The 2013 Hawks like the 2008 squad.

[Eda]

Per the article:

The 2013 team reminds Ferentz of 2008 turnaround | Hawk Central

"The Hawkeyes take a six-game losing streak, and the sour taste of a 4-8 record, into the 2013 season after missing a bowl game for the first time since 2007.
The 2008 team rebounded with a 9-4 record, including a late-season upset of No. 3 Penn State, and won the Outback Bowl. That team holds a special place in the heart of coach Kirk Ferentz because of its off-season attitude and work ethic coming off a bowl-free season."



IMO, I think there's a lot of signs that this team is pi$$ed, motivated, driven, and hungry; much like the '08 squad. The 2012 team was close in many areas, but rather than dwelling on that, they're pushing forward into the 2013 season (and have been since the end of November). Because of that, I truly hope it translates into success on the field for these young men.

 

[tm3308]

Per the article:

The 2013 team reminds Ferentz of 2008 turnaround | Hawk Central

"The Hawkeyes take a six-game losing streak, and the sour taste of a 4-8 record, into the 2013 season after missing a bowl game for the first time since 2007.
The 2008 team rebounded with a 9-4 record, including a late-season upset of No. 3 Penn State, and won the Outback Bowl. That team holds a special place in the heart of coach Kirk Ferentz because of its off-season attitude and work ethic coming off a bowl-free season."



IMO, I think there's a lot of signs that this team is pi$$ed, motivated, driven, and hungry; much like the '08 squad. The 2012 team was close in many areas, but rather than dwelling on that, they're pushing forward into the 2013 season (and have been since the end of November). Because of that, I truly hope it translates into success on the field for these young men.

I really don't see it. Other than coming off a poor season and having question marks at QB, I don't see many similarities. We don't have a King/Kroul anchor up front, or guys like Angerer, Sash, etc. stepping in as first year starters. I won't hold not having a Shonn Greene against this team, because we didn't know we had a Shonn Greene before 2008, either.

The defense just isn't where it needs to be, IMO, to have another season like 2008.

 

[JonDMiller]

I really don't see it. Other than coming off a poor season and having question marks at QB, I don't see many similarities. We don't have a King/Kroul anchor up front, or guys like Angerer, Sash, etc. stepping in as first year starters. I won't hold not having a Shonn Greene against this team, because we didn't know we had a Shonn Greene before 2008, either.

The defense just isn't where it needs to be, IMO, to have another season like 2008.

This times 1000. Not a chance I buy that. Not saying that this team won't out perform my expectations, but to do that all they have to do is go 6-6.

If this defense is half as good as the 2008 defense, I will be pleasantly surprised. The 2008 Iowa roster had more talent on it than any in Iowa football history, senior to redshirt freshman.

And boy do I hope I am wrong.

 

[kmurp]

Agree with the above. Poor and mediocre recruiting classes over multiple years don't portend a major turnaround. This team doesn't have the horses.
(Still better than last year though ).

 

[ShadasRevenge]

I really don't see it. Other than coming off a poor season and having question marks at QB, I don't see many similarities. We don't have a King/Kroul anchor up front, or guys like Angerer, Sash, etc. stepping in as first year starters. I won't hold not having a Shonn Greene against this team, because we didn't know we had a Shonn Greene before 2008, either.

The defense just isn't where it needs to be, IMO, to have another season like 2008.

To be fair, a lot of the unknowns you're mentioning in your first paragraph apply to both the 2008 team and this one. Uncertainty at QB, young - yet unproven - talent at defense, question marks at wideout, etc. One big difference for this season is that we know going in what the running game is going to look like.

 

[ShadasRevenge]

This times 1000. Not a chance I buy that. Not saying that this team won't out perform my expectations, but to do that all they have to do is go 6-6.

If this defense is half as good as the 2008 defense, I will be pleasantly surprised. The 2008 Iowa roster had more talent on it than any in Iowa football history, senior to redshirt freshman.

And boy do I hope I am wrong.

It's easy to say that now, but nobody would have made that claim in July of 2008.

 

[tm3308]

It's easy to say that now, but nobody would have made that claim in July of 2008.

The 2008 defense had 6 new starters, IIRC (Clayborn, Ballard, Angerer, Sash, Spievey and Fletcher). Of those six guys, three had a lot of experience (Ballard, Clayborn, Fletcher). I'm holding out some hope for Lomax being able to step in like Spievey did, while Lowery has a senior year like Fletcher.

But Nico Law isn't Tyler Sash. Law is a very unpolished player, and in any case, they're totally different types of players; Law is a big hitter, Sash was a ballhawk.

We return all our linebackers; we know what we have there, and while they aren't anything to sneeze at, there's no Angerer/Edds combo in there.

The defensive line is full of young and unproven talent. But again, there's no King/Kroul-type stalwarts to hold it together.

Offensively, we (presumably) will have a solid running game, thanks to the strength up front (similar to 2008). But there really isn't a Shonn Greene on this roster. All of our guys do certain things well; Greene did it all except for catching out of the backfield. He was an absolute monster with his combination of size, speed and vision.

