It is ALWAYS execution

[HaydensHawk]

I am tired of hearing Iowa just didn't execute.

IT IS DIFFICULT TO EXECUTE PLAYS THEY KNOW ARE COMING...!

Heck we can hand the ball off to the fullback fifty times a game and say we didn't execute the play....

Face it, Iowa is SOOO easy to Scout and if an opposing coach has the right system and gameplan, Iowa is beatable with really inferior talent...

 

[homerHAWKeye777]

LOL!

How many balls did you count dropped? And Ricky's INT ... a poor decision reflecting poor execution.

What else do you want to call it?

Northwestern won the game ... and they did what they needed to do in order to win the game. However, it doesn't change the fact that Iowa's O didn't execute to the level that they're capable of doing.

 

[mrolympia]

two weeks in a row.............a disturbing trend

 

[SeattleHawkeye]

LOL!

How many balls did you count dropped? And Ricky's INT ... a poor decision reflecting poor execution.

What else do you want to call it?

Northwestern won the game ... and they did what they needed to do in order to win the game. However, it doesn't change the fact that Iowa's O didn't execute to the level that they're capable of doing.

I saw 2 drops - DJK at the 3 (which would've been a 1st down) and A-Rob on the last drive (and if he catches that ball he's tackled immediately and the clock likely runs out). How many did you count? More importantly, how many throws did you notice in which Stanzi had a better option (more open WR), in particular on the last offensive drive?

I think the point is that the Ferentz philosophy is so execution-dependent, vanilla and risk-averse that it significantly limits the margin for error, and basically simplifies the game, allowing lesser talented teams to play w/ IA (and IA to play w/ more talented teams). And therefore you're correct, IA's offensive success is completely dependent on their execution...but can't you say that about every team? Regardless of the team, if they execute their plays well their chances of success skyrocket. That's right up there w/ "teams that don't give up big plays win."

 

[homerHAWKeye777]

I counted 2 from Chaney, at least one from Marv, and that's in addition to the ones you had counted.

While the margin for error is always slight for the Hawks ... against most teams our team strategy is perfect because it keeps us in the game with nearly ANYBODY. The problem is that against a team like Northwestern, they're built to out-execute our patient bend-but-not-break D. As a result, the margin for error gets that much smaller for our O against a team like Northwestern.

 

[tm3308]

I counted 2 from Chaney, at least one from Marv, and that's in addition to the ones you had counted.

While the margin for error is always slight for the Hawks ... against most teams our team strategy is perfect because it keeps us in the game with nearly ANYBODY. The problem is that against a team like Northwestern, they're built to out-execute our patient bend-but-not-break D. As a result, the margin for error gets that much smaller for our O against a team like Northwestern.

Which is why I'd like to see us maybe do some things differently on defense against NW and Indiana. Do something to give a little more wiggle room, because for whatever reason (particularly against NW), the breaks just don't seem to go our way.

 

[hawkfan2679]

Iowa wasn't the only ones dropping the ball. At one point Persa was 27/35 passing and I could remember distinctly 4 of those were dropped (he likes to zing those short crossers) including one we picked off. Considering he threw the ball away a couple times to that point and he's nearly perfect...isn't there something to be said for defensive execution as well?

 

[SeattleHawkeye]

I counted 2 from Chaney, at least one from Marv, and that's in addition to the ones you had counted.

While the margin for error is always slight for the Hawks ... against most teams our team strategy is perfect because it keeps us in the game with nearly ANYBODY. The problem is that against a team like Northwestern, they're built to out-execute our patient bend-but-not-break D. As a result, the margin for error gets that much smaller for our O against a team like Northwestern.

If you're crediting Chaney w/ a drop in the 2-minute you're being very beneficial to Stanzi. That ball was behind Chaney and would've been a hell of a catch by any WR on IA's roster.

And re the margin for error, you're correct that it keeps us in games w/ nearly ANYBODY....and also gets us beat by nearly ANYBODY, as we've evidenced the last 2 wks.

TM and I (along w/ some others) mentioned making some tweaks to the IA philosophies (namely playing slightly more aggressive on D w/ less of a cushion against teams that generally pass underneath), and we were basically pooh poohed by the "macro" and "trust the coaches" crowd. That mentality just resulted in a loss. You can talk about philosophies, schemes and execution all you want, but obviously, as evidenced by today, some things aren't working.

 

[tm3308]

If you're crediting Chaney w/ a drop in the 2-minute you're being very beneficial to Stanzi. That ball was behind Chaney and would've been a hell of a catch by any WR on IA's roster.

