State of passing game

Iceman

Well-Known Member
When you have a back leading the country in rushing, safety's and linebackers coming up yo stop it, and you still muster 62 yards passing.....it's a problem. You would think play action would work!
 
What just stumps me, is...
I've been consistent watcher and fam of Hakweye football since 1989. And in all their best...and even their not best

That play action has always been one of their most consistently effective plays in the toolbox.

Either coach. Just about any QB. Rose/BCS bowl or Outback bowl level, they could run that play action. And did run it. Where did it go? I mean, we see it a bit lately, but it's like they just forgot about it or something.
 
If we has a QB that could make things happen with his feet and was able to throw the ball farther than 15 yards and a couple wide receivers that could get open down field how good could we be? Unfortunately we dont

McNamara aint getting it done. He is a step up from Hill but then who wouldn't be. Probably a lot to do with receivers and schemes but doesn't seem to be able to throw long and isn't a threat with his feet. McNamara just isn't very good

Ohio State will load the box and Jim Brown couldn't get yards in that scenario

 
If we has a QB that could make things happen with his feet and was able to throw the ball farther than 15 yards and a couple wide receivers that could get open down field how good could we be? Unfortunately we dont

McNamara aint getting it done. He is a step up from Hill but then who wouldn't be. Probably a lot to do with receivers and schemes but doesn't seem to be able to throw long and isn't a threat with his feet. McNamara just isn't very good

Ohio State will load the box and Jim Brown couldn't get yards in that scenario
I think it's a combination of things
1. Non accurate QB
2. Non mobile QB
3 Routes & play calls
4 O line giving good pockets
Need to improve on all the above
 
At least their last half was their best half of football so far. But we are now at four one-half games. This cannot continue. At least the second halves tend to be the best ones and that is a plus. I like that we have a package for our second QB. How about a package for the third? Wide receivers are not getting open enough. Tight ends are not as much of our offense as we need them to be. There is work to do but some good signs there.
 
CM has a noodle arm. Not sure if he is afraid of getting hit and proper technique goes out the window when he throws the football. Or all the lower body injuries has created a situation where he can’t get any torque on the ball.

Either way, passes beyond 15 air yards aren’t pretty. If they could/can get this vertical passing game fix, this offense would be everything that we have been clamoring for.
 
Not going to argue too hard, because Ferentz will keep Cade in the game until he's severely injured, but he brings nothing positive to our offense other than maybe being a decent leader. He's so zero dimensional that Sullivan is now the redzone offense guy. If you can't do anything positive outside of the redzone, and you get pulled from the game inside the fifteen, I'm not sure why you're anywhere other than the bench. Should've given Sullivan the second half this week, or even traded quarters. Then, had he played well, he has two full weeks of prep. Instead, we have to rely on two RBs being the entire offense. Not sure what goes on in Kirk's head sometimes.

The only forgivable decision imo is to give zero indication externally and roll Sullivan out to start in Columbus, but that ain't happening.
 
Did anyone else notice before half, after Johnson's run, KM opted to throw two five yard passes. Announcer stated defense zone had big gaps and he opted to not exploit it
 
Not going to argue too hard, because Ferentz will keep Cade in the game until he's severely injured, but he brings nothing positive to our offense other than maybe being a decent leader. He's so zero dimensional that Sullivan is now the redzone offense guy. If you can't do anything positive outside of the redzone, and you get pulled from the game inside the fifteen, I'm not sure why you're anywhere other than the bench. Should've given Sullivan the second half this week, or even traded quarters. Then, had he played well, he has two full weeks of prep. Instead, we have to rely on two RBs being the entire offense. Not sure what goes on in Kirk's head sometimes.

The only forgivable decision imo is to give zero indication externally and roll Sullivan out to start in Columbus, but that ain't happening.

Probably right, but I thought it was interesting that one of the first things out of KF's mouth after the game was, "We have to figure out how to throw the ball." Going into a bye week, could that have been some foreshadowing? A shot fired across McNamara's bow?

Guys are open right now in this offense. We are not protecting consistently, but we also have a guy who is not even looking downfield, and doesn't have the arm to push down field unless everything lines up perfectly (which it rarely does). I am confident that Sullivan is not Tom Brady, but I also don't think he can be worse than what McNamara has been. The success of the running game has obscured what has been an absolutely impotent start to the season for him.
 
I do think Cade is a decent QB, when feeling pressure he just can't see down the field. Multiple times an open receiver running about. Iowa can't keep any defense out of the back field for 3-4 secs. That's a huge issue.

We need someone who can punish a D on those off-schedule plays.
 
I figure, given where this offense was, it’s reasonable to expect improvement in one thing at a time. The improvement in the running game is spectacular. I’m ok
 
Hawkeyegamefilm posted this on twitter (prior to the game):

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McNamara only had 5 passes of over 20 yards coming into MN, he added one incompletion just over 20 yds in the game. So, through 4 games, he had 6 passes targeted over 20, and of those, one was the scramble and throw to Ortwerth, and the other was the Hail Mary INT at the end of ISU. So only 1x per game do we attempt to threaten deep. And I get that our pass pro has not been good, but I still think better anticipation, better arm strength, and greater ability to make off-schedule plays allows us to hurt teams over the top.
 
It's a multi-factorial problem, and it's hard to see any kind of quick fix.

When a QB doesn't play for basically two years, the rust is going to become most apparent when the play goes off-script. Some situations simply can't be replicated in practice. They can run play after play, work on footwork, read progressions, etc., etc., but when the bullets are flying and things get disrupted, a QB that hasn't played is going to panic and make bad decisions and bad throws. That said, he really hasn't shown much in terms of accuracy and velocity even under better circumstances.

The offensive line has had numerous breakdowns in pass-pro. McNamara rarely has had a clean pocket.

Our receiver corps simply is not at the talent and experience level of the majority of teams we face. It is what it is right now. That's especially an issue when the receiver recognizes a blitz or a breakdown in a play and has to be in sync with the QB in a read or scramble situation.

Right now, the passing game is a bad vicious cycle, with one issue compounding the other. Hopefully, Lester can continue to tune things up. Regardless, it's still way better than the last two years... I do see a little light at the end of the tunnel. I hope fans will refrain from using the Ohio State game as a valid measuring stick. It would be awesome to see progression, no doubt, but that kind of expectation probably isn't fair to the players.
 
Right now, the passing game is a bad vicious cycle, with one issue compounding the other. Hopefully, Lester can continue to tune things up. Regardless, it's still way better than the last two years... I do see a little light at the end of the tunnel. I hope fans will refrain from using the Ohio State game as a valid measuring stick. It would be awesome to see progression, no doubt, but that kind of expectation probably isn't fair to the players.
I think it’s fair to the players. These aren’t freshman players, we’re talking about a very veteran team that needs to nut up.
 
There’s nothing good about a QB that is capable of a 29 QBR. The guy had 17 yards at the half. The running game is great to see again but we have zero chance against good teams with this passing game.
 
I do think Cade is a decent QB, when feeling pressure he just can't see down the field. Multiple times an open receiver running about. Iowa can't keep any defense out of the back field for 3-4 secs. That's a huge issue.

Agree to disagree. Football in 2024, you have a 2-3 second window to make a decision as a quarterback. Either you can make a throw or you can’t. As of right now, Cade can’t make a throw.
 
Agree to disagree. Football in 2024, you have a 2-3 second window to make a decision as a quarterback. Either you can make a throw or you can’t. As of right now, Cade can’t make a throw.
It may be rust, or it could be just that Cade can't anticipate receivers getting open when he should. I think it's the latter and that's why he always checks down.
 

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