Something just hasn't been right all year...
- Thread starter SpiderRico
- Start date
I didn't expect him to be All Big Ten level, but I also didn't expect him to go backwards.
HobbieHawk
Well-Known Member
Agree that player development has taken a hit and believe it is the high attrition that bit hard for several years.
Think recruiting is not nearly as good as it was up to several years ago (with an exception here and there) - it used to be most of our recruits had other major offers. That has not been true for several years.
Wonder if Scherff came back too soon. Realize others have said it was not that serious of procedure but these people are not lining up against people who want to kill them.
Think recruiting is not nearly as good as it was up to several years ago (with an exception here and there) - it used to be most of our recruits had other major offers. That has not been true for several years.
Wonder if Scherff came back too soon. Realize others have said it was not that serious of procedure but these people are not lining up against people who want to kill them.
When a program prides itself on being physical, running the ball, & shutting down the other team's running game and that identity is taken away by several teams and/or abandoned by the coaching staff it basically leaves you with what we see right now: a team without an identity.
The part that really stings is that Iowa really has some good pieces in place right now, plus a soft schedule & a weak overall conference. They're letting a golden opportunity slip through their hands.
The part that really stings is that Iowa really has some good pieces in place right now, plus a soft schedule & a weak overall conference. They're letting a golden opportunity slip through their hands.
I think recruiting is still an issue. We recruited pretty well from 2005 to 2007 then fell of a cliff in 2008. But guys like Ballard, Bulaga, Clayborn, Hunter, DJK, Edds, Nielson, Bernstine, and Binns were all well regarded recruits with multiple if not numerous BCS offers. You get some guys like that, then hit on player development like M. Daniels, Klug, McNutt, Stanzi, Tarpinian, to go along with decent contributions from in-state recruits, and we are good to go.
I don't think we are developing players at a worse rate; rather we are recruiting less sure things and less guys with higher athletic ceilings. Our defense is simply missing a few explosive, all-conference type players. This year we see it at LB, DE, and SS. Upgrade two of those 5 positions with NFL level talent and our defense would be very good. Currently, those positions provide replacement level quality.
Same thing on offense. Plug one or two high-end skill talent players and perhaps an interior o-linemen and we are off running.
We have to recruit a handful of higher end BCS-level recruits each year to give our development program just a little more margin for error.
vork22
Well-Known Member
I'm no fan of GD but come on JVB was horrible and it wasn't GD's fault.
Knight78
Well-Known Member
In Scherff's defense, it's awfully hard to play with leverage against someone so short. I have seen footage of 5'10" Gary Thompson from ISU completely outplaying 7'1" Wilt Chamberlain at Kansas - Gary actually guarded Wilt in a box-and-one defense.
MelroseHawkins
Well-Known Member
Also, I wonder if Scherff's knee is 100%. He might not have the most leverage down there at the moment. Who knows.
Knight78
Well-Known Member
We should have had two on Saturday but for some inexplicable reason we completely abandoned the run game. We ran the ball 8 times * 8 TIMES * in the second half! (Excluding Jake's 2 sacks and 2 scrambles for gain.) And ALL 8 were in the third quarter! That means we ran the ball 19 times in the first half. It still floors me that we abandoned the run game.
RocknRollface
Well-Known Member
You know what the real joke is, everyone knew what Davis was and KF hired him anyway. He's exactly what UT fans said he was.
Whether KF wanted a pushover yes man or a place holder until Brian could take over or some other reason who knows, but it's clear the number one motivating factor behind this hire was not putting the most effective possible offense on the field.
KF is incredibly stubborn but not a dummy, he had some reason for this.
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HomerChampless
Well-Known Member
Jake has stayed the same from last season. The defense has regressed from last season. Jake is still unable to make reads that make him more than just a game manager. He's had enough practice to complete some passing schemes when the defense plays prevent (which I guess makes Jake somewhat more than just a game manager). Davis asks Jake to do things Jake just can't do.
Does Davis dumb down his system for Jake or does Davis bring in CJB? Davis doesn't make that decision. That, in itself, is crazy. We saw how badly a dumbing down of Davis' system can go in games against Ball State and ISU.
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I think it's a simple case of Kirk valuing a know commodity (even if that commodity isn't very good) over an unknown commodity where there is risk involved (even though there is only a small chance that the unknown commodity will actually turn out worse than the known one).
I think he shows that same trait when evaluating players. In his mind there is no risk in leaving the known commodity on the field. If they fail it's execution. If he replaces them with an unknown commodity and they fail, it's his fault.
dwh5er
Well-Known Member
To me, Kirk has lost any semblance of what he wants his teams to be. I think he hired GD as a way to appease the fans/ critics and to show that he could "evolve." But at the same time, he still believes that they need to run the ball, win the field position battle, and play solid defense. He often gets in his own way with his conflicting ideas.
I would rather he pick the pro-style offense and run the ball mixed with play-action than this crap that we are not well-suited to run. Let's get back to being the bullies of the B1G and start punching people in the mouth.
I would rather he pick the pro-style offense and run the ball mixed with play-action than this crap that we are not well-suited to run. Let's get back to being the bullies of the B1G and start punching people in the mouth.