Iowa Defense: Time for a Change or Aberration?

[Igothawked]

1) Blitz (or, at elast, show blitz) more often. Try to keep the other teams guessing a bit more (besides, Morris is one heck on a blitzer)..

I like the idea of at least showing blitz more to give the opponent something to think about. The Bears do this A LOT. They have Briggs and Urlacher showing blitz on nearly ever play, they rarely come on the blitz, but when they do it tends to be effective.
Now you do need linebackers who can really run to show the blitz like the Bears, but to me it would be simple for the offense to say the Hawks aren't going to blitz anyway so who cares about blitz pickups. I think that was part of the reason Morris was effective in the bowl game. Mizzou likely did very little game planning for the Iowa blitz and thus did not know what to do when Morris came on two straight plays.
And the Hawks wouldn't have to do it regularly, but at least show blitz occassionaly and even bring some heat more often. Those would be things I would like to see out of the D.

 

[fuhrdogrj]

Persa summed it up -- stop being so predictable and one-dimensional on defense. HELLO! At least make the opponent's scouting report a little more distracted / diluted. Make them actually have to put in some extra mental prep during the week they play Iowa, in addition to already knowing they're going to get physically punished.

Agree completely. Make them actually practice all week where they have to prepare more than just watch our last game on film. Stop letting the QB's be so comfortable and make them fear what 'could" be coming. Sure like everybody else we will get burned by a blitz that didn't work...but I think in the long run...all the 3rd and long conversions it would save...time of posession also..it would be a big benefit.

 

[BALDIES7980]

Take the bowl game as a plan to succeed. BBDB works very well in alot of situations but is not the end all. Just as smash mouth running isn't on O.
Its as simple as keeping the opposition unsure of what you MIGHT do no that it has to be done all the time either.
I have preached this over and over in the message boards for years. Single mindedness and predictable ALWAYS puts you at a disadvantage.
With our O makeup it would be interesting to go 5 wide a couple times in the middle of a game. Practice it enough and imagine how that would mess with a D's game plan. Even the simple changes Iowa made in the bowl game confused the opposition and I thought they played the nickel and dime very well. IMO Iowa would have posted at least 10 more wins in the KF tenure if this approach was used.

 

[jameskalina]

Stay the course.

Norm Parker is nobody's dummmy.

 

[weighthawk]

Stay the course.

Norm Parker is nobody's dummmy.

+1000

 

[hwks1]

BBDB is obviously frustrating to watch, but it generally works for us.

The problem I have is that we don't seem to have any answers for certain teams and/or schemes, such as Northwestern. When some teams keep beating you year after year, perhaps you ought to consider doing something different against them?

This sums it up pretty well for me. I do think that BBDB was good at building our program and keeping us in every game. I would like to think now that we have recruited well enough now to dial up some more pressure and more man to man coverage.

I would like to see us attack more instead of always hoping the opponent beats itself

 

[joemc1]

I think we need to be more aggressive at putting pressure on the QB and giving less cushion to WR. That doesn't mean blitzing all the time, but we need to change up looks more often, rotate more players in and develop more blitx schemes. If you watch the NFL or the other better teams in CFB- no one else just sits back in their standard D all game. Either we are way smarter than everyone else, or maybe we are not.

 

[MattB]

I say we should play our base defense most of the time. Dialing up a blitz a little more often would keep offenses honest. Morris or a corner seem to effectively get there. I'd also throw in the dime or nickel package. We seemed to be more effective against Mizzou when we had the dime in. I think against NW and other teams in the spread we need to make some adjustments. Otherwise, it's not broken.

BINGO. Everyone is pretty much on point in this thread. We don't need to re invent anything. Just make some minor adjustments against teams like Mizzou, Northwestern. The bowl game was a perfect example of things that Norm needs to bring in once in a while. Dime and Nickel packages on 3rd downs to tighten up coverage so slot receivers don't kill our LB's for easy 1st downs.

