The Shadow spring football tidbits

[pchawkeye12]

Sounds good, but are you sure that's what you meant in #5? That's only from the SEast corner of the endzone to the SWest. (cross field)

Well if the punters were actually 'booming' the ball I take that as being with pretty good hangtime...and let's not forgot the width of a football field is a little over 50 yards so nothing to sneeze at for a first year starting punter.

 

[Briggs32]

I am cautiously bullish about the offense this year...that is probably a contradiction of terms..I guess I mean I am not gonna be on the mountaintops screaming 32 points per game...but I think its possible.

If Vandenberg can limit mistakes and we can stay healthy, 30 ppg is definitely possible. We were averaging over 30 ppg last year before A-Rob's concussion against MSU. After that our average for the last 4 games was below 20 ppg IIRC. His injury no doubt led to the stalling of our offense. We have a promising RB and a good O-Line anchored by one of the best, if not the best (Reiff), O-Linemen in the conference.

 

[imported_ankle23]

If Vandenberg can limit mistakes and we can stay healthy, 30 ppg is definitely possible. We were averaging over 30 ppg last year before A-Rob's concussion against MSU. After that our average for the last 4 games was below 20 ppg IIRC. His injury no doubt led to the stalling of our offense. We have a promising RB and a good O-Line anchored by one of the best, if not the best (Reiff), O-Linemen in the conference.

imo, the stalling of the offense was due to a couple OL who got hurt - Gettis being one (i think he hurt his ankle v. MSU) , Macmillan the other, if memory serves. that was huge.

 

[homerHAWKeye777]

imo, the stalling of the offense was due to a couple OL who got hurt - Gettis being one (i think he hurt his ankle v. MSU) , Macmillan the other, if memory serves. that was huge.

Absolutely correct. And, to compound upon those injuries, I've heard from pretty reliable folks that James Ferentz was playing dinged in the latter part of the season too. Thus, the immediate implication there is that we were hurting more than a little bit on the interior OL ... and to make matters worse, Stanzi didn't have his "normal" RB there to help in blitz pick-up.

Once I learned the bit about Ferentz and it became more clear about the extent of ARob's concussion ... it's really no surprise that Stanzi's play seemed a bit "off" after the MSU game.

 

[Deacon]

Worst coaching decision of the season? I vote for leaving Arob in late in the MSU game.

 

[ChipHilton]

Nothin' like a good old fashioned Shadow report. Thanks 0044!

 

[clim33]

I am cautiously bullish about the offense this year...that is probably a contradiction of terms..I guess I mean I am not gonna be on the mountaintops screaming 32 points per game...but I think its possible.

Jon if we can punish D's that put 8-9 guys in the box to stop Coker.....our O might be one of the best we've had in a while. Given our D will be maybe weaker we will need to control time and clock and I think this years Oline may be as talented and deep as any I've seen......we could have a "special" O this year.

 

[528646]

Jon if we can punish D's that put 8-9 guys in the box to stop Coker.....our O might be one of the best we've had in a while.

I agree, but if last year's experience is any indication, that's a pretty major "IF".

I'm as close as you will find to a KOK apologist - I think it's sad the extent to which he's become the scapegoat for all our ills - but I took some serious issue with the playcalling at times last year. HYPER-conservative, even by Iowa's standards. With a senior 3 yr starter at QB and two legit NFL talents at WR, I think we could have taken the training wheels off in a couple games (Indiana and NW immediately come to mind) and really blown their doors off...but chose not to for whatever reason. In both of those games, we insisted on running head first into 8-9 man fronts (often times right into the teeth of run blitzes).

I don't want to be pessimistic (it's no fun), but I'm afraid a 1st year starter @ QB this year gives the staff the perfect excuse for more of the same.

 

[hawkdoctor]

It seems like when we are overlooked we have our best season. We have to replace some great players as we might have the most players drafted and signed as free agents in history. if not the most, certainly one of the most signed.

I've said all along we have the potential to be better on offense and it starts with a terrific offensive line as well as two-deeps. I really don't remember an OL with as much depth. I think Vanderburg is every bit as good a QB (skill wise) as Stanzi. Can he make the reads and lead as well. We'll see. I like the RB's we have and more are on the way! We have good WR's back with McNutt and Davis and it sounds like the new guys are very capable. Why not be excited about the TE's? I guess I've talked myself into a 30 ppg offense.

Our DL will be very good having 6-7 players rotating in could help avoid the 4th quarter issues we had last year and insure we have experienced depth if an injury occurs. Our LB's are going to be damn good. I like having the speed with the new guys. Both corners are back unless Hyde moves to safety. If that happens it should mean a new strong corner has emerged. The place kickers are back and the punting game could/should be a drop off.

With all the new talented players we are bringing in and talented backup already here should make special teams special again. Just tell me who is fielding punts and returning kickoffs and you'll have me convinced.

How many days until kickoff?

 

[Section136]

Worst coaching decision of the season? I vote for leaving Arob in late in the MSU game.

Thats nice...really not what this thread was about though.

 

[Section136]

Nice to hear about the WR's and I am very excited to see them progress. We lost a lot of depth there but I think Soup has the guys he wants and we will not see a significant dropoff.

 

[tm3308]

I agree, but if last year's experience is any indication, that's a pretty major "IF".

I'm as close as you will find to a KOK apologist - I think it's sad the extent to which he's become the scapegoat for all our ills - but I took some serious issue with the playcalling at times last year. HYPER-conservative, even by Iowa's standards. With a senior 3 yr starter at QB and two legit NFL talents at WR, I think we could have taken the training wheels off in a couple games (Indiana and NW immediately come to mind) and really blown their doors off...but chose not to for whatever reason. In both of those games, we insisted on running head first into 8-9 man fronts (often times right into the teeth of run blitzes).

