I have a few thoughts as this season runs to a close..

[papathawki]

I am tired of football, yet I am still in the process of DVRing and watching 20 plus high school state championship games..…and I still stay up late to watch USC play UCLA, etc, etc…what I’m really tired of I guess is the Iowa Hawkeyes and my love affair with them.

See it won’t ever be enuff for me now, just like it isn’t for Oklahoma fans or Florida fans, or, or….we look at OU and say heck they have been even better than us, by a bunch, yet there they are wishing they had a different D-coordinator or Head Coach…..there they are wondering how they lost to what really is a poor TT….they are wondering why they have so many stupid penalties or why their coach called a time out with 1 minute left which ultimately pushed Baylor into scoring a TD in regulation.

You see it really doesn’t matter who our coach is or what our scheme is, in the end it won’t be enuff. We will call him conservative, or a loose cannon or too emotional or not emotional enough, or to loyal or to stubborn, or, or…

We will say ahead of time we’ll be lucky to win “X†amount of games, but when it comes true we will still be mad and…in the end we will only see our losses and they will never be acceptable and we will say things like…†it isn’t that we lost, it’s how we lostâ€â€¦but it won’t be true, because quite frankly, in the end they are all unacceptable. Oh sure that Minne loss hurt but honestly being inept at PSU did too. And so did the fumbles that keep us from ever getting in the MSU game. Instead we’ll pretend like our coach is losing our games for us, and we won’t bother doing the math that all over the nation Good to Great coaches are losing games by the barrel full and their fans are pretending the same…

We’ll say things like we are too predictable, but in reality we didn’t seem to be when we won.

We’ll pretend like a “different†scheme would have put the kids in a better spot, never mind bothering to realize…hell they were wide-open and in the right spot in the current scheme and still didn’t make the play. And we won’t bother to realize that Team A, B, C are running that same coveted scheme and still losing to the likes of ISU or TT as a 20 plus point favorite. See it hurts when Iowa loses, I mean really hurts and I’m embarrassed by it…and then I read the things other fans say and then it hurts even more.

I don’t know why we lose games, I really don’t and I do understand the coaches are paid to win, period and when they don’t they are free game. With that said there isn’t some magic formula to fix dropped passes, bad penalties, untimely TO’s or just flat uninspired play.

And there isn’t any way to go back to just liking to watch my favorite team play and just being happy if they win more than lose. We can thank HF and KF for that. The guys we ultimately grow tired of and that is why I hate Iowa football…

And in the end, it’s really all about me…. my perspective and my attitude…..so I guess I really dislike me and how important I’ve made such a little thing.


Chad

Wow!! What a great read. The more I read it, the more I thought I'd written it. I strugle with the stress of: will we win or will we lose. I DVR every game. If we win I watch it over again several times in the following week. If we lose, I delete. Thanks anyway, for putting many of my,feelings into words.

 

[bcl20]

man I remember doing that same thing. wish I could live like that again

Me and my buddy won the National Championship about 70 times in Tim Dwight's final year. We would always beat Steve Spurriers Florida Gators team in the final game of our made up college football playoff.

 

[cmhawks99]

Wow!! What a great read. The more I read it, the more I thought I'd written it. I strugle with the stress of: will we win or will we lose. I DVR every game. If we win I watch it over again several times in the following week. If we lose, I delete. Thanks anyway, for putting many of my,feelings into words.

LOL...this is me to a "T"...except I refuse to DVR ahead of time I look for a replay if we win.....

Chad

 

[NewMexHawk]

Ferentz could be a very good coach with some changes and that is all Iowa fans are asking---that he adapt to the game, hire different coaches when one is not functioning, change schemes DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT.

 

[Cover3]

Ferentz could be a very good coach with some changes and that is all Iowa fans are asking---that he adapt to the game, hire different coaches when one is not functioning, change schemes DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT.

Yeah. Like the OP, I've felt a little drained this year. Not p*ssed necessarily, but just kind of tired of watching the same game 12-13 times per year. While it's not ALL the Ws and Ls for me (I had more fun watching our 1999-2000 teams than I did the 2006-07 teams...by far), I agree that they would really make a big emotional difference. I believe our 2009 team had the smallest scoring differential of our teams from 2008-10; they were the worst on the scoreboard for 13 games, but they won 11 and I was definitely more emotional and excited then.

