So What Was Going On With CJ This Week?

[HomerChampless]

Last week, we were discussing how screens showcased his ability to get the ball to the receivers quickly, allowing them to make a play.

This week, the screens are a conspiracy to keep CJB in the doghouse.

Or believers in conspiracy want to twist someone's post around so everyone sees the conspiracy they see against KF, Jake, or CJB. So unnecessary. Really, who's for Iowa? They're hard to spot. Why do fans have to be for/against Jake? For/against KF? For/against CJB? And why do some see a criticism or praise of KF, JR, or CJB as an automatic bias? Those who bring up automatic bias theories are automatically biased.

 

[HomerChampless]

Me? Concerning Iowa football, I'm automatically biased about 1 thing: Ferentz has no business being involved in Iowa's offense. He's offensively challenged. Give those duties to someone with more expertise... If Ferentz will let them. I guess I have 2 biases.

 

[OkstHawk]

i think the word 'epic' is way overused today - but in this case, i think i is appropriate to use - for example, i could use the word 'epic' in describing this post as an 'epic' fail.

The only 'epic' fails in this thread are your posts. Geez, get over yourself already.

 

[imported_ankle23]

The only 'epic' fails in this thread are your posts. Geez, get over yourself already.

trying to clean this place up and make it a decent place to converse. made some progress today.

 

[BlindDogScooter]

What I saw was a kid that seemed deflated. If I were CJ, I'd believe that I played well enough, in the past 6 quarters, to get more than chump change reps. KF wants his 4 yard routes and that really is that. It looked like CJ came to the conclusion that he isn't part of KF's old boy network and really has no chance of playing, barring injury, until 2016.

If what you say is true the kid doesn't belong in a D1 program.

Instead, I'm gonna go with CJ being much smarter and determined to get better.

 

[Sparky]

Come on guys, there's a lot of things that could have went wrong with CJ, but a conspiracy isn't one of them.

There's a thousand different things that could have caused him to play the way that he did, from mental mistakes to receivers not adjusting to a new QB coming into the game. You can't just guess what the problem may be.

In the end Jake played a good game and people need to be happy Iowa played a game in which they saw plenty of improvement.

 

[herky01]

JR had a good game and I dont have anything against the kid. However, he has a limited skill set and continues to showcase the same tendancies ( such as checking down to Weisman to the short side of the field) What I dont like is Kirk giving the impression CJ has a shot and then giving all the 1st string reps in practice to JR. Dont **** on me and tell me its raining. It appears CJ is the type of player who needs a couple series to settle down. Part of coaching is knowing the different personalities of your players and how to treat them individually to get the most production.

 

[ThunderHawk]

I think some of that is on KMM too. CJ's release is a little earlier than JR's and CJ zips the ball a bit more too. Could be as simple as KMM's timing is based more on JR. This could be one of the disadvantages to a two QB system.

I still see CJB as a situational player. For whatever reason I think of his abilities as being best utilized in some sort of "quick strike" package to take advantage of turn overs deep in the opponent's field, one minute clocks, that kind of thing.

And I would hope if JR is having a bad day that CJ sees the field.

That's the problem. He's not a situational quarterback. He's not some wildcat package guy. He's a complete conventional quarterback (he can pass and run) who needs to get in the flow of the game. He needs game experience with his receivers to develop timing and synergy. He needs to be allowed to fail. That's how you learn. We already know that he has a stronger arm and quicker release. And I think we know that he's got the ability to shuck off mistakes and move forward. The most extreme example of this was Stanzi agin Indiana in 2009, where he threw 4 interceptions in the first three quarters and then had the best quarter by any QB in school history in the 4th. That ability to not dwell on mistakes is a big deal.

Rudock's not a bad QB. He's a more limited QB, and he appears to be be more prone to fear making mistakes, which leads to the loathsome checkdowns. Fearing mistakes will serve him well as a doctor, but as a QB? Prolly not so much. Now I don't know if that comes from him or Kurt, and I suspect that it's why Sunshine isn't top dog. Kurt fears mistakes like a snowman fears fire. He had to sit back and take Tate's and Stanzi's f-ups because his backup QBs were so woefully unprepared, but now? Now he's got two capable guys, and that's not good for either one of them when it comes to taking risks.

I'm no Rudock, err Riddick hater. I'd be totes fine with him being the unambiguous number one if Sunshine wasn't standing there on the sideline.

But Sunshine is standing there on the sideline, and potential isn't realized walking around with a headset.

 

[DP5555]

JR had a good game and I dont have anything against the kid. However, he has a limited skill set and continues to showcase the same tendancies ( such as checking down to Weisman to the short side of the field) What I dont like is Kirk giving the impression CJ has a shot and then giving all the 1st string reps in practice to JR. Dont **** on me and tell me its raining. It appears CJ is the type of player who needs a couple series to settle down. Part of coaching is knowing the different personalities of your players and how to treat them individually to get the most production.

Limited skill set. Lol good lord people. His "limited skill set" landed him a full-ride scholarship to play B10 football and he led Iowa to 8 wins and a New Years Day bowl game last season. His "limited skill set" has helped Iowa get to 5-1 this season. What an awkward choice of words for an armchair QB to throw out there.

