JonDMiller
Publisher/Founder
NO HUDDLE TEMPO ON THE ROAD: Iowa's no-huddle look has been a success these past five quarters. The performance against Pitt was pretty amazing, perhaps a once in a lifetime comeback that we may not witness again. But in that game, Iowa had no other options left to it; they had to come out slinging the ball and doing so in a hurry. It worked perfectly.
I guess you could write that off to being a fluke, or a one-off sort of thing...many of us were wondering just that before the ULM game.
Then the Hawks came out and ran that offense on their first series and part of the second series...and they did so with great precision, as if they didn't miss a beat from the end of the Pittsburgh game. That instilled quite a bit of confidence in Hawkeye Nation, and perhaps the players on offense. This appears to be a wrinkle they are very comfortable with.
That being said, it's worked well at home, when the noise level is somewhat 'controllable', if you will.
How will this new wrinkle work on the road in front of 107,000 screaming Penn State fans in two weeks?
James Vandenberg has been able to get the play from the sideline, survey the defensive alignment and make audibles these past five quarters, and his teammates have been able to hear him. It also appears he has been barking out some blocking orders to some of the offensive linemen as well, as he has lent a hand counting up blitzers and pointing them out.
That's a lot more challenging to do on the road, when it's hard to hear. For the most part, it appears James Ferentz has been making most of the line calls as it relates to counting up opponents, so that is somewhat mitigated. As for the snap count, working in a silent count on shotgun plays is not something that is new to Iowa's offense, or any offense so I am not too worried about that aspect.
However, it will be interesting to see if this new wrinkle in Iowa's offense fares as well away from Kinnick Stadium as it has inside the friendly confines, and how much Iowa will choose to use it on the road.
There are a few components to the no huddle that are effective, however. One of them is that when you don't huddle up and run a bit of a 'check with me' set up, it doesn't allow the defense to make substitutions as easily or as frequently as it otherwise might want to do.
The good news for Iowa is that it can get a lot of different looks out of the same personnel package:
311 Personnel Package
-5 offensive linemen
-James Vandenberg
-Marcus Coker
-Marvin McNutt, Keenan Davis and Kevonte Martin-Manley
-1 Tight End (Zach Derby has seemed to be the 'go to' choice when Iowa has run its no huddle package)
311 is for three receivers, one running back and one tight end. Some also refer to this as 3 x 1, or other names. If you don't huddle up with this personnel group, it gives you some advantages.
Iowa can put Derby and KMM in the slots with Davis and McNutt spread wide, and keep Coker in to block (we have seen this). They can throw the ball out of that formation, or run the ball with Coker, as the linebackers have to walk out to the flats a little bit more which gives Coker more room to run inside and less congestion for the offensive line.
They can also move Derby in to the traditional tight end position with a hand on the ground and run to either side, or throw out of that formation. They can also motion Derby in this formation and use him as a lead blocker out of an 'H-back' option, or run play-action or waggle motion out of this formation as well. You can also overload one side of the field with say Derby, KMM and Davis, leaving McNutt wide on the opposite side for isolation opportunities.
This has been the preferred personnel package this year, and offers Iowa a lot of options in the no huddle, options that really aren't 'out there' in terms of ingenuity or lack of preparation. The wrinkle to this is the tempo, and the Hawks seem adept at handling this so far.
YOUNG GUNS BETWEEN THE 20's: Now that Jordan Canzeri has burned his redshirt, and Damon Bullock burned his in the first game, Iowa will get one or both of these players involved in the offense.
Given their skill set and that of Marcus Coker, it makes more sense that we will see Bullock and/or Canzeri between the 20's; neither of these players is ready to play power football down inside the 10 yard line. Bullock tried to pass block a few times last week and was knocked flat on his rump and my guess is Canzeri will have similar challenges.
That being said, each player is going to have to stay in to pass block in order to see the field, and in order to not develop run tendencies when they are on the turf.
Given their speed attributes, it makes more sense that we will see they farther away from the redzone. I'd also expect to see both players working the flats for flare passes, outlets as well as screens. This will play to their strengths and allow Iowa to get the most out of their skill sets.
GAP INTEGRITY: It will be interesting to see how the Iowa front four does against Penn State, the first team on Iowa's schedule that will play something akin to traditional football on offense.
Norm Parker defenses have been very good against traditional offenses, mainly because of technique and assignment discipline.
