Spring Practice Checklist

H

hawkeyegamefilm

Well-Known Member
I will be attending Iowa's Spring practice this coming weekend and am putting together a list of things to evaluate and pay special attention to.

So far I've got:

1) Each QB's Strengths/Weaknesses
2) OL Position Battles/ 2 deep analysis
3) CB/S updates and changes
4) DE Breakdown - Any emerging players etc

Anyone got any specifics that they'd like to see me breakdown?
 
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Yes, please evaluate the defensive tackle penetration/ability to shed blockers/holding their ground/keeping linebackers freed up.

I really think the whole dee line is a key as many know and have mentioned. If the dee line can do well against this veteran off line then that is a good sign.

I look forward to your report
 
hawkeyegamefilm said:
I will be attending Iowa's Spring practice this coming weekend and am putting together a list of things to evaluate and pay special attention to.

So far I've got:

1) Each QB's Strengths/Weaknesses
2) OL Position Battles/ 2 deep analysis
3) CB/S updates and changes
4) DE Breakdown - Any emerging players etc

Anyone got any specifics that they'd like to see me breakdown?
Click to expand...

Will they be practicing onside kicks?....I kid...List looks good and I'll definitely be looking for your feedback. Thanks in advance.
 
How well the lbs are shedding blockers...they struggled with this last yr...maybe because the dl struggled to keep blockers off them but for 3 sr lbs I expect them to really be solid in every aspect.

Rbs - who looks the best how hill and canzeri have recovered from injury...I think those two are really what we need at rb...nothing against weismann and bullock but weismann doesn't have much for speed and bullock looks ok at best between the tackles...how does canzeri look with all the added weight.
 
uihawk82 said:
Yes, please evaluate the defensive tackle penetration/ability to shed blockers/holding their ground/keeping linebackers freed up.
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The way Iowa wants to play defense the ability for DTs to create some havoc without losing gap integrity is big. It was lacking last year and it was very noticeable at times; especially as the season wore on.

LTP wont' be in participating the contact portion so it'll be a good time to see what kind of depth Iowa will have at DT. Cooper is a semi-proven quantity who I think ends up having a very strong finish to his career over the next couple of years. Davis still hasn't been able to show the body control and leverage to be a play-maker and as a lot to prove. Most interesting guys off-hand to me: Faith Ekakitie & Jaleel Johnson. Both have a lot of potential and really need to grow into big contributing roles this year.
 
Most popular tailgating beer - have smaller brewers taken material market share from AB-Inbev and MillerCoors?

Most popular meats - who is grilling what? Too early in the season for bratwursts or will some brave soul break them out?

Oh wait, this was from Hawkeye Game Film, so I guess I'd be interested in how the LBs look in pass coverage. Are we looking at a year where the slot guys or tightends from other teams will convert every 3rd and 7 when matched against a LB or will this group remind us of the great crew we saw back in 2009?
 
Are we throwing downfield? Do we have a QB who can throw downfield? WR's that can get downfield?

The passing game is our biggest issue on offense, I suspect.
 
okeefe4prez said:
Oh wait, this was from Hawkeye Game Film, so I guess I'd be interested in how the LBs look in pass coverage. Are we looking at a year where the slot guys or tightends from other teams will convert every 3rd and 7 when matched against a LB or will this group remind us of the great crew we saw back in 2009?
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Iowa's overall quality on D has been been defined by those 3rd and 7 situations; which as you say, has been brutal the last 3 seasons. Some of it has been unwillingness to diversify scheme ie consistently relying on LBs to guard faster WRs. Some has been just quality opposing QBs and O coordinators. Most important factor to me the last 2 years especially: lack of a pass rush. Even average QBs can look great when they have no fear in the pocket.

