Man the Hawks are/were going to suck ....

H

homerHAWKeye777

Well-Known Member
.... because we were breaking in a semi-experienced QB to be a first-year regular starter for us.

... because we were returning only 2 starters at the skill positions who appeared to be all-Big 10 quality talents.

... because our group of RBs were relatively so young and inexperienced.

... because we only returned one regular starter on the DL from the prior season.

... because we return only 2 starters at LB and much of our more promising depth there are underclassmen.

.... okay, okay, okay ... sure, we have a really experienced and talented OL ... however, that obviously won't be enough to propel us to a good season, right?

... oh yeah, and BTW, we were completely off the national radar ... nobody in the media thought that we'd do crap in the Big 10.

... lastly, we were so close to having a great season the prior year ... only to lose 5 games by a ridiculously small margin. However, since we lost so many high-quality guys ... many going off to the NFL ... obviously we just CAN'T do better in the following season, right?

-----------------------------------------

While the description above PERFECTLY describes our 2011 Hawk squad, it actually was describing none other than our 2002 Hawkeyes!

There are some pretty crazy parallels there, eh?

By no stretch of the imagination do I expect us to play at the level of the 2002 Hawks. However, I do expect for the 2011 Hawks to be competitive with ANYONE and EVERYONE they play. Furthermore, I do expect them to win A LOT of games ... and I expect them to end up landing in a pretty good bowl.

However, if the O can remain healthy and play up to its potential ... then I don't see why the O cannot help the D quite a lot in 2011. The O obviously gave the D some wiggle-room in '02. Heck, while the '05 Hawks get a bit maligned ... that O ended up being a very good group too ... potentially being only a 2-loss squad were it not for the injury to Hinkel.

I'm really excited about this 2011 squad ... I can't wait to see them continue to develop and see what they're capable of doing!
 
I just bought my plane tickets to Pasadena, thanks for the heads up. ;)

I agree about the excitement this year, I just have a really good feeling about everything.
 
Pretty much every season that the Hawks have been good in the Ferentz era has required lots of "surprising" players who came out of nowhere to have big seasons. So I've learned that you just have to wait and see, and being optimistic helps. This year is no different, in order for the Hawkeyes to be good, a number of unknowns have to contribute. A guy like Kirksey who is unknown could be a major contributor (not that I even know if he'll start or not!).

6 weeks from yesterday is the home opener. Can't wait!
 
I do wish KF would give the backups more playing time, but that is that old NFL mentality.
 
I understand the pundits have their question marks, and hence the rating of 38th best team in the country in the rivals countdown.

However, when you break things down and if our top players remain healthy (the big if in Iowa Football), this team seemingly shapes up with fewer deficiencies than people think.

Our offense is going to be very good and JVB in my opinion (the lynchpin of the offense) is going to step up big time. He will be better than Stanzi, although expect some growing pains early. To me, there is depth everywhere but RB, but we have more options than people think.

On defense, it comes down to two positions in my opinion. We need a DT to step up and play next to Mike Daniels and we need a safety to step in and play well. I believe Hyde ends up at safety. BJ Lowery is ready to be special at corner. Unlike some people, I'm not concerned with LB. Health is a concern as always, but the starters look very solid and all have SPEED.. Binns and Daniel are seniors...and I expect big things from them.

I really think the biggest surprise is going to be at that DT position. Two guys: Davis and Cooper, with Davis just absolutely being disruptive with size and power. I'm excited to see this as they wanted to pull his redshirt last year. If you remember, we had a few pretty good tackles last year...why pull his redshirt...depth and to spell someone? I think he may be the best kept secret Norm has right now next to Lowery.

I can't wait for this season to play out.
 
I think it will be a fun year to watch, even if there are a few losses. KF's teams always compete & most games are close, W or L. It is always fun to watch the development of young & new players.

The key will be Iowa's relatively new DL to help keep the games in check. If they can stuff the run & keep teams out of 3rd & short the majority of the time, it could be a surprising year. They need to be stout & effective up there not give up too many 3rd down conversions so that they can get off the field & rest. In some games in the past, Iowa's had a tendancy to let their D get gassed & didn't bode too well.

Another key is to find an effective & consistent punter to help change field position. It's always freaky going into a new season with a new punter. More for consistency reasons & avoiding the untimely "shanks" that newbies may have. Not giving up the short field can really help this years young D.
 
Good comparison. I'm not worried at all. Iowa has a lot of talent. I know it might be hard for some fans to lose the complex, but Iowa is to a point where they just reload.
 
IMO the world of level athletics,especially in the mens sports, holds a very fine line between the top 25 teams. One bad call, missed tackle,dropped pass and the entire complexion of the game changes.
IMO this is why KF is so anal conservative. I believe many times the difference between the champios and the next level lies in the willingness to be "daring" and the timing of those chances taken. No doubt they can fail but if you study the game close enough(opposition) you should be able to be more than 60% certain of the other teams actions.(i.e.-Wiscy punt fake)
 
You forgot to add we will be playing a ridiculously easy schedule that ranks the 78th hardest schedule in the country.
 
hawkeyescott said:
Another reason to drop the ISU game and schedule someone better.
Click to expand...

boomroasted1.gif
 
The best thing about 2002 was this........36-31. I'd love to see the Hawks go 11-1 again...with the intra-state victory going to my Clones. We're gonna need that win against Iowa if we want to make a bowl game this year...as ISU's schedule is incredibly tough this season.

Being more objective, Iowa does have the stable of talent to pull off a 2002 type season. A few lucky bounces, as in 2002, can turn a good season into a great one very quickly...and good talent with good coaching often creates such luck. I think Iowa is going to have a great year...winning somewhere around 9 games. Ferentz teams are always dangerous because they play such good defense...which means they usually steal a few wins in tough road environments.

Should be a fun year for both teams (I hope).
 
hawkeyescott said:
Another reason to drop the ISU game and schedule someone better.
Click to expand...

Weak... If you dropped Iowa State you would just add another louisiana monroe. Your low ranking has more to do with your weak conference schedule, iowa's non-conference schedule is actually pretty solid.
 
cycloneone said:
Weak... If you dropped Iowa State you would just add another louisiana monroe. Your low ranking has more to do with your weak conference schedule, iowa's non-conference schedule is actually pretty solid.
Click to expand...
Says the team that just left a pathetic Big 12 North.
 
cycloneone said:
Weak... If you dropped Iowa State you would just add another louisiana monroe. Your low ranking has more to do with your weak conference schedule, iowa's non-conference schedule is actually pretty solid.
Click to expand...

No it has to do with ISU, LA-Monroe and Tenn Tech, other than Indiana and maybe Minnesota every other Big Ten team on Iowa's schedule is probably ranked higher than ISU.
 
ISUFB said:
left? how do you figure we left it?
Click to expand...
I meant to say that the Big 12 North doesn't exist anymore in the sense of the divisional format the Big 12 used to have. In addition, the "North" hasn't been a pillar of strength on the college football landscape over the past few years.
 
Last edited:
Good point Homer...you never know how things will play out. Iowa had a lot of players with question marks coming into the season come through in huge ways in 02.

You can only hope that a few similar stories will develop this year

Plus, the schedule does lay out nicely
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Share this page

Top