The seniors lost this team.....

R

Rawkhawk73

Banned
and that's what happens when you have absolutely no senior leadership. There's always internal strife against the coaches in almost every major program. Some guys think they aren't being played enough, some guys think they aren't being played the right way, some guys think there aren't enough plays called for them, some guys think the schemes don't highlight their abilities, etc.

However, good senior leadership will normally keep those things at bay and will keep everyone moving in the same direction. 2008 was a good example....we lost 3 games in a row in the middle of the season, but our seniors (and juniors) kept that team focused on the task at hand and we were able to reel off 4 straight wins. Last years senior class was probably as good as we've ever had. Even Kirk made a point to talk about how much fun that team was to coach and how good the senior leadership was. As I think back, I don't recall one time where Kirk praised the leadership of the seniors or talked about how much he enjoyed coaching this team.
 
Interesting perspective, but KF is a huge part of the problem for the lack of Senior Leadership. His treatment of DJK for four years, not defending his players when they get held on every play or take dirty shots, and refusing to put more into game planning. The players expected more from the coaching staff and did not get it. They quit on KF, not each other or us.
 
hawkeyz10 said:
Interesting perspective, but KF is a huge part of the problem for the lack of Senior Leadership. His treatment of DJK for four years, not defending his players when they get held on every play or take dirty shots, and refusing to put more into game planning. The players expected more from the coaching staff and did not get it. They quit on KF, not each other or us.
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Have to agree with this.
 
Yeah, it used to be that KFs teams got better in Nov...this team lost 3 (and honestly should of have been 4) in Nov. What's up with that?
 
Rawkhawk73 said:
and that's what happens when you have absolutely no senior leadership. There's always internal strife against the coaches in almost every major program. Some guys think they aren't being played enough, some guys think they aren't being played the right way, some guys think there aren't enough plays called for them, some guys think the schemes don't highlight their abilities, etc.

However, good senior leadership will normally keep those things at bay and will keep everyone moving in the same direction. 2008 was a good example....we lost 3 games in a row in the middle of the season, but our seniors (and juniors) kept that team focused on the task at hand and we were able to reel off 4 straight wins. Last years senior class was probably as good as we've ever had. Even Kirk made a point to talk about how much fun that team was to coach and how good the senior leadership was. As I think back, I don't recall one time where Kirk praised the leadership of the seniors or talked about how much he enjoyed coaching this team.
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KF gave plenty of praise to the seniors this year. I do wonder though, when there is a team with this many seniors on it, and the season has such high expectations at the beginning of the year, if things don't go the way they're planned, that things can begin to unravel somewhat. Sort of a senior-itis that sets in. There was definitely something missing from this year's team on the emotional side. There was no Mitch King, no Pat Angerer, no Bob Sanders or Gallery.
 
I think there is something to the school of thought that this staff struggles to coach this kind of talent. They are recruiting more talented players. They should be in the midst of another 2002-2004 run. Somehow we ended up feeling like 2007. Lot of things went wrong this year but ultimately staff has to own most of the blame here.
 
Let me see if I got this correct. Seniors are playing for tution, room and board. Also have to go to school and stay acedamically eligible. Coaches of which there are many get paid 100K + and KF get 3 mil aren't teaching any classes and have one job, football. I have yet to see a coach get a concussion or serious injury from the sideline. Its up to the coaches to get them motivated not the seniors, they change every year. Of course if you're a coach easier to blame somebody that's going to be gone in a couple of months. Always a new group to blame every year. Oh yeah, who were the guys that brought in the players.
 
homes said:
KF gave plenty of praise to the seniors this year. I do wonder though, when there is a team with this many seniors on it, and the season has such high expectations at the beginning of the year, if things don't go the way they're planned, that things can begin to unravel somewhat. Sort of a senior-itis that sets in. There was definitely something missing from this year's team on the emotional side. There was no Mitch King, no Pat Angerer, no Bob Sanders or Gallery.
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Twent-six seniors on this team with a favorable schedule. Then lose by 4 or less by two top Big Ten teams, to a middle of the pack Big Ten team and to a bottom Big Ten team. The same old story in the Big Ten this year. Who would have guessed.
 
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Agree with this.The four you mentioned(gallery,sanders,king,angerer) were outstanding senior leaders. Are we lacking a leader like one of them this year? What stood out about these 4?
 
DJK tried to be a vocal leader, but Ferentz put an end to that. Maybe Ferentz should let DJK speak his mind, it may have fired this team up. Maybe that is why DJK sat today, because he said what he thought needed to be said and Ferentz didn't like that.
 
To be frank, none of you jackasses know what goes on within the program. You point to "good leadership" when the final record is better than expected, and "bad leadership" when the record is worse than expected.
 
You're an idiot ICHawk they are all to blame players, coaches etc. but the coaches lost 2 games from dumb clock management and that is their responsibility.
 
How am I an idiot? Please frame your answer in the form of complete sentences with proper punctuation.
 
Did I stutter? Some of us participated in collegiate athletics at a high level and do know what goes on in a program like that. Please frame your comments from experience instead of making assumptions because you'll make an *** out of U and ME.
 
Ah, yes, your supposed past experience as BMOC lets you see the inner workings of the Iowa program and to know which players stepped up and showed experience and which ones didn't. As you know from your vast experience, good teams and bad teams are decided entirely by intangibles.
 
Good or bad leadership is rather easy to determine when the team looks completely uninspired. We only went 8-4 in 2008, but it was clear that there was serious leadership from the upperclassmen based on how the team played.
 
hawkeyz10 said:
Interesting perspective, but KF is a huge part of the problem for the lack of Senior Leadership. His treatment of DJK for four years, not defending his players when they get held on every play or take dirty shots, and refusing to put more into game planning. The players expected more from the coaching staff and did not get it. They quit on KF, not each other or us.
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The coach can't control EVERYTHING that happens in the program. Sometimes leadership just goes away without a moments notice. It takes the right player to be a leader and the right player or player(s) to be a Cancer. With this team, it is apparent that the players did not hold each other accountable for their actions on the field and challenge one another. It is also apparent that there are some players that were respected that packed it in and the coaches ignored it. There is a fine line to walk as a coach on how to handle the actions of stars and captains. Some of the players that had all the ballyhoo coming into this season let the team down most when it mattered the most and that is on offense and defense. Nobody is free of blame in this one, no matter how the played or didn't play this season.
 
I like your post sportstalent, but it just makes me realize how good ferentz is at putting all the responsibility on the players. in fairness to KF, he gives the players the credit when they do well. He takes zero responsibility and zero credit. He does take all the pay raises though.
 
I didn't play a down in college but I can tell when the well is poisoned. I don't give a damn who's at fault but I do expect men wearing the Iowa uniform will battle until the final gun. This didn't happen this year thus we're 7-5.
 
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