My level of optimism dropped after Saturday

L

longtimer

Well-Known Member
From maybe 5% chance we could be a good team to about 1%. No I wasn't at the scrimmage but I did listen to the broadcast of the first half. Without seeing it our offense looks to be in bad shape. Receivers can't get open and when they do occasionally they drop the ball. Offensive line especially tackles looks to be a big problem. Couldn't run and our tackles were getting run over on pass protection. Sure it was against our #1 defense, but that's the defense that ended the year getting run over. Throw in the question of who is behind our starting tackles and our "depth" at QB and its just plain scary.

Our defense could be OK. Really depends on LB play. They should be improved but that could still mean they aren't very good. Bear Bryant used to say if they are going to bite as dogs they will nip as pups. Don't recall much nipping last year

Sure hope I'm wrong and we have a great year but this could be the last year for Ferentz. I'm not one of those who have climbed all over the coach as he goes down. I think he has done some great things at Iowa that he needs to be remembered for including bringing us back from the bottom that we were in when Hayden left. Big Ten Championships and big Bowl wins. Not bad for Iowa which is a tough place to have that kind of success.

Clearly his recruiting has dropped maybe since the Orange Bowl win. Not sure why? He has become more stubborn and has really made some terrible hires with Davis the most inexplicable. If we lose 2 of the first three which i think is very possible the talk of who the next coach will be starts. Makes for a long year and brings up the question "who can Iowa get to revive a program that is in the state of Iowa" 1% may be a little strong
 
It's getting ridiculous how many guys are switching positions not bc of injuries at one position, but bc of total recruiting failures by KF and this staff. I'm sorry but you can't be a top level team asking dbs to be receivers, receivers to be rbs, SO walk ons to be starting O lineman,tight ends to be starting tackles, fg kickers to be punters, etc, etc. It's sad and comical at the same time.
 
longtimer said:
From maybe 5% chance we could be a good team to about 1%. No I wasn't at the scrimmage but I did listen to the broadcast of the first half. Without seeing it our offense looks to be in bad shape. Receivers can't get open and when they do occasionally they drop the ball. Offensive line especially tackles looks to be a big problem. Couldn't run and our tackles were getting run over on pass protection. Sure it was against our #1 defense, but that's the defense that ended the year getting run over. Throw in the question of who is behind our starting tackles and our "depth" at QB and its just plain scary.

Our defense could be OK. Really depends on LB play. They should be improved but that could still mean they aren't very good. Bear Bryant used to say if they are going to bite as dogs they will nip as pups. Don't recall much nipping last year

Sure hope I'm wrong and we have a great year but this could be the last year for Ferentz. I'm not one of those who have climbed all over the coach as he goes down. I think he has done some great things at Iowa that he needs to be remembered for including bringing us back from the bottom that we were in when Hayden left. Big Ten Championships and big Bowl wins. Not bad for Iowa which is a tough place to have that kind of success.

Clearly his recruiting has dropped maybe since the Orange Bowl win. Not sure why? He has become more stubborn and has really made some terrible hires with Davis the most inexplicable. If we lose 2 of the first three which i think is very possible the talk of who the next coach will be starts. Makes for a long year and brings up the question "who can Iowa get to revive a program that is in the state of Iowa" 1% may be a little strong
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That you could glean a 4% drop in your optimism over a radio broadcast is remarkable, and it's not like 5% was that high to begin with.

I wasn't there either but on a cold and windy day, it sounds like there were as many reasons to be optimistic as there are to be pessimistic. Just like about any other year really.
 
SheagleHawk said:
It's getting ridiculous how many guys are switching positions not bc of injuries at one position, but bc of total recruiting failures by KF and this staff. I'm sorry but you can't be a top level team asking dbs to be receivers, receivers to be rbs, SO walk ons to be starting O lineman,tight ends to be starting tackles, fg kickers to be punters, etc, etc. It's sad and comical at the same time.
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Are you referring to Boone Myers?
 
longtimer said:
Sure hope I'm wrong and we have a great year but this could be the last year for Ferentz. I'm not one of those who have climbed all over the coach as he goes down. I think he has done some great things at Iowa that he needs to be remembered for including bringing us back from the bottom that we were in when Hayden left. /QUOTE]

Please. Is this myth still being perpetuated?

Hayden's last team went 3-8 and recruiting was down. But IOWA was 1 year removed from 3 consecutive bowl games (2 of which were Ws). Hayden left a thin roster, but the program was in fine shape...sure as hell much better than when he took over. Hardly "the bottom".
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I like this team and several of the position changes that were made are helping out. Coach Parker is doing a magnificent job with the defense this spring. All positions have stepped up, and made plays Saturday. The best teams start with a strong defense like this. It has been a long time since I saw a defense have a spring such as this.
 
After the past several years, I've had no optimism to lose. I'm definitely in "show me" mode.. Assuming 7-5 or worse regular season until this program proves it can be better than that. 8-4 in 2013... Fair enough. But this has typically been a 7-5 program for a while now. Those 10+ win seasons are getting to be a pretty distant memory. Struggles on the offensive side of the ball... Nothing new there.
 
