KF needs a long look in the mirror

[Hawkeyetob]

Interesting thread...somehow turns into jabs at Jon!?!

Bummed about Saturday...of course!
Special teams play was crucial and we came up lacking.
Time management handled perfectly...of course not!

No reason to take potshots at Jon though.
Last I checked, it is HIS board and he can run it how he sees fit.
Civil discussion about the game is warranted...not sure how witch hunts are real productive.

Grumble at Kirk all you want but I highly doubt Kirk and his staff are not already working to address the issues as best as they can given the resources they have.

Flush, refocus and go get Sparty!

Go Hawks!

 

[tm3308]

Interesting thread...somehow turns into jabs at Jon!?!

Bummed about Saturday...of course!
Special teams play was crucial and we came up lacking.
Time management handled perfectly...of course not!

No reason to take potshots at Jon though.
Last I checked, it is HIS board and he can run it how he sees fit.
Civil discussion about the game is warranted...not sure how witch hunts are real productive.

Grumble at Kirk all you want but I highly doubt Kirk and his staff are not already working to address the issues as best as they can given the resources they have.

Flush, refocus and go get Sparty!

Go Hawks!

The shots at Jon and his objectiveness regarding Ferentz were uncalled for. The shot about how he handles people who are more critical than he is I thought was a pretty fair point.

 

[sergeanthulka]

Mistakes happen, by both the coaching staff and the players. I get that. That being said, if Ferentz truely believes calling a timeout after the 4th down sneak was the right call he needs to go to some clock management clinics or something. It sure as hell wasn't a 50-50 call as he said in the post-game. It would be slightly understandable if they hadn't been coming out of a timeout where he could have either told the offense to kill the clock or called two plays

And I assume Iowa has a punt safe. Hopefully the next time we're in that situation we'll see that call.

Agreed. I actually take more issue with KF's answer after the game about the last TO being taken than I do with the act itself. We all make mistakes, & some of them come under pressure circumstances. Just own it. Though KF is a master at coach-speak...This one is still sticking in my craw.

 

[tweeterhawk]

Jon, I think KF is a very good coach. A very good one, and a great fit for Iowa. I do not consider him a great overall coach.

A great coach recognizes weaknesses in his program and takes steps to address them immediately. My biggest criticism of Kirk Ferentz is that his stubbornness/resistance/loyalty/unwillingness to change -- whether players or coaches -- is his biggest stumbling block.

Loyalty, confidence, solid core are admirable traits; unwillingness to make needed changes is folly and a recipe for failure.

 

[BlacknGoldHawk]

Now everyone is coming around to my feelings. It's not so much about the bad timeout, but about the fact that he pretended there wasn't anything wrong that decision after the game. If he expects his players to man up and take responsibility, the coaching staff should as well.

I think KF has done a exceptional job at Iowa, and he usually handles things very well with the media, but that BS answer about the timeout only costing us a couple seconds made me cringe. Fans aren't that dumb.

 

[JonDMiller]

My biggest criticism of Kirk Ferentz is that his stubbornness/resistance/loyalty/unwillingness to change -- whether players or coaches -- is his biggest stumbling block..

Biggest stumbling block in the way of what exactly? A return the days of Iowa's regular national title runs?

 

[HwkFn4Life]

No one can argue the fact that the timeout needed to be preserved, and I do wish something would be said as to why it came down the way it did, but one of the things about KF is he will not single any one person out. Maybe it was him, KOK, Stanzi, whoever. We don't know what was said in the huddle before, can only assume. It obviously could have worked out better, thats a fact. A football game tho is a body of work, and Iowa had chances to stay out of that situation and didn't. That loss hangs on the TEAM, and no one individual, but all will say clock management was an issue yesterday and should be addressed. To say that has always been KF's downfall is complete crazy talk. You reference a game 6 years ago as ur evidence BSpring (LSU bowl game), but how many late game drives has Iowa won since then. Chaos prevailed at the end of the game yesterday, and I do not foresee it as a dire problem in the future. KF is GREAT!

 

[colbol9]

Biggest stumbling block in the way of what exactly? A return the days of Iowa's regular national title runs?

Stumbling block = something that hinders (Makes an entity stumble but not fall)

I think he was referring to Iowa reaching the Rose Bowl or National Championship.

The saying "stumbling block" is not related to past performance in any way so I'm not sure why you sarcastically brought up "Iowa's regular national title runs."

We have "stumbled" a couple times. Close but no cigar.

