Things I Found Encouraging

[OUTofTOWNHAWK]

1.Dline didnt get dominated although NIU was starting many new players up front on o line
2.They moved the ball and controlled the clock although it didnt result in td's until needed
3.Played tough D last few possessions when NIU was trying to run down the clock
4. Meyer
5. kick coverage
6. pass D even though they didnt much


Think ISU will test Defense. Think ISU will shut down Iowa offense expect many 3 and outs. Hope Meyer can hit a bunch of long field goals up to 65 yards out so we can put up some points and stay in the game? Lets Go Hawks

Lame. You are not funny clown.

 

[cecilB]

Bullock couldn't have been successful without good run blocking. Pass protection was an issue, and more specifically protecting vs. the blitz, which the RBs can share in some of the blame. Experience (and lots of film review) will help immensely. Very correctable; I'm optimistic yet.

Thanks for a positive thread.

And some of the 'lack of ' blitz pick up occurred against an empty backfield, meaning it's on the thrower and catchers being in sync.

Team game. Team objective of a W was achieved.

 

[DDThompson]

Good original post.

The reason it was a "positive" post because it was realistic and truthful.

"Positive" posts that don't have a basis in those aren't "positive".

 

[Cover3]

Good original post.

The reason it was a "positive" post because it was realistic and truthful.

"Positive" posts that don't have a basis in those aren't "positive".

Thanks, DDT. We were all excited to see changes, and they were there, even if it was easier to dwell on the similarities.

The big plus from my end was flipping the number of plays run. In the past decade, some damn good Iowa teams had trouble both a) keeping the chains moving on offense, and b) getting the other offense off the field. It seemed like the Hawks did both on Saturday (no turnovers helped), and we're going to be in position to win a lot of football games late if we do that. Then, in 2013 and 2014, my hope is that our most recent recruiting classes (both top 30[?]) fill the ranks and run these systems to the point where we are just controlling the flow of the game, especially against less-talented teams [ahem]Minnesota[ahem].

 

[PTHawk]

Bullock couldn't have been successful without good run blocking. Pass protection was an issue, and more specifically protecting vs. the blitz, which the RBs can share in some of the blame. Experience (and lots of film review) will help immensely. Very correctable; I'm optimistic yet.Thanks for a positive thread.

And some of the 'lack of ' blitz pick up occurred against an empty backfield, meaning it's on the thrower and catchers being in sync. Team game. Team objective of a W was achieved.

Agreed

 

[HawkeyeDenis]

An easy thing to overlook: zero turnovers.

Totally overlooked!

 

[Hawkguy314]

Quality win over a cupcake team. Had the game in hand the entire time.

 

[Benddontbreak]

How bout the play of Gaglione? I thought he provided some good pressure off the edge.

 

[SPGroth]

How bout the play of Gaglione? I thought he provided some good pressure off the edge.

I thought that Gaglione and Alvis did a nice job getting pressure. Dom had a nice sack on their QB and stopped the RB on the 1 yard line.

 

[hawkeyebob62]

In the past, I may have been considered part of the 'negative Nancy' crowd, always calling for changes in the Hawks' tactics, etc. Well, I actually saw a good deal of change yesterday, contrary to what many are suggesting:

1. The defense got a good deal of 3 & outs, especially in the last quarter and a half when we needed to get the ball back. There were no easy underneath throws available to the QB. Yes, a day may come where they hit on a couple of the 1-on-1 deep balls, but they didn't today, and we denied them all the short stuff; Phil made a great adjustment at halftime to take away that RB drag.

2. We tried to score, driving a good chunk of the field in the last minute of the first half. We didn't score, but evaluation should not always be result-based; even the best 2-minute drill fails sometimes. Fact is, we came out throwing where in the past we likely would have run into the line and hoped to bust a long one. That drive had good pace, and even a great hot read by both JVB and Keenan (something we NEVER saw before). Stalled with big protection problems, but that will improve.

3. Our offensive playcalling did adjust to the play on the field. It was hard to see because many plays got blown up so quickly, but we saw many more screens in the second half after they really started blitzing us. Davis called a nice PA bootleg, where Derby released his blocked and flashed to JVB away from the play side. JVB overthrew him, but in later weeks if JVB (who is allowed to be human, no?) is more settled, that could be a big play.

4. I thought Bullock's TD run came on a dynamite playcall. 3rd & 8 in four-down territory and NIU's back seven were dropping into zone. Frickin' beautiful.

5. We picked up a lot of third downs, which has not always been the case. The 3rd & 1s were especially encouraging, because Iowa used to never give the FB the ball and would often have trouble picking up 3rd & 1 or 2 against a penetrating defense. Kirk and G. Davis has an answer for that past ill.

6. Our DBs played the ball very well today, and Castillo...how often before has Iowa failed to down a punt inside the 5??? That and the kid broke up a deep ball, too (along with Micah on multiple occasions).​

There is absolutely no reason to be fatalistic about this squad. Beating a MAC team by 1 could be considered commensurate with losing to a PAC-10 team by 37, and we all know of a squad that did the latter and won the Big Ten. Nobody has title expectations for this team, so let's just enjoy the ride. All today's struggles mean is there is plenty of room to improve this week.

All great points, excellent post.

I was thinking during the review of the DVR, "My guess is we have worked the running game hard, since RB has been in flux most of the summer", and, "Passing is the least of our worries when we have to put RBs in a cocoon".

Same on D side. Run D, aside from one or two lapses, was spot on, but run coverage by DBs was NOT as good because that probably didn't get stressed as much during camp as DL and LB work against the run.

Are we going to win 9 games? Probably not. But 7 or 8 is easily doable.