Ferentz on the run game

HawkeyeTech said:
Kirk elaborates on the reason Iowa's run game has struggled in the last few years in this Chad Leistekow interview. He makes a lot of sense and indicates Iowa's blocking scheme may change. Lots of other good stuff in the interview.

https://www.hawkcentral.com/story/s...IvVEHy20HkkjgGzqkONmsbhml0Hc28hmVHMtLyPDpxIAw
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I was thinking about this when I was reading this article the other day.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id...est-rushing-teams-why-zone-blocking-here-stay
 
"The margins are thin." this is why kirk has been the overriding reason, in my opinion, of why we have so many shoulda, coulda, woulda seasons. kirk WANTS games to come down to the final possession because that means he's been able to manage the game. you can still manage a blowout win.

“Certainly you want to aspire to be a champion,” Ferentz says. “But being a champion is about more than what happens on the scoreboard. It’s what you’re doing, the approach you take.

“The reality is, six teams are going to go home unhappy every fall on both sides of the (Big Ten). If you can’t find some peace with that, that’s just the way it’s going to be. So, you have to learn about how to deal with that.”

in the first paragraph, he describes the mentality of the players/coaches in the program. for them it is a journey. for the fans, it's about results. his statement leaves the fans out of it. there wouldn't be a single game played in kinnick if zero fans showed up. in fact, there wouldn't be a kinnick stadium.

in the second paragraph he states the truth. but what we at iowa have had to endure is missed chances, lost opportunities where we didn't perform in a given game or instance and we've been one of the 6. it's the same truth for WUs, yet, they rarely have been one of the 6.
 
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I have to admit that I didnt think that cut block rule change would or might have that much affect on the Iowa run game but it really has according to Kirk. All those blocks over the years must have meant a lot of blocks were from the side or even slightly from behind which used to be OK inside the so called tackle to tackle box. But not now and some of those reach blocks probably are no longer being made. Maybe Kirk can get a little relaxation of this rule.

And I also agree that even if the process of getting your team to try their best is important it does come back to winning championships and the hawks need to start doing that. The fans got the taste of being great in 2015 and almost getting to that CFPlayoff.
 
We'll i'm not going to second guess Kirk about the impact the rules have hand on Iowa's blocking scheme. However I am wondering if those rules have hurt other teams as much as Iowa. I get the impression that other teams have not been hurt nearly as much as Iowa. We know that Iowa isn't the only team that employs zone blocking.
 
Stuff in the interview to agree with. Some to disagree with.

He acknowledged leaving games on the table.

His stubborness seems to come out.

My guess he s got one more major run left.

Two things come to mind.

The weight program good and bad and cut blocking had a lot to do with his successes and failures. He likely was and is a good enough coach not to allow either to get in the way.

I did read an article a number of years ago criticizing Iowa NFL O linemen on fundamentals. My guess is the cutback was what they were referring too. The article didnt go into that. Never made sense to me. Maybe this was it.
 
I think another difference is that they guys they mentioned in the article that were successful RB's in the system were guys that were able to get the corner when it was given to them and were able to run inside when it was there and teams couldn't just take away one thing or the other.

With Iowa's RB's the past few years, they haven't had a guy that can do both. I think this is why Goodson has been so successful so far, because he's the closest we've had to being able to do both. He can get the edge and can run with a little power, but it's not quite there yet. No doubt the off-season will help him become a more powerful runner and with that speed, he's going to be another one of those guys that can really dominate a game.
 
Line I caught most from the article: if we win tonight it will represent the most wins in a 5 year span in program history. (yes I know a lot of things go into that more games and all). you can also tell he really wants to win a rose bowl.
 
One thing I've noticed over the years, is that KFz really knows the rules of the game. (jokes about clock management aside). It's not uncommon to see him debating a nuance with an official (not just losing his sh**, like some coaches). Whether is the definition of chop block or the opposing offense getting away with a covered receiver remaining eligible...he really knows what he's seeing on the field.
 
hawkdrummer1 said:
One thing I've noticed over the years, is that KFz really knows the rules of the game. (jokes about clock management aside). It's not uncommon to see him debating a nuance with an official (not just losing his sh**, like some coaches). Whether is the definition of chop block or the opposing offense getting away with a covered receiver remaining eligible...he really knows what he's seeing on the field.
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And one would think a coach that's been around as long as he has would. Those are the things they (HCs) should have down. I mean even the PJ Flecks and Scott Frosts should but they probably don't. They try and hire folks on their staffs that might. But I'd bet you there's a heck of a lot of those nuances to the game that KF is very well versed on. The whole illegal man downfield when it comes to delayed screen passes and how far downfield lineman wander and WRs blocking before passes are thrown and turn into a pick play/pass interference are things that tend to go on a lot now. There's a heck of a lot more then just holding and the obvious going on out there they all are looking for to get an edge out there.
 
