IowaLaw's Preseason Observations

[SteveGarvey1]

Sounds like the OP is overly negative and resents Kirk Ferentz and how he's led Iowa football, though he does bring up a few valid points.

Bringing up stuff about white receivers, Stanley's haircut and the fact Stanley doesn't hit the bars as if that means he's a loser is too much. I don't care if Stanley shaves his head, has an afro or a mullet, is a recluse, as long as he keeps getting better, it's fine with me.

 

[NikeHawk21]

I disagree with a lot of the OP but one comment I would make is that I, and I think many others believe our recruiting has picked up in recent years, despite what the rankings might say.

I could be wrong but I do not recall landing kids with the type of offers some of our recent recruits have had. DJ Johnson had an LSU offer, Matt Hankins had a Michigan offer, Dallas Craddieth had an Ole Miss and MSU offer, Waggoner had Ohio State and Oklahoma offers, Brent’s had Michigan State and Louisville offers, AJE could have gone anywhere, the list goes on with many of our other commits in the last few years.

We know how the game works, these kids commit to Iowa and they are sometimes instantly and almost always knocked down to a 3 Star ranking. I do believe these kids have talent which is how they got the offers they did and I’m excited to see that materialize on the field.

I will echo that WR recruiting is still way down. I think this staff might have to look in the mirror and say we need to go the Juco route because it just doesn’t seem we can pull many playmakers out of the HS ranks.

 

[ohhawk]

Recruiting has improved but relatively speaking I'm not too sure we've gained much ground in the race as most other programs have done the same by recognizing the value of that skill set with their coaching hires, continued facility improvements, increased marketing staff, etc.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

Chuck Long was Iowa's only QB drafted in the 1st round of my life. Also, Dan McGwire if you want to count him. He didn't play that much at Iowa. Randy Duncan was the 1st overall pick of the 1959 NFL draft. Those are the only ones I can think of. Not sure if Stanley will make it, but he definitely looks the part. He looked like an NFL QB in that tOSU game last year.

The question is, is it Stanley or the Iowa coaches who have a tendency to hold QB's back and/or timid. Like you said, Stanley was let loose and had the freedom during the OSU game.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

CliffsNote's version.............we will be as good as our OL will let us be as it all starts (or not) around the run game in Ferentz ball.

When Iowa finishes inside the top half of the conference with Total Rushing Yards they have very good years. 2009 being the only exception to the correlation in the last 10 seasons.

SEASON / RUSHING RANK / RECORD

2017 - 10th - (8-5)
2016 - 7th - (8-5)
2015 - 3rd - (12-2)
2014 - 7th - (7-6)
2013 - 7th - (8-5)
2012 - 12th - (4-8)
2011 - 12th - (7-6)
2010 - 8th - (8-5)
2009 - 9th - (11-2)
2008 - 4th - (9-4)

Iowa has to have that for their style of play. They need to control the line of scrimmage and time of possession with ball control. Nice find on your part to point this out.

If Iowa doesn't have a formidable running game, it is screwed.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

1. Iowa recruiting sucks.
2. Iowa recruiting sucks and walk-ons are bad people. The WRs are all destined to be trash but oh wait I guess most of them could be good.
3. Forget about what I just said about the entire roster being trash, DL is pretty good.
4. Stanley is trash, oh wait I’m impressed with his stats, that’s pretty cool, but he was bolstered by bad receivers and a couple great tight ends. Everyone knows that if a QB has good receivers he’s actually a bad quarterback. Oh and he overthrew some deep balls, obviously that’s impossible to overcome. Oh, and bad audibles are his fault, because offensive scheming obviously falls on the QB. It’s not like defenses have been exploiting Iowa’s audible tendencies for two decades now or anything.
5. Some common knowledge about easy schedules, while ignoring that every team benefits from easy schedules sometimes. Did someone say Wisconsin? Also some drivel about how Iowa could go 10-2 and not be ranked.

Oh and to wrap it up, he predicts this team he just trashed to go 9-3, so it’s exactly what we expected of him.

