Wadley: More Proof That Ferentz Doesn't Put the Best Players On the Field

The thing is KF feels a ton of security and especially loyalty to guys who are decent players, have paid their dues been through the battles and don't make mistakes.

It doesn't matter who is behind certain guys they are never going be jumped.

It was extremely hard for KF to let Stanzi jump Christiansen when everyone else knew it was the only choice.

If a position is open with no returning experience then yes it can be won by the best player.
 
Those who cite King playing as a freshmen last year forget that King would have never saw the field if the starter had not got hurt. King got his shot after the injury and the rest is history. He would likely still be a backup today had the injury not occurred.
 
I still think a 100% healthy Canzeri (EMPHASIS ON HEALTHY) will play in front of Wadley. Wadley has tremendous upside, however; if he puts on some muscle, watch out.

Willies never should have left. His future at Iowa was bright.

Sometimes these players just aren't patient enough.
 
iowalaw said:
IaHawk unwittingly makes my point. Of course no one on the outside was calling for people like Wadley to play in September and October. Because no one on the outside had ever seen what he can do on the field. The whole point of this thread is that the head coach has the tendency to have tunnel vision with playing time. He predetermines who is going to play. Once that decision is made, it's written in ink. Ferentz decided that Rudock was his man 18 months ago and he is not going to budge. It doesn't matter whether CJ has since surpassed him or not. The choice was made. Tommy Gaul seems to be one of our top 2 or 3 OL, but he wouldn't have played a down this year if it weren't for injury.

Unfortunately, Ferentz's tunnel vision tendencies have a chilling effect on underclassmen playing time. Wadley wasn't in the mix in September because Ferentz picked Bullock and Weisman to be the man LAST YEAR. Did Canzeri surpass Bullock long ago? Of course, but Bullock was tapped and all the talent in the world won't change that.

Willies and Wadley are just the latest obvious examples of more talented underclassmen riding the pine in favor of underperforming players who are favored by Ferentz. It happened to Brad Banks. Remember Jorden Bernstein? He didn't start until his sr. year and made it known that it wasn't right. Remember Herb Grigsby starting each game despite being the worst WR on the squad? There are probably 5 backups on this team deserving of seeing the field (by being at least equal to a guy who plays every down) that will not sniff the field this year, and it needs to be addressed.
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Wow. Just wow. You have a LOT of hate for Kirk and simply refuse to acknowledge it.

Brad Banks himself has stated that Kirk made the right call. Of course, you ignore that because it doesn't fit your hate-filled narrative.

I do remember Jordan Bernstein. He was the oft-injured, rarely healthy DB who didn't play one injury-free season for the Hawks. When he played, he played VERY well... well enough to get drafted. And it was injuries that forced him out of the league.
 
MrPlastic said:
I didn't know Coach Levick was ever at Grinnell. :D
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The ONLY publication that called Grinnell College "The Harvard of the Midwest" is Playboy. And they had a junior editor who graduated from Grinnell College at the time.

Any more, the only thing at Grinnell that compares to Harvard is the tuition cost.
 
iowalaw said:
We have gone an entire season seeing Bullock play 50% of the game, averaging 2.0 yards per game. Now, only by a stroke of sheer luck, having 3 rbs hurt, does the rest of us get to see what Ferentz has been seeing in practice every day for two years. Wadley can play. Why did he only get his first touches today?

I think Willies leaving was a wakeup call for the staff. We never got to see what he could do...and it would have taken injuries to Martin Manly and Vandeburg for him to have ever got the opportunity to show his stuff.

That time is now to stop playing favorites and deferring to upper classmen for playing time on this team. Teams all over the country are starting talented freshmen who beat out older guys. We ned to do the same.
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For someone with the word "law" in your moniker, you make a pretty poor argument.

BOTH Weisman and Wadley looked fantastic today because the OLINE finally got it done. Wadley probably would not have set the world on fire earlier in the year because he would've been met by five dudes at the line of scrimmage.

