Where I am concerned, wait and see or not at all

I couldn't agree more, Jon. I don't post too often but read everyday. I was just as heartbroken over this loss as anyone, but I feel that this team will rally and can still finish with this as the only loss. From here on out the schedule is favorable,with the toughest games at home. The fight, and no quit attitude goes a lone ways. My biggest concerns right now are the special teams, obviously, and the running back situation.

Anyways, its just one game. This CAN still be a special year. GO HAWKS!
 

Jon,

For what it's worth, I completely and totally agree with your assessment of the O-line. Pretty much my thoughts exactly.

Also agree with special teams. In another thread I stated that I thought the team in the Big Ten that cleans up special teams is going to have a huge advantage in the conf. race. That goes for us, OSU, and Wisc. as front runners for the conf. and as teams that have struggled with coverage.

Agree that the defense is not to blame. They played well, definitely good enough to win.

About Foles... I think Cousins is as good of a passer, maybe better but I don't know. I think your statement speaks more to the lack of quality we're going to see in passing QBs this year, than to credit Foles. He's good, but I'd still take Stanzi and Pryor over him. And there's a lot of QBs nationwide that I think are a lot better than Foles, they're just not on our schedule.

I loved the article. Pretty much was spot on in my opinion.
 
You cannot give up what was essentially 2 special teams touchdowns and a pick six and expect to win on the road against a top 25 team. The fact that they came back to tie it not playing the way we wanted to should tell you something. I still think they could win the Big 10 if they get special teams figured out. Nothing I saw last night makes me think they can't. It's fun to think about a NC but you need more than just a good team you need to get breaks.
 
I am concerned that the receiving corps did seem to take a step back in this game. There were a lot of missed opportunities this game. Momentum is something that is hard to quantify and tough to include in a preview article :)

Too many drops and key ones in this game. Since Campbell has arrived it has been rare to see more than one (and sometimes even one) drop in a game. Iowa's receivers were just not sharp last night in the first half.
 
Not trying to be a D-Bag with this post but I want posters that are commenting on Arizona's 8 - 9 men in the box stuff to know that they really should watch the game tape before posting.

I have watched the game slowing down every play to analyze alignments and point of failure(s) from the time the game came on ESPN. When the game came on Iowa had just gone down 14 - 0. The vast majority of Arizona's defensive alignments were 4 - 3 base alignments with the backers 3-4 yards deep. I noticed a single 8 man box alignment and 1 9 man front (Arizona goal-line D). They aligned a few times in a 5 - 2. I also noted only 1 blitz on a passing situation. The LB's were biting hard at times on play action. On almost all pass plays Arizona used a 4 man rush and dropped 7 into coverage just like we do.

Here's what I came away from the first half;

- Lack of execution (we had a number of chances to make plays but missed on many)

..... Stanzi was high or off target on several balls, the receivers dropped a few including a sure TD and Robinson did not make the correct read on several runs (missing at least one great running lane)

- The Arizona D-Ends were getting great push up the field. The O-Line did not play as poorly as I thought (confirming John's comments) but there were a number of stalemates so we did not get much push either.

So far it looks like a total team loss when you throw in special teams rather than an individual player or coaching (that assertion was ridiculous).

I'll watch the second half and post (not that anyone cares :) ) when I get a chance.
 
Agree but I think Stanzi holding the ball is a much bigger deal then anyone is making of it, it scares me to death thinking of him getting hit while standing there for too long.
 
Not trying to be a D-Bag with this post but I want posters that are commenting on Arizona's 8 - 9 men in the box stuff to know that they really should watch the game tape before posting.

I have watched the game slowing down every play to analyze alignments and point of failure(s) from the time the game came on ESPN. When the game came on Iowa had just gone down 14 - 0. The vast majority of Arizona's defensive alignments were 4 - 3 base alignments with the backers 3-4 yards deep. I noticed a single 8 man box alignment and 1 9 man front (Arizona goal-line D). They aligned a few times in a 5 - 2. I also noted only 1 blitz on a passing situation. The LB's were biting hard at times on play action. On almost all pass plays Arizona used a 4 man rush and dropped 7 into coverage just like we do.

Here's what I came away from the first half;

- Lack of execution (we had a number of chances to make plays but missed on many)

..... Stanzi was high or off target on several balls, the receivers dropped a few including a sure TD and Robinson did not make the correct read on several runs (missing at least one great running lane)

- The Arizona D-Ends were getting great push up the field. The O-Line did not play as poorly as I thought (confirming John's comments) but there were a number of stalemates so we did not get much push either.

So far it looks like a total team loss when you throw in special teams rather than an individual player or coaching (that assertion was ridiculous).

I'll watch the second half and post (not that anyone cares :) ) when I get a chance.

special k - what is your definition of 'in the box'? how big or small is your box? Ed P. last night defined it as within 3 yards of the LOS, I believe.
 
I'm not saying your wrong but keep in mind they were often dropping 7 into coverage (at least in the first half) and playing head up on the outside receivers.
 
Agree but I think Stanzi holding the ball is a much bigger deal then anyone is making of it, it scares me to death thinking of him getting hit while standing there for too long.

