If you are picking 6 -6 . . .
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Golfer
Well-Known Member
I'm not picking 6-6.
I'm not participating in the "group think" that all of the media experts seems to be.
BTN yesterday said the D Line was improved a bunch over what they saw when they were in IC.
I'm not sure what it's going to be, and if it turns out 6-6, so be it.
Everyone seems to be repeating the same lines.
Hawkeyegamefilm noticed some differences, and we should be a challenge to prepare for. I think that gives us one or two wins right there.
I'm not participating in the "group think" that all of the media experts seems to be.
BTN yesterday said the D Line was improved a bunch over what they saw when they were in IC.
I'm not sure what it's going to be, and if it turns out 6-6, so be it.
Everyone seems to be repeating the same lines.
Hawkeyegamefilm noticed some differences, and we should be a challenge to prepare for. I think that gives us one or two wins right there.
There just isn't a great deal of talent in iowa city right now. To me, our weakest area behind the d-line, which is the heart and soul of our defense, is the receiver core. Behind that is the rb position. What's carried us in the past when we've been single dimensional is great defense. I think we're about the same or slightly below on defense. The season relies solely on greg davis being creative to spread things out, open up the run game somehow and hope a freshman can carry us at rb. Anything is possible but I think the high for w's is 7 and the low is 4.
Golfer
Well-Known Member
I don't disagree with you Droid. I would just add talent, and expected results are not always one in the same in college athletics.
Not at Iowa anyway.
I sat through the 2009 season, and kept thinking we're not this good.
I sat through the 2010 season, and could not believe that NWN and Minny should
have even been on the same field as we were.
Not at Iowa anyway.
I sat through the 2009 season, and kept thinking we're not this good.
I sat through the 2010 season, and could not believe that NWN and Minny should
have even been on the same field as we were.
herkyattack
Well-Known Member
I think we could surprise some people this year. The TE's are incredibly talented and will be able to make up for the lack of depth in the wide receiver core. If everyone remains healthy (and comes back healthy), the defensive line will be fine- Alvis, Davis, Cooper, and Gaglione- plus Bigach and a bunch of talented freshman hopefully rotating in. Plus, the back 7 is as talented and as athletic as we have ever seen. I think we can do some things defensively that we haven't done before (such as man press, and different blitz packages) that play to our strengths. Hopefully with Phil P as the new DC, he takes advantage of these things.
Makavelihawk
Well-Known Member
I'm actually picking 5-7.
BSpringsteen
Well-Known Member
You can call it whatever you want Golfer, but we don't have one skill position player on offense that as of now will get an honorable mention for all conference honors. Same goes for the DL.
That doesn't mean that there can't be marked improvement in the next four months, but it does mean that this has the potential to be a very very long year.
TecmoSuperHawk
Well-Known Member
I don't understand the feelings that there is little talent on this team. Our last 3 recruiting classes have been very solid, much better than the preceding 3. This means we have fairly young and inexeperienced players, but not lacking talent.
Our back 7 on D should be good to very good. Our front 4 is filled with players we are unsure of, but again guys like Darian Cooper are very talented.
On offense, we lack a play maker at WR, but have a good group of TEs. And to the person that said we have no honorable mention caliber players on offense, JVB can definitely be honorable mention all Big Ten, along with CJF.
Our schedule is also very favorable. There are 9 games Iowa will be favored in or no more than a 2-3 point underdog. Those are all winnable games in my mind. Only games we are decided underdogs are @ MSU, @ Michigan and Nebraska.
Finally, if the 2007 team could go 6-6 (and they were the worst Iowa team since the 2000 squad) then this team will be better than that. I really think 8-4 is where we end up.
Our back 7 on D should be good to very good. Our front 4 is filled with players we are unsure of, but again guys like Darian Cooper are very talented.
On offense, we lack a play maker at WR, but have a good group of TEs. And to the person that said we have no honorable mention caliber players on offense, JVB can definitely be honorable mention all Big Ten, along with CJF.
Our schedule is also very favorable. There are 9 games Iowa will be favored in or no more than a 2-3 point underdog. Those are all winnable games in my mind. Only games we are decided underdogs are @ MSU, @ Michigan and Nebraska.
Finally, if the 2007 team could go 6-6 (and they were the worst Iowa team since the 2000 squad) then this team will be better than that. I really think 8-4 is where we end up.
Keenan Davis the leading returning yardage and catch receiver in the Big Ten.
Vandy is the leading returning yardage passer in the the Big Ten.
CJ Fed might very well be the best TE in the Big Ten.
Brad Rogers could be among the best fullbacks in the Big Ten.
Kevonte Martin-Manley is in the top ten returning receivers in the Big Ten,in catches and yardage.
That is 5 offensive skill players that might very well be all-league.
Name a team in the Legends that has more skilled offensive players returning?
Neb has Burkehead,Martinez,and a wideout.
Michigan has D-Rob,some RB's and who?
MSU has a couple of rbs..and who?
NW has Colter,and who?
Minny has Gray and who?
Fans tend to forget that other schools lose players every year also.
