judzeehawk
Well-Known Member
Ok it looks like I don't need to be as worried!
Weaknesses & or question marks
- Thread starter Hawkfnntn
- Start date
BigD
Well-Known Member
Color me unimpressed. Who can't punt the ball seventy yards in the air? I kid, I kid, Thought for a minute that I was seeing a Roby reincarnate. Hard to believe it's been eleven years since Reggie died. Man where does time go?
AreWeThereYet
Well-Known Member
My same reaction after seeing the video. Ferentz was allowed to finally talk about Ron Coluzzi on Freshman orientation day, per NCAA rules. (Read about half way down the article) http://www.hawkcentral.com/story/sports/college/iowa/football/2016/06/13/kirk-ferentz-polk-county-iclub-wakonda-freshmen-ron-coluzzi-report/85850058/
Quote from article:
"Another newcomer that joined the program Monday was punter/kicker Ron Coluzzi, a graduate-transfer student from Central Michigan. By NCAA rule, Ferentz wasn’t able to talk about Coluzzi until he arrived. But he’s officially in Iowa City, and he immediately becomes a candidate to help answer big kicking-game questions.
“He’ll be here all summer long, and that’s good,” Ferentz said. “I think that whole thing will shape up in August. At least that’s what we’re hoping for.”
Coluzzi was the Chippewas’ primary kickoff man (20 touchbacks on 61 attempts) and punter (he averaged 39.2 yards, and 20 of his 59 attempts went inside the opponent’s 20-yard line) last season. Iowa’s first-string punter is untested redshirt freshman walk-on Colten Rastetter."
GrandpaHawk
Well-Known Member
Yes he was something special,I remember reading that when he was just a kid he would punt the ball over there two story house.
hawkdrummer1
Well-Known Member
Having seen Roby play, I can tell you he was a once in a lifetime guy at his position. Rarely could a punter make such a difference in a game. The guy just boomed the ball...and with major hang time. To paraphrase Bobby Hansen after he had to guard Darrel Griffith..."I played against lots of guys who could jump...but they all came down".
judzeehawk
Well-Known Member
If Coluzzi could punt like Roby did we would certainly have a NFL punter! Oh how sweet that would be. Mentioning of Roby sure brings back the memories. What a punter.
seepig
Well-Known Member
I would say the biggest question mark is our DC. His inexplicable ability to show NO and I mean 0 ability to take a month to prep for a big game and stop anyone. He was tutored by one of the BEST ever in Norm Parker but it's pretty clear he can't prep and make calls the way Norm did.
GrandpaHawk
Well-Known Member
Didn't know our DC was on the field,it's up to the players to make the plays.
hawkeyebob62
Well-Known Member
If he could punt like Roby, he would have gone to a p5 school and not "need" a 5th year, since he would be in the NFL...
hawkeyebob62
Well-Known Member
Yep. I remember a bunch of guys screaming near the end of a first quarter to call time-out so we would be punting with the wind instead of against in the second quarter. One of the security/usher hybrids (remember THOSE days) smirked and said, "Against the wind means he can give it a full swing..."
hawkeyebob62
Well-Known Member
To paraphrase former VP candidate Lloyd Bentsen: "I saw Reggie Roby. I watched Reggie Roby. I strained my neck following the trajectories of the punts of Reggie Roby. RON COLUZZI IS NO REGGIE ROBY!"
seepig
Well-Known Member
Certainly part of it but not preparing to see Christian McCaffrey and not putting guys in position to make plays yeah that's on Phil. If you were actually at the Rose Bowl we were out coached AND they had better players but I would expect we should be good enough at 12-1 to at least force a punt once in awhile.
SteveGarvey1
Well-Known Member
Roby was one of the best punters ever, no doubt. But he was awful as a place kicker. He missed extra points and kicks that would have been bunnies for other kickers. Hayden got smart after awhile and had him be strictly a punter.
hawkeyebob62
Well-Known Member
Hayden was actually using Lon Olejniczak on PAT/short-FG duty until he broke his leg against UCLA in 1981. I think Tom Nichol got inserted after that. Any PAY/FG duties by Roby that season would have been temporary (although I think he actually did also miss a FG against Nebby in the first game).
deanvogs
Well-Known Member
They were prepared for him, and actually they knew specifically that Stanford was going to run that very first play. Lomax was nursing an injury and McCaffery toasted him, even though the team specifically knew that play was coming and how to defend it.
That is what happens when you don't play for a month and you are going up against an elite player that you can simulate in a game.
WinOneThisCentury
Well-Known Member
The OP took some shots at Jordan Lomax...and is off base. Lomax had a great year...was a force against the run and generally ran the back of our defense. He was hurt in the Rose Bowl and was against the guy who should have won the Heisman. Because he took a bad angle in that game, you somehow forget the way he played all year. The guy was really freaking solid...all year. Watch some of the hits he had in the B10 Championship game...pretty good angles from my perspective.
HawkGold
Well-Known Member
Just don't agree with the summary. They gave him a cushion which allowed him to dictate the play. At that point it was reaction. The Hawks rarely forced him to react. He was dictating things. Great, of course. Superman, no. Lot's of teams have a month off before playing great players. Rarely does a team suffer a beat down that bad. It was poor coaching to get beat that soundly.
HawkGold
Well-Known Member
Roby made 22 of 25 XPs in 79. He was 11/27 in fgs in his career, but a lot of them were really long attempts. He repeatedly out kicked his punt coverage and if I remember correctly he wasn't the leader in net punt yards. His nfl hang time greatly improved. His total punting yards wasn't anything spectacular but he developed a reputation for hand time.
Lomax did have a great year, and was fantastic in run support... but he got beat like a rented mule in that Rose Bowl. Granted, he was playing hurt and I suspect that had a lot to do with it, but he just got plain beat by a far superior athlete. Plus, I'm not sure a healthy Lomax would have helped all that much. We just had nothing left for that game.
