Great Article on Ferentz and close losses
- Thread starter HaydenHawk56
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NewMexHawk
Well-Known Member
Very good article. It seems Iowa's emperor has no clothes on.
Here we have a coach and staff who want to play close games and have no clue how to win the games. If Iowa is in a close game, turn out the lights boys and girls. You might as well turn the tv off because they are going to lose three out of four of the close games. This is the coaching we get for $3.8 million a hear. What a fraud of a coach we have.
When you think about it, it is pretty funny. We have a coaching staff who want to be in close games yet have no idea how to win close games. That is pathetic when you think about it. Maybe one day, fans will quit buying into the hype of KF dialog and recognize his style of coaching for the fraud he is.
Here we have a coach and staff who want to play close games and have no clue how to win the games. If Iowa is in a close game, turn out the lights boys and girls. You might as well turn the tv off because they are going to lose three out of four of the close games. This is the coaching we get for $3.8 million a hear. What a fraud of a coach we have.
When you think about it, it is pretty funny. We have a coaching staff who want to be in close games yet have no idea how to win close games. That is pathetic when you think about it. Maybe one day, fans will quit buying into the hype of KF dialog and recognize his style of coaching for the fraud he is.
Firehawk11
Well-Known Member
I think they should have taken 1999 and 2000 out of the equation. Was not necessarily completely fair.
It impacts the results a little, but not much. 1999 we were 0-4 in games decided by less than 8 points. The other 6 losses were by more. In 2000 we were 2-3.
So let's say KF is 86-41 since 2001. Then subtract the 4 1-possession losses from '99 and the 2-3 from 2000 and we are 24-25 (.489) since 2001. We'd jump from 8th to 6th place in that scenario. We'd also jump from 6th to 4th in total percentage (.677). It still shows there is a variance between winning in total and the close games.
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To call people who support Ferentz Zombies is stupid. Do i disagree with some of his decisions, and think he needs to get better at clock management? Yes. That said, there are a lot of things that he does better than almost any other coach...namely coach players to block and tackle and learn the fundamentals, and turn undersized guys into stars.
Yes, this years team is struggling on all of those fronts, but that happens to every team every few years. Our defense has historically been ranked at the top of the nation. Look at how flexible he has been over the years changing the offense for Drew Tate when we had no running backs, for Nathan Chandler....ect....
yes, there are frustrations. But I'll take all the good that goes along with those.
Yes, this years team is struggling on all of those fronts, but that happens to every team every few years. Our defense has historically been ranked at the top of the nation. Look at how flexible he has been over the years changing the offense for Drew Tate when we had no running backs, for Nathan Chandler....ect....
yes, there are frustrations. But I'll take all the good that goes along with those.
I'm specifically referring to the people who attack you if you criticize him and make comments like, "go be a Badgers fan"
Our defense has been ranked high because of the pace and style of play we implement. We slow the game down on both fronts (running the ball on offense and playing a soft zone bend don't break on defense). This doesn't allow for many points to be scored or given up. KOK probably receives excessive criticism for this while Norm unfairly gets a pass.
Our defense also couldn't come through in multiple situations when we held leads late in games last season with very talented players. No reason a team with 3 NFL caliber linemen, Edds, Sash, Greenwood and Prater shouldn't be able to prevent that. The talent was there, but the coaching wasn't.
silvanthalas
Well-Known Member
While our offense under Ferentz has been ranked in the bottom half if not flat out near the bottom.
But what this coaching staff fails to recognize is that you ARE allowed to have both a good defense and a good offense. Instead, our coaches seem to do everything they can to castrate the offense, and thus success on offense seems to happen by accident ("Holloway all the way") or only when absolutely necessary (last second win at MSU).
Since the ISU game last weekend and OSU in '09 were not absolutely necessary situations to win, we sent out the eunuchs.
Worse, the defense is failing again and again to hold leads... and that's the side of the ball that the coaches actually trust to win games. So what happens when you constantly refuse to let the offense win and instead put the onus on a defense that can't it done? Close loss after blown lead after close loss.
Btw, this article is AWESOME, and the summary in the final paragraph is so spot on that Ferentz should have it tattooed to his forehead.
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PJHawk
Well-Known Member
Hard to argue with this as their data supports it:
The conclusion is that, contrary to popular opinion as spun by Kirk Ferentz, Iowa is not especially good in close games; quite to the contrary, given their status in the Big Ten and college football as a whole, they are extraordinarily bad.
Here's another very sad statistic: That game (2005 Northwestern) set of a string of late-game futility that continues to this day; since that loss, Iowa is just 3/14 on late-game offense, while allowing opponents to score on 6 of 10 attempts.
The conclusion is that, contrary to popular opinion as spun by Kirk Ferentz, Iowa is not especially good in close games; quite to the contrary, given their status in the Big Ten and college football as a whole, they are extraordinarily bad.
Here's another very sad statistic: That game (2005 Northwestern) set of a string of late-game futility that continues to this day; since that loss, Iowa is just 3/14 on late-game offense, while allowing opponents to score on 6 of 10 attempts.
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This happens on every board. If you critique anything about ISU, you're told that you're just a closet Hawkeye fan.
Every message board seems to be "group think" versus "dooms day'ers". There is little in between.
83Hawk
Banned
That article should be required reading for every Ferentz bootlicker.
I appreciate all Kirk has done for the program...but if this trend continues, it does not bode well for Hawkeye football.
