qb couldn't master it why they didn't just break it down to its most simple form and go with that. After all hasn't that been Kfs m.o. ? Keep everything simple so the players can play fast and have a better chance to execute
