The New Kirk Myth

[MelroseHawkins]

I agree. Those two field goal fakes the first two games of the year have really had a long run. I get a kick out of them keep saying he's now a chance taker and unpredictable even though we haven't seen a fake FG or punt since.

 

[deanvogs]

I agree. Those two field goal fakes the first two games of the year have really had a long run. I get a kick out of them keep saying he's now a chance taker and unpredictable even though we haven't seen a fake FG or punt since.

Just how many fake punts/field goals does one have to run a year to be a "chance taker or unpredictable"? Do we have to run 1 per game to get that label?

 

[MelroseHawkins]

Just how many fake punts/field goals does one have to run a year to be a "chance taker or unpredictable"? Do we have to run 1 per game to get that label?

It was a brilliant move, do it early against lesser competition to sell excitement to the fans and place a seed in teams down the road. Simply brilliant. We haven't had one since the 2nd game of the year, so I am reluctant to call him Wild Kurt, if you will.

 

[deanvogs]

It was a brilliant move, do it early against lesser competition to sell excitement to the fans and place a seed in teams down the road. Simply brilliant. We haven't had one since the 2nd game of the year, so I am reluctant to call him Wild Kurt, if you will.

I think we run another fake sometime this year. I think they scout the opponent, and if look for teams that always send that outside guy hard after FG. That or they will fake one of those running punts with Koehn.

if they do run another one, will you call him Wild Kurt?

 

[MelroseHawkins]

I think we run another fake sometime this year. I think they scout the opponent, and if look for teams that always send that outside guy hard after FG. That or they will fake one of those running punts with Koehn.

if they do run another one, will you call him Wild Kurt?

I do as well. Do it early to show you are willing and to keep teams honest. Now in the rigors of the schedule, do it sensibly and out of need, such as when Iowa ran it against Penn St. with Kaeding.

Yes, I will. I was just pointing out that he's not as rogue as many of the pundits are making him out as. Has he changed a bit, yes. But, it has not been drastic and he is still quite calculated which is good.

 

[Casade24]

Kirk started the year trying to be new Kirk. He can just never talk himself into making a big decision in a game we might lose. 2 fake field goals in the first 2 games was new Kirk. Zero in the last 6 is old Kirk. He did go for it on 4th down deep in our own territory against Wisconsin I guess. That was the last I've seen of new Kirk. Running Canzeri into the ground because you are so afraid of playing our best playmaker at runningback was definitely old Kirk. I'm not saying I don't understand why he made his decision, I just don't agree with it.

he also went for it on 4th and 5 this past week versus Maryland. Smith got a pass interference penalty. We were in FG range. Every time King is back for a punt and returns it there is evidence of new Kirk. The rugby punts...many indications. Much better clock management. Give him some credit.

 

[Billso]

It's no myth.

 

[PCHawk]

he also went for it on 4th and 5 this past week versus Maryland. Smith got a pass interference penalty. We were in FG range. Every time King is back for a punt and returns it there is evidence of new Kirk. The rugby punts...many indications. Much better clock management. Give him some credit.

He would have gone for it in that situation last year. I am giving him credit. I believe he has made changes. I just think he's slowly regressing back a little bit is all.

It's funny how Kirk said last year changes needed to be made when his job was in jeopardy, but now that he's winning, for some reason the entire staff wants to scoff at the idea of New Kirk. He has made changes, they were for the good, why deny it now? And why do fans like the OP suggest there is no New Kirk? Isn't that not giving him credit? Or is it an attempt to say he wasn't doing anything wrong in previous years? Kirk already admitted he was doing wrong so why make that arguement?

 

[PCHawk]

Do people really want to argue that Kirk went to all these other teams in the off season to find new ways to do things and he couldn't come up with any in game changes? Give the guy some credit people.

