Iowa's 2-minute offense & Ken O'Keefe

[okeefe4prez]

"Michigan 2005 was another great 2 minute drill, O'Keefe marched us down the field and then played it safe and went for the FG, which you should always do at home - never go for the win at home."

Oh my, that was AWFUL. I think KOK is better at his job than 90% of fans think he is. (great play calling and game plan--really--against Wisky) but wow, 05 Michigan, really bad. We threw down the field with ease, get near the end zone, then didn't throw into it.

Have you ever watched football? Play for the tie at home and the win on the road. That's what O'Keefe did and if the defense would have held up its end of the bargain, we would have won the game. Most of the losses in the past 10 years have been on the defense.

 

[hawkeye28]

I re-watched the 2nd half of Saturday's game and a couple interesting things about Iowa's final drive.

1) After Stanzi executed the QB sneak he signals to the sidelines and the offense to spike the ball. The offense is initially lined up and Stanzi is under center, however...

2) The coach(es) from the sideline signal a play into Stanzi. Stanzi puts his arms out to his side in frustration and seems to be saying what freagin play do you want me to run.

3) Mass confusion ensues. Stanzi steps back into shotgun fromation and the WRs start running around to get lined up. The timeout is called.

If you watch the re-watch the game, Stanzi was definitely not at fault.

... Great re-cap of the re-watch ... and my point exactly to the topic of the post/thread. I wish Stanzi would have just said screw'm - I'm takin' the bull by the horns and did what he needed to do which was kill it.

Here's my question ... if coach(es) are signaling in a play, why isn't there ONE guy leading this offense and handling the play calling. Here's what should have happened ... a play should have been called in the previous timeout for after they got the first down on the sneak ... end of story.

 

[hawkeye28]

I hate to think about these past 2 minute drill problems, but I will never forget in 2001 when we played ISU at the end of the year due to 9/11. We had a senior QB, senior RB, Senior FB, veteran wideouts and a host of juniors on the o-line. Trailing by 3 with around 3 or so minutes left ISU kicks off, we get the ball at the twenty...and proceed to go 11 yards in about 2 minutes. This is the game where Podalak litterally had to excuse himself from the radio booth. The series went:
1. Off tackle for a yard...followed by a huddle - clock continues to tick.
2. Bubble screen for about 8 yards...followed by a huddle - clock continues to tick
3. Off tackle for one yard for the first down - clock continues to tick
4. Interception.

I've never seen anything like it at the college level. In a hurry up situation a team takes about 2 minutes to go 11 yards.

I think later that year in the Alamo Bowl we had a decent 2 minute drive going with the game tied until McCann takes a big sack with about 25 seconds left leading to 4th down. Rather than waiting for the clock to wind down to about 3 seconds so that the game winning kick would be tried as time expired, we called timeout immediately and allowed Tech one shot at the endzone for its last possession which fortunately fell incomplete.

There are a ton of these examples. Does this mean I want Ferentz gone? No freaking way. It's just hard to understand how this hasn't been corrected over the years.

I totally remember that one @ ISU after Thanksgiving. We win that game and we're in a better bowl than the Alamo Bowl. The above tells me that it is not a priority during summer camp, during the week and in meetings.

Remember 2001 Michigan @ Kinnick? Same old ... same old.

 

[hawkeye28]

Regarding the McNutt calling play in the OP, that is what good coaches do. They ask their players what they think will work !!! If KOK had called his own play without regard to player input, THEN you have indication of bad coach.

You can blame KOK if you want but many times, it is Kirk deciding how to approach last few minutess. He definitely made the call against OSU last year and is probably responsible for many of other situations you mention too. I dont necessarily like it but blame the right person.

Alright, if that's the case ... they both stink in the last 2 minutes of a ball game when the offense needs to win it (during their coaching tenure).

 

[hawkeye28]

Yep, you're right. Under the criteria that is used for the NFL QBs I cited, these would count as 4th quarter comebacks. I honestly forgot we were losing going into the 4th against those teams because we ended up winning pretty handily. You'd almost think our coaches and quarterback know what they're doing at the end of games...

Can't disagree with the 4 quarter comebacks, like last year's Indiana and Penn State games. With 15 minutes and 2-3 possessions, I'm confident we can get it done. It's just those times where it's do or die, under 2 minutes to go, and all you need is one score.

 

[HaydensDad]

The reason the 2 minute drill is only done when there is 2 minutes left and an emergency is because it is unlikely to work. If it worked all the time than teams would use it all the time and there would be a td every 2 minutes, or 30 td's per game for a score of 105-105. It is an act of desperation and you certainly should never expect that it should work. When it does, that is great. But it isn't the norm.

 

[Maroons19]

Have you ever watched football? Play for the tie at home and the win on the road. That's what O'Keefe did and if the defense would have held up its end of the bargain, we would have won the game. Most of the losses in the past 10 years have been on the defense.