I think Kirk is smart enough to make the necessary changes. But I have my doubts that he is willing to.
I appreciate all Kirk has done for the program...but if this trend continues, it does not bode well for Hawkeye football.
I think Kirk is smart enough to make the necessary changes. But I have my doubts that he is willing to.
I still remember leading Northwestern by...what...10, last season? I remember telling people that even 10 points was not nearly enough with how much time we had left. Sure enough, jNW came back...again...to beat us....again.
KF is content with 7-10 point leads, but needs to realize that our defenses aren't nearly as good as he imagines them to be, especially late in games. And while the Hawks are on offense, opposing coaches know Ferentz will never go for it on 4th and 1, or do anything with the ball on the closing minutes of a half/game (unless, inexplicably, we are winning by a huge margin...MSU 2010).
Iowa's whole game plan is, in one word, predictable. Dan Persa said last season that preparing for Iowa was easy, because they knew exactly what we were going to do. Pretty sure most of our opponents feel the same way.
KF is content with 7-10 point leads, but needs to realize that our defenses aren't nearly as good as he imagines them to be, especially late in games. And while the Hawks are on offense, opposing coaches know Ferentz will never go for it on 4th and 1, or do anything with the ball on the closing minutes of a half/game (unless, inexplicably, we are winning by a huge margin...MSU 2010).
Iowa's whole game plan is, in one word, predictable. Dan Persa said last season that preparing for Iowa was easy, because they knew exactly what we were going to do. Pretty sure most of our opponents feel the same way.
PatrickAdamovicz
Well-Known Member
Wow, what a great article. Some solid, solid facts in that. I love Ferentz, however I don't follow him blindly, but I would like to see those that think he has no flaws and is above criticism to respond to that article.
KCHawkeyes
Well-Known Member
How do these quotes from Kirk match up?
Q. It’s been a lot of second-guessing this week –
COACH FERENTZ: Really?
Q. With the last series of regulation, the 4th and 1 in overtime. Can you run through those maybe one more time?
COACH FERENTZ: Really, what do you want to know?
Q. On the road, is it your idea to play for overtime?
COACH FERENTZ: Our idea is to win the game typically. That’s what we’re thinking, home or away.
Q. And then the 4th and 1, once you have that, driving the decision there, is it getting points simply at that point? An empty possession overtime is probably dead.
COACH FERENTZ: Yeah, pretty much, yeah, and obviously I was banking on us being able to keep them out of the end zone. Knowing what I know now, I’d have done it differently for sure, yeah.
The only part of the following quote that makes any sense is the last part in bold.
COACH FERENTZ: Yeah, it's closer that way than 50, so you know, and I'm not minimizing that. But you know, one thing you want to do is just be careful about not oversimplifying what the issues are. Sometimes it's two minute drills. Sometimes it's two minutes defense. One minute. And then I'd also say, there have been a lot of games, a couple that are very prominent in my mind right now, and we'll share with the team. And a lot of times it's what you do in the first half. You squander some opportunities that are there for you, but you're not ready to go. And in the last two minutes you're thinking back to those first couple of series where you had where you just really did a poor job. You know, we wouldn't be in this situation right now if we had done better there. And I can think of two games right off the top of my head like that. So it's, and there are a lot of things that go into it. But I can tell you we've spent a lot of time this season looking at that. And clearly, we have to do better. And you know, from every standpoint, coaching and playing, it's critical.
So Kirk has worked all off season on this and all he can come up with is 3 running plays with 1:17 to go. I just want to see improvement; I am not looking for the Run n Shoot. That and be a little less condescending when someone questions your lack of game management skills.
Q. It’s been a lot of second-guessing this week –
COACH FERENTZ: Really?
Q. With the last series of regulation, the 4th and 1 in overtime. Can you run through those maybe one more time?
COACH FERENTZ: Really, what do you want to know?
Q. On the road, is it your idea to play for overtime?
COACH FERENTZ: Our idea is to win the game typically. That’s what we’re thinking, home or away.
Q. And then the 4th and 1, once you have that, driving the decision there, is it getting points simply at that point? An empty possession overtime is probably dead.
COACH FERENTZ: Yeah, pretty much, yeah, and obviously I was banking on us being able to keep them out of the end zone. Knowing what I know now, I’d have done it differently for sure, yeah.
The only part of the following quote that makes any sense is the last part in bold.
COACH FERENTZ: Yeah, it's closer that way than 50, so you know, and I'm not minimizing that. But you know, one thing you want to do is just be careful about not oversimplifying what the issues are. Sometimes it's two minute drills. Sometimes it's two minutes defense. One minute. And then I'd also say, there have been a lot of games, a couple that are very prominent in my mind right now, and we'll share with the team. And a lot of times it's what you do in the first half. You squander some opportunities that are there for you, but you're not ready to go. And in the last two minutes you're thinking back to those first couple of series where you had where you just really did a poor job. You know, we wouldn't be in this situation right now if we had done better there. And I can think of two games right off the top of my head like that. So it's, and there are a lot of things that go into it. But I can tell you we've spent a lot of time this season looking at that. And clearly, we have to do better. And you know, from every standpoint, coaching and playing, it's critical.
So Kirk has worked all off season on this and all he can come up with is 3 running plays with 1:17 to go. I just want to see improvement; I am not looking for the Run n Shoot. That and be a little less condescending when someone questions your lack of game management skills.
