No Vertical, No Chance

[1013Hawk]

Boom Jon Miller!! I commented on your "what if KOK was still OC" the five yard routes increasing, and 15 plus decreasing has killed us!! You are SPOT ON in this piece and Greg Davis does NOT deserve another season as you think he should. Good offensive coodinators DO adjust to the skill of their players regardless of their scheme and philosophy. He has done NOTHING to do that for the sake of winning. I mean, 1 over 20+ target?? That alone is worthy of a pink slip especially when you were down 42-10 at one point.

 

[AHawk1]

It's a dam joke that he hasn't played another QB this season. Rhoads tried two different QB's a lot this season and in the 11th game he tries a 3rd string guy and what great results. He said guy looked good during the week in practice and looked good in pre game warm ups. Do our 2nd and 3rd string QB's even get much practice time or much work during pre game.

 

[MeatMan]

It's a dam joke that he hasn't played another QB this season. Rhoads tried two different QB's a lot this season and in the 11th game he tries a 3rd string guy and what great results. He said guy looked good during the week in practice and looked good in pre game warm ups. Do our 2nd and 3rd string QB's even get much practice time or much work during pre game.

see that's the problem. Iowa QB's don't get reps in practice unless they are the starter, so it would be impossible for KF to say "Jake" looked good in practice this week.

 

[hawkeyebob62]

I'm with Jon on this one. I think the D should get somewhat of a pass on this season. Historically, we know what our defense is capable of. They did play better the first half of the season. They are creating turnovers and giving the offense some opportunities. They have been forcing 3 and outs. They have shown the ability to play with emotion, effort, and heart. Now with all that being said, I think they have been regressing as the season wears on. And you can debate why that is.

As for the verticle passing scheme... I can't understand why it isn't being added. It is so very obvious to EVERYONE that this is a real problem. Even if they only target 5-7 per game deeper passes per game, it would back the defenses off.

Jon, can you add any insight as to why this isn't being explored more by the coachig staff?

The oddity in this is that Jake C was benched in favor of Stanzi in large part because Stanzi offered a superior edge in the downfield passing department. And last year we saw proof that JVB can be effective downfield, as well.

I gotta believe GD is gone after this season. If he's not, JDM is right: it will not work.

 

[NCHawker]

Things that don't make sense don't last. But they last longer with Ferentz.

 

[PhoenixHawk]

Iowa's rep is built on the playaction pro-set, we put kids in the pros due to the playaction pro-set, the quality of recruits we get do best in the playaction pro-set. We're not going to get the number of fast high-quality receivers necessary to run GD's scheme. All it is going to do is limit our time of position, and keep our D out there longer, which will make games a scoring contest we just can't keep up with. It is just a bad fit.

 

[homes]

Any answer Ferentz gives for not playing Rudock yesterday is just a rationalization. And next year, will we hear from him that Iowa's QBs just need some game experience as they struggle in the early portion of the season? If so, mine and most other Hawkeye fans heads may just explode.

It shouldn't be a question of whether he's ready or not. It was the 4th quarter of a 42-10 blowout. Results were not expected, just let the guy get some live action. Who knows, he may actually perform. And if he doesn't, he doesn't (to paraphrase Ferentz from his last press conference). But we'll never know, nor will Ferentz.

 

[dmackindm]

Eleven games in, I am not sure that GD understands the Big Ten.
He seems clueless
Time to fish or cut bait?

 

[redhawk55]

and Hoke of Michigan didn't play tghe backup til there was 45 seconds on the clock, in fact the starters were in til the end

 

[UweBlab]

and Hoke of Michigan didn't play tghe backup til there was 45 seconds on the clock, in fact the starters were in til the end

1. Their backup QB was already in the game

2. Michigan is preparing for a bowl game.

3. Iowa should be preparing for next season.

4. No reason next year's potential starter couldn't have taken his first college snaps.

 

[Eda]

The oddity in this is that Jake C was benched in favor of Stanzi in large part because Stanzi offered a superior edge in the downfield passing department. And last year we saw proof that JVB can be effective downfield, as well.

I gotta believe GD is gone after this season. If he's not, JDM is right: it will not work.

