Iowa's Offense

I've been reading those too. He did a nice job of getting into it.
I know nobody wants to hear this, but when they talk about execution, it's not just the plays called, it's the number of plays they are comfortable calling.
I'm hoping another year in, that number has gone up.
That Davis experiment was what it was. Maybe he is a good coach, but an OC meh.
 
I've always felt if your passing game can be successful on it's own, without a dominant running game...then you have a shot to win 10 games. I think the Ohio State game showed the potential, but consistency wasn't what it needed to be in 2017. We simply couldn't get separation on the outside and our QB was under constant pressure. The key to the upcoming season, isn't our run blocking...I think we are going to be very good there. It boils down to pass protection. Stanley showed, if he has time, he can deliver the football with accuracy and a big time arm.

I think Brian is going to be a very good offensive coordinator...so good in fact...we will be begging his dad to retire in a few years.
 
I have never understood why Ferentz and crew have preferred to recruit pro-style QBs'. The greatest QB of the Ferentz era was arguably Brad Banks, and many would say that 2002 team was his best. Tate, Stanzi and even Beathard had some success running. It seems to be one of the missing elements in this offense.
 
Last edited:
WinOneThisCentury said:
I've always felt if your passing game can be successful on it's own, without a dominant running game...then you have a shot to win 10 games. I think the Ohio State game showed the potential, but consistency wasn't what it needed to be in 2017. We simply couldn't get separation on the outside and our QB was under constant pressure. The key to the upcoming season, isn't our run blocking...I think we are going to be very good there. It boils down to pass protection. Stanley showed, if he has time, he can deliver the football with accuracy and a big time arm.

I think Brian is going to be a very good offensive coordinator...so good in fact...we will be begging his dad to retire in a few years.
Click to expand...
I agree with everything except BF being a good OC. He’s way, way in over his head. O’Keefe should be calling plays and Brian should stay in his lane and learn, especially since, as much as it makes me feel like puking, he’s going to be the next HC.

But what you said about the passing game being paramount is true. Iowa doesn’t have the WR corps to be competitive in the B1G but we have two TEs who are the best tandem Iowa’s ever had at one time in my opinion. Relying on a two TE set is the only way that Iowa gets it done. Both can block, both can catch, and both are enough of a threat that it will ease pressure over the middle and open up receivers. Belichick stomped other teams into the dirt using Hernandez and Gronk like that, and if you remember they never have superstar WRs. They get it done with tight ends and guys like Woodhead, which we have.
 
The stats in this third article do show BF's ability and wont to go 50-50 pass on third and short. You have to do this to keep the other team off balance on defense. These type of calls are like counter plays,

I think overall BF did a pretty good job in the bowl game as we got some wide open receivers using motion, etc and Stanley did a great job delivering the ball.

Go hawks, I think we have a very good Oline potential and two or more really good running backs. We have two TEs that are like wide receivers and we have a few decent WRs, I see the hawks really mixing it up on offense and if they can hit some deep bombs the sky is the limit scoring points.
 
Fryowa said:
I agree with everything except BF being a good OC. He’s way, way in over his head. O’Keefe should be calling plays and Brian should stay in his lane and learn, especially since, as much as it makes me feel like puking, he’s going to be the next HC.

But what you said about the passing game being paramount is true. Iowa doesn’t have the WR corps to be competitive in the B1G but we have two TEs who are the best tandem Iowa’s ever had at one time in my opinion. Relying on a two TE set is the only way that Iowa gets it done. Both can block, both can catch, and both are enough of a threat that it will ease pressure over the middle and open up receivers. Belichick stomped other teams into the dirt using Hernandez and Gronk like that, and if you remember they never have superstar WRs. They get it done with tight ends and guys like Woodhead, which we have.
Click to expand...

I just don't see Brian being over his head. We had issues with teams that got pressure on the QB period. Those are the games we lost. Think about how he used his TE's. Fant led the country in TDs for a TE. Hockenson was amazing too. Brian schemed to get them open and use them effectively. Do you think we underutilized Wadley? I don't as he had a 1000 yard season running behind two freshman offensive tackles who had never played before. Wadley was also used very effectively out of the backfield. Brian got him the ball and he made big plays. As a first year starter, Stanley threw for more TDs than anyone save Chuck Long...in the program HISTORY. Stanley didn't throw it 40 times a game to do that.

We accomplished this with two seniors going down on the offensive line. That is usually a really bad sign for Iowa Football...see 2012. Teams that beat us got pressure and disrupted or completely negated our passing game. That's correctable with more experienced players up front. I would ask you to watch the Iowa State and Ohio State highlights to see how Brian got people open...the motion, formations, and routes were very impressive. I think we are in for a very good offensive year in 2018 and beyond.
 
Hawk90 said:
I have never understood why Ferentz and crew have preferred to recruit pro-style QBs'. The greatest QB of the Ferentz era was arguable Brad Banks, and many would say that 2002 team was his best. Tate, Stanzi and even Beathard had some success running. It seems to be one of the missing elements in this offense.
Click to expand...

And Vandeberg had some pretty good wheels which he used in 2011 under KOK but in 2012 it was almost like they told him not to run, what the tape, it is weird.
 
WinOneThisCentury said:
I just don't see Brian being over his head. We had issues with teams that got pressure on the QB period... Think about how he used his TE's.

We accomplished this with two seniors going down on the offensive line. Teams that beat us got pressure and disrupted or completely negated our passing game. That's correctable with more experienced players up front. I would ask you to watch the Iowa State and Ohio State highlights to see how Brian got people open...the motion, formations, and routes were very impressive.
Click to expand...

