Let me guess

homes

homes

Well-Known Member
Stayed away from this forum until today, so without reviewing the recaps, summaries and takes on the game, here is my guess -

2% think the Hawks are great and if you don't think so, you're not a true fan
24% think this is exactly how the game would go, but still believe this will be a solid season for the Hawks
73% think the sky is falling and the Hawks are looking right down the barrel of another mediocre season
1% wonder if there's still time to fire Ferentz and hire Bob Stoops.
 
I'm right at the top of the curve -- thought 7-5 preseason and the UNI game did zero to change that expectation. It was a completely uninspiring W; I'll take it.

As I've been saying for several weeks / months -- the DL is what it is and, basically, peaked last year. No qualms about their performance (they controlled the run game) but no real game-changing expectations, either (they still struggle to get any sort of consistent / disruptive pass rush).

I was completely underwhelmed with the rushing effort and disappointed with the OL's lackluster performance -- 4.1 per carry against FCS is nothing to write home about. Deduct the 56 gained on sweeps and the vaunted combo of the dominating OL and powerful stable of RB's churned out an embarrassing 2.8 yards per rush.

I will say this ... if that performance by the back 7 on D is repeated, it most certainly will be a struggle to reach .500.

I'll chalk it up to week 1; hope the cliche holds true for week 2 (though it will still be pretty meaningless for the next 2 weeks because of the incredibly weak competition) and continue to watch and wait for performance to match capability to match expectation.
 
Not really a good guess. An uninspired Iowa team in a quiet stadium (until the 4th qtr) defeated a UNI team playing their bowl game.

You'll learn a little more this week
 
I don't think any true hawk fan predicted a 7-5 season with the cupcake schedule we have. Not even the national pundits predicted that bad, let alone fans. Name 5 teams that should, on paper, beat us?
 
I would be in that 24%. Historically we struggle week 1. I think you need to add somewhere that 5% of the people here just want to make fun of the clones for getting beat up by an FCS team.
 
Whens the last time Iowa looked good week 1? I mean totally waxed who they were playing? It's been awhile. And they've had really good years after coming off of week ones that weren't too hot. So I'm not going to read too much into it. That said they clearly have things to improve on. And we'll know alittle more after this week and build from there. I'm not even too scared that Iowa didn't throw down field much. I think that'll change as the year goes. That is dictated by the coverage too. The biggest thing I'd like to see adjusted is that when Rudock audibles that he doesn't always check into a run to the short side of the field. I think the worst sign stealer in baseball could catch on to that pattern as the game went on. Having Chuck Long talk about it every time he did it sure didn't help. So I hope they add some wrinkles to that and I think the O will be solid.
 
STILLBUSTER said:
I'm right at the top of the curve -- thought 7-5 preseason and the UNI game did zero to change that expectation. It was a completely uninspiring W; I'll take it.

As I've been saying for several weeks / months -- the DL is what it is and, basically, peaked last year. No qualms about their performance (they controlled the run game) but no real game-changing expectations, either (they still struggle to get any sort of consistent / disruptive pass rush).

I was completely underwhelmed with the rushing effort and disappointed with the OL's lackluster performance -- 4.1 per carry against FCS is nothing to write home about. Deduct the 56 gained on sweeps and the vaunted combo of the dominating OL and powerful stable of RB's churned out an embarrassing 2.8 yards per rush.

I will say this ... if that performance by the back 7 on D is repeated, it most certainly will be a struggle to reach .500.

I'll chalk it up to week 1; hope the cliche holds true for week 2 (though it will still be pretty meaningless for the next 2 weeks because of the incredibly weak competition) and continue to watch and wait for performance to match capability to match expectation.
Click to expand...

Just curious, what did you pick Iowa to be last year?
 
STILLBUSTER said:
I'm right at the top of the curve -- thought 7-5 preseason and the UNI game did zero to change that expectation. It was a completely uninspiring W; I'll take it.