And re the margin for error, you're correct that it keeps us in games w/ nearly ANYBODY....and also gets us beat by nearly ANYBODY, as we've evidenced the last 2 wks.

TM and I (along w/ some others) mentioned making some tweaks to the IA philosophies (namely playing slightly more aggressive on D w/ less of a cushion against teams that generally pass underneath), and we were basically pooh poohed by the "macro" and "trust the coaches" crowd. That mentality just resulted in a loss. You can talk about philosophies, schemes and execution all you want, but obviously, as evidenced by today, some things aren't working.

And we should be clear, it's not working against just a couple teams. So we aren't talking about a total facelift. Just make a few adjustments based on the opponent's tendencies.

 

[hawkfaninTX]

this is all nitpicking.

It is very true we didn't execute
STANZI didn't execute correctly on his INT, and those are mistakes we cannot make, even while ahead by 10. If he decides to go to McNutt, throw it away, or just eat it, we take 2-3 more minutes off the clock, and possibly put three on the board. If that is the case, then their last drive has even more pressure on it, allowing more room for human error (the same philosophy could be said if we make our EP @ arizona to go to 28-27). Some things cause others to happen. It is called CAUSALITY. Momentum plays a huge roll in causality, ultimately leading to our loss today. EXECUTION! EXECUTION! EXECUTION!

 

[HaydensHawk]

There are always going to be plays, especially high risk plays such as a deep ball that are not going to be executed. That is football, happens on both sides of the ball. The problem is, due to poor game planning, Iowa is too predictable and becomes very easy to stop. Teams know Iowa's tendancies. When I (and most other Hawk fans) can sit in their easy chairs and predict the next call with alarming accuracy, then there is a problem.. To many wasted first downs by predictable playcalling, then we are in a hole, end up with too many 3rd a long situations.

Here is how you beat Iowa.

1. Stack the box on D
2. Short passing game on O.

That is pretty much it in a nutshell.

 

[HawksFlyHigh]

We didn't execute from the field, and we didn't execute from the sideline.

Neither the coaches or the players get a pass.

The coaches did a poor job schematically, and the players failed at times executing.

Both are to blame, but for this game, I'm going coaches 60/40.

Our defense continues to get gashed late in games like swiss cheese.

 

[HaydensHawk]

Why aren't they executing? Is it Iowa making mistakes or the other team meeting us at the hole? I would say about 35/65 on that.

Until Iowa can figure out how to beat a pressing defense and how to stop a spread offense, then we are going to be mediocre.

 

[imported_ankle23]

I saw 2 drops - DJK at the 3 (which would've been a 1st down) and A-Rob on the last drive (and if he catches that ball he's tackled immediately and the clock likely runs out). How many did you count? More importantly, how many throws did you notice in which Stanzi had a better option (more open WR), in particular on the last offensive drive?

I think the point is that the Ferentz philosophy is so execution-dependent, vanilla and risk-averse that it significantly limits the margin for error, and basically simplifies the game, allowing lesser talented teams to play w/ IA (and IA to play w/ more talented teams). And therefore you're correct, IA's offensive success is completely dependent on their execution...but can't you say that about every team? Regardless of the team, if they execute their plays well their chances of success skyrocket. That's right up there w/ "teams that don't give up big plays win."

Seattle - wouldn't you consider throwing to the wrong receiver lack of execution? on that pick by Stanzi, you can see O'keefe telling stanzi about another receiver being 'wide open'. Stanzi made up his mind to throw deep before the ball was hiked.

Oh, how fast the worm turns.....when iowa gets beat and doesn't go 12-0, out come the fire norm, fire o'keefe crowd. people calling in today were just brutal. 'we don't blitz'. does that count the times we DO blitz but don't get home to the QB? I think people think a blitz is only recognizable when it works..........we blitzed plenty today but only hit the qb one time. fire norm! hard to pressure the QB when he throws on a 3 count, when he can just as easily pick it up and run it at the first sign of blitz, and when our DL is consistently getting held.

last year norm could do no wrong. this year his schemes are out dated. Any chance the defense misses three NFL draft picks and hasn't improved by replacing two of those with freshmen (after how many LB injuries??) step back from the ledge.

and what in the hell is the story about blaming the offense on Okeefe? that guy has to be the biggest scape goat in the history of Iowa football. after 12 years, people still don't understand that KF is an offensive coach and is running the O he wants to run. Why he never gets any flack from the KOK crowd, I'll never understand. I don't think those folks are sophisticated enough to figure that out themselves.

and finally, to the joker who said our DL need to do wind sprints at practice to get in game shape. pathetic. NW ran 50 plays in the 2nd half. for the uninformed, that is not too far from the amount teams normally run the whole game. NW played great on O and we held them to 7 'til the end and that was after an interception gave them the ball. At that point, I was seeing 24-7, 31-7 scores dance in my head......Our offense couldn't sustain a drive to save their lives today, and that is what our D needed.

some of you people are (insert many words here that would give me a 3 day break).

