So not to be a negative Nancy....

[dagdaj]

The hilarious part of this is that none of us know shit about what truly makes an offense or defense "good" or "bad" at this level.

We're literally like a bunch of guys who did a brake job in our driveway one time eight years ago analyzing how an F1 mechanic installs a transmission.

I love sports boards.

8 years ago? It's been 33 years since I owned a VW Beetle and actually did any work on a car. Other than replacing maybe a taillight or something.

I didn't even play high school football. Closest I came to football was in a soccer PE class. I was paired up as a fullback with a guy who went on to play in the NFL. Being that all we could do was try to use our relative bulk to stop the squirrelly soccer kids who blew past everyone....neither of us were very good at soccer.

He was a decent softball pitcher though. You either hit a home run off him, or struck out. I hit one home run off him in a church softball league. Which means, I struck out every other time I faced him. There were only 4 teams. So, I faced him a lot. Which means.....I struck out....a lot.

 

[okeefe4prez]

The hilarious part of this is that none of us know shit about what truly makes an offense or defense "good" or "bad" at this level.

We're literally like a bunch of guys who did a brake job in our driveway one time eight years ago analyzing how an F1 mechanic installs a transmission.

I love sports boards.

No one would ever see an F1 mechanic installing a transmission unless it was some back marker team who put up a video of it for creating content. Any good team is going to have that information totally buried because they will have $10 million wrapped up in it.

People on this board know the most important aspect of a good or bad offense, which is the line. Just one turnstyle on your line and your offense could go from 200 mph to park in an instant. Two turnstyles on the line and you're in huge trouble.

Next on the offense is the QB. If the guy gets time and sucks, then he sucks. If the guy has no line and he sucks, you don't know if he is good or just sucks. Most RBs at this level who are just average will look really good with a good line. And they will look terrible with a bad line. WR and TE are pretty hard to analyze on TV because of the shit angles they use to broadcast the games.

There are plenty of morons who don't understand the Iowa philosophy of minimizing errors, minimizing drives and maximizing field position as an overall strategy of running the offense. From that perspective, our offense looks really good so far this year. But even if we play well, it will be hard to consistently win against good teams with sub 200 yards each week. But ultimately, these are a bunch of college kids and they can execute like hell one week and be totally trash the next week for whatever reason.

 

[Hawkfnntn]

I will take 3rd down sacks over 3rd down ints or fumbles any day.

Internet people keep saying Spencer is still making stupid, boneheaded plays, but he is not. He has thrown into double+ coverage maybe 3 times in two games. When he misses, he is missing to places only his targets have a chance to catch it.

Does he still turf one every once in a while, yep - but not at the rate he did last year. Does he miss receivers thst are more open than some he targets. Yep, all QBs do.
But he is not the same QB that came out and lost to PU and NW.

Amen. I believe that's where the line 'it could always be worse' would come into play. In terms of turnovers Petras hasn't thrown one or lost a fumble yet. He's not playing inexcusably bad as you've mentioned because if he was we'd be seeing Padilla. All that said taking 3 or 4 of those sacks he did could have been back breakers and he'll hear about it at nauseum from the coaches today/this week

But that doesn't mean he's playing good either there's certainly an in between with how he's played. When he drops back sets his feet in rhythm and fires at an open target within 20 yards he's been money. Had some drops on a few but that's not on him. But many times he has happy feet rushes his throws isn't set how he could be and when his mechanics are off he's not accurate. He can't make off platform throws on the move very well I think we can safetly say that.

 

[GesterHawk]

Amen. I believe that's where the line 'it could always be worse' would come into play. In terms of turnovers Petras hasn't thrown one or lost a fumble yet. He's not playing inexcusably bad as you've mentioned because if he was we'd be seeing Padilla. All that said taking 3 or 4 of those sacks he did could have been back breakers and he'll hear about it at nauseum from the coaches today/this week

But that doesn't mean he's playing good either there's certainly an in between with how he's played. When he drops back sets his feet in rhythm and fires at an open target within 20 yards he's been money. Had some drops on a few but that's not on him. But many times he has happy feet rushes his throws isn't set how he could be and when his mechanics are off he's not accurate. He can't make off platform throws on the move very well I think we can safetly say that.

It is hard to be upset with those sacks (At Spencer anyways) because I am willing to bet this month's mortgage that 'take the sack' is a part of the ride it out offensive package they played all second half.

 

[HuckFinn]

I went back and re-watched the first half (haven't gotten to the second half yet). I had kind of forgotten, but during second quarter, this is what transpired:

- Punted the ball down to about the five yard line where Purdy throws the interception to Hankins. Iowa ball at the ISU 49
-We march down the field and score a TD on a mix of pass and run. All of Petras' passes were completions
-We hold ISU and get the ball back on their punt at our 29 yard line. Again, we march down the field with some pinpoint passing again by Petras. I believe he was 4 of 5 on this drive. Also mixed in some nice runs. Drive ends with a perfect pass to CJ for a 26 yard TD.

So in the span of about 10 minutes of the clock, we had two consecutive drives that netted us 120 yards and 14 points. Petras was 7 of 8 on those drives. This started when we were down 3-0 and really needed to step it up and score. We didn't do a lot in the third quarter and then Jacobs strips the ball and Campbell scores and we're up 21-10. And from there, we turned the game over to the defense and basically were looking to eat clock and avoid mistakes.

I wish the stretch like those two drives happened with more consistency but given time, I think we will see more of this type of offense. The turnovers and points off turnovers is not sustainable and everyone knows that. But this offense has the capability to be at least serviceable and score points when the game is in doubt.

This was a damn good post.

 

[cincyhawk]

Easy, killer. I'm 100% enjoying being a Hawk fan right now, but "historic run" is a little overblown.

