Stanzi clears the air on "dropped" pass to DJK

[Imlivingthedream]

"Ball placement was a hot topic for Stanzi during the past week. He talked about accuracy issues Saturday night after the loss to the Wildcats. He reiterated the point when he met Tuesday with reporters. He mentioned the pass that was too high for McNutt and one later in the first half that was too long for Derrell Johnson-Koulianos when the receiver had gotten behind the Arizona secondary near the end zone.

“It’s just outside his reach and what should’ve been a routine touchdown turns into what would’ve had to have been an incredible catch,â€￾ Stanzi said. “It doesn’t need to be that way if I can put the ball in the right spot and give us better chances.â€￾

Numbers say one thing, but Stanzi says another | Hawk Central

 

[DaDynasty]

"Ball placement was a hot topic for Stanzi during the past week. He talked about accuracy issues Saturday night after the loss to the Wildcats. He reiterated the point when he met Tuesday with reporters. He mentioned the pass that was too high for McNutt and one later in the first half that was too long for Derrell Johnson-Koulianos when the receiver had gotten behind the Arizona secondary near the end zone.

“It’s just outside his reach and what should’ve been a routine touchdown turns into what would’ve had to have been an incredible catch,â€￾ Stanzi said. “It doesn’t need to be that way if I can put the ball in the right spot and give us better chances.â€￾

Numbers say one thing, but Stanzi says another | Hawk Central

Spoken like a true leader of men!

 

[PeoriaHWKI]

Rick is just being a leader. Bottom line is it was in both of their hands. I always felt if the ball touches your hands you better catch it. This just goes to show what a great leader he is.

 

[bamahawkeye]

I would rather have Ricky Stanzi under center than any QB in the country.
He's a leader and a winner.
He will be SORELY missed. JVB is going to be a good, maybe great QB. We'll have some good ones after that. But what this guy brings to the field as far as moxie, leadership and attitude, will be hard to match.
3 year starting QB's that the entire team will follow into battle are hard to come by.

 

[DuffMan]

Is that the dropped TD pass everyone keeps talking about?

I don't see how anyone in thier right mind could consider that a drop. It would have been a very spectacular catch, but it certianly wasn't a drop.

 

[Imlivingthedream]

Is that the dropped TD pass everyone keeps talking about?

I don't see how anyone in thier right mind could consider that a drop. It would have been a very spectacular catch, but it certianly wasn't a drop.

Chris Hassell just called it a drop on air on KXNO a couple days ago. Not the first media member to do so-I dont know what game they were watching.

 

[edr247]

Is that the dropped TD pass everyone keeps talking about?

I don't see how anyone in thier right mind could consider that a drop. It would have been a very spectacular catch, but it certianly wasn't a drop.

It was in his arms. And considering it's DJK we're talking about, it was a bit of a drop.

As for Rick to come out and say "my bad"...I'm not surprised. It's just the kind of guy he is. However, I have two concerns about him doing this.

1) Is he going to learn from his mistakes moving forward? I personally believe he will, but it is crucial for him to do so. This team is going to rely on his skills at QB if they are to succeed on offense.

2) Is he going to put too much pressure on himself? For me, the greatest threat to a football team is a mentality that everybody needs to go out and make a huge play on every down. People start trying to do too much and it just hits the fan. Like last Saturday, I think the offense tried too hard to get something to happen when we started falling into a hole. That's when the mistakes happen...the turnovers, the inexplicable drops, the injuries... The guys need to stay calm and just focus on executing. Stanzi is probably the guy who needs to do this above all others.

 

[homerHAWKeye777]

I would rather have Ricky Stanzi under center than any QB in the country.
He's a leader and a winner.
He will be SORELY missed. JVB is going to be a good, maybe great QB. We'll have some good ones after that. But what this guy brings to the field as far as moxie, leadership and attitude, will be hard to match.
3 year starting QB's that the entire team will follow into battle are hard to come by.

bamahawkeye -

Don't underestimate the influence that Stanzi has on his fellow Hawk QBs. They're watching and learning from him.

I have every confidence that our starting QB in 2011 will perform at a level that would make Stanzi VERY proud. To be completely honest, I really don't anticipate much of any drop in production for Iowa's O.

 

[chadfrey]

This quote from Stanzi shows us his true skill at being a leader. He is actively trying to take heat off of others. We can debate if the heat is his to take or not, but one has to respect him for being a true leader.

