Supporting Ferentz - change your mind?

I'd like to thank the OP for posting this thread. I've decided to make use of the ignore feature rather than ***** about Jon not banning some of these idiots.
 
Ferentz recognizes that he's more likely to get really good Tight Ends and Fullbacks and less likely to get great wide receivers. I think that he builds the system around the talent that he is likely to get. Can Iowa get an all conference or NFL caliberrunning back? Yes.

Jermell Lewis, Shon Greene, Jewell Hampton are a few of that caliber that come to mind. I think that Daniels Kid can become like those and I suspect the Freshmen out of Cincinatii coming in next year will also be of that caliber.

Wish Iowa was a bit more agressive like Sparty though (same stye just more aggressive)

NCH
 
Clark said:
I'd like to thank the OP for posting this thread. I've decided to make use of the ignore feature rather than ***** about Jon not banning some of these idiots.
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And since when should a poster get banned just 'cause you disagree with them? Hum? Best I can say for you: you're thin skinned. Or a troll.
 
If a dozen bowl games, 3 top ten finishes and dreams that we could win a title are mediocrity...I'm all in. We have expectations because Ferentz provided us with them. His formula for winning at Iowa is solid. Defense wins football games. How do you define mediocrity? What have you done for me lately or defense doesn't excite you? Go watch the clowns then...great circus act there.
 
ibahawkeye said:
Serious question...

If you currently want a change in leadership, what would it take for Coach Ferentz to gain your support, if anything?
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I want competent game management and creative playcalling that exploits our talent and strengths. If Kurt is the one directing that, all the better. If it's someone else, so be it.

I'd rather Ferentz evolve than leave.
 
DP5555 said:
I'm not sure I want the Hawks to ever look like Oregon or Baylor. I agree that those offensive systems can be fun to watch, but it's slowly being proven that when a gimmicky offense like that gets matched up against a smash mouth defense they get manhandled. Depending on the conference you are in I suppose it can be successful, but I don't see it ever winning the National Championship. Heck, the Redskins offense with RGIII in command just got destroyed last night by a very physical 49ers defense. The way Iowa plays ball isn't flashy, but it has been proven that they can compete with anyone. Then when they have a really good season and get things rolling it's incredibly hard to stop.
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The pro set is the superior offensive philosophy. It's why the pros use it. We don't need gimmicky spread crap at Iowa. We need to run the pro set in a creative fashion which exploits our strengths and maximizes our talent. The stale play calling and inconsistency in getting the ball into the hands of playmakers is what pisces people off in my estimation.
 
deanvogs said:
Obviously that isn't written in stone, heck we have to get to 8 yet this year. I think they will, but it isn't a sure bet. Either way, even if it is 7 wins in '13, we are set up to have a good year next year and the following as well.
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I'm not sold on next year's team being a better team. There is potential for that, but it is a long way from being a given. I'm most nervous about losing our 3 linebackers. We lose Alvis, but the rest of our defensive front will be a positive. In the secondary we lose Lowery and Miller (not that they are a great loss) but the players stepping up are unknowns. In all I think this defense takes a step back from this year.

Offensively our backfield looks to be tremendous. A solid QB with a year under his belt and at least 3-4 solid RB. We lose Cotton and Shumpert, but have still have quality guys like KMM and Smith so we don't lose much, if any in WR. On the O-line we lose Bofelli and Van Sloten. The guys replacing them are solid, but not quite as good. We lose CJ, but honestly I like Duzey better.

The question for me next year is can the offense pick it up enough to cover for having a little weaker defense.
 
I hear you on the offense. it's just so frustrating that we continue to be medicore, if not poor on that side of the ball. You could count the # of good offenses on one hand under KF. If we do have a drop in defense next year, which is possible considering what we're losing, our offense HAS to step up, especially in conference play where we seem to get even more vanilla.

