If you would have told me before the season ....

H

homerHAWKeye777

Well-Known Member
If you would have told me before the season that:

1. Our top 4 LBs went down to injury ... I would have immediately revised my expectations for the season.

2. One of our few veteran upperclassmen on the OL (Gettis) ... a unit that was a big unknown entering the season ... I would also have been very concerned.

3. TWO of our top THREE RBs entering the season either suffered a season ending injury or went AWOL ... I would have immediately revised my expectations for the season.

4. FOUR of our starters from the 2009 squad have already seen NFL starts (FYI ... that's pretty darn impressive) .... thus, many of us were probably underestimating what we lost from the '09 squad. BTW ... had Edds have been healthy, he possibly would have pushed for a starting gig too.

5. Bernstine was more injured than most of us originally knew ... therefore indicating that Hyde was really greener than many of us would have guessed (no knock on him ... he's been developing well).


So now, we're 10 games into the season and sitting on a 7-3 season. After all the close margins from the '09 season ... we really shouldn't be as surprised as many of us are. To the credit of our team, our 3 losses have been by a margin of only 12 points .... TWELVE FRACKIN' points!

Yes, we can be frustrated. However, with hindsight, what we're seeing really shouldn't be surprising. And, that is not to marginalize the 2010 squad. They ARE a pretty darn good squad. However, I would contend that injuries on D derailed the ability of the D to develop into as dominant of a unit as it could have become. All the same ... it's still pretty darn good.

3 losses in a season where we hoped for perfection .... tough to take. However, I don't think that it requires playing the "blame game" that many folks are doing. Let's just suck it up and support our team!
 
Not when two of our losses came because of coaching errors. I accept the AZ loss because special teams let us down but Wiscy and jNW both fall on the coaches. We would be a one loss team if the coaches would get the hell out of the way of success.
 
Well said, and I totally agree with you. We've got two games remaining in the regular season and have a chance to win 10 games. Next Saturday is a new day.
 
We have essentially lost two (only one is official) in a row to bottom tier B10 opponents so I think there is every reason to be frustrated. This team had all of its goals in their own hands. Losing is one thing.. how we lost is another story. Thats where the blame game comes in.
 
homerHAWKeye777 said:
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3 losses in a season where we hoped for perfection .... tough to take. However, I don't think that it requires playing the "blame game" that many folks are doing. Let's just suck it up and support our team!
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Yes it does ... someone has to take responsibility.

With the injuries on defense and 2 RBs out/gone, we still were a Big 10 champion equipped team. No excuses.

We lost 3 games by 7, 1, and 4 pts because of things that if prepared for in practice during the week and/or coaching decisions, we could have taken care of. The 1-2 plays in each of those games that went the opponents way vs. our way are NOT because the opponent is a better team or has superior talent, in my opinion.
 
I think most of us make our predictions with those exceptions already in mind. You can always count on these injury problems. They have them every season. You can always count on a RB injury, always a LB, and you can for sure as **** count on Bernstein being injured in some way.
 
All the other 119 D-1 teams have had similiar issues.......Wisky is on their 3rd runningback, NFL calibur tight end and starting wr miss significant time and they seem to be fine. I think it goes a little deeper than that. The Hawks are what their record says they are.
 
homer you are spot on!

Imagine along with what has happened in 2010 that Speivey and Bulaga would have come back this year. Not to mention if AJ would have red-shirted his first year.

Those 3 studs back might have well overcome those 12 points.

Unfortunately, probably not. Considering all the coaching and game planning issues that we all wonder about. Coaches do you self-scout? Do you keep doing the same things against the same teams (and style or scheme of play) even when it doesn't work? And it's a loss.

Go Hawks!! We can still play on January 1st and win 10 games.
 
If you would have told me before the season that three games were going to be left in the hands of Ken O'Keefe's play calling with the game on the line in time sensitive situations, I'd have said we're going to lose at least three games.
 
