Judging Brian Ferentz in Year 1

[WinOneThisCentury]

The similarities between 2012 and 2017 are actually pretty striking. In 2012, Iowa hired Greg Davis of Texas fame to be their offensive coordinator. He implemented a new offense, new terminology, and worked to incorporate Iowa's run first mentality into the new scheme. He was 4-2 going into a home game with Penn State, then lost two offensive linemen in game seven. That team never won another game. James Vandenburg was chased, harassed, and relegated to an also ran QB after a promising junior campaign.

Enter 2017, Brian Ferentz is hired. He promises a similar style but is determined to throw the ball vertically, while continuing the running success from the 2016 campaign. He loses two offensive linemen early in the season, starts two freshmen at tackle and the struggles against top flight competition were evident. Here is where the similarities end...the team wins 8 games including a bowl game. He takes a first year starting QB and manages him to a very successful first year campaign. Looking just at the numbers, it was one of the best in Iowa history. The problem, when you start that many young players at all the skill positions, minus running back, and two freshmen offensive linemen, you have major bouts of inconsistency that just kill you. That was 2017 in a nutshell. You saw what the future could look like (OSU, second half Penn State), but execution and errors held you back.

I'll admit, the 2017 defense was much better and obviously impacted the wins...but when you compare the similarities and the starts to their tenure...maybe we should cut Brian some slack and see how 2018 turns out.

 

[HawkGold]

I can agree that results will be inconsistent with a young inexperienced team. You still can't throw away that Iowa had at least 3 stellar players and that doesn't happen often. The D was constantly back on it's heels because of the O.

What you can't just excuse away is the play calling and a QB who toward the end of the season was about here he should have been at the start of the season. Iowa just doesn't get back up QBs realistic snaps during the season and it shows. Still, it's about the play calling. It's about the play calling It's about the play calling and the lack of being able to adjust. You are telling me that an adult coordinator who coached in the NFL and played for a Big Team AND lived in the house of a long term coach....is too young to call the game better? Seriously? This Iowa team has to be near a Big record for the number of sub 250 yard games by a Big Team.

IL had a legit claim on being young. They have a new coaching staff. Iowa and IL had the same (5) number 250 or below yard games. Their defense though couldn't keep anyone off the field.

IL fired their OC. The OC had OC and HC coaching experience. One of his Ark teams average 489 yards of offense per game. He OC'd at NW.

The IL fired OC's coaching tree includes a guy by the name of Brohm.

 

[hawkeyes87]

...maybe we should cut Brian some slack and see how 2018 turns out.

Or, maybe it's the job of a coaching staff to be able to "roll with the punches".

Graduations happen. Injuries happen. That's why you get the backups meaningful minutes. Last year's backup is this year's starter. Maybe we wouldn't be such a "developmental program" if our new starters had some solid playing time before they moved into the everyday lineup.

Also, GD was completely new to the program. Not the same for BF.

 

[hawkdrummer1]

Or, maybe it's the job of a coaching staff to be able to "roll with the punches".

Graduations happen. Injuries happen. That's why you get the backups meaningful minutes. Last year's backup is this year's starter. Maybe we wouldn't be such a "developmental program" if our new starters had some solid playing time before they moved into the everyday lineup.

Alo, GD was completely new to the program. Not the same for BF.

Yep. Every team graduates 20-25% of their players every year. It's part of the game and you plan around it. If not, it's on the coaching staff.

 

[homes]

He passed in my classroom. He's not on the honor roll, but he's not academically ineligible either. He's shown potential, but you can't ace a class one week, then take the next week off without it affecting your grade.

 

[kameltoez102]

The consistency was pretty bad as well as creativity. He was working with a new starting QB and some new tools as well as getting some on the job training on making adjustments etc. Too me it didn't always seem the offense was prepared for what they were going to see. It has been discussed many times on this board about Iowa's philosophy and this is what we do. The other coaches know that and still there were very few bright spots where we would actually break tendencies. I also thought there was lack of creativity in creating mismatches with our play makers and getting them the ball in space. While it was BF first year these are issues we have had for the last several years. As I stated in a post a few weeks ago that I hope they do an extensive self scout this off season and focus on breaking tendencies.

 

[Joshbrown]

Or, maybe it's the job of a coaching staff to be able to "roll with the punches".

Graduations happen. Injuries happen. That's why you get the backups meaningful minutes. Last year's backup is this year's starter. Maybe we wouldn't be such a "developmental program" if our new starters had some solid playing time before they moved into the everyday lineup.

Also, GD was completely new to the program. Not the same for BF.

Remember, we're the only program that has to develop players. The other 128 schools don't even have a weight room.

 

[tksirius]

OP should change title of thread to "Brian's Excuses."

 

[ShockHawk22]

Overall. Meh.

He is using the tight ends and middle of the field again which always infuriated me during the GD years. ISU, OSU and Nebraska were well called games.

However, predictably is still a huge issue and MSU, jNU, Purdue and 90% of Minnesota were just atrocious. Didn’t seem like he had any game plan other than stretch to the short side

 

[SamBrownlee48]

Inconsistent, but promising. That's about what you can expect from a 1st year OC who has never called the plays before.

He had highs with OSU, Nebby, the 2nd half against ISU, and the 2nd half vs BC.

He had lows vs. Wisky, Purdue, and NW.

Overall, he showed creativeness with the TEs, and at times showed a willingness to switch to gap scheme blocking when it was needed. But other times he wasn't able to adjust his playcalling when needed.

