Schwartz: What Did We Learn About Hawkeye Football? Not Much
- Thread starter RobHowe
- Start date
WinOneThisCentury
Well-Known Member
Hmmmm...you aren't sure what you saw? I saw a ton of young players making mistakes at inopportune times that killed drive after drive...that resulted in major inconsistency on offense. I also saw us replace two seasoned senior offensive tackles / linemen and replace them with freshmen. That should tell you all you need to know. In 2012, we lost two seasoned OL in game seven when we were 4-2...and we ended up 4-8. We struggled protecting the QB when teams came at us with blitz packages and stunts all year...just like this year.
What you also saw were moments when we put it all together and it showed what this team can be or look like (Ohio State). There is a ton of talent on the offensive side of the ball...and there will be next year. I think if you look closely at the tape this year, you will see breakdowns and one missed assignment or dropped ball that shot offensive drives in the foot. That happens with freshmen players...we just had a lot of young guys we were depending on.
I would also point to Brian F. as an issue at times as there were obvious issues with game planning (Michigan State / NW). Then again, I think we were were running the ball into 8 man fronts to protect our young QB from the constant pressure. I would like to see us throw to open up the running game, but I don't think he had confidence he could protect Stanley consistently...hence the mind boggling running into overloaded defensive alignments. That's maddening to watch and I hope he had reason for it. I'm going with protecting his QB's confidence.
Even losing the 3 linebackers that were way underrated as a group, Neiman especially...I like what this team will be capable of next year. Those young players will get better at every one of those positions. Hankins and Stone also showed that they aren't going to be kept off the field next year. There is going to be some serious competition at Safety and Corner next year. That's all good.
What you also saw were moments when we put it all together and it showed what this team can be or look like (Ohio State). There is a ton of talent on the offensive side of the ball...and there will be next year. I think if you look closely at the tape this year, you will see breakdowns and one missed assignment or dropped ball that shot offensive drives in the foot. That happens with freshmen players...we just had a lot of young guys we were depending on.
I would also point to Brian F. as an issue at times as there were obvious issues with game planning (Michigan State / NW). Then again, I think we were were running the ball into 8 man fronts to protect our young QB from the constant pressure. I would like to see us throw to open up the running game, but I don't think he had confidence he could protect Stanley consistently...hence the mind boggling running into overloaded defensive alignments. That's maddening to watch and I hope he had reason for it. I'm going with protecting his QB's confidence.
Even losing the 3 linebackers that were way underrated as a group, Neiman especially...I like what this team will be capable of next year. Those young players will get better at every one of those positions. Hankins and Stone also showed that they aren't going to be kept off the field next year. There is going to be some serious competition at Safety and Corner next year. That's all good.
Last edited:
WinOneThisCentury
Well-Known Member
Seriously...if you haven't learned by now that effort is never an issue with KF teams. Effort wasn't the issue...learning on the job was the issue. You had four losses that essentially could have gone our way if we just made a few more plays and in a few of those losses...it was ONE more play.
tweeterhawk
Well-Known Member
Dude, go back and see/read what the players themselves said, not the opinions of a message board poster. Seriously. Kirk Ferentz-coached teams by and large have been consistently inconsistent. What does that say about the leadership of the Iowa football program?
Eighteen years into the Era of Ferentz and David Schwartz is asking "What Did We Learn About Hawkeye Football? Not Much," raising issues many of us have felt about Kirk Ferentz over those years?
Mind-boggling.
HawkPrdatr40
Well-Known Member
I personally think what’s even more mind-boggling is Iowa message board fans. I’ve really started to enjoy my visits lately for some good laughs..
tweeterhawk
Well-Known Member
You like the taste of the Kool-Aid, do ya?I personally think what’s even more mind-boggling is Iowa message board fans.
IndianaHawk
Well-Known Member
We learned BF is a first year coordinator. He will improve with time. But I have a problem with on the job training at this level. He may end up being a great coach, and the Iowa coach someday, but it just feels forced.
HawkPrdatr40
Well-Known Member
I stopped drinking Kool-Aid in the early 90’s.
