Gronowki's 4 interceptions this year

AreWeThereYet

AreWeThereYet

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Gronowki's 4 interceptions this year

Week Two - Iowa @ Iowa State
2nd quarter, 5th drive, 2nd play of drive
2nd & 12 at Iowa 33
Wetjen lost his footing coming out of the break on a comeback route down the right side. The defender cut in front of him for the interception.
Result - Iowa State TD on next drive - 5 plays from Iowa 18.

Week Five - Indiana @ Iowa
1st quarter, 1st drive, 2nd play of drive
2nd & 9 at Iowa 26
Deflection off of blitzing linebacker lined up off of right edge.
Gronowski's pass attempt to right sideline was very late and into double coverage.
Result - Indiana TD on next drive - 2 play drive from Iowa 24.

Week Seven - Iowa @ Wisconsin
1st quarter, 5th drive, 1st play of drive
1st and 10 at Iowa 39
Underthrown deep pass down the left sideline into double coverage. Intercepted behind receiver.
Result - Wisconsin fumble two plays later

Week Eight - Penn State @ Iowa
1st quarter, 1st drive, 3rd play of drive
3rd and 7 at Iowa 28
A little late on the throw. Deflection by CB who got there from behind, before the ball.
Result - Penn State TD on next drive - 10 play drive

For reference I will also add:
Mark Gronowski - 2025 NCAAF Splits

There seem to be some interesting quarter-by-quarter trends in the splits.
 




Only 4 picks through 7 games is facially pretty good, but then you realize he only throws the ball about 12 times a game. In addition to the picks, he is wildly inaccurate on a lot of throws, especially early in the game and from the pocket. Lester is a great OC, but his early game scripting has left something to be desired. They need to run Gron early and get him some contact to calm him down, and any throws early should not be from the pocket. Ease him into the playbook with things he is good at.
 


Well he doesn't turn it over in the 2nd halves of games when the game is on the line anyway. The one against PSU I thought Gill shoulda had it but he tried to pin it to his shoulder instead of catching it with his hands in front of him. But regardless first half TOs aren't the end of the world if you limit them like they have.

The blocked 66 yd fg to me is the worst TO of all time in the sense of what it ended up being. PSU got 14 straight points on us without Iowa having possession of the ball again. For Iowa to overcome that when being down 11 halfway through the 3rd q is as impressive of a win as we've had in awhile.
 


NorthKCHawk said:
Only 4 picks through 7 games is facially pretty good, but then you realize he only throws the ball about 12 times a game. In addition to the picks, he is wildly inaccurate on a lot of throws, especially early in the game and from the pocket. Lester is a great OC, but his early game scripting has left something to be desired. They need to run Gron early and get him some contact to calm him down, and any throws early should not be from the pocket. Ease him into the playbook with things he is good at.
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This is a way bigger issue then what picks he's thrown just due to the volume of how many he's missed. I totally agree. When you can't hit the layups and open receivers it just kills an offense. Iowa is so good at running the ball and putting defenses in tough spots with our formations sometimes that if only they could hit some of those open plays downfield more it'd be ridiculous how much tougher they'd be to defend.

Due to this at this point in the season teams are going to defend Iowa similarly to how they did last yr and make them play in a phone booth. So far we've been doing ok but it can get harder to do consistently with stacked boxes and exotic blitzes. When it comes to 3rd downs the only thing I feel better about this yr compared to last yr is that our QB can run. That's huge don't get me wrong but there's a bit of a limit to what that can do for us too when there's still no passing game to speak of.
 


Hawkfnntn said:
This is a way bigger issue then what picks he's thrown just due to the volume of how many he's missed. I totally agree. When you can't hit the layups and open receivers it just kills an offense. Iowa is so good at running the ball and putting defenses in tough spots with our formations sometimes that if only they could hit some of those open plays downfield more it'd be ridiculous how much tougher they'd be to defend.

Due to this at this point in the season teams are going to defend Iowa similarly to how they did last yr and make them play in a phone booth. So far we've been doing ok but it can get harder to do consistently with stacked boxes and exotic blitzes. When it comes to 3rd downs the only thing I feel better about this yr compared to last yr is that our QB can run. That's huge don't get me wrong but there's a bit of a limit to what that can do for us too when there's still no passing game to speak of.
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Agreed. That is the biggest issue. Make the other pass plays. The misses and overthrows make the picks more glaring. But again, my hope is we eventually hit those big passes. The catch by Howard vs Rutgers was beautiful, and needed. Gronk has to show the opposing defense that he is capable of hitting those passes to keep them honest. Even some quick hitters and shorter routes would help. But you hit a chunk pass play early, it changes how a defense plays you. Furthermore, if there some semblance of a consistent passing game (short or long) it will benefit the run game and the offense as a hole.
 


HawkPowerlifter said:
Agreed. That is the biggest issue. Make the other pass plays. The misses and overthrows make the picks more glaring. But again, my hope is we eventually hit those big passes. The catch by Howard vs Rutgers was beautiful, and needed. Gronk has to show the opposing defense that he is capable of hitting those passes to keep them honest. Even some quick hitters and shorter routes would help. But you hit a chunk pass play early, it changes how a defense plays you. Furthermore, if there some semblance of a consistent passing game (short or long) it will benefit the run game and the offense as a hole.
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I was so hopeful that was going to be a sign of things to come... But it really hasn't. I'm a proponent of you gotta take a shot within you're first 3 possessions. You gotta show the D that you have it in your playbook anyway that with certain looks you'll take a shot. Doesn't have to be a 40 plus yard bomb like that was but 20 plus for sure. When defenses can play man or a really short compressed zone on you and keep those LBs and safeties in the box it just makes running what you want in the run game that much tougher.
 


NorthKCHawk said:
Only 4 picks through 7 games is facially pretty good, but then you realize he only throws the ball about 12 times a game. In addition to the picks, he is wildly inaccurate on a lot of throws, especially early in the game and from the pocket. Lester is a great OC, but his early game scripting has left something to be desired. They need to run Gron early and get him some contact to calm him down, and any throws early should not be from the pocket. Ease him into the playbook with things he is good at.
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He's actually throwing a lot more than it looks on the surface. What concerns me is how this one last game has everyone saying he needs to do everything with his feet because of the 130 yds. Those yards came on 2 plays, one of which was busted and one where all 11 defenders bit on a fake hand off.

His 10 rushing TDs is pretty outstanding though, and to me shows he can make 1st downs out of 3rd downs and get the ball in the EZ where we haven't been able to do that since 2016.

I will add...we don't need big QB runs or lots of yards. We need to keep the ball moving and create first downs. MG adds another dimension to being able to do that that we haven't had in forever.

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I will echo, ANY WAY we can at this point. I could care less about passing stats and etc. We score points and extend drives, that is what matters to me. Sure, much like has been said, at least showing some competency in the passing game will only help our running game and offense.
 


NorthKCHawk said:
Only 4 picks through 7 games is facially pretty good, but then you realize he only throws the ball about 12 times a game. In addition to the picks, he is wildly inaccurate on a lot of throws, especially early in the game and from the pocket. Lester is a great OC, but his early game scripting has left something to be desired. They need to run Gron early and get him some contact to calm him down, and any throws early should not be from the pocket. Ease him into the playbook with things he is good at.
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TD/INT is a key stat. MG is 3/4. Not good. He throws some nice balls but is often late with his decisions.
 


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