Key to the 2012 Season

[desihawk]

As OP notes, the DL will likely be more than serviceable. With a talented back-7 to complement this DL, the defense should manage respectable middle-of-the-pack (4-7 place) B10 standings. The D will NOT however be good enough to carry Iowa to victories, equal parts of the load must be shouldered by the Offense and STs.

On offense, Vandy has enough talent around him (as can be surmised, I am not too worried about the RB spot) to sleepwalk to 7-wins. But every year, there are a 1-3 games where the QB and FG-kicker can manufacture wins based on 1-2 clutch plays. If Vandenberg and Meyer deliver, I expect the unexpected (10+ wins).

So individual keys: Vandy, Meyer
Team keys: balanced load sharing by O, D, ST (yet none have to be superlative)

 

[Foval21]

back 7s effectiveness is predicated on the front 4. remember during greenway's last yr it seemed like he struggled at times. it was because his dl struggled keeping blockers from getting to the second level. hopefully a few more blitzes or press coverage can help that but those things also open up holes. it is like swinging for a homerun. yea you hit some out but you also swing and miss more because of it. need the dl to step up or we will struggle. they need to play at an average level and then the above average back 7 can take over. but if they can be single blocked it will be a long time on defense.

 

[NorthFlorida]

Love the optimism, but this defense is still a year away IMO.

 

[bitmap]

Love the optimism, but this defense is still a year away IMO.

It only needs to be 5 games away. Don't discount the gift Iowa has in this schedule.

Staying healthy is the true key to this season. If the top performers are identified early and given significant playing time, and they are still able to take the field by the time we visit Sparty, we will see some highly competitive football.

If the injury bug, especially on D, bites then all bets are off

 

[desihawk]

Love the optimism, but this defense is still a year away IMO.

The defense is indeed a year away from being lights out good but should manage at least a median (B10) performance in 2012. If Iowa's O, D, and ST all place in the 4-6 range as individual units, the final team standing will likely be better than just the sum of the parts. That's where I am hanging my hat on.

(Aside: When the D is rolling in 2013, let's hope the QB position has at least a serviceable (Vandy type) guy. Would suck to have the O out of sync when the D is good like in 2010).

 

[WinOneThisCentury]

Well, after watching the Pitt game and the Michigan game from last year again, JVB better have eyes in the back of his head as our future LT was whiffing alot in both games. On one of the lists, I had Scherff being a key to the offense in 2012 because LT is an important piece of the puzzle. Here's hoping he shows tremendous growth, as you are all alone out there with players that typically have some speed.

There were alot of mistakes being made in both those games. I rewinded a couple of times just to see what happened, and it was ugly. The good thing, when he gets to you, you are done for that play. He moves you in the run game, but he certainly whiffed on a few too.