BigD
Well-Known Member
Old habits are hard to break. LMAO!!!!Albany and Iowa State?
Predict 2025 Spring Version
- Thread starter NCHawker
- Start date
BigD
Well-Known Member
Picking on the little sisters to the West I see. LMAO!!!Albany and Iowa State?
#1DieHardHawk
Well-Known Member
I have a weird sense of optimism about the offense going into this season, something I haven't had for a long time. It's almost like there has been this "exorcism" of an evil offensive spirit. Just a different vibe. I think people are underestimating our WR group. The question is whether Barnett can instill some pass-pro improvements where our QBs actually have consistent pockets (?). If so, the possibilities are exciting.
The biggest concern on my end is the middle of the defense. Other than Graves, the combination of tackles and MLBs appears underwhelming heading into the summer. If Phil is persistently forced to bring a safety down into the box to shore that up, we will be susceptible over the top. Our corner group will be relatively inexperienced, and none of them are uber-athletic, meaning that when the safety is forced to move up, the corners will be forced to give up extra cushion on the outside.
On defense, my break-out candidate is Llewellyn. Full disclosure: I picked him last season too, but his reps were limited. He's a bona fide All-B10 candidate this year.
As far as the record? Hard to say. As per usual, we will pull one out we probably shouldn't have, and will lose at least one we had no business losing. 8-4 or 9-3.
The biggest concern on my end is the middle of the defense. Other than Graves, the combination of tackles and MLBs appears underwhelming heading into the summer. If Phil is persistently forced to bring a safety down into the box to shore that up, we will be susceptible over the top. Our corner group will be relatively inexperienced, and none of them are uber-athletic, meaning that when the safety is forced to move up, the corners will be forced to give up extra cushion on the outside.
On defense, my break-out candidate is Llewellyn. Full disclosure: I picked him last season too, but his reps were limited. He's a bona fide All-B10 candidate this year.
As far as the record? Hard to say. As per usual, we will pull one out we probably shouldn't have, and will lose at least one we had no business losing. 8-4 or 9-3.
Wundershozen
Well-Known Member
I remember Anderson having a sick ass diving catch in the first or second game and then...poof.
He has showed flashes of Daddy, hopefully it all comes together this year and he can stay healthy!
thedukeofearl
Well-Known Member
thedukeofearl
Well-Known Member
Perhaps Down on the Corner
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Creedence Clearwater Revival - Down On The Corner (Official Lyric Video)
Join the official CCR email list: http://found.ee/CCR_NewsletterMusic video by Creedence Clearwater Revival performing Down On The Corner. (C) 2012 Concord M...
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NorthKCHawk
Well-Known Member
This is a solid analysis. The middle of the defense makes me nervous too. I don't think it is much of a hot take to say that the offense will be improved over last year and the defense will regress. Both, for the most part, have no other direction to go. The season will come down to how much Parker can shore up the defense that has some obvious talent gaps, versus how much Lester can utilize a legitimate QB in his system. The offense has to be more than just competent to make this season special.
HuckFinn
Well-Known Member
If we didn’t have Parker coaching, I would be a lot more nervous.
Fryowa
Administrator
Teams are going to throw on us early and often. I am not the mighty Phil Parker, but I would think at some point the Hawkeyes will have to blitz. I know Phil hasn't blitzed a single time since Christ was a cowboy, but he's also always had elite DBs to make that possible. For the love of god, Phil...send a linebacker just once.
Matt Campbell has the perfect offense to take on a team with weaksauce and inexperienced DBs, and I do not want to see the Clowns win back to back games for the first time in that sleazebag Campbell's career.
NorthKCHawk
Well-Known Member
Parker's philosophy has ebbed and flowed depending upon the talent he has and how good or bad the offense was. The last few years, the offense has been so bad that Parker played very conservatively and hoped that the other side would F up at a crucial moment. Try to win the game 14 to 13.
Our offense is going to score points next season, which is going to force opposing offenses to be more aggressive against Iowa's D. I would like to see Parker open up the playbook a bit and blitz more. Take chances. Yes, you will give up a play here or there, but you will also make plays too. Bend but don't break may not be the best approach next season given the talent on both sides of the ball.
I don't think this year's d-line will be what we've had in the past but they may not end up being the weak spot we think. I am comfortable with the d-ends we have starting in Llewellyn and Hurkett. You also have Brian Allen as a third end and he may end up being the best of the bunch.
It's inside where there are more concerns. I fell good about Aaron Graves. Jeremiah Pittman is going to have to take a step forward this year. And the coaches have mentioned that the two portal transfer linemen they got, Johan Pace and Bryce Hawthorne, were performing well in spring practice. They may be key to getting back to more of a rotation than we had last year. That may have been one of the reasons our line took a step back in 2024.
It's inside where there are more concerns. I fell good about Aaron Graves. Jeremiah Pittman is going to have to take a step forward this year. And the coaches have mentioned that the two portal transfer linemen they got, Johan Pace and Bryce Hawthorne, were performing well in spring practice. They may be key to getting back to more of a rotation than we had last year. That may have been one of the reasons our line took a step back in 2024.
NorthKCHawk
Well-Known Member
The interior seemed a bit undersized if I remember the depth chart. But, Iowa has done well with DT that are undersized.
#1DieHardHawk
Well-Known Member
Mark my words, Llewellyn will be a huge step up from Deonte Craig. Hurkett is solid and consistent - kind of a "Jack of all trades, but master of none" type of player.
Allen is intriguing, and may be the first "twitchy" DE we have had for awhile. In many ways, he's kind of the antithesis of Craig: He will put fear into tackles with his explosiveness, but he's inconsistent setting the edge and has a tendency to get out of position, whereas Craig wasn't much of a pass-rush threat, but was very good at setting the edge and was rarely out of position.
