How would you describe Iowa’s offensive system?

[uihawk82]

Agreed. I wish BF would spend a lot of time watching tape of other similar offenses that have more creative minds implementing it. BF aint that it seems. The offense can work, but you have to be a bit more creative within the scheme. Even Wisconsin's jet sweep is a nice wrinkle that we do not use enough within the confines of a power I running attack. We also need more screens and draws.

We have debated this before, but running a traditional pro style offense in some ways could turn into an advantage, much like Georgia Tech running the triple option. Defenses are not used to it and it is hard to prepare for on a week's notice. But, it has to be operated at a high level to squeeze out that advantage.

The hawks have had a lot of really good pass catching running backs under Kirk. The running backs play the running back because they are very good runners in the open field. I think Brian needs to use them more. When Brian got TGoodson downfield on a linebacker a lot of good things happen, same with Wadley, and others.

Unfortunately, Brian doesnt seem to stitch plays together well when he has something working to make the defense counter to that but then for Brian to have a great counter to their counter. You know what I mean. Some times it seems our offense is ran by a random play generator computer program. Every once in awhile there seems to be some coherence like the second half of last years Penn State game mixing in plays

 

[NCHawker]

The scheme is more sophisticated, open and nuanced than we give it credit for. The real problem for years is preponderance of average plodding talent. It’s wack a mole. A good or great player here and there masks this reality. And then there is the issue of depth.

 

[HuckFinn]

The scheme is more sophisticated, open and nuanced than we give it credit for. The real problem for years is preponderance of average plodding talent. It’s wack a mole. A good or great player here and there masks this reality. And then there is the issue of depth.

You nailed it.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

The scheme is more sophisticated, open and nuanced than we give it credit for. The real problem for years is preponderance of average plodding talent. It’s wack a mole. A good or great player here and there masks this reality. And then there is the issue of depth.

I agree. People don't realize this. When Iowa's offense isn't working well, they quickly point to KF being conservative or BF being incompetent. In reality, those who know offense and football know that Iowa runs quite a complicated "NFL" style offense. It works when all the pieces are in place, but when you are thin at a certain position or the QB being one position isn't making the right or fast enough reads, it breaks or is plodding.

I do admit KF can have a conservative tendency which can limit a QB's potential. But, the offense is quite sophisticated, actually. Look, when Iowa has a great line which plays into a great running game, nobody is bitching that they are running to control the LOS or clock if they are having success. It's never a problem then. It's when it doesn't work people complain about it. Just the way it is in college football and a program like Iowa.

 

[SCHawkeye2]

I agree. People don't realize this. When Iowa's offense isn't working well, they quickly point to KF being conservative or BF being incompetent. In reality, those who know offense and football know that Iowa runs quite a complicated "NFL" style offense. It works when all the pieces are in place, but when you are thin at a certain position or the QB being one position isn't making the right or fast enough reads, it breaks or is plodding.

I do admit KF can have a conservative tendency which can limit a QB's potential. But, the offense is quite sophisticated, actually. Look, when Iowa has a great line which plays into a great running game, nobody is bitching that they are running to control the LOS or clock if they are having success. It's never a problem then. It's when it doesn't work people complain about it. Just the way it is in college football and a program like Iowa.

Can anyone on this board imagine Hayden stubbornly continue to run the ball at eight defenders in the box to stop the run?

 

[Gibsonian]

In need of an intervention is how I would describe it. Like gettin all of Kirk's and Brian's friend's together and sitting down with them to confront them about it, to get them help, some treatment for this malady.

 

[BigD]

Plodding.

slow-moving and unexciting.
"a plodding comedy drama"

• (of a person) thorough and hard-working but lacking in imagination or intelligence.
  "plodding, methodical Ralph Bellamy

At first I read that as “plowing” and I invisioned in my mind a field full of large rocks and sand. The farmer has to stop every two or three yards to move the rocks. After his THIRD stop (down) he picks up the plow and heads for the house (punts). He thinks maybe next week will go better as he thinks about the back forty (lower one third of the conference) where plowing may be easier.

 

[BigD]

In need of an intervention is how I would describe it. Like gettin all of Kirk's and Brian's friend's together and sitting down with them to confront them about it, to get them help, some treatment for this malady.

Intervention??? LMAO!!!! Can’t help it as my wife is a nurse at a major hospital. When she or the other nurses gets these tough patients that need severe intervention they all say the same thing.

I can visualize my wife and the other nurses walking into a patient room and seeing Kirk and Brian lying there in their beds and saying that same phrase “AWE HELL NO!!!!!”

The Iowa playbook is sitting there on the table and hooked up to a heart monitor flatlining. Brian yeahs over to his dad “Dad??? What should we do???” Kirk yells back at Brian “Brian pretend like your calling an audible and then run it up the middle and just a little on the right side of the line!!!”

 

[MelroseHawkins]

At first I read that as “plowing” and I invisioned in my mind a field full of large rocks and sand. The farmer has to stop every two or three yards to move the rocks. After his THIRD stop (down) he picks up the plow and heads for the house (punts). He thinks maybe next week will go better as he thinks about the back forty (lower one third of the conference) where plowing may be easier.

Nicely done!

 

[SCHawkeye2]

Wisconsin? Purdue? Iowa? Minnesota? The Big Ten West is up for grabs

Big changes are coming to the Big Ten, but for now the Badgers, Boilermakers, Hawkeyes, Gophers and even the Cornhuskers could contend for a division title.

www.espn.com

"Last year's Iowa vintage was particularly good defensively, forcing loads of three-and-outs and turnovers and ranking fifth in defensive SP+. The offense? Particularly bad: 120th in success rate, 111th in points per drive, 94th in offensive SP+. Spencer Petras finished 90th in Total QBR. When a late-year ankle injury benched Petras, backup Alex Padilla came in and fared worse. There was no run game to lean on, either; the Hawkeyes moved backward constantly, and after a rousing 6-0 start, they averaged 13.2 points per game during a 2-4 finish.

Ferentz stuck with his offensive coordinator (and son), Brian Ferentz. In fact, after quarterbacks coach Ken O'Keefe stepped aside, Brian landed that role too. Not making change for change's sake can be admirable and beneficial, but it would be great to know that Iowa is changing something to fix an offense that dramatically held its defense back."

 

[HaydenHawk56]

 

[CP87]

A few years back, I dove into Iowa's offensive efficiency numbers: https://forum.hawkeyenation.com/thr...fense-as-our-go-to-metric.89158/#post-1920748

Bottom-line, when you look at efficiency, they are more of a middle-of-the-pack team, as opposed to a scraping-the-bottom-of-the-barrel-team.

I was interested in an updated view of how their efficiency metric look (note: some of the OFEI numbers from my last post have changed, I assume FootballOutsiders has retroactively updated their efficiency formula):



Dammit, just saw that I misspelled Padilla, but I am not going to go back and remake the image (sorry, Alex).

My 2 takeaways:
1) QB makes a big difference, and Stanley was better than Petras.
2) the trend is not encouraging

 

[MelroseHawkins]

Has pathetic been stated?