I would argue, though, that my happiness with Ferentz and staff doesn't change based only on Ws and Ls. There have been plenty of Ws where I've thought our schemes and game management did everything possible to give the game away (i.e. UNI in 09, Purdue in 08, Michigan in 2010) and a few Ls where I felt they actually did a great job (Texas in 06, OSU in 09 [save for sitting on the ball; actually a great offensive gameplan with a frosh QB if you go back and watch that game]). I've pretty universally pooh-poohed playing scared (against anybody) and playing soft/conservative (against teams that we match up with athletically, i.e. NW).

 

[SteveGarvey]

The OP's post was spot on. I was thinking the same thing but wouldn't have been so eloquent.

 

[BackNBlk]

Chad,

I have to say that was an excellent post. I agree with quite a lot of it. The fact is that the schemes work and when they do, they work well….as they have in the past. This staff’s philosophies are used effectively all over college football, so it’s not that either.

You make a good point about predictability. People complain when we don’t run enough when it is working, but isn’t that a little predictable? They complain when we throw three passes in a row and they all go incomplete. Yet had that been a 3 for 3 play drive for a TD, they are brilliant.

There’s nothing wrong with looking at Oregon or Wisconsin and thinking that if they can win consistently, why can’t we. However, the negativism and animosity when we don’t is why it took me so long to sign up for HN. That’s more depressing than the losses themselves.

Some fans have been so accustomed to success now that it’s more about the winning than watching their favorite team. I’ve already seem comments about how some won’t watch whatever “crappy bowl” they go to. Not me. I can’t remember the last time I missed a game. I don’t care what bowl they get because whichever one it is will be the last one for nine months. That’s a long time to wait for your favorite sport to come back.

It’s not just all about you because a lot of us have the same feelings.

 

[Cover3]

Some fans have been so accustomed to success now that it’s more about the winning than watching their favorite team. I’ve already seem comments about how some won’t watch whatever “crappy bowlâ€￾ they go to. Not me. I can’t remember the last time I missed a game. I don’t care what bowl they get because whichever one it is will be the last one for nine months.

I'm on board with this. Thirteen days out of 365 (hopefully fourteen one of the years). Always look forward to a Hawk game. This is one reason I am tired of the same ol' though. A team is only assured 12 games by the schedule, and you only get 8-12 possessions in those games. Sometimes our playcalling seems geared to putting feelers out for our later possessions, and our game management is a little too umm...patient.

There are too few games/possessions in the year to punt 95% of the time when you have 4th and <3 from the opponent's 40. Too few minutes in the season to give a 10-yard cushion and clench down in the red zone seven minutes later. Too few games to come out flat for any single quarter, that's 1/48th of the season.

Just want some aggression back. If you're facing a Lee Evans or Ted Ginn, by all means, play soft D, but don't do it all the time. If you have a 16-point lead, and your D is killing it, by all means, punt 'em deep from the 40, but don't do it ALL THE TIME (and when you do go for it...ALWAYS a sneak or zone play...really?).

 

[BackNBlk]

I'm on board with this. Thirteen days out of 365 (hopefully fourteen one of the years). Always look forward to a Hawk game. This is one reason I am tired of the same ol' though. A team is only assured 12 games by the schedule, and you only get 8-12 possessions in those games. Sometimes our playcalling seems geared to putting feelers out for our later possessions, and our game management is a little too umm...patient.

There are too few games/possessions in the year to punt 95% of the time when you have 4th and <3 from the opponent's 40. Too few minutes in the season to give a 10-yard cushion and clench down in the red zone seven minutes later. Too few games to come out flat for any single quarter, that's 1/48th of the season.

Just want some aggression back. If you're facing a Lee Evans or Ted Ginn, by all means, play soft D, but don't do it all the time. If you have a 16-point lead, and your D is killing it, by all means, punt 'em deep from the 40, but don't do it ALL THE TIME (and when you do go for it...ALWAYS a sneak or zone play...really?).