CJB is a good QB. I truly believe he's capable of being a very good QB. I'm not in any way bashing him at all. I love the fact Iowa has him as an option, and MAYBE if he was the starter he would eventually prove that he's better than Jake. The problem is... he isn't the starter and Jake really hasn't done anything significant to lose himself the starting role.

What we have here is a classic case of the fans loving the #2 guy. Frankly, no one on here really has a god damn clue which QB is better. Honestly, it appears the coaches aren't even entirely sure which QB is the best option because we're 6 games into the season and they are both still getting reps. Kirk isn't going to pull Jake's starting role from him until he does something to deserve for it to be pulled or CJB does something to prove he is CLEARLY the best QB on the roster. Everyone has their own opinion, but the fact is that it is pretty obvious the coaches do not believe either of those things have happened.

Let's just let the QB situation play out and see what happens. Hopefully the W's continue to pile up in the meantime. This debate is pretty ridiculous because everyone is acting like they know the answer, but absolutely no one does.

 

[AreWeThereYet]

So far Rudock doesn’t seem to be fazed by CJB stepping in for a series here and there. Taking the Pittsburgh game off didn’t do any harm either. I would say Rudock was back in last year’s form for the Indiana game and it was his best performance so far this year. So, your starter isn’t adversely affected by the backup getting playing time. That is important.


The situation doesn’t seem to be as good with CJB though. He’s been slow to start but has done well once he settles in. He would probably be better served playing several series in a stretch. If Rudock is playing well it is hard to justify putting CJB in for a lengthy time and risking disruption of Rudock’s play. If Rudock isn’t playing well, the decision to give CJB extended playing time become easier.

 

[hwk23]

Limited skill set. Lol good lord people. His "limited skill set" landed him a full-ride scholarship to play B10 football and he led Iowa to 8 wins and a New Years Day bowl game last season. His "limited skill set" has helped Iowa get to 5-1 this season. What an awkward choice of words for an armchair QB to throw out there.

CJB is a good QB. I truly believe he's capable of being a very good QB. I'm not in any way bashing him at all. I love the fact Iowa has him as an option, and MAYBE if he was the starter he would eventually prove that he's better than Jake. The problem is... he isn't the starter and Jake really hasn't done anything significant to lose himself the starting role.

What we have here is a classic case of the fans loving the #2 guy. Frankly, no one on here really has a god damn clue which QB is better. Honestly, it appears the coaches aren't even entirely sure which QB is the best option because we're 6 games into the season and they are both still getting reps. Kirk isn't going to pull Jake's starting role from him until he does something to deserve for it to be pulled or CJB does something to prove he is CLEARLY the best QB on the roster. Everyone has their own opinion, but the fact is that it is pretty obvious the coaches do not believe either of those things have happened.

Let's just let the QB situation play out and see what happens. Hopefully the W's continue to pile up in the meantime. This debate is pretty ridiculous because everyone is acting like they know the answer, but absolutely no one does.

By this logic, if we had Tom Brady on the sidelines we should just keep going with JR. The fact is JR won the job almost 1.5 seasons ago and CJ has gotten better. JR played well Saturday and he can play well BUT if he starts throwing like against Iowa State he should be pulled. He wasn't throwing well, the ball was fluttering and floating, so he was avoiding those medium length passes. It's the medium length throws that he really struggles with sometimes so he avoids those. Other times he puts a nice spiral on those throws and he looks good.

 

[herky01]

Limited skill set. Lol good lord people. His "limited skill set" landed him a full-ride scholarship to play B10 football and he led Iowa to 8 wins and a New Years Day bowl game last season. His "limited skill set" has helped Iowa get to 5-1 this season. What an awkward choice of words for an armchair QB to throw out.

I said limited skill set not no skill set. And yes his arm is weaker than a lot of the quarterbacks Iowa has had.

 

[HawkeyeMHA]

Maybe he's just an inconsistent qb?
i think someone mentioned something about that.

 

[ArvadaHawk]

i think the word 'epic' is way overused today - but in this case, i think i is appropriate to use - for example, i could use the word 'epic' in describing this post as an 'epic' fail.

Ankle, you're no more than a KF cop policing the internet to challenge anything that isn't favorable to KF.

KF said all week long that both players would play significant minutes. You should expand your mind a bit and look to see how many different contexts a word can be used in. For CJ, the significance of the minutes he played is that they were few in number, but spoke loudly that KF has made his decision. There is no more competition, for this season, anyway. So, I stand by what I stated. CJ realized he will not be the starter, this season. If I were CJ, I would now need to wonder about my future, after this season. How is that a fail, ankle? Next time, you should think things through before you put what is at the end of an ankle, into your mouth.

 

[HawkeyeMHA]

same thing that's been happened to JVB and Rudock ... regression becoming a theme with this staff

Jake looked pretty good to me

 

[ArvadaHawk]

Wow, lot of psychology here...he looked like a 'defeated' quarterback? Come on now. Jake played well. He was the recipient of some good fortune, just like he was the recipient of the bad luck v Pitt and CJ the good luck. I am sure they will let both play again this week and then make a call for the rest of the year after the bye week.

