Greg Davis Transcript 4/11

[hogeye]

I think CJ is in for a huge year thanks in part to GD.

I would argue that CJ is in for a huge year largely in part to CJ. Toward the end of last season he had shown that he finally come to terms with what it took to earn a starting role and to be productive. Largely admitting that he had been somewhat lazy and had some self-entitlement issues. We saw a little glimpse of what he could do toward the end of last season after he had changed his tune, so my guess is if he's remained steady he was in for a big year in 2012 regardless.

I certainly hope you're right that GD utilizes him. I am not sure Texas every really implemented a strong TE passing option in their offense and I think we will need to do this.

 

[JugadorHawk]

One of the biggest issues that has plagued our offense during Ferentz's tenure is the lack of adequate time management. I expect a Davis-coached offense to vastly improve in this department, and if not then brace yourselves for more frustrating moments.

 

[SpiderRico]

The one thing I took away from his presser was his obvious disappointment in our lack of speed at the WR position. He mentioned it at least 2 times....maybe more.

And he's right.

I'm hoping this can be addressed via recruiting over the next couple of years because it's something that's sorely lacking and desperately needed!

 

[hogeye]

Welcome to recruiting in Iowa.

 

[olddude]

I wonder if he is talking flat out speed, or quickness. Marvin ran a 4.54 40, and the fastest recorded by lasers ( since 1999) was a 4.24 (in 1999) and the most recent being a 4.28 in 2011. 4.4 to 4.5 seems to be about the norm and unless we have lasers in Iowa city, I don't think you could get an accurate enough time to say we are way slower. Infact, I think Randy Moss ran around a 4 to a 4.4 and he is pretty fast. All this assumes there was not a huge drop off after Marvin.
I think he is talking burst. Infact I would bet on it. So again I ask are we running more s&a drills this year? We really need to do so on both sides, for all these changes to have max sucess.

 

[ThunderDunk]

The one thing I took away from his presser was his obvious disappointment in our lack of speed at the WR position. He mentioned it at least 2 times....maybe more.

And he's right.

I'm hoping this can be addressed via recruiting over the next couple of years because it's something that's sorely lacking and desperately needed!

I agree. It was nice to hear a coach acknowledge this. While we've had fast guys over the years our collective team speed has been lacking, especially at WR. I also think this is something that can be stressed in conditioning. Sure Doyle can't transform someone into Usain Bolt but a half stride faster might mean a completed fade pass rather than a broken up fade pass.

 

[hogeye]

Bear in mind that they mentioned addressing this issue specifically in recruiting. You can talk all day about developing speed in the conditioning program, but by and large you can drastically change a teams speed through conditioning. I think it's more the fact that in the previous offense they weren't as focused on speed players. If we're looking at doing more screen passes and spreading the offense out then it makes sense to recruit heavier for speed at the WR position than what has previously been required.

 

[austinhawk]

Davis will be the man who gets us "over the hump". Outstanding hire! Iowa will win Big 10 within 3 years. Quote me!!

 

[olddude]

Bear in mind that they mentioned addressing this issue specifically in recruiting. You can talk all day about developing speed in the conditioning program, but by and large you can drastically change a teams speed through conditioning. I think it's more the fact that in the previous offense they weren't as focused on speed players. If we're looking at doing more screen passes and spreading the offense out then it makes sense to recruit heavier for speed at the WR position than what has previously been required.

It depends what you call drastically. Is a few 10th's drastic enough? Most are in the 4's and only seperated by 10th's, in the first place. So if you can shave a few 10th's off, that seems pretty drastic to me. Over a 40 it may not seem like a lot, but to shave those 10ths off you need burst more then anything else.

 

[hogeye]

It depends what you call drastically. Is a few 10th's drastic enough? Most are in the 4's and only seperated by 10th's, in the first place. So if you can shave a few 10th's off, that seems pretty drastic to me. Over a 40 it may not seem like a lot, but to shave those 10ths off you need burst more then anything else.

A few tenths on a 40 time is drastic for athletes that are already in top shape, yes. Believe me, I was there once and I know what it takes to shave a few tenths of a second off and retain it.

However, my point is just point out that he specifically said it's something the need to address in recruiting which tells me they don't believe the guys they have are inherently fast enough for what he wants to do.

 

[olddude]

A few tenths on a 40 time is drastic for athletes that are already in top shape, yes. Believe me, I was there once and I know what it takes to shave a few tenths of a second off and retain it.

However, my point is just point out that he specifically said it's something the need to address in recruiting which tells me they don't believe the guys they have are inherently fast enough for what he wants to do.

I am not disagreeing, I just hope the players take it as a challege. I know players have lowered their 40 time after getting drafted, so to think the kids are maxed out is not acceptable. They need to see it as a challege and really push themselves this summer.