If my uncle had tits he'd be my aunt.... We go through the same crap every year. If, if, if, if. 19 years of ifs and buts. This is Iowa football, irrelevant, mediocre, bland, boring. These mistakes you talk about should not be happening this late in the year, continually. The reason we have these mistakes is because we recruit subpar talent. These players are not able to consistently execute at this level of play. Our coaches believe we have Alabama talent, and we're gonna line it up and not try and fool anyone, just out execute. Well, that doesn't work with the talent level they are able to recruit. Recruit MAC talent at skill positions, and you see the same mistakes, dropped passes, wrong routes, no speed, no separation. Sure once in a while you'll see a quarter or two here and there where everything goes right and they look decent, but more often than not you'll see the product we consistently put on the field. The second half of the Nebraska game doesn't mean squat. That Nebraska team absolutely laid down after halftime. Never seen anything like that before at any level of football. Next year it will be the same excuses again. 3 wins over cupcake non con teams, and a losing record in the awful west division of a very weak conference. This team should be competing with Wisky every single season to go to Indy, and beating them more often than not. We're not even close.
skinnykilmer17
Well-Known Member
This. You apologists like to point to specific player f-ups during a game or course of a season. The issue is not that. Ridiculous. What team doesn't have certain execution issues during the course of a game? How do other teams overcome but we are forever doomed? Such excuses, and have been for years. Good god.
Look around. What successful Power 5 programs hire a first year OC that has never called a single play? Ever. At any level! Why should 5th year seniors, especially seniors, be forced to suffer through incompetent playcalling for the MAJORITY of this season or any season due to NEPOTISM, pure and simple?
Not only that, why did KF stick with GD for so long? Again he had a plan and it seems it was more about his son's future plans than the immediate success of his offense and team.
And fans want to point to our young tackles? Why are we so thin at this position and the Oline in general to begin with? Who is responsible for that? Who was recruiting and coaching the Oline for the previous FIVE seasons? Did we ever start true freshman tackles during the Reese Morgan OC era? No. This is a failure of BF. And KF. Just like the inept offense for much of this season.
We had plenty of weapons, including one of the most explosive tailbacks in the country, and a more experienced and creative OC would have figured it out.
Sure, BF might be a good coordinator someday, but
19 years in and at this level, we shouldn't be a developmental program for coordinators. Period.
HawkGold
Well-Known Member
Nice post. You know it's not that easy. You blame the players...young...OK. You blame BF...inexperienced...OK. No KF mention.
Fryowa
Administrator
Nope. You learned zero about Brian Ferentz. You learned what Brian Ferentz is allowed to call under his dad’s dated, ineffective, and predictable playbook. Brian had nothing to do with the play calling and he never will until the boss is out of office.
KOK = Greg Davis = Brian Ferentz.
They are one in the same under Kirk.
ArvadaHawk
Well-Known Member
without reading the article, I'd say that we learned that we are who they say we are. we hand each opponent our play calling sheet before each game, go over our game plan with our opponents and then we don't deviate from it. we do this because we used to be the bullies of the Big 10 and we're just going to out tough you.
Stanzi
Well-Known Member
This board is as polarized as the current political climate. On one side you have the people who haven't given up on Ferentz and try to find some positives. On the other side you have the people who want to kill Kirk and Brian and blame everything that goes wrong on them. There is apparently no middle ground.
Joshbrown
Well-Known Member
This is a false analogy and polarization is a permanent condition of the the human race.
For thousands of years the species has basically been split between emotionalism and rationalism.
Rationalism says all people are imperfect and should be regarded that way.
Emotionalism gives you Jesus Christ and Adolph Hitler. Saviors. Enough Germans thought Adolph was a special exception so they gave him a lifetime contract and lots of money and power. A billion Christians need a Santa Claus who works for adults. People are weak and need someone to worship. And they are perfectly happy to hate the fans; the players and the school if that's what it takes to keep their savior in place. These people think wanting better is a sin.
"What about the middle ground?!?"
That's the logic of a child. If I say to you, "What is 2 plus 2?" And someone replies "4", and another person replies "5". There is no middle ground. Sometimes people are wrong. But millions think every issue has an area where both sides can be right and happy at the same time.
SOMETIMES PEOPLE ARE WRONG, AND BEING A GROWNUP MEANS ACCEPTING THAT SOMETIMES HALF THE PEOPLE ARE WRONG. This notion that every disagreement has two sides of equal correctness is what happens when you create a blue-ribbon for everyone society. We have become a weak nation full of weak people will low ambition and terrible reasoning skills
We've changed over the last 50 years, for the worse.
HuckFinn
Well-Known Member
We made them lay down with outstanding physical play on both offense and defense. Get over yourself.