 

[Clark]

No one can argue the fact that the timeout needed to be preserved, and I do wish something would be said as to why it came down the way it did, but one of the things about KF is he will not single any one person out. Maybe it was him, KOK, Stanzi, whoever. We don't know what was said in the huddle before, can only assume. It obviously could have worked out better, thats a fact. A football game tho is a body of work, and Iowa had chances to stay out of that situation and didn't. That loss hangs on the TEAM, and no one individual, but all will say clock management was an issue yesterday and should be addressed. To say that has always been KF's downfall is complete crazy talk. You reference a game 6 years ago as ur evidence BSpring (LSU bowl game), but how many late game drives has Iowa won since then. Chaos prevailed at the end of the game yesterday, and I do not foresee it as a dire problem in the future. KF is GREAT!

I don't expect KF to throw anyone under the bus. I did expect him to 1)admit it was a mistake and 2)say it was his fault (even if it wasn't, that's how KF does things)

KF has more than earned the goodwill to make a mistake and not get killed for it.

But for cryin out loud don't pee on me and tell me it's raining (said in my best Steve Deace voice) which is basically what KF was doing when he said taking the TO in that situation was the right call.

 

[tweeterhawk]

Biggest stumbling block in the way of what exactly? A return the days of Iowa's regular national title runs?

- Sticking with Jake Christensen well beyond the point it was apparent a change at QB was needed.
- Continuing to stick with the run, with an occasional pass thrown in, when Iowa has some pretty strong receivers, including McNutt and DJK. Those should be the featured players, not Adam Robinson, who, while I admire, is not a marquee.
- Not addressing what are clearly clock management issues in close games. Close game after close game, it is not apparent that anyone on the sidelines knows what to do. How many times after close losses are people coming back to this message board (or its predecessors) and complaining that the Ferentz staff blew the final moments of the game, and not without some justification?
- Not playing to win and instead playing not to lose. How many times has that come back to bite us? It would be nice to get up even more against quality opponents to build a cushion against late scores and to give the No. 2s and No. 3s some game experience and to give Iowa some greater notice in the national polls. As well as Vanderberg played after having to come in in last year's NU game, I maintain that his performance would have been stronger the rest of the way if he had had more snaps, in games, in the early part of the season.
- As someone else noted (perhaps in another thread), sometimes KF's "we are who we are, now come and get us" comes across more as an unwillingness to adapt to changing styles of play and more of "I'm not going (or unable) to change my program one bit."

 

[HwkFn4Life]

-
- Continuing to stick with the run, with an occasional pass thrown in, when Iowa has some pretty strong receivers, including McNutt and DJK. Those should be the featured players, not Adam Robinson, who, while I admire, is not a marquee.

Cause we ran the ball so poorly yesterday? Right... Don't know what else ARob can do to impress Hawk Fans! Churning out 100 yd games just ain't enough. And nearly half those yards see to always come after contact. And 36 pass attempts is just "mixing it in?" Go through the record books and see how many games Iowa has won throwing the ball more than 40 times?

 

[tweeterhawk]

-
- Continuing to stick with the run, with an occasional pass thrown in, when Iowa has some pretty strong receivers, including McNutt and DJK. Those should be the featured players, not Adam Robinson, who, while I admire, is not a marquee.

Cause we ran the ball so poorly yesterday? Right... Don't know what else ARob can do to impress Hawk Fans! Churning out 100 yd games just ain't enough. And nearly half those yards see to always come after contact. And 36 pass attempts is just "mixing it in?" Go through the record books and see how many games Iowa has won throwing the ball more than 40 times?

You have receivers who are pretty d*mn good at catching the ball in traffic. So why not feature them?

 

[tm3308]

I think that the general practice of our offensive gameplan is good. I just think we need to stay on the aggressive end of it longer. The defense is not the crutch that it was a year ago, and we need to compensate for that.

Sticking to your philosophy is usually a good thing. It's good to know what you want to do. But you have to be willing to change it up when it's not working. 2004 was a prime example of that. Yes, it was necessary because of all the injuries at RB. But given our woes on special teams and the defense not performing at the same level as the past two seasons, I would think that this is perhaps one of those times where it's necessary to adjust our philosophy.

 

[Clark]

-
- Continuing to stick with the run, with an occasional pass thrown in, when Iowa has some pretty strong receivers, including McNutt and DJK. Those should be the featured players, not Adam Robinson, who, while I admire, is not a marquee.

Cause we ran the ball so poorly yesterday? Right... Don't know what else ARob can do to impress Hawk Fans! Churning out 100 yd games just ain't enough. And nearly half those yards see to always come after contact. And 36 pass attempts is just "mixing it in?" Go through the record books and see how many games Iowa has won throwing the ball more than 40 times?