We also run a different passing system than we did in 2008. Guys like DJK, Brodell, etc. could have success in KOK's system. Right now, we've got KMM and a lot of question marks on the outside.

I just can't see us playing like a top-10 team in November, which is what that 2008 team did.

 

[ShadasRevenge]

The 2008 defense had 6 new starters, IIRC (Clayborn, Ballard, Angerer, Sash, Spievey and Fletcher). Of those six guys, three had a lot of experience (Ballard, Clayborn, Fletcher). I'm holding out some hope for Lomax being able to step in like Spievey did, while Lowery has a senior year like Fletcher.

But Nico Law isn't Tyler Sash. Law is a very unpolished player, and in any case, they're totally different types of players; Law is a big hitter, Sash was a ballhawk.

We return all our linebackers; we know what we have there, and while they aren't anything to sneeze at, there's no Angerer/Edds combo in there.

The defensive line is full of young and unproven talent. But again, there's no King/Kroul-type stalwarts to hold it together.

Offensively, we (presumably) will have a solid running game, thanks to the strength up front (similar to 2008). But there really isn't a Shonn Greene on this roster. All of our guys do certain things well; Greene did it all except for catching out of the backfield. He was an absolute monster with his combination of size, speed and vision.

We also run a different passing system than we did in 2008. Guys like DJK, Brodell, etc. could have success in KOK's system. Right now, we've got KMM and a lot of question marks on the outside.

I just can't see us playing like a top-10 team in November, which is what that 2008 team did.

Sash had yet to play a down of college ball, while Clayborn and Ballard were (I think) both unproven sophomores going into 2008.

Nobody knew who Shonn Green was in July of 2008, but we've seen what Weisman can do when he's healthy, and Canzeri and Bullock have both seen action as well. There is more known about the running game going into this season than there was going into 2008.

It's easy to say that this team "doesn't have the horses" now, but they have yet to play a single snap as a group. How about we let them get a game or three under their belts before talking about what they will or won't be?

 

[tm3308]

Sash had yet to play a down of college ball, while Clayborn and Ballard were (I think) both unproven sophomores going into 2008.

Nobody knew who Shonn Green was in July of 2008, but we've seen what Weisman can do when he's healthy, and Canzeri and Bullock have both seen action as well. There is more known about the running game going into this season than there was going into 2008.

It's easy to say that this team "doesn't have the horses" now, but they have yet to play a single snap as a group. How about we let them get a game or three under their belts before talking about what they will or won't be?

Nobody knew who Greene really was in July of 2008, I won't deny that. But you said yourself, we DO know what we have in Weisman and Co. And while those guys are solid backs, none of them are of Greene's caliber.

Ballard and Clayborn weren't starters in 2007, but they got a lot of playing time and nobody was too worried about whether they'd hold their own as sophomores.

As for Sash, I'll grant you that he'd never played before 2008. But again, we know what we have at the safety spots this year. Miller is not TMFS, and even if Law plays to his potential, he's a different style of player from Sash.

We didn't know a whole lot about much of the 2008 squad. There were a lot of fresh faces who we hadn't seen before (six new starters on defense; new starter at RB who wasn't on campus in 2007; questions at QB). We know a lot more about this year's team going in than we knew about 2008's group. And what we know, IMO, isn't all that inspiring.

 

[Eda]

I really think KirFer was referring to the teams mindset during offseason workouts, more so than drawing similarities between personnel.

However, I gotta side with Shada on this one. The personnel unknowns are somewhat similar to '08.

Exception beng the RB position.

I think there will be players on the d-line that we'll look back on at the end of he season and say - pleasant surprise. To me, King was a high motor guy, and I think LTP fits that mold. Coop may end up being huge (no pun intended) inside. And there could very well be more guys on the line that'll shine (Faith, Jaleel, Davis).

If the D-line play improves, the back 7 could very play very well. There's plenty of talent there.

Long story, short... July '13 has a July '08 feel.

 

[trj]

King/Kroul really took on a leadership role on that '08 team and you could probably add Bruggeman to that as well, Angerer/Edds took the torch from there. Other than Morris, not sure who takes on the leadership role on this team, especially when things are not going well.

I keep seeing the players/coaches bring up how embarrassed they are about what transpired last year. Not sure how that translates into victories, but it is definitely helping in motivation. This team has a sense of urgency feel to it, do not know why, but i like it.


gonna stick with my 7-5 prediction.

 

[hawkdrummer1]

Nobody knew who Shonn Greene was? Are you kidding me. Maybe you followed the line the media beat to death in 2008 ..."last year, he was unloading furniture"...as if he'd never played a down.

Greene came to the program with plenty of hype and played 2 years behind Albert Young & Damian Simms. After he left the team due to grades and then returned nobody knew what to expect from him. That I'll agree with.

