JonDMiller
Publisher/Founder
Coker had a reasonably steady game this week and really earned a lot of his yardage in this one. Penn St did an excellent job getting bodies in the back-field and around the football on Iowa’s running plays. Coker had to dodge penetration early and often. He fought for yards and really worked hard but he only had a couple of big holes to work with on the day. He was solid in blitz pickup most of the time when he was out there but did have one lapse that allowed pressure on the quarterback. He also had some receptions early on in this game to move the sticks. He’s not a real quick guy on those underneath routes, but he got in done in this one.
Rogers was back on the field this week and had a crucial missed blitz pickup in his return. The guy had just been cleared to practice this week and it’s surprising the coaches put him out there in those situations. He played on the punt team as well and just didn’t look game ready to me. I loved to see him healthy and cleared to play, but this may have been a bit too soon.
I’m not sure I’ve seen a game where Iowa TE's played worse than this. Missed assignments, blown blocks, mental mistakes,dropped passes and just generally not helping their QB out. The noise level in this game was a factor for these guys, as well as a couple of instances where JVB made some adjustments at the line and the TE looked lost on the play. Iowa’s run game often depends on the TE to block as well as the OL and in this game they weren’t getting it done very often. A big improvement will be needed next week.
Some crucial drops for Keenan Davis and Marvin McNutt this week. Some drives were killed by these drops and with points at a premium this really hurt Iowa’s chances. Davis looked out of sync a lot of the time, even when he did manage to catch the ball. There was no rhythm out there and it showed as the game wore on. Timing was off on a lot of the routes and it’s hard to tell if the WR was not where he was supposed to be or if JVB was missing with the throw. Either way this group has a lot of work to do to get ready for Northwestern.
Coker
+1 Nice job breaking a tackle on the underneath reception here and he picks up a first down. D1 Play 3
+1 Physical run here for big yards right up the middle. Was downhill very quickly and looked very good getting his pads behind him as he bulled over a safety. D2 Play 8
-1 Poor job on blitz pickup here as he launched himself high and on gets a glancing blow on the LB. Needs to maintain his base and get a solid hit on the guy. D3 Play 2
+1 Good physical run here. Makes the most of what space is there and follows his blocks well. D6 Play 1
Overall: +2
Rogers
-1 Poor blitz pickup. Not entirely sure why a guy who hasn’t practiced full time since last fall is in the game at such a critical juncture. D7 Play 6
Overall: -1
Gimm
Overall: Push
Herman
-1 Herman Slow to get over to the blitzing LB on the run play and he forces a domino effect. Reiff had to turn back to take the blitzing LB and Still ends up coming free. He slams Coker for a big loss. D1 Play 10
-1 Herman Unable to get around the DE here and seal him inside and he ends up making the tackle on Coker. D2 Play 10
+1 Herman buried his guy here. Got under the DEs pads and put him on his back. D7 Play 4
Overall: -1
Derby
-1 Blown assignment here. Tried to loop around to block the safety who was in the box, but the safety simply runs right into the backfield and breaks up the running play. This may have been an issue with hearing a change to the blocking at the line. JVB was adjusting things before the play. D2 Play 1
-1 Didn't’ help his QB out here as he was facing pressure and Derby didn’t look for the ball early enough here against the blitz. Really needs to recognize this and get his head around faster. D3 Play 3
-1 Loses contact with the DE in the back-field and he trips up Coker before he gets to a pretty well blocked seam. D6 Play 2
-1 Not sure this is really on him, but he misses a block on the DE. Looked like JVB changed the play here and Derby wasn't’ sure what the call was. Coker tried to run outside him and Derby was blocking as if he expected Coker under him. D6 Play 5
Overall: -4
McNutt
+1 Excellent job after the catch here as he rumbles for an extra ten yards or so after securing the football. D2 Play 5
-1 Very poor job getting vertical here. CB is in 5 yard off coverage and McNutt is just running a 9 here. Runs right into the CB and lets him shove him out of bounds. This play was called to the short side of the field and that’s part of the problem. McNutt also just needs to release inside of the CB and bow back outside into the natural cover 2 hole. D3 Play 1
-1 Just dropped a wide open hitch here. Big error on drive where they really needed a score. D6 Play 10
+1 Great run after the catch here on the slant here. Spins off the safety and picks up big yards on 3rd and short. D7 Play 3
Overall: Push
Davis
-1 Dropped a catch-able ball here. Needs to focus on making the catch first before setting up the after the catch run. D1 Play 8
-1 Poor job of concentration here as he had a very good opportunity to make this catch. Ball just goes through his hands. Had a defender flashing in front of him, but not a good play. This was a one man route as well. D7 play 5
+1 Nice job adjusting to the throw here on the curl. Snatches away from his body and secures the football. D8 Play 2
Overall: -1
KMM
-1 Very poor blocking off here as he doesn’t take a good angle to cut off the safety and he blows into the backfield to clog up the lane. D1 Play 11
Overall: -1
Rogers was back on the field this week and had a crucial missed blitz pickup in his return. The guy had just been cleared to practice this week and it’s surprising the coaches put him out there in those situations. He played on the punt team as well and just didn’t look game ready to me. I loved to see him healthy and cleared to play, but this may have been a bit too soon.
