I have a dream.....

[83Hawk]

With any hopes of a Big 10 title and BCS game out the window, Kirk decides to to throw out the same old, stale gameplan, and goes all-in on Saturday: open up the playbook...flea-flickers..halfback options..line McNutt up at QB..mix up the defense with blitzes on first down and some nickel packages. Let the kids have some FUN out there.

In other words....do something DIFFERENT and unexpected.

Maybe the Hawks could pull the upset. What have they got to lose?

It'll never happen, but it is fun to think about.

 

[iahawk20]

Let them have "FUN"???

Yeah that must be it. Unreal. Kirk will have lost his mind of he goes away from the gameplan and giving us the best chance to win. People act like we have nothing to play for and are 3-7...yeah lets start putting in plays that give us little chance to execute and win.

We can line up and beat OSU straight up it would be idiotic to go away from that.

 

[tm3308]

Let them have "FUN"???

Yeah that must be it. Unreal. Kirk will have lost his mind of he goes away from the gameplan and giving us the best chance to win. People act like we have nothing to play for and are 3-7...yeah lets start putting in plays that give us little chance to execute and win.

We can line up and beat OSU straight up it would be idiotic to go away from that.

Jeez, there's no reason to jump on him.

 

[83Hawk]

Let them have "FUN"???

Yeah that must be it. Unreal. Kirk will have lost his mind of he goes away from the gameplan and giving us the best chance to win. People act like we have nothing to play for and are 3-7...yeah lets start putting in plays that give us little chance to execute and win.

We can line up and beat OSU straight up it would be idiotic to go away from that.

What is wrong with mixing things up a little?

I'm not advocating going completely goofy, but why not throw a few curveballs at the Buckeyes? You say Iowa's best chance to win is by playing " straight up". How many times has that worked against them in the past 20 years? A trick play or two...a different formation on defense here and there....maybe that would mean the difference between a victory and a "good effort".

A little unpredictability couldn't hurt. Iowa isn't expected to win anyway...what is there to lose?

 

[iahawk20]

What is wrong with mixing things up a little?

I'm not advocating going completely goofy, but why not throw a few curveballs at the Buckeyes? You say Iowa's best chance to win is by playing " straight up". How many times has that worked against them in the past 20 years? A trick play or two...a different formation on defense here and there....maybe that would mean the difference between a victory and a "good effort".

A little unpredictability couldn't hurt. Iowa isn't expected to win anyway...what is there to lose?

I am all for a few exotics in the right situation. Though frankly the staff hasnt been very good at those when attempted, lol. Heck i would love to see a reverse on a punt return (mich 01 style) or even on a kickoff. Crazy blitzing....no thanks. We simply are not good at it and it shows!

 

[83Hawk]

I am all for a few exotics in the right situation. Though frankly the staff hasnt been very good at those when attempted, lol. Heck i would love to see a reverse on a punt return (mich 01 style) or even on a kickoff. Crazy blitzing....no thanks. We simply are not good at it and it shows!

I see what you mean. It seems like whenever the fans griped in the past about a lack of imagination in Iowa's offense, Kirk would respond with some sort of trick play. And when it didn't work, he would go another couple of years before running another as if to say "I told you so"!

 

[busabus114]

I see what youre saying but this coaching staff ever drastically changes strategy. We are good enough to win straight up and I think we will

 

[SpecialKHawk]

I see what youre saying but this coaching staff ever drastically changes strategy. We are good enough to win straight up and I think we will

Agree. If you have to trick or finese teams then you aren't that good to begin with.

How about we put in a 300+ lb offensive lineman again at right guard and stop playing 'soft' as a team?

 

[ShadasRevenge]

About the only thing that is giving me hope for this weekend is that I saw how Iowa responded after the Wisconsin game, and what happened Saturday was pretty close to that. Nobody really knows how good Ohio State is. Their best win to this point was a home win over a Miami team that lost to Virginia, and the only time they faced a tough road test they got steamrolled in Madison. Granted, Wisconsin is a lot better than anyone (especially me) thought they would be, but you rarely see Ohio State just get the **** kicked out of them.

No matter what happens from here on out, the season is a disappointment. No other way to say it. That being said, a win over OSU would be a nice way to see this senior class go out.

 

[83Hawk]

I see what youre saying but this coaching staff ever drastically changes strategy. We are good enough to win straight up and I think we will

I remember a game against Purdue a few years ago where Norm changed up the defense with some blitzes and nickel packages that totally disrupted their "spread" offense. And I remember 2004 when the offense was wide open due to the injuries to our running backs.

