I agree, my point is we haven't seen enough out of JC and DB to believe they can consistently gain averages of over 5+ yards per carry. Weisman's style of running is an injury waiting to happen. Iowa needs a QB who can throw down field successfully, not just try especially in the GD system. I don't believe for one second just throwing down field to keep the opposing defenses honest will cut it in '13. Plus the defense will have to be better and keep games low scoring for Iowa to have a chance if that is the many focus of the offense.
Over/Under Totals for Iowa, Rest of Big Ten
- Thread starter JonDMiller
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I agree, my point is we haven't seen enough out of JC and DB to believe they can consistently gain averages of over 5+ yards per carry. Weisman's style of running is an injury waiting to happen. Iowa needs a QB who can throw down field successfully, not just try especially in the GD system. I don't believe for one second just throwing down field to keep the opposing defenses honest will cut it in '13. Plus the defense will have to be better and keep games low scoring for Iowa to have a chance if that is the many focus of the offense.
OUTofTOWNHAWK
Well-Known Member
I think there are degrees of how honest you keep a defense. If you atleast throw down field then you gain a little respect and then it move up from there. So you have to atleast try. Last year the run game got no help at all. How well Iowa does in the pass game is going to decide how many wins they have.
Your last statement is the what I believe as well. Gotta pass and do it well. This isn't '08 with Greene, GD is a QB/passing OC not a line up I formation run it up the gut OC. He tried last year, didn't work unless the online was completely healthy and so was Weissman and I that was before DC's realized JVB wasn't throwing down field.
OUTofTOWNHAWK
Well-Known Member
I think the run game has proven it can win games. I think the defense has proven they can win games. I dont think the coaching(especially when it comes down to end game situations) special teams, or the passing game have proven they can help the running game and defense win games.
Even with a crippled OL the run game was still okay. One of the youngest and Id say least talented defenses held their own for most of the year.
You have to remember it wasn't just JVB needing to know the offense extremely well. The TE/WRs need to be able to make the same reads he makes from the line essentially. This was a pretty rough offense for that team to learn last year. I think we'll see a much more confident team this year, and I really do think having play action being a constant threat, and having time to throw will be a blessing for our young QB.
AZHAWKFAN1
Well-Known Member
Many on here seem to forget that GD's offense is predicated on short passes to receivers with speed. Since all of Iowa's receivers lacked speed, they were covered like a blanket. JVB as a result had very few options with which to convert a positive play!
LawVHawk
Well-Known Member
Here's the thing: for the first time in a long time, perhaps ever, I don't care. With football season a little more than two months away, I am far more interested in basketball and the success that coach and his players are having on and off the court.
bws258
Well-Known Member
whammer33024
Well-Known Member
you guys took what i said way too literally. obviously we need to be able to throw the ball or at least show the ability to throw the ball. i was making a point that in 08, ricky was nothing more than a game manager. the offense was clearly predicated on the run. all it needed was to show the ability to throw it downfield to open up the run game.
also, never compared anyone to shonn greene. i don't think iowa has that kind of talent on the roster. but they do have more than one serviceable running back, and each one brings a little something different to the table.
besides, my entire point was that there's reasons for people to be optimistic going into this season and their opinions that iowa wins 8 games this year is not "BS" as was pointed out earlier.
I'm sorry I get your point about Stanzi but the problem with your example is when Stanzi was relied upon to be more than a game manager, he didn't deliver and Iowa lost.
You didn't directly compare Shonn Greene to anyone but comparing that offense to this one is just laughable until we see how they play. My point is Iowa doesn't have a running game like they did in '08 not even close. Damon, Canzeri and Weisman, all together or alone don't touch Shonn Greene. This year's oline pending injuries, isn't close to the oline in '08. Like I said until they play we don't know as '08 was a pleasant surprise. In the last 13 seasons Iowa has had two great surprises that led to offensive magic and that was '02 with Brad Banks and '08 with Shonn Greene. No one predicted it, but to sit here and think it is going to happen, is crazy to me.