His squads have rarely had size advantages to work with, but they have been good at shedding blockers and plugging the gaps they are assigned to, which lets linebackers come in and clean up the mess.
Does this Iowa defense have the discipline to play that style of football? I am looking forward to finding out that answer on October 8th.
I guess you could write that off to being a fluke, or a one-off sort of thing...many of us were wondering just that before the ULM game.
Then the Hawks came out and ran that offense on their first series and part of the second series...and they did so with great precision, as if they didn't miss a beat from the end of the Pittsburgh game. That instilled quite a bit of confidence in Hawkeye Nation, and perhaps the players on offense. This appears to be a wrinkle they are very comfortable with.
That being said, it's worked well at home, when the noise level is somewhat 'controllable', if you will.
How will this new wrinkle work on the road in front of 107,000 screaming Penn State fans in two weeks?
James Vandenberg has been able to get the play from the sideline, survey the defensive alignment and make audibles these past five quarters, and his teammates have been able to hear him. It also appears he has been barking out some blocking orders to some of the offensive linemen as well, as he has lent a hand counting up blitzers and pointing them out.
That's a lot more challenging to do on the road, when it's hard to hear. For the most part, it appears James Ferentz has been making most of the line calls as it relates to counting up opponents, so that is somewhat mitigated. As for the snap count, working in a silent count on shotgun plays is not something that is new to Iowa's offense, or any offense so I am not too worried about that aspect.
However, it will be interesting to see if this new wrinkle in Iowa's offense fares as well away from Kinnick Stadium as it has inside the friendly confines, and how much Iowa will choose to use it on the road.
There are a few components to the no huddle that are effective, however. One of them is that when you don't huddle up and run a bit of a 'check with me' set up, it doesn't allow the defense to make substitutions as easily or as frequently as it otherwise might want to do.
The good news for Iowa is that it can get a lot of different looks out of the same personnel package:
311 Personnel Package
-5 offensive linemen
-James Vandenberg
-Marcus Coker
-Marvin McNutt, Keenan Davis and Kevonte Martin-Manley
-1 Tight End (Zach Derby has seemed to be the 'go to' choice when Iowa has run its no huddle package)
311 is for three receivers, one running back and one tight end. Some also refer to this as 3 x 1, or other names. If you don't huddle up with this personnel group, it gives you some advantages.
Iowa can put Derby and KMM in the slots with Davis and McNutt spread wide, and keep Coker in to block (we have seen this). They can throw the ball out of that formation, or run the ball with Coker, as the linebackers have to walk out to the flats a little bit more which gives Coker more room to run inside and less congestion for the offensive line.
They can also move Derby in to the traditional tight end position with a hand on the ground and run to either side, or throw out of that formation. They can also motion Derby in this formation and use him as a lead blocker out of an 'H-back' option, or run play-action or waggle motion out of this formation as well. You can also overload one side of the field with say Derby, KMM and Davis, leaving McNutt wide on the opposite side for isolation opportunities.
This has been the preferred personnel package this year, and offers Iowa a lot of options in the no huddle, options that really aren't 'out there' in terms of ingenuity or lack of preparation. The wrinkle to this is the tempo, and the Hawks seem adept at handling this so far.
YOUNG GUNS BETWEEN THE 20's: Now that Jordan Canzeri has burned his redshirt, and Damon Bullock burned his in the first game, Iowa will get one or both of these players involved in the offense.
Given their skill set and that of Marcus Coker, it makes more sense that we will see Bullock and/or Canzeri between the 20's; neither of these players is ready to play power football down inside the 10 yard line. Bullock tried to pass block a few times last week and was knocked flat on his rump and my guess is Canzeri will have similar challenges.
That being said, each player is going to have to stay in to pass block in order to see the field, and in order to not develop run tendencies when they are on the turf.
Given their speed attributes, it makes more sense that we will see they farther away from the redzone. I'd also expect to see both players working the flats for flare passes, outlets as well as screens. This will play to their strengths and allow Iowa to get the most out of their skill sets.
GAP INTEGRITY: It will be interesting to see how the Iowa front four does against Penn State, the first team on Iowa's schedule that will play something akin to traditional football on offense.
Norm Parker defenses have been very good against traditional offenses, mainly because of technique and assignment discipline.
His squads have rarely had size advantages to work with, but they have been good at shedding blockers and plugging the gaps they are assigned to, which lets linebackers come in and clean up the mess.
Does this Iowa defense have the discipline to play that style of football? I am looking forward to finding out that answer on October 8th.