Not when you are on the opponent's 10 yard line with a minute left in the game. In that instance, you go for the win, especially in college. Think about it, in overtime if the opponent gets it first and kicks a field goal, then Iowa gets in and gets 1st and goal from the 10, would you be saying play for double overtime? No.

With college overtime rules, where both teams get the ball and both teams are guaranteed to get the ball at the opponent's 25 yard line, you should always go for the win at the end of regulation b/c it's the last time you will have complete and total say in the outcome. This goes back to the OSU game last year where some people believe going for OT was a good call b/c what if Vandeburg threw a pick at the end of regulation. This logic would be good in an NFL style OT where if you throw a pick deep in the opponent's territory they still have to drive 60-80 yards to score, but in OT if you throw a pick the opponent is guaranteed to get it at your 25 yard line. So the risk/ramifications of an interception in OT are horrendous - worse than throwing a pick when the game is tied towards the end of regulation.

 

[albertyoungisgood]

Maroons19, he agrees with you. Also, he doesn't really think KOK should be the president. Even he posts right after this saying he does. It's schtick.

 

[hawkeye28]

The reason the 2 minute drill is only done when there is 2 minutes left and an emergency is because it is unlikely to work. If it worked all the time than teams would use it all the time and there would be a td every 2 minutes, or 30 td's per game for a score of 105-105. It is an act of desperation and you certainly should never expect that it should work. When it does, that is great. But it isn't the norm.

C'mon bro ... that's the whole reason you, me and all of us crazies are on this forum. We rant because we care. And because we care, we are sick of settling for the conservative crap that is spewed in close games. If you posted the above in an Alabama forum, they'd go off. Elite teams are prepared in emergency situations. You prepare for emergency situations so you know what to expect. Every component of our game (other than special teams - which is a story for another post , and probably a long one) is just fine. If we knew what to do in crunch time and had an average special teams, we'd be playing for a National Championship right now.

p.s. the "C'mon, bro ..." is not dissin' ya in any way - it's just for effect. We're all Hawkeye fans here ... darn glad to be one too ;-).

 

[hawkeye12345]

Have you ever watched football? Play for the tie at home and the win on the road. That's what O'Keefe did and if the defense would have held up its end of the bargain, we would have won the game. Most of the losses in the past 10 years have been on the defense.

All I can say at this moment is you're an idiot. Your unending support for KOK is very similar to those that supported alford when he was at Iowa. You want to see the bright side even when the ugly truth is always staring you in the face. I get it and it's a nice quality to have but we aren't talking about one game or one specific circumstance with the offense. It's been a problem for as long as he's been at Iowa. He's not a head coach for a reason.

The offense needs to get going. I've explained it to you before. You can't simply flip a switch and have the offense move the ball at-will. They need to be firing on every snap in every game regardless of the score. Practice makes permanent, not perfect. If the players fail to execute a play then they either failed to execute it during the week or never practiced that situation. Stress comes when you aren't prepared for a situation not because the situation presents itself.

Our defense is one of the best in the country and has been for as long as Norm has been in charge. I can't think of one game that we've lost that I would blame the defense. We certainly can point a finger at the special teams, but not the defense.

 

[HaydensDad]

C'mon bro ... that's the whole reason you, me and all of us crazies are on this forum. We rant because we care. And because we care, we are sick of settling for the conservative crap that is spewed in close games. If you posted the above in an Alabama forum, they'd go off. Elite teams are prepared in emergency situations. You prepare for emergency situations so you know what to expect. Every component of our game (other than special teams - which is a story for another post , and probably a long one) is just fine. If we knew what to do in crunch time and had an average special teams, we'd be playing for a National Championship right now.

p.s. the "C'mon, bro ..." is not dissin' ya in any way - it's just for effect. We're all Hawkeye fans here ... darn glad to be one too ;-).

I'm certainly not disagreeing that we need to improve in that scenario. Obviously we didn't do what we needed to. My point is just that some people seem to think that executing a 2 minute drill is something that should be expected to work. My point is that its an act of desperation and statistically is unlikely to work. Our hawks definitely don't always do what they need to to maximize their chances, but the chances aren't great to begin with.

 

[Maroons19]

Maroons19, he agrees with you. Also, he doesn't really think KOK should be the president. Even he posts right after this saying he does. It's schtick.

My bad. But there are some people who think playing for O.T. late in games is a good idea. I think if you have the ball with the chance to win in regulation or a chance to tie going into O.T., I'd rather take my chances trying to win in regulation under the current college OT rules.

 

[Maroons19]

I'm certainly not disagreeing that we need to improve in that scenario. Obviously we didn't do what we needed to. My point is just that some people seem to think that executing a 2 minute drill is something that should be expected to work. My point is that its an act of desperation and statistically is unlikely to work. Our hawks definitely don't always do what they need to to maximize their chances, but the chances aren't great to begin with.

