Miller: Everybody's Talking

[AIRHAWK]

Jon, our offense had underperformed, badly in many seasons, for Kirk's entire tenure here. The serial substandard performance of the offense magnifies every little defensive or special teams faux pas. I don't love the bend-and-then-break defense but the stats say it works for the most part.

The offense needs to improve. It has to improve. And it can improve. That is why we are so frustrated. It's just an obvious deficiency that is holding back the program from achieving its potential. It's not just the lack of creativity either. It's the shoddy clock management, the clueless two minute drill, the tardy play relays to the QB. The offense is the habitual weak link. It has to be fixed. We can survive getting gutted on D against Northwestern so long as we put up points. Sometimes you just have to outscore your opponent. Our offense almost always has the horses to do just that but often fails to get it done.

O'Keefe has to change or he has to go. Now. Period. This program won't achieve its potential otherwise.

I cant remember when the offense "carried" the defense. Almost always the other way around. If they do, they still are not the up and down the field type offense that simply out scores the opponent. National rank for defense is most always ranked good to great. Offense is usually medicore at best, never good to great. Recruiting classes and players come and go. The only constant is the staff. This tells me that the offensive (Sometimes literally)staff must change (Also might be literally). If Iowa offense became consistently good and sometimes great, the program might reach that next level.

 

[83Hawk]

History doesn't mean squat. Who cares if Iowa had a losing program from the sixties until the eighties? That is ancient history and has no bearing on today.

As has been pointed out...Iowa has "caught up" facilities-wise, etc. We pay our head coach top dollar. While he has brought good things to the program, he has also had 2 teams quit on him in the past 4 seasons, multiple 5 loss years. He shows a stubborness to change...he is frequently out-coached by "lesser" programs, has terrible clock management skills and is clueless in the 2 minute offense.

I am not calling for Kirk to be fired. I still believe he is a decent coach...BUT.....he needs to make some changes (*cough* KOK *cough*) and start adapting to the college football landscape as it is. Running the same 'ol, same 'ol year after year isn't going to get it done in this day and age.

 

[racerhawk]

The 'we've caught up' comments, yet to ignore HOW THE HECK we've caught up, is quite a contradiction, no?

How do you think Iowa has caught up? Best freaking decade in school history. Have they done it with Blue Chip recruits? heck no, they have done it with a keen eye for talent and a better job of developing those players. People are acting like that doesn't factor into how Iowa has caught up

Exactly. I'm disappointed with the year, but I'm looking to the bowl and to next year. I'm starting to become convinced that injuries played a much bigger part in Iowa's problems this year. I have a ton of faith in this program. They'll be good the next two years. UW was great this year, and Iowa had 'em beat. It was also disappointing to lose to OSU, but they made some great plays. The disappointments were the NU and Minny games, IMHO.

Well, we get NU and Minny in our division from now on. Game on!

 

[JonDMiller]

I'm not saying we should expect BT championships evey year, but fans have a right to be upset about 7-5 seasons, considering what we had back..

Nowhere have i debated this, and I have gone out of my way numerous times within the same writings to say that on this front I am like a lot of people.

Of course, we vary where we lay blame, and we vary to what extreme our disappointment takes us.

 

[JonDMiller]

--Tressel is a very similar style coach, once considered MORE Conservative than Ferentz; however he loosened up the strings over the past 2-3 years and has had a lot of success. Why are we so afraid to change?

If Iowa landed Terrelle Pryor, they'd certainly fit him into the mix. Again, any comparisons to OSU are moot, because we are not talking about working off the same deck of cards here. Theirs is a stacked deck, because of the amazing number of elite high school football players that state produces, one of the ten most populated states in the nation

I don't argue with folks about making tweaks, either. I just get motivated to write what i write when I see torches and pitchforks.

 

[JonDMiller]

Good discussions, good debate. Someone asked in another thread if this site is what I hoped it would be, and threads like this, with so many different viewpoints and posters putting a lot of thought into their responses is exactly what I had hoped this site could become.

This is an opinion driven Hawkeye site, more so than any of the sites out there. I prefer to have discussions like this, led by opinions. It's why there is room for so many sites.

Thanks for taking part in these discussions. It is very enjoyable.

 

[BSpringsteen]

Nowhere have i debated this, and I have gone out of my way numerous times within the same writings to say that on this front I am like a lot of people.

Of course, we vary where we lay blame, and we vary to what extreme our disappointment takes us.

Where we lay the blame?

Kirk Ferentz (he is the head coach so he gets the blame) flat out lost us the Wisconsin game and had multiple blown calls.

The full punt return when you have a returned who calls a fair catch 90% of the time is beyond excusable.

The lack of a hurry the f*** up and snap the ball before we get a replay called on us.

The clock management at the end.

If we win that game, who knows how the rest of the season plays out. You are sitting at 3-0 with Michigan State coming to town.

Poor execution lost us the Arizona game.

Poor coaching lost us the season.