I would agree. In a season like this when the offense and defense are so inconsistent, I would take chances too. That's what makes teams so dangerous is when they feel they have nothing to lose by taking risks. As far as the sneak or zone comment, in the past, those situations were sometimes a run fake and QB roll out with a pass to the FB or TE. They have just gotten away from using that. I would also like to see more nickel coverage against spread teams like Northwestern. You're not fooling anybody by having a mismatched LB on a RB.

 

[Cover3]

I would agree. In a season like this when the offense and defense are so inconsistent, I would take chances too. That's what makes teams so dangerous is when they feel they have nothing to lose by taking risks. As far as the sneak or zone comment, in the past, those situations were sometimes a run fake and QB roll out with a pass to the FB or TE. They have just gotten away from using that. I would also like to see more nickel coverage against spread teams like Northwestern. You're not fooling anybody by having a mismatched LB on a RB.

Yep, I remember McDonough and Millen lauding O'Keefe for the 3rd & 1 bootleg to Reisner at the end of the Insight Bowl last year and saying that they can't believe how much heat he takes. He wouldn't take nearly as much heat if that play was a more omni-present threat on 3rd-and-1, or if we had a few more bread-and-butter plays to move the chains.

 

[cmhawks99]

Chad,

I have to say that was an excellent post. I agree with quite a lot of it. The fact is that the schemes work and when they do, they work well….as they have in the past. This staff’s philosophies are used effectively all over college football, so it’s not that either.

You make a good point about predictability. People complain when we don’t run enough when it is working, but isn’t that a little predictable? They complain when we throw three passes in a row and they all go incomplete. Yet had that been a 3 for 3 play drive for a TD, they are brilliant.

There’s nothing wrong with looking at Oregon or Wisconsin and thinking that if they can win consistently, why can’t we. However, the negativism and animosity when we don’t is why it took me so long to sign up for HN. That’s more depressing than the losses themselves.

Some fans have been so accustomed to success now that it’s more about the winning than watching their favorite team. I’ve already seem comments about how some won’t watch whatever “crappy bowl†they go to. Not me. I can’t remember the last time I missed a game. I don’t care what bowl they get because whichever one it is will be the last one for nine months. That’s a long time to wait for your favorite sport to come back.

It’s not just all about you because a lot of us have the same feelings.

BacknBLK,

Thanks for your poignant insights I nearly highlighted your whole post because it all hit so close to home for me.

I have to confess I didn’t expect so many people to empathize with my thoughts and feelings. I guess I kind of assumed the majority of fans were still pretty positive about the staff, but I didn’t realize there were so many out there just worn out by the emotional draining of it all, and the constant criticism is a part of that formula.

Don’t get me wrong we could & probably should be winning more games, but I seemed to enjoy it more when I didn’t expect us to win every game, and although KF’s is ultimately responsible for wins and losses there is a lot more going on than scheme and play calling.

Chad

 

[cmhawks99]

This is a good dialogue but I have to remind you guys of the bootleg Vandy ran this year that went for 20 just short of a TD, was that NW? We were all shocked and so was the other teams….and I ask “why”…..because it was “unpredictable”….to be unpredictable you can’t run it all the time.

Football is very much like life….you have to keep your eyes wide open and you have to apply constant logic and most don’t do that. Either because they can’t or they won’t and that’s what irritates me so much about what I read from some fans.

Maybe we are just diametrically opposed in our views, but I watch soooo much football and I am just dumbfounded when on very short and 3rd or 4th ANY team does anything but a sneak. Yes I cans see the occasional boot, just so the threat is there (Iowa does this so the threat is there) but every time you turn and hand the ball off you risk penetration. In my mind it is STUPID!!! So is running outside i/e: the spread play….dumb da dumb.

At least 70 plus percent of the time the sneak is golden, probably more and as you guys search your heads I know you agree. I have watched power house teams from high school on up to the NFL turn and hand off the ball and get dropped for a loss time and time and time again. Sometimes the sneak gets stuffed, but rarely twice in a row and never do they lose 2 yards! Heck Iowa used to specialize in that themselves on D!!