I think Iowa will be better, so I agree it isn't B.S. to be optimistic but how much better is the question. I'm sorry but to think 8 wins at this point is reasonable IMO seems a bit over the top.
whammer33024
Well-Known Member
my point is laughable because we haven't seen them play to make comparisons? then the bolded is laughable because we haven't seen them play. you sound a lot like freed. just sayin
FreedComanche
Banned
I know that anything can happen, but I am looking and the talent on paper and the probabilities of how an offense performs with a no college experience qb.
Offensive talent on paper: Good line, Good running back line up.
Probabilities of an offense doing well with a qb with no experience: History proves that a small percentage of teams do well with this kinda qb. I think earlier in this thread a guy posted the exact numbers of this scenario from all of last year's teams.
Could anything happen? Yes. Could Iowa surprise? Yes, but based on historic numbers it does not seem likely.
FreedComanche
HawkeyeWalker
Well-Known Member
I'm with ya on this one OOTH. Although I do see 7 wins as the ceiling with the tougher schedule. Even with some bounces, luck, and execution, I can't see 10 wins.....Now....2014 is a whole different matter if we see some talent at QB, WR, and Dline....expectation will be very, very high.
I just get tired of the pointless comparisons to past teams but when you look at '08 as a whole the team wasn't learning a new offense either. This is a different team with different players with alot of different coaches on the staff now. Strictly from a QB perspective, I don't see just a game manager working out for the offense this year. GD isn't a power running OC, he wants the offense to run through the QB with lots of passing. Not that he can't run the ball but it seems he leans more to passing and relies on that to score points.
thejumper5
Well-Known Member
I don't think this is completely accurate. Looking at his numbers at Texas, Davis' teams were usually quite balanced, and I think he typically called plays in conjunction to the experience/quality of his QBs and RBs. When he had a solid experienced QBs, they threw the ball more. When the running backs were better, he ran the ball more. For instance, in 1998, Ricky Williams won the Heisman after rushing the ball 361 times himself while Texas passed the ball only 318 times as a team. In 2003, Cedric Benson was a 3rd year starter and the Longhorns threw the ball 330 times and ran the ball more than 450 times. In 2006, the top four rushers carried the ball 406 times and the two freshman QBs threw the ball a combined 368 times. On the other hand, Colt McCoy threw the ball 470 times in 2009 while Texas' top two RBs ran it just 203 times combined. In 2005, Vince Young threw the ball 325 times, and though Texas ran it more that year, Young was their leader in rushes and yards; they were very QB heavy that year.
Overall, I wouldn't say that Texas was more dominant in one way or the other during Davis' time in Austin. They did seem to pass more his last few years in Texas than they did his first few years there, but that could have been a change in Big XII culture and Texas' personnel as much as a change in GD's philosophy.
My only issue is look at who those players are, NFL talent. Obviously if you have guys who are playmakers at a position you use their strengths to your advantage. As for Iowa in '13 Iowa do you see player makers right now at any of these positions that would put of numbers like anyone you listed above?
whammer33024
Well-Known Member
would you have said we have a doak walker award winner in the backfield before the 2008 season? going back to what you said earlier, we simply don't know.
Whammer, you have a point but also looking back there wasn't much offseason optimism around that '08 team though either. This season people are trying to be positive by looking back to past seasons with pretty much no relation except for KF as HC and a few remaining coaches and saying "maybe, just maybe this might happen again, look at such and such year". Odds are against it happening, just like those who defend the chance of Iowa's QB playing well this year by using Johnny Football as their example. Odds are stacked again them that it will happen. Again, I am not saying it can't happen but most likely it won't. The '08 team had different obstacles to over come that this year's team currently has to over come now.
FreedComanche
Banned
Dave, he's been told this over and over about how the odds are against Iowa having a good season this year. I think he realizes this, but he's trying to be a contrarian. I'm not gonna respond to him anymore because he's just posting to get a rise out of people on here.
FreedComanche
