Unit Strength

[4thngoal]

Our rb's are fast enough. They are physical enough.
"Vision" is part of what is missing, but it's also feel. Wadley had both. If you can get into a situation where you have a one on one and you make him miss, the yards are going to be there, until you get to the back field.
Vision, shows you where that one on one match up is going to be. Feel, tells you weather you should zig or zag. Jump or stop and cut. If you should just lower the shoulder and truck someone. Like a good fighter, the key is to keep them guessing. That hesitation is a window of opportunity.
The key is getting one on one match ups, because if you are going to keep running into two three guys every time, the only move you are going to be able to go to is to power up and try and push forward. Which is exactly what we have seen lately. 3-4 yard runs.

 

[AreWeThereYet]

Not a big list of starters with no experience

3 or 5 starters with essentially no experience. There is a lot riding on the first three doing well.
Tyler Linderbaum C
Kaevon Merriweather FS
D.J. Johnson CASH
Throw in the #2 tight end and slot receiver
Shaun Beyer TE
Tyrone Tracy SLOT

There are a couple gys listed as starters that have seen relatively light duty. Those are subject to change.

Brady Reiff RT
Landan Paulsen LG

 

[uihawk82]

It would also help a lot if they could make a catch every now and then.

The RBacks made some good to very good catches out of the backfield last year. They really didnt throw a ton of passes to them. I think it is good to dink and dunk to the Rbacks because they are the best runners with the ball in their hands. ISM shows he can run on his kickoff returns but throwing to the backs can outflank that 89 man in the box crap and suck up the safeties so you can then go over the top.

 

[HawkeyeWalker]

Our rb's are fast enough. They are physical enough.
"Vision" is part of what is missing, but it's also feel. Wadley had both. If you can get into a situation where you have a one on one and you make him miss, the yards are going to be there, until you get to the back field.
Vision, shows you where that one on one match up is going to be. Feel, tells you weather you should zig or zag. Jump or stop and cut. If you should just lower the shoulder and truck someone. Like a good fighter, the key is to keep them guessing. That hesitation is a window of opportunity.
The key is getting one on one match ups, because if you are going to keep running into two three guys every time, the only move you are going to be able to go to is to power up and try and push forward. Which is exactly what we have seen lately. 3-4 yard runs.

Vision...cutback ability... maybe the most important skillset in Iowa's running scheme. Great vision many times can mean another 1-3 yards/carry. Example...NW rb....not fast, not quick...but great vision.

Hard to develop, its usually a "gift". But it can be improved. I think Sarg will impress people this year.

 

[Jonrn]

Not a big list of starters with no experience

3 or 5 starters with essentially no experience. There is a lot riding on the first three doing well.
Tyler Linderbaum C
Kaevon Merriweather FS
D.J. Johnson CASH
Throw in the #2 tight end and slot receiver
Shaun Beyer TE
Tyrone Tracy SLOT

There are a couple gys listed as starters that have seen relatively light duty. Those are subject to change.

Brady Reiff RT
Landan Paulsen LG

When only 5 out of 22 have limited experience, that’s actually pretty impressive.

 

[Lumberman]

I will go on record as saying there will be very little reason to worry about the TE production this year. Will there be a drop off in reception totals from last year? Absolutely.

But I think we will see every bit as much production from the TE position as a normal year. Beyer is big and fast. This is his chance to break out. What everyone seems to be missing is Weiting who will hopefully return from an injury plagued season. Even Fant and TJ acknowledged that Weiting was the best blocker of the 3. That will enhance the run game as well. If there is an injury to 1 of those 2, I feel we will be fine with the 3rd guy: Drew Cook. He has the body frame and most importantly, he has the football IQ to play that position.

I firmly believe Weiting gets drafted as a TE specializing in blocking, but sneaks out into the secondary to catch just enough passes to show NFL teams how valuable he can be.

In 2020, Beyer leads the way as the guy the young guns look to, as those guys start to see the field

 

[eledmonster]

Running Backs:

Decent enough speed, ability to catch out of the backfield, good downhill runners, no lack of effort and second effort.

Coupled with a seeming inability to find cutback lane, maybe some field vision issues borne of being too impatient to find the first open lane, and ball security issues.

They really didn't put very many balls on the turf last year. That was the one area where the RB's were consistently solid. I am cautiously optimistic this year but there needs to be a marked improvement.

 

[CP87]

A zone-blocking scheme makes things easier for the OL, but harder for the running backs. We should expect a lot of improvement with experience. Remember, Wadley wasn't really Wadley until his 3rd year on campus. IKM will be 3rd year this coming fall, Young will be 4th year, and Sargent will be 2nd (but with additional post-HS experience). The best is yet to come for this backfield.

I also think we will be pass-first this fall (Miss St. was a preview of what is to come with 31 passes, 20 rushes), so the RBs should find easier sledding when their # is called.

 

[homes]

All good points, but in the end, it's how the QB will perform this year that will dictate the fortunes of this year. The defense will be good. The RBs will be okay, there's no Shonn Greene in the bunch (I don't think). The WRs will be better, the TEs will not be. The kicking game should be better at punting (what discussion about Iowa football doesn't include a comment about punting?); the FG kicking, at best, will be a wash. Stanley will need to become Stanley the Manley if Iowa wants to win the West. No pressure. Will he be up to the challenge? We'll see.

 

[hawkeyebob62]

They really didn't put very many balls on the turf last year. That was the one area where the RB's were consistently solid. I am cautiously optimistic this year but there needs to be a marked improvement.

Well, when they DID put it on the turf, it was at rather inopportune times. That said, I watched videos from the 1981 season. Phil Blatcher was a fumblerooski waiting to happen damn near every time he got the ball. Yet, he played tons throughout that season.

 

[AreWeThereYet]

All good points, but in the end, it's how the QB will perform this year that will dictate the fortunes of this year. The defense will be good. The RBs will be okay, there's no Shonn Greene in the bunch (I don't think). The WRs will be better, the TEs will not be. The kicking game should be better at punting (what discussion about Iowa football doesn't include a comment about punting?); the FG kicking, at best, will be a wash. Stanley will need to become Stanley the Manley if Iowa wants to win the West. No pressure. Will he be up to the challenge? We'll see.

I generally agree that Stanley has been lacking what it takes to win the high pressure games. 8 of 9 losses under Stanley have been close games. (last years Wisconsin game was far closer than the final score would indicate) If Stanley had just a bit more moxy, a number of those losses could have gone to the win column.

You do have to put a few other large factors on the list. Offenses under Kirk Ferentz have been mediocre, even when you factor in the conservative ball control style of offense.

Certain teams have just been all around better than Iowa recently, That would apply to Wisconsin and Penn State. (It should apply to Michigan, but Iowa has had their number.)

Certain teams have Iowa's number; Northwestern, Wisconsin, Penn State, Michigan State. (Iowa has consistently played well against others, Michigan, Nebraska, and Iowa State.