Before I go further I want to remind you guys I’ve really enjoyed this dialogue so I’m not challenging you….with that said Iowa ran a ton of nickel AND dime this year. And I mean a ton….they played 5 plus DB’s and blitzed from every level and every angle this year more than ever yet it still didn’t work. I know it sucks, but they did what you asked for and our execution still let us down. They changed personnel, they went 3-4, 4-3, nickel, dime and yet it seems most of our fans didn’t even realize it…..

2 other things that cover mentioned that were very insightful that I’ve often wonder about and I’ve asked questions of a “play caller” that is also my boss.

I’ve said why is it when I watch a game (every game mind you not just Iowa) does it seem like a team goes from moving the ball, too not moving the ball too moving it again about 3 or 4 different times throughout the game…..he says because you are always trying things to see if they work and you do run stuff to set up other stuff, so honestly cover, you are probably going to have to stop watching football because I agree it is irritating but it’s what they ALL do.

And on that note, this soft coverage stuff….I have yet to watch a game at any level where they don’t play pretty similar throughout the game to Iowa, they are up and then there are back. They play soft coverage all over the NFL as well so it isn’t just Iowa. It is alarming, but it ain’t just us…..

Finally and this thought sums up football for me in a nut shell and how aggravating it can be as a fan……..

Team A and B play an epic defensive game to all of sudden move the ball at will in the last 10 minutes.

Or team A and B seemingly move the ball all over to suddenly can’t do anything…

Or team A gets their arse kicked all day and suddenly move the ball all over the field and comes back from 3 TD’s down to win. Or how about a high scoring affair goes to OT and now no one can do anything, or, or, or…….

It isn’t just Iowa guys, it’s that we are too emotionally attached to see that it’s all just more of the same and we expect more from our guys.

Chad

 

[Cover3]

I have enjoyed the scheming we've done on D this year, and I have noticed it generally. I've really just wanted tighter corner play for nine years now, and that is pretty much my ONLY beef with Norm, and even then, I don't think we need to do it all the time.

Point taken with the bootleg, and logic is funny. Obviously, we would need to have some other 'surprise' play if we utilized the bootleg more than a couple times a year on 3rd and short. I agree with you that the sneak is better than handing the ball deep, but for some reason, Iowa has lost a little faith in the sneak. This year they've really started hurrying to the line to sneak it before the other team sets, but we've also not been set.

To maybe freshen up the discussion, instead of offering more pseudo-complaints, I'll just say what I'd like to see out of an offense: I like smash-mouth ground-n-pound with a DEEP play-action passing game that features availabe check-downs to the backs.

I think Iowa fits that bill pretty well. We take shots down the field, but I would like that to be our main goal with passing. Have some ball-control routes available for 3rd down and have the quick 'check-with-me' toss to the WR with a big cushion (which they have done this year, as you pointed out, Chad). Really have to establish the run, though, and I feel like Iowa doesn't have the same ability to bring the safeties up in the box without a great cutter like Freddy Russell or Shonn Greene. That's why I've been harping on misdirection runs.

 

[AZHAWKFAN1]

Great thoughts Chad. Very enjoyable reading. I also like the discussion here, nothing disrespectful.I'll leave with my pet peave, I like Wisky's offense. If they are up by 20, they try to get up by 40!!! Iowa not so much.

 

[BackNBlk]

Before I go further I want to remind you guys I’ve really enjoyed this dialogue so I’m not challenging you….with that said Iowa ran a ton of nickel AND dime this year. And I mean a ton….they played 5 plus DB’s and blitzed from every level and every angle this year more than ever yet it still didn’t work. I know it sucks, but they did what you asked for and our execution still let us down. They changed personnel, they went 3-4, 4-3, nickel, dime and yet it seems most of our fans didn’t even realize it…..

I agree….it is very good dialogue.

I watch a ton of college football every year too. While I agree they have blitzed a lot more and used more nickel and dime packages, it is still worth doing. While blitzing doesn’t always work, the threat has to be there. It worked for us in the Insight bowl. The nickel and dime packages need to be there for the years when we don’t have LBs with good speed. For all the LBs like Greenway and Edds that were good in coverage, there were others like Klinkenborg and Nielsen that weren’t. You can’t just leave them in because the scheme dictates it.