Iowa will likely have the best offensive line in the Legends this year,and that is more important than skill players....always has been that way in this league.
I see losse at MSU,at Michigan,and probably to Neb or PU...otherwise,Iowa can win most or all of the rest. I expect 7 or 8 wins...or more.
Golfer
Well-Known Member
I just have a feeling about this. A hunch. It's going to be a work in progress, but I don't think as bad as everyone else thinks.
I didn't see the D line get "manhandled".
I'm not an expert though, so I'm going off of a hunch.
ATLHawkeye
Well-Known Member
Every year I look forward to the football season and feel like it's going to be a good year. This year is no different. I have to remind myself that coming on the board this time of year is not conducive to staying excited about the upcoming season.
Obviously everybody on here is just going by hunches, which is understandable. However, predictions like 6-6, 7-5, 8-4, 5-7 are just guesses at this point and really mean nothing. Nobody knows who will step up and surprise, but it seems like it happens every year. My prediction is that the D-line is where we're going to be pleasantly surprised this year.
Oh... and I predict 8-4
Obviously everybody on here is just going by hunches, which is understandable. However, predictions like 6-6, 7-5, 8-4, 5-7 are just guesses at this point and really mean nothing. Nobody knows who will step up and surprise, but it seems like it happens every year. My prediction is that the D-line is where we're going to be pleasantly surprised this year.
Oh... and I predict 8-4
Based on what was a half speed drill with no tackling allowed for the majority of the practice, we now have people able to say who will start, who will be abject failures, compare d line to last 25 years, etc. sorry, I'm not an NFL scout, but I am not buying all these expert predictions after 12 spring practices and with the freshman not having reported yet. I think our d line was going up against the best o line they will face and doing so with one arm tied behind their back. With all that, they still looked decent to this untrained eye.
hawkinn3
Well-Known Member
I don't buy this talk of a much improved D-Line, we lost our best players in Binns and Daniel. Will the current guys be better than last year? Of course, but will they be as good as last years mediocre unit? No, of course not and there is nothign to suggest they will be.
HawkeyeRyno
Banned
Exactly. The best players on the team are true freshmen or RS freshmen. Poor recruiting and atrition from a few years ago come to rear it's ugly head PLUS adjusting to new staff changes. This is why this season will be a struggle but these talented underclassmen will get some reps and learn the playbook so that 2013 going forward will be big things. I'm expecting much more in 2013.
DexterMorgan
Well-Known Member
I expect us to compete and have a chance to win every game. We very well could go 6-6 or we could go 9-3. We'll see how gutty this team is. IMO Nico Law brings those guts to the defense. I am not expecting or maybe just wont accept that our defense is going to be bad.
I don't care if people are predicting it or not, I will be extremely disappointed with a 6-6 season.
I don't care if people are predicting it or not, I will be extremely disappointed with a 6-6 season.
Smarthawk
Well-Known Member
7-9 wins is where we should fall. 10 wins and Kirk Ferentz is coach of the year. Right now the 2 Michigan's on the road are looking difficult and Northwestern on the road could be tough. If we start 4-1 or 5-0 we should be fine. If we lose 2 or 3 of the 1st 5 games, we will be in for a long season.
8-4 losing to Mich, MSU, Nebby & ????
8-4 losing to Mich, MSU, Nebby & ????
As Jon would say you are putting the cart way before the horse if you are marking these 3 games as wins.
Minnesota has beaten Iowa two games in row. Not fluke wins either. Physically dominant in the 4th quarters of the last two matchups.
Indiana has a mobile QB that killed Iowa last year.
Purdue, while not at the level they were during the previous decade, is not a sure win at home.
I have no idea how this season will turn out but recent history shows us that Iowa will have few sure wins, regardless of how good they are.
cmhawks99
Well-Known Member
Just dropped into get some insights….I am very much tempering myself and avoiding “others” predictions, but I did want to see some quick overviews. Some thoughts do come to mind…
This is a typical college football team…some say there are no guaranteed wins, they are right. There are also no guaranteed losses. Strangely no very different than the Michigan’s and Texas & Florida’s of late. I/e: pretty much every single team in this era….If you are expecting 6-6 and aren’t as upset by that as you were 7-6 last year and 8-5 the year before than I am extremely confused. I was on these message boards when all the fans said we had no talent prior to our 9-4 campaign in 2008. I’ve been on Hawkeyereport when it was said we had no playmakers and losing Wilson (yeah “Wilson“) way back when in the 2ndry was “devastating, because he was one of our few athletes…….!!! Wow was that wrong. Point being this team has not been devoid of talent for some time….I get tempered expectations, I get the youth thoughts…but let’s really look! Some of the thoughts are honestly really strange to me….
“NO” offensive talent……..
Vandy will be one of the better QBs in the big 10……
Keenan Davis will be one of the better WR’s assuming the offense doesn’t really suck (with NFL aspirations), and KMM is an above average Big 10 WR.
CJF will be the best TE in the league and quite frankly it looks to me like Iowa has 3 or 4 TE’s who could play for anyone…..