 

[BSpringsteen]

Torches and Pitchforks? Come on Jon, really?

Anyhow, all this crowd is asking for is for Kirk Ferentz to prepare himself and his staff as well as he prepares his players.

The evidence is enough to suggest that he does not do so.

I for one don't think that is too much to ask.

 

[Rawkhawk73]

Good discussions, good debate. Someone asked in another thread if this site is what I hoped it would be, and threads like this, with so many different viewpoints and posters putting a lot of thought into their responses is exactly what I had hoped this site could become.

This is an opinion driven Hawkeye site, more so than any of the sites out there. I prefer to have discussions like this, led by opinions. It's why there is room for so many sites.

Thanks for taking part in these discussions. It is very enjoyable.

I second that, Jon.

You and I certainly don't see eye to eye on some things related to the program, but we're both passionate about the program and want to see it succeed and we (and everyone else here) are able to do it in a mature manner without resorting to name-calling, or calling for every coach to be fired. It's certainly a breath of fresh air compared to "other" sites around.

Thanks again for putting this thing together and giving all of us a forum to share our opinions.

 

[AIRHAWK]

Torches and Pitchforks? Come on Jon, really?

Anyhow, all this crowd is asking for is for Kirk Ferentz to prepare himself and his staff as well as he prepares his players.

The evidence is enough to suggest that he does not do so.

I for one don't think that is too much to ask.

Or at least admit that HE needs to do better. I know you will point out his IMO vague comments about reading the clock management book or that we should have "clocked it". But...he seems very reluctant to say yup...its on me. Buzz words...execution, other guy very good, we are working hard, blah blah blah. Like 99.9 % of people on this board, I love KF, don't want anyone else as Iowa coach, hope he stays forever but he is soooo rigid. I made the analogy on another thread of his coaching philosophy is to have one foot on the brake at all times. Occasionally tap the accelerator but then back on the brake. Don't get hurt that way but also don't go anywhere very fast.

 

[JonDMiller]

Or at least admit that HE needs to do better. I know you will point out his IMO vague comments about reading the clock management book or that we should have "clocked it". But...he seems very reluctant to say yup...its on me. Buzz words...execution, other guy very good, we are working hard, blah blah blah. Like 99.9 % of people on this board, I love KF, don't want anyone else as Iowa coach, hope he stays forever but he is soooo rigid. I made the analogy on another thread of his coaching philosophy is to have one foot on the brake at all times. Occasionally tap the accelerator but then back on the brake. Don't get hurt that way but also don't go anywhere very fast.

I don't have a problem at all saying that Iowa needs to do a better job in some areas. No question, and a part of that is in the coaching category. I don't have a problem being critical. As far as I was able to tell, I was the only person that wrote a column about keeping Robinson in the game too long against Michigan State, and what could come from that first concussion, and I am pretty confident Kirk read it and didn't care for it. But I don't sit down to write things wondering WWKT; what would kirk think?

Now, having said that, I have the highest respect for him, and have come around to the lack of execution thinking since the last time we went down this road...but that doesn't mean there were not shortcomings or failures this year.

My recent writings have mostly been inspired by what I have felt a dismissing of the macro due to the emotion in the micro.

However, that doesn't not mean this year can be glossed over or that it was a missed opportunity of most importance.

We won't know for sure the impact on the programs future for not hitting the high we thought this team could hit, for some time. I hope its minimal and I hope this isn't a rubicon we look back on that is easily identified.

 

[BSpringsteen]

Well said Jon-

But I think it is also to fair that the same macro that suggests that Iowa has won the second most Big 10 games this decade, also suggests that both times we've had a chance to be ELITE we've ****** down our leg.

The only way to take the next jump is to be in that conversation often enough, and if everytime we get there, we crawl back into our li'l ole Iowa hole, we'll never ever ever have a chance of taking that next step.

As I said yesterday all that is standing in our way is beating the doormats of the Big 10 on a regular basis, and the only thing stopping us from doing that is a coaching staff that alters their gameplan accordingly.

Since the 2004 team, we've had 1 season that exceeded expectations. And when you consider that the expectations are 8/9 wins, that is a easily attainable bar.

Yes, this includes the 2005-07 teams, but those teams were not plagued by a lack of talent, they were plagued by a fat cat mentality that ultimately is an indictment of the coaches.

The next two years will tell the story for Iowa football. If we win 8/9 games next year and the year after that, than this is the blip on the radar.

If this is the start of another three year run of disappointment, than I firmly believe we will be looking for a new head coach after the 2012 season.

 

[AIRHAWK]

Well said Jon-

But I think it is also to fair that the same macro that suggests that Iowa has won the second most Big 10 games this decade, also suggests that both times we've had a chance to be ELITE we've ****** down our leg.

The only way to take the next jump is to be in that conversation often enough, and if everytime we get there, we crawl back into our li'l ole Iowa hole, we'll never ever ever have a chance of taking that next step.