What do you call the most wins over top 25 teams in 61 years then? The most wins over our little brother in a row since Hayden's record of 15 in a row? Tied for 4th longest winning streak in program history, currently, and going to be 2 games off of it as long as nothing tragic happens over the next couple weeks, with a shot at the longest streak? First time being ranked in AP top ten this early in a season in over a decade?

Awards at the end of the season matter more, but since the third game of last year's truncated season, we're on an actual run.

 

[cincyhawk]

Easy, killer. I'm 100% enjoying being a Hawk fan right now, but "historic run" is a little overblown.

Also, don't you like positive CincyHawk over depressed about never gonna win the Big Ten again CincyHawk from olden days of yore?

 

[cincyhawk]

The hilarious part of this is that none of us know shit about what truly makes an offense or defense "good" or "bad" at this level.

We're literally like a bunch of guys who did a brake job in our driveway one time eight years ago analyzing how an F1 mechanic installs a transmission.

I love sports boards.

I'm not a big believer in the not knowing what it takes to win thing. I don't think Howard Cossel did a lot of boxing back in the day, but he seemed pretty knowledgeable about it.

 

[haydensly]

This was a damn good post.

Thank you. It's just easy to forget some things until you go back to the game again. As much as Campbell's touchdown sealed it for us, this second quarter burst was key to the game. Offense has a long way to go but I think they can get better.

 

[trj]

@Maryland, home to PSU, that 2 game stretch will determine if this is sustainable or not.

Petras fits in with all the other quarterbacks in this league. If he is serviceable Iowa is playing for a B1G title.

 

[trj]

OSU has spent so much time trying to compete with the blue bloods in terms of speed on the outside that they have completely ignored the power game you need against solid Big Ten teams.

which means what exactly? One way or another you have to deal with that speed to compete for a national championship.

 

[okeefe4prez]

which means what exactly? One way or another you have to deal with that speed to compete for a national championship.

No, you don't. The Clemson team that beat Bama in 2018 is one of the best college football teams ever. Sure, they looked good on the outside and had Trevor Lawrence tossing the pill, but at the end of the day, they won the title because of the defensive linemen. You can put all the speed you want in your secondary, but if your line doesn't get a push it doesn't mean shit. You can put all the speed you want in your WR corps, but if your QB gets knocked on his ass eight tenths of a second after the snap, that speed is worthless.

That Clemson team took plenty of lumps against Bama marching at will between the 20s, but as soon the Bama offense hit the red zone, it went into park. Basically at the highest levels now you can't even hope to stop the other team more than twice a game if their QB has time. And the elite QBs aren't very susceptible to the blitz. You have to get steady pressure with 3 or 4. And your guys who can bring pressure make your o-line better because they have to see those beasts in practice everyday.

 

[hawkod]

It's early, but I get the sense this team has a steely mindset. They also seem to have the 'it' factor in the togetherness department. I doubt they'll average 3 INTS or score defensively every game, but I feel this is the type of team where someone will step up every game, and maybe not always on defense. I'd be pleasantly shocked if they went 12-0, but I expect them to seriously contend for a trip to Indy. I'd give them a fighting chance vs the Bucks as well.

 

[vork22]

@Maryland, home to PSU, that 2 game stretch will determine if this is sustainable or not.

Petras fits in with all the other quarterbacks in this league. If he is serviceable Iowa is playing for a B1G title.

I don’t know why people are acting like the Maryland game is a sure win either. They will be a tough out and Iowa could get caught looking ahead. It will be interesting to see how well Indiana plays against Cincy Saturday too.

 

[HuckFinn]

Thank you. It's just easy to forget some things until you go back to the game again. As much as Campbell's touchdown sealed it for us, this second quarter burst was key to the game. Offense has a long way to go but I think they can get better.

I am re-watching game right now.

 

[Hawkfnntn]

It is hard to be upset with those sacks (At Spencer anyways) because I am willing to bet this month's mortgage that 'take the sack' is a part of the ride it out offensive package they played all second half.

Agree to disagree with you on that. I can't imagine losing 20 plus yards is something the coaches are ok with. The WUW podcast I listen to with former Hawks Those guys mentioned how BF will coach him up on getting rid of the ball and not taking those. They just about took us out of FG range and on the one he ended up missing due t the high snap. Yeah the Oline wasn't perfect (they aren't very good frankly) but Petras has to throw that ball away and not risk taking us out of FG range in those situations.

 

[hawkinn3]

We played two very good defenses as well. If we struggle on offense the next two weeks then I’m worried.

 

[Fryowa]

I am re-watching game right now.

Awaiting your analysis with baited breath.

 

[Fryowa]

It is hard to be upset with those sacks (At Spencer anyways) because I am willing to bet this month's mortgage that 'take the sack' is a part of the ride it out offensive package they played all second half.

Lol...

Take the sack? Now you're just fucking with us...good lord.

You expect any football fan with even the most rudimentary, less-than-basic football knowledge that KF, Brian, and KOK told Stanley to give away 40 some yards for free when trying to stay in FG range, when he could have launched the ball into the stands?

Take the friggin' sack??????

 

[ssckelley]

@Maryland, home to PSU, that 2 game stretch will determine if this is sustainable or not.

Petras fits in with all the other quarterbacks in this league. If he is serviceable Iowa is playing for a B1G title.

Is Maryland really any good? The past 5 years Maryland has gotten off to good starts. Last year they started 2-1 and people starting thinking they were good after beating Minnesota and Penn State (finished 2-3), 2 years ago they ended up ranked after starting 2-0 and beating an over rated Syracuse (finished 3-9), in 2017 & 2018 they started 2-0 beating an over rated Texas to start both seasons (finished 4-8 & 5-7). They play @ Illinois on Friday night and I wouldn't be surprised to see Illinois win that game.