There is sooooo much highly rated, experienced and proven talent on the O-line they’ll be filling draft classes for years to come…..
D-line….yep very shaky, but Bigach had some really great moments. Alvis if healthy has huge upside. Lot of highly rated talent there on that line and if they can’t cobble together an average unit then we didn’t really upgrade our program at all quite frankly.
Our 2ndaryt is very exciting…Hyde and Lowery will play in the NFL. It sounds like Lomax is very good as well. Castillo can certainly play nickel. Miller I really like and it sounds like Law has a chance to be special and even if he isn’t quite yet ready, I have yet to read even a pessimist not Rave about the total 2ndary as being very athletic and very solid. They will likely be one of 3 or 4 best in the Big 10. And I don’t think its impossible Lowery and Hyde form the “best” tandem of corners…
Our Lbers I think underperformed until late year, but there is talent and depth there and even in underperforming Kirksey and Morris (2 true Jrs) were in the top 7 in tackles in the league and I’m in love with the improvements Hitchens made….I also think there is talent behind them.
Finally as has been the case for Iowa, it’s an attitudinal thing and I’ve preached it and preached it and preached it…..I know it’s hard to quantify and I know its ethereal and fleeting but if you live in the world you actually see it daily. “Talent “has very little to do with it anymore and if you disagree remember this…..
Iowa will send what…..3 or 4 or maybe even 5 guys to the NFL via the draft again this year…more via free agency. They have recruited better and better and better over the years and if they don’t suddenly have talent then the irony here is so thick its suffocating. We have recruited “higher” rated players and yet suddenly we don’t have any talent….what a sad, sad deal that would be….
In review we may only win 6-6 games, that is a definite a possibility. But you should be just as disappointed as ever if so and this “new” staff shouldn’t suddenly get a pass. Things won’t look better the following year with a new QB and ”top” WR……if we are so middling that 6-6 is more or less a given then you should all be very disappointed and that maybe we were recruiting better when we were signing no names I guess.
This is a typical college football team…some say there are no guaranteed wins, they are right. There are also no guaranteed losses. Strangely no very different than the Michigan’s and Texas & Florida’s of late. I/e: pretty much every single team in this era….If you are expecting 6-6 and aren’t as upset by that as you were 7-6 last year and 8-5 the year before than I am extremely confused. I was on these message boards when all the fans said we had no talent prior to our 9-4 campaign in 2008. I’ve been on Hawkeyereport when it was said we had no playmakers and losing Wilson (yeah “Wilson“) way back when in the 2ndry was “devastating, because he was one of our few athletes…….!!! Wow was that wrong. Point being this team has not been devoid of talent for some time….I get tempered expectations, I get the youth thoughts…but let’s really look! Some of the thoughts are honestly really strange to me….
“NO” offensive talent……..
Vandy will be one of the better QBs in the big 10……
Keenan Davis will be one of the better WR’s assuming the offense doesn’t really suck (with NFL aspirations), and KMM is an above average Big 10 WR.
CJF will be the best TE in the league and quite frankly it looks to me like Iowa has 3 or 4 TE’s who could play for anyone…..
There is sooooo much highly rated, experienced and proven talent on the O-line they’ll be filling draft classes for years to come…..
D-line….yep very shaky, but Bigach had some really great moments. Alvis if healthy has huge upside. Lot of highly rated talent there on that line and if they can’t cobble together an average unit then we didn’t really upgrade our program at all quite frankly.
Our 2ndaryt is very exciting…Hyde and Lowery will play in the NFL. It sounds like Lomax is very good as well. Castillo can certainly play nickel. Miller I really like and it sounds like Law has a chance to be special and even if he isn’t quite yet ready, I have yet to read even a pessimist not Rave about the total 2ndary as being very athletic and very solid. They will likely be one of 3 or 4 best in the Big 10. And I don’t think its impossible Lowery and Hyde form the “best” tandem of corners…
Our Lbers I think underperformed until late year, but there is talent and depth there and even in underperforming Kirksey and Morris (2 true Jrs) were in the top 7 in tackles in the league and I’m in love with the improvements Hitchens made….I also think there is talent behind them.
Finally as has been the case for Iowa, it’s an attitudinal thing and I’ve preached it and preached it and preached it…..I know it’s hard to quantify and I know its ethereal and fleeting but if you live in the world you actually see it daily. “Talent “has very little to do with it anymore and if you disagree remember this…..
Iowa will send what…..3 or 4 or maybe even 5 guys to the NFL via the draft again this year…more via free agency. They have recruited better and better and better over the years and if they don’t suddenly have talent then the irony here is so thick its suffocating. We have recruited “higher” rated players and yet suddenly we don’t have any talent….what a sad, sad deal that would be….
In review we may only win 6-6 games, that is a definite a possibility. But you should be just as disappointed as ever if so and this “new” staff shouldn’t suddenly get a pass. Things won’t look better the following year with a new QB and ”top” WR……if we are so middling that 6-6 is more or less a given then you should all be very disappointed and that maybe we were recruiting better when we were signing no names I guess.
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