 

[JHHawk]

Ricky is pretty much what I would always hope the Hawkeyes have at his position every year. A selfless leader,who takes the heat, and doles out the credit to his teammates. And a winner,which is also nice.

 

[IAHawkFan]

Ricky is pretty much what I would always hope the Hawkeyes have at his position every year. A selfless leader,who takes the heat, and doles out the credit to his teammates. And a winner,which is also nice.

+1. Couldn't agree more...

 

[IAHawkFan]

While I appreciate what Ricki is doing, and respect him for it, both of those catches should have been made.

Could those balls have been thrown better? Absolutely. He could had lofted them just right so they gently floated into the tender, loving hands of his receivers. That just doesn't really happen on the football field though. If every pass was like that, then receivers wouldn't need any real skills, would they.

IMO, they both suffered from the same problem - the receiver looking ahead to where he was going to run instead of watching the ball. Both DJK and McNutt are very good receivers and should have made those catches. If they weren't so talented, perhaps I would feel differently, but they are capable of making that catch (and making it look easy) 9 times out of 10.

I applaud what Ricki is doing, but I would feel better if DJK and/or McNutt came out and said "You know, that pass might not have been perfect, but it is my job to catch those passes and I should have caught it. You can bet that I won't miss it next time."...

 

[Imlivingthedream]

While I appreciate what Ricki is doing, and respect him for it, both of those catches should have been made.

Could those balls have been thrown better? Absolutely. He could had lofted them just right so they gently floated into the tender, loving hands of his receivers. That just doesn't really happen on the football field though. If every pass was like that, then receivers wouldn't need any real skills, would they.

IMO, they both suffered from the same problem - the receiver looking ahead to where he was going to run instead of watching the ball. Both DJK and McNutt are very good receivers and should have made those catches. If they weren't so talented, perhaps I would feel differently, but they are capable of making that catch (and making it look easy) 9 times out of 10.

I applaud what Ricki is doing, but I would feel better if DJK and/or McNutt came out and said "You know, that pass might not have been perfect, but it is my job to catch those passes and I should have caught it. You can bet that I won't miss it next time."...

the pass to DJK was thrown over his outside shoulder. he had been looking back over his inside shoulder. when you are running full speed and that happens, you have to adjust, which causes you to slow down.

was it catchable? sure. but he was WIDE open and it wasnt a tough throw, one that Ricky will make more often than not.

 

[DuffMan]

Chris Hassell just called it a drop on air on KXNO a couple days ago. Not the first media member to do so-I dont know what game they were watching.

I don't know anything about this guy's background, but I cant imagine how anyone with even a bit of an atheltic background could refer to that as a drop. Catching a football thrown from 50 yards away over you shoulder as you dive is not a drop period.

 

[hoffahawk]

I don't know anything about this guy's background, but I cant imagine how anyone with even a bit of an atheltic background could refer to that as a drop. Catching a football thrown from 50 yards away over you shoulder as you dive is not a drop period.

I agree that it should be labeled a "drop" but it was the second time this season that DJK has slowed up a bit on a deep ball.

 

[Love4MyHawks]

I agree that it should be labeled a "drop" but it was the second time this season that DJK has slowed up a bit on a deep ball.

This to me is the bigger concern. I don't think DJK, while talented as he is, can outrun a Stanzi pass. I could easily be wrong, but had he not slowed down in the route, they would have been dead on target.

 

[Imlivingthedream]

This to me is the bigger concern. I don't think DJK, while talented as he is, can outrun a Stanzi pass. I could easily be wrong, but had he not slowed down in the route, they would have been dead on target.

watch the replay.

 

[HawkItime]

This to me is the bigger concern. I don't think DJK, while talented as he is, can outrun a Stanzi pass. I could easily be wrong, but had he not slowed down in the route, they would have been dead on target.

DJK outran the one touchdown that he had against Arizona. Stanzi underthrew that ball and DJK had to slow down for it to haul it in. He had his guys so beat, he had time to slow down for the underthrown ball and still catch it and score. Watch the replay.

 

[tm3308]

This to me is the bigger concern. I don't think DJK, while talented as he is, can outrun a Stanzi pass. I could easily be wrong, but had he not slowed down in the route, they would have been dead on target.

DJK can definitely outrun a Stanzi pass. He did on his TD reception Saturday, and he did it against Maine or FIU in 2008 (whichever game where he had that LONG reception and got knocked out at the 5. He had to slow way down for that one). And I'll have to see the replay, but I believe the TD against PSU in 2008 was also underthrown (but DJK was in the endzone all alone so it didn't matter).