 

[tm3308]

The defensive scheme isn't outdated per se, but it does seem to need a few tweaks against the ball-control spread. The loss of talent from last year certainly affects our play this year, but we at least don't appear to have accounted for that. Not much different than having Klink matched up on Bates in the 2007 ISU game. We didn't have Greenway anymore, but we played the same scheme.

I'm not talking anything major. But the same thing we do for everyone else (and very effectively for the vast majority of games) does not work well against NW (it's better against Indiana, but IU also doesn't have the right mentality to finish against us like NW does).

 

[SeattleHawkeye]

Seattle - wouldn't you consider throwing to the wrong receiver lack of execution? on that pick by Stanzi, you can see O'keefe telling stanzi about another receiver being 'wide open'. Stanzi made up his mind to throw deep before the ball was hiked.

Oh, how fast the worm turns.....when iowa gets beat and doesn't go 12-0, out come the fire norm, fire o'keefe crowd. people calling in today were just brutal. 'we don't blitz'. does that count the times we DO blitz but don't get home to the QB? I think people think a blitz is only recognizable when it works..........we blitzed plenty today but only hit the qb one time. fire norm! hard to pressure the QB when he throws on a 3 count, when he can just as easily pick it up and run it at the first sign of blitz, and when our DL is consistently getting held.

last year norm could do no wrong. this year his schemes are out dated. Any chance the defense misses three NFL draft picks and hasn't improved by replacing two of those with freshmen (after how many LB injuries??) step back from the ledge.

and what in the hell is the story about blaming the offense on Okeefe? that guy has to be the biggest scape goat in the history of Iowa football. after 12 years, people still don't understand that KF is an offensive coach and is running the O he wants to run. Why he never gets any flack from the KOK crowd, I'll never understand. I don't think those folks are sophisticated enough to figure that out themselves.

and finally, to the joker who said our DL need to do wind sprints at practice to get in game shape. pathetic. NW ran 50 plays in the 2nd half. for the uninformed, that is not too far from the amount teams normally run the whole game. NW played great on O and we held them to 7 'til the end and that was after an interception gave them the ball. At that point, I was seeing 24-7, 31-7 scores dance in my head......Our offense couldn't sustain a drive to save their lives today, and that is what our D needed.

some of you people are (insert many words here that would give me a 3 day break).

I had a guy out here tell me a friend of his takes a class w/ Stanzi, and that Stanzi isn't the most intellectually gifted. I don't know if that's true (I don't think it is), and I don't particularly care...but since he's told me that for some reason I've paid closer attention to the WRs Stanzi has missed, some generally bad reads and decisions, and some of his poorer throws. I think Stanzi is a phenomenal guy, but this year while his numbers have been great, I think he's left some things on the field. And yes, I do think Stanzi throwing to the wrong WR isn't executing. I just think the execution excuse is very, very generic and that anyone could say that about every team - not that it's inaccurate, though. I think you could likely make the execution argument for any sporting event, though - if shooting guard executes coming off a pick well, theoretically he'll get more space and room to get his shot off. It's just that w/ the offensive and defensive philosophies Ferentz uses, execution is absolutely crucial.

As for people calling for coaches to be fired, in another thread I commented on the ridiculousness of knee jerk reactions and people calling for coordinators to be fired. I wholeheartedly disagree w/ that, but to each their own. I also noticed more blitzing today than I can ever recall Norm sending, including more exotic variations. I don't have answers, but generally speaking a little more aggressive, creative schemes would be nice, including some defensive tweaks against specific teams, hopefully resulting in a little less "bend." That being said, IA should generally be able to score more than 17 against NW.

More than anything I'm genuinely surprised other fans didn't see today coming. The last 4 minutes of this game are how IA has played this season. I just don't see why other fans didn't expect this outcome.

But yeah, I really, really dislike the execution excuse, apropos as it may be.