 

[Foval21]

a few tenths of a second is a lot. a few 100ths of a second isnt.

example:
10ths - 4.6 dropped to 4.4

100ths - 4.54 dropped to 4.51

major differences there. our receivers are fast enough they arent that quick off the line or incredibly precise with routes. even mcnutt who was great was slow off the los and ran average route precision.

 

[olddude]

a few tenths of a second is a lot. a few 100ths of a second isnt.

example:
10ths - 4.6 dropped to 4.4

100ths - 4.54 dropped to 4.51

major differences there. our receivers are fast enough they arent that quick off the line or incredibly precise with routes. even mcnutt who was great was slow off the los and ran average route precision.

I agree and that is why I think GD is talking about burst speed. The good thing is the better burst speed, it lowers your 40 time.
Flip side is playing cushion. We need to work on burst speed to really get max sucess out of the changes they are talking about on both sides. If the kids are maxed out, they are, but that does not mean we should not be pushing to see if they can get faster. THAT burst speed can be changed in as little time as from now to fall and if it is, you can see line up changes. THAT is what the players need to understand.

 

[bitmap]

I wonder if he is talking flat out speed, or quickness. Marvin ran a 4.54 40, and the fastest recorded by lasers ( since 1999) was a 4.24 (in 1999) and the most recent being a 4.28 in 2011. 4.4 to 4.5 seems to be about the norm and unless we have lasers in Iowa city, I don't think you could get an accurate enough time to say we are way slower. Infact, I think Randy Moss ran around a 4 to a 4.4 and he is pretty fast. All this assumes there was not a huge drop off after Marvin.
I think he is talking burst. Infact I would bet on it. So again I ask are we running more s&a drills this year? We really need to do so on both sides, for all these changes to have max sucess.

Let's look at the difference between Moss and Marvin to see what the difference might mean.

.14 seconds @ 18 mph is ~3.8 feet in a head to head sprint @ 40 yards.

Is that significant enough for good separation from a defender?

If all plays happened at 40 yards from the LS then yes.

Against a defense don't forget that the DBs start off backpeddling so the gap may be even larger unless a defender is faster in some manner.

Mitigating factors include reach, vertical jumping ability, soft hands, cutting ability, and instantaneous acceleration, what some (including me) call football speed and what I think you mean by "quickness", others "explosiveness" etc...

There are guys like Wegher, and hopefully Garmon, who seem to be able to get a step or two on a defender. Their terminal speed may be the same, but the 1 or 2 steps that overcome inertia lag seem to make the difference. If the defender has a higher terminal speed then he will eventually catch the receiver/carrier, but not before some positive yardage is gained.

Marvin has very high terminal speed because of his very long stride. When he catches the ball in the open field, he's gone. In coverage it's his other factors that make him a good receiver. Moss is more of a break away guy, he seems to be able to get a step or two on a defender and maintain that separation after catching the ball.

I think GD wants break away speed guys that have the ability to get past defenders quickly on the outside and then let the play develop after they have the ball.

That would be a paradigm shift for Iowa, where the model has been to let the play develop and then move the ball.

 

[hogeye]

The other thing you have to bear in mind is that 40 speed doesn't necessarily correlate to game speed. People put way too much emphasis on 40 times in general when it comes to football.

 

[hawkfan1319]

Idk maybe he is just commenting on how we used our WR in our O in previous years. How you construct an offense can affect the speed and productivity of your players. The guys we have are used to playing a unproductive way in his opinion and he is chalking up to improving speed in the offense on a whole.

 

[aeischeid]

The other thing you have to bear in mind is that 40 speed doesn't necessarily correlate to game speed. People put way too much emphasis on 40 times in general when it comes to football.

Cosign this.

 

[olddude]

The other thing you have to bear in mind is that 40 speed doesn't necessarily correlate to game speed. People put way too much emphasis on 40 times in general when it comes to football.

40 speed is a very good indicator of burst speed, or quickness, or closing speed, however you want to say it.
In short distance torque equals speed. Every engineer, motor head and trainer knows that.
Seems maybe we need to work on the torque a little more. It won't matter who we recruit, we are going to have to focus a little more on torque, may as well get started now huh? Could'nt hurt.

 

[rjbaustian]

The other thing you have to bear in mind is that 40 speed doesn't necessarily correlate to game speed. People put way too much emphasis on 40 times in general when it comes to football.

Couldnt agree more! See "Paul Chaney Jr"

 

[FBletterman]

Interesting to note how GD mentioned that the play book didn't change because of a specific skill set a QB had, but that it was more about emphasis of which plays they used. Meaning... the play book didn't change, just what they called from the book did. Wonder how many that complained about Iowa's philosophy never changing caught that?

Its not that any ones play book needs to change. If you looked at KOK playbook in it's entirety you would find plays that attack every possible scenario. D1 College playbooks are very diverse. But, you will find Offensive Coordinators get into a routine and almost exclusively utilize perhaps only 40% of the plays that they have in the arsenal.

Two different coordinators could use the same playbook and look completely different depending on preferences.