Thank you so much. I never did read that diatribe.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

I disagree with a lot of the OP but one comment I would make is that I, and I think many others believe our recruiting has picked up in recent years, despite what the rankings might say.

I could be wrong but I do not recall landing kids with the type of offers some of our recent recruits have had. DJ Johnson had an LSU offer, Matt Hankins had a Michigan offer, Dallas Craddieth had an Ole Miss and MSU offer, Waggoner had Ohio State and Oklahoma offers, Brent’s had Michigan State and Louisville offers, AJE could have gone anywhere, the list goes on with many of our other commits in the last few years.

We know how the game works, these kids commit to Iowa and they are sometimes instantly and almost always knocked down to a 3 Star ranking. I do believe these kids have talent which is how they got the offers they did and I’m excited to see that materialize on the field.

I will echo that WR recruiting is still way down. I think this staff might have to look in the mirror and say we need to go the Juco route because it just doesn’t seem we can pull many playmakers out of the HS ranks.

Iowa has made an adjustment to their recruiting practices. Iowa is often the very first offer for many athletes 2-3 years from graduation. They used to be late to the party but now are trying to develop relationships with players that they hope grow into being a 4* and occasional 5* recruit as they get older.

 

[HawkGold]

I would be interested in you pointing out the stanky parts that you believe are so self-evident. Looks to me like the OP used a lot of specific facts to make his case. He seems to have a very detailed knowledge of the Iowa football team. Are you saying his facts are wrong or is he just drawing the wrong conclusions?

Fry thinks OP is Jesus.

 

[HawkGold]

Did anyone on this board complain about Wisconsins cream puff schedule last year? Non Con of Utah St., a 4 win BYU team and Florida Atlantic. Combine that with regular season games with only 2 teams that won 8 or more regular season games (Northwestern and Michigan). I mean seriously that is way softer than what Iowa will face this year. Iowa has to play a ISU team that won 8 games last year, plus to other pre season top 10 teams. That is a murderers row compared to Wisconsin's schedule last year.

Yes, I did and is what made last year's game in Madison so painful. Nothing Wisky did up to that then pointed in that direction. Nothing really looked like that afterward either (yards and 1st downs).

I also used OSU's results and predicted an Iowa win. Didn't expect that though.

 

[HawkeyeMHA]

Stanley has pro size and arm strength, I actually like his pocket presence (stands tall and rarely has happy feet), pro style experience, wonderful td/interception ratio (and remember that was as only a sophomore), he’s a smart player....so yeah, I see him playing on sundays for sure. I don’t see him leaving early though, I do see him being drafted first round.

 

[Hawkfnntn]

I agree. Freshmen aren't playing because upperclassmen left the program. Upperclassmen left the program BECAUSE underclassmen beat them out. That's a huge difference.

Also team recruiting rankings are more flawed than individual rankings. One guy being slightly under ranked due to the team he committed to isn't even that noticeable. But 20 guys being slightly under ranked due to the team they committed to is going to warp the team ranking pretty good. For example, if Notre Dame had signed this exact same class, it would be top 15. That may be a tad high for these players, but they get the blue blood bump. The truth of our class ranking is probably somewhere in the middle.

It's absolutely a huge difference. Folks can spin that and say well those upperclassmen must have stunk/not developed and the other side is that we are recruiting better yadda yadda. Glass half empty folks just are what they are

 

[deanvogs]

Florida Atlantic won 11 games including a bowl game, they certainly aren’t great but were an okay non-conf opponent. Not only that Wisconsin pretty much thumped every team on their schedule. They gave OSU everything they could handle in the B1G title and then handled Miami in the Orange Bowl.

Point being when UW had an easy schedule they won 13 games, Iowa with an easy schedule will win 8 and you will sing Kirk’s praises. Notice the difference?

Also UW has played LSU twice and Alabama in recent years and has future games scheduled with LSU and ND. They hardly shy away from competition.

Your KF blinders are astounding.