There was plenty of debate in the summer of 2008. Will he be any good when he returns? Will he be in shape? Can we depend on him to be a significant contributor at RB? There were plenty of questions. People certainly knew who he was.

 

[deanvogs]

I really think KirFer was referring to the teams mindset during offseason workouts, more so than drawing similarities between personnel.

However, I gotta side with Shada on this one. The personnel unknowns are somewhat similar to '08.

Exception beng the RB position.

I think there will be players on the d-line that we'll look back on at the end of he season and say - pleasant surprise. To me, King was a high motor guy, and I think LTP fits that mold. Coop may end up being huge (no pun intended) inside. And there could very well be more guys on the line that'll shine (Faith, Jaleel, Davis).

If the D-line play improves, the back 7 could very play very well. There's plenty of talent there.

Long story, short... July '13 has a July '08 feel.

i really hope you are right. I will say that '08 had a huge ?? at LB, and we had a couple guys step up. I hope we get some DL to do the same this year. If we do, the D could be stout and give this offense time to find itself (if it ever can). I still think 6 or 7 wins with 2014 being the year we get back to 9 wins.

 

[LASBUR]

As I recall they were talking about making SG a LB. To me the big question is do we have a couple guys to step up like Clayborn and Ballard. I think DT will be OK. oh ya. Do we have WRs

Nobody knew who Shonn Greene was? Are you kidding me. Maybe you followed the line the media beat to death in 2008 ..."last year, he was unloading furniture"...as if he'd never played a down.

Greene came to the program with plenty of hype and played 2 years behind Albert Young & Damian Simms. After he left the team due to grades and then returned nobody knew what to expect from him. That I'll agree with.

There was plenty of debate in the summer of 2008. Will he be any good when he returns? Will he be in shape? Can we depend on him to be a significant contributor at RB? There were plenty of questions. People certainly knew who he was.

 

[okeefe4prez]

Agree with the above. Poor and mediocre recruiting classes over multiple years don't portend a major turnaround. This team doesn't have the horses.
(Still better than last year though ).

Two words - Chris Freaking Doyle.

 

[okeefe4prez]

Nobody knew who Shonn Greene was? Are you kidding me. Maybe you followed the line the media beat to death in 2008 ..."last year, he was unloading furniture"...as if he'd never played a down.

Greene came to the program with plenty of hype and played 2 years behind Albert Young & Damian Simms. After he left the team due to grades and then returned nobody knew what to expect from him. That I'll agree with.

There was plenty of debate in the summer of 2008. Will he be any good when he returns? Will he be in shape? Can we depend on him to be a significant contributor at RB? There were plenty of questions. People certainly knew who he was.

Thank you. Man, I have issues getting onto HN from work and the collective football IQ seems to have dropped by 50% save for you.

The issue is that tm was like 12 years old when Greene was an underclassman so he didn't know him. Dude was obviously a stud but he had a few inopportune fumbles and he had what has always been a fatal flaw in KF's eyes in that he was young.

 

[tm3308]

Thank you. Man, I have issues getting onto HN from work and the collective football IQ seems to have dropped by 50% save for you.

The issue is that tm was like 12 years old when Greene was an underclassman so he didn't know him. Dude was obviously a stud but he had a few inopportune fumbles and he had what has always been a fatal flaw in KF's eyes in that he was young.

I knew who he was (for the record, I was 15 when Greene first arrived on campus). I remember him tearing up Ball State as a freshman in 2005 and being excited about his potential. But in 2008, he was coming off a year away from the program and we had no clue what to expect from him. He was a gigantic question mark before the season. He answered those questions in a big way, but that doesn't change the fact we were unsure of what we had at tailback before the season. We know exactly what we have now, and we don't have Shonn Greene.

 

[ShadasRevenge]

Nobody knew who Shonn Greene was? Are you kidding me. Maybe you followed the line the media beat to death in 2008 ..."last year, he was unloading furniture"...as if he'd never played a down.

Greene came to the program with plenty of hype and played 2 years behind Albert Young & Damian Simms. After he left the team due to grades and then returned nobody knew what to expect from him. That I'll agree with.

There was plenty of debate in the summer of 2008. Will he be any good when he returns? Will he be in shape? Can we depend on him to be a significant contributor at RB? There were plenty of questions. People certainly knew who he was.

Nobody knew Shonn Greene was a back capable of getting 100 yards every week and winning the Doak Walker, while being a first team All-American in his first year as a starter. That better?

 

[ibahawkeye]

Is it crazy yo think weisman could have a year like Greene in terms of YPC? Last year he averaged 5.1 YPC. As a senior Shonn averaged 6.0. I believe this years oline will be more experienced.

 

[imported_ankle23]

Is it crazy yo think weisman could have a year like Greene in terms of YPC? Last year he averaged 5.1 YPC. As a senior Shonn averaged 6.0. I believe this years oline will be more experienced.

who will be the starting OL this year? as the OL goes, so goes Iowa. had the two OTs last year not gotten season ending injuries v. psu, the year certainly would have been different.