I would be fine with our schemes if we just tweaked them a little bit. Start giving other staffs something to worry about, instead of "We know what Iowa is going to do". If a team is horrible in pass coverage, exploit it, if they cannot stop the run, make them prove it. Instead we seem to be cute in our playcalling and by the time we adjust (if we adjust at all) it's too late.

I would support KF more if he didn't insist on us playing a very limited, boring, predictable offense, and show some improvement in the time mgmt and special teams areas.

We would easily be an 8 - 9 win team every year if we just improved those areas just a little bit. For an example I will use Brett Beliema at WI. That program very much mirrors Iowa's in how they play the game. They are not flashy, they are ball control, run oriented, focus on the trenches.

The difference between the two programs is in philosphy in how they coach those schemes. BB took risks (would Iowa have called the fake punt in 2010?), willingness to put away opponents, and a much more open/fun atmosphere on gameday (not saying Iowa has to party on the sidelines, but we always appear to be so tight).

WI beat the teams they should, and competed against the good teams, winning some, losing some. They absolutely took advantage of OSU being sanctioned, but they took care of the things they controlled. Instead Iowa plays risk adverse, and settles for overtime instead of trying to go to Rose Bowl (2009).

Not saying KF has to transform into BB, but just adapting a few things from the WI program I think would make a huge difference in our record.
 
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ThunderHawk said:
The pro set is the superior offensive philosophy. It's why the pros use it. We don't need gimmicky spread crap at Iowa. We need to run the pro set in a creative fashion which exploits our strengths and maximizes our talent. The stale play calling and inconsistency in getting the ball into the hands of playmakers is what pisces people off in my estimation.
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I agree with you here Thunder. There are certainly ways the Hawks can continue running the same style of offense while also evolving it a little bit. This is something I would like to see as well. It isn't like Wisconsin has elite talent at the WR position. Abbrederis is a stud, but he was a walk-on kid who worked his *** off to get to where he's at. They just have more creative ways of opening things up. I'm not sure why the Hawks haven't taken a few notes from their playbook.

Also, I know a lot of people in the offseason were wondering if the depth at the TE position would allow the Hawks to sort of emulate what the Patriots have been able to do with their TE's, but that just hasn't happened. I know CJF is no Gronk, but between he and Duzey they certainly could figure out more creative ways to get them involved.

There are ways they can keep a conservative philosophy, but open up the offense at the same time. I don't think anyone in their right mind can argue with you there. It would be very nice to see an evolution in regards to this.
 
I think the offense is a mess and has been for since 2005. So if they could ever put out an even slightly below average product, I would be very happy with Kirk, even with the elementary clock management skills.

However I am convinced that if Kirk were to leave, regardless of the how/why, Iowa would search the mid major ranks for his replacement at about 1-1.5 million per season.

Until that feeling changes, I'm all in with Kirk.
 
HomerChampless said:
Yeah, so many trepidations over getting a worse record the first few years of a change... But, what can we expect from KF after 15 years? More mediocrity... So, you want the possibility of a program with national prominence or more mediocrity?
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I would add one additional option to your question: Does Homer have anything intelligent to say, or is he just barfing up the same tired criticism of KF?
 
Makavelihawk said:
Dumbest post ever.
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I've seen dumber.

KF isn't going anywhere until he is good and ready.

To answer the OP's question; For KF to earn my support he would have to show that he can adapt to today's game.

I'm not holding my breath.
 
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I guess some of us old dudes were spoiled by Hayden Fry and his ability to recruit above average skill players who could run an explosive offense -- guys like Chuck Long, Ronnie Harmon, Mike Flagg, etc. I just don't ever see that happening under Kirk Ferentz.
 
I have been quite critical of KF the past couple of seasons. After NIU this season, I was done discussing game management this or game management that. To me its wins and I don't really care who the coach is. Iowa deserves a coach that lives and breaths being a champion in every way possible (see coach FM.) Now, with the new realignment and Iowa in the West division next season, there is no way Iowa shouldn't expect to battle Nebby and Wisky for the West title every season. Iowa needs to state this in word and action, particularly with recruiting.
 
