How in the World?!

C

CAARHawk

Banned
Can Iowa have the number 2 most efficient QB in College Football, a back who is averaging over 100 yards a game, A record breaking receiver, An all-American type punter, Two potential first round draft picks on the defensive line, and be getting beat they way they are?

I really wish the Iowa media had the guts to come out and say that the coaches are underperforming this year. Basically, they put the players out there and say, "Execute perfectly in all aspects of the game and we won't make any adjustments, prepare for contingencies like a first year corner and linebacker who are getting picked on in the passing game, or a strange punting formation, or even teams double and triple teaming our all-american defensive end>"

Other teams have figured out how to scheme against Iowa, because, "Hey, it is pretty easy to figure out their strength and weaknesses." But, Iowa's coaches don't find ways to get the most out of their strengths and protect against their weaknesses. It is pretty freaking easy! Move Clayborn around so they can't double and triple team him on every freaking play. Send extra guys at the QB, because you can't rely on your first year starters in the back 7 to lock guys down!" Let Wilson focus on special teams so you don't get burned by a play that an eleven-year-old should have seen coming.

That is what the team needs to do. But the Iowa media needs to have some guts and put some pressure on this coaching staff. I am just amazed at the kit gloves with which they treat this staff. It needs to start today at the press conference. When KF gives his, "It was a good call and they were patient and we didn't execute answer." Someone in the media needs to just come out and say, "Give me a break! You should have known that was coming and you should made it clear to the punt team that the primary goal should have been to protect against the fake, Why didn't you?"

Also, someone needs to ask about the overwhelming lack of any adjustments of the defensive scheme.

Basically, the media needs to put pressure on KF and not let him get away with his usual schtick! He hasn't deserved that luxury this year.
 
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Kirk Ferentz may or may not change some things in the way he approaches the next game or any game thereafter.

He will never, ever, change something because he feels pressured to do so by the media.

We have officially entered bizarro world here.
 
The players have played as hard as they can. I do believe coaching has let the team down on a few occasions this year and has cost us the two games....mainly not shoring up special teams.

This might be one of the best offenses under KF, but due to poor play on special teams and defense, it's pretty much been wasted.

I don't think anyone would have thought before the year started that if Iowa would score more than 30 points a game, that the games would be close or lost.
 
It is very easy...special teams. Put both those extra points on the board and I would almost guarantee you we win both of those games...
 
I agree. Then when he answers those tough questions someone should ask what he thinks about member of our fan base who are going off the deep end because we had the audacity to have a bad half in the dessert and lose by 1 point to a Wisconsin team coming off a victory over the number 1 team in college football and whose only loss was to 5th ranked and unbeaten MSU.
 
Simple. Special teams miscues and a defense that is good but does not come up with key stops at crucial points in the game. (See last drive vs. Wiscy and AZ)

People got mad last year when at 9-0, Iowa wasn't getting "respect." But the reality is that last year Iowa was a few plays from being a 4-5 loss team and this year is the same thing. That doesn't mean the sky is falling, but every season can be pointed to like that. Like Jon pointed out, 8 losses since 2007 by a total of 30 points, but there were also 12 wins by 78 points (6.5/game or one play) and 6 of those wins were by a total of 14 points.

I think things will get cleaned up and Iowa will step up and make the plays that they have missed on so far this year.
 
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Dude, step away from the ledge.

A fake punt here, a 4th down stop there, a field goal here, a better snap there, a timeout here. All kinds of minute little details are the only things that kept this game from being a W and everyone in Iowa from still beating their chests about the greatness of the Hawkeye 2010 football team.

It was a 1-point loss to a team that whipped #1 the week before. These things happen. You get up, dust off, and take it to another great team on Saturday.

The Rose Bowl is still in play here, Wisconsin is not unbeatable and we control our destiny against the other two. You better enjoy how good we are this year, because next year might be really hard to watch.
 
