Three Positive Developments

I was at Kinnick last night, and Hill was pretty impressive. There were 5 WR drops and if those are caught he's 16 of 27 for nearly 200 yds -- a stellar day for ANY Iowa QB in recent years. He stands tall in the pocket, his feet aren't jittery, and perhaps most importantly he has that intangible 'pocket presence' to instinctively feel pocket pressure and move away from it -- which Petras simply didn't have.
Two skills he brings to the table for Iowa's offense that McNamara didn't this year:
1) he can throw on QB boot-legs to either side; and
2) he can get easy QB sneak first downs on any 3rd and 1 situation. Dude is HUGE.
Given Iowa's offensive limitations, both of these are significant additions, and will lead to innumerable first downs the remainder of the season.
 
Based on what Hill said to Dolph and Eddy post game, I already like this guy. Apparently, his team mates like him, too. This conclusion based on a variety of statements from coaches and players.

I was sick to my stomach in the 1st half after Cade went down. Sick, first for Cade, then for the team and us fans. I thought about the key injuries, Luke, Kaleb, Jaziun, and now Cade. There goes the heart of our offense. I thought the season was over.

Hill sure did show some toughness and smarts Under huge pressure.

Thankfully, we won.
 
SCHawkeye2 said:
If Vines catches one of the two he dropped in the final minute of the first half, MSU doesn’t get the last second field goal to close the half.
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Vines can be electric when he catches and runs. The dude has to get the damn crisco off his hands though............
 
SCHawkeye2 said:
If Vines catches one of the two he dropped in the final minute of the first half, MSU doesn’t get the last second field goal to close the half.
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Both were catchable too.. The first one was the tougher of the two being a high and outside his frame while running full speed. But yeah had he caught it he'd have had some RAC with it too.

Kaleb Browns drop woulda been a huge 3rd and long conversion. I really wish we could get him involved some more. But these guys gotta start catching the damn ball. Maybe Hill could take a little something off his fastball and that'd help. But either way most of those drops were catchable balls.
 
Hawkfnntn said:
Kaleb Browns drop woulda been a huge 3rd and long conversion. I really wish we could get him involved some more. But these guys gotta start catching the damn ball. Maybe Hill could take a little something off his fastball and that'd help. But either way most of those drops were catchable balls.
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Given the normal lack of separation by WRs, it might be dangerous for him to take some zip off the ball.
 
Hawkboys said:
Given the normal lack of separation by WRs, it might be dangerous for him to take some zip off the ball.
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True it's circumstantial obviously. It's tough for guys that can throw hard to take a little something off of it. It's one thing to go from throwing 100% to like 25% when throwing a short touch pass but when throwing something 20 yards plus downfield and if you could make it a more catchable ball by throwing it with 80% of your strength instead of all of it for some reason that's just tough for guys to do
 
Cooper can not play offense! Brian's head would explode trying to incorporate him into his perfectly humming offensive game planning!
 
Teddy said:
I too have the theory that Cade was mostly ineffective due to injury. Had some great plays and some bonehead plays. Clearly his movement was limited.

Hill's cannon gives the deep routes a better chance if he's at all accurate and if our receivers catch them. He obviously won't have trouble drilling into tight spaces. Uninjured, Hill was decently mobile and can apply some heat to even on the run throws.

There's a learning curve and we'll see what this kid has to learn but he could also be a hell of a gamer.
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Sometimes misses down the field is still effective the rest of the game. They have to be attempted every now and then just to keep the defense honest and the box with less defenders. Sometimes misses/incompletions are fine. Ferentz's have to realize this. It's OK NOT to be perfect on every play.

Ya have to at least show it to keep D's honest and preparing for the week prior to the game.
 
okeefe4prez said:
The most positive development is Iowa WON A GAME where the backup quarterback was forced into service on the second drive of the game. This is unheard of for our program. That kid looked really good on the TD drive and with some more reps he should be plenty good enough to get us to Indy. If you had told me before the season began that we would lose Cade, Lachey and the two top RBs and be 4-1 right now I would have taken it. Helluva game by the team last night.
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He's gunna get reps in practice now and he's just gunna get more confidence. He still has a ceiling as far as jelling with his team/WR's. There room for the ceiling is there. I really believe this and not just having my Hawkeye goggles on.
 
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Dadman said:
Curious- why doesn't the coaching staff occasionally use DeJean in the offense? At the very least, it would be a hell of a decoy play..........
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Well, the game against Penn St they played 97 plays on defense so I think that plays into it.

This will never happen, but I often wonder what he would be like running the team from QB. I think he's really smart and reads and reacts about as fast as anyone which are two great attributes for a QB.
 
Siouxcityhawks said:
First off I agree Cade hurt all season. Don’t give up on this kid. He oozes leadership. Second wrs showed ability to get open - encouraging but have to catch the ball. Third any idea if Johnson or Jaz coming back next week? When there are holes to run through (and granted there are not many) we need to hit them sooner. And perhaps start the rb closer to the line. Purdue game is huge to me. Season could still go either way. Offense has to play much better. Cooper flat out saved the day. Go hawks.
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Siouxcityhawks said:
First off I agree Cade hurt all season. Don’t give up on this kid. He oozes leadership. Second wrs showed ability to get open - encouraging but have to catch the ball. Third any idea if Johnson or Jaz coming back next week? When there are holes to run through (and granted there are not many) we need to hit them sooner. And perhaps start the rb closer to the line. Purdue game is huge to me. Season could still go either way. Offense has to play much better. Cooper flat out saved the day. Go hawks.
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I've been intrigued by that Mouton. He's seems to hit the hole hard and runs hard downhill. Seems like he's always getting 4-7 yrds a run.
 
Teddy said:
I've been saying this since Cooper's freshman year. They could install a small package for him, especially as a wide receiver. He could run the wild cat, and actually throw as well as run. Four or five plays. I see the possible mistakes, but I'm confident he would be huge net positive.
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Even if they don't throw to him and use him as a decoy. The D would have to honor him which could loosen up the box or other areas of concentration.
 
Hawkboys said:
Given the normal lack of separation by WRs, it might be dangerous for him to take some zip off the ball.
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Yea, I am kind of here. I don't think it's too surprising to see the drops with a new QB. Different ball, different acceleration. Hopefully with the reps in practice and going forward they will gel more and the drops will decrease. But yea, WR's in college should catch the ball.
 
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