Sorry to be an Optimist....

KF could keep games relatively close when the other coaches in the Big Ten played conservative ball. But last year Michigan, Northwestern and Penn State were never in doubt for the opposition because our secondary stinks worse than a hog confinement lot on a hot July afternoon and our pass rush stinks worse than that Farm Egg plant up on highway 169 between Humboldt and Fort Dodge.

Who farms egg plants?
 
We have a shot in every game. So many teams score so fast and that plays out well for us. The uptempo we are working on is enough to keep teams from subbing on a d who is going up against a ball control o. I have a feeling you want a peice of iowa this year you had better pack a lunch and win or lose your going to know you have been in a dog fight.. that attitude is one thing all past winning teams have had.
Old dude, are you really old or just playing us?
 
Well meyer said we need to recruit better ie: our team does not belong on the same turf as the likes of osu, mich, nebby, and so on. Well if there is one thing i know that becomes personal. So you dang right i think this team will be in every game. Kind of works the same as call me whatever you want but disrespect my wife and i will throw you the beating of a lifetime. When it becomes personal humans can and do amazing things. Things they normally would not do and they do them from the heart which is a very powerfull place.
Aren't you a little like me, to old to fight.
 
Why do some think we have a shot against Michigan, NW and tOSU? It's so obvious why we don't.

I have little confidence that we can beat either of the three teams you mentioned. I want to be clear that I'm not one who thinks 8 or 9 wins is a possibility. Maybe next year, but not this season. I do think it's ridiculous for anyone to be writing this team off from a bowl possibility at this point. That's simply because I'm well aware Kirk Ferentz teams tend to grow throughout the season, and this is a young team with a lot of room for improvement.

I think the Hawks will beat Western Michigan, Minnesota, and Purdue. I think they'll have a chance at beating Mich State, Wisconsin, and Nebraska (they won't beat all three). So basically I could see anywhere between 4-8 and 7-5. Which would put the over/under at about 5.5. That's pretty much right where most people thought they'd be going into the season.
 
I'm optimistic also. Getting Lomax and Fleming back will be a huge boost to the DB's. It's interesting how KF keeps bringing up Fleming when people ask about Lomax. Fleming must be our 5th DB. He must be the nickel guy and we will need him against NW and others.

If the Iowa offense can cure the drop issues...they will move the chains. Rudock has shown he knows where to go with the ball and he's really freaking accurate. The drops by Hillyer, Smith, and CJ just killed us and kept the team from moving down the field early in the ISU game. The first drop by Smith hurt the most...1st and goal from the 6 or 7 yard line...instead, Rudock ends up fumbling at the end of the drive...no points. Same thing with Hillyer...you get the first drive in the end zone...once again...much different game by the end of the half. You cannot be successful with those types of drops. Great passes, right receiver, and the receiver drops it. CJ is another story...he's had a few drops as a senior...that shouldn't be happening...he should be a black hole for the ball. Color me unimpressed there.
 
I'm optimistic also. Getting Lomax and Fleming back will be a huge boost to the DB's. It's interesting how KF keeps bringing up Fleming when people ask about Lomax. Fleming must be our 5th DB. He must be the nickel guy and we will need him against NW and others.

If the Iowa offense can cure the drop issues...they will move the chains. Rudock has shown he knows where to go with the ball and he's really freaking accurate. The drops by Hillyer, Smith, and CJ just killed us and kept the team from moving down the field early in the ISU game. The first drop by Smith hurt the most...1st and goal from the 6 or 7 yard line...instead, Rudock ends up fumbling at the end of the drive...no points. Same thing with Hillyer...you get the first drive in the end zone...once again...much different game by the end of the half. You cannot be successful with those types of drops. Great passes, right receiver, and the receiver drops it. CJ is another story...he's had a few drops as a senior...that shouldn't be happening...he should be a black hole for the ball. Color me unimpressed there.


It's tough to be optimistic when the same problems keep happening over and over. Seems like every year it's "If we only had WR who could catch", or "If we could only cover a fake punt...onside kick".

And we keep hearing how we're a young team. Every year we're a young team. That falls squarely on the coaching staff. They are poor recruiters, and they are poor managers of the game.

It used to be we'd stomp the crap out of these low level teams which would allow our backups to get some meaningful snaps (game is so much better than practice). Yes there's always the occasional tough game, happens to everyone. But literally every game we play is so tight that we put so much pressure on our starters, and backups only play if someone is injured.

I will admit I still find myself hopeful each weekend that Iowa will win, and look good doing it. And then every weekend I'm disappointed. Even the wins now feel a bit deflating because it took so much effort to put away BAD teams. 2009 was kind of fun, but we also had some real playmakers on that team that made big plays. Since last year it's like watching which team is going to make the final mistake to lose....not who is going to make a huge play.

Western Michigan is a bad team. This entire OOC has been full of bad teams with NIU being semi decent because they had a good QB. But MSU, ISU, and now WMU.....we should be pounding these teams and building depth.

