This pretty much sums it up

HawkleberryFinn said:
I thought we weren’t supposed to criticize the Ferentz.
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Fryowa said:
These are the kinds of things that, although they obviously don’t read them, should piss off and embarrass Daddy and Baby ‘Rentz.

Those two are both complete blockheads who would rather be stubborn than adapt, but even a stubborn blockhead should get pissed about it and at least try to prove everyone wrong.

Parker does a masterful job of adapting his sets to the personnel rather than trying to drive square pegs into round holes, and it pays off. Amani Hooker last year was a perfect example.

Dr. Evil and Mini Me would rather lose 4-5 winnable games a year and say, “That’s Iowa football” rather than make any adaptations to the offense and have to eat some crow. Their results show it too.

Name any team in the last 15 years that’s put as many quality players in the NFL as Iowa that’s had as mediocre results.

And the bullshit excuse about Iowa being a program that breeds good pro talent but doesn’t fit the NCAA “style” is bogus. Change your style and win more games, then. You have the player’s already.
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A local writer or beat writer daring to bring any of this up would probably get their press pass revoked.
 
TJHawkeye said:
Us playing conservative football makes the defense look much better because it limits opponents time of possesion. Less attempts equals better stats. The inability to stop late drives then is very telling on how good or bad you really are.
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Yup. Iowa finished 21st in the country in time of possession at an average of 32 minutes 32 seconds. This kills the argument that the defense gets wore down in the fourth quarter because the offense cant sustain any drives.
 
karras said:
Extremely well written.
CP87 called Fant a blazer and I agree with him. Hock and Noah needed to be on the field for every offensive snap cuz they were the only 2 players that opponents legitimately feared. Which causes our opponents to play tight and adjust their formations.
But we didn't. I want to say we're still running Greg Davis' offense but that's not true. We've been running the HC's offense for 20 years and leaving points on the field as a result. Our defense bails out the offense almost every year. Look at my signature. That's just running backs. I could make the same post about WRs and QBs who leave or fail to improve. 5 mil per should provide a solution to this problem but it doesn't thanks to an AD with zero pressure to finish higher in the directors cup standings.
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Yes. HC offense Flintstone Style.Boulders hard to Play with....Go Hawk Players.



N
 
earlkoppelman said:
I forgot. Sorry found FREE YESTERDAY. And Happy Hour Asap. Coach gets BONUS at 7 wins no? Power and Money keep Bosses busy. Not Wins. Go Tough Hawk Players.Baseball having good year.
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Ships!.!! ships.grab for to Arroews.On stick blind Machine! To tell.Siding wraps for North to.the Upper!!!!UPPER!! Yes??;? For simples.zero papers.Touggh yes...
 
'WinOne...' is correct when he writes "Having a QB that is accurate in our offense is critical to every phase of the offense." It's actually true for ANY offense, and reminds me of a recent interview I saw with Bill Walsh or some other recognized QB guru when he was asked what he looked for in a QB. The 1st priority skill, he said, was ACCURACY. He elaborated and said basically, beyond a point, throwing accurately seems to be innate and not something that's easily taught. I think 'Decision Making' came next, but he said that's easier to teach. Far down the list was 'Arm Strength', which when you look at great pro QBs, such as Montana, Brees, etc, makes sense -- many of the all-time great QBs did not have great arm strength -- but they were exceptionally accurate. This highlights Stanley's biggest issue: his lack of accuracy with 2 years of experience and never getting to a 60% completion rate. Part of that is the result of playing a pro-style offense with high school level WRs for 2 years, but it's probably not realistic given his skill set to expect a 65% completion rate from Stanley. I would love to see him prove me wrong.
 
WinOneThisCentury said:
First of all, let me go on record that even though the TE production was stellar when you combine the numbers for both Fant and Hockenson...it's clear they were still underutilized to a degree.

In defense of the Ferentz's, if Stanley makes better throws, Fants numbers probably get where they should have been. I can recall at least 10-15 throws that if they were even in the zip code...Fant get 200 more receiving yards and 3-4 more touchdowns. You can't blame the coach or the offensive coordinator when his QB can hit the open guy or makes the wrong read. Now, if you want to talk about a QB change...at Penn State for example, that criticism is open to debate.

Having a QB that is accurate in our offense is critical to every phase of the offense. It opens up the running game, it keeps the chains moving, and allows our offensive line to start wearing people out and it gets the safeties out of the box. Stanley has to be better.

Honestly, I think KF has evolved and is allowing his coaches to coach. We go for it on fourth down with frequency, we have special team trick plays that have been very successful...and we have made adjustments to the defense (CASH) that, although slow to come, made a huge difference against teams that normally exploited our three linebacker sets. All good adjustments by the 5 Million Dollar Man.
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Stanley will likely break the record for TDs in a career. But it sure looks decieving when you think of all the what could have beens, He's been a decent QB,but I won't miss him. I would love for any number of our former QBs to have those TE weapons at their disposal.