And on that note, this soft coverage stuff….I have yet to watch a game at any level where they don’t play pretty similar throughout the game to Iowa, they are up and then there are back. They play soft coverage all over the NFL as well so it isn’t just Iowa. It is alarming, but it ain’t just us…..

It isn’t just Iowa guys, it’s that we are too emotionally attached to see that it’s all just more of the same and we expect more from our guys.

Chad

This is very true. I remember last year being frustrated by all of the soft coverage we run and watching a game where Florida State was using that against someone they were far superior to (like WF). I thought the scheme can’t be that bad if a team that really has the skill to play press coverage chooses to use this soft coverage instead.

 

[BackNBlk]

Great thoughts Chad. Very enjoyable reading. I also like the discussion here, nothing disrespectful.I'll leave with my pet peave, I like Wisky's offense. If they are up by 20, they try to get up by 40!!! Iowa not so much.

Ah, yes, but most of the time they do it by pounding the opponents into submission. Very seldom do they act like a-holes and pass to run up the score. Iowa hasn't so much because we haven't had a real dominant O line for awhile. Wait until we put together one of those lines again.

 

[Cover3]

Ah, yes, but most of the time they do it by pounding the opponents into submission. Very seldom do they act like a-holes and pass to run up the score. Iowa hasn't so much because we haven't had a real dominant O line for awhile. Wait until we put together one of those lines again.

I actually started a thread wondering if we could health-ily get our O-line a little bulkier. Being able to consistently move the front wall can do wonders for an offense's consistency. Our o-lines are always good. But even smaller teams stuff us with 8-man fronts, it feels like.

Great synergy on HN today (with some exceptions, of course, hahaha).

 

[olddude]

I'll throw my hat in here. I also think we dont play tight enough, I know they are trying to keep the play infront of them and not give up the big play by doing so. I think you could mix it up a little by playing tighter then softer, or I think you could maybe play a yard closer and see how it works. I think the reason our D improved this year was due to the mixing it up a little.
As for the O what I really see missing this year was a stud TE, credit to CJ for how far he has come, but we need to be able to hit those 5-10 yarders 75+% of the time. If you have that ability and a stout running game, that really opens up the deep pass. It is also makes it very painful for teams that want to blitz all the time (something we had problems picking up this year). This also fits KF's plan to control the clock, by taking the short stuff (5 yards) all day long, until they play so tight you can go for a knock out play and take it to the house.
Next year we will have Vandy, Coker, CJ, Davis and Tin-man back we just need to hope they all progress and KOK, coaches plays and calls them, that utilize as many of the weapons as he can. This year, nobody really worried about us going short pass, they all worried about Marvin and Coker. Plain and simple we were missing a piece of the puzzle to make the leap from a good O to a great O.

 

[BackNBlk]

I'll throw my hat in here. I also think we dont play tight enough, I know they are trying to keep the play infront of them and not give up the big play by doing so. I think you could mix it up a little by playing tighter then softer, or I think you could maybe play a yard closer and see how it works. I think the reason our D improved this year was due to the mixing it up a little.
As for the O what I really see missing this year was a stud TE, credit to CJ for how far he has come, but we need to be able to hit those 5-10 yarders 75+% of the time. If you have that ability and a stout running game, that really opens up the deep pass. It is also makes it very painful for teams that want to blitz all the time (something we had problems picking up this year). This also fits KF's plan to control the clock, by taking the short stuff (5 yards) all day long, until they play so tight you can go for a knock out play and take it to the house.
Next year we will have Vandy, Coker, CJ, Davis and Tin-man back we just need to hope they all progress and KOK, coaches plays and calls them, that utilize as many of the weapons as he can. This year, nobody really worried about us going short pass, they all worried about Marvin and Coker. Plain and simple we were missing a piece of the puzzle to make the leap from a good O to a great O.

Yes, thank you. That is a very good point. We have really missed that presence over the middle. When your philosophy includes strong TE play and you don't have, it hurts a lot.

 

[HawkeyeMHA]

chad is back, havent seen him on here in a while. good to see you chadderbox