Offensive S&P Breakdown by FBS rank (higher is better)
S&Poff - S&P+ Offense
SD - calculation of Standard Down S&P+
PD - calculation of Passing Down S&P+
OFEI - Offensive Fremeau Efficiency Index - another per down efficiency index separate from S&P+ calculations (for comparison)

Code: 
Year OFEI S&Poff RushS&P PassS&P SD    PD
2019  60    71
2018  47    54     122    39    103    51
2017  45    70      90    32     72    37
2016  73    68      31    86     39   106
2015  61    63      47    57     96    16
2014  70    45     110    62     93    86
2013  78    58      76    66     67   104
2012 112    97      95   118    102   123
2011  32    36      55    55     49    61
2010  42    19      54    23     14    84
2009  86    72     103    41     75    54
2008  38    11      15    28     11    79
2007  99    82      85    115     85  118
2006        27      34    42     37    25
2005        13      33    40     26    34

Iowa's rush S&P and SD(standard down) averages plummeted for 2017and 2018. This year much the same is expected. That may in part reflect what Kirk Ferentz is saying about the change in cut blocking rules affecting zone blocking. That being said, the over all numbers tend to show that Iowa's running game was merely adequate to poor most years from 2009 onward, with 2016 being the best year during that span. The one outstanding year for Iowa's running game was with Shaun Greene in 2008 behind a very good run blocking line. 2005 & 2006 were decent years efficiency wise for the running game, 2016 had more explosiveness.

S&P ratings are based on per play measure of efficiency & explosiveness, that are then opponent adjusted. (There are also some situational numbers figured in)

Note: The breakdown numbers for S&P+are not posted publicly until some time after the end of the year.
 
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Defensive FEI and S&P+ Rankings by FBS standing
S&Pdef - S&P+ Defense
Rush - Rushing S&P+
Pass - Passing S&P+
SD - Standard Down S&P+
PD - Passing Down S&P+
DFEI - Defensive Fremeau Efficiency Index - another per down efficiency index separate from S&P+ calculations (for comparison)

Code: 
Year  DFEI  S&Pdef Rush  Pass   SD   PD
2019    7     5
2018    7     18    22    23    20   19
2017    12    21    47    28    35   44
2016    21    18    30    35    35   27
2015    26    28    36    52    39   49
2014    50    48    46    43    39   91
2013    11     5     6    13     7   19
2012    43    37    26    82    37   85
2011    62    26    29    80    35   72
2010    11    30    15    18    18   36
2009     7     5    19     1     2   12
2008    14     4     5    11    24    2
2007    34    17     8    40    17   38
2006          35    23    40    19   73
2005          27    11    52    22   41

Checked the numbers again. They look right.

I don't think I'll try doing that on the fly again. That didn't go smoothly.
 
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Wonder if he new rules have impacted other zone running teams.... I'm thinking of Michigan State and Georgia. I'd think of Alabama and LSU but they evolved and just moved on...a lot easier for them
 
uihawk82 said:
I have to admit that I didnt think that cut block rule change would or might have that much affect on the Iowa run game but it really has according to Kirk. All those blocks over the years must have meant a lot of blocks were from the side or even slightly from behind which used to be OK inside the so called tackle to tackle box. But not now and some of those reach blocks probably are no longer being made. Maybe Kirk can get a little relaxation of this rule.

And I also agree that even if the process of getting your team to try their best is important it does come back to winning championships and the hawks need to start doing that. The fans got the taste of being great in 2015 and almost getting to that CFPlayoff.
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Dude. Quit bringing up the 15 playoff. They were exposed as a complete and total fraud against stanford when they finally played someone out of conference. They were not a top 4 team. Give me a break
 
NCHawker said:
Wonder if he new rules have impacted other zone running teams.... I'm thinking of Michigan State and Georgia. I'd think of Alabama and LSU but they evolved and just moved on...a lot easier for them
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I believe Michigan State does a lot of outside zone and pin & pull on the inside mixed with inside zone.

Their Offensive S&P+ and Rushing S&P+ ranks
2014 12 21
2015 30 90
2016 55 45
2017 72 76
2018 112 112
2019 90 ?

They've kind of fallen off too.
 
oldhawk12 said:
Dude. Quit bringing up the 15 playoff. They were exposed as a complete and total fraud against stanford when they finally played someone out of conference. They were not a top 4 team. Give me a break
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Your attempts at posting are a complete and total fraud. I don't recall one person saying we would have beat Alabama in 2015 had we made the CFP. We might not have belonged on the same field with them. But teams that make the playoffs, or NY Six bowls, are not frauds. That had to win several big games to get to that position in the first place.
 
NCHawker said:
Wonder if he new rules have impacted other zone running teams.... I'm thinking of Michigan State and Georgia. I'd think of Alabama and LSU but they evolved and just moved on...a lot easier for them
Click to expand...

Georgia's running game was having problems until Jim Chaney came in as offensive coordinator in 2015. He started working in quite a bit of split zone blocking on the inside with a good deal of success. He also ran some RPO out of the pistol formation.

Here is a write up on Jim Chaney's Split Zone blocking schemes. https://www.rockytoptalk.com/2019/1...-chaney-offense-scheme-playbook-jeremy-pruitt
 
oldhawk12 said:
Dude. Quit bringing up the 15 playoff. They were exposed as a complete and total fraud against stanford when they finally played someone out of conference. They were not a top 4 team. Give me a break
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Iowa had already played 4 teams out of conference.
 
LGEND24 said:
Iowa had already played 4 teams out of conference.
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Lol, oh come on you know what he was getting at there. He was talking about quality out of conference teams.

I would say that year Iowa was at best the fourth or fifth best team in the Big Ten. If not for a totally brain fart move by Michigan’s punter we would have played Michigan in the championship game. Michigan was the best team in the East followed by Michigan State, Ohio State, and Penn State. Then Iowa and Wisconsin.

We only played one of the top four teams that year and lost. Then we get crushed as did MSU in our respective bowl games. That year did not leave a good impression of our conference.
 
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