The good news, last year Iowa ran more man schemes than they ever had before, ran more subpackage looks(nickel, dime) than they had before, and also have Kirksey back at the LEO spot. Kirksey is an excellent athlete for a LB and matches up well with most guys in the slot. With a new starting CB it will be interesting to see if they stick with the trend of a heavier man coverage usage. Iowa will have some experience at CB with both Draper and Buford returning. Currently Flemming is listed on the 2 deep as well which suggests he's at least on par with Buford. I'm approaching that situation with cautious optimism and Sunday will tell a little more about which way to lean.
 
hawkeyegamefilm said:
Iowa's overall quality on D has been been defined by those 3rd and 7 situations; which as you say, has been brutal the last 3 seasons. Some of it has been unwillingness to diversify scheme ie consistently relying on LBs to guard faster WRs. Some has been just quality opposing QBs and O coordinators. Most important factor to me the last 2 years especially: lack of a pass rush. Even average QBs can look great when they have no fear in the pocket.

The good news, last year Iowa ran more man schemes than they ever had before, ran more subpackage looks(nickel, dime) than they had before, and also have Kirksey back at the LEO spot. Kirksey is an excellent athlete for a LB and matches up well with most guys in the slot. With a new starting CB it will be interesting to see if they stick with the trend of a heavier man coverage usage. Iowa will have some experience at CB with both Draper and Buford returning. Currently Flemming is listed on the 2 deep as well which suggests he's at least on par with Buford. I'm approaching that situation with cautious optimism and Sunday will tell a little more about which way to lean.
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Thanks GameFilm. I always look forward to your stuff.

I would like to know about offensive schemes. Not so much the individual players, but the overall strategy. Are we going to try to stretch the field? Will we run the same blocking schemes as before sans fullback? Are the QB's and WR's on the same page with pre-snap reads? What is different in the offense from last season to this season? What is the difference between the offense under JVB and under the new QB hopefuls? Will this offense produce points if we are able to "execute"? DOES IT LOOK BETTER THAN LAST YEAR?
 
Hal9000 said:
Thanks GameFilm. I always look forward to your stuff.

I would like to know about offensive schemes. Not so much the individual players, but the overall strategy. Are we going to try to stretch the field? Will we run the same blocking schemes as before sans fullback? Are the QB's and WR's on the same page with pre-snap reads? What is different in the offense from last season to this season? What is the difference between the offense under JVB and under the new QB hopefuls? Will this offense produce points if we are able to "execute"? DOES IT LOOK BETTER THAN LAST YEAR?
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We will have to run the football........but if like last year we let teams bring 9-10 guys into the box without the ability to pass we will still be sorry. If we can make D's pay for this even with short or intermediate passes we will be good. Our OL and RBs give me a reason to believe but we must be able to keep Ds honest
 
clim said:
We will have to run the football........but if like last year we let teams bring 9-10 guys into the box without the ability to pass we will still be sorry. If we can make D's pay for this even with short or intermediate passes we will be good. Our OL and RBs give me a reason to believe but we must be able to keep Ds honest
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Yes, thank you. We all have seen the single high safety and cover 0 looks Iowa's offense was getting last year. I'm sure everyone in the Iowa locker room noticed this. There was something wrong, a glaringly obvious flaw that we could not even try to exploit 9-10 man stacked boxes. I asked the question to gamefilm as to why, because he would know on an analysis level.

Thanks for the observation, but your reply is just an observation, it offers no analysis. I want to know (from GameFilm's perspective) why we cut the field so short last year. Was it because JVB could not do it, was it because the receivers could not make the right reads and get on the same page as their QB? Or was there some deeper issue, and what is the staff doing to rectify the situation or was it just personnel?
 
Hal9000 said:
Thanks for the observation, but your reply is just an observation, it offers no analysis. I want to know (from GameFilm's perspective) why we cut the field so short last year. Was it because JVB could not do it, was it because the receivers could not make the right reads and get on the same page as their QB? Or was there some deeper issue, and what is the staff doing to rectify the situation or was it just personnel?
Click to expand...