You're right, but taking that sack on 2nd and 2 was inexcusable. Pretty much ended any hopes of getting the tie.
 
Offensively and defensively, I thought Iowa did a decent job under the circumstances. Those units fought uphill from the beginning of the game and they have some minor things to fix but overall they are solid units.

Defensively I think the Linebackers were out of position which contributed to some secondary problems. Give credit to Arizona they countered a very good D'line with some excellent line play.

Offensively Rick was tenative at times but overall he made good decisions, and didn't turn the ball over. The O'line fought hard all night and most of the night they gave Rick time to throw.

I still think Iowa is a solid team and still a threat to the conference crown. Last night special teams fell apart and I am sure the coaches will fix it.
 
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Well...all I can say Jon, is thanks for the pep talk....I am way past stage 5 and ready for next week!! I am hoping the crowd won't be flat next weekend. I remember how I felt at the NW game after we lost and how the fans stood there and still cheered as the team walked off and how, when they came back for the Minnesota game after losing to Ohio...they still received a great fan welcome. I hope the fans come through next week.

And I'd just like to say that no matter how bad we all felt last night and today, I can bet the coaches and the team felt worse. Those guys practice hard all week for football, go to school and traveled across the country for a big game...while most of us sat comfortably on our couches, maybe nodding off and panicking a little because we had to watch a few minutes of it on the internet (guilty). Physically and mentally, I bet it's tough for them and only really understood by those that have played team athletics like that.

Lets Go Hawks!
 
special k - what is your definition of 'in the box'? how big or small is your box? Ed P. last night defined it as within 3 yards of the LOS, I believe.


Same definition... Arizona played a majority of base 4 - 3 in the first half not 8 - 9 man fronts as many were posting.

During the second half my DVR ran out in the fourth(my stupidity). Arizona definitely picked up the pressure by blitzing 1 or 2 of the LB's either out of the base 4 -3 or 5 -2 alignment. Our O-Line had some wins but also some losses.

I will say this again... this was definitely a total team loss,,, not a loss on this coach or that player. The effort was good but routinely somebody was screwing up and it was not always the same player. The effort was good but execution just was not there. Arizona played hard and particularly their front 4 did a nice job of playing physical and disrupting the LOS.
 
Curious, but has off-season coaching affected Stanzi's game at all? A goal was to limit turning over the ball and pick 6s. Is this leading to Stanzi being a little tentative to release the football under pressure? And, is Stanzi truly 100%? Does he really have his full mobility there?
 
Curious, but has off-season coaching affected Stanzi's game at all? A goal was to limit turning over the ball and pick 6s. Is this leading to Stanzi being a little tentative to release the football under pressure? And, is Stanzi truly 100%? Does he really have his full mobility there?

Stanzi looks as good this year as he ever has. The pick six was not on him. His completion percentage over the past four games, including the bowl game, is the best he has done and he is taking deep shots. I am not worried about Stanzi.
 
Stanzi looks as good this year as he ever has. The pick six was not on him. His completion percentage over the past four games, including the bowl game, is the best he has done and he is taking deep shots. I am not worried about Stanzi.

But what about holding the ball too long/indecision? In prior years indecision wasn't the problem, it was making the wrong decision. An over-reaction could be holding the ball too long for fear of making a mistake.

For the record, I think Stanzi's been fine, but I'm interest in your take.
 
"Iowa was thrown into Pac-10 mode right out of the gates in this game, forced to play on Arizona’s terms because of it. The fact they came back and tied the game at 27 with just over eight minutes left in the game is something Iowa fans should take some solace or even pride in, because they did it in a way they are not accustomed to playing."

I agree we should take pride that we staged the comeback but the offense really did not have as much to do with it as the article suggests. The Hawks had a pick six and recovered a muffed punt on Arizona's 10 yard line and scored.
 
JC was also "coached a lot" in the off-season (by an NFL guy I believe) about throwing mechanics and QB play. In the results, I think he looked quite tight the following season.

It was also noticed on tv that Stanzi and Ferentz looked like they were disagreeing about something.

Drew Tate admitted he was not always a fan of the playcalling in certain situations.

I would tend to agree our problems are not deep with Stanzi, but in that same sense will Stanzi have the precision and mojo to get things done when the team needs him to do it like he did last year? Is this 2010 version going to be better than 2009?

Stanzi maybe called upon quite a bit this year as we appear to have got very thin at RB. He may need to play like Tate 04 and that is going to take some gun slinging on his part. He is going to have to make some plays and not eat sacks in the pocket. And, that may require some of the Reckless Rick from last year.
 
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"Iowa was thrown into Pac-10 mode right out of the gates in this game, forced to play on Arizona’s terms because of it. The fact they came back and tied the game at 27 with just over eight minutes left in the game is something Iowa fans should take some solace or even pride in, because they did it in a way they are not accustomed to playing."

I agree we should take pride that we staged the comeback but the offense really did not have as much to do with it as the article suggests. The Hawks had a pick six and recovered a muffed punt on Arizona's 10 yard line and scored.

I was saying that the Iowa offense did just as much as the Arizona offense did (point production and length of drives), playing in a style they don't normally play
 

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