Morehouse brings up a good point...

[HomerChampless]

Morehouse's opinion is worth more?

 

[hawkeyebob62]

Morehouse's opinion is worth more?

Than yours?

ANYone's opinion is worth more than yours.

 

[okeefe4prez]

The argument (of scheme) is plausible but doesn't explain the sudden ability to "turn" on the jets against BSU. And last season's offense wasn't as shittyly anemic either.

It is possible that the issue is getting more of the "right" receivers and RBs on the field. Put Smith, Willies, Powell, Canzeri, and Weisman on the field at the same time. Once preseason ends, which KF probably uses as extended practice/evaluation sessions, and the "games that matter" (in KF's head) begin, it will be easier to make a real read...Of course, this means that the Pitt game could be a write-off.

Ball State lost that game because they went to the prevent defense - they dropped back and brought no pressure. Total choke job. As an Iowa fan, surely you've seen that movie before.

 

[SamsonHawk515]

I am even sure high schools do it to a degree.

They do, with regularity, even the lower levels of high school check at the line.

Reading the defense is not the issue with this offense.

 

[FBletterman]

... I can't understand, for the life of me, why you would have an offense that asks college receivers AND college QBs at Iowa (most of which won't sniff the NFL), to BOTH read the defense and have the route be dictated by what the defense is doing. So instead of designing plays and schemes to attack different defenses...essentially putting the onus on the OC to design and call the right plays, you call a play that has multiple route options and then sit back and depend on 18-22 amateurs to read the defense and have both the QB AND the receiver on the same page. Talk about a recipe for disaster...which is exactly what we've seen in the last 3 years.

QUOTE]

Hmmm, pretty much every college team in America run "get open" routes. Its been that way since the 80's.

 

[1hawkeye1]

So this must be what KF is referring to when he uses the word "execute"

 

[ICHawk24]

I can't understand, for the life of me, why you would have an offense that asks college receivers AND college QBs at Iowa (most of which won't sniff the NFL), to BOTH read the defense and have the route be dictated by what the defense is doing.

You've just described every high-powered offense in the country. Baylor, Oregon, etc., ALL depend on reads by both the WR and QB.

So, your base premise is 100% incorrect.

 

[ICHawk24]

This is why Shimonek left. Basically said the offense was too hard to learn(or at least harder than what he was used to).

Shimonek left because he wasn't going to play. Kids always leave for PT, then complain that they need to move closer to home, or a style that fits them, or some other BS reason.

 

[hawkinn3]

My primary problem with this offense is when it does things it is supposed to such as running a slow RB into a stacked box or throwing an out route to a TE (who is a better blocker than receiver) as he is feet from the OOB line. They wanted those things to happen. The mistakes I can at least lie to myself and say they were trying to go deep but it broke down.

 

[SpiderRico]

You've just described every high-powered offense in the country. Baylor, Oregon, etc., ALL depend on reads by both the WR and QB.

So, your base premise is 100% incorrect.

I disagree. Those teams SCHEME to get players open. They flood areas with players that force the defense to choose who to cover. They run misdirection. There is "check with me" at the LOS between QB and WRs. But there isn't a lot of dependence on the WRs to read, in route, what the defense is doing and adjust the route midstream. Doing that doubles the chances of a mistake. Running pre-determined routes means there is only one possibility for a mis-read....by the QB. Running "open" routes that depend on the WR to also read the defense midstream could cause an error by either the QB OR the WR. You just doubled your potential for error from one to two.

 

[hawktalk]

THIS IS THE KIND OF POST THAT MAKES ME SO MAD because it's so right on target. Speak the truth, write the truth over and over again until somebody does something about this... Ferentz, Barta, Fans, somebody put the pressure on.

...which is another reason this whole GD experiment is a complete disaster. He mentioned (on KXNO) that one of the things in KFs press conference on Tuesday that was pretty telling to him was when KF talked about a specific time in the ISU game where JR held the ball too long on a pass play because the receiver didn't go to the area that JR thought he was going to be. That, to me, is the whole freaking problem with this BS offense. I can't understand, for the life of me, why you would have an offense that asks college receivers AND college QBs at Iowa (most of which won't sniff the NFL), to BOTH read the defense and have the route be dictated by what the defense is doing. So instead of designing plays and schemes to attack different defenses...essentially putting the onus on the OC to design and call the right plays, you call a play that has multiple route options and then sit back and depend on 18-22 amateurs to read the defense and have both the QB AND the receiver on the same page. Talk about a recipe for disaster...which is exactly what we've seen in the last 3 years.

It would seem a lot more productive, to me anyway, to have receivers use their natural speed and athletic ability to run pre-designed routes so they don't have to think about what they are doing and just have the QB responsible for reading the defense and reading specific keys (i.e. safety dropping or cheating, corners in press coverage or zone, linebackers blitzing, etc) and then choose the route on that particular play that should be open.

In fact, our strategy in our pass offense is the exact antithesis of our defensive philosophy. Norm (and now Phil) have always talked about using primarily a simple, base defense so that the players don't have to think....they can just play. A thinking athlete is a slower, less reactive athlete.

Now that I've heard some of this and applying that to what I'm seeing on the field.....I think that is 95% of the issue. Look at all of the times that JR has hesitated in the pocket instead of just letting it go....I guarantee you its because he expected, for example, the receiver to "sit", but he kept going (or vice versa).

Bottom line....this offense just blows!

 

[SpiderRico]

And, by the way, this is the reason why guys like Powell and Willies don't see the field. If you tell them to run a post route, a cross, a flag, a dig, a slant, etc. They can run that, no problem. And more often than not, they'll probably get open because they are going to be faster and/or more athletic, more often than not, than the guy across from them. But if you tell them to run a play that tells them to choose between a down-and-in and a down-and-out...depending on what the corner/safety, or combination of the two, is doing.....they won't be as fast, they won't be as athletic and they could be reading it to go in and JR think they should have gone out.

 

[eveningnewsteam]

I listened to Greg Davis a few years ago talk offense. What I found incredible, is he didnt use a route tree with his wide receivers. I thought to myself, no wonder there is so much damn confusion between the QB and receivers. Sure, Baylor, Oklahoma State, etc.........read coverages on the go, but they also use some sort of route tree to simplify and make sure everyone is on the same page. Thats how they run it so fast and precise. They make a simple offense look complex by using different formations, but really those prolific offenses run about 6 plays and run them very well. I realize Iowa will never run that with KF, BUT there are ways to simplify things so players can play fast instead of going half speed and being confused, which looks like what Iowa is.

Edit: Route tree is explained here for anyone who doesnt know what it refers to:
http://www.houstontexans.com/tv-med...ute-Tree/6014c4f2-9d3a-4b8f-8acf-d13d0018c355

 

[ICHawk24]

Morehouse and Dochterman did point out this week that Gerry DiNardo and Chuck Long are both saying that Iowa WRs can't manage to get open. Which I believe is a combination of the offense, routes called, and the WR skills.

I think Vandeberg plays a lot because he is supposedly the guy who, in practice, does nothing but get open and catch passes. Hillyer plays quite a bit and doesn't get open much, but he can block on 2 yard zone reads, and is REALLY IMPORTANT. Willies gets open when he is (rarely) allowed to see the field. KMM is the best at being on the same wavelength as Rudock. I still can't get a read on Tevaun, he seems to get open, but not enough.

Like everyone else, I want to see KMM/Smith/Willies on the field together.

 

[knighthawk13]

Are we ever going to see a pass when JR audibles at the line? It's pretty easy to defend the run when you know a run is coming if the QB audibles at the line. I don't know if it's 100% of the time, but it has to be close.