I think Morris has a bright future as well. You can't just say we need to blitz more and think that is going to solve everything. You need to have the players that have the footballs instincts to blitz effectively.

 

[Sirhouseman]

The biggest problem I see consistently is Iowa's 4 man rush against 6 blockers. I don't care how many all americans you send, when it's 4 versus 6 you're not going to get there.

 

[cabse5]

BINGO. Everyone is pretty much on point in this thread. We don't need to re invent anything. Just make some minor adjustments against teams like Mizzou, Northwestern.

Nah, I don't agree with this at all. It's a short list of Big Ten opponents that Iowa's defense dominates. They would be: Penn State, Michigan State, and Nebraska. It still irks me that Wisky decided to go to a passing spread offense after we stopped their running game -Wisky used to be in the group of Big Ten teams Iowa's defense dominated.

It doesn't matter if Iowa's defense controls the line of scrimmage, which is what Parker's defense strives to do, unless Iowa is playing Penn State, Michigan State, or Nebraska. Too many opponents of Iowa try to force one on one matchups against our defense. Iowa's defense is not athletic enough to defeat those matchups - it's primarily a zone.

 

[homerHAWKeye777]

Some Iowa fans can be so short sighted.

Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if some "friends" of the players have been sharing some negative opinions too. Players themselves often think that being aggressive is "better." However, when you're aggressive, you're also risking putting more guys on islands.

Here are a few issues I saw on D this year:

- Guys trying to play more for "themselves" than playing disciplined TEAM D ... this matters A LOT more than the average fan or player realizes.

- Our CB play was understandably exploitable early in the season. This was compounded by the safeties making some mistakes. I wonder if some of the mistakes made by the safeties were due to them trying to compensate for the relative inexperience of the LBs and CBs around them OR due them being rusty because they were still coming off of off-season shoulder surgeries OR if maybe they were trying to "improve" their NFL highlight reels.

- Injuries, injuries, injuries at LB. I cannot emphasize how big the injuries at LB were to our D. We didn't have a SINGLE top LB make it through the entire season uninjured. The lack of continuity was huge. Also, I appreciate all the effort and everything that Troy Johnson gave to our program ... but I WILL say that there is a reason why he was not higher than being the #3 WILL LB in 2009. Then, all of a sudden, due to graduation and injuries he gets upgraded to being a starter! Johnson got beat out by BOTH Tarp and Morris at the MIKE LB spot ... and he obviously was in WAY over his head playing the LEO spot.

- Iowa definitely lost A LOT in the departures of Edds and Angerer. However, what Iowa fans DO NOT appreciate is that due to injuries, we were effectively forced to replace them with 3rd stringers (or worse)! For those who've watched Iowa football for A LONG time ... we simply do not have the depth to handle those sorts or personnel blows.

- Players and fans might contend that due to our personnel issues Iowa should have changed up their schemes to compensate for them. What fans and (some) players don't realize is that Iowa was still in positions to win in EACH of their games. The difference between a win and a loss was miniscule ... and the losses were a culmination of A LOT of execution miscues and were also reflective of the psychology of the team. At the end of the year, the Iowa team just wanted to get through the season ... and that's what happened ... and that is definitely ON THEM!

- Reiterating the above point ... due to personnel issues, the Iowa D was forced to simplify things in some respects. The Iowa coaches are GREAT teachers and you can also look at the challenge of inserting young players at prominent positions as an OPPORTUNITY to help develop those players. Thus, such opportunities may hurt the D or O a little bit in the short term ... it is also CRITICAL when it comes to the LONG TERM success of the program. The Iowa coaches stuck to their guns ... stuck by Micah Hyde, stuck by Marcus Coker, and stuck by James Morris ... among many other guys ... AND, as a result, the O and D are going to be that much better off when the 2011 season rolls around.

 

[cabse5]

I respectably ask folks for this one thing: stop posting foolish comments about the coaches lighting a fire under players so Iowa can dominate like in the Michigan State game. Player's efforts this year have been self evidently strong. What's also evident is that Iowa's defensive system excels against some offenses and struggles against others - a majority of Big Ten's teams have offenses that Iowa's defense struggles against.

