Stanzi's leadership and attitude = X-factor

H

homerHAWKeye777

Well-Known Member
Iowa's D has simply been money the past several years, so I'm not even about to worry about it. However, I think that Stanzi's leadership and attitude may prove to be among the biggest keys to the 2010 season.

By the very manner that he reiterates Ferentz's dogma ... you know that he is on the same page as our coaches. This young man is going to lead by example ... and he's going to do so with poise and confidence. The whole team is going to rally behind that ... they're going to put in the effort and they're going to fight through EVERY game until the last second has expired. Even should the team lose, heaven forbid, it still seems apparent to me that the team will realize that any such loss is due to deficiencies in their game that they must yet shore up and improve upon. As a result, even in defeat, our team and our program will simply grow stronger. And, with this "correct attitude" we'll see our team continue the trend that we've observed in most Ferentz-coached Hawk squads ... and that is a team that continues to improve as the season progresses.

Goosebumps gentlemen ... goosebumps! Can you feel it?
 
I agree with you. Ricky is the best leader of men that I've seen at Iowa in a longtime. The guy is absolutely unflappable. He is as cool as a cucumber no matter the situation.
 
PatrickAdamovicz said:
I agree with you. Ricky is the best leader of men that I've seen at Iowa in a longtime. The guy is absolutely unflappable. He is as cool as a cucumber no matter the situation.
Click to expand...

Another thing that I'm struck by is that the last time that we had a QB who was as effective of a leader, Brad Banks was the QB ... and he ended up being runner up for the Heisman. I'm not saying that Ricky will end up enjoying that sort of honor ... however, we may end up seeing comparable success on the field.
 
Homer I agree with you 100%. While visiting some of the other Big 10 boards I have read comments about Stanzi being a turnover machine who's stats just aren't worthy of being considered great. My counterpoint is Stanzi's leadership and coolness under fire when the game is on the line have more than made up for his turnovers. Great players aren't necessarily always great...their just great when they have to be. Ricky has lived up to that in spades and he really does have that X factor that you referred to that simply can't be measured by stats alone.
 
It is gonna be fun to watch. I was a big Drew Tate fan, but the main difference between 2 guys like Tate and Stanzi is that Stanzi dictates the emotion/attitude of his teammates while Tate fed off of it. For Tate that was great when things were good, he was able to amplify the good, but that hurt when things went sour. Stanzi has everyone in that locker room believing in him and what they are set out to do. I can't wait.
 
this thread is the exact reason i couldn't understand why people(in another thread) were saying vandy gave us a better chance of winning at tOSU than slingin dick would have. i just couldn't understand it.

but honestly, i think you have it wrong homer. its not his attitude that helps him win games...the US government won't let him lose. they recognize a true patriot and do anything they can to make sure he's on top.

Go hawks and go USA, lol
 
whammer33024 said:
this thread is the exact reason i couldn't understand why people(in another thread) were saying vandy gave us a better chance of winning at tOSU than slingin dick would have. i just couldn't understand it.

but honestly, i think you have it wrong homer. its not his attitude that helps him win games...the US government won't let him lose. they recognize a true patriot and do anything they can to make sure he's on top.

Go hawks and go USA, lol
Click to expand...

I think a lot of that was hindsight talking. I don't know how confident any of us were that Vandenberg would go into that environment and play well.
 
but you see what i mean...even in hindsight, i'd still rather have slingin dick in there.

but on the positive side, its good to have people arguing over who should be starting QB, RB, WR's...has iowa EVER had that?
 
whammer33024 said:
this thread is the exact reason i couldn't understand why people(in another thread) were saying vandy gave us a better chance of winning at tOSU than slingin dick would have. i just couldn't understand it.

but honestly, i think you have it wrong homer. its not his attitude that helps him win games...the US government won't let him lose. they recognize a true patriot and do anything they can to make sure he's on top.

Go hawks and go USA, lol
Click to expand...

whammer -

Those same folks who thought Vandenberg gave us a better chance to win weren't accounting for the fact that tOSU could have absolutely murdered us if Tress decided to bring the heat on D. Instead, he allowed for Vandenberg to have time to pass the ball ... and Vandenberg got more and more confidence as the game went along. Of course, in Tressel's defense, I don't think that I anticipated that Iowa's OL would have been able to be as impressive as they were in pass-pro (against tOSU's DL).

