Have teams finally figured out Iowa’s once dominate defense???

Scott Leclair

Well-Known Member
Iowa and their pride and joy defense got embarrassed past 2 games. 250 plus rushing yards given up against minnesota. 270 plus passing yards against nebraska. What gives?
 
well even so we gave them the ball at the 10 yard line and the 40... that accounted for 10 of their points..

so without those bungles the defense does enough to win yet again.
 
losing cooper was huge. So TJ getting burnt, it happens. Plus the FG. But after that, The D should have been shut down. It’s almost as if Parker was shell shocked and didn’t adjust till the half. By then it was to late
 
Was at the game, and it was clear from the get-go that Nebraska felt they could throw the ball vs Iowa's D. Good reason to believe that, because Parker's 4-2-5 scheme has become very predictable. The holes in the zone coverages are always in the same place; the quick WR pass along the sideline is guaranteed to gain 5-8 yds; etc. There have also been wide open opponent WRs on post routes all season long -- other QBs just missed 'em. Parker usually waits until the 2nd half to bring various blitzes, but you just can't do that vs a team that has a decent QB. First half holes dug vs Michigan & Nebraska proved fatal, and Parker's refusal to adjust last week to slow down Ibrahim should have cost Iowa another game.
 
The defense played good enough to win this game. Other than the 1st quarter where they gave up a long drive that resulted in a missed FG and that 87 yard huge mistake by the secondary they played well. It was the offense and then the special teams (muffed punt) that gave Nebraska a short field and easy points.

I hate putting this all on 1 player as Iowa should have strong backups but losing Cooper early made a HUGE impact. Perhaps with Cooper that 87 yard pass play and muffed punt doesn’t happen.
 
Last edited:
Was at the game, and it was clear from the get-go that Nebraska felt they could throw the ball vs Iowa's D. Good reason to believe that, because Parker's 4-2-5 scheme has become very predictable. The holes in the zone coverages are always in the same place; the quick WR pass along the sideline is guaranteed to gain 5-8 yds; etc. There have also been wide open opponent WRs on post routes all season long -- other QBs just missed 'em. Parker usually waits until the 2nd half to bring various blitzes, but you just can't do that vs a team that has a decent QB. First half holes dug vs Michigan & Nebraska proved fatal, and Parker's refusal to adjust last week to slow down Ibrahim should have cost Iowa another game.
Parker is far from alone in his inability to slow down Ibrahim. And for all of our hand wringing over losing yesterday, imagine of PJ and Minnesota feel. They beat us every way but the score.
 
Was at the game, and it was clear from the get-go that Nebraska felt they could throw the ball vs Iowa's D. Good reason to believe that, because Parker's 4-2-5 scheme has become very predictable. The holes in the zone coverages are always in the same place; the quick WR pass along the sideline is guaranteed to gain 5-8 yds; etc. There have also been wide open opponent WRs on post routes all season long -- other QBs just missed 'em. Parker usually waits until the 2nd half to bring various blitzes, but you just can't do that vs a team that has a decent QB. First half holes dug vs Michigan & Nebraska proved fatal, and Parker's refusal to adjust last week to slow down Ibrahim should have cost Iowa another game.
dang, my thoughts exactly. While Parker is a good DC he is a lot like Kirk. He refuses to make adjustments during the 1st half and will wait till halftime to adjust.Usually his adjustment will work and the D is shut down in the 2nd half. But when Iowa is down 17-14 points at the half, no way Iowa offense can recover from that. Iowa doesn’t have the beef to compete with big OL when they only rush 4. Their QB seems to have all day to throw while Iowa QB is running for his life at the beginning of every snap. I guess that could also mean Iowa OL is junk
 
What is baffling is how this team can be in the Top 10 in defenses most years. But have at least 3-4 games where they give up a ton of yards and points.
 
What is baffling is how this team can be in the Top 10 in defenses most years. But have at least 3-4 games where they give up a ton of yards and points.
That's not baffling at all. Our defense is specifically designed to not give up big plays and to stop the run. It can be very easily picked apart by a talented quarterback and good game plan, but only about a quarter of college QBs are good enough and disciplined enough to pick it apart. The years where the defense is great are years where we have at least one dominant lineman, which we unfortunately don't have this year.
 
That's not baffling at all. Our defense is specifically designed to not give up big plays and to stop the run. It can be very easily picked apart by a talented quarterback and good game plan, but only about a quarter of college QBs are good enough and disciplined enough to pick it apart. The years where the defense is great are years where we have at least one dominant lineman, which we unfortunately don't have this year.
And our defense, in tandem with our punter, is specifically designed to pin opponents deep in their own end. That's how Ibrahim got all those yards last week.
 
4 turnovers, nebby with about 120 yards/17 points taking advantage of a 4th/5th string corner. Not having Dejean, Harris, Roberts can't be overstated.

The only slight critical thought is not immediately putting Moss on Palmer who accounts for 75% of their passing attack.

3 turnovers on Iowas side of the field, inside scoring zone, 3 busted coverages by 4th/5th string walk ons

And an OC running naked bootlegs straight into unblocked blitzes....before establishing a run game.

This is a 9-10 win defense. It's a 3 win offense.

What concerns me is how much we lose off the defense for next year....
 
Iowa gave up the 87 yard pass. Outside of that, the scoring drives were:
3 plays for 39 yards which included a 15 yard penalty
7 plays 45 yards with a 10 yard penalty (after we fumbled)
3 plays 18 yards (after we fumbled)

51 yards rushing on 35 carries.
278 yards passing, which obviously includes the 87 yarder with their best guy against the true freshman. The only reason make the 87 yarder as an exception is because it doesn't mean any team has "figured out our defense". It's because he's young, inexperienced player that was thrown because of injuries to Roberts, Harris, and DeJean. Shit happens.
 
Iowa gave up the 87 yard pass. Outside of that, the scoring drives were:
3 plays for 39 yards which included a 15 yard penalty
7 plays 45 yards with a 10 yard penalty (after we fumbled)
3 plays 18 yards (after we fumbled)

51 yards rushing on 35 carries.
278 yards passing, which obviously includes the 87 yarder with their best guy against the true freshman. The only reason make the 87 yarder as an exception is because it doesn't mean any team has "figured out our defense". It's because he's young, inexperienced player that was thrown because of injuries to Roberts, Harris, and DeJean. Shit happens.
This. Our defense has one substandard day (due to a lot of factors beyond anyone's control), and Phil Parker can't coach?
 
Iowa gave up the 87 yard pass. Outside of that, the scoring drives were:
3 plays for 39 yards which included a 15 yard penalty
7 plays 45 yards with a 10 yard penalty (after we fumbled)
3 plays 18 yards (after we fumbled)

51 yards rushing on 35 carries.
278 yards passing, which obviously includes the 87 yarder with their best guy against the true freshman. The only reason make the 87 yarder as an exception is because it doesn't mean any team has "figured out our defense". It's because he's young, inexperienced player that was thrown because of injuries to Roberts, Harris, and DeJean. Shit happens.
Thank you. Very clearly stated facts. I was busy yelling at Parker about not adjusting. You changed my mind. (yes.I am serious.)
 
Top