I guess if you look at if from Ferent'z perspective and what he's looking for you can find some positives. In his post interview he mentioned not being too pessimistic about the offense because of the familiarity the defense has with the offense. He did mention needing to clean up the drops and hopefully that improves.

When you look at the defense they looked capable of being good enough to keep them in games and the running game looked like it's becoming more dynamic. Mix in the run game with heavy TE sets and that can get you at least in field goal range and you can possibly win the game in the end. I think that's how Ferentz is trying to look at it. It's not enough to win the conference or compete for a playoff spot but it might get you 7-8 wins with a soft schedule. Maybe that's good enough for Kirk. Fans on the other hand expect more than that and they should.
 
hawkdrummer1 said:
longtimer said:
Sure hope I'm wrong and we have a great year but this could be the last year for Ferentz. I'm not one of those who have climbed all over the coach as he goes down. I think he has done some great things at Iowa that he needs to be remembered for including bringing us back from the bottom that we were in when Hayden left. /QUOTE]

Please. Is this myth still being perpetuated?

Hayden's last team went 3-8 and recruiting was down. But IOWA was 1 year removed from 3 consecutive bowl games (2 of which were Ws). Hayden left a thin roster, but the program was in fine shape...sure as hell much better than when he took over. Hardly "the bottom".
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I am with you on this. It is far more difficult to change the culture of the program than it is to replenish the cupboards. Not saying what KF did was easy because it wasn't, but the foundation of the program as a whole was already there.
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CPHAWK82 said:
<b>It's not enough to win the conference or compete for a playoff spot but it might get you 7-8 wins with a soft schedule.</b>
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I cannot recall too many times if any that we had a successful season based on the perceived strength or weakness of our schedule. Last year was another in a long line of missed opportunities if that were true. We have had oodles of losses to teams we had no business losing to under KF.

My advice is to can it with the 'soft schedule' analysis. The first four games are as tricky as can be for a 'soft schedule'. Then we go on the road to NW, Wisky and Nebby.

We open with the FCS runner up who darn near won it all and has a QB that lit us up last time we saw him. Then we have to ISU who we have lost 3 of 4 to which includes some of their worst teams. We play a young and up and coming PITT team that throttled us in the first half who now has Narduzzi the MSU D coordinator that know us. Then there is the Fighting McCarneys from N Texas who you know would love to beat us. I see more trouble with that given the current state of this program than most talking 'soft schedule'.
 
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hawkdrummer1 said:
longtimer said:
Sure hope I'm wrong and we have a great year but this could be the last year for Ferentz. I'm not one of those who have climbed all over the coach as he goes down. I think he has done some great things at Iowa that he needs to be remembered for including bringing us back from the bottom that we were in when Hayden left. /QUOTE]

Please. Is this myth still being perpetuated?

Hayden's last team went 3-8 and recruiting was down. But IOWA was 1 year removed from 3 consecutive bowl games (2 of which were Ws). Hayden left a thin roster, but the program was in fine shape...sure as hell much better than when he took over. Hardly "the bottom".
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This!
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The biggest problem this program has is the complacency of Kirk Ferentz. When he first came here he set out to prove he was a good coach. After all the rumors of Kirk going to the NFL and coach of the year awards the last 8-10 years have been pretty average with the exception of one year. KF seems to be satisfied with 7-5 seasons unless he thinks he has something to prove. After going 4-8 in 2012 he led Iowa to an 8-4 year in 2013. I expect 6-7 wins this year in what is getting to be an old theme of uninspiring football which is apparently fine with Kirk. Complacency sets in when a person thinks he's above the program.
 
SpecialKHawk said:
I cannot recall too many times if any that we had a successful season based on the perceived strength or weakness of our schedule. Last year was another in a long line of missed opportunities if that were true. We have had oodles of losses to teams we had no business losing to under KF.

My advice is to can it with the 'soft schedule' analysis. The first four games are as tricky as can be for a 'soft schedule'. Then we go on the road to NW, Wisky and Nebby.

We open with the FCS runner up who darn near won it all and has a QB that lit us up last time we saw him. Then we have to ISU who we have lost 3 of 4 to which includes some of their worst teams. We play a young and up and coming PITT team that throttled us in the first half who now has Narduzzi the MSU D coordinator that know us. Then there is the Fighting McCarneys from N Texas who you know would love to beat us. I see more trouble with that given the current state of this program than most talking 'soft schedule'.
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softer than usual? Iowa does avoid some big name schools. If FCS schools have Iowa shaking in it's boots...that's a problem. I don't care if they're a runner up or FCS champs. A school like Iowa with it's resources should win those games.
 
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same, I do think this is going to be one of those teams that gets a lot better as the year goes on though
 
"Practice.

We talkin' bout practice.

Not a game, not a game.

Practice.

We talkin' bout practice."
 
The easy schedule was talked about a lot last year. The reality is that it really only results in 1 extra victory. An easy schedule can turn a 6-6 team into a 7-5 team, but does not turn it into a 11-2 team.
 
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