Stop focusing on the fake punt for a second, yes the coaches have made mistakes this year as well, but were the coaches responsible for the bad snap on the FG try? How about both blocked XP's this year? How about the 100 yard kick return at AZ or that blocked punt, or the pick 6 that hit McNutt in the hands?

The 2 losses are on the players and the mistakes they made more than the coaches.
 
CAARHawk said:
Can Iowa have the number 2 most efficient QB in College Football, a back who is averaging over 100 yards a game, A record breaking receiver, An all-American type punter, Two potential first round draft picks on the defensive line, and be getting beat they way they are?
Click to expand...

Wisconsin is comparable in very single one of these areas (Tolzein's passer rating is 157.6, Clay averages 110 yards/game and has actual backups, Watt is a stud, Gilreath is not as good a receiver as DJK but a much better returner), plus they have a better offensive line. They beat us by 1 point. It's disappointing, but not inconceivable.

Oh, but we do have Ryan Donahue. You're right. How did Wisconsin even stay on the field with us?
 
so what do you want from the captain? an apology? is that what will satisfy you? will all be forgotten if he gives you this apology?
 
Agree with you guys to an extent. There is parity in college football and when two teams are pretty evenly matched in terms of talent (which I think Iowa and Wisky and Arizona are), better coaching should win. If we measure coaching expectations in terms of salary, Ferentz shouldn't lose to Bielema and Stoops when the teams are evenly matched (losses in years where we are less talented are fine and are to be expected).

But the other issue is that Coach Ferentz is dealing with 100 18-22 year old kids who get limited practice time and who are supposed to be students first and athletes second. It only takes one guy to make one mistake on a play and for that to turn into a bothced snap, a blocked kick, a kickoff return for a touchdown, etc., so in that regard, it's hard to pin too much blame on Ferentz or the staff, 18-22 year old kids are going to make mistakes and bince the ball is an oblong object, sometimes those mistakes go your way (e.g., Clayborn's punt block for a TD last year against PSU and the fumbled punt we recovered against AZ) and sometimes they don't (e.g., Tolzien's miraculous recovery of the botched snap that was converted for a first down and one guy missing his block on that blocked punt at AZ). Should the staff have seen the fake punt coming? Yes, but other than that, I think the losses kind of fall on the side of 18-22 year old kids just making small mistakes, and in a game of inches, those mistakes are game changers.
 
"Beat the way they are"? You mean losing two very tough, close games? You make it sound like we've lost almost every game by 20+ points. Obviously, in close games it comes down to executing the "little things" very well...and we didn't. Good teams like Wisconsin and Arizona will make you pay for those types of mistakes.

Of course it is hard to accept any loss when the expectations were so high to start the season, but the fact of the matter is that there is a lot of football yet to be played. I am confident that this team will respond in such a way that will fill these boards with nothing but praise come Saturday evening.

Go Hawks!
 
Shame on you CAAR for even suggesting that KF has room to improve in his game management!

For the KF apologists out there, stop referring to the botched FG in the WI game as points left on the field, that change of possession led to the touchdown at the end of the first half, in all probability, that led to a +4 point swing in our favor.

After the '06 and '07 disasters (expectation wise) Captain do no wrong came out and publicly took responsibility for being blind when it came to things he needed to change, philosophy on true frosh, etc. Seriously, what is wrong with the fans out there who think there are glaring weaknesses on the sideline right now and its time for Kirk to address those?

Players make plays and execute the game plan, which ours have done, aside from some special teams mistakes. When the opponent is evenly matched, little things like missed extra points matter, but so do wasted timeouts, and review management, IMO more so.
 
Our bend-but-don't-break defense is starting to break, and doing so at the most inopportune times. Add to that our special teams woes, and it's not surprising we've dropped two of our three toughest games thus far. Hell, we nearly blew it against Michigan, until we managed to extend the lead just enough to hold off a suddenly resurgent Wolverines team.

