There are a lot of unanswered questions on the boards regarding the problems with Iowa football and it has become apparent that fans don't know where to turn. The answers are not simple but I will break them down into a three-pronged approach since there is not one single problem.
Problem #1 - Recruiting
I can't help but let out a little chuckle every time I see a poster mention how awesome Iowa's recruiting class is and how stars don't matter. Then they recycle the same dribble regarding Sanders, Clark, Greenway, Gallery, etc, and how one's recruiting ranking is directly correlated to their on-field ranking. First of all the story of those players has more to do with KF's player development skills than it does recruiting. Second of all making a living recruiting 2 stars and guys with below average athletic skills won't consistently get it done, as everyone is beginning to see now. Other than a veteran o line and a pretty good WR, what can Iowa's offense really hang their hat on? I'd be absolutely shocked if any of their starting skills players are under 4.6. No this won't be turning into a spread/speed argument, but there is no threat of anyone getting to the house outside of 20 yards (and McNutt beating up on the NW's and Purdue's of the world doesn't count). Concerning the defense, Iowa was starting 6 2-stars to begin the season with massive holes on the front seven because they had no depth whatsoever at these positions. At least I won't have to go through another offseason of listening to prevalent posters try to sound cool by saying Castillo is better than Bernstine. Essentially this example is at the heart of the problem. It's not so much that I really like Bernstine, but on a team that lacks any athleticism it was important to have him on the field early. I found it convenient that KF used his sickness as a semi-excuse after the ISU loss, nevermind he wasn't even a starter at that point. Getting back on point, the front seven lacked athletes, and the percentages of 2-stars who are athletes are slim, and those percentages improve as the numbers of stars improve. Sure stars aren't the end-all be-all, but the percentages are in your favor with a higher star athlete. That's just the facts. There are some positives to be found here Hawk fans. The Wilson hire is a good sign that KF thinks he needs to improve in the recruiting arena and it has paid dividends over the last two seasons. Iowa has three young 4-star DT's provided Ekakatie and Johnson sign (Cooper the third), depth and athleticism is improving dramatically at the LB position (contrary to some opinions, is the most important part of the defense, which became obvious last year; DT can be argued as well), so things should be looking up defensively for 2013 and on. Offensively it's still a struggle outside of OL/TE and as jank as our offensive scheme is, this is no surprise. For as good as our RB recruiting seems to be, it really hasn't panned out on the field. All-and-all however, the recruiting has been on the upswing for the last few years and this will help.
Problem #2 - O'Keefe
There isn't much to say that hasn't been said yet, and any defender of KOK is merely trying to buck the majority in an effort to be original when no original thought is needed. It's been a Herculean effort to give KOK the benefit of the doubt in situations, and he does have the ability to call some respectable games, but over the long haul he has proven that he cannot do it consistently. I just can't comprehend how it can get more embarrassing than McDonough (who's not even a color guy) calling your playcalling out on national TV, and be totally correct in doing so! To be plain, the offense has no identity and hasn't in years. Are we a running team, a passing team, a balanced team? It's almost as if we're trying to mimic the Patriots by having no offensive tendencies but one glaring problem exists. We only run ten different plays a game! Not too hard to gameplan for that. I really enjoyed last night's game b/c you could tell that the game plan was to attack OU's secondary (which sucks), but once we started out 1-7 with effectively a pick six you could almost mentally picture KOK mouthing "oh sh*t, what are we going to do now???" So in classic KOK form, he calls some runs, calls some passes, throws a bunch of sh*t at the wall to see what sticks, and before you know it we've failed to even put up a point in 3 qtrs against a defense that yielded 31 to Texas Tech at home, in a half! Yes the offense isn't great (for many of the reasons listed in problem #1), but the offense is competent enough to get into the redzone atleast once against PSU, and to atleast put up double digits against Nebraska's defense that gave up 38 to Washington, 29 to Fresno and 27 to Ohio St. In layman's terms, he's a bad offensive coordinator. Throwing 4 yard out patterns to the wide side of the field, throwing a barrage of 8 yard stop patterns and out patterns that are so relentless it will make you hurl on your own couch, does not get the job done. It does not work. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why the offense is good in other games but sucked against PSU, Nebraska, MSU, OU, etc. When there's no real threat of the offense going down field, or better yet, KOK just flat out refuses to call any plays down field or even 20 yards over the middle, the defense will just squat down on the crusty stop patterns and 4 yard outs to the wide side of the field so there is absolutely no room for the WR's to work. It's as simple as that. Good offenses run crossing patterns, and bad offenses don't. And crossing patterns with Coker out of the backfield when you're down two touchdowns don't count. I'm just glad I don't live in Iowa so my tax dollars don't go towards paying the salary of an offensive coordinator that has no clue on how to create space for his WR's. What's more mind boggling is that he is on the field watching this problem unfold continually but can't figure it out while I sit on my couch and eat cheez-its and can see the problem as plain as day. Unfortunately for Hawk fans problem #2 will not be solved in the same fashion as problem #1. I feel safe in saying the opposite of innovation or clutch is KOK. And for those of you who are numbers guys when looking for the offensive struggles, you need look no further than these:
YPC Last 3 seasons:
Iowa 4.1 4.3 3.3
Wisc 5.5 5.5 4.6
Problem #3 - Game Management
My perspective changed after the Wisconsin game of 2009. We're up 6 with 5 minutes to play on 4th and 6 and we're setting up a punt return instead of punt safe?!? I can't recall but I think KF said he didn't see it coming. That's about as close to an omission that KF will ever give but still, how is a guy making 4M a year not at least prepared for that? He's not done there though. Then on the game ending drive we waste 10 seconds setting up to clock it, and once we get set up he calls timeout. That in itself is mindboggling but the biggest doozy of them all comes in the presser when he attempts to defend himself. I've had a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that I knew how to spike a ball in junior high yet KF couldn't teach (or trust) his QB to spike a ball in CFB??? So he burns his last timeout and the rest is history. I'll never forget the next week against NW he's feverishly motioning to Stanzi to clock it and you could see how proud he was for getting that ball clocked. Lost in it all was the fact that there was so much time left on the clock that there was no need to clock the ball and waste the down, ultimately resulting in a FG. I could go on and on about the botched onside efforts against Minnesota, KF's 50/50 propositions against ISU and OSU (somehow having the ball with over a minute left and multiple timeouts on your own 30 is less than a 50/50 proposition), but you get the idea. Simply put, Ferentz is incompetent in game management situations. Some people just do not possess the ability to think outside of the box, or think ahead. He can develop the hell out of his talent, but he can't think outside the box. It's just the way it goes I guess.
The Final Analysis
These three problems are the basis for Iowa's struggles the last few seasons. Couple that with fans who continue to pack the house and an army of "yes" men in the media, and you've got a coach who has the ability to be trite at even the slightest whiff of an imposing question. It's a real catch-22 for fans however. One side says new blood is needed in the program to revive a rather dull team that lacks emotion or preparedness. I can't say I disagree, having sat through an entire season without seeing any celebratory gestures by players on the field. Watching an entire team on Xanax is difficult. However, the grass isn't always greener, and contrary to many that think Iowa is some desirable position that will bring in top coaches from all over the country may need to think again. Illinois thinks they can do better than Zook but over the next few seasons they will find that they are sorely mistaken. ND, FSU, and Miami have all of the talent in the world yet can't make a good hire to save their lives. Bashing ND is a past time on Iowa boards but no matter how poorly they perform on the field, they are still positioned more favorably than Iowa to compete on a long term basis. This will segway us into the ultimate question of whether or not Iowa is destined for mediocrity? You can massage the numbers over the last ten years anyway you like. 4 top 10 finishes, 2 bcs bowl appearances, or no Rose Bowls, no B10 titles, losing record in the B10 the last few seasons, etc. In essence, KF is ultimately right in saying expectations are those created by fans and media and not him. Little does he know that expectations or failing to meet them are what gets coaches fired but in the end he is right. Listening to posters stick out their chests and beg for the B10 to extend an invitation to Nebraska so we could beat them down, and the constant bashing of ND and other programs as inferior to ours was the preceding to the meltdown that you are seeing now. With the exception of the original Orange Bowl season, Iowa has been a "catch the breaks / don't catch the breaks" type of program. We caught the breaks against LSU in the Capital One and we caught the breaks in the 2009 season, and we didn't get the breaks in other seasons for miscellaneous reasons. Unfortunately the masses didn't see it like that and misinterpreted these seasons as Iowa becoming a new northern power en route to bigger and better things. One good season for one mediocre season or even two mediocre seasons isn't such a bad thing when put into context. Looking at FSU, Miami, and ND you begin to appreciate what you have. Ferentz may not be the ideal head coach, but I reluctantly say he's the best that we can do, which every third year isn't all that bad.