So basically BF and his scheme get full credit for the things that worked, but anything that didn't is out of his hands and shouldn't count against him?

There's no way a coach can scheme to help w/ defensive pressure- you simply need better blockers?

BF's genius is clearly demonstrated by the success of the TE's.... but apparently the WR's just weren't good enough to take advantage of his awesomeness?
 
WinOneThisCentury said:
I've always felt if your passing game can be successful on it's own, without a dominant running game...then you have a shot to win 10 games. I think the Ohio State game showed the potential, but consistency wasn't what it needed to be in 2017. We simply couldn't get separation on the outside and our QB was under constant pressure. The key to the upcoming season, isn't our run blocking...I think we are going to be very good there. It boils down to pass protection. Stanley showed, if he has time, he can deliver the football with accuracy and a big time arm.

I think Brian is going to be a very good offensive coordinator...so good in fact...we will be begging his dad to retire in a few years.
Click to expand...

Yep. See Iowa circa 2004. Down to their 5th string running back (at least) but that offense really pass-heavy that year. Had to be. That team went 10-2. That year's D was pretty nasty, though, so that helped.

Someone else mentioned 2002 and recruiting a Brad Banks type QB. I don't disagree about having a dual-threat QB, but Banks was surrounded by a a ton of talent that helped make him look a lot better IMO. That offensive line, and a lot of good targets to throw to. Dallas Clark, Mo Brown, CJ Jones, etc. Plus Fred Russell and Jermelle Lewis in the backfield. That offense was pretty hard to defend and had to have helped open up some space for Banks to make some plays with his feet. I loved that team.
 
I do wonder how much KOK is involved in the game plan and what happens during the game. I just don't see him being relegated to working with the QBs. They'll not admit this, but it wouldn't surprise me that KOK is "helping" with Brian's education on being an OC quite a bit. I'm not being critical if it's happening. To the contrary, it would make perfect sense, and would be wrong to not use his knowledge.
 
homes said:
I do wonder how much KOK is involved in the game plan and what happens during the game. I just don't see him being relegated to working with the QBs. They'll not admit this, but it wouldn't surprise me that KOK is "helping" with Brian's education on being an OC quite a bit. I'm not being critical if it's happening. To the contrary, it would make perfect sense, and would be wrong to not use his knowledge.
Click to expand...

I've always assumed that he was there to mentor.
 
hawkeyes87 said:
So basically BF and his scheme get full credit for the things that worked, but anything that didn't is out of his hands and shouldn't count against him?

There's no way a coach can scheme to help w/ defensive pressure- you simply need better blockers?

BF's genius is clearly demonstrated by the success of the TE's.... but apparently the WR's just weren't good enough to take advantage of his awesomeness?
Click to expand...

That's not what I said...and I'm not giving him a pass. I pointed out that our offense was able to get guys open (namely TE's and backs) because of the schemes/formations/motion Brian used. Where Iowa got in trouble offensively is when they simply couldn't protect the QB...think MSU and Wisconsin. We simply weren't very good in 2nd and 3rd and long...because Stanley had less than 2 seconds to throw the ball. Injuries impact results...I'm not making an excuse for him...you have to play the game. But when you replace two seniors with two freshmen on the offensive line...it's going to hurt you and teams will attack them.

My point was that the offense showed it will use it's weapons...Fant and Wadley...and work to find ways through formations / motion etc to get them open. Fant, Wadley, and Stanley all had very good statistical years...but against the top teams, we didn't protect well...and we paid the price. I think that gets better with a more experienced offensive line on the edges.
 
WinOneThisCentury said:
Where Iowa got in trouble offensively is when they simply couldn't protect the QB...think MSU and Wisconsin.
Click to expand...
You act like there were just a few bad games.

The offense as a whole ended up 115th in FBS yards (out of 129 teams).

They scored under 20 in 6 of 9 B1G games.

The OC's job is about the output of the whole unit- not some individual stats.
 
They played 10 bowl teams too and according to a few analytics groups...played the 4th or 5th toughest schedule in the country. We lost close games to 11-2 Penn State / 10-3 Michigan State / 10-3 Northwestern and were blown out by 13-1 Wisconsin.

You act like it shouldn't matter that we started two freshman offensive tackles. It does. You can complain about the recruiting over the years that this is what it came down to, but if you don't think we were hindered offensively...then you don't know what you are talking about. First year QB, two freshmen tackles and a very tough schedule.

I think those circumstances made it extremely difficult for a first year OC. I seriously like what I saw from him this past year. I just think, especially early in the season...he was hampered by his ability to protect the QB. We played uber conservative to ensure we stayed in those close games. It's a one year sample...let's see how this year goes.
 
I get tired of the excuse that Iowa started 2 freshman tackles. All that tells you is that Iowa is the type of program that does not have the depth to overcome injuries. And most seasons you have injuries.
 
hawkdrummer1 said:
I'm guessing you mean Vandenberg.. the QB that GD murdered.
Click to expand...

It's funny after JVB left and MVB showed up, it took a long time to get people to spell Matt's last name correctly. Now 6 years later, we have to remind everybody how James last name was spelled.

Me, I don't even try to keep it straight. I just use the JVB and MVB abbreviations.
 
guffus said:
It's funny after JVB left and MVB showed up, it took a long time to get people to spell Matt's last name correctly. Now 6 years later, we have to remind everybody how James last name was spelled.

Me, I don't even try to keep it straight. I just use the JVB and MVB abbreviations.
Click to expand...

I'm still pissed that GD turned a guy with a 25/7 TD/INT ratio into 7/8 the next year.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Share this page

Top