I wish KF would go full Patriot offense mode and put in a quick slippery slot reciever in motion all the time to go along with our TEs.
 
peerok said:
What I find frustrating is that for as good as Iowa's defense has been statistically under Phil and Norm, the defense can't seem to ever get a stop in the fourth quarter when they really need it.

The obvious answer is that the defense gets tired from being on the field too much, but you shouldn't get tired if you can force some three and outs during the game. I'd also be interested to see some time of possession stats from some games but I don't have time to look them up right now.
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In some years you could say the hawk defense would be tired by the mid-4th qtr if they couldnt rotate the Dee LInemen for a pass rush. But here is the deal, the hawks with their somewhat bend but dont break defense does not handle late game drives well when teams are in 4 Down mode always going for it on 4th down. Our defense leaves teams in a lot of 3rd or 4th and short situations. And this leads to the next reason which is we do not vary our defense that much as we are in our base 4-3-4 a lot in late games. The CASH or Raider has helped but Iowa has not been a great defense for throwing teams for big negative yardage on early downs in these situations which is huge for stopping the opponent.

And third reason is the opponent not only has extra downs but they know what 'trick' or situational plays to try against the standard defense Iowa plays. They pull a play or rabbit out of the hat. Wisky's Off Coord have been doing this since 2010. Last year it was that long TD pass where they isolated a fast receiver on a Lbkr for about a 30 yard TD to get the go ahead TD.

The best way to not have the defense in these late game situations is for the Offense and their coaches to do everything to have a at least a 2 score lead late in games.
 
TJHawkeye said:
Us playing conservative football makes the defense look much better because it limits opponents time of possesion. Less attempts equals better stats. The inability to stop late drives then is very telling on how good or bad you really are.
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The first part is true.

The last sentence is inflated because there have been major games where it didn't happen. We remember the losses more than the stops.

A lot of competitors hate losing more than we love winning.
 
Grady said:
'WinOne...' is correct when he writes "Having a QB that is accurate in our offense is critical to every phase of the offense." It's actually true for ANY offense, and reminds me of a recent interview I saw with Bill Walsh or some other recognized QB guru when he was asked what he looked for in a QB. The 1st priority skill, he said, was ACCURACY. He elaborated and said basically, beyond a point, throwing accurately seems to be innate and not something that's easily taught. I think 'Decision Making' came next, but he said that's easier to teach. Far down the list was 'Arm Strength', which when you look at great pro QBs, such as Montana, Brees, etc, makes sense -- many of the all-time great QBs did not have great arm strength -- but they were exceptionally accurate. This highlights Stanley's biggest issue: his lack of accuracy with 2 years of experience and never getting to a 60% completion rate. Part of that is the result of playing a pro-style offense with high school level WRs for 2 years, but it's probably not realistic given his skill set to expect a 65% completion rate from Stanley. I would love to see him prove me wrong.
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I don't know if I would label Brandon Smith a high school level WR. He didn't drop anything last year...and he made some unbelievable catches. He's made huge strides IMO, and could have a break out year this year. You are right on, Stanleys accuracy has been a huge issue...even in the short passing game. Part of what makes the short passing game so tough is ball placement. You need to be so accurate that hitting a quick slot guy in stride is like a handoff...they can't be going down to get it or reaching back...then there is no YAC...as there is always someone trailing him. Fant had so many catches that were off target, HOC too...and it killed big plays.

Stanley needs to be better period...accuracy and decision making. Honestly, I thought he showed progress in the bowl game. With no running game at all, negative yards, he managed to get 27 on the best defense in the country. Sure, our defense game him some great field position, but he still got points on the board. Mississippi State had two first round DL, and speed everywhere. Stanley didn't look all freaked out. It was curious to hear from KOK that Easley's long TD and Amir's TD were off script and Stanley made the adjustments in sync with the receivers. That's a good sign.
 
BILLBUCKNER said:
Stanley will likely break the record for TDs in a career. But it sure looks decieving when you think of all the what could have beens, He's been a decent QB,but I won't miss him. I would love for any number of our former QBs to have those TE weapons at their disposal.

I wish KF would go full Patriot offense mode and put in a quick slippery slot reciever in motion all the time to go along with our TEs.
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Easley was pretty productive. Those quick outs, those stop routes that Edelman and Welker made famous, BF incorporated that into the Iowa offense. Stanley just misfired on more of those throws than he should have.
 
MoseSchrute said:
"Ferentz had a RB committee that combined for 4.4 yards per carry. That’s totally underwhelming for a team that had a pair of dominant tight ends who could force opponents into difficult matchups.

The Hawkeyes are poised to continue producing versatile players for the NFL, but they’re missing out on some of the benefits for themselves along the way."

That's all you need to know. Frustrating.
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Is 4.4 yards per carry low? That's a first down every time on 3 runs. Statistically that seems like a plenty potent run game. I mean what was Wisconsin's average per carry? They have the best RB in the country.