 

[Playmaker]

I got torn a new one a couple weeks ago for faulting KF for going strictly with Canzeri....I would take my chances with the an occasional fumble out of Wadley any day of the week over a starting Canzeri. ANYONE with eyesight can see that he is 10X the RB....especially moving laterally.

 

[CP87]

The core of the program is the same as it always has been. He has made changes this year, just like he has every year. The big thing is that this year they have been more effective than in some recent years. Perhaps that is because seat-heat forced he and his staff to look more critically at everything, or perhaps it comes down to those elusive variables of chemistry and intangibles.

I do not have a good enough memory to recount all of the tweaks (or in some cases big changes) that the staff has implemented recently, but here are some of the highlights I can remember since 2010:

• 2011 - There was an emphasis on increasing tempo and incorporating more no-huddle in the off-season. It was on display most dramatically in the big comeback vs. Pitt, but then kind of disappeared after that.
• 2012 - New offensive coordinator, increased emphasis on getting the ball to play-makers in space. Things didn't quite work out.
• 2013 - Really focused on ramping up tempo and increasing the number of offensive plays, also focused on becoming more run-heavy (close to 50-50 split in 2012, were closer to 60-40 in 2013). Used more creative defensive personnel packages.
• 2014 - Tried to play "game-breakers" more in the backfield, tried to conserve Mark Weisman and use him in situations where he could be most successful (short yardage). Plan fell apart very early when LeShun went down with injury and Canzeri was rarely fully healthy. Briefly resurrected during the NW win, but that fell apart when Wadley fumbled 6 times in 36 carries, or whatever it ended up being. People tend to forget how the team initially tried to use Weisman that year, and how upset many fans were early on when they did not use Weisman enough (only 16 carries vs. ISU, only 10 carries vs. Maryland, etc.). This was also the year that Iowa became much more aggressive on 4th down, and they blitzed considerably more as well (and paid the price in many cases).
• 2015 - changed QB, more versatile in run game (maybe due to run-game coordinator?), changed punt style, put best playmaker at kick and punt return. More nickel and dime personnel than I can remember previously

 

[HawkeyeWalker]

Its not about KF so much as it is leadership at the QB and playmakers at RB. Everything else is pretty much the same.

Yep, this. Not that much has changed really. It's simply the small changes have made a big difference.

Winning changes everything. It's all quite fickle, and if we lose, we'll see just how much.

 

[alexzelada]

The core of the program is the same as it always has been. He has made changes this year, just like he has every year. The big thing is that this year they have been more effective than in some recent years. Perhaps that is because seat-heat forced he and his staff to look more critically at everything, or perhaps it comes down to those elusive variables of chemistry and intangibles.

1 word: CJB.

He's a difference-maker. He has the X-factor.

You think Iowa goes to the Orange Bowl in 2002 with McCann??? (I know he graduated, this is a hypothetical)

You think Jake Christensen leads Iowa to 3 consecutive Bowl victories?

You think we are 8-0 right now with Rudock?

You think not letting another QB touch the ball in 2012 was a sign of great coaching?

Kirk can sometimes suffer from a condition known as stublindness. Kirk constantly tries to shift the blame for last year's mistake by constantly saying how CJB has matured. Insinuating CJB didn't get the call last year because he was too immature. BULL****! Kirk ******-up. To Kirk's credit he has owned his mistakes in some sports articles written over the last 10 months. But a 9 year old girl from a non-english-speaking country who has never heard of American football could've figured out Iowa's best QB from watching the first half of last season.

Now if you'll pardon me I'm gonna go on a 45 minute rant about how Willies was misused . . .

 

[HawkeyeWalker]

I got torn a new one a couple weeks ago for faulting KF for going strictly with Canzeri....I would take my chances with the an occasional fumble out of Wadley any day of the week over a starting Canzeri. ANYONE with eyesight can see that he is 10X the RB....especially moving laterally.

10x's? They are different, sure. I'll even concede AW has more "burst" and shiftyness. If both healthy, they each have strengths. If AW is better overall, and he may very well be....it isn't by that significant of a margin...overall.