Homer I see your points. I think this loss hurts most of us quite a bit, but a big win against OSU would be a "magic cure". We've had a lot of injuries and going with AROB only will hurt. We lose a lot from our D next year but our best D-fence might be a kick *** OLINE who can sustain long drives. Let's keep supporting this team. They deserve it.

GO HAWKS!!!
 
Well here is the thing.

The LBs have not all been out all year and we have seen the emergence of James Morris.

Although we had two running backs out for the year, only one can carry the ball at a time. Adam Robinson has also emerged and exceeded already pretty good expectations. The one time we didn't have him there? A true freshman in Coker steps up and rushes for 130.

Iowa has regressed as a team when we thought they would be progressing. We are back to 2008 where we came close but couldn't get over the edge...and we may end up at 8-4 just like last year. Look and see how many players were on that field starting in 2008 that now have an extra two years of experience under their belt and they should be able to close out games.

What has been a strength for Iowa has cost them in the 3 losses.

Arizona game was lost by fundamentals (Dropped pass caught and returned for a TD, blocked punt and missed PAT)

Wisconsin game was lost by a defense breaking when they are supposed to bend, but not break. And once again a missed PAT and a missed chip shot field goal. Then in game coaching and missed common sense.

Northwestern game was lost once again by a defense breaking when it is only supposed to bend and coaches that cannot make mid game or half time adjustments and refusing to change the game plan.

While we did only lose by 12 points, we were supposed to be at the point as a team and program where we don't make those mistakes and win those games.

We are going to find out what this team is made of in 6 days. For the last two years our fans and players have had "Rose Bowl" in our minds. For the first time that dream is out the window. You have players like Stanzi, Clayborn, DJK and Greenwood who are at the end of their careers at Iowa and no matter what happens, will end this part of their lives as a letdown or disappointment. How will they react?
 
Hawkfromnorwalk said:
Not when two of our losses came because of coaching errors. I accept the AZ loss because special teams let us down but Wiscy and jNW both fall on the coaches. We would be a one loss team if the coaches would get the hell out of the way of success.
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Have to agree here. I can handle 18-23 year old kids messing up. It still sucks but they are kids. It happens.

What I have a very difficult time with is when guys making a lot of money struggle with time management, and making adjustments, and taking responsibility for losses. Something most other coaches are expected to do.
 
Play-calling complains are simply laughable. Those are just the knee-jerk reaction of fans who want to pin the blame on something.

The Iowa teams is built on fundamentals and execution ... whether fans like it or not.

When the team does great ... the PLAYERS deserve the lion's share of the credit.

However, contrary to typical fan reaction ... when the team DOESN'T do great .... the PLAYERS also deserve the lion's share of the BLAME.

However, when you remember that a college team is still comprised of young people still learning their trade ... we as fans should measure our reaction when exacting our frustration after painful defeats.

I think that the Northwestern game rests far more on the shoulders of the players than the playcalling. However, Ferentz deflects the criticism ... just as he should.
 
homerHAWKeye777 said:
Play-calling complains are simply laughable. Those are just the knee-jerk reaction of fans who want to pin the blame on something.

The Iowa teams is built on fundamentals and execution ... whether fans like it or not.

When the team does great ... the PLAYERS deserve the lion's share of the credit.

However, contrary to typical fan reaction ... when the team DOESN'T do great .... the PLAYERS also deserve the lion's share of the BLAME.

However, when you remember that a college team is still comprised of young people still learning their trade ... we as fans should measure our reaction when exacting our frustration after painful defeats.

I think that the Northwestern game rests far more on the shoulders of the players than the playcalling. However, Ferentz deflects the criticism ... just as he should.
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Well it's become a trend, not executing against Northwestern. No heads need to roll, but a few adjustments need to be made when we face teams that actually exploit our weakness rather that bang their heads against the wall by playing into our hands (which is what the vast majority of teams do against us, but Northwestern never does these days).
 
homerHAWKeye777 said:
Play-calling complains are simply laughable. Those are just the knee-jerk reaction of fans who want to pin the blame on something.

The Iowa teams is built on fundamentals and execution ... whether fans like it or not.