What does Wisconsin’s 2016 or 2015 schedule have to do with their 2017 schedule? Do they get bonus points for playing tougher teams the year before? Talk about blinders if you think that is the case. Pretty much everything you said about Wisconsin could be said about 2015 Hawks. Iowa played in the B1G championship game and were a yard short of winning that game. Your Hawkeye hate is what astounds me.

 

[NikeHawk21]

What does Wisconsin’s 2016 or 2015 schedule have to do with their 2017 schedule? Do they get bonus points for playing tougher teams the year before? Talk about blinders if you think that is the case. Pretty much everything you said about Wisconsin could be said about 2015 Hawks. Iowa played in the B1G championship game and were a yard short of winning that game. Your Hawkeye hate is what astounds me.

I love the Hawks and the 2015 year was a special ride. I also like KF and think we are in for a few good years coming up, but that doesn’t mean we can’t call a spade a spade.

UW was treated the same way Iowa was in 2015 regarding their schedule last year, just because you didn’t see it on Colin Cowherd, doesn’t mean it’s not true.

UW knew the only way they could make the playoff was a perfect 13-0 record. They were ranked 3rd the week of the B1G title and fell to 6th, just as Iowa was ranked 4th and fell to 6th after the loss to MSU.

So I fail to see what your argument is, well you really don’t have one. My guess is Iowa message board posters weren’t worried about UW’s schedule last year because they thumped us pretty good and we had a losing conference record. There were media pundits disparaging UW’s schedule last year, but they would have gotten in at 13-0, just as 2015 Iowa would have at 13-0.

UW did go onto win their 13th game which was a bowl win over a good team whereas 2015 Iowa got dismantled. UW was ranked in the top 10 every week of the season last year and outscored their opponents by 278, whereas 2015 Iowa outscored theirs by 148. So again I’m just here wondering what in the world your argument is.

 

[deanvogs]

I love the Hawks and the 2015 year was a special ride. I also like KF and think we are in for a few good years coming up, but that doesn’t mean we can’t call a spade a spade.

UW was treated the same way Iowa was in 2015 regarding their schedule last year, just because you didn’t see it on Colin Cowherd, doesn’t mean it’s not true.

UW knew the only way they could make the playoff was a perfect 13-0 record. They were ranked 3rd the week of the B1G title and fell to 6th, just as Iowa was ranked 4th and fell to 6th after the loss to MSU.

So I fail to see what your argument is, well you really don’t have one. My guess is Iowa message board posters weren’t worried about UW’s schedule last year because they thumped us pretty good and we had a losing conference record. There were media pundits disparaging UW’s schedule last year, but they would have gotten in at 13-0, just as 2015 Iowa would have at 13-0.

UW did go onto win their 13th game which was a bowl win over a good team whereas 2015 Iowa got dismantled. UW was ranked in the top 10 every week of the season last year and outscored their opponents by 278, whereas 2015 Iowa outscored theirs by 148. So again I’m just here wondering what in the world your argument is.

I just call out the idiots who downgrade Iowa's 2015 season because they say it was sooooo easy that it wasn't special at all. My point is I bet Wisconsin fans don't "eat their own" and try to downplay their 2017 season "because of their easy schedule". Many "Iowa fans" on here just LOOOOOVE to point out that 2015 wasn't that special, it was just an easy schedule, so I was taking a shot at them.

 

[NikeHawk21]

I just call out the idiots who downgrade Iowa's 2015 season because they say it was sooooo easy that it wasn't special at all. My point is I bet Wisconsin fans don't "eat their own" and try to downplay their 2017 season "because of their easy schedule". Many "Iowa fans" on here just LOOOOOVE to point out that 2015 wasn't that special, it was just an easy schedule, so I was taking a shot at them.

That I would agree with. Wisconsin fans think they should have a couple national championships by now. No way they would downplay anything about their team.

 

[IowaLawWasRight]

Where do I begin on this? What is my point about the schedule? The heading couldn't be more clear: "soft schedules make good coaches look great." What don't you understand? This year, the difference between going 6-6 this year, with major Ferentz fatigue setting in, and going 8-4 with a happy fan base is completely in the hands of a computer. Replace east division bottom dwellers like Indiana and Maryland with ranked Ohio State and Michigan, and suddenly people are questioning the coaching and recruiting. Same coaching, same recruits, same effort, but a soft schedule can make a world of difference in local and national perception. That is my point..and it worked out in our favor this year.