Do you believe that CJ is thinking that maybe next season he'll be able to wrestle the starting job from JR? There was plenty of significance in the minutes CJ played, Jon. As for "psychology" you use it in your podcasts quite often.

 

[DP5555]

I said limited skill set not no skill set. And yes his arm is weaker than a lot of the quarterbacks Iowa has had.

The point is it's ridiculous for someone with little to no football knowledge to call a winning B10 QB someone who has a "limited skill set". If hawkeyegamefilm said that then it would be fine, because that's what he gets paid to do. He evaluates players for a living.

Based upon Jake's results he has more than a limited skill set. He's been quite successful for a young man starting at a very difficult position. I would argue that means he has more than a "limited skill set". A strong arm isn't necessarily a requirement for someone to be successful at the QB position. There are other ways to make an impact. Accuracy and game management are huge. Peyton Manning doesn't have a strong arm anymore, but he still manages to win a lot of games. No, I'm not comparing Rudock to Peyton. Just using Peyton's arm strength as an example of someone who still manages to be very successful without possessing a rocket. Chad Pennington or Ken Dorsey are other examples who might be more adequate here. Neither had strong arms, but both managed to find a lot of success.

In my opinion, the biggest reason Jake hasn't quite lived up to the hype that a lot of fans had developed for him this year is due to the fact Iowa's running game hasn't been near the strength that most thought it would be. No one really discusses that because a QB controversy is so much more intriguing. The reality is if Iowa's running game had been as strong as most people expected it to be then there would be a lot more open opportunities down the field for Jake or CJ to capitalize on. The running game just hasn't been a strength this year, and that has really hampered the Iowa offense early in the season. If Iowa's running game were a strength then honestly there probably wouldn't even be a QB debate right now. Considering the fact Iowa's running game has struggled I'm quite shocked that the Hawks have still found a way to be 5-1.

 

[Xerxes]

trying to clean this place up and make it a decent place to converse. made some progress today.

Very interesting coming from you being that you believe your opinion is fact. The type of people who ruin decent conversations.

 

[herky01]

The point is it's ridiculous for someone with little to no football knowledge to call a winning B10 QB someone who has a "limited skill set". If hawkeyegamefilm said that then it would be fine, because that's what he gets paid to do. He evaluates players for a living.

First, I played 4 years of college football, so I'm not an idiot when it comes to football knowledge. Second, I'm not anti-JR, I'm simply saying he doesn't have the level of talent as CJ. JR does not have great speed, nor does he have a strong arm. In my book that is "limited". You're right, JR has to make up for his weaknesses with other strengths which he does quite well. By the way, you would not even sniff an NFL roster without having at least a decent arm. It may look like Peyton and Pennington don't have strong arms, but they are playing defenses that are MUCH better than any Big 10 defense. You are comparing apples to oranges. Indiana's defense is not that good. Also, with the exception of the Indiana game, the reason the running hasn't been good is because the offense doesn't stretch the field. Part of the reason the offense hasn't stretched the field is because if JR doesn't find the deep receiver within a couple seconds he can't get the ball there.

 

[DP5555]

First, I played 4 years of college football, so I'm not an idiot when it comes to football knowledge. Second, I'm not anti-JR, I'm simply saying he doesn't have the level of talent as CJ. JR does not have great speed, nor does he have a strong arm. In my book that is "limited". You're right, JR has to make up for his weaknesses with other strengths which he does quite well. By the way, you would not even sniff an NFL roster without having at least a decent arm. It may look like Peyton and Pennington don't have strong arms, but they are playing defenses that are MUCH better than any Big 10 defense. You are comparing apples to oranges. Indiana's defense is not that good. Also, with the exception of the Indiana game, the reason the running hasn't been good is because the offense doesn't stretch the field. Part of the reason the offense hasn't stretched the field is because if JR doesn't find the deep receiver within a couple seconds he can't get the ball there.

You know how I feel about the limited skillset BS. You say he has a limited skillset because of lack of speed and arm strength. As a QB, I would argue awareness, accuracy, intelligence, and leadership are just as important if not more important than speed and arm strength. There's a whole lot of fast QB's with big arms who have failed to lead their teams to victories. Jake's intangibles are what make your "limited skillset" comment complete BS. You can't fairly rag on him for lacking speed and arm strength, and then not give him any credit for possessing off the charts intelligence, solid accuracy, and above average leadership. Those things matter, and in my opinion they are what makes your "limited skillset" comment total BS. He is more than capable of leading the Hawkeyes to big wins. That's the only statistical category that matters.

The running game was much more impactful last year and the offense didn't stretch the field any better than they have been this year. Being unable to stretch the field isn't the only reason the running game hasn't been affective. Regardless of that, most people expected the running game to at least be equal to last year. It hasn't been. That's on the offensive line, and it's on the running backs. The better teams in Iowa's history under KF have been able to run the ball whether or not the defense is stacking the box. That hasn't been the case this year.