I don't think KF will cut him after one year. And I think part of his offense could work, but the lack of a vertical attack will ultimately prevent this offense from working. As I said, I just don't understand why there hasn't been an adjustment on it.

 

[FreedComanche]

Things that don't make sense don't last. But they last longer with Ferentz.

This is the best summation of kirk ferentz I have ever read. NCHawker, I don't know you from Adam, but I'd kiss you if you were a lady. You totally nailed "cry baby" ferentz in those two sentences.

FreedComanche

 

[DTF]

Everything you see on the field is incomprehensible. KF deserves all the heat he gets.

 

[turfpest]

Paul Rhoads is not scared to exhaust all options in order to win. I watched their game against Kansas and that kid looked good. We are not beating Iowa State if that kid starts.

 

[FreedComanche]

Paul Rhoads is not scared to exhaust all options in order to win. I watched their game against Kansas and that kid looked good. We are not beating Iowa State if that kid starts.

Right, a ferentz coached team rarely beats a team with a good QB. There are exceptions of course, but not many.

FreedComanche

 

[RocknRollface]

As you make some reference to ISU I would make another reference comparison regarding two different recruiting strategies. Below is the number of commits (or in the case of 2013 the number of verbals thus far) that each program has signed in the last 4 years that were located outside the Midwest:

2013 - ISU 16 / Iowa 1

2012 - ISU 14 / Iowa 9

2011 - ISU 17 / Iowa 14

2010 - ISU 20 / Iowa 6

In ISU's case the numbers consist primarily of players from CA, TX, and FL. In Iowa's case it is a mix of eastern and southern states. If I used just southern states in the above numbers the spread would be even larger between the two schools.

Among several reasons why these two programs are moving in different directions might be Rhoad's emphasis on the south for selecting his players. He's has recognized the value of speed in today's game and has been able to find the players that bring that element to the table. I believe this is one of the reasons why the two programs are moving in different directions as of late.

This I completely disagree with.

Iowa state is signing 2 stars that no one else wants. Iowa state is not a talented team, they are just not terribly coached like Iowa.

Iowa is getting high 3 and some 4 star guys the last 3 years.

If you switched coaching staffs Iowa would be a in a bowl and ISU would not. Almost any staff/scheme in the country besides these guys would have beat CMU, Indiana, and Purdue. Any other coach in the country would have at least tried one of the other 4 QBs on scholorship.

Iowas recruiting is fine, its when such a large percentage of players never see the field thats the problem as well as Kirks insistance on playing older but clearly lesser talented walkons.

 

[RocknRollface]

Iowa's rep is built on the playaction pro-set, we put kids in the pros due to the playaction pro-set, the quality of recruits we get do best in the playaction pro-set. We're not going to get the number of fast high-quality receivers necessary to run GD's scheme. All it is going to do is limit our time of position, and keep our D out there longer, which will make games a scoring contest we just can't keep up with. It is just a bad fit.

I see it the opposite way. Im not defending GD but small quick guys are not hard to find. Teams like Northwestern always have a few.

Big fast physical guys needed to play a pro style are harder to find.

QBs are what makes or breaks systems.

Im with the guy who says he wan'ts to see what another QB could do. There are guys down field and open but Vandenburg never looks they're way.

 

[Section136]

It's easier for me to give the D a pass this year given how I felt they outperformed last year and on the whole this year, they are still middle of the pack in scoring defense this year as it relates to the Big Ten

And they missed OSU and Wisky, 2 offenses that have put together very nice B1G seasons on the offensive side of the ball.

This defense played well against bad offenses, they got shredded by offenses with a pulse.

 

[oroko]

This I completely disagree with.

Iowa state is signing 2 stars that no one else wants. Iowa state is not a talented team, they are just not terribly coached like Iowa.

Iowa is getting high 3 and some 4 star guys the last 3 years.

If you switched coaching staffs Iowa would be a in a bowl and ISU would not. Almost any staff/scheme in the country besides these guys would have beat CMU, Indiana, and Purdue. Any other coach in the country would have at least tried one of the other 4 QBs on scholarship.

Iowa's recruiting is fine, its when such a large percentage of players never see the field thats the problem as well as Kirks insistence on playing older but clearly lesser talented walk-ons.

What we have here is a failure to communicate.