Clearly, there are HUGE holes with a team that was supposed to be damn near bulletproof. Biggest concern coming in was the OL, which was a problem during the Arizona game. After that, they've done a pretty stand up job. However, on special teams, you can directly match-up ST mistakes/miscues/foul-ups to the margin of defeat in our two losses so far (KO return was the margin in the Arizona game, missed XP would have forced a tie and the missed XP would have won). RB depth has become an issue. LB depth and experience has become an issue. The DL's inability to get to the QB has become an issue. Hyde's inexperience/the secondary's lapses have become an issue. Apparently clock management has become an issue. The kick game is still suspect.

You'd have hoped that slightly over halfway through the season, we'd have figured out a solution to said problems, but it would seem we haven't. And I think that falls on the coaches.
 
Football is comprised of THREE key areas.

- The Offense
- The Defense
- The Special Teams

For Iowa, the O has been playing pretty darn well. The D has been playing pretty well, but not quite to the level that they want. And, lastly, the special teams have been pretty bad.

Despite having a terrific punter and a pretty darn promising TR FR placekicker ... we're still having issues blocking on special teams AND we're having issues on coverage. And, as we've observed, we've been paying dearly due to those issues.

Of course, part of that has to do with lack of depth at the "feeder positions" that provide us with guys to man the special teams spots. In particular, we're not terribly deep at S or LB ... and, as a result, we don't have a surplus of guys at those spots to help man spots on special teams. Thus, it should come as no surprise that we're so young on special teams.
 
okeefe4prez said:
Agree with you guys to an extent. There is parity in college football and when two teams are pretty evenly matched in terms of talent (which I think Iowa and Wisky and Arizona are), better coaching should win. If we measure coaching expectations in terms of salary, Ferentz shouldn't lose to Bielema and Stoops when the teams are evenly matched (losses in years where we are less talented are fine and are to be expected).

But the other issue is that Coach Ferentz is dealing with 100 18-22 year old kids who get limited practice time and who are supposed to be students first and athletes second. It only takes one guy to make one mistake on a play and for that to turn into a bothced snap, a blocked kick, a kickoff return for a touchdown, etc., so in that regard, it's hard to pin too much blame on Ferentz or the staff, 18-22 year old kids are going to make mistakes and bince the ball is an oblong object, sometimes those mistakes go your way (e.g., Clayborn's punt block for a TD last year against PSU and the fumbled punt we recovered against AZ) and sometimes they don't (e.g., Tolzien's miraculous recovery of the botched snap that was converted for a first down and one guy missing his block on that blocked punt at AZ). Should the staff have seen the fake punt coming? Yes, but other than that, I think the losses kind of fall on the side of 18-22 year old kids just making small mistakes, and in a game of inches, those mistakes are game changers.
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Tolzien's miraculous recovery was not converted for a first down. It just made it 4th and 4 instead of probably 4th and 15.
 
Exactly.

What I am getting really annoyed with is the idea that we can't ask serious questions about this coaching staff without evidently wanting him fired or thinking we can do better.

It is possible you know to appreciate KF and want him to continue to be the coach but to not like certain aspects of his philosophy that in this case cost us a very important game.

But to some people, it is one and the same and it is really getting obnoxious.
 
My point is that the media in Iowa is a joke. All of you who have lived in Iowa your whole lives might just not have any idea what it is like to actually have a media that holds people accountable. I have told my brother a few things about this season and his immediate response was, "Don't you have media there?"

And no, it not the media's job to get the coach to change what he is doing. But, it is the media's job to hold the coach accountable.

For those of you that are saying Iowa was really close to Zona and Wisky in ability, I agree. I go back to the question, then why is Iowa losing? Is it one instance of execution or another. Well the other teams have not executed perfectly. So, the answer I come back to is that other teams are taking advantage of Iowa's weaknesses (young pass defenders and poor special teams) and scheming to limit their strengths. It just does not appear that Iowa is doing the same thing.
 
Kohawkeye said:
Tolzien's miraculous recovery was not converted for a first down. It just made it 4th and 4 instead of probably 4th and 15.
Click to expand...

Yes but it allowed for the fake punt. Does Wisky still run the fake punt at 4th & 15 with 5+ min remaining? Unbelievable play.
 
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