These people who don't want to put players on islands. Who don't want to tick off coaches. Who worry about taking chances. You get the team you deserve.

Let me repeat this: this isn't a one year aberration. This problem Parker's defense has with defending the pass is a traditional problem. The first time I became aware of this problem was against Purdue in 2002 - the game where Clark ran that 90 some yard inside screen for a touchdown. Iowa held on by their fingernails to beat Purdue.

Besides, how credible can one be who demands a pro-quality linebacker for a successful Iowa defense - with Iowa's recruiting record?

 

[iloveyoularrystation]

Iowa's defense does not need a lot of changes or tweaking. For the most part I will say I trust that Norm Parker knows a lot more about what works in a football game than I do, I trust him because he's earned that. They have a scheme built around the types of players they recruit. They have tweaked things in the past based on situation and players skills quite frequently. I'm thinking specifically of the Georgia Tech game last year when they rotated the defense over to Binns side because 2 things became obvious in that game: 1. Clayborn was 100% domination, 2. GT noticed that too and started running every play to the other side in the second half.

As a lot of people mentioned they did do a little more nickel in the missouri game in the second half and they blitzed Morris twice in a row of the slot receiver and that was on the deciding drive of the game that cause the turnover in downs on 4th. Totally out of character for us to run the same blitz twice in a row, but it worked so they did it. The interception return for a touchdown came off the nickel.

I'm hoping that they noticed in this bowl game that nickel coverage occasionally, especially in 3rd and long, and blitzing Morris who is an awesome blitzer, are a couple points they'll take with them into next season. The injuries this year at linebacker crippled the team. The guys like Davis who really can run with slot receivers for a little while weren't there and I think the defensive line they had in practice was not the defensive line they had in games so they put more trust in them then they probably should have.
Hopefully Norm will be back for the whole season this year, and we'll see what happens. I'm excited at the prospect of getting Jordan Bernstine in there in nickel packages after his play in the bowl.

 

[MattB]

Nah, I don't agree with this at all. It's a short list of Big Ten opponents that Iowa's defense dominates. They would be: Penn State, Michigan State, and Nebraska. It still irks me that Wisky decided to go to a passing spread offense after we stopped their running game -Wisky used to be in the group of Big Ten teams Iowa's defense dominated.

It doesn't matter if Iowa's defense controls the line of scrimmage, which is what Parker's defense strives to do, unless Iowa is playing Penn State, Michigan State, or Nebraska. Too many opponents of Iowa try to force one on one matchups against our defense. Iowa's defense is not athletic enough to defeat those matchups - it's primarily a zone.

What I meant was that we need to implement a nickel package more often than not when playing teams that run the spread and throw in a dime on 3rd and long situations. You would rather us play our base 4-3 the entire time?

 

[homerHAWKeye777]

What I meant was that we need to implement a nickel package more often than not when playing teams that run the spread and throw in a dime on 3rd and long situations. You would rather us play our base 4-3 the entire time?

Iowa likes to play more nickel ... however, they also tend to do moreso when they have more of a hybrid S/CB to play the spot. Part of the problem, it would seem, is that the Hawks didn't have the personnel to consistently pull off those packages.

Also, part of it is that when you throw out more assignment packages ... that then "exposes" the youth/inexperience of your D more. While Morris has a great future and Iowa has some high-quality players in the secondary ... Iowa simply lacked the combo of experience and talent at key positions to allow the Hawks to pull off consistency with some of those looks. As a result, the Hawks were rather limited in what they could run defensively in 2010.

Contrary to what SOME fans (and even announcers) seem to indicate ... when Iowa has the depth of personnel ... they're more than willing to "flex" their muscles scheme-wise. Iowa's D actually showed A LOT of different looks in 2009 ... and that arguably contributed some to the success of the group too.

However, the bottom line still boils down to consistency and EXECUTION.