Phil Parker the Man

[Iceman]

Phil's D set the tone today. Pressure on QB, interceptions, only allowing 59 yds rushing. Great effort boys!

 

[bphawkeye]

Actually the D has been pretty good this season in each game.

 

[guffus]

Phil Parker does not get near enough credit for Iowa's succes the last few years.

I think its time for KF to step down and let Phil Parker take over as the head man. BF can go take an OL coaching job in the NFL.

 

[earlkoppelman]

Phil Parker does not get near enough credit for Iowa's succes the last few years.

I think its time for KF to step down and let Phil Parker take over as the head man. BF can go take an OL coaching job in the NFL.

 

[earlkoppelman]

Said this many times. HC has Gone long long WAYS on the Parkers Skills....Without Norm and Phil? Well...

 

[seepig]

Without Norm and Phil? Kirk wouldn't still be here there would have been a string of mediocrity as far as the eye can see.

 

[hawkdrummer1]

We've had two damn good DCs under KFz. They've bailed out a weak offense more often than not.

 

[Lumberman]

Phil is the Man... but he still owes me an explanation about WTF defense that was against David Bell at Purdue. Bell was the only player that could hurt us....

Felt like a basketball team that refused to go out and cover a great 3-point shooter who was getting open look after open look. At some point you have to smother a guy like that (and you don’t have to be a coach to see it.)

 

[Chickenlounge]

Phil is the Man... but he still owes me an explanation about WTF defense that was against David Bell at Purdue. Bell was the only player that could hurt us....

Felt like a basketball team that refused to go out and cover a great 3-point shooter who was getting open look after open look. At some point you have to smother a guy like that (and you don’t have to be a coach to see it.)

Well we run the Bend Don't Break. Unfortunately...

 

[RyDogg]

Phil is the Man... but he still owes me an explanation about WTF defense that was against David Bell at Purdue. Bell was the only player that could hurt us....

Felt like a basketball team that refused to go out and cover a great 3-point shooter who was getting open look after open look. At some point you have to smother a guy like that (and you don’t have to be a coach to see it.)

This is my biggest beef with the Parkers' defenses. They don't seem to consciously focus on elite players and try to take away what they do.

 

[dahlhawk]

The Parkers can claim credit for most of Kirk's success, how many times does the defense play entire halves of games and are still expected to win a game at the end. How many times in the last 3 years has the offense just needed to get a first down to secure a game? Almost never ice a game. I believe the Pinstripe was the last time I remember the offense icing the game.

 

[trj]

Unless the Iowa offense turns into some unstoppable juggernaut, Brian Ferentz will not be the next head coach. It makes me wonder what happens to Phil. It is not a given that he automatically gets the DC gig with the new regime.

 

[HuckFinn]

The Parkers can claim credit for most of Kirk's success, how many times does the defense play entire halves of games and are still expected to win a game at the end. How many times in the last 3 years has the offense just needed to get a first down to secure a game? Almost never ice a game. I believe the Pinstripe was the last time I remember the offense icing the game.

Cannot wait to see the evidence on the last 3 years when we needed a first down. Thanks!

 

[okeefe4prez]

This is my biggest beef with the Parkers' defenses. They don't seem to consciously focus on elite players and try to take away what they do.

I think it's hard to do in college. You go to war with the army you've got and unless Iowa has an absolutely elite corner, those guys are just better than our defenders and so he just rolls with the system and working on executing that week in and week out. In a game like the Purdue game, you basically put the whole game on the d-line and hope like hell they can get pressure. Once you start rolling guys around a bunch to contain a guy like Bell you aren't working on your base defense and you are opening up a bunch of other stuff. The scoring defense was totally there against Purdue.

 

[RyDogg]

I think it's hard to do in college. You go to war with the army you've got and unless Iowa has an absolutely elite corner, those guys are just better than our defenders and so he just rolls with the system and working on executing that week in and week out. In a game like the Purdue game, you basically put the whole game on the d-line and hope like hell they can get pressure. Once you start rolling guys around a bunch to contain a guy like Bell you aren't working on your base defense and you are opening up a bunch of other stuff. The scoring defense was totally there against Purdue.

Yeah, I get that. I think they have done better with this when they added a Cash position, but the most frustrating was when we wouldn't change out of LB's guarding WR's or athletic RB's in pass coverage. I still see LB's in coverage, but less mismatches than before. I still have nightmares of McCaffrey running wild around our LB's and even David Johnson losing them in coverage.

Some extra adjustments week to week would be nice. But I get that overall, the base defense wins out enough of the time that they dont want to go away too much from it.

 

[kicker22]

The Parkers can claim credit for most of Kirk's success, how many times does the defense play entire halves of games and are still expected to win a game at the end. How many times in the last 3 years has the offense just needed to get a first down to secure a game? Almost never ice a game. I believe the Pinstripe was the last time I remember the offense icing the game.

I'd go out on a limb and say that the offense closed out the MSU game last weekend, but definitely see your point and agree with you.

 

[HuckFinn]

If you do the math, we have to accept that LB’s will have to cover receivers and will be outmatched at times. Potentially, 3 wide receivers, 2 tight ends, and a couple of running backs. Rare but possible.

 

[okeefe4prez]

If you do the math, we have to accept that LB’s will have to cover receivers and will be outmatched at times. Potentially, 3 wide receivers, 2 tight ends, and a couple of running backs. Rare but possible.

Yeah, in those years we ran that base 4-3, unless we had an elite pass rusher and 2 good corners, you could pretty much predict that the defense would be pedestrian. The team defense numbers are almost always really good because of the system and trying to keep games close, but the number of games guys like Hitchens, Kirskey, Angerer, Edds, Greenway and Hodge won for Iowa was absurd. Even Clemson, with a ton of star recruits, is really struggling to replace that Simmons kid at LB. You get really spoiled when you have an elite guy at LB who can stop the run, cover really well and moonlight as an additional blitzer a few times a game. There are so few guys who really do all of them well that when you go from an elite talent to an average or even above average guy, the results on the field are gut wrenching if it is your defense you are watching.

 

[dahlhawk]

Cannot wait to see the evidence on the last 3 years when we needed a first down. Thanks!

Well just this year it was NW and Purdue, Iowa is not about winning games, it's all about not losing them. Years past, too many games to recall, all Iowa needed to do was move the chains to win the game and run out the clock, but Iowa has done so on such rare occasions I can't remember them. Kirk will without hesitation put it on the defense to win the game. Once or twice I'd like us to engineer a win grinding out the clock and not leaving it up to chance. Kind of like the last drives by NW and Purdue this year where they rushed the ball down our throats late in the game and scored the game winners.

 

[HuckFinn]

Well just this year it was NW and Purdue, Iowa is not about winning games, it's all about not losing them. Years past, too many games to recall, all Iowa needed to do was move the chains to win the game and run out the clock, but Iowa has done so on such rare occasions I can't remember them. Kirk will without hesitation put it on the defense to win the game. Once or twice I'd like us to engineer a win grinding out the clock and not leaving it up to chance. Kind of like the last drives by NW and Purdue this year where they rushed the ball down our throats late in the game and scored the game winners.

I hear you loud and clear. I have seen a lot of games where head coaches have relied on their D to hold up and win the game, with success. I prefer the offense to put together a time consuming, run oriented drive to maintain a lead or win the game. I honestly think KF also prefers the latter and circumstances often require the former. I just don’t know if coaches can always make the correct call. Circumstances often intervene. But your point is well taken.