As I said yesterday all that is standing in our way is beating the doormats of the Big 10 on a regular basis, and the only thing stopping us from doing that is a coaching staff that alters their gameplan accordingly.

Since the 2004 team, we've had 1 season that exceeded expectations. And when you consider that the expectations are 8/9 wins, that is a easily attainable bar.

Yes, this includes the 2005-07 teams, but those teams were not plagued by a lack of talent, they were plagued by a fat cat mentality that ultimately is an indictment of the coaches.

The next two years will tell the story for Iowa football. If we win 8/9 games next year and the year after that, than this is the blip on the radar.

If this is the start of another three year run of disappointment, than I firmly believe we will be looking for a new head coach after the 2012 season.

Again, players and recruits come and go. The thing that has remained constant is the staff. This is a 7-8 win staff and they are fairly content with that and the occassional 9-10-11 win season. When the situation and the stars align to have a proven, experienced returning roster we better ride it as hard as we can. Dont know when we may see it again.

 

[nationalchamps]

Here is an idea for anyone out there who is in sales and consistently come in the bottom half of your monthly/yearly rankings. Tell your boss that you've been doing the same thing for years and you're never going to change your sales style or approach. See how far that gets you. The point is, no matter what it is in life, if something isn't working things need to be changed or tweaked to help better yourself. It's no different in athletics.

Jon, in response to your "if Iowa landed Pryor we would've built offense around him" argument. I disagree. If I remember right wasn't JC a dual threat QB coming out of HS? I don't think we tailored the O around his talents (or lack thereof). I know JC is no Pryor, but you get the point. At some point you have to put the kids in the best position to win/succeed.

 

[big10fan]

i think kirk is having some of the same problems that his mentor belichek (spell?) encountered early at new england.
you can only play the underdog card so much, eventually you have to learn how to use other tools for motivation.
the new england D carried that team those first few years with brady at the helm, then they made the switch to be more aggressive on the O side.

 

[Bigtenchamp]

I'm not expecting national championships - it would be nice someday but I DO expect some big ten championships.

We expected this team to contend for one - and we weren't being irrational - so its not a crazy expectation.

It's tough to recruit here Im sure in comparison to some schools - but with the amount of money we pay our coach and the type of fan base we have - we can be successful and we can get good coaches and administration.

Acting like Kirk Ferentz is untouchable and the only one who can pull off this "miracle" job is actually the real "irrational" thing.

However I agree with Jon in the fact that Kirk has helped made this possible (Hayden was the first of course).

 

[HawkeyeNTexas]

I'm going to help everyone out and end this discussion by saying the two things that Iowa needs. In my opinion this is it.

1. Motivator. Either coach(es) or player(s) who motivates this teams and gets them mentally prepared to play. No matter who they are playing, their needs to be the same attitude of wanting to crush the opponent.

2. Minor tweaking of the offense and defensive schemes. Mix things up. Minimize your weaknesses and emphasize your strengths. If that means focusing the offense or defense around certain playmakers, than do it!!

That's it. Problems solved.

 

[Hawkshaw]

If games were 55 minutes, Iowa would have been 11-0-1.

Iowa was 1-5 in games where they didn't have a 28 point lead going into the 4th quarter.

To me, this is a sign of mental weakness on the team's part. And with each loss, they got weaker. "Oh no, here we go again."

In all 5 losses, had they just been able to make one play in the last five minutes, either on offense or defenese, they would have won each game.

Yes, they had a ton of injuries to key players this season, yet all those fill-in guys were doing okay for the first 50 minutes of the game.

Blame can go all around, but in the end, I think the team did not respond well to adversity. Unlike last year, this year's team couldn't make a play to win the close games. Only in the Michigan game, when it got close, did the team respond and make some big plays to win. But who knows how that game would have gone if we didn't have a 28 point lead.

If anything this team needs, it is a sports psychologist. The coaches had them in a position to win every game. And collectively, the team (coaches and players) were not able to execute in the closing minutes of games. They choked. Everytime.

Had they made the extra point against Arizoana, and stopped them on their final drive, maybe this whole season is different. Then, they have the confidence they did last year, and someone steps up and "executes", instead of being victimized by the other team's big plays.

 

[Thawki]

I'm sorry, RawHawk, but we DID play those patsies.

I was at Iowa during part of the time to which you refer. We did play schools just like those. Heck, if I am not mistaken we actually even played UNI between 1983-1987. We played schools like that ever year.

I will go back and look when I have more time and edit in what I see from back then.

 

[JonDMiller]

Jon, in response to your "if Iowa landed Pryor we would've built offense around him" argument. I disagree. If I remember right wasn't JC a dual threat QB coming out of HS? I don't think we tailored the O around his talents (or lack thereof). I know JC is no Pryor, but you get the point. At some point you have to put the kids in the best position to win/succeed.

No, JC was not a runner.

Tate and JC were pure shotgun spread guys. But Kirk has said publicly that if he had someone like a Pryor or a Robinson, he'd play to that. But, that's not likely going to happen