Our greatest area for improvement

I think our biggest weakness might also be break away speed in the skill positions. Goodson shows promise though.
Goodson shows promise? Nice. Understatement of the night.
Tracy, Smith-Marsett and Goodson have great breakaway skills. This is not a weakness. Not this year.
 
I am okay with our first line pass rush; teams have been keeping extra-bodies in, and getting rid of the ball quickly. This has been a big reason teams have a hard time getting anything going against us.

I am concerned about DE depth. They don't seem to trust anyone beyond Gholston and AJE. I wonder what happened to Waggoner?

I would have to take a closer look at the punts that weren't fielded to know how much was Ragaini's fault. I love what I see rom him with route-running and hands thus far. He does seem a little too "dancey" once he gets the ball in his hands. He will learn.

Defensive backfield has to be the biggest concern right now. If they get Hankins back, that looks a lot better.
 
Bar none is punt returns....there had to be better options. Marsette, Goodson, Tracy would be great options in MHO.

How many times has he fair caught it at our own 5 yd line??

Has the coaching philosophy of putting your feet on the ten yard line changed? If you have to move backwards let it go. Dumb.

If we do that, we wont have to:
1 qb sneak
2 off tackle
3 screen
4 punt.
 
Lack of big plays / breakaway speed

Yes we have a few players that are fast, ISM, and Goodson. But how many big play TD have we had this year ? All that comes to mind is the ISM / Rutgers 60 yard TD reception

Our offense is back to pre Wadley efficiency in that it’ll take 8-10 play drives for us to score. Iowa’s offense has to be so perfect to work it limits us against the top teams.

Those teams have the talent to load the box and dare Stanley (and preciously Jake R) to consistently complete passes over the top.

Other teams play the Iowa offense how the Iowa defense schemes.

It’s awesome when the offense can sustain 10 play drives and get points every time, but as we’ve seen over the last decade it doesn’t work against the best teams.

These next two weeks will show everyone what Iowa is (and how far Brian has matured)
 
Lack of big plays / breakaway speed

Yes we have a few players that are fast, ISM, and Goodson. But how many big play TD have we had this year ? All that comes to mind is the ISM / Rutgers 60 yard TD reception

Our offense is back to pre Wadley efficiency in that it’ll take 8-10 play drives for us to score. Iowa’s offense has to be so perfect to work it limits us against the top teams.

Those teams have the talent to load the box and dare Stanley (and preciously Jake R) to consistently complete passes over the top.

Other teams play the Iowa offense how the Iowa defense schemes.

It’s awesome when the offense can sustain 10 play drives and get points every time, but as we’ve seen over the last decade it doesn’t work against the best teams.

These next two weeks will show everyone what Iowa is (and how far Brian has matured)
Actually the next two weeks will show how good our WRs are this year. Last year our WRs weren’t able to get open at all vs PSU. Our NFL TEs were able to get open sometimes but our WRs looked like boys among men for the most part.
 
I am okay with our first line pass rush; teams have been keeping extra-bodies in, and getting rid of the ball quickly. This has been a big reason teams have a hard time getting anything going against us.

I am concerned about DE depth. They don't seem to trust anyone beyond Gholston and AJE. I wonder what happened to Waggoner?

I would have to take a closer look at the punts that weren't fielded to know how much was Ragaini's fault. I love what I see rom him with route-running and hands thus far. He does seem a little too "dancey" once he gets the ball in his hands. He will learn.

Defensive backfield has to be the biggest concern right now. If they get Hankins back, that looks a lot better.

VanValkenberg actually played very well yesterday and ended up with 3 tackles. We have not rotated the DEs as much as last year but I think our 2nd team will be there when needed.
 
Well it should be.. Should have been fixed long ago. KF won't change anything, whereas other coaches see the punt return as a chance to make a big play or score, KF is just happy if we can catch it. Which doesn't happen very often, and it will come back to bite them in the ass watch.
Hey look, you just gave our defense credit for forcing the punt in the first place!

You know, the defense where our defensive backs can't stay with athletic receivers and our linebackers cant cover in space.

That defense.

But don't worry I agree with you on punt returns. It will bite us in the ass against better teams. I would be willing to bet that we lead the nation in drives started inside our own ten yard line.

There was a stat put out yesterday that we set a record for most yards from scrimmage in a game since 1996.

There was a reason for that. Our starting field position frequently sucked.
 
A comment was made by someone near me at the game, why does Iowa make every punter look like Ray Guy. Not real happy with kick returns either, someone needs to tell Smith-Marsette to follow his blockers, he would have blocking in front of him and cut to the sideline, happened multiple times this season.
 
How many times has he fair caught it at our own 5 yd line??

Has the coaching philosophy of putting your feet on the ten yard line changed? If you have to move backwards let it go. Dumb.

If we do that, we wont have to:
1 qb sneak
2 off tackle
3 screen
4 punt.

The ball Ragaini fair caught inside the 10 was at the 8 yard line. There were literally 5 MTSU players behind him waiting to down the ball at the 1. IIf he lets it go, there is very little chance the outcome is more favorable than starting at the 8.

The problem with a rule like "never field a ball inside the 10" is it is an absolute thing that doesn't consider circumstantial factors.
 
OFFENSIVE LINE - very disappointed how much pressure MTSU put on Stanley

How did you feel about 7 ypc?

MTSU blitzed frequently, usually sending 6 on passing downs. The OL held up well, though Paulson got beat once or twice on the right side. MTSU was credited with 2 sacks and 3 hurries, and the sacks were partially on Stanley for not getting rid of the ball.
 
Goodson shows promise? Nice. Understatement of the night.
Tracy, Smith-Marsett and Goodson have great breakaway skills. This is not a weakness. Not this year.

To be more descriptive, I'm talking more in the RBs positions overall. More speed in the receiver positions for sure.
 
A comment was made by someone near me at the game, why does Iowa make every punter look like Ray Guy. Not real happy with kick returns either, someone needs to tell Smith-Marsette to follow his blockers, he would have blocking in front of him and cut to the sideline, happened multiple times this season.
I've had to point out to my son, who plays freshman and JV and returns kicks, that he needs to follow the wedge on kickoff returns. Then he can break it to the outside. But he would rather break it outside right away or try to outrun the wedge.

I thought ISM was going to get himself killed when he got cartwheeled ass over teakettle in the bowl game this past January.
 
OFFENSIVE LINE - very disappointed how much pressure MTSU put on Stanley

MTSU blitzed on about 70% of their defensive snaps. They were sending a lot of players and had safeties charging the LOS. First need to vary the snap count and not worry about false starts. Uptempo like yesterday with quick counts keeps the blitzers off guard and then some longer snap counts, mix it up because mtsu was timing it well.

Dont give all the blame to 5 Off linemen when they send six rushers or even a 7th.
 
Oh I don't know. I still see Eppy making lots of plays even if he isn't dropping the QB very often. Deflecting passes, altering passes, QB hurries, drawing holding penalties, he is still making his presence felt out there.

The multiple sack game is coming. Only a matter of time.
 
From PFF

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The ball Ragaini fair caught inside the 10 was at the 8 yard line. There were literally 5 MTSU players behind him waiting to down the ball at the 1. IIf he lets it go, there is very little chance the outcome is more favorable than starting at the 8.

The problem with a rule like "never field a ball inside the 10" is it is an absolute thing that doesn't consider circumstantial factors.

That's when you call for a fair catch and scramble. And ball can bounce in favor of iowa even if it doesnt go into endzone

He hasn't been smart inside the ten. But, he has been sure handed so far.
 

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