One thing that is always consistent about Ferentz ball is that we will be in every game. Not saying that's a good thing in all cases, obviously. It's an Iowa football game. I'm sure we will look decent at times and then look so bad I will want to throw things, but i won't. My guess is that we will struggle our way to a 27-21 loss and the few mistakes we make will cost us because the margin for error with Ferentz ball is so tiny. Will I be shocked if we win? not really, because there is a 50/50 chance we win or lose pretty much every saturday.
Iowa v. Pitt
- Thread starter Sparky
- Start date
Their RB Coleman is really good too. Going to be tough sledding that day.
1hawkeye1
Well-Known Member
They be ridin the pine.
NCHawker
Well-Known Member
Eda
Well-Known Member
No uh... Your Pessimism gets oldest!!
I guess I'd be in the same camp as Hawknick; where as there are some positives to see and still keep excitement for the rest of the season. I don't think I'd much care for the doom and gloom outlook some on here have taken to preaching.
OttoWagonhurst
Banned
Iowa sucks at football.
Pitt rolls.
Pitt rolls.
I haven't seen anything to be optimistic about. Until then, I will not blindly pretend like hawknick that this is even a remotely mediocre team. It's annoying and dumb to be that clueless that this team is bad.
Can they fix their issues, maybe, but probably not. I hope I am wrong but I bet my comments are more likely to happen than hawknick's prediction of still winning the west division.
gohawkz
Well-Known Member
Don't know what team you've been watching. I watched much of the FIU game and Pitt looked like ****. Florida International was every bit as good til they wore down late. I don't think Pitt is very good.
But Iowa does have Ferentz at the helm so that likely makes us much worse than Florida International.
hawkeyebob62
Well-Known Member
What else does Spielman say? You've never had any original thoughts that weren't troll-posts, so what else are Spielman and the gang putting in your head?
Iowa's Oline has been "more than adequate" many times. 2002. 2003. 2004. 2005. 2008. 2009. 2010. And on and on.
There have been injuries, both to OL and RBs, not to mention years where WR depth took a major hit.
Get a clue. Canzeri is slow? Not elusive? How about Damien Sims? Jermelle Lewis? Wegher? And Greene was "non-elusive"?!
Ok...
I should clarify - relative to Iowa, Pitt looks very good this year.
Eda
Well-Known Member
I hate that I have to even ask this… But have you watched any of the games, or did you just the 2nd half of ISU? This isn't a bad team. They're just not playing well at times, being coached well (including player management), and have poor technique/execution so far. All of which are correctable issues. So to say this is a bad team, would be unfair.
As I've mentioned before, I wouldn't much care for the doom and gloom outlook. You've got to have some hope that changes/corrections can and will be made.
HawkeyeMHA
Well-Known Member
I've watched Pitt twice this year and am not overly impressed. Granted, anyone who has watched us is less impressed that is for sure. Clearly, we are not a good team. Our offense is quite frankly offensive. Pitt has run the ball well, but that plays right into our hands because even though we are very very average to below average as a team this year, our one strength is stopping the run. This reminds me a lot of us vs wisky in the past where they could probably beat us if they weren't insistent on running right at us. I think we stop their run game for the most part, despite a couple decent runs here and there. Their qb is very up and down and will throw some very bad balls based on what I've seen. I don't think he can beat us. I see us throwing well, stopping their run, winning a close, ugly game. I mean, what other type of game would we win if it wasn't ugly. Fact will remain, we have significant issues, we are not good, should not lose to an 0-2 ketchup and mustard team on our field, and I'm still ******* ******.
STILLBUSTER
Well-Known Member
I'm not into the doom & gloom outlook, either. I'm into simply describing realities and probabilities.
Hope is all you have left when you've basically resolved yourself to the futility of fighting the probabilities that are stacked against you. I have very little hope that Kirk Ferentz and Greg Davis will do anything but continue the degradation of Iowa football because I choose to accept that is the course they are on. It's not because I am negative and only focused on the doom and gloom. It's because it is what is happening, is most likely to continue to happen and I choose to accept it and base my future expectations on that reality.
The real issue here is not the truth of the positive potential, nor that KirkFer and Gergster are mismanaging and squandering it, again -- those are givens. The issue is a difference of reaction to what has been, is and will be. You believe biting your tongue, hoping for the best, and being a good participant is a better reaction than angrily voicing criticism, stating negative expectations that are consistent with negative realities, and protesting for change to end those negative realities.
I don't begrudge you your reaction, please don't begrudge me mine.
As was said earlier, we have around a 50:50 chance to win. Pitt is probably the best team we've played to date, but not by much. We've left so much in the holster, there is hope that if we could find a way to extract just some of those bullets, we could get the W. Saturday I hope we start turning the corner in spite of our coaching staff. Hopefully some asst coaches, players can voice some opinions, ideas for improvement to the HC/OC that he might actually listen to/react to. I think if I was an asst coach or player, and I saw some glaring areas, I would not keep quiet about it, I'd be passionate about it. Change of some kind is the only hope. Keeping doing what we've been doing will provide the same/similar results. A win Saturday with poor play and no improvement won't help us any for the tougher schedule ahead. I don't want to be that 6 win team that really sucks and should be staying home come December.
herkytime
Well-Known Member
I wouldn't be shocked if we won. The capt has to get 6 wins somehow to make a nobody cares bowl game. They are all going to be coin flips anyways. We can't be double digit favorites in all the games! Put a few more disgusting wins on the board and people will start calming down enough (wins and loses is all that matters to KF remember) that we start thinking positive again. All is well until next year. Rinse and repeat. Same song same dance.
Eda
Well-Known Member
That doesn't concern me as much as it does to others. It seems we've always played to the level of competition. And I don't feel like it's been dictated as much as some say it has.
I think a lot of people underestimated the impact of replacing nearly all of the back seven on defense. We've stopped everybody thus far on the ground. But that was the strength of the defense. The secondary/linebackers are the ones that needed to get up to par... And quickly.
Offensively, it's not as pretty as it should be. Could part of that be trying to find an identity in the first couple of games? Or too much rotation? Or getting everybody touches? I'm not i'm completely sure. Maybe all of the above. But the thing about it… Those are all correctable issues. Do we need to throw deep more to loosen up the box? Yes, that's a correctable issue.
I think Iowa can do enough on defense to slow their offense down but again this game will come down to what Iowa can do on offense. Their best sets so far this year seem to come when Iowa spreads it out with 4 or 5 WRs but against ISU they tried running it the majority of the time. The only reason they did that was for some reason they feel they have to figure out the run game even if it is to the detriment of the team. It's stupid. This teams best running back is Canzeri but he is still a pretty average back and isn't built to run it 20-30 times a game. They have plenty of WRs and TEs and a couple backs who are good pass catchers. Just do what works.
