Fryowa
Administrator
Nebraska fans are praying for a covid outbreak.
From the other board (Minny season is over).
- Thread starter HaydenHawk56
- Start date
Fryowa
Administrator
It took 4 field goals, 5 bad snaps, a muffed punt, and a fluky blown block by Farniok to beat a total shit nebraska team, led by a guy who went 18/20 passing against our Swiss cheese secondary.
I agree with most of your stuff, but you gotta put the paint fumes down.
HaydenHawk56
Well-Known Member
Fry, Iowa did win the Nebraska game didn't they? Quickly becoming their Superbowl. Sure, I thought Iowa would blow them out and yes it was an ugly win. At this point, imho, Iowa is playing the best ball in the West. 2 games from now could that look different...sure. But, look at Iowa's combined win total the last 4 games compared to the rest of the conference. Arguably, (besides Indiana or OSU) Iowa is playing the best ball in the league.
Iowa's QB.....now I would say that position is holding Iowa back. No argument there.
racerhawk
Well-Known Member
I'm not positive NW is better at this point. UW...who knows? I think UW is better, but this year is weird.
Fryowa
Administrator
We have a house of cards without a capable QB. He needs to be bailed out at all times by three things...1) the run game, 2) Iowa’s own defense, and 3) dumb mistakes by the other team. If one of those three things doesn’t go our way we’re done and that’s shown true so far.
Whereas a QB like Beathard was the opposite. He played complimentary football and a lot of times bailed a team out that wasn’t playing well. When we run into good teams that don’t make mistakes or they shut our ground game down, we don’t have any weapon to hurt that team through the air. Then the problem snowballs.
One-dimensional teams are not good, they’re lucky.
I was hoping Petras was the guy but it’s looking like maybe he might not be up to the task. I’m not ready to write the guy off yet and advocate for a switch, but if he has a couple more turd sandwiches this year it’d be hard not to think Hogan or Padilla should get the 1 reps first next spring.
Luckily this season is a totally meaningless mulligan where it’s not really hurting anything. The one good thing about covid has been that we got to test drive a brand new quarterback with no consequences.
MelroseHawkins
Well-Known Member
In all honesty, isn't this every QB and Iowa's game every year? Very rarely does Iowa have a dominant game changing QB.
Every year, Iowa and KF's best game plan is controlling the the line of scrimmage and time of possession with the running game and field position.
HaydenHawk56
Well-Known Member
Totally agree. Iowa is not perfect...lol. They certainly can be beaten on any given day with the QB problem. Fortunately, the staff and players had some coming together moment after the first 2 games....and most of the units on this team are playing at a more than competent level. That has a lot to do with why we have won the last 4 games.
Hopefully that continues. They should beat Illinois on paper, but you never know. Wisconsin has been our kryptonite, but maybe the worm turns this year. The staff needs to have game plans that put Petras into manageable situations and not putting it all on his shoulders. But, yes, Petras can lose us more games going forward and he is really yet to show he can go out and win a game in the clutch when he has to.
HuckFinn
Well-Known Member
Nope. Iowa is playing better than NW and Iowa will beat WI.
Isn't it Steve Deace that says "you can't hide your QB in college football" I think it's a spot on take. I mean you can kinda sometimes hide em against equal to/ inferior talent then you (when you get some of the other factors in the game to go your way be it calls/mistakes by the other team etc etc. But against good teams you can't really do that and be one dimensional. Like with NE their QBs aren't that great but they can also run. Ours can't... If his first read isn't open and he can't set his feet with a clear window it's a crapshoot to if Petras will put it on him. We've gotten away with hiding our QB this yr for the most part past our first two games. But that's the level of competition we've played against allowing for that. If we were playing OSU or other good teams Petras would only get more exposed
okeefe4prez
Well-Known Member
Another element on our side is that the season started late. It's easier to hide the QB in November and December in Big Ten country than anywhere else in the country. The weather helps the defense tremendously, particularly if you are stout against the run.
Fryowa
Administrator
That's the point though, the QB doesn't need to be dominant, just competent. Stanzi, Beathard and Tate were no Tom Bradys, but they could gut out tough games and make points when they needed to.
If our running game stumbles or the defense gives up a bunch of points, Petras doesn't look like a guy who has the ability to lead a drive down the field. He's got a very Jake Christensen, Scott Mullen-y vibe. A guy who's going to throw about as many INTs as touchdowns and just tries to keep his head above water, praying to god that Goodson and Nixon win a bunch of ballgames for him.
NCHawker
Well-Known Member
yep, just take a look at the 2019 final drive at Nebraska again on youtube. then ask, could this happen in 2020? answer is not likely.
HuckFinn
Well-Known Member
OK. But you watched Stanzi, Beathard, and Tate in numerous games over many years. You have seen Petras 6 times, during a preparation for an abbreviated season, and for a schedule of games that bears no logical resemblance to anything we have ever seen in the history of Iowa football. Oh. I forgot to ask. Were you around during the Second World War? That was pretty crazy for Iowa football, too.
Fryowa
Administrator
For the record I'm not saying I think Petras should be pulled. I am 100% not in favor of QB competitions mid season. It very rarely works out.
But if he goes 9 games with say, 6 touchdowns and 8 or 9 interceptions it's time to go back to the drawing board. Sometimes things just don't work out and that's ok.
okeefe4prez
Well-Known Member
But what if, hypothetically, he goes 9 games, finishes with a 7-2 record and beats OSU by a score of 9-7 in a blustery cold game in championship week while accumulating the stat line you mentioned?
Fryowa
Administrator
With that stat line, same thing.
Tom Brady wouldn't displace Petras cause he looks super duper in practice without all the pressure on him. Yeah there's sarcasm in that statement, but it's the Iowa way. Other teams may try 3 qb's in one game to see who rises to the challenge, it takes an injury at Iowa to see the next guys up.
Fryowa
Administrator
The downside outweighs the upside, imo.
If Ferentz pulls Petras and Padilla/Hogan stink the joint up even worse, now you've just lost the locker room. Doing that sends several different messages, none of them good...
Let's say that happens...KF pulls Petras and things get worse...
-It tells your team that you weren't a good enough coaching staff to correct the problem and had to make the last ditch effort of a person who doesn't know what else to do. It's like a shitty mechanic that you shouldn't take your car to. Instead of fixing the problem he just starts swapping parts because he doesn't have a clue. Nobody trusts that guy for a second.
-It tells your team that you weren't observant enough to see that the replacement wasn't any better.
-It causes your team to lose confidence in you and second guess your decisions going forward.
-Players and media start playing the blame game and you get a divisive locker room and a metric ton of distraction.
-What do you do, put the first guy back in? You think he's going to perform well knowing you don't have any confidence in him?
This season doesn't mean shit. It's the perfect time to give ol' Jerry Garcia a full test drive. Let it play out again next spring if he doesn't get better.
HuckFinn
Well-Known Member
Agreed. Right now this team has banded together to recover from 2 tough losses to put together 4 straight wins, including two on the road. And, we are lined up for a win this week on the road and a competitive matchup with our biggest rival. It would be flat out stupid to suggest that Petras’ is under fire from his coaches.,
