I really hope Jackson’s mediocrity was a result of rust. With PSU coming this week and northwestern and Wisconsin on the horizon defending blitzes are going to be at a premium. Pry, Leonhard and fat pitzgerald will watch that Michigan film and replicate those blitzes all day. Those dudes are aggressive
Re-watched the second half of the game ...
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I really hope Jackson’s mediocrity was a result of rust. With PSU coming this week and northwestern and Wisconsin on the horizon defending blitzes are going to be at a premium. Pry, Leonhard and fat pitzgerald will watch that Michigan film and replicate those blitzes all day. Those dudes are aggressive
this scenario makes me a bit nervous because I can actually see this scenario happening. Polasek seems like a good dude, but I don’t know if he’s big 10 OC coordinator material. Of course I said that about Brian too and for all I know polasek might be an improvement
Those two fumbles are an underreported factor. Michigan was very fortunate they both went their way completely on a fluke.
Stanley tried. The dude isn't a bad QB at all. He did what he could. And yeah if that would have been a play earlier in the game that'd have been on sportscenter. Hell of an effort.
Goodson I agree needs more touches. Maybe not half but certainly more then the handful he's getting
Jackson shouldn't have been in there. He clearly wasn't game ready. Not his fault coaches put him in and then KEPT him in all game. Early on they should have pulled the plug on that experiment.
Playcalling and hindsight is an issue every game every year with every team pretty much. Especially Iowa. That possession is the one that got away for sure...
okeefe4prez
Well-Known Member
We have a highly decorated Big Ten coordinator with NFL experience on staff.
I agree Scherff was a stud amongst studs. Wirfs is pretty darn good though. I wouldn't put him on Scherffs level either but he's dang good and find it tough to nit pick his game much. He's versatile having been on both sides. He's by no means a liability.
The mental side is absolutely the biggest part of it. It's what separates who plays early (or at all) from others. Linderbaum is one smart cookie too similarly to Daniels. The other guys be it the Paulsens and whomever else we are putting at the guard spots haven't been holding their own. Jackson wasn't ready to be put in the fire yet. That's certainly on the coaches and then LEAVING him in all game long. They should have pulled the plug on that early. So yeah I'm with you on the coaching it's a head scratching thing all the way around with it
Fryowa
Administrator
Yeah I don't think Wirfs is at a low level or anything, but I also don't think he's getting the quality coaching that those guys I mentioned did. Polasek in my opinion isn't the guy. We recruit our OL as well as most teams in the conference and certainly the west division, but we don't seem to hold it together. One could argue if we were healthy it'd be a different story, but this is P5 football; no one's OL is ever healthy.
My comment was more aimed at Polasek being a wet noodle more than anything.
As positive as I like to seem most of the time, I have to agree. Polasek has been a failure as an OL coach. I don't particularly care that he's a hot head, but it's certainly a bad look when his position group fails to consistently bring that same kind of intensity.
I though Brian had been great with the OL, especially considering our OT recruiting during that half that period was abysmal. Seems like a missed opportunity to grab AJ Blazek now.
Yeah when you compare us to Wisky and some others... We just shouldn't have the Oline be a weakness. TEs sure when you have 2 drafted in the 1st round early both with a yr and the other 2 yrs left on the table you'll notice that. But we have 2 5th yr seniors in there not doing their part on Oline and it got exposed. Strait up
#1DieHardHawk
Well-Known Member
I've been saying for years that one of the most perplexing things about Iowa's recruiting - given our reputation for the line and Kirk's background - is our inability to consistently land top offensive linemen
It has been getting better recently, but, it seems like every year there is at least one weak link on the line that was one of Ferentz's feel good stories - unranked walk-on or 2-star recruit that worked his way into a starting role. We all root for them, but the reality is it keeps us from having a truly dominant line. I'm exaggerating a bit, but you get the point.
As recruits, I was never high on the Paulsens, and posted as such at the time. Their HS tape didn't show players with athleticism and explosion. It showed players that stood out because they simply were bigger than their opponents, and got by almost exclusively on that alone. I was concerned coming into this season that Kirk would find every way imaginable to get the 5th-year seniors on the field but was hoping they would blossom over the summer and spring. We're not seeing that, at least consistently. They seem like really nice guys, but I just don't sense much of a competitive killer instinct there.
I didn't think the Paulsons would be 5 star studs but I thought by their 5th yr they'd be good starters. The fact they seem to be weak links really stinks.
To me this is the flip side of the Doyle coin right? Sure he's turned 2 star nobodies into NFLers. But he's also had 3 and 4 stars never develop either. I don't think the Paulsons have ever been significantly hurt have they? So yeah I'm disappointed in their lack of development for sure and wish that the recruiting of that position could be better. You would think it wouldn't be as tough as it is.
This is a really good post and I think you hit the nail on the head. With all the good that Kirk has done, with all the success that he has achieved, the national attention and focus, the growth of the facilities and the cash cow that Iowa football is, how did we get so far away from what got us there in the first place? When you add in that we have an ex-NFL line coach with connections, we play in the B1G and run the ball, and the loyal committment to a pro-style offense, everything seems to be there for us to have our pick of not just B1G recruits but projected NFL recruits.
Hawkfnntn added the Doyle influence in the next post, which coincides with the inability of our coaching staff to identify and develop consistent lineman. I think by now we have to accept that the "Doyle effect or Doylization" is severely over-hyped and has little evidence to back that up. Rather, the success stories were much more likely to be luck which doesn't make us any different than really any other system. Every system, from Alabama to Northern Iowa has "luck" stories where nobody predicted someone would be good in college, get drafted in the NFL or be an NFL star. I hate to say it, but our coaches seem to have gotten way too much credit for Gallery and Yanda, and that there is no empirical data to think that the coaches have a solid plan to get our line playing elite football this season or future seasons.
thedukeofearl
Well-Known Member
The Michigan game was Not the End of the World
We lost by one touchdown At Michigan
The wolverines do have the embarrassment of beating Army in OT 24-21, at ann arbor and losing 35-14 at madison
They only had One exceptional offensive play. That long pass that led to their Only touchdown of the game in the First Quarter
Our D was actually exceptional in the game and stopped their flaccid offense from their only TD throughout the remainder of the game
Our O-line was overmatched this game, no doubt
I do believe that the Lads have some seriously bruised pride to heal and have the ability and Hawkeye attitude to do so
The referees certainly wanted the wolverines to win the game, No Doubt
Late in the fourth quarter when we certainly had something going and came within a hair of completing a pass in the end zone. Even if completed the zebras had thrown the flag, seemingly before the play was completed. To me, it appeared that they didn't want the Hawkeyes to get back in the game. I believe they called 5 penalties in a row at the time against the Hawks> Five MotherFucking plays in a row. There might have been one unpenalized play in the mix, but the thing is that there are potential violations on every play, for instance, offensive and defensive holding and they could be called at any time. When the zebras decide to cal them decides the game and it was obvious to me that the bastards wanted michigan to win the game, National recognition, storied program, tv interest and so on and so forth
We should win against PS tomorrow, but they are seriously one of the best teams in the B1G this year just beneath the buckeyes who have chance to carry the National Championship trophy off the field in January
Certainly will be a tall task, but we were one play away from a win at PS, the overthrow to Hock and the last second TD toss at Kinnick the year before
Go Hawks
We lost by one touchdown At Michigan
The wolverines do have the embarrassment of beating Army in OT 24-21, at ann arbor and losing 35-14 at madison
They only had One exceptional offensive play. That long pass that led to their Only touchdown of the game in the First Quarter
Our D was actually exceptional in the game and stopped their flaccid offense from their only TD throughout the remainder of the game
Our O-line was overmatched this game, no doubt
I do believe that the Lads have some seriously bruised pride to heal and have the ability and Hawkeye attitude to do so
The referees certainly wanted the wolverines to win the game, No Doubt
Late in the fourth quarter when we certainly had something going and came within a hair of completing a pass in the end zone. Even if completed the zebras had thrown the flag, seemingly before the play was completed. To me, it appeared that they didn't want the Hawkeyes to get back in the game. I believe they called 5 penalties in a row at the time against the Hawks> Five MotherFucking plays in a row. There might have been one unpenalized play in the mix, but the thing is that there are potential violations on every play, for instance, offensive and defensive holding and they could be called at any time. When the zebras decide to cal them decides the game and it was obvious to me that the bastards wanted michigan to win the game, National recognition, storied program, tv interest and so on and so forth
We should win against PS tomorrow, but they are seriously one of the best teams in the B1G this year just beneath the buckeyes who have chance to carry the National Championship trophy off the field in January
Certainly will be a tall task, but we were one play away from a win at PS, the overthrow to Hock and the last second TD toss at Kinnick the year before
Go Hawks
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#1DieHardHawk
Well-Known Member
Overall, I think Doyle does some solid work, but I think his results along the offensive line have been fairly average. He seems to be more in his wheelhouse with DBs and LBs, and, to some extent, RBs and defensive linemen. It's pretty safe to say that Wisconsin has had much more success developing offensive linemen, but we have to factor in that the style of play is quite different. Wisconsin generally runs a power scheme, whereas, Iowa runs a zone scheme (which requires less size and better mobility).
That said, I honestly don't think Iowa would be hampered by building a little more bulk with our interior linemen. I'd like to see a little more power and explosion, and I'm not convinced we would lose the movement skills.
#1DieHardHawk
Well-Known Member
I should add that I think our power had little to do with the performance of the line last week. The communication errors were obvious, but, what was especially frustrating was the lack of vision by the guards. Good offensive linemen always have their heads on a swivel to identify blitzers entering their gaps. Banwart and the Paulsens would look one direction at the snap and get locked in. They didn't even see the free defenders running right past them. It would be easy to blame the coaches there, but, keeping it real, any lineman that has played in junior high and high school knows that from day one - keep the eyes and feet moving. Line play 101. smh
My biggest criticism of Doyle is at QB. Stanley is too bulked up in the chest and shoulders, from too much power lifting in the upper body, and that diminishes his touch, imo. He needs to do more push-ups, lighter weights and exercises like swimming, for tone, not bulk.
WinOneThisCentury
Well-Known Member
You have to recall his sophomore season...and the knock on him then...he threw fast balls all the time. He came in with a cannon and it hasn't changed. I don't think the lack of touch has anything to do with Doyle frankly. My thought is that he needs to start having more sex on his back...and less hip thrust action. I think it has been a factor in him opening up too soon and therefore his balls sail on him and it's over really really quickly.
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hawkeyes87
Well-Known Member