Early in the season I think the lack of deep balls was more by design. It looked like Davis was trying to get the basics down first, and most plays JVB was reading short to long. As they got into the season it was clear that the sight adjusts and route checks weren't being made on a consistent basis. I think that led to pretty limited scheme in the first 5 games. I think the passing game's fate was sealed when they lost the 2 OL during the Penn State game. It was clear the pass protection had taken a big hit and Iowa almost completely gave up on 7 step drop stuff. They still ran quite a bit of 5 step drop plays but almost always targeted the ball to a shorter route. Also there is no question JVB had to get rid of the ball quicker on deeper drops and most times he was getting hit as he threw, or right after he let the ball go.

Another big factor is as you listed: personnel. Success down the field for a WR has a lot to do with their ability to adjust to the ball and their catch radius. Sheer speed is another factor. Outside of Keenan Davis Iowa's receivers really never showed much ability to be a down-field threat.. KMM is a good short and intermediate target but really struggled to be effective on deep shots. Cotton has speed but is pretty raw as a WR; definitely doesn't beat jams consistently when trying to get vertical. Shumpert's confidence was blown after the ISU game and he hardly stepped on the field after that. Hillyer just looks awkward trying to run routes at times; looks like he's always going to struggle to get separation, even on short routes. Tevuan Smith has the potential to be a big play threat but wasn't ready to step into a big role last year.

Another factor that ties in with the above point is JVB's accuracy/tempo on deep throws. He struggled with touch on deeper throws most of the year. You don't have to be pinpoint accurate on deep throws if you put some air under them and let the WR run to it. However, most times JVB threw the ball flat and hard; it looked like it was in an effort to avoid INTs most times. He tended to overthrow corner routes especially which cost him some completions. I don't know how much of that was coaching vs just him being cautious and missing throws. The tempo/lack of touch was doubly punishing with most of the WRs he was targeting. It was painfully obvious when he tried to hit KMM deep in '12 that it was a very low % play. KMM has a pretty small catching radius and the ball had to be perfectly placed and timed for it to be a catch. It's why that Pitt comeback was so impressive to me; JVB put a couple of perfectly placed balls into KMM with perfect touch in a clutch situation. It raised my expectations for JVB pretty high and things simply went off the rails in 2012.
 
Hal9000 said:
Yes, thank you. We all have seen the single high safety and cover 0 looks Iowa's offense was getting last year. I'm sure everyone in the Iowa locker room noticed this. There was something wrong, a glaringly obvious flaw that we could not even try to exploit 9-10 man stacked boxes. I asked the question to gamefilm as to why, because he would know on an analysis level.

Thanks for the observation, but your reply is just an observation, it offers no analysis. I want to know (from GameFilm's perspective) why we cut the field so short last year. Was it because JVB could not do it, was it because the receivers could not make the right reads and get on the same page as their QB? Or was there some deeper issue, and what is the staff doing to rectify the situation or was it just personnel?
Click to expand...

I think you answered your own question. When a D gives you that much, it has nothing to do with some special read or too complex of an offense, it's simple recognition to take what they give and pitch & catch. In other words, it was 100% personnel failure to execute.

Some credit to the D for pushing the envelope in these situations. Seems while there were was a lot of space pre-snap, the D was pretty good at blitz-creep toward the box, only to recover quickly into pass coverage. However, there were a lot of missed opportunities between JVB and the receivers to exploit it.

How many times was JVB looking at 9 guys baiting him with blitz-creep and already skittish before the snap? A lot. How 'bout trying to take too much with slow-developing, longer routes instead of quick outs and slants for 6 or 7? A lot. How 'bout pass behind, over or at the the feet of the receiver? A lot. A QB that had accuracy issues and receivers that didn't cut off routes or sit down in gaps to position themselves to be solid targets were issues all year.

Another obvious failure, probably the most pervasive issue in the passing game all of last season (and that still pizzes me off) was the mind-boggling lack of use of your 6'7", 260# talented TE in those situations, even more so near the goal line. Don't know if it was JVB's failure to recognize and execute it or philosophical / schematic limitations imposed by the coaches but it was inexcusable, imo.
 
Sidetracked in the response, above.

To gamefilm's question. The only thing I think worth reporting on is the QB reads and accuracy + the attack-points / execution of the short & intermediate passing game. This was a complete failure in 2012.