My observation on Stanley is not "pessimistic," he is exactly what the heading states: "solid, but overrated." That makes you defensive? He's a good QB. But if you listen to an On Iowa podcast or other local media, you would think the guy is already planning on sitting out Iowa's bowl game to prepare for the NFL combine.

You say Stanley threw for 2,600 yards like those are record breaking numbers worthy of the hype. You clearly don't follow much football outside of Iowa. Trace McSorley threw for 3,600 yards last year. He didn't go pro. Nebraska's Tanner Lee, who everyone on this board agreed sucked, threw for 3,100 yards. Stanley's numbers were good enough for 7th in the Big 10. Isn't that, by definition, solid, but not great? His completion percentage, on mostly short throws, was 10th in the Big 10. So again, I reiterate, he is solid, but perhaps the preseason hype has less to do with his accomplishments than other factors. He should definitely improve over time...unless you subscribe to the common theory that QBs regress and become more conservative under Ferentz over time. There is some merit to the theory.

Next you ask if there is "any news here" regarding attrition. You say no, because we have guys on the roster who you believe will play in the NFL. I'm not sure there is any logical correlation between the two, but yes, attrition is news at a program that doesn't bring in blue chip recruits every year. We had two guys leave early for the NFL, a starting safety transfer to a Dakota school, and a formerly starting CB transfer as well. Four top level guys gone. Combined with no decent upperclassmen tackles on the roster (we didn't start freshmen tackles last year because they were good (they weren't), they started because we didn't have anyone better). We have no backup QBs who have thrown a pass since high school. QBs tend to get hurt pretty often. So yes, it is news when you have the kind of attrition at WR, OL, QB, and DB that we've had in the past couple of years. Attrition is the reason that we have two walkon WRs on the two deeps...not their unique speed and size.

Sounds like a lot of pessimism and sour grapes Clone. You can take every argument on your list and turn it into a positive.

Schedule: So? You wont take 10-2? Whats your point. Well, we are 10-2 but.....insert pout here. We wont deserve it? If we are 10-2, great! Learn to deal with it.

Stanley: Perhaps as a 2nd yr player its a positive that he completed 55%, threw for 2600 yds, 26 touchdowns against only 6 INTs and had great TE and all time greatest rb to throw to...i guess he will only get better? He seems pretty cerebral to me. He has the physical talents. Why not say, holy crap, imagine what he will do this year with an improved receiving corp and talented rb potential behind him. A year of confidence behind him? Soft schedule. So what of he isnt an NFL first rounder at season's end. Ill take him back as a senior. And that is a problem because?

Depth/attrition: Anything to the fact that we do have seniors on the roster that cant crack the two deep because underclassmen are so talented? Fant, Stanley, Hockenson, Epenesa, Wirfs, Jackson, Nelson, Nelson. All will be on NFL rosters with a few more to add to the list. ALL OF THEM. So we will be a little younger in the two deeps this year and yes injuries could spell trouble. The same is true EVERY year for a program like Iowa. Every year. Is there any new news here?

 

[MoseSchrute]

I just call out the idiots who downgrade Iowa's 2015 season because they say it was sooooo easy that it wasn't special at all. My point is I bet Wisconsin fans don't "eat their own" and try to downplay their 2017 season "because of their easy schedule". Many "Iowa fans" on here just LOOOOOVE to point out that 2015 wasn't that special, it was just an easy schedule, so I was taking a shot at them.

My theory on this would be that Iowa's 2015 ended like crap. Wisconsin's 2017 did not. That's where the difference comes from. I don't think it was easy going 12-0 by any means, but the way that season ended, just kind of ruined it for some.

 

[Jonrn]

I agree with all of your points. Especially the wide reciever posts about vandeberg and easly being our best wide receivers the last two years. That’s shows a serious error in Iowa’s tactics. Although I will note unlike you I don’t think being white is a factor.