Iowa was "good enough" to beat Wisconsin and Northwestern straight up....but those games didn't turn out so well. Same with Indiana, except we got lucky there.

I guess I don't understand why you are against trying something different once in awhile. Other teams do (fake punt by Wisconsin ring a bell?).....why not the Hawks?

 

[busabus114]

I remember a game against Purdue a few years ago where Norm changed up the defense with some blitzes and nickel packages that totally disrupted their "spread" offense. And I remember 2004 when the offense was wide open due to the injuries to our running backs.

Iowa was "good enough" to beat Wisconsin and Northwestern straight up....but those games didn't turn out so well. Same with Indiana, except we got lucky there.

I guess I don't understand why you are against trying something different once in awhile. Other teams do (fake punt by Wisconsin ring a bell?).....why not the Hawks?

Im not against it at all....just saying that the coaching staff is. You referenced a few games in 12 years. I think its safe to say the coaches dont throw out the game plan very often

 

[ShadasRevenge]

Im not against it at all....just saying that the coaching staff is. You referenced a few games in 12 years. I think its safe to say the coaches dont throw out the game plan very often

Not to mention that it was injuries to every running back on the roster that forced the coaches hand.

 

[SpecialKHawk]

Wisky beat OSU primarily because they won the battle in the trenches on both sides of the ball. You only have a chance to beat OSU when you win the trench battle.

Which Iowa team will show up? The 'physical-nasty' persona that we saw against ISU, MSU & Wisky(for stages) or the 'softer' persona that we saw against Arizona, IU, NW. Our program seems to have two personalities of play.

My gut says the 'physical-nasty' persona on last home game, senior day.

 

[83Hawk]

Im not against it at all....just saying that the coaching staff is. You referenced a few games in 12 years. I think its safe to say the coaches dont throw out the game plan very often

Maybe the coaching staff should mix things up once in awhile....then maybe we wouldn't repeatedly lose to Northwestern, struggle against teams we should easily beat, and actually win a game against Ohio State more than once or twice every twenty years.

 

[DYK88]

I'm with you on this one 83Hawk. The folks who think the hawks can beat OSU straight up are delusional. They must have already forgotten we scored a total of 35 points against two sieve defenses. Stanzi looks like a surgeon while he's on the field. How about they play to win instead of playing not to lose? With that said, we don't change up anything and will get smoked. Tressel won't run it up though.

 

[SpecialKHawk]

One team in our conference that has played OSU very well and has beaten them more than once or twice over the past 15 years is Wisky.

What is Wisky known for ? Good, huge o-lines and a good running game.

Some call for mix it up I call for brute force

 

[homerHAWKeye777]

With any hopes of a Big 10 title and BCS game out the window, Kirk decides to to throw out the same old, stale gameplan, and goes all-in on Saturday: open up the playbook...flea-flickers..halfback options..line McNutt up at QB..mix up the defense with blitzes on first down and some nickel packages. Let the kids have some FUN out there.

In other words....do something DIFFERENT and unexpected.

Maybe the Hawks could pull the upset. What have they got to lose?

It'll never happen, but it is fun to think about.

I advise that you find a new team.

 

[83Hawk]

I advise that you find a new team.

Oh, I forgot...only people who never question or criticize the coaches are TRUE fans. If you don't follow in lockstep and just accept everything as is and be thankful for 8-4 seasons and annual losses to Northwestern, then you need to find a new team.

 

[homerHAWKeye777]

Oh, I forgot...only people who never question or criticize the coaches are TRUE fans. If you don't follow in lockstep and just accept everything as is and be thankful for 8-4 seasons and annual losses to Northwestern, then you need to find a new team.

No ... you're completely missing the point. I was suggesting that you find a different team because your "dream" will be untenable as long as KF is at the helm (concerning "shake-ups" in the schemes and what-not).

I critique the coaches ALL THE TIME ... however, I do so in a proactive way.

There's a stark difference between mindless knee-jerk reactions and thoughtful, proactive critiques.

I'm not an advocate for eveybody being "lock step" in having a single view. The problem is that most of the "dissenters" do not supply good or adequate supporting evidence to back their contentions. Heck, most of them don't provide ANY evidence. And, most of what they say is just emotional nonsense.

 

[Gibsonian]

You are likely hallucinating - KF going all out, go for broke kinda thing, don't see it this decade. I do agree though with it, would be nice to see at least enough total team prep to be able to change some things up, real time, to a much higher degree than what we have seen this year, to react to playcalling that is eating the Hawks up, either on offense or defense.