Once Vandenberg learns to read Ds and handle pressure as well as Stanzi, then he'll be crazy-good. However, until then, Stanzi, undeniably gives Iowa the best chance to win.

BTW, I'm one of those who firmly believes that we'll see an absolutely dominating Iowa O in 2011, even though it will only be Vandenberg's first year as an "official" starter. I will be curious to see what sort of leader Vandenberg develops into. Hopefully he ends up having more of a cool head like Mr. Stanzi.
 
homerHAWKeye777 said:
whammer -



BTW, I'm one of those who firmly believes that we'll see an absolutely dominating Iowa O in 2011, even though it will only be Vandenberg's first year as an "official" starter.

I completely agree. I know 'this is the year' from an experience standpoint, but the cupboard isn't exactly going to be bare next year. Especially on O.
Click to expand...
 
Ricky is confident and loose. He doesn't pout, he is not a crybaby. He has paid his dues, but is never brash about it and never complained about being on the sidelines. He does not get down on himself. He loves Iowa, he loves the Iowa fans. He can take criticism, and he is always willing to learn. He is fearless.

The antithesis of Jake Christensen.
 
theboat said:
It is gonna be fun to watch. I was a big Drew Tate fan, but the main difference between 2 guys like Tate and Stanzi is that Stanzi dictates the emotion/attitude of his teammates while Tate fed off of it. For Tate that was great when things were good, he was able to amplify the good, but that hurt when things went sour. Stanzi has everyone in that locker room believing in him and what they are set out to do. I can't wait.
Click to expand...

This. I was (and still am) a big Drew Tate supporter. But his leadership style just doesn't work, at least not nearly as well as Stanzi's. Stanzi has a Tom Brady or Joe Montana kind of leadership style, just always cool under pressure, never criticizing in an unconstructive way. Stanzi may get on a guy on the sidelines or in the huddle, but I would bet it's more along the lines of "Hey, we weren't on the same page on that last play. Just remember to cut your route off after (x-amount of yards), and I'll throw you a better ball. Love it or leave it!"

And I like the comparison to Banks that someone else made. They both have similar personalities. They even both seem uncomfortable in interviews (that might not be the right word for it); neither really made a lot of eye contact in their interviews, they both tended to look down a lot, almost like they would tolerate being in the spotlight, rather than clammoring for it.
 
Rick Stanzi may have average athletic skills for a college QB, but the one thing that sets him apart is his leadership. He has the quiet leadership skills you can't teach or fake.
Look at the Indiana game, he throws a bunch of INT's then in the fourth quarter he brought the team back. No sideline hysterics, no finger pointing, no on field overcompensation, just solid calm determination.
Iowa has two great things going for it, Ricky's leadership and Defense.
 
tm3308 said:
This. I was (and still am) a big Drew Tate supporter. But his leadership style just doesn't work, at least not nearly as well as Stanzi's. Stanzi has a Tom Brady or Joe Montana kind of leadership style, just always cool under pressure, never criticizing in an unconstructive way. Stanzi may get on a guy on the sidelines or in the huddle, but I would bet it's more along the lines of "Hey, we weren't on the same page on that last play. Just remember to cut your route off after (x-amount of yards), and I'll throw you a better ball. Love it or leave it!"

And I like the comparison to Banks that someone else made. They both have similar personalities. They even both seem uncomfortable in interviews (that might not be the right word for it); neither really made a lot of eye contact in their interviews, they both tended to look down a lot, almost like they would tolerate being in the spotlight, rather than clammoring for it.
Click to expand...

I agree with you. Stanzi's style sets him apart. He is very positive and very constuctive. His non-judgemental style makes a difference. It's amazing to think that he never got down on himself or his teammates. I think Adam Haluska had that leadership quality in basketball. Haluska never seemed like he would say, "Hey, I am a senior, get me the ball." He seemed to lead by example, too.
 
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqSPT1oZFxs]YouTube - ‪Stanzi Getting Ready For 2010 Season‬‎[/ame]
O'Keefe and Ferentz talk about Stanzi's leadership and how much the team respects him. Video I recently did.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Share this page

Top