I agree with you that it's not a high percentage of success situation, but our problems don't stem from the inherent difficulty of moving the ball downfield under duress against defenses that are playing pass all of the way. Our problems are way more basis than that: understanding the clock and our timeouts. If we can't get these things down, then we don't even have a chance of executing the difficult part of the hurry-up. The only reason we are talking about this is b/c it's been a problem for a number of years. It's not like we are all going crazy based on one occurrence that happened Saturday.

 

[hawkeye28]

I'm certainly not disagreeing that we need to improve in that scenario. Obviously we didn't do what we needed to. My point is just that some people seem to think that executing a 2 minute drill is something that should be expected to work. My point is that its an act of desperation and statistically is unlikely to work. Our hawks definitely don't always do what they need to to maximize their chances, but the chances aren't great to begin with.

I hear ya ... the odds do go down significantly, especially since the defense would be ready for it ... or at least they've most likely prepared on their end for these situations.

BTW - can anyone remember the last time we ran a trick play / gadget play? (and the reverses to Paul Chaney, Jr. do not count)

 

[PlanoHawk]

I hear ya ... the odds do go down significantly, especially since the defense would be ready for it ... or at least they've most likely prepared on their end for these situations.

BTW - can anyone remember the last time we ran a trick play / gadget play? (and the reverses to Paul Chaney, Jr. do not count)

Does the fake field goal in the Orange Bowl count?

 

[hawkeye28]

Does the fake field goal in the Orange Bowl count?

This past Orange Bowl? Why can't I remember that?!! I do remember Stanzi starting out 7 for 7 for like 149 yards and the over the shoulder grab by McNutt in the end zone, holding their high powered rushing offense of 300+ yards per game to less than 100 yds and Weigher's TD run at the end. Oh, and Stanzi's cool answer to a stupid question. But I can't remember the fake FG.

... any more prior to that ?

 

[okeefe4prez]

All I can say at this moment is you're an idiot. Your unending support for KOK is very similar to those that supported alford when he was at Iowa. You want to see the bright side even when the ugly truth is always staring you in the face. I get it and it's a nice quality to have but we aren't talking about one game or one specific circumstance with the offense. It's been a problem for as long as he's been at Iowa. He's not a head coach for a reason.

The offense needs to get going. I've explained it to you before. You can't simply flip a switch and have the offense move the ball at-will. They need to be firing on every snap in every game regardless of the score. Practice makes permanent, not perfect. If the players fail to execute a play then they either failed to execute it during the week or never practiced that situation. Stress comes when you aren't prepared for a situation not because the situation presents itself.

Our defense is one of the best in the country and has been for as long as Norm has been in charge. I can't think of one game that we've lost that I would blame the defense. We certainly can point a finger at the special teams, but not the defense.

Don't bring Alford into this. Things were going fine and then a group of entitled fans thought we needed him and when things didn't turn out exactly like that group of fans expected, Alford was driven out of town. I still like Coach Alford and my username on another board is BringBackAlford because I think he and Tanya deserved better treatment in Iowa City. Same with O'Keefe. The guy runs a pro style offense and he has been fine at picking apart defenses this year. It's hilarious, if Stanzi doesn't lead a drive comparable to "The Drive" in games we lose, O'Keefe takes endless heat. Miracle two minute drives happen less than 50% of the time, we should know, there used to be a time when our defense routinely stopped them.

Speaking of the defense, they gave up 31 Saturday. Sure there were a few ST blunders, but at the end of the day, the D gave up 31. Remember that Illinois game in 2008 when we went into prevent defense on the last drive and Juice Williams looked like John Elway? Not the defense, huh? How about at Northwestern in 2005? Gave up a 13 point lead in like 4 minutes. How about that manhandling that OSU's o-line and RBs gave to Iowa's defense last year? Are you going to throw our freshman QB who played one of the best games ever under the bus for that one, too? I could go on and on, the defense's best strength is the balanced offensive attack we run that changes field position and eats clock keeping the defense off the field. Sure, if we could score 70 points a game, we would win more games, but I don't think that is reasonable, but asking the defense not to give up well over 200 yards rushing to OSU, or 14 points in a few minutes, or 31 points to a Wisconsin team with virtually no vertical passing attack is actually pretty reasonable.

 

[HaydensDad]

I can't think of any since Kaedo's 2003 fake field goal sweep for TD at tOSU. He scored all our points in that 19-10 loss.

 

[okeefe4prez]

I hear ya ... the odds do go down significantly, especially since the defense would be ready for it ... or at least they've most likely prepared on their end for these situations.

BTW - can anyone remember the last time we ran a trick play / gadget play? (and the reverses to Paul Chaney, Jr. do not count)

I'll take those simple play action passes that get the defense to bite and a high percentage Stanzi pass over a trick play any day of the week.

 

[okeefe4prez]

I can't think of any since Kaedo's 2003 fake field goal sweep for TD at tOSU. He scored all our points in that 19-10 loss.

That Douglas reverse in the Alamo Bowl was going to be a pass.