Problem #1 - Recruiting
I can't help but let out a little chuckle every time I see a poster mention how awesome Iowa's recruiting class is and how stars don't matter. Then they recycle the same dribble regarding Sanders, Clark, Greenway, Gallery, etc, and how one's recruiting ranking is directly correlated to their on-field ranking. First of all the story of those players has more to do with KF's player development skills than it does recruiting. Second of all making a living recruiting 2 stars and guys with below average athletic skills won't consistently get it done, as everyone is beginning to see now. Other than a veteran o line and a pretty good WR, what can Iowa's offense really hang their hat on? I'd be absolutely shocked if any of their starting skills players are under 4.6. No this won't be turning into a spread/speed argument, but there is no threat of anyone getting to the house outside of 20 yards (and McNutt beating up on the NW's and Purdue's of the world doesn't count). Concerning the defense, Iowa was starting 6 2-stars to begin the season with massive holes on the front seven because they had no depth whatsoever at these positions. At least I won't have to go through another offseason of listening to prevalent posters try to sound cool by saying Castillo is better than Bernstine. Essentially this example is at the heart of the problem. It's not so much that I really like Bernstine, but on a team that lacks any athleticism it was important to have him on the field early. I found it convenient that KF used his sickness as a semi-excuse after the ISU loss, nevermind he wasn't even a starter at that point. Getting back on point, the front seven lacked athletes, and the percentages of 2-stars who are athletes are slim, and those percentages improve as the numbers of stars improve. Sure stars aren't the end-all be-all, but the percentages are in your favor with a higher star athlete. That's just the facts. There are some positives to be found here Hawk fans. The Wilson hire is a good sign that KF thinks he needs to improve in the recruiting arena and it has paid dividends over the last two seasons. Iowa has three young 4-star DT's provided Ekakatie and Johnson sign (Cooper the third), depth and athleticism is improving dramatically at the LB position (contrary to some opinions, is the most important part of the defense, which became obvious last year; DT can be argued as well), so things should be looking up defensively for 2013 and on. Offensively it's still a struggle outside of OL/TE and as jank as our offensive scheme is, this is no surprise. For as good as our RB recruiting seems to be, it really hasn't panned out on the field. All-and-all however, the recruiting has been on the upswing for the last few years and this will help.
Problem #2 - O'Keefe
There isn't much to say that hasn't been said yet, and any defender of KOK is merely trying to buck the majority in an effort to be original when no original thought is needed. It's been a Herculean effort to give KOK the benefit of the doubt in situations, and he does have the ability to call some respectable games, but over the long haul he has proven that he cannot do it consistently. I just can't comprehend how it can get more embarrassing than McDonough (who's not even a color guy) calling your playcalling out on national TV, and be totally correct in doing so! To be plain, the offense has no identity and hasn't in years. Are we a running team, a passing team, a balanced team? It's almost as if we're trying to mimic the Patriots by having no offensive tendencies but one glaring problem exists. We only run ten different plays a game! Not too hard to gameplan for that. I really enjoyed last night's game b/c you could tell that the game plan was to attack OU's secondary (which sucks), but once we started out 1-7 with effectively a pick six you could almost mentally picture KOK mouthing "oh sh*t, what are we going to do now???" So in classic KOK form, he calls some runs, calls some passes, throws a bunch of sh*t at the wall to see what sticks, and before you know it we've failed to even put up a point in 3 qtrs against a defense that yielded 31 to Texas Tech at home, in a half! Yes the offense isn't great (for many of the reasons listed in problem #1), but the offense is competent enough to get into the redzone atleast once against PSU, and to atleast put up double digits against Nebraska's defense that gave up 38 to Washington, 29 to Fresno and 27 to Ohio St. In layman's terms, he's a bad offensive coordinator. Throwing 4 yard out patterns to the wide side of the field, throwing a barrage of 8 yard stop patterns and out patterns that are so relentless it will make you hurl on your own couch, does not get the job done. It does not work. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why the offense is good in other games but sucked against PSU, Nebraska, MSU, OU, etc. When there's no real threat of the offense going down field, or better yet, KOK just flat out refuses to call any plays down field or even 20 yards over the middle, the defense will just squat down on the crusty stop patterns and 4 yard outs to the wide side of the field so there is absolutely no room for the WR's to work. It's as simple as that. Good offenses run crossing patterns, and bad offenses don't. And crossing patterns with Coker out of the backfield when you're down two touchdowns don't count. I'm just glad I don't live in Iowa so my tax dollars don't go towards paying the salary of an offensive coordinator that has no clue on how to create space for his WR's. What's more mind boggling is that he is on the field watching this problem unfold continually but can't figure it out while I sit on my couch and eat cheez-its and can see the problem as plain as day. Unfortunately for Hawk fans problem #2 will not be solved in the same fashion as problem #1. I feel safe in saying the opposite of innovation or clutch is KOK. And for those of you who are numbers guys when looking for the offensive struggles, you need look no further than these:
YPC Last 3 seasons:
Iowa 4.1 4.3 3.3
Wisc 5.5 5.5 4.6
Problem #3 - Game Management
My perspective changed after the Wisconsin game of 2009. We're up 6 with 5 minutes to play on 4th and 6 and we're setting up a punt return instead of punt safe?!? I can't recall but I think KF said he didn't see it coming. That's about as close to an omission that KF will ever give but still, how is a guy making 4M a year not at least prepared for that? He's not done there though. Then on the game ending drive we waste 10 seconds setting up to clock it, and once we get set up he calls timeout. That in itself is mindboggling but the biggest doozy of them all comes in the presser when he attempts to defend himself. I've had a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that I knew how to spike a ball in junior high yet KF couldn't teach (or trust) his QB to spike a ball in CFB??? So he burns his last timeout and the rest is history. I'll never forget the next week against NW he's feverishly motioning to Stanzi to clock it and you could see how proud he was for getting that ball clocked. Lost in it all was the fact that there was so much time left on the clock that there was no need to clock the ball and waste the down, ultimately resulting in a FG. I could go on and on about the botched onside efforts against Minnesota, KF's 50/50 propositions against ISU and OSU (somehow having the ball with over a minute left and multiple timeouts on your own 30 is less than a 50/50 proposition), but you get the idea. Simply put, Ferentz is incompetent in game management situations. Some people just do not possess the ability to think outside of the box, or think ahead. He can develop the hell out of his talent, but he can't think outside the box. It's just the way it goes I guess.
The Final Analysis
These three problems are the basis for Iowa's struggles the last few seasons. Couple that with fans who continue to pack the house and an army of "yes" men in the media, and you've got a coach who has the ability to be trite at even the slightest whiff of an imposing question. It's a real catch-22 for fans however. One side says new blood is needed in the program to revive a rather dull team that lacks emotion or preparedness. I can't say I disagree, having sat through an entire season without seeing any celebratory gestures by players on the field. Watching an entire team on Xanax is difficult. However, the grass isn't always greener, and contrary to many that think Iowa is some desirable position that will bring in top coaches from all over the country may need to think again. Illinois thinks they can do better than Zook but over the next few seasons they will find that they are sorely mistaken. ND, FSU, and Miami have all of the talent in the world yet can't make a good hire to save their lives. Bashing ND is a past time on Iowa boards but no matter how poorly they perform on the field, they are still positioned more favorably than Iowa to compete on a long term basis. This will segway us into the ultimate question of whether or not Iowa is destined for mediocrity? You can massage the numbers over the last ten years anyway you like. 4 top 10 finishes, 2 bcs bowl appearances, or no Rose Bowls, no B10 titles, losing record in the B10 the last few seasons, etc. In essence, KF is ultimately right in saying expectations are those created by fans and media and not him. Little does he know that expectations or failing to meet them are what gets coaches fired but in the end he is right. Listening to posters stick out their chests and beg for the B10 to extend an invitation to Nebraska so we could beat them down, and the constant bashing of ND and other programs as inferior to ours was the preceding to the meltdown that you are seeing now. With the exception of the original Orange Bowl season, Iowa has been a "catch the breaks / don't catch the breaks" type of program. We caught the breaks against LSU in the Capital One and we caught the breaks in the 2009 season, and we didn't get the breaks in other seasons for miscellaneous reasons. Unfortunately the masses didn't see it like that and misinterpreted these seasons as Iowa becoming a new northern power en route to bigger and better things. One good season for one mediocre season or even two mediocre seasons isn't such a bad thing when put into context. Looking at FSU, Miami, and ND you begin to appreciate what you have. Ferentz may not be the ideal head coach, but I reluctantly say he's the best that we can do, which every third year isn't all that bad.
