Switching of LB'ers

[cobri66]

Perry at middle..Alston at WLB..found the combination?..maybe start grooming Spearman for DLine?..he seems to be a liability most of the time there..and not sure how much to attribute to better blocking but it seems Wadley has better vision than Canzeri..and a spin move reminiscent of Ronnie Harmon ( and a fumble too just like him )

 

[SpecialKHawk]

Did not miss Spearman at all. He has not played well this season and needs to improve a lot. Out of position, guesses and a missed tackle machine.

Perry was pretty good and really, really like Jewell. I see why the coaches like him. Reminds me so much of Angerer. Nose for the football and ultra aggressive.

 

[IAHAWK1982]

Just like some of the switching in the OL, this might be the case of finding the right combination. I haven't liked Alston's performance at MLB or the play of Spearman at OLB. We'll see how things go against Minnesota. They will present more of a challenge running the ball.

 

[NCHawker]

just the idea of a #52 - a team captain out there at LB blowing play after play - imagine what that's like in film sessions where a team captain is getting called out.

 

[PCHawk]

Hard to tell for sure if the linebackers were better or not because of how good the dline played.

 

[WinOneThisCentury]

I think you will see Perry, Alston, and Jewell a lot against Minnesota. Although, we didn't give up the big plays on the outside, it was still a bit leaky. Bower just isn't physical enough yet (he's young) to take on the block, squeeze the hole, yet keep the outside shoulder free. He came up field a bit too much yesterday and it created a seam inside. Minnesota is going to attack us on the edge, same as Wisconsin and Nebraska will do. The Minny game will be a good indication if we can shut down a physical team on the edge. Although NW played Minny tough...it's going to be a step up this week with what is on the line.

The teams we have had an issue with this year have had a lot of speed on at RB &WR (indiana, maryland). Cobb is pretty solid and can hurt you this week plus he catches the ball.

 

[WinOneThisCentury]

At least the coaches made the adjustment from the Maryland game. Did you see our DT's get up field to the outside and force the runner deeper into the backfield to go around rather than down the line of scrimmage...if we had done that against Maryland, we could have stopped that running game....that and hit the damn QB. When you force the RB to take a few steps deeper, it gives our DBs a chance to get off blocks and get in position. Geez, we got out schemed against Maryland. Half the time we didn't have anyone with the QB. that doesn't happen very often with Phil Parker...oh, and the missed tackles didn't help either.

 

[NEIChawk]

Perry & Jewel = Ball hawks....I love the motor in these guys engines....always around that ball......

 

[Jonrn]

If Iowa's d line plays as dominant as they did yesterday the rest of the year, the linebacker shuffle will be a moot point. That being said, Jewell looked decent.

 

[ICHawk24]

We did a good job rotating LBers in yesterday, and they all seemed to contribute.

I'd love to see Spearman help our relatively weak DE position. Next year.

 

[HawksMN]

I think you will see Perry, Alston, and Jewell a lot against Minnesota. Although, we didn't give up the big plays on the outside, it was still a bit leaky. Bower just isn't physical enough yet (he's young) to take on the block, squeeze the hole, yet keep the outside shoulder free. He came up field a bit too much yesterday and it created a seam inside. Minnesota is going to attack us on the edge, same as Wisconsin and Nebraska will do. The Minny game will be a good indication if we can shut down a physical team on the edge. Although NW played Minny tough...it's going to be a step up this week with what is on the line.

The teams we have had an issue with this year have had a lot of speed on at RB &WR (indiana, maryland). Cobb is pretty solid and can hurt you this week plus he catches the ball.

Cobb couldn't hold Abdullah's or Gordon's jock. But he will be good meat to chew on for the bigger games.

 

[Hawkcrush]

Perry & Jewel = Ball hawks....I love the motor in these guys engines....always around that ball......

Jewell is the best MLB we have. Bower is the best OLB other than that the last position is a toss up. A little surprised Q had the speed to plat outside given what we have seen this year, but he played well perhaps he was out of position at MLB. Given the next teams we play are running teams it make sense to play Q outside. The magic person in all of this is Jewell. Yes he made a few mistakes, but has some lead in his pants for a freshman and plays with a fire that an MLB needs. If we want to keep winning keep playing this kid.

 

[eveningnewsteam]

Yeah, I agree about Jewell. Hes gonna be a helluva player at Iowa

 

[Tkingpin]

Yeah, I agree about Jewell. Hes gonna be a helluva player at Iowa

This may be the Kiss of Death, but look at the Freshmen and Sophomores that are playing well in the back 7 of that defense. I know that this year's final chapters are still to be written, but taking a peak ahead, we have King (soph) and Mabin (Fr) at corner and should team up there for the next 2 1/2 years. Fleming (Fr) as the nickel. Gair (Fr) looks to be the Heir Apparent at Safety, and maybe he will be the FS, moving Lomax over to SS next year.

At LB, as stated above, we have Bower (Fr) at OLB and Jewell (Fr) who may be the ILB of the future. Maybe Kenney moves back to LB next year and clearly they think a lot of Nieman, or they wouldn't be having him play on Special Teams as a True Freshman. So, out of those 4 guys we could have a special group. No idea about Mends and Outsey. Hopefully Warfield comes along as the other Safety. Or maybe a Freshman we don't know about ( IIRC, Truitt hit like a truck in his High School Videos).

those 2 Cornerbacks could be pretty special for the next 2 1/2 years.

Now, we need some more big, monstrous DTs and pass rushing DEs!

 

[ICHawk24]

Mabin, Fleming and Gair are all Sophomores. But your overall point about the young back 7 is spot on.

I think we'll be fine at DT with Jaleel, Cooper, Bazata, etc.

We need something at DE. Maybe Spearman can help there.

 

[WinOneThisCentury]

if Faith and Jaleel make strides the remainder of this year and the normal progression through spring and fall camp...defense is going to be really solid next year...and possibly great depending on the guys inside. There are a couple of other DT's too that could make some noise...Bazata for one.

I still think it would be nice to scour the Juco ranks for defensive linemen and a linebacker who has the potential to step in right away...I know it's not our style, but it can certainly help if the guy is ready to play.

 

[IAHAWK1982]

Mabin, Fleming and Gair are all Sophomores. But your overall point about the young back 7 is spot on.

I think we'll be fine at DT with Jaleel, Cooper, Bazata, etc.

We need something at DE. Maybe Spearman can help there.

You realize we have Ott and Meier returning. Spearman would make for 3 very good DEs.

 

[HawgEyeState]

Mabin, Fleming and Gair are all Sophomores. But your overall point about the young back 7 is spot on.

I think we'll be fine at DT with Jaleel, Cooper, Bazata, etc.

We need something at DE. Maybe Spearman can help there.

We need something at DE??????????

Drew Ott is 2nd in the BIG TEN in sacks and is fast becoming Unblockable.
Meier is also destined to be a beast as he grows into the DE. He is a great athlete.
Might be a while before 6'8" Matt Nelson sees a lot of time at DE.

GO HAWKS !!!