He is no Scott Frost. But he isn't Greg Davis either. It's a good base to start from. Time will tell how much he grows from it.

 

[Kennyfromminne]

3 out of 13 by my count on well called games. Definitely subpar but hey his dad is in charge so he gets a pass.

 

[Kennyfromminne]

The thing that cracks me up is many people say brian has done a better job than gd, no he hasn't!

 

[SamBrownlee48]

The thing that cracks me up is many people say brian has done a better job than gd, no he hasn't!

What was GD's offense like his first year at Iowa?

 

[BVHawk95]

I view it in parts, compared with both last season and GD's first season:

QB- Net positive, though not entirely Brian's accomplishment. Stanley looked miles better than many assumed he would. 26 TD's in his first year as a starter is nothing to scoff at for a true SO. With better protection, more reliable and experienced targets in the receiving corps, and more experienced play-calling, nowhere to go but up.

WRs- Push. Vandeberg wasn't the same after his injuries, but Easley filled in that safety blanket role, just not quite to the level Vandeberg did. ISM showed flashes of good ability and speed, just needs to gain some weight and be more consistent. Still too many drops and MIA moments from this group.

TEs- Absolutely a positive. Finally put them to use across the middle of the field, and utilized a dearth of talent at this position. Obviously Brian has experience with TEs, so hopefully even more improvement to come.

OL- Negative. Better in pass pro (most of the year, anyway), but much less successful in the run game. Partially due to bad playcalling at times, but also because this group currently has trouble with stunting defensive lines and miscommunication. Polasek and BF need to get this shored up.

Playcalling- Net negative. Some great games (ISU, OSU, Nebby), some average (Wyo, Illinois, NT, 2nd half BC), some bad (jNW, MSU, Minn, 1st half BC), and 2 diasasters (Wisc, Purdue). You can see some wrinkles and interesting playcalls if you watch through the games (wham and pull scheme out of shotgun, multiple TE sets, bunch formations), and use of play-action. One absolute improvement over GD was the PA pass. GD was maddening in this in that it would completely disappear from his playbook at times.

Overall, Brian has been an upgrade IMO, though not a significant one. My hope comes from his style not being a complete mismatch of KF's like GD was, and that he has gained experience from this year.

 

[Kennyfromminne]

What was GD's offense like his first year at Iowa?

No worse than Brian's

 

[tksirius]

What was GD's offense like his first year at Iowa?

GD Total Offense Ranking(1st year)= 114
BF Total Offense Ranking(1st year)= 116

Neither of these two took over an offense that was shorthanded like KOK did in '99. Reading all the excuses in this thread though, it sounds like Brian took over an offense full of 9 year old midgets.

 

[Ben Rumson]

Overall. Meh.

He is using the tight ends and middle of the field again which always infuriated me during the GD years. ISU, OSU and Nebraska were well called games.

However, predictably is still a huge issue and MSU, jNU, Purdue and 90% of Minnesota were just atrocious. Didn’t seem like he had any game plan other than stretch to the short side

Its my biggest bitch about KF teams. PREDICTABILITY KILLS US IN CLOSE GAMES! that's another reason our backup QB never gets game time because our games go the full four quarters!

 

[SteveGarvey1]

The similarities between 2012 and 2017 are actually pretty striking. In 2012, Iowa hired Greg Davis of Texas fame to be their offensive coordinator. He implemented a new offense, new terminology, and worked to incorporate Iowa's run first mentality into the new scheme. He was 4-2 going into a home game with Penn State, then lost two offensive linemen in game seven. That team never won another game. James Vandenburg was chased, harassed, and relegated to an also ran QB after a promising junior campaign.

Enter 2017, Brian Ferentz is hired. He promises a similar style but is determined to throw the ball vertically, while continuing the running success from the 2016 campaign. He loses two offensive linemen early in the season, starts two freshmen at tackle and the struggles against top flight competition were evident. Here is where the similarities end...the team wins 8 games including a bowl game. He takes a first year starting QB and manages him to a very successful first year campaign. Looking just at the numbers, it was one of the best in Iowa history. The problem, when you start that many young players at all the skill positions, minus running back, and two freshmen offensive linemen, you have major bouts of inconsistency that just kill you. That was 2017 in a nutshell. You saw what the future could look like (OSU, second half Penn State), but execution and errors held you back.

I'll admit, the 2017 defense was much better and obviously impacted the wins...but when you compare the similarities and the starts to their tenure...maybe we should cut Brian some slack and see how 2018 turns out.

I mean this is a message board. There will be no time or perspective allowed in judging someone. Haters gonna hate and they've already decided that Brian's not a good OC.

 

[WinOneThisCentury]

GD Total Offense Ranking(1st year)= 114
BF Total Offense Ranking(1st year)= 116

Neither of these two took over an offense that was shorthanded like KOK did in '99. Reading all the excuses in this thread though, it sounds like Brian took over an offense full of 9 year old midgets.

Ok, that tells half the story. If you look at the strength of schedule numbers from the 2012 season vs 2017, you get the other half of the story. I've seen Iowa's schedule ranked from 5 to 26 in 2017...depending on metrics and source. The 2012 schedule is anywhere from 46 to 77 depending on source. In 2012, Iowa's opponents were 80-61. In 2017 they were 101-55.

Sagarin rated Iowa's 2017 schedule as the 5th toughest...and this is usually the best analysis. In 2012, Sagarin rated Iowa's schedule at 70.

All I'm saying is that we played better midgets in 2017.

 

[tksirius]

All I'm saying is that Brian has more excuses than Greg Davis.

FIFY