 

[proudhawkfan21]

Where do I begin on this? What is my point about the schedule? The heading couldn't be more clear: "soft schedules make good coaches look great." What don't you understand? This year, the difference between going 6-6 this year, with major Ferentz fatigue setting in, and going 8-4 with a happy fan base is completely in the hands of a computer. Replace east division bottom dwellers like Indiana and Maryland with ranked Ohio State and Michigan, and suddenly people are questioning the coaching and recruiting. Same coaching, same recruits, same effort, but a soft schedule can make a world of difference in local and national perception. That is my point..and it worked out in our favor this year.

My observation on Stanley is not "pessimistic," he is exactly what the heading states: "solid, but overrated." That makes you defensive? He's a good QB. But if you listen to an On Iowa podcast or other local media, you would think the guy is already planning on sitting out Iowa's bowl game to prepare for the NFL combine.

You say Stanley threw for 2,600 yards like those are record breaking numbers worthy of the hype. You clearly don't follow much football outside of Iowa. Trace McSorley threw for 3,600 yards last year. He didn't go pro. Nebraska's Tanner Lee, who everyone on this board agreed sucked, threw for 3,100 yards. Stanley's numbers were good enough for 7th in the Big 10. Isn't that, by definition, solid, but not great? His completion percentage, on mostly short throws, was 10th in the Big 10. So again, I reiterate, he is solid, but perhaps the preseason hype has less to do with his accomplishments than other factors. He should definitely improve over time...unless you subscribe to the common theory that QBs regress and become more conservative under Ferentz over time. There is some merit to the theory.

Next you ask if there is "any news here" regarding attrition. You say no, because we have guys on the roster who you believe will play in the NFL. I'm not sure there is any logical correlation between the two, but yes, attrition is news at a program that doesn't bring in blue chip recruits every year. We had two guys leave early for the NFL, a starting safety transfer to a Dakota school, and a formerly starting CB transfer as well. Four top level guys gone. Combined with no decent upperclassmen tackles on the roster (we didn't start freshmen tackles last year because they were good (they weren't), they started because we didn't have anyone better). We have no backup QBs who have thrown a pass since high school. QBs tend to get hurt pretty often. So yes, it is news when you have the kind of attrition at WR, OL, QB, and DB that we've had in the past couple of years. Attrition is the reason that we have two walkon WRs on the two deeps...not their unique speed and size.

Iowa: C.J. Beathard, 2017, San Francisco 49ers

Michigan: Tom Brady, 2017, New England Patriots

Michigan State: Kirk Cousins, 2017, Washington Redskins

Can the 'Quarterback Whisperer' change the Gophers' ugly past at QB?
Northwestern: Trevor Siemian, 2017, Denver Broncos

Purdue: Drew Brees (above), 2017, New Orleans Saints

Rutgers: Tom Savage, 2017, Houston Texans

Wisconsin: Russell Wilson, 2017, Seattle Seahawks

Maryland: Shaun Hill, 2016, Vikings

Ohio State: Terrelle Pryor, 2013, Oakland Raiders

Penn State: Matt McGloin, 2013, Oakland Raiders

Indiana: Trent Green, 2006, Kansas City Chiefs

Illinois: Kurt Kittner, 2003, Atlanta Falcons

Minnesota: Mike Hohensee*, 1987, Chicago Bears

Nebraska: Bruce Mathison*, 1987, Seattle Seahawks

From a thread i started.....

 

[Jonrn]

It's absolutely a huge difference. Folks can spin that and say well those upperclassmen must have stunk/not developed and the other side is that we are recruiting better yadda yadda. Glass half empty folks just are what they are

This is a good point, sure some of the attrition hurts, but most transfers were beat out or close to it. Brandon Snyder and rugamba? Likely taking back seats to hooker/gervase and rugamba to Julius Brents or Hankins. All across college football freshman are coming to campus faster, larger, stronger and more prepared for game action. (Look at Jake fromm and tua last year) A four star freshman like brents or craddieth at safety is going to provide stiff competition for Brandon Snyder a small high school walk-on.