As I've been saying for several weeks / months -- the DL is what it is and, basically, peaked last year. No qualms about their performance (they controlled the run game) but no real game-changing expectations, either (they still struggle to get any sort of consistent / disruptive pass rush).

I was completely underwhelmed with the rushing effort and disappointed with the OL's lackluster performance -- 4.1 per carry against FCS is nothing to write home about. Deduct the 56 gained on sweeps and the vaunted combo of the dominating OL and powerful stable of RB's churned out an embarrassing 2.8 yards per rush.

I will say this ... if that performance by the back 7 on D is repeated, it most certainly will be a struggle to reach .500.

I'll chalk it up to week 1; hope the cliche holds true for week 2 (though it will still be pretty meaningless for the next 2 weeks because of the incredibly weak competition) and continue to watch and wait for performance to match capability to match expectation.
Click to expand...


I admire your detachment. I really do. That's the kind of Koolaid I could use.
 
iowalaw said:
I don't think any true hawk fan predicted a 7-5 season with the cupcake schedule we have. Not even the national pundits predicted that bad, let alone fans. Name 5 teams that should, on paper, beat us?
Click to expand...

When it comes to "paper" and the Hawks, you'd be better off wiping with it than predicting from it. Without really trying, how do these sound:

@ Pitt, Indiana, @ Maryland, NwU, @ Minny, Wisconsin, Nebraska.

We can debate Indiana, NwU and @ Minny but those other 4 are as legit "paper" losses as wins.
-- Indiana: I've mentioned months ago, the loss of Morris, Kirksey and Hitchens in pass defense concerns me against that sick offense. After watching the back 7 get torched by FCS UNI, on basic RB out of the backfield patterns ... Concern confirmed.
-- NwU: Venric transfers and there's a lot of distracting undercurrents in that program right now. If there's one that's more likely a W than it was back in May, it's NwU. Then again, it's NwU with Fitz.
-- Minny: Goofs are going to be an improved team. It's on the road, early November and plenty Hawkeye teams that were superior "on paper" have managed to lose there in recent years.

So, "on paper", that's 4 legit teams that are equal to or better than Iowa and 3 teams that would be considered lesser but have managed to beat Iowa frequently enough when they have no business doing so. I've given Iowa 7 chances to lose 5.

Anyone with a little exposure to Iowa football over the years would be very aware of what has become an annual occurrence -- losing one or two games to teams that are inferior "on paper". I'm not dismissing that there have been some great, unforeseen upsets along the way. However, the more reliable and prevalent history is that, due to the KirkFer philosophy that offense is for ball-control, deliberate execution, field position and, lastly, scoring, the "paper" expectation is significantly reduced because there's little margin for error. In other words, KirkFer allows games to be decided by chance bounces, turnovers, etc (things over which you have less control) as much as he does by relentlessly attacking with the intent to outscore the opponent.

If you're interested, here's a little more what I based 7-5 on weeks / months ago.

http://hawkeyenation.com/forum/showthread.php?t=65902&p=1318576#post1318576

http://hawkeyenation.com/forum/showthread.php?t=65074&page=2&p=1302749#post1302749

Over the summer, as NwU lost VM and others, I felt better about that being a W. Also, with Nebby losing some key guys on D, I liked the Hawks' chances but still felt it was a toss-up. Throw all this together, along with Saturday's performance that was everything from uninspired (OL and rushing) to downright awful (back 7 on D) and, like I've said, there's nothing to change my expectation of 7-5.

I may not be as optimistic of a fan as you but, as I attend each home game, watch every game and always cheer loudly for the Hawks to win, you're off the mark to infer I'm not a "true fan".
 
Right now, it appears that Wisconsin and Nebraska MAY be better football teams than Iowa. Its early. I did not see anything to indicate that the rest of the teams on Iowa's schedule are better than the Hawks. But, its just paper and this early, a lot of speculation. News flash: We will not lose to NW.
 
I predicted less than a 10 point victory before. I knew it would be sloppy. Doesn't mean we aren't a good team this year.
 
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