Oh to have a QB who can run

Goddammit, you guys are just firing me up again about those last couple years under Brian when Iowa was elite in two of its three teams.

For the life of me, I'll never understand why they didn't at least try one of their more mobile QBs (Lainez, Labas) for a handful of series every game to see if some designed runs (or even panicked scrambles) could help move the ball in order to get a few first downs. Or some series with Cooper (by the time they started that it was too late). Or even wildcat to someone else. Anything.

Speaking of Labas, that one never made sense. Not a single snap that season despite average high school QB play on the field (and immobile at that). Labas proved to be a starting MAC QB. Someday perhaps we find out what Labas said or did to Brian or Kirk.

No one will ever be able to explain the Deacon Hill experience to me. Not a single person, not a single soul.
 
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Here are some stats. Starts with one cupcake then BT games. Not cherry picked, imho.

Gronk: 5 games
68.54% completion rate. 6.48 yards average completions. 136.8 average yards per game passing.

Career completion rate is 63.3%. Hmm.
Career yards per completion 13.4. Good.

Opinions: Current completion rate is competitive and better than his career stat.
Maybe accuracy was an issue historically?

Average yards per completion is 6.92 yards less than his career average. Why?

Longer throws have been overthrown. Why? Fear of INT’s? Receivers issue?

Consider number of drops. iNT early vs PSU was receiver, not delivery. Other examples?

Consider Gronk’s movement in the pocket. Consider his run threat capability.
My take: Big + compared to recent past.

Consider run game. Last season 1-2 in BT. 2025, 7 games, #3 BT, about 200.
Lester = Big Plus.

Less reliance on passing game? OK with me.

1 loss in BT. Whisker away from undefeated.

I am having a great time. 1 at a time.
 


Breathe easy and explain it away.

Yes, the passing QBs didn't work out. But I also think that was a stretch where we saw some of the most uncharacteristically so-so to underachieving offensive lines in a very long time, followed by a very young offensive line that took a couple years to get it's feet under it. It would have just been different quarterbacks in a cast.

That's what I'm going with.
Agreed. Some of the O-lines were not good. Injuries and just poor play. An athletic quarterback can make an O-line even look better. He can buy time and move the pocket too. Guys like Deacon Hill and Spencer Petras were statues. That didn't help.

With a mobile quarterback, it forces the hand of defenses to add a spy or at minimum leaves a threat for a run. And in the case with Gronk, he can actually call his number to do some from the get go. This I hope allows for more RPO, play action and so forth.

I think there has been so much focus on passing and the lack of it, we forget that we are still moving the ball. What we see is KF's strategy as we have seen for decades. It just has a Tim Lester wrinkle to it. We are using what we have. I still do believe we will find the passing game eventually.
 




No one will ever be able to explain the Deacon Hill experience to me. Not a single person, not a single soul.
It was because Iowa had never had a Pillsbury Throwboy before. We've had guys who can run like Banks, great ones who could throw like Chuck, and some who could do both like Drew/Ricky/CJ. Even had a guy who made the QB sneak Hall of Fame.

But we had never had the one-ton dually QB and now we have. That's the explanation.
 








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