Finally, someone writes what I have been trying to say. The only thing I have a problem figuring out (I like to take numbers and what I see and combine), is that last year we did not play a ton of great O teams. Nebby did not score on us to much and that is good, so I hold out hope there was leaps made thru the season and the way it sounds the off season was a ton of work, but that work is showing up now.
Iowa's 2012 Defense not as Bad as you thought???
- Thread starter JonDMiller
- Start date
chadfrey
Well-Known Member
"The question that remains is if this improvement on both sides of the ball will be significant enough for Iowa to win at least six games and qualify for a bowl bid and the more practices that come with it."
Bingo. Jon, you once again cut through all the numbers, hype and baloney and hit the nail on the head with a sledgehammer.
Bingo. Jon, you once again cut through all the numbers, hype and baloney and hit the nail on the head with a sledgehammer.
JonDMiller
Publisher/Founder
Good stuff one and all. FC had a nice retort related to quality of schedule and that absolutely has to be factored into this...
I wasn't saying that last year's defense was great...but perhaps they were better than we thought...which is still to say their high side was trying to approach average.
I think they'll be better this year. THe offense has to carry its weight which it rarely does.
I wasn't saying that last year's defense was great...but perhaps they were better than we thought...which is still to say their high side was trying to approach average.
I think they'll be better this year. THe offense has to carry its weight which it rarely does.
JonDMiller
Publisher/Founder
Per Kirk's link above, Iowa was 40th in the nation last year, defensively, in points allowed per possession.
BSpringsteen
Well-Known Member
And that is a problem...
Not that an 8-4 season is bad, but Iowa SHOULD start most seasons off 4-0. From there, all we are asking them to do is go 4-4 or 5-3 in conf.
Our D in most games last year did ok until late in games when our O hadn't gotten many first downs. Our D wasn't good but it was made worse by 3 and out after 3 and out after 3 and out........When you don't have great talent and your out of gas.......That's no good. I think our 3rd down % on O had more impact to our D than most other stats........just my opinion
1977Hawkeye
Well-Known Member
I could live with 8-4 seasons. That's pretty solid. And your conference record that you are asking for is totally reasonable IMO.
8-4 should be the minimum goal every year if you ask me. Not that Iowa WILL always be 8-4 or better, that's not the point I'm trying to make. I'm just saying: that record (or better) should be the minimum goal each and every season. Some years it may be a little worse. Some years it can also be better.
7-5, to me, is completely "meh". I'm not sure if some people realize that 7-5 is only one game removed from not even having a winning record. Lose one more game, you're at 6-6 and you're losing as much as you're winning. Going 6-6 or 7-5 and playing in the whocares.com bowl.. I can't get excited about that, no matter how much anyone tells me that's what is reasonable to expect as an Iowa fan.
Some people will say "make a bowl game, and that's a good season". That's an antiquated way of thinking. That was much more true 20 years ago, but times have changed. These days, you have lots of 6-6 teams getting bowl games.. Without even having a winning record! I can't wrap my brain around how that qualifies as a "good season". I even remember one time a 5-7 team got play in a bowl game. Really?
homes
Well-Known Member
Agree. There are 34 bowl games. Being tapped as one of the top 68 teams in the country is not a cause for celebration. If it's watered down like that, it becomes less meaningful. Becoming "bowl eligible" is like passing the eye exam at the DMV.
Yes, this is a good post but I disagree with DodgerHawki and agree with those people who hated to see the hawks get teams in 3rd and long situations time and time again against some mediocre teams and then not blitz or not change up coverages or not take out two lbkrs and replace with 2 d-backs and then give up a first down pass. And then really good teams would really hurt the hawks on third and long when the hawks played passive, which they did many times.
Third and long should be time to get sacks, pressures, and force turnovers and low pass completion percentages.
There are plenty of times the hawk defense could have been even better I think and this is one of those situations.
racerhawk
Well-Known Member
The defense certainly had problems last year, but they had the ability to keep the hawks in games and win them (Nebraska et al).
The offense has been, and will continue to be, the problem until proven otherwise. The offense has varied from terrible to average in recent years. If the offense could just be average, I'd be happy.
The defense was average to below average last year (unlike most years, where Iowa's defense is fantastic).
You can't always rely on your defense to win all your games. They can only score so many points!
The offense has been, and will continue to be, the problem until proven otherwise. The offense has varied from terrible to average in recent years. If the offense could just be average, I'd be happy.
The defense was average to below average last year (unlike most years, where Iowa's defense is fantastic).
You can't always rely on your defense to win all your games. They can only score so many points!
Look at the PPG of our opponents last year. I believe Northern Illinois was the only top 25 scoring offense we played and a handful of others in the top 50. Had the Big Ten not been so down last year and our schedule not been so weak our D would have gotten exposed badly.
tm3308
Well-Known Member
The scoring defense wasn't pathetically bad, unlike most aspects of the team last year. But it was a long ways from good. ISU should have dropped at least 30 points on us, and would have if Jantz could have hit a wide open receiver down field. That wasn't the only game where teams failed to capitalize on Iowa's miscues. That's a lot different than imposing your will on an offense.
lightning1
Well-Known Member
With a weak schedule and a very weak BIG, stats can be misleading. With MICH, MSU, WIS, OSU and NEB coming up next season, we should have a better idea of what we have on defense. Those teams will have offenses and they won't hesitate to run up the score, if they can.
HawkeyeWalker
Well-Known Member
HomerChampless
Well-Known Member
Is this another one of those "yeah, the defense was bad, but the offense was worse" kinda threads?
Got to give Davis some slack. Last year was his first year. Not too many players (including JVB) knew the offense.
Ferentz is a conservative coach. He wants the defense to win ballgames. If Iowa has a 'bad' offense, maybe you should blame Ferentz.
Got to give Davis some slack. Last year was his first year. Not too many players (including JVB) knew the offense.
Ferentz is a conservative coach. He wants the defense to win ballgames. If Iowa has a 'bad' offense, maybe you should blame Ferentz.
Last edited:
