ICAlumni
Well-Known Member
I am a huge Hawkeye fan. I was born and raised in Iowa City. Both of my parents worked for the University and I and all of my siblings graduated from the U of I. I live and die with the football team (and wrestling team - and I used to with basketball and see that getting better quickly.) Anyway, I am doing a serious re-evaluation of my attachment to sports (although I know, in reality, it won't change) because these Hawkeye losses and seasons are killing me. I worry about the physical toll of these games and i'm sure many of you are the same.
My 3 year old daughter attended her first Hawkeye football game today with me and was a champ right through the rain. She told me afterward... "I had so much fun at the game Pop, but I didn't like all of your yelling." That put a lot of things in perspective for me. I LOVE the Hawkeyes... I really do. I'm not a religious person at all, but the Hawkeyes are, in a way, my religion. My wife has said as much and not in a bad way. I know that, in a lot of ways, she appreciates it for what it is.
I love KF, I love the University and I love the way Iowa does things. I will always support the Hawks and will always be proud to do so. But I also think that there is always room for criticism. I know that many if not all of you agree. When you spend lots of money on a coach and you put such emphasis and money into a program and facility, you expect results. We typically have great success at the University and to argue with what we do as the BTs smallest public institution is nothing short of amazing. It really is. We fight a constant battle with "bigger/badder" institutions and, more often than not, we win.
All of that being said (sorry for my long diatribe) - there are some things that really bother me. I think Iowa has great kids that try really hard and often overachieve and more importantly - they are KIDS. It's really really hard to criticize kids that put so much hard work and effort into this GAME. But it's more than fair to criticize the coaches who do it for a living and who, in many ways, are beholden to us as fans, taxpayers and all-around money spenders.
What is bothering me lately is the inability of this coaching staff to change. They continually do the same things, year in and year out and, in a lot of ways, that is a good thing. But when you watch this coaching staff get out coached continually by certain systems and programs it becomes a bitter pill to swallow. NW and Indiana continually give us fits and they run similar spread systems. We always come into these games as heavy favorites and as the team that should dominate the matchup regardless of location and situation. And yet we continually underachieve, scrape by and/or lose these games. We run the same vanilla defense, the same predictable offense and the same take-the-ball and 3 and out offense to start a game. If our defense is good, put them on the field first. Make the other team show you what they have. Don't "waste" an offensive possession as often happens. Why do other defenses and staffs blitz? Because the blitz works... because it throws a "wrench in the works" of an offense. Why do other teams mix up coverages, run motion on offense to confuse opponents and run trick/fake plays? Because they work.
If you want to say "we need to execute to be successful, and if we don't execute we have a hard time winning" i can respect that. It's Iowa's and KF's mantra. We live and die by this motto. But here is my take on that. It assumes that you need to do everything perfectly to have a chance. It sells the team and the kids short. It de-emphasizes their abilities and strengths and puts the entire onus on a system and I just don't think that's right. Here is the kicker... if you run schemes (on defense and offense) that gamble - not all the time, but sometimes, that take chances and that try to be tricky, they OVERCOME many other mistakes and failings. To feed me some baloney about having to execute what we draw up perfectly to beat an inferior opponent (yes, NW is) is just bull%*&#. It really is. Take some risks, use a bit of trickery and maybe 3 of 4 plays the benefit far outweighs the risks. Sports is about outsmarting other teams. Every coach and team is constantly trying to get ahead. It's not about smash them in the mouth, 3 yards and a cloud of dust anymore... IT'S NOT. Even the mentor, Bill Belichek understands this. He's one of the most successful and tricky coaches in all of sports. I really wish KF would make a call to him. I really do.
I will always support KF and what he does but his stubborn-ness is not one of his strengths right now and I honestly feel it's failing our team in many ways these past few years... I really do.
I love the Hawks. I'll be at Kinnick next Saturday and i'll be jacked up at kickoff and sad as hell to watch Stanzi and everyone else play their last game. I really will. Stanzi is easily one of my favorite Hawks of all time. I love the kid, love him. I hope all of you will be there too. Don't give up on this team.
The time to evaluate is now, and this offseason, but this team needs our support NOW. They need some help. I hope the coaches realize that and will give them some.
GO HAWKS
My 3 year old daughter attended her first Hawkeye football game today with me and was a champ right through the rain. She told me afterward... "I had so much fun at the game Pop, but I didn't like all of your yelling." That put a lot of things in perspective for me. I LOVE the Hawkeyes... I really do. I'm not a religious person at all, but the Hawkeyes are, in a way, my religion. My wife has said as much and not in a bad way. I know that, in a lot of ways, she appreciates it for what it is.
I love KF, I love the University and I love the way Iowa does things. I will always support the Hawks and will always be proud to do so. But I also think that there is always room for criticism. I know that many if not all of you agree. When you spend lots of money on a coach and you put such emphasis and money into a program and facility, you expect results. We typically have great success at the University and to argue with what we do as the BTs smallest public institution is nothing short of amazing. It really is. We fight a constant battle with "bigger/badder" institutions and, more often than not, we win.
All of that being said (sorry for my long diatribe) - there are some things that really bother me. I think Iowa has great kids that try really hard and often overachieve and more importantly - they are KIDS. It's really really hard to criticize kids that put so much hard work and effort into this GAME. But it's more than fair to criticize the coaches who do it for a living and who, in many ways, are beholden to us as fans, taxpayers and all-around money spenders.
What is bothering me lately is the inability of this coaching staff to change. They continually do the same things, year in and year out and, in a lot of ways, that is a good thing. But when you watch this coaching staff get out coached continually by certain systems and programs it becomes a bitter pill to swallow. NW and Indiana continually give us fits and they run similar spread systems. We always come into these games as heavy favorites and as the team that should dominate the matchup regardless of location and situation. And yet we continually underachieve, scrape by and/or lose these games. We run the same vanilla defense, the same predictable offense and the same take-the-ball and 3 and out offense to start a game. If our defense is good, put them on the field first. Make the other team show you what they have. Don't "waste" an offensive possession as often happens. Why do other defenses and staffs blitz? Because the blitz works... because it throws a "wrench in the works" of an offense. Why do other teams mix up coverages, run motion on offense to confuse opponents and run trick/fake plays? Because they work.
If you want to say "we need to execute to be successful, and if we don't execute we have a hard time winning" i can respect that. It's Iowa's and KF's mantra. We live and die by this motto. But here is my take on that. It assumes that you need to do everything perfectly to have a chance. It sells the team and the kids short. It de-emphasizes their abilities and strengths and puts the entire onus on a system and I just don't think that's right. Here is the kicker... if you run schemes (on defense and offense) that gamble - not all the time, but sometimes, that take chances and that try to be tricky, they OVERCOME many other mistakes and failings. To feed me some baloney about having to execute what we draw up perfectly to beat an inferior opponent (yes, NW is) is just bull%*&#. It really is. Take some risks, use a bit of trickery and maybe 3 of 4 plays the benefit far outweighs the risks. Sports is about outsmarting other teams. Every coach and team is constantly trying to get ahead. It's not about smash them in the mouth, 3 yards and a cloud of dust anymore... IT'S NOT. Even the mentor, Bill Belichek understands this. He's one of the most successful and tricky coaches in all of sports. I really wish KF would make a call to him. I really do.
I will always support KF and what he does but his stubborn-ness is not one of his strengths right now and I honestly feel it's failing our team in many ways these past few years... I really do.
I love the Hawks. I'll be at Kinnick next Saturday and i'll be jacked up at kickoff and sad as hell to watch Stanzi and everyone else play their last game. I really will. Stanzi is easily one of my favorite Hawks of all time. I love the kid, love him. I hope all of you will be there too. Don't give up on this team.
The time to evaluate is now, and this offseason, but this team needs our support NOW. They need some help. I hope the coaches realize that and will give them some.
GO HAWKS