I’m not sure I’ve seen a game where Iowa TE's played worse than this. Missed assignments, blown blocks, mental mistakes,dropped passes and just generally not helping their QB out. The noise level in this game was a factor for these guys, as well as a couple of instances where JVB made some adjustments at the line and the TE looked lost on the play. Iowa’s run game often depends on the TE to block as well as the OL and in this game they weren’t getting it done very often. A big improvement will be needed next week.
Some crucial drops for Keenan Davis and Marvin McNutt this week. Some drives were killed by these drops and with points at a premium this really hurt Iowa’s chances. Davis looked out of sync a lot of the time, even when he did manage to catch the ball. There was no rhythm out there and it showed as the game wore on. Timing was off on a lot of the routes and it’s hard to tell if the WR was not where he was supposed to be or if JVB was missing with the throw. Either way this group has a lot of work to do to get ready for Northwestern.
Coker
+1 Nice job breaking a tackle on the underneath reception here and he picks up a first down. D1 Play 3
+1 Physical run here for big yards right up the middle. Was downhill very quickly and looked very good getting his pads behind him as he bulled over a safety. D2 Play 8
-1 Poor job on blitz pickup here as he launched himself high and on gets a glancing blow on the LB. Needs to maintain his base and get a solid hit on the guy. D3 Play 2
+1 Good physical run here. Makes the most of what space is there and follows his blocks well. D6 Play 1
Overall: +2
Rogers
-1 Poor blitz pickup. Not entirely sure why a guy who hasn’t practiced full time since last fall is in the game at such a critical juncture. D7 Play 6
Overall: -1
Gimm
Overall: Push
Herman
-1 Herman Slow to get over to the blitzing LB on the run play and he forces a domino effect. Reiff had to turn back to take the blitzing LB and Still ends up coming free. He slams Coker for a big loss. D1 Play 10
-1 Herman Unable to get around the DE here and seal him inside and he ends up making the tackle on Coker. D2 Play 10
+1 Herman buried his guy here. Got under the DEs pads and put him on his back. D7 Play 4
Overall: -1
Derby
-1 Blown assignment here. Tried to loop around to block the safety who was in the box, but the safety simply runs right into the backfield and breaks up the running play. This may have been an issue with hearing a change to the blocking at the line. JVB was adjusting things before the play. D2 Play 1
-1 Didn't’ help his QB out here as he was facing pressure and Derby didn’t look for the ball early enough here against the blitz. Really needs to recognize this and get his head around faster. D3 Play 3
-1 Loses contact with the DE in the back-field and he trips up Coker before he gets to a pretty well blocked seam. D6 Play 2
-1 Not sure this is really on him, but he misses a block on the DE. Looked like JVB changed the play here and Derby wasn't’ sure what the call was. Coker tried to run outside him and Derby was blocking as if he expected Coker under him. D6 Play 5
Overall: -4
McNutt
+1 Excellent job after the catch here as he rumbles for an extra ten yards or so after securing the football. D2 Play 5
-1 Very poor job getting vertical here. CB is in 5 yard off coverage and McNutt is just running a 9 here. Runs right into the CB and lets him shove him out of bounds. This play was called to the short side of the field and that’s part of the problem. McNutt also just needs to release inside of the CB and bow back outside into the natural cover 2 hole. D3 Play 1
-1 Just dropped a wide open hitch here. Big error on drive where they really needed a score. D6 Play 10
+1 Great run after the catch here on the slant here. Spins off the safety and picks up big yards on 3rd and short. D7 Play 3
Overall: Push
Davis
-1 Dropped a catch-able ball here. Needs to focus on making the catch first before setting up the after the catch run. D1 Play 8
-1 Poor job of concentration here as he had a very good opportunity to make this catch. Ball just goes through his hands. Had a defender flashing in front of him, but not a good play. This was a one man route as well. D7 play 5
+1 Nice job adjusting to the throw here on the curl. Snatches away from his body and secures the football. D8 Play 2
Overall: -1
KMM
-1 Very poor blocking off here as he doesn’t take a good angle to cut off the safety and he blows into the backfield to clog up the lane. D1 Play 11
Overall: -1