Could this team surprise? Sure, anything is possible. But I don't see us riding MW through the B1G season
 
1. W. Michigan: They have a few good players but Iowa should win. If Iowa can play 60 minutes. WIN.
2. At Minnesota: Nelson isn't a very good passer. He has some running ability. Iowa knows how to contain average mobile QB's. Overall Minnesota is the best of Iowa's first five opponents. That isn't saying much. NIU was a problem because of Lynch. (and Iowa!) WIN
3. MSU: They seemed to have improved their offense now that they have decided on a QB. Their defense is no joke. Iowa's offense will have troubles against this defense. LOSS.
4. At Ohio State: Defensive problems, but still too tough for this Iowa team. LOSS
5. Northwestern: They have a decent defense. It's better than Iowa's, but again that's not saying much. Their offense will shred Iowa's secondary. LOSS
6. Wisconsin: Wisconsin. Big line 320 lb average. Good RB. Decent QB. Average D. Tough game. Would be an upset win. Win/Loss?
7. At Purdue: Losing to Purdue might be as bad as losing to Iowa State. They are just not a good team right now. WIN
8. Michigan: Lots of young talent. Youth makes for mistakes. Talent can over come mistakes....Sometimes. Win
9. At Nebraska: Bo Pelini will be there until the end of the season. There defensive front 7 has 6 new starters this year. They will get better. It will be tough for Iowa to win in Lincoln. But it should be a close game.

Iowa has a below average defense. Any team lining up against Iowa is going to be looking to exploit the secondary. Any team on defense is going to be loading the box because they know Iowa can't beat them through the air. That being said. Any game Iowa can keep close in the fourth quarter they have a shot. Unfortunately that works both ways with Iowa's defensive problems.
 
It's tough to be optimistic when the same problems keep happening over and over. Seems like every year it's "If we only had WR who could catch", or "If we could only cover a fake punt...onside kick".

And we keep hearing how we're a young team. Every year we're a young team. That falls squarely on the coaching staff. They are poor recruiters, and they are poor managers of the game.

It used to be we'd stomp the crap out of these low level teams which would allow our backups to get some meaningful snaps (game is so much better than practice). Yes there's always the occasional tough game, happens to everyone. But literally every game we play is so tight that we put so much pressure on our starters, and backups only play if someone is injured.

I will admit I still find myself hopeful each weekend that Iowa will win, and look good doing it. And then every weekend I'm disappointed. Even the wins now feel a bit deflating because it took so much effort to put away BAD teams. 2009 was kind of fun, but we also had some real playmakers on that team that made big plays. Since last year it's like watching which team is going to make the final mistake to lose....not who is going to make a huge play.

Western Michigan is a bad team. This entire OOC has been full of bad teams with NIU being semi decent because they had a good QB. But MSU, ISU, and now WMU.....we should be pounding these teams and building depth.

Could this team surprise? Sure, anything is possible. But I don't see us riding MW through the B1G season

Ok, I understand much of this post, and I do understand a lot of the frustration that many people bring to this board. The bolded portion I just don't get. That is a YOU problem if you can't enjoy a win.
 
It is, but it's sad that some on here confuse themselves into believing that it is negative.

Many people, especially those of a specific political bend, confuse emotion with logic. Emotionally, yes I think the Hawks can be competitive in every game left and possible win them all. But when I step back and analyze logically.........................no.
 
King has played pretty good for a true freshman but I think it will help if Lomax and Fleming can get some playing time this week before big ten play. Also, Lowdermilk is good against the run but has routinely let people get behind him. It looked like all the secondary mistakes were behind them for most of the game and then they lost focus.
 
7. At Purdue: Losing to Purdue might be as bad as losing to Iowa State. They are just not a good team right now. WIN

Purdue- Hawk fan always quick to label this a W. Reality is going to West Lafayette sucks and Iowa has won just twicethere since 1992. This will be extremely difficult win. Purdue as bad as Iowa State? lol.. I think not. Honest question do you think if Notre Dame visited Kinnick or Jack Trice right now they could hang with them for 60 minutes like Purdue did? Fact is Purdue is a different team in West Lafayette.
 
Purdue- Hawk fan always quick to label this a W. Reality is going to West Lafayette sucks and Iowa has won just twicethere since 1992. This will be extremely difficult win. Purdue as bad as Iowa State? lol.. I think not. Honest question do you think if Notre Dame visited Kinnick or Jack Trice right now they could hang with them for 60 minutes like Purdue did? Fact is Purdue is a different team in West Lafayette.

Notre Dame is highly overrated.
 
Purdue- Hawk fan always quick to label this a W. Reality is going to West Lafayette sucks and Iowa has won just twicethere since 1992. This will be extremely difficult win. Purdue as bad as Iowa State? lol.. I think not. Honest question do you think if Notre Dame visited Kinnick or Jack Trice right now they could hang with them for 60 minutes like Purdue did? Fact is Purdue is a different team in West Lafayette.

Reread what I wrote. "LOSING to Purdue would be as bad as losing to Iowa State." Not that Purdue is as bad as Iowa State but that LOSING to them would be akin to losing to Iowa State. Iowa should not lose to Purdue. It's not so much that Purdue is a different team in Lafayette is that Iowa (and most B1G teams) have lesser records on the road. It's difficult to win away from home for everyone in the B1G.
 

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