I agree. I thought the offensive gameplan yesterday, and all year, has been excellent. In both losses the Iowa offense scored plenty enough to win. That unit has been a very pleasant surprise this year (I thought Iowa would be ok in that dept, but I didn't think they'd be this good/consistant)

 

[HwkFn4Life]

Cause we have a running back who can churn out first downs just as well. Go find me a football coach that wouldn't rather feature a consistent first down producing run game. Its the safest way to move the ball. And DJK and McNutt get featured plenty. If you think there going to have 15 catches a piece, that ain't gonna happen. The offensive plan yesterday was as close to PERFECT as I have seen. Hat off to KOK and the offense until the final :12. The offensive gameplan was PERFECT!

 

[DBAHawkFan]

Clock management and playing not to lose are my biggest complaints. Others would argue it's made us 20-4 over the last 24 games, and that's great. Except most of those games, especially those in the Big10 have been heart attacks waiting to happen.

I thought maybe this year would be a little different with the way we came out against ISU, a team we typically play ultra-conservative. But it just happened that whatever play we ran against them worked.

The WI game, the Penn State game, and even the Michigan game are all good examples of the offense clicking with the passing game, only to be reeled in to kill clock and manage the game. The Penn State game it was apparent they were never going to get back in that game, just don't have the players to do it...yet.

Michigan and Wisconsin though, much more talented, and we continued to let them hang around (Michigan more the case than Wisconsin). After that pick by Greenwood (if he doesn't get his feet tangled up....does he pick 6 it???); the crowd was buzzing, the momentum was on our side, and we come out and run it for 2 yards.

Why not a PA pass to the endzone, and if it's not there, Ricky can check down or throw it away? I think nearly everyone would have been OK with that type of play call. That two yard run allowed Wisconsin to catch their breath and relax.

KF has changed a lot over the years. He's finally let freshman play if they're able to perform, he's learnt a lot in the recuriting battles and what type of kids will fit in here at Iowa.

I just wish he'd let go of his "aww shucks, we're just Iowa" and play with a little confidence. The only coach on his staff that gives that off is Norm Parker, and it's no surprise with his absence, the defense does appear to be lacking an edge.

I'm not saying Iowa has to come out in a spread offense. I just think a little more agressiveness would do the team a lot more good than harm. With a 5th year Senior at QB who's proved he can cut down on mistakes, a Senior TE who people are comparing to Dallas Clark type, and a Senior WR who's broken all the records for the position.....and we continue to play it safe ALL the time.

Just a small change in that game planning, and a major change in to how we prepare for the final minutes of a game, and Iowa could win a few more games that we seem to be missing out on.

 

[tweeterhawk]

Biggest stumbling block in the way of what exactly? A return the days of Iowa's regular national title runs?

I misread this in my original reply. Here's what I think KF's shortcomings are blocking: repeatedly challenging for the conference championship; regularly appearing in BCS bowl games; seriously making a run for a national championship; regularly going anywhere from 12-0 to 10-2; coaching a Heisman winner.

Iowa had the talent this year to compete for a NC, and you yourself opined that Stanzi may be deserving mention in the Heisman race. OK, if you have a strong Heisman candidate, feature him weekly. Unfortunately, that's not KF's style of football.

 

[colbol9]

I misread this in my original reply. Here's what I think KF's shortcomings are blocking: repeatedly challenging for the conference championship; regularly appearing in BCS bowl games; seriously making a run for a national championship; regularly going anywhere from 12-0 to 10-2; coaching a Heisman winner.

Iowa had the talent this year to compete for a NC, and you yourself opined that Stanzi may be deserving mention in the Heisman race. OK, if you have a strong Heisman candidate, feature him weekly. Unfortunately, that's not KF's style of football.

I think you are mininterpreting Jon's statement. I took it as, "Iowa has never been a national title contender so you can't say we stumbled at all."

 

[DBAHawkFan]

The only way it seems to force KF's hand is if injuries destroy a position like in 2004.

Sometimes it seems like we exploit a weakness (like WI secondary), and instead of attacking it until they stop it, we decide it's time to get our 30 carries in to keep the offense balanced.

If we run 70 times and win because they couldn't stop it....great. Arob did have a good game, but it was very apparent if we were going to get points, we had to go through the air.

 

[tweeterhawk]

I think you are mininterpreting Jon's statement. I took it as, "Iowa has never been a national title contender so you can't say we stumbled at all."

But shouldn't that be the goal of every Division 1 coach, and especially one paid $3 million a year and who regularly finishes in the upper half of the conference standings? OK, so you regularly go 8-4, 9-3, finish in the Top 25 standings. Don't you want to reach that next step? What's keeping you from doing so?