For me to support KF, he would need to get rid of his OC. Oh wait, he did! He would need to get rid of his D C. Oh wait, he did! He would need to speed up the game with no-huddle. Oh wait, he did! He would need to start passing when no one wants him to. Oh wait, he did! He would need to donate millions of dollars of his salary back to the University. Oh wait, he and Mary did! Man, I'm running out of ways to hate anymore. I must be growing up.
 
I don't disagree that Kirk has struggles on the offensive side of the ball and clock management just to name a couple.

But we won a BCS bowl and played in another despite these and nobody was calling for his head then due to style of play.

So I call BS to anyone responding with these type of responses.

I was looking for a tangible answer like win a conference championship, rose bowl, or even a national championship.
 
tweeterhawk said:
Like tubahawk, I remain somewhat critical of Ferentz and am dubious whether he can elevate the program to a higher level.

- Offense. The Greg Davis hire continues to mystify and I am not seeing what he brings to the program besides a short-passing strategy that didn't work at Texas with the better athletes that program can attract. It is beyond me why Kirk didn't go after some hot young offensive coordinator from a smaller program or even a highly qualified assistant OC at a bigger program who could come in and stir things up. Kirk didn't allow himself to step outside of his comfort zone and bring in someone who could help Iowa put up better offensive numbers.
- Taking the foot off the gas. Even if Iowa had an offense capable of scoring a lot of points, I'm not convinced Kirk would allow that to happen. He is tremendously risk-averse, as we have seen, and is perfectly willing to take a knee and head to the locker room with a small lead or to play for overtime rather than try to let his players win in regulation. Maddening.
- Replacing under-performing players. No need to re-hash particulars from years past here; they're well known. Will simply note there is something seriously wrong when the starting quarterback has all the snaps en route to a 4-8 season and his back-up doesn't see action until the first play of the following season.
- Clock management. This has been a perpetual problem for Ferentz-coached teams at Iowa. It is laughable when the TV guys say Iowa is going into its two-minute drill at the end of a half; Kirk DOESN'T HAVE a two-minute drill in the playbook.
- Recruiting. Sure, it's tough bringing the nation's top athletes to Iowa. But Kirk Ferentz has been at Iowa long enough, supposedly has a good enough reputation among high school coaches and others, and has shown that Iowa can put players in the NFL, that a few four- and five-star athletes should be knocking on the Kinnick door. They're not. (And honestly, after watching the player introductions on TV, I'm not convinced Iowa has that good a record of getting players to the next level, but that's probably a whole 'nother thread.)
- Competitiveness. Other than Ohio State, which likely will always be the cream of the B1G crop, Iowa should be competitive year-in and year-out with every other top-tier conference program, namely Wisconsin, Michigan State, Michigan, Nebraska and Penn State, and regularly should be considered a contender for the conference championship game. The record with some of those programs has been pretty lop-sided.

That said, congratulations to the Hawks -- including Kirk Ferentz & Co. -- for a season that has exceeded expectations. Would love to see them extend the streak on Friday.
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Points Scored/Game


Greg Davis at Texas
KOK at Iowa
Rank
Rank
1998
9
1999
105
1999
18
2000
99
2000
7
2001
23
2001
6
2002
6
2002
16
2003
41
2003
6
2004
69
2004
12
2005
37
2005
1
2006
58
2006
6
2007
111
2007
14
2008
34
2008
5
2009
86
2009
3
2010
50
2010
88
2011
58
Since
2012
113
2013
79


I know the talent is way different between the two, but to just make a blanket statement that GD’s offense didn’t work at Texas is probably NOT a true statement. It sure appears to me that he was a sacrificial lamb.

I think he deserves more time before we start throwing him and his offence out the door after only 2 years.

:cool:
 
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