How 'bout it's just magnificent to potentially have 3 very legit options at RB.

 

[vork22]

Meet the new Kirk same as the old Kirk

 

[deanvogs]

1 word: CJB.

He's a difference-maker. He has the X-factor.

You think Iowa goes to the Orange Bowl in 2002 with McCann??? (I know he graduated, this is a hypothetical)

You think Jake Christensen leads Iowa to 3 consecutive Bowl victories?

You think we are 8-0 right now with Rudock?

You think not letting another QB touch the ball in 2012 was a sign of great coaching?

Kirk can sometimes suffer from a condition known as stublindness. Kirk constantly tries to shift the blame for last year's mistake by constantly saying how CJB has matured. Insinuating he didn't get the call last year because he was too immature. BULL****! Kirk ******-up. To Kirk's credit he has owned his mistakes in some sports articles written over the last 10 months. But a 9 nine year old girl from a non-english-speaking country who has never heard of American football could've figured out Iowa's best QB from watching the first half of last season.

Now if you'll pardon me I'm gonna go on a 45 minute rant about how Willies was misused . . .

Willies wasn't misused, he had a chance to separate from the pack and take the job. He failed to do so, and he quit like a little *****, and the team is better without him.

As far as saying CJB is the reason the team is better, I'm sure you are going to also explain to us how CJB has improved our Defense to be a top 10 defense in the nation. A defense that has given up 13 TD's in 8 games. Cause I'm sure that last years defense could have held Wisconsin to 6 points to get us a win in Madison.....

 

[RocknRollface]

I don't actually want the nickname to go away, as I think that is awesome. It is so much better than a Kirk 3.0 or something like that. Yet can't we just all agree that nothing has changed on the field? It is still about playing great defense, controlling the ball and field positions and running the ball. Mix in good special teams play, and this is the same recipe that the Old Kirk has used for the previous 16 years.

Dean this has already been explained in detail in the multiple other threads what the many differences are.

Things like more variation in run blocking, finally changing the audible calls, trying to score at the end of halves, a very obvious one.

theres just no need to try and revise history to justify Kirks previous years of stubbornness that was contributing to low scoring. He needed to change and he finally did.

 

[deanvogs]

Dean this has already been explained in detail in the multiple other threads what the many differences are.

Things like more variation in run blocking, finally changing the audible calls, trying to score at the end of halves, a very obvious one.

theres just no need to try and revise history to justify Kirks previous years of stubbornness that was contributing to low scoring. He needed to change and he finally did.

The only people trying to "justify" anything are the people who think that this is some radically different KF. The cores are all the same, and he has tweaked some things. I understand totally the changes that have been made. I also seem to be the only one who can understand that the only change people really care about is that Iowa is 8-0. KF could have gone all Big12 and stopped playing D, and let CJ throw it around the field and nobody would like those changes if Iowa was 3-5. Conversely if Iowa keep doing nearly the same things they have done for 17 years, but they are 8-0 some are convinced he has made wholesale changes.

It is all LOLOL to me, I mean I love the 8-0 record, and the added bonus is I don't need to have delusions on how we got here to enjoy it like some.........Oh, and just to clarify, if you think I am taking this shot at you with this statement, then I probably am..

 

[Bigtenchamp]

When he has been in interviews on the radio and they bring up the "New Kirk" thing.

He doesn't really deny it.

A lot of him is still the same...

However he has done a lot of things different.

Like go for it on 4th down a ton.... that and try to score more at the end of the halves.

Those are the big two.

The philosophy (run game, defense, no turnovers) is still the same... but the game management in many areas he is trying something different.

 

[Billso]

I got torn a new one a couple weeks ago for faulting KF for going strictly with Canzeri....I would take my chances with the an occasional fumble out of Wadley any day of the week over a starting Canzeri. ANYONE with eyesight can see that he is 10X the RB....especially moving laterally.

10x???