How much of the lack of offense is poor QB play...

MikeyLikesIowa said:
I just watched every every offensive play again. Gronowski isn't nearly as bad as it seems. He wasn't perfect, but he's a huge step up from what we've seen the last few years IMO. The play calling didn't do him any favors. There were some drops. Some might say that he frequently held the ball too long, but ISU's coverage was pretty good for most of the game.

He missed a couple open receivers at crucial moments. One was 2nd qtr 9:57 3rd & 5 and where he missed Large wide open after Large pushed the LB on his back. Another one was the 3rd down on the last drive. I couldn't tell who it was (looked like #22 on the back of the jersey), but he ran the under route, was way more open than Large, and probably would've had the first down if MG throws it to him. The offensive line was terrible on the last drive which didn't help. ISU got home without blitzing on 1st & 2nd down and with only 3 down linemen on the 2nd down which is unacceptable.

I'm not giving up on MG yet. The defense is better than I thought they'd be. The season isn't over and this loss is insignificant as far as the big picture goes. Unfortunately, I think ISU is the real deal this year and they were the better team today. I still think Iowa can have a great season though.
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This. Gronowski has the skill and athleticism. He’s just got to get his brain moving faster at this level. He runs like Beathard which is a breath of fresh air we haven’t seen in a decade. Just gotta see the reads quicker and he’ll be right there.

Whether he will or not is something none of us on this board knows at all.
 




#1DieHardHawk said:
Gronowski would have had those reps had he been healthy in the spring and summer. That's not on him, but one could argue that it's on the staff for signing him knowing that he would need surgery.

The offense Lester is trying to install is predicated on timing. Right now, it's not there.
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Chances are, Gronowski would have gotten a better offer than Iowa if he was healthy.
 


MikeyLikesIowa said:
I just watched every offensive play again. Gronowski isn't nearly as bad as it seems. He wasn't perfect, but he's a huge step up from what we've seen the last few years IMO. The play calling didn't do him any favors. There were some drops. Some might say that he frequently held the ball too long, but ISU's coverage was pretty good for most of the game.
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It looked to me like they started the Iowa State game with basically the same offensive scheme and play calling they were using against Albany when Gronowski left the previous game. It took them the better part of the first half to make adjustments to Iowa States defense.
 


Let's say Ferentz hangs it up at the end of the season. Is there anyone on the coaching staff that gives you a feeling of changing things up to make the passing game a priority? I know a lot of people seem to think Pat Fitzgerald is waiting for the job, but he seems to have a similar coaching style to what we already have. Does anyone want Beth to approach Campbell? Chances are he wouldn't leave Ames for Iowa City right now anyway. Do any former Iowa players or coaches sound good? What does Beth do with that potential opening? We could end up like Nebraska the past decade or more too.
 




I definitely think he is adjusting the speed of game and the lack of true reps due to his injury and honestly just not playing at this level has showed. However, he has the ability. Hoping we get him right before the Big Ten season starts.

I am really trying to continue to be optimistic. Wasn't it 2011 when we lost to Iowa State and we went 11-1? I know, I know....not likely. But I do think this is a very good Cyclone team that we went toe to toe with.

We make a few completions, Wetjen doesn't slip, and they don't convert that tipped 17 yard pass, we might be all in a bit better mindset today.
 






Fryowa said:
This. Gronowski has the skill and athleticism. He’s just got to get his brain moving faster at this level. He runs like Beathard which is a breath of fresh air we haven’t seen in a decade. Just gotta see the reads quicker and he’ll be right there.

Whether he will or not is something none of us on this board knows at all.
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Right. As tepid as the offense was on Saturday, there were several plays where in past years an Iowa QB would have been sacked for a major loss (absolute drive killer for them), and Gronowski was able to avoid the loss and at times even turn it into positive yards. HUGE difference.
 


I said about a month ago that our offense would be better this year but I was worried about this game because it came early in the schedule. I still feel that Gronowski will improve with time and game reps. Maybe it was overly optimistic to think he could master this offense with such a short amount of time and practice to "get it".

I hope he can get reasonably straightened out by the B1G season. Rutgers is no pushover but we can probably still get by without an "A" grade in the passing game. Indiana and beyond will be a different story. There are a lot of toss up games on this year's schedule.
 


Fryowa said:
Lolz. Gronowski has a great arm and he’s more than accurate enough to play in the Big Ten. Do you watch much football?
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Watch a lot of football. I can only judge on what I have seen in first 2 games and it has not been good. Even his completed passes have for the most part not been all that well thrown. Maybe you watched a lot of his previous games but the 3 I have seen including when he played against us haven’t been to great
 


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