I didn't really have much of a gripe on the offense this year. When they were humming they easily played like the very best Iowa offenses of all times. Then there were the other times. The times when the good Iowa offense simply disappeared. To me it seemed clear that when the offense was struggling it was because of mistakes. Any team even the Patriots are going to have a highlight reel of dumbfounding plays, that look even dumber when viewed out of context. Brian Ferentz certainly owns his fair share of wasted plays, but I felt strongly that the majority of the time the plays were there to be made.

I have felt that the passing game was nearing respectability. I would like to see the run game either become more punishing or more explosive. I hope that Brian commits to one rushing style and starts recruiting to fit that mold. Kirk's program historically doesn't maximize varying skill sets in the run game. They call the same run plays, but just try them with different style backs. Going forward it would be better to tailor the run plays to 1 style of back and simply have a stable full of similar style backs.
 
^ ESPN stats show Iowa at 4 yds per attempt. Ten conference teams performed better than that on yds per attempt. Wisconsin per attempt is 6.2. So yeah, I'd say it's pretty underwhelming for a team that supposedly emphasizes running the ball.

http://www.espn.com/college-football/conferences/statistics/team/_/stat/rushing/year/2018/id/5
RK TEAM ATT YDS YDS/A LONG TD YDS/G
1 Wisconsin 571 3554 6.2 88 32 273.4
2 Illinois 493 2916 5.9 80 25 243.0
3 Maryland 487 2762 5.7 81 26 230.2
4 Penn State 521 2664 5.1 78 34 204.9
5 Michigan 549 2649 4.8 81 26 203.8
6 Nebraska 464 2508 5.4 66 25 209.0
7 Ohio State 570 2398 4.2 49 23 171.3
8 Minnesota 524 2221 4.2 74 23 170.8
9 Iowa 488 1929 4.0 40 19 148.4
10 Indiana 428 1888 4.4 45 17 157.3
11 Purdue 400 1773 4.4 76 20 136.4
12 Michigan State 465 1623 3.5 80 14 124.8
13 Northwestern 518 1609 3.1 77 25 114.9
Rutgers 421 1609 3.8 80 12 134.1
 
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earlkoppelman said:
Huh?
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Just speakin’ your language.

I had some hope for a short while because you had a couple posts where you actually used English instead Drunkese (like this one—all you needed were a couple commas and a “the” once in a while and you were set), but you went back to whatever code words you use once your liver hits DEFCON 5.

Pro tip, if you expect anyone here to understand your jibber jabber it might help if you could keep the BAC under .450.

But...in case you having trouble with what I just typed, I’ll translate the above into Kopplemanian:

Exterior !!! GV. For to definitely havE.Under say got For The.other with Door haven’t THIS!! will weigh.sea ,,, Yes?? To wait,Brush for other have Toughh for sides.though, no??>?
 
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MoseSchrute said:
^ ESPN stats show Iowa at 4 yds per attempt. Ten conference teams performed better than that. Wisconsin per attempt is 6.2. So yeah, I'd say it's pretty underwhelming for a team that supposedly emphasizes running the ball.

http://www.espn.com/college-football/conferences/statistics/team/_/stat/rushing/year/2018/id/5
RK TEAM ATT YDS YDS/A LONG TD YDS/G
1 Wisconsin 571 3554 6.2 88 32 273.4
2 Illinois 493 2916 5.9 80 25 243.0
3 Maryland 487 2762 5.7 81 26 230.2
4 Penn State 521 2664 5.1 78 34 204.9
5 Michigan 549 2649 4.8 81 26 203.8
6 Nebraska 464 2508 5.4 66 25 209.0
7 Ohio State 570 2398 4.2 49 23 171.3
8 Minnesota 524 2221 4.2 74 23 170.8
9 Iowa 488 1929 4.0 40 19 148.4
10 Indiana 428 1888 4.4 45 17 157.3
11 Purdue 400 1773 4.4 76 20 136.4
12 Michigan State 465 1623 3.5 80 14 124.8
13 Northwestern 518 1609 3.1 77 25 114.9
Rutgers 421 1609 3.8 80 12 134.1
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Ya ok I get it. It's not as good comparatively as I expected. I will say that it is odd that some of the worst teams in the conference had such good rushing stats. Maybe it's because they have no passing game or defense to speak of. Either way I felt the offense improved handily. We were top 60 in offense I believe? Many of us have said that if Iowa could have a top half offense and a top 20 defense we could compete for B1G championships. Well that obviously didn't flesh out right away.

I don't imagine that the passing game gets alot better from what we saw last year. Some years maybe better most probably on par or worse. If our offense is going to improve from middle of the pack it probably needs to happen through the run game. I thought that even before this article, I was just suprised that they spoke so lowly of our run game when I didn't think it was horrible. The stats make it appear worse than it felt watching through the season.
 
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