It's definitely a bummer that Willies left, but I don't think we know everything about how that all went down, or what Willies is dealing with. We also don't know if he runs great routes. He's flashed with lots of raw talent, to be sure.

I agree that Wadley is a revelation, but he and others will only be as good as their O line. Wadley benefited from a gassed NW defense that had been pounded by Weisman, Scherff, et al for a half. I'm not saying Wadley ISN'T a revelation. He is! However, you have to look at how that game went, too.
 
We've all been frustrated with KF lately, but this is a time to enjoy Saturday's beatdown. The whole season is in front of the hawks. Not every team can say that in November!!

Let's just see how Saturday goes. Huge.Frickin.Game.
 
racerhawk said:
We've all been frustrated with KF lately, but this is a time to enjoy Saturday's beatdown. The whole season is in front of the hawks. Not every team can say that in November!!

Let's just see how Saturday goes. Huge.Frickin.Game.
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Hey Racer we need you posting more!

I agree, big game on Saturday. While I was extremely disappointed in our losses this year, we still have everything in front of us to play for. I was telling my buddy at the tailgate before Saturday's game, that if the coaches couldn't motivate the team for that game, they shouldn't be coaching any longer. Bad loss, a team you hate in town, adversity during the bye week.......that is straight out of the motivation 101 class right there. Now lets see if they can build upon the confidence they gained Saturday and keep it rolling against the Goofs and Illini.
 
If the play calling continues to be like it was last week, ie shots down the field early and often rather than the typical Davis 3 yard crap, that will go along way to getting people off of KFs backs.
 
MikeyLikesIowa said:
Apparently, you weren't watching the same game I was today. I know Northwestern doesn't have Michigan State's defense, but I saw enough of Wadley today to see that he has a very bright future. That fumble was not what I would call a rookie mistake. It could've happened to any running back in the same situation. I would not be surprised one bit to see Wadley listed as the #2 RB on the depth chart next week.
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Lest we forget Canzeri is hurt and he was actually one back that showed some bursts of brilliance this year in the running game just didn't see many touches. And we hadn't won any game by 41 points all year including UNI, Iowa State or Purdont.
 
racerhawk said:
We've all been frustrated with KF lately, but this is a time to enjoy Saturday's beatdown. The whole season is in front of the hawks. Not every team can say that in November!!

Let's just see how Saturday goes. Huge.Frickin.Game.
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2 convincing wins over a mediocre Minnesota team followed by a thrashing of Illinois and I will again begin to believe we have a shot at this thing.
 
iowalaw said:
Knight - did you go to college, by chance? My guess is you did not. Do you understand football eligibility? My guess is you do not. The University of Iowa is based on a semester system. Eligibility is determined by grade point average, which is tabulated after each semester. A guy who is eligible on November 1 was eligible on October 1 and September 1. Wadley has been eligible, based on his grades, each and every game this season. He did not suddenly raise his gpa and get playing time. His gpa is the exact same now as it was when we played UNI.
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Iowalaw: Doubling down on the derp since August 2014.
 
Another week, another lack of touches for Wadley, CJ, and Powell in favor of the slow, unathletic, coaches favorites.
 
Let's see...9 rushes for 68 yards for an average of 7.6 yrds per carry. Who needs that when Weisman has been averaging 1.5 yrds per carry. An extra 6 yards per touch can't possibly mean the difference between wins and losses.

Keep that ball in Jake and Mark's hands. They started last year so they should start until their eligibility runs out. That is the Iowa way.

thetrza said:
You realize who fumbled as soon as they got the ball?
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thetrza said:
You realize who fumbled as soon as they got the ball?
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So what? So a mistake trying to make something happen is a good reason to not make any plays at all and give up 51 UNANSWERED! In Lebron fashion not 7, not 14, not 21, not 28, not 35, not 42, not 49.

I will take mistakes trying to make something happen over the uninspired mess.
 
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