I don't want to be pessimistic (it's no fun), but I'm afraid a 1st year starter @ QB this year gives the staff the perfect excuse for more of the same.

I think if Vandenberg really is the Mandenberg, they might open it up. Brad Banks was a first-year starter, too. He was just so dynamic that we had little choice but to get flashy. Stanzi was good, but he wasn't a truly dynamic quarterback.

 

[DP5555]

Honestly, I hope KOK stays conservative this year. If he's able to do that then that means our running game is right where I expect it to be. I agree with most people who say KOK has been ultra-conservative, and at times it has been incredibly frustrating. However, I also believe that establishing a smash-mouth rushing attack is what ultimately gives the Hawks the best chance of winning the Big 10.

I realize Vandenberg has all the tools to toss the rock up and down the field. He will get plenty of opportunities to do so if the running game is dominant. I'm not taking anything away from Vandy or the relatively new WR's, as I firmly believe they will prove to be more than capable of making big plays. I just think the perfect recipe for shaking up the Big 10 race this year is to let our O-line take care of the D-line and LB's, and watch Coker demolish some Dbacks (oh boy is that fun to watch). Vandy is more than capable of taking care of the rest by utilizing the play action pass. Mix a little D'eandre Johnson and maybe Coe/McCall and things could be exciting. I'm thinking I might make the 3 hour trip to IC to watch the Spring Game/Open Practice on the 16th.

*Obviously in order for my opinion to come to fruition we will ultimately need the support of the AIRBHG

 

[homerHAWKeye777]

I think that the Iowa O has to play Iowa football. I'm excited about the fact that Vandenberg has a cannon ... that will likely help us have a more precise passing game, particularly in adverse weather conditions. Furthermore, our running game should be pretty darn powerful assuming that the RBs can remain adequately healthy.

I think that our difficulties on O when the weather turned cold ended up being a factor that hurt the team more than most folks let on.

 

[JonDMiller]

As someone has pointed out, Iowa was averaging over 31ppg last year through the MSU game, which was two-thirds of the season. By that time, you typically are who you are.

What happened there was ARob concussion, and Gettis and MacMillan never really played again...as well as Tyler Nielsen being done for the year at that point, too.

An offense that had been averaging over 31ppg and 52% third down conversion rate and a defense that had been allowing around 30% third down conversions flipped to 33% offensive third down conversions, leavin the D on the field far too long and the D suffered in getting teams off the field.

 

[GrandpaHawk]

If our offensive line stays healthy and we get some depth I think our running game is going to be very good.Coker is going to be better this year with a season under him.Should be a exciting year, hopefully we can stay healthy with no setbacks.

 

[dmShortSaledude]

If our offensive line stays healthy and we get some depth I think our running game is going to be very good.Coker is going to be better this year with a season under him.Should be a exciting year, hopefully we can stay healthy with no setbacks.

Our running game will be superior next season. Bank it. My concern is how they pass block. I think that they will do fine, but it is an IF...

Hawkeyes average 33ppg.

 

[DesertHawk2010]

Our DL will be very good having 6-7 players rotating in could help avoid the 4th quarter issues we had last year and insure we have experienced depth if an injury occurs. Our LB's are going to be damn good. I like having the speed with the new guys. Both corners are back unless Hyde moves to safety. If that happens it should mean a new strong corner has emerged. The place kickers are back and the punting game could/should be a drop off.

How many days until kickoff?

Good thing our offense will be so explosive we will only be kicking PATs and the punters job will be to hold them. We will score a TD every time we have the ball this year!

OH YEA! I have been drinking lots of the Koolaid and lookin through the black and gold glasses. Can you blame me?

and to answer your question about kickoff: My buddy has your answer

 

[homerHAWKeye777]

There will likely be a significant drop-off in the punting game. However, on the flip side, we may end up benefitting from improvements in kick coverage.

With any luck improvements made on kick coverage end up counterbalancing the learning curve in the punt-game. One nice thing is that we seem to have a good number of capable, young safety and LB-types who will likely be able to make nice contributions on special teams. In think that some of the young guys will want to make a name for themselves through their special teams play ... and that will end up translating to their positional play too.

 

[WinOneThisCentury]

As someone has pointed out, Iowa was averaging over 31ppg last year through the MSU game, which was two-thirds of the season. By that time, you typically are who you are.

What happened there was ARob concussion, and Gettis and MacMillan never really played again...as well as Tyler Nielsen being done for the year at that point, too.

An offense that had been averaging over 31ppg and 52% third down conversion rate and a defense that had been allowing around 30% third down conversions flipped to 33% offensive third down conversions, leavin the D on the field far too long and the D suffered in getting teams off the field.

Not that statistics always tell the whole story, but I would love to know what Stanzi's 3rd down passing completion percentage was for the last 4-5 games of the year vs. the first 8 games. My guess it's quite a bit lower. I also get it that passing completion isn't necessarily indicative of the productivity of a QB in close games (see Stanzi circa 2009 for proof of that theory). However, in my mind Ricky didn't make the plays you need a senior to make at critical junctures of the games, when we needed a first down or a score to go up TWO scores late in a game. We put it on the defense time and time again.

Although I know losing MacMillan and Gettis really hurt, it was one offensive line position and it wasn't like we threw a freshman in there. I think it hurt the running game more than the passing game, but, IMO, we just didn't get the ball to the right receiver to keep things going, or it was an errant throw to an open guy that killed us.