When the team does great ... the PLAYERS deserve the lion's share of the credit.

However, contrary to typical fan reaction ... when the team DOESN'T do great .... the PLAYERS also deserve the lion's share of the BLAME.

However, when you remember that a college team is still comprised of young people still learning their trade ... we as fans should measure our reaction when exacting our frustration after painful defeats.

I think that the Northwestern game rests far more on the shoulders of the players than the playcalling. However, Ferentz deflects the criticism ... just as he should.
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I just got done arguing with my roommate about this very thing. I agree with you Homer that the players are more to blame for the loss, but my roommate is primarily placing the blame on the coaches. I also completely agree with you about measuring our reactions after painful defeats like this one. We as fans need to support the team in victory and defeat.
 
PasadenaDreams: Iowa has regressed as a team when we thought they would be progressing. We are back to 2008 where we came close but couldn't get over the edge...and we may end up at 8-4 just like last year. Look and see how many players were on that field starting in 2008 that now have an extra two years of experience under their belt and they should be able to close out games.

Huh? I hope you mean like that year, but then you're still a little off because we went 9-4.
 
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PasadenaDreams said:
Well here is the thing.

The LBs have not all been out all year and we have seen the emergence of James Morris.

Although we had two running backs out for the year, only one can carry the ball at a time. Adam Robinson has also emerged and exceeded already pretty good expectations. The one time we didn't have him there? A true freshman in Coker steps up and rushes for 130.
Click to expand...

First off the Arizona game was lost because Arizona played a great game ... the opponent always deserves credit for exploiting their opportunities ... that's what good teams do.

However, past that ... special teams play were arguably the largest single contributers to our first TWO defeats.

But, on the other hand, some of our difficulties on D through the season have been due to the fact that we haven't been able to EXECUTE some of the coverages we like to do with adequate consistency. And, a definite part of that is attributable to our LB personnel.

I could be wrong, but it seemed to me that Nielsen was playing hurt after the Michigan game. When you add his injury to Tarp's stinger ... we then just lost 2 of our best cover-LBs. That's HUGE!

As for the comments about the RBs ... Wisky ALREADY had White and Ball in full-season form BEFORE they got to the late part of the season. That way they could seamlessly absorb the blow of Clay's injury. The reason why it's so important for a team like Wisky AND Iowa to have experienced depth at RB is so we can lean on our running game in poor weather ... particularly late in the season when the weather gets cold. The cold weather very often takes a toll on our passing game (just contrast "cold-weather" Ricky to "warm-weather" Ricky ... and you'll see a SIGNIFICANT difference).

I absolutely love Coker's upside ... however, he missed most of fall-camp ... that's HUGE. As a result, we couldn't simply just throw our running game like a battering at our last two foes (unlike Wisky). The results were not only striking ... but they were also strategically PREDICTABLE.

Were it not for the collar-bone injury, the coaches already had planned to play Coker as a TR FR ... EVEN with Wegher on the squad! Thus, can you appreciate how much better equipped our O could have been entering the end of the season this year if we had ARob, a healthy Hampton, a healthy Coker, and Wegher?

Of course, I don't want to diminish the impact of the injuries to Gettis and MacMillan. Koeppel has actually filled in better than I would have guessed. However, the absence of Gettis/MacMillan has been noticeable. And, if you don't believe me ... break down the tape of the OL.
 
Iowa won the toss and took the ball. NU obviously elected to take the ball in the second half. We thus had the choice of which goal line to defend in the third and fourth quarters. Now will the Ferentz apologists, who all have probably seen the same movie I have seen about Iowa's defense folding like origami at the end of A LOT of games in the past half decade or so, please explain to me whether you want to put the rested up defense out there with NU going with the wind in the 3rd quarter so that they would then have to go into the wind in the 4th quarter or if it would have been better to make sure NU had the wind in the 4th quarter when the line was all gassed. I always thought you wanted the wind in the 4th quarter if the game looked like it was going to be close and you were going up against a pass first team, but I don't get paid $3 million a year to decide things like that.
 
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