I guess I think everything else is going to be what it is:
-- The OL is going to be above average to very good.
-- The RB's will go as the OL goes and Weisman is going to be the best (because his mental toughness allows him to overachieve.)
-- The WR's are going to be average in ability to stretch but potentially dangerous 8-12 yards.
-- The TE's could be huge, if they ever use them.
-- The DL is going to be average.
-- The LB's are going to be average to above average, from the inside - out.
-- The DB's are going to be below average to average.

Not to mention, it's a practice. Who beats who doesn't get me all excited. It's what they do (try to do) and when they do it and how they look, fundamentally that matters to me. My classic example of this was Stanzi v. Christensen. It was so obvious that Stanzi was the more mechanically smooth, talented and poised QB in Spring, just from watching simple drills.
 
hawkeyegamefilm said:
Early in the season I think the lack of deep balls was more by design. It looked like Davis was trying to get the basics down first, and most plays JVB was reading short to long. As they got into the season it was clear that the sight adjusts and route checks weren't being made on a consistent basis. I think that led to pretty limited scheme in the first 5 games. I think the passing game's fate was sealed when they lost the 2 OL during the Penn State game. It was clear the pass protection had taken a big hit and Iowa almost completely gave up on 7 step drop stuff. They still ran quite a bit of 5 step drop plays but almost always targeted the ball to a shorter route. Also there is no question JVB had to get rid of the ball quicker on deeper drops and most times he was getting hit as he threw, or right after he let the ball go.

Another big factor is as you listed: personnel. Success down the field for a WR has a lot to do with their ability to adjust to the ball and their catch radius. Sheer speed is another factor. Outside of Keenan Davis Iowa's receivers really never showed much ability to be a down-field threat.. KMM is a good short and intermediate target but really struggled to be effective on deep shots. Cotton has speed but is pretty raw as a WR; definitely doesn't beat jams consistently when trying to get vertical. Shumpert's confidence was blown after the ISU game and he hardly stepped on the field after that. Hillyer just looks awkward trying to run routes at times; looks like he's always going to struggle to get separation, even on short routes. Tevuan Smith has the potential to be a big play threat but wasn't ready to step into a big role last year.

Another factor that ties in with the above point is JVB's accuracy/tempo on deep throws. He struggled with touch on deeper throws most of the year. You don't have to be pinpoint accurate on deep throws if you put some air under them and let the WR run to it. However, most times JVB threw the ball flat and hard; it looked like it was in an effort to avoid INTs most times. He tended to overthrow corner routes especially which cost him some completions. I don't know how much of that was coaching vs just him being cautious and missing throws. The tempo/lack of touch was doubly punishing with most of the WRs he was targeting. It was painfully obvious when he tried to hit KMM deep in '12 that it was a very low % play. KMM has a pretty small catching radius and the ball had to be perfectly placed and timed for it to be a catch. It's why that Pitt comeback was so impressive to me; JVB put a couple of perfectly placed balls into KMM with perfect touch in a clutch situation. It raised my expectations for JVB pretty high and things simply went off the rails in 2012.
Click to expand...

I'd be curious to see if your opinion on Smith has changed with an offseason of training under his belt. I'm curious if we can have a guy that's even remotely close to a deep threat to help keep defenses just a tad more honest.

Thanks as always for your analysis; it's always honest and objective, which is something this board direly needs.:p
 
STILLBUSTER said:
Another obvious failure, probably the most pervasive issue in the passing game all of last season (and that still pizzes me off) was the mind-boggling lack of use of your 6'7", 260# talented TE in those situations, even more so near the goal line. Don't know if it was JVB's failure to recognize and execute it or philosophical / schematic limitations imposed by the coaches but it was inexcusable, imo.
Click to expand...
I just wish that we'd use CJF like Minnesota used Kyle Rudolph last year.
 
I'm just going to throw this out here and hope I don't get ridiculed to the point that I run off crying.
I'm somewhat curious about punting. Has Conner improved accuracy/consistency? Hopefully no more 12 yarders. Also, with Weinke